# Blu-Ray Recommendations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002 "2010-02-14T22:23:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/21 "2010-02-16T14:04:38Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I love Band of Brothers. What are the special features? There’s something on there called “In the Field with the Men of Easy Company: Interactive Guides” that is amazing. It’s a timeline at the bottom of the screen that pops up with trivia as the episode goes on. For instance, if a German says something, it translates it. If they’re talking about an assault on a town, it shows a map of the area and how they plan to assault it. When you’re introduced to a character, it shows a picture of the real guy with a small bio. Stuff like that - it’s amazing how much stuff there is on there. Very cool. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/22 "2010-02-16T15:18:09Z")
Whoa! I usually browse the Amazon forums, looking for deals. Someone in the Bluray forum mentioned that Amazon UK has a huge deal on Band of Brothers (blu-ray) right now - $29.98, which includes overseas shipping. That’s the lowest it’s ever been - you can’t hardly find a used copy at that price. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/23 "2010-02-16T16:57:08Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Planet Earth (BBC documentary) > Baraka Planet Earth is a must, of course, but I really quoted this for Baraka. I have a PS3 for playing Blu-Rays and a nice 1080p Plasma and Baraka was absolutely breathtakingly stunning for its entire running time. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/24 "2010-02-16T17:39:09Z")
Danny Boyle’s **Sunshine** looks fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Jorge\_Burrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Jorge\_Burrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge_Burrito)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/25 "2010-02-16T18:23:09Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > There’s also the [BD-P1590](http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/tv-video/blu-ray/blu-ray-players/BD-P1590/XAA/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&returnurl=), which will connect to Netflix, Pandora, Youtube, and Blockbuster, but it won’t play video files like AVIs. When I picked it up after Christmas, it was $150. > > Be wary of cheap Blu-Ray players, though. For some reason mine simply will not play the movie _9_ (I tried with two different discs of the movie), and there may be others it locks up on. Other than that one oddity, though, it’s been great. The value in streaming Netflix to the BR player is not to be underestimated. Check for a firmware update. Even more expensive players are occasionally having problems playing disks. Of course with the more expensive players this gets fixed asap and a new firmware released. This may not be true with cheap players. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/26 "2010-02-16T20:20:29Z")
Here’s the definitive thread on avsforum on the subject: > **[The New PQ Tier Thread for Blu-Ray - Rankings](https://www.avsforum.com/threads/the-new-pq-tier-thread-for-blu-ray-rankings.1168342/)** > > Notice: This is the older, out-of-date version of the list. The active PQ Tiers can be found at the following link: > >   > > Blu-ray Picture Quality Tiers > >   > >   > > Welcome to the Blu-Ray Picture Quality Tier List > > "Oculi plus vident quam... It’s basically a ranked list, updated often, of Blu-ray titles by picture quality alone. Movies are ranked from Tier0 (amazing) through Tier 5.0 (terrible). There’s only about 50 movies on the Tier0 category. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/27 "2010-02-17T01:02:21Z")
I recommend the first two Bond movies – Dr. No and From Russian with Love. The scene with Ursula Andress on the beach in Dr. No, by itself, was worth the price of the blu-ray! After watching these movies in blu-ray it made the DVD versions unwatchable for me. Watching Ironman was also a memorable experience in blu-ray, but be sure to have the surround sound hooked up or you will lose a lot of the experience. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/28 "2010-02-17T02:36:10Z")
**The Corpse Bride** looks _amazing_ on blu-ray. Crystal clear and beautiful colors. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/29 "2010-02-17T03:07:36Z")
See, I have an X-Box. That streams netflix, if I felt like it. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/30 "2010-02-24T00:59:09Z")
> [@amaguri](#): > > Planet Earth is a must, of course, but I really quoted this for Baraka. I have a PS3 for playing Blu-Rays and a nice 1080p Plasma and Baraka was absolutely breathtakingly stunning for its entire running time. With a shout to **Munch** as well, I purchased _Baraka_ on Blu-Ray and was extremely impressed with quality and content. I have Planet Earth on DVD, but if I see it on Blu-Ray, I’ll give it another look. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/31 "2010-02-24T01:21:47Z")
I got Band of Brothers in the mail yesterday. Wow. Just…wow. The AV reviews are that the sound was recorded with something like this in mind (lossless), but it’s still solid. The visuals are fantastic. I started up Part 1 with the special features on, and it was really impressive. Well worth the $30 for 6 discs of an amazing series. I’ve promised myself I won’t get caught up in media collection this time around - but it’s things like this that Netflix just doesn’t work with. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/32 "2010-02-24T01:43:34Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Whoa! I usually browse the Amazon forums, looking for deals. Someone in the Bluray forum mentioned that Amazon UK has a huge deal on Band of Brothers (blu-ray) right now - $29.98, which includes overseas shipping. That’s the lowest it’s ever been - you can’t hardly find a used copy at that price. Aren’t those Region 2 discs, though? Were you able to play them on a US Blu-Ray player? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/33 "2010-02-24T02:40:50Z")
Band of Brothers is region free for some reason (and they even claim a region the amazon site). They play like a charm. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/34 "2010-02-24T04:56:49Z")
All Warner Blu-rays are region free. I’ve imported several from Amazon UK that aren’t available here. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002/35 "2010-03-01T05:08:17Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Whoa! I usually browse the Amazon forums, looking for deals. Someone in the Bluray forum mentioned that Amazon UK has a huge deal on Band of Brothers (blu-ray) right now - $29.98, which includes overseas shipping. That’s the lowest it’s ever been - you can’t hardly find a used copy at that price. Thanks for this recommendation. Band of Brothers isn’t something I’m going to watch over and over again, so I decided against buying it. But the HBO series Rome is something I would like to watch again. So I ordered it from [Amazon.co.uk](http://Amazon.co.uk), for $59 including postage. That compares to $90 had I ordered it from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) or $127 from DeepDiscountDVD. I’m going to have to check what else I might want. It never occurred to me that it might be cheaper to buy stuff from the Amazon UK website. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-recommendations/529002.md?page=1)