More Research Asserts that Blu Ray Adoption Isn't Apt to Surge (1 Viewer)

[Douglas Monce]

I must say I'm not at all happy with the number of titles that have been coming out. I've bought one blu-ray in the last 6 months. There are a few coming that I want but honestly of the titles announced there are only about 5 that I will buy.

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

I have to agree with Adam that the difference between HD cable and blu-ray are night and day. HD cable is compressed as hell and its full of annoying compression artifacts. I rarely if ever see artifacts on a blu-ray.

Doug

 

[Alfonso_M]

And how many of those outside of the membership of Forums like this will you find out there?

using my 57" Avia calibrated 1080i set I’ve demonstrated in my HT to a couple of HD-Plasma owners the HD_DVD of "Batman, returns" "Superman" "Children of Men" etc, they seemed "interested" but they didn't show any "blown away - I need to get this right now" reaction, and the players were selling for less than 200.00 at the time, not even the ‘interactive’ features, all in one animated menus or PIP incited any “wow” reaction, just your average lukewarm “That’s nice”…

And all this Hi-rez audio formats are even less of an attraction to the average consumers, they not only lack the necessary equipment, but the majority couldn’t justify the expense and the set up hassles for the improvement in audio quality that they may or may not be able to perceive (or care) in their average standard open living rooms.

Let’s face it, whether we (enthusiasts) like it or not, The average consumer out there is happy with his MP3 files and tin can PC speakers or cheap ear-buds, just watch How I-Tunes is cornering the music retail market.

Hi-REZ audio is never going to be a “seller” to the average consumer, SACD and DVD_A already proved that.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I know what you mean. There are several Fox titles that I want. bt can't justify the price until they go on sale. I have been wanting Gattaca and The Adventures of Baron M. for a while. Thankfully Frys put them on sale today for $11.99 so I snatched them up.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

I'm not saying that there aren't any benefits involved with high definition. I would consider myself interested in digging my feet into the new format but I think many would change their minds if the studios aren't so concerned with their price controls.

Take a look at Smallville and Lost seasons sets on blu ray. They're marked at an SRP of around $100 per set. There may never be as deep for blu ray market penetration as standard DVD has. I believe it has more with affordability for titles and during any given week, a consumer can walk into any Target, Circuit City, Best Buy or Wal Mart and find DVD movies for as low as $4 or $5. At the same time, TV Shows on DVD titles can also be found for as low as $20, mostly as low as 50%-70% off their respected everyday prices.

It's all a price wars thing and since blu ray is competing with standard DVD, there's no way that blu ray will obtain the type of market penetration as DVD currently enjoys and the only way blu ray could start to gain ground is if studios cut back on DVD titles. DVD has only been out for ten years and it's likely to survive for another 10-15 years, maybe even more.

With blu ray, the market didn't take into consideration that the industry made it a bit more complicated than it actually was. Your average consumer is only interested in the plug-and-play mentality ... I have no doubt that blu ray will continue to remain popular among those who adopted the format.

But, you're right about the industry. Since the format is still relatively new, prices will remain where they are for the foreseeable future. Studios are enjoying the profits gained from a $100 boxed set of their favourite television shows and they're not about the lower prices. Look at how long it took Paramount to drop prices on their Star Trek DVD sets, and they're still priced at $60-70, which is still a bit high for some Star Trek fans.

 

[Robert Crawford]

More than you realize as more people have bought new displays over the last couple of years and have upgraded their audio systems. Again, Blu-ray will never approach the levels of SD DVD because of the added expense of acquiring additional HT equipment to take full advantage of Blu-ray, but I found a lot of people much more interested in doing so compared to ten years ago when SD DVD started out and people buying those players, but hooking them up incorrectly both audio and video-wise. In short, people have become a lot more educated about home theater especially younger folks that realize you can buy such equipment at different price points that might fit their budget.

 

[Jefferson]

My family
is all in the 40 and older crowd now....
I will certainly upgrade at some point, but my true devotion is to classic film...or may i just call them "old" movies...Not much on the Blu-ray market for me at this early stage.
And...I work in retail management....people are just not spending like they used to.
(as has been duly noted).

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I was in Target yesterday, and there were several titles I would have purchased if they were cheaper. INDEPENDENCE DAY, FANTASTIC FOUR 2 and several others just aren't worth over 30 bucks. Now, I know I can grab 'em cheaper on Amazon, but the "impulse buy" is one of the things I miss with BD. And it's gonna take awhile to get the consumers who only buy from B&M's to adapt BD if the prices don't start to come down a bit.

