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Blue-Ray... is it worth it?

Firstly, it's Blu-ray (a ton of people call it Blue-ray and it bugs the hell out of me).

Secondly, IMO yes it is worth it. But only if you really enjoy watching high quality (picture & sound wise) movies & TV. And also if you have a pretty big TV (I think 40" is a must) and you don't sit too far away from it (I sit 8' away from my 46").
 
It took sometime for me to venture into DVD when it first came out. I didn't see much of a difference from VHS at the time... but after watching DVDs almost constantly and watching old VHS tapes again, I can see a huge difference in the quality each can produce. So my question is, with Blue-Ray being fairly new now, is it worth upgrading? I realize you probably have to get an HD-TV or something in order to get the best output for these things, so give me your thoughts :)

Get a minimum 42" hdtv (1080p) and a ps3 for blu-rays, and it is ABSOULTELY worth it. The experience is unbelievably immersive.
 
You're wasting your time if you don't have a HDTV, but yes, the films look great.

It's older films where you see it the most, strangely. I have it on HD-DVD and not Blu-Ray, but 2001: A Space Odyssey looks incredible as does Blade Runner.

I agree and think it's a great inprovement.:)
 
What's Blue-Ray? Ohhhhhhhhh you mean Blu-Ray. :) (It really bugs me that people keep calling it Blue-Ray when that's not it's name)
 
I think it's a ridiculous time for a format war. Within 5 years all of you will be downloading your movies anyway.

I believe in physical copies.

For one thing, I don't like sitting down in front of the computer to watch something. It's not the same. And what if I lose the files I downloaded? I'm not going to put my entire collection of anything at the mercy of a glitch. I work with computers, I know enough to know that I'm not going to trust them any further than I can throw them.

Always have back-ups, always have physical copies.
 
If you're on the fence, then I would advise waiting a few years. The players will be cheaper, the discs that are coming out now will be in the 3 for $15 sales, and the studios may actually be taking full advantage of the format's capabilities. With the switch to digital broadcast in 2009 in the US, HDTVs should see a significant price reduction within the next 18 months.
 
I think it's a ridiculous time for a format war. Within 5 years all of you will be downloading your movies anyway.

I believe in physical copies.

For one thing, I don't like sitting down in front of the computer to watch something. It's not the same. And what if I lose the files I downloaded? I'm not going to put my entire collection of anything at the mercy of a glitch. I work with computers, I know enough to know that I'm not going to trust them any further than I can throw them.

Always have back-ups, always have physical copies.

Not to mention that the ISPs are going along with this kicking and screaming... and that's predominantly with SD content, let alone HD.
 
Yeah it's hard for me to believe the future of HD content is going to be through streaming when the trend now is for ISPs to limit downloads.
 
For one thing, I don't like sitting down in front of the computer to watch something. It's not the same.

I quite agree. That's why all computers today are compatible with home entertainment systems. They have s-drive outputs. I run a line straight into my home projection system and watch video files on a 5-foot wide screen with surround sound.

And what if I lose the files I downloaded? I'm not going to put my entire collection of anything at the mercy of a glitch....Always have back-ups, always have physical copies.


I know someone who used to back up all his video files, but gave up after he hit his first TB (yes, TB) of movies (the average movie rips to about 750 mb, so you can do the math). The fact is, it's not necessary. The files are out there. Name for me most any movie, and he could have an avi for you by tomorrow. Or, more likely, in a couple of hours.
 
Yeah it's hard for me to believe the future of HD content is going to be through streaming when the trend now is for ISPs to limit downloads.

You can't put the genie back in the bottle. You can't hold back technology. The fact is bandwidth availability is just going to increase. Exponentially.
 
I think it's a ridiculous time for a format war. Within 5 years all of you will be downloading your movies anyway.

I believe in physical copies.

For one thing, I don't like sitting down in front of the computer to watch something. It's not the same. And what if I lose the files I downloaded? I'm not going to put my entire collection of anything at the mercy of a glitch. I work with computers, I know enough to know that I'm not going to trust them any further than I can throw them.

Always have back-ups, always have physical copies.

Agreed. Secondly, I doubt "within five years" is a reasonable time-frame. At the rate things are going, I highly doubt that the infrastructure will be in place by then to provide instant, on-demand broadband access to hi-definition content.
 
Yeah it's hard for me to believe the future of HD content is going to be through streaming when the trend now is for ISPs to limit downloads.

You can't put the genie back in the bottle. You can't hold back technology. The fact is bandwidth availability is just going to increase. Exponentially.

Tell that to the U.S. broadband providers who seem intent on adding bandwidth caps. Depending on what the limits are (like the ridiculous 5GB number floating around for the test markets), that could kill bandwidth intensive activities dead in their tracks.

http://www.dailytech.com/Time+Warner+Starts+Metered+Internet+Service+Test+in+Texas/article11965.htm

As for the original question about Blu-Ray: If you're doubtful, wait it out. It's not like DVDs look like YouTube on HDTVs--for the most part, they look fine, just not HD quality. Early adoption isn't for everybody. If the product catches on, you'll likely be able to get better hardware and a much bigger selection of movies for lower prices 6 months or a year down the line. I say this as someone who just bought a PS3 too.
 
I think it's a ridiculous time for a format war. Within 5 years all of you will be downloading your movies anyway.

I believe in physical copies.

For one thing, I don't like sitting down in front of the computer to watch something. It's not the same. And what if I lose the files I downloaded? I'm not going to put my entire collection of anything at the mercy of a glitch. I work with computers, I know enough to know that I'm not going to trust them any further than I can throw them.

Always have back-ups, always have physical copies.

Agreed. Secondly, I doubt "within five years" is a reasonable time-frame. At the rate things are going, I highly doubt that the infrastructure will be in place by then to provide instant, on-demand broadband access to hi-definition content.

If you by "instant" you mean streaming, then no, that might take a little longer. But download? A movie within two hours? Absolutely.
 
Yeah it's hard for me to believe the future of HD content is going to be through streaming when the trend now is for ISPs to limit downloads.

You can't put the genie back in the bottle. You can't hold back technology. The fact is bandwidth availability is just going to increase. Exponentially.

Tell that to the U.S. broadband providers who seem intent on adding bandwidth caps. Depending on what the limits are (like the ridiculous 5GB number floating around for the test markets), that could kill bandwidth intensive activities dead in their tracks.

http://www.dailytech.com/Time+Warner+Starts+Metered+Internet+Service+Test+in+Texas/article11965.htm

Yeah, that's the point I keep trying to get across whenever this topic comes up. In some countries, like Australia IIRC, this is standard for all ISPs. The hurdles we have to cross for digital distribution are not technology issues... they're business ones. And them be some big hurdles... which are intrinsically linked to net neutrality, I might add.
 
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