Rethinking Blu-ray

Is Blu-ray technology destined to be a short-lived phenomenon, soon to be superseded by on-demand movies and other shows delivered via the Internet?

[DavidMacDougall]

I agree with this. Blu-Ray is going nowhere

[Genesis5]

You're right it's here to stay. For a while anyway. People like physical media. Why is this so hard to see? It will be around 5 to 10 years until the public is willing to pay for another advance in technology

[The_Zeitgeist]

Anyone that actually owns a Blu-Ray player isn't complaining.

[table]

lol at the disagrees you got. people obviously did not read the article...unless of course you didn't read it and you mean its not getting anywhere...or they mean its not getting anywhere...or... im confused.

[SoapShoes]

If it is going no where then why is it catching on faster than DVD did in an economy that is much worse than it was when DVDs came out? They've done studies and found more Blu Ray players have sold than DVD players in its first two years.

Oh, hmmm, that puts those "Blu Ray = Dead" articles to rest and even if it wasn't, it is still dong great.

[DavidMacDougall]

Sorry about my first post i meant its going nowhere as in its already here. The title of the article sounds kinda like its going against blu ray but its really saying its all coming around.

[xabmol]

My thoughts exactly.

...I think?

lol

[morganfell]

The article is pro Bluray and quite correct. Has anyone bothered to read some of these idiot comments left for the author? An opinion is one thing but denying black and white numbers is laughable.

[aksmashh]

But Internet Needs To Speed Up(& Be Cheaper Aswell) In Uk

I Kind Of Understand People Who Want Physical Media But
Its Out Of Date (Takes Alot Of Space)

I Would Prefer Just Going On My PS3 & Choosing A Game Like How Demos & Movies Are Set Out

Also I Didn't Feel Blu-Ray Was That Much Of Move From DVD
(Not Only Because They Look Like)

Maybe Memory Cards?

[table]

at the disagrees I got ^^^

I think people just make an assumption based on the headline then go around looking for comments to hit disagree on.

[ThanatosDMC]

Bluray will stay a while till internet moves at blazing speeds. I'm more interested in solid state drives that have high capacities, quality made, and sold at a cheap price. I'd upgrade my laptop and then my PS3 then get rid of my tower.

[DARKKNIGHT]

these people are beyond retarded. anyone who thinks brd will succumb to vod is just lying to themselves. these fools are comparing 1.5 mbps data transfer (any vod service)versus 30 mbps ( brd). lol bunch noobs. this shows just how stupid annoys are. according to them 1 .5mbps of data equals high definition video andsound. lol do thesepeople even own a good 1080p and 7 .1 amp? or are they basing their reviews on a 480i crt and 2channel audio amp? idiots

[DavidMacDougall]

Did anyone read it?

[leyego]

unless its free over the net like youtube im all for it.

if its rental stuff id rather have that on-demand tho, faster, easier, better.
if im paying full price give me a disc.

plain and simple.

[SaiyanFury]

BD isn't going anywhere, the same that DVD isn't going anywhere. Also with ISPs throttling and capping bandwidth I seriously doubt that HD over the internet is viable. Then there's those of us, like me, who don't have access to internet fast enough. I'm on 1.5 mbps so I can't even stream SD quality video, let alone the 40-50mbps that's necessary for 1080p movies and video. I'll stick with buying the physical discs for the foreseeable future.

[Sayai jin]

DavidMacDougall- People do like physical media, but ask around and see how many have change from CD to MP3. When MP3's came about everyone said that no one would want something they could not see or feel (CD).

But you are right, blu ray is here to stay. Every 5 to 15 years it is time for an advance in tech. So it goes.

[cereal_killa]

Sayai jin your right there but I think there's a big difference between music and movies when it comes to DD/MP3, Most Bands/Solo artists, Rappers etc... release a CD most of the time there's like maybe 1 or 2 songs that people want from that CD (the odd time the entire CD is good but this is rare) this is why DD is the perfect thing for music but when it comes to Movies the only people who want DD are people who pirate movies and or tech heads/geeks. older people still want the media on some form of disk and it would take a while for people to get used to the thought of DD. Just an Opinion

[edgeofblade]

Physical media will only survive until the digital distro services realize we want to pay for an enduring, re-downloadable license, not a single download.

@1.11: The public wants availability first. Only the obsessive enthusiast media cares about 1080p. The geeks can't stand against the army of eye-rolling wives...

[Sarcasm]

Not until digital streaming gets lossless or MA audio, 7.1, crisp 1080p resolution, and extra movie features in HD, will I ever switch to it.

Blu-Ray is here to stay.

