Forget about LED versus plasma, 3D, thin form factors, motion resolution and viewing angles. More important is what to do about TVs with dirty mouths.

It’s long been possible to censor bad language on standard definition channels and on DVDs, but until the arrival of the recently introduced TVGuardian,  HDTV watchers have had to put up with all sorts of cussing and nasty language.

TVGuardian is a box that can edit out all manner of low definition language contained in high definition programming whether broadcast over the air, cable or satellite and on Blu-ray discs.

While all TVs today are equipped with a “V” chip that can be set to restrict all but “G” rated programming, TV Guardian lets you and your wholesome family view PG and higher rated content, minus the nasty language found on many prime time network programs and in movies.

Not content with merely blocking the verbal blight, TVGuardian actually inserts clean, wholesome, substitute words and phrases as text.

In an email and phone interview, TVGuardian President Britt Bennett,  provided the following examples (we censored the root words so as not to offend any of our readers):

• F*** you becomes Go away.
• You’re full of $#*! becomes You’re full of crud.
• He’s an a**#ole becomes He’s an idiot.

Over 400 words

TVGuardian is programmed to mute more than 400 words. Here is a partial list of  blocked words (as supplied by TVGuardian)

A CONDOM, A-HOLE,’AS*’, AS*ES’, A*SH’,'A*SW’,'BADAS’,'BALLS’,'BASTAR’, ‘BEEN L*ID’,'BITCH’,'BL*W J*B’,'BL*W ME’,'BULLSH’ B*TT’, ‘BUTTER’,  BUTTH’, BUTTI’, ‘BUTTON’, ‘BY G*D’,'C*RIST’,'CHRI*T’S SA’,'CL*T’,'C*CKS’,'C*CK,  ‘CROWS’, C*CKSUCK’, ‘CRAP’, ‘C*M’ ,’C*NT’, ‘D*MN’, D*MN IT’, ‘D*CK’, ‘DICK VAN’, ‘DICKF’, ‘D*CKH, ‘D*CKS’, ‘DIPSH’, ‘D*UCHE B’,'D*KE’, ‘F*G’,

We think you’ve got the idea, though we don’t know why there is a problem with the fine actor Dick Van Dyke (yes we do: it’s “Dick” and “Dyke”).

Wait There’s More

Bennett added that the device will also censor and mute dual-definition word combinations like “dirty” + “sanchez”.  The TVGuardian can also be updated via its USB port for with new nasty word combinations such “tea” + bagger” though that phrase is currently not on the censor list.

TVGuardian includes controls that can alter the level of omissions. So, for example,  a preacher can say “Jesus Christ” and you’ll hear it. The TVGuardian’s filter technology also removes pejorative ethnic and religious terms.

How it Works

Here is a YouTube video of the TV Guardian in action:

Not sold in stores, The TVGuardian is available for $209.85 + shipping directly from tvguardian.com.

While all HDTVs include “advanced technological features” like channel selection and an on-off button, why take personal responsibility for filtering content coming into your home, when an electronic guardian can do it for you?

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Copyright ©2011 HD Guru Inc. All rights reserved. HDGURU is a registered trademark.

On paper, the BDP-93 has all the makings of the ultimate Blu-ray player. It’s got Marvell Qdeo processing, DVD-Audio and SACD playback, 3D, Netflix and Blockbuster, dual HDMI outputs, and a host of other features that make it the rival of any player.

But you can get Blu-ray players that have nearly all these features for a fraction of the price. So the question is, does the BDP-93 perform well enough to justify its cost?

If you’ve never heard of OPPO, you’re forgiven. The small specialty manufacturer has been making DVD and Blu-ray players since 2004. They’ve gained a substantial following on the Interwebs for their extensive feature lists and high performance.

Take, for instance, the BDP-93′s DVD-Audio and SACD playback. Few companies still offer these formats at all (both being effectively dead). But many enthusiasts such as myself still have a fairly extensive library of titles that we’d still like to listen to. Very few Blu-ray players are available that play back both of these formats. Of those that due, some are actually just OPPO products in disguise.

