A not really Blu-Ray movie
I came across a table full of “Blu-ray” movies in a shopping centre in Bangkok. The price was 180 baht for each. The markings were Japanese. Each movie had soundtrack in English (among other languages).
When I asked the guy in the shop he said it was not really Blu-Ray, it was a lift from Blu-Ray to DVD 9.
A lift? Blu-Ray has a lot more data capacity than a dual layer DVD disk. So some serious compression must go on to fit a 1080 high definition movie on the DVD disk. But the cover specifically said it was 1080 HD.
I bought a movie to compare. I chose Starship Troopers because I had an old copy on traditional DVD 5 at home.
Comparing side by side on my uber-Mac I could easily tell the difference. The quasi-Blu-Ray played on the whole screen 1920 wide and 1080 high. The quality was impressive, much better than the old DVD movie I compared with.
I have not compared with real Blu-Ray since they don’t sell that in Bangkok yet and I don’t have a player for it. From the demos I have seen in shops the real thing is probably a bit better still. But this poor man’s Blue-Ray was not bad.
What is the deal with this quasi-Blu-Ray? Is it legal and official? I guess it can’t be at these prices. Did anyone compare quality side by side with real Blu-Ray?