And as long as there's blu-ray, I'm buying them as well as the millions of other people around the world.

[MovieScouse007]

Sayai jin, I don't agree with you.
Everyone I know who has an MP3 player rips the music from a CD!
That hardly sounds like the death of CD to me?

[40cal]

You are right, market studies still show that the majority of consumers still prefer to own the physical media. I think that Blu-Ray will be around at least another 10 years.

Download and streaming services will become more popular though, I stream tons of media, but when it comes to buying a movie for myself or as a gift Blu-Ray is the way to go.

[Cartesian3D]

physical media is the only choice in my country (cuz of low speed internet connections) and in many other countries like mine or even with ultra high speed connection..

you cant change people attitudes toward digital downloads any time soon , many people cant even use computers or softwares or even simple Media players(or dont want).. (specialy old ones :P)

so for now (and atleast for another 10 years) with this standards (Full HD picture quality and Dolby digital surround sound) Blu-ray is enough. and with cheaper prices it will dominate physical media market just like DVD.

[Golfcoachh]

I have a 14mb per second cable speed, and I still think it takes way too long to download something of the size of a blue ray disk, I think we are 20 years away from enough people having the type of speed neaded to make digital download a true reality. It seams every couple of years the file sizes of media get bigger and bigger and the broadband speed does not even come close to keeping up.

[PAPERCHASER0396]

The only thing holding Blu-ray in check right now is pricing and they are getting cheaper and so are the movies they are on sale a lot more now. Electronics always get cheaper in time as competition grows the same way always with most products,with the forced move of consumers toward digital tv programming many have purchased hi-def tvs already and Bl-ray is definitely the next step up... So I can say it will be around for quite some time

[Leathersoup]

I agree. I have a Blu-Ray player but I'm only going to purchase content that is within a relatively sane price range. Basically I'm waiting for the cost to come down. Hi-def is great but at the moment the cost difference doesn't out weigh the improvement in quality.

[SoapShoes]

Blu Ray isn't going anywhere and may last just as long or longer than DVD considering they have working prototypes with 8 layers and up to 200gb. I think I read about one with even up to 400gb capacity. It can last on that fact alone.

This article does nothing but mention Sony failures, well they co-developed the CD and that is still a success today! They also developed the Blu Ray and guess what? That's a success.

[Sibs]

Guess what... the same can be done with a Blu-Ray disc. They have prototype 1TB disc and larger if I remember right.

[CryWolf]

Blu-ray will be here to stay for at least 5 or 10 year until internet or at home theater with on-demand movies catch up to plate.

Then you have hole rural areas wear people are steel living with dial up modems and can't afford broadband so xbox live will not be in some areas and downloading movies online not going be there ether, we are stuck with DVDs or Blu-ray for the time being.

[redsquad]

Just speaking for myself of course, but dowloadable or on-demand movies will never replace owning the physical disc. I'm a 'collector' with well over 1500 DVD and Blu-Ray discs, so will always prefer something tangible on the shelf over a download.

[redsquad]

"JUST SPEAKING FOR MYSELF OF COURSE". I added that bit SPECIFICALLY to avoid the Phantom Diagree Fairy Stalker.

...and I still get a disagree - How odd.

[Marty8370]

Downloading movies fast and cheaply, and of Blu-ray quality are a long way off, reason not everyone has a cheap fast internet connection, not everyone wants crappy quality downloadable Movies. Blu-ray is not going anywhere, Blu-ray will be around for years just like VHS, CD, DVD etc.

[boss_killa]

there's just something special about "owning" a game or bluray that you dont get with something you just downloaded.

even when internet speeds get up to date and dlc is all the rage, i would still prefer physical media. because a) if your HD crashes, atleast you still have your games/movies. b) you can let someone borrow or sell your game.

[harv052]

More and more ISPs are introducing caps to their services, I don't think people will be willing to pay extra $ for downloading / streaming HD content...

[TheColbertinator]

blu-ray will stay for the time being.If I have learned anything from technology in the last few decades is that a format is chosen,made the standard,and is then replaced by a new format.Cassettes,VHS,and 78s all had their time and were eventually replaced.blu-ray will stick around because Sony,Disney,Warner,Paramount,a nd Toshiba all make profit from blu-ray sales.After the huge amount of money The Dark Knight made on blu-ray sales alone,I doubt the blu-ray association will give up the format.

Downloads will eventually take over but not anytime soon especially since many regions of the US still lack broadband support.

[NegativeCreep427]

Confirmed!!!

@ FPShooter below:

Hey, the day is still young my friend!

