Blu-ray News and Deals

[Quintus 5,454]

Phoar! Those new blu-ray thingys look really good don't they! And so cheap! 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,424]

I'm waiting to see if the format will really and truly replace DVD.

[Ollie 1,140]

My wife has been asking me if we are going to upgrade but I don't plan on it anytime soon.

I'm perfectly content with how my regular DVDs look.

[Lurker 5]

My roommate has HD-DVD and Blu-ray. He has a very nice system and they do look good, but what about the titles? There hasn't been a killer title yet (though the Godfather films and James Bond are out now). And DVDs still look very good and are cheaper. I'm getting the 3-disc Casino Royale tomorrow on DVD for $15. Blu-ray can't compete.

Neil

[Quintus 5,454]

If suddenly the entire dvd back-catalogue were available on Blue-ray, would you upgrade?

[Ollie 1,140]

I wouldn't. The only way I'd switch to BR is if they announce that regular DVDs are being phased out.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,424]

Years and years ago I invested in this format, which was supposed to replace VHS.

The video quality was actually worse then most clips on youtube today.

I also invested in both SA-CD and DVD-A, neither exactly took the world by storm.

[Jessie Lohner 0]

Can you see normals DVDs on a Blue Ray player?

What are the advantages of Blue Ray? (I'm behind the times!)

[Quintus 5,454]

Years and years ago I invested in this format

Ah, my mate nearly got a Philips CD-i, until I told him that The Naked Gun 2 1/2 wasn't as good as the original.

Can you see normals DVDs on a Blue Ray player?

Yes I too am unsure of this, though I would imagine BR to be backwards compatible. It would be a horrible oversight if it weren't.

[MissPadmé 17]

We/I have a PS3 and that far I have 8 Blu-rays. If I buy a movie, I don't buy it on DVD anymore but on BD instead. Once you have seen one movie in Full HD, you don't want to see it in SD again.

But then again it is just beautiful to look at. Speaking of films : I still prefer Schindlers List on VHS to Fantastic Four on HD on a 42" LCD screen.

If you know what I mean.. butz I wuld prefer a Schindlers List BD to the VHS probably.

[Trent B 340]

Can you see normals DVDs on a Blue Ray player?

What are the advantages of Blue Ray? (I'm behind the times!)

Yes you can play regular DVD's on Blu-Ray players (and the PS3).

The advantage is clearly simple...high definition picture and sound for Blu-Ray. It's superior to regular DVD. Of course it helps to have a high def TV.

For myself I will be adopting it next year. My girlfriend bought me my first Blu-Ray movie for my birthday (Stargate) but I don't have a player to play it on. I'll be buying a PS3 next year and will start switching over after that.

[Quintus 5,454]

I have 8 Blu-rays [movies].

That's 160 quid in English money. WOW!

My girlfriend bought me my first Blu-Ray movie for my birthday (Stargate) but I don't have a player to play it on.

Your girlfriend sounds like a tease. I like your girlfriend. Either that or she is an evil sadist.

[MissPadmé 17]

I have 8 Blu-rays [movies].

That's 160 quid in English money. WOW!

hm 160 punods? dunno I probably spent 220€ on them

you know, it is just 30 per disc but when you add it together.. woo

[Trent B 340]

Your girlfriend sounds like a tease. I like your girlfriend. Either that or she is an evil sadist.

Nah she knew I am eventually switching over. She asked if I would like it if she got it for me and I said ya it would help steer me in the right direction.

BTW regarding prices for the Blu-Ray's they're expected to come down in price by the end of the year a lot all ready have.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,424]

Here they seem to be getting cheaper already. Free Record Shop has a lot for €19.95. Still double the price of a DVD a month or 2 after it's release though.

[Quintus 5,454]

Your girlfriend sounds like a tease. I like your girlfriend. Either that or she is an evil sadist.

Nah she knew I am eventually switching over. She asked if I would like it if she got it for me and I said ya it would help steer me in the right direction.

I know Mr Vosk, I know.

[King Mark 3,729]

when I can buy a Blu Ray player for 100$ and my videostore rents new titles in blu ray at the same price as DVD.

As I said I don't buy movies for collecting anymore

DVD still looks pretty good in upscaled widecreen ,not quire as sharp as true HD but close enough

[Quintus 5,454]

Yep, that's my plan too.

