Blu-ray vs. every other consumer technology (2010)

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  • Reply 161 of 421
    bitemymacbitemymac Posts: 1,147member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jfanning View Post


    Maybe you should look back a few years ago when the media talked about it.



    Few years ago when Sony launched PS3? If the media were to quote Sony, they've always said it like it was their wet dream. Even from inception of BD, hardware penetration rate was claimed to exceed any other media technology in the history due to PS3 being the best, one and only, BD player at the time. (This is only partially true in the marketing sense, if you care to find the truth. At this time, majority of BD discs made required joystick with vibration module for full experience.)



    Is this what you're recollecting?



    I hope you're old enough to use your discretion in finding the truth from what you're able to read online.
  • Reply 162 of 421
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bitemymac View Post


    Few years ago when Sony launched PS3? If the media were to quote Sony, they've always said it like it was their wet dream. Even from inception of BD, hardware penetration rate was claimed to exceed any other media technology in the history due to PS3 being the best, one and only, BD player at the time. (This is only partially true in the marketing sense, if you care to find the truth. At this time, majority of BD discs made required joystick with vibration module for full experience.)



    NO, a few years ago when the statistic was announced, it wasn't Sony who announced it.



    Also, try and remember Sony <> Blu-ray.



    Also, the PS3 couldn't have been the "one and only" blu-ray player of the time, well except if you are going by an old Sony market slogan, Samsung releases the first player.



    And regarding the bit about the joystick, unless this is a new kids joke, sorry I don't know what you are talking about.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bitemymac View Post


    Is this what you're recollecting?



    As I have said, no.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bitemymac View Post


    I hope you're old enough to use your discretion in finding the truth from what you're able to read online.



    Yes I am, that is why I am here trying to correct things misread.
  • Reply 163 of 421
    drjedidrjedi Posts: 61member
    It amazes me that this is still an issue. It amazes me that the new MacBook Pros have 10 year old technology, the SuperDrive (are you kidding? A DVD-RW drive?) Here in Warsaw, in every electronics store (much like your big box Best Buys, etc) every laptop I saw in the shop had BluRay. Every TV in the shop is HD. The TV that came with my furnished apartment is HD. Even the screen on my MacBook Pro is HD (1920 x 1200 - fully capable of displaying 1080p movies) and SD DVDs or iTunes so-called HD looks bad. It looks worse on the TV.



    In the shops, I walkd over to the DVD secition and all new releases are available in BluRay. And they were selling. The conversion to BluRay is well on its way. Upscaled SD media looks bad on HD monitors and I am amazed that Apple isn't with it. I'm less surprised that the faithful fans are rationalizing excuses. Stream or download a 1080p 2 or 3 hour movie? Right. On 4 Mb/s? I can walk down to the video store and rent a BluRay movie and be back in 15 minutes. It would take days and days to download a true HD movie and that's assuming the internet isn't throttled back on big downloads (it is).



    BluRay is here, NOW. It's not next year's new thing. Apple offers only yesterday's technology when it comes to optical drives. At least I can use Windows and PowerDVD (running on the MacBook) and my external slot loading BluRay player to watch BluRay on my Mac, much like I use Windows for gaming on my Mac.



    It will be time to upgrade to a new laptop next year and I very much doubt I'll buy a new MacBook Pro if it still has that old "SuperDrive".
  • Reply 164 of 421
    frank777frank777 Posts: 5,839member
    Has Blu-Ray's DRM been completely defeated?



    I noticed that the new MacFriendly bundle includes a copy of MacBlurayRipper Pro.



    Haven't been paying attention for months, so I didn't realize that Blu-Ray rippers were so widely available.
  • Reply 165 of 421
    cory bauercory bauer Posts: 1,286member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Frank777 View Post


    Has Blu-Ray's DRM been completely defeated?



    Blu-ray DRM was circumvented almost immediately. Fox rolled out a new DRM scheme with Avatar, and it was cracked in 12 hours. It's all just a big waste of time for device manufacturers and consumers who need to wait for firmware updates.
  • Reply 166 of 421
    bitemymacbitemymac Posts: 1,147member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    Blu-ray DRM was circumvented almost immediately. Fox rolled out a new DRM scheme with Avatar, and it was cracked in 12 hours. It's all just a big waste of time for device manufacturers and consumers who need to wait for firmware updates.



    This very is one of the big pain using HTPC for blu-ray playback. I use AnyDVD for such job because they're much quicker than Cyberlink on the DRM crack/update.



