Barry_Green
Moderator
And that's the point. What is the big advantage of the high-def player? To whom does that advantage apply? It's to the studios. Not to the consumer.
High-def DVD players are a product that the manufacturers want you to buy, not a product that the consumers want to buy. There's not all that much in it for the consumer, but there's a massive incentive for the manufacturer.
I'm not all that sure we're looking at DVD vs. VHS here (i.e., high-def DVD supplanting regular DVD); I suspect we might be looking at LaserDisc vs. VHS here. Or DIVX vs. DVD.
And yet, it is the only logical solution.
Where there are millions (even billions) of customers, a solution will present itself, of that I have no doubt. But the future is download, not disc. :thumbsup:
Perhaps. But in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. High-def disc will have a bit of a day, but it's years away from making substantial inroads.
Y'know what I find fascinating about the whole high-def disc business? Movies are perhaps the format that lends itself *least* to the high-def "wow" factor! Okay, I know I lost some of you, so stick with me... what's the big thing about the look of movies, as so many of our users are trying to accomplish? The out-of focus backgrounds, etc. Well, out-of-focus looks the same on HD as it does on SD.
Where do you really get the "wow" factor of HD? When everything's in focus. Sports. I can't stand watching SD sports anymore, it's gotta be HD. Sports and wide landscape nature vistas. That's where HD excels.
The value for movies? Not as much. Sure they look better, but not as much better as a football game does. Let me try to say it another way: the perceived quality difference between SD sports and HD sports is much higher than the perceived quality difference between DVD movies and high-def DVD movies. If that makes sense.
Not that it matters much, but I'm using it to point out why Joe Consumer hasn't exactly beaten down the doors to buy high-def disc players. I mean, "Casino Royale" was the top-selling high-def disc for the week ended April 23, 2007. It sold 59,680 copies. That same week "Happy Feet" sold FOUR MILLION DVDs.
That's why I wonder if these next-gen players aren't more likely to be the next-gen LaserDisc, bought by a few, appreciated by a few, but largely ignored by the masses while the masses waited for the next thing: DVD. High-def discs might be bought by a few and appreciated by a few, but largely ignored by the masses until fiber-optic cable rolls out and we get realtime on-demand high-def downloads. And when that happens, disc sales will suffer in the same way that audio disc sales suffered in the face of downloadable music. Won't disappear, obviously, but will decline significantly.
