Five Reasons Blu-Ray Will Fail - Comments Page 2

I'm sorry but I'm 52 and I *can* see the stunning difference in quality between conventional DVD and Blu-Ray. In particular the film "Cars" - put the conventional DVD into a Blu-Ray player (wich upconverts for you) and then the BR disc. No comparison. The clarity and quality is visually stunning. "Upconverting" conventional DVDs with "upconverting" DVD players (even for $50)is another 'tweener technology' that will go by the wayside. Why spend $50 for a wonderful 'upconverter' DVD player (and if you do that, no doubt you ALREADY have a hi-def TV!), when for $100 (or less) more, you get the ability to play conventional DVDs (upconverted of course) AND Blu-Ray discs? It's a no-brainer.

As for cost, it's a shame that the 'economic downturn' is overshadowing Blu-Ray. Yes, the players are around $200 but this past weekend I saw them for around $150. The only way the costs will continue to come down is for mass productino to kick in. And you can get the movies cheaper now too. Yes, in a "down" economy, people don't buy as many, if any, toys like they normally do. But that is cyclical as is everyhing else.

If you start really looking at Best Buy, or Wal Mart, how many TVs to you see for sale that are NOT High Definition? VERY few and as tube sets die, they won't be replaced. Flat screen hi-def TVs are going to be in everybody's future, like it or not. Consumers were already being forced to go digital, and hi-def is right in line behind that.

Oh it's wonderful that you can have your movies downloaded via internet, however, have you heard or read about the rumblings of the "pay to play" internet...it may be that high speed as we know it for $30-$60 a month will be a thing of the past before long as ISPs look to maximize profits (like Banks). I don't thing those 'cheap' movies will be as cheap if you have to start paying for each megabyte you consume in bandwidth. Or,say you have a terrabyte of movies. Just HOW do you back it up? Drives and computers fail all the time.

Also, I buy packaged DVDs because I want not only the film or movie, but the additional content as well. That's something I don't see being delivered with a lot of these movie downloads.

Case in point. You still see CDs being sold at Wal Mart, right? Many, MANY people foretold the 'death' of the audio CD because of the Internet. Not true. It's not like tape vs CD. Until that time when the CD (audio) section disappears from the electronics section of Walmart, or Best Buy, don't bank on Blu-Ray being dead.

You remain incredibly uninformed. You use statements like "...but I just don't see the value". So, does that mean you are too insulated to see that others might see the value?
Blu-ray has already grown at a much faster pace than DVD did.
As you improve your vieiwng system (and you WILL) you will se the incredible value of 1080P resolution - technically up to 6 times that of DVD. I respectfully resquest that you do more research before publishing stuff like this Online. It makes you look very uneducated. Ex.
You say "...Blu-ray discs cost $10-$15 more than regular DVDs" May I ask you - are you pulling these figures out of mid air? Criterion Blu-rays are the exact same price as their DVDs - other studios are follwing suit. Let's me ask you this - do you think Blu-rays will come down in price over time? or go up?
Your other argument - the Internet. The infastructure is not there yet for high speed download (Blu-rays can be up to 50 Gig) and streaming just doeesn't even have the quality of DVD for the most part. It will eventually happen - but wheile you wait for it - I'll be watching the best films in the best possible home theater format.
Regards,
Gary

I find it interesting to see all the defense of blueray here. I can't say for sure if it will be "succesful", because I don't know how that is defined. I know a few people with blueray players and disks, and lots of new computer systems come with blueray, so clearly some people(Sony, distributors, etc) are making some money, so there is some success. However, I do believe this success will be limited by the current state of technology. The biggest point here is that technology has already moved beyond the disc, and while some people will cling to it out of nostalgia or individual preference, most will ditch it for the more convenient delivery method, i.e. download. Download is simply the path of least resistance. Sure not everyone has high-speed internet, but most people with enough money to spend on blueray do, so we're talking the same demographic here. Those without high-speed are not likely to be purchasing blue-ray, so they are not part of this equation.

