Best way to view Dragon Ball (and anime in general...)

[Takkun]

Which video player is the best way to view Dragon Ball, in terms of video quality? Right now i use VLC, but I've read somewhere that it sorta takes away from the video, especially when viewing DVDs like the Dragon Boxes.

[eledoremassis02]

Windows Media player classic works pretty nicely. Although I noticed sometimes it looks like it has a DNR filter in it so the video can be a bit smooth looking.

However, I think an HD TV works best (and CRT with VHS's)

[Fizzer]

I usually use Windows Media Player, but whenever I watch on a DVD player and decent TV (this isn't usually convenient for me) I think "Wow, this looks really nice!".

[soulnova]

Best way to view Dragon Ball

With a glass of Lambrusco wine (and anime in general...).

[Takkun]

So would you guys prefer Windows Media Player over VLC?

[VegettoEX]

On DVD on a nice big old tube TV. No other way to do it!

[penguintruth]

A fourth gen copy of a VHS fansub by Anime Labs on an old TV while correcting the subtitles with transcripts of the manga and clutching a Bebi-Vegeta figure while waiting for a clip of Goku getting hit in the junk by Super Android 13 to download over a dial-up modem.

[Daimakku]

On DVD on a nice big old tube TV. No other way to do it!

Yeah, if you have the series on DVD, watching it like they did back when it first broadcasted is the best. Meaning with a CRT TV. Except now the image will look even better than back then.

My CRT TV still works, but I can't change the source since my TV's IR receiver isn't working anymore, so I can't use my DVD player there. Gotta watch DBZ on my LCD monitor now. Still good, but not as nostalgic.

As for your question Takkun, I don't have any problems with VLC Player at all. Though if you want to try something else, try Media Player Classic- Home Cinema (MPC-HC for short). It's as good as VLC player in my opinion.

You could also try Windows Media Center (not Windows Media Player) if your Windows has it. It's also good.

[eledoremassis02]

I'd choose Windows Media over VLC. VLC seems to not give the greatest picture like it used to :/

I forgot how good VHS looked on CRT TV's. I just played Arrival the other day and it looks better than the DVD, although thats not too hard lol.

[omegalucas]

Media Player Classic (with the Combined Community Codec Pack). Easy to configure, nice image, reads EVERYTHING (though I'm using the ffdshow video decoder for the Power Rangers DVDs instead of MPC's own decoder because of the closed captions).

[Gyt Kaliba]

I normally watch it, and anything (anime or otherwise) on my Windows Media Player on my laptop. I've just gotten so used to watching things on it, with headphones plugged in, that it's almost weird to me to watch DVDs on TV now. Not entirely though - I still watch a decent amount of regular TV on the TV, so that balances it out I guess.

[Daimakku]

I just played Arrival the other day and it looks better than the DVD, although thats not too hard lol.

Are you saying VHSs look better than DVDs, even on CRT TVs? I don't know if I can agree with that. VHS looks like crap. The jump from VHS to DVD was greater than the jump from DVD to high-def, in my opinion. VHS tapes are just so crappy. The only redeeming quality of them is that you can record stuff on them for storage easily. I still got some tapes where I recorded DBZ from when it aired on Toonami. But the audio is just so quiet now that you can barely hear it anymore. I have no need for them now that I got all the Dragonboxes though.

Media Player Classic (with the Combined Community Codec Pack). Easy to configure, nice image, reads EVERYTHING

MPC-HC with the CCCP is indeed awesome. I use both MPC-HC and VLC, but I still can't decide which one I should stick with. Although for some .mkv videos I have with both english and japanese audio options, VLC can switch between the two easily, but MPC-HC doesn't seem to recognize the secondary audio, just the primary one. The option is just not there. So that's a point down for MPC-HC.

[omegalucas]

Although for some .mkv videos I have with both english and japanese audio options, VLC can switch between the two easily, but MPC-HC doesn't seem to recognize the secondary audio, just the primary one. The option is just not there. So that's a point down for MPC-HC.

The same happens with subtitles, that's true, but you can still switch the audio and subtitles using the "A" and "S" keys on your keyboard, respectively.
VLC has the advantage of (unnaturaly) raising the volume digitally though that reduces the quality of the sound.

[Smochi]

Right now for me, it's my orange bricks on a flat screen TV, wrapped up in two fluffy blankets, with a mug of Tazo Refresh tea.

[Daimakku]

Although for some .mkv videos I have with both english and japanese audio options, VLC can switch between the two easily, but MPC-HC doesn't seem to recognize the secondary audio, just the primary one. The option is just not there. So that's a point down for MPC-HC.

The same happens with subtitles, that's true, but you can still switch the audio and subtitles using the "A" and "S" keys on your keyboard, respectively.
VLC has the advantage of (unnaturaly) raising the volume digitally though that reduces the quality of the sound.

It works! Thanks! I just played those same .mkv files in both VLC and MPC-HC at the same time and MPC-HC wins in terms of more color vibrancy and making the blacks look blacker than VLC, but VLC renders the subtitles way better. In MPC-HC they look very blurry, in VLC the text pops out really nicely.

I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too.

[BluezaBladeNZ]

Lately, it has been the Dragon Boxes via PS3 on my 40" Full HDTV but I would love to get another old CRT TV just for the more nostalgic look, just isn't the same on an HDTV.

[Pretorious]

Lately, it has been the Dragon Boxes via PS3 on my 40" Full HDTV but I would love to get another old CRT TV just for the more nostalgic look, just isn't the same on an HDTV.

I don't have an HDTV, but doesn't watching SD video like DVDs on them make the video look pixelly? When I watch my Dragon Boxes on my computer vs. my 15" CRT TV, the TV looks vastly better. The picture is smoother and much more vibrant. Even when I try to optimize color/contrast on my computer, the TV still reproduces the colors and brightness better and with less effort (though some of this may be because I am not good at adjusting my monitor).

I'm a big fan of watching video on displays they were meant for. That is why when I do get an HDTV, I'm going to keep a CRT TV for my old video games, VHS, and DVDs.

[BluezaBladeNZ]

I don't have an HDTV, but doesn't watching SD video like DVDs on them make the video look pixelly? When I watch my Dragon Boxes on my computer vs. my 15" CRT TV, the TV looks vastly better. The picture is smoother and much more vibrant. Even when I try to optimize color/contrast on my computer, the TV still reproduces the colors and brightness better and with less effort (though some of this may be because I am not good at adjusting my monitor).

I'm a big fan of watching video on displays they were meant for. That is why when I do get an HDTV, I'm going to keep a CRT TV for my old video games, VHS, and DVDs.

Depends on the player. It looks crap if it's played via a standard DVD player with AV leads as it's only outputted at 480i, but if it's played by something like a PS3 with an HDMI cable, the picture is significantly better as it's been nicely upscaled to 1080p. I think that would be because the computer has more pixels being shown so you see more of the detail, whereas a CRT TV only shows up to at least 640x480 pixels so it's not as apparent. I'm not entirely sure how it works but it's just what I know.

[Pretorious]

Depends on the player. It looks crap if it's played via a standard DVD player with AV leads as it's only outputted at 480i, but if it's played by something like a PS3 with an HDMI cable, the picture is significantly better as it's been nicely upscaled to 1080p.

Ohhhh, I didn't know DVDs could be upscaled like that. I don't know very much about video technology. Now I want to see what the Dragon Boxes look like on such a setup.

I apologize if this is off-topic, but is there a way to upscale old school video games on an HDTV, too?

[Gokuden]

On Blu-ray player with 24p and 16 bit color depth settings.