Can't Whip up enthusiam for Blu Ray (1 Viewer)

[cafink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth

I certainly don't object to paying $5 for a DVD, but the studios are making it difficult for themselves when they charge $5 for something like the Adam West Batman on DVD but $30 for the blu-ray.

Coincidentally, I bought the Adam West Batman Blu-ray just a few days ago. It's only $10 on Amazon, not $30.

 

[Worth]

Originally Posted by cafink

Quote:

Coincidentally, I bought the Adam West Batman Blu-ray just a few days ago. It's only $10 on Amazon, not $30.

Yeah, now it is. But it retailed for $39 when it first came out.

 

[TheBat]

I enjoy blu ray. I had have some problems with it. I had some discs not even play or have problems playing them. its a bit weird about that. I still like blu ray.
they do look great in HD. I got a panasonic 80, insignia nsbrdvd3 and the ps3.

Jacob

 

[Mike Frezon]

Frankly, the Adam West Batman didn't cost $5 when it was first released, either.

 

[cafink]

Originally Posted by Worth




Yeah, now it is. But it retailed for $39 when it first came out.

But the DVD wasn't $5 when it first came out. So you're comparing the price of the DVD now, after it's been out for ten years, to the price of the Blu-ray upon its initial release?

 

[Brent M]

I've got an Oppo BDP-83 and a PS3 so thankfully load times have never been an issue for me. I've also never had any issues with those players freezing, crashing, locking up, etc. I think it's mainly because Sony and Oppo are constantly issuing firmware updates and addressing any issues that may occur with certain titles.

 

[Worth]

Originally Posted by cafink



But the DVD wasn't $5 when it first came out. So you're comparing the price of the DVD now, after it's been out for ten years, to the price of the Blu-ray upon its initial release?

It doesn't matter what price the DVD was when it was initially released. Its only competition then was the laserdisc, which was priced higher. The point is that Fox expected people to pay $30-40 dollars for a BD when the same title was available for $5 on DVD.

That would have been like trying to sell the DVD for $200 when the laserdisc was available for $30, and then being surprised that the title didn't meet or exceed sales expectations.

My point was simply that the studios shot themselves in the foot by releasing super-cheap DVDs - it's hard to get people to re-buy discs on a new format when many catalogue titles are priced five times higher on BD than they are on DVD.

 

[hampsteadbandit]

I enjoy blu ray. I had have some problems with it. I had some discs not even play or have problems playing them. its a bit weird about that. I still like blu ray.
they do look great in HD. I got a panasonic 80, insignia nsbrdvd3 and the ps3.

you need a firmware update for your Blu-Ray player

I have experienced this problem from time to time (probably on 3 discs in 1 year of Blu player ownership

each time I have plugged my player into the internet, updated the firmware and its been 100% after that

 

[DaveF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth

My point was simply that the studios shot themselves in the foot by releasing super-cheap DVDs - it's hard to get people to re-buy discs on a new format when many catalogue titles are priced five times higher on BD than they are on DVD.

Unless that was the only way to sell DVDs that have been out for years and can't be sold for $20 any more. The problems isn't that DVD is too cheap, but that Blu Ray is too expensive. Moreover, DVD is still awesome, and on-demand and downloaded content are making inroads -- DVD had no such competition. And a couple years spent fighting a format war followed by a year or two of players lagging evolving specifications further hurt customer confidence and buy-in.

Now that players are ~$150, I think it's a safe recommendation to people. If they need or want a new player, Blu Ray is cheap enough to be bought instead of DVD.

 

[Edwin-S]

Every time I plug a DVD in and watch it in front projection, all I can think is how I'd like to see whatever I'm watching remastered for Blu. Even upscaled DVD is barely tolerable; although, in reality, I know that a lot of stuff will never see an HD release or wouldn't be improved even if it was released on Blu. I agree that BDs are too expensive. That is why I hve gone back to renting the majority of stuff and then wait for the ones I want to come down to a reasonable price.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Originally Posted by DaveF



Now that players are ~$150, I think it's a safe recommendation to people. If they need or want a new player, Blu Ray is cheap enough to be bought instead of DVD.

$150? Hell you can get a full featured blu-ray player for under $100 now.

