Although closing credits for VHS finished rolling years ago, the once-standard home movie format is just now reaching the very end of its tape. The last major American VHS supplier is ditching the tape biz completely at the end of this year - just over a week away.
For most mainstream retailers, the gig was up shortly after A …
Agree, Blu Ray movies are plainly too expensive to take off, although I do buy selected movies in this format, from time to time. Just as I buy other movies in DVD. It is sad that Blu Ray suffers from regionalization, as there are some good movies only released in the US (ICOS HD chip mod helps here, but it's expensive). Just like you, I do not see how digital downloads might compete with Blu Ray, given that typical monthly "allowance" we have from our ISPs are about the size of single Blu Ray disc. Not to mention download times exceeding 12 hours, when your typical household is 3 to 5 Mbps.
re:Who said anything about re-buying all your movies??...
"DVD players aren't backwards compatible with VHS....Blu-Ray players ARE compatible with DVD, and it is easy to convert your VHS collection to DVD or store it on a HDD and stream it across your network."
and that is more or less why it will not take off pepol might buy a player but they will lok at the dvd for £5-15 and the blu-ray for 15-30 and buy the dvd cos they can still play it and the blue ray dose not realy provide x2 the increse in value till prices are almost conpariable there will not be a masive increse on sales
downloads. streaming video. video on demand. physical media is so last century. if you can't be more imaginative than a DVD under the xmas tree, then i think you have more pressing concerns than which media format to invest in.
althought.... UK peeps haven't got the infrastructure to cope with that sort of bandwidth.
hmm, sony paying BT to keep us in the broadband darkages?
I'm an ex-pat living in the US and this article, and the comments within, have been very entertaining reading for me.
I have bought stuff on VHS, DVD and BD. BD wins every time. The image is much better, those with lossless sound is much better, the whole experience is just much better.
SD DVDs that have been up converted look better on a HD TV than on a SD TV. But those of you who claim that they don’t look much better have one of 2 problems (or both). Either you haven’t used the best type of leads that are available (like going from yellow, red, white to S video etc) or you need your eyes tested. Or both.
I do have a big arse TV (living here in the US as I now do), very good AVR, decent powered sub and a matched 7.1 speaker system. I prefer my setup to going to the cinema as I don’t get twats on the phone, dickheads sitting in front of me blocking the way or oiks chucking corn at me. Yes, the cost of a BD disc is more than a ticket. Until you factor in the cost to get there, anything else that you buy at the cinema and the fact that I can stop the film, come back to it anytime I want and watch it many times, all for the same BD price!
For the ‘tards banging on about solid disc and DL for films, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee my friends. There are reports floating around that SD manufactures are in trouble and looking to scale back production and raise prices. SD media is also susceptible to being corrupted, unlike a BD (yes, one will damage, but with the coating that they have, this is less likely than DVDs). And DL a 25 or 50Gb film? Please, be real. I have a decent connection here in the US and a 50Gb film would take days, at 24 hours, to DL. And now several US ISPs are talking about throttling speeds and limiting DL limits so that they can push their own VOD products. Wait 3 days to watch a film that may have corrupted, or wander out, buy a disc and pop it into a player. Hmmmm, let me think about that one…..
I do buy BDs when I can, even replacing SD that I already own. I have yet to pay full price for any of them. And as for the cost of replacing the discs, haven’t you lot heard of birthday’s and Christmas? I got 5 BDs this Christmas, all replacements for existing SD DVDs. All as presents. It’s not so difficult once you think about it….
Oh well, I'm sure wedding film-makers and Stanley Productions of Soho will together keep the analogue flag aloft!
On this "Blu-Ray-ueber-alles" question, Is it just me, or is it a little perverse the viewer is the one who pays $40, to sit at home watching actors' pores and acne-scars in hi-def, whilst the latter perform some shameful sub-Bruckheimer dreck?
Surely a key feature of a succesful business model, is that it should not be ridiculous?
Register
Although closing credits for VHS finished rolling years ago, the once-standard home movie format is just now reaching the very end of its tape. The last major American VHS supplier is ditching the tape biz completely at the end of this year - just over a week away. For most mainstream retailers, the gig was up shortly after A …
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Death-Ray
I ain't doin' no steenking blu-ray!
