Blu-ray to be the champion?

[KLang]

Just in time for the big Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas next week, Warner Bros. has annouced they are now backing Blu-ray exclusively.

Story (http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9840585-7.html?tag=head)

I was planning to pick up a combo player when the next generation showed up later this year. Looks like I may need to re-think that.

[dando]

Just in time for the big Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas next week, Warner Bros. has annouced they are now backing Blu-ray exclusively.

Story (http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9840585-7.html?tag=head)

I was planning to pick up a combo player when the next generation showed up later this year. Looks like I may need to re-think that.

A combo player would be nice to pick up a bunch of cheap HD DVD leftovers, tho. I just exchanged e-mails with an AVhead buddy that had just picked up an HD player. I'm still waiting until a winner results. Besides, I just upgraded to an upconversion player in theater last year. No sense in buying a new one yet.

-Kevin

[KLang]

I'm in no hurry either. That will change once I get our theater set up later this year.

[Sean Malone]

Just the other day I read that this battle is still far from over so the desicion by Warner Bros to go Blu-Ray is a HUGE surpise.HD-DVD claims to have moved a large number of units from Black Friday to Christmas.
Once the price drops on Blu-Ray manufacturing the combo players are expected to be under $200 sometime this year.

Format wars suck. I bought the external HD-DVD player for my 360 for $200 (at a time when an HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players were in the $900 range). Now I'm going to be forced to by a Blu-Ray player. Boo hiss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I hate that Sony won and that I will be forced to support them in their victory if I want to continue to watch HD DVD's.

[dando]

Just the other day I read that this battle is still far from over so the desicion by Warner Bros to go Blu-Ray is a HUGE surpise.HD-DVD claims to have moved a large number of units from Black Friday to Christmas.
Once the price drops on Blu-Ray manufacturing the combo players are expected to be under $200 sometime this year.

Format wars suck. I bought the external HD-DVD player for my 360 for $200 (at a time when an HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players were in the $900 range). Now I'm going to be forced to by a Blu-Ray player. Boo hiss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I hate that Sony won and that I will be forced to support them in their victory if I want to continue to watch HD DVD's.

I was pretty much agnostic in this debate unlike DivX vs. DVD. :flame: Someone had to lose, and it figgered that the media cos. would influence this since they are the ones producing the content. Sucks for the early adopters like you. Toshiba was pushing free DVD deals and cheap players this holiday season, especially through WMT and BBY. :\

-Kevin

[KLang]

I was pretty much agnostic in this debate unlike DivX vs. DVD. :flame:

I've never forgiven Circuit City for that one. I had already invested huge in DVD.

[dando]

I've never forgiven Circuit City for that one. I had already invested huge in DVD.

Same here, but I also detest BBY. :\ A retailer should have no stake in a format like DVD. :irked:

-Kevin

[WickerBill]

There is a reason you never want Sony to win a format war -- once the war is over, they can set the prices. While the war is going on, yes, there will be great deals and offers for buy one-get one, or buy a player, get five discs... but that is *over* once HDDVD bows out.

There are intimations (and yes, I know they're guesses, not reality), that if Betamax had won, the average price of a movie purchased in that format would have NEVER budged from the $80-$90 range they were in when the format was new. Licensing to Sony, I suppose.

I hope that's all wrong and if BR wins, it wins quickly and the prices fall dramatically to at-or-below DVD levels for discs, and close to DVD levels for players.

[Insomniac]

I've never forgiven Circuit City for that one. I had already invested huge in DVD.

:confused: DivX died pretty fast. It was a huge failure. It lasted what, 6 months? This is more like DVD-R and DVD+R.

[Insomniac]

There is a reason you never want Sony to win a format war -- once the war is over, they can set the prices. While the war is going on, yes, there will be great deals and offers for buy one-get one, or buy a player, get five discs... but that is *over* once HDDVD bows out.

There are intimations (and yes, I know they're guesses, not reality), that if Betamax had won, the average price of a movie purchased in that format would have NEVER budged from the $80-$90 range they were in when the format was new. Licensing to Sony, I suppose.

I hope that's all wrong and if BR wins, it wins quickly and the prices fall dramatically to at-or-below DVD levels for discs, and close to DVD levels for players.

Sadly, I hope this move does not cause others to follow. I was hoping the war would last long enough for the dual format players to be <$200. I felt that would end it in a tie.

I don't think prices will shoot up if there is a winner. DVD prices have stayed pretty much the same since its inception. The DVD Forum has many of the same members as the Blu-Ray Association.

