Blu-ray is dead

[SlickSnake]

Blu-Boy Cubby said:

I've done far worse than kill you, HD-DVD. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left laser disk, as you left VHS: marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead format, buried alive. Buried alive.

 

[yours truly]

the links in the original post are opinions and not fact.

the facts are, blu ray sales are up in the UK alone its 396%

but ive seen the evidence for myself. a year ago in my local hmv, blu rays took very little floor space, but the its catalogue is growing by the day and has much larger floor place now

i have 25mb broadband, and id rather have a tangible media in my hand than download content any day of the week

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: SlickSnake
I would estimate a majority of people who own a PS3 bought it for games. And they are teens or younger even and they are primarily playing games on the PS3 and not particularly interested in watching BR movies at all, much less buying BRs, unless they decide to rent a few on the parents rental memberships. Since they don't have an income, their obvious effect on the BR sales market is virtually nonexistant.

my ps3 gets more bd action than games. in fact, i only have 3 games and only rock band gets action when friends are over.

thread title is flame bait. it is not dead. HD-DVD is dead. blu-ray is very much alive.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
my ps3 gets more bd action than games. in fact, i only have 3 games and only rock band gets action when friends are over.

Ditto. Lair (still sealed), DMC 4, and Disgaea 3 (never played yet), compared to seven or BR-D movies. I doubt the ratio will get much better over time, either.

thread title is flame bait. it is not dead. HD-DVD is dead. blu-ray is very much alive.

Slicksnake is a _notorious_ HD-DVD fanboy around here. I would not bother arguing with him, he's got his mind made up. Personally, I wanted HD-DVD to win, too, but it's completely embarrassing to watch him every thread into HD-DVD vs BR-D war.

Honest to G-d, the mods need to ban his ass to cool him off.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
my ps3 gets more bd action than games. in fact, i only have 3 games and only rock band gets action when friends are over.

Ditto. Lair (still sealed), DMC 4, and Disgaea 3 (never played yet), compared to seven or BR-D movies. I doubt the ratio will get much better over time, either.

thread title is flame bait. it is not dead. HD-DVD is dead. blu-ray is very much alive.

Slicksnake is a _notorious_ HD-DVD fanboy around here. I would not bother arguing with him, he's got his mind made up. Personally, I wanted HD-DVD to win, too, but it's completely embarrassing to watch him every thread into HD-DVD vs BR-D war.

Honest to G-d, the mods need to ban his ass to cool him off.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[SlickSnake]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
my ps3 gets more bd action than games. in fact, i only have 3 games and only rock band gets action when friends are over.

Ditto. Lair (still sealed), DMC 4, and Disgaea 3 (never played yet), compared to seven or BR-D movies. I doubt the ratio will get much better over time, either.

thread title is flame bait. it is not dead. HD-DVD is dead. blu-ray is very much alive.

Slicksnake is a _notorious_ HD-DVD fanboy around here. I would not bother arguing with him, he's got his mind made up. Personally, I wanted HD-DVD to win, too, but it's completely embarrassing to watch him every thread into HD-DVD vs BR-D war.

Honest to G-d, the mods need to ban his ass to cool him off.

Honest to GOD the mods need to ban anyone's ass trying to get someone else banned who they simply don't agree with.

You must be a Republikrat, too. GO McSAME and stuff.

I have as much right to post my opinion as any other half wit Blu-ray PC couch potato does on these forms.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: Kazaam

Originally posted by: cubby1223

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Robin Harris at ZDnet is predicting Blu-ray's demise. http://blogs.zdnet.com/storage/?p=365 Sounds like others might agree. http://www.crunchgear.com/2008...-blu-ray-dead-already/ I expect more of these predictions before the year's out. R.I.P. Blu-ray.

I expect lots of whining from Blu-ray/Sony fans over these stories.

Didn't I debunk your crap in your last Blu-ray is dying thread? Give it up loser.

I don't understand, does the OP have something against Blu-ray? If so, why? Only thing I don't like is the price of movies, and i don't ever buy movies (with few exceptions), I rent, so it doesn't really bother me.

He is probably still bitter HD DVD lost. I have over 50 HD DVDs and while I still think HD DVD was the better format, I have moved on and bought a HD DVD/Blu-ray combo player. The OP needs to get over it.

