HD? who needs it...

There is a huge difference between dvd and blue ray, even to my old eyes, and that's why I bought a PS3 when I bought my new hi-def TV. I was also prompted by the knowledge that the format debate was finally over with the clear winner being blue ray. One trip to the local retailer should tell anyone that blue ray is poised to move more into the mainstream. Really, I think Toshiba is just wasting their time.
 
Personally I don't think BluRay has any serious legs.
I seriously doubt we'll ever see it reach the saturation of something like VHS or DVD.
 
I was thrilled when cds came on the scene....great sound, no scratches or pops....then mp3 hit the fan and became the standard for sound.
The quality of reproduction took a back seat to marketing and portability....go figure.
Having said that, I recently upgraded my video card to a 1g dual head Geforce.
My dvds look really really good now through my pcs dvd drive and Media center.
I think dvds have a lot of life left.
 
I have no problem investing in Blu-Ray discs. I figure it's improved picture quality with not too much of a price premium. And I still have Laserdiscs that I enjoy, so if Blu-Ray isn't the next DVD that doesn't really decrease the value of the content in my eyes.
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Personally I don't think BluRay has any serious legs.
I seriously doubt we'll ever see it reach the saturation of something like VHS or DVD.
Click to expand...

the problem is price. the players cost hundreds of dollars and movies cost twice as much. it's just not worth it right now.
 
krestofre said:
I have no problem investing in Blu-Ray discs. I figure it's improved picture quality with not too much of a price premium. And I still have Laserdiscs that I enjoy, so if Blu-Ray isn't the next DVD that doesn't really decrease the value of the content in my eyes.
Click to expand...

Good point - and a good comparison.
I think Blu Ray is going to wind up roughly where Laser Discs did.
They had their niche with the audio/videophiles and specialty film crowd - but they never went mainstream. They might have...but DVD came in and stole all the thunder.

ugafan said:
it's just not worth it right now.
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Exactly my point - and by the time it is worth it....(as with Laserdisc) it won't be worth it.
Just my guess anyhow.
 
I think comparing Bluray to DVD is much more similar than comparing DVD to Laserdisc.

Bluray discs are about the same price as DVD's when they first came out. The HD experience is pretty amazing. Plus the Bluray players are backwards compatible with DVD's (and CD's) AND they up-rez DVD's to 1080P (which those TV's are becoming more common in households). The prices will come down and I think all of this will attract many current DVD consumers (and "collectors") to upgrade. However, I think this path will not reach as far as the DVD frenzy has, only because I think media will be going more and more in the direction of online delivery. Not sure if a solid-state form of media will replace Bluray in the meantime.

We're living in some very interesting times where things are changing faster and faster.
 
Dont' get me wrong - I wasn't trying to say BluRay doesn't look great.
It absolutely does - I see the demos playing everytime my wife and I go to Costco and it blows my mind.

All I was saying was I don't think it'll catch on at the level of VHS or DVD.
The article that shows the phenomenal growth says the format is on track to capture 40-50% of all disc sales by 2012....
but notice they're talking in terms of 100% of disc sales.
The thing they don't mention is that disc sales overall are falling.
So 50% of 100% in 2012 is not going to mean the same as 50% of disc sales in 2008.

Anyhow - just my 2 cents.
 
I'm a huge blu-ray fan (was an hd-dvd fan, but that didnt go so well)... I netflix so there's no media to invest in. Not many movies I like enough to actually purchase. And those that I do just always like to have around to watch (Legally Blonde and such...) I'll upgrade along with whatever player is the next best thing. Personally I cant wait til Netflix and its competitors get thier online streaming stuff in HD and have a good selection. I'm tempted to get one of those Roku boxes, but the content is SD for now and there's not that great of a selection. Still tempted though - 99 bucks and I'm already paying the subscription fee.
 
DC said:
I think comparing Bluray to DVD is much more similar than comparing DVD to Laserdisc.

Bluray discs are about the same price as DVD's when they first came out. The HD experience is pretty amazing. Plus the Bluray players are backwards compatible with DVD's (and CD's) AND they up-rez DVD's to 1080P (which those TV's are becoming more common in households). The prices will come down and I think all of this will attract many current DVD consumers (and "collectors") to upgrade. However, I think this path will not reach as far as the DVD frenzy has, only because I think media will be going more and more in the direction of online delivery. Not sure if a solid-state form of media will replace Bluray in the meantime.

We're living in some very interesting times where things are changing faster and faster.
Click to expand...

Perfect thought there. I like my blu-ray but definitely agree with everyone that the way things are going, the complexion of things could and probably will be very different in five years. On this note, does anyone else think there could be a huge backlash if standards or formats keep changing the way they do and as quickly as they do? I love electronic toys, obviously, but it keeps getting harder and harder to convince my wife as to why we need the next generation of any given media. I nearly needed the medics when she said to go ahead and get the PS3 because she swore up and down we would never have a new gaming system in the house.
 
Brandon Rice said:
I predict we'll be using solid state media, much like the Ipod and have HD quality video... in 5-6 years.
Click to expand...

HA! that's optimistic. it's been 3 years and look at how little blu-ray has penetrated. So in 5-6 years when the general populous is getting used to idea of HD everything, you think they'll just drop everything and go to a solid-state media? Not to mention trying to teach grandma how to plug in an ipod via USB to her HDTV and navigate the interactive menu to find her digitally downloaded movies ... i know what she'll say "Can't I just stick it in and push play?" You should hear the horror stories i get from Marie about the people being pissed about having to buy the DTV boxes for 2009 at Best Buy.

The technology will be there, will people use it? probably not.

I think what Toshiba (while in a "quality" sense ... is a step back) is a smart move. "Hey, them DVDs are going to look like poo-poo on your brand new HDTV, get this, you won't have to throw all your DVDs away." Ka-ching.
 
It's not really an all or nothing thing though. Physical media will still be around, but it won't have the dominance of VHS or DVD because there will be more options. If people still want a physical disc they can go to the store and buy it. But people will also have streaming and downloading options as well.


-A
 
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