When enthusiast sites fail to show any enthusiasm...

[Grubert]

All enthusiast sites share some common goals: to share information about the hobby or activity that they discuss; to discuss the current and future developments; and to increase awareness and adoption.

Now that the format war is over, I was expecting all enthusiast sites to stand by such common goals. Not so: some are still distinctly skeptical, voicing yet again the arguments that BD doesn't have enough appeal and/or is too expensive and/or will be superseded by downloads. All of them points which have merit, but it is definitely awkward to hear them from the advocates – especially when they don't even balance that with the strengths of the format.

Just compare two opinion articles published recently. The first is an article published on Home Media Magazine and written by "Home Theater Forum staff" (actual author unnamed):
Blu-ray's Battle Has Only Just Begun. The second is an article by Dan Ramer, DVD File: Blu-ray Disc Report Card

These articles show very disparate views of the current situation. I have looked at the main areas of concern.

A. Better audio and video are not good enough (or How I Learned to Stop Caring about Quality and Love Upconverting)

The HTF article mentions the 'super high-quality audio and video' nearly in passing, which is something unusual for the administrators of a site that is constantly looking for the best in audio and video quality.

On the other hand, the dvdfile article is much more positive: the combination of "the highest bit rate of any high definition content delivery vector on the market (and the storage capacity to back it up)" and particularly uncompressed audio tracks "really draws the viewer into the onscreen drama and action; the visual and audible fidelities make the presentation more compelling, more involving, and more emotional."

In fact, some of the more respected members of HTF seem to contradict the point made by its staff. Lead example is motion picture archivist Robert A. Harris has posted multiple threads on the best releases on Blu-ray (and HD DVD), repeatedly stating that a good Blu-ray disc "perfectly reproduces the film as it was meant to be seen in theatres" decades ago and gives us the opportunity of see the equivalent of watching at home a 35mm print struck from the original negative.

Even the editor of Home Media Magazine, Stephanie Prange, admits to having become a hi-def snob and she makes some excellent points. She previously was satisfied with upconverted DVDs. But now she sees "subtle differences" between the upconverted DVD and high-definition discs. So do her family, and consciously stay away from DVD.



B. Blu-ray players and movies are still too expensive (or I'd Buy That - for a Dollar)

1. Hardware price

The HTF article states that "with […] full-profile standalone players costing $500 (all added to the price of an HDTV), the format is strictly for eager enthusiasts." I could address the disingenuousness of again not counting the PS3, and disregarding anything below profile 2.0, but I'm not going there now. I'll just quote Stephanie Prange again:

Originally Posted by Stephanie Prange

I want everything to look great on a TV for which I paid several thousand dollars. Why would I pay good money for the in-wall speaker setup, the mounting, the receiver, only to get a DVD picture that is just a little better than what I get on the analog TV? This is the realization that I believe most HDTV buyers will have at one point or another.

I'm not a hardware salesman, but it is pretty obvious that if you have managed to get somebody to drop $2,000 on a new big telly, you can tell him that they won't be enjoying its new gear to its fullest unless it is fed with 1st quality material, which only a next-gen disc player can offer, and it is only 1/5 of the main purchase (insert hard-sell talk here).

Interestingly, the dvdfile article doesn't even mention player price as something that has to be worked on. Only player operation, firmware updates and profiles are discussed as issues.

2. Software price

The HTF article states that with the retail pricing of "some bare-bones discs" around $40, the format is strictly for eager enthusiasts. Firstly, that is hardly a representative sample: for each $40 bare-bones disc on shelves you can find three $30 discs with substantial extras.

Let's look at an upcoming title: Warner's I Am Legend. You have the following options:

- Single-disc DVD, few extras. List price $28.98
- Two-disc SE DVD, lots of extras. List price $34.99
- Blu-ray, lots of extras. List price $35.99

So for $1 over the special edition, you get a release with the same extras, and hidef video and audio. Is that unreasonable?

That complaint is all the more unreasonable when you look at all the adulation studios such as The Criterion Collection receive for their $40 DVD releases.

Again, dvdfile doesn't mention prices as a factor.

C. PiP and Web (or Plug Me into the Ozone, Baby!)

Both sites emphasize the need for full-profile specification. Even dvdfile mentions that Blu-ray Disc will "finally catch up with where HD DVD was when it was first introduced." However, the dvdfile article mentions a study where "only 30% of DVD viewers care about supplements." If that is the case, will they now care about PiP, or downloading on their players? None of the articles discuss that.

D. Looking ahead (or Future Events such as These Will Affect You in the Future)

The dvdfile has a clear view of its mission now that the war is over:

Originally Posted by dvdfile

Now that the war is over, I find little value in reporting the aftermath. HD DVD deep discounts, fire sales, Microsoft discontinuing the Toshiba-manufactured Xbox external HD DVD drive… these are of less value than returning to what this site has done for over a decade. Proselytize a very worthy format, which, with Blu-ray Disc, finally is capable of delivering the motion picture theater experience to the home. And provide constructive criticism that we hope will help that format improve going forward.

On the other hand, the HTF article only puts forward a grim vision of the future for Blu-ray, and an apparent intention to continue to stay in the sidelines:

Originally Posted by HTF

For now the format’s future is still uncertain, and the eyes of many will be closely scrutinizing its direction over the coming months. Any wrong step could still see it consigned to the scrap heap of dead formats that have tried valiantly and failed. Any doubts? Just ask Toshiba.

1. The download factor

The dvdfile doesn't address downloads. The HTF article insists that Blu-ray has only "a brief window to succeed thanks to the hovering threat of cheap high-definition Web downloads." There are some generalizations and assumptions in that claim, inasmuch as we don't know when downloads will materialize, whether they will be indeed "cheap" or what quality will they offer (which is something an enthusiast site should care about).

Incidentally, that's a little strange, considering the complaints downloads received on that very site, such as the complaints about Radiohead releasing a low-quality MP3 version of its latest album (even though it was a "you-choose-the-price" offer).

Conclusion (or I Want No One Else to Succeed)

It comes as no surprise that the sites which preferred Blu-ray six months ago continue to believe in its success. However, it is disappointing to see sites going from neutrality/thinly-veiled-allegiance-while-professing-neutrality (take your pick) to apathy and passive resistance. I won't be looking to such sites for Blu-ray discussion.