Originally Posted by technewb

1) Time Warner switched to support blu ray, which was the main reason for toshiba dropping hd-dvd. What are the main causes for blu-ray to get such great support? I am only aware that the only major difference was the size of the dvds were larger with blu ray. I read that it might be because of royalties and blu ray has much better security features that will prevent china from illegally distributing. Is that true?

Blu-ray won because it sold more Blu-ray players and software. Blu-ray discs have more space but that's almost a non-factor because studios love doubling up on discs anyway.

2) Can you burn blu ray dvds? What kind of security features does blu ray have?

I read recently that blu-ray security has been hacked. You can/will be able to burn blu-ray discs.

3) Why did blu ray come out on top? Anything to do with marketing? It seems to me that blu ray and hd dvd were on level playing fields.

Blu-ray won because of the PS3. They also had better marketing but HD DVD had the name recognition advantage. Seriously, what the hell does the term "blu-ray" have anything to do with High Definition?

4)Why are people shelling out the money for blue ray? You can get an upconverter for under 100 bucks and it seems that the difference in quality is minimal. Do all dvds upconvert?

The difference in quality is not minimal. If you own a 1080i/1080p HD TV the difference is huge. People are shelling out money for blu-ray because it's the only option at this point even though since the war blu-ray players have gone up in price. Yes, all official non-bootleg dvds upconvert.

5) Blu ray defeated hd dvd. What now? What else are they competing against? Upconverters? Cable/satellite are showing movies in high def and i think some websites are going to directly stream movies in high def. Is this true?

DVD is the biggest competitor to Blu-ray. HD download movies are a ways off before they catch on but they will certainly be fierce competition when they become the norm.

6) Does blu ray now have a monopoly? I read that there are 10 companies producing blu ray but a month after tobshiba dropped out, blu ray prices increased 10%.

Blu-ray has a monopoly on high definition physical media. But I can still download HD movies. It's a monopoly in a sense but certainly not like Microsoft or anything.

7) technology is changing so fast, do you think majority of people will switch over to blu ray? Many people are waiting for the right price but do you think something better could come out and take out blu ray? How long do you think blu ray will have this technological advantage?

No, I don't think the majority of people will switch over to Blu-ray. Yes, Blu-rays can look significantly better than upgraded DVDs but not enough for most to drop $400 on it and rebuy all their favorite movies.

Please answer the questions from a business stand point. I am not here to take sides or anything. ( im actually looking to purchase a blu ray player for my dads birthday to put into his media room) Im looking for unbiased answers. Any extra input or important things that I might add in to my presentation; feel free to throw out there.

Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt

Other things I might add is about the studio support and the bidding wars that Toshiba and Sony both had fighting over the studios. If you have a HD TV then Blu-ray is the way to go. Gotta get the PS3 though.

Originally Posted by technewb

1) Time Warner switched to support blu ray, which was the main reason for toshiba dropping hd-dvd. What are the main causes for blu-ray to get such great support? I am only aware that the only major difference was the size of the dvds were larger with blu ray. I read that it might be because of royalties and blu ray has much better security features that will prevent china from illegally distributing. Is that true?