Anyone get a HD DVD or Blu-Ray yet?

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

So how much are these new DVD's going to cost? I've never gotten why people are so eager to spend 20-30 bucks to purchase a DVD. There's only a few movies that I would watch more than once or twice. It just seems like a big waste of money to me but obviously a lot don't feel that way.

I agree. Until I have to buy an HD-DVD I'm perfectly content with regular old widescreen DVDs. Look just fine to me and I don't see how my 2-hour movie viewing experience a couple times a month will be greatly enhanced at this time by going to HD. HD-TV I can understand as it's an everyday thing but not HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.

I could also understand VHS/Beta. There was something new...you could tape TV and watch it when you wanted. You didn't need to go to a theater to see a movie..just wait a few months. This whole HD-DVD/Blu-Ray thing just doesn't seem to be that great leap forward that it is going to make people flock to the stores in the next 6-12 months.

People are simply going to wait until their current DVD players crap out and if the price of a HD-DVD or Blu-ray is comparable or reasonable then yeah they'll buy one. But other than that I don't see it. Many industry folks don't see it either. They don't see any rush for these things until 2011 or so when more than a handful of people have nice widescreen HD televisions and are hooked up to HD-TV such that they are used to that type of picture (I can't possibly tell you how many people I know that have a beautiful HD-TV but don't actually use the HD capabilities at all).

I think in the end the market is going to go to the companies that produce a dual player that will handle either format and if they are smart will also include a DVR on the same unit. For my money at this time the current technological advance is the DVR (or PVR depending on what company you o with).

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

That seems hard to believe, do you have something to back that up?

Regardless, I doubt it has much of an impact on this format war. Unlike when VCRs were released, there are many, many outlets to get your porn these days.

I first heard the claim on the television show "Sexual Secrets" but unfortunately I have no link to back it up. On teh internets I guess that means I'm lying.

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Reaper

I first heard the claim on the television show "Sexual Secrets" but unfortunately I have no link to back it up. On teh internets I guess that means I'm lying.

I'll help you out...just opened up google and typed in "how big is the porn industry in the US". First link is a 2004 article from CBS News/60 minutes.

It is estimated that Americans now spend somewhere around $10 billion a year on adult entertainment, which is as much as they spend attending professional sporting events, buying music or going out to the movies.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/...in585049.shtml

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by ernie

I'll help you out...just opened up google and typed in "how big is the porn industry in the US". First link is a 2004 article from CBS News/60 minutes.



http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/...in585049.shtml

Good link. I didn't want to search for that at work.

Doesn't really back up Reapers claim that it surpasses all those combined.

The annual boxoffice totals are close to 10 billion alone. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/

NFL revenues are around 6 billion, according to forbes.

That is 16 billion right there. Add in NHL, MLB, NBA and DVD sales/rentals, I am sure the number is in the neighbourhood of $20-$30 billion easily.

Still impressive, that is as big as any one of those entities though.

[ernie]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Good link. I didn't want to search for that at work.

Doesn't really back up Reapers claim that it surpasses all those combined.

The annual boxoffice totals are close to 10 billion alone. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/

NFL revenues are around 6 billion, according to forbes.

That is 16 billion right there. Add in NHL, MLB, NBA and DVD sales/rentals, I am sure the number is in the neighbourhood of $20-$30 billion easily.

Still impressive, that is as big as any one of those entities though.

Likely he heard it on a show that used that number but either the poster or the show he heard it on misinterpretted the meaning. Thought it to be an all inclusive thing instead of the "or" that it actually is. Basically it just means for every dollar you spend on hockey you are spending a dollar on some sort of adult entertainment. Bunch of perverts

The number that stuck out to me was the 50 % of hotel rooms rented have porn charges. People really do become someone else when away from people who recognize them. Again, you perverts.

Remember Jesus is watching you download/order porn.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

So how much are these new DVD's going to cost? I've never gotten why people are so eager to spend 20-30 bucks to purchase a DVD. There's only a few movies that I would watch more than once or twice. It just seems like a big waste of money to me but obviously a lot don't feel that way.

Hmmm, if only there were some sort of store where you could maybe take the movie home for a few days, and then return it. They could charge a fraction of what it would cost to buy it, then they could make some cash renting it out a bunch of times, and everyone could watch the movie at home without having to buy it.

Oh well, I can dream I guess.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Hmmm, if only there were some sort of store where you could maybe take the movie home for a few days, and then return it. They could charge a fraction of what it would cost to buy it, then they could make some cash renting it out a bunch of times, and everyone could watch the movie at home without having to buy it.

Oh well, I can dream I guess.

How witty! I'm a movie collector though. I like to own movies that I really like (usually buy them PV though) so renting isn't enough for me.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by kermitology

How witty! I'm a movie collector though. I like to own movies that I really like (usually buy them PV though) so renting isn't enough for me.

