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New York, 6:42 AM
Wed Dec 30
72 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of MIKERIOSISAWHORE.COM MIKERIOSISAWHORE.COM
    04:19 AM

    In reply to Netflix, Hollywood Politics and the War for Streaming Movies
    This shit just makes me want to go pirate every damn movie in existence...

    I mean, I still buy all my stuff or rent it off of netflix, yet... why do the Hollywood Execs insist on punishing me and other honest people like me who still get all of our stuff through legitimate channels with horse shit like this?!? Don't they want my money? Why is it that the asshats that make these rules and policies can't see that stuff like this only punishes the honest people STILL buying their stuff through their dated and archaic distribution channels they're desperately trying to prop up?...

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a service like Netflix instant streaming help stem the tide of pirated material way better than the IRAA or any sort of write protection for DVDs or Blu Rays ever could? Isn't everything headed to the super connected cloud anyways over the next couple of years, and wouldn't this be a big part of that? Wouldn't it make a more sense in the immediate future to stream all of our HD movies on our phones instead of say carrying around hundreds and hundreds of gigs of movies on a phone? Oh, and Netflix is already monetized! It's not like they're creating some new (FREE) awesome web only based service only to pull the rug out from under us at the last minute (looking at you Hulu). I dunno, but to me Netflix instant streams reeks of common sense, and IMHO is a quick easy way to monetize an item quickly losing it's value among the masses (as is most other forms of digitally attainable media) by quickly helping acclimate the masses to the idea of streaming everything instead of physically owning it (read: pirating it)?!?...

    Dear Hollywood Execs, I really want to give you my money, REALLY, but when you do stuff like this it only makes me want to punch you in the baby maker. Please change your ways, cause I need better instant stream movie choices than the straight to video crap that is mostly currently available on Netflix. Kthanks!

    P.S. want more proof as to why it's in your best interest to speed this up, rather than slow it down by dragging your feet? Just look at the Record Industry...
     Reply
    Identity Bourne promoted this comment MIKERIOSISAWHORE.COM was starred MIKERIOSISAWHORE.COM was unstarred
    Image of superberg superberg
    12:24 AM

    In reply to Netflix, Hollywood Politics and the War for Streaming Movies
    Hollywood: Riding a Ridiculous Power Trip Since 1929.

    I understand concerns over being paid for your IP, but the window system just gives rise to more pirating. Instant Netflix and Hulu made a (more or less) honest man out of me. They should think about that.
     Reply
    superberg was starred superberg was unstarred
    Image of JoeJoeBrown JoeJoeBrown
    01:15 AM

    @superberg: Well put. Easy, convenient, and affordable access to media is what we all want. Making that difficult leads to more people becoming pirates.

    [tangent]
    I think the movie industry, while still fairly dinosaurific, is quite a bit more progressive in their thinking wrt new media than the music industry. We have more video at our fingertips than we could have imagined just a decade ago. It's got to be difficult for the old school execs to let even a little bit of their grip off of the control of the data (from their perspective) for fear of letting the genie out of the bottle.

    However, I think quite a few of them (especially the TV folks) realize that the genie was released a long time ago and are trying to get a handle on how to best monetize easy access to their content.

    Especially when considering that their content is a hell of a lot more expensive to produce than the music industry's. I know, it's dangerous to compare different artforms, but geez most of the entire music industry is vaporware. The music is secondary.

    And while Hollywood produces a ton of crap, there is a lot of art and real work that goes into a movie. The relative amount of work that goes into an album is a let less (note I'm not comparing artistic value or worth here, just the volume of work, both artistic and otherwise).
    [/tangent]
     Reply
    superberg promoted this comment JoeJoeBrown was starred JoeJoeBrown was unstarred
    Image of superberg superberg
    02:15 AM

    @JoeJoeBrown: I've always maintained that I'd drop $50 a month on full access to TV and movies using my current internet connection. Let me download whatever I want to watch -- DRM is fine, I just want to be able to view video away from home -- and have it available within 24 hours of airing on TV/releasing on DVD.

    Because if they can't make me that offer, they need to realize that the pirates already have, for free. I realize this concept would really piss cable companies off, but I'm not paying $70+ a month for the ten cable shows I want to watch. I'd also gladly drop $30/season for premium content like Dexter or Bored to Death. Hell, I already did this for Venture Bros Season 4, and I could have watched it for free on adultswim.com.
     Reply
    superberg was starred superberg was unstarred
    Image of Ioncloud9 Ioncloud9
    12/29/09

    In reply to Netflix, Hollywood Politics and the War for Streaming Movies
    new movies should skip the theaters entirely and go straight to the HD streaming. One can only wish...
     Reply
    deciBels promoted this comment Ioncloud9 was starred Ioncloud9 was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/29/09

