how do you convince your friends Blu-ray is worth it?

[micks_address]

Just had an interesting conversation with two of my work buddies. I went in to buy T2 on blu-ray (its just out in ireland today) i paid 24.99 euro for it, (about 38 dollars) Anyway on the way back to the office, the lads were laughing at me saying the whole HD thing was a con, for the movie industry to get more money from us, and in ten years time there will be something new, and i'll be buying T2 on super duper blu-ray at full price again..

They questioned whether the 'average' person would be able to tell the difference between the DVD of a non special effects laiden film like Full Metal Jacket to the Blu-Ray.. and whether the Blu-Ray justified the 3 times price the dvd could be picked up at in bargain bins..

Its a fair point i guess, everyone doesnt have and wont have equipment that can do losseless audio, 1080p and have ISF calibrrated screens.

Anyway I have invited them out to the house to demo some stuff in two weeks time so I'm hoping they take me up on the offer. I Robot is going to be the first disc I show them

What are other people's opinion on this - how can you convince the masses that Blu-Ray is worth it?

When you consider a lot of people are buying HD ready screens (in ireland anyway) that arent even 1080p and have poor black levels etc.. its a hard fight to win

i spent a lot (in relation to what i can afford) on my tv/ps3/receiver/speakers as i can and do appeciate it but not everyone does to the same degree. Just having a big screen is enough for most people.. never mind what the quality of the picture its showing is like

Cheers,
Mick

[DC_Street]

show them Cars or Ratatouille, blows their minds away every time

went to my g/f's familys house last weekend and they had never saw a Blu-Ray before and so I showed them Batman Begins...their eyes were glued to the screen, hahahaha

[cawgijoe]

There will always be something new on the horizon.....and really, that's a good thing. We all want things to get better and better. I know it costs money, but it sure is enjoyable and fun.

The only way to convince someone about Blu-Ray is to demo. Most people have been very happy with the DVD for so many years and really don't realize how much better the picture can be on Blu-Ray.

Not only the picture, but the sound of Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD MA or PCM will just blow people away.

So, I'm sure your friends will be impressed.....however it all boils down to how much are they willing to spend......some people will feel the cost is justified....others who are more frugal or have other priorities will pass on it.

[cathexist]

Invite them over...and then try to convince their wife that it's not that big of a cost (...that's one case I'm having)

[fighthefutureofhd]

i don't do anything cause in the end most of the average people don't care about all of this stuff and won't upgrade due to price. which sort of brings up an interesting point. all this talk about the botched job on the speed racer blu-ray has got me thinking about blu-ray and what will happen if it goes mainstream. i really wonder why anyone here would want that? if blu-ray goes mainstream then the quality of blu-rays aren't going to be any better than speed racer.


the mainstream/masses just don't care about this stuff and would get the cheap crappy version if it was cheaper. and i am certain that studios will take that route knowing it will sell more copies than the super duper bells and whistles blu-rays. sure, we'll still have some of those but they'll be deluxe editions for double dipping. i just don't think the mainstream and quality blu-ray can really go hand in hand.

[PNF]

I'd just show them both standard and BD movie one after another.

Cars/Rat//actually all Pixar are good to show, but they are graphic/cartoons after all.

movies, I'd show I Robot obviously, I AM Legend, Mummy (if you have that already), Narnia, Troy, etc. Untraceable actually is very high on my list too, though the movie itself was just so-so. But for the purpose of HD, Untraceable will do.

[Beta Man]

why do you care what other people think????

[obiwopkenobi62]

Originally Posted by micks_address

Just had an interesting conversation with two of my work buddies. I went in to buy T2 on blu-ray (its just out in ireland today) i paid 24.99 euro for it, (about 38 dollars) Anyway on the way back to the office, the lads were laughing at me saying the whole HD thing was a con, for the movie industry to get more money from us, and in ten years time there will be something new, and i'll be buying T2 on super duper blu-ray at full price again..

They questioned whether the 'average' person would be able to tell the difference between the DVD of a non special effects laiden film like Full Metal Jacket to the Blu-Ray.. and whether the Blu-Ray justified the 3 times price the dvd could be picked up at in bargain bins..

Its a fair point i guess, everyone doesnt have and wont have equipment that can do losseless audio, 1080p and have ISF calibrrated screens.

Anyway I have invited them out to the house to demo some stuff in two weeks time so I'm hoping they take me up on the offer. I Robot is going to be the first disc I show them

What are other people's opinion on this - how can you convince the masses that Blu-Ray is worth it?

