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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
squiggleslash @ Oct 31st 2008 9:00AM
This is similar to what I've been saying for a while and it's also a major factor into why Blu-ray is going to have serious problems going mainstream.
TFA's view is that people spend more time watching shows they've DVR'd and therefore have less time to watch movies they've rented. But there's also the factor I've mentioned a few times that an HD DVR and a subscription to something like Cinemax is an absolutely awesome way to watch recent releases. And with TiVo and recent Dish DVRs allowing you to add additional storage, you can end up with quite a good movie collection.
There have been a lot of comments here along the lines of "Blu-ray's about to take off! The economy's down the toilet so people will spend money on Blu-ray instead of vacations." I think realistically people may upgrade their TVs, but they'll skip BD as they're going to be overwhelmed with content options.
Who can complain about that?
Valicore @ Oct 31st 2008 10:55AM
I think that Blu-Ray has it's place, but as more of a stepping stone to other technologies. VHS was revolutionary, the DVD was revolutionary, both because they were so much better than what there was before. VHS/Betamax was revolutionary because it gave so much control (compared to before at least) to the consumer. DVD was revolutionary because there was such an improvement in ease of use (not having to rewind, not having to fast forward through the whole movie to get to a scene near the end), in picture quality, and because it offered interactivity in a way people hadn't experienced before.
Blu-Ray is a bit of a harder sell. As stupid as it sounds, I think that one of the big reasons people don't see the need or benefit in upgrading is that the actual physical media doesn't look very different.Most of the people on Engadget know it's actually quite different technically, but it doesn't grab the average person like the difference between a clunky cassette tape and a shiny round disk.
I know a lot of people like having that physical media on the shelf because we're used to it, but my generation (early twenties) and to a much greater extent the generation after don't see the point in taking up the room to store it. That, coupled with things like the Popcorn Hour and the Xbox 360/Netflix deal are really gonna be the next "wow factor" thing in my opinion. I wouldn't have thought this at all even 2 years ago, but with the rate that broadband speeds are increasing and streaming content technologies are evolving, I think it'll be a surprise..