| Re: can you get blu ray quality without a blu ray player? -
09-17-2011, 09:20 PM
there is more to image quality than resolution. in fact resolution is only the 4th most important determinant of image quality (after contrast, colour accuracy and colour saturation). as to resolution it isn't enough to only know the pixel resolution (e.g. 1920x1080 or 1280x720), but you must also know how the frames are drawn (p or i), the frame rate (e.g. 24, 30), and the bit rate. the latter is an indication of the degree of compression of the encoded image data (variations explain why some hdtv signals look much better than others despite all being displayed at the same resolution. it's analogous to how compressed jpeg images or mp3 files are recorded, where smaller (more compressed) files offer poorer quality when displayed or played back).
that all being said, hd files played from a computer, direct to air hdtv programming (better than satellite or cable hd programming) can look virtually indistinguishable from blu-ray ... particularly if the display is a smaller 720p or 1080i display (with the quality of the deinterlacing of the video chip in the tv being another variable). so, while downloaded movies can, in theory, be virtually indistinguishable from blu-ray disks, they are more likely to be somewhat inferior from a video perspective (and even more likely to be compromised audibly). the file size will give you an indication.
powered by yahoo! answers |