    @Ioncloud9: I dunno. For some movies, you still can't replace the movie theater experience. While I wasn't the biggest fan, how would it have been to see Avatar the first time on a 47-50" instead of the monster theater with its $10k sound system?
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of Ioncloud9 Ioncloud9
    12/29/09

    @deciBels: True... i saw Avatar twice. Once in IMAX once in standard 3D. It was a unique experience you cant get at home. A simultaneous release would suffice then. With the added obvious value of theaters over home streaming. I just hate waiting 6 months to see a really good movie again after the theater run.
     Reply
    Ioncloud9 was starred Ioncloud9 was unstarred
    Image of Dapke36 Dapke36
    12/29/09

    @deciBels: on a 50"?? Damn, can I come over? All I have is a 19 inch Insignia.
     Reply
    deciBels promoted this comment Dapke36 was starred Dapke36 was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/29/09

    @Dapke36: Hahaha, no no, not me. In fact, I got mocked on here pretty hard for not having the money to put down on a 1080p TV. I only have the cheapest 32" I could find, which meant 720p.
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of superberg superberg
    12:33 AM

    @Ioncloud9: High-quality HD streaming is not yet available in most of the US. The sustained 25+Mb/sec of Blu-Ray is as good as you're going to get until ISP's get the sticks out of their collective asses.
     Reply
    superberg was starred superberg was unstarred
    Image of Yerzriknot Yerzriknot
    12/24/09

    In reply to Acer AspireRevo R3610 Review: An Affordable Nettop That Makes a Great HTPC
    If you're gonna use one of these for an HTPC Linux is the way to go. You'll get far better performance with Debian then Windows 7.
     Reply
    Yerzriknot was starred Yerzriknot was unstarred
    Image of JayD16 JayD16
    12/24/09

    @Yerzriknot: You wont get Media Center though. That interface makes the device Grandma-compatible, and for something you want to run all your living room off of, I think thats important.
     Reply
    Yerzriknot promoted this comment JayD16 was starred JayD16 was unstarred
    Image of Yerzriknot Yerzriknot
    12/24/09

    @JayD16: You can install XBMC instead; which is just as user-friendly. Debian will run at a fraction of the resources that Win7 will.
     Reply
    Yerzriknot was starred Yerzriknot was unstarred
    Image of Discosis Discosis
    12/24/09

    @Yerzriknot: XBMC doesn't let you watch live TV, though. (While I certainly don't care about that feature, for a family home its important)
     Reply
    Yerzriknot promoted this comment Discosis was starred Discosis was unstarred
    Image of Yerzriknot Yerzriknot
    12/24/09

    @Discosis: You can install a MythTV plugin in XMBC.
    [xbmc.org]

    IMO it's hard to compete with Debian + Openbox when it comes to speed and stability. I'll take longer to configure then Win7 but it's worth it.
     Reply
    Edited by Yerzriknot at 12/24/09 10:08 PM Yerzriknot was starred Yerzriknot was unstarred
    Image of Scott Jackson Scott Jackson
    12/28/09

    @Yerzriknot: While I mostly agree, and have actually run linux based HTPCs for quite some time, one thing you are overlooking is Netflix and other sites that utilize silverlight. Also, I don't have this Acer, but I do have an Atom 330/ion machine at home. I've tried windows 7 and linux (xbmc live and ubuntu) and I have to say that windows 7 was a better experience for me.

    However on my AMD HTPC system, ubuntu is way better.
     Reply
    Yerzriknot promoted this comment Scott Jackson was starred Scott Jackson was unstarred
    Image of Yerzriknot Yerzriknot
    12/28/09

    @Scott Jackson: I wouldn't know about that. I download all my movies and television from private trackers.
     Reply
    Yerzriknot was starred Yerzriknot was unstarred
    Image of Scott Jackson Scott Jackson
    12/29/09

    @Yerzriknot: I get plenty of content there too, but it takes forethought. Netflix is great for watching something on a whim and not having to wait. Well worth the $9/month.
     Reply
    Scott Jackson was starred Scott Jackson was unstarred
    Image of Slugicide Slugicide
    12/24/09

    In reply to Acer AspireRevo R3610 Review: An Affordable Nettop That Makes a Great HTPC
    My brother bought one last month(ish) at Besty Buy for $199 with XP.Yours is $330 with Win7. I wonder how much they could sell them for if they shipped with Ubuntu?
     Reply
    Sean Fallon promoted this comment Slugicide was starred Slugicide was unstarred
    Image of Sean Fallon Sean Fallon
    12/24/09

    @Slugicide: That was the older version - runs a weaker atom chip
     Reply
    Sean Fallon was starred Sean Fallon was unstarred
    Image of franco1975 franco1975
    12/24/09