But I bet most won't follow suit. This won't be like the massive uptake of affordable dvd, from vhs - that visual difference really was a vast one.

Sony needs to appreciate the fact that consumers are already 100% happy with the crystal clear quality of Digital Versatile Disc.

In the end, Steef may be right, but I doubt it. The only way BR can succeed is if they ultimately end production of dvd and that will likely happen, eventually. $$$ will see to it.

[Ollie 1,140]

And don't be fooled by those side by side comparisons you see in stores. I feel like I'm blind, they have the images blurred so bad on regular DVDs.

[King Mark 3,729]

yeah ,I saw that in a store .For the DVD side they used a fullscreen version stretched to widescreen in 480i .I called them out on it and they said they didn't have the DVD version in widescreen

they pull similar crap for HDMI vs component cable

[Trent B 340]

And don't be fooled by those side by side comparisons you see in stores. I feel like I'm blind, they have the images blurred so bad on regular DVDs.

I noticed that too.

[Quintus 5,454]

Heh heh, the great consumer con is alive and well.

Bunch of dumb arses!

[King Mark 3,729]

I guess it works with Joe SixPack

[Richard P 4,214]

My brother got a Blu-ray drive a few weeks back, and we got a couple of cheap HDDVDs (it's a combo drive).

But as has been said, the jump in image quality just isn't as amazing as VHS to DVD was, and many films really don't have even that jump. I have Blu-ray rips which in terms of window size on the PC are bigger than a DVD and have a respective amount of extra quality, but nothing really beyond that.

Some discs do excel, but then I've seen DVDs which look breathtaking from a distance. Plus, I bought my first DVD about 7 years ago. It's a young format.

[Trent B 340]

I'm sure in due time many people will switch over to Blu-Ray but I'm sure most the older generation probably won't switch. I know my parents won't switch they think it's a waste of time and money. For me though since I'm still relatively young I can switch and not have to worry about it. I actually have quit buying regular DVD's, I actually haven't boughten a regular DVD since Transformers was released.

Edit: Next year too I'm gonna pay my parents so they can get me an HD receiver for my room (we've got Direct TV). After seeing high def broadcasting at my friend Joe's it's hard not to want to switch to HD. I told my parents I'll even pay for my portion of the tv bill every month.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,424]

You must have a good job

[Trent B 340]

You must have a good job

No job...on S.S. disability cause of my heart. Though I'm working through Vocational Rehab to try and get a small part time job, another reason why I'm doing my GED.

[ashinyobject 0]

I've been converted to Blu-ray via my PS3

I think the video is better

But the sound is a lot better

Most movies that are on Blu-ray have uncompressed audio

But some Blu-rays are better than others

Blu-ray.com is a great place to see if a blu-ray is worth buying

They pretty much review every release for

Video quality

Audio quality

Special features

And then they have the overall

Plus it has release dates for when older movies are being released on Blu-ray

I also like the Pop-up menu

[Red 75]

I'm content with standard DVD's right now, and it doesn't hurt that I have a high-definition TV. I know eventually Blu-Ray will become the number one format, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

[ChuckM 1]

As soon as Blu-Ray/CD/DVD drives drop to $50, I will buy one for my desktop. I can wait until then.

[JoeinAR 1,953]

something else will come out that will be better than blu ray, its to expensive and since its sony Im not rushing out to get one. sony products have always been short lifed, poor quality, and over priced.

yeah its a nice picture but not nice enough for 300 bucks and the price of the dvd's.

I'll buy the new dvd's I want, and I can get used DVDs for about 5 bucks apiece

[Koray Savas 2,254]

We/I have a PS3 and that far I have 8 Blu-rays. If I buy a movie, I don't buy it on DVD anymore but on BD instead. Once you have seen one movie in Full HD, you don't want to see it in SD again.

But then again it is just beautiful to look at. Speaking of films : I still prefer Schindlers List on VHS to Fantastic Four on HD on a 42" LCD screen.

If you know what I mean.. butz I wuld prefer a Schindlers List BD to the VHS probably.

A girl that loves films scores and has a PS3 and loves blu-ray! I think I'm in love!

