426 replies to this topic

[DLibrasnow]

I think Blue Ray will have it place in the DVD market. But it will not take over standard DVD, like DVD wipe out first laser Disc and then VHS. If you do a search on the web there are articles on why is that. But has it change since that, that anyone's guess.

The reason DVD wiped out Laser Disc and VHS was because DVD had the best audio and picture quality, circa 1997. However Blu-ray is a significant improvement over DVD in both picture and audio.

There are some in the media who are DVD diehards who have tried to tear down Blu-ray but all their lies have been discredited. Their arguments mirror the VHS diehards from the late 1990s who said DVD would never catch on. Their loyalty to DVD us really kind of pathetic. I feel sorry for them.

The statistics show that Blu-ray is being adopted faster than DVD was.

[Syndicate]

Here goes some links to news about Blue Ray's future and now. One or two of the sites, also have people's feed back on it.

Blu-ray market share on the decline?

Blu Ray Faces Fuzzy Future

Blu-ray Format Struggles With Uncertain Prospects - NYTimes.com

Edited by Syndicate, 18 January 2009 - 08:17 AM.

[001carus]

I think Blue Ray will have it place in the DVD market. But it will not take over standard DVD, like DVD wipe out first laser Disc and then VHS. If you do a search on the web there are articles on why is that. But has it change since that, that anyone's guess.

The reason DVD wiped out Laser Disc and VHS was because DVD had the best audio and picture quality, circa 1997. However Blu-ray is a significant improvement over DVD in both picture and audio.

There are some in the media who are DVD diehards who have tried to tear down Blu-ray but all their lies have been discredited. Their arguments mirror the VHS diehards from the late 1990s who said DVD would never catch on. Their loyalty to DVD us really kind of pathetic. I feel sorry for them.

The statistics show that Blu-ray is being adopted faster than DVD was.

My main cause for concern over Blu-Ray is the horrible DRM it's got implemented. Yes, DVDs have DRM but they're no where near as intrusive as Blu-Ray. For example, only computers equipped with Vista can watch Blu-Rays, which is absolutely outrageous. I've just bought a disc - I should own it, but I'm being restricted to use my own goods.

A lot of the reason why Vista is overly expensive is because of the DRM that was implemented into the operating system. Therefore, based on principles, I'm quite against Blu-Ray to begin with.

The other problem I have with Blu-Ray is it's just too damn expensive. I'll have to buy an HD TV first, then a decent Surround Sound System, then finally a $500 Blu Ray Player. This is to be expected of course, and it's not Sony's fault, but is the price of the individual movies really called for? $20 more for one of these over a DVD? This just seems way too high and I'm certainly not spending that much on a film just yet, no matter what the quality.

[DLibrasnow]

Here goes some links to news about Blue Ray's future and now. One or two of the sites, also have people's feed back on it.

Blu-ray market share on the decline?

Blu Ray Faces Fuzzy Future

Blu-ray Format Struggles With Uncertain Prospects - NYTimes.com

Yes, I am aware of these reports, but they have been discredited by statistics that prove that Blu-ray is being adopted faster than DVD was.

In the late 1990s there were numerous articles written predicting the imminent demise of DVD. Those reports predicted that VHS was too entrenched in the market and that DVD had no chance of survival.

Earlier this month at the CES conference the following was reported:

"Blu-ray has sold over 10.7 million players in the United States market. This number includes PS3 systems that make up approximately 65% of the players reported with standalone players making up the remaining 35%. PC drives are not included in these numbers. By contrast, DVD, widely acclaimed as the most successful consumer electronics format ever launched, had only sold 5.4 million players by the end if the format's third year on the market. Clearly, Blu-ray is heavily outpacing DVD adoption.
Perhaps more impressively, Blu-ray is now installed in over 8% of all US households. After three years on the market, DVD had found its way into slightly over 4% of US households, CD was in less than 2% and HDTV in 1% of homes during the same period. On the software front, Blu-ray had a record year. 5.6 million Blu-ray movies were sold in 2007 compared to 24.9 million in 2008. The 4th quarter was instrumental in Blu-ray's success in 2008: 2.3 million copies were sold in October, 3 million in November and a whopping 8 million copies in December alone. "

Source: http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=2269

[eddychaput]

I think that may have to do with the fact that jump from VHS to DVD felt more jaunting than the jump from DVD to Blu-Ray. People were so used to buying those clunky cassettes (myself included) that when movies were suddenly put on discs, people thought it was odd, in addition to the fact that it meant new players had to be purchased and that their VHS tapes, unless they kept the players as well, were now null.

