Blue Ray - Commercial success or going the way of the Dodo ?

admin_exported

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Judging by the space given to blue ray discs in my local HMV ther appears to be considerable consumer resistance to Blue Ray technology. Is this just because of the price differential ?
 
Actually, it's blu-ray, not blue ray (sorry to point that out). All the new films come out on blu-ray format & most of the good old films are available on blu-ray. One of the reasons why you probably won't see many blu-ray discs in your local HMV, is the price. High street shops charge £20-25 for an average blu ray film, whereas you can get the same disc for a lot less on Amazon or play.com. I never spend more than £10-15 on a blu ray disc. I picked up 3 discs (gladiator, wanted & fast & furious) for £12.47 on amazon only 3 days back. That's £4.16 per film! Many people prefer to buy online for this very reason. Also, blu-ray sales are continuously going up. Remember that uptake will be slower than DVD because of the recession & competition from movie downloads & online streaming (both of which the DVD didn't face).
 

landzw

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I know this may sound funny , i think the name is a big factor , Blu-ray had the edge in the beggining due to the PS3 but i've always felt if it was blu-ray was called HD-DVD and there was no format wars people would of been able to understand what it is , i still know people who have no idea what blu-ray is but they understand the meaning of HD

As a nation people like to able to simply understand what something is without to much hassel apart from the tech heads , even now i still feel blu-ray is a cra@@y name

Though thats just my appinion
 
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Anonymous

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As has been suggested, I'd guess that most Blu ray sales are online. Can't remember the last time I bought a CD, BR or book in a 'real' shop.
 

hammill

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Clearwater said:
Judging by the space given to blue ray discs in my local HMV ther appears to be considerable consumer resistance to Blue Ray technology. Is this just because of the price differential ?
I think you will find that the blu-ray will still be in robust health long after HMV has gone extinct. Who has enough money to shop there?
 

Andy Clough

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I think the bigger question here is whether Blu-ray will be the last disc-based format for films. In future will we all be streaming them from a virtual cloud, or do people still want to own something tangible?
 
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Anonymous

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We occasionally rent from a chain of shops in France called VIDEO-FUTUR. When we first came to France about 10 years ago the shop was 90% VHS and 10% DVD. Now it is 70% DVD and 30% blu-ray. Of course on-line may replace disks all together but I think that is the threat to blu-ray not that people still buy DVD's. Judging by friends and neighbours, few people have a blu-ray player but the PS3 has changed that (that's what we have). Players are still getting cheaper so I think more people will buy them but perhaps not to replace a DVD player that still works!
 

chebby

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Andy Clough said:
I think the bigger question here is whether Blu-ray will be the last disc-based format for films. In future will we all be streaming them from a virtual cloud, or do people still want to own something tangible?

That's fine if everyone has a suitably fast (and reliable) broadband connection and if all the streaming infrastructure were reliable too. (I recall a BBC/Sony Bravia glitch that took out iPlayer for all Bravia users for four days last October.)

I have a reasonably fast and robust internet service (10meg Virgin cable) but I wouldn't entrust all my movie viewing to it.
 

hammill

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chebby said:
Andy Clough said:
I think the bigger question here is whether Blu-ray will be the last disc-based format for films. In future will we all be streaming them from a virtual cloud, or do people still want to own something tangible?

That's fine if everyone has a suitably fast (and reliable) broadband connection and if all the streaming infrastructure were reliable too. (I recall a BBC/Sony Bravia glitch that took out iPlayer for all Bravia users for four days last October.)

I have a reasonably fast and robust internet service (10meg Virgin cable) but I wouldn't entrust all my movie viewing to it.
I am in exactly the same situation as you and I agree, the internet connection is not up to the job yet. Also, I can take my blu-rays on holiday with me and there are a lot of places with no (or very expensive) internet connection.
 

Andy Clough

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Agreed, the internet infrastructure isn't there yet and I suspect a lot of people still like to own a physical disc, whether it be for music or movies.
 
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Andy Clough said:
I think the bigger question here is whether Blu-ray will be the last disc-based format for films. In future will we all be streaming them from a virtual cloud, or do people still want to own something tangible?

I think I would prefer something tangible, but have to question my assumption. I have an innate dislike of new 'buzz' (like 'the cloud'), and like having shelves full of things. But I bought a kindle recently, and love it. Even though I have always loved the tactility of books (in the same way that I used to love vinyl album covers), I think all my future book purchases will be in electronic form, provided they are available.

FWIW, the plusses of the kindle are that it's easily portable (so whatever I'm reading is in my case when I'm picking the kids up from school), I'm reading even more because I enjoy it, it's easy to mark sections for quick recall, you can tab to a word if a definition is required, and most importantly, I find it more involving. Sounds daft, as turning a page is no hardship, but having a thumb resting against the page forward button means my mind is less distracted from what I'm reading. Sounds daft, but there you go.

