Warner Goes Blu

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Brother Adam' post='1476623' date='Mar 12 2008, 11:26 PM']I really don't think upconversion does justice to HD media though. For me there is truly a big difference between and upconverted DVD and a blu-ray disc. A full 1080p disc is so much sharper and the sound is so much better.[/quote]
I've seen Blu-ray displayed on high definition TV's at various stores and I do not see any reason to move to it from my present DVD upconverted system. Perhaps when the price for Blu-ray comes down to the present level of DVD players and discs, then I may reconsider my decision. But with the ongoing class action suit against the manufacturers of Blu-ray machines that won't consistently play Blu-ray discs (even though that is what they are manufactured to do), I see no point in paying $400 to $600 dollars for something that doesn't work properly. Also, at the present time the encoding used on Blu-ray discs is still mpeg2, a system that is more than ten years old, and which has been surpassed as the video encoding standard by mpeg4 for many years. Sadly, anyone buying a movie in the Blu-ray format today will have to buy the same movie again in the future in order to experience a true high-definition image.

[Brother Adam]

Not all blu-ray movies are encoded at Mpeg2, check stats at blu-ray.com to find out what different movies are encoded at. We are in first gen blu-ray players, so bugs are expected, The best blu-ray player is the PS3, which has regular firmware updates and has not been found to be faulty so it is currently the best choice for an overall entertainment system, If you don't want to buy one, great, don't buy one until prices fall enough for you to be interested in one, but blu-ray will be the next standard media storage device no matter how much people who adopted HDDVD hate it. We love movies so we got a blu-ray player, which also upconverts and there is a huge difference between upconverting and true 1080p HD. Displays at stores are hardly ever set up right to show off what true HD can do. I really don't understand people who walk around telling others they won't buy a blu-ray player. What difference does it make?

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Brother Adam' post='1477123' date='Mar 13 2008, 10:44 PM']so bugs are expected . . .[/quote]
For $600 I don't want to buy a bug.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Brother Adam' post='1477123' date='Mar 13 2008, 10:44 PM']. . . We love movies so we got a blu-ray player, which also upconverts and there is a huge difference between upconverting and true 1080p HD.[/quote]
I suppose that each person's vision is subjective, for lack of a better term, but I haven't noticed that big a difference.

That said, I don't own an HDDVD player or a Blu-ray player, but Blu-ray won because of DRM (the movie studios want to power to "deactivate" discs with keys that have been cracked by hackers), and not because it was necessarily a better system. I've seen movies played in both formats and can't really see any difference between them. Sadly, for the consumer, Blu-ray will take a while to come down in price, and the lack of competition may actually keep prices higher for a longer period of time. Moreover, retooling factories for the thinner Blu-ray discs will also take some time, but who knows, by then a new format may already be on the market competing with Blu-ray.

I've never been a fan of Sony.

[Theologian in Training]

[url="http://gizmodo.com/370116/coming-blu+ray-20-update-makes-ps3-best-player-ever"]http://gizmodo.com/370116/coming-blu+ray-2...est-player-ever[/url]

This is why the PS3 is still the best and most upgradeable Blu-Ray player around.

[Brother Adam]

2.20 and BD Live is out )

That's why PS3 is so great - the bugs are worked out and eliminated with each new firmware update. It will never be an obsolete player. You can buy them used for around $250, new for $399. Considering BD movies are less than DVD when they go on sale, I think mass adoption is not too many years in the future. BD now has a 10-15% market share against DVD. That is moving lightening fast considering the format war was won in January.

[Theologian in Training]

Brother Adam,

I think you are right

[url="http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Sales/Industry_Trends/Industry_Forecasts/Report:_Blu-ray_Disc_Sales_Impacting_DVD_/1602"]http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Dis...cting_DVD_/1602[/url]

[Apotheoun]

I have no interest in owning a PS3, and don't want to pay $399 for a gaming machine when I don't play games. I just need a nice -- afffordable -- high def DVD player.

As far as sales of Blu-ray discs is concerned, a few individual titles have hit as high as 9% to 12% market share against standard DVD, but the overall Blu-ray disc market share is hovering around 3% to 4%.

[Brother Adam]

I would buy a HD-DVD player then while there are some left in the fire sale. It's as close as you are going to be able to come to true high definition using SD DVD's. And right now they are cheaper than DVD players. The Toshiba A3 can be purchased for $79-99.

I know a lot of people who are buying other blu-ray players so I understand about the PS3. I own 1 game for it. I have my music collection on it though, all of our pictures (great for a 40" digital picture frame when we have company over), and of course watching movies. Our next step will be getting a yamaha surround sound system.

3-4% share against a 10 year old mass adopted technology seems about right to me. 10-12% of new movies sold on blu, and the DVD forum is considering jumping on the BDA bandwagon. The big companies hope that 50% of new movies will be sold on BD in a year. I think that is a little optimistic, but here is hoping. The faster prices will come down then.