Those sentiments eventually dissipated and DVD became widely accepted. With Blu-Ray, it's basically another kind of disc, not to mention that you don't have to throw away or sell your DVD collection because Blu-Ray players can read them. I'm not terribly surprised that statistically Blu-Ray has caught on faster than DVD did in the late 1990s.

Edited by eddychaput, 18 January 2009 - 10:39 PM.

[Qwerty]

Now on the CBn main page...

Pre-order 'Quantum of Solace' On Blu-ray And DVD

22nd James Bond film now listed on Amazon.com

[_Ozu_]

20th Century Fox Entertainment Spain has just told everyone that they will release the Blu Ray Version on the 25th of March, while the DVD versiones will see their release on May 13th.

Bad news for those of us in Spain, and I hope it doesn't happen to you.

[dee-bee-five]

One thing's for certain, I'll not be in a hurry to buy the Blu Ray version; the problems I've had with the earlier Blu Ray Bonds has been a pain in the neck and still isn't sorted satisfactorily. Still, a good friend of mine who works in IT advises me not to invest in any Blu Ray discs because the format is dying on its feet. Interesting.

What's interesting is that the pundits said the same thing about DVD 10 years ago.

I got a real laugh at all the people continuing to buy into VHS based on what the media was saying.

If you have problems with the previous Bond Blu-rays then it has to be a firmware issue. You should get the update. I have no sympathy for you.

I can assure you it's not for the want of trying. Not that I believe I should have to be faffing around to get a bloody disc to play.

I also can assure you that I was not one of those saying that about DVD 10 years ago; I was an early adopter of the format because I could see the very clear leap in quality from video to DVD. From what I've so far managed to see of Blu Ray, I'm unconvinced that there's anything like the same leap in quality.

[DLibrasnow]

If firmware updates have not corrected the problems you are experiencing I would say it would have to be a problem with your player. Have you contacted the manufacturer of your player?
My first DVD player (in 1997) would not play several of my DVDs and I contacted the manufacturer (Emerson) who said their DVD players did not have enough memory to play seamless branching.
That meant my DVD player would freeze when I tried ti play DVDs such as "The Abyss" and "Cruel Intentions"
I see a huge leap i quality from DVD to Blu-ray. It's very noticedable when I go from watching crystal clear Hi-Def TV programs on my HDTV and/or Blu-rays to standard (ie blurry) quality of DVD.

[Loomis]

Darren, just out of interest, how long have you owned a Blu-ray player, and how often have you found yourself needing to get a firmware update in order to get a disc to play?

On my PC, I update my protections from viruses, malware and so on on a daily basis, in order to counter the apparently ever-increasing number of threats out there. Does one also need to do this with Blu-ray, or do you just wait until a disc is causing you problems before you update your firmware?

I'm not sure that the manufacturers and retailers of Blu-ray players and discs are making it sufficiently clear to customers before they buy that firmware updates may well be needed. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't think the industry is being quite as upfront about this as it should be.

[DLibrasnow]

Darren, just out of interest, how long have you owned a Blu-ray player, and how often have you found yourself needing to get a firmware update in order to get a disc to play?

The last update I did was in November.

At least with Blu-ray there are solutions but with some of the first DVD players that had problems the response from manufacturers was "Oh well, there's still some issues with the DVD format."

With DVD it came down to the fact that if I wanted to watch all my DVDs I was going to have to wait until a DVD player came out that could handle all the DVD features.

[Loomis]

I believe that the manufacturers of Blu-ray players should provide customers with free-of-charge upgrades on disc on request. Do they do this?

[DLibrasnow]

I believe that the manufacturers of Blu-ray players should provide customers with free-of-charge upgrades on disc on request. Do they do this?

There is no charge for updates. I've never had to order an update disc but you can upload the updates and rip them onto a disc.

I think that is far more reasonable than the response from DVD manufacturers when DVD players had issues with a DVD. Essentially DVD manufacturers had an "Oh well" response.

[dee-bee-five]

I'm not sure that the manufacturers and retailers of Blu-ray players and discs are making it sufficiently clear to customers before they buy that firmware updates may well be needed. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't think the industry is being quite as upfront about this as it should be.

I so agree with this. They give the impression of making it up - and moving the goalposts - as they go along. It does nothing to bolster consumer confidence.

[DLibrasnow]

I so agree with this. They give the impression of making it up - and moving the goalposts - as they go along.

How is that different from DVD? At least they have solutions, unlike DVD manufacturers.

[Jim]

I'm not sure that the manufacturers and retailers of Blu-ray players and discs are making it sufficiently clear to customers before they buy that firmware updates may well be needed. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't think the industry is being quite as upfront about this as it should be.

I so agree with this. They give the impression of making it up - and moving the goalposts - as they go along. It does nothing to bolster consumer confidence.

Doesn't sound appealing if it's not ready yet.

