Is Blu Ray really going to take off?

[Symarip]

I just don't see it happening and I'm a complete tech junkie. I've debated buying a Blu Ray player since Circuit City is going out of business, but I can't bring myself to do it because I don't see the advantage to having one. I have an HD DVD player and yes, the picture is stunning, but I only purchased one because it was already a dead technology and therefore, cheap.

I have three big concerns when it comes to Blu Ray. First, the capability of the technology demands that the consumer buys yet another tv in order to fully unleash it's output. The world is already moaning over having to switch over to HD (720p, I believe). Why whould the consumer want to upgrade again? Second, I have a feeling that digital downloads in the next few years will become the new standard (though I prefer having physical copies of anything I buy). If you have a cheap service like netflix and a device, like an xbox, that allows you to instantly view a movie, why would you want to buy an expensive player and expensive media to go along with it? Makes no sense. Thirdly, standard DVD players can upscale cheap dvd's to near 1080 quality. Why pay for hamburger when the cow is free?

Blu Ray fans, help me out. Is it worth buying another media player and do you think the format isn't going to go belly up? I have a strong feeling it is.

[rcrush]

1. It will

Once Blu Ray DVD's get cheaper. Plus you get the PS3 and the BLU Ray in one which is why I have one. Also HD TV's are going down in price and should be dirt cheap come this holiday season so sales should still be good. HD Is going to be the new standard soon and eventually DVD's will be standard in high def. They are just a little pricey right now same as when regular DVD's came out. The downloads will be strong to but there are a lot of people that prefer physical disks media and will just prefer buying DVD's.

[Symarip]

2. My argument there is

First, the PS3 is not doing well. We don't really need to discuss it's merits because if I had a chance, I'd buy one in a heartbeat. The fact is, the PS3 is being outsold by the competitors at an astonishingly fast rate. The PS2, which had much to do with the DVD taking off, was doing much better at this point in the game.

Which leads me to my second point: DVD's were a welcomed jump because VHS had run it's full course. In the case of Blu Ray, it's competiting with a thriving DVD market. It's a medium that is warrantless to the average consumer. And again, even if you have an HD tv doesn't necessarily mean that you have full 1080p capabilities. In which case, an upscaling 1080 DVD player will more than suit your needs for years to come.

[rcrush]

5. You have good points

But I believe its still early on in the Blu Ray life and its yet to blossom. Eventually the market will move to all Blu Ray but right now you got the mix. While your upconverter dvd player will work great for a lot of people. I think an argument can be made for the PS3 in that you can play games, watch Blu ray and it upconverts your regular dvd's (I believe it does anyway) Regular DVD"s always look better to me on a PS3.

But given time the Blu Ray disc will be the next standard.

[Symarip]

7. It might be the next big jump

But this time, I don't think it's going to be because of the video game market. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that it's going to be at least 4 years before we're in a position to say that Blu Ray is really the way to go. And by then, I have a feeling that digital downloads are going to suck up alot of the market. Look what happened to CD's in the last few years.

[rcrush]

8. Yeah I love digital downloads

I only have Itunes for digital downloads. If they can make devices like APPLE TV more standard then digital downloads will stomp all over blu ray. But it seems apple doesnt give a shit about the Apple TV Box. Its too bad cause that thing spoiled me.

[Bake]

12. OK, I have a 1080p HDTV

And while DVDs on my DVD player are OK, they're don't match an HD movie like a cable pay-per-view.

I'm jonesing for a Blu-Ray, but so far the predicted price-cut hasn't happened. They were supposed to be $100-$150 by Christmas, and they're not there yet.

Bake

[Symarip]

20. Yeah, but Bake

You're the exception right now, not the rule. It's obviously going to appeal to some of the people - mostly likely those like you who already have the capability to receive the native 1080 output without having to purchase a new tv. The average consumer would have to upgrade their complete system in order to take adavantage of main selling point of blu ray: higher definition. I just don't see the public giving a damn when dvd's can be upscaled at a fraction of the cost and there's no need to buy anything else.

My main concern is come 3 or 4 years from now (maybe even more) when the public is ready for the next step, will digital downloads outpace blu ray? It's a valid question because in only a few short years of inception, instant downloads running neck and neck with the staple dvd.

[NJmaverick]

3. Eventually it will be the future, but I believe it will take time

Frankly you need a really big TV, at least 50", in order to tell the difference between a Blu Ray and an upscaled regular DVD.

I had to replace my DVD player, and opted for the upscaling model. My reasoning, is I don't have the huge set and the regular DVDs can by played any where and every where. Plus they are cheaper.

[MorningGlow]

4. Beta, laserdisc, 8-track!

Blu ray could go the same way. Or not. Who knows? All I do know is that I NEVER jump on the bandwagon too early because there's always a chance the technology might never take off. Personally, I'm meh about it. Show me a movie that runs from beginning to end, and I don't give a rip how it's played.

