Whatever Happened To Blu-ray?

Blu-ray is still popular with the home theater people that like to spend absurdly huge money on watching movies under the guies that the $30k they spent on stuff (not including "upgrades" later) will somehow be offset by not having to pay for a ticket to see something in a theater and get some popcorn.
 
For me to switch completely to streaming, movie and TV show selection needs to be better. Pricing has to fair. Also, quality has to be good. Netflix is about DVD quality for me over Uverse, and that's fine.

However, one thing streaming or buying some movies online doesn't have are the extra features like commentary or deleted scenes, etc. I'm always fascinated to learn what went behind a scene or why they chose to film this way instead of another, etc. That's something I can't get with most movies off iTunes, Amazon, and definitely not over Netflix.

So, I'll still buy Blu-ray or even DVD movies for the foreseeable future. However, prices on Blu-ray movies and TV shows need to come down, especially for collections that have more than one disc in them.
 
DejaWiz said:
Blu-ray is already at an affordable price point. $5-15 for A LOT of movies, $17-22 for the more popular (or more recent) titles, $15-40 for combo packs. It really wasn't that long ago when a DVD was able to fetch $25-50 at the register.
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I disagree. Sure, some bla-ray titles are reasonably priced but they usually aren't worth watching. Why would I pay $20+ for a blu-ray when I can stream it for 1/4 of the price in "HD"?
 
Also, I get this.

I've never bought a bluray.

I rented a bunch and played them on a PS3 before the local blockbuster folded, but I've never bought one.

I still have a box of DVD's I bought when I was younger, but I haven't touched any of them i years either.

Truth is, I guess I've reached that age where I realize chances are I'm probably not going to watch a film more than once, and if I do, the second time I watch it, enough time has probably passed that it will be out on a newer, higher quality format by then.

Owning films simply does not make sense to me. I stream what I can online. My HTPC doesn't even have an optical drive, and I don't have a standalone player or console anymore.
 
dj_spanmaster said:
Because good upconversion does a good enough job for the masses, including myself. My own blu-ray player upconverts DVDs so well that I can hardly tell which is which by display; and my 5.1 is sufficiently supported by most DVDs.
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I have an upconvertion regular dvd player that works fine for me. I won't buy a Blue Ray movie but I would be happy to watch one for the price of a regular dvd...
 
I love Blue Ray. The shit over the net and cable is a pixelated mess in comparison.

Everybody I know has a BR player, but none of them have a real surround system. Movie night at my house is tits.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Blu-ray is still popular with the home theater people that like to spend absurdly huge money on watching movies under the guies that the $30k they spent on stuff (not including "upgrades" later) will somehow be offset by not having to pay for a ticket to see something in a theater and get some popcorn.
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A lot less than that for me. But, if I enjoy watching movies - why not? Seeing Star Wars, ID4 in theaters now isn't feasible. Unless you have a good home theater. Sure, you can watch it on a 65" TV with simple surround sound. Some of us like the big screen experience that leave imprints on your retinas with awesome surround sound and bass you can feel in your asshole. And that's just the THX intro.

Some people (in this forum!) spend thousands of dollars on their PC (with upgrades all the time). Or their car. Or $500 on headphones. Or guns (well, that's fun, too)... Some of us spend it on home theater. It's our passion, and it's worth spending extra money on it.

And yea, Blu-ray is still popular with that crowd. The cost is never offset. It depreciates with aging hardware. I feel it's worth it. I enjoy it. I love watching movies.
 
MRAB54 said:
I disagree. Sure, some bla-ray titles are reasonably priced but they usually aren't worth watching. Why would I pay $20+ for a blu-ray when I can stream it for 1/4 of the price in "HD"?
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Your compressed stream is not the same.
 
I should also note that since Blu-Rays have become region-locked in recent years, reversing one of the original selling points, they've limited their appeal even more.

Meanwhile, I watched Nymphomaniac the same day the second half came out in theaters, at home, on Amazon Instant Video, for a cheaper price than the movie ticket would have cost, in glorious HD. Of course, such availability is still the exception, but it's a bright glimpse of the future for content delivery.
 
ravx25 said:
I think I'm like the vast majority of people in that I don't get it. I have a few Blu-rays. The very first one I bought when I got my player was Planet Earth. While I can notice the difference, most all of the time a DVD looks just fine to me. I do the same thing with audio though. Some people rave over FLAC files and I just don't get it. Most MP3's sounds just fine to me, although most audio people will frown on them.

As someone stated before, when they majority don't fall into line it won't receive preferred status. It's basic capitalism. Supply and demand.
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I've heard people say the same thing and then they stand in front of my 2006 Sony XBR and marvel at the 1080p goodness of the Dark Knight. I guess it's all a matter of priority.
 
Darth Millennial said:
I've heard people say the same thing and then they stand in front of my 2006 Sony XBR and marvel at the 1080p goodness of the Dark Knight. I guess it's all a matter of priority.
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60Hz? 120Hz? Once you get the higher refresh rate, you never go back, and 60Hz looks like choppy diarrhea.
 
