[2008] Is Blu-Ray dying?

[Keitht]

The Sony hard drive DVD recorder I have uprates the image from conventional DVDs and from standard broadcast to somewhere nearer HD quality. No idea how it's done but the difference in image quality on broadcast TV is clearly visible.
Until BluRay prices come down a long way, I'll happily stay at this half-way house.

 

[Miss Marty]

Sony Laptop with Blu-ray Disc Player $799.99

Sony offers a 15.4 laptop computer
Intel Centrino Processor Technology
Blu-ray Disc player, Intel Wireless-N

 

[Miss Marty]

Playstation 3 for $399.99

Anyone own the
80 GB Playstation 3 with..
Built in Blu-ray Disc player

 

[Kal]

Currently the best price I've seen on a Sony Blu-ray player is $225 and the non-Sony player at $176.

The fact that sales are off on Blu-rays is probably indicative of the entire electronics industry and not isolated to Blu-rays. In this dire economy discretionary purchases are really a luxury.

 

[Icarus]

Anyone own the
80 GB Playstation 3 with..
Built in Blu-ray Disc player

I have the entry level PS3, and I use it as my BD/DVD player in my bedroom. You buy the $20 BD remote for it, and it works great. The remote is bluetooth, so a standard IR or RF universal remote won't work with the PS3. It comes with a bluetooth game controller, and while you can use that, the optional BD remote is easier to use, since it has the typical buttons and controls for a dvd player.

The hard drives are apparently user replaceable on the PS3. I haven't bothered. No need. I suppose if you want to load it up with games, music, movies, etc, that might be a reasonable thing to do.

-David

 

[RonB]

Geeze - thanks all for the replies. There is more info here than I needed. I think I'm still going to look at the sales though ~ Ron

 

[Wonka]

Better Quality (I couldn't tell), $1 more for Netflix Blueray

I received an inexpensive Samsung Blueray DVD player for Christmas. We watched our first Blueray DVD yesterday (Eagle Eye from Netflix). Honestly, I didn't notice much difference in the picture quality.

And, I was a little "miffed" that Netflix charges an additional dollar each month if request Blueray DVD's.

 

[TomCayman]

I just got a 42" Toshiba 1080p 120hz LCD and the entry level Sony BluRay, which was about $250.

Santa brought 2 BD discs (Iron Man and Batman Begins), and I have to say that the whole experience (including Dolby HD sound) is far, far superior to anything else I've seen on a home set up.

Add to that the upconverting ability of BD players and the SRT (also improves picture on lower res inputs) on the top Toshiba TVs, and the novelty hasn't worn off yet at all.

Yes, BD is expensive... relatively, but a few points :
- $250 for what is still a new tech item (BD player) is nothing compared to what other new tech gadgets cost when they first came out (ipod, CD player, DVD player etc).
- BD players can be connected to an internet switch via ethernet and have firmware and BD live automatically upgraded..gives some future proofing.
- 1080p TVs are coming down in price, and with the current economy are only going to drop further...soon be able to get a 1080pm 42" for <$1000.

The one thing left to drop further is the price of the discs, but as digital copies (itunes) etc become more prevalent, market pressure will increase on BD disc prices, as otherwise people will get more and more savvy and simply hook up their digital media to their TV... you can already get a media server from HP for about $500 that can hold a whole lot of data... and Apple is all over this technology... when time (and funds) allow, I'm looking at the Apple option for my own place.

 

[grupp]

HD DVD not totally dead yet

Just happened to stumble across this tread today. I recently set up a home theater in my basement and was looking to upgrade my DVD player., I found an ad on Craigslist for a top of the line Toshiba HD DVD player that came with 38 HD DVD movies for $250. It also upconverts standard DVD's. Thought I would take a chance on it since included some very good movies.

My projector screen is 120 inches and the picture from the HD DVD is incredible. Obviously, there won't be any new movies coming out in HD DVD, but there are several hundred titles available and can be bought for about the price of renting a DVD. Amazon has a lot of HD DVD titles for $5 with free shipping. This should get me through a couple of years and by then hopefully the price of blu-rays will come down.

Gary

 

[calgarygary]

As has been said before, the only thing that is certain is change. I was the first person I knew that owned a vhs machine (the remote was connected by a wire) and it set me back a fortune. The first movie I bought (Spielberg's Close Encounters) would get me 4 Blue Ray movies. I later upgrade by adding LD and have a small collection of LP sized (for you younger folks - really really big) Disney movies that I can no longer watch. Of course my dvd collection could keep my family fed for a year if I put that money to better use. I think I'll pass on Blue Ray and see which goes first - me or the dvd player.

 

[Troopers]

The one thing left to drop further is the price of the discs, but as digital copies (itunes) etc become more prevalent, market pressure will increase on BD disc prices, as otherwise people will get more and more savvy and simply hook up their digital media to their TV... you can already get a media server from HP for about $500 that can hold a whole lot of data... and Apple is all over this technology... when time (and funds) allow, I'm looking at the Apple option for my own place.

The Popcorn Hour works great with a media server.

