Blu-Ray

[Demon-Mask]

You may have noticed that over the past few years Blu-Ray has become increasingly popular, so popular in fact, that we may have to make a switch from DVD to Blu-Ray, much like when we had to switch from VHS to DVD.

I can see the move from VHS to DVD, instead of having a massive tape that is prone to breaking and the actual video can become distorted easily over time, you have a disc, much like a CD, that is small and less prone to damage, though scratches can render them useless. DVDs also have better video and sound quality.

Blu-Ray hardly changes the physical storage medium, and the quality of video and sound aren't much better. While the ability to store more data on one disc may be helpful for PS3 games, to eliminate the need for multiple discs, this doesn't do much for movies. Not only are they not that much of an improvement for watching movies, they are much more expensive, as are the Blu-Ray players when compared to DVDs and DVD players.

I guess what I'm getting at, is that, to me, a switch to Blu-Ray should not happen.

What do you think?
Should we switch all together, or maybe have DVDs not fade out, and have the option to switch or not?

[nikegirl2012]

I like what they are doing now... the only blue-ray movie I've bought so far is an X Files Double Pack. It has Fight the Future and I want to Believe, and it comes with a digital copy of I want to Believe so that you can transfer the movie to your iPod or whatever. They should just do what they did with cd/dvd's, you dvd player can read cd's... I know it's not the same, but if the prices weren't too high, you could buy the blue-ray knowing it is going to have a dvd for those who haven't bought a blue-ray player and eventually, when prices go down, you'll have your blue-ray disc... no?

[Demon-Mask]

Almost a great idea, but that would force you to pay for both the Blu-Ray and the DVD.

[Winnebagel]

I love Blu Ray. The nice thing about the Blu Ray players is they play regular DVDs too.

I haven't replaced all my DVDs that I already owned, but I have replaced some. Picture wise, Blu Ray is so much better it's not even funny. DVD literally looks like grainy trash on a large screen HD TV. However, Blu Ray (at least most Blu Rays) look nearly perfect.

I still buy old TV shows and things like that on regular DVD, but I don't buy any new movies on DVD - only on Blu Ray.

[Dudebro]

I think we should all wait for the next big fad, it should only take a year or so I bet. Don't blow your money on those 30$ Blu Ray versions.

[StarfoxFan2009]

I'm sticking with the DVDs because i find it easier to acquire those cheap

[Winnebagel]

I think we should all wait for the next big fad, it should only take a year or so I bet. Don't blow your money on those 30$ Blu Ray versions.


I never pay $30.00 for a Blu Ray. I generally buy them on Amazon.com or somewhere online, and they are typically in the $9.99 - $15.99 range.

There's no contest in terms of picture. It's true that there might be another format to replace HD, but I don't think it will be for at least 5-6 years.

Blu Ray really is as good as the ads claim.

[GaMeR_mAn_1]

Remeber Laser Discs. Giant DVD lookin things. I'm with DB on this. If we wait a year or so, thats what we should switch too. Whatever comes aftetr blu ray.
I'll agree that blu-ray quality is very nice on a big screen hd, but dvd looks well enough to me.
Maybe they'll finally just come out with "affordable" virtual reality movies next. Thats what I'm gonna save for.

[Winnebagel]

Remeber Laser Discs. Giant DVD lookin things. I'm with DB on this. If we wait a year or so, thats what we should switch too. Whatever comes aftetr blu ray.
I'll agree that blu-ray quality is very nice on a big screen hd, but dvd looks well enough to me.
Maybe they'll finally just come out with "affordable" virtual reality movies next. Thats what I'm gonna save for.

It might be that Blu Ray could be the next laser disc, but I don't think so because:

- Blu Ray is a much easier format to work with then LD was.

- The discs are much cheaper to produce. In addition, Blu Ray discs are very comparable in price to regular DVD's. Laser Discs cost an average of $100.00-$300.00 back in the late 80's early
90's. That would probably be around $300.00-$500.00 today (per movie).

- The jump to Blu Ray is a significant jump up in picture quality, and as more and more people are making the switch to HD TV's, people are realizing the advantages and quality of Blu.

- With game systems such as PS3, making the jump is even easier. You can get a game system, plus one of the best Blu Ray players on the market in one shot. PS3's market share has continued to gradually increase, and IMHO it's not because of the 12 original games on the system. It's primarily because of Blu, and its reputation as one of the best Blu Ray players.