[Argento-Nox]

Seriously, do we need another another article ending with ---> ???. I read the article and understand the gist of what the author is saying, but he ends it with "Do you agree? Have you taken the Blu-ray plunge? Will you?".

I would wait until christmas '09 when there's a blu-ray player below $200 before commenting on the future of blu-ray as a format. Seeing as High Definition VOD hasn't exactly jumped out as a clear contender yet, this article may be a bit premature.

[FPShooter]

the article is pro Blu-Ray.

[NOOBKILLA]

Blu-Ray isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Look at this way. The average household has a bandwidth of what, 7 megs down? There is no way you can stream 1080p video with such slow internet speeds. That is the same with cloud gaming. In my opinion it is all about money. That is why libraries in Japan has bandwidth 3 times faster than our fastest bandwidth connection a home can receive and we pay what $150/month for 30 megs down with FiOS.

Until high bandwidth speeds become more mainstream, movie streaming and cloud gaming won’t take off until the US steps their game up!

[ultimolu]

Bluray is kickass.

It'll last a long time.

[Yomiro]

I can't believe that adopters of the(RIP)HD-DVD format are still crying over the success of BR.

[Sir Ken_Kutaragi]

Watching 'The Dark Knight' on my 40"SONY;)HD:TV off my SEXY;)PS3 while sipping my Earl Grey Tea and placing the Cup of Tea on a HD-DVD disc(POOR ChatBots buying that Add-on!!!) ;-D was AMAZING!!! ;-P
(Especially the iMAX bits...WOW!!!) ;-P

I hate Downloads :-/ I like to see the Disc and Box in my Collection!!! ;)

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

I used to be a hard copy dude, I own 500 standard dvds. But it's digital downloads for me now. I have this lil sexy device that stores hi def movies and has a superb menu system that automatically downloads movie posters from the web. The quality is an exact duplicate of the disc, both sound and video. It has numerous tools to make sure the HD inside is in perfect working condition. Also a very easy backup option so you don't lose anything. I currently have a 1TB hard drive in there and it works like a charm. Once the bigger hd's arive like a juicy 3TB Hard Drive than I'll have an entire Blockbuster in a size of a Wii. Now who wouldn't want that?

[leyego]

ya thats really nice to have if ur a really into movies and the such.

but for the general public theres no where near that many "things".

i for one, since i don't watch a lot of movies or play a lot of games, i don't minding the extra need for physical storage space.
i can see how dling or converting ur collection could save u on tons of space and organizing.
1500+ discs is a lot to manage and keep in order. imagine looking for 1000+ discs for a single movie if ur not the organized type

[Why o why]

are what is called a 'minority' maybe even an 'anomaly' blu ray is here to stay for now and it and DD will continue to coexist. Its really not that difficult to work out

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

Oh I totally agree that I'm the minority with this lil beautiful device. Plus it's highly illegal in the states!

[OGharryjoysticks]

Keep an eye open. Best advice I can give any bluray shopper. If it's a movie you like you probably buy it first week when it's on sale that first week. But if you miss the sale (because most releases, at least newer movie releases) when it comes out give it a couple weeks and odds are you'll find it someplace for the same price as DVD. Amazon usually has nice deals. If you are compulsive and want it now, like yesterday, Best Buy and Target should be able to hook you up with a 19.99 deal.

[Jeff257]

Blu ray isnt going anywhere. I feel that not only will the players keep going down but there will come a time where Blu Rays will sell for the same as dvds do now. Its just right now with the tech being still so new that Blu ray movies are still expensive.

[Rourker]

physical media will always be an option, right now that option is blu-ray, and it will stay that way for at least a nother 5 - 7 years, if not longer.

[cpt_kaos]

Geeze lets see download movies sounds great but how many countries have the neccesary speeds to make it viable let alone affordable?

Aussie government is going ahead with there superdooper broadband and till they actually start building the damn thing will take up to 8 years before its fully complete.

So here whilst politicians biotch and moan it wont start for at least a year or 2 so theres 10 more years of physical media sales here.

And when it finally is here being a government and partial private venture they will rip us a new Ahole for pricing.... SO BLU RAY is here to stay and I would think alot of other countries wether they have the speed or not don't have prices needed to make it affordable for the average consumer.

I have a Blu Ray Player enjoy the fact not only of the high standards Blu Ray has it also plays my old standard dvd's upscaled of course.

So having a physical disc in my hands or downloaded movie onto some harddrive and hope it doesn't have a crap attack and die on you.

Not a hard choice really.