[KLang]

:confused: DivX died pretty fast. It was a huge failure. It lasted what, 6 months? This is more like DVD-R and DVD+R.

From memory, Circuit City rolled out Divx within about a year or so of the introduction of DVD. Many of us early adopters saw it as a huge threat to our investment in equipment and software. In hindsight it was no big deal. At the time it was a big deal.

[jcollins28]

Cobo player? Why would anyone buy a combo player? Out here you can buy a separate player for each formate and still come out cheaper then buying a combo player and buy a better quality unit.

[dando]

From memory, Circuit City rolled out Divx within about a year or so of the introduction of DVD. Many of us early adopters saw it as a huge threat to our investment in equipment and software. In hindsight it was no big deal. At the time it was a big deal.

Correct. DivX was introduced while the DVD standard already existed, which made it pretty much an abortion from the get go. And since most of the early adopters of DVD were AV/HT geeks (HT was still very niche), they got very pizzled and were rather vocal against it. :thumbup:

re: $ony setting prices...IMHO, that ship has sailed since the market price has already been set, and there are other means of distribution. It would be a major misstep for $ony to try to raise prices significantly. Not that they aren't capable of major gaffes. :gomer: One thing (of many) I hate about $ony is they are a tech and a media company. :thumdown:

-Kevin

[G.]

Correct. DivX was introduced while the DVD standard already existed, which made it pretty much an abortion from the get go. And since most of the early adopters of DVD were AV/HT geeks (HT was still very niche), they got very pizzled and were rather vocal against it. :thumbup:

where have I heard this story before?? Seems familiar.

[dando]

where have I heard this story before?? Seems familiar.

:tony:

Except one still exists and the other is does not (or became another technology all together). Well, that kinda fits for the other one, too. :(

-Kevin

[Insomniac]

Cobo player? Why would anyone buy a combo player? Out here you can buy a separate player for each formate and still come out cheaper then buying a combo player and buy a better quality unit.

Not right now. I think most of us are talking about sometime next year. The blue laser diodes should be plenty cheap and there should be <$200 dual format players from random Korean electronics companies in Wal-Mart.

[Insomniac]

From memory, Circuit City rolled out Divx within about a year or so of the introduction of DVD. Many of us early adopters saw it as a huge threat to our investment in equipment and software. In hindsight it was no big deal. At the time it was a big deal.

Ohhh, OK. I thought they were both announced before either had come out like Blu-Ray/HD-DVD.

[KLang]

Ohhh, OK. I thought they were both announced before either had come out like Blu-Ray/HD-DVD.

Wiki has a pretty good description here. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIVX) It was introduced in time for the holidays in 1998. I bought my first DVD player, the Sony S7000, in July of 1997.

One of the "25 Worst Tech Products of All Time". :laugh:

[Methanolandbrats]

I hope Sony wins. All my TVs are Sony as well as DVD and VCR players. Sony stuff is compatible and does'nt break. I've had Maggotbox, Toshiba, etc.....all crap that failed after a few years. My Sony stuff last 10-15 years and has NEVER broken.

[Sean O'Gorman]

I hate Sony. I haven't bought a hi-def DVD player because I'm not confident in HD DVD, and I don't want to buy BluRay if I don't have to yet (also, I never buy movies).

That being said, my TV is a Sony and it rocks. Still, I don't like them.

[G.]

my last tube tv was Sony (the last one I'll buy, but there's still a few more around the house). LOVED the blue tube. Always will. Lasted about 17 yrs. Hard to complain about that. I think Mitsubishi and JVC used the same tube.

What I always hated about them was they would change JUST one feature, and only sell that one to Store X. Store Y got a different one. Store Z got yet another.

Then the stores offered price matching. :shakehead

Azzes. That wizzed me off, sort of forever.

Then the camera memory thing.

Summary: they ALWAYS try to corner the market, and I hate that.

They also make crappy audio amps. I'm typing this sitting next to my less-than-audiophile Sony all-in-one, from the early '90's. Still works, as well as it ever did.

Alright, maybe I LOVE Sony, but HATE their Marketing department.

Again, sounds familiar somehow...

[G.]

Oh crap! I think that I just sort-of agreed with Sean!

:p

[Ankf00]

since we're on a sony rant, what's up with SPDIF connectors and where do they go?

[Sean Malone]

I hate Sony. I haven't bought a hi-def DVD player because I'm not confident in HD DVD, and I don't want to buy BluRay if I don't have to yet (also, I never buy movies).

That being said, my TV is a Sony and it rocks. Still, I don't like them.