That said this is yet another anti blu-ray thread that serves no purpose other than to troll. It should be locked.

I also have an A2 and just picked up a new BDP-350. I have a crapload of HD-DVDs, but there are new titles coming out that I couldn't bring myself to pick up on DVD. I still buy HD-DVDs when I can find them, though. Fry's had huge bargain bins full of them for $8+ last week. I felt like a kid in a candy store! Also picked up Fifth Element on bd ($14).

 

[SlickSnake]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
my ps3 gets more bd action than games. in fact, i only have 3 games and only rock band gets action when friends are over.

Ditto. Lair (still sealed), DMC 4, and Disgaea 3 (never played yet), compared to seven or BR-D movies. I doubt the ratio will get much better over time, either.

thread title is flame bait. it is not dead. HD-DVD is dead. blu-ray is very much alive.

Slicksnake is a _notorious_ HD-DVD fanboy around here. I would not bother arguing with him, he's got his mind made up. Personally, I wanted HD-DVD to win, too, but it's completely embarrassing to watch him every thread into HD-DVD vs BR-D war.

Honest to G-d, the mods need to ban his ass to cool him off.

Couldn't agree more.

What about that darned fantastic Kuro you were gloating about buying. Still burning it in so it looks oh so much better with your color blind cross eyes?

It figures you would live in crap hole like Irving with at least 750 to 1000 planes taking off and landing over your house a day. Maybe one of those planes will drop a few spare parts on your empty head next time it flies over. That city is quickly turning into low rent scum town, barely one notch above ghetto south Dallas. I hope you got a lot of insurance to cover that Kuro when it gets ripped off there, Jack. Or did you just buy it cheap out of a white van with your speakers from an illegal with Kuro spray painted on the front of it over the Vizio logo?

You are a simplistic flame baiting forum troll here, and would argue with the ass end of a jackass, and frequently do. Just like in this thread. People who recline their seats on airplanes w/o asking... are the scum of society.

And even in another thread, you are not exactly supporting BR, are you Jacko? So your pretend criticism for me supporting it comes off sounding pretty lame and hollow, nice try, though. So you can just stop pretending to be some BR Messiah here. In this thread Magnavox Blu-ray players you said:

You shouldn't go off straight specs either. Blu-ray is still in its infancy, and they are still working on their compatibility. New movies are causing quite a bit of problems with standard Blu-ray players and require a firmware upgrade for the player. And this isn't with just Wal-mart brands like Magnavox either. This is happening to players like the Pioneer Elite 05 Blu-ray player ($800 Blu-ray player). Standard players are having issues with Java menus and I believe new DRM that is being put on these new movies. The Hulk is one specific movie that had a problem with playback on Blu-ray players. With these issues coming up and the Blu-ray standard constantly moving for Blu-ray movies, IMO, the PS3 is the safest bet by far. It has proven time and time again to play Blu-ray movies without issues. But if you want to go with a stand alone, getting a Magnavox is just asking for problems. You'll have better luck with updates for your player from Sony and Panasonic IMO.

Oh and as far as Profile 2.0, I wouldn't consider it worthless, but I agree, it's not a huge deal.

Back peddle much in your pointless criticism of others who support HD-DVD, do you Jacko? Or do you just prefer to stupidly dig in your heals, or is it cloven hoofs, when someone has the nerve to merely disagree with your holier than thou self important OPINION?

 

[SlickSnake]

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: Kazaam

Originally posted by: cubby1223

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Robin Harris at ZDnet is predicting Blu-ray's demise. http://blogs.zdnet.com/storage/?p=365 Sounds like others might agree. http://www.crunchgear.com/2008...-blu-ray-dead-already/ I expect more of these predictions before the year's out. R.I.P. Blu-ray.

I expect lots of whining from Blu-ray/Sony fans over these stories.

Didn't I debunk your crap in your last Blu-ray is dying thread? Give it up loser.

I don't understand, does the OP have something against Blu-ray? If so, why? Only thing I don't like is the price of movies, and i don't ever buy movies (with few exceptions), I rent, so it doesn't really bother me.

He is probably still bitter HD DVD lost. I have over 50 HD DVDs and while I still think HD DVD was the better format, I have moved on and bought a HD DVD/Blu-ray combo player. The OP needs to get over it.

That said this is yet another anti blu-ray thread that serves no purpose other than to troll. It should be locked.

