Will downloads/streaming replace Blu-Ray?

[BluLobsta]

Seeing how fast technology is advancing nowadays, do you think Blu-Ray is short-lived and will be replaced by downloads and streaming directly to TV sooner rather than later?

[camper]

No.

camper

[BluLobsta]

That's good...Blu is kinda changing the way I watch TV now...awesome technology

[Blu Titan]

I honestly see Blu-ray having a long live...Streaming and downloads are more suitable for quick rentals.

[Blu-Benny]

don't think so.

[Pseudoblu]

Sure the hell hope not... I like owning a disc and.... honestly.... don't even know if the sound quality can match/come close to blu ray HD sound....?? I know PQ is pretty good but I'm a SQ kind of guy first..

[DealsR4theDevil]

Not anytime soon

An "HD" online rental doesnt even come close to a Blu-ray. The video is significantly inferior and the sound is worse than a DVD.

Couple that with the fact that it takes forever to download. I have a broadband connection and the HD Robocop 2 rental from the PSstore took me 9+ hours to DL. I realize people have faster connections than that but there are many more people who have much slower ones and thats not going to change anytime soon.

Finally there is the problem of hard drive space for these downloads. How many movies could you really have in HD on your computer? I own 84 Blu-rays and there is no way that would ever fit on my hard drive. I guess you could always store them on disks but if your going to do that y not just buy it on Blu-ray to begin with.

My guess is that downloads will replace Blu-ray eventually. I doubt there will be another physical media before downloads take over but Blu-ray isnt going anywhere anytime soon.

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

Seeing how fast technology is advancing nowadays, do you think Blu-Ray is short-lived and will be replaced by downloads and streaming directly to TV sooner rather than later?

No, but this has been discussed at great length already. Streaming will be another way for digital junkies to get their fix sure, but it won't replace physical media. I don't know about you, but when my cable company messes up....I tend to pop in a movie I sure as hell don't want them holding all the cards.

[andyman1970]

Originally Posted by DealsR4theDevil

Not anytime soon

An "HD" online rental doesnt even come close to a Blu-ray. The video is significantly inferior and the sound is worse than a DVD.

Couple that with the fact that it takes forever to download. I have a broadband connection and the HD Robocop 2 rental from the PSstore took me 9+ hours to DL. I realize people have faster connections than that but there are many more people who have much slower ones and thats not going to change anytime soon.

Finally there is the problem of hard drive space for these downloads. How many movies could you really have in HD on your computer? I own 84 Blu-rays and there is no way that would ever fit on my hard drive. I guess you could always store them on disks but if your going to do that y not just buy it on Blu-ray to begin with.

My guess is that downloads will replace Blu-ray eventually. I doubt there will be another physical media before downloads take over but Blu-ray isnt going anywhere anytime soon.

+100

Originally Posted by Deads3t

No, but this has been discussed at great length already. Streaming will be another way for digital junkies to get their fix sure, but it won't replace physical media. I don't know about you, but when my cable company messes up....I tend to pop in a movie I sure as hell don't want them holding all the cards.

Yea, you got that right. A lot of people don't even think about that.

[atomik kinder]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

Seeing how fast technology is advancing nowadays, do you think Blu-Ray is short-lived and will be replaced by downloads and streaming directly to TV sooner rather than later?

Can you still buy CDs? Itunes and Downloads have not killed off the CD yet. Downloads for music have been around how long?

[SellmeyourDVD]

The one thing that scares me, is what happens when you have 1 TB of movies on a external HD and than it crashes

how would you feel about digital downloads after that?

[Marquoz]

The day that I can take a digital download and have a full complement of extras/behind the scenes, full 7.1 surround sound audio, 1080p video, full bitrates, and absolutely 0 delay in starting the movie in a rural environment with limited internet access, I will say that it will take off.

[P@t_Mtl]

I sure hope and pray it does not

[hoju3508]

I hope not.

[mikejet]

yes in the year 2525

[ScarredLungs]

Originally Posted by SellmeyourDVD

The one thing that scares me, is what happens when you have 1 TB of movies on a external HD and than it crashes

how would you feel about digital downloads after that?

