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Is Blu-ray the new Laserdisc?

Next-gen optical format promises to revolutionize the industry with features unavailable to previous formats... but it runs afoul of corporate infighting, high prices, and consumers uninterested in changing formats. Eventually they decide, en masse, to stick with what they already know.

Sound familiar? That's what relegated Laserdisc to an oddball obscurity back in the 1980s, and it's an uncanny description of the current situation with Blu-ray today.

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tech.yahoo.com
PirateThom6415d ago

There's a key difference they're missing here.

Laserdisc's studio support was very limited and there was very few releases in general.

If anything, HD DVD was the new Laserdisc.

mikeslemonade6414d ago

This is stupid when you write a the death of blu-ray articles when blu-ray sales are rising. Iron Man came out and broke records. In december when Dark Knight comes out it will break records.

DavidMacDougall6414d ago

So true "The Joker" deserves Blu-Ray i couldnt find myself watching it on DVD

cherrypie6414d ago

I'd like to introduce you to the internet.

Mp3 > CD.
VOD/VDL > DVD & BR.

End of lesson.

LastDance6414d ago

hope your not a teacher in real life cherry pie.

;)

Expy6414d ago

Agreed. HD-DVD has already taken the title of any of those "dead formats". And rather quickly took those names I may add.

ruibing6414d ago

The funny thing is that part of his argument is to bring up other editorials about the demise of Blu Ray, most of which comes from CNet and ZDNet. Wasn't that ZDNet guy the one that was heavily favoring HD-DVD during the format war? That's my only rationale for his blame on Blu Ray towards Sony, when it's a pretty big association made up of just about every electronics and media company.

My other problem is his complaint of the performance of his Blu Ray machine, which says nothing about Blu Ray in general. He says he spent $300 on it, but he doesn't cite the brand or model. I believe a recent article asserted that the PS3 is still one of the best models, and he is definitely not using that with his price tag. He probably bought a cheap model from a generic brand and is now acting like an idiot and blaming it on Blu Ray. Most BR players can be upgraded by buring a CD with the firmware, I wonder if he even tried that.

PirateThom6414d ago

Mp3 > CD.
VOD/VDL > DVD & BR.
Certainly not quality wise. Let me tell you.

MP3 is tinny, downloaded video is lower bit rate. Screw that, I don't pay big money for a TV to watch upscaled DVD versions in forced HD resolutions. Enjoy never experiencing real HD.

butterfinger6414d ago

"Screw that, I don't pay big money for a TV to watch upscaled DVD versions in forced HD resolutions."

I couldn't have said it better myself. ++Bubbly

BiggDaddy3116414d ago

Why do we have to read this get crap. Seriously why is it if Blu-Ray is dying their library of new and older films continues to grow. Got to Best Buy. My Best Buy has expanded there Blu-ray section to 2 rows now. Sorry not only is BR not dead it will become the lead format in 3 years. So there!!!

crck6414d ago

I highly doubt laser discs ever had a market share of 10% to 12% like blu-ray now enjoys. They were also huge and only held 30 minutes to 1 hour of video on each side. Blu-ray will probably never dominate sales. But I don't see why it can't eventually snatch 30% to 40% of the home video market. Hardly what I would call an oddball obscurity.

JoySticksFTW6414d ago

Some people sacrifice quality for less expense. That's why you say bittorrent and VOD are greater than bluray and you probably own a 360 too.

While others happily pay more for the best quality. And those people most likely own PS3's, and buy bluray movies also. Nothing but the best... :D

As the Pirate said, enjoy your "top-notch" HD experience ;)

TheExodus6414d ago

Blu-ray doesn't have a 12 percent market share, "as of last month, only 4 percent of U.S. movie-disc sales were Blu-ray, according to Nielsen VideoScan."

See BUSINESS NEWS:
http://www.courier-journal....

http://www.star-telegram.co...

Oner6414d ago (Edited 6414d ago )

Funny, I can do the same this but reversed and with more credibility...

DVD will fail? Sounds a lot like Blu-ray

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1...

Meanwhile digital downloads are like .5 percent or something like that!? Yeah, that sure is taking off.....

Pain6414d ago (Edited 6414d ago )

seriously. HDDVD lost its Over end of Story.