    I am close to investing on a new Denon universal player and I wonder how this DRM BS will iron out, knowing Denon not being one of most prompt firmware updater, when the DRM BS continues on.
  • Reply 167 of 421
    marzetta7marzetta7 Posts: 1,323member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DrJedi View Post


    It amazes me that this is still an issue. It amazes me that the new MacBook Pros have 10 year old technology, the SuperDrive (are you kidding? A DVD-RW drive?) Here in Warsaw, in every electronics store (much like your big box Best Buys, etc) every laptop I saw in the shop had BluRay. Every TV in the shop is HD. The TV that came with my furnished apartment is HD. Even the screen on my MacBook Pro is HD (1920 x 1200 - fully capable of displaying 1080p movies) and SD DVDs or iTunes so-called HD looks bad. It looks worse on the TV.



    In the shops, I walkd over to the DVD secition and all new releases are available in BluRay. And they were selling. The conversion to BluRay is well on its way. Upscaled SD media looks bad on HD monitors and I am amazed that Apple isn't with it. I'm less surprised that the faithful fans are rationalizing excuses. Stream or download a 1080p 2 or 3 hour movie? Right. On 4 Mb/s? I can walk down to the video store and rent a BluRay movie and be back in 15 minutes. It would take days and days to download a true HD movie and that's assuming the internet isn't throttled back on big downloads (it is).



    BluRay is here, NOW. It's not next year's new thing. Apple offers only yesterday's technology when it comes to optical drives. At least I can use Windows and PowerDVD (running on the MacBook) and my external slot loading BluRay player to watch BluRay on my Mac, much like I use Windows for gaming on my Mac.



    It will be time to upgrade to a new laptop next year and I very much doubt I'll buy a new MacBook Pro if it still has that old "SuperDrive".



    I'm right with you on your frustration. Unfortunately, I'm not as optimistic with Apple products getting Blu-ray after watching Steve Jobs' D8 interview. In it he was touting Apple's past of adopting new technology, and then proceeded to tout how Apple was the first to stray away from "optical drives" with the MacBook Air which gave me an uneasy feeling that ol' Steve had no plans whatsoever in supporting Blu-ray "optical drives" anytime soon.



    I think it sucks, but I think the market may eventually force their hand...at least in a BTO option because this is getting ridiculous.
  • Reply 168 of 421
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by marzetta7 View Post


    I'm right with you on your frustration. Unfortunately, I'm not as optimistic with Apple products getting Blu-ray after watching Steve Jobs' D8 interview. In it he was touting Apple's past of adopting new technology, and then proceeded to tout how Apple was the first to stray away from "optical drives" with the MacBook Air which gave me an uneasy feeling that ol' Steve had no plans whatsoever in supporting Blu-ray "optical drives" anytime soon.



    Did he actually say that? There were notebooks available without optical drive for years before the MacBook Air was released.
  • Reply 169 of 421
    marzetta7marzetta7 Posts: 1,323member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jfanning View Post


    Did he actually say that? There were notebooks available without optical drive for years before the MacBook Air was released.



    He did...but allow me to correct myself slightly, he stated that Apple was "one of the first" to take out optical drives. My point being, of course, that perhaps it is Apple's strategy not to have any optical drives in their future offerings...



    http://video.allthingsd.com/video/d8...1-08C300E31E11



    ...you can see him state this right around the 5 minute mark.



    Of course, I hope I'm wrong, but you never know with Steve. I for one want a Blu-ray drive in my Mac.
  • Reply 170 of 421
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Some more good news for streaming today. Netflix will have access to Epix (channel) films 90 days after they're on Epix. This includes films from Viacom, MGM, and Lionsgate.



    The selection could still be better, but its getting better everyday. I find myself slowly but surely shifting from blu-rays in the mail to streaming from their website. Depending on how diligent I've been in mailing movies back, that percentage bounces around week to week.



    Read more about the Epix/Netflix deal here:

    Arstechnica: Epix streaming deal for Netflix narrows streaming window
  • Reply 171 of 421
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    "Hollywood studios have begun to worry less about protecting DVD sales and more about protecting rental economics from the likes of Netflix and Redbox. While Netflix offers consumers unlimited DVD-by-mail rentals for as little as $8.99 a month, and Redbox rents DVDs for just $1 a day, VOD prices are typically $4.99 for a title in standard definition and $5.99 in HD."



