[2008] Is Blu-Ray dying?

[pgnewarkboy]

I might buy blu-ray for 50 bucks

I wouldn't spend more then 50 bucks for a blu-ray player because I think the optical disk and other physical media are on their way out. I can stream great looking HD movies from Netflix, Zune, and see them on HBO, Starz etc.

I recently integrated my xbox 360 into my home computer system and watch home movies and listen to recorded music from my main home theater set up. No CDs, or DVD's required. Everything looks and sounds great. I back up everything regularly into the cloud through carbonite.com so I don't have to worry about crashes on my PC.

 

[Talent312]

Not so fast, my fine feathered-friend.
The better blu-ray players give regular DVD's a fresh new, almost HD look on a HD-TV. Thus, avoiding the need for those of us with shelves full of titles like "Lord of the Rings," "Shrek," etc., to replace or trash our DVD collection. Although I will admit that "Blade Runner" must be seen in blu-ray.

 

[joestein]

I wouldn't spend more then 50 bucks for a blu-ray player because I think the optical disk and other physical media are on their way out. I can stream great looking HD movies from Netflix, Zune, and see them on HBO, Starz etc.

I recently integrated my xbox 360 into my home computer system and watch home movies and listen to recorded music from my main home theater set up. No CDs, or DVD's required. Everything looks and sounds great. I back up everything regularly into the cloud through carbonite.com so I don't have to worry about crashes on my PC.

First, the movies that are streamed from Netflix are not HD in any way. Quite often the quality is not even upto SD. It depends on how the connection is going.

Second, HD TV from dish or cable is at most 1080i, depending on the delivery system, the quaility is not always there. My brother recently changed his provider of cable and the difference in the same HD channels is night and day.

The question is there any difference between 1080i and 1080p in quality - not really sure. Blu-ray movies are 1080p.

Blu-ray is talking off this holiday seanson. I already had a PS3 in my bedroom, but i just bought an LG BD-370 for the living room for $137 that came with 3 free movies. There are many players out there for $100, almost all name brands can be had under $150. The movies are starting to come down in price and they are smartly making dual packages with a DVD included. I expect 2010 will be a banner year for Blu-ray.

Joe

 

[PGtime]

Blu-ray

Who knows, maybe BD's are on their way out. But I don't think that will happen until a "better mousetrap" makes its debut. Where else can you get 1080p resolution plus true lossless (i.e. uncompressed) sound (DTS-HD Master & Dobly TrueHD)? The Blu-ray format is head and shoulders above DVD in both sound & picture quality.

BTW, I'll be the 1st to admit I am almost always an early adopter of new technology, as audio / video is a hobby of mine for over 25 years. I have long since trashed almost all of my VHS tapes AND DVD's (only kept those that are irreplaceable). Lest you think I'm rich or a spend thrift (I'm neither), getting rid of older formats is relatively easy if you do it early enough (i.e. before everyone sees the writing on the wall). There have always been (and hopefully always will be) stores that buy and sell the various medias used. Nowadays, Movie Stop is a great place to buy used BD's.

Just my $.02

Paul

 

[dioxide45]

If you are always waiting for the next new technology to come out before you buy anything, you would still be watching an old B&W television. There will always be something bigger and better around the corner.

 

[Elan]

If you are always waiting for the next new technology to come out before you buy anything, you would still be watching an old B&W television. There will always be something bigger and better around the corner.

Exactly! And since BD players (with networking) are about $100 right now, there's no good reason to not purchase one.

 

[dioxide45]

Our dilemma, we just upgraded to BluRay, do we eliminate the old VHS machine that is currently connected to our system? I guess it will go, we will still likely hold on to our DVDR that we have as it is still good for saving TV shows we want to retain.

 

[jlwquilter]

Our dilemma, we just upgraded to BluRay, do we eliminate the old VHS machine that is currently connected to our system? I guess it will go, we will still likely hold on to our DVDR that we have as it is still good for saving TV shows we want to retain.