Its a BLU world now, Shut up and rotate. this Hurts my brain cuz i already herd this Fud crap with DVD when i bought PS2 .

TheExodus6414d ago

Not really the same thing because "theoretical arguments" are where you go when current facts don't support your opinion.

Blu-ray is in TROUBLE because:

1. Consumers are not flocking to it as predicted. Blu-ray sales were
projected to reach 1 billion this year, but here we are at the
beginning of November with Blu-ray having only managed to rack up 300
million in sales & a 4 percent market share.

2. Samsung is already off the reservation as is Apple.

3. Retailers are worrying that they'll be stuck with mountains of
inventory come December 26th, have begun slashing prices like crazy
& still not finding many takers.

4. The only titles moving on Blu-ray are CG laden action flicks which
comprise less than 1 percent of Hollywood's annual release schedule.

5. 10 percent of DVD consumers account for 50 percent of all DVD sales
& those consumers aren't moving to Blu-ray.

Blu-ray isn't dead, but the only market segment still clinging to it are college-aged kids who don't realize they're going to have to pay those student loans back some day. When the reality finally sinks in they'll likely be married with children & for the rest of their natural lives will regret wasting thousands of borrowed dollars propping up a media format that in the long run didn't matter when they could have been out drinking too much beer & getting l*id.

shovelbum6413d ago

I don't know the answer to that but I am enjoying the great visual that Blu has rewarded me since getting the PS3 and snaking the HDMI cables thru the wall to the plasma. A beautiful thing it is. I am not against downloads whatsoever but I love the physical format. I enjoy alphabetizing them and thumbing over them to chose what we'll watch on movie nights. For me the physical format is irreplaceable. As for Laserdisc, I have 17 movies in that amazing format.

+ Show (13) more repliesLast reply 6413d ago
badz1496415d ago

these kind of articles keep coming day after day and they are all like wishing for the BD to flop and deminished! BD is now the sole format for high capacity disc storage and it won fair and square against HD DVD! should we just start acknowledging it as the winner and deal with it? are these people who posted these articles really want to stay with DVD? or are they thinking that everybody is ready for DD? heck DD quality is not even matching those offered by BD! and seriously BD is not even THAT expensive! DVD debuted at the similar price!

cherrypie6414d ago

"you dont understand"?

What part dont you get?

BR is expensive. More than Bittorrent, VOD/VDL or DVD.
BR is inconvenient compared to Bittorrent or VOD/VDL.

The actual advantages of BR, the fidelity, is only apparent with the most expensive hardware setups; the market is still very happy with DVD quality fidelity.

There is no *compelling* reason for the market to adopt BR!

The MPAA sig interested in BR in order to resell you your DVD library *and* try and slow down file-sharing.

Again, other than the fidelity -- which is good -- why BR?

I stopped paying for CDs YEARS AGO. I'm satisified with the price and convenience of MP3 (and later solutions (I have a Zune Pass)).

Movies are *NOT* going to go with another plastic-disc format to replace DVD, the mass market has *ALREADY* begun the adoption of VOD/VDL.

ruibing6414d ago

@cherrypie
How can you compare BR to bittorrent? Buying movies through retail and downloading them illegally on the internet is hardly the same thing. As for it being inconvenient, I suppose if you think opening your wallet to buy them in retail or online is really that inconvenient.

As for the advantages of Blu Ray, anyone who watches any movie with great presentation (visuals, sound, action) can appreciate the difference on a HDTV. Sure HDTV adoption is slower here in the US than Europe and Asia, but it is happening.

As opposed to you, I am not in the whole streaming market. If I want to stream videos to watch, I go to Hulu or Megavideo. But when the big action/adventure movies of the summer (Iron Man, Dark Knight, Wanted, Wall-E, etc) comes out, I want to own the definitive version on Blu Ray.

SaiyanFury6414d ago

In a word, no. Laserdisc was a minor format in the 80s. Blu-ray is not a minor format, it's the established HD format for this day and age. I'm not surprised that some companies are trying to unseat it as such, but they'll fail for the next several years. The HD format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray resulted in BR becoming the defacto standard and all of the movie studios are behind it now. Other companies can come up with other formats up the wazoo, but BD is now the hard media format, and that means a lot to people. They can now buy HD and have confidence in their purchases since there's no uncertainty.

