[2008] Is Blu-Ray dying?

[RonB]

I had just talked my wife into getting a blu-ray player when she mentioned it to our son. He said that blu-ray was on the way out because sales are lagging. Soooo my wife changed her mind and no blu-ray for Christmas.
I figured I'd get the right answer here, or at least enough answers that I could choose the one I like.
Thanx,
Ron

 

[AwayWeGo]

Blue Ray Won. The Other H. D. Competitor Lost.

I had just talked my wife into getting a blu-ray player when she mentioned it to our son. He said that blu-ray was on the way out because sales are lagging. Soooo my wife changed her mind and no blu-ray for Christmas.
I figured I'd get the right answer here, or at least enough answers that I could choose the one I like.

Shux, Blue Ray & some other competing format were locked in a Betamax-VHS battle for marketplace supremacy & Blue Ray won.

It's the other HD-DVD format that's not only dying but virtually dead -- although if you still have it & it works, no reason not to keep on using it with the old-format disks you already have.

Meanwhile, VHS really is dead. The 1 remaining VHS warehouse has shipped its final truckloads.

That doesn't stop us from taping shows off TV via VHS as long as our creaky old equipment keeps on working, nor from watching old movies via old VHS tapes as long as they'll keep on spooling.

Format changes & format wars just keep on going. Rita Rudner's gag about CDs has been overtaken by events. (That's OK. She's got plenty of new jokes.)

When CD recordings were well established but still relatively newfangled, she said, "I'll buy a CD player if they promise that's the last thing they'll ever invent."

"Those people walking along the street mumbling to themselves," she said, "are the ones who bought the 8-track players."

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Makai Guy]

I think Alan has it pegged. It's HD-DVD that's dead, as Blu-Ray is the one that has gained consumer acceptance.

Or maybe your son meant that standard DVD is dying. As more and more people purchase HDTVs, regular DVDs don't cut it any more - plain old over-the-air commercial broadcasts are now in higher definition than standard DVDs. It is Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD) that will give you the best image possible on your HD set. And most Blu-Ray players are capable of up-converting your old DVDs to synthesize additional detail.

HD-DVD is on death's door, and will be followed by standard DVD, but I think it's a bit premature to announce DVD's demise.

 

[Keitht]

I have seen reports that although Blu-ray won the battle of the formats, actual sales figures for both players/recorders and recorded media have been much slower than expected. That may explain rumours of Blu-ray dying.

 

[caribbeansun]

Indeed, that is what's been talked about. It took too long to resolve the HD/Blu-ray issue which resulted in fewer titles being produced in the new format. Contributing issues are the significant usage of DVD's and the high cost of Blu-ray discs vs DVD's. Having said that the players have come down in price considerably and I have noticed a lot of new titles in Blu-ray over the holidays.

Kind of hard for me to see it going away at this point.

 

[DebBrown]

My kids also think blu-ray is going away. We had the same discussion when my DVD player died on Christmas day. I just bought a cheapie replacement online. There were may choices for DVD players under $50. For someone who only watches the occasional movie, it was an easy choice.

Deb

 

[timeos2]

Only change is certain

Indeed, that is what's been talked about. It took too long to resolve the HD/Blu-ray issue which resulted in fewer titles being produced in the new format. Contributing issues are the significant usage of DVD's and the high cost of Blu-ray discs vs DVD's. Having said that the players have come down in price considerably and I have noticed a lot of new titles in Blu-ray over the holidays.

Kind of hard for me to see it going away at this point.

The real issue, as it always is, are the changes on the horizon. There is already BlueRay V2 and V3 in the works. So today's Blueray may be tomorrows VHS - the pace of improvement never stops. CD & DVD, as well as cassettes before them and vinyl before that, formats have been an exception as, especially CD's, have hung in for the long haul. DVD a much shorter span but still far above average. Blueray seems to be on track as more of an 8 track short lived "standard" than a cd type. Time will tell.

 

[MOXJO7282]

To me Blu-Ray is well worth the extra money, especially now that prices have come down. Watching a BD on a Sony XBR LCD is as good as it gets.

It is true that the technology is evolving because I bought my BD player less than a year ago, and already had to update the firmware.(free downloaded from web or DVD sent by Sony)

 

[AwayWeGo]

Format Wars Began Way Before BetaMax & V. H. S.

Format wars got rolling even before 8-track tapes & stereo tape cassettes battled for supremacy.

