Sony Blu-ray vs DVD: What are you buying?
Filed under: High Definition | By: Mark
Posted on: November 18, 2008 | 10 Comments
I can remember when Blu-ray first came out and buying a Blu-ray player was in the thousands to buy, but not anymore. Many customers still feel to date that Blu-ray prices are still too high and that is why they are not purchasing them.
Personally I use nothing other than Blu-ray because you get more quality in sound and picture, Blu-ray Disc (Blu-ray or BD) is mainly used for high-definition video and data storage, then name comes from the name blue laser (violet-colored).
Anyway enough of the technical rubbish lets get down to the nitty-gritty, basically Blu-ray is ten times that of a single-layer DVD when it comes to capacity and quality is far superior, some say the it was the Sony PS3 gaming console that played the most important role in the format war, the PS3 uses Blu-ray but still the Microsoft Xbox 360 still uses HD DVD, Microsoft focuses more on its digital downloads from the Xbox Live Marketplace.
In a nutshell what I would love to know is the answer to these two questions:
1. Is Blu-ray still too expensive and this is why it puts you off?
2. Will Blu-ray completely replace DVD at some point?
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BD is only good for the summer blockbusters and sfx movies. Otherwise DVD played through a decent upscaler is a just as suitable and much more cost effective option.
Each to his but I’ll stand by this, Blu-Ray will NEVER replace DVD as long as DVDs are still being made and Blu-Ray titles cost up to twice as much for a new film and 10 times as much for an old title.
I agree with Slippy Sloppy to a certain extent. BD is really good for sfx movies.
The price of a new BD has to be $20 before people are willing to over look the DVD. Once that happens, then it can start to take over. Over time, I am pretty sure that it will take over.
I think most people suspected that after HD DVD vs Blu Ray the winning format would be able to slash prices with the studios behind them. After all, these studios would just love a reason to push disc prices above $20 again since almost no one buys a DVD for more than $16 now. That’s not the case though, to get a player now that will likely get disabled when discs require a newer firmware and the “bargain models” can’t be easily upgraded. Also, let’s face it, an upconverter looks pretty good in most home that bought an HDTV for the DTV switch and blu-ray is only significantly better on a 60+ inch 1080 screen with sound system that is more than 5.1. All these things, maybe 1% (optimistically) of the country actually has them in their living room.
I think someone messed up when they designed blu-ray players and decided to use crappy compression technology for both audio and video, making sure that you needed some impressive hardware to decode the damn thing. I’m sure it will take over to some degree (like 15% market share), and then be replaced in a few years by either VOD or an Apple TV type device. If the US cable companies uncap speeds (they used to be where I live for ~$40 a month), and allow unlimited bandwidth then it will be the death of Blu-Ray. I know plenty of broke people that have satellite and cable but could never think of affording a large tv or sound system. They would love some sort of affordable (like $5) thing that lets you view the movie when you want and will be fine with DVD I’m sure.
It’s slightly off topic but leading on from that last post are people finding that BD isn’t giving them quality of HD DVD or they’re not getting the most out of their players? In my case I’d say my PS3 doesn’t perform as well as my HD EP30.
While it’s certainly true that BR adoption will be limited by high priced discs, there are more and more titles that are not only in the $20 range, but actually cheaper. I’ve been working with Warner Home Video on some blu-ray projects and know they keep a list of their $20 and under titles on Warnerblu.com. They’ve got a lot of great releases in that price range as well.
I fell in love with dvd when it first came out and have acquired over 300 titles to date so for me (and others),my library is virtually complete especially when used dvds are as little as $10 Cdn. Do I need Adam Sandler on blu-ray? I think not. So while new movies such as Iron-Man would be great on blu-ray, dvd quality is fine for me until drastic price drops occur. I think dvd will rule for a couple of more years at least and this economic downturn will make people think twice about buying a new blu-ray player while their dvd player is still working fine, which of course will slow down blu-rays impact on the market even more. And let’s not talk about upscaling dvd players muddying the waters even more.
When HD DVDs and DVDs are under $5 when the same films on BD are $20 you’d be a fool to buy older BD titles. BD really needs to adjust its pricing to become competitive. For new blockbuster sfx though there’s no alternative and their price is fine.
I bought a Bluray writer three weeks ago and a Sony S550 player a week ago. I have been capturing HD from ATSC broadcasts for two years and have been burning some of the shows to DVD in standard definition. My son has an HD camcorder and supplies me with lots of video of my grandbaby. I also have a media center PC but don’t use it for play back. I have never bought a Bluray movie and have not bought many DVDs. I rent titles frequently from Blockbuster and will likely start renting Bluray now that I have a player. I have been axious to get some of the HD content written to a media that preserves the original quality. I am happy with the quality of the Sony player. I had to spend about $50 (US) more for the S550 because I have a very good “old” analog amplifier and I wanted a player that outputs analog to the 5.1 surround sound inputs. The same was true when I paid $650 for my first DVD player back in the nineties. In the long, long run Bluray will replace the DVD, but it will be when most people are quite accustomed to watching HD content all the time. (Keynes said: “In the long run, we are all dead.”)
Though I have a Bluray writer and a few BD-RE discs, I am currently writing BDMV on DVD-5 and DVD-9 because $2.00 each is about my threshold for the media that I burn.
I have recorded some content that I just don’t feel compelled to record on to Bluray in HD. An example is the election debates. Some documentaries about past presidents are interesting, but the quality of the video doesn’t warrant a 40mbps $6.00 Bluray burn. I usually record the Grammies every year and like to watch at least the music later. Next year it will be in HD on Bluray with no reduction in bit rate.
I see Bluray as just another progression in technology. About the time it is the market leader, folks like me will already be waiting for the next standard to be on sale.
I don’t expect to get into Blu-Ray this year (2009) or next. DVDs look great on everything in my house and I typically rent my discs rather than buying them. BDs are more difficult to format-shift, still prevent you from skipping the FBI warning and other content, and still cost way more than DVDs. There’s no advantage for me.
All I pretty much hear are those who are currently pro-DVD. But lets go back to 1999 when DVD players were preparing to replace VHS tapes, shall we? In 1999, the average DVD player would cost $300 or more. DVDs cost as little as $24.99 as well. People at this time were favoring their VCRs as it allowed them to get movies for less and also record anything shown on TV.
In all cases, the cheapest Sony BD player is $299. At this point, 10 years ago, the cheapest Sony DVD player would have been around $399-499.The difference is also light night and day. Atop of the standard BD stuff, it also includes a HDMI DVD format and CD format.
So for $300, I do not have to replace my DVDs… which means the older movie claim is obsolete. I could buy BDs for newer movies as they tend to be the same as the “special edition” DVDs, and buy DVDs of older movies. Then again, it is only time when they add a HD (ala PS3) and make it easier to rent, store, and view movies. Which would make the internet connection portion even more useful. :3
Then again, I have a PS3 and plan to use the HD for both games, anime, and other stuff not out in North America.