Setup

The BDP-93′s setup menus are easy to navigate. The big-buttoned and backlit remote is easy to use, though the player is ever so slightly sluggish to respond to commands.

It’s not a big deal, but the BDP-93′s remote is also one of the few I’ve used that won’t bounce off my screen. Instead I have to reach over my shoulder to my rack to get it to work. Of the stable of remotes in my collection, the Apple TV and Pioneer BD player remotes have this same problem, but my AT&T U-Verse, Marantz or Rotel receivers, and most other Blu-ray players don’t have this issue. If your BDP-93 is in a rack away from your TV, just something to keep in mind. There’s also IR ins and RS232 for those with a more substantial custom install setup.

My review sample was manufactured in October 2010, and had the BDP9x-38-0126 firmware, which was the latest as of this writing. There is an option for the player to periodically check for new firmware updates and prompt you to update. It is enabled by default.

A wireless dongle is included, which hangs rather unceremoniously off the back of the unit. It worked fine, and I didn’t notice a quality difference when streaming Netflix with it versus Ethernet. Unlike most Blu-ray players, the BDP-93 comes with an HDMI cable. To me this is like saying “Thank you for buying an OPPO, we don’t want you to get ripped off. Have a free HDMI cable.” They get a kudos for that.

Performance

Using the Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray I found the video processing to be well above average in all tests. With the rotating bar pattern, the only noticeable jaggies were when the bar neared horizontal (i.e. the green area). This result was echoed using the HD Ship clip. This clip is a slow pan past an old sailing ship. The rigging is a criss-cross of lines at many diagonals. Only those near horizontal had any noticeable de-interlacing jaggies, and even these were minimal.

Also on this disc is a shot of the Brooklyn Bridge in standard definition. The result was similar, with only a small amount of jaggies on the near horizontal cabling. The BDP-93 performed better on this test than most Blu-ray players I’ve reviewed.

Using the Silicon Optix HQV Benchmark DVD the rotating bar pattern (similar to the S&M test, but in 480i) had some small jaggies at 45 degrees and again at roughly 15 degrees. Not as good a result as I was expecting, but the jaggies were small and hard to notice. The flag test on this disc, a waving flag in front of a brick building, showed real-world video deinterlacing was exceedingly good. The flag had no noticeable jaggies, though the brick wall behind showed a small amount of noise. All and all, well above average.

The BDP-93 was able to identify and correctly process the 3:2 sequence with both 480i and 1080i content.

Next I used my two favorite test DVDs. The end of Chapter 12 of Gladiator is a flyover of ancient Rome. The BDP-93 reproduced this difficult scene well, with minimal jaggies on the rooftops, though there was some noise in the fine details. It was a similar story with the Superbit version of The Fifth Element, Chapter 2. The amount of detail created by the BDP-93 in this scene was among the best I’ve seen, but it was also noisier than most others. This is a common tradeoff, extra detail at the expense of noise. The internal noise reduction circuitry did little to alleviate the issue. Was it a big deal? No, but enough that it was worth mentioning.

For 3D I used Avatar. Not much to say other than it worked, and well, though again the image was a little noisier than other 3D Blu-ray players. Keep in mind this is on a 103-inch screen, so YMMV.

One big oversight in my book, and one that would prevent me from purchasing the BDP-93 if I were in the market for a BD player, is the lack of the ability to output DVDs at 24 fps (1080p/60 is the only option). Many Blu-ray player have this ability, and when you’re watching on a display that has or can adjust its framerate to a multiple of 24, the movie-watching experience is wonderfully judder-free. If your display doesn’t have this ability, then this isn’t anything you have to worry about. The 93 can output Blu-rays at 1080p/24, so this oversight is all the more disappointing.

