Are you a Blu-Ray & 3D skeptic?

[Hober Mallow]

I'm still enjoying my CEDs.

No shit? You actually have one of those? That's awesome. Does it sk... sk... skip?

I always wondered about the video quality of a disc that uses a stylus. Does it compare with magnetic tape (VHS/Beta) or is it better? The wiki article says this -- "video quality (approx 3 MHz of luma bandwidth for CED was comparable to a VHS-SP or Betamax-II video, but sub-par compared to Laserdisc (about 5 MHz of luma bandwidth)" -- but that doesn't really tell me anything. Does it have video "noise" like VHS/Beta?

 

[Trekker4747]

No, it was a joke I was making reeople not upgrading because "something better will come along."

They look nifty, though, I'd like to have one.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Some of you may be too young to remember DIVX as the horribly failed Circuit City disc format and are confusing it with DIVX the movie codec:

I am well aware of the movie codec, thank you. I didn't mean that. I was indeed talking about the Circuit City disc abomination.

 

[Kelso]

I'm still enjoying my CEDs.

No shit? You actually have one of those? That's awesome. Does it sk... sk... skip?

My uncle used to have a great CED collection. About ten years ago, a buddy and I opened the player up and got it working (replaced the broken belt with a rubber band- didn't hold long but worked well enough.)

Unfortunately, he threw his entire collection and player in the trash when he moved, not knowing that I would have loved to have it.

At least I was able to score his laserdiscs and a couple of players before he junked those. Bolstered my collection nicely.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

A 4 GB disc is not comparable to a 50 GB. And there's no way that the studios are going to start charging you periodically to continue watching your movies just because BD players can connect to the internet.

And besides, BD players *can* connect to the net, but they don't HAVE to. You can disconnect your player (if it's net capable) and it will still work. And older players don't connect at all. So the potential for spying, if it exists at all, is minimal at best.

I only use my player's net connection to do firmware updates (which it's only needed one, since I bought it).

 

[Hober Mallow]

No, it was a joke I was making reeople not upgrading because "something better will come along."

Well, poop on you.

They look nifty, though, I'd like to have one.

Never even knew they existed until about five years ago.

My uncle used to have a great CED collection. About ten years ago, a buddy and I opened the player up and got it working (replaced the broken belt with a rubber band- didn't hold long but worked well enough.)

Unfortunately, he threw his entire collection and player in the trash when he moved, not knowing that I would have loved to have it.

That sucks. They must be pretty rare. Even today, you can find betamax players, LD players and the movies every now and then at the thrift store, but I've never seen a CED player.

I only use my player's net connection to do firmware updates (which it's only needed one, since I bought it).

I've had mine about a year and a half, and I've never done it.

 

[MNM]

And there's no way that the studios are going to start charging you periodically to continue watching your movies just because BD players can connect to the internet.

They'd love to do that, dont kid yourself thinking otherwise.

 

[Hober Mallow]

And there's no way that the studios are going to start charging you periodically to continue watching your movies just because BD players can connect to the internet.

They'd love to do that, dont kid yourself thinking otherwise.

Book publishers would love to charge your bank account every single time you reread a book, but that's not gonna happen either.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

And there's no way that the studios are going to start charging you periodically to continue watching your movies just because BD players can connect to the internet.

They'd love to do that, dont kid yourself thinking otherwise.

Book publishers would love to charge your bank account every single time you reread a book, but that's not gonna happen either.

Until now they couldn't. But with the advent of Kindle/et al, all they have to do is encode the file with a counter that locks it up or erases it after so many "reads".

It's just like when Microsoft had people constantly having to validate their software for the purposes of "fighting piracy".

 

[Starbreaker]

But it's NOT going to happen. TrekBBS could be stealing my information to sell to China right now, but I just have faith.

 

[Rii]

They'd love to do that, dont kid yourself thinking otherwise.

Book publishers would love to charge your bank account every single time you reread a book, but that's not gonna happen either.

Until now they couldn't. But with the advent of Kindle/et al, all they have to do is encode the file with a counter that locks it up or erases it after so many "reads".

Srsly. The naivety here is worrying. The only thing stopping them is that the market won't bear it. And the only reason it won't is because it's not accustomed to such. So they'll do it very, very slowly. Games are leading the way in this kind of market experimentation. Pay to play online, DLC, always-online requirement from Ubisoft, now EA are testing the waters with tying multiplayer access for individual games to individual accounts/machines to decimate the used/rental market. Online purchase platforms like Steam and Blizzard's new Battle.net serve the same purpose: to ensure that you can't sell the game on. 'It'll never happen' my ass. The BD Live! thing is explicitly there to bridge the technological barriers to such and get folks used to 'going online' as part of the film-watching experience. The next part is getting folks to enter their credit card details for 'super special features'.

'Intellectual Property' is such a crock of shit.

 

[EnsignRicky]

Blu-Ray is a myth I tell you!!
And as far as 3-D goes, I only believe what I see with my own two eyes.

 

[Alex1939]

I hate how just to watch a tv show these days you have to be a fucking digital video technician or somesuch.

Wanky "my screen/dick is bigger than yours" bullshit.

To me, this comes across as a very jealous post against those with more/better possessions than you.

I certainly enjoy watching movies/shows in high quality whether I own one or am just fortunate to watch it at friends or family.

Seems like a silly thing to feel threatened/jealous because someone else is excited about their media setup. We all have our interest and if that is what someone chooses to put their money into, more power to them.



To the original question, sold on Blu-ray, not on 3d. Very rare that I actually go to a theater anymore, so I haven't experienced the cool 3d avatar or anything.