[Theologian in Training]

Yet, since the PS3 is the most upgradable Blu-Ray player, it is the only one that now supports BD-Live and PiP

[kamiller42]

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1477980' date='Mar 16 2008, 04:09 AM']I suppose that each person's vision is subjective, for lack of a better term, but I haven't noticed that big a difference.[/quote]
[url="http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/13347/"]There is certainly a difference[/url]. Blu-ray on a HD TV is superior to the naked eye unless your eyes are handicapped. Even if you don't see much of a video difference. the audio is clearly superior on Blu-rays with good encodes.

[quote]I've never been a fan of Sony. [/quote]
The BDA is so much more than Sony. I think Disney has been the biggest proponent of Blu-ray. Their promotion efforts have exceed Sony.

[Paladin D]

Blu-Ray has more of a chance of becoming a widespread format than downloadable movies ever will, simply due to the fact that you need at least a broadband connection in order to download your movie within 24 hours. Let's not forget, not everyone owns an iPod (i.e., me), and many people still find it more practical to simply buy a movie from the store and insert it into their player (if you have the correct player of course). I remember when the DVD format first came out, there were debates as to whether or not it will actually catch on and become a widespread format. The debate has been settled, and VHS releases are almost nonexistant. My family stayed with VHS until we realized how superior DVD was. Give Blu-Ray some time, it'll eventually catch on.

It's the same debate regarding the fate of movie cinemas. I'm on the side that believes they'll never go extinct, simply because going to the movies is not only a way to experience a new release on the big screen with the amazing surround sound (which now, home theaters can mimic these days), but it's also carries a social element in connection with the whole movie going experience. You can pretty much get the same quality picture, sound, and cheaper concession if you have your own home theater system (though not everyone can, or ever will, be able to afford one), but it simply isn't the same special feeling you get when you walk into a grand movie cinema with friends and family.

[Theologian in Training]

DTS-HD coming to a PS3 near you

[url="http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/PlayStation_3/Firmware_Upgrades/PS3_Gets_DTS-HD_Master_Audio_Upgrade/1641"]http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Pla...io_Upgrade/1641[/url]

[Brother Adam]

Fr. Brian,

The PS3 once again shows its versitility as the best home entertainment system, even if you don't like to play games. MS showed its true colors this week in a report that showed the only reason they backed the now dead HD-DVD format was to stop blu-ray. Their intention was then to kill HD-DVD.

"You can pretty much get the same quality picture, sound, and cheaper concession if you have your own home theater system (though not everyone can, or ever will, be able to afford one), but it simply isn't the same special feeling you get when you walk into a grand movie cinema with friends and family"

Home theater systems are FAR superior than the movie theater. While the new 1080p projection systems are way out of my league, if you combine that with a 7.1 lossless audio track on blu-ray there is just no comparison to a theater. Even my own set up - 1080i LCD HDMI TV with blu-ray movies, and 5.1 digital THX certified surround sound far surpasses most movie theaters. We went to see Alvin and the chipmunks in the theater and then saw it on blu-ray. It will make it hard to go back to a theater ever again. While there is a social aspect to seeing a movie in a movie theater, I'd rather know that there aren't going to be noisy kids, cell phones, or other rude people when I watch a movie at home. Will cinimas survive? I think so, but you won't need to go to a theater aymore to appreciate movies like Ben-Hur and the 10 commandments.

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='Brother Adam' post='1497660' date='Apr 11 2008, 11:59 PM']Fr. Brian,

The PS3 once again shows its versitility as the best home entertainment system, even if you don't like to play games. MS showed its true colors this week in a report that showed the only reason they backed the now dead HD-DVD format was to stop blu-ray. Their intention was then to kill HD-DVD.

"You can pretty much get the same quality picture, sound, and cheaper concession if you have your own home theater system (though not everyone can, or ever will, be able to afford one), but it simply isn't the same special feeling you get when you walk into a grand movie cinema with friends and family"

Home theater systems are FAR superior than the movie theater. While the new 1080p projection systems are way out of my league, if you combine that with a 7.1 lossless audio track on blu-ray there is just no comparison to a theater. Even my own set up - 1080i LCD HDMI TV with blu-ray movies, and 5.1 digital THX certified surround sound far surpasses most movie theaters. We went to see Alvin and the chipmunks in the theater and then saw it on blu-ray. It will make it hard to go back to a theater ever again. While there is a social aspect to seeing a movie in a movie theater, I'd rather know that there aren't going to be noisy kids, cell phones, or other rude people when I watch a movie at home. Will cinimas survive? I think so, but you won't need to go to a theater aymore to appreciate movies like Ben-Hur and the 10 commandments.[/quote]

Couldn't agree more. I watched The Simpsons in the theater, then on Blu-Ray, it sounded and looked so much better at home I never saw 300 in the theater, and know it is not a popular movie around here, but a priest friend came over and we watched it, he commented on the great picture quality and the amazing and clear sound. I think theaters may need to start coming into the age of technology, if they want to continue to draw people to the theaters, rather than someone waiting for the movie to make it to Blu-Ray within 5 to 6 months, give or take.