As for Blu, I adopted the format the second it came out, well about 2 weeks in when I was able to find a PS3 to buy. Superior picture and sound quality. At first you don't notice the difference, I didn't. Then after awhile I only watched blus. Then one day I watched a DVD, and couldn't believe how bad it looked. The future is blu. And those complaining about the price, I don't know how many times I have to say this, a lot of blu-rays are cheaper than DVD's on Amazon. Terminator 2 is like $11 on blu. I got my CE3K on blu-ray for $20, while the DVD was like $30.

[indy4 155]

I agree completely with Quint.

The extra money is not worth it. Maybe if I actually watched my DVDs more often, but there are really very few films that I watch more than once a year.

[ChuckM 1]

And those complaining about the price, I don't know how many times I have to say this, a lot of blu-rays are cheaper than DVD's on Amazon. Terminator 2 is like $11 on blu. I got my CE3K on blu-ray for $20, while the DVD was like $30.

It's not the price of the discs that is the problem. The cheapest blu-ray player you can get is about $100. (And, from the reviews I've read, "cheap" applies to the quality too.)

On the other hand, you can get a great DVD player for around $15.

[Koray Savas 2,254]

DVD players weren't $15 when they first went on the market. In 10 years blu-ray players will be $15, or the equivalent depending on inflation. If you can afford a nice HD TV, you can afford a blu-ray player to go nicely with it.

[ChuckM 1]

That's my point exactly!

I'm waiting until Blu-ray players do reach an affordable price. (Although I'm betting on much less than 10 years. Maybe as little as one year to drop to around $50.)

[Koray Savas 2,254]

But did you wait to buy a DVD player until it was an affordable price? I think not.

[ChuckM 1]

Um, yeah actually, I did.

My first DVD player was $30.

[Koray Savas 2,254]

Never mind then

[indy4 155]

And those complaining about the price, I don't know how many times I have to say this, a lot of blu-rays are cheaper than DVD's on Amazon. Terminator 2 is like $11 on blu. I got my CE3K on blu-ray for $20, while the DVD was like $30.

It's not the price of the discs that is the problem. The cheapest blu-ray player you can get is about $100. (And, from the reviews I've read, "cheap" applies to the quality too.)

Also, rebuying an entire collection of DVDs on Blu Ray would cost a lot.

[Koray Savas 2,254]

Why would you rebuy an entire DVD collection in Blu? I'm not, maybe over the course of many many many years. Just buy them from now on, which is what I do, but Amazon does have great buy 2 get 1 free deals. I've re-bough a few, but only ones that would be great on blu-ray.

[Gurkensalat 350]

I bought a Blu-ray Player last November, together with my Panasonic AE2000 projector. On my 2,55m wide screen, watched at a distance of 3-3,5m to recreate the cinema experience, blu-ray are vastly superior to DVD in picture quality. AND most blu-ray offer lossless sound, which should be a great boon for soundtrack lovers.

In fact, I almost can´t stand to watch DVD any more. What is worse than the lower resolution, is the amount of digital data reduction related artefacts like mosquito noise and double contours. Even for older films, blu-ray is so much better, that it is no contest.

I compared "Close Encounters of the 3rd kind" on Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray. Laserdisc was just blurry, DVD offered a bit more details, but introduced sharpening artefacts (edge enhancement). The leap in picture quality from DVD to BLu-ray was vastly higher than the step from Laserdisc to DVD.

And that is for a film with problematic film element source. Look at "the searchers" or "How the west was won" or "Sleeping Beauty": 50 year old movies looking like made yesterday.

Sorry for the long post, but I was VERY astonished to read almost exclusively negative posts about a medium, that for the first time allow to recreate the cinema experience at home, as if you had an exact replica of a 35mm film at your fingertips. For every true film lover there simply should be no hesitation. And it is very simple to buy the films for not much more money than the corresponding DVDs, you just need to look for special offers and shop a bit around

Of course if you are looking for 3-5$ per movie and 30-50 $ for a player, than BD is not for you. But I think, movies should be worth to oneself a bit more.

[Quintus 5,454]

For every true film lover there simply should be no hesitation.

I'm a 'true' lover of film, yet I see no need to upgrade just yet. Does that make me a lesser fan? I have a very good cinema suite already and movies play wonderfully when the lights are dimmed. I don't need Blu-ray to enhance the experience. I think the early adopters of the new tech are merely the true technophiles out there, indeed any enthusiasm one may have for film has no baring whatsoever on whether or not one should purchase the shiny new way of playing it.

