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Blu-ray says it will win against any format

Consumers wanting to take home this year’s best picture, be it Babel or The Departed, have the choice of DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. According to Frank Simonis, European chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association, consumers three years from now will only look to Blu-ray.

Reuters quoted Simonis during the CeBIT technology trade show in Germany as saying, “Within three years it will just be Blu-ray.”

This isn’t the first bold statement made by members of the Blu-ray Association. During this year’s Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, the Blu-ray Association announced itself as the winner of the HD format war, claiming that it had bested the competing format of HD DVD.

While analysts label the Blu-ray Association’s announcement at CES as premature, the Blu-ray Disc format has recently taken the HD movie market lead away from HD DVD. Blu-ray movie sales more than doubled those of HD DVD during early 2007, a trend that continued through February. Total sales of Blu-ray movies also recently surpassed HD DVD, although the HD-race still remains a close one.

Simonis’ statement could come from optimism for the upcoming European PlayStation 3 launch on March 23. Sony’s new console is given much credit to Blu-ray’s recent pull ahead against HD DVD, as the PlayStation 3, although a games machine at heart, is not only an excellent Blu-ray movie player, but also the cheapest one on the market.

Even if Blu-ray manages to emerge victorious in the high-definition war, it seems like wishful thinking of Simonis’ part to believe that DVD could be that quickly ousted. According to figures from analyst firm In-Stat, the worldwide DVD player installed base in 2005 consisted of 140.8 million machines. In comparison, there are less than 2 million Blu-ray players in homes today, with the vast majority of those machines being PlayStation 3 consoles.

Blu-ray gaining home entertainment majority in three years would also mean another thing: near full-market penetration of HDTV by 2010. Analysts at Leichtman Research Group Inc. and Kagan Research LLC, however, project that that only 55 percent of U.S. households will have at least one HD-capable set by 2010.

At this point, selling more than 140 million Blu-ray players, ridding the retail space of DVD movies and putting an HDTV in every home within three years sounds like an impossible feat.

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I'll wait three years then
By PAPutzback on 3/16/2007 9:08:55 AM , Rating: 2
I still don't have an HDTV because there is so little HD content out there. I hope to get one this fall because I think we will finally see decent quality for under 2 grand. Hopefully a 1080P Plasma. But I'll still stick with HD content from my Cable provider. Even on Blue-ray and HD-dvd the data is still compressed. Hopefully in 3 years the next gen holographic discs will be out and will become the standard.




RE: I'll wait three years then
By h0kiez on 3/16/2007 9:22:37 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
I still don't have an HDTV because there is so little HD content out there.
I still don't have an HDTV because there is so little HD content out there.

People always say that, and it's really not very true anymore. There is one heck of a lot of content, and most importantly, the things that really need to be in HD are. National sports are almost entirely HD. March Madness is all HD. So is NFL, MLB, and NBA. Most if not all primtime programming on the major networks is in HD, and there's lots of interesting stuff to watch on Dicovery HD and National Geographic HD. Maybe the food network isn't available yet in HD, but who even cares that much?


RE: I'll wait three years then
By masher2 (blog) on 3/16/2007 10:41:37 AM , Rating: 2
> "There is one heck of a lot of [HD] content..."

True. And don't forget that even SD content looks significantly better, when played through a good upscaler onto an HDTV.


RE: I'll wait three years then
By Oregonian2 on 3/16/2007 1:05:06 PM , Rating: 2
I definitely agree on this one. Just bought a small 32-inch LCD HDTV for the bedroom because the old one had problems and didn't want to buy an new SD set. With a SD DVD player w/upscaling (set to 720P to match the TV's native resolution) and an HDMI connection to the set, regular DVDs can look REALLY good. Considering that regular DVD's are only $6~20 each I'm not so sure I'd want to pay a lot more for Blu-ray or HD formats. Maybe on the 50+ inch 1080P Plasma (or maybe laser, tbd) we'll get when they come down from the sky in prices there will be a significant difference. But on a small 32" I can't see the newer DVD formats are worth their expense, particularly on the discs themselves which is an ongoing expense.


RE: I'll wait three years then
By Lakku on 3/16/2007 2:31:18 PM , Rating: 2
Well, with BD and HD-DVD, you also get uncompressed audio, which on a good sound system, can make a real difference. Most people don't care though, but I enjoy BD for this reason, as many of their titles have an actual linear PCM audio track, as opposed to HD-DVDs, which usually just have DD+, even though they are capable of linear PCM.


RE: I'll wait three years then
By Oregonian2 on 3/16/2007 2:42:52 PM , Rating: 2
Sound improvement worth the cost differential between a regular DVD and a Blu-Ray disc?