I know a lot of people who simply don't care about the quality. While Blu-Ray is better, you're stuck either driving to a RedBox, waiting a few days for Netflix, or dropping $15-20 to buy something at a store...or you can stream a so-so version RIGHT NOW.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Blu-ray is still popular with the home theater people that like to spend absurdly huge money on watching movies under the guies that the $30k they spent on stuff (not including "upgrades" later) will somehow be offset by not having to pay for a ticket to see something in a theater and get some popcorn.
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I spent around 1k for my 50" Samsung Plasma, 250 for my Sony 5.1 home theater and $75 for my Sony Blu Ray player. There is a marked difference between the 'HD' of streamed/cable content and the 'HD' of BR.

The most recent example of this was when I re-watched Zero Dark Thirty, recorded from Starz. The Blu Ray version looked great throughout, start to finish. The Starz feed was pretty much unwatchable for the last 20 minutes; no exaggeration. The raid took place in the dark and the black crush on the cable version was so significant that nothing could be seen aside from occasional glints of light here and there.

There is another gulf when it comes to the audio streams. Streaming audio is getting there but still cannot match the lossless and near-lossless audio available on physical media.
 
Naturally if blu ray died and streaming media was all that was left, I would get along fine. But I prefer the better quality offered by blu ray.
 
Domingo said:
I know a lot of people who simply don't care about the quality. While Blu-Ray is better, you're stuck either driving to a RedBox, waiting a few days for Netflix, or dropping $15-20 to buy something at a store...or you can stream a so-so version RIGHT NOW.
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And that's the selling point. You can browse the catalog and watch that show or movie right then without leaving the house at a lower cost. In decent quality, but not as good as if you went out and spent more...

Cost? Streaming wins.
Convenience? Streaming wins.
Availability? Streaming wins.

Quality? Blu-ray wins.

You can use similar things with the PC vs. Console war. Who's right? Who's wrong? Read the various forums. No one is right or wrong. It all depends on the person. I can name a lot of valid reasons why Blu-ray is better for me. Those reasons might be dumb to you. But, you can have a lot of valid reasons why streaming is better for you, and they might not be good to me.... It's a non-stop argument. In the end, we all do what's better for us. :)
 
TexasAg05 said:
There is another gulf when it comes to the audio streams. Streaming audio is getting there but still cannot match the lossless and near-lossless audio available on physical media.
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agreed...audio is 50% of the experience...listening to a reference quality 5.1 DTS Master Audio track is amazing
 
dj_spanmaster said:
Because good upconversion does a good enough job for the masses, including myself. My own blu-ray player upconverts DVDs so well that I can hardly tell which is which by display; and my 5.1 is sufficiently supported by most DVDs.
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this thread is destroying my soul
 
Darth Millennial said:
I've heard people say the same thing and then they stand in front of my 2006 Sony XBR and marvel at the 1080p goodness of the Dark Knight. I guess it's all a matter of priority.
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A few things I think are relevant:

1.) It really depends on what you are used to. Once I got used to watching 1080 content I found it painful to watch 480 content. Then I wanted to rewatch some old shows never released in HD on Netflix. it was painful for the first few episodes, but then I got used to it. I still notice and appreciate 1080 content, but after sitting through a few shows in 480 it stopped bothering me.

2.) I also feel like blu-rays have gotten better as the technology has improved. A lot of the early releases had terrible film grain and poor conversion, whereas newer titles look magnificent.

3.) Netflix "Super HD"'s 6mbps streams at 1080p aren't quite as good as bluray, but - honestly - unless I am comparing side by side, I don't notice it on my 60" Panny plasma.
 
Zarathustra[H];1040798957 said:
1.) It really depends on what you are used to. Once I got used to watching 1080 content I found it painful to watch 480 content. Then I wanted to rewatch some old shows never released in HD on Netflix. it was painful for the first few episodes, but then I got used to it. I still notice and appreciate 1080 content, but after sitting through a few shows in 480 it stopped bothering me.
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Same with old movies. Black and white. Or Shindlers List. The first 5 minutes with the lack of color is odd, different and very noticeable. After that, you are used to it and enjoy the actual content of the movie.

I just find it hard to get a nice TV, good audio system (far from great, especially after hearing a good one) and watching 480 content on it. It seems like a waste. I'm going to watch the best content I can on it. I will watch SD content or streaming media, but I won't do it if I have the BR available to me. I'm not exclusive to 1080P, 7.1 lossless. It's just preferred. If I don't have it, fine. I don't NEED it.
 
I'm actually a stickler for quality, but I've grown lazy, especially as streaming quality has gotten better.
Half the time I'll add something to Netflix and by the time it shows up I no longer even want to watch it.
For me, Blu-Rays are reversed for movies I know I'll watch over and over. Movies that matter to me.
If I'm just watching something random...I'll take whatever. Especially if it's a whim.
 