    In reply to Acer AspireRevo R3610 Review: An Affordable Nettop That Makes a Great HTPC
    What games did you play Sean? This was a good review.
     Reply
    Sean Fallon promoted this comment franco1975 was starred franco1975 was unstarred
    Image of Sean Fallon Sean Fallon
    12/24/09

    @franco1975: Just warcraft, but the older version ran Spore well also.
     Reply
    Sean Fallon was starred Sean Fallon was unstarred
    Image of franco1975 franco1975
    12/24/09

    @Sean Fallon: LOL. I was thinking more along the lines of Plant vs Zombies or other simple games but its great it plays WOW.
     Reply
    franco1975 was starred franco1975 was unstarred
    Image of njleclair njleclair
    12/24/09

    In reply to Acer AspireRevo R3610 Review: An Affordable Nettop That Makes a Great HTPC
    Good luck finding it anywhere. It's been out of stock or backordered for a long time.
     Reply
    AmishJohn promoted this comment Sean Fallon approved this comment njleclair was starred njleclair was unstarred
    Image of AmishJohn AmishJohn
    12/24/09

    @njleclair: Newegg took it off the site entirely... not even backordered. I think it's too good for the price, and was cannabilizing the lowend desktop market. The only other dualcore Atom unit I could find, the ASRock, is $400 - without OS, HD, KB, mouse, or RAM. Oh, and the remote that comes with some models won't work with XBMC.
     Reply
    AmishJohn was starred AmishJohn was unstarred
    Image of webdevmike webdevmike
    12/24/09

    @AmishJohn: The reason they took it down was because a new SKU needed to be created in order to include the VESA mount.

    Look for the 3610 to pop up on Newegg again with the newly included VESA mount and SKU AR3610-U9022 - Old one was R3610-U9012.
     Reply
    AmishJohn approved this comment webdevmike was starred webdevmike was unstarred
    Image of AmishJohn AmishJohn
    12/24/09

    @webdevmike: I already bought, and am using, the single-core. Don't need the VESA mount or Win7, and can get a wireless KB & RAM for less than the $160 difference. The dual-core would've been nice, but good enough is the enemy of the best.
     Reply
    AmishJohn was starred AmishJohn was unstarred
    Image of FuturePastNow FuturePastNow
    12/24/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    I paid $225 for my DVD player. Over ten years later, it still works perfectly. Perhaps there's something to be said for buying gadgets before they become too cheapified.
     Reply
    deciBels promoted this comment Edited by FuturePastNow at 12/24/09 12:55 AM FuturePastNow was starred FuturePastNow was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/24/09

    @FuturePastNow: You are right about that. Some forms of technology are best manufactured early on. Microprocessors are a good example of that. Trends generally show that the earlier spins of a processor are more robust than their later counterparts and so they tend to overclock much better.
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of SigmundTheSeaMonster SigmundTheSeaMonster
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    And yet automobile prices keep going up! $50K for a pick up truck! WTF!

    Yeah, BD players drop because, who wants to replace all their DVD collections?

    PS. Dear BluRay makers, most of those with disposable income, are losing the war with their vision anyway...
     Reply
    SigmundTheSeaMonster was starred SigmundTheSeaMonster was unstarred
    Image of jinushaun jinushaun
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    The problem is not price. It's that people don't want to re-buy all their existing movies. Unlike the VHS to DVD transition, I don't think consumers are seeing the same level of benefit from a DVD to BD switch.

    Compared to VHS, DVD is compact, has better resolution, easier to fast forward, no need to rewind, has extra features, durable, etc.

    With BD, what do you get besides HD? I don't that HD alone is a strong sell, especially when some things are less enjoyable to watch in HD.

    IMO, BD and physical media are doomed.
     Reply
    jinushaun was starred jinushaun was unstarred
    Image of ceilingFANBOY ceilingFANBOY
    12/23/09

    @jinushaun: With blu-ray you get the added features of online content, picture in picture, and java, along with even more adurability due to the scratch resistant covering and much superior audio quality. VHS and DVD both had 480 lines of resolution; the difference was digital versus analog. Given the proper player, an analog signal is better than a digital signal. Poor picture quality in VHS was due more to wear on the tapes and cheap (for the amount of moving parts) players. This argument that people are avoiding purchasing blu-ray because they do not want to rebuy movies is null because blu-ray is backwards compatible, DVD was not. You do not have to rebuy movies to upgrade to a blu-ray player, whereas you did to upgrade to DVD.
     Reply
    ceilingFANBOY was starred ceilingFANBOY was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    This will sound like a pretty dumb couple of reasons but they are my reasons for sticking with DVD for now.

    The first is simply cost. To jump to BR, you need not only the player and expensive movies, but a TV that can take advantage of it. Right now, a TV of that caliber, is simply too expensive.

