Blu Ray - Will it become more popular?

[stephentw]

Blu Ray seems to be in a frustrating position at the moment, its undoubtedly superior to dvd but still seems to be the domain of ps3 owners or people with high end av systems.

You would think that most films would start coming out on both Blu and dvd by now or soon, but it doesn't seem to be the case, in some cases films that came out on both in the states have only hit the uk on dvd!

Why is this? Lack of support for the format from the studios? Lack of sales? High prices? Will it ever change or do we settle for a multi format situation with dvd still dominant?

Discuss!

[Badger0-0]

Blu-ray will take over, without a doubt, for a while, IMO.

But only when the players get dirt cheap (£50), which, is at least 2-3 years away.

Most people don't care about HD and certainly won't pay any extra for it.

I know a good few people who have $ky or VM, but won't touch HD, because, in all honesty, they can't even afford to buy an HD telly, let alone subscribe to the HD services.

Even then, I'd guess BD will be pretty much displaced by something else.

Let's face it, Blu-ray has won against a superior format

Sony win for now, but that's pretty typical.

[domtheone]

Doesn't help that the wrong format won the war (imo) for a start

Prices are rediculous (high street) and most peeps are happy with DVD so thay aint going to pay 3-5 times the price of a DVD for a film.

Think the average tv size is going up although you would wonder where peeps are putting the TV's given that Housebuilders are building flats/houses that are barely big enough for pet's let alone humans

Did see a BBC HD advert on prime time tv the other day so now that it's being pushed by them (and the likes of Sky) it'll grow and grow.

Bound to become more popular, just a question of how much time it takes.

[earlybath]

I have a HD Ready TV but I can't justify forking out for a Bluray player while I have so many DVD's. I'm thinking I'll wait until an affordable Freesat PVR comes onto the market before I actually try HD and then consider switching disk formats later.

[jayden28]

I can not see blu ray ever over taking dvd,blu ray hardware and software will have to come down big time in price,can you see blu ray players coming down to £30-50 within 4-5 years,no way.The most important thing is the average person will not even notice the difference between a dvd and blu ray picture,just ask my brother!!.

[tbeachly]

No doubting blu-ray disks are expensive but it is possible to get them for fairly reasonable price if you shop around.

I have bought Apocalypto, Underworld, Stargate, the Departed, Close Encounters, 3:10 to Yuma and a few others for less than £10 each. I do find it crazy that a DVD will be £12 and the blu-ray version £17 (cloverfield @ play for example)

Problem is once you go to blu-ray SD just doesn't have a chance. For me there is no longer any point in buying SD disks even if I have to wait for the blu-ray version at a decent price.

If you don't have hd be it via blu-ray or Sky (and now freesat) it is very easy to dismiss hd as not worth it.

[Rob D]

I also agree that the wrong format won the hi def DVD battle, however I think video on demand won't be far away and this will have a massive impact on Bluray sales and the format itself.

[tbeachly]

I was thinking about video on demand but with certain ISP's restricting bandwidth this may turn out to be a non starter.

[ps3mad]

the avarage joe has no idea what blu-ray is

so i doubt i will ever match DVD

if you speak to the avarage joe(currys customer)they think because they have just bought a new HD lcd/plasma(only bought because its slim)they are watching tv in HD.

[Badger0-0]

Originally Posted by Rob D

I also agree that the wrong format won the hi def DVD battle, however I think video on demand won't be far away and this will have a massive impact on Bluray sales and the format itself.

I said the same, ages ago and got slated for it.

The big argument is that our internet connections are too slow.

My point is that they are, ATM, but this is where the investment is going to go, big time.

VM aren't looking at 50Mb as a favour to us, IMO.

I actually hate "on demand", but it makes total sense, in that it costs nothing to provide, bandwidth apart.

