Blu-ray victory reported on Playboy.com

[zuulboy]

Not really any new info for frequent readers of this site, but a pro-Blu article. http://www.playboy.com/blog/2008/01/blu-horizon.html.

And for those of you who are sadly blocked from Playboy:

“With our combined strength we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.”—Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back

That could have been Warner Bros. addressing the other members of the Blu-ray Disc Association. This week, in a bold announcement right before CES in Las Vegas, the studio said that it would stop supporting rival format HD DVD and focus solely on Blu-ray. “A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry,” said Kevin Tsujihara, the president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. “Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience.”

Within a day, sister company New Line also dropped HD DVD support, and rumors are swirling that the two remaining major studios that still release titles on HD DVD—Paramount and Universal—could soon switch to the Blu side. It is essentially game over for the Toshiba-backed HD DVD format, which will soon join the ranks of Betamax and the MiniDisc in the Museum of Forgotten Technology. Warner Bros.’s ballsy decision brought down the hammer on the high-definition format war that has been dragging out for over a year now, dividing studios and confusing customers who have been waiting for this all to play out before buying a high-def player for their HDTVs.

But now Blu-ray must face a far tougher competitor—the good ol’ DVD. Even though all Blu-ray machines can also play standard DVDs, many people with HDTVs are satisfied with upconverting DVD players that cost far less than a typical Blu-ray player, which also upconverts standard DVDs to near HD quality. DVDs can look nice on an HDTV, and for many people that is good enough. But when you see a Blu-ray in full 1080p the difference in picture quality is crystal clear—literally.

Also, don’t believe the hogwash about digital movie downloads being commonplace anytime soon, making Blu-ray unnecessary. Do you know how long it would take to download a 50 GB movie? And where would you store 10 of them, let alone an entire movie collection? I can see downloads eclipsing rentals in about five years when the technology is perfected, but even then people will still want to own an optical format so they can easily transport movies and sell them if they wish. A downloaded file has no monetary value when you are done with it, plus it has restrictions as to how many times you can view it and how you can archive it. This is one of many reasons the CD still exists despite the popularity of services like iTunes, and why Blu-ray discs will likely be hanging out at the party for longer than some realize. It’s just a question of how quickly Blu-ray takes off now that HD DVD has been left in the dust.

[Manco]

Also, don’t believe the hogwash about digital movie downloads being commonplace anytime soon, making Blu-ray unnecessary. Do you know how long it would take to download a 50 GB movie? And where would you store 10 of them, let alone an entire movie collection? I can see downloads eclipsing rentals in about five years when the technology is perfected, but even then people will still want to own an optical format so they can easily transport movies and sell them if they wish. A downloaded file has no monetary value when you are done with it, plus it has restrictions as to how many times you can view it and how you can archive it. This is one of many reasons the CD still exists despite the popularity of services like iTunes, and why Blu-ray discs will likely be hanging out at the party for longer than some realize.

Thank GOD. At least this staff writer gets it right.

[J6P]

Nice. I can name several members of the high-tech press that I wish were seeing things this clearly.

[Living Near Shamu]

Who knew that someone actually goes to Playboy.com for the articles?

[sj001]

Well, I can now say I FINALLY read an article in Playboy!!!

[BluFett]

yay, Playboy

[CAB]

Penton musta made quite an impression at the Mansion.

But seriously, that organization has an eye for quality.

[Blu-Raider]

Hustler is still showing a wide spread.

[Switchblade9]

Originally Posted by Living Near Shamu

Who knew that someone actually goes to Playboy.com for the articles?

Playboy has articles!?

[Kirsty_Mc]

Playboy... The Naked Truth

[Rob Zuber]

Hubba hubba

[Sylin]

It took me like 3 hours to find their article on this site. I just kept browsing and browsing and browsing...

[smiley]

I just learned 2 things:
1. Playboy has articles

2. I am at work now and the firewall here doesn't block playboy. That is really supprising.

[ESUNintel]

Originally Posted by Switchblade9

Playboy has articles!?

Seems like it, that's new to me

[181]

Originally Posted by Switchblade9

Playboy has articles!?

Yeah, they are like MTV now. No real porn, just a lot of random articles.

[Blu-Jedi]

I bet Ken Graffeo dosen't subscribe to playboy

[Septimus Prime]

Playboy's articles have always been on par with its pictorials. The publication is pretty much GQ, except with naked chicks in it.

[Cordre69]

For some reason, I can't access that link at work! Best Buy's 'Adult Filter' catches it!

[Elandyll]

Originally Posted by Manco

Thank GOD. At least this staff writer gets it right.

Yes. At least someone who doesn't swallow the BS spoutted by MS fanboys and (sorry to say) Itunes fans.
Rentals is directly threatened within the next few years, which is why Blockbuster is preparing a model of rentals where you can drop by with your Ipod, chose a file in store, and get it straight to your ipod.

Somebody should tell them that the advantage of DL is that you don't have to physically go, but it might stil be interesting for some people who need the "in store" experience I guess.

[mystiksuicide]

I have always said that Playboy has great articles, this is just another one in a long list.