 

[falmouth3]

I was the first person I knew that owned a vhs machine (the remote was connected by a wire) and it set me back a fortune.

We had one of those! Static electricity through the wire blew up our first VHS but it was covered and we got it replaced. The store closed the deal by throwing in 5 blank VHS tapes. They were selling for $20 each, as I recall.

Sue

 

[pgnewarkboy]

I am what is called an "early adopter". I bought my first HDTV over 9 years ago. I bought a Toshiba HD DVD player and am very happy with its ability to improve regular DVD pictures.

I will not buy Blu-Ray until discs come way down in price AND hardware compatibility issues regarding sound are resolved. There are many issues with people being able to actually get the superior sound promised by Blu-ray. These are hardware issues and it can be very complicated. If I am laying out the buck I want the whole package and that means better sound quality. Sound is just as important as video quality.

Streaming videos from Netflix on my XBOX 360 look very good. The HD videos even better. Sound, however, is an issue. If they improve the sound quality for streaming videos I may never make the switch to Blu-ray.

 

[AwayWeGo]

What's That You Say? Speak Up!

Sound is just as important as video quality.

Sure, I'm Old Folks with documented (partial) hearing loss. But the source of my difficulty in hearing what they're saying on DVD movies isn't all in my own ears.

I have no trouble following the dialogue on broadcast TV shows. No trouble at the movie theaters. Hardly any trouble with old VHS tapes. Plenty of trouble trying to follow some of the DVD movies. Shux, The Chief Of Staff has the same trouble too sometimes, & she has way less hearing loss than I have. (She never spent all those years playing horn 1 row in front of a dozen trumpet players.)

I think the combination of cheap built-in audio in the TV set plus low-fo audio tracks on the DVD movies makes for hard-to-hear movie viewing experiences.

If this keeps up, I'll need to switch on the closed captioning. Then I'll miss the on-screen action while trying to read what they're saying. It's always something.

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

 

[AwayWeGo]

Be Not The 1st By Whom The New Are Tried, Nor Yet The Last To Lay The Old Aside.

I was the first person I knew that owned a vhs machine (the remote was connected by a wire) and it set me back a fortune.

Before going with VHS, we jumped into another format way too early -- sprang for BetaMax & the Sears & Zenith Betamax clones.

Somewhere around here -- down in our basement Museum Of Obsolete Technology -- I think there are still a couple of the old Beta-video machines & a cardboard carton of Betamax cassettes, some home-recorded & some commercial studio movies.

We weren't the 1st on our block to spring for that stuff, but even so we learned our lesson about committing too early to the latest wrinkle in home entertainment technology.

We skipped the whole 8-track tape fiasco, but we overcompensated for that by going way overboard on stereo audio cassette tapes, which are now obsolete in their own right.

So it goes.

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

 

[pgnewarkboy]

Sure, I'm Old Folks with documented (partial) hearing loss. But the source of my difficulty in hearing what they're saying on DVD movies isn't all in my own ears.

I have no trouble following the dialogue on broadcast TV shows. No trouble at the movie theaters. Hardly any trouble with old VHS tapes. Plenty of trouble trying to follow some of the DVD movies. Shux, The Chief Of Staff has the same trouble too sometimes, & she has way less hearing loss than I have. (She never spent all those years playing horn 1 row in front of a dozen trumpet players.)

I think the combination of cheap built-in audio in the TV set plus low-fo audio tracks on the DVD movies makes for hard-to-hear movie viewing experiences.

If this keeps up, I'll need to switch on the closed captioning. Then I'll miss the on-screen action while trying to read what they're saying. It's always something.

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

Don't know why you have trouble with audio on DVD. I don't think its the DVD's but probably has something to do with your system. On your DVD player check the audio settings. Some players have an enhancement mode that might help. If you are using your TV audio check your settings in the TV menu. It may be a bass/treble setting or a loudness setting. You might want to switch to getting a 5.1 system. Definitive Technology makes a nice 5.1 system at a pretty good price.

 

[calgarygary]

Before going with VHS, we jumped into another format way too early -- sprang for BetaMax & the Sears & Zenith Betamax clones.

Somewhere around here -- down in our basement Museum Of Obsolete Technology -- I think there are still a couple of the old Beta-video machines & a cardboard carton of Betamax cassettes, some home-recorded & some commercial studio movies.

We weren't the 1st on our block to spring for that stuff, but even so we learned our lesson about committing too early to the latest wrinkle in home entertainment technology.

We skipped the whole 8-track tape fiasco, but we overcompensated for that by going way overboard on stereo audio cassette tapes, which are now obsolete in their own right.

So it goes.

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

8 Track you say, wouldn't be interested in my obsolete quad 8 track player would you? Never to late to change your mind about 8 track.:hysterical:

 

[pedro47]

Will this Blue Ray issue means that in the near future all timeshare resorts, hotele.motels and homes will need to upgrade to a Blue Ray machine to view DVD's?.

 

[PigsDad]

Will this Blue Ray issue means that in the near future all timeshare resorts, hotele.motels and homes will need to upgrade to a Blue Ray machine to view DVD's?.