They can ram an HD film at £4.50 up their proverbial, IMO, I'd rather pay the extra for the original.
But make it a quid and it becomes more competitive

[Jules]

Problem is once you go to blu-ray SD just doesn't have a chance. For me there is no longer any point in buying SD disks even if I have to wait for the blu-ray version at a decent price.

I used to think this way until I changed my 42" plasma screen from a Panasonic to a Pioneer 4280.

Alot of screens don't do SD justice and this distorts peoples perception of the performance gap.

Don't get me wrong, I've invested heavily in top end home entertainment equipment so I want Blu-ray to gain momentum quickly.
At the moment though, the price differential for Joe Bloggs is madness for the incremental performance improvement.

However, I think prices will come down. It will take 1 brave manufucturer to start churning out full specced Blu-ray players in a big Supermarket chain for under £150 (and we're not too far off already with Samsung players available now for around £199) , then as the PS3 becomes a comparitively expensive option the market will open up and prices will nose dive.

I can see Blu-ray players being sold at Asda for £79.99 inside 3 years. They won't go as cheap as DVD players (under £15 for a full specced player these days is just silly) but at around £80 people will be prepared to replace broken DVD players with Blu-Ray.

Disc prices will come down too, the first DVD I ever bought cost £28 back in 1998. The likes of HMV and Zavvi are just (understandably) at the moment selling to a limited market who are not as price sensitive as Joe Bloggs.

As Joe Bloggs buys Blu-ray machines, HMV and Zavvi will want to sell them discs, so disc prices will fall eventually.

... I hope!

[domtheone]

Originally Posted by ps3mad

the avarage joe has no idea what blu-ray is

so i doubt i will ever match DVD

if you speak to the avarage joe(currys customer)they think because they have just bought a new HD lcd/plasma(only bought because its slim)they are watching tv in HD.

Yep. HD tv = watching in HD

HD DVD has (well had) the better chance if only because of the name which was far more likely to get Joe Publics attention given the right support/marketing.

[Dr Force]

Along time to wait before VOD via your cable at home IMHO.

BT 3pair does not do a good job as far as large bandwith is concerned.We require optical cable to get downloads at anything like acceptable time scales to the average home.

Our whole infrastructure is miles behind places like china in this regard.

I think we'll see BR gradually reach out to the av punter but i feel this is around 3 years time when players and discs are far cheaper.

Its not a good time for BR at the moment.yes the format war has been won but with a world wide tightening of the belts, rising oils costs (and thus higher shipping costs) its not great marketing to sell a disc £10 more than its SD counterpart.

I think its going to remain niche until 2011/2012 and I am holding off for aslong as possible, enjoying my HD DVD's until i can buy the discs at reasonable prices.

[domtheone]

Originally Posted by Dr Force

I am holding off for aslong as possible, enjoying my HD DVD's until i can buy the discs at reasonable prices.

So that's you, me and probably a few hundred more on AVF for starters then

[Badger0-0]

Originally Posted by Dr Force

Along time to wait before VOD via your cable at home IMHO.

BT 3pair does not do a good job as far as large bandwith is concerned.We require optical cable to get downloads at anything like acceptable time scales to the average home.

Our whole infrastructure is miles behind places like china in this regard.

I think we'll see BR gradually reach out to the av punter but i feel this is around 3 years time when players and discs are far cheaper.

Its not a good time for BR at the moment.yes the format war has been won but with a world wide tightening of the belts, rising oils costs (and thus higher shipping costs) its not great marketing to sell a disc £10 more than its SD counterpart.

I think its going to remain niche until 2011/2012 and I am holding off for aslong as possible, enjoying my HD DVD's until i can buy the discs at reasonable prices.

What a poor indictment of our supposedly top technology

An English bloke invented the internet and we miss out again

I'm not so sure sure about China's infrastructure, but given the rate they are building, I can't dispute what you're saying.

I do know that what we regard as rubbish countries, () are miles ahead of us.

Korea is one.

That's a bloody total embarassment, IMO

But the government (of whatever colour) doesn't seem to give a toss