Unlike the implementation of many current SACD-capable devices, the BDP-93 can output DSD over HDMI – no PCM conversion required. That’s presuming you have a receiver that can decode it (and chances are it will convert the stream to PCM internally so… it’s kinda hard to win this fight). If your receiver can’t decode DSD, setting the BDP-93 to PCM will send an 88.2kHz/24-bit signal instead, which is still way better than CD.

I listened to two old favorites, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac: Live at the BBC DVD-Audio and English Chamber Orchestra’s J.S. Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos on SACD. Both sound and sounded absolutely brilliant. I also transferred some MP3s of various bitrates and some CD-quality WAV files to a USB drive. These sounded as good as their compression dictated. You can also hook up and entire hard-drive via a SATA connection on the back.

Honestly, though, if audio is your thing, you’re better off waiting for the BDP-95 (more on this below).

Netflix

The Netflix interface is of the mid-level variety. You can’t search for new content, but there are category tabs along the top to show some new content. If you want to add something to your Instant Queue, you’ll have to use your computer. This is the case with most Blu-ray players with Netflix, but not all (and not the PS3 or Apple TV, where you can search). The image quality was decent, though not quite as detailed as I’ve seen on other players. There was no Chroma Upsampling Error, which some players have had.

I didn’t check Blockbuster on Demand because there are no HD offerings and to me, that makes it irrelevant.

OPPO has said they’ll be adding new streaming services, but so far can’t discuss what they are. I’d like to see VUDU or Amazon on Demand, but honestly until something else is added the streaming aspect of this player seems like an afterthought. It’s not badly implemented, but it’s just kinda… there.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, the OPPO BDP-93 is a fantastic Blu-ray player. Is it the best Blu-ray player? I’m not sure. The Toshiba BDX2500 is under $100 and offers video processing that’s nearly as good, the same Netflix interface, plus VUDU which is way better than Blockbuster. It doesn’t have 3D or the audio bona fides, but if you’re not into 3D or high-end audio, then it gets you a lot of the way there.

On the other hand, it makes a pretty compelling case for itself in other ways. The video processing is top notch, it sounds great, and offers a lot of features not found on other BD players. In that regard, the BDP-93 has very little competition, and when you incorporate the price, there’s almost nothing else out there.

Personally, I’m looking forward to the BDP-95, which should be available in a few weeks. It has all the same video quality as the 93, but adds a SABRE32 Reference ES9018 32-bit DAC, a Rotel toroidal power supply, and XLR analog outputs.

If you’re a videophile looking for a BD player with excellent processing that does just about everything, and you like to listen to decent audio sometimes, this is the player for you. If you’re a video and audiophile, the BDP-95 looks to be a pretty amazing player.

HD Guru awards the OPPO BDP-93 Blu-ray Player: $499.99 a  ♥♥♥♥ (out of five hearts)  rating

—Geoff Morrison

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Copyright ©2011 HD Guru Inc. All rights reserved. HDGURU is a registered trademark.

Consumers trust well known brand names. Retailers and TV marketers know this and use strategies to take full advantage of this trust. HD Guru wants readers to be aware that some of the well known TV brand models you may be considering are not produced by the company you think made it, and the online store selling an HDTV may not be the same company you once knew and trusted.Bad reliability and poor customer service often accompany this masquerade.

Due to bankruptcies or business decisions, retailers and a number of set makers sold off their big brand names to private investment groups or public companies. For example, in the US, the founding companies no longer make or market TVs under the Philips, Polaroid and Westinghouse brands. They simply put the name on other companies products. In retail, former giants Circuit City and CompUSA have nothing to do with the companies that built them into household names.

HD Guru examined a number of these recycled brand names and found a trail of unhappy consumers. Recently, online giant Amazon made the company now named Circuit City an authorized merchant. It is not the same Circuit City that you remember.

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Amazon’s buyer survey reveals more than one out of ten customers rate their experience with Circuit City as negative or neutral. By comparison, other major online etailers like J&R, Vann’s and One Call have 96%, 98% and 100% positive ratings respectively. Circuit City rates an 89% positive, 8% negative, and 3% neutral.