I'm currently (finally) converting my old vinyl to digital and my VHS tapes to DVD.
These formats (CD and DVD) will do me just fine and dandy.
The marketing wonks can go and blu-ray themselves.
@Danny Craig
Agree, Blu Ray movies are plainly too expensive to take off, although I do buy selected movies in this format, from time to time. Just as I buy other movies in DVD. It is sad that Blu Ray suffers from regionalization, as there are some good movies only released in the US (ICOS HD chip mod helps here, but it's expensive). Just like you, I do not see how digital downloads might compete with Blu Ray, given that typical monthly "allowance" we have from our ISPs are about the size of single Blu Ray disc. Not to mention download times exceeding 12 hours, when your typical household is 3 to 5 Mbps.
re:Who said anything about re-buying all your movies??...
"DVD players aren't backwards compatible with VHS....Blu-Ray players ARE compatible with DVD, and it is easy to convert your VHS collection to DVD or store it on a HDD and stream it across your network."
and that is more or less why it will not take off pepol might buy a player but they will lok at the dvd for £5-15 and the blu-ray for 15-30 and buy the dvd cos they can still play it and the blue ray dose not realy provide x2 the increse in value till prices are almost conpariable there will not be a masive increse on sales
blueray is dead, long live blueray...?
downloads. streaming video. video on demand. physical media is so last century. if you can't be more imaginative than a DVD under the xmas tree, then i think you have more pressing concerns than which media format to invest in.
althought.... UK peeps haven't got the infrastructure to cope with that sort of bandwidth.
hmm, sony paying BT to keep us in the broadband darkages?
Ah the English, such a backward bunch....
I'm an ex-pat living in the US and this article, and the comments within, have been very entertaining reading for me.
I have bought stuff on VHS, DVD and BD. BD wins every time. The image is much better, those with lossless sound is much better, the whole experience is just much better.
SD DVDs that have been up converted look better on a HD TV than on a SD TV. But those of you who claim that they don’t look much better have one of 2 problems (or both). Either you haven’t used the best type of leads that are available (like going from yellow, red, white to S video etc) or you need your eyes tested. Or both.
I do have a big arse TV (living here in the US as I now do), very good AVR, decent powered sub and a matched 7.1 speaker system. I prefer my setup to going to the cinema as I don’t get twats on the phone, dickheads sitting in front of me blocking the way or oiks chucking corn at me. Yes, the cost of a BD disc is more than a ticket. Until you factor in the cost to get there, anything else that you buy at the cinema and the fact that I can stop the film, come back to it anytime I want and watch it many times, all for the same BD price!
For the ‘tards banging on about solid disc and DL for films, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee my friends. There are reports floating around that SD manufactures are in trouble and looking to scale back production and raise prices. SD media is also susceptible to being corrupted, unlike a BD (yes, one will damage, but with the coating that they have, this is less likely than DVDs). And DL a 25 or 50Gb film? Please, be real. I have a decent connection here in the US and a 50Gb film would take days, at 24 hours, to DL. And now several US ISPs are talking about throttling speeds and limiting DL limits so that they can push their own VOD products. Wait 3 days to watch a film that may have corrupted, or wander out, buy a disc and pop it into a player. Hmmmm, let me think about that one…..
I do buy BDs when I can, even replacing SD that I already own. I have yet to pay full price for any of them. And as for the cost of replacing the discs, haven’t you lot heard of birthday’s and Christmas? I got 5 BDs this Christmas, all replacements for existing SD DVDs. All as presents. It’s not so difficult once you think about it….
Paris, because even she can work this out….
Pores, digital hermit-dom
Oh well, I'm sure wedding film-makers and Stanley Productions of Soho will together keep the analogue flag aloft!
On this "Blu-Ray-ueber-alles" question, Is it just me, or is it a little perverse the viewer is the one who pays $40, to sit at home watching actors' pores and acne-scars in hi-def, whilst the latter perform some shameful sub-Bruckheimer dreck?
Surely a key feature of a succesful business model, is that it should not be ridiculous?
Erm...
No way will Blu-Ray take over DVDs within 3 years. Why can't the two formats just run parallel to each other?
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