Blu-ray movie sales gathering momentum Film fans are steadily heeding the hi-def message. Some 11m Blu-ray Disc movie titles have been bought so far, according to the latest sales stats. Research by US market watcher Redhill also revealed that more BDs were sold during the first five months of this year than during the whole of 2007. Last year, BDs only accounted …
What's that? Only 6 percent of Americans aware of Blu-Ray, so that's about the same percentage who can read, isn't it?
More seriously, I like Blu-ray and I'm sure it'll continue to grow but I have to be honest that an upscaled modern DVD looks pretty good. If I didn't have a PS3 I'd only have replaced my DVD player with Blu-ray if it broke.
If you made Blu-Ray disks cost the same as the DVD they would sell by the bucketload.
However, cashing in on HD-DVD's demise, the price of Blu-Ray Discs have been hiked up to £24 or thereabouts.
Why would anyone buy a copy of a movie for £24 when you can get the same film for £10-12 on DVD and with a decent upscaler (the PS3 for example which has, much as it pains me to say it, a great upscaler) it doesn't look half bad. There's only a few people with decent audio decoders who would probably have the money for the HD.
For most of the general populous, the HD video isn't worth the extra 100% cost.
I did exactly this, I held off on HD-DVD/DB until there was a clear format, then bought a PS3 and now buy all my films on DB.
MS need to swallow their pride and bring out a DB equipped 360.
(preferably one that doesn't look like a toy with a nasty Fisher Price'esque interface that sounds like a Hoover which overheats for fun, but then I am picky).
I think part of the problem is that Blu-Ray is pretty but it's only on CG stuff like Ratatouille that the HD is noticable. On things like Superman Returns or Spider-Man, there is not a massive difference when compared to decent upscaling (yes, I am using a 1080p display). The pin point clarity that HD (especially FullHD) is meant to offer just isn't there for some reason.
is the illegal HDCP infecting BD players that make them require that your TV also been infected with HDCP. A lot of peoples who own decent older HD display and saddly cannot enjoy BD movie because of the illegal HDCP plaguing them.
Once again illegal DRM is preventing the format from really taking off.
Lucky for me, i just got a BD reader for my Media PC and is able to easly disable the HDCP infection from it. so now i can enjoy HD movie on *ANY* HD display i own. Cost me 130$ for the reader and did not need to buy a new video card and monitor to enjoy hi-DEF movies.
I've got both a HD-DVD drive and a Blu-Ray drive and have to say before HD-DVD died I only bought a few titles for each, but since the death of HD-DVD I've bought far more HD-DVD's than I had bought on either format before. With HD-DVD around £5 each now, 3 films on HD-DVD for the price of one on Blu-Ray is too good an offer to pass up.
If Blu-Ray was cheaper, I'd buy more but until then I'll stick with mopping up the HD-DVDs still on sale and DVDs reserving Blu-Ray only for those films that are really worth it.
At the same time i bought a decent upscaling dvd player. What this has shown, is that decent dvd transfers are outstanding. but some of dvds's i own, so litle care was taken in transferring the original source they can look appalling. I don't think studios are anywhere near taking advantage of the quality dvd affords, nevermind blu-ray. A hint is that i buy a film, for the film, and want that presented in as high a quality as possible. not presented in an ok quality so that they can slap 4 hours of 'extras' onto the same disk.
Blu-ray may be the way to go for new movies, where the source material is actually high enough quality to warrant high def, but for now, I'm perfectly happy with my £50 upscaling player(1080i on a 1080p tv) and paying £5-6 per film for excelent quality.
Maybe if blu-ray playerrs weren't £300 and films £25 i would have seen the difference in quality, if it exists, and been so stunned i rushed out to buy one, but i can't really see it. As it is, unless its a spectacular improvement then there's no real benefit over a decent upscaler. Yes I know its going to be better, but is is good enough to justify the price difference. When a half decent brand hits £100 i'll go out and buy one, not before.
nevermind that i don't want to rebuy hundreds of films in blu-ray.