RE: I'll wait three years then
By daftrok on 3/16/2007 3:00:10 PM , Rating: 5
If you have a Blu-ray player already? Then, yes, 1080p and uncompressed audio IS worth the whopping 8-10 extra dollars.


RE: I'll wait three years then
By Samus on 3/17/2007 1:48:38 AM , Rating: 2
right, some of the simpsons episodes which are still broadcast in SD res on FOX HD still look great on an HDTV because its at least 480P instead of SD's 480i


RE: I'll wait three years then
By timmiser on 3/17/2007 12:36:38 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Maybe the food network isn't available yet in HD, but who even cares that much?


It's funny that you should say that because the Food Network just started broadcasting in HD about 2 months ago!


RE: I'll wait three years then
By rmaharaj on 3/17/2007 7:33:31 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
there's lots of interesting stuff to watch on Dicovery HD and National Geographic HD.

Maybe for the first week. Ever notice that there is maybe 50-100 total hours of original programming on Discovery HD and NatGeo HD that they rerun over and over? How William Shatner Changed the World is on every single weekend, along with Ultimate SWAT Team, the same episode of Extreme Engineering, and so on. Discovery HD is a nice novelty when you first get HD cable, but it wears off.


RE: I'll wait three years then
By DirthNader on 3/19/2007 8:46:17 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
There is one heck of a lot of content, and most importantly, the things that really need to be in HD are.


I was honestly surprised at the percentage of HD content we watch after we moved up to an HDTV. We probably watch around 10 hours of TV a week, not counting sports (F1 is the only sport we watch religiously). Of that, only one show - Battlestar Galactica - is SD, and that's available in HD is were a little more patient and waited for the reruns on Universal HD.


RE: I'll wait three years then
By MarcLeFou on 3/16/2007 10:57:58 AM , Rating: 2
Correct me if I am wrong but is there even such a thing as a 1080P Plasma ? Most plasma I've seen are barely able to attain basic HDTV resolution (while a bunch are still EDTV!) so has there been a revolution in Plasma processes I've been unaware of ?


RE: I'll wait three years then
By bldckstark on 3/16/2007 11:14:17 AM , Rating: 2
I bought a 50" 1080i Plasma last year for only $200 more than an equivalent LCD. IN MY OPINION , a 1080i plasma looks better than a 1080p LCD or DLP.

I don't know why Worst Buy keeps advertising only EDTV and 720P plasmas, but if you look there are tons of them. I think there are some 1080p's also. They just started NOT advertising the 1080's just before Christmas.


RE: I'll wait three years then
By masher2 (blog) on 3/16/07, Rating: 0
RE: I'll wait three years then
By FITCamaro on 3/16/2007 11:38:53 AM , Rating: 1
Yes. All LCDs and Plasmas are progressive scan by nature. Any interlaced source will be scaled/converted by the TV to either 720p or, when available, 1080p.

I personally like DLP because it has the strengths of both LCD and Plasma for a much lower cost. The only benefits of LCDs and Plasmas is wall mountable displays. Something I don't care about and am not willing to pay a premium for.


RE: I'll wait three years then
By Lakku on 3/16/2007 2:36:40 PM , Rating: 2
DLP isn't cheaper then LCD, at least if you go the front projector route. LCD front projectors offer as good of quality (read, black levels) as many DLPs now a days, and cost a LOT less. My Panasonic projector works great and cost nearly 2 or 3 times less, at the time of purchase, then the nearest DLP competitor that could offer similar performence.


RE: I'll wait three years then
By masher2 (blog) on 3/16/07, Rating: 0
RE: I'll wait three years then
By alifbaa on 3/16/2007 10:26:45 PM , Rating: 2
I wouldn't say that's their ONLY advantage. Plasmas offer the best picture quality, but the worst refresh rate, which makes them less ideal for a person who will play a lot of video games. LCD's are a good mix of picture quality and refresh rate, but above 50" you'll see a "screen door" effect. DLP's have a softer image, but you can get a much bigger screen for the same upfront cost. I say upfront cost because you have to change projection screen bulbs every 2000 hours on a front projector or 6000 hours on a rear projection on average. If you watch 4 hours of TV a day, you'll be changing the $300-400 bulb every 4 years on a rear projector or every 1.3 years on a front. 4 years may be a long enough time to you to make it worth while, but I think you'll do yourself a service when you look at the cost/performance ratio over the long term and make the consideration from that standpoint. BTW, compare the service life of DLPs to the typical modern plasma which will last 30,000 hours. In other words, the electronics will likely fail or you will replace it before the screen reaches its half-life.


RE: I'll wait three years then
By walk2k on 3/16/2007 12:25:13 PM , Rating: 1
Actually there is one interlaced plasma. I believe the resolution is 1024x1080 though, so not "true" 1080i which is 1920x1080.


RE: I'll wait three years then