    The second reason is, I believe, an unsung reason why others haven't upgraded yet as well. People are more tech savvy now and they know that A) the next technology is right around the corner, even if they don't know what it is yet, and B) you need to have that TV right in front of your face to get the benefit of it. Sometimes it's simply not convenient to sit so close to the TV. I had to forsake getting a coffee table because there would be no way to sit as close as I would need to to enjoy the benefits of the BR resolution.
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of Dexomega Dexomega
    12/23/09

    @deciBels: If you have anything above a 40 inch TV you have to use HD or it just gets sad. I also think that you have this mixed up. People these days aren't very tech-savvy and don't want to deal with upgrading to something they barely know about. Take my entire extended family for example.

    I have now been called up to go and set up 4 different systems including a Blu-ray player. The first question each time was, "Will my DVDs work on this Blu-ray player?". They know almost nothing, like the majority of the American population. The next technology is going to be a little while away at any rate.
     Reply
    deciBels promoted this comment Edited by Dexomega at 12/23/09 6:23 PM Dexomega was starred Dexomega was unstarred
    Image of mikemil828 mikemil828
    12/23/09

    @deciBels: //Right now, a TV of that caliber, is simply too expensive.//

    You think you need a Kuro to be able to take advantage of blu-ray? ugh....

    //A) the next technology is right around the corner, even if they don't know what it is yet,//

    You are right, that is a dumb reason, it has nearly taken 8 years since blu-ray was first announced for blu-ray players to get reasonably affordable enough for mainstream consumption, are you really going to hold off another 8+ years for Blu-ray's successor? (And if you say streaming is blu-ray's successor, it's still probably going to take 8 years or so to be able to handle the bandwidth necessary to stream at Blu-Ray quality video, and that's if the ISPs and the MPAA don't get their way.

    //B) you need to have that TV right in front of your face to get the benefit of it//

    How close do you honestly think you need to sit to a HDTV?
     Reply
    deciBels promoted this comment mikemil828 was starred mikemil828 was unstarred
    Image of ceilingFANBOY ceilingFANBOY
    12/23/09

    @deciBels: What expensive movies? Lately, blu-ray releases have been cheaper than their DVD equivalents in stores- e.g.- Up on blu-ray special edition with DVD and digital copy: $19.96 at Wal-Mart, Up on 2-disc special edition DVD w/ digital copy: $24.95

    The Hangover Unrated on blu-ray- $19.96
    The Hangover Unrated on DVD- $24.96

    Sure, if you compare these movies to the stripped down versions of the DVD then they are usually $3 or 4 cheaper on DVD, but that wouldn't be a fair comparison.

    As for the players, the chart shows that these prices aren't unheard of for the amount of time blu-ray has been around. You can go get a $78 blu-ray player right now if you want a cheap one.

    You can purchase a 50" HDTV nowadays for less than you could get a 32" HDTV just 4 years ago. Price is not that big of an issue anymore. Hell, most stores don't even carry non-HD televisions anymore so once your TV breaks, you are almost forced to upgrade to an HDTV.

    If you need to sit with your nose to the TV to see the difference between blu-ray and DVD you need to get your eyes checked.
     Reply
    ceilingFANBOY was starred ceilingFANBOY was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/23/09

    @Dexomega: That's exactly my point though...though in a backwards way. People may know less about tech, but they KNOW that they know less so they call on those of us who do know so it ends up with the same result only from the back door XD
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/23/09

    @mikemil828: No, I think you need to have $1000+ to get a TV to take advantage of BR. The economy is not very friendly for such a large purchase right now.

    A) Yes, 8 years if you've been following BR since its inception. How many average consumers do you think actually have done that? From their perspective it's been only a couple of years.

    B) This close: [hdguru.com]
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/23/09

    @ceilingFANBOY: Basically everything you said can be covered by my reply to mikemil.
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of PJoe PJoe
    12/23/09

    @deciBels: You're delusional if you think you need a $1000+ TV to take advantage of blu-ray, think the successor to bluray is right around the corner, and have to sit close to a TV to make bluray worth while.

    My TV is a 42" LCD with full 1080P and HDCP from 4 years ago, and it cost $2500 back then and would cost about $400-500 today. I've watched bluray on it and it totally shows off how good bluray is over DVD. It doesn't have the fancy 120hz/240hz, nor the contrast ratio or response rate of LCD TVs today, but it doesn't need them as the picture still looks amazing. Hell I play games (at the full 1920x1080) from a gaming PC and xbox360 and they look amazing too.

    The successor to bluray isn't around the corner. Much further, as the economy can't handle a new tech. And when the new tech comes around, it won't be streaming/downloading. Streaming/downloading has quite a few problems. One problem being bandwidth. Not nearly enough of the USA has the bandwidth to handle streaming HD content, or download it within reasonable time, for that to replace bluray (in the USA that is, other countries may differ). And that won't be solved any time soon. Another problem would be internet downtime. Imagine you decide to watch a movie only to find your internet connection isn't working, so now you can't watch a movie. And since you have no movies on a physical media, you can't just pop one into a player.