Doug

 

[Parker Clack]

I can say that I have almost no delay in loading a Blu-ray or HD DVD using my HTPC. They load just a quickly as my sDVD discs. I am using a Hitachi/LG drive with Total Media Theatre as the media player and never had any issues with discs locking up, etc. unless there was a problem with the disc itself. Also TMT allows me to resume a disc from where I left off when I shut it down instead of having to start over from the beginning. In the beginning with Blu-ray I wasn't that impressed with the overall picture quality. But as new product is coming to the market the difference to my eyes watching on my 50 plasma is night and day over the same movie I have on sDVD. And the audio codecs like DTS MA and Dolby Digital really make the audio portion of my HT shine. The only thing I am missing is a front projection system. And that is due to real estate and not the equipment.

So for me the price I pay for Blu-ray discs is worth the little extra I pay over sDVD. And I am upgrading my sDVDs to Blu-ray when they come available. I did the same thing when going from Beta to LD to DVD and now Blu-ray/HD DVD. And when we get 4K and 8K systems I will be there when I can.

Parker

 

[DaveF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce

$150? Hell you can get a full featured blu-ray player for under $100 now.

Indeed. My point is that someone can go to a retail BestBuy and get e.g. a Sony Blu Ray player for about $150 without watching for coupons or deals or buying what feels like an off-brand. That you can get it for $100 (which I did on Black Friday), perhaps with an off-brand makes it all the easier for people to afford.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Originally Posted by DaveF

Quote:

Indeed. My point is that someone can go to a retail BestBuy and get e.g. a Sony Blu Ray player for about $150 without watching for coupons or deals or buying what feels like an off-brand. That you can get it for $100 (which I did on Black Friday), perhaps with an off-brand makes it all the easier for people to afford.

Vizio's blu-ray player is $99 at Costco when I was there 2 days ago. I don't think that was a sale price. I've seen Panasonic blu-ray players at Walmart for $129.

Doug

 

[Alan Tully]

Well I've gone to the dark side (Blu, really). I needed new multi-region DVD player so I thought I might as well buy a Blu-ray that could do that. I still think DVD looks great, & I'm still buying them as they're so cheap (I bought Inglourious Basterds for £5 the other day). I'm thinking of buying Blu for old favorite movies, mainly 50's-60's (real keepers), I've bought The Towering Inferno, The Longest Day, & How The West Was Won (for the smilebox). Not a lot around from that era yet, hopefully Warner will release Ben-Hur & the '62 Mutiny On The Bounty soon, & maybe Fox will wake up from its coma before too long!

 

[David Wilkins]

It's not the dark side, it's the only side. Welcome to the new century.

 

[Bryan^H]

Originally Posted by David Wilkins

It's not the dark side, it's the only side. Welcome to the new century.

Yeah. I never thought any format would look better than laserdisc....then dvd arrived...which is outclassed by Blu-Ray. Pretty sure Blu-Ray will be the last stop for home theater enthusiasts...until 3-D becomes the "norm".

 

[David Wilkins]

Bryan,

I'm surprised that there is enough enthusiasm about 3-D, to put so many manufacturers on the fast-track for implementation. Seems as if overnight, several major players were talking bout 3-D hardware and software.

I have trouble being enthusiastic. Even if top-notch display devices are marketed for reasonable prices, it's hard to believe that the effect will be as good as what's seen in a well equipped digital multi-plex. And that's just skirting along the surface of the entire concept of 3-D, which seems to me, little more than a gimmick.

I can't imagine any of the movies that I hold in high regard, being improved by experience in 3-D. In fact, more often than not, the thought of 3-D rendering of those movies is a turn-off that I would probably specifically avoid.

 

[DaveF]

Every year electronics manufacturers need a new spec-list bullet point to differentiate from last year's models. Honestly, what was left? 3D gives them not just a new feature to tout, but an argument for a person to re-buy their entire system! And 3D, from a consumer electronics standpoint, should be essentially free: it's a bit more bandwidth and a bit more programming in what are essentially computers now.

What's amazing to me is that the industry agreed so quickly on a spec. Perhaps they learned a lesson from the Blu Ray problems.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Originally Posted by Bryan^H

Yeah. I never thought any format would look better than laserdisc....then dvd arrived...which is outclassed by Blu-Ray. Pretty sure Blu-Ray will be the last stop for home theater enthusiasts...until 3-D becomes the "norm".

I tend to agree w/ this also although I also agree w/ David that I don't really see much appeal from 3D in the HT setting. Might be a nice-to-have for just a handful of fun flicks for the forseeable future, but it'll probably just end up being not much more than a novelty and a passing fad.

And for me, I also really doubt I'll ever need anything better than 1080p for the home since I don't have a FP setup and don't really forsee moving to one (although I've briefly considered it in passing). Even on a sizeable FP setup, I'd think I could still be very happy w/ 1080p.

_Man_