We kept, and have connected, our VHS player as well as the Sony PS3. We didn't at the beginning (which was Father's Day last year) but a few months later I got the yen to watch a movie that we only had on VHS. I am too cheap to buy something new when I have something old that works great. So hook it up DH did. Both players work fine and it's easy to switch between them and watching regular (or DVDR) TV. Switching involves simply choosing the correct input choice off of the menu displayed on the TV. Big deal - have to do that to use the PS3 already anyway.

Our "issue" is lack of space. We didn't buy an entertainment center and use an old desk we had. No space. So the VHS is balanced on top of the PS3 (or is it the other way around?) which looks crappy but it works.

 

[janej]

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.​

Alan,

Will you share the contact information of the local charity resale store? We live in the same area. We just received our first big screen HDTV. Need to get rid of our old entertainment center and all the tapes/DVDs inside to make room for the bigger TV.

Thanks,

Jane

 

[easyrider]

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

We have the PS3 160 gb and have watched blue ray with it. Since I do not have a regular blue ray player I can't say if the ps3 has a better or equal picture as these other players. The picture is amazinging watching blue ray on ps3 compared to our regular dvd player. We play games mostly on our ps3 and have our ps3 conected to the internet.

 

[laurac260]

If you are always waiting for the next new technology to come out before you buy anything, you would still be watching an old B&W television. There will always be something bigger and better around the corner.

That's a bit of a stretch, but I guess I get your point. But I know plenty of people who went out and bought that first generation DVD player, you know, the one with 10 inch "discs", that went the way of the dinosaur in about 10 minutes. My rule is, I never buy anything when it first comes out. Not cars, not DVD players, operating systems, nothing. The price is always way too high, and they still haven't been road tested by the average consumer. Let someone else be the guinea pig, I'll pass.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Unique Thrift Store, On Gallows Road In Merrifield VA.

Will you share the contact information of the local charity resale store?

Its name is Unique Thrift Store -- the humongous thrift store on Gallows Road between Lee Highway & Arlington Boulevard, in that large shopping center next to Luther Jackson School.

The loading dock for donations is down a short driveway, next to the main walk-in entrance.

On request, the staff person at the dock will hand you a (blank) donation receipt.

-- 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 never buy anything when it first comes out.

Me neither -- most of the time.

But when the Dodge minivan people came out with Stow & Go, I didn't waste much time going for a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT equipped with Stow & Go -- the earliest model year on which that option was available.

Even so, I didn't trot on down to the friendly neighborhood Dodge Boys. I went eBay all the way -- bought a former New Orleans airport rental minivan with 18,000 miles on it via eBay from an independent dealer in Orlando FL.

We flew Air Tran to MCO, picked up the minivan from the dealer (who met us at MCO), stayed 1 night in a PriceLine motel, checked in next day for a week at our outstanding Orlando timeshare, then drove home in the not-new Grand Caravan SXT.

That was in November 2004.

A 2005 model bought used in 2004 -- who'd a-thunk ?

Meanwhile, the parent car company, which was hanging by a thread from going bankrupt, got bailed out & went bankrupt anyway, & got taken over by the government. So much for Stow & Go, eh ?

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

 

[janej]

Its name is Unique Thrift Store -- the humongous thrift store on Gallows Road between Lee Highway & Arlington Boulevard, in that large shopping center next to Luther Jackson School.

The loading dock for donations is down a short driveway, next to the main walk-in entrance.

On request, the staff person at the dock will hand you a (blank) donation receipt.

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

Thanks a lot, Alan! I know that place. We go to the Asian grocery store in the same plaza all the time. But never checked out the Unique warehouse store there.

 

[pgnewarkboy]

I'm Just Sayin

I know, all about the sound and the 1080P. Yup, probably better. Yet, all the major players have seen the future, and it is in the cloud. That is why Google, Microsoft, and Apple, and Panasonic, and Sony, and LG, and Verizon, and Comcast, - are into streaming from the net. When you buy a flat screen today you get streaming capability. Same for a game console. Same for a Blu-Ray player!

Netflix HD looks great on my FIOS Broadband. Maybe its not 1080 P but it looks great and is much more convenient then fooling with a disc. If I want to own a movie I can download it on my XBOX 360 in HD or onto my PC. Then back it up into the cloud and have it no matter what machine I get next.