    Sitting close to the TV can be answered as someone mentioned earlier, with the idea that you need your eyes checked. Sure its more obvious when you get closer to the TV, but from even 10-15ft back I can still tell the difference between a DVD and a bluray movie. And beyond visual difference, the audio of bluray movies is noticably better than DVDs (same movie, both 5.1, I've tested it with Transformers 2 and a few others).

    I COULD see downloading movies as a future solution similar to MP3s, but even with iPods and MP3s being so popular, CDs are still a popular form of media for music. People still like having a physical media, something they can touch and look at. Plus downloading costs as much as the physical media. For movies it also would take longer to download and takes up way more space per movie, which mean you then have to buy larger harddrives. Buying larger harddrives means you need to pay someone to install it. Thats 2 extra costs just to avoid buying a bluray player (I won't count the TV as an extra cost since if your TV is broken you pretty much have to buy an HDTV, and if you don't have an HDTV you are going to just keep buying DVDs). Instead I could see movies being a download right alongside bluray/DVD much like CDs with MP3s. And we're already heading in that direction (iTunes, digital version included with bluray/DVDs, XboxLive and PSN movies, etc)

    PS - Sorry for rambling.
     Reply
    deciBels approved this comment PJoe was starred PJoe was unstarred
    Image of ceilingFANBOY ceilingFANBOY
    12/23/09

    @deciBels: I'll make this comment short because my computer keeps fucking up:
    You don't need 1080p to see a difference between blu-ray and DVD. That said, a 50" can be purchased for about $600. Even a 32" TV will still be in optimal range from 9' away, which is hardly sitting on top of the TV. The chart you showed is just the optimal optimal distance. The optimal distance ranges from 1.5 - 3x the screen size, meaning that if you were to get said 50" from earlier in the comment you could sit 150" away, by no means sitting with your nose to the screen. If you aren't looking for a big screen, you can get a fairly decent 32" for less than $400.
     Reply
    ceilingFANBOY was starred ceilingFANBOY was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/23/09

    @CooLJoE8: Ok, there is no way I'm replying to all that XD
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of PJoe PJoe
    12/24/09

    @deciBels: Yeah I appologize for that. Sometimes I tend to keep writing and ramble on for a bit.

    Honestly, I don't think bluray will be as successful as DVD, but it'll gain a large enough audience to keep being produced right alongside DVD.

    And btw, thanks for the comment approval
     Reply
    PJoe was starred PJoe was unstarred
    Image of Afrobean Afrobean
    12/24/09

    @deciBels: There is no "next technology right around the corner". Blu-ray is what we have and all we will have for quite some time. If things come along, they'll add them to the BD spec, like, you know, how they just added full color 1080p stereoscopic 3D to the spec.

    Anyone skipping on Blu-ray because something else is "right around the corner" is a fool.

    And no, buying into Blu-ray need not be expensive. A new TV is NOT necessary. Sure, you won't be able to see the HD picture, but you may still be able to enjoy HD audio, and you definitely would be able to appreciate other features (like the high bitrate picture that gives virtually no visible compression artifacts). So you could pick up a 80 dollar Magnavox playerand start buying BDs instead of DVDs. Then all you'd need to do is stick to buying BDs that aren't overpriced and your 80 dollar investment will pay for itself. For example, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince just came out. If you wanted to buy the 2 disc DVD, you'd be spending 20 bucks or more for it. But if you got the fully featured (and then some) BD edition, it could be had for as cheap as 15 bucks. Get enough deals like that, and it can definitely be worthwhile to go BD without even having a HDTV.
     Reply
    deciBels promoted this comment Afrobean was starred Afrobean was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/24/09

    @Afrobean: You and everyone else who has said "anyone who thinks that another technology is right around the corner is a fool" (miraculous, that everyone used almost the same wording even!) must not have family coming to them for tech advice. My mom and step dad asked me that exact question, my dad and step mom asked me that exact question, my grandma asked that same question.

    This is not just something I randomly pulled from my head to make some zany point. Go talk to people. It's a bundled "idea" of technology just like how you buy a computer and a few months later it's already obsolete, same with an mp3 player, cars, etc.. People don't view "technology" as individualized products with unique technological aspects generally. They look at technology as "Technology" an all encompassing set of rules almost which, to them, seemingly guarantees obsolescence in a short time.
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of mikemil828 mikemil828
    12/24/09

    @deciBels:
    //must not have family coming to them for tech advice. My mom and step dad asked me that exact question, my dad and step mom asked me that exact question, my grandma asked that same question.//

    Just because you are asked for advice alot doesn't mean your advice is sound. It's more likely it's because asking you for help is cheap and it doesn't come with a sales pitch.