Physical media all the way.:)

[CyberCam]

I'm very big on quality, but I'm also a huge fan of value for one's money. Here in Canada the 2 largest ISP's are throttling everyone's bandwidth and they're trying to charge people more money for less services.

So I LMFAO at people who want this inferior download content to take over physical medium (movies & games). The day that download content takes over, is the day people will be at the mercy of the all providers (ISP's, game publishers/developers, movies studios). They will raping your wallets or should I say credit cards and you'll have no choice in matter, you'll have to pay what they ask for or you won't get the content! Thank God I'll be dead by then... I just fear for my kids!

As for solid state drives... they're too volatile for my liking at present, especially for laptops, HD camcorders & portable videogame systems! If you accidentally drop or bang any of these units, it's a very high risk of damaging the drive!

I'll stick with all physical forms of entertainment thank you very much, at least years down the road I can always replay/rewatch them without having to pay any type of fee!

[PHIL1017]

THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK? (LAUGH) OH PLEASE. 1505, I MEAN FYI, THOUSANDS OF DEAF (HEARING IMPAIRED IF YOU UNDY WHAT IT MEAN)PEOPLE ARE ALREADY HATING DD AND EVEN WILL HATE DD MORE. WHY? BECAUSE OF NO SUBTITLES. LOOK AT WHAT NETFLIX DID TO US. EVEN VIDEOS, QORE, AND PULSE DON'T HAVE SUBTITLES. IT'S THE WORST WE HAVE EVER SEEN. THAT'S WHY WE PREFER PHYSICAL MEDIA OVER DD. DD IS TOTALLY FAILURE TO DEAF PEOPLE. IM REALLY EXPECT THAT DD WILL BRING THE SUBTITLES IN THE FUTURE. MAYBE. OR NOT. ONLY TIME WILL TELL. =)

[zeeman]

However BR is presently double the price for a release day DVD and most people dont see the need to spend extra on BR.
My wife recently bought Twilight on DVD inspite of my BR hypeing up for just this reason and I have to agree

[cpt_kaos]

Agreed in early days of Blu Ray but down under I've being noticing alot of New release movies by the major retailers being as little as $3 between the standard dvd and Blu Ray on initial release.

Having the Dark Night on both dvd and Blu Ray the extra few bucks is worth it but as things progress and the Blu Ray momentum keeps building the retailers will start being so competitive with each other these prices will drop dramatically.

Memory serves it was pretty much the same with VHS vs DVD as unlike Blu Ray the DVD format was a vastly diferent medium to ole faithfull tape , where as DVD to Blu Ray is not as big a jump as VHS to DVD was.

[Kakkoii]

2010-2020 are going to be glorious years. All areas of Scientific research are on the cusp of major breakthroughs that will forever revolutionize how we live.

Blue-ray will be short lived because of exponential technology growth. The better technology grows, the faster it advances up until nearing it's finishing point where it starts to slow down as the feats we attempt become incredibly mind boggling.

Blue-ray just can't store enough information for the vastly increasing technological age we are entering. The idea of optical disc's is also a primitive and poor means of storing data. It's prone to damage and mere dust can complicate reads.

But they are probably here to stay for a while anyway, at least until solid state type storage's are commercially feasible to be used as the medium.

Plus there are so many optical disc advancement being made that increase storage capabilities to enormous proportions. So no, I don't think Blue-Ray will last very long. But it sure will fight to stay alive, plus a lot of people won't want to switch to something new again so soon.

[cliffbo]

the future is both Blu-ray and downloadable

[Ninjamonkey]

blu ray is staying for a while.

Right now it gives the best sound and picture quality for movies ANYWHERE. Thats it. If you want to see a film at its best, you go to bluray.

Also its getting cheaper.

Plus even though theyre of lesser quality,it still takes longer for most people to download a films than to buy one. And for many its not even close...

You still have to buy a large sotrage unit. This is a large cost whilst blu rays are cheapert and so the cost is more psread out.

And the fact is, if your going to spent a ton on a good TG then you want the best picture quality.I mean there are new LED's which look incredible. Now why are you going to download and have all the hassle when blu ray will show off your TV so much more?

[JJFNIGHTS80]

I just purchased a PC with a Blu-Ray Burner laster summer so I can burn Blu-Ray. First Got my LCD HDTV, then PS3 second. Now i'm going to burn all my videos mp3s on one disc GB to start out see how well it looks, then I'll get the 50GB disc. I haven't used the blu-ray yet. But I will let you know how it turns out when I use it. I think blu-ray will stay for long time. Most people I talk to enjoy thier blu-ray player so I don't think it's going anywhere soon. DVD's will stay, But Blu-Ray will catch up in a bit.