Blu-Ray anyone plan on heading in that direction?

[general gruesome]

I have a few blu ray dvds, but I mostly purchase regular dvds and I have a ton of them. I also still purchase the dead-format VHS, and still watch and have a great collection of those, also. I may purchase a blu ray here and there, but to totally flip to blu ray isn't for me, because I have put so much time and money into my current dvd collection, what would be the point? Most blu rays high-definition quality isn't all that great or different from the original, and they slap a huge price of 25-30 bucks for it. Not worth it man, if you ask me. My huge fear is that all movies, tv, music, books, etc. will be formated to digital. I would totally be upset if everything went digital. But that's me.

[RHosking]

I would love to convert to Blu-ray but will keep my DVDs for now and am enjoying seeing things off of Netflix downloads(the wave of the future).  I still have tons of VHS and am seeking a used, cheap laserdisc player - I remember when that was a huge fad that just didn't really fly like everyone thought.  But someday - who knows about the Blu-ray?

[Toy Ranch]

I'm like you.  I have too many DVDs to go Blu-Ray, and they cost too much, and frankly most older films used sets, costumes, and props which weren't made with adequate detail to be right for hi def.

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[Monster Bob]

I have read again and again how great the blu-ray versions of the classic Disney feature cartoons are. I'm definately going for those.

[Mego73]

I'm like you.  I have too many DVDs to go Blu-Ray, and they cost too much, and frankly most older films used sets, costumes, and props which weren't made with adequate detail to be right for hi def.

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The films of old were made to be seen on huge screens ( on the average more huge than today's multiplex screens). While some of the special effects may look wobbly, you can be assured that the best of them were made to stand up to huge screens.

[Scatter]

I'm in no hurry to switch.............DVD still looks quite good to me, and the difference in quality between DVD and Blu-Ray doesn't justify in ANY way the extra expenditure for the Blu-Ray discs.

[zombiehorror]

I'm so hoping that digital downloading doesn't become the only way to secure a movie in the future; it has it's place but not for collecting at home.  I do love having Netflix Watch Instantly but I don't want that to become the only medium (or lack of a medium since there is no hard copy).

Speaking of cartoons; One thing that I really think can show the ability of your home theater be it dvd, Blu-ray player, standard or HD tv is CGI flicks!  If you have a crappy set up you will loose so much of that meticulously placed fine detail; in CGI textures aren't natural they are painstakingly created hair by hair, bump by bump, scale by scale, etc.  That being said, again my standard dvd player and Plasma tv do an excellent job of capturing all that detail without me jumping to Blu-ray.

I have the 2005 release of the Wizard of OZ; when I get a chance I'll peruse it and see what, if any, detail I can see.  I'm assuming this disc may be lacking as it wasn't released consecutively with the Blu-ray but the dvd release in 2010 probably isn't that far off from it's Blu-ray counterpart.  Though I do recall seeing the burlap texture on the Scarecrow's face for the first time when we watched the dvd.

Also as far as Blu-rays life expectancy is concerned; the industry is already working on:

Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) is an optical disc technology that may one day hold up to 6 terabytes (TB) of information, although the current maximum is 500GB. It employs a technique known as collinear holography.  InPhase Technologies were developing a rival holographic format called Tapestry Media, which they claim will eventually store 1.6 TB with a data transfer rate of 120 MB/s, and several companies are developing TB-level discs based on 3D optical data storage technology.

5D DVD, being developed in the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, uses a multilaser system to encode and read data on multiple layers. Disc capacities are estimated at up to 10 terabytes, and the technology could be commercially ready within ten years.

[zombiehorror]

Anyone notice that Lion King was unceremoniously dumped onto dvd this past week after having a huge market blitz for the Blu-ray release just a month earlier?  This was one of the few Disney flicks we didn't have on dvd so when the commercials started airing the wife and I pretty much new it was a given that we would pick it up.  Well it's Oct. 4th Blu-ray release date neared and I investigated to see about picking up the dvd only to find out that you had to either wait until Nov. 15th to get the dvd or buy the Blu-ray/dvd combo pack?!?  A co-worker told me that he bought the combo pack because he knew his grandkids would like the movie and he couldn't find the standalone dvd: How many other uninformed consumers did the same thing, thusly boosting the Lion Kings Blu-ray sales in the process?  If these are the kind of tactics they have to resort to to sell Blu-ray then they should really just give it up.