If you recall, consumer electronics mega-chain Circuit City declared bankruptcy in 2009. The name, website and logo ended up with Systemax, a NYSE listed company that operates a group of online stores including TigerDirect and CompUSA. Systemax launched circuitcity.com as an Amazon merchant just over one month ago. According to our research, Circuit City earns the distinction as the lowest ranked Amazon TV seller in its customer survey.

Amazon purchasers rate their overall experience on a scale of 1 to 5 with 4 and 5 being positive, 3 neutral and 1 and 2 negative. In the last 30 days Circuit City managed to generate 1150 comments.

What are their customers’ main complaints? The most frequent are late or unfilled orders. Circuit City provides a delivery date, then misses it or simply never ships the order. Days later they’ll inform the customer the item is out of stock. With Christmas rapidly approaching, this could become a nightmare when ordering an HDTV a gift.

The next biggest complaint concerns Circuit City’s poor customer service with patrons citing long hold queues, hang ups and rude customer service representatives.

Below are eight examples, verbatim, of the negative comments as they appear on amazon.com.

“Email response time was pathetic. Tried calling, sat on the phone for 30 minutes without hearing a human voice, and gave up. When they finally did respond, I found that my item had been sitting in the shipping warehouse ready to be delivered for a week! They couldn’t call me because Circuit City never gave them a phone number for me. Looked at my order. A phone # and alternate # are clearly there”

“I ordered this through amazon and it was a 2 day shipping. My amazon account has ben charged over 900 bucks I dont have the tv i cancelled the order as their has been now 30 days-my card is still not credited. I have to pay the bill this is really just wrong-customer service from amazon says oh we can dispute the charges it takes 2 weeks and circut city says its amazon not them. “

“Horrible experience. Ordered two Mitsubishi 60″ on 11/25, not delivered until 12/9 3 days past delivery window. Bad communication, disorganized, used terrible delivery service (AIT), had to constantly contact and agreed directions (phone to contact, scheduled delivery time) were ignored. I will never buy from Circuit City again, nor any seller that uses AIT.”

“shipment was late, and would not have arrived if i did not actively pursue the item. When received there was a scratch on the television. There was no reply from circuit city, and moreover when i called i was placed on hold for 15 minutes and then promptly hung up on. this happened a total of 3 times.”

“I ordered 6 identical hard drives. One was dead on arrival. I wanted to exchange this for a working one and they refused. They perform returns only. What they will do is make me purchase a new one which the support team will happily do. In order to get refunded the original money, I have to go to the manufacturer, get a special code and come back to support with it. BUY ELSEWHERE!”

“1, ad a lower price on black friday and then tell me “backorder” after I sent serveral emails to them, but the website still shows “in stock” 1 day after I ordered. 2, didn’t answer my email until Amazon kicked in. 3, told me “You can call us directly at 1-800-800-8300″, this number is the same as “TigerDirect.com”, they are the same seller? WTF…”

“Seller did not have item despite listing it”

“Order never arrived. No tracking information and they would not respond to email. Would not use this retailer again”.

HD Guru contacted Systemax this past Thursday, as of post time we have not received a response.

Westinghouse

Under the 120 plus year old brand Westinghouse, HDTVs are marketed by an independent company called Westinghouse Digital, headquartered in California.  However, the sets are all sourced off-shore by contract manufacturers. According to Consumer Reports’ (CR) most recent TV reliability survey, Westinghouse TVs rank as one of the most trouble prone sets sold, with a whopping 8 percent needing repair. Data reflects sets purchased between 2007 and the first half of 2010.

Polaroid

The company markets many products under their brand name including LCD TVs, digital cameras and eyewear. The original company went bankrupt and the name rights have transferred twice. An investment company called PLR IP Holdings now owns the name and they also outsource all TVs marketed under the Polaroid brand. The same CR survey cited above reveals a 10% failure rate for their TVs. By comparison, Panasonic LCDs have a failure rate of just 2%, while Sony and Sharp enjoy a low failure rate of 3%.

