I've had HDTV for 5 years now and, then as now, my prime purpose is looking at my own 5-megapixel digital camera images. Standard CD/DVD/MemoryCard Players seriously reduce image quality, even below that of the 2-megapixel HDTVs My Philips BDP9000 Blu-Ray Player plays all of CD's, DVD's and several MemoryCars at far better quality than any of the four other conventional players I have And, watching either of "Planet Earth" or "Wild China", (both by BBC), on Blu-Ray versions is an experience to be remembered. COMPLAINT: BDP9000 won't play MPEG1's. NOTE: Download 25-GB files?? No-Way !!

by Fred Schaff, Spring Grove, PA, on Oct 30, 2008 04:56 PM, Report abuse   Reply

hi i want to learn blu-ray technology

by gnanasekar, chennai, on Sep 06, 2008 07:47 PM, Report abuse   Reply

blu ray disk is future. Any improvement people doesnt accept easily but when price comes down everyone will buy bluray and as always hdtv is next geneartion tv so fututre is bright

by rajnish, bangalore, on Aug 05, 2008 02:36 PM, Report abuse   Reply

"no-one wants bluray"? Pretty much everyone I know wants it. Price is the biggest factor. I'm talking price of the player. I've had mine for months and have yet to buy a BR Disc. The top 22+ movies in my netflix queue are BR with plenty more scattered thruout. My set is only 720p; but I can definitely tell the difference between a good BR disc and a DVD upscaled with my old Oppo DVD player (aka regarded as one of the best upscaling DVD players on the market). Not to mention the TrueHD sound.

by Bryan, Hartford, on Aug 12, 2008 10:09 PM, Report abuse   Reply

Most people notice differences between DVD and Blue-Ray? Of course they do - after paying extra for the quality they will see better quality even if it's blank screen. It's their faith in money they spend not their eyesight ;)

by kruky, london, on Aug 12, 2008 08:51 PM, Report abuse   Reply

Ineresting article, but I fould a few issues with it. The article makes it seem like its a requirement to have a HDTV with 1080p resolution in order to utilize a blu-ray player/ps3 console. While its ideal to have that setup everything looks beautiful on my setup, which is a 32inch 720p television and a ps3 console. Even if you hook a blu-ray player up to a regular tv, there will still e visuals differences compared to a regular tv, despite not utilizing the HD capabilities of the system. DVDs and Blu-Ray movies are in the same boat. Have you ever bought a movie at Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, etc. These stores sell regular dvd movies for the price range of $20-$30 (no special additions). Now blu-ray movies do run you between $25-$35 dollars per movie, but if you shop at stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, etc., you will notice that the prices go as low as $15 a movie, which is cheaper that all new release movies (DVD). Are the players expensive right now, oh yes, will they come down in price, yes. My first dvd player cost me $300 when theyfirst went mainstream,... so if you take account for inflation over the years, technically we are still paying that same price. By December 2009, players will be below $200 and the PS3 console could be as low as $299. Downloads are the future, is it the immediate future, no... and that's because its too expensive to setup a very stable system, which has super fast download speeds, stable servers (no crashing or overloads). Whether youa re into videogame consoles are or not, next generation of consoles will see blu-ray used once again by Sony (maybe even microsoft), while Nintendo will use dvd again, or a special disc they have made for their console.

