I bought the same best blue ray movie best buy had for display and it has a realistic look to it. I then purchased the same movie, but at home it doesnt have the realistic touch to it. Why is it? Does it have to do with the tv and best blue ray settings?
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It could be many things. Best Buy probably had a very different setup than you, from blu-ray player, to HDMI cable, to HDTV, including the settings for each.
First of all, make sure you have your blu-ray player hooked up with an HDMI cable, or component if your HDTV has no HDMI connection. Then make sure your blu-ray player is set to output the resolution of your HDTV, whether it’s 1080p, 1080i, or 720p.
On your HDTV you can change the settings as well, as they usually have many viewing “modes”. Best Buy, like most retailers, usually have their display TVs set to “vivid” mode because that gives images the most pop. That’s not my personal preference for viewing, because I find it very unnatural as well, but give it a try to see if that gives your movie the look you want. Your best bet is to play with the settings manually, until you find what looks best to you.
There’s alot that goes into the quality of picture. Concerning equipment, you get what you pay for. If you have a $75 blu ray player, expect a $75 picture on your expensive tv. Samsung, LG, Oppo make quality players that run $200 or more. The difference between cheaper and pricier models are things like “jagging”- when diagonal lines are produced like “stair steps”, moire (blurring of fast motion objects), etc.
If you don’t have HDMI, the next best option is component, which has the capability of running at 1080p. Match it with a digital coax or optical cable for sound. However, component is not a digital connection, thus cable quality is essential.
Next is connections to your receiver and/or tv. Any HDMI cable is preferred. Don’t let anyone try and tell you there’s any difference in the $100 one and the $5 one on amazon. HDMI sends signals digitally (1’s and 0’s) so there’s no in between… Either the receiver got the 1/0, or the signal was lost, and you’ll know the difference, when you don’t get a picture!
As said with the blu ray player, TV quality is essential as well; if it cannot reproduce colors correctly, you will lose alot of the life-likeness you want to achieve. In your tv, go into the settings while your blu ray player input is selected. Go through all of your available options, such as brightness/contrast, sharpness, etc. and calibrate it to your likings. After all, you are the best critic for your own TV!
If you aren’t yet comfortable doing these things, there are alot of online tutorials, just google what you want to find out, and there’s ample resources available. Best Buy’s Geek Squad offers a service of calibrating this for you, but with a little inspiration and ingenuity, you can save yourself $150, or however much they rip you off for.