Philips

In 2008 electronics giant Philips sold off to Funai the US naming rights and distribution of its Philips and Magnavox TV brands. The CR survey rates reliability as high, with a  failure rate just 4% the same as Samsung and Toshiba.

Bottom Line

Do your research and pick online stores based on their recent reputations and reasonable return policies. Be aware of the who really makes the TV you are considering and check their reliability and warranty policies before buying. Unlike Westinghouse and Polaroid, traditional brands including Samsung, LG and Panasonic still design, build and market their own HDTVs. These companies, unlike some of the faux brands, maintain full nationwide parts and service networks as well as excellent product reliability and customer service. Check out our articles about regarding the pitfalls of buying other brands here.

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Addendum
Circuit City’s posted “current” price in a “closeout” store is not the same as Circuit City really charges (at its own website) for the same product. It is tagged significantly higher with five out of five TVs surveyed!

The HD Guru priced five HDTVs at its closeout store in Massapequa, NY. Comparing the original and 10% off closeout prices with prices listed at Circuitcity.com revealed the “current” pre-closeout price written on the price tags was actually $200 to $400 higher than the “real” current selling price of all five HDTVs at CircuitCity.com . After the 10% off closeout price is taken into account, 3 out of 5 HDTVs remained $60-$100 more than the same item at Circuit City’s website!

A Circuit City spokesman was contacted by email. At press time we are waiting for a  response (the site will be updated when a response is received). The HDTVs priced are as follows

Model/Store Price/10% Off Price/ “True” Current CCWeb Price

Samsung/PN50A550 $1999.99  $1799.99  $1699.99
Samsung/LN46A550 $1699.99  $1529.99  $1449.99
Samsung/LN52A750 $2999.99  $2699.99  $2699.99
Sony/KDL40V4100  $1399.99  $1259.99  $1199.99
Sony/KDL52XBR6    $3499.99  $3149.99  $3299.99
This week Circuit City (CC) announced the closing of 155 of its stores. The doors of these stores were reopened yesterday (Nov. 5, 2008) for a closeout sale. Hilco Trading is conducting the sale under their sale policies. Visiting a local reopened CC store revealed a “No Return” rule that is markedly different from Circuit City’s previous store policies. Use the information below to help you decide which items you may want to consider purchasing on closeout.

All of the merchandise in the 155 closeout stores is marked down.  Currently, sealed HDTVs are 10% off the Circuit City’s tag price. Video game consoles are at 5% off, DVDs and Blu-ray discs are tagged at 20% off, video/audio cables were at 15% off, DVD/Blu-ray players 10% off and TV stands were at 15% off (the percent discount may increase in the near future, depending on how fast the remaining merchandise moves). A warning: all sales in the closing stores are “FINAL” and all merchandise is sold “As Is”. If you take an item home and encounter a defect, you are only covered by the manufacturer’s warranty; there are no returns, refunds or exchanges. For this reason, the HD GURU highly recommends you confirm a sealed HDTV is undamaged before purchase. If you do not check it first and there is concealed damage, the product probably will not be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Also, beware that under Hilco’s rules, you cannot “power-on” a new HDTV to confirm it is functional before purchase.  This means: if the set is dead when you get it home, you will have to get it repaired under warranty before you can use it. Depending on the maker, parts and service availability, this could take days or weeks.

Open Box and Display Merchandise

All display products are being treated as “open box” currently with the same 10% discount, however, according to the salesperson at CC and confirmed by a Hilco representative, you can try to negotiate with a manager to obtain a lower price. HD Guru suggests you choose the of the make and model you want to purchase before attempting to bargain the price. Also, check out the lowest on-line price for the same model. You can use the HD GURU/Pricegrabber link on the lower left side of this web page.  Different types of HDTVs have different issues concerning demo products. Here are tips for all HDTVs and specifics for plasma, rear projectors and LCD flat panels.