When you consider a lot of people are buying HD ready screens (in ireland anyway) that arent even 1080p and have poor black levels etc.. its a hard fight to win

i spent a lot (in relation to what i can afford) on my tv/ps3/receiver/speakers as i can and do appeciate it but not everyone does to the same degree. Just having a big screen is enough for most people.. never mind what the quality of the picture its showing is like

Cheers,
Mick

Here is what I would do. Get a Bluray like cars or Ratatouille on Reg DVD, show them a particular scene, then pop in the same movie on Bluray and show them the same scene. At that point if they aren't convinced they are either blind or crazy. I had friends that said the same thing until I showed them the difference. We have reg movie night(Bluray only) at my house because of the quality. Anyone I know that has reg DVD that wants to have a movie night, I politely tell them I can't watch anything but Blu.
Another great ref movie is Casino Royale, The Mummy, Day After Tomorrow.

[PNF]

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=58819

this is pretty funny, a good comparison I guess, found it in another thread here.

You can send this to your friends.

[Eternalnow]

Ugh....I've had more debates with my friends over HD than I care to recall. I've heard it all...one of my friends even argued that the reason people see a difference between Blu Ray and DVD is because they *want* to...I showed him Lost on Blu and the first thing that came out of his mouth when he saw the 1080p jungle was "Whoa!". He still maintains that in order to really appreciate Blu Ray you must compare every Blu Ray side by side with its DVD counterpart to be sure that you aren't just buying into the hype...

Some things you can just tell for yourself...

As for the whole "HD is a scam bit and you'll need to upgrade in 10 years", that is a very valid argument. Eventually something bigger and better will surface..how can it not? Technology is always evolving, so soon we'll have Super Blu Ray, something that has over 2k or 4k lines...

[DetroitSportsFan]

These people aren't good enough to be your friends.

[fighthefutureofhd]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

These people are too poor to be your friends.

there! i fixed it.

[Scooby Blu]

Friends ? What is this you speak of ? LOL !


Most folks just don't GET IT ! The only way is to show them the POWER of a Blu Ray ! Then move on and become a hermit ! A hermit that is cast in the shadow of Blu !

[Marquoz]

I do the whole Clockwork Orange brainwashing thing on them. I create little mindless Blu lovers by the ones and twos!

[PNF]

I guess I am the only one who blind-buy all BD equipment and movies before I actually see them in stores or anywhere else.

[YoodinVranks]

I showed a scene on both formats, from a movie that I had both DVD and Blu-ray, (in this case Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Crest). I showed the scene on DVD first, then when I put in the Blu, people where blown away simply with the animated skull guy at the opening menu!

[Scooby Blu]

Originally Posted by PNF

I guess I am the only one who blind-buy all BD equipment and movies before I actually see them in stores or anywhere else.

[AaronSCH]

I don't try to convice anyone. If I have them over to watch a movie they can see it and hear it with their own eyes and ears. Seeing and hearing is believing.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by fighthefutureofhd

i don't do anything cause in the end most of the average people don't care about all of this stuff and won't upgrade due to price. which sort of brings up an interesting point. all this talk about the botched job on the speed racer blu-ray has got me thinking about blu-ray and what will happen if it goes mainstream. i really wonder why anyone here would want that? if blu-ray goes mainstream then the quality of blu-rays aren't going to be any better than speed racer.


the mainstream/masses just don't care about this stuff and would get the cheap crappy version if it was cheaper. and i am certain that studios will take that route knowing it will sell more copies than the super duper bells and whistles blu-rays. sure, we'll still have some of those but they'll be deluxe editions for double dipping. i just don't think the mainstream and quality blu-ray can really go hand in hand.

You bring up a very interesting point, although I'd like to beleive that won't happen. But the temptation for studios to go the "cheap" route once BD is the primary media must surely be enticing for them from a profitability standpoint.

I think you should start a thread about that!

[CAB]

Originally Posted by micks_address

They questioned whether the 'average' person would be able to tell the difference between the DVD of a non special effects laiden film like Full Metal Jacket to the Blu-Ray.. and whether the Blu-Ray justified the 3 times price the dvd could be picked up at in bargain bins..

I pride myself on being well above average. I'm also quite content when others choose to stay average. Improving the source material is the best way to improve the output. Blu-ray isn't for the average consumer that has no desire for the higher definition. It's for the higher end consumer. I don't try to convince my friends. The content played over my system does the talking for me. I just sit back and watch them jump out of their seats just like they would at the theater. I am fond of introducing people to HD audio with movies like 30 Days of Night and Ratatouille.