I also have an A2 and just picked up a new BDP-350. I have a crapload of HD-DVDs, but there are new titles coming out that I couldn't bring myself to pick up on DVD. I still buy HD-DVDs when I can find them, though. Fry's had huge bargain bins full of them for $8+ last week. I felt like a kid in a candy store! Also picked up Fifth Element on bd ($14).

OMG! Don't you DARE post that you have an HD-DVD player HERE in Audio/ Video and Home Theater! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!?

QUICK! HIDE THE HD-DVDS!!!! THE SONY FAN BOY BLU-RAY FORUM POLICE ARE COMING!!!!

JUST ASK JACKO AND CHUBBY! HD-DVDS ARE DEAD! BURN THE WITCHES AND THEIR EVIL HD-DVDS!!! BURN THEM!!!!


Good fukin grief griefers. :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Guys, stop the personal attacks now, or I'm going to have to lock this thread up.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Guys, stop the personal attacks now, or I'm going to have to lock this thread up.

Agree. Personal attacks are silly.

But the title and premise of this thread are preposterously stupid. BD is the *only* physical 1080p movie format around now. Prices are dropping, sales are increasing, and if you go to places like Fry's, Best Buy, etc, they're getting more floorspace, and people are buying the product.

Every month people buy more HDTVs, and these people want to see good quality movies. BD is the only real option. DVD is alright, but on a 40" or larger screen of any quality whatsoever, BD is a night and day improvement.

HD-DVD was just fine, totally just as good quality, but it's dead, end of story.

With no competition, there's no way in hell that BD is dead, dying, or anywhere close to either. It's only going to keep growing in market share until 1080p on-demand services are accessible by enough customers to make a threat. That's easily ~10 years from now, at the earliest. No company with functioning brain-cells in their executive's heads will even attempt to bring out a competing 1080p physical format now, as it just wouldn't be cost effective, not to mention it would be a total fantasy that *ANY* movie studio would bother making movies for a different format.

BD won, BD is growing, and BD is going to be with us for quite a while. That's just the way it is. The next benchmark will be when BD sales eclipse DVD sales, and that is probably 3-5 years away.

 

[thomsbrain]

As unfortunate as I think it is, I think the author of that article is probably right, although it may take 5 years or so for the format to die.

Cassette tapes, 8-tracks, MP3, SACD, DVD-Audio and BetaMax have all proved in one way or another that the general public has a very limited appetite for fidelity and a very healthy appetite for convenience and cheapness. They'll only buy the better quality product if it is also the cheapest and most convenient.

All the HDTVs out there are mostly sold because they are "flat" and therefore cool. People buy them as fashion or status symbols, not because they care about picture quality. That's why you see so many of them that aren't set up properly. Not only can the owners not tell that the aspect ratio is fucked, but they wouldn't CARE even if you could get them to understand the concept. But Blu-Ray will never be a fashion or status symbol, nor will it ever be the cheapest or most convenient option, therefore it is destined to fail as a mass-market format.

The push for VOD services and internet streaming will make viewing movies in that manner more convenient and cheaper, regardless of quality. Therefore, it will ultimately prevail. We can only hope that there will eventually be HD and HD-audio options in those new formats as they mature. For now, even Netflix's excellent "Watch-It-Now" feature offers video quality that is roughly VHS in quality, with washed out colors, poor resolution, and compressed stereo audio.

Pray for quality, because only an act of God will save it.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: SlickSnake
What about that darned fantastic Kuro you were gloating about buying. Still burning it in so it looks oh so much better with your color blind cross eyes?

It figures you would live in crap hole like Irving with at least 750 to 1000 planes taking off and landing over your house a day. Maybe one of those planes will drop a few spare parts on your empty head next time it flies over. That city is quickly turning into low rent scum town, barely one notch above ghetto south Dallas. I hope you got a lot of insurance to cover that Kuro when it gets ripped off there, Jack. Or did you just buy it cheap out of a white van with your speakers from an illegal with Kuro spray painted on the front of it over the Vizio logo?

Ok, I've got to give it to you, you have successfully conveyed jealousy and severe retardation all in one post. Congratulations, you've sunken to a new low. Now go back and tape up your TV.