On the back of every HDTV is the date of manufacture. Learn the date. You should assume the TV went up on display shortly thereafter, as the big box retailers tend to get the new merchandise upon release and put it on the floor quickly. Based on Circuit City store hours of operation, you should estimate 400 hours a month use.  Keep in mind all displays are in the brightest “showroom” mode, which minimizes the life of the light source, phosphors in plasmas, fluorescent lights in LCD flat panels, and lamps in rear projectors. According to the CC salesperson, none of the display products have the original boxes or packing materials (more on this later). Verify the demo model has the following parts, if missing, you will have to purchase a replacement at your own expense and you should use this as a bargaining tool. The Owner’s Manual (replacement up to around $50 for the original, though you may be able to download and print off the manufacturers website), Table Stand for flat panels (replacement cost around $300), Power Cord and included cables and accessories (around $10-$50).  Original Box and packing material if you need to ship the TV back to the manufacturer for repair (up to $300 if ordered from the manufacturer). The original factory remote control is required to assure you have access to all functions including service codes (should the set require service adjustments in the future). Check the owner’s manual to assure the remote provided is the same model remote control supplied with the TV (replacement is about $50-$100). Set makers often pack unique remotes for certain models.

Here are the specific caveats for the three types of displays.

LCD

Set makers generally rate the lifespan (to half brightness) of LCD flat panels at 60,000 hours, however these claims are unsubstantiated and one company’s internal test data puts the life at around 15,000-20,000 hours. Therefore, if the demo model is 10 months old, it has already used up about 10%-25% of its lifespan (10 equals about 4,000 hours use). You should bargain the price down accordingly. Make sure you c\Check the surface of the screen for scratches or permanent marring. LCD screens have special surface filters. Screen surfaces are not repairable and require a panel replacement, which costs about the same as replacing the TV.

Plasma

Set makers generally rate plasma lifespan at 60,000-100,000 hours, though this in the lower wearing “home” mode not brighter shorter life “store demo” mode. I guesstimate the lifespan in store demo mode is about one-half the hours (30,000- 50,000). Calculate usage and bargain accordingly based on its remaining life. Also, check for screen scratches and reject the plasma if you see one.

Rear Projectors (DLP)

Check for screen defects (scratches, cracks or marring) and reject the TV if present. Replacing a screen is impractical (estimates cost  $400-$700) and probably isn’t covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. Projection lamps generally have a lifespan of about 2000 to 3000 hours and cost $100-$400 for a bulb replacement module. Manufacturer’s lamp warranties (if any) generally cover bulbs for a short periods after purchase (typically around 1-3 months)

Getting Your Flat Panel Back Home Without Damage

You should never lay down a Plasma and LCD flat on its back or face. If placed this way the glass in the screen can easily crack making the TV useless.  Flat panels should always be upright (even if in the factory carton) supported on the bottom on a flat surface (such as the back seat cushion). If the display is uncrated, it’s best secured mounted on its factory supplied table stand. Have someone hold it so it does not tip and break while transporting it. An alternative transport method, lean the front face of the TV’s bezel against the seat back, cushioning it across the back panel and edges with blankets to protect it. Once properly cushioned and protected, you may use seatbelts or bungee cords to secure in the TV in place. NEVER have anything apply pressure to the screen and never support the TV on the screen. A cracked flat panel is not repairable, as the panel must be replaced. The cost of the new panel and labor will equal or exceed the price of the HDTV.

DVD and Blu-ray Players

Disc players are mechanical devices and wear out based on usage. HD Guru recommends you stay away from a demo model, however, if you must consider one, make sure all functions work properly such as drawer opening and closing, properly, access doors are not broken and all rear jacks are intact. Confirm the inclusion of the owner’s manual and remote control. Remember, name brand Blu-ray players will be available on sale in a few weeks for $149 or less. Good luck.

Copyright ©2008 Gary Merson/HD Guru®  All rights reserved. HD GURU is a registered trademark. The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.

