Now that the high definition disc format war is over, Blu-ray can sit comfortably as the format king, right? Maybe not.
Yes, Blu-ray has beaten HD DVD, but how relevant are movies on disc really going to be a few years from now?
Lucas Mearian at Computerworld feels that discs just don’t have the appeal they once did when DVDs first came out.
With that in mind, here are four reasons why he feels most people won’t be buying a Blu-ray player anytime soon.
1. Blu-ray players are more than four times the cost of standard DVD players
2. Upgrade DVD players offer near-HD quality for a fraction of the price.
3. Why buy when you can rent?
4. Downloads.
Some of what he says I agree with, some I don’t. Sure, Blu-ray players are expensive, but so were DVD players when they first came out and owning one was a bit of a novelty at first while the format gained momentum. Same with Blu-ray. Blu-ray needs two things: the right price point and the killer app, and for man DVD’s killer app was The Matrix.
Some may say that now that HD DVD is dead there’s no reason for Blu-ray to be price competitive. I don’t agree.
Blu-ray’s biggest competitor was HD DVD. Now that HD DVD is dead, its biggest competitor is good old DVD. Blu-ray needs to dip below $200 and I believe it will later this year.
And speaking of DVD, how about DVD upscalers/upconverters? Maybe I haven’t seen the right combination of upconverting DVD players, DVD disc, and HDTV, because while I agree it can (not always) make a difference, its not as good as a true HD source. The picture and audio quality is better on Blu-ray, plus movie nerds will appreciate the Bonus View and upcoming BD Live features.
And downloads…yes, I agree that downloading HD content will only get bigger, but there will always be a place for physical media. Some content is worth owning.
In some cases, owning content is cheaper than renting it, like in the case of parents who have kids who like to watch the same thing over and over and over again.
[Via Computerworld]
Filed under: entertainment, tech | Tagged: tech, dvd, hd, hd-dvd, hddvd, blu, blu-ray, bluray, ray, Untitled, upconvert, upscale
