So the HDMI cables came today (as referenced in TANcast 235) and I was able to hook up my Blu-Ray player to my HDTV. I watched my first Blu-Ray disc on it and I watched a regular DVD on it. (I made sure to wear my glasses so that I could appreciate the high definition). I have to say I was impressed, not blown away, but impressed. The Blu-Ray I chose was Marvel’s The Avengers. I didn’t watch the whole thing, just some of the special features and the final battle. One thing I noticed right away was that I could see the tiny aliens in the background pretty clearly. Then I put in Return of the Jedi on standard DVD and it looked pretty crisp.

Yup…That was neat. I dunno if it really WAS greater quality or if I convinced myself it was because I know how much money, time and effort from my family and friends went into this upgrade. I mean I ASKED for this as a birthday present. Well, to be fair, I asked for “the cheapest Blu-Ray player you can find” but my mom interpreted that a little differently. Then my wife decided that would be a great excuse to upgrade our TV. Even Noah and Geoff helped out. (Geoff even helped move our HEAVY old TV while I was at work. Big ups to Geoff!) I feel like I received far more than I deserved…so I’d BETTER be enjoying the **** out of it. So I say that image has never looked better.

I gotta admit, I didn’t make this upgrade because I wanted higher image quality. I made the upgrade because they seem to be making all the special features I like exclusive to Blu-Ray. The deleted scenes and gag real for Avengers? Only on Blu-Ray. The deleted scenes for The Muppets? Only on Blu-Ray. I keep seeing it over and over, and it sucks. I didn’t want to switch. I fought this as long as I could. There was nothing wrong with the picture quality up ’til now. But congratulations, corporate Hollywood. You broke this miserly old curmudgeon who wasn’t gonna waste perfectly good money on a entertainment “upgrade.” And that’s part of the problem, I feel guilty for forcing my friends and family to buy what I was too high and mighty to buy for myself. (These are the neurotic thoughts that flow though my goofy brain on a daily basis)

But you know what? It’s here, it’s set up, and I love it. Just like the iPhone and the iPod before it, I fought it but there was really no good reason. I’ve got plenty of good stuff in my immediate future. I’m looking forward to jumping on the Netflix bandwagon since we can now watch Netflix streaming through our Blu-Ray player. I’m looking forward to watching the other Blu-Rays I got for my birthday: Wreck-It-Ralph, Casino Royale, and The Shawshank Redemption. I’m also looking forward to hearing what other movies look AMAZING on Blu-Ray. Any suggestions? (Fair warning: anyone who says “Transformers” will be ignored)