Every HDTV has circuits that will convert the native output of a standard DVD player (480i) to the resolution of your HDTV, (which usually is 720p, 768p or 1080p.) After comparing a number of upconverting and standard output DVD players with name brand HDTVs, I have seen little of no difference in performance upon close examination of movie content or test discs. Wait there’s more.

As seen in the HD Guru tests of 2008 HDTVs, the internal scaling circuits have been upgraded, compared to previous year’s models and are generally superior to the scalers within many upconverting DVD players. Name brand upconverting DVD players sell for around $60-$170 or higher. In addition to the purchase of an upconverting DVD player, you will need to purchase an HDMI cable to send the audio and video from your DVD player to your HDTV and/or surround sound system. Best Buy sells for HDMI cables for around $50-$130 (for a 4-8 foot length). Yes, the price is not a misprint; the cable often costs more than the upconverting DVD player. One should take pause, and consider why a 6-8 foot piece of wire costs more than a DVD player that has a metal case, power supply, laser, lens, motor and circuitry. What should you do?

Buy A Blu-ray Player Instead

After this Thanksgiving, you will be able to purchase name brand Blu-ray players from $149 at various major retailers (with no name brands possibly on-sale as little as $99). Today you can find a Sharp Blu-ray player for $169.99 at the HD GURU/Pricegrabber.com link on the left hand side of this webpage. At amazon.com you can purchase a Sylvania NB500MG9 for $207.92 including shipping and an HDMI cable. Incidentally, Consumer Reports just top-rated this Sylvania Blu-ray player.  In addition to Blu-ray discs, all current Blu-ray players also play standard definition DVDs and can upconvert all DVDs to 1080p.

The Difference Between DVD and Blu-ray Players

If you have never seen a Blu-ray movie on an HDTV, you may be surprised to learn there is far more to Blu-ray image than higher resolution when compared to DVD (the native rez of Blu-ray is 1080p vs. 480i for a DVD). Blu-ray discs hold over 5 to 10 times more information than DVDs and because of this, the transfer speed is far higher than standard def DVDs or broadcast, satellite or cable HD content. The result, a picture virtually free of what is known as “compression artifacts”. In simple terms, the Blu-ray image is far smoother and cleaner than can be achieved by upconverting a  standard definition DVD.  This smooth image looks so much better than any upconverted DVD (especially on a large screen) anyone will immediately notice the improvement.

Versions of Blu-ray Players

There are three versions of Blu-ray players. They are called Profile 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0. The differences are in the special features, not picture quality. Profile 1.0 will play all Blu-ray discs but do not have the “BonusView” feature (it’s included in Profile 1.1) which is a picture-in-picture extra content feature such as the director’s comments in a widow with the movie playing. Profile 2.0 players also include BD-Live so you can access online content, such as clips or future trailers. Of course, you will need a high speed Ethernet connection by the player. Players have different audio output options (regardless of their profile) and you need to check compatibility with the audio format you want to decode. All Blu-ray players handle legacy Dolby Digital 5.1.

There are video quality differences between Blu-ray players, however, they are never nearly as great as the image improvement you’ll see when comparing an upconverted standard DVD and Blu-ray content.

HDMI Cables

Most consumers require an HDMI cable that is 2 meters (6.5 feet) long or less. You can save a lot of money by purchasing an HDMI cable on-line or at a warehouse club or select discount electronics stores. Amazon.com has 6 ft. HDMI cables for as little as $4.47 delivered (97 cents for the cable and $3.50 shipping). Wal-Mart offer a 6 ft. cable for $19.99 at select stores and Fry’s also has them for less than twenty bucks. Contrary to negative claims made by sales persons regarding cheap under 12 foot long HDMI cables, none of the off brand ones tested have yielded less than perfect results.

Recently, a Best Buy clerk falsely claimed to a friend that the Best Buy house brand $50 HDMI cable lacked adequate insulation, and if purchased it instead of their $100 cable name brand HDMI cable, the signal would “leak out” before it reaches his HDTV.

Copyright ©2008 Gary Merson/HD Guru®  All rights reserved. HD GURU is a registered trademark.  The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.