Blu-Ray has arrived

[Eug]

Well, at least in prototype form.

Sony Blu-Ray

 

[GoodRevrnd]

27 GB single sided single layer. Wow, thatsa spicey meatball.


EDIT:
"Because the Blu-ray Disc utilizes global standard "MPEG-2 Transport Stream" compression technology highly compatible with digital broadcasting for video recording, a wide range of content can be recorded. It is possible for the Blu-ray Disc to record digital high definition broadcasting while maintaining high quality and other data simultaneously with video data if they are received together. In addition, the adoption of a unique ID written on a Blu-ray Disc realizes high quality copyright protection functions."

:Q
Hopefully we won't see a massive push to render DVD's obsolete as soon as possible. Took long enough to sway people to DVD the first time around, they won't be happy if their players go obsolete so fast again.

 

[ElFenix]

i wish i could read it

 

[Eug]

Took long enough to sway people to DVD the first time around, they won't be happy if their players go obsolete so fast again.

It's possible that Blu-Ray players will play DVD, just like DVD players can play CD.

Also, DVD is most quickly adopted format of electronics equipment of all time. In essentially 5 years, it went from nothing to 50% of households in North America. I suspect Blu-Ray will be much slower though, since it requires some pretty high end machinery to make use of it.

I don't see DVD going away for quite some time.

 

[thorin]

Ok so you start a thread on one board with the link and then start a thread on another board with a link to the first board with the link to the article. You couldn't just link to the article in the two completely seperate and unrelated threads? Aren't you just the greatest guy for giving them all that extra traffic.

On the upside it is interesting information. However I don't see everyone dropping DVD in favour of a new format anytime soon, unless the new solution is price competative and completely backward compatible.

Thorin

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Yeah I noticed a while after I posted... Eug is right. The Sony one (at least) has a DVD emblem on it so it looks like it will support both formats.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: thorin
Ok so you start a thread on one board with the link and then start a thread on another board with a link to the first board with the link to the article. You couldn't just link to the article in the two completely seperate and unrelated threads? Aren't you just the greatest guy for giving them all that extra traffic.

Corrected now.

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i wish i could read it

same here its all jibberish to me wit like squares and crap

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: Eug

Originally posted by: thorin
Ok so you start a thread on one board with the link and then start a thread on another board with a link to the first board with the link to the article. You couldn't just link to the article in the two completely seperate and unrelated threads? Aren't you just the greatest guy for giving them all that extra traffic.

Corrected now.

Heh.....cool. Thanks. I hope you didn't take too much offence to my comments I was in a "mood" yesterday and I was just busting yer chops because I could

Thorin

 

[Eug]

No offence taken. I didn't change it earlier more out of laziness than anything else.

 

[Bovinicus]

I am always happy when new technology is released. However, I am not as excited as I could be. Simply because we are still using regular tube televisions and not HDTVs. DVD hardly even offers an advantage over VHS because of this fact. Even when coupled with an HDTV, I can't see BluRay being that much more detailed than a DVD.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Bovinicus
I am always happy when new technology is released. However, I am not as excited as I could be. Simply because we are still using regular tube televisions and not HDTVs. DVD hardly even offers an advantage over VHS because of this fact. Even when coupled with an HDTV, I can't see BluRay being that much more detailed than a DVD.

If you think DVD offers little advantage over VHS, you need your eyes examined. Even with my vision I can see a dramatic difference between VHS and DVD. Granted, you need to use video interconnects that will allow you to see the difference, if you're running DVD through composite video or coax you're not going to see the difference. But compare VHS vs DVD connected via s-video or component, the difference is stunning.

Viper GTS

 

[madthumbs]

Who would buy a regular tube television when HDtv's have become so cheap? From what I can see; HDtv shows the limitations of DVD. DVD is definetly an improvement over VHS anyway you look at it. If this product weren't coming to us from Sony, I'd be excited.

 

[Mrburns2007]

5 years ago 720 x 480 was impressive but now I want 1920 x 1080

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: madthumbs
Who would buy a regular tube television when HDtv's have become so cheap? From what I can see; HDtv shows the limitations of DVD. DVD is definetly an improvement over VHS anyway you look at it. If this product weren't coming to us from Sony, I'd be excited.

Many people are unwilling (or unable) to spend $1,000 on a TV.

My next TV (when I replace my Wega) will be a 16:9 HDTV. But people like my parents and grandparents aren't even willing to spend the money to get a Wega, let alone a HDTV.

