Blu Ray / HD DVD Discussion Thread

[MutantEnemy]

I have a question and wanted to know if any of you could help,

When season sets come out like say, Frasier and there is 11 seasons, will they continue to be released on DVD even if Blu-ray or HDVD become the new format? I don't want to buy seasons 1, 2,3, and 11, and then have a new format come along and the studio, re-release them all over again.

[karlsen]

My oppinion on this is that we will have the DVD format as we know it for atleast 10 more years. Why do I think so?

DVD has taken over for the old big lumpy things (what was it named again)

If a new format is made then the consumers have to buy the players before the studios makes the movies. No studio is going to give out their movie on Blue-Ray alone if only 5% of their market owns a Blue-Ray player.

I asume that DVD will survive for many years to come, and that HD-TV/Blue-Ray (whatever format that wins) will be the format of choice to the few that always wants the latest cool stuff. I am afraid that this only will be another Laserdisc thing. The large majority will not see the point of better quality on the picture then what they have right now.

I am looking forward to the future, because I will then find the old posts and remaind people on how certain they were on this format taking over

[2099net]

Don't forget though Karlsen that HDTV will be the only souce of transmissions in America at some point in the future. So one day, everyone in America will be forced to have HDTV, so switching to HD-DVD becomes more pratical.

I think this date keeps changing or more accurately "creeping" back. I think America is beginning to realise something the UK has realised (our analog switch-off date keeps changing too). Namely it is a vast undertaking to get the public to replace all of the televisions in their houses.

I don't know how the rest of Europe stands, but the UK isn't getting HD-TV. I think the official reason is the difference is not that much noticable. Now, before Deathie Mouse leaps in, I'm pretty sure I read an official report somewhere which stated the visible difference on an average screen (sorry, forgotten the size) viewed from a distance of 4 foot was minimal. I can sort of understand this assuming the screen was a normal TV tube. But I'm pretty sure the difference would be noticable on projectors, LCD screens and Plasma screens. I think the real reason is the BBC spent a lot of their money (and by extension our money) on the current digital TV standard used by the BBC and SKY.

As for releases on current DVDs Karlsen is right. I mean, we still get VHS releases for most of our stuff now. Standard DVD releases will be available for another 5-10 years. Plus HD-DVD will need to build a userbase.

What is the real reason for Lucas releasing Star Wars OT on DVD now? He always said 2006 at the earliest as he wanted to finish working on his prequels first. Or was it 2006 at the earliest because the user base will be approaching it's peak then? Personally, I think the latter, being as he's somehow managed to do even more fiddling with the films while still working on Ep III. I think he's only releasing them now becuause he knew the HD-DVD format was likely to be approved at the end of this year or the beginning of the next and he didn't want to be in a position where both formats were available when the Original Trilogy was released. At least now, there is no demand from fans for a HD-DVD OT set. He can release that much later and make even more money.

[deathie mouse]

The future always cloudy is.

But i tend to agree that unless a real united effort by all companies and the branches of the home theater/video/computers/storage/displays is made to bring a signifiacant quality increase at moderate prices (like 35mm quality in a disc, and a 35mm quality display that doesnt cost more than a car ) DVD's are gonna be a long time around.
(and VHS is still with us now tho it's shrinking)

There might be interim attempts but i too think (hope) they won't hold.

I'm crazee about higher quality cus i keep zoomimg/blowing up/getting closer to my screen trying to make DVD look like 35mm film and it just won't do it (maybe if i water them everyday they'll grow in size ) but as i posted 20million times, i get very frustrated at the prospect of new mediocre DVD formats where Sleeping Beauty still is 500 lines tall not even reaching bad 35mm projection quality (SB, Brother Bear, Lady and the Tramp, Black Cauldron, 20,000 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea in AOD/HD-DVD's supposedly 720 x 1280 "High Def" are just gonna be about 550 x 1280 pixels or less. Just twice as good as any current Full Frame DVD or like the image of two 4:3 TV's side by side making a wider image)
So even I, carazee deathie enthusiast i'm thinking of not diving in blindly till a real good 1000 line (for ALL movie Formats) or preferably up to twice more, standart is reached.