When the old needle-in-groove record industry got ready to move beyond those scratchy old 78-rpm disks, Columbia brought out 33⅓-rpm LPs with conventional center holes while RCA brought out competing 7-inch 45-rpm disks with large center holes. Later RCA brought out an "ep" (Extended Play) version of their 7-inch 45-rpm disks. Even so, the 12-inch LPs eventually won out as the standard format for record albums, although the 7-inch 45-rpm records hung on as a convenient format for juke box singles.

In the early days of acoustic recording (i.e., no microphones, no amplifiers, just sound powered recording needles & vibration-powered hand-cranked gramophone playback), there was a format war between hill & dale (i.e, up & down stylus vibrations in the record groove) on the 1 hand & conventional side to side stylus vibrations on the other hand.

I suppose the earliest record format war was between Edison cylinders on the 1 hand & flat disks on the other hand.

It's always something.

And, as Stevie Wonder put it, Just Because A Record's Got A Groove Doesn't Mean It's In The Groove.

So far, at least, the competing home entertainment formats have slugged it out in the marketplace & we've (mostly) been spared from having the winners & losers dictated by the national & international bureaucrats.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[KCI]

It's true that Blu-ray won the battle, but sales have been bad. People are finding that the the better picture isn't worth the much higher cost. Here's an article from www.afterdawn.com .
KCI's Wingman


Blu-ray player sales are falling
Despite Blu-ray's victory over rival format HD DVD, it seems Blu-ray player sales are falling or seeing little to no growth in various markets.

The latest figures, according to the NPD Group, show that Blu-ray standalone players sales (excluding the PlayStation 3 and Blu-ray PC drives) have mostly decreased since the beginning of 2008, or seen no growth. Sales dropped 40 percent in the US from January to February and saw only a 2 percent increase from February to March.

The numbers don't seem to make sense though. HD DVD died out in February, yet sales have sputtered. One likely reason is price. Blu-ray players were selling for an average of $400 USD during March while just 3 months earlier in the holiday season they were selling for closer to $320 USD. An even better reason, according to NPD, is that standard definition DVD is "good enough" for the average consumer and that the upgraded video, audio and features just aren't worth the premium in price, at least not yet.

To back up their analysis, NPD cites that upconverting DVD player sales have increased 5 percent year over year so far compared to standard DVD player sales which have dropped 40 percent in the same period.

 

[bogey21]

We had the same discussion when my DVD player died on Christmas day. I just bought a cheapie replacement online. There were may choices for DVD players under $50. For someone who only watches the occasional movie, it was an easy choice.

Deb

I agree 100% with the above sentiments. I just bought a DVD for $30. It plays what I want to watch, and content I like for $30 easily overwhelms spending hundreds for pretty pictures.

George

 

[Fisch]

The latest figures, according to the NPD Group, show that Blu-ray standalone players sales (excluding the PlayStation 3 and Blu-ray PC drives) have mostly decreased since the beginning of 2008, or seen no growth. Sales dropped 40 percent in the US from January to February and saw only a 2 percent increase from February to March.
.

Playstation 3 should be factored into Blu-Ray sales figures. There are a bunch of people that are/were buying PS3's just for the fact that they get a Blu-Ray player, and the game system was only secondary.
As with any new format, the Home Theater people buy first. At some point prices will drop and most people will than convert to that format. Once the players are around $150.00 or less saeles will go like they did for DVD when they came out. Most people did not switch from VHS or Laser Disc for several years.

 

[timeos2]

No big deal. Who knows why.

I agree 100% with the above sentiments. I just bought a DVD for $30. It plays what I want to watch, and content I like for $30 easily overwhelms spending hundreds for pretty pictures.

George

I have always been a techno/gadget junkie. First with a Norelco in dash cassette (no 8 track for me!) with BETA & then BETA HiFi (still use a professional BETA deck & my 1000+ BETA tapes), cell phones, latest laptops, DUAL turntables, Fisher then Kenwood receivers, C-Band roof mounted satellite dish (still works!), Direct TV, satellite radio - CD's, the big old 12" LaserDisks & then DVD's when my wife was saying "what do you need that for?" back in those days. Yet the whole HDTV/Blue Ray thing has left me cold. No desire at all to run out and buy a 52" 1080p TV nor a $300 Blue Ray player. Sure I like them when I see them but the cost/satisfaction ratio just isn't there for some reason. If and when my Sony or Toshiba big tube tv's die or my DVD recorder gives up the ghost I'll certainly spring for whatever is the current "must have" then. But for now HDTV on my old monsters looks MUCH better than the old analog version, DVD's look great, cost little and Blue Ray wouldn't add much except cost to the equation. No longer qualified as total techno freak I guess - but give me the latest Palm Smart Phone, GPS or newest high end CPU and look out!

