Great points David, I completely agree with you. And not only that but there's certainly enough catalog content out there now -- and with some independent labels like Synapse and others starting to enter the fray -- that I would jump onboard if you've got an HDTV and a screen over, say, 27 inches or thereabouts.

I just noticed some unusual offbeat, older fare like THE STRANGER and KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL are coming on Blu next month, and cheap too. So it looks like some of the indie labels are starting to show an interest in the format, which is nothing but a good thing as we move forward.

I think if anyone ever saw our main den they'd see the problems I face. Our set while not standard-def is only 27 inches because that's the only size that can fit into a giant wall unit against the wall that was designed for the size of a standard set and we can't remove that unit ever. With two combo DVD/VCRs, an ancient VCR that I need to play back the tapes I transfer with greater reliability, and a region-free DVD player for the foreign releases I have there is no more room for an additional player that would serve no useful purpose except for a limited number of catalog titles that I know don't get as much play time as the vintage TV material and other stuff that comes from non-commercial DVD-R material in my collection.

Eric Paddon wrote:I think if anyone ever saw our main den they'd see the problems I face. Our set while not standard-def is only 27 inches because that's the only size that can fit into a giant wall unit against the wall that was designed for the size of a standard set and we can't remove that unit ever. With two combo DVD/VCRs, an ancient VCR that I need to play back the tapes I transfer with greater reliability, and a region-free DVD player for the foreign releases I have there is no more room for an additional player that would serve no useful purpose except for a limited number of catalog titles that I know don't get as much play time as the vintage TV material and other stuff that comes from non-commercial DVD-R material in my collection.

A flatscreen HD of your choice has a LOT less bulk to it than the TV you're probably using. You might be shocked what you can get away with.

You can usually get the old TV taken out and removed and the new one installed. It's called white glove service and it's either for a minimal extra fee or some outlets pop it for you on the sale as a courtesy.

No, I think you misunderstand. Our TV is a new HD model but it can't be bigger than 27 inches for the space we have down here. Any bigger and it would be crammed into a furniture wall unit that would be impossible to access with all the additional cables that are needed to connect to the various recorders and machines I use. The unit was designed to handle a large sized old TV if we ever wanted one but it wasn't built with the idea of giant sized HD's in mind hence the reason why we have to in order to have an HD TV go with a smaller sized set.

Eric can't you put the TV somewhere else??

The other thing is that at 27 inches, you really can't see 1080p resolution. If you're staying at that size, I wouldn't recommend going with Blu-ray.

27 is perfectly good for your standard def DVDs, and you're absolutely right that with the DVDs you've already seen a pretty good jump in PQ from the older VHS tapes.

I've had several HDTVs at different sizes. Oddly enough the biggest "jump" I think there is between distinguishing HDTV and SD is between a 27' and a '32. I had a 27' for a couple of weeks, it was my first HDTV, but after it started glitching with its power supply I returned it to Amazon and tried a 32'. The difference was absolutely striking -- now granted, the larger you go from there, the more appreciable the differences, but none of them seemed to be that much of a separation as the 27' and the '32. At '32 you really can sense the differences, and it just seems that much larger than a '27.

Right now I have a '37 LCD in our bedroom and a '50 plasma in the living room. That seems about right for our living space.

I actually started with a smaller than 9" Black and White portable. When I graduated, I picked up a 19" Toshiba, which lasted me about 11 years before the tube went. Then moved on to a Sharp 22" LCD widescreen, which I keep in my bedroom, and which has been very useful for watching anamorphic film transfers. 4+ years ago, I picked up the 40" Sony LCD HDTV for the living room and noticed a profound upgrade in PQ. I now have an opportunity to upgrade to a current 65" plasma 3D HDTV, which will hopefully occur in about 6 weeks.

I've been told that at 40", I still cannot see some of the PQ issues that plague some Blu-rays - especially DNR misapplication.