As for long term storage, people with that interest will simply purchase movies as downloads and store them on huge hard drives - again, much more convenient in terms of storage space in your home, and access convenience. How many people these days are maintaining CD collections vs. hard drives full of MP3s? How many CD changers are being sold today vs. ipods? CDs are on the way out for the mainstream, and movie discs are close behind now that hard drive storage capabilities and transfer speeds make download a feasible alternative, while flash drives provide simple portability when required. I'm no Nostradamus - I'm simply stating the obvious here.

I love Blu ray.. for certain areas. my favorites; 2001 Blade Runner Batman and others look great in blu ray [and I am willing to pay more for these discs] and I agree with Greg many Imax nature and science ... all look better in blu ray....BUT...
I WANT RESUME!!
Many new movies that I rent first, from Netflix, on blue ray and [really?!?!]like I will not purchase even when I really want to own them... if they do not have resume.
I wish these blu ray companies would get the message and add resume and I would purchase more
but if they don't I won't

2001 and Blade Runner do have resume I wish others did!!!

On a HDTV up to the low 50's in size, I think for the most part you are right. With an HD front projector and a 108" screen there is such a huge difference even my wife (who usually could care less about such things) can see it and would much prefer we watch the Blu-ray version of a movie. The lossless audio on a good system is also a big plus as well - much better than DD or DTS on conventional DVD. This type setup is so much better than the typical local movie theater that I usually wait until a movie is released on Blu-ray and then buy it.

""Fast access to high definition movies and TV shows, and streaming home media servers will continue to erode the market for both Blu-ray and DVD players.""

where? where? I can't find acceptable HD content for download online for my new 1080p TV

EDITOR'S NOTE: Netflix is one example.

Only new releases are coming out on TRUE 1080p. While old movies are being released on Blu-Ray discs, they were originally mastered at 480i, so they're still only upconverted to 1080p.

The one thing with which I disagree is that I don't think the Disc is dead. While PPV and streaming movies are becoming more mainstream, people still want to buy DVDs for repeated viewing later on. They're just not willing to pay exhorbitant prices, especially Blu-Ray, for the privilege.

In response to Brian's question of where can you find acceptable HD content for download....my answer is AppleTV and iTunes.

It started out to be kind of lame, but now the movie, HD, and HD TV show content in the iTunes store is phenomenal.

I've seen a lot of films recently and I wouldn't want to see most of them again (and, if I had a time machine, wouldn't want to see them in the first place!).
The few good films I've seen *may* be better in Blu-ray but that's maybe 1 in 10...
I know I'll get flamed but, really, can you say you've loved all the films you've recently seen? And of those others would seeing them in Blu-ray improve your "entertainment experience"?

I've an 18 month old Sony Blu-Ray player which plays normal dvd's beautifully in stunning resolution on an HD 1080p Sony 52". What it will rarely do however is play a Blu-Ray disc. It enters into an endless load loop often, the menu's don't work correctly and Circuit City, where I bought it, is out of business. I am half tempted to relegate it to the dust bin and get an high quality DVD player which really does look as good to my eye as any Blu-Ray disc I can actually, after 5 to 15 minutes, get to play. Not to mention that the power up feature is glacial on the Sony Blu-Ray...

Who remembers the laser disc haha I believe that the Blu Ray will last awhile but technology is spitting out things so fast I cant keep up. I'm just waiting for the new format.

I think Blu-Ray will sell and grow. It is still less expensive (even for ONE viewing)than going to the local theater. Families will buy whatever format they think is best and for whatever equipment they have. Right now, regular DVD's are a bargain - so for most of us non-tech-o-philes, we buy a regular DVD and still love the show.

so many things happening in this space that market share is splitting away...

I don't see Blu-Ray dying due to any of those reasons (Though I've never watched one, so I can't argue point 1 personally).

2/3. Disk/player prices will decrease after a while (players can now be found under $100 if you don't mind actually searching for sales), as many have already posted. That's how the tech market works. Television prices will also decline. Young people are more likely to find an affordable HDTV as their first set, and a lot of older people like the idea of having a television that they can hang up on a wall like a picture, instead of modeling their living room around the tube.