 

[troy evans]

Ya know, since the launch of Blu-ray we have gotten a damn good amount of titles. I'm always amazed at how some have so quickly forgotten that sd dvd was at about the same levels of release in it's first 2 years and at $25 to $30 a title stores were pricing them to keep even back then. With all we have on sd dvd we still have a hugh amount of titles yet to be released. I think to a larger degree we've become spoiled by sd dvd and now Blu-ray comes along and it's like being back at square one. Lower prices will come along with more catalog titles. It is not going to happen overnight however.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Never is a long time. I'm sure that in the next decade that SD will begin to fade out and there will be a move to some form of mainstream HD media, be that BR or something else, but in the short term, unless there is a major drop in pricing and a major expansion of titles, the format will stagnate or at best experience moderate growth.

 

[FrancisP]

I would point out that SD was a world wide standard. The HD market could become extremely fractured. Blu-ray may have won in the US but that does not mean it will become a worldwide standard. HD-VMD is making a major push in India. CH-DVD will make a major push in China and probably Asia. It's likely Toshiba will incorporate the hd-dvd technology into a new dvd format.
Also companies like Netflix are probably going to be developing the downloading technology because of the obvious benefits. The net result will likely be an extremely fragmented hd market , incompatible with each other.

 

[Douglas Monce]

SD was only a world wide standard if you consider NTSC, Pal and SECAM to be compatible with each other.

Doug

 

[Alfonso_M]

But you see, going from VHS to DVD (as the majority skipped LD)the benefits were huge, and the price in comparison was not that bad (although most titles could be had for much less online), and now one could even for the first time 'own' a title instead of renting.

Most of SD-DVD initial introduction’s benefits are now 'moot' with Blu, as the benefits of going from SD-DVD to BLU --- to the majority out there --- are not worth the price of admission as of right now.

You and I may not like to hear this, but that's the way it is, and that's what the numbers are showing, reality.

Unless Blu prices come down fast, the window of opportunity for "mass adoption" will soon come to pass...

 

[Alfonso_M]

Not a single person I know that owns a HI-DEF screen bothers with a full blown audio system that would enable them to even begin to 'appreciate' Hi-rez audio of any kind. Much less a "properly calibrated" system.

Most young people today live in Condos and Apartments, and setting up souped- up systems is impossible, the best I've seen is Front and Center SPKs, and they are constantly concerned about loudness and the neighbors.

And most of those with better systems and living in a house are not as fanatics as us with dedicated HT rooms, usually they are into the "movie" only, and don't have the time to sit or the inclination to dissect all the nuances necessary to achieve proper Hi-Rez audio, they are much less willing to spend countless hours tweaking spks settings with complicated 'calibrating' discs and DB meters.

For me and the majority here, doing all this is "Fun" and part of our hobby, to the majority out there, we are crazy!!



Are this people going to rush out and pay premium on Blu –Ray players and software on the promise of "Loss-Less" audio??
I don't think so, but I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Well, I'm sort of off the fence now. I bought myself a 46" Samsung Series 550 HDTV a few days ago, and I'm already in love with watching SD on it. So I'm thinking of taking the plunge further to Blu-ray by Christmastime. I've already ordered THE OMEGA MAN on BD from Amazon (it's one of my favorite films) to make sure I get it before it's discontinued...I figure it was only released to cash in with I AM LEGEND.

So now I'm visitng these HD forums, trying to dip my toe in the water, so to speak. From what I've seen available on Blu-ray, there are some 15+ titles I'd be interested in buying.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Movies on VHS were sale priced for the most part at $19.95 long before DVD came along. Most people I knew in the mid to late 80s had a VHS movie collection.

Doug

 

[John Dirk]

Yes, I realize this is a common opinion on the forum, but I have concerns. I currently use twin 300 disc carousels. If Blu Ray remains a nich'e product, I doubt I will ever see this type of BD equivalent. I am not interested in a single disc player as a permanent solution, although I am willing to accept it as a stop gap once prices reach reasonable levels. Like it or not, we need the average consumer just as much as they need us. Without early adopters, [such as many of us on the forum] who are willing to pay the higher initial prices and take the risks, many great products might not have made it past the prototype stage. Conversely, without the general publics eventual buy-in, prices and choices eventually stagnate. I would offer the analogy of a relay race, with early adopters and enthusiasts running the first leg. As enthusiastic as we are, we cannot run the entire race. At some point, we need to hand off the baton.

John

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm not so sure about that. More than a few people that have posted on this forum give me an impression that they hope Blu-ray or HDM fails, why, I don't quite understand yet.

 

[Edwin-S]

I think a bit of that mindset derives from people who fully invested into HD DVD, both financially and psychologically. Their "baby" didn't win, so nobody should win. The same thing would have occurred had the tables been reversed.

I think another subset has the perception that mass adoption of DVD resulted in a "ruined" format: pointless fluff extras, bad transfers, etc. They think BD would be better off as an enthusiast niche, because the studios would have to pay attention to the demands of enthusiasts rather than satisfy the needs of the "lowest common denominator".

 

[Robert Crawford]

I don't know what's driving it, but the negativity has not cease and is much more apparent than it ever was during the early days of SD DVD which is surprising since this is supposedly a HT enthusiast site.