I would disagree:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u98/adzez/Viewer/c7ff7e16.png
The raw data is massively different. If you're not seeing it, you haven't got a wide enough field of view to notice the difference, or there's something screwed up with the setup. Good upscaling can help a lot, but you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
"However, cashing in on HD-DVD's demise, the price of Blu-Ray Discs have been hiked up to £24 or thereabouts."
Mark, I think it's about time you discovered on-line shopping, where UK BDs are available for £14-£18 typically. I'll be much happier when we see them at £10 and under, but let's be sensible about what they cost now, shall we?
I've noticed a difference in most of the BD I've bought compared to the DVD. I'd settle that most of this is due to mastering (and more data), since I'm only using 720P on a 26" screen and can see the difference. Same thing for the sound quality.
I waited for one format to win, then picked up "Full Metal Jacket" as my first BD. There was a huge difference between the BD and the DVD (aside from the 16X9 aspect).
Appleseed 2 has been the only BD I've purchased that doesn't show a noticeable improvement over the DVD version, but it's also animation.
Prices suck, but pretty much am willing to hold out until the titles I want either hit the bargain bin or go down in price because of overstock. $35 is a bit too much for a movie, even if the picture quality is better than DVD.
Like a lot of other people here, I simply won't pay the price. I like films, I buy a lot on DVD. I'm too impatient for downloads.
But, I might watch a film I own once a year, or even less, unless I really like it. So I buy them all on DVD at 5 for £30 from Zavvi (or similar). £6 on DVD against £20+ for the same film on Blu-Ray? Nah.
I don't care how wonderfully zoomy pin-sharp the picture is, the cost of a single film on Blu-Ray is more than twice what I pay to go to the cinema as often as I want for a month... and those maths just don't work.
well we'll soon be able to find out
apparently iTunes UK is now stocking movies for purchase and rental (yes yes yes i know, DRM-blah-blah-blah but so is blu-ray to an extent because it's an exclusive format etc etc)
but we'll now be able to see if the uk internet is capable of supporting streaming HD movies
I've seen the same J.Bond movie in DVD a BD on a 42" Full HD Sony Plasma TV 1080i)
Both played with a PS3.
The video difference is huge. More than going from Divx CD to original "Collector's" DVD.
As for the sound, the difference is even bigger. But you do need a good optical receiver/decoder.. and a nice set of speakers (no, those you bought for 80 pounds including the DVD are of no use here..)
As for the PS3 as a BD player.. i for one don't like it at all. It has rendering speed bottlenecks with some titles (last Potter movie, for example).
I still dont know anyone that had a BD player and that includes PS3s.
My friends are all tech junkies and love gadgets but none of them had bought into BD even though most of them have 1080p TVs.
Reasons?
BD content is too expensive. As mentioned why buy a BD disk at £20+ when you can buy the DVD for £3 and upscale it.
How often do you re-watch a dvd? Not that often if honest and at £20 that seems silly.
Do most movies require the HD treatment? Do we need Dodgeball/Family Guy/any Will Smith movie in HD to watch it? Not really, dvd will do.
Do we want more and more disks taking up space? Not really. As mentioned earlier, as we dont watch a lot of our dvds more than once do we really need physical media anymore? Most of my friends just want the data to store on a NAS somewhere.
BD is just too late.
Jai: Apple is NOT doing HD downloads, only SD. So you fail there...
Neil Docherty: I suspect you problem is, that you fell for the 108p TFT trick, where they sell you a crappy TFT, that is 1080p, but looks a million times worse that a more expensive 1080p Plasma.
AC: What is illegal about HDCP? Is it now illegal to protect you property from warez kiddies?
jason: Sounds like you need more friends. I know at least 40 people with Blu-ray. Granted the bast majority are PS3 owners, but they all watch and buy Blu, if the movie is worth it. I know 4 people with standalone BD players.
I'd be curious how the HD-DVD sales figures compare since they've been reduced in price and everyones been hoovering them up at under a tenner, or in many cases only £5 now.