Me too. :thumbup: I love my Sony TV (execpt when the light engine failed) and I love my Sony Viao laptop (except when I had to have the keyboard replaced twice).

[Sean O'Gorman]

I've only had my TV since black Friday, but my only other experience with sony hardware was PS2, which was garbage.

[KLang]

I've never understood the hatred for Sony frequently seen on the internet. :confused: I've had many of their video and computer products over the years and have always been pleased.


Wow. Looking around at some threads at various home theater forums on this subject, Blu-Ray, it looks like the format war was more heated then I had thought. I really hadn't been paying attention. AV version of the ChampCar/Earl debacle. :D

[cameraman]

Wow. Looking around at some threads at various home theater forums on this subject, Blu-Ray, it looks like the format war was more heated then I had thought.

Just another example of people in desperate need of a life.

[nrc]

I've never understood the hatred for Sony frequently seen on the internet. :confused: I've had many of their video and computer products over the years and have always been pleased.
Sony has a history of re-inventing the wheel trying to lock consumers into technology that they control. Memory stick is a perfect example.

Add to that their history of crippling their consumer electronics attempting to protect their content business - their stubborness over adopting the MP3 format, for instance.

The last straw for a lot of people was the whole rootkit debacle. If Sony wanted to cripple their own devices that's their business, but trying to hijack your whole PC to enforce their copy protection was just an outrage.

So why hate them? Why not just ignore them and buy something else? Because aside from these annoyances Sony makes some good gear. That's why they've gotten away with it for so long and why it's so frustrating to people.

[Rogue Leader]

since we're on a sony rant, what's up with SPDIF connectors and where do they go?

Are you talking about Fiber optic TOSLINK connectors or digital coaxial. Either way that is how you hook up your DVD player or cable box to a digital surround sound system to get true surround sound. They are still widely used.

[Ankf00]

it's the digital coax. sweet. it's one of the connectors coming off a breakout cable for my laptop, thought the RCA stereo plugs were the only audio

[dando]

Sony has a history of re-inventing the wheel trying to lock consumers into technology that they control. Memory stick is a perfect example.

Add to that their history of crippling their consumer electronics attempting to protect their content business - their stubborness over adopting the MP3 format, for instance.

The last straw for a lot of people was the whole rootkit debacle. If Sony wanted to cripple their own devices that's their business, but trying to hijack your whole PC to enforce their copy protection was just an outrage.

So why hate them? Why not just ignore them and buy something else? Because aside from these annoyances Sony makes some good gear. That's why they've gotten away with it for so long and why it's so frustrating to people.

Amen. rootkit, yo. :shakehead That MP3 fiasco was a hoot! :laugh: The only $ony product I own is a PS2...and I have that only for Gran Turismo, and I rarely play it anymore. I simply won't buy them or consider them for other consumer gear.

-Kevin

[Insomniac]

Amen. rootkit, yo. :shakehead That MP3 fiasco was a hoot! :laugh: The only $ony product I own is a PS2...and I have that only for Gran Turismo, and I rarely play it anymore. I simply won't buy them or consider them for other consumer gear.

-Kevin

It's even more funny now that more and more people are selling non-DRM'd MP3s.

[Rogue Leader]

it's the digital coax. sweet. it's one of the connectors coming off a breakout cable for my laptop, thought the RCA stereo plugs were the only audio

Yeah that should send the raw dolby digital/DTS audio from a DVD out to your amp, you may need to configure it in your laptop's soundcard preferences.

[Ankf00]

yea, changed the settings to 5.1, hooked it up to the 5.1 system, was sweet :thumbup:

[chop456]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142579-c,dvddrivesmedia/article.html

Game over, man! Game over!

[KLang]

I figured that would happen when Wal-Mart threw in with Blu-ray. Looks like I'll be picking up a Blu-ray player sometime this year. :cool:

[Sean Malone]

Suck Fony. :)

The price of the HDDVD's better drop next to nothin' now. So will BluRay keep their $30 a pop? Probably. Oh, and since HDDVDs dropped to about $100 a player, will BluRay? Probably not until 2012. :\

Personally I think that this is a hollow victory. HD movie rentals over cable/sat is the future. I've downloaded about four or five HD movies via cable or Xbox Live vs purchasing a HDDVD disc. Now I'll just do more of that instead of dropping $300 for a BR player.

[dando]

I figured that would happen when Wal-Mart threw in with Blu-ray. Looks like I'll be picking up a Blu-ray player sometime this year. :cool:

BBY now, too.