4/5. VOD is basically an expensive rental. IMO, it's not worth it. Amazon Unbox and iTunes are convenient download sources, but they are so locked down by DRM, you can't do anything with the downloads. I prefer to buy my DVDs and use freeware apps to rip them and re-encode them for my purposes (PMP, store on HDD, etc.). Similar software is out there for Blu-Ray rips as well. Besides, the Internet also assists in distributing physical media, because you can order a disk on Amazon (or Netflix), forget about it, and watch it the day it arrives in the mail.

im with you bob its getting to much like the alphabet with all the new technology almost every year new definitions are arriving i might be 60yo but cant see the dif between hd or any definition its money sooner or later 2 years on more money if it lasts, mobiles are worse i like em but expensive little beastys to operate.ive got a box full of obsolete cables drivers printers ect waiting for kirbside collection.greenies should do something they might get some votes here in australia

If you can't tell the difference between dvd and bluray quality movies then you're not looking in the right place :P

dvd's were expensive to when they came out give it some time price will drop soon everyone will have it

HD tv or computer monitor they are becoming more popular aswell

The world doesn't exactly evolve around america we don't all have access to netflix and itunes/appletv isn't worth the effort they sacrifice to much quality (we also have crappy bandwidth limitations sucks in australia) so the disk is far from dead

as for sites like youtube the quality they offer is still poor compared to that of dvd let alone bluray

i can't see bluray going away anytime soon

be sure to check out a full hd movie on bluray and compare it on a decent screen i'm sure you will be impressed :)

I agree! Blueray will never reach the popularity of DVDs (and DVDs will slowly go away) Look at what has happened with CDs for music. They don't exist anymore because people perfer the utility of mp3, etc.

While a final version of of the mechanism to replace DVDs isn't quite there, it is coming. I can already just download (to own) video on itunes and play it back on my TV. It's still a little kluggy, but it will get better. Soon all my video will sit on my computer's hard disc, like my audio does now and I'll be able to send it to various devices where I can play it back.

The fact the current DVD quality is so good, and Blue ray so expensive, will just accelerate this process.

Folks, here it comes. Four major studios have now reached agreement to allow purchase of DVD-quality movie downloads, which users can then do as they will with - burn to DVD, burn to Blueray disc, or store on a mass storage device (e.g hard drive).

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/tech/Studios-Give-Blessing-for-DVD-Downloads-55045217.html

This is not necessarily a death knell for Blueray, but it will certainly stunt it's growth. It's only a matter of time before the downloads are available in Blueray quality instead of DVD quality. At that point, nobody needs a disc or a Blueray player. Instead, they need a "Video iPod" for HD movies, with a miniature 1Tb drive and the appropriate digital video and audio output jacks. This will cause Blueray players to drop to the $20 - $30 entry level, because nobody except fringe videophiles will be willing to pay more for one when they can get the much more convenient video iPod instead.

Watch for it, and when it arrives, compare the timespan between the day DVD was launched and the day DVD players reached $30 with the day Blueray was launched and the day Blueray players reached $30. The second timespan will be a fraction of the first. All of that lost time equals lost profit for Sony, as the license holder.

Everyone is focusing on one thing only, and that is video quality. What about uncompressed audio? If you are a music lover that is a unique feature that DVD cannot match due to bandwith limitations. Of course you can tout it's only for audiophiles but for those that want the best video and audio, Blu-ray is the only way to go. The cost of discs are coming down, with local sales of $9.99 on older catalog movies becoming more frequent. What I have decided is I will only buy blu-rays for movies I watch multiple times. I have accumalated dvd's that are only watched once or twice, so now I will be more likely to use Netflix for blu-ray rentals instead of buying them. As home theaters get more popular with projectors, that are shown on 100" + screens, having 1080P media is important for the best picture. That 7% of those that own Blu-ray are millions of hobbyist (only accounting for US owners) at the front of technology. There is much room to grow and blu-ray will not be gone in any near future.

I have 2 BluRay players, but only a few BluRay discs - 2 came with one of the players. The others were gifts. Why BluRay? Simply to have the option of hiring BluRay rental discs if they are available, and just in case there are surprises around the corner we don't know of yet. But, like others, I've found DVD upscaling -from good quality media - is so close to current BluRay discs, I have limited my purchases of new dics to DVD's. Is all of this this economical? - probably not, but I do have the choice. Why 2 players? Well who wants to watch Jane Austen, The Bronte Sisters, etc.? Can't you see.... it just had to be two.