by Matthew P., Los Angeles, on Aug 11, 2008 06:26 AM, Report abuse   Reply

I jumped on the DVD bandwagon early, and not long after realised it was a mistake because the disks were so expensive. I paid over the odds though for a multi region player so I was able to get disks a bit cheaper by importing them myself. Then the pathetic DVD copy protection was broken, people started buying DVD players in their droves, and the competition from copied disks brought the prices of real ones down. But by that point I had grown up a bit more, and understood more about economics. I started to fully appreciate just how offensive the DVD region coding was, in that the idea was that the major players in the movie business could benefit from globalisation but the customer can not. Once DeCSS was common place it meant that DVD movies could be copied easily. Since that point I have also learnt more about the theory behind DRM systems, and that they are all inherently flawed and will always be by passable by someone dedicated. That means that anyone who is a early adopter of a system that contains DRM will inevitably be ripped off until the system is dismantled.... at which point (based on the media companies' past actions) the DRM system will be replaced with another, incompatible, DRM system. So I now avoid any system that has artificial restrictions. These products are sold to us as high tech, as if it is the cutting edge of human achievement. But no, they are crippled and designed to fail under circumstances that shouldn't be fatal (e.g. failing because I don't have the right type of cable, rather than failing because there is no electricity). And being a geekier member of society, I regularly get asked about flat TVs and the current raft of home cinema stuff. And my only response is that the person should utterly avoid this technology. DVD movies only got really popular once DVDs could be easily copied. This mean readers, writers and blanks had to be cheap.... bluray isn't like this yet, but when they are I'm sure bluray will make a bit more progress (but of course the fact you need a new TV to get the most out of bluray is the major stumbling block for most people).

by anon, UK, on Aug 08, 2008 12:43 AM, Report abuse   Reply

"Unless untill the HD ready LCD are atleast come in the price bracket of twice of the current Upper picture Tube based TV... and with the manufacturing constrant." You can still buy a tube set in your country? Where do you live? Here in the UK it's very hard to get a CRT TV, and HD TV prices have plummeted accordingly. I believe the same is true in the US, and would imagine prices over there are even lower. Couple that with an increase in HD programming via cable and satellite and having to replace your TV is becoming less of a hurdle and more of a necessity. I'd also like to take issue with the "nobody wants Blu Ray" headline. Nowhere in the linked article, or the original source data does it say that, and in fact over 20% of respondents said they plan to buy into the format. Having been around when DVD launched I'm pretty sure the figures two years in would have been similar, if not lower.

by Rocky, Manchester, on Aug 05, 2008 06:41 PM, Report abuse   Reply

I would love to standardize myself on Blu-Ray, but the per disc cost is just too high to justify a switch. When the price comes within a couple bucks per title of DVD, perhaps I'll consider buying.

by Robert Wagner, Wausau, WI, on Aug 08, 2008 01:02 AM, Report abuse   Reply

Price. Yes that is the top concern. Not the price of the blueray player. I really wanted a PS3, and Blueray was just a plus. I got a free blue-ray of Dead Zone (Dragon Ball Z movie) when I bought DBZ Burst Limit game and the quality is the best ever seen the series and that is an old movie. I think one the prices of the tvs go down then we will see a rise in blueray and lowing of DVD. Also, I want blueray and I don't even have an hdtv yet. I can still see the quality even without it. I know a lot of people with ps3s just for blueray. Might need to change that title. It has won my heart. Blueray is just waiting for tvs to kick it into gear before we see a full take over of our hearts. Same thing for internet, online gaming has caused a rise in broadband, and lowered prices as well.

by Michael A, Pearl City, Hawaii, on Aug 07, 2008 12:53 AM, Report abuse   Reply

For HD ready LCDs to become mass market,the quality of the content should be upgraded ie. from the current less-than-DVD quality to atleast 720p.For this to happen,digital switchover should happen(like in the UK)Companies should do more to educate customers regarding analogue and digital and show the difference between a 480p and 1080p signal.This will drive the LCD adoption in the future

by Ravi, Coimbatore, on Aug 05, 2008 02:06 PM, Report abuse   Reply

The most reluctant part of the consumer is the HDTV... To take the full advantage of blu-ray you must need a HDTV..(or some sort of display which can show full HD) which isn't mainstream yet..and currently cost a boom.. For y personal choice.. I am perfectly OK with my current TV/Computer and the DVDs I have.. Unless untill the HD ready LCD are atleast come in the price bracket of twice of the current Upper picture Tube based TV... and with the manufacturing constrant.. I am not seeing this anytime soon.. sorry Blu-ray

by Sukanta, Kolkata, on Aug 05, 2008 10:35 AM, Report abuse   Reply