Originally posted by germcevoy:[..]
It has to be one shitty transfer for the blu ray not to look considerably better than the standard dvd. I thought Rattle and Hum looked good on blu ray but its turned out to be the worst looking blu ray I own. I, Robot and I Am Legend show the real potential. Both stunners.
Its not a day and night difference, about 25% better than DVD going through a good upscaler.
And Drew anamorphic widescreen is not an effect, its how the film was shot, it means you're getting the whole picture (its not cropped). Its the exact same way the film was shown in cinemas.
While the black bars are annoying, it helps cover up DVDs resolution disadvantage.
PS: Incidentally, and as if to say 'yes, we really are shameless marketers', Sony have launched Blu-ray 'awareness' ad campaign down here, which makes it seem like you're being cruel to your HDTV if you use it to watch anything other that their $40 discs.