PJsig08

I've held out this long without a Blu Ray player and after getting screwed by buying an HD-DVD player I've avoided buying DVDs for several years.

Now with a new 55" LED, I'm ready to take advantage of it. But I'm afraid I'm going to get burned, again, with a new DVD format in the next 3-5 years and a whole bunch of movies to buy again.

So should I finally give in to buying Blu Ray DVDs or should I just wait for the next inevitable DVD format?

mdnitoil

There are any number of people who will suggest that Blu is the last home video format we're likely to see for quite some time. Not so much a tech issue but the fact that folks are turning to streaming in bigger numbers each year. It also seems to be generally accepted that any number of niche titles that made their way onto DVD will never sniff a Blu release. If all this is true, then now is as good a time as any to jump in.

Pizza

3 p.m. is generally a good time to buy one.

If you haven't picked one up yet and you have to ask, then the answer is no. If you're looking to never be burned again by buying a home video item, the answer is again...no. Technology will always be changing.

Eddie W

It's quite likely that when/if there is a new format, it will be backward compatible with current Blu Ray disc, just the way DVD's are. Personally, I'd rather enjoy the best format available today rather than waiting for what may or may not happen in the future.

Plus most Blu Ray players offer many streaming options. So you could get a lot of use out of it without ever opening the disc tray.

The Cow

Get a Blu-ray player that up-converts DVDs and purchase Blu-rays when you want. Nothing says you have to re-buy anything you already have - now or in the future.

rmw650

There should also be BD players that can also play HD-DVDS as well, and i found this on a message board so hoping that helps..."a Blu Ray player will not play an HD-DVD unless you have a Samsung BD-UP5000 or LG Super Blu BH200 which are dual-format players that can play HD-DVD, Blu Ray and regular DVD."

Quatermass

If you want further justification, you can also get one with wi-fi and "Apps" which most of the new ones have. I have a Sony and I can watch Crackle and a lot of other free sites, plus Netflix and Hulu, but the main reason I bought it was so I could Skype via the TV. The Sony allows you to use a variety of USB webcams, where some of the others require a specific one that they sell for an outrageous price.

Ash Ketchum

I was lucky. My nephews gave me a Blu-ray player as a gift a few Christmases ago, after I'd admired my oldest nephew's home theater setup and did a screen shot-by-screen shot comparison on another website to show the difference between a DVD and a Blu-ray.

Still, I only have about 23 Blu-rays total, divided up between classic films that were available cheaply (e.g. SPARTACUS, THE WILD BUNCH, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS), all of which I'd already seen, and new Japanese pop music concerts which tend to have a lot more extras than the DVDs, although they're hugely expensive. And the Blu-ray means you can see a lot more detail when there's lots of girls onstage.

milo bloom

Yeah, I'm really starting to think streaming is going to take over. And I'm okay with that for the most part, but in the intermediate transition, there's still a lot of genre stuff that I'm going to hang onto my DVDs (and Blus) for, like Mystery Science Theatre, Godzilla, Gamera, etc.

Bluray players are so cheap right now, you may as well get one for upconverting DVDs.

Alan Smithee

Because the quality of streaming is soooo much better than any HD media format. But seriously, if you were watching HD-DVDs before they went under, you can't go back to regular DVD or streaming.

Regulus

Wait until :: "The National Day of Insanity" :: (That's Black Friday for those of you in Rio Linda!). Some stores will be practily GIVING these players away!

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

You get what you pay for when you're getting a player that's super cheap.

milo bloom

Streaming doesn't have to be "better", it just has to be "good enough". And frankly, for the majority of the things we watch on Netflix, the quality is good enough.

Now, expand that idea to the masses of people wanting easy entertainment, and streaming will be the way of the future.

shadokitty

I bought my first blu ray player last year, a Playstation 3, which gets more use as a movie player than a video game system.

Backlog

Given how affordable Blu-rays (and Blu-ray players) have become, I'd say definitely.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

Yeah, I have 3 of them and they're all mainly used for playing blu-rays, streaming Netflix/Hulu/Youtube/movies off my PC.

Mr. Salty

A Blu-ray isn't a DVD.

milo bloom

Why was this thread moved? This is about availability of software, not a specific hardware question.

Spiky

You got screwed because you were an early adopter and went the wrong way. It's been years since then, certainly worth buying BD now.

Streaming vs disc.....for me, it really comes down to title availability. On disc, I only have the titles I've bought, obviously limited, but also titles I like and rewatch. On streaming, only the titles they've bought. Netflix, Amazon, etc. have plenty of titles, but it's often true I can't find something I'm looking for. I guess that's where "other" downloading fills in. Trying to decide right now about "$6m Man" TV series, I'd like to watch it, but not sure if it is worth buying the discs, none of the streamers have it, and apparently won't.

Mr. Salty

Well, it's about buying a Blu-ray player which sort of encompasses both.

mythmaker18

I'm personally waiting for the R2 release from Fabulous Films to hit a price drop (I suspect it's more likely to have a bigger/sooner price drop than the Time-Life version).

Larry C.

I'd wait out another 3 years if I were you.

Spiky

I hadn't even considered other regions. Is R2 better in any way?

tonyc3742

I have the same question. I ordered a combo disk from Amazon the other day because it was cheap, so that's my first blu ray, and then I started thinking, well, why not get a player?
I have a few challenges though, my TV doesn't have HDMI, just DVI, so I would run the HDMI cable into the DVI port and optical audio through my receiver (I was looking for one with 5.1 analog audio in my price range but couldn't find one.)
I'm assuming HDMI -> DVI will show the video at the right res (based on my TV specs of course)?
And yes, even though it was years ago, I'm still a little irked about the HDDVD fiasco.
Ideally I want a machine that has built in wifi, optical audio and/or 5.1 analog, good performance, at least Netflix, and around 100 bucks.
I am looking at this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasoni...7#tab=overview
which is 109. There's a lower model that looks like it has everything this one was except for 3d, but while I don't have a 3d tv yet, I was thinking I might as well 'future proof' it as much as anything (ha). Side question - I assume it needs a 3dtv to upconvert to 'fake' 3d?
Apps - I don't really care about Facebook and stuff, but mainly Netflix, with Crackle, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video as secondary.
Is this a decent player and is there anything else to think about?

Spiky

Should be fine. And the player you linked is probably fine, too. Panny is pretty decent.

Why? There was zero chance both formats would last. With the high prices at launch, it was pretty easy for most people to just wait it out until someone won, then just buy only the winning format. That's what most people did.