@notificating da interwebs_Nick: I love how the people on this forum that are championing the coming of the internet age of video distribution were the same ones panicking last month when Time Warner was announcing plans to implement bandwidth caps (even admitting that it was inevitable). You can't have it both ways people.
@htifun: my comment in no way implied collusion or alignment with any party for or against bandwidth caps. i am not certain i get what you're saying either.
@Ibelieveinsandwitches: If we could just stop those blasted pirates from hijacking the cargo ships filled with Blu-ray goodness, Sony would suddenly be the richest company in the world.
This is something I've been saying since the inane "HD format war" began...
Blu-Ray and HD-DVD weren't competing to see who would be the next DVD.
They were competing to see who would be the next LaserDisc.
I loved LaserDisc, but even I recognized at the time that it was not a mass media format. It gave me widescreen and extra features like commentary that film geeks could spasm over, but 99% of the general public just wasn't interested in. Certainly not at a premium price.
Blu-Ray is doing the same thing for HD content. Joe Consumer doesn't get it, doesn't want to get it, isn't interested in it.
The next HD media format will probably be a big hit though.
@Jordan Lund: Well, were it not for the fact that Blu-ray has already has sold more players in the U.S. than LaserDisc ever did, your argument would make perfect sense.
What is killing Blu-ray is the fact that people rarely buy movies anymore, coupled with a nasty economy. Hardware vendors are making a few bucks, but studios are watching their income slowly dwindle away. The result is that there are a lot of Blu-ray players sold, but nearly all of them are used for watching Netflix BR flicks. Easily half of the movies we watch at our home are in Blu-ray, but we have only purchased a single disc, which should show where the market is heading.
Good rant, Wilson, and I'm with you 100%. The only thing you left out was the fact that a good upscaling player makes even plain-ol' DVDs look very good on a larger LCD.
I got the Samsung BD-P2500 and I've watched Netflix much more than I've watched Blu-Ray. Not that I don't appreciate the added quality in some films, but generally I'm not disappointed when something I can't get on streaming comes from Netflix on a DVD instead of a BR.
scroll down to one of the last comments on the first page. DeusExMach is afraid he can't do that, Dave 's comment is heeelarrryous. i don't know if he wrote, but if he did it made me wet myself.
oh and blu ray blah blah funny picture blah blah hd sucks blah blah.
@i heart galaga_Nick: ok, well if we're gonna do that I personally loved DeusExMach is afraid he can't do that, Dave.'s : "so... the goggles? they do nothing?"
@i heart galaga_Nick: I think that since I didn't actually record this using the music from Bobby "Boris" Pickett's original composition, it falls under fair use. But were I to record a parody of the song using the original music, I would be on the hook to whoever owns the rights to the song.
And I don't know about you guys, but I ain't fuckin' with the Monster Mash.
@DeusExMach is afraid he can't do that, Dave.: well, you could test the waters and put it on you tube. if they take it down then you know where you stand. you obviously have a small fan club here.
@Hand_O_Death: lol, i picked up the HD-DVD attachment to get some HD videos on cheap... the adapter and Planet Earth was only $45 combined... throw in Transformers and the Ocean's trilogy for another $25 more.
@MudkipNPC: Pork or Non-player?: Sony has not won the format war. They've just defeated HD-DVD. They _still_ have to make Blu-Ray the dominant media format, and that's just not happening. You got instant-gratification people like the article's author, who simply want their piped-but-super-compressed "HD-quality" feeds, and you've got those of us on the opposite end of the naysayer's spectrum who continue to buy DVDs (which, I might add, often have better bitrates than that HD content you're downloading).
So basically, all of that still leaves Blu-Ray as a niche format. They just don't have any equal-status contenders to fight with anymore.
Bluray video quality is SO much better than anything you can stream on the internet and will be for years to come (and thats not even mentioning Sound quality). Internet stream cant do 1080p, can't do True HD or MasterDTS and usually pixelates. Why are we even comparing these two formats???
@bsselp: DVD is better than most HD content that you can pull in over the internet. That doesn't deal with the fact that there are a lot of people who are falling back in love with the old rental mentality, as long as they don't have to drive anywhere or pay late fees.
If you think me saying please, and making a suggestion is getting my panties in a bunch, I would hate to see how you react when someone actually is upset.
oh, and when you use the term not in its dictionary definition, but in slang, it is always offensive.
@thePrototype: Henceforth, to ease your concerns, I shall endeavor to only use flame-slower-downerant products. "Slower-downer" shall be the replacement. Or is the "down" part potentially offensive as well!? Oh no, even "slow" might be offensive!
Hmmm... I guess no matter what you do, somebody might be offended. Best if nobody says anything. Ever.
@markterry: Mark, I think you missed the point. When used in proper terms a word can be either a. inoffensive - there is a chink in my armor or b. offensive - that chink just cut me off.
@everyone: now a lot of this thread is pretty funny, but a few of you guys are just jerks. i know it may seem naive to ask to stop using the term 'tard -- it was asked politely and didn't need to come to heated head it did. let us all just remember one rule:
if you can't say something nice -- then mutter it under your breath behind that person's back.
