Has blu-ray failed?

[firehawk12]

I guess it's all relative. To me, watching something in SD is like watching a 16:9 or other widescreen aspect ration film in 4:3. It just bothers me.
(With Blu-Ray, we've finally moved beyond having fullscreen versions of films, which is just an added benefit).

But sure, I suppose it's all relative. You don't need to have a 50" TV to experience the benefits of HD. Hell, just download the Star Trek trailer from Apple in HD and compare it to the SD trailer. Even on a small computer screen, you can instantly tell the difference.

 

[Cicero]

I guess it's all relative. To me, watching something in SD is like watching a 16:9 or other widescreen aspect ration film in 4:3. It just bothers me.
(With Blu-Ray, we've finally moved beyond having fullscreen versions of films, which is just an added benefit).

Didn't we do that for a time with DVD, too?

But sure, I suppose it's all relative. You don't need to have a 50" TV to experience the benefits of HD. Hell, just download the Star Trek trailer from Apple in HD and compare it to the SD trailer. Even on a small computer screen, you can instantly tell the difference.

My complaint about Blu Ray is that it still isn't good enough. I'm hopeful that the next generation beyond it will finally be of satisfactory definition. Everything still looks hazy and grainy on Blu Ray, and fine details can't be made out.

 

[firehawk12]

The problem is we don't have television displays that are higher than 1080p, which is how HD content is going to be pushed into homes. And to be honest, people who spent several grand on a 70" TV aren't going to rush out to upgrade again any time soon anyway, I don't think.
Even then, on the PC side those super high res monitors that are like 2500x1600... those most be expensive as hell right now.

I mean, a lot of content shot on digital is now 4k because everyone is adopting the Red Camera, but the only people who are able to show it are theatres with extremely expensive projectors.
Indeed, the new hotness seems to be 8k transfers (over 30 terrabytes of data!), but there's no way that will ever make it into homes in the near or even far future.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

To be honest I'm in no rush to get Blu-Ray, I have a 720p/1080i HDTV but I just don't see a huge difference between PAL and 1080i. Certainly not enough to pay extra subscription for HD channels, and folk out extra for a BR player and discs, maybe when the players are under £100 and the discs can be had at the same price as DVDs.
Yeah HD can look great, but generally not in dramas, it's more in documentary when you have stunning vistas and skylines to look at, not grimy streets and people's faces.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

If you don't have the money to buy a Bluray player: fine!
If you don't have the money to buy a HDTV set: also fine!

But where from comes this myth that you have can't use your standard DVDs anymore IF you upgrade?
That's bullshit!
Put a DVD into a bluray player and watch what happens. It plays. It shows you your movie! Fantastic technology isn't it?
No need to re-purchase on anything. There might be a few selective movies which are to tempting in HD to keep watching them in plain old DVD, like LotR, but that's about it!
You actually can have the best of both worlds.
If you do that you probably will shift to buying more bluray discs than DVDs over time as the prices will go down and your eye will get finetuned to see the difference.
But there's nothing wrong with that, is it?

 

[TheInsideMan]

If you don't have the money to buy a Bluray player: fine!
If you don't have the money to buy a HDTV set: also fine!

But where from comes this myth that you have can't use your standard DVDs anymore IF you upgrade?
That's bullshit!
Put a DVD into a bluray player and watch what happens. It plays. It shows you your movie! Fantastic technology isn't it?

Yes, it is. And you know what also plays DVDs? Upscaling DVD players which are cheaper than Blu Ray players and have much cheaper content options. While that remains the case (and it will for the foreseeable future IMO), Blu Ray will struggle in its war against DVD.

Isn't technology great?

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Did I say anything to the contrary?

I'm just annoyed when people say they won't upgrade for the single reason that they are not willing to replace there collection.
Because that's simply wrong. They don't have to. It will keep working while at the same time we also benefit from the possibility of watching real HD content if we chose to do so.

 

[TheInsideMan]

Did I say anything to the contrary?

I'm just annoyed when people say they won't upgrade for the single reason that they are not willing to replace there collection.

Some people would like to see the movies they already have in better definition. The premium pricing of Blu Ray puts them off.

At which point......what's the point in buying a Blu Ray player????? When a cheaper upscaler can provide 'good enough' quality from their existing collection?

Sure, Blu Ray wil play existing DVDs, but unless buyers just want to buy NEW movies in Blu Ray, then they're unlikely to pay again to see one of their existing movies in 720p/1080p for a extra charge which frankly, isn't worth it.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Bluray player also upscale DVDs. don't they not?

 

[TheInsideMan]

Bluray player also upscale DVDs. don't they not?

Of course they do, you know they do.

My point is - to get the best out of your Blu Ray player purchase, you're gonna have to pay extra for the Blu Ray content as well as extra for the player itself (when compared to upscalers).

Its debatable if the extra you have to pay to get the best out of your purchase, is worth it to get a few thousand native pixels on screen (or as another poster put it, to see actors sweat). Its not like moving from VHS to DVD, when the advantages of buying a DVD player and related content were more appealing to the general public as well as AV quality fans.

