I like the idea of less waste…the wave of the future….sorry, simpsons flashback.. however, it seems to me that there needs to be some sort of tangible evidence, or physical record of something. This is not so much a problem with the majority at large of commercial output, but I would hate not to physically hold something I love (book’s namely) or old Vinyl, the huge glorious art on LP’s!
anyhow, good day’s.
Chris, I don’t have a lot of faith in what wall street analysts predict these days and eventually EVERYTHING comes to an end. The naysayers on Blu-ray seem hellbent on seeing it’s demise as soon as possible and I just can’t understand this. I too welcome the impending death of Blu-ray if it means there is a better format to follow it. Right now and for the foreseeable future there isn’t by far. I just wanted to get the facts out there to the OP and I took issue with the appalling numbers comment.
I still like my Laserdiscs.
Tom-I agree. If I can’t hold it in my hands I don’t feel I really own it. Besides you can’t loan downloads to your friends.
Strawdawg-I can’t see downloads being the answer anytime soon. The bandwith just doesn’t exist. Anything I download looks and sounds terrible and takes forever. Even the sound quality on downloaded music is inferior to a CD.
Bluray is totally worth it if you have a big screen LCD or plasma. Plus, more and more great films choices are becoming available—not just the crappy new release blockbusters.
The best deals are on Amazon. I usually put titles I want into my Cart or “saved items” and wait for the prices to come down (a lot of time 40-55% off retail pricing).
Bluray IS the next format and will be for a while. The only question was who would end up winning Blu-ray or HDDVD, and Blu-ray ended up winning. It reminds me so much of when I was working at Suncoast back in 1998 and we had a very tiny DVD section compared to the other 95% of the store which was VHS. Ten years later I see the same thing happening with DVDs. You can get new release DVDs now for like $9.99. The important thing is to jump on the bandwagon sooner than later (I would contend that now IS later), because eventually you are going to end up replacing that Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist you just bought, when you get a 1080p TV along with a Bluray player and have to re-purchase your favorite DVDs. I love Singin’ In the Rain probably more than anyone out there, but you ain’t going to see me watch that ditty on VHS ever again. And when the Bluray comes out, I won’t be watching the 480p version anymore either.
@Tom. I agree 100% as people will always collect and buy because they want something physical; bottom-line. We’ve all got the latest songs on our IPod, but if you really love Coldplay, or The Roots in my case, your going out and buying the CD. Vinyl is still the “thing” among music aficionados, and so is the same with movies. ChungKing Express Blu-ray Criterion…$39.99; OOP frosted ring This Is Spinal Tap Criterion DVD…$150; LD Criterion Its a Wonderful Life…priceless.
@Rich. I don’t think that all the Criterion DVDs will convert to Bluray just like the vast majority of Laserdiscs didn’t convert. Yeah, some of the great ones like Seven Samurai, 400 Blows (already coming out), Joan of Arc, etc will probably be on Bluray, but I would doubt that all 460+ will upconvert.
Blu-ray is here to stay, but i guess we need to pick and choose which ones to upgrade from DVD, one website that has extensive disc reviews/ratings based on video/audio extras included (http://www.blu-ray.com/)
I would love more and more criterion on blu-ray.
dbl post
haha you know this may be really irrational and random but I refuse to buy blu-rays until they stop putting that glossy blue plastic on top of their cases. I know its not universal, but its basically a standard it seems, and I care about the packaging as superficial and stupid as that is…
I’ve been very happy with blu-ray. I believe that it will be around like VHS and DVD, I don’t think it’s gonna be a short-lived medium like Laser Disc there’s been too much invested into it by the multimedia companies, they wouldn’t abandon it after fighting a format war for the last 2 years. Also, what other formats could they jump to? Like Laser Disc basically got jumped over, in between VHS and DVD, but what is in development beyond blu-ray, the answer is holo-disc (hologram disc) which is very far away from becoming a feasible format – although it’s looking like it will be a great format (70 minutes of UNCOMPRESSED film).
I think blu-ray will basically be like the next DVD and will probably last for the same ammount of time. I think they’re a good investment and they do look better than dvd.
