Americans Cool To Blu-ray

[RLJSlick]

http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/bluray/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218100686

[gparris]

The number of PS3 owners is double from what I have read in the Harris Poll indicates to the number of standalones  (only 7 percent) so it is 14% (double) that have PS3's - so that equals about 21 % of all households with Blu-ray capability, or about 1-in-5 households, which have BD playback potential.
 Add to the fact that BD players are going down in price, the potential is greater than ever to have it succeed by more people buying them (eventually).

Flat panels, too, are dropping in price, so the larger screens are getting more affordable, which creates a need for better quality HD pictures on disc, not DVD as screens get bigger and bigger for a more emmersive experience, hence Blu-ray Disc.

Downloads do NOT offer the same bit rate as BD, these are more like a good DVD transfer and do not offer the best audio quality, either, so downloads are not really a good replacement for Blu-ray Disc at all, just a "quick fix". Additionally, not everyone has access to high speed internet to make it happen.

Additionally, many folks like to keep playback media around, not just erase the movie after use as with downloads, so a hard copy is essential.
Honestly, I don't agree that disc media will go away anytime soon.

-All that is missing in the equation to true Blu-ray success -  is Hollywood's greed to go away, by pricing the Blu-ray Discs equal to DVDs - enough already!
True, I have  bought $12.99 and similarly priced BDs on discount, many recently-released BDs are still in the $25-30 range until discounted many months later, which gives the prospective Blu-ray Disc buyer the assumption that Blu-ray is more expensive and (maybe) not worth it, at least for now.

[Talos4]

I don't own a Blu Ray or a PS3. None of my HD displays are 1080P capable.

I understand the benefit of watching a BD on a non 1080P display.

However, I won't be buying a BD player anytime soon.

Hardware cost is a factor but, for me it's the cost of replacing my existing DVD collection with BD's. We all went through that with the videotape-DVD transition. My DVD collection is in excess of 375 and growing.  Even if I replaced half of them with BD at $25 each that's nearly $5,000! Not including the price of the hardware.

For me, it's format fatigue. personally it's been:

Beta to VHS, VHS to DVD, Vinyl to CD, CD to MP3. Stereo to Quad and back, stereo to 5.1 surround to 6.1 to 7.1, 27" maggot box to 48" RPTV to 48" Plasma, Analog broadcast to Digital, Rabbit ears to analog cable to 18" Directv dish to 3lnb, 5 lnb, MPEG2 to MPEG4. Tivo, etc etc....  

I also watch movies through NETFLIX and off of my PC on my XBOX 360.

I was an early adopter of many these changes, and nobody "made" me change unless you count the manufactures forcing the changes upon us.

I know I could be happy watching OTA with a 25" CRT with a converter box, and still be plugging my Betamax (I still have one) with tapes but I don't want to do that!  

I'm not crying the blues here, I'm happy with what I have but I have a feeling the general public may be feeling the same format fatigue.  

Maybe I'm just taking a breather and enjoying what I have for the time being.

[Steve Mann]

One doesn't have to convert their existing media collection to be able to enjoy BD. I made the plunge to BD about a year ago. Spent about $300 on a player and started from there. I bought about 10 titles at first (adding them to my existing DVD collection of 200+) then realized that Netflix was the better option for me. There is a huge difference between BD disk and DVDs, even on my 720p AX200u. It's well worth the cost of a BD player (which are much less now).

I'll probably not buy any more BDs until either the price comes down or some other format eventually replaces it. I find I very seldom go back and watch any of the movies I've previously purchased anyway. I'm too busy watching the new releases from Netflix.  

[TPK]

I don't see how getting a blu-ray player somehow invalidates your existing DVD collection...  Especially when they went through all the trouble to keep the same form-factor so you can still use your standard DVDs in the new player...

With other format transitions (vinyl to CD, etc..) we were unable to use the old format on then new hardware, so we were forced to use either one or the other (or keep both hardwares around)...  I think this transition is different...

[oz]

I'll wait for the $99 players - maybe by Christmas time?

Does Netflix rent Blu-ray for the same price as regular DVD discs?

[steve053]

I'll wait for the $99 players - maybe by Christmas time?