[DamnCoffee]

Just had a look on amazon and it seems The 2 Disc version is up. The greate thing is, it's the exact same design as the single disc cover. (Bond walking through the desert with a hand gun), only with '2 Disc Collectors Edition' at the top. So I guess we'll get this one.

[dee-bee-five]

I so agree with this. They give the impression of making it up - and moving the goalposts - as they go along.

How is that different from DVD? At least they have solutions, unlike DVD manufacturers.

Well, I had no such problems with DVD, even if others did. But that isn't the point, is it? Failings during the introduction of DVD more than ten years ago cannot be used in mitigation for these problems with Blu Ray in 2009. On the contrary, one would have hoped manufacturers of Blu Ray players might have learned from others' mistakes. Clearly not.

[Loomis]

I'm not sure that the manufacturers and retailers of Blu-ray players and discs are making it sufficiently clear to customers before they buy that firmware updates may well be needed. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't think the industry is being quite as upfront about this as it should be.

I so agree with this. They give the impression of making it up - and moving the goalposts - as they go along. It does nothing to bolster consumer confidence.

Doesn't sound appealing if it's not ready yet.

As the actress said to the bishop.

But, yeah, agreed. "Firmware" is all very well, but it's really a bit of a palaver.

[DLibrasnow]

Doesn't sound appealing if it's not ready yet.

Not sure what you are talking about Jim....My 2 Blu-ray players work just fine.

[eddychaput]

I think it's a matter of time before BD becomes the standard format for watching movies at home. Granted, there appears to be some hiccups right now, but the machines are still young. I haven't purchased a player yet, but I can hardly wait.

[Elvenstar]

1 disc edition (dubbed version) is already released here and is on top of the charts for the 2nd week now...
The cover art is the same as the final poster with Dan and Olga in the desert.

[DamnCoffee]

Is it an actual DVD quality rip, or an illegal pirate?

[Blofeld's Cat]

Is it an actual DVD quality rip, or an illegal pirate?

What's the difference?

[JackWade]

One thing's for certain, I'll not be in a hurry to buy the Blu Ray version; the problems I've had with the earlier Blu Ray Bonds has been a pain in the neck and still isn't sorted satisfactorily. Still, a good friend of mine who works in IT advises me not to invest in any Blu Ray discs because the format is dying on its feet. Interesting.

Your friend is wrong. Sales are strong, especially from the holiday season, and studios are rolling out titles like crazy in the coming months.

BD is here to stay.

[Joe Bond]

One thing's for certain, I'll not be in a hurry to buy the Blu Ray version; the problems I've had with the earlier Blu Ray Bonds has been a pain in the neck and still isn't sorted satisfactorily. Still, a good friend of mine who works in IT advises me not to invest in any Blu Ray discs because the format is dying on its feet. Interesting.

Your friend is wrong. Sales are strong, especially from the holiday season, and studios are rolling out titles like crazy in the coming months.

BD is here to stay.

I agree and on a HDTV Blu-ray does maxes out the picture quality however this depends on the disc. I personally won't be upgrading to Blu-ray for the simple reason that I own a CRT TV that I am happy with so I will not upgrade until I get a HDTV but I know someone who owns a PS3 and I downloaded the Blu-ray trailer for the CR Collector's edition and thought it looked really good. However when I play new DVD movies or the Bond UE DVD's on the PS3 they don't look blurry and I feel they look really good on a 30 odd inch HDTV so even if I had an HDTV I would get a Blu-ray player more for the upconverting option and would only buy Blu-ray movies if I felt it was needed or just my favorites.

Over on DVDempire.com the DVD details for the singe, 2-disc, and Blu-ray have been updated and it says that both DVD versions will have Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio options and the Blu-ray will have DTS-HD MA for its audio so its looking good for QoS to have a good presentation on DVD and Blu-ray despite the lack of special features.

[DamnCoffee]

I caught an advert in the newspaper today, announcing that Quantum of Solace is now. available to pre-order at HMV. Nice one page spread, showed Bond standing in the desert with the gun at his side, with a brown cloudy back drop. "Get it first! Own the thrilling action on Blu-Ray and DVD - Pre Order fow from HMV."

You get a mini Bond on Set book, too.


Oh, you can pre-order on Amazon, too.

[Qwerty]

You get a mini Bond on Set book, too.

Ah yes, time to see what sort of extra goodies will start being tagged along with this release now. There were a fair share for the Casino Royale release.

[Qwerty]

Now on the CBn main page...

'Quantum of Solace' Pre-order Exclusive At HMV

Includes a limited edition 'Bond on Set' book

[trs007]

With a special book no less. Wonder what the "swag" will be in the states from Best Buy, Target and Walmart, when their offerings roll around on 3/24?