Blue ray.. read on toasters

[Sandstone]

Am i the only one whos hoping this whole blue ray dvd crap will fail??.. if we keep buying all sorts of stupid different formats then they money hungry ceo's are gonna keep building them.. dvds a fine the way they are leave them alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Joshmo]

Theres nothing wrong with VHS! Why mess with it?!?!? It fills up the WHOLE TV!!!!!


:D

[Psychocandy]

Originally posted by Sandstone
Am i the only one whos hoping this whole blue ray dvd crap will fail??.. if we keep buying all sorts of stupid different formats then they money hungry ceo's are gonna keep building them.. dvds a fine the way they are leave them alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah...let's abandon progress. That's the way forward.

[scubasteve]

Originally posted by Psychocandy
Yeah...let's abandon progress. That's the way forward.
lol. Well said. As long as the media stays with the cd-rom form and the players are all backwards compatible. I have no problem with it.

[HeavyFknMetal]

I had a post on this earlier, now im cracking around 500 dvds here and I dont want to re buy anything. But along with times, we must move on. If in 4 years another edition of Raging Bull comes out, then I'll probably buy it. Its like 4 years ago I bought Duck Soup barebones edition, now i see myself laying down 60 bucks for a boxset. Another 6 years after blu ray, another type of dvd is going to come out, its evolution.

[JohnIan]

Psychocandy, it's not about a cease of advancement, it's about doing a step forward in a timely manner.

If we allow them to do this, HD/Blue-Ray DVD then it tells them to do it again... sooner.

One of reasons why there was such a drop on CD sales was saturation. People had bought CDs of all their old LP and cassettes. Digital quaity music. The current pop flavor wasn't to their tastes. They bought far less, their collections near complete.

The new format as a way to circumvent such a repeat. People buying DVDs replacing their old VHS and laser disc collections. But you can't have them get a full library, sales slide. Solution... introduce a new format. Something filled with hype. Market it in such a way to make consumers rebuy their titles. In six years time introduce the next generation before the average consumer can replace their collection. And on and on. In a nutshell - screwing the consumer.

DVD is still a new format. It didn't really take off until 2000/2001, five years old. FIVE years. VHS lasted two decades, laser disc about the same. A timely manner.

Yes I wrote hype earlier. I have an analog TV. Nearly everyone I know has one. Can the ower of an analog TV tell the difference between a HD/Blue-Ray DVD? Probably not. The price of an average HD digital TV is too expensive, over twleve hundred. You can put that as a down payment on a car. Yes there are cheaper ones, but PLEASE. I have a 32 inch TV. Woohoo!!! I have a HD TV; half the size of my old television.

As for the future, the next format, most likely - InfoMICA (Information-Multilayered Imprinted CArd). The size of an average postage stamp, thickness of a credit card. The prototype held one gig. The layers can be stacked. Come past HD/Blue-Ray it might hold 100 plus gigs, size of shotglass.

Look about here in the U.S. we have tons of movies double dipped. Why not just release movies right the first time? Milking consumers. It's uncommon in other countries. HD/Blue-Ray isn't needed at this time. Have the format in say ten more years. Fairness for consumers.

[Psychocandy]

Johnlan...

You're arguments have very little weight. DVD is not going anywhere as a format. It's not going to be an overnight replacement type situation. Those who wish to remain on the cutting edge of audio/visual techology will be early adopters of the new formats. You mention fairness to consumers who have invested in DVDs. What about fairness to those who are ready for something more advanced? Should they have to wait because not everyone can afford to move forward to the next level? If you don't want to buy into either of the new formats...that's your prerogative. No-one is forcing you or anyone else to do so.

Same with the double dipping you mention. It's very easy to predict with a high degree of accuracy which titles are likely to see a more special release at some point in the future (all the whining about the two disc I-Robot release is a good example...personally I think that if you bought the single disc release you deserve everything you get). A companies primary goal is to make vast amounts of cash. To think that they are likely to put the happiness of the consumer before the fattening of their wallets is just naive. People just need to be smarter and more patient with their purchases.

[JohnIan]

First off I’d like to address your comment on double dipping. The example of Underworld. The two disc release which followed months after the original contains additional materials as well as extras carried over from the single disc. But not all. In fact if you wanted all the bonuses you had to get both releases.

Another example would be the Lord Of The Rings box sets. They’re missing all the trailers. Only the two disc editions have them. The complaint among DVD collectors is that they should release the films right the first time around. No. We did not deserve to get screwed. Would the extras carry over to the later release? Don’t know. If you’re a person who just wants the movie and everything else is crap, you’ll never understand. Now onto the main issue.

You said it very correctly.
A companies primary goal is to make vast amounts of cash.
It is us who must keep companies at check. We create groups to watch over them. If companies had their way, we would still have slavery. Hey! Profits from slave labor makes tons of money for companies. It’s free enterprise, quite the American way. You can’t tell me they wouldn’t be licking their lips over the prospect of ending child labor laws. Lets make something very clear. They’re interests is nowhere near those of the common man. The same way conservative Christians long for the 1950s, they yearn for the early twentieth century when anything went. If one falls, another will take it’s place - dime a dozen. History has repeatedly shown this. The wealthiest in this nation at the start of the 20th century became rich through intimation, violence and murder. Laws were created to hold them at bay; to protect us from THEM.