You are a simplistic flame baiting forum troll here, and would argue with the ass end of a jackass, and frequently do. Just like in this thread. People who recline their seats on airplanes w/o asking... are the scum of society.

Ok, now you are just exhibiting stalking like tendencies. I know you are trying your hardest to make a case for yourself, but it's not working. You're just coming off as not only a troll, but a stalking troll. That thread has nothing to do with Blu-ray, and it definitely doesn't make the case I'm a troll. If you want a troll, I suggest doing a search under your name.

nd even in another thread, you are not exactly supporting BR, are you Jacko? So your pretend criticism for me supporting it comes off sounding pretty lame and hollow, nice try, though. So you can just stop pretending to be some BR Messiah here. In this thread Magnavox Blu-ray players you said:

You shouldn't go off straight specs either. Blu-ray is still in its infancy, and they are still working on their compatibility. New movies are causing quite a bit of problems with standard Blu-ray players and require a firmware upgrade for the player. And this isn't with just Wal-mart brands like Magnavox either. This is happening to players like the Pioneer Elite 05 Blu-ray player ($800 Blu-ray player). Standard players are having issues with Java menus and I believe new DRM that is being put on these new movies. The Hulk is one specific movie that had a problem with playback on Blu-ray players. With these issues coming up and the Blu-ray standard constantly moving for Blu-ray movies, IMO, the PS3 is the safest bet by far. It has proven time and time again to play Blu-ray movies without issues. But if you want to go with a stand alone, getting a Magnavox is just asking for problems. You'll have better luck with updates for your player from Sony and Panasonic IMO.

Oh and as far as Profile 2.0, I wouldn't consider it worthless, but I agree, it's not a huge deal.


Back peddle much in your pointless criticism of others who support HD-DVD, do you Jacko? Or do you just prefer to stupidly dig in your heals, or is it cloven hoofs, when someone has the nerve to merely disagree with your holier than thou self important OPINION?

Seriously, take your meds. I tried to have a reasonable discussion with you, but you apparently don't have the capacity for such a thing. If you think I'm backpedaling, you're a moron. It's just that simple. But please, keep on. Keep trying to make the "Blu-ray fanboy" thing stick on a person who has two HD-DVD players, one of them being an even higher end one that you have. It doesn't fly, but apparently it does in your head. But hey, maybe if you say "Blu-ray fanboy" enough, you may eventually start to believe it yourself.

The facts are, you are a very insecure individual, and judging by your wacked out posts, one that apparently needs to take their medication. I never claimed to be a "BR Messiah" but thank you for thinking so highly of me. Doesn't really mean much coming from you, but that's ok.




Sorry YOyo.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Sorry YOyo.

:facepalm;

You guys sound like my 7th graders

 

[techwanabe]

Originally posted by: Wuzup101The real question is: why do you think there needs to be a source of 1080p content (economically speaking)? If the market demand is not there to support this segment, than there is the very real possibility that the "powers that be" will cut their losses. If you can not convince the customer base that Blu Ray is worth the price premium over SD-DVD or other sources of media, then you have a real problem on your hands. We all know that BR is superior to DVD in every way (same goes with overly compressed on demand rentals). However, DVD is cheaper, and on demand/internet streaming/etc... has the whole "convenience" factor going for it. Honestly, 90% of the time i would prefer to watch a streaming movie over a BR movie just because I don't have to "go get" the BR movie (Either go out and buy it... or more likely rent it). Net flix (which I have) is convenient (delivery by mail). Clicking on "watch now" is even more convenient. In any case, there are more factors than simply cost and quality (not to mention still having to convince someone to "rebuy" something that they already own).

I rent my BR movies from netflix. I own about 5 or 6 DVD's also. Not much for me to re-buy. Maybe Lord of the Rings

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Sorry YOyo.

:facepalm;

You guys sound like my 7th graders

He started it.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: SlickSnake
Honest to GOD the mods need to ban anyone's ass trying to get someone else banned who they simply don't agree with.

No, it's a simple observation that you basically ruin every other conversation that involves Blu-Ray. YOU ARE NOT CONTRIBUTING. You really do ruin this place, and I'm a little surprised that you don't see why people are upset at you. Or maybe you do, and you just like trolling. Who knows?

You must be a Republikrat, too. GO McSAME and stuff.

WTF? Nice totally unrelated ad hom attack. You're a sad little creature, you know that? And why aren't the mods actually responding to this with some sort of corrective action?