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9869591-7.html

All the more reason to back HD DVD now. :gomer: :irked:

EDIT: Apparently the plug will be pulled next week:

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9873848-1.html?tag=bl

-Kevin

[oddlycalm]

Personally I think that this is a hollow victory. Lets hope so. Anything that encourages Sony and it's relentless attempts to gerrymander every new format with a proprietary Sony version in order to squeeze royalties (extra cost per piece) out of the market sucks the big kielbasa. :thumdown: In the absence of a physical format one has to wonder if their strategy has hit the proverbial brick wall. :D

oc

[Dr. Corkski]

Now I'll just do more of that instead of dropping $300 for a BR player.But but but but but the PS3 is more than just a BR player. They might even release a game for it eventually. :gomer:

[dando]

They might even release a game for it eventually. :gomer:

Gran Turismo 5 is all I need. What else do you need to play?

http://us.playstation.com/granturismo/

:thumbup:

-Kevin

[cameraman]

Stick a fork in it


TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp is planning to give up on its HD DVD format for high definition DVDs, conceding defeat to the competing Blu-Ray technology backed by Sony Corp, a company source said on Saturday.

link (http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSL1643184420080216)

Hope none of you folks own one...

[Sean Malone]

Stick a fork in it



link (http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSL1643184420080216)

Hope none of you folks own one...

I've owned one for over a year (Xbox 360 external HDDVD). I bought four or five movies for it. We usually download the HD movies we watch, which I think will take over within the next 24 months.

I've read three or four articles today saying that this is a real boon for the PS3 as it is a reasonably priced BD player and it plays next gen games. Supposedly it is the 'best' BD player on the market but I have yet to see why they say that. Has Sony engineered a better decoder that only they have? Wouldn't surprise me. The PS3 still costs $400. Yeah, I'm going to rush right out. :rolleyes:

I do somewhat feel for the folks that picked up $150 HDDVD players at xmas. Hopefully the movie prices will drop down to next to nothing so that at least you can have something worth while. They were still $24 at Target today. BD's were still $30.

For the price of 2 BD's I can rent 6 HD movies from Live or just record HD movies from my HD pay channels onto my DVR.

Toshiba should turn around and offer HDDVD burners and M$ should let you rent HD movies from Live and then for an extra charge you can burn it to your HDDVD burner. I know, I know. :rolleyes:

[Sean O'Gorman]

I saw on amazon.com last night that all HD DVDs were 50% off, but only for a limited time. Which is true, they'll probably be 80% off after that.

[Insomniac]

It's amazing how fast it went down.

I'm glad I never opened the A2 I got before x-mas because I wanted an A3 with the 2 free movies. My cheapskate mentality worked for me since I ended up returning it to Wal-Mart in January after a couple studios went to BR or exclusive.

People like the PS3 BR player because Sony can keep adding features to it with the software updates. They are less likely to do that with standalone players. They have added a lot of features to the PS3 since it launched.

[Wheel-Nut]

So does this mean all those DVD's I now own will be worthless in a few years when there are no DVD players left?

[KLang]

So does this mean all those DVD's I now own will be worthless in a few years when there are no DVD players left?

Blu-Ray player will play your DVD just fine. Will upconvert it as well if you want.

[Stu]

So does this mean all those DVD's I now own will be worthless in a few years when there are no DVD players left?

Check Ebay for used DVD prices. They already are worthless.

[Stu]

Blu-Ray player will play your DVD just fine. Will upconvert it as well if you want.

But just to be clear, upconverting is nowhere near the quality of real HD.

[Wheel-Nut]

I still have a tube type TV. I haven't moved on to HD yet. I can wait. :)

I just had to get rid of my 9 year old cell phone because Verizon wasn't going to support it after today. :mad:

The lady at the store laughed when she saw my old phone!!

[Sean O'Gorman]

I fell your pain. I had a Nokia 5100 that I finally dropped when I moved from pre-paid cell service, I loved that phone. Its too bad it died when I dropped it into a dehumidifier.

[dando]

I fell your pain. I had a Nokia 5100 that I finally dropped when I moved from pre-paid cell service, I loved that phone. Its too bad it died when I dropped it into a urinal.

Fixed that for ya. :gomer:

-Kevin

[Sean O'Gorman]

Ironically enough, I spilled a bottle of Busch Light on my cell phone on Sunday and it stopped working for about 3 hours. Is that close?