They're already here!  Meijer had a $99 Curtis Mathes Blue-ray player for sale last week.  It's currently sold out

http://www.meijer.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=121255&N=0&navparm=0&keyword=curtis%20mathes%20blu-ray

I'm with Talos4 on upgrade fatigue.  I was an early HD adopter and am not not eager to jump on the BD bandwagon just yet.

Digital download of HD content has a ways to go, but it sure 'looks' like things are heading that direction.  Right now bandwidth is a limiting factor, but I remember trying to find 1.0 meg download speeds in the Milwaukee area in '00.  It wasn't that easy - today it's relatively commonplace.  Heck I can tether my Blackberry to my netbook and surf considerably faster than I could at almost any time in the '90's.

[Talos4]

I don't see how getting a blu-ray player somehow invalidates your existing DVD collection...  Especially when they went through all the trouble to keep the same form-factor so you can still use your standard DVDs in the new player...

With other format transitions (vinyl to CD, etc..) we were unable to use the old format on then new hardware, so we were forced to use either one or the other (or keep both hardwares around)...  I think this transition is different...

It doesn't invalidate my entire collection but,

If I have a BD player I would certainly want to replace a good number of them, if not, then what's the point?

Off the top of my head, and I don't know if these are available in BD because I don't follow the catalog:

Fifth Element (already replaced once with the Super Duper edition
Lord of Rings Trilogy, (replaced once with the extended versions)
All Six Star Wars
Lawrence of Arabia  (replaced once with the new directors cut and remastering)
Apollo 13, (Replaced with the DTS version)
Ben Hur,  (replaced with the Remastered edtion)

I know there's alot more I'd want to replace but I'm at work and not really thinking about movies unfortunately

[Ralph Kramden]

I still don't have a Blu-ray player, but it's not because of cost. I always said I'd wait until they go below $200, and they have. I wanted to get the Pan. BD60, but I've read so many posts about freeze-ups that I don't want to buy it yet. The other one I'm considering is the new JVC. The owners at Avsforum claim they've had no problems with it. I've never had any problems with my HD-A2 player.

[SRW1000]

Does Netflix rent Blu-ray for the same price as regular DVD discs?

No.  They started a $1 per month surcharge last year, and then increased that surcharge earlier this year.  The amount depends on what plan you're on.

Blockbuster Online also offers BD rentals, but doesn't have any surcharge for them.

I've been very happy with the mail order service through Blockbuster, which also has a distribution center in the Milwaukee area.

Scott

[kevbeck122]

I was up to about $18 per month after taxes for 2 at a time Netflix with Blu Ray.  I put my membership on hold for now since I was only watching on the weekends, if that.  I've just been going to Blockbuster if I want to get something... they have overnight Blu Ray rentals for $2 ($1 per day if you keep it longer).  It ends up being cheaper for me at the moment.

[Bebop]

I still don't have a Blu-ray player, but it's not because of cost. I always said I'd wait until they go below $200, and they have. I wanted to get the Pan. BD60, but I've read so many posts about freeze-ups that I don't want to buy it yet. The other one I'm considering is the new JVC. The owners at Avsforum claim they've had no problems with it. I've never had any problems with my HD-A2 player.

I have panasonic and haven't experienced any freeze yet.

[gparris]

I have panasonic and haven't experienced any freeze yet.

Not me, either and the disc loading times have improved slightly over the BD35 and the DVD upconversion is better than the PS3 I had on both.

[brewtownska]

Here's something that might help keep costs down for the weekend Blu-ray watcher.  I'm on the Blockbuster online 2-per-month plan ($3.99).  So that's still only $2 per movie like in the store, but you don't have to return those movies overnight...keep as long as you like.  PLUS, you can take each of your 2 mailers back to the store and for the $2 price to "exchange" them, instead of getting an overnight rental, it actually becomes a 5 day rental.  So you can rent 4 blu-rays during the month for $8 without being rushed to return things quickly.  Works well when you want to get a new release on a tuesday but may not actually have time to WATCH said movie that day.

[Bebop]

Not me, either and the disc loading times have improved slightly over the BD35 and the DVD upconversion is better than the PS3 I had on both.

The PS3 is still the best Blu-ray player.