Should I still be investing money in Blurays?

[chrono1081]

They are not investments, just depreciating assets. Ask your accountant!

Streaming will overcome.

This.

However if you like them, collect them, but understand there is already replacements for blu ray being worked on. I believe its Hitatchi (I could be wrong) that has optical media capable of storing 300 gb at the moment.

That being said the read speed needs to be as fast as Blu Ray, devices need to be able to process the amount of data at the same speed, etc etc. There is a lot of variables in the process so its not like a replacement is right around the corner.

 

[Nermal]

iTunes is a pretty large service, and they offer streaming HD.

In the US. Last time I checked, which was admittedly a while ago, everything was still 480p in most countries.

 

[taeclee99]

No way. Blu-Rays are in a bag of hurt.

 

[andrewlgm]

I am getting a pretty nice collection of Blurays going. I am just worried that the format will be obsolete soon and I will have a shelf full of movies while everyone else is playing their movies directly from their media drives or Apple TV.

Do you still buy Bluray?

Blu-ray is going nowhere. We're capped monthly at 250GB of internet service. Mobile service no longer offers unlimited data. DVD is going nowhere and neither are CDs. No matter how great iTunes is. For blu-ray and physical media to be replaced we need major changes in infrastructure. Right now, we're cutting spending and making no investments in tech.

 

[scoobydoo99]

Blu-ray is going nowhere. We're capped monthly at 250GB of internet service. Mobile service no longer offers unlimited data. DVD is going nowhere and neither are CDs. No matter how great iTunes is. For blu-ray and physical media to be replaced we need major changes in infrastructure. Right now, we're cutting spending and making no investments in tech.

I can see how capping would be a problem. My ISP doesn't cap, so luckily not for me. Also, I have an original iPhone plan with AT&T, so I still have unlimited data for mobile. But, as for making investments in tech, the Apple TV is only $99, and once you have downloaded content for storage on an external drive, your caps don't matter. So, for the time being, I don't see that as as big "investment in tech".

 

[MadDragon1846]

My Internet goes at a snails pace!. I can't even stream DVD quality films, let alone blu ray. It takes me around 5 hours to download a 1gb file, if my Internet is running at it's fastest.

So yeah, I'm sure there's plenty of people with similar speeds. So I can't see blu rays disappearing any time soon.

Hopefully 1 day all Internet will run at super speeds across the country, and then streaming films will be the norm for everyone. ATM though, I'm having to make do with adsl

 

[aziatiklover]

I used to collect bluray as well, but it got really expensive. So I think the next format or whatever it would is going to be over the air!

 

[nefan65]

I guess if you're a collector? Or if you like to watch the same things over? I never really even got into regular DVD's. If I've seen a movie once, I'm happy. I think I have a few, thinking "Oh cool, we'll have a library!" Never really happened. The few I do own have dust on the covers...lol.

If I want to see a movie, I'll go to the movies, or wait for it On-Demand.

My Opinion of Blu-Ray, or similar is that like anything, eventually they'll go way of the dinosaur. Like VHS; they were cool, everyone had libraries of them, and now they're nothing more than a memory.

 

[andrewlgm]

I can see how capping would be a problem. My ISP doesn't cap, so luckily not for me. Also, I have an original iPhone plan with AT&T, so I still have unlimited data for mobile. But, as for making investments in tech, the Apple TV is only $99, and once you have downloaded content for storage on an external drive, your caps don't matter. So, for the time being, I don't see that as as big "investment in tech".

I didn't mean a $99 apple TV "investment in tech." I meant a government, business investment in new, super fast Internet infrastructure for high speed all over the country. I'm talking in investments that would transform our use. South Korea has 10 times our Internet speeds, in the largest cities of brazil cable Internet is free and is currently being made to work with the electrical grid - you plug an adapter into the outlet and you have free Internet; in Denmark, Switzerland, etc the entire countries are covered by a cloud of wi-fi. The cities that have attempted this in america have been met by fierce opposition from ATT and Verizon as they would undoubtedly lose money.
As far as Blu-ray vanishing, It's the same old argument. Most of the US is still cable-free. And those of us that have fast speeds, they're not that fast. It took me 45 minutes to download OS x lion. A 4 gb file. Imagine a high def bluray quality movie.