Oh, I know, I like to own some movies too. I was just making light of the fact that he asked how much they were gonna cost, when for the most part it won't be a huge deal.

Either way, it'll be just like any new media. They'll be a little more expensive to begin with, but will eventually come down to the price of the old media.

VHS used to cost around 20-30 bucks to buy a movie. DVDs were originally more expensive, but have now come down in price to what the larger market will bare. The same will happen once a new format has been decided on.

[White Doors]

Actually VHS used to be $100 plus when first released on video.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by White Doors

Actually VHS used to be $100 plus when first released on video.

And they came down to a reasonable price range $20-30. I never said that they were always that price. But thanks for another example of my point.

[White Doors]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

And they came down to a reasonable price range $20-30. I never said that they were always that price. But thanks for another example of my point.

Actually, no. New movies when first released to video were still $100 plus for 95% of them. This continued rigth up until DVD's arrived on the scene. Only 'sell through' videos were ever sold at $20-$30 when FIRST released.

[Clarkey]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Oh, I know, I like to own some movies too. I was just making light of the fact that he asked how much they were gonna cost, when for the most part it won't be a huge deal.

Either way, it'll be just like any new media. They'll be a little more expensive to begin with, but will eventually come down to the price of the old media.

VHS used to cost around 20-30 bucks to buy a movie. DVDs were originally more expensive, but have now come down in price to what the larger market will bare. The same will happen once a new format has been decided on.

I'm aware that it is possible to rent movies.

It's just that I know lots of people who own 30 or 40 dvd's. At say, $25 bucks a movie that's like $750-1000. And most of the movies only get watched once or twice, or are complete crap. I guess I just don't understand how dvd collections have caught on with so many people.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by White Doors

Actually, no. New movies when first released to video were still $100 plus for 95% of them. This continued rigth up until DVD's arrived on the scene. Only 'sell through' videos were ever sold at $20-$30 when FIRST released.

Actually, no to you. I remember the first VHS movie I bought; it was Total Recall. Shortly after that I started buying VHS copies of movies I really liked for around $20. If Total Recall was released in 1990, and onto video in 1991- that would be a full 5 years before DVDs came out.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Actually, no to you. I remember the first VHS movie I bought; it was Total Recall. Shortly after that I started buying VHS copies of movies I really liked for around $20. If Total Recall was released in 1990, and onto video in 1991- that would be a full 5 years before DVDs came out.

Man, Total Recall is awesome. I bought the DVD. Hopefully that comes out on BluRay or HDDVD too some day.

[Vulcan]

If you have a good video card, will your computer play these HD discs at full quality or will your computer only upconvert a regular DVD?

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

If you have a good video card, will your computer play these HD discs at full quality or will your computer only upconvert a regular DVD?

You will need an hd-dvd or blue ray drive. Not sure if the drive will put your screen into 720p or 1080i mode when the disc is inserted though.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

If you have a good video card, will your computer play these HD discs at full quality or will your computer only upconvert a regular DVD?

You will need software and hardware that can play the disks. In addition, your display, video card and OS will all have to be HDCP compliant.

If these conditions are not met, then the content will be downconverted.

[Barnes]

From what I've read, Blu-ray has the capability of having an sd version on one layer and hd on another if im not mistaken.

TDk has also announced 200GB discs and they have a special coating that makes the disc almost indestructable.

Both have their benefits but I am leaning towards Blu-Ray. Players right now are about a thousand bucks but the ps3 should be about $500. I remember when I bought my first cd burner 4X firewire drive for $500 bucks and when Apple introduced a DVD burner in a $2500 computer but the drive cost like $5000 bucks to buy on its own. Whoever gets a consumer product that sells well first will win this war. People are too reluctent to go out and buy a player straight up and begin replacing their collections.

[ernie]

If a regular Blu-ray is $1000 and a PS3 with a blue-ray and so much more other hardware is only $500 (it won't be by the way...$500 american minimum for the base system which is not upgradeable after the fact and no one really knows what it includes at this time)...what does that say about the quality of the drive in the PS3? Essentially the same thing it said about the quality of the DVD player in a PS2 or Xbox....subpar.

Like I said I'll just wait for the dual player which will most likely be on the market before it's even worth the money to purchase a HD-DVD or Blu-ray.

[White Doors]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Actually, no to you. I remember the first VHS movie I bought; it was Total Recall. Shortly after that I started buying VHS copies of movies I really liked for around $20. If Total Recall was released in 1990, and onto video in 1991- that would be a full 5 years before DVDs came out.

Sorry, no, if I can remember, Total recall was sold as a 'sell through' movie, either that or you bought it after it was first released on video. Sell through, they would reduce the price when first released on video for movies that they figured most people already watched at the theatre and movies like Disney etc. I worked in the industry. DVD's were a blessing for the movie rental business. After a movie was out for a while on video, then you could get it for $20-$30, but when it was first released, the one's that were not 'sell through' were over $100. Crazy eh?