    "...consumers are showing less and less willingness to buy physical media. With the vast and growing proliferation of rental avenues, the importance of owning a DVD is dwindling. "






    Studios Giving Up on DVD, Pushing VOD Instead
  • Reply 172 of 421
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    "...consumers are showing less and less willingness to buy physical media. With the vast and growing proliferation of rental avenues, the importance of owning a DVD is dwindling. "



    I know what you mean, I used to purchase a couple of DVD's per week, but since I got a blu-ray player in 2007 I have only purchased around 6 DVD's
  • Reply 173 of 421
    DVD-RW seems to be Apple's Rage128 of optical media. Longtime Mac users will know what that means.



    Ironic, considering FCP edits 1080p footage, no?
  • Reply 174 of 421
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 1337_5L4Xx0R View Post


    DVD-RW seems to be Apple's Rage128 of optical media. Longtime Mac users will know what that means.



    Ironic, considering FCP edits 1080p footage, no?



    FCP can burn blu-rays. Just plug in a blu-ray drive and you're good to go.



    But point taken. I've been looking to install a bag of hurt into my 27" imac for quite some time.
  • Reply 175 of 421
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    They are using DVD in the generic. They are saying consumers are buying less physical media altogether (including Blu-ray).



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jfanning View Post


    I know what you mean, I used to purchase a couple of DVD's per week, but since I got a blu-ray player in 2007 I have only purchased around 6 DVD's



  • Reply 176 of 421
    cory bauercory bauer Posts: 1,286member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    "Hollywood studios have begun to worry less about protecting DVD sales and more about protecting rental economics from the likes of Netflix and Redbox. While Netflix offers consumers unlimited DVD-by-mail rentals for as little as $8.99 a month, and Redbox rents DVDs for just $1 a day, VOD prices are typically $4.99 for a title in standard definition and $5.99 in HD."



    "...consumers are showing less and less willingness to buy physical media. With the vast and growing proliferation of rental avenues, the importance of owning a DVD is dwindling. "






    Studios Giving Up on DVD, Pushing VOD Instead



    If the studios are concerned about protecting the rental space from netflix and redbox they wouldn't be charging $6 per VOD rental. Sounds like bull to me. The day I can pay $15/mo for up to 8 HD VOD rentals, including new releases day and date with DVD/blu-ray, is the day we don't need physical media anymore. The studios have no interest in providing such a service, so physical media is in no danger of extinction.



    CDs are still widely available today, despite a lack of reason to still exist for the past eight years. iTunes provided an alternative that was not only more convenient but also more economical. VOD is the former, but not the latter.
  • Reply 177 of 421
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    If the studios are concerned about protecting the rental space from netflix and redbox they wouldn't be charging $6 per VOD rental. Sounds like bull to me. The day I can pay $15/mo for up to 8 HD VOD rentals, including new releases day and date with DVD/blu-ray, is the day we don't need physical media anymore. The studios have no interest in providing such a service, so physical media is in no danger of extinction.



    CDs are still widely available today, despite a lack of reason to still exist for the past eight years. iTunes provided an alternative that was not only more convenient but also more economical. VOD is the former, but not the latter.



    Vinyl is still around too.



    Perhaps a less extreme discussion is in order. Rather than focusing on if physical media is "in danger of extinction", it is more interesting to forecast and debate the possible timing of a transition such as happened with internet based music distribution.



    Similarly, I think it is a bit extreme to say that the studios have no interest in providing various streaming services. A more accurate characterization would be that they are looking to maximize profits and they don't currently feel that your proposed streaming package would be as profitable. On the other hand, we have seen an explosion of streaming services in the last few years. I've got my fingers crossed that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that the studios won't drag their feet.
  • Reply 178 of 421
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    $6 per VOD rental.



    I have never quite understood $6 VOD/PPV...so I've never purchased any. $3 I'd have done as it's worth $2 not to have to run to RedBox.
  • Reply 179 of 421
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nht View Post


    I have never quite understood $6 VOD/PPV...so I've never purchased any. $3 I'd have done as it's worth $2 not to have to run to RedBox.



    The cost is supposed to be for the convenience factor, but it still seems pretty steep. I recognize they probably can't undercut Blockbuster, but as an entertainment option, I think it's being undercut pretty handily by Netflix, by mail and instant.
  • Reply 180 of 421
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    They are using DVD in the generic. They are saying consumers are buying less physical media altogether (including Blu-ray).



    Actually Blu-ray sales are continuing to increase, DVD sales are the one that are dropping, dropping faster than Blu-ray is increasing, that is where your mis-use of the statistic comes in
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