 

[old-wiz]

Streaming is probably the future, but don't forget that the ISPs are going to start implementing data caps and overage charges. And if you plan to watch something more than once, it doesn't make sense to re-stream it.

I still buy DVDs since my TV is only 30 inches, and I can't see blu-ray being any better, even using the HDMI port.

 

[corruptshadow]

I like the bluray format, as others have stated the 1080p picture and hd audio quality are really nice, provided of course that you have a system that can take advantage of them. Also, many bluray's have digital copy with them which is nice but admittedly not as good as a real rip. The extras on the disc are nice too, if you are into that kind of thing, and you don't get those with streaming content or iTunes. Finally, they are going to be prevalent for a long time to come because 1080p streaming isn't at all that common with the exception of Vudu and even then you can quickly run into problems if your isp is capped.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Blu-ray has been out for over 5 years.

Blu-ray won the HD disk war over 2 and a half years ago.

I may be biased (because I have yet to buy a blu-ray player), but I feel that blu-ray has been very, very slow to take off. I blame it on the fact that most people don't see blu-ray as being significantly better to buy a brand new blu-ray player and buying the more expensive blu-ray discs. DVD's are "good enough" IMO for the general public.

I think the concept of streaming/digital downloads is growing faster than blu-ray. Don't get me wrong, blu-ray isn't going anywhere soon of course. Neither is the DVD. But I think physical media will be gradually phased out in favor of digital downloads/streaming. There are a lot of factors currently holding digital media, but I think the big players like Apple, Google, and Microsoft will soon be figuring out the best method soon.

I expect Apple to continue to update the AppleTV and within the next 2 years it will be transformed into a kind of media hub for all your TV needs, hopefully even replacing the need for cable altogether.

 

[Hellhammer]

I was under the impression that you'd only need about 50Mb/s for Blu-Ray...

That is correct, but I wrote 100Mb/s because it's unlikely that the movie will be your only internet activity. For instance, your kids may be browsing the internet and watching some Youtube clips while you are streaming a Blu-Ray. 50Mb/s isn't enough for both but 100Mb/s should be.

Blu-Ray, definitely. I was one of the first. And when we say it's dead, we don't mean "nonexistant", we mean on its way out as a mainstream product. There will always be a niche, just like there was for LaserDisc for many years. But Blu-Ray will never reach the market penetration that DVD did - streaming is the future. I used to have a high-end home theater, I had the bleeding edge in audio, projection, and optical discs (HD-DVD and Blu-Ray). But I got out, gave away the players and sold the discs for $1 each. I am sooooo much happier. Is picture quality lower on streaming HD than Blu-Ray? yeah. Do I really care that much? Not when I consider the huge benefits of no longer buying, storing, and manipulating all those little plastic discs! Not to mention waiting for them to load, sitting through ads and trailers, and navigating cumbersome menus. Now with my Apple TV, iTunes, and NetFlix, I choose the content i want, hit "play", and start enjoying my movie or tv show. Life's too short for optical discs!

Why does BR need to have the same market penetration as DVD? Yes, it may never be as popular as DVD but that doesn't mean it cannot be mainstream. BR is mainstream as long as all the major filmstudios are distributing their movies in BR.

iTunes is a pretty large service, and they offer streaming HD.

Not large enough. Their video services are not even available here. HD streaming is also limited to a few countries like Nermal said. Besides, my point that the quality is nowhere near BR still stands. iTunes HD is far from BR quality.

I can see how capping would be a problem. My ISP doesn't cap, so luckily not for me. Also, I have an original iPhone plan with AT&T, so I still have unlimited data for mobile. But, as for making investments in tech, the Apple TV is only $99, and once you have downloaded content for storage on an external drive, your caps don't matter. So, for the time being, I don't see that as as big "investment in tech".

Maybe you should step out of the box and think about this globally. Now you are only thinking about this from your angle, and basing your "BR is dead" on that. You aren't the market, you are only a tiny part of it. Not everyone has the same ISP and plan you do.

If you rent movies, how can you even download them to external storage? If you could, that would be illegal and thus not much different from torrents. Moreover, it's no longer streaming if you have to download the movie days prior to watching it. Caps and other network infrastructure limitations definitely matter and make streaming not suitable for everyone.

