The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => History => Topic started by: lprkn on February 19, 2008, 06:58:26 pm
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So, does this (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/19/AR2008021901511.html) actually affect any of you? I, for one, was waiting to see which one would win out. However, I'm still probably gonna wait for prices to drop to around $200 before I buy a blu-ray. This is because I am poor, see.
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Yeah, I don't watch enough movies to need this right now. Maybe in a few years.
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I didn't even know there was a war on.
Are they still eventually going to make me throw out my TVs and buy all new ones? That's all I want to know.
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I bought a PS3 about a month ago, right after Warner Bros decided to go Blu-Ray exclusive. That was the deciding factor for me -- not that I love Warner movies, but they're such a big domino piece in the industry.
The Blu-Ray movies themselves are still too expensive for individual purchase, so I'm using Netflix. The only ones I own at this point are Ratatouille (simply meant to be seen in HD) and Spider-Man 3 (came with the PS3, still in the wrapping). I also got a 5-for-free mail-in rebate from Best Buy, but none of those ought to be very good
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I've been rooting for Blu-Ray since the beginning simply because they hold more (50GB vs. 30GB for HD-DVD). Granted, studios will still release 2-disc sets with each disc being 3/4 empty for marketing reasons, but for things like games and data-storage bigger capacity is always better.
My TV is an HD monitor but I've never hooked anything HD up to it. First it's 4:3, because widescreens still cost like $1,000 extra at the time, and 2nd my TiVo is regular definition. I'd rather watch an inferior picture than commercials or learn what time/channel things are actually on.
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um, Blu-Ray is the worst goddamn name for a media standard ever.
LP, CD, VHS, DVD... Blu-Ray. What!?
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I didn't even know there was a war on.
Are they still eventually going to make me throw out my TVs and buy all new ones? That's all I want to know.
Not exactly. (https://www.dtv2009.gov/AboutProgram.aspx)
(fixed link - w)
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Huh. I don't need a different TV set if I get cable TV. This does not make sense to me, but it's good news, so I am not going to worry about it.
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Basically the change just affects how local TV stations send their signals over the air. If you don't get your TV through an antenna in your house, it won't affect you in the least.
As for Blu-Ray, yeah, it was the technically better format, but I was rooting for HD-DVD because I wanted Sony to lose another format war. Turns out movies are the one area where they actually have enough market share to force their hand. Also, the name comes from the fact that it uses blue lasers to read the discs because 1) Blue has a narrower wavelength than red and thus tighter beam so it can pack more data into a given area, and 2) the future is blue.
For some reason I'm craving a blu-ray player now even though I think the PS3 is an overpriced piece of cramware. I definitely don't want to have to rebuy my DVD library again. I think it's because I recently got my new HDTV and want to use all those schmancy DVI cable ports on something. Right now my XBox is the only high-def source I have in the house aside from what I can get via antenna, and damn are those PBS ballroom dancing shows getting old...
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So what you're saying is that you have some holes you have no use for?
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I'm kind of glad this is resolved so I can just enjoy movies without worrying about buying obsolete hardware but I'm a bit bummed that sony came out on top. They can be such douchebags about their proprietary formats, which is why every other time they've tried to shove one down people's throat (betamax, UMD, minidisc) it hasn't worked. I kind of wonder how successful this will be long term, it's going to be difficult to communicate the increased value of bluray over dvd to an average consumer, especially if they don't have a fancy tv. It would be interesting if we leap-frogged from dvd to direct download services but at the moment the size of HD video probably makes that unlikely.
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It would be interesting if we leap-frogged from dvd to direct download services
This is exactly what I'm hoping for.
I feel no need to display my video collection in cases. As it is, we throw away the clamshells and store our disks in massive DVD wallet. I'd be a lot happier (and the environment a lot cleaner) without all that extra packaging.
Someday soon we will have a PC as the foundation of our home theater system.
Speaking of direct download, I am in love with Netflix's instant access program. They have all four seasons of Coupling (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/coupling/) up, so if you haven't seen it and you have Netflix, you no longer have any excuse.
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This is exactly what I'm hoping for.
I feel no need to display my video collection in cases. As it is, we throw away the clamshells and store our disks in massive DVD wallet. I'd be a lot happier (and the environment a lot cleaner) without all that extra packaging.
Someday soon we will have a PC as the foundation of our home theater system.
Speaking of direct download, I am in love with Netflix's instant access program. They have all four seasons of Coupling (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/coupling/) up, so if you haven't seen it and you have Netflix, you no longer have any excuse.
Oh hell yes. Coupling is one of those shows I feel no need to own, but I'm very pleased to know that I have the opportunity to watch a chunk of whenever I feel like it. Stephen Moffat's a genius TV writer, his plotting is brilliant.
Speaking of things I can watch right whenever I want on Netflix, some 30 Rock would hit the spot right now.
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dang. I really like Owning Things. I am hell of Materialistic, I guess.
I really like having all my DVDs and CDs and LPs and the books I've read sitting on a shelf where I can look at them. Maybe because I want people to see them and think I like cool things, so what?
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I kind of like being able to get up and grab a dvd off the shelf. 'Owning' movies or music in a subscription model isn't quite the same and there's going to be DRM hell before they let us have video files that we can download and rightfully call our own.