    Anyway it seems that your family lets you off the hook easily. If I tried to use the 'next tech is just around the corner' argument, I would be probably be asked: 1. What is this technology? and 2. How long is it going to take for it to reduce in price enough for me to afford it? and 3. Will it be worth that amount of time to wait for it to lower in price? (In other words, it the opportunity cost worth it?)

    I noticed that you never actually said what you thought this supposed new technology was, so please enlighten us to your answers to those 3 questions.....if you can.
     Reply
    deciBels promoted this comment mikemil828 was starred mikemil828 was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/24/09

    @mikemil828: Ok, clarification is in order. I did NOT say that the next tech is right around the corner. My point and by God I hope it's clear this time is: people who have come to me for advice on whether to buy BR or not have thought THEMSELVES (key word) that the next tech was right around the corner so it wasn't worth buying into. I believe that THEIR BELIEF is part of the reason it hasn't had the sweeping sales some had hoped. OK, clear now? This is the last time I'll be explaining this already exhausted point so it better be because it will be on the final.
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of mikemil828 mikemil828
    12/24/09

    @deciBels: //I did NOT say that the next tech is right around the corner//

    You didn't say it directly yourself, but your original post sure seems to make it clear that you agree with the folks "who know that the next technology is right around the corner, even if they don't know what it is yet", as it's one of your reasons in your original post of why you personally are sticking with dvd.

    Now you seem to be implying that you don't agree with that statement and never did, which leads me to ask then why is it one of your reasons for sticking with dvd? Do you have so little self confidence that you have to rely on your less knowledgeable relatives for your purchasing decisions?
     Reply
    mikemil828 was starred mikemil828 was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/24/09

    @mikemil828: Final exam grade: F
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of MrEvil MrEvil
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    Y'know, the 3D movie thing would be alright, if they made the stupid glasses actually pleasant to wear if you wear glasses. EARTH TO HOLLYWOOD, not everybody wants or wears contacts!
     Reply
    MrEvil was starred MrEvil was unstarred
    Image of noisy doll noisy doll
    12/23/09

    @MrEvil: do you think maybe they will make clingy sheets of the polarized film, so that perhaps you could just static stick them onto your own glasses? I don't know if that's feasible but it sounds like a reasonable solution. You'd buy the sheets and then cut them to the shape of your glasses, and they'd just cling there.
     Reply
    MrEvil promoted this comment noisy doll was starred noisy doll was unstarred
    Image of MrEvil MrEvil
    12/24/09

    @noisy doll: That would be perfectly reasonable.
     Reply
    MrEvil was starred MrEvil was unstarred
    Image of Cash907Censored Cash907Censored
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    Just picked up a Samsung BD-P1600 for 99 bucks at Fred Meyer (they are also called Kroger in some parts of the country)

    Suck it bluray.
     Reply
    Cash907Censored was starred Cash907Censored was unstarred
    Image of madara madara
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    How about a chart showing DVD vs. Blu-Ray disc prices?
     Reply
    deciBels promoted this comment madara was starred madara was unstarred
    Image of deciBels deciBels
    12/23/09

    @madara: That would be a good call, but those are more subject to inflation I suspect. If not, then I would agree that that is the biggest factor for most people when it comes to buying a BR player or just sticking to good enough. It's certainly my biggest consideration.
     Reply
    deciBels was starred deciBels was unstarred
    Image of RaphaelSpider RaphaelSpider
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    As i read these comments, i realize there are 3 groups of people when it comes to movies.
    1) movie enthusiasts of today
    2) movie enthusiasts of yesterday
    3) general movie watcher

    For the general movie watching group, they could care less about PQ, AQ & extras. these are the people who are the in mainstream and are the ones pushing the marketing for quick distribution methods, via VOD, netflix or iTunes/Amazon.etc.
    feed and move on to the next movie

    the movie enthusiasts of today wants the highest PQ AQ when viewing it at home. they host movie watching night hoping to amaze people with their equipment.
    these people are the ones pushing this type of technology in the industry. James Cameron and IMAX are godsends for us

    the movie enthusiasts of yesterday does not care about new tech. Generally refuse to adopt new tech because of heavy investments in their DVD collections. still willing to purchase movies, but only on their legacy format.

    personally, i think if you're a movie enthusiasts you'd want to see the movie as gloriously as it was meant to be. short of having your own projection room, having a blu-ray and 1080p projector comes close to that environment.

    on a side note: im a fan of criterion and what they have done to bring old movies to the new format.
     Reply
    robinandtami promoted this comment RaphaelSpider was starred RaphaelSpider was unstarred
    Image of robinandtami robinandtami
    12/23/09

    @RaphaelSpider: Quite a simplistic view. I am just a movie lover. I use blu-ray, hd-dvd, DVD, and streaming and downloading services. They each have their strengths and weaknesses. Blu-ray is undeniably unbeatable for watching the newest sci-fi flick and the few well converted old catalog titles.... but try finding your favorite indie releases and thousands of other old catalog titles. In fact... there would be no sense in converting many of the finest indie titles to blu-ray since they have stereo audio and low res video.