[Stu]

Ironically enough, I spilled a bottle of Busch Light on my cell phone on Sunday and it stopped working for about 3 hours. Is that close?

it was a glass of high life, not busch light

[oddlycalm]

I just had to get rid of my 9 year old cell phone because Verizon wasn't going to support it after today. :mad:

The lady at the store laughed when she saw my old phone!! Was it
one of the old digital/analog models that says Airtouch when you turn it on...? Everybody may laugh but they've probably had to replace a half dozen brokedick phones since you've had yours. The new ones seem to have a life cycle of around 6 months. Progress....:shakehead

oc

[Wheel-Nut]

Was it
one of the old digital/analog models that says Airtouch when you turn it on...? Everybody may laugh but they've probably had to replace a half dozen brokedick phones since you've had yours. The new ones seem to have a life cycle of around 6 months. Progress....:shakehead

oc


Yes, it is a dual mode phone. It worked great.

[KaBoom21]

I still have a tube type TV. I haven't moved on to HD yet. I can wait. :)

I just had to get rid of my 9 year old cell phone because Verizon wasn't going to support it after today. :mad:

The lady at the store laughed when she saw my old phone!!

http://www.grooveking.com/blog/uploaded_images/g-738997.jpg

[dando]

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9874808-7.html?tag=nefd.lede

F $ony. *irked*

-Kevin

[oddlycalm]

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9874808-7.html?tag=nefd.lede

F $ony. *irked*

-Kevin About the only upside I see from this is that the Blu-Ray format itself is pretty decent. Other than that it's a license for Sony to print money.

People forget that the DVD is just over 10yrs old and that the reason it was so quickly embraced was that prices came down quickly on both the players and media. Expensive players and software that is twice the price of DVD's will just make for a very slow adoption. Sony doesn't have to care because they will get all of the business eventually. :thumdown:

oc

[Stu]

Sony doesn't have to care because they will get all of the business eventually. :thumdown:

oc

they should care as on demand downloading of movies/tv shows becomes more popular and replaces typical ownership of media.

[dando]

they should care as on demand downloading of movies/tv shows becomes more popular and replaces typical ownership of media.

Don't hold your breath on that. It will gain, but it's going to be slow (IMO). I'm a relatively early adopter, but I have no inclination to go there yet. I was 4-5 years ahead of the curve for home theater, DVDs, and DVRs.

-Kevin

[Sean O'Gorman]

I'm sure you wouldn't find any downloaded movies on Stu's computer. Not like Sony is into checking that kinda thing anyway.

[nrc]

Does this mean I have to take the Laser Disc player out of the entertainment center?

At this point I don't think we need an Blue Ray player. I just need more hard drive space. I can already have TiVo find HD movies and automatically store them off onto a network drive. Now if Amazon Unbox would just start renting HD movies we'd be all set.

[Sean Malone]

Don't hold your breath on that. It will gain, but it's going to be slow (IMO). I'm a relatively early adopter, but I have no inclination to go there yet. I was 4-5 years ahead of the curve for home theater, DVDs, and DVRs.

-Kevin

You don't watch commercial free HD movies on premium cable/sat? How about downloading them to a Tivo/DVR for later viewing? That is direct competition to going out and purchasing a HDDVD. Like I mentioned above, I've downloaded four or five HD movies from Xbox Live for every HDDVD disc I've purchased in the last year, and that is not including the dozens of HD movies I've downloaded and stored on my DVR. I can rent TWELVE HD movies from Xbox Live for the price of ONE Bluray Disc.

Movie downloading is the future, and the future is now.

[KLang]

I think downloading has a way to go for some of us. Collecting a library on a server you can play back at any location in your house would be appealling to me. Today the digital copy rules plus wiring constraints make that difficult at full resolution. Some day, but not quite there yet.

I'm sure I'll pick up a Blu-ray this year. I'm also sure I won't go back and replace the hundreds of standard definition DVD's I already own with new ones.

[Rogue Leader]

You don't watch commercial free HD movies on premium cable/sat? How about downloading them to a Tivo/DVR for later viewing? That is direct competition to going out and purchasing a HDDVD. Like I mentioned above, I've downloaded four or five HD movies from Xbox Live for every HDDVD disc I've purchased in the last year, and that is not including the dozens of HD movies I've downloaded and stored on my DVR. I can rent TWELVE HD movies from Xbox Live for the price of ONE Bluray Disc.

Movie downloading is the future, and the future is now.

I never rent movies anymore, occasionally if there is something i REALLY want to watch I'll use HD On-Demand through cable, otherwise I just go through the listings weekly and have my DVR record HD movies off HBO and Showtime. They are perfect quality and in 5.1 Dolby Digital, what else do I need??? I just stick with those...

