What are my issues with Blu-Ray?

1) The lack of standardization of the players ("profiles")
2) The lack of a "rip (straight, no reencode) it to a hard drive and stream it" solution. With DVDs, I can treat the original plastic disc as the backup and the hard drive as the primary.

I always laugh at this. People who are stuck with old TVs are suddenly going to go out and buy brand new HDTVs, sound systems and Blu-ray players because of this? What's stopping them from doing this sooner? Even if they buy a new HDTV and get a few BD Player, who say's they are going to go out and buy Blu-ray discs? Or use anything other than the composite cables included?

I saw a Blu Ray player actually being used in a home theater for the first time this weekend. My wife and I went to a great bed and breakfast in North Fork of Long Island and this guy had build his whole basement into a vintage movie theater. It was awesome..he had a full bar, a concession stand, tiled ceilings and seating. I would say he had 100 inch screen

He said he had 1200 DVDS and some Blu Rays. Guess what his Blu Ray player was? ASamsung 1400. He said he watches movies every weekend night. The next morning he tells me over breakfast that his player wouldn't play Scorpion King 2 and other movie..I told him the Samsungs were notoriously bad and unable to play a lot of movies, and I told him to upgrade his firmware.

Thats just plain sad that I had to tell this guy, who spent a fortune in making his home theater that his Blu Ray player was most likely a POS. Sad.

As far as Blu ray adoption goes, I have been tempted to buy a standalone player, but I just can't get shake the feeling the hardware isn't ready yet and the prices are just too high.

Having worked at Best Buy, this is definitely convincing a lot of people to buy new televisions, although it's mostly young people. Older people are definitely more interested in just getting a converter box.

#1 Profile 1.1 looks to be here to stay while 2.0 is seen as an "upgrade". I don't think we will ever get to a point in the next few years where its 2.0 only. I'd much rather see 1.1 players hanging around then the 1.0 players that are still clogging shelves while the stores hide the newer 1.1/2.0 players in the back.

#2 will never happen with Blu-ray (or HD DVD) anytime soon unless you have the ability and use certain "programs". The best bet is the digital copies some studios are including with some releases. Even then, they won't look good "streamed".

Yes, we're all well aware of this. But the example I made with Lonesome Dove ($30 vs $15) was the below-msrp at Best Buy on release date. And many, if not all, of the $20 Blu-rays have SD-dvd counterparts that are below $10.

And there are many that are over $19.99. Just as an example, the average person walks into Best Buy to pick up Cast Away and sees the $34.99 price tag, I doubt if he is going to be too interested after that. And yes, I know you can get the discs cheaper by looking around for deals online but not everyone does that like us people who hang out on DVD message boards. Lots of people just walk into Best Buy to get movies.

Isn't this still technically illegal for DVD as well? You have to circumvent copy protection to do it.

Who cares if the dates are wrong?? The articles overall point, PRICE, is correct. I have no problem dropping stupid amounts of money to be an early adopter, but the majority of the world is not like the posters who inhabit DVD/AV forums.

I love my HD channels on Dish and OTA. I thought/think that HD-DVD and BR movies looked great. But I simply can't justify spending $300+ on a player and up to twice the price (compared to DVD) on movies. If they start putting BR Discs in the Redbox type kiosks for $1 rental, then I might bite. My movie buying habits have changed over the years. I am buying less and renting more (specifically from the $1 rental kiosks).

Heck, even when I do buy, I am always looking for the best price.

I'm sure when $200 players come out, I may finally bite. But how long will it be until we actually get a QUALITY $200 (or sub $200) player.

Just because a few of us on an internet forum care about the content we watch, we are waaaaaaay outnumbered by those who don't.

It's those people who will look at a $300 BR player, then look over at the $40 DVD Player and $200 HTIB and wonder if HD is worth it.

I think the opposite. I think next year we'll start seeing more and more BD Live players and they'll become the standard unit. Disney, Universal, and Paramount all are heavily behind the online features. Although it's mostly trailers, Sony has BD Live something on all of their current and future titles. The others will follow.

I believe by year's end, Sony BDP-S350 and S550, Panasonic DMP-BD50, 35 and 55, and the Samsung BDP-2550 will all be BD Live players. This, of course, in addition to the BD Live capable PS3.

