5 Big Lies in HDTV - pro BD (not BD-live) article

[FinalEvangelion]

4. The Blu-ray Picture Is Not Much Better Than a DVD Or Digital Download
This big whopper often is uttered by members of the technology press, particularly those who believe that digital downloads are the real future of home video. Desperate to criticize the Blu-ray high-def disc, some journalists will downplay its picture quality while overestimate the picture quality of a download sent over the Net to your TV. But consumer studies -- and scientific ones -- have shown that the Blu-ray picture is dramatically better than a DVD, a digital download or anything else that's out there, including cable, satellite and the telcos.

So, Why Lie?
Many tech journalists are not comfortable unless they are promoting cutting edge products, such as digital downloads. To them, Blu-ray is old-fashioned, just another hard disc like a standard-def DVD. It's much sexier to write about new technologies that can stream video over the Net to your televisions. So, in their zeal, the journalists tend to overestimate the qualities of digital downloads to justify their position.

This Big Lie is supported by companies pushing digital download services, such as Microsoft, Apple and others. They use the journalists' writings to back their claims in the marketplace that downloads are just as good (or better) than Blu-ray.

But, it's just a lie.

5. Americans Want to Interact With Their Blu-ray Discs
The studios are stuffing new interactive features in Blu-ray discs that will permit you to do everything from download ringtones and movie trailers to chatting with fellow Blu-ray owners. Judging from comments from studio executives, you would think that millions of Americans are more interested in interacting than actually watching the films. They say the ITV features will be the driving point behind the success of Blu-ray.

But, once again, there's no evidence that Americans have suddenly become ITV enthusiasts. In fact, there's about a decade of evidence to suggest they couldn't care less about such features. When they watch TV -- particularly a movie -- they want to relax and enjoy the experience, not be on the edge of their seats, flicking buttons on the remote control. Every Interactive TV program -- from WebTV to Wink to AOL TV to Microsoft's $6 billion investment in cable ITV -- has failed miserably over the last 15 years.

So, Why Lie?
Some studio executives pushing Blu-ray interactivity are relatively new to the business; they don't have the institutional memories that would remind them that ITV has been a failure. In their minds, it's a new toy that can't miss.

Additionally, some executives are confused about how to market Blu-ray. For some reason, they are not convinced that the disc's better picture is enough to attract a mass audience. So, they have convinced themselves that if they emphasize the format's interactivity, it will somehow trigger more sales.

And finally, some execs are just rolling the dice in the hopes that ITV will finally hit it big. They may not believe in the technology at this point. But they think that if somehow they can change American minds on the subject, it could lead to more advertising revenue as well as disc sales.

But, it's just a lie.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/lies120708.htm


I have to say, I haven't really tried BD-Live and don't have much interest in it either (so I can't fully judge). The picture/audio quality definitely sold me on the format.

I think point #4 is what we have been saying for a long time. Now, some of the Journalists are realizing that BD is having much better sway in the public than DD for the coming years. Several skeptics I know converted to Blu once they actually saw it and stopped believing the anti-hype.