If guest want to view Blu-Ray disks, then yes, there will need to be a Blu-Ray player. DVDs will always be playable on a DVD player, as well as a Blu-Ray player.

Kurt

 

[JeffW]

Onviously every media format will be superceded at some point in time. What you need to look at is longevity. In that respect:

- 8 track was a poor choice over cassette
- Beta was a poor choice over VHS
- LD (and CED) were poor choices over DVD
- HD-DVD will likely be a poor choice over Blue-Ray

- Cassettes were smaller, had much better quality, and were much more reliable that 8 tracks. Cassettes were the portable hi-fi medium of choice during high school (70's-80's), and my 2002 Toyota came with a cassette deck (and CD changer) as standard. That's a good 20 years, maybe 30.

- While DVD's quickly superceded VHS for playback quality, unless you have a DVR, it's still the best way to time-shift record programs. (I know there are VHS-DVD recorder machines out there, but do people use them to say record CSI weekly?). For better or worse I still have a lot of VHS tables, mostly irreplaceable material.

- (12") albums obviously have been superceded by CD's, but I wouldn't call anyone who has a significant album collection "not a visionary". They were around forever, and worked pretty well. Going from analog vinyl to digital (plastic?) was a logical progression. I'm sure almost all of us replaced our most popular albums with CD versions.

- The Pioneer LaserDisc, and then the RCA videodisc (actually used a stylus like an album!) one could say were stopgap measures, filling that void for better video quality that VHS (prerecorded only) before DVD's were introduced. I'd assume at some point the developers of DVD's looked at the LaserDisc, and asked, "How can we make this smaller and better?"

- I can't feel sorry for anyone who bought HD-DVD. It came out basically at the same time as Blue Ray, and it seemed like from the beginning it was always "this is another VHS-Beta war." It was a gamble to invest in either before the market resolved itself to one format.

- One could be tempted to lump in "Sirius vs XM" in this comparison, but (from what I know) I don't think there competition is (was) based so much on technical differences, but rather content. I think the majority of customers are ones that have satellite radios in their cars. I didn't "pick XM" as my provider; rather I bought an Acura, which includes an XM radio as standard. If I bought a Mazda, it would have been Sirius. It's interesting that despite the companies merging, I haven't heard any talk of just having ONE satellite transmission. Instead I think any cost savings is likely the result of combining programming, and multiplexing it on both services (already done with a lot of their channels now).

Jeff

 

[pwrshift]

A friend gave me a DVD of 5 nominated Academy Award movies that were apparently sent to people voting on the best movie category ... I played them on an LCD hotel via my computer and the picture was terrific, probably not blu-ray quality but very good. How did they get 5 movies on one disk... my friend said she downloaded them from some internet site and the largest movie was only 800 kb...yet the pic wonderful. How is that done?

 

[AwayWeGo]

MP4 ?

How is that done?

I think there's some kind of compressed-file form of digital video -- mp4 or some such -- that makes it possible to cram lots more recording time onto 1 disk than standard DVD video.

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

 

[AwayWeGo]

Betamax Videos Are Out Of Here.

Somewhere around here -- down in our basement Museum Of Obsolete Technology -- I think there are still a couple of the old Beta-video machines & a cardboard carton of Betamax cassettes, some home-recorded & some commercial studio movies.

Today The Chief Of Staff took a bunch of junque to a local charity resale store that accepts everything. In the mix were ~200 old Beta video cassettes dredged up out of the Museum Of Obsolete Technology for final disposal.

And now that the Betamax videos are out of here, can the equally obsolete VHS tapes be far behind ?

Next up: dealing with our huge overload of stereo cassette tapes that nobody around here listens to any more -- also, dealing with 30+ feet of old 33⅓ rpm LP records, most of them still perfectly good.

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

 

[laurac260]

I heard a rumor...

and I can't substantiate it because I have no idea where it came from. But the rumor I heard is that the technology to replace blue-ray has already been developed. I used to tell my husband that, I bet there are shelves and shelves somewhere of "new technology" computers, DVD players, et al just sitting there waiting for us gullible consumers to snatch up the here and now. Once we buy what is "here and now", the mfgrs then flood the market with the lastest and greatest. Sometimes I think I might be right on this one.

At any rate, the "rumor" is enough to keep me from rushing out and buying. I don't even have HD Dvd players, so by the time my "regular" dvd players crap out, I think we will know the answer as to whether blue ray has staying power or not. I'm going to wait this one out.

 

[laurac260]

Today The Chief Of Staff took a bunch of junque to a local charity resale store that accepts everything. In the mix were ~200 old Beta video cassettes dredged up out of the Museum Of Obsolete Technology for final disposal.

And now that the Betamax videos are out of here, can the equally obsolete VHS tapes be far behind ?

Next up: dealing with our huge overload of stereo cassette tapes that nobody around here listens to any more -- also, dealing with 30+ feet of old 33⅓ rpm LP records, most of them still perfectly good.

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

We had a garage sale recently. Amongst our stuff was outdoor furniture, a wheelchair, clothes, pictures, lots of stuff. And, a big box full of kids VHS tapes.

What went first? The VHS tapes. People walked out with handfuls of them!