Recent Comments:
Disney's $249 remote-controlled Wall-E up for pre-order {Engadget}
Jul 22nd 2008 4:19PM If he makes the Mac startup sound, they've got a buyer. :-)
(Kidding - didn't think the movie was so incredible.)
Warner set to lower Blu-ray Disc prices for the holidays {Engadget HD}
Jul 15th 2008 8:21PM (If there was a previous old post before this - just ignore. Shouldn't have used 1Password with the old comment. Sorry.)
This is a step in the right direction, but I just think this sets the wrong expectation for consumers. They will expect to pay somewhere in this range going forward and unless a commitment is made to lowering prices on a more permanent basis, then, I'm not sure if this will have the desired effect.
Warner set to lower Blu-ray Disc prices for the holidays {Engadget HD}
Jul 15th 2008 8:18PM Ben, you raise so many excellent points that I never gave much thought to (particularly about the studios.) I still think that, all fanboyism aside (I own a PS3 and enjoy Blu-ray movies) Blu-ray isn't going to enjoy anywhere near the success that DVD did.
I think many of the facts that you raise support the fact that folks like me *aren't* giving "Joe Six Pack" any credit. I stand behind these folks in Best Buy and eavesdrop. I also do some side business where I consult folks on technology purchases. I agree completely that they're just going for buzzwords -- "Give me a 1080P set". "I need HDMI". But these are the same folks that would rather have their colors popping beyond realistic levels than providing a true representation of what the filmmaker/producer envisioned.
I'm giving "Joe Six Pack" NO credit. :-) I believe that to most consumers, the migration from VHS to DVD was much more about convenience than it was about image quality. Aside from the obvious quality difference, there were a ton of other differences that made DVD popular, like smaller size, no rewinding, skipping between scenes, ability to rip digitally, etc.
I think my post on the podcast last week got misinterpreted. I wasn't trying to bash folks like Leo Laporte and others who comment on high definition media. I'm simply saying that if these are the opinion leaders in the tech community who are doing podcasts, going on CNN and local TV talking about the formats and even they can't see the difference between upscaled DVD and Blu Ray, then what hope does Uncle Eddie in Peoria?
Another key factor is that folks like me are looking at their massive DVD collections and realizing how little they've watched them. There wasn't a 'Netflix' when I got started. And honestly I think I'd own less movies now if there were.
Bottom line for me -- if we make ANY noticeable strides in bandwidth in the next two years, believe that the convenience of being able to download from the iTunes store (or whatever store) is going to trump any physical format. Folks are getting used to it now with mp3 downloads. It's only inevitable. The only question is whether we'll stay on the same trajectory for improving bandwidth that we've been on.
iPhone 2.0 and iPod touch 2.0 released officially {Engadget}
Jul 11th 2008 8:33AM OK - I was complaining, but it's up... not sure if this had anything to do with it, but I closed and reopened my iTunes and it showed up. (8:31AM in NYC - U.S.)
iPhone 2.0 and iPod touch 2.0 released officially {Engadget}
Jul 11th 2008 7:40AM No - it doesn't update for me either -- and considering the fact that the phone is launching today and that we've been patient amidst all of the pirated versions and jailbreaking, I don't understand why we have to wait... this is getting ridiculous.
Medion's Akoya Mini laptop gets pictured at Computex {Engadget}
Jun 9th 2008 11:20AM this looks exactly like the HP Mini Notebook (2133) -- at least from the inside.
3G iPhone revealed in third-party case render? {Engadget}
May 19th 2008 11:38AM Hoping this isn't the design... BUT, let's wait until we hear what's different from Apple. I seem to be in the minority, but playing music and trying to surf the web usually ended up crashing Safari (or other apps.) Perhaps the extra 'heft' will equal more stability. Or maybe some other stuff that pushes the interface?
Engadget HD Podcast 081 - 04.17.2008 {Engadget HD}
Apr 18th 2008 11:01PM Re: the HD DVD spike this week (or the slight Blu Ray dip)... Call me crazy, but I don't think this has anything to do with catalog availability as much as price. This goes back to the whole "will DVD enjoy the same success as Blu Ray" argument. People are too used to paying no more than 20 bucks for a new title. I've got a 50" Samsung 1080P Plasma and a PS3 and as much as I wanted to pick up 'I Am Legend', I just couldn't justify $33 bucks for something I'll watch maybe 5 times max.
Besides cost, I can't understand why there isn't more being made of the lack extras on HD discs. There seem to be tons more extras on the standard-def releases. Sometimes you're lucky if you even get an audio commentary. Often it feels like aside from the obviously superior image quality, they're asking you to pay more for less. I'm sure they're counting on re-selling these titles to me as their TRUE definitive HD versions in 2 years, but I think we'll be downloading by then.
Given the available alternatives, unless we see the prices on HD titles coming closer to it's SD counterparts, get used to these numbers.
Pioneer officially ends in-house plasma production, Kuro LCDs coming soon {Engadget HD}
Mar 7th 2008 7:37AM Funny - after listening to him last week, when I read this, I think I heard his heart stop.
Sadly this is going to bring the whole LCD/Plasma debate back again. Hey - if they can make the same high quality display, who really cares.
Just 5% of Europe's HDTV owners watch HD programming {Engadget HD}
Mar 5th 2008 4:12PM A few things I think we in the tech community don't take into account...we're all hardcore HD nuts... we can spot the difference between SD and HD in like 5 seconds of footage. The general populous can look at a DVD or even an SD signal playing in 16x9 and swear that it's HD.
The other problem is the way that the channels are arranged. I've set up people's HDTVs in a few homes and in several different cable providers, the channels are usually in the 100's. (In NYC, Time Warner HD channels start at 100.) The cable providers have generally done a poor job of informing users about their HD options.