I have as much right to post my opinion as any other half wit Blu-ray PC couch potato does on these forms.

Only if you're actually contributing to the conversation. Wandering into every BR-D-related thread and going on and on about HD-DVD's greatness and BR-D's lameness isn't contributing, it's trolling.

But back on topic: BR-D is still doing better than laserdisc, and that particular format survived and did reasonably well for an astonishing period of time. Until streaming services can provide anything approaching the same quality as BR-D, it's safe. I give it six years until it really sees competition from streaming - and remember that just having competition isn't going to kill the format.

 

[coreyb]

Blu-Ray isn't going anywhere.

 

[cubby1223]

Originally posted by: erwos
But back on topic: BR-D is still doing better than laserdisc

Laserdisc? Try DVD! Yes, Blu-ray has sold more discs than DVD given the same time-frame from their respective inceptions. I'd have to search a bit for a link of the data, but the honest truth is it will do nothing for the likes of BladeVenom or SlickSnake, so it's just not worth the time.

Mods don't give a crap either, so we just have to let the babies have their bottle.

 

[thegimp03]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Robin Harris at ZDnet is predicting Blu-ray's demise. http://blogs.zdnet.com/storage/?p=365 Sounds like others might agree. http://www.crunchgear.com/2008...-blu-ray-dead-already/ I expect more of these predictions before the year's out. R.I.P. Blu-ray.

I expect lots of whining from Blu-ray/Sony fans over these stories.

I own a PS3 and a bunch of blu-ray movies but haven't gone as far as to replace all my DVD's with blu-ray versions of the same movies. Blu-ray is cool. It might be hurt by the current state of the economy - i.e. people may not want to pay $25-35 for a blu-ray movie when they can buy the DVD for $10-20, but I don't see it "R.I.P." because there's got to be a next-gen format that takes advantage of HDTV's.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: cubby1223

Originally posted by: erwos
But back on topic: BR-D is still doing better than laserdisc

Laserdisc? Try DVD! Yes, Blu-ray has sold more discs than DVD given the same time-frame from their respective inceptions. I'd have to search a bit for a link of the data, but the honest truth is it will do nothing for the likes of BladeVenom or SlickSnake, so it's just not worth the time.

Mods don't give a crap either, so we just have to let the babies have their bottle.

not exactly an apple to apple comparison. Not that it is possible to do an apple to apple comparison for this kind of things anyway. Getting people to move from vhs tape to dvd disc took a lot of work. Going from one disc to a clearer disc is not the same condition.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: cubby1223

Originally posted by: erwos
But back on topic: BR-D is still doing better than laserdisc

Laserdisc? Try DVD! Yes, Blu-ray has sold more discs than DVD given the same time-frame from their respective inceptions. I'd have to search a bit for a link of the data, but the honest truth is it will do nothing for the likes of BladeVenom or SlickSnake, so it's just not worth the time.

Mods don't give a crap either, so we just have to let the babies have their bottle.

not exactly an apple to apple comparison. Not that it is possible to do an apple to apple comparison for this kind of things anyway. Getting people to move from vhs tape to dvd disc took a lot of work. Going from one disc to a clearer disc is not the same condition.

really? how so? please elaborate what this additional work was. i don't see it being any different from cassette to CD.

in fact, i think BD adoption will be slower because not everyone can take advantage of the hi-res BD offers, and the jump from VHS -> DVD in terms of quality is much greater than DVD -> BD.

i'm not trying to be confrontational. i'm seriously interested in hearing what the extra work was going to dvd. i was too young to realize it at the time.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: cubby1223

Originally posted by: erwos
But back on topic: BR-D is still doing better than laserdisc

Laserdisc? Try DVD! Yes, Blu-ray has sold more discs than DVD given the same time-frame from their respective inceptions. I'd have to search a bit for a link of the data, but the honest truth is it will do nothing for the likes of BladeVenom or SlickSnake, so it's just not worth the time.