[Sean Malone]

I never rent movies anymore, occasionally if there is something i REALLY want to watch I'll use HD On-Demand through cable, otherwise I just go through the listings weekly and have my DVR record HD movies off HBO and Showtime. They are perfect quality and in 5.1 Dolby Digital, what else do I need??? I just stick with those...

Exactly. When I said 'rent' I wasn't referring to going through Netflix/Hollywood/Blockbuster, but rather the Xbox Live movie download feature.

the download systems aren't perfect, for one, my DVR harddrive only holds about three DH movies. Boo. Second, the Xbox Live movie download only allows you to watch a movie you rent within 24 hours of renting it. Double boo. It is nice that that you can start watching the movie as it's downloading though.

[Insomniac]

For some (or many?), there is a problem with downloading movies. Their ISP. I'd rather have Cox HSI over my DSL, but with their ridiculous 60GB/month limit, what's the point? You get 6 Mb/s, but can download what, 10 HD movies a month max (and nothing else)? Pretty soon they'll be threatening to kick you off their service. With DSL, I get everything a lot slower, but at least I get everything I want.

[Sean Malone]

For some (or many?), there is a problem with downloading movies. Their ISP. I'd rather have Cox HSI over my DSL, but with their ridiculous 60GB/month limit, what's the point? You get 6 Mb/s, but can download what, 10 HD movies a month max (and nothing else)? Pretty soon they'll be threatening to kick you off their service. With DSL, I get everything a lot slower, but at least I get everything I want.

What's the story with optical? I thought it would have been in all houses by now.

Probably has something to do with cable companies being notoriously greedy and not wanting to invest when they can continue to reap fortunes with the current structure.

[Insomniac]

What's the story with optical? I thought it would have been in all houses by now.

Probably has something to do with cable companies being notoriously greedy and not wanting to invest when they can continue to reap fortunes with the current structure.

It's usually the "last mile" that's the problem. I imagine if your cable system has digital cable, there is fiber all over the city. Telcos seem to be willing to invest in that last mile now because they can add video services. So you have FiOS spreading pretty well and U-verse moving at what seems like, comparatively, a much slower pace. Cable companies seem to feel they have enough bandwidth with copper being the last mile. I also think their future will probably be switched digital video instead of trying to get more bandwidth.

[cameraman]

They are installing internet fiber in parts of the Salt Lake Valley but the number of people taking advantage is strangely rather small.
http://www.utopianet.org/
You would think that people would be willing to pay $40- /15 megabit or $50-/ 50 Megabit fiber connection. The $40- service include 100 GB/month transfer, the $50- include 500 GB/month transfer. That's a lot of movies.

Hell if it was available in Salt Lake (the City Council wouldn't agree so we get 3 megabit DSL for $60- a month :flame:) I'd be all over it.

[Sean O'Gorman]

You'd think, but most people I know wont even spring $5-10 for an HDMI or component cable for their HDTV, let alone that same amount on a monthly basis for HD service.

[Stu]

You'd think, but most people I know wont even spring $5-10 for an HDMI or component cable for their HDTV, let alone that same amount on a monthly basis for HD service.

thats cuz a lot of your friends are bums from parma.

[nissan gtp]

Ironically enough, I spilled a bottle of Busch Light on my cell phone on Sunday and it stopped working for about 3 hours. Is that close?

dang, lucky you didn't spill a beer on it :thumbup:

:D

[Methanolandbrats]

Ironically enough, I spilled a bottle of Busch Light on my cell phone on Sunday and it stopped working for about 3 hours. Is that close? Good choice, you were better off pouring it on your cellphone than drinking it :yuck:

[Sean O'Gorman]

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2594/dscn0033yo7.jpg

[Methanolandbrats]

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2594/dscn0033yo7.jpg
Did your date eat all that? :gomer:

[TravelGal]

I just had to get rid of my 9 year old cell phone because Verizon wasn't going to support it after today. :mad:

The lady at the store laughed when she saw my old phone!!

I've had that happen to me. Right now I'm struggling with the need to replace my office phone. It's a landline portable. Paid $400 for it. In 1985. Doesn't owe me a penny. But the keypad is getting tough to press. And I wish I could get caller ID. Otherwise, I love it. Particularly the fact that it's easy to turn off!

[Ankf00]

i'm seeing natty ice :yuck: but no busch light, what gives?

[Sean O'Gorman]

I can't see the pic right now since I'm at work, but its one or two of the bottles.

