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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
squiggleslash @ Sep 27th 2008 12:33PM
It needs to be fixed first. I really don't see a lot of point in investing in the format with:
- "Good enough" online downloads around the corner
- Decent HD on my DVR and movie channels for new releases (yes, I know it's not BD quality, but it's good enough.)
- No compatibility with the rest of my players such as my laptop's DVD drive
Now, if it can be modified to be compelling just as DVD was over VHS. But you have to do more than just reduce the price of players.
Of course, many people on Engadget HD will buy a BD player anyway, because it's the only HD format. And that's fine and all, but I'm just not seeing it as fulfilling the value proposition for me.
THizzle7XU @ Sep 27th 2008 2:59PM
"- No compatibility with the rest of my players such as my laptop's DVD drive"
Then it wouldn't be a new format, would it?
If incompatibility kept people from buying stuff, we'd all still be using record players.
squiggleslash @ Sep 27th 2008 3:30PM
HD DVD had combo disks.
Like I said, it can be modified to be compelling like DVD was over VHS (in which case, backwards compatibility wouldn't be so important), but as it stands now: nope. I'm going to hold off and see how downloads work out.
The Aggie CEO @ Sep 27th 2008 3:59PM
HD-DVD had combo Disc????
thats your rebuttal to that???
REALLY????
Come on guy........
HD-DVD had Combo Disc and NO ONE BOUGHT THEM........why??? because it wasnt worth it.........
Thats why Warner Bros. never released thos "Total HD" disc with Blu-ray on one side and HD-DVD on the other.......it wasnt worth it......
HD Downloads are STILL a ways off from being a MASS selling point to anyone with less than a 100MBs connection........why?? because it takes TOO long to download movies......not to mention companies like Comcast putting caps on bandwidth.......
then to the "Good Enough" HD rentals from your cable provider........if you like the occasional bad connection that occurs with some cable providers go ahead.....Time Warner sucks in my area, not to mention I'll be damn id I pay $4-5 to PER movie when I get 4 movies out at a time thru Netflix for $25 or a month........
Point blank Blu-ray isnt FOR everybody........hell if it wasnt for my PS3 I wouldnt have a BD player because a stand alone BD player just isnt worth it to me right now. hell for that matter I would prolly not have my 46" Sharp if I aint have my PS3 either........but thats neither hear nor there........point blank Blu-ray is a Big enough change from DVD to justify it being purchased WHEN 2.0 players are @ $200 or less........you get WAAAAAAAAAAY more features on a BD than a Digital Download or a Rented movie thru cable.
oh and back to the not working with your DVD laptop drive.........ya know the cost of BD drives are coming down.....and although I dont see it being STANDARD on ALL Laptops any time soon........5+ years ago DVD drives were considered a LUXURY on Laptops.......did you say the same thing about DVDs not playing on your CD drive???
JimC @ Sep 27th 2008 5:27PM
Hey chief, how long did you hold out on getting a DVD-Rom drive to replace your CD-Rom on your laptop? Hmmm? Go out and buy a blu-ray drive for your laptop or PC and then you have your compatibility.
DrXym @ Sep 28th 2008 6:09AM
It's pretty lame to claim blu ray is too much of an investment when a viable alternative still doesn't exist. And no, VOD is not a viable alternative. Neither is it "good enough" if you actually want to own your movies rather than rent them or have them subject to the whims and mercies of some cable provider. Once industry adopts a common digital format (with DRM or without) that allows people to buy to own from a variety of stores and play from a variety of devices with reasonable fair use THEN you might have a point. But not now.
As for the DVD laptop comment. that is just lame really. Why not moan that your laptop doesn't have enough to space to hold more than a handful of 5Gb downloads while you're at it? Besides BD drives are fairly affordable and becoming more common in desktops and laptops. I'll add that since you claim AACS and BD+ to be useless it should be fairly trivial to rip unprotected movies for your travels if you so desire.
The Aggie CEO @ Sep 28th 2008 9:22AM
@DrXym........was there a VIA Alternative to Laser Disc, VHS, or DVD?????
VHS yea there was.........BETAMAX........and it lost out........much like HD-DVD did.........
Multiple formats or ALTERNATIVES do nothing but confuse consumers........
squiggleslash @ Sep 28th 2008 9:28AM
The Aggie CEO: I stopped reading your rant after you claimed nobody bought combo disks. Sorry, but I never cease to be amazed by the hate-on Blutards have for HD DVD.
