Not Ready for Prime Time

[jsteinhauer]

This has probably been beaten to death.

Over the weekend, the lame trolling thread about firmware problems got me to thinking that HDM really is much to immature for mass adoption. The problem described is not unique to Blu-ray, but is a problem shared by HDDVD.

When I consider my family (J6P's) and my partners and colleagues (non-J6P's) at work, I really think that before HDM should be promoted to the masses, they really need to mature the technology to the point you can open the box, hook up the machine to your display with the included cord and play virtually all existing and upcoming applicable media.

I think it is beyond the average and above average guy to expect to spend hundreds (even two hundred) dollars on a machine and then need to continually keep abreast of such things like firmware and profile updates. Even most intelligent and well-educated individuals I know do not know how to add memory or cards to their personal computers or install wireless networks in their homes, which are things that I think are on a similar level to HD home theater applications at this point in their evolution.

For me, it's no more than a PITA to download software, burn a DVD and stick it into the machine. But I don't think most people even know what you are talking about when you say "burn it as an image to a DVD". And in the internet age when people don't even read books anymore, what's the chance that they will really follow the directions?

To pin this on Blu-ray is, however, very unfair, as I have had to update the firmware on my HDDVD player as many times, and it is no more or less simple, and the ethernet connection on the player, which is supposed to simplify this, is not real happy with my internet routers. I should not have to take the security measures of my home network out of the way to access the internet through a HDM player, and the average guy who is far less savvy than I (and I don't consider myself computer, AV or tech savvy) is going to experience nothing but frustration with the experience.

I often see posts and threads expressing frustration at Sony and other BD companies for not being more aggressive in mainstreaming their products, but it may be wisdom. I think there is a distinct possibility of backlash, if this stuff gets into the hands of too many people who can't even add a stick of memory to their PC.

What do you think?