[oddlycalm]

Yes, it is a dual mode phone. It worked great. Yup, I've got a similar vintage Samsung that's been as reliable as a hammer. Verizon hasn't killed the dual-mode phones around here yet, but it's just a matter of when.

oc

[Insomniac]

And the "benefit" to consumers is shown...


Pricewatch - Blu-ray Disc players from Samsung, Sony and Sharp are now the most expensive they have been all year, presumably because HD DVD's exit from the high-def disc arena has removed some of Blu-ray's pricing pressure.

...

Within just the last two weeks, te [sic] average prices for LG's BH200 player and Sharp's BD-HP20U have climbed significantly. Every standlone [sic] Blu-ray-specific player in the chart above is now more expensive than it was at the beginning of the year.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/03/12/blu_ray_player_prices_hit_2008_highs_as_competitio n_dwindles/

[Sean Malone]

And the "benefit" to consumers is shown...



http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/03/12/blu_ray_player_prices_hit_2008_highs_as_competitio n_dwindles/

Nice. :shakehead

I hope streaming downloads kills it or at least marginalizes it to PC drives for burning purposes.

I keep checking at the Target next to work to see if the HD DVD's are coming down in price (most aren't) and I've been noticing there is never anyone at the BD isle and the shelves are fully stocked. I just don't think there is enough difference or incentive for the average HDTV owner to start a BD library at this point.

[dando]

I keep checking at the Target next to work to see if the HD DVD's are coming down in price (most aren't) and I've been noticing there is never anyone at the BD isle and the shelves are fully stocked. I just don't think there is enough difference or incentive for the average HDTV owner to start a BD library at this point.

Bingo. I'm an AV geek, but have no desire to upgrade @ this point. My upconvert player is the theater is only 2 years old, and the picture is brilliant.

-Kevin

[Sean O'Gorman]

The extent of my interest in supporting Blu-Ray is a Lenovo laptop that I've been taking a hard look at for awhile that also has a Blu-Ray drive. Otherwise I wont go out of my way to buy a BR player anytime soon.

[Insomniac]

Nice. :shakehead

I hope streaming downloads kills it or at least marginalizes it to PC drives for burning purposes.

I keep checking at the Target next to work to see if the HD DVD's are coming down in price (most aren't) and I've been noticing there is never anyone at the BD isle and the shelves are fully stocked. I just don't think there is enough difference or incentive for the average HDTV owner to start a BD library at this point.

I think many people don't want to drop that much on a player. I'd assume anyone who would consider it already has a DVD player and plenty of DVDs. They probably don't like the idea of buying a movie they have on DVD on Blu-ray too, so that means that they have a desire to watch/get new movies in HD. So you buy a $400 player (or PS3) then pay $10 (or more) for the BR version of a movie (vs DVD).

I personally quit buying DVDs a couple years ago except for non-movie stuff. I have rows of DVDs that I have watched once. It just makes no sense now to buy stuff, watch once and collect dust. New movies (and TV shows) come out all the time. I don't have the time (or much desire) to watch them again. Maybe in 10 years, but what should I do? Buy stuff now to watch way down the road? By then there will be Ultra-Violet-Ray with 4k resolution video.

I don't think as many people care about HD over regular DVD. It's just a movie. Until Blu-Ray simply replaces DVD (in releases and in pricing), I don't think the mass consumer market will be diving in.

[dando]

I think many people don't want to drop that much on a player. I'd assume anyone who would consider it already has a DVD player and plenty of DVDs. They probably don't like the idea of buying a movie they have on DVD on Blu-ray too, so that means that they have a desire to watch/get new movies in HD. So you buy a $400 player (or PS3) then pay $10 (or more) for the BR version of a movie (vs DVD).

I personally quit buying DVDs a couple years ago except for non-movie stuff. I have rows of DVDs that I have watched once. It just makes no sense now to buy stuff, watch once and collect dust. New movies (and TV shows) come out all the time. I don't have the time (or much desire) to watch them again. Maybe in 10 years, but what should I do? Buy stuff now to watch way down the road? By then there will be Ultra-Violet-Ray with 4k resolution video.

I don't think as many people care about HD over regular DVD. It's just a movie. Until Blu-Ray simply replaces DVD (in releases and in pricing), I don't think the mass consumer market will be diving in.

Yup. I used to collect DVDs rergularly, and probably have 300+ of them now. The only ones I buy now are Disney or Pixar classics to watch with the girls. I also get the new Harry Potter releases, as I figure they will be into that story in a few years. Everything else comes from Netflix. Kinda like CDs these days...I just don't buy them as much as I used to. *shrug*

-Kevin

[oddlycalm]

DVD demostrated how to roll out a format successfully. Prices on the players dropped fast and street prices on the disc titles were $12-$19 from the get go when DVD hit the streets in 1997. The consortium supporting it was broad. Blu-ray turns that upside down with expensive players from only a few companies and expensive media.