JimC: Laptop drive options tend to be unchanged from when you buy the laptop. I seriously doubt a Blu-ray drive is coming soon that'll be compatible with mine, and even if one does, I see little point in buying it. You have a chicken and egg situation here. There's no point in my buying Blu-ray discs without Blu-ray players, and there's no point in my buying Blu-ray players and drives if I'm not going to buy Blu-ray discs.
DrXym - yawn. There were no HD options at all three years ago. I saw nobody keel over and die. And there are HD download options right now, I just don't particularly like the available selection.
As I said, I'm going to wait for a viable option. Blu-ray is a lot of money for a lot of nothing. There's nothing compelling about the format, certainly nothing worth spending a fortune upgrading my entire infrastructure for. I just don't see myself ever wanting it, and I'm certainly not going to spend thousands right now just to get a technology that I see as being superceded by options I actually want in the near future.
Meanwhile, HD downloads are becoming more and more viable. And I can watch new releases in glorious HD and even store them semi-permanently by subscribing to HD movie channels and using an HD DVR.
What I hope is that they'll fix Blu-ray. It's not impossible, it just takes guts to accept the format isn't perfect. And it also means ignoring idiots who think Blu-ray is perfect. What it probably takes is for Blu-ray's cheerleaders to start acknowledging that no, it isn't perfect, and it can be improved. But with people like you, and Engadget HD's bizarre head-in-the-sand we'll-lie-cheat-and-libel-to-promote-BD approach, I don't think they're going to, and I see even less chance of the technology ever becoming something I want than ever.
Keep making Blu-ray suck Blutards. Everyone loses that way.
The Aggie CEO @ Sep 28th 2008 9:47AM
ROFLMA@ @ "Blutards"
thats hiallarious........
HD Downloads dont have NEARLY as many features as BD does........I mean SURE there may be SOME 7.1 downloadable content but as for having MULTIPLE Languages and subtitles........are they there??? can you look @ Behind the Scenes content??? I mean that may be things that dont matter to you. but I'm the guy that always bought the Multiple disc Limited edition version of a DVD when it was released.....I love extra content......so yea I spent $25+ sometime ON DVDs, THATS why its no biggie for me on BD movies.....even tho I havent paid more than $24 on any of the 45+ BD Movies that I have.....
and as for you not wanting to spend THOUSAND to upgrade your infrastructure.........I spent $400 for my PS3(Best BD Player out for the money last fall) and got a BD 6x Writer drive for around $280.....I didnt spend THOUSANDS........point blank if you are not open to something because you didnt give it a chance you will never see the good in it. I am Open to HD Downloads IF I can burn them for backup purposes(have a hard Copy), if they include more in the file such as extra content and subtiles, etc. and I can get a Broadband connection like people in Switzerland. until them I'm content with what I have
h0mi @ Sep 28th 2008 11:00AM
@squiggleslash
"- No compatibility with the rest of my players such as my laptop's DVD drive"
That's not "broken" though. If that's so important to you, you either should upgrade the drive in your laptop, add an external blu-ray drive, or buy a new laptop with blu-ray. I know, these don't sound like good alternatives. And unless you're buying a blu-ray disc burner, IMO, it makes no sense to get blu-ray on a PC/Laptop... I personally don't see much utility in watching blu-ray movies on a PC.
This wasn't a feature that excluded HD DVD though. HD DVD discs didn't work in your laptop's DVD drive. Sure the combo discs did but out of 23 HD DVDs I own, only 4 are combos; 2 titles I own happen to be in both combo/non combo form (300).
Combo discs had limited availability and as it was implemented, it was a net negative for the format. Flipper discs that had far more reliability & playback issues and cost more made it a disadvantage.
Jonsson @ Sep 28th 2008 11:11AM
What total BS. Digital downloads "good enough" and "around the corner". Digital dowloads that are good enough (i.e. BD quality) is NOT around the corner.
This is bviously yet another disgruntled HD-DVD fan that can not get over the fact that his format lost so now he has to join the quire of BS'ers.
Sigh !!!
DrXym @ Sep 28th 2008 12:34PM
The point Squiggleslash is that Blu Ray is here now, it's affordable, the target audience of HD owners is there and there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to hold out for the sake of a $200 player. People who have splashed out for an HD TV *wouldn't* hold out for a $200 player. Your arguments about downloads are basically diluted Nfinity rants and don't make any sense, especially to anyone who likes to own their content.
If you absolutely must have digital movies, rip the disks or content yourself with rentals and the bandwidth whims of your ISP. You yourself claim AACS and BD+ aren't worth anything so what is the issue you have with people buying into the format I wonder? If you don't like physical then back up your disks as .iso files and play them off the HDD, or transcode them down to a smaller size.