Mods don't give a crap either, so we just have to let the babies have their bottle.

not exactly an apple to apple comparison. Not that it is possible to do an apple to apple comparison for this kind of things anyway. Getting people to move from vhs tape to dvd disc took a lot of work. Going from one disc to a clearer disc is not the same condition.

really? how so? please elaborate what this additional work was. i don't see it being any different from cassette to CD.

in fact, i think BD adoption will be slower because not everyone can take advantage of the hi-res BD offers, and the jump from VHS -> DVD in terms of quality is much greater than DVD -> BD.

i'm not trying to be confrontational. i'm seriously interested in hearing what the extra work was going to dvd. i was too young to realize it at the time.

Home theatre was a fairly new/narrow concept at the time, so was the WWW. Most promotion was still happening just in the pulp and tv commercials. Early DVD adoption was driven by geeks like myself, not the general public. I think by the end of 1998 I had over 300 DVDs (1200 now). The media was talking up the DVD a lot but it was not moving since the players were very expensive and the adoption did not happen til they came down in price.

HD player prices, because of the format war, dropped much faster than DVD players. Also, by then home theatre was pretty known to joe sixpack plus the generation growing up with DVDs are in place to be the purchasers so PSX3 made a huge impact for the BRD camp. I would say PSX3 is still the main driving force of BRD.

I prefer the HDDVD standard, it makes more sense but market doesn't always make sense.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Bill Hunt, editor of Digital Bits, has posted a rebuttal. I've pasted it below because the link doesn't actually link to the day in question (10/30):

As you may know, there have been a couple of recent reports online that the Blu-ray format is D.O.A. or otherwise doomed to failure. The most recent such proclamation is an alarmist piece by ZDNet's Robin Harris, that has resulted in a small flood of e-mails from readers today, some concerned, many skeptical and all curious as to our reaction.

Look, folks... let's have a little perspective here. People have been predicting the death of Blu-ray Disc for more than two years now. And many of those doing so were either staunch HD-DVD supporters previously or simply NEVER saw much of a future for Blu-ray or high-definition discs. Harris, it seems to me, falls into the latter category. He's a fine guy, I'm sure, but from what I've read of his work, he's never really been much of a videophile. He's a storage guy. Hard drives. It says so right there in his bio: "Robin Harris has been selling and marketing data storage for over 20 years in companies large and small." There's nothing wrong with that, and more power to him. But I don't expect him to be any kind of advocate for a home video format, other than one based around a downloading model. And he's hardly the person to best judge the future of what is, at its very essence, a HOME VIDEO FORMAT.

That's not to say that Harris doesn't make some valid points. The BDA's licensing fees are too high, and there are still too many barriers (not the least of which is cost) to smaller content producers adopting the format. I'll give you a few more obstacles the format faces: Blu-ray Disc player and movie prices are still too high. Studios should cut software prices across the board by $5 to $10. Profile 2.0 players should become standard and cheap, and fast. The need to continually update player firmware for title after title has been very frustrating, most recently with the James Bond Blu-rays. That's not a big deal if you have a PS3, but if you have a profile 1.0 or 1.1 player, it means either downloading and burning a firmware update disc, or calling the manufacturer's tech support line and requesting one be sent to you by mail. That's a pain in the ass, and the industry needs to figure out a way to make it easier. The economic slowdown and the lengthy format war haven't helped either. I do think the industry should take a look at Harris' recommendations for what a more "forward looking strategy" for the Blu-ray format ought to look like. I actually agree with a couple of them.

But let's get real here. Blu-ray is NOT dead. It's not close to death. It's not even remotely sick or ailing. Saying otherwise is simply a clever ploy to get a LOT of people to read your columns. Look folks, Blu-ray is still essentially a NEW format to most people. This is the format's FIRST YEAR of unopposed exposure to consumers - the first year it hasn't been embroiled in a bitter format dispute with HD-DVD. The standard DVD format didn't begin to really take off until well over a year after its Divx pay-per-view nemesis finally died. It's worth noting that my prediction has ALWAYS been that Blu-ray and DVD would co-exist for many years, and that Blu-ray would gradually increase its market share over time. If I had to guess, I think the mix a few years from now is going to be 50% DVD, 30-40% Blu-ray and some smaller percentage of downloading. Blu-ray isn't going to replace DVD, the single most successful format in the history of consumer electronics, and anyone who thinks otherwise is out to lunch. But Blu-ray's future is plenty bright, folks.