There is no way dvd as a medium can be criticised in terms of visual and audio quailty, since it is so clearly excellent in every respect. I suggest that only the most anal of technophiles will find things to nit-pick about. The rest of the world couldn't care less.

Oh and there is no need to apologise for taking your time to say things

[Vaderbait1 1]

And those complaining about the price, I don't know how many times I have to say this, a lot of blu-rays are cheaper than DVD's on Amazon. Terminator 2 is like $11 on blu. I got my CE3K on blu-ray for $20, while the DVD was like $30.

It's not the price of the discs that is the problem. The cheapest blu-ray player you can get is about $100. (And, from the reviews I've read, "cheap" applies to the quality too.)

Also, rebuying an entire collection of DVDs on Blu Ray would cost a lot.

But it'd be fun. If you're like me, you already own all the movies you like, but I still like buying DVDs, so I'll dish out cash for new versions.

I want a Blu-Ray, but I don't have a TV good enough, so it'll be at least another year before I can afford to get the TV, let alone the Blu-Ray player. I also want to hook up a killer sound system when I get around to it. I can definitely see why some people would wait. If I could afford it right now I might still wait for more DVDs.

[Wojo 2,456]

I'm still using a POS TV that's gotta be 20 years old. I am too poor to buy a new one, so a Blu-Ray player makes no sense. I also don't want to re-buy so many movies, after recently buying them on DVD to replace or upgrade from VHS copies.

[Gurkensalat 350]

For every true film lover there simply should be no hesitation.

I'm a 'true' lover of film, yet I see no need to upgrade just yet. Does that make me a lesser fan? I have a very good cinema suite already and movies play wonderfully when the lights are dimmed. I don't need Blu-ray to enhance the experience. I think the early adopters of the new tech are merely the true technophiles out there, indeed any enthusiasm one may have for film has no baring whatsoever on whether or not one should purchase the shiny new way of playing it.

There is no way dvd as a medium can be criticised in terms of visual and audio quailty, since it is so clearly excellent in every respect.

DVD is far from excellent visual quality, I just described the artefacts that annoy extremely when watching larger screens. Of course you don´t NEED blu-ray, but once you are used to it, there is no way back. DVD is video with a lot of compression artefacts, blu-ray is like film (except a few misguided transfers).

I am not a technophile: I have no cell phone, no fast internet account, no great car. I love films and want to see them like meant by the filmmakers. The technology is just a means to achieve this. I do not buy BD for movies like XXX or Stealth, I buy it for "The Godfather" and "Blade Runner".

Of course I do not want to say by this that you are a lesser fan. What I want to say is: I am sure that a true film lover will want to switch to BD, once he/she has experienced BD under cinema-approaching conditions (not some 37`plasma). If he does switch, will depend on things like his screen size and disposable income, of course.

[Maglorfin 206]

I'm waiting to see if the format will really and truly replace DVD.

[Marian Schedenig 9,105]

For every true film lover there simply should be no hesitation.

Unless said film lover is also a lover of privacy.

I'll upgrade when there's a way around this:

[Gurkensalat 350]

For every true film lover there simply should be no hesitation.

Unless said film lover is also a lover of privacy.

I'll upgrade when there's a way around this:

I don´t see where I endanger my privacy with Blu-ray. Nobody forces you to use BD-Live via Internet, which would be the only aspect where privacy might be a problem. Just keep the player away from the internet, then you have the same situation with DVD: a player, a cable, a screen.

Unless said film lover is also a lover of PIRACY. Then of course BD+ might be a nuisance.

[Marian Schedenig 9,105]

I'm a lover of playing movies on the system of my choice, i.e. my home theatre PC. I don't see why I should buy:

1) Windows

2) A new video card

3) A new cable

4) Potentially a new projector?

Just because some idiots think they have to control what I do with the movies I buy.

And from what I know, the specification has an option (!) to reduce the quality to DVD resolution if you restrict internet access. Current movies don't use it yet, but we all know the industry.

In short: I refuse to buy anything with heavy DRM unless said DRM is cracked. I'd still be using crappy Windows to jerkily play my DVDs on the projector if CSS hadn't long ago been unlocked.