 

[mas]

I don't think Blue Ray is dying. However, with all the format changes and the current cost, I think I'll be sitting on the side lines until the player are in at the $100 range.

I bought an HD-DVD player when Toshiba announced they were dropping the format. It cost me $80 with shipping and I got 7 HD dvd titles with the purchase. Those alone are worth the $80 and the player can up convert all my current std dvds.

I will admit playing an HD-DVD on my 47" LG TV is quite stunning compared to std dvds, but I'm somewhat of a cheap skate (part of my TUGger training ), not only is the blue ray player expensive, but the blue ray titles are still $30-$50! As I said, when the players come down to $100 price range, maybe then I'll retire my Toshiba HD and rent a view blue ray titles. Until then, there's plenty of HD format stuff around to keep me satisfied.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Give Me That Old-Tyme Technology.

People are finding that the the better picture isn't worth the much higher cost.

I'm in no rush to spring for Blue Ray, or even HDTV for that matter.

The TV sets keeping on getting better & better, but the programs don't get any better.

Some technologies that won the format battles ended up losing the marketplace wars.

As I recall, there were various competing formats for digital audio tapes & mini-discs & I don't know what-all. If those are still even around, they've certainly become niche items that are hard to find even at Radio Shack.

Meanwhile, some consumer market losers are winners in the professional & industrial sphere. BetaMax got whupped good & sound in the home videocassette market, but professional videographers & video editors -- those who haven't gone all-digital anyway -- still use BetaCam.

Shux, for all I know, there may still be some video studios out there still using leftover U-matic 3/4-inch video cassette technology.

My home entertainment technology dilemma is what to do with my 33 feet or so of 33⅓-rpm vinyl LPs & my 5 feet of so of 45-rpm singles & my 4 bushels or so of stereo tape cassettes. I hardly ever play any of those, even though I have the equipment & it all still works. I doubt I'll live long enough to digitize it all, even if I knew how & had the equipment & (most important) had the time & the inclination.

BTW: You know why they installed a clock in the Leaning Tower Of Pisa ?

They figure What's Good's The Inclination If You Haven't Got The Time ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Kozman]

I have an upconvert dvd player that converts regular definition dvd's to 'near' hi def on my 1080P flat screen. It plays all my existing dvd's at near hi def and I'm not 'feeding the blu-ray pig'. To each their own, but to me it's not worth the added cost of BR.

 

[Icarus]

From all the stories I've read , BD isn't dead, but the entire model of buying or renting physical media is expected to change over time to downloads or streaming media instead of purchasing physical media. When the media reports on those stories, they use sensational headlines, just like they do with any news story. (WW3 might start tonight. Details at 11.)

BD players are still relatively expensive, but they did win the format wars with HD-DVD. BD is everywhere now, and all new releases are released on DVD and BD.

There's really no reason for the physical media to be any more expensive than DVD, but the studios charge more for BD media because they can. (OK, maybe it costs them slightly more to produce BD media, but the difference isn't all that much compared to the prices they are charging.) But by doing so, they are also shooting themselves in the foot. Look up pricing on "The Dark Night" on Amazon to see the difference. DVD wide-screen edition, single disk, $14.99. BD version, which includes a digital copy you can put on your computer and BD Live features is $23.99, which is reduced from a street price of $29.99. Sure, the extra features are nice, but if you don't want them, you still pay for them.

If anybody really thinks there's little quality difference, just try watching Planet Earth BD on a good quality, large screen 1080p native display. If you can't see a difference with that, stick with your old Amana or RCA console TV from the 50s.

-David

 

[DebBrown]

If anybody really thinks there's little quality difference, just try watching Planet Earth BD on a good quality, large screen 1080p native display. If you can't see a difference with that, stick with your old Amana or RCA console TV from the 50s.

-David

I surely believe that there is a difference in picture quality. I just don't care. Watching a movie at home does not have to be an artistic experience for me. It's just a movie.

I'm evidently not the target market for Blu-ray. LOL! I rarely watch TV and prefer a good book any day.