Viper GTS

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: Bovinicus
I am always happy when new technology is released. However, I am not as excited as I could be. Simply because we are still using regular tube televisions and not HDTVs. DVD hardly even offers an advantage over VHS because of this fact. Even when coupled with an HDTV, I can't see BluRay being that much more detailed than a DVD.

If you think DVD offers little advantage over VHS, you need your eyes examined. Even with my vision I can see a dramatic difference between VHS and DVD. Granted, you need to use video interconnects that will allow you to see the difference, if you're running DVD through composite video or coax you're not going to see the difference. But compare VHS vs DVD connected via s-video or component, the difference is stunning.

Viper GTS

Yeah. DVD blows away VHS, even on composite. On my 16:9 34" widescreen progressive scan HDTV, watching VHS is torture. (And yes, it's a non-projection tube television, and not a 6 foot projection screen or something. In widescreen mode it is equivalent to about a 38" 4:3 TV.) SVHS isn't bad, but commercial SVHS movies are almost nonexistent. Even letterboxed DVD scaled up to fit the screen looks pretty mediocre when compared to anamorphic widescreen. And with anamorphic widescreen dual layer discs on component progressive scan, on some titles I can still easily pick out the artifacts. (This is with a Panasonic RP91, which is supposedly has among the best quality video from a DVD player priced under US$1000.)

For my setup, I think an HDTV source would look awesome and would be a significant improvement over anamorphic DVD. It's sort of like video games at 1024x768 vs. games at 512x384. The difference in image quality is very noticable. In other words, as good as it is, there are already many systems out there which easily demonstrate the limitations of DVD. Thus, I think a couple of years from now is the right time frame to introduce shipping Blu-Ray machines.

I do agree however, that most people are not willing spend the coin on such a setup. However, if Blu-Ray were to ship say in 2004, then maybe that means by 2007 it's actually going to affordable for the rest of us, when HDTVs are also much more affordable for the average person.

 

[Mrburns2007]

The Sony blu-ray machine was beautiful..............I want one.


Also I'm glad blu-rays will come with a caddy, it was a huge mistake that DVD's didn't cause if you rent them you can always find scratched ones. Having a caddy would have been better for the rental market.

 

[zephyrprime]

I suspect Blu-Ray will be much slower though, since it requires some pretty high end machinery to make use of it.

Does it really though? Isn't it basically just a blue laser optical disc?

 

[kgraeme]

Originally posted by: madthumbs
Who would buy a regular tube television when HDtv's have become so cheap?

Hmm. $200 vs $1000. Gee, I don't know.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: zephyrprime

I suspect Blu-Ray will be much slower though, since it requires some pretty high end machinery to make use of it.

Does it really though? Isn't it basically just a blue laser optical disc?

What I mean is that for the average joe with a low end 27" TV and a DVD player, they may not be as excited to jump into Blu-Ray. OTOH, DVD was a major advance over VHS, in terms of playback quality even on a small TV, and because of the random access features, and extras.

So while I think there is a definite market for Blu-Ray (including myself) within a few years, that new market isn't going to be as fast growing as DVD was IMO.

DVD over VHS: revolutionary
Blu-Ray over DVD: evolutionary

 

[Valinos]

My biggest concern is the copy protection schemes that Sony is putting into Blu-Ray

For that reason alone I say, VIVA LA DVD!

 

[kgraeme]

I'm a tech junky, but honestly I'm not caring that much about Blu-Ray.

 

[Coherence]

I've been reading quite a bit about this, lately. Unfortunately, we need to get ready for another format war.

Toshiba has a competing blue laser DVD technology coming out to compete with Sony's. What's the difference? Sony's Blu-Ray is incompatible with existing red-laser DVDs. Toshiba's blue-laser technology will still read our existing DVDs.

I'll link the story to a post when I track it down.

 

[ShinKen]

I believe that blu-ray is for the Hi-def future whenever it comes around. The current dvd's do not have the storage capacity to store hi-def. So the format war would not be between current dvd's and this, but between this and the other standards that companies are putting out. I think that it is great, it is not like your current dvd's are going to stop working once this is in the marketplace.

 

[Coherence]

The point is about backward-compatibility. Sony's Blu-Ray players won't read today's existing DVDs. Toshiba's blue-laser format will. Do you really want 2 dvd players taking up space, one for the blue and one for the red? Or would you rather have one that reads both?

Note: "Blu-Ray" is the term given to Sony's format, and should not be confused with other blue-laser dvd technologies. Not all "blue rays" are the same.

Toshiba, NEC working on new DVD format (Reuters/CNET)

This is just one article, I'll find the others I've read and post them.