- Many people (especially young people) seem to think that streaming and downloadable HD movies are going to totally take over the home video market in the next couple of years, but this really can't be because bandwidth is not yet sufficient to make watching HD movies in this format realistic yet. I'm not saying it won't be there sometime in the next 4-8 years, but it won't happen in the next couple barring some magical technological breakthrough or benevolent aliens bestowing this tech in 2012. :p

- People also used this exact argument when DVD's came out. They said they would never replace their precious VHS tapes because the quality jump to DVD was not good enough, DVD's were too expensive, it was just a trick on the part of corporations to get more money, and it would only be around a little bit as DVD was the "next laser disc" and would quickly be replaced with the next big thing. That was back in 1997, and we all know how that turned out. I know many people on here may be too young too remember this, but that's how it went.

I'm not saying that BD will be the format forever, but I do think that it will be around for awhile, as more people realize that DVD is not sufficient quality in an HD age.

[GaMeR_mAn_1]

@WB, you bring up some fantastic points.
I forget about the PS3 seein as I went with the 360(halo fan) and I cant quite afford two systems at once.
And I'm not sayin that BD will be as obsolete as LD went, I just think that something else is probably lurking right around the corner.
I do find the BD to be superior in quality, but I have spent some time on my dvd collection and I am not sure I'm ready to give that up and converge into this up start BD. Were in a Tech age and I really dnt think its time to switch up yet. I could be wrong and I'll be the first to admit it when Im sure that I am. But my dvds look pretty good on my HD TV so far so I just dont think I'll be switching anytime soon.

[Winnebagel]

@WB, you bring up some fantastic points.
I forget about the PS3 seein as I went with the 360(halo fan) and I cant quite afford two systems at once.
And I'm not sayin that BD will be as obsolete as LD went, I just think that something else is probably lurking right around the corner.
I do find the BD to be superior in quality, but I have spent some time on my dvd collection and I am not sure I'm ready to give that up and converge into this up start BD. Were in a Tech age and I really dnt think its time to switch up yet. I could be wrong and I'll be the first to admit it when Im sure that I am. But my dvds look pretty good on my HD TV so far so I just dont think I'll be switching anytime soon.

Thanks GM. I actually bought the PS3 just for the Blu Ray player, but I think a lot of people do for both. Actually other than the game that came with the system (Drake's Fortune), God of War III is the first PS3 game I have purchased in about 2 1/2 years.

I pretty much game on 360 and Wii, but mostly 360.

I respect your opinion on this. So far, the adoption rate of Blu Ray is around the adoption rate of DVDs at the same point. It slowed just a bit due to the economy problems of the last couple of years (but so did regular DVDs), so I guess we will see what happens within the next couple of years.

My perspective is that, since I have a Blu Ray player anyway, why not buy Blu Rays? I get them for the same price as regular DVDs, and I believe the quality is much better, so I feel it's a win/win situation.

[Kong]

- Many people (especially young people) seem to think that streaming and downloadable HD movies are going to totally take over the home video market in the next couple of years, but this really can't be because bandwidth is not yet sufficient to make watching HD movies in this format realistic yet.The Internet is already providing DVD downloads and near DVD streaming. But I guess you meant higher quality than that.

Blu-ray Disc - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc)
Currently contain 25-50GB of data. The limit is "unclear" but 100GB is as high as current players can go without modifications.
Maximum transfer rate 54MB/s. HD movies play at 4-10MB/s
They have not maxed out the possibilities of this medium yet. Maybe movies don't need more info stored on disk and read per second than what we have now.

Holographic Versatile Disc - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Holographic data storage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Can hold 6TB, 6,000GB, 60 large Blu Ray disks.
Max transfer rate 125MB/s
Sony, Phillips, TDK and Panasonic will sell them in 2019.
Nintendo is investing in this so my uneducated guess is you will see a new Nintendo in 2020 with Holo Disks and you will have to start thinking of converting from Blu Ray then.


Holographic Versatile Card - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
These are being sold now in Japan. They are the size of credit cards and cost a dollar each for a blank one. They hold 30GB of data - more than a standard Blu-Ray movie but less than a max blu ray disk. They are 3 times faster than max Blu-Ray. No moving parts - means less chances for damage. A player cost $1,800. Price will probably drop.

[joz]

I think I'll wait to see what happens. For the time being, I'll just stick to DVDs.

[Winnebagel]

The Internet is already providing DVD downloads and near DVD streaming. But I guess you meant higher quality than that.

