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Sony Announces Date for Blu-Ray Roll Out
yermoungder writes "Reuters is reporting that 'Sony Pictures on Tuesday said it aims to deliver its new Blu-ray DVD format to U.S. stores on May 23 to coincide with the entry of compatible disc players, a new step in an industry war for control of home movie viewing.'"
Reuters is reporting that 'slashdot poster Vertinox on Tuesday said he aims to deliver its new Blu-ray DVD format to his home on day that coincides with Sony prying his old DVD player from his dead cold hands.
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
So, what exactly is the reason for customer to upgrade to either HD-DVD or BluRay?
I only see one fundamental benefit between $NEW_DVD_FORMAT and DVD:
1) larger capacity - whether this mean more content or higher resolution.
I see many drawbacks between $NEW_DVD_FORMAT and DVD:
1) more expensive media and released product -- why is a consumer going to pay more for a BluRay movie than a DVD? I bet the movie studios will say "because that will be their only choice"... As to resolution, how many people are willing to pay more *PER MOVIE* for better than current DVD resolution. There has been such a long and successful marketing campaign for DVDs that convinced people that DVD resolution is *GREAT!*. Now someone's going to have to convince people that DVDs suck. Yeah, right...
2) DRM - nobody wants to *PAY EXTRA* for less control. If you want BluRay to succeed, give the players away for $25 - (meaning cheaper than a standalone DVD-ROM drive current cost).
3) format war uncertainties. Nobody wants to make the wrong choice and be stuck with worthless electronics junk.
4) lack of a problem - from a consumer standpoint, what exactly is wrong with DVDs? Seems like everyone loves them. What problem does BluRay solve? Oh, my freedom problem... yeah right
5) the next dvd jon - it's just a matter of time until any protection in these new formats is broken. Consumers will not stand for constant changes in fundamental technology formats as a primary strategy to enforce DRM.
if I have only one digital port, it's going to the Direct-TV HD box. and all the rest of these guys can just go whistle.
it may be YOUR intellectual property, but it's MY credit card.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
, provided you have quality equipment
More acurately: provided you have large screen equipment or sit rather unusually close to your tv.
Wish I could remember that site which had the mouseover comparisons of the two formats.
Precisely the sort of nonsense that I refer to by people sitting unusually close to their TVs. Mousing over the difference sitting under 36 inches away from the screen is meaningless. Have someone ELSE do the mouseover while you sit in a chair 8 feet away. Then decide if its worth a $1000 player, and re-purchasing all your movies again.
On a big projection system it can be a big difference at normal viewing distances, but on a regular size "hdtv" its almost irrelevant, unless you're in the habit of watching your TV from 3 feet away.
Frankly, I'm going to just sit back and watch others get ripped off while the format wars start. I have not seen one compelling movie in the last 3 or 4 years so why would I want to see the same bad content only at a higher resolution for a significantly higher cost? Or maybe, its just that I like music more then movies. I'll buy a $2000 stereo system but not $2000 on a TV + disc player.
Heck, at the prices they're offered now, I might buy a few DVD players in case they decide to discontinue them for something with extra copy protection crap I never asked for. At least I'll be able to play plain-old music CDs, MP3 CDs and DVDs and the DVD movies I bought.
A common misconception on Slashdot is that Joe Consumer understands the issues with DRM and even more importantly, cares.
And a very simple way to make the point and make Joe Consumer care is simply to say to him, "Don't you hate having to sit through all that junk at the beginning of the DVD before you can watch the movie?" That usually gets them thinking. Then drop a hint about how things like the broadcast flag can prevent them from fast-forwarding through commercials, if they're allowed to even record a show to begin with. And Congress keeps passing more laws that give "the suits" more control over what we're allowed to do in our own living room.
That gets their attention. DRM isn't about previnting piracy, its about exerting control after the sale. You won't be able to do it even if it is legal.