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Downloading Blue-Ray Movies Legally In Full Blue-Ray Quality

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I do not have a Blue-Ray player, i do not want to get one. 

 

I want to be able to purchase and download Blu-Ray movies to my computer and play them there,  Linking a HDMI cable to my Projector. 

 

Is there a Site I can Download Blue-Ray Movies from Legally In Full Blue-Ray Quality  


 

 

 

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When you say "Blu-Ray" movies remember that simply means 1080/60p video quality on a disc.  You can purchase and watch 1080/60p movies from Vudu if you have a streaming device like a Roku.  You can also watch or download movies from Vudu on a PC. 

 

Link

 

Vudu is only available in the US though.

 

Todd

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When you say "Blu-Ray" movies remember that simply means 1080/60p video quality on a disc.

 

While streaming services offer 1080P, that's only part of the story.  Bit-rates matter as they basically determine how much compression needs to be used, which is why services like Vudu and Netflix are starting to offer premium level HD services with higher bitrates which still don't match typical Blu-Ray levels (I say this as an UltraHD subscriber with Netflix).   What they also don't offer is Blu-Ray's lossless sound formats like DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD - for surround material they use lossy Dolby Digital 5.1.  If you have an average setup this probably won't matter to you, but if you're picky about such things and have good HT gear you'll definitely care.

 

To the OP - not sure why the "no blu-ray" stipulation.  Decent quality players are pretty inexpensive.  I love my streaming services for casual watching and second-tier movies, but if it's a reference quality movie I'll still buy the physical Blu-Ray disk and stick it in the player.  If that last nudge of quality is not at issue or for casual viewing, streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO-GO, Vudu... are great.  But they're still not Blu-Ray quality.

 

Scott

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If you have an average setup this probably won't matter to you, but if you're picky about such things and have good HT gear you'll definitely care.

 

Scott

 

I am very picky about video and audio quality and do have quality HT gear.  My response to the OP was only intended to give basic information.

 

Todd

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Thank you all for the Replies   :hi:

 

The little person of the house has an X-Box 1 and having been playing Blu Rays off it for the last couple of days and I'm very happy,  they look fantastic.   

 

So ill be eating my own words and purchasing a dedicated Blu Ray player.

 

Blu Ray movies are so cheep now,  I bought Gravity,  American Sniper and Intersteller for 30 Euro !!  3 of my most favorite movies 


 

 

 

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I think that's a good choice, Elaine.  Blu Ray is still the highest quality available, and I doubt we'll see a legal service featuring full quality Blu Ray downloads due to copy protection issues.

 

Haven't seen American Sniper so can't comment but the other two are certainly excellent in the video quality department on BR disc.  Gravity, in particular, is a visual and sonic treat!  The cinematography is simply astounding.

 

Scott

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Blu Ray movies are so cheep now,  I bought Gravity,  American Sniper and Intersteller for 30 Euro !!

Elaine. Is that 30 Euros for all three or each? If for all which site do you use?


Ray (Cheshire, England).
System: P3D v5.3HF2, Intel i9-13900K, MSI 4090 GAMING X TRIO 24G, Crucial T700 4Tb M.2 SSD, Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero, 32Gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000Mhz RAM, Win 11 Pro 64-bit, BenQ PD3200U 32” UHD monitor, Fulcrum One yoke.
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Hey Ray,  

 

My local shop (Golden Disks) are selling certain Blu Ray movies for 10 Euros each.

 

I priced Gravity and Intersteller on Amazon.co.uk + 2 day Delivery to Ireland,  it was working out at 29 Euros,  still a good price though for 2 Blu Ray movies Delivered and all. 


 

 

 

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Like other people said, currently there is no streaming option available that will compare to the disk versions.   Basically you would need to stream around 20ish gigs per 2h movie as uncompressed blu ray.  Streamers like itunes/netflix/amazon etc. compress to about 5-6 gb for 1080p. This is enough for the average person that watches in an badly lit living room with an uncalibrated tv and no special soround sound. But as soon as you are somewhat serious about watching movies this is not enough. 

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Thanks Elaine. I suppose taking inflation into account the Amazon prices aren't too bad but I still feel there is an excessive premium for Blu-Ray. How much extra does it cost to create over a standard DVD. Not that much I think. Wait until 4K ones start. Those will be silly money.