Maybe all the Blu-Ray Sony fanboys are going to wise up that the death of HD-DVD wasn't the wonderful thing many of them seemed to think it was. If Sony were so wonderful and lovely they'd have REDUCED the prices to encourage sales instead of ramping them up now that they have zero competition.
I have an HD-DVD player (in case you hadn't guessed) and love it, but I more than likely will get a Blu player eventually but not until a) they come down in price to a sensible level (at least under £200) and they start bringing out some decent films. Half the stuff they are throwing out I wouldn't buy on DVD let alone on Blu for twice the price, born out by the fact that on HMV the top 3 are Sweeny Todd, AvP2 and National Treasure 2 (closely followed by RAMBO??). Sweeny perhaps is a decent film but come on, the other two are utter trash, and thats the best Blu can offer???
HD-DVD at least had the Matrix, Batman and Bourne, must sees in HD. Wheres Blus big seller?
Its pretty much the same as Sonys other product, the PS3, all style, no content.
Sorry pal but plenty of friends there. Its just that they all bought 360's.
40 folks with BD??!! Really??? I could believe that if you had said 4.
How about other folks? How many people do you know with BD gear (especially stand alone players)?
If folks can spend £20+ on a movie then we have a situation where common sense has dipped well under the bottom of the barrell.
I don't know where you boys and girls are looking for your pricing information, but there are few BR films coming out that are been priced at £24. HMV is still on the expensive side, yes absolutely (and only go into Zaavi for a giggle at the prices of everything), but generally the BR editions are coming onto shelves at or below £20. Amazon and Play are usually £18-ish. Two local Asda stores price around £15-£17.
Don't get me wrong, that is still VERY expensive compared to DVD and despite being a BR player owner I won't pay silly money and are prepared to wait for cheaper media at times. But people here are quoting prices that are at a minority of retailers. EVERYTHING in the UK has gone up in price on the high street the last three months expect mainstream CD's and DVD's, but any price hike in BR films I suspect has nothing to do with the demise of HDDVD. It's just greedy retailers. I've bought about 10 BR films since HDDVD was axed and all were cheaper than I would have paid six months ago.
DVD was insanely expensive for the first 18 months at around £24 for block buster films, people forget that.
I'm not defending the prices of BR, not in the slightest, and agree that DVD pricing is just too attractive. I'm just pointing out a few facts that people are neglecting to mention. Is there anyone else in here commenting that actually has experience as a consumer BUYING BR or just as ill informed nay-sayers standing on the periphery?
I concede that the linked screenshots do look better than the live action stuff I've seen however the two titles I mentioned (Spider-Man and Superman Returns) weren't offering that level of quality - they look fine from a distance but getting up close and you can see the lack of sharpness/detail.
As for my screen, it is a 1080p LCD which, when being used for games on the PS3 or viewing things such as Ratatouille on Blu-Ray looks amazing. I downloaded the 1080p trailer for Indiana Jones 4 from PSN and the opening shot of the valley looked amazing so I know the TV is capable of rendering the images well, the problem lies with some Blu-Ray movies. I think the same was true for early DVDs where a lack of care was taken with the compression, simply being happy with a tick box in the is 1080p image.
You really are a blagger aren't you?
"Apple is NOT doing HD downloads, only SD. So you fail there..."
Yes they ARE doing HD downloads, via Apple TV so Jai, you're safe.
"I suspect you problem is, that you fell for the 108p TFT trick, where they sell you a crappy TFT, that is 1080p, but looks a million times worse that a more expensive 1080p Plasma."
Unlikely. Some people can see a difference, some people can't. It's all down to personal preference, its not all black and white.
"Sounds like you need more friends. I know at least 40 people with Blu-ray. Granted the bast majority are PS3 owners, but they all watch and buy Blu, if the movie is worth it. I know 4 people with standalone BD players."
Again hilarious, like you know 40 people, let alone 40 people who have Blu-ray. So you're expecting us to believe that you know at least 36 people with a PS3? These must be people you've met online then? And do you keep a survey? Excuse me, Gamer40_Rocks, nice work shooting me down there but do you have a minute to answer a couple of questions so I have some ammo for my trolling on the register?
Predictable.
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