However, I have 50 bucks to burn and am still willing to buy a blu-ray player for that - at least today.

 

[Transit]

I know, all about the sound and the 1080P. Yup, probably better. Yet, all the major players have seen the future, and it is in the cloud. That is why Google, Microsoft, and Apple, and Panasonic, and Sony, and LG, and Verizon, and Comcast, - are into streaming from the net. When you buy a flat screen today you get streaming capability. Same for a game console. Same for a Blu-Ray player!

Netflix HD looks great on my FIOS Broadband. Maybe its not 1080 P but it looks great and is much more convenient then fooling with a disc. If I want to own a movie I can download it on my XBOX 360 in HD or onto my PC. Then back it up into the cloud and have it no matter what machine I get next.

However, I have 50 bucks to burn and am still willing to buy a blu-ray player for that - at least today.

I agree with you post but I haven't seen Blu-ray dive down to the 50 bucks zone yet.If you have please share.

 

[DaveNV]

I agree with you post but I haven't seen Blu-ray dive down to the 50 bucks zone yet.If you have please share.

Cheapest I've seen for a player was a Black Friday deal at Costco for $99. That was for either a Sony or Samsung - can't recall which brand. Since I already own a Sony, I'm set for now. I didn't get one of these, but I was tempted.

Dave

 

[pwrshift]

I stored hundreds of media in my home library room and decided to redecorate. I had 18 large boxes of LP's, and 12 boxes of old VHS tapes I recorded off tv programs for future viewing (which I seldom did). Some of those old VHS tapes were so old I remember them costing me $30 or so. For the cleanup -- I went through each and every one of them to read the content pulled off about 20 that I wanted to keep and perhaps transfer to DVD, but it broke my heart to have to throw out perhaps 500 of those formerly blank VHS tapes. Also threw out hundreds of cassettes I recorded for playing music in my car -- spend hours and hours doing it over the years, and not they're in the garbage. Ouch.

I just can't part with my LP's yet so packed them up and put them in boxes downstairs -- several were classics (like the Stone's zipper) -- maybe I could get rich on Ebay with some of them -- like all my old Playboy's. I also kept the prerecorded VHS tapes (ie. Disney) for some reason, knowing they can't be copied. I guess I have a problem throwing things out -- I still have every camera I ever owned (hello Ebay?) along with my grandfather's really old camera that has a roll-out bellows on it, etc.

So, today, being able to buy a blank DVD for about 25 cents is quite amazing...and the quality considerably better than any tape or LP. But, it's just not as easy to record a movie or show onto a DVD as it was on a VHS recorder - or to erase it. I guess that's where the PVR's came in from the cable company -- which I also love as I can stop any program when the pnone rings and continue later ... or store movies in 1080i that I can watch later (if ever). I find I'm not copying them to DVD but that lessens the quality. I, for one, can see a diff between 1080i and 1080p.

So I moved into getting a great Canon HDV camcorder with the thought of making my own 1080p movies...only to find out that's not so easy...and certainly not cheap. In addition, it takes a very long time to record a BluRay disk (and doubt they can be copied even on your computer). So I didn't upgrade my computer to making BluRay disks and wonder what's the point of movie taking in HD if you can only watch it on your TV from the camcorder via HDMI cable to your TV?

Having said that, when I do connnect the HD camcorder to the 1080p TV it is unbelieveably good - every bit as good as a bluray movie but a lot more personal...but no sound effects, titles, editing, authoring, etc. So now I make my home movies in SD widescreen format on DVD (which look better on a BluRay player btw) but with titles, music, etc., and long for the day when I can make my own HD movies.

I don't think technology will be that patient. BluRay will die as it can't be copied easily IMO. No doubt this HD camcorder is one for my collection ... but it's fun. Life has trade-offs.

Brian

 

[PGtime]

Blu-ray cheap & new technology

pgnewarkboy,
The cheapest I saw (advertisement) was for $78 at Walmart on Black Friday, so it's getting close to your range. I have no doubt that it will get there soon enough.