Ray (Cheshire, England).
System: P3D v5.3HF2, Intel i9-13900K, MSI 4090 GAMING X TRIO 24G, Crucial T700 4Tb M.2 SSD, Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero, 32Gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000Mhz RAM, Win 11 Pro 64-bit, BenQ PD3200U 32” UHD monitor, Fulcrum One yoke.
Cheadle Hulme Weather

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You will not get the quality of blu-ray in a download or streaming version. You need a BR player to get the full quality and impact of a well done BR disk.

 

I stream many movies from Netflix, Amazon and others and even if I stream a 4k movie it will not look as good as the BR version. So I use streaming for average everyday movies but for movies like "The Reverent" I rent the BR and watch that version.

 

I use my original PlayStation 3 for BR.


Paul Grubich 2017 - Professional texture artist painting virtual aircraft I love.
Be sure to check out my aged cockpits for the A2A B-377, B-17 and Connie at Flightsim.com and Avsim library

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Thanks Elaine. I suppose taking inflation into account the Amazon prices aren't too bad but I still feel there is an excessive premium for Blu-Ray. How much extra does it cost to create over a standard DVD. Not that much I think. Wait until 4K ones start. Those will be silly money.

 

Hmm... I've been doing the HT thing since back in the days when laserdisc was the format of choice for videophiles.  A current LD title was generally in the $40-$50 range back then - or more for premium releases like the Criterion Collection discs.  When DVD's first came out the early quality was pretty poor until better compression tools became available but the prices were dramatically lower and over time the quality was greatly improved.  Then came the first Blu Rays which were pretty doggone expensive, and players even more so, but over time the prices have dropped to where the typical Blu Ray is in the same price range as DVD's originally were, without even adjusting for inflation.  Adjust for inflation and they're a bargain.  Delay gratification and wait until a title leaves the "recent releases" category and prices drop even further.

 

Bottom line is - for me the quality determines the value and by that measure (and especially compared to previous tech) the value is solid.

 

Scott

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Like other people said, currently there is no streaming option available that will compare to the disk versions.   Basically you would need to stream around 20ish gigs per 2h movie as uncompressed blu ray.  Streamers like itunes/netflix/amazon etc. compress to about 5-6 gb for 1080p. This is enough for the average person that watches in an badly lit living room with an uncalibrated tv and no special soround sound. But as soon as you are somewhat serious about watching movies this is not enough. 

 

Blu-ray isn't an uncompressed format. It's encoded as H264 or VC-1 which is a lossy format (compressed), not lossless (uncompressed).

 

A recent Blu-ray remastering of X-Files stated the uncompressed versions of each episode came out to around 480 GB (after editing). Far beyond the size of the Blu-ray disc it comes on. 

 

The Netflix or iTunes version is way too pixelated for my liking though.

 

When you say "Blu-Ray" movies remember that simply means 1080/60p video quality on a disc

 

Most Hollywood Blu-ray discs are 1080p/24p. The 24p is the framerate of the movie, not the quality of the disc (usually measured in bitrate). Blu-ray is has a maximum bitrate of 40 Mbps. Resolution doesn't always equal quality, especially if the bitrate is really low (see streaming services).

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Scott,

 

I think there may be greater competition in the US than the UK. That will drive down prices.

 

Ten years ago I was paying 12UKP (18USD approx) for a DVD. Today they're 10UKP which is a big price drop. Take Star Wars: The Force Awakens. DVD = 10UKP, Blu-Ray 15UKP. Or I can rent it via LoveFilm for a monthly sub of 9UKP.

 

To me it makes sense to rent rather than buy. I agree the quality is a lot better with the disc than streaming and as I have home cinema (DD5.1) and a 42" plasma I may consider renting. I have around 100 DVDs many of which I haven't watched in ages but the quality on a 720p screen is very close to a HD Sky broadcast.


Ray (Cheshire, England).
System: P3D v5.3HF2, Intel i9-13900K, MSI 4090 GAMING X TRIO 24G, Crucial T700 4Tb M.2 SSD, Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero, 32Gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000Mhz RAM, Win 11 Pro 64-bit, BenQ PD3200U 32” UHD monitor, Fulcrum One yoke.
Cheadle Hulme Weather

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