Re: bluray topic
 

John, my tally on BD burns must be getting into hundreds now and yours isn't a complaint I've encountered as yet - of course that's not a huge sample as samples go but it must tell you at least part of the story.

My personal opinion of the Apple part of your comment is that Apple's decision to embrace a technology is likely to be driven by the degree the technology can be made exclusive to Apple and thus the profit the company can make out of it. That's a pragmatic marketing decision not merely Luddite.

On the other hand there are others who still don't think that BD is anything but a passing fancy - the creators of the excellent DVD-Lab authoring for example. For them the world appears to have stopped at DVD.

Re: bluray topic
 

Phlip, that's a valid point that make sense. I guess I gain some confidence in using blueray format without worrying that much of playback failure issue. I don't know how people in UK is adopting the format, but in US, people is gradually adopting the format, especially the player price drops below the $100.

Re: bluray topic
 

John, the answer is that since I'm not in retail or privy to the big manufacturers' figures, I don't know how well BD is selling in the UK. As I wrote earlier, our local Blockbuster tell me that they now receive from their Head Office, the same number of copies of each new release in BD as they do in DVD.

Of course they may be subject to all sorts of purchasing minima or other decisions but on the face of it BD's penetration of the rental film part of the market is roughly the same as the DVD penetration. What I doubt is that they're ordering on that basis because they're trying to influence the market by making BD more available than DVD.

One other factor may be people's perception of the value of HD. Recently, at least one of the main broadcasters here has been reducing the HD bitrate of its broadcasts. It seems reasonable to assume that some people considering the upgrade of their replay equipment might look at their lower quality HD transmissions and decide that the perceived difference in quality isn't worth making the change for.

Re: bluray topic
 

There aren't even ANY Blockbuster video rental stores, or any other video rental stores around here any more either. We used to have at least a dozen here in town.

I suspect everything is now Video on Demand from the cable and satellite companies or online viewing and download.

DVD and Bluray both are entering the death cycle and being replaced by file based systems. There may still be a little short term growth in places, but overall they are going the way of VHS and Beta both. Who cares anymore which of the tape based formats was better? Optical disks are following the same path.

Virtually ALL of my corporate clients now want file based delivery of my work for them. How long until my wedding couples do also? Personally, I'll deliver the way the clients want, if I can.

Re: bluray topic
 

Maybe there, Video on Demand is ready to kill all DVD/BD, and the same may happen in some other places as well, but on global scale terms, physical media have a loooot of life yet. No Video On Demand services? Slow and unstable ADSL lines? Choose one or both for the most part of the world, and you've got the answer to the question.

Re: bluray topic
 

Blockbuster and Hollywood video rental stores are killed by netflix and the $1 DVD rental kiosk outside grocery store.

Re: bluray topic
 

I guess lower bit rate of the HD material is different issue, compared to the experience people have when they see HD material. When I compare BD disk that has 25MB/S bit rate and compressed version of BD that has 4MB/S bit rate, I still can tell that I'm expriencing the HD material, even though there are ceratainly a quality difference between the two. But If I watch DVD and compared to HD video, it's just a totally different exprience that any ordinary people can tell the difference. I guess that is the primary reason that BD (or HD) gain the popularity these datys.

Re: bluray topic
 

Been shooting, editing and watching lots of HD footage, now when I look at DVD, I can instantly tell the difference.