BTW, speaking of technology and the inevitable drop in prices... Back in the 1980's I worked at an electronics store (right up my alley, due to my interest in audio/video). The owner had a sales contest that I won. The prize was for the top of the line Boston Acoustics tower speakers. A decent speaker, however, I already had a pair of Vandersteen 2C's (much better & I still have them!). Anyway, I negotiated with the owner to allow me to pick something else. I picked the top of the line Canon hifi VHS. At the time, the cost was over $1000.00, with a retail of over $1200.00. Two notes about this:
1. That machine lasted well over 25 years; the only repair was for a belt that cost me $25, including labor, when it was 15 years old.
2. In the past, new technology was actually built much better. The new VHS, DVD, etc. machines can be had for about as much as I paid for the repair. I'm not sure that new technology being built better is still true, as the prices tend to drop faster than before.

Paul

 

[pgnewarkboy]

pgnewarkboy,
The cheapest I saw (advertisement) was for $78 at Walmart on Black Friday, so it's getting close to your range. I have no doubt that it will get there soon enough.

BTW, speaking of technology and the inevitable drop in prices... Back in the 1980's I worked at an electronics store (right up my alley, due to my interest in audio/video). The owner had a sales contest that I won. The prize was for the top of the line Boston Acoustics tower speakers. A decent speaker, however, I already had a pair of Vandersteen 2C's (much better & I still have them!). Anyway, I negotiated with the owner to allow me to pick something else. I picked the top of the line Canon hifi VHS. At the time, the cost was over $1000.00, with a retail of over $1200.00. Two notes about this:
1. That machine lasted well over 25 years; the only repair was for a belt that cost me $25, including labor, when it was 15 years old.
2. In the past, new technology was actually built much better. The new VHS, DVD, etc. machines can be had for about as much as I paid for the repair. I'm not sure that new technology being built better is still true, as the prices tend to drop faster than before.

Paul

I think that quality is most products is taking a never ending nosedive. Perhaps it is because everything is being built in China.

 

[easyrider]

I know, all about the sound and the 1080P. Yup, probably better. Yet, all the major players have seen the future, and it is in the cloud. That is why Google, Microsoft, and Apple, and Panasonic, and Sony, and LG, and Verizon, and Comcast, - are into streaming from the net. When you buy a flat screen today you get streaming capability. Same for a game console. Same for a Blu-Ray player!

Netflix HD looks great on my FIOS Broadband. Maybe its not 1080 P but it looks great and is much more convenient then fooling with a disc. If I want to own a movie I can download it on my XBOX 360 in HD or onto my PC. Then back it up into the cloud and have it no matter what machine I get next.

However, I have 50 bucks to burn and am still willing to buy a blu-ray player for that - at least today.

I think your right. All of our dvd players and game systems will eventually be replaced by computers and all of the software relaced with cloud computing. Im thinking about investing in this technology as it could be the next big winner.

 

[Transit]

PS3 or mid level Blu-ray.It's a tough choice since we already have an Xbox 360. The PS3 isn't that much more than a mid level Blu-ray player.I have to think about this a bit more.

 

[pgnewarkboy]

Sony's New Online Strategy per N.Y. Times

Sony the inventor and major backer of blu-ray has, as I posted earlier, seen the future. It is online. This article confirms my thesis.

" Sony’s chief executive, Howard Stringer, has a grand idea: an all-in-one online network that pipes Sony’s films, music, games and other content to its TVs, Walkmans and PlayStation game machines.

Skip to next paragraph

Hauryoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg News
Howard Stringer, Sony's chief executive, says a new online service, will link the company's digital content and its hardware. "

 

[hvacrsteve]

Blu ray versus streaming

I think that we will all be streaming sooner than we think, the issue is bandwidth, it is steadily getting better.

I just streamed a HD movie last night!

I could not believe the quality!

Most are not that good, but my Blu ray player, I love, I actually
have three of them.
Two of them stream movies as well.

It is so easy to stream if you have a fast connection.

I can start streaming faster than getting up, putting in a new disc and waiting for the movies to start!

A few more years and thats what we will all be doing!

 

[PClapham]

This is getting to my precise question-how to tell if a Bluray player will also stream? What brands and what to look for on package to know this? I want to buy one for my son for Christmas!.
Thanks
Anita