Blu-ray Disc - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc)
Currently contain 25-50GB of data. The limit is "unclear" but 100GB is as high as current players can go without modifications.
Maximum transfer rate 54MB/s. HD movies play at 4-10MB/s
They have not maxed out the possibilities of this medium yet. Maybe movies don't need more info stored on disk and read per second than what we have now.

Holographic Versatile Disc - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_Versatile_Disc)
Holographic data storage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_data_storage)
Can hold 6TB, 6,000GB, 60 large Blu Ray disks.
Max transfer rate 125MB/s
Sony, Phillips, TDK and Panasonic will sell them in 2019.
Nintendo is investing in this so my uneducated guess is you will see a new Nintendo in 2020 with Holo Disks and you will have to start thinking of converting from Blu Ray then.


Holographic Versatile Card - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_Versatile_Card)
These are being sold now in Japan. They are the size of credit cards and cost a dollar each for a blank one. They hold 30GB of data - more than a standard Blu-Ray movie but less than a max blu ray disk. They are 3 times faster than max Blu-Ray. No moving parts - means less chances for damage. A player cost $1,800. Price will probably drop.

That would be sweet if things eventually go holo. Imagine games like that. Until then, I am having fun with the Blu. :)

[Kong]

BTW. I think Holo Disks are the same as the Crystal Hard Drives that are supposed to be the wave of the future.

[Winnebagel]

BTW. I think Holo Disks are the same as the Crystal Hard Drives that are supposed to be the wave of the future.

Really? Pretty cool. 2019 though? We have to get through 2010 first. :p

[Demon-Mask]

We all have VHS, maybe we should all switch to Betamax, that failed. We should switch to Laser Disk, that failed. We should switch to DVD, success. Every third attempted format change for videos seems to work out, so it will be whatever comes after the thing right after Blu-Ray that we all switch to.

[DrunkN]

We all have VHS, maybe we should all switch to Betamax, that failed. We should switch to Laser Disk, that failed. We should switch to DVD, success. Every third attempted format change for videos seems to work out, so it will be whatever comes after the thing right after Blu-Ray that we all switch to.
We should switch back to VHS...

[Winnebagel]

We all have VHS, maybe we should all switch to Betamax, that failed. We should switch to Laser Disk, that failed. We should switch to DVD, success. Every third attempted format change for videos seems to work out, so it will be whatever comes after the thing right after Blu-Ray that we all switch to.

So you think it's more about a magical formula and less about quality and affordability?

[Demon-Mask]

So you think it's more about a magical formula and less about quality and affordability?
No, it just seems to be a trend here, of course Sony tried to shove Betamax down our throats, so that contributed to the failure. I think we should leave things as they are, people are happy with DVD, and others are happy with Blu-Ray, so we should have the option to go either way.

[Seahawk]

I think what makes this transition trickier this time around is that the physical media (optical disk) is the same. As demon said in the first post, VHS tapes are a clunky medium that is much more prone to failure than a disk is. Even with proper care they can fade away. Switching from VHS to disk format required buying an entirely new device for reading a different physical device.

This time, even though the storage format differs, you are exchanging a device that plays disks for another device that also plays disks, albeit also supporting a new format. I think this dilutes the perceived worth of the product in question, especially early on when prices for Blu-Ray players were through the roof.

However, with price drops across the board with all products, and if you have a HDTV setup already, it becomes more appealing. And anyways unlike VHS-to-DVD, most Blu-Ray players will also play your DVDs, maybe even with some resolution upscaling. And unlike the tape format wars of the late 80s, Blu-Ray has already beaten out its competitor, and I don't think the Hollywood money machine will want to switch to any new formats for a while now that Blu-Ray is established and can support their HD releases for the time being.

I believe that it is more important that interfaces to such devices remain the same.

For example, CD/DVD/Blu-Ray/Future disk tech are all different data formats, but fundamentally they do the same thing: bounce a laser off of a reflective surface. The only difference between them is space and timing constraints. Another example, computer hard drive technology has changed a lot throughout the years and many developments are still being made in that area, but the connectors between them and the computer are usually now standard SATA cables, so you can swap out any hard drive from any manufacturer as long as it supports this protocol.

Also, unlike the hodge podge of previous analog (composite/s-video/YPrBr) display standards, the HDMI/DVI video broadcast formats are standard and are followed in all devices.

So, I think that whatever technology miracles happen are less important now as long as some base standards stay the same.