But eventually when the REAL DVD-substitute shows up someday, things will be re-released in that format. Well some/most of them i hope. Star Trek was available in VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, and now coming soon, remastered DVD. So there could be a time Fraisier is on DVD and NewDefinitiveDVD.

but a deathie warning: Things/shows shot live on normal videotape instead of film, or edited on videotape machines instead of film, those things , won't really look any better on any future DVD (unless they invent some softwaare that creates artificial resolution)

Saturday Night Live, unless its the shows shot on HDTV tape, will be 486 NTSC lines. Interpolated on a new format but still 486. And Star Trek the Next Generation suffers the same fate cus the Master is a Videotape master, unless they redo each show from the negatives (if they still have them). I don't know if Frasier was shot/edited on Videotape. if it was, there won't be much real difference. (From videotape sources on HighDefDVD there is slighly a little more true vertical color resolution that mpeg2 but that's it. And uprezing things does eliminate jaggies and TV scan lines and pixelization. But you can uprez current DVD's too )

No studio is going to give out their movie on Blue-Ray alone if only 5% of their market owns a Blue-Ray player.

Well Sony/Columbia/Tri-Star said they would (Sony is the inventor of Blue-Ray) so they might try. But they might fail too.

It'll probably take lots more than that

If there's no Display to go with it, nobody will see any difference!

[karlsen]

As for releases on current DVDs Karlsen is right. I mean, we still get VHS releases for most of our stuff now. Standard DVD releases will be available for another 5-10 years.

I have heard the 5-10 years range been mentioned for about 4 years now so I do not think that is so real (or else it would be 1-6 years now and everybody can see that it will never happen that fast) Remember that 5-10 years is a great range to use because most people will have forgott about the predictions in about 5-10 years so it will always be frech for use to those that want to predict the future.

[jamminjake245]

Is the new format change really worth it? Just for a little higher resolution would you be willing to have you entire library of home media be considered "Out of style" or even some day obselete like the VHS?
Just to show you what a waste of money it is I have enclosed a picture of DVD to Blu-ray comparison.

Just think how much money you would have wasted. For example:

Most of us have spent well over 2000 + dollars on our DVDs. Then the player (any price so $100 give or take when you purchased it)

Blu-Ray player $4,000
Disks - Over $40.00

Just think..it all adds up.
<img src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/ ... arison.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

[jamminjake245]

Really, I think more improvements would be recquired for me to make a whole new format change.

[Lucylover1986]

There's nothing really that'll stop Blu-ray from coming. We'll still be able to use our DVD's on the Blu-Ray players so the only bad thing is that we'll have to change our players so I'm not buying a new DVD player just waiting for the Blu-Ray one.

[goofyestes]

With prices like you quoted, I think they will have a very hard time pushing the blue ray players and dvds (or whatever you call the blue ray discs) on consumers. When they started the switch from vhs to dvd players, dvd players weren't anywhere near $4000 and people still resisted! Most people can not afford that amount of money just to play some new fangled disc that really isn't that much better. (My family included.) The majority of consumers watch dvds occasionally, but they do not spend thousands of dollars on new systems or $40 on dvds. I seriously think, they will have a hard time pushing this on consumers. I just don't see the market for that expense.
Niki

[Mr. Toad]

Firstly, I dont understand the questions.

Is it will you shift to Blu-Ray or will you replace everything with Blu-Ray?

If it is the former - yes. If it is will you replace everything - the answer is partially.

Secondly, Blu-Ray players are not projected to cost $4,000.00 They are going to start at $1,000 with high ends at $2,000. Conversely HD-DVD players will start at $500 and high end ones at $1,500.

Has there been an announcement on how much the disks will go for? I have not seen any announcements but understood the additional cost would be in the $2-$5 so not anywhere near $40.

goofyestes - I believe DVD players did start in the $4,000 range although it did not last long. Like anything in electronics though they start it their for the videophiles and slowly moving it down price points until they catch everyone who wants one.

So, I will not be on Blu-ray on opening day. For instance, DVD came out in 1997 and I got on board Christmas 2001 (with this site's help)

[Pyoko]

Secondly, Blu-Ray players are not projected to cost $4,000.00 They are going to start at $1,000 with high ends at $2,000. Conversely HD-DVD players will start at $500 and high end ones at $1,500.

It is worth mentioning however that most people will also have to buy a HDTV, so the final costs could very well be a lot more than that.

Personally I'm not going to fret. DVD will be around for many years to come; the difference in quality between HD and a good DVD is not that huge and there will be backward-compatibility (both unlike the utterly inferior VHS format.) I will probably get a HD-DVD/BD-drive someday when prices are down, but most likely I will only double-dip on absolute favourites and titles where the DVD transfer was seriously lacking.

