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Oi... I'm beginning to think ya'll at the Giz are sour that you poured money into HD-DVD or something...
Lets recap; yes Blu-ray sales are lower in their fourth year then the fourth year of DVD sales. But lets compare 2000 to 2009. Actually lets not; we all know were in a recession. The masses will not all go and buy the newest gadgets (*shock!*); many will stick with what they have as they ride through difficult times.
Okay, I hate to be optimistic in a sea of anti-Blu-ray geeks, but here is something to chew on: According to the article below (pure Sony propaganda, I am sure), Blu-ray hardware is at around 12 million sold after three years. If this is true, Blu-ray players are selling faster (yes, I said it) than DVD players.
While media sales of any format may never compare to the ridiculous sales of DVD's because people have tired of "collecting" disc media (thank you, Netflix!), the bottom line is that Blu-ray appears to be doing just fine, thank you very much.
@nukee: I think it is some sort of brain disorder caused by wheat products. We are all under some mass delusion that every human being has owned five DVD players since the early sixties, so clearly Blu-ray is not selling well. It really stinks when we actually look at the numbers comparing the two formats because suddenly the DVD does not look so impressive after all.
@Monty: Haha, damn wheat lobbyists. I honestly think it has to do with exposure on the internet though. We've been following Blu-Ray for a few years now and used to get in verbal wars over the weekly Nielsen reports as they came in when HD-DVD was still kicking. That didn't happen for DVD really, the first exposure that people got was when they bit the bullet or visited a friend that had bought in. Times are tougher for technology to prove itself I'd say than 10 years ago.
@nukee: That is actually a very good point, and one I had not fully considered. When we spend all of this time talking about products for years before they are released we then have a false sense of how long it has truly been available. Truthiness makes it feel like Blu-ray has been out for a decade when it really is just over three years old. You combine this with a lack of knowledge of how many years DVD spent in it's awkward toddler years dressing up in a DIVX costume at Circuit City and you really do not have a true sense of how well a product is historically doing.
We need technology history lessons around here. Thanks for that insight, nukee!
There is no way I'd want this for my listening area. I currently have a 1960's era couch that looks horrendous, was free from someone I know and kept on their back patio under a tarp and probably used for hobo sex, but is very comfortable. You should just sit on something where you can relax and enjoy the music.
I think this is pretty cool. As a kid I got a "kiddy" projector that ran these little films (the only one I had was a cowboy short) and I used to run it over and over on the wall in any dark room I could find. I checked out every spoke, cog and part I could get to without breaking it so that I could see how it worked. I still do that with my gadgets.
I was thinking of getting a PS3. Can anyone tell me to what degree a PS3 can be used as an HTPC with addons like PS3 Media Server and PlayOn? What are the limitations?
@PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:: I have a PS3 that I use primarily for gaming but recently I've added music and videos to it. My main problem with it is that when you add videos you have to reorganize them into folders and their icons are just the first second of the video as a screenshot (if hovered over the video starts playing). Custom screen shots can be used but it's a hassle to do and they still don't look as nice as the dvd case or poster you would get with a real HTPC.
@greenhornetc13: That's not too bad though although the first few seconds are typically a black screen. So to stream movies from a networked PC you have to keep your media folders on your PC very organized?
@PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:: I have PS3 in my bed room, and a HTPC in the living room, and to be honest I feel that the PS3 should really be relegated to secondary duty. The user interface on the PS3 is nothing like what Boxee does, and you are completely limited to videos that you have on your host PC. I you are planning on getting a PS3 and think it will be fun to use it as a video server then by all means go for it. But if you are buying it with video streaming first, gaming second... then you might want to reconsider.
As for the organization question, yes you do have to keep your folders somewhat neat, as the PS3 does not organize any of the files itself, simply display how you have saved the files on your host PC.
PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: promoted this comment
Edited by San Francisco Kid at 12/09/09 3:30 AM
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At least when I checked very briefly back when the ZinoHD came out, the upgrade costs are unexpectedly reasonable. I could have perhaps found better deals if I had spent more than 15 minutes looking up RAM on NewEgg, but at least at that point in time upgrading to 8 GB of RAM through Dell was almost identical in price as upgrading the RAM using cards purchased off of NewEgg.
Good article, but you should follow it up with a series on the software required with all of this. What would be the good software?
My particular situation:
Right now, I've got my gaming pc (with HD card with HDMI out) hooked up to my 42" HDTV. The only things I currently do with it are: 1) Hulu, 2) Netflix, 3) gaming. For TV watching, I'm currently stuck with DirectTV, but trying to escape them. Once I do, it seems like my best option would be to just get an HD broadcast antenna and hook it up to my TV through one of the other HDMI inputs. The problem with that is that I really want DVR. I know there are programs out there that can handle this (I think Giz did something on them back in March or April, maybe), but that information would be good in conjunction with this article.
I have an HP Slimline as the backbone of my HTPC setup, with Windows Media Center running the show. At $500-600, I find it's far more flexible than the $400 options, and more powerful as well.
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Lets recap; yes Blu-ray sales are lower in their fourth year then the fourth year of DVD sales. But lets compare 2000 to 2009. Actually lets not; we all know were in a recession. The masses will not all go and buy the newest gadgets (*shock!*); many will stick with what they have as they ride through difficult times.
A 30 percent Blu-ray sale is tremendous.
12/14/09
While media sales of any format may never compare to the ridiculous sales of DVD's because people have tired of "collecting" disc media (thank you, Netflix!), the bottom line is that Blu-ray appears to be doing just fine, thank you very much.
[www.storagenewsletter.com]
I know we all wanted HD-DVD to win, but like it or not - Blu-ray is a very healthy format right now, no matter how much we want it to not be true.
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We need technology history lessons around here. Thanks for that insight, nukee!
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I'm just digging the name of it. In fact, if I have a daughter, I might name her Ballerina Sweetspot.
Scratch that...
Even if I have a son, I'll name him Ballerina Sweetspot.
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As for the organization question, yes you do have to keep your folders somewhat neat, as the PS3 does not organize any of the files itself, simply display how you have saved the files on your host PC.
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My particular situation:
Right now, I've got my gaming pc (with HD card with HDMI out) hooked up to my 42" HDTV. The only things I currently do with it are: 1) Hulu, 2) Netflix, 3) gaming. For TV watching, I'm currently stuck with DirectTV, but trying to escape them. Once I do, it seems like my best option would be to just get an HD broadcast antenna and hook it up to my TV through one of the other HDMI inputs. The problem with that is that I really want DVR. I know there are programs out there that can handle this (I think Giz did something on them back in March or April, maybe), but that information would be good in conjunction with this article.
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