 

[cdcastillo]

Spending money on Movies is not investing it.

 

[Batt]

I have a HTIB Blu-Ray system and 2 Apple TVs. I love streamimg movies, but streaming has yet to reach the quality of a Blu-Ray movie. My system is a 7.1 surround system that literally shakes the floor and walls. You can't get that kind of performance from Netflix ( or anybody else).
Yet.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

I am getting a pretty nice collection of Blurays going. I am just worried that the format will be obsolete soon and I will have a shelf full of movies while everyone else is playing their movies directly from their media drives or Apple TV.

Do you still buy Bluray?

I buy BD's, but, I don't consider them an "investment", but, rather, a convenient way to get access to HD-content movies multiple times. And by "HD", I mean, not just 1920x1080, but, with enough Mbps to correctly render all those pixels. But, BD's are not for people who are happy watching a movie like "Avatar" in standard DVD format, and, apparently, a surprising number of people can't tell the difference, don't care, or make that claim anyway. [I'm one of those people who couldn't stand to watch good cinematography compromised by DVD's.]

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

I think everyone should stop focusing on the word "investing" from the OP. He clearly didn't mean "investing- to make money from" but more something like "investing- to make a good use of your money so that it will be useful many, many years from now"

Nobody wants to spend a lot of money on dying technology that will be outdated soon. It's the same reason that I "invested" in a brand new 55" LED 1080p tv last October. Of course I dont' expect to get a high monetary return on my purchase, but I hope to get a high usage return. I would have been able to purchase a 45" plasma 720p TV for half the price, but I didn't want to be on the back end of the technology curve. Everyone wants to "invest" their money in technology on their way up, not "waste" it on tech that's on it's way down.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

I think everyone should stop focusing on the word "investing" from the OP. He clearly didn't mean "investing- to make money from" but more something like "investing- to make a good use of your money so that it will be useful many, many years from now"

Yes, but -- another way of looking at it is that my visual cortex greatly prefers to consume content that is true HD, or, 70mm Technicolor, or, IMAX, or -- just a nice view from a ridge top. SD TV, including standard DVD, is only suitable for consuming talking heads.

Nobody wants to spend a lot of money on dying technology that will be outdated soon. It's the same reason that I "invested" in a brand new 55" LED 1080p tv last October. Of course I dont' expect to get a high monetary return on my purchase, but I hope to get a high usage return. I would have been able to purchase a 45" plasma 720p TV for half the price, but I didn't want to be on the back end of the technology curve. Everyone wants to "invest" their money in technology on their way up, not "waste" it on tech that's on it's way down.

Understood, but, you have to make a choice at any given time. If 4K takes off in a couple of years, your "investment" in 1080p may not last as long as you would like.

 

[MadDragon1846]

Why does BR need to have the same market penetration as DVD? Yes, it may never be as popular as DVD but that doesn't mean it cannot be mainstream. BR is mainstream as long as all the major filmstudios are distributing their movies.

People also need to remember the playstation 3 is a blu ray player. The games are also on blu ray, and the ps3 is apparently going to be around for another 4 or 5 years yet. No doubt playstation 4 will use blu ray too.

As long as playstation exists, I can't see blu ray going anywhere.

Here's a random link saying 47.9 million ps3s sold, and that was posted at the beginning of march!. (the link sais 41, but it has an update on there saying 47.9)

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/03/ps3-stats-over-41-million-consoles-sold-psn-revenue-up-70-perc/

The ps3 can be bought new for £189.85 from the hut.com for example, so a games console + a blu ray player for under £190. Can't go wrong with that! Lol

Ah yeah, and the people saying blu ray is too expensive. These days if you shop about, most blu rays can be bought for £10 or less! (most of the blu rays in my collection cost £6.99-£8.99). Just released movies are usually only £10-£15, and while it's true that it's cheaper to buy the same film on DVD, remember blu rays have better picture quality, and are more scratch resistant!.

I'm really careful with my DVD and blu rays, I never leave them laying around and always hold them so I don't get finger prints on them, and yet the odd DVD will still end up with a light scratch...