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I kind of like being able to get up and grab a dvd off the shelf. 'Owning' movies or music in a subscription model isn't quite the same and there's going to be DRM hell before they let us have video files that we can download and rightfully call our own.
I do like owning DVDs as well, and I've got quite a few, but I'm saying that there is also a second tier of films and programs which I do not feel the need to own, but knowing that they are freely available to me online whenever I choose nonetheless significantly boosts my quality of life, as it were.
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I like to own things sometimes, too, don't get me wrong. (All 7 seasons of Buffy, anyone?) But I currently share a 2 bedroom townhouse with 3 other people, so the fewer things I can possess in physical form, the easier my life is.
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I like to own things sometimes, too, don't get me wrong. (All 7 seasons of Buffy, anyone?) But I currently share a 2 bedroom townhouse with 3 other people, so the fewer things I can possess in physical form, the easier my life is.
What, no Buffy Season 8 comic? And here I thought Pedro loved you.
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He does! ...but we're talking DVDs here. I didn't feel my comic book collection was necessarily relevant. Also, I wasn't sure I wanted to geek out quite that much. This sor of seems like a cool kids thread.
Also, I'm about three months behind due to graduate school kicking my ass. So I've fallen behind in my watcherly (readerly?) duties, and am ashamed.
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I don't think digital distribution will become the norm until companies get their act together and stop lacing content with crippling DRM restrictions. If given the option between buying a Blu-Ray disc for 25 dollars or paying 6 to download a movie that will expire 24 hours after pressing play, I'll choose the former every time.
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I'll be honest, most of the time I'd rather have a download that expires for a quarter of the price.
Because I'm not the kind of person who generally watches movies more than once.
TV series are another story, but when it comes to movies -- which I don't watch all that often to begin with -- unless it's a particular favorite (like The Usual Suspects) or a really truly classic film (like the Die Hard trilogy) I just really don't feel the need to see it over and over.
I realize, however, that I'm in the minority here. So what I'd love to see is the elimination of prohibitive DRM to allow greater customer choice.
Isn't that really all anyone wants?
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There's also the third option (which is actually the one I'm going with right now) of paying 15 bucks a month for a NetFlix subscription. Their shipping is so damned fast it may as well be digital distribution. Plus you get to actually take your time with the movie and watch the special features. The only drawback is new Blu-Ray movies tend to be in very short supply. I've had the latest version of Blade Runner on Blu-Ray at the top of my queue for over a month now and still haven't got it.
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dang. I really like Owning Things. I am hell of Materialistic, I guess.
I really like having all my DVDs and CDs and LPs and the books I've read sitting on a shelf where I can look at them. Maybe because I want people to see them and think I like cool things, so what?
If Ray were one end of the spectrum of buying things, and Roast Beef were the other, I am hell of on the RB end.
The ladyfriend heard a story about Kurt Cobain once, where after Nirvana broke, and the world was their oyster Kurt lost his shoes. Apparently some kids had cold stolen his shoes during the show, and he kept wandering around in socks. When pressed about it, the best he could do was mumble that someone had stolen his shoes. Here's a guy who could snap, and have 20 pairs of shoes, purchased, brought to him, and then say "I don't like these" and another 20 would be brought to him. Yet he can't pull it together to get 1 pair.
I work a decent job. I'm ashamed of material things. Like if someone were to come by, and I have a big TV, I'd be putting on airs. Such as "Who the hell does Mr. Big TV think he is?"
The ladyfriend handles these things much better, and doesn't understand why I am ashamed of the spoils of my hard work. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I really enjoy what I do, and sometimes can't believe I'm paid to do it.
When I balk at buying something I want, like a CD, or a new game, the ladyfriend might say something to the effect of "Buy some shoes, Kurt."
So... I guess, HD-Blu-DVD... I ... I'll probably stick to my VHS player that was built by the Incans for a while.
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So... I guess, HD-Blu-DVD... I ... I'll probably stick to my VHS player that was built by the Incans for a while.
They made those things without any kind of glue holding the parts together, you know.
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oh, no, see, I hate owning nice things. What I like owning is like, old used CDs and records and books from the used book store, army navy surplus jackets, etc. There is probably hell of negative stuff which you can extrapolate about my personality based on this. I don't see myself ever owning a fancy TV or a nice car... I like old things. With character.
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I don't like owning things because the less stuff I own, the better chance I have of having the liquid assets available to deal with the next disaster around the corner... because I have the anxiety and the panic and always believe that disaster is just around the bend.
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I don't like owning things because the less stuff I own, the better chance I have of having the liquid assets available to deal with the next disaster around the corner... because I have the anxiety and the panic and always believe that disaster is just around the bend.
Ironically, this is the same mindset people who invested in HD-DVD had until recently.
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I have both HD DVD and Blu-Ray (about 80/60 titles) so I for one was hoping that there wouldn't have been a winner to the "war" and that certain titles would come out in one format, some the other, and combo players would be the defacto next gen players sometime this year.
I won't be re-buying all of my HD DVDs on Blu-ray since they still play just fine in my player. I guess eventually I'll re-buy some of those titles, though. If my HD DVD 360 add-on dies I probably won't bother replacing it with anything.