Deb

 

[Miss Marty]

What is Blu-ray?


Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD),

is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson).

The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc.
This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codes will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.

 

[Miss Marty]

Blu-ray

FAQ

http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/

 

[Miss Marty]

Blu-ray


Anyone use their Blu-ray Disc DVD Player to view SD/JPEG Photos

Magnavox NB500MG9 can play BD-Video, BD-RE and BD-R, CDs
& JPEG photos. The convenient SD card slot on the NB500MG9
allows easy viewing of hi-def videos and photos on your HDTV

 

[pwrshift]

I recently got a Samsung LN40A750R1FXZC 40" widescreen for my bedroom and it came with a BluRay DVD player, delivery and installation, for about $1600. It has a shiny screen to give it a very high contrast ratio I think is 50,000 to 1, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a bunch of other high end features like Wiselink Pro with contents library such as recipes, art displays, etc. where you can also add your own content like JPG photos with music using a USB thingy. At times I find the shiny screen reflections annoying and didn't think LCD TV's had that, but he convinced me it nets a better picture.

The installer explained something I didn't know ... that you only need HDMI cables for BluRay dvd's to the TV as they are in 1080p but the cable HD service is only 1080i (in my area at least) so you get the same quality with composite cables as with HDMI cables. He also said HDMI cable would not improve the quality of the regular DVD players.

I had them set up my Bose DVD-CD player with speakers, the Cable PVR, the Samsung BluRay, and a DVD recorder. He used HDMI only for the BluRay and it upconverts regular DVD's too and shows a better picture. I definitely can see a difference in quality between the BluRay disk and the cable broadcast quality and surprised that 1080p makes that much of a difference over 1080i. It was a complicated setup and I'm glad they included it in the price. Overall, I'm very pleased except the price difference on BluRay disks forced me back to Blockbuster to rent instead of buy.

I've read that BluRay may have a short life compared to VHS and regualr DVD's with the advent of being able to download HD movies in the near future - but I don't know if they'd be in 1080p.

Brian

 

[Icarus]

The installer explained something I didn't know ... that you only need HDMI cables for BluRay dvd's to the TV as they are in 1080p but the cable HD service is only 1080i (in my area at least) so you get the same quality with composite cables as with HDMI cables. He also said HDMI cable would not improve the quality of the regular DVD players.

That's nonsense, sort of. You want to use dvi or hdmi out if the devices support it in order to keep the signals in the digital domain. If you use component cables you are doing an extra and unnecessary d->a and a->d conversion because component cables carry analog signals. You will also need one or more separate cables for the audio connection. Also, some newer devices may downconvert the signal when you use an analog component video cable because they aren't capable of doing the necessary dance required to verify that the device on the other end of the cable is just a display device, and they might have to downconvert the signal on certain programs.

The "sort of" part is because you may not notice much difference. But if it were me, I'd be using HDMI where I could because it's a single cable instead of effectively 5 cables. (The component connection is 3 cables + 2 cables for audio. HDMI is a single cable for video + audio.)

BTW, I'm assuming you meant "component video" cables and not a composite video cable.

The cable itself will not "improve" the quality, but you should be using the right cables for the job at hand to avoid a loss of quality.

The cables themselves are inexpensive. Buy them from a place like monoprice.com

-David

 

[Icarus]

Look up pricing on "The Dark Night" on Amazon to see the difference. DVD wide-screen edition, single disk, $14.99. BD version, which includes a digital copy you can put on your computer and BD Live features is $23.99

It's already down to $21.99

I finally opened my copy of The Dark Night BD and put the digital copy DVD into my laptop. itunes noticed it and asked for the code, verified it, and transferred a copy into my itunes library. Interesting.

One of these days I suppose I will actually watch it.

I bought it for my daughter, but found out she already had it, so I kept it.

-David

 

[maddaug]

We just bought the Sony Blu-ray and I gotta say with the HD tv and with a good sound system it is quite impressive. Of course after I bought the blu-ray we decided to upgrade our receiver becuase it had no hdmi ports.
We can really tell a difference in sound also. Keep in mind it's the action, animated or scenic movies that are stunning. The color and crispness tells all.

We don't go to the movies and wait out for the movie releases. I like the comfort of my own home and we just have a better quality pic. I am also not one to run out and by movies. I think the Bd discs are too high and they will come down in price as the players have too.
If you are happy with your set-up great. No need to buy just because it's out there.