Is there any point in watchin blu rays on a 720p TV?

[berg]

Thought of buyin my dad a Bluray player so can lend him lot of films I have but he only has a 780p tv, so am i right in thinking is pointless or will a blu ray in 780 still be a reasonable upgrade ver a DVD?  

[stealthwolf]

I watch blu-rays on 720p (at a time when 1080i was the best you could get). It'll be fine. Get a player that upscales DVDs too.

[Andy]

My lass can't tell the difference  on any tv

[berg]

My lass can't tell the difference  on any tv

lol, i can tell the difference between a good blu ray and a dvd but was not sure how much it was down to the 1080 tv and a god HDMI cable?

[Andy]

A good cable does make a difference

[Hedge]

Not with HDMI it doesn't.

[rich83]

Im not convinced by "good cables" when digital is concerned. If the signal is being transmitted and received without error, then in theory a cable will not make a difference.

[stealthwolf]

There have been tests showing that for audio and video, 99% can't tell the difference between cheapo and more expensive cables.

[mad_pete]

Cable quality makes no difference unless you are running them crazy distances. It's digital.  It's either a 1 or it's not. You don't get a better class of 1 on better cables.

[Saintsteve]

Not with HDMI it doesn't.

Are you sure Ian?  

Depending on which tv and spec the tv is, then there are differences in hdmi picture quality using a better version..

To the purist , it's noticeable, but like joe public , will find it harder to spot or worry about any difference.

come across this on a daily basis as part of my job installing, so I disagree with people saying there isn't any difference.

[Hedge]

Yes Steve. 

A 1's a 1 and a 0 is a 0. You may get some attenuation depending on the distance but that's it.

[Saintsteve]

To answer this question properly....

For a regular customer with a LCD/LED, 3DTV or others, a premium HDMI cable can make an impression of offering more visual quality than a regular one based on his former experience with analog SCART and Component connectors. While it is true that a gold plated premium HDMI is superior to a regular one, it is however so in ways that don't matter that much around consumer electronics - probably the most notable one being maximum bandwidth. While a regular HDMI can achieve maximum transfers of about 10 Gbit/s, a premium one can go as far as 17 Gbit/s or even more. Also, such cables are usually more durable.
Taking into account that a regular HD stream on Freeview uses about 20 Mbit/s (eg. about 500x less than a regular HDMI can theoretically transfer), it is quite clear that even a regular HDMI that meets the official HDMI specifications is quite sufficient by itself.
Conclusion

Although there are applications where a premium gold plated HDMI is advantageous or even required (for professional grade electronics), a regular cheap HDMI is able to offer EXACTLY the same picture quality - meaning lossless. The sales staff in a shop might tell you differently, but then again, sales staff in a shop is paid to sell products.

In other words, there is a difference but it's not worth worrying about  
 

[Hedge]

Come on Steve give us your final answer. 

[rich83]

Yes Steve. 

A 1's a 1 and a 0 is a 0. You may get some attenuation depending on the distance but that's it.

Cooooooorrect!!
 
And providing those 1s and 0s make it to the TV, its a physical impossibility for there to be any difference in A/V quality.

Heck.. i wired up some speakers with very cheap 6amp twin core copper power cable... and they sound superb! 

[Baz300]

The gadget show done a test on the premium HDMI cables vs the supermarket £5 ones and couldn't notice a notable difference between them