Good point about having to buy all the blu ray-compatible stuff. That's major points in the negative column.

Plus someday blu ray WILL go the way of the dinosaur, no matter how successful its run, and we'll have to contemplate investing in "the next big thing." It never ends.

[Bake]

21. They claim it was HD DVD that was the equivalent of "BetaMax."

So Blu-Ray is the only HD format in video discs.

Bake

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. I hope not.

Lord knows I don't need to replace my DVD players now. Can't we just find one medium and stick to it?

[Madrone]

9. I think it will - especially as hdtv sales take off and prices on BD come down.

I love mine. Every time I watch a movie I'm blown away. As for downloads - I have a lot of downloaded movies too and while they look amazingly GOOD on my 61" television they are no where near the quality of the BD. I don't think downloads will completely do away with the discs - a full 1080p rip is around 25GB on average. A 720 is around 4.5GB. I have downloaded a 720 movie just to test the quality and it is definitely stunning - but they are large files and take a long time to download.

[redqueen]

10. I was just talking to a co-worker about this last week.

At the time I thought it would, as the fancy TVs came down in price. I wasn't aware of the quality of digital downloads though... so after reading this thread, I'm not so sure.

[DS1]

16. I've yet to download a Blu-ray movie

but compressed they're typically 8 gigs each. Which is far too much. I'll stick with the pixelation of movies at 700 mb each.

[AlCzervik]

11. We bought a blue ray player when we bought a new tv.

our dvd player died about 2 years ago but if we weren't getting the tv we would not have bought the blue ray.

I bought a $30 dvd player at target for upstairs when the downstairs one broke, it works fine but a blue ray movie on a flat screen tv is a beautiful thing.

[Tektonik]

13. Eventually, but the process will be slower than the transition to dvd's

[billyskank]

14. Too much DRM.

I hope it dies for that reason alone. We need open formats, implementable by anybody.

[Symarip]

15. I didn't even feel like bringing that up

DRM is the new cat and mouse game these assholes are trying to play with us.

[redqueen]

18. Geek speak is sooo hot.

:D

[billyskank]

19. *adjusts tie*

:D

:loveya:

[Deja Q]

25. I don't mind copy protection, but for personal use, to make a backup is currently legal and should

remain legal.

If a disc gets scratched, I've to hope the same title is still available for purchase...

[billyskank]

28. DRM on DVDs and Blu-Ray isn't about stopping you copying.

You can always copy a disc, protection and all, to make a functional copy. DRM is about restricting how you can use it when you've got a copy, legal or otherwise.

[JVS]

17. Not in this economy

[LeftyMom]

22. Seconded. The problem is the timing.

By the time people are ready to spend, there'll be a new Next Big Thing.

I'm sticking with my upscaling DVD player for now.

[Symarip]

23. That's a safe bet

This whole format war reminds me of the DAT/DTT/MiniDisc/CD crap we had to put up with in the early 90s.

[Deja Q]

24. 1 blu-ray disc = 50GB. A "high def" download is a misnomer, period.

Especially when your standard def DVD disc is 8GB -- and already is compressed, to a fair amount.

Also, standard def players upconvert the screen size from 720x480 to 1920x1080p. They can NOT add pixel detail. They CAN clean up and shroud DVD artifacting (compression), but they cannot add real detail.

Funny how the market can't be bothered to mention these points...

Even going between channel 9 (analog)and 9.1 (digital), there's a very visible increase in definition quality in the program being broadcast, but that's a tangent.

[slutticus]

26. I would think so once the prices go down...

It's such a useful storage medium compared to DVD-ROM....I just don't see it going away. A dual layer blue ray disk can hold 50GB, where a similar DVD-ROM could hold about 9GB. I don't think it comes down to high-definition video format only. For example, you could probably put an entire season of a show on one blue ray disk in standard def, as opposed to needing multiple DVDs. But, having said that the obvious marketing is towards hi-def video.


Does upscaling really work? I didn't think upscaling did anything other than to allow a high def tv to play a non hi def signal.... If the data is not there to begin with, how can you make it "HD"? That kind of reminds me of TV shows when people zoom into a video feed 10,000X and say "enhance this" and suddenly the large pixels disappear to reveal a perfect zoomed in shot. :D "24" is the biggest culprit these days.

[LeftyMom]

27. HD tvs can already play a standard signal.

Upscaling just cleans it up with some fancy software, or elves or something. I know it looks better than a regular DVD, but not as good as an HD show on cable.

[JohnnieGordon]

29. HDTV should only be for the rich

I hope standard definition TV remains available for poor folk like me, because I'm happy enough with it. Also I have tons of movies downloaded in standard def.

[Initech]

30. I cannot embrace Blu-Ray because the discs are too damned expensive.

It's normally $29.99 for a new release Blu-ray vs. $14.99 for a new release standard definition DVD. Kinda hard to justify a 200% price increase on a movie.