Blu-ray - Did the wrong format win?

[Khoi Pham]

Originally Posted by Giroud Francois

i think BD produces "Wows" most of times because people change purchased their new 52" big screen at the same time than the player, so most of the "Wows" comes from the new screen, not from the BD. Probably too because they switch from composite link from DVD to hdmi from BD player.
Do the same, but instead BD, use a good DVD player with hdmi connection , and you will get the same "Wow".

Yeah right, you make me laugh.

[Pete Bauer]

I've tried to bite my tongue and not enter this discussion but am having a moment of weakness. So in the categories of FWIW and YMMV, here's my diatribe on this.

All media have a finite lifespan in the marketplace. Some longer, some shorter. But all finite. Niche fans aside, long gone from the mainstream markets are the LP, reel-to-reel, 8 track, Reg and Super 8 film, 126 instamatics, even 35mm photography (Kodachrome is on its last leg, they say), etc....

Sale of video content on DVD has pretty good "legs" and will be around for a while. BluRay won a format war and I believe will become the primary physical medium for video content in the industrialized world over the next couple of years. The players and recorders will eventually supplant DVD hardware since nearly all, if not all, BluRay players can play DVDs. Eventually, physical media of any sort will become the has-been niche, but the death of discs is still quite a few years off.

For those without the hardware to fully enjoy the much greater capabilities of BluRay, it may not seem much better than DVDs and that will be one factor that gives DVD "legs." Not everyone has the good fortune to get to build a dedicated home theater. But on a good system the picture and sound are unquestionably superior. My home theater is equipped with a 1080p projector, 106" Stewart screen, and 7.1 surround with audiophile main speakers and dipole surrounds, all driven by a new Denon AV receiver. Uprezzed DVD is definitely watchable, but when you go from that to HDTV (DirecTV in my case), everyone goes, "wow." Then you go from HDTV to a well mastered BluRay like Phantom of the Opera, and everyone goes, WOOOOOWWWWWW!" Both to the eye and to the ear, it is obvious.

To say there is negligible difference between DVD and BluRay versions of a movie speaks only to the capabilities of the system on which they are viewed, and the druthers of the viewer. BluRay properly set up and run on a 1080p system definitely smokes DVD, both sight and sound. Perhaps within 10 years, both will be niche or "legacy" products because everyone will just download what they want onto a tiny thumb drive and view it on their 4K holographic systems and shake their heads at how pathetic it all was in the early 2000's.

In summary, BluRay is far nicer when you have the tools to enjoy its capabilities, but DVDs are still good and will not completely go away anytime soon. End of my opinion!

[Douglas R. Bruce]

Originally Posted by Pete Bauer

.....................................For those without the hardware to fully enjoy the much greater capabilities of BluRay, it may not seem much better than DVDs ..........................................
To say there is negligible difference between DVD and BluRay versions of a movie speaks only to the capabilities of the system on which they are viewed, and the druthers of the viewer. BluRay properly set up and run on a 1080p system definitely smokes DVD, both sight and sound.

I couldn't have put it better myself (in fact I didn't.... hehehehehe)

Here is an interesting true experience I had recently.
A friend of mine from Florida, who told me about his wonderful system in Florida, moved here to Japan with his Japanese wife to settle down.
One of his first impressions about Japan was - Wow, and I thought I had seen HiDefinition and Blu-Ray...... the stuff you have over here knocks socks of anything I ever saw in Florida.

Now I'll step aside and let others get down to the real discussion..... :-)
Regards,
Douglas