Analyst: Bluray format still "half-baked"

CNN.com takes a look at the format war, giving some interesting perspectives on when the format will become the mainstay.

[xfrgtr]

Title of the article:"Blu-ray format expected to dominate, but when?".
It's not a matter of if but when,bluray IS the next format and is recognized by the industry as the next one.Excellent article.Analysts, movie studios and the Blu-ray Disc Association, a manufacturing group, all say Blu-ray discs will eventually dominate video sales. The question is when.

[butterfinger]

I sold my entire DVD collection about a year ago and waited patiently to see which format would win out. Since blu ray won, I have enjoyed getting my old movies and great new releases every time they come out. Re-watching classics like Edward Scissorhands and Terminator 2 deliver an all new experience. I collect all of the Disney animated features, and I am 100% looking forward to Sleeping Beauty and every other Disney animated classic that will surely be arriving in the future. Bring on Aladdin and the Lion King!!!

[Real gamer 4 life]

how long did it take high definition television to penetrate the market?
The same will happen with blueray. It wont be overnight it will take time.

[gambare]

The HDTV is still expensive for many people, but the prices are lower if we compare them with the last year, not to say 2006, anyway, it won't be beyond 2009 for the HDTV to dominate and the BD is already here to fill the HD movie market.

[The Dark Knight]

well this analyst is ABOUT TO GET BAKED FROM THE FIERY FLAMES OF BATMAN!!!!

:)

[mirroredderorrim]

Why does it say "cnn.com takes a look at the format war"?

I thought it was over(?)

[2cents]

the war is dvd vs blu-ray now

oh, and downloadable content fancies a go in the ring aswell.

@below, thankyou round orange thing with hat!
:)

[wallace1000]

Agreed cat with cones.

[mirroredderorrim]

I don't not agree with digital downloads even being considered as a part of the fight to be the new Physica Format of Choice. (since this is what should be focused on when refering to the format war)

Aside from the above, DVD is expected to lose dominance of the market in 2009, sometime during the fall, or 4th quarter.

Call me when at least 50 million homes have 10meg per sec connetions with no latency; because the network is large enough to handle the traffic, with perfected tech, and I would honestly say Digital Downloads are competing with Blu-Ray.

The "infrastructure" for D.D is currently being setup. With the incoming web 2.0, along with D.D comes new regulations. Take my web 2.0 remark with an air particle.

[Sayai jin]

@mirroredderorrim- They are tlking about the blu-ray taking the place of DVD. I have said this over and over,digital downloads (DD)are inevitable. DD will not replace physicl media, no way, but it will be an alternative. Think of CD's to MP3. Did MP3's completly replace CD's, no. But how many ppeople walk around with CD players anymore? Some still do, like I said an alternative. The industry did not embrace DD for music right away. Naspter! Everyone saw how popular and future proof DD for music was, so not too long after, DD service boomed, iTunes, Sony BMG, etc. Some may say, oh the internet speed, infrastructure, etc. people are thinking of the noow and not the furture. Some say it is many many years away. I remember when it took several hours to download 1 song then a year later it only took the same time to download a entire CD in the same time. I can now download an entire 1 to 1.5 GB movie in a fe whours sometimes a little longer around 10 to 12 hours and I do not have tht great of service. Check this out. Sony (and the rest of the blu-ray camp) came out looking like champs when blu-ray won the next-gen medi war. They spent tons of loot on preparing and maketing blu-ray, so needles to say they expect it to be around for a while. With that said, Sony will be offering DD on the PS3 very soon, just like MS does now. Sony knows that blu-ray will eventually be the norm for physical media, but also knows that it will have competition/money with DD nd they want to embrace the new tech to be one of the first to offer such service.

[wallace1000]

He is a haggis :-)

[Closing]

The Dark Knight will be the first Bluray I purchase. Movie of the year right there ladies and gents.

[The Dark Knight]

how can i ignore something like this.

YOUR A SMART PERSON!

:)

[wallace1000]

When i get a player ironman and transformers will also be high on the list along with the batman.

[bakasora]

Ironman!!

[2cents]

It's only the price, for me.

Bring down the cost of the films, introduce some entry level basic blu-ray players for the masses, now wait... job done.

Love it or hate it, I dont think Blu-ray is going anywhere anytime soon.

[ip-student]

The issue is cost and benefit - right now it is a lot more expensive to have a Bluray player and the movies are about double the cost. That is simply too expensive. Even on my 50" TV DVDs look okay (not great but okay) - on smaller TVs (which are more common) the difference is less. So people are not going to pay that much for a barely perceptible increase.

The other problem Bluray has is that on-demand provide similar benefits at a much lower cost - for the average viewer it makes a lot more sense to watch Transformers on-demand in HD for $5.99 then to buy a bluray player and a $35 disk (the movie is worth watching twice at most - IMO). Even if you have a bluray player with the PS3 it is still a questionable value for most movies. So unless the price drops I don't see the market for Bluray ever catching on like it did for DVDs - when DVDs came out on-demand just wasn't available in the same way.