I can wait a while on the bluray thing. Until it becomes the standard I’ll keep obsessively collecting…either that or I get a delicious TV, then I’ll have to have it. You understand.
If they were smart they would have sold Blu-Ray players for 100-150 dollars this holiday season. Even if they didn’t make much off the player, the discs are so much more expensive they would make money in the long run and get me more people to switch over. I know the only thing holding me back is the price of the player, not the discs.
Or they could just release Barry Lyndon resulting in me not buying a single DVD for a year in order to save up and buy a Blu Ray player.
The bandwidth infrastructure may not exist today, but do you can’t transpose the DVD situation to the Blu-ray situation. If you really think internet connections are going to stay the same speed for the next ten years you should probably check out articles like this: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3689881.ece and others. When consumers have the choice of going out to a physical store to buy a physical disk, or downloading whatever they feel like from their home in about 5 to 10 seconds, they are probbaly going to choose the latter. Blu-Ray isn’t the wave of the future, Blu-ray is DVD 2.0, whereas digital downloads are really where entertainment is ultimately heading.
Well said, Andy.
The main advantage of getting onboard early is that, for the most part, you can keep up with new releases. I don’t feel like I have to play catch up as I build my library. I just drop a few bucks every week, and I don’t fall behind. For instance, I can already say I own every title I love, including every Criterion, Blue Underground, and Platinum Disney release; something I could never boast before, as I was always too cautious in adopting new formats.
It’s not too late to catch up, Gina, but the blu catalog is growing fast!
I don’t know… I watch a 26 inch toshiba. Reguar DVD’s look great; Those huge TV’s? Sort of like hiding out from reality behavior, watching those; A little too ‘immersive’. You have to actually look around to see all that’s happening; a little tiring. Downloading from the big cloud in the sky? I don’t know, I won’t pay for something every time I want to watch it or listen to it; Sort of like ‘getting screwed’. Vinyl? yea, I run a Well-Tempered record player, sounds like a dream; I’ve got 1300 records, I’m keeping and playing them. And I also read books; better than 99% of all movies. You learn things from books; Like respect. You don’t from watching a super-spectacular action movie on a 52 in. goofy-big TV with a 10k sound system. That is just a caucasian male frustration release mechanism.
For what it’s worth, collectors of 16mm films started abandoning the format when DVDs started coming out in decent quality. I think blu-ray is starting to cut into collectors of 35mm film.
I used to collect 16mm films and a well mastered DVD in a home theater environment looked as good as a well made 16mm print. With 16mm, you got grain; with DVD you got some digital artifacting instead. Blu-ray really blows 16mm away in a home theater environment, either projected or displayed on a good quality hi-def flatscreen.
I think it’s here to stay since the players are backwards compatible with DVDs. Eventually, when you want to replace your DVD player, you’ll only be able to find Blu-Ray players at local stores, except for some really cheap DVD only models that will still be available.
If you balk at the price, I still remember the days when a brand new print of a b&w feature on 16mm would set you back a good $200 or $400 from Blackhawk. And that was in 1970s dollars.
I’m selectively purchasing Blu-ray discs, replacing some older titles that I like a great deal and getting anything new in the format, rather than dvd. It really does look that much better if the disc is mastered properly and the original negative or master positive used for the transfer is in good shape.
For me, at least, the switch from standard def dvds and television to hi-def is as dramatic as going from b&w to color television.
duplicate post – sorry
I really can’t tell the difference, perhaps because my television is too small.
I haven’t jumped the DVD ship yet. My family and I have a pretty good-sized TV, one that would be big enough I’m sure to see the difference between a DVD and a Blu-Ray. However, we just haven’t gotten around to get a Blu-Ray player. We have a really old DVD player (it’s a 3-tier player from at least 2000!) but it works perfectly fine and movies look great on it. Even though Blu-Ray player prices are coming down, the price of a disc is still expensive. So, I don’t mind still using and buying DVDs.
gojira
Define success, especially when a lot of wall street analysts are predicting the impending death of all things as packaged media.