What does this have to do with HD/Blue-Ray DVDs? Everything. I stand by my comment about the desire to prevent a repeat of the compact disc sales slide. A new format would solve that matter... for a while. This new format is meant to kill DVD. Preventing people from completing their collections, buy them all over again. Then come six/seven years, a brand new format to replace it, buy them all over again. Don’t you see?
People just need to be smarter and more patient with their purchases.
By the time the dust settles there will be big push for the new units. DVD players will be phased out. If you want new movies You will HAVE TO buy the new player to watch them. You will have no choice whatsoever. What is the answer? Never buy any movies again? Do you remember when DVDs first came on the market? The was nonstop ads. Buy a Toshiba player get five free DVDs and ten free DVD rentals. Remember? There was a lot of hype over that. It worked the last time, it’ll be repeated. The same thing worked with Sadam being involved with the World Trade Towers.

The desire for greenbacks is so great that format stability is thrown out the trash. Pick a format and stay with it, two decades. Would you buy a computer knowing that in a few months there will be a faster one with a new OS which made the last one obsolete? Sure all your old software will work on it. Oh yeah, but if you want the newer programs you’ll have to rebuy your computer once again. Have a nice day!

This hasn’t been a problem before. The question is do we really need the new format? To get the full effect you need to buy a new TV on top of that. Can you smell the bitterness in my text? I waited years to start my DVD collection - 144 titles. I had all my films on laser disc. I’ve seen people on Ebay who have sold their entire LD titles to switch over to DVDs. I can see it rehappening for HD/Blue-Ray. It’s better. Happy happy joy joy!!!
It's not going to be an overnight replacement type situation.
So what? The plan is to snuff out DVD. The fact that they’re even trying is disturbing. I would be fine with all of this if they commit to HD/Blue-Ray and say that’s IT. Anything else that comes will be a niche market. Pick a format and stick with it. I’m not against advancement, some people swear by SuperBit. Sure, whatever butters your bread. The people who want newer toys? Fine. But not to replace, not to render outmoded. Ape shall not kill ape.

I would also be fine if from day one they said - DVD is an obsolete format. ‘We’re working tirelessly on the next generation of entertainment media. DVD is filler until we get this done in a few years. Thank you for your time.’ If this was said, I would have never bought a single DVD title. I’ll wait. They didn’t say it and continued to release more and more. And we’re at the day. You may be embracing the coming. But people like myself are very pissed off. They’re screwing with us. If we let them get away, they’ll do it again and again. A newer format like fashion. What's IN this season?

A format so new as DVD that is still bringing in fresh consumers should not be slaughtered. That is the core of my argument. Now where's my damn pudding?!

[HeavyFknMetal]

[QUOTE]Would you buy a computer knowing that in a few months there will be a faster one with a new OS which made the last one obsolete? [/QUOTE

Every 18 months the speed of a computer processor doubles. This has been true since the dawn of computers. We as consumers know this. It's the way of the world, as we advance so do our technologies. Are you saying that with the advancement of Blu Ray and HD Dvd coming about, that these horrible pro slave bastard corporations should just say, "You know what, we have a much better type of format for your Dvds. Ones that can hold 10 times the amount of information that your regular dvds can hold, but we dont want to anger you so were not going to release them." There is no reason to bring politics into any of this. First you had reels of film, then you graduate to tape, then you go to beta, remember beta, then laser disc, then dvd, now blu ray and hd dvd. You dont like it, fine then you can be just as bad as the "Conservative Christians" that want to live like it were still the 50's.

[JohnIan]

You're not getting it. The introduction of a new format is a bad idea. DVD is far too new. Do you understand? In the past few years it's gone from being another format to the dominate entertainment media.

To bring about a replacement so soon isn't wise. DVD hasn't run its course yet. We're years from that day. I'm not against it exisiting (HD/Blue-Ray). If people want to buy it, whatever. But the plan to is destroy DVD, not to exist along side with it.

My concern is the robbing of people and myself. You must buy a new player to play the new titles - post DVD. If they can do this now, they will do it again. In six or seven years time a newer format could and most likely take HD/Blue-Ray's place. Phased out for the newer media. You'll have to rebuy and purchase a newer player. Don't you see? It's a scam.

CDs still exists and continue to be made. CD-ROMs (CD-Rs - same difference) are still being produced. There exist better storage mediums, but the major companies haven't conspired to demolish those formats. This new game is that very thing.

I can understand the allure, but I can also stand back and look ahead ten/fifteen years from now. It's nice to eat your desert first, the sad fact is that you WILL eventually have to eat your meal - like it or not.

As for that PC analogy, I ment OS not processor power. Each newer computer would have a completely different operating system, it would force you to buy new software and in buying that have to buy a newer still computer. But not in years, in months.

Sir this thing is about politics. The control over billions of dollars, each side gambling on their coming thing. More money than you or I will ever see. Laws will go into effect for this new format.

[Misanthrope]

I forsaw all this and decided to opt for downloading movies. And i do not think is that wrong because i would have had a very very hard time to find 80% of the titles i own at retail stores where i live, not to mention paying close to double the original price because they are imports. In fact i am not even technically allowed to buy them since they are region 1 and i live on region 4, all of them are region 1 exclusively.

On top of all that i might have to start buying another format? DVD isnt even widespread on alot of places yet. So if im going to be a thief for viewing a movie im not allowed to view, im not paying 60 bucks now and another 60 bucks later for a BlueRay transfer with better extras, im downloading them until they decide is ok for me to buy them.