Not only that but like so many other newer dvd releases the Lion King as hardly any bonus features (I think there is some kind of retrospective documentary about the film)!

The Blu-ray Association and other sources are touting Blu-ray players being in 30 million homes but what they don't tell you is that there are 70 million homes with HD tv's!  Also there is much boasting that current releases Blu-ray numbers are outselling dvds but if you look at the charts it is usually only the top 5 new releases that garner those sales.  That isn't very impressive for the 5 year old format in my opinion.

[BaronLatos35]

DVDs (standard or Blu Ray) are obselete.

The future will be streaming once rights are bought and bandwidth is allotted. I'm not investing more money in a soon to be dead technology.

Look at what has happened to NetFlix. Their streaming library is great for older movies, good luck finding a newer one. Vudu is expensive to rent, but they have alot of new releases for rent or purchase. Granted, a digital collection doesn't look as cool as a DVD one on a shelf, but it is the future.

[Zombiology]

So many thoughts to agree and disagree on lol.  I have a BR player but not a BR tv.  Though I do plan on getting one after Christmas.  I have no intention of replacing all of my DVDs but will buy select BRs on certain movies.  One thing that bothers me is that Pirates (?) is only available in a DVD/BR pack.  Should make it one or the other and let a lot of us buy the DVD without having to spend for the more expensive BR.  A local second hand shop is now selling BRs for $5 now.

I do believe BR will eventually replace DVD as prices continue to come down but I still have VHS tapes in my library.  Heck, I even still have 78s in my audio library!.  (Yes, I do have CDs)    I also agree that downloading will soon replace BR but I will always want something I can hold my hands on to.  Maybe its the collector in me but how can you show off what you have.?  Ten years from now, we'll be showing a picture of a small silver plastic box with ear plugs and small adhesive circles for our eyes and saying:  "See my collection?"

[Monster Bob]

As blu-ray prices come down (and they have alot), I have been buying favorite (mostly classic) films that benefit being in the blu-ray format. On a really big screen, there really is a remarkable detail difference in most films. I always read the internet blu-ray reviews of any particular title I am interested in, which are VERY helpful in making choices.

[Mego73]

In most of the cases, I have been able to get  BR/DVD combos for about the same price as I used to pay for DVD's or lower. I got both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 the week they were released on BR both for less than $30 when I paid something like $40-50 back in the recent day for the 2 pack of DVD's.

So, even if I didn't have an HD set up, I would be fine with getting a BR under those conditions as a way of future proofing my collection.


As it turns out, DVD is a currently a really mobile format (there are small w/screen DVD players that you can carry around or set up in cars. There are smaller TV's in the house with a DVD player connected) while the blu ray format is generally confined to the main video/audio set up with the largest TV in a given house. The DVD/BR combos are a recognition of that. 

So many thoughts to agree and disagree on lol.  I have a BR player but not a BR tv.  Though I do plan on getting one after Christmas.  I have no intention of replacing all of my DVDs but will buy select BRs on certain movies.  One thing that bothers me is that Pirates (?) is only available in a DVD/BR pack.  Should make it one or the other and let a lot of us buy the DVD without having to spend for the more expensive BR.  A local second hand shop is now selling BRs for $5 now.

I do believe BR will eventually replace DVD as prices continue to come down but I still have VHS tapes in my library.  Heck, I even still have 78s in my audio library!.  (Yes, I do have CDs)    I also agree that downloading will soon replace BR but I will always want something I can hold my hands on to.  Maybe its the collector in me but how can you show off what you have.?  Ten years from now, we'll be showing a picture of a small silver plastic box with ear plugs and small adhesive circles for our eyes and saying:  "See my collection?"

[Monster Bob]

The notion that "the end is near" for DVDs (and eventually blu-ray) is exactly why I am buying what I want now, when it's cheap and available. I've been averaging $3-$6 for DVDs and have gotten many classics on blu-ray for $8-$10. On a few (like LOST SOULS) I'll spring and pay a little more, and have never been disappointed.

[zombiehorror]

DVDs (standard or Blu Ray) are obselete.