Sorry for the hijack...
 
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Anonymous

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The_Lhc said:
I only buy books in real shops, I'll buy CDs and so on online but books, no, I want to go into a shop and smell them...

Love this comment.
smiley-smile.gif
 
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Anonymous

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Andy Clough said:
I think the bigger question here is whether Blu-ray will be the last disc-based format for films. In future will we all be streaming them from a virtual cloud, or do people still want to own something tangible?

I think it'll be the last, but it'll probably be replaced by a solid state device. I thing a lot of people are getting miss lead by HD streaming. The general public think this is the same quality as Blu-Ray. It isn't and it frustates me that the mass media give this impression that it is, when talking about it.
 

Clare Newsome

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Jase Brown said:
The_Lhc said:
I only buy books in real shops, I'll buy CDs and so on online but books, no, I want to go into a shop and smell them...

Love this comment.
smiley-smile.gif

Me too!

I used to work in a bookshop, and there was a lovely moment when you first arrived in the morning and opened up the door to the smell of book-ness. Unpacking a fresh box of books was also one of my favourite tasks :)

But going back on topic, Blu-ray sale are rising where DVD and CD sales are falling. While it remains the only way to get top-quality content (1080p; HD Audio) it will continue to be popular with movie enthusiasts.
 
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Anonymous

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Andy Clough said:
I think the bigger question here is whether Blu-ray will be the last disc-based format for films. In future will we all be streaming them from a virtual cloud, or do people still want to own something tangible?

It comes down to bandwidth BD stream upto 40Mbps which is way beyond my ADSL connection and even with fttc ( Fibre to the cabinet ) I will only get upto 25Mbps.

Going forward TVs with 4k and 8k resolution are being talked about so the streaming rates there will be even higher, well beyond the planned infrastructure here unless you are lucky enough to get fibre to you house. So I think disks of some description will be around for a while yet unless people are happy with lower bit rates for films as they are with music, mp3 for instance and willing to trade quality for convenience.

As to buying films I rarely watch them more than once so LoveFIlm and the local rental shop are best for me. I will try LoveFilms streaming option though - just not got around to it.
 

manicm

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Clare - this does not paint the complete picture. DVD sales have been in decline long before Blu-ray was released partly because of downloading, but substantially also due to going to the 'corner shop' to buy a much cheaper pirated copy. Blu-ray sales may be up, but this does not necessarily explain declining DVD sales. As a medium the DVD is far from dead. An average person going into a store baulks at the price of a Blu-ray disc and if the price is appealing will pick up the DVD instead. Which is what I did when at the store I picked up The Last Temptation Of Christ - but this is also because I wasn't sure of its Blu-ray release. And many older movies on Blu-ray are a complete waste of cash. Also, the rise of Blu-ray sales is also partially because they're much harder to pirate obviously, if at all possible.
 

Clare Newsome

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Agreed - DVD ain't going nowhere yet (and the industry recognises this).

My point was that Blu-ray sales are on the increase, which is a rarity in physical media circles (games excepted).
 

Alantiggger

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Andy Clough said:
Agreed, the internet infrastructure isn't there yet and I suspect a lot of people still like to own a physical disc, whether it be for music or movies.

... and games Andy ... lot of gaming in this house
smiley-cool.gif
gimme the discs
smiley-smile.gif
(my eldest does buy and d'load from steam mind you )
 
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Anonymous

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I've never really bought films (aside from the Pixar movies, which have been watched dozens and dozens of times by the kids), but the fact that you can rent Blu-Ray for the same cost as DVD, is a winner and was enough to make me renew my lapsed LoveFilm membership last year and convince the OH of the need for a S370-BDP to go with our shiny new 32" LED - even though we had watched and enjoyed several iTunes HD downloads and had just received our Virgin HD+ box.. Judging by the length of the rental queue she has now set up, even as a non-geek, she is clearly convinced of the quality of Blu-Ray over both! We do still occasionally stream movies if there is nothing on TV that we want to watch, but anything halfway decent we'll wait for the Blu-Ray to arrive...

So, much in line with the others, my view is that a) Blu-Ray is brilliant and a success, and b) until streaming bandwidth catches up, the rental market alone will keep Blu-Ray going... and bearing in mind going from 720->1080p requires 4x as many bits (to mention nothing of how much audio data is on a Blu-Ray), I can't see that happening anytime soon...
 

DandyCobalt

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Just received today my 3-Disc Blu-ray import of "Apocalypse Now (Full Disclosure - both versions)"- DTS-HD Master Audio of Ride of the Valkyries, helicopters .... will soon be pouring forth from my speakers, watching in HD on a big projection screen. Blu-ray heaven !!!! (I hope this is region B compatible :) ps. Wife not interested in the slightest.
 

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