Coldgunner Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-10142913-82.html I've been seeing a lot of articles lately about Blu-ray's fuzzy future, how it's doomed, and how its success will be short-lived even if it does take off. Well, that may well end up being the case, but I gotta say, from where I'm sitting, there's a far greater probability that Blu-ray will do just fine--for a long time. And I'm not saying that because I'm a fanboy or a shill for Sony. I'm saying it because a lot of simple market factors point toward it doing just fine. Here are nine reasons why I'm right.1. Digital downloads will not eliminate the need for discs anytime soon. Let's address this first since this is the biggest factor that people cite when trumpeting Blu-ray's defeat. If you haven't noticed, here at CNET we spend a good amount of time covering new streaming video platforms and services and really enjoy testing these new products. Everything from Hulu to Netflix streaming video to Slingbox to Apple TV to Vudu all show promise. That said, all these products have some limiting factors, including lack of content selection, pricing hurdles, and most particularly, bandwidth issues, which affect video and audio quality. Case in point: The other night I was running Netflix's video streaming service on my Xbox 360. I fired up the movie, The Adventures of Baron Von Munchausen on a large rear-projection TV. It looked like crap. How crappy? Well, bad enough for my wife to say, "Get that off the screen right now." (The hazard of watching virtually everything in HD is that everyone in your household over the age of 7 becomes a video snob). Next, I tried The Wiggles to better results. The program had brighter scenes and less movement, so the picture wasn't quite as soft and pixelated. My 5-year-old could handle it just fine. However, I had to leave the room after 5 minutes in extreme pain. (It was due to the content, not video quality. Man, that's some bad music). Now, I'm sure folks who've got Verizon's Fios installed in their homes are getting a much better picture when they stream their Netflix video. But I'm dealing with cable internet from Time Warner in Manhattan and while it's acceptable for streaming video onto a 22-inch computer monitor, the pipe really isn't fat enough for blowing things up too far beyond a 32-inch set without things getting pretty fuzzy. (Our video guru, David Katzmaier says he's happy with the bandwidth he's getting from Time Warner in Brooklyn, but he says he, too, runs into some pretty rough pictures, especially those that involve a lot of action sequences). I can't see Time Warner and other cable Internet providers suddenly delivering more bandwidth anytime soon (if anything, my connection seems to have gotten worse in recent months). DSL is even worse in a lot of cases--unless you're willing to pay ridiculous rates for top-of-the-line bandwidth offerings, which are usually geared toward businesses not consumers. And there's also plenty of talk about ISPs throttling back on bandwidth to police illegal downloads of music and yes, movie and TV shows. The incoming Obama administration is reportedly going to be offering incentives to providers for building out broadband offerings and increasing bandwidth (eventually, anyway). Whether that has any impact or not, I still think we're a good 3-5 years away before the pipes really get fat enough for many of these IPTV/ streaming video services to reach their full potential and move from niche to mainstream status. In that time prices for both Blu-ray players and discs will look a lot like what you see today on their DVD brethren (see reasons #4 and #5). 2. Having one clear standard is a big advantage. One of the problems with digital video streaming and downloads is that there's no standard for the industry to coalesce around. It's all a hodgepodge of stuff with various factions competing against each other with the consumers stuck in the middle of it all. That will slow adoption. 3. Blu-ray isn't going to be replaced by another disc format anytime soon. When both Blu-ray and HD-DVD were in the midst of their little battle for the right to be crowned winner of the next-generation DVD format wars, there was lots of chatter about skipping this generation of disc technology and moving on to something that offered capacity beyond the 50GB you could store on Blu-ray discs. My favorite was "holographic storage," discs, which could carry like 10 times the amount of data. The problem is, no one's got the money or marketing power of Sony and its allies to bring out a new disc format, even if it is technically better. Also, Blu-ray is plenty good enough and will be for the next five years, if not longer, especially when they start adding special layers and all that fun stuff companies do to eke more out of a technology. Yeah, Blu-ray's got plenty of downside competition from DVD, but there's no upside pressure coming anytime soon from some higher-end format. This is it for a while, folks. Blu-ray is the de-facto standard for high-definition discs. 4. Prices for large-screen HDTVs will continue to drop. Yes, we're dealing with a serious recession here. But people are still buying HDTVs (maybe not as many, but there are certain necessities in life, and a good TV is one of them; it's the American way). And with prices becoming more affordable for sets 50 inches or bigger, you've got a growing base of installed users who are ultimately going to want to get the best picture they can out of their TVs. Eventually, DVD isn't going to cut it for people with large-screen TVs. And at the end of the day, Blu-ray looks significantly better than DVD--or pretty much anything else, including most HDTV broadcasts--on TVs 50 inches or bigger. 