DVD won't be going away anytime soon, but you can bet that movie studios are itching for the day they can ditch it and make Blu-Ray the only format to make more money. So, I think that after 3 years of it, Blu-Ray is a safe way to go now. You can stay with DVD but the pressure to change will only increase as sales start going down.

Now, this new 3D technology........you should watch out for it, it reeks of hype =P.

[Demon-Mask]

Now, this new 3D technology........you should watch out for it, it reeks of hype =P.
And not in a good way.

[Dudebro]

I just think the BR switch isn't going as planned and it won't take over for DVDs completely before the next innovation hits. DVDs and BRs are being sold side by side in stores and BRs are always more expensive. Until that changes most people will not bother with them and that's a fact. Obviously the price will go down but it's a matter of when. Not everyone is savvy enough for shopping online for the good deals.

[Seahawk]

I just think the BR switch isn't going as planned and it won't take over for DVDs completely before the next innovation hits. DVDs and BRs are being sold side by side in stores and BRs are always more expensive. Until that changes most people will not bother with them and that's a fact. Obviously the price will go down but it's a matter of when. Not everyone is savvy enough for shopping online for the good deals.

Well, it makes sense. As I said in my post, both are disk based, so a lot of people will see it as the same technology no matter what you say. Yes Blu-Ray can do 1080p, but that doesn't matter to a lot of people who are established with huge collections of DVDs already. You can make DVD movies look pretty with component cables anyways.

Also one thing I forgot to mention is that DVD technology is still pretty young. VHS lasted around 20 years in the mainstream market before truely being discontinued. When DVDs were newly released, VHS technology had been so mastered that really the only differences between them was that you didn't have to adjust a tracking dial on your DVD player, and maybe you got a second disk with bonus content. Quality wise both were pretty much the same (in my opinion). However eventually DVD offered true benefits to VHS, and became cheaper than VHS entirely.

DVD technology has been mainstream for less than 10 years, and already a successor is out. That doesn't sit well with a lot of people. Sure the statistics say that HDTVs are selling like crazy but those are ignoring the (probably larger amount of) people that still have SDTVs. For them there's no reason to upgrade.

Also, movie studios are always pushing for the next format, it lets them put 'HD' labels on their product and raise the price, and to further control distribution of their content. Look at the 3D hype going on now, 6 months ago nobody cared about this, now many companies are rushing to introduce new product (3D TVs, glasses, etc) or making updates to existing product (PS3/XBox360 updates). All of this will cost money, and not everyone wants to spend that right now.

[Dudebro]

Well, it makes sense. As I said in my post, both are disk based, so a lot of people will see it as the same technology no matter what you say. Yes Blu-Ray can do 1080p, but that doesn't matter to a lot of people who are established with huge collections of DVDs already. You can make DVD movies look pretty with component cables anyways.
Exactly. If they want BR to really catch on they have to make it worth it to the average person.

[Seahawk]

Exactly. If they want BR to really catch on they have to make it worth it to the average person.

The average person wants a lot of things, I'm sure there are many people who have never bothered with the DVD rereleases of many VHS productions, and never upgraded from VHS at all.

As its core, Blu-Ray is only an upgrade to DVD technology.

I'm sure everyone, and I mean everyone appreciates scene select on DVDs, as opposed to rewind/fast forward on VHS (although, now that gives me 'retro' feeling when I do that now, just like when I pop in a floppy disk in my computer for fun XD).

Blu-Ray doesn't offer anything new that is revolutionary or convenient like that, unless you consider HD revolutionary, but I don't think so. It's just makes it more like bringing the movie theater home.

It kind of parallels the 1980's video game console advertisements that claimed to bring 'the arcade experience home', now that I think about it. But I guess thats another topic =).

[GaMeR_mAn_1]

BR is great, but like seahawk said people dont see it as enough of an advancement to be worth the switch. In the case of the PS3 if you had already bought one for gaming, then yeah you might as well by the blu-ray discs to go with it.
I'm plannin on gettin a PS3 sometime soon so at that point I'll probably make the switch, but until then theres just not enough of an advantage in my pov to do it yet.
I do think when the next big thing comes out there will be a bigger push to switch, just like when all programs had to be switched to HD so you had to either getan HDTV or converter box or something to make the switch, I think something similar will happen when the next "recording viewing" product comes out.

[Kong]

I would guess that in the year 2020 Blu-Ray will still be a major format, DVD will not.

[Mareeps]

I look at video picture the way i look at video game graphics: If i can tell what i'm looking at, its a good picture.