And if you don't have a PS3 (because you want a player that is stackable and works with a normal remote - the bluray players still suck and are way to expensive). Add in the problems with getting HDMI to handshake - it is just a general consumer nightmare.

[ceedubya9]

Were it not for my PS3, I would not have one BR disc in my home. In store prices for actual standalones are still too expensive. As soon as they come down in price, I'm sure that things will pick as the average consumer will be more willing to take a look.

[xfrgtr]

"The other problem Bluray has is that on-demand provide similar benefits". I don't think so,the PQ and sound are MUCH better on bluray than on digital download and you can rent a BLURAY movie and watching it in 1080p with great HD sound for less than 2 doll from dvdplays rental kiosks.

[ip-student]

there is the whole hassle of returning involved and I haven't seen anything that is $2 - so I guess it is not widely available yet. And I don't see how you could make money renting Bluray disks at $2 a pop so you have to wonder how that is going to work out. But still - I could a DVD rent for $1 and would still rather pay $4 for on-demand - I don't like having to deal with the inconvenience.

While I admit that Bluray is superior in PQ and sound quality to on-demand (assuming you have the expensive home theater system to make it worthwhile) - the difference is much less then the difference between DVD and Bluray. Keep in mind that a lot of people like MP3s at 128 kbps (only lossless for me, thanks). The average consumer isn't going to care/notice about the difference between HD on-demand and Bluray - just the audiophile/home theater junkie. So you have to wonder if Bluray will ever reach the mass-market appeal of DVDs. Time will tell but I currently doubt it.

[jojo319]

I totally agree. People keep talking about bandwidth issues, etc..... but again, MOST people will NOT buy a BR player until DVD is gone and they have no choice. Look at the leap in quality from VHS to DVD. MOST people waited until VHS was gone from their local video store. I'll tell you right now that my Mom could give a frogs fat a$$ about HD. she just wants to sew and throw on a classic movie. So if she's going to stream a movie, HD isn't going to matter to her one bit. She might say "wow, nice picture", but she's not going to throw down $400 for that.

[solideagle1]

analysts? are they from planet apes where they know the future?
thanx

[Balance]

yeah i agree with the analysts don't know squat comments. for me i am not going to fork over the money for blu-ray even though i have the TV to enjoy it. i get most my movies from downloads. what they need to do is give you software that will allow you to download a movie and then have the software use your dvd or blu-ray drive burn it to a disc, it shouldn't be hard to put a check sum or something to allow one burn of the downloaded movie (with a check that the burn was succesful). then they could lower the movie cost price since they aren't pressing discs and those people who like to have something in their hands will have the burned copy. the movie studios can move the physical media onto the consumer so you can choose if you want to burn the disc or just keep it as a file.

edit: and allow you to queue up several movies and let it download over night so bandwidth isn't a huge issue, it would still be a shorter time than waiting for a netflix movie in the mail.

[pwnsause]

as I said time and time again, wait till black friday, electronics companies will be forced to drop player prices by that time in order to compete with other electronics companies. at that same time HDtvs will drop as well, heck at that time they're going to combo up the appliances

BTW look at this http://techon.nikkeibp.co.j...

the takeover is already happening in Japan, just give it time here, and you'll see.

[aiphanes]

You will want ot watch Iron man in 1080p...only possible on bluray...You will want to watch The Incredible Hulk in 1080p...and The Dark Knight in 1080p...and Sex in the City in 1080p...only on bluray will you be able to watch it in 1080p..

[Gorgon]

I don't want to watch any of those movies even for 50 cents...except for Sex in the City.

[ScentlessApprentice7]

...Sissy

[Gorgon]

LOL

[Pain]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Should have listened to Crazy Ken "PS3 is the Future"

@Butter Same. but didnt sell dvd's.

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

Yes PS3 IS the Future!!!;-P

I want -
Star Wars on Blu-ray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-P
WOW! R2-D2 in High-Def!!!;-D I NEED IT NOW!!!;)
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-Er-BEEP!!!(R2 says DO IT NOW!) ;-D

[B3RS3RK3RGANG]

-Shup up CNN idi0ts
-Stop denying fact that Blue Ray is the best format yet.Blu Ray will sell a lot.Just wait a few months

[zonetrooper5]

Blu-Ray does have some problems though, hell HD-DVD had some features which are esstinal and were standard. Updates, interface etc, go read up on it.

[Dareaver1]

It had all it's necessary components up and functioning. A lot of the features blu ray is touting now, hd-dvd already had them. It's a shame, the only difference between the two formats were the size. HD-DVD was the better format, because it was standardized and complete.

Let's see all HD-DVD players had to have onboard ram, ethernet ports, support internet access and updates, and etc....

I mean early adopters of blu ray are already getting screwed over, most of the earlier players won't be able to support the new standard. Not only that, not all blu ray players have built in ethernet ports so they are easily outdated and can't be updated.

That's why the ps3 is the best blu ray player to buy and own. It's a shame the business practice that's going on right now. So many screwed over consumers, especially the ones that spent over a grand on a non-updateable stand alone blu ray player.