Odellus said:
this thread is destroying my soul
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What can I say, things change. I used to build all my own boxes but it got tedious and time wasting in comparison to raising my child. Fast forward ten years, and after a couple of trash Windows laptops I've gotten hooked to the ease of use provided by my MacBook Pro, iPad, and Roku. All so I can relax on the porch while my son mows with this:

American-Lawn-Mower-Company.jpg
 
Funny thing about "winning the format war" is that look at every blu-ray player out there today. They all support some sort of online content viewing,seems to me that Sony might own the format but those making the bluRay players know that people want options of what to watch that doesn't always include using a disc.. wait even Sony BR players allow you to stream movies to it.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Blu-ray is still popular with the home theater people that like to spend absurdly huge money on watching movies under the guies that the $30k they spent on stuff (not including "upgrades" later) will somehow be offset by not having to pay for a ticket to see something in a theater and get some popcorn.
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We do it because it's a hobby we enjoy, and the extra benefit is we don't have to go to the theater and deal with the morons there..

Just like people say it costs so much to build PC's aka thousands of dollars, you have people like UCG spout of it takes 30k to do a HT...
 
you don't need to build a fancy man cave home theater which costs $100,000...you can easily build a quality one for much less...$1800 Panasonic plasma...$1000 5.1 speakers...$500 receiver...$100 Blu-ray player...Boom!...prepare to experience movies and TV in a whole new light!...yes even TV shows like Game of Thrones look phenomenal in 1080i on HBO HD
 
polonyc2 said:
you don't need to build a fancy man cave home theater which costs $100,000...you can easily build a quality one for much less...$1800 Panasonic plasma...$1000 5.1 speakers...$500 receiver...$100 Blu-ray player...Boom!...prepare to experience movies and TV in a whole new light!...yes even TV shows like Game of Thrones look phenomenal in 1080i on HBO HD
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BluRay's of GoT shit all over the 1080i caps :O
 
polonyc2 said:
you don't need to build a fancy man cave home theater which costs $100,000...you can easily build a quality one for much less...$1800 Panasonic plasma...
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Or an $1800 projector (or even $1000) aimed at a cheap $300 110" screen (darker room required). Still low cost with a great return. It's not a super expensive hobby, but it can be. There are budget alternatives that are high quality.

I just wish I could overclock my projector to 4K. ;)
 
Ur_Mom said:
Or an $1800 projector (or even $1000) aimed at a cheap $300 110" screen (darker room required). Still low cost with a great return. It's not a super expensive hobby, but it can be. There are budget alternatives that are high quality.

I just wish I could overclock my projector to 4K. ;)
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Yup. And Audiogon has enough good deals on used equipment where you can build what was a several thousand dollar system for a grand or so.
 
I like when I actually use a real bluray/dvd at somebodies house and I get punished by dealing with ads and then finding the controller to get around the terrible menus just to start the damn movie
 
Not a fan of streaming. I still buy movies on Blu-Ray since it the best picture quality I can get. I didn't buy a nice shiny HD TV to watch low bitrate HD content.
 
jmilcher said:
Agreed. I have a decent home theater setup with about 6k in equipment. Anything other than the above, and I want to cry.
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I have a better home theater setup, and there's nothing wrong with Netflix SuperHD stuff. A BD is preferable, but saying that anything less makes you want to cry is hyperbolic nonsense.
 
Here is my issue. There just isn't enough quality entertainment anymore. So many movies and shows suck ass now. I'll go blu-ray when there is something that I truly care to watch but thats few and far between.
 
Blu-ray is still highly relevant because it's still the only way you're getting lossless audio.
 
Megalith said:
Blu-ray is still highly relevant because it's still the only way you're getting lossless audio.
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Judging by the responses to this thread, I am going to guess 90% of people in here have no idea what that is. Or they will claim you "really can't tell the difference".
 
Aluisious said:
Poor eyesight saves a lot of money, eh?
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Nobody gives a fuk. Especially those who grew up with rabbit ears and black and white TV.

It's like this. We want it fast, easy, simple and cheap. We don't care about image quality that allows us to see the fukin' blackheads on actors foreheads. Crap! :cool:
 
I would say there is more to it than just streaming. Sony totally screwed up blu ray market penetration. They try to way over charge on every angle for blu ray and control it. Want to buy software for blu ray? Might cost you $100, want to buy a BR drive its double a dvd drive. After Sony won the format war they should have approached MS and offered a good deal to put BR on the xbox 360. Even if you own a BR and all the hardware it still might not play if your system doesn't get updated.

To me its ridiculous that they try to charge from every angle. They should be allowing people to make BR drives and software for free and only charging royalties on the disc.

Also consumers are getting sick of formats. I personally do not buy much of any BR discs, just no point because by the time you start to build a collection they come out with a new format. Now you guys might say well BR is the last format, but its not, because 4K is next and already here. So all those 1080p BR movies you bought are not going to feel old. The studios might just resell you a new BR that is 4K. You never owned a video and you never will so I submit to just renting because realistically that is all I was ever doing anyway.
 
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