    So the true MOVIE lover does not discount any format. It's the TECH lover that says blu-ray only for me.
     Reply
    robinandtami was starred robinandtami was unstarred
    Image of Tiger-Fever Tiger-Fever
    12/23/09

    @robinandtami: I'm going to agree with you. The smart movie watcher will take advantage of every media type available. When I want to watch a movie like Star Trek, I'm of course going to pop in the bluray. But DVDs, streaming, and even VHS all have a place in my home. I have hundreds of VHS's and quite a few DVD's and not only do I not have the money to replace my collection, it wouldn't be worth it.
     Reply
    Tiger-Fever was starred Tiger-Fever was unstarred
    Image of crashfrog crashfrog
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    Well, look. If I don't understand how cheap blu ray really is, it's because of this incredibly terrible graph you've created, which uses bar graphing when it should have used another trendline. If you're going to compare two different trends - say, the trends in DVD player prices vs. blu-ray player prices as a function of the time since release - then you need to use the same kind of graph for both, so that the trend is clear. Is blu-ray cheaper now than DVD was? The graph makes it impossible to tell.

    Seriously, you should have to have a license or something to use Excel. I wouldn't even accept a graph this unclear in an English class.
     Reply
    ceilingFANBOY promoted this comment crashfrog was starred crashfrog was unstarred
    Image of ceilingFANBOY ceilingFANBOY
    12/23/09

    @crashfrog: Despite using a bar graph and a line graph, this graph is perfectly clear. You're just nitpicking.
     Reply
    ceilingFANBOY was starred ceilingFANBOY was unstarred
    Image of axan axan
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    The only reason why I bought a Blu-ray player was because I wanted to see HD content on my 52" HDTV. Right now Blu-ray is the only way to get 1080p @ ~40Mbps.

    Anything you download/stream, whether it has 1080 progressively scanned lines or not, will either be less than 10Mbps or will take a crapload of time to download and/or bandwidth. (Which in the US is not a winning formula because our bandwidth growth is rather stagnant compared to other industrialized nations...I presume until they can figure out how best to screw us with our Internet addictions).

    Just an example: A 720p @4Mbps download from iTunes is about the same perceived quality as a Standard Def DVD despite more pixels.

    I also don't believe people need to "replace" their entire DVD collections with Blu-Ray. In my opinion most titles are perfectly suitable to watch in lesser forms such as HD downloads and DVDs. Some of the recent Blu-rays I own are Transformers, Star-Trek, G.I. Joe, The Dark Night, etc... I won't buy a comedy on Blu-Ray... to me it's a waste. I don't need to see the pores on Will Ferrell's face. I'll just download it from iTunes, or equivalent and focus on the comedy of which is the intention of the film anyway.

    No, I think until our bandwidth catches up to stream Blu-Ray type performance for most everyone, it will be best to use a mix of all three mediums. (As sucky as that sounds)
     Reply
    Dr. Evil Genius is eagerly anticipating the Year of the Black Rainbow promoted this comment axan was starred axan was unstarred
    Image of mantis350 mantis350
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    I always cringe when I see people purchasing the low end blu ray players. Loading times are insanely slow, customer support is nowhere to be found and longevity is sacrificed. The PS3 system is your best bet for speedy firmware updates and will always be at the forefront of accepting new technologies in blu ray discs (as gimmicky as some may be).
     Reply
    robinandtami promoted this comment mantis350 was starred mantis350 was unstarred
    Image of robinandtami robinandtami
    12/23/09

    @mantis350: That's an outdated view. Those things may still be true with the SUPER cheap blu-ray players; however today you can easily buy quality blu-ray players that are cheaper than the PS3, have network streaming options, as fast or faster load times, great firmware support, and most importantly a much lower failure rate than the PS3.
     Reply
    robinandtami was starred robinandtami was unstarred
    Image of Scaramanga Scaramanga
    12/23/09

    @robinandtami: That's certainly not true, the PS3 is still the most future-proof blu-ray player out there. As evidenced by the announced support of future 3D Blu-rays. Its fair to assume that any future BD developments the PS3 will likely be compatible with.

    Beyond that its an incredibly solid digital media device from other aspects as well (divx/avi/wmv support, digital distribution, etc) and failure rates on the PS3 are fairly low (probably better then the cheapo BDs out there).