Let's look at this from another perspective. One month ago, Paramount's Iron Man became the first Blu-ray Disc release to sell 500,000 units in its first week of release. Industry sources tell me that the title has CONTINUED to sell well and is closing in on 1 million units sold. If Iron Man doesn't get there first, Warner's mega-smash hit The Dark Knight is on deck for release on Blu-ray Disc on 12/9. Does anyone think it isn't going to fly off the shelves too? Either way, by the end of the year (almost certainly by the end of January), one of these two titles - and quite possibly BOTH - could hit 1 million units sold. That milestone will have been reached just a little more than two years after the Blu-ray format was launched. Do you know how long it took DVD to have its first million selling title? Just under THREE years - The Matrix, which debuted on the format in late 1999. Seems like Blu-ray's right on track to me.

The format's got LOTS more going for it too. First, player prices are finally dipping below $250, right on track with the pace in the early days of DVD. Best Buy has its Insignia brand BD player priced at $249, and a Samsung player on sale for $229. Multiple retailers are expected to be selling Blu-ray players for LESS than $200 on Black Friday and for the holiday season. According to Video Business, Sears will be selling Sony's BDP-S350 for just $179.99 and Samsung's BD-P1500 for $199.99, both profile 2.0/BD-Live ready players. Look for other BD player deals at select retailers to follow, some as low as $149.

Second, look at all the great titles available! You know, earlier this year many of the studios were telling me that big titles were coming for the holidays, and that the floodgates were really going to open in 2009, but I STILL didn't expect the torrent of great titles we're seeing now. Consider the new releases alone... Transformers, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, Cloverfield, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Hancock, Wall-E, Sex and the City, Tropic Thunder, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Rambo, There Will Be Blood, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Kung Fu Panda, Casino Royale and many, many others.

Now consider the AMAZING catalog titles that have been (or will soon be) released on Blu-ray... SIX vintage James Bond films, ALL of the Austin Powers films, Sleeping Beauty, Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Godfather Collection, ALL of the Terminator films, Starship Troopers, all of the Planet of the Apes films, all of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Casablanca, How the West Was Won, L.A. Confidential, JFK, all of The Matrix films, FIVE Stanley Kubrick films including 2001, The Nightmare Before Christmas, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the Omen films, Bonnie and Clyde, the Die Hard films, ID4, the Mission: Impossible films, Dawn of the Dead, the Dirty Harry films, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Superman and the Superman II: Director's Cut, the Spider-Man films and on, and on, and on.

In his piece, Harris claims there are few quirky indie films on the format. Has he not seen Transsiberian, Sukiyaki Western Django, Mongol, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Persepolis, Shinobi or any of the MANY such titles now available or coming soon? What about the documentary titles? Baraka, Planet Earth? The TV titles? Heroes, Lost, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Torchwood, Pushing Daisies, Band of Brothers?

You think all of those titles are impressive? Look at the tip of the iceberg of what's coming next year: The Star Trek films, Braveheart, Pinocchio, The Lord of the Rings films, King Kong (1933), The Wizard of Oz, Ben Hur, North by Northwest, the Ghostbusters films, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind, the Rush Hour films, The French Connection, Napoleon Dynamite, Office Space, Raging Bull, Ronin, the new Battlestar Galactica TV series and HUNDREDS of others. That's just scratching the surface. There are titles that I KNOW FOR A FACT are in the works for release on Blu-ray in 2009 that will blow your minds, but I can't mention them by name yet. MAJOR catalog releases. For god's sake, folks... The Final Countdown is on Blu-ray! Are you kidding me?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

The question isn't, "Is Harris right?" The question is, "Is Harris even PAYING ATTENTION?" Of course not. He's fine guy... but he's A DATA STORAGE GUY. He's not a film guy. He's not a home video industry expert. Make no mistake, the Hollywood studios are 110% behind the Blu-ray Disc format, folks. So are the hardware manufacturers, and so are all the major retailers. They're going to blow the doors off this format in 2009 in terms of amazing releases. And watch for prices on hardware and software to get even more affordable in the coming year. Blu-ray is going to be around for quite a long while, I don't care what Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Robin Harris tell you. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BE A MOVIE FAN. PERIOD.

Blu-ray is dead?! Yeah, right! And I've got a bridge in Alaska to sell you.

As Charlie Brown might say, "Good grief..."

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Blu-ray is dead?! Yeah, right! And I've got a bridge in Alaska to sell you.

And it goes to the same place as HD-DVD, nowhere.