5. Prices for Blu-ray players will continue to drop. By this time next year, there will be several sub-$100 Blu-ray players on the market. Once you get to those price points it becomes much more of a no-brainer for consumers to purchase a Blu-ray player. Yes, you 'll be able to buy a decent DVD player for $60. But if you tell someone you can have a player that plays back "HD" discs and DVDs, he or she will think hard about shelling out the extra cash. And it will also help if... 6. Prices for Blu-ray discs will drop to near DVD price levels. In a small number of cases, we're already finding examples of Blu-ray versions of movies that cost virtually the same as their DVD counterparts. In the coming months, you'll see the prices for Blu-ray discs gradually drop with the gap between Blu-ray and DVD prices narrowing. They have to. This is how businesses work. You get the cost of production down to the point where you can spur demand and still manage to turn a tidy profit. While people aren't going to buy as many Blu-ray discs as they did DVDs (plenty will rent from Netflix and other outlets), they're still going to buy some. Given the choice of renting an HD movie on demand for $6 and buying the disc for $15-$20, you're going to get your share of folks buying a tangible, physical product. And let's not forget that the price for watching movies in theaters is getting ridiculous ($12.50 per person here in Manhattan). Buying a pristine copy of the movie for $15-$20 is going to seem like a bargain, especially for a family of four--or more. 7. Sony will sell lots of PlayStation 3 game consoles. As Sony trims the price on its PS3, it will sell more of them. Many more. And every PS3 has a Blu-ray player in it (and we still think it's the best player out there). This has always been Sony's Trojan horse for the platform. Don't forget it. 8. Sony can't afford to have Blu-ray fail. Sony won the war with HD DVD, and now it's got to take that win to the bank. Sony and its partners will do everything in their power to make it succeed. That's a lot of marketing juice. 9. Sony and its partners will figure out a way to have Blu-ray resonate with the public. In several market research studies, Blu-ray has run into a basic problem: a high percentage of consumers don't understand just what Blu-ray is and what it does for them. I always liked the name HD DVD better than Blu-ray because I thought the name translated better to the average consumer. Some argue that Blu-ray is a better name because it connotes something new and different (and presumably better). Well, when you have people misspelling your brand's name (Blue Ray), you have a problem. I would encourage Sony to embark on a whimsical, self-deprecating ad campaign that educates consumers about its platform and teaches them how to spell its product correctly. As we used to say here at CNET--whenever we saw our site incorrectly referred to as c-net, C|Net, or CNet--spelling is telling. When everybody knows how to spell Blu-ray correctly, the format will be a success. I'll bet my old HD DVD collection on it. As always, feel free to agree or disagree with me and list your reasons you think Blu-ray will make it, fade away, or muddle about in a place between success and failure, forever eliciting praise and criticism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emn1ty Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I only have something to say about number 4, which is that while HDTV's will drop in price OLED displays will bring the costs way back up once those become the main technology ($2500 11" right now). I think Samsung is releasing a 19" computer monitor this year made with OLED's. Sevenis pointless by itself and makes little sense. While the PS3 did push Blu-Ray to the top, that was only because it was cheaper than most of the stand alone players. Now that has changed. Eight is also kinda redundant. Just because a company can't afford for something to fail doesn't mean it won't. Oh, and Blu-Ray isn't a standard as number two suggests it is. DVD is the standard media so that whole point is moot. And besides, not having a media standard on the PC may be a bad thing, but it also can be a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Blu ray was always going to be successful, even outside of the movies merely because PS3 games came on BD. In a few years time we may see PC games on BD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot B. Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Good article :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt-DavidW Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Oh, and Blu-Ray isn't a standard as number two suggests it is. DVD is the standard media so that whole point is moot. And besides, not having a media standard on the PC may be a bad thing, but it also can be a good thing. Blu-Ray is the standard for HD content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicane-UK Veteran Posted January 16, 2009 Veteran Share Posted January 16, 2009 I already love Blu-Ray - but just don't love the cost of the discs. As soon as prices start to drop a little, I think the market will respond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot B. Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 The author seems content on pushing the naming thing. Well, surely it's Blu-ray Disc, not Blu-ray? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt-DavidW Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 The author seems content on pushing the naming thing. Well, surely it's Blu-ray Disc, not Blu-ray? I hate it when people call them "Blu-Ray DVDs". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTD Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Until streaming HD hits. And sooner than you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digitalx Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 prices of HDTV's won't continue to drop since here they're pretty much frozen at the $1000 for a cheap one as they keep layering on rubbish like 3d and 480Hz and charge screw off amounts i don't see prices dropping anytime soon. to be honest this sounds more like wishful thinking but i guess we'll see i'd like blu-ray to get cheaper and all and become more cross platform and usage be wider adopted but won't be any time soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ci7 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 @LTD ^ then ISP crippled the internet even more caps , throttling.... etc exactly what the awful local ISPs did . $#^%#&$^&% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Both of these articles you posted seem very "because I said so" by the author. No real facts, just hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot B. Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Both of these articles you posted seem very "because I said so" by the author. No real facts, just hope. They seem to contain a lot of facts from what I can see :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Both of these articles you posted seem very "because I said so" by the author. No real facts, just hope. Just saw them and copy pasted tbh, I think they state a lot of points, especially with history repeating itself from the VHS to DVD transition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 They seem to contain a lot of facts from what I can see :) Like points 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9? Those aren't facts, they're conjecture, or at best, a good chance. The last few sound almost desperate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScorpioRGc1 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I love Blu-ray (my father-in-law has a PS3 and an HDTV); I can't wait to get a PS3 & a good HDTV for myself. I'm not interested in digital downloads; I rarely even play DVDs on my PC; I'd rather watch them on my TV. Plus, I'm one of those people who just likes having the disk for movies, music, and games. I never buy digital movies, very rarely digital music, and the only online games I've bought are from Steam (and all of those Valve games except for two which had sale prices I couldn't resist). I think Blu-ray will succeed. It took DVDs a few years to really take off too, after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elite Prime Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Blu Ray will succeed everything has to start from somewhere even VHS and DVD took time to become really successful and popular Digital downloads won't be replacing Blu Ray anytime soon most people don't have ultra fast broadband to download a 50GB movie quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dysphoria Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 This is a badly written article. All you have to do is prove point 1 to be wrong and none of the other points matter. 1. Digital downloads will not eliminate the need for discs anytime soon. Actually I think that digital downloads and flash disks will liminate the need for discs. You can buy a 16GB Flash disk for $25, and prices are dropping each month. Why waist money on BluRay players, disks, when all you need is a USB drive and a TV or PC. Sony was just a bit late, and they cant do anything to stop progress of technology. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Hammond Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Until streaming HD hits. And sooner than you think. Theres always one. Streaming HD will never EVER match the quality of the video on a Blu-Ray disc. Unless you like waiting a week before you can start watching it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason S. Global Moderator Posted January 16, 2009 Global Moderator Share Posted January 16, 2009 I only have something to say about number 4, which is that while HDTV's will drop in price OLED displays will bring the costs way back up once those become the main technology ($2500 11" right now). I think Samsung is releasing a 19" computer monitor this year made with OLED's. Sevenis pointless by itself and makes little sense. While the PS3 did push Blu-Ray to the top, that was only because it was cheaper than most of the stand alone players. Now that has changed. Eight is also kinda redundant. Just because a company can't afford for something to fail doesn't mean it won't. Oh, and Blu-Ray isn't a standard as number two suggests it is. DVD is the standard media so that whole point is moot. And besides, not having a media standard on the PC may be a bad thing, but it also can be a good thing. how is blu-ray not a standard? DVD is also a standard. theyre separate. OLED is awesome, but it may never become mainstream. 99% of people have no clue what OLED even is, nor do they care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Hammond Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Actually I think that digital downloads and flash disks will liminate the need for discs.You can buy a 16GB Flash disk for $25, and prices are dropping each month. Why waist money on BluRay players, disks, when all you need is a USB drive and a TV or PC. Sony was just a bit late, and they cant do anything to stop progress of technology. Cheers Right and how do you get the menus/extras/online content working off a Flash drive, not to mention the severe lack of space, there isnt enough room for a full quality 40mbps 1080p movie like you get on Blu-ray now let alone the transfer rate to sustain that bitrate without jerking and jittering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason S. Global Moderator Posted January 16, 2009 Global Moderator Share Posted January 16, 2009 Until streaming HD hits. And sooner than you think. i dont believe this. most households do not have the speed required for streaming. hell, my house only has 1.5Mbit and im not able to watch any 720p streaming media over that. it has a rough time w/ simple YouTube videos. "sooner than you think" to me is 10yrs or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason S. Global Moderator Posted January 16, 2009 Global Moderator Share Posted January 16, 2009 Actually I think that digital downloads and flash disks will liminate the need for discs.You can buy a 16GB Flash disk for $25, and prices are dropping each month. Why waist money on BluRay players, disks, when all you need is a USB drive and a TV or PC. a 16GB flash disk for $25 is still not a 50GB blu ray disc for <$20. a 16GB flash disk cannot sustain the transfer rates for blu-ray. where's the standard required to put all blu-ray's features on a flash disk? where's the software that's going to read and play data from the disk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Veteran Posted January 16, 2009 Veteran Share Posted January 16, 2009 Both of these articles you posted seem very "because I said so" by the author. No real facts, just hope. I noticed that... 7-9 are all descriptions of Sony's current woes. Here are my corrections: 7. Sony may sell lots of PS3s. 8. Sony will probably fail if Blu-Ray DVDs and PS3s don't take off. (Sorry, to above. Blu-Ray is a DVD. Digital Versatile Disc. Games/movies) 9. Sony and it's partners have to try to figure out how to get people to buy something they apparently aren't too interested in during a global recession that's probably going to last a while. :) EDIT: If #1 is true, why does Sony offer digital movie downloads on the PS3? The way I see it Sony is setting themselves up for a MASSIVE antitrust lawsuit by tying the BD to PS3 and claiming it's helping the format adoption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiB3R Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Digital downloads won't be replacing Blu Ray anytime soon most people don't have ultra fast broadband to download a 50GB movie quickly I have a copy of The Dark Knight in 1080p and it's only 14.03GB. It's truly indistinguishable form the original blu-ray. Still far to big to stream on my bandwith though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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