Microsoft dismisses Blu-ray as "historic phenomenon"

[paulw]

FYI.

"Key shift from disc to download will happen in next "12-18 months", predicts Lewis"

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=34141

[KRSESQ]

Yawn. Every time some new entertainment medium emerges, "experts" predict the demise of all preceding media. As often as not they're totally wrong and end up looking foolish. I put very little stock in Microsoft's market accessments, anyway. Their track record isn't exactly sterling.

Television was expected to doom both radio and movies to oblivion. VCR tapes were supposed to destroy broadcast TV AND the film industry. Laserdisks were supposed to destroy VCRs. Cassettes did supplant 8-Tracks, but mainly because 8-tracks were junk to begin with. CDs pushed LPs out of the way, but LPs have held their own over the years, thanks to luddite aficionados like me . DVDs replaced tapes mainly because of their convenience and all the special features they offered.

The point is, those technologies that survived did so because they had value added. Movies survived because they offered the movie-goer an experience they couldn't get with a flickering b&w tube. LPs survive because they offer an aesthetic experience CDs don't.


Sure, I can download Children Of Men over limewire, but it doesn't get me any of the special features that come with the DVD. Plus, I don't get the professional mastering or artistic packaging and inserts that come with the DVD. Plus, it's simply faster and easier to pick up a copy at Walmart than it is to go through the whole download-burning process. And in the end I get more.

Kevin

[Elie]

I agree with Kevin, Blu-Ray will offer even more feature sets than what DVD does today, I don't see it replacing DVD's entirely as of yet as it will take some time. But those fortunate to have an HD home theater including 1080P TV as well as a great 6.1 or 7.1 audio system will clearly benfit from Blu-Ray.

Downloads on the other hand does not offer anything accept saturate the net.

Time to buy that 40GB PS3

Cheers,
Elie

[Hulk]

I do have a 1080p monitor and HTPC and Blu-Rays (and HD-DVDs) look pretty amazing. 720p broadcasts like "American Idol" or "House" looks very good too, but in comparison the Blu-Rays are a bit sharper.

I am ready for downloadable HD content but can't find an easy, cheap solution, with good selection. Right now for $9/month I get DVDs, Blu-Rays, and HD-DVDs, as well as SD downloads from Netflix. No additional hardware and plenty of high quality content. I have a feeling Netflix will eventually offer more and more downloads and include HD selections, then I will begin doing more and more downloading and less physical renting. Eventually I think they'll change their business model to accomodate. Right now my usage pattern and that of most of the world I think is still heavily weighted to renting optical discs.

[Nowhere]

I wonder if they would be saying the same thing if their favourite, HD-DVD, would win...

[Fluff]

I agree downloads might be the only way in 12-18 months time.

Since the cat is out of the bag on blu ray also. It is only a matter of time before people start dowloading HD-Rips en masse.

If the media companies are truly interrested in pushing blu ray they will release blu ray versions e.g. a month before the DVD / download release.

But since it appears that most people(unfortuantely) are happy(know no different) with average quality, and the convenience......e.g MP3's they will lap up itunes HD content.

Same as the death of HiFi.........

These cheap LCD's arent helping things either.....

[Nowhere]

Why "unfortunatelly"?
it seems there's a group of people who do know the difference but think that many movies don't gain that much from HD...

As for audio loudness war destroys also quality on CDs...and besides recent codecs are something I'd call good enough for casual use.

(btw, isn't Blurays DRM yet-to-be-cracked?)

[Fluff]

Unfortunately means, if there isn't a really high quality format available in the future, why would they bother spending much time in ensuring the quaility of the transfer is the best they can physically do?

I would guess that when doing the transfers, they actually don't try the hardest they can because they are probably wanting to save the best quality for digital projection in cinemas. And the consumer gets a lower quality version.

Same argument if everything is mainly going to be MP3 what is the point of all the expensive studio equipment....

I thought that the slysoft anydvd-hd has blu ray cracked too.
AnyDVD-HD
Features Blu-Ray
Same features as regular AnyDVD
Removes encryption (AACS) from Blu-Ray DVDs
Removes region codes from Blu-Ray DVDs
watch movies over digital display connection, without HDCP compliant graphics card and HDCP compliant display.
The "must have" utility for the serious home theater enthusiast using a media center / home theater PC.
Includes a UDF 2.5 file ripper, no need to install 3rd party UDF 2.5 filesystem under Windows XP.

[Nowhere]

It's not cracked

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BD%2B

And you pretty much need high end equipment for processing, so the effects could be predetermined...

But, the few first lines got me wondering...it's sort of taken for granted that compression of dynamic range on todays CDs is because sound engineers/producers know that people generally listen on shitty speakers/headphones/in a car, and such CDs sound "better" in those enviroments.
But...could it be also because they know that people often encode those CDs into mp3/etc. for their portable players, and common codecs do better (?) when dynamic range is compressed?...

[Fluff]

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=136035

AnyDVD v6.3.2.0 Beta

6.3.2.0 2008 03 18
- New (Blu-ray): Removes the BD+ protection from Blu-ray discs!
(for increased compatibility with titles released by Twentieth
Century Fox :-) )
- New (Blu-ray): Added option to enable / disable BD+ removal
- New (DVD): AnyDVD ripper no longer uses the Windows filesystem, it
has now its own UDF parser / reader.
Discs which cannot be read by Windows can now be copied with the
AnyDVD ripper.
- Fix (Blu-ray): Black display with some BD discs, e.g., "Layer Cake",
second release, Region B or "The Fugitive", Region B
- Fix (DVD): Small bugfix in "repairing defective disc structure"
function of AnyDVD ripper
- Fix (DVD): Problems with some Arccos protected titles, e.g.
"The Grudge", R1, US
- Some minor fixes and improvements
- Updated languages

[Evildead666]

HD films are like R5 size usually....HDDVD and BluRay are available...in 720p and 1080p.
The 1080p files are usually 10Gb+....all in x264

WAAAAAAAAAAY too big.

When i have a 10Mbit line, OK. not now.

I can't even watch standard def tv thru my internet, the low bandwidth versions just make it...but theres only 2 channels...

[Nowhere]

Fluff, seems that happened today and...nobody really tried "not on the fly" cracking/recording on blank discs...

[Fluff]

I know.... Also the fact that re encoding a Blu-ray takes about 24hours or more on a uber fast machine afaik.

I'd probably just go down to blockbuster (dvd rental shop) and rent the damn thing.

[Evildead666]

Wish they rented HD at the local store....

I count myself lucky to be able to watch films in English
VHS was a bummer....

[Fluff]

Anyone want a Betamax multi region VCR?... lol.