Originally Posted by Deads3t

No, but this has been discussed at great length already. Streaming will be another way for digital junkies to get their fix sure, but it won't replace physical media. I don't know about you, but when my cable company messes up....I tend to pop in a movie I sure as hell don't want them holding all the cards.

Originally Posted by DealsR4theDevil

Not anytime soon

An "HD" online rental doesnt even come close to a Blu-ray. The video is significantly inferior and the sound is worse than a DVD.

Couple that with the fact that it takes forever to download. I have a broadband connection and the HD Robocop 2 rental from the PSstore took me 9+ hours to DL. I realize people have faster connections than that but there are many more people who have much slower ones and thats not going to change anytime soon.

Finally there is the problem of hard drive space for these downloads. How many movies could you really have in HD on your computer? I own 84 Blu-rays and there is no way that would ever fit on my hard drive. I guess you could always store them on disks but if your going to do that y not just buy it on Blu-ray to begin with.

My guess is that downloads will replace Blu-ray eventually. I doubt there will be another physical media before downloads take over but Blu-ray isnt going anywhere anytime soon.

+1 To all. I would answer no, if it does happen, it will not be for may years to come. Too many people like myself enjoy having a hard copy of the media. We enjoy the cases, the coverart. We enjoy collecting.

[york weir]

For ownership I really don't think so but for rentals I see it eventually passing it.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

Seeing how fast technology is advancing nowadays, do you think Blu-Ray is short-lived and will be replaced by downloads and streaming directly to TV sooner rather than later?

Let's ignore user bandwidth, and assume we all have enough for HD downloads (which is obvious nonsense):

(1) Storage

100 x 50GB = 5TB

Where you gonna store them?

(2) How are they gonna get them to ya?

20Mbps (HD-lite) * 10000 streams = 200,000Mbps = 200Gbps

Now imagine something like The Dark Knight dropping.

P2P? OK, let's assume you have 500Kbps up. And due to demand you're streaming out constantly.

500,000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 30 = 162GB a month uploaded

ISPs are not going to pay the infrastructure expansion costs to service a new industry without making SOMEONE pay.

(3) How much is the player gonna cost?

"People won't touch it until it comes under $200"

I'm sure the pro-download element will suddenly throw that out the window if it has to be applied to the download box.

The storage costs and the Internet access costs are issues that must be solved. And then we can talk about:

Can I resell it?
Can I bring to a friend's house?
Can I loan it to someone?
What happens if my storage fails?
What happens if I want to change my hardware?
What happens if I want to change my download provider?

Gary

[kevinbr100]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

Seeing how fast technology is advancing nowadays, do you think Blu-Ray is short-lived and will be replaced by downloads and streaming directly to TV sooner rather than later?

my personal opinon on this is no, even though the technology will be there at some point for instant on demand highest possible quality HD. People have a need to collect physical objects, they need something physical to represent value to them, until they come up with a way to satisfy this need, and effectively translate collecting into a virtual medium, there will be some type of physical media. bluray forever? i give it a lifespan of 8-10 years.

[Anthony P]

No, my guess there could be at least two more hard media generations before DL.

The issue is that tech does move fast, but infrastructure moves slow. A few years ago DVD quality was good enough and a few years before that VHS quality was good enough. Each new generation needs more then the previous or else there is no reason to upgrade. And let's face it, there is 3D movies could have less artifacts then exist on BD, and we would all like more resolution. BD offers a lot more then DVD which is why many of us have upgraded and we don't buy DVD any more. But why go DVD to DL or even BD to DL to get something much more inconvenient? equal or lesser quality? ...

The issue is this, Can DL handle what is bought and rented today? The answer is NO not even close that is why the ISPs throttle BW and add max/pay for more per month. They can’t handle today what is required today. Yes the telcos are adding more fibre every day, but it is no where near enough for where we are today and by the time we get enough for we are today more would be needed (let’s face it most people now are used to and expect DVD quality in a few years most people would be used and will expect BD quality, just there you have demand that will be 3-5x more)