Why? Because when digital/HDTV is the only broadcast format that exists (we all know the popularity of TV sets on DVD) that will help drive the price of Blu-Ray hardware down and they will also be sold (the displays and the players) together.

Once more people have HDTV and start getting acclimated to it, that's all they'll want to see.

This was pretty much the reason why I posted this, because of the still high prices overall of the format. I didn't really care for the dates mentioned in the article. The way I see it, the format is here and it's still expensive, yet they want us to buy it. it took a whole hell of a lot for me to even get a PS3, I only paid the high price because I like certain games as well. That's why I'm hoping for some Black Friday-Christmas time cheer with some low prices.

I think his point was more that people will settle for the digital tuner boxes and be fine with that. Most people won't even notice (Dish and Cable subscribers).

Yes, more people are buying HDTV's. But it's more because that is what is for sale, not because they thought "Let's go by an HDTV!!" I don't think it will be the "gateway drug" to BR. $10 BR movies and catalog releases will be what get's the format over the DVD hump.

But that does not mean people will buy the discs. You can have all the hardware you want out there, but if they do not buy movies, why would studios continue to support that format? Sony is the only CE that makes players and movies...every other studio depends on movie sales.

Many people already have expansive DVD collections...what's forcing them to spend an additonal $15-$30 to upgrade all those releases? New releases will continue to sell well as will kep catalog releases (Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Jaws, etc.).

yes, it's illegal and therefore, a moot point. it is rather silly to discredit a format, just because it makes it harder to break the law.

You are confusing the digital tv standard and the content of hd media. They are not the same.

Plus how many people with shiny new HDTVs even use it for HD content? I've seen way to many stretched 4:3 images when a HD version of the channel is readily available. I shudder at how many times Ive had to fix HDTVs for my friends/family or replace their Coaxil cable with Component/HDMI cables (because the cable provider only gave them Coaxil).

Yet another article posted at DVDTALK that makes sense because of its negative connotation (a number of indicative examples where mothers, mothers-in-law, friends, and all sorts of family members who are apparently unwilling to adopt HD are a reason for concern).

ps. Don't forget to mention the cheap Toshiba XDE player that was just launched. That is a reason for concern as well.

Pro-B

Did DVD "take off" in its first 2 years? I don't believe it did. Media pricing is in line with DVD's pricing during the first 2 years.

I agree, and especially since the normal person going to Best Buy is still going to see $29.99 and $34.99 MSRP prices on regular discs versus DVD's that are regularly $5-$15 now. It's a hard sell even if players go under $200. There's quite a few barriers of entry.

Ask the concerned parties: Where was DVD months after all of the major studios began releasing and compare that to BR?

Pro-B

Yet, so far, at least, it's been discussed in measured, respectful terms.

Pro-B, your post suggests that you are unhappy with the climate here at DVDTalk. Perhaps you'd be happier elsewhere?

Done -- thanks. I'm sure that'll help keep things positive.

Frankly, I think this article underestimates the viability of the Blu-ray format, as well as incorrectly stating some important details which have already been pointed out.

Just because YOU are behind the format doesn't mean everyone is. Eventually, HD will become the standard for all media, but who is to say it will be BR??

The only threat BR is facing is itself. It is clearly superior to DVD. DVD was in a similar spot until prices became comparable to VCRs and movies on tape, the rest is history.

Is there a reason why you think that disagreeing with what has been posted isn't a form of respectful discussion?
I don't see my post suggesting anything like that. I am not surprised by the fact that another negative article is posted here. I believe you have misunderstood what I posted.
And frankly I think that anyone who writes an article where specific time frames are brought up to suggest a trend, negative in this case, yet fails to mention that only months ago all of the majors were not unified behind Blu-ray, hence I don't understand how you could expect faster growth, is quite naive.

Pro-B

Just to clarify, even though I now it's a negative article, I am an avid supporter of BD. In fact, the last dvd I got was of The Office Season 4, and that's only because it's not on BD. But prior to that, it's been months since I've gotten a DVD. I'm more concerned about overall perception of the format, which so far isn't good or is treated as another niche format - at least here in the States. Can't speak for anywhere else though. But I'm fairly certain if the issue is addressed regarding the loweing of BD software and hardware, it'll vastly improve the BD situation.