Will blu ray be around?

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Will it remind you of the rocky content road waaaaay back when HDTV was new, ands you had to struggle for new things to watch? Yup.

The difference there is, HDTV was obviously, indisputably better than standard definition TV broadcasts, and everyone knew it from the start. 4K is much less of a leapfrog over HDTV than that was. So there's going to be a harder time getting people to switch.

As for DirecTV: I didn't know about that. If this keeps up (and doesn't fold, like I believe ESPN's 3D channel did), then more power to 'em, I guess.

Is it realistic to expect cable systems to carry 4K? Is there even enough bandwidth?

 

[Irishman]

Will it remind you of the rocky content road waaaaay back when HDTV was new, ands you had to struggle for new things to watch? Yup.

The difference there is, HDTV was obviously, indisputably better than standard definition TV broadcasts, and everyone knew it from the start. 4K is much less of a leapfrog over HDTV than that was. So there's going to be a harder time getting people to switch.

As for DirecTV: I didn't know about that. If this keeps up (and doesn't fold, like I believe ESPN's 3D channel did), then more power to 'em, I guess.

Is it realistic to expect cable systems to carry 4K? Is there even enough bandwidth?

That's why they've GOT to get this Rec 2020 colorspace issue taken care of soon. Higher resolution by itself will only sell so many tvs. It needs the more natural colors to go with it.

 

[Irishman]

Here's an article from over at AVS Forum by Scott Wilkinson, their Editor. It explains what the new version of HDMI offers over old versions. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1523994/hdmi-2-0-cedia-webinar

 

[RandyS]

if I want to watch something that isn't on Netflix, I get annoyed that I have to put in a disc.

It's not about having to get off the couch and walk over to the disc player, it's the ten minute wait before you can actually watch the feature.

A-fucking-men. I remember switching from VHS with its dozens of trailers you had to FF through, to DVD, which went to the movie menu screen right away. Now, of course, DVDs and Blu-rays are jam packed with trailers you can't skip, advertisements that lock you in where you have to watch them all the way through, and then a number of anti-piracy messages which are straight up bullshit.

Your machine doesn't let you push past all the trailers and stuff by using the chapter forward button? Both my DVD players do, so this isn't a problem for me.

Likewise, with the anti piracy messages, you can get around those by going into the chapter menu, picking chapter two, and using the chapter back button to return to the start of the movie or show.

A friend makes the same complaint you do about his Blue Rays. he hates that you can't do these things with a Blue Ray disk.

I have only his word to go on here since I'm still a DVD guy, but this is one reason why I don't want to switch to Blue Ray. The OP's question is another. Blue Ray came out too fast, and seems to me, what with how fast technology "improves", that upgrading to Blue Ray isn't worth the effort, since three nanoseconds after I do, the next big thing, whatever that will be, will come out and Blue Ray will go the way of the Do-do.

 

[BillJ]

I have only his word to go on here since I'm still a DVD guy, but this is one reason why I don't want to switch to Blue Ray. The OP's question is another. Blue Ray came out too fast, and seems to me, what with how fast technology "improves", that upgrading to Blue Ray isn't worth the effort, since three nanoseconds after I do, the next big thing, whatever that will be, will come out and Blue Ray will go the way of the Do-do.

I've had a Blu-ray player since 2007, that's seven years. I just bought a PS4 and the life cycle of a console is five-to-seven years. So that gives me 12-to-14 years right there. Longest "three nanoseconds" I've ever seen...

 

[MacLeod]

Given the cost of players these days, I'd have to say get one you can notice a difference in quality over DVD. Even if something does come along in a few years it'll be a few more years after that before it cheap enough for the mainstream.

 

[Starbreaker]

A nanosecond? I've been buying Blu-rays since 2006.

 

[BillJ]

A nanosecond? I've been buying Blu-rays since 2006.

Three nanoseconds!!!

I think something RandyS is missing is the release of the new next gen consoles. Over the next several years they will represent another seventy to one-hundred million Blu-ray players in people's homes.

Blu-ray isn't going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Blu-Ray will probably be the last physical media since the studios keep trying to cram streaming and downloads down our throat, none of which look as good as Blu-Ray. Especially if you live in an area with terrible internet speeds and no other option.

I really have no idea why anyone would avoid it if they have a HDTV.

 

[Toxteth O´Grady]

A-fucking-men. I remember switching from VHS with its dozens of trailers you had to FF through, to DVD, which went to the movie menu screen right away. Now, of course, DVDs and Blu-rays are jam packed with trailers you can't skip, advertisements that lock you in where you have to watch them all the way through, and then a number of anti-piracy messages which are straight up bullshit.

Your machine doesn't let you push past all the trailers and stuff by using the chapter forward button? Both my DVD players do, so this isn't a problem for me.

I don't have a huge collection, but it's pretty decent sized, and I have very few that don't let you skip past the trailers. I see this complaint often and it's something I've never really encountered. Many Blu-rays send me straight to the menu if I press the "menu" button. For others I simply have to press the "next chapter" button to go past the trailers. Some studios don't let you pass the FBI warning, but that's only on screen for 4-5 seconds at most.

 

[Relayer1]

Don't confuse content with medium. 4k content can fit on CD, DVD, blu ray or whatever they come up with next.

But inconveniently would need multiple discs well into double figures to hold the average movie...

 

[Awesome Possum]

A-fucking-men. I remember switching from VHS with its dozens of trailers you had to FF through, to DVD, which went to the movie menu screen right away. Now, of course, DVDs and Blu-rays are jam packed with trailers you can't skip, advertisements that lock you in where you have to watch them all the way through, and then a number of anti-piracy messages which are straight up bullshit.

Your machine doesn't let you push past all the trailers and stuff by using the chapter forward button? Both my DVD players do, so this isn't a problem for me.

I don't have a huge collection, but it's pretty decent sized, and I have very few that don't let you skip past the trailers. I see this complaint often and it's something I've never really encountered. Many Blu-rays send me straight to the menu if I press the "menu" button. For others I simply have to press the "next chapter" button to go past the trailers. Some studios don't let you pass the FBI warning, but that's only on screen for 4-5 seconds at most.

Some won't let you skip, but I think the company itself does that and I've seen the same thing on DVDs. I want to say it's Universal, most of them let you skip or go to the menu.