[2099net]

Its not a small increase in resolution, you may as well compare a VCD to DVD.

Don't forget you need to buy a new tv too, and if little Jimmy wants his own Blu-Ray DVD player in his bedroom, he'll need a new TV too.

Based on that, Blu-Ray is going to be a longer and harder sell than DVD. I give 'normal' DVD another 5 years of strong sales, and then another 4-7 of tapered sales, as machines get handed-down to youger family members. Remember, they do still make VHS now!

And you don't have to replace your DVDs. Noone is going to force you to buy every single disc you own again, but if the technology is available, and prices come down (which they will) it seems madness not to take advantage of the new format for NEW releases.

[Loomis]

And you don't have to replace your DVDs. Noone is going to force you to buy every single disc you own again, but if the technology is available, and prices come down (which they will) it seems madness not to take advantage of the new format for NEW releases.

That's hit the nail squarely on the head for me too.

Blu-Ray is an inevitability, but I agree that the studios are going to have a tough sell on their hands. Let's face it - while some people may have had their DVD players since the late 1990s, the majority of people have only jumped on board in the last few years. Being asked to not only buy a new player, but possibly a new TV, in the next few years is a big ask. Working in a library has taught me that there are large groups of people unwilling to give up cassettes and videos, let alone embrace the next generation of round and shiny things.

I certainly won't be rushing out to get the new format. However, as 2099net wisely points out, when the price does come down, it will be a logical progression for some discs.

However, Playstation 3 seems to have Blu-Ray support, so that might be an alternative for many in the meantime.

[PixarFan]

At first I was unhappy to learn that DVDs, after being out for so few years, were going to be replaced. And I didn't realize until reading this thread that it would mean buying a new TV, also. So it seemed really pointless to me to go to all the trouble and money just to have a slightly improved picture that I probably wouldn't notice that much anyway. But now that I think of it, I'll be moving out of my parents house in just a couple years and I'm going to need to purchase my own TV and DVD player and everything...it seems pointless not to get the newest version. So, I'll upgrade to Blu-Ray, just not until I move out.

[MinnieMe]

I'll update once DVD starts to seriously decline. I didn't buy a DVD player until like two years ago when they went down to $30. Then I didn't start buying DVDs until March of 2005. Took me about 10 years to switch over, probably will be the same for me with Blu-ray unless they rise in popularity and lower in price insanely quickly.

I'm in no rush.

[TM2-Megatron]

I'll buy my first Blu-Ray player when they're in the $250-300 range, along with an HD TV. Until then, I'm sticking to DVD. At least the Blu-Ray player will be able to play DVDs; I'll only double-dip on Blu-Ray titles that A) are my favourites; and B) have a significantly greater amount of bonus content.

[magicalwands]

I've decided I'll only buy Blu-Ray for the Harry Potter and possibly Pixar movies. Those are the only ones I watch daily (only some scenes) and would like to enjoy it in HD! Then I guess I'll buy HD for all those movies when DVD won't be available anymore.

[sethn172]

Howdy!

I picked DVD because, even though I am psyched about HD-DVD and/or Blu-ray (note the "and/or"), I still like regular DVDs because after many years, I am always so excited about the many things DVD has to offer. I still can't wait for both formats to come out, however!

And one more thing: what color will the data side be for each respective format (probably to know the difference between HD-DVD and Blu-ray)? Will it be two different colors or just be the gold and silver like on DVD?

sethn172

Help put "Manos" back at #1 in the Bottom 100! Vote now: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060666/

[DarthPrime]

I don't have a HDTV, so I'm going to stick with DVDs for awhile. When and if one of these formats wins out over the other and replace DVDs then I will move on and buy new releases in that format.

From what I've read a HDTV is required to use these players. If thats true it will hurt sales. HDTVs are becoming more common, but still don't take up a lot of the TVs in peoples homes.

DVDs are here for awhile I think. The new formats may eventually take over, but its going to take longer than a few years. Also one format will have to win out over the other. I know Blu-Ray is fairly popular, but if HD-DVD players are cheaper I wouldn't count them completely out.

[Tarzan.]

I don't know if a standard DVD can act as a HD-DVD if it is played in a HD-player can someone explain me this?