One of the issues with Blu Ray players is that they don't replace an excellent CD/audio system. If these have really good audio outs, then I'd think the prices are justifiable.
Plus, in the weird wacky world of hi-fi audio, these prices aren't even that high (not that Denon makes such awesome sounding audio gear anyway). So if these things do what they say - great blu-ray + great CD audio (able to replace an aging one trick pony CD player) hooked up to a great set of speakers - then $500 / $700 doesn't sound so bad to me.
People are still paying thousands of dollars for CD players that do nothing but play CDs, after all. OK, not entirely rational people, but living, breathing, wine-sipping people nonetheless.
Question: My TV automatically upscales non-HD content. I think this is a common feature in HD sets now. Does that undermine the utility of DVD player-based upscaling? Is this upscaling "better" than the kind done in the TV?
@350z-racer: Yeah, same. Not sure why anyone would consider anything else actually (aside from the videophiles - who still have a pretty puny argument, or people that just outright HATE Sony products as a whole.)
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i think we should go back to VHS, at least you can pick up the film at the same spot you left off :) 80s chick flicks look better on VHS anyway.
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Oh, wait -- is that what you were referring to?
05/15/09
Blu-Ray and HD-DVD weren't competing to see who would be the next DVD.
They were competing to see who would be the next LaserDisc.
I loved LaserDisc, but even I recognized at the time that it was not a mass media format. It gave me widescreen and extra features like commentary that film geeks could spasm over, but 99% of the general public just wasn't interested in. Certainly not at a premium price.
Blu-Ray is doing the same thing for HD content. Joe Consumer doesn't get it, doesn't want to get it, isn't interested in it.
The next HD media format will probably be a big hit though.
05/15/09
What is killing Blu-ray is the fact that people rarely buy movies anymore, coupled with a nasty economy. Hardware vendors are making a few bucks, but studios are watching their income slowly dwindle away. The result is that there are a lot of Blu-ray players sold, but nearly all of them are used for watching Netflix BR flicks. Easily half of the movies we watch at our home are in Blu-ray, but we have only purchased a single disc, which should show where the market is heading.
05/15/09
I got the Samsung BD-P2500 and I've watched Netflix much more than I've watched Blu-Ray. Not that I don't appreciate the added quality in some films, but generally I'm not disappointed when something I can't get on streaming comes from Netflix on a DVD instead of a BR.
05/15/09
scroll down to one of the last comments on the first page. DeusExMach is afraid he can't do that, Dave 's comment is heeelarrryous. i don't know if he wrote, but if he did it made me wet myself.
oh and blu ray blah blah funny picture blah blah hd sucks blah blah.
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And I don't know about you guys, but I ain't fuckin' with the Monster Mash.
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Sony has not won the format war. They've just defeated HD-DVD. They _still_ have to make Blu-Ray the dominant media format, and that's just not happening. You got instant-gratification people like the article's author, who simply want their piped-but-super-compressed "HD-quality" feeds, and you've got those of us on the opposite end of the naysayer's spectrum who continue to buy DVDs (which, I might add, often have better bitrates than that HD content you're downloading).
So basically, all of that still leaves Blu-Ray as a niche format. They just don't have any equal-status contenders to fight with anymore.
05/16/09
Bluray video quality is SO much better than anything you can stream on the internet and will be for years to come (and thats not even mentioning Sound quality). Internet stream cant do 1080p, can't do True HD or MasterDTS and usually pixelates. Why are we even comparing these two formats???
05/16/09
DVD is better than most HD content that you can pull in over the internet. That doesn't deal with the fact that there are a lot of people who are falling back in love with the old rental mentality, as long as they don't have to drive anywhere or pay late fees.
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Merriam-Webster
Main Entry: re·tard·ed
Pronunciation: \ri-ˈtär-dəd\
Function: adjective
Date: 1895
sometimes offensive : slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress
Keyword: SOMETIMES
Don't get your panties in a bunch. I think he just meant you must be intellectually limited to buy a player without a NIC.
05/15/09
If you think me saying please, and making a suggestion is getting my panties in a bunch, I would hate to see how you react when someone actually is upset.
oh, and when you use the term not in its dictionary definition, but in slang, it is always offensive.
05/15/09
Hmmm... I guess no matter what you do, somebody might be offended. Best if nobody says anything. Ever.
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sorry, i was texting and driving.
ps
what is that a picture of?
05/15/09
if you can't say something nice -- then mutter it under your breath behind that person's back.
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/slaps kaiser's hand
don't take off your helmet sweetie.
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-1.
@thePrototype: what's that a picture of?
05/11/09
Plus, in the weird wacky world of hi-fi audio, these prices aren't even that high (not that Denon makes such awesome sounding audio gear anyway). So if these things do what they say - great blu-ray + great CD audio (able to replace an aging one trick pony CD player) hooked up to a great set of speakers - then $500 / $700 doesn't sound so bad to me.
People are still paying thousands of dollars for CD players that do nothing but play CDs, after all. OK, not entirely rational people, but living, breathing, wine-sipping people nonetheless.
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