Oh, and they are slowwwwwwww in operation due to the multiplicity of DVD formats they accept. If you think the optical player in your computer is slow to initiate you have an idea of what Blu-ray is like. Blu-ray images looks great and I imagine we'll own one at some point, but unlike DVD there is no compelling reason to jump in today.

We don't get around to our Netflix DVD's like we used to with DVR and on-demand being the main distractions.

oc

[cameraman]

I looked into using Blu-ray for data backup.
Those 50 GB disks run $35+ each
The 25 GB disks run about $13+ each
The rewritable 25 GB disks run $20+ each
The write speed is 2x for all of them.

That is just too expensive and too slow.

[Don Quixote]

I looked into using Blu-ray for data backup.
Those 50 GB disks run $35+ each
The 25 GB disks run about $13+ each
The rewritable 25 GB disks run $20+ each
The write speed is 2x for all of them.

That is just too expensive and too slow.

Seems like the wrong side won. (Where have I heard that before? :gomer:)

[KLang]

I expect the manufacturers that were alligned with HDDVD will make Blu-ray products and we will see prices come down.

I'll buy one when I get around to setting up a projector in the theater room. I doubt the difference is that great on smaller screen sizes.

[Insomniac]

I looked into using Blu-ray for data backup.
Those 50 GB disks run $35+ each
The 25 GB disks run about $13+ each
The rewritable 25 GB disks run $20+ each
The write speed is 2x for all of them.

That is just too expensive and too slow.

What are the alternatives? External HD? How big are tapes now?

[Insomniac]

I expect the manufacturers that were alligned with HDDVD will make Blu-ray products and we will see prices come down.

I'll buy one when I get around to setting up a projector in the theater room. I doubt the difference is that great on smaller screen sizes.

Toshiba and Microsoft? Anyone else?

Also, it all depends on how close you are and the size of the screen. If everything is proportionate, it should just as bad/good.

[oddlycalm]

What are the alternatives? External HD? How big are tapes now? Hard drives are the least expensive way to go IMO. I can by 500GB drives for under $100. Firewire 400 or USB 2.0 is fine for the average single user or you can go to Firewire 800 for better transfer rates. A 400GB SCSI tape drive will cost well over $1000 (plus the SCSI card) and it's slower than watching paint dry. Then you have the media cost....

There are also some really nice eSATA solutions that companies like CRU offer if you need something more serious. I used their SCSI drive modules for years in a four drawer cabinet and they make good stuff. :thumbup: They have a four drawer mini enclosure that is really nice for $140.00.

oc

http://www.cruinc.com/images/productImg/4bayMini_4drives.gif

[cameraman]

What are the alternatives? External HD? How big are tapes now?

For general photographic and robot data I have finally beat it into everyone's skull that you burn it to duplicate CDs or DVDs the same damned day you generate the data. Then those back up disks go into two separate locations. It doesn't take that long and if you don't do it I will shoot you first then make you do it anyway. Death threats finally did the trick. As for everything else on the machines, I set up an old Macintosh with a firewire raid on the network and bought an inexpensive backup program. It talks to everyone's machine in the middle of the night and makes incremental backups of all the non-photographic data and mail.

[KLang]

Toshiba and Microsoft? Anyone else?

Also, it all depends on how close you are and the size of the screen. If everything is proportionate, it should just as bad/good.

Pioneer, Onkyo and Sanyo. It took a few minutes to track down those. :) The big retailers show no sign of the old format.

I don't know if Blu-ray will look noticably better then upconverted DVD on my 55" screen in the family room. I expect to see a difference at 100-120" in a theater. I'll find out later this year for sure.

[Sean Malone]

Pioneer, Onkyo and Sanyo. It took a few minutes to track down those. :) The big retailers show no sign of the old format.

I'm don't know if Blu-ray will look noticably better then upconverted DVD on my 55" screen in the family room. I expect to see a difference at 100-120" in a theater. I'll find out later this year for sure.

HD DVD or BluRay looks waaaaaaayyyy better than upconverted DVD for most movies. The Incredibles looks high def on our upconverting DVD but most movies look just like standard DVD for the most part. High def, looks high def.

[dando]

Rebates and refunds from some retailers/etailers on HD DVD purchases:

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/4/get_your_hd_dvd_reward_from_amazon_too

-Kevin