The future will be streaming once rights are bought and bandwidth is allotted. I'm not investing more money in a soon to be dead technology.

Look at what has happened to NetFlix. Their streaming library is great for older movies, good luck finding a newer one. Vudu is expensive to rent, but they have alot of new releases for rent or purchase. Granted, a digital collection doesn't look as cool as a DVD one on a shelf, but it is the future.

Streaming has decades before it destroys any physical media for the most part people still want to feel/touch/hold what they are buying!  Digital downloading of music has been going on for how long?  But cd's still aren't going anywhere!  Seems to me that arguing that streaming movies will keep people from buying dvd/Blu-ray is like arguing that video stores will keep people from buying movies?!?  Or hell that libraries will keep people from buying printed media.  Netflix is great if you want to watch it before you buy it but I'd bet for the most part people are still buying their favorite films as opposed to counting on streaming them.

One thing that bothers me is that Pirates (?) is only available in a DVD/BR pack.  Should make it one or the other and let a lot of us buy the DVD without having to spend for the more expensive BR.  A local second hand shop is now selling BRs for $5 now.

I do believe BR will eventually replace DVD as prices continue to come down but I still have VHS tapes in my library.  Heck, I even still have 78s in my audio library!.  (Yes, I do have CDs)    I also agree that downloading will soon replace BR but I will always want something I can hold my hands on to.  Maybe its the collector in me but how can you show off what you have.?  Ten years from now, we'll be showing a picture of a small silver plastic box with ear plugs and small adhesive circles for our eyes and saying:  "See my collection?"

Are you referring to Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides?  If so that one was another case of the dvd being released nearly a month after the Blu-ray/dvd combo pack!  The combo pack came out on Oct. 18 but the standalone dvd didn't hit until Nov. 15th.  Just more tactics by the Blu-ray Association to get folks buying those Blu-rays; They are clearly counting on the impatience of consumers who just have to have a flick now and of course the uninformed consumer that doesn't realize they just have to wait a month to get the standalone dvd!

Again I don't see digital downloading replacing physical media anytime soon....then again I don't see Blu-ray replacing dvd anytime soon, although the Blu-ray Association is trying their damnedest to make it happen; i.e. dvd's with little to no special features, later release dates and they are continually dropping the price point for older Blu-ray releases.

The notion that "the end is near" for DVDs (and eventually blu-ray) is exactly why I am buying what I want now, when it's cheap and available. I've been averaging $3-$6 for DVDs and have gotten many classics on blu-ray for $8-$10. On a few (like LOST SOULS) I'll spring and pay a little more, and have never been disappointed.

I think the next step for dvd is online only ordering (still several years away); As stores are pressured to expand their Blu-ray sections whilst shrinking their dvd sections retailers will start offering dvd strictly thru online shopping.  Merchandisers and manufacturers, hell even the Blu-ray Association can't deny there is still a demand for dvd and I'll bet they aren't willing to just ignore that by stopping dvd manufacturing all together and chance losing a huge chunk of revenue.

[BaronLatos35]

Streaming has decades before it destroys any physical media for the most part people still want to feel/touch/hold what they are buying!  Digital downloading of music has been going on for how long?  But cd's still aren't going anywhere!  Seems to me that arguing that streaming movies will keep people from buying dvd/Blu-ray is like arguing that video stores will keep people from buying movies?!?  Or hell that libraries will keep people from buying printed media.  Netflix is great if you want to watch it before you buy it but I'd bet for the most part people are still buying their favorite films as opposed to counting on streaming them.

I wouldn't say decades, more like years. You can get $5.00 DVDs and BRs will be cheaper as well, doesn't mean they will be dominant in a few years. They will go the slow death of CDs. Of course people can still buy CDs, they are in the minority though. I still have my records, tapes and CDs. I've bought a few records over the past 3-4 years (still looking for a few Sabbath ones) otherwise, I haven't bought a new CD in years. Most CDs are filled with fluff these days. Gone are the days of liking the whole album. Even my favorite bands do this. I downloaded Maiden's Final Frontier off their website for $7 and maybe half the songs I still listen too. CDs and DVDs will be available for a niche market, much like records are today, but in no way will they be the dominant format.

A new day my friend.