However to echo a previous poster in this thread, I have not bought Blu-ray's in the way I bought Dvds. I've had it for years, but now I only purchase things I know will get 5 or more viewings. Otherwise it's become more affordable and convenient to just rent.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

I hate how just to watch a tv show these days you have to be a fucking digital video technician or somesuch.

Totally disagree.
Once a TV & cable box is installed you just turn it on. If you are speaking about self-installation then just pay someone to do it.
It is technology and sometimes the installation has a learning curve, not so much the actual user experience of using it though.
power on, channel up or down buttons.

 

[Tulin]

Re-read some of the former posts.

It's not so much what you described, it's more this wanky thing of knowing all the stats and different systems and their resolutions and so on and so forth that people spout off as if they're video technicians. Don't care for knowing it all and don't need to.

THAT'S part of the reason I don't like this new stuff. With my current tv I turn it on and there's a picture. None of this other bullshit. And personally I don't need to see Matt Damon's skin pores or the acne scars on Rovert Davi's face up close.

THAT is the wanky part - the "It's NEW so I HAVE TO get it!!!" The very same people lining up at an Apple store at midnight because they MUST be THE FIRST to have this new stuff.

I'm tired and I'm going to bed.

Now you kids stay out of my yard!!!!

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It's not hard to understand HDTV resolutions. Not that you have to, really; just use HDMI connections, and everything pretty much configures itself since HDMI is a 'smart' connector.

 

[23skidoo]

Blu Ray, no, as it posesses backwards compatibility and doesn't render your DVD library obsolete, and improves the video quality of most of your DVDs.

That pretty much covers my view on Blu-Ray. I had to get one eventually because retailers in my part of the world are starting to order Blu-Ray more than DVD, so I was sort of forced into it. However as noted you can still play DVDs (though one caveat - I think older DVDs suck when played on full 1080 LCD sets, so I got myself a 720 plasma instead and have been very pleased with the results).

That said, I have actually purchased very few Blu-Rays. Most of what I want to watch - old TV shows, old movies - are only on DVD or are pointless to release in HD. And while they've gotten better at it, there is STILL the issue that Blu-Ray releases often are lacking extra features on the DVD versions. I was in the checkout line about to buy the Blu-Ray version of Lord of the Rings until I noticed they were only the theatrical versions, not the extended versions from the DVD, so I didn't bother.

3-D TV I have no use for. As I stated in a thread a couple weeks ago, I don't feel there is anything added to the experience or the story by adding this gimmick, and it's a pain in the ass to have to wear the glasses (especially over my own glasses), and you have to pay extra, and it more or less renders the sets unsuitable for "party watching". Forget it. The minidisc was supposed to make VHS and DVD and CD go away, and it crashed and burned. 3-D TV will do the same. Especially since people have already been shelling out thousands of recession-era dollars they can ill afford in order to get their HDTV sets.

Alex

 

[Starbreaker]

Blu-Ray has been around for a few years now. It's hardly "new."

 

[Smiley]

Blu-ray's life cycle is roughly mirroring what happened with DVDs, so it is fast becoming the format of choice for the mass market. Whether or not it is time to adopt it is a matter of personal choice. However, there are enough Blu-ray exclusive extras in addition to the higher quality of video and sound to make Blu-ray my format of choice for new purchases. DVD may not exit the market as quickly as VHS due to backward compatibility, but it will exit someday.

3D is a whole different animal, and I'm not sure why it is even in the same thread. When done right, as it has been in Avatar and several animated films, it adds to the theatrical experience. When done poorly, it is a waste of cash.

3D Blu-ray and 3D-ready TVs are still very much a niche market. How much that market expands depends greatly on the content that is produced. If there are 50 or more five-star movies with 3D and plenty of live 3D programming like sports and awards shows, then the market may thrive. On the other hand, it could be doomed to SACD status. Time will tell.

 

[Aragorn]

Time to break out the link with the guy proclaiming that VHS is better than DVD!

VHS tapes, on the other hand, are virtually impossible to destroy. If a part of the tape gets dirty or crinkeled, you may have to put up with a few lines of static for a few seconds, but that's it. Unlike a DVD, it is not possible to easily destroy an entire movie, since doing so would require you to destroy an extended length of magnetic tape. Even in severe cases where defective players "eat" the video tape, all that one needs to do is wind the tape back up into the cartridge. Compared to their fragile digital brothers, VHS tapes are invincible.

The dirty little secret that the DVD industry doesn't want you to hear is that you can get roughly the same picture and sound quality out of a two-head Technics VCR for $39 at Wal-Mart as you can out of a "high-end" $5,000 Harmon Kardon DVD player ordered from some foo-foo electronics "boutique." When your friends with DVD players smile at you condescendingly and tell you that you'll probably buy a DVD player soon, you can smile right back at them and point them at this article. Tell them that they are corporate shills who are living a hateful lie.

And the list of reasons why VHS is still better than DVD:

10. In VHS, fast forward and rewind produces a nice and homely squeak coming from the fast rotating reels of tape. DVD's are suspiciously silent when doing this - what have they got to hide?

9. Fitness: Fine tuning your tracking on VHS requires patience, determination, but gives you a good workout at the same time if you have lost the remote control. Mostly, video players are near the ground, requiring strong knees and back when bending down to floor level where the buttons are...

6. Excitement: VHS keep you on your toes. Video tapes can chew up in the player with little or no warning, but if you press stop in time it can prevent permanent damage to the player as well as the cassette.

2. Recycling: If you have a VHS tape with something on that you don't like, even if you bought it prerecorded, you can block up the tab and record over it in an instant, no problems...