    Not to say people shouldn't be buying budget BDs, it will likely serve the needs of a lot of people.
     Reply
    Scaramanga was starred Scaramanga was unstarred
    Image of Zonky Zonky
    12/23/09

    @robinandtami: Failure rate of PS3 is not bad at all and no way can that statement be confirmed when discussing cheap low end blu-ray players. On average, worst case the PS3 and all Blu-Ray's run into the same lifetime with the drive and hardware.

    I would agree only one the point if the person has no, zero, 0%, no interest in ever playing a PS3 game, then yes a Blu-ray standalone will work just as good and better. If they even think someone might want to play a PS3 game, then the PS3 games + Blu-ray economic option points all directions to PS3, it still gives you many advanced options high end players only give such as scaling FPS to 24FPS multiple. With built in wifi, ability to stream from computers, which you won't find on many players.
     Reply
    Scaramanga promoted this comment Zonky was starred Zonky was unstarred
    Image of robinandtami robinandtami
    12/23/09

    @Scaramanga: The best estimate for the PS3 failure rate is 11%. All anyone can do is estimate since console manufacturers never actually release those statistics. The same study that determined the PS3 rate at 11% also said the 360 was 54% which sounds pretty close to accurate to me.

    All I can tell you is that when my PS3 became part of that 11%.... rather than pay $150 for what by most reports is a temporary fix, I paid $190 for a brand new standalone. Load times are just as fast. Firmware updates are just as timely. It was much easier to get working with my Harmony remote. It bitstreams the HD formats. I just wish I'd gone standalone in the first place.
     Reply
    robinandtami was starred robinandtami was unstarred
    Image of pekosROB pekosROB
    12/23/09

    @robinandtami: the remote thing is because the harmony remote (unless you have that new, ridiculously awesome one) is like every other remote - the PS3 remote connects via bluetooth, so unless your remote is a bluetooth remote, it won't work for the PS3.
    Of course you could buy the harmony adapter thing and get it to work...
     Reply
    Scaramanga promoted this comment pekosROB was starred pekosROB was unstarred
    Image of robinandtami robinandtami
    12/23/09

    @pekosROB: I did that.... of course that is an extra expense added on top of the PS3 that a standalone is not going to have. Even with the IR adaptor... there were some functions that I never could translate to the Harmony and ened up alway pulling out the PS3 controller anyway. It never failed that no matter how gently I put that controller down... one of the triggers would get bumped and now my movie was unexpectedly FFW or RW. Really.... would a 50 cent IR port on the PS3 have been too much to ask?
     Reply
    robinandtami was starred robinandtami was unstarred
    Image of pekosROB pekosROB
    12/23/09

    @robinandtami: hmmm yeah it sucks you have to buy an add on to get other universal remotes to work. but i haven't had an issue with the R2/L2 buttons getting pushed accidentally and i don't try to set them down real careful. hmmm maybe you got extra sensitive trigger buttons on your controller? who knows.
     Reply
    pekosROB was starred pekosROB was unstarred
    Image of uu_ugene uu_ugene
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    I can't even tell you how often I've had the following conversation:

    "$20 for a movie?!?!?!?! Noooooo!
    What's that? Why yes I did spend $1500 on my TV. Yes, I do have an $800 surround sound system. Hm? Oh, my cable is about $100 a month. What's your point?"
     Reply
    matt buchanan promoted this comment uu_ugene was starred uu_ugene was unstarred
    Image of Monty Monty
    12/23/09

    In reply to I Don't Think You Understand How Cheap Blu-ray Really Is
    My apologies for being a nit-picky ass, but it is my self-proclaimed Giz job description.

    Yes, Blu-ray players are dirt cheap, and that is why they are selling better than DVD players have in comparable years:

    [www.storagenewsletter.com]

    No question the manufacturers are not as excited about having to compete at low prices, but I am not certain I buy the statement that everyone is losing money (except Sony's PS3, of course). If you have a source for that, I would love to read it.

    I also question the statement that we are watching BR movies less than DVD. Yes, Blu-ray players (like the PS3) often given multiple methods of movie watching - but I do not necessarily conclude that we are watching less Blu-ray content than DVD content in a comparable year. We have Netflix now that has dramatically expanded our movie (and BR) viewing time. Remember that in the early days of DVD we were watching movies on VHS still and going out to the movies more. If there are numbers showing that we are all watching less BR content in a comparable year to DVD, I would love to see that - but I am not certain that is true.

    That said, BR players are damn cheap.
     Reply
    Monty was starred Monty was unstarred
    Image of mangs mangs
    12/23/09

    @Monty: theaters are making more money now than they ever have, so I would argue that we're at least going to the movies the same amount considering movie prices have gone up since the VHS days.
     Reply
    Monty promoted this comment mangs was starred mangs was unstarred
    Image of Monty Monty
    12/23/09

    @mangs: Went and looked it up, and it does appear that more people are heading to the movies. Thanks for the heads-up!
     Reply
    Monty was starred Monty was unstarred
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