Personally, I wouldn't be willing to pay more than £2 extra for HD content over SD.

 

[Norrin Radd]

Blu-ray is evil. It is a symbol of the bankruptcy of capitalism and the destroying influence of rampant consumerism.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

It's funny - I was in a department store this afternoon and there were lots of DVD players as well as big HD televisions for sale but I had to look around a bit to find a Blu Ray player.

Does that mean there were not many or they were just not easily seen?

There didn't seem to be many for sale.

I suppose a bad retail season could really hobble the acceptance of something like this.

 

[ST-One]

Some people would like to see the movies they already have in better definition. The premium pricing of Blu Ray puts them off.

What 'premium pricing'?
As an example: The Iron Man Steelbook-DVD edition costs just 1 € less than the BluRay version. And both are under 20 €.

 

[Endymion]

We cannot really be sure if Blu-ray has failed yet.
We know that it beat our HD-DVD and has the support of almost every major studio, not to mention that it is the format which the PS3 uses.

It didn't 'beat' hd-dvd. Sony bought off studio support to kill hd-dvd.

Oh knock it off. Toshiba did the exact same thing to promote HD-DVD.

 

[firehawk12]

In North America, the markup is still around 10 bucks.

Also, upscaling sucks. Maybe it's because I sit close to my monitor, but the artifacts are still pretty horrible.

 

[TheInsideMan]

Some people would like to see the movies they already have in better definition. The premium pricing of Blu Ray puts them off.

What 'premium pricing'?
As an example: The Iron Man Steelbook-DVD edition costs just 1 € less than the BluRay version. And both are under 20 €.

Amazon.Co.Uk, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End:
DVD : £3.98
2 Disc Special Edition Limited Edition With Character Art Cards : £7.69
Blu Ray: £16.98

Amazon.Co.Uk, Spider-Man 3:
2-Disc Edition DVD: £4.98
Blu-ray: £13.98

Amazon.Co.Uk, The Shawshank Redemption:
DVD: £6.98
Blu Ray: £13.98

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Bluray player also upscale DVDs. don't they not?

Upscaling is not a big deal. EVERY HDTV DOES IT. If they didn't, all you'd see is a little box in the center of the screen surrounded by a foot of black on each side.

That being said, most HDTVs themselves have better upscalers than any DVD player. In fact, I bought the specific Blu-Ray player that I did, precisely because it doesn't upscale - I leave that to the TV.

 

[TheInsideMan]

In North America, the markup is still around 10 bucks.

Also, upscaling sucks. Maybe it's because I sit close to my monitor, but the artifacts are still pretty horrible.

Depends on the upscaler; your TV; the bitrate/quality of the content you're watching; the distance your sitting from your telly and how many drinks you had.

Its all relative, one person's great upscaled pic is gonna look crap to someone else. But if they were all crap they surely upscalers won't have sold in the amounts they have.

And as Babaganoosh points out, all TVs have upscalers in them, some of which are better at the job then DVD players (in part because the content is only being upscaled once).

 

[ST-One]

Some people would like to see the movies they already have in better definition. The premium pricing of Blu Ray puts them off.

What 'premium pricing'?
As an example: The Iron Man Steelbook-DVD edition costs just 1 € less than the BluRay version. And both are under 20 €.

Amazon.Co.Uk, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End:
DVD : £3.98
2 Disc Special Edition Limited Edition With Character Art Cards : £7.69
Blu Ray: £16.98

Amazon.Co.Uk, Spider-Man 3:
2-Disc Edition DVD: £4.98
Blu-ray: £13.98

Amazon.Co.Uk, The Shawshank Redemption:
DVD: £6.98
Blu Ray: £13.98

Well, it's a newer format, but, to me, the price-difference isn't that big.

Oh, the Amazon.de price for the Spider-Man 3 2-Disc DVD is actually 6 € more expensive than the BluRay edition.

 

[TheInsideMan]

What 'premium pricing'?
As an example: The Iron Man Steelbook-DVD edition costs just 1 € less than the BluRay version. And both are under 20 €.

Amazon.Co.Uk, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End:
DVD : £3.98
2 Disc Special Edition Limited Edition With Character Art Cards : £7.69
Blu Ray: £16.98

Amazon.Co.Uk, Spider-Man 3:
2-Disc Edition DVD: £4.98
Blu-ray: £13.98

Amazon.Co.Uk, The Shawshank Redemption:
DVD: £6.98
Blu Ray: £13.98

Well, it's a newer format, but, to me, the price-difference isn't that big.

Oh, the Amazon.de price for the Spider-Man 3 2-Disc DVD is actually 6 € more expensive than the BluRay edition.

You don't think that over a 200% increase is 'that big'????

Hey, if people can and will pay for it, fair play to them. Their money, their choice. I just don't see Blu Ray becoming the mass market success that the BDA do with those price increases in effect - especially in the middle of a world-wide credit crunch/recession.