US News: "7 Reasons to Forget Blu-ray"

[pitabun]

DELETED URL in response to OokieSpookie ...

"When Sony's Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD DVD launched their fight two years ago, high definition was spotty even in network prime-time shows, and only a few cable channels offered HD versions. Nobody thought about downloading an HD movie over the Internet. How times have changed. Sony's Blu-ray now faces stiff competition for HD dollars:

XStreamHD: Satellite networks DirecTV and Dish Network are fast adding high-definition channels to their services. XStream says it will launch later this year and promises an even better video experience, with full 1080p images and 7.1 surround sound coming directly into the home. The box will cost $400 plus rental/purchase charges, and we've yet to see which and how many movies XStream will offer. But even if XStream doesn't succeed, Blu-ray faces stiff competition in the added offerings from DirecTV and Dish.

Toshiba: You didn't think Toshiba was going away, did you? Toshiba and many competitors make standard DVD drives that do a good job of converting yesterday's disks to nearly high-definition resolution. The drives can be found at well under $100, in contrast to the cheapest Blu-ray drives, which run $300 on sale. Blu-ray will find it tougher to supplant standard DVDs than those disks did in replacing videotape. Many consumers will be happy to keep their current disk library with a good upscaling drive.

Comcast: The cable provider is leading its industry's efforts to offer more movie titles on demand, saying it hopes to have 6,000 a month available by year's end. Half of those would be available in high definition. Comcast is also adding HD channels and has reportedly said it could eventually offer hundreds. But that would mean a breakthrough in cable tech; today's coax systems limit most cable providers to a dozen or two HD channels.

Verizon: High-def content is a key motivation for Verizon and AT&T to spend billions of dollars to upgrade their systems for new television services. Verizon is running fiber optic cable to homes that can probably carry as many HD channels as Verizon can buy, including any that start offering movies in the top 1080p resolution that now only Blu-ray can produce. Verizon says it hopes to soon offer 150 HD channels. But so far, the telcos are offering only a few dozen channels in a lineup similar to those of most cable providers.

Vudu: This $300 box is the best dedicated device yet for downloading video from the Internet. Vudu has an innovative remote and software that makes video simpler to play than even Blu-ray, which means having to get and insert a disk into a player. On the downside, Vudu works just in homes with top-speed Internet access. Also, it so far offers fewer than 100 HD titles, the quality doesn't match Blu-ray's, and rentals are available only for 24 hours once they start playing.

Apple TV: This $230 box is fast becoming the best of the digital media adapters, which include Microsoft's Xbox 360 and are designed to link the TV to computers and the Internet. The latest Apple TV version can now function without a PC, enabling direct downloads from Apple's iTunes store and access to YouTube videos, among others. The iTunes store has only about 100 high-def titles available—and like Vudu, the quality doesn't match Blu-ray's, and rentals are available for just 24 hours once they start playing.

WNBC: Yes, the lowly antenna is more of a competitor than it was two years ago. The late-night shows have all gone high def, as has most prime-time and news programming. And while broadcast stations can't deliver 1080p as can Blu-ray, the HDTV delivered over the air is crystal clear—and cost free."

[hc666]

HA!

More like 7 ways to go with Blu Ray

[Doc_Stew]

What a completely ridiculous article. How can they employ someone so biased?

[Blu Titan]

Obviously, Mr. Download dosen't like Blu-ray. No doubt a bitter red ant.

[OokieSpookie]

Lets give the site more hits so we can get more stories like this....

[The Big Blue]

No clicky.

BS

[BStecke]

Heh . . . comment left.

[spicynacho]

With the death of HD DVD, who is cutting the checks for these shills?

[PS3 Blu-Ray]

The box will cost $400 plus rental/purchase charges, lol, I can get a PS3 for that and play games

[darkedgex]

Responded, but really, WTF. None of his seven reasons are even remotely close to what is offered by Blu-ray. That he tosses in OTA HDTV as some option is just absolutely retarded.

Ugh.

[spicynacho]

Basically to sum it up he argues that blu ray will fail because of...
Broadcast - Cable/Satellite/FIOS TV Service/OTA........... Yeah freakin' right, commercials/censorship/lack of programming has given rise to the home video market
Digital Download - XTreme HD (Vaporware Sattellite direct download)/VUDU/Apple TV......... Better than broadcast programming but still these are rental delivery mechanisms
DVD - upscaling, blu ray faces an uphill battle here, but as some of the insiders have mentioned here, this will eventually see a forced phase out as backwards compatible BR hardware becomes dirt cheap and ubiquitous.

[jason_grumpy]

Bahahahaha.

If the analysts thought that a format war with 2 competing formats was bad, wait until everyone and their mom offers digital download services. How many players do we have so far with that one?

[Iceman713713]

wow! what a joke!

[unreal1080p]

Originally Posted by pitabun

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/daves-do...t-blu-ray.html

USNEWS? wtf

You just gave me 1 reason NEVER to read wxw.usnews.com again (I don't need another 6 reasons... that article was reason enough)

Bunch of

[PS3 Blu-Ray]

dude must have a hd-dvd player and is mad

[tron3]

Stuff like this is why I remain a blu-blood. I considered defuncting the club after the Tool-shiba win, but I see we need to remain diligent.

No, you don't have to tell me it seems silly, let me have my fun. No, you don't have to join. Many have joined on their own, and some have gone. C'est la vie. This isn't my life, just the fun part of it. So I'm having fun with it.

Now, put down your slap sticks and focus on the enemy, not me.

[ezcobar411]

I refuse to read that crap

[Sylin]

Originally Posted by OokieSpookie

Lets give the site more hits so we can get more stories like this....

Mods, will you please delete Ookie's comment? It's too Spookie for me to handle right now. j/k

I left a comment, pointing out the obvious apples-to-oranges nature of his comparison list. For the first time in over 100 years of cinema, we have the opportunity to see movies the way they were intended to be seen, in the highest and best quality available. Even when DVD came out, it wasn't the highest and best, it was just an optical disc with a VHS-quality movie on it. And now all these critics want to drag us back and halt progress just because digital downloads are the flavor of the month? No thanks.

[Brian Cash]

What a joke I have comcast hd and it sucks

[CptGreedle]

All the replies are cutting him down. No one things downloads are ready. What a joke.