Marty83706415d ago

Blu-ray is doing way better than DVD was at the same time in it life. Lazer disc ended up for movie buffs only, it's market was small.

Raoh6415d ago (Edited 6415d ago )

LOL blogger...

anyone who says standard definition is good enough or would choose standard definition over high definition shouldnt be reviewing or invoved with the tech industry.

they should work for sunday circular ads looking for bargains

tk6415d ago

The number of anti-PS3 and anti-BR articles is just amazing...

Show all comments (120)
60°

Final Fantasy X 25th Anniversary Website Launches With New Nomura Artwork and Merchandise

Square Enix launches Final Fantasy X 25th anniversary site, revealing new Nomura art, books, music releases, and merchandise.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
-Foxtrot27d ago

Look I know VIII has its issues and all that but how on earth can the do big anniversary events with new artwork and merchandise for VII, IX and X yet VIII got sweet f*** all.

They could have given it something during its 25th anniversary yet all it got was a single Happy Anniversary post on their social media.

solideagle27d ago

they should know that we are OG fans of VIII as it sold truckload as well. not as much as VII or X. I personally didn't like IX but X and VI are my personal fav.

Shadow Hearts 2 covenant is another game I love. I hope one day someone can make remake, I would be delighted

Relientk7727d ago

Final Fantasy VIII is great and you are always the first to defend it in the comments

40°

15 Years Ago, Mortal Kombat (2011) Saved Gaming’s Biggest Fighting Franchise

A brutal reset, a smarter story, and a return to what made it great—Mortal Kombat (2011) revived the series.

Read Full Story >>
fortressofsolitude.co.za
italiangamer36d ago

"Gaming’s Biggest Fighting Franchise"

Press X to (seriously) doubt.

DarXyde34d ago

Underrated comment. I used to hate that game so much that any time my siblings asked me to play it, I just picked Hom and shut myself down mid-match.

Soy34d ago

And then MK1 killed it again.

DivineHand12534d ago (Edited 34d ago )

15 years went by so fast. I remember playing through the story mode at launch.

90°

PlayStation legend Shuhei Yoshida says Jim Ryan fired him because he didn't listen to him

Why did Sony push Shuhei Yoshida out of his role leading PlayStation's first-party games? He'd overseen some huge successes. Well, apparently, he didn't listen.

Read Full Story >>
eurogamer.net
Relientk7735d ago

Yeah I can see that for sure. Shuhei Yoshida should have been in charge not Jim Ryan.

Cacabunga35d ago

It should be free highway for him now.. but Sony are too stupid to see this, especially that moron Hulst

S2Killinit35d ago (Edited 35d ago )

Wtf why all that anger. PlayStation is dominating on every level. Besides I think there is a little more to hiring a CEO than just who is available. Its not like its a athlete your team wants to buy.

neutralgamer199235d ago

S2Killinit

live service failures, chasing trends, closing studios. yes dominating

Cacabunga35d ago

Sony is Dominating because competition is not existing. Compared to previous gens this is the poorest in terms of software offerings.

Last gen we got Uncharted 4 Lost Legacy and TLOU2 from ND alone.

This is so far a remasters gen, with no competition to lift up the quality

1nsomniac35d ago (Edited 35d ago )

..."PlayStation is dominating on every level"....

...Really???

PlayStation are soon heading into a new generation in the not to distant future. They currently have the worst customer satisfaction they've ever sustained as a company. The company is heading for a huge crash while at the same time they'll need to be planning how they are going to try and win back that favour and the build up to their new releases.

Yes financially they're winning but they're going to have to ride out this complete public corporate disaster. No one has faith in the company or the product anymore. They've damaged their public image so much this generation. Greed can kill anyone.

medman34d ago

Hulst is a disaster......

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 34d ago
blacktiger35d ago

He would've done the same thing and fire Jim Ryan and Shuhei would be the villain. Why?
Because Elite creates the narrative and distraction for gamers, users and citizens.

Outside_ofthe_Box35d ago

More confirmation that Jim Ryan is the culprit for what has happened to Sony. Hulst needs to go too. What sucks is that a lot of the good top heads at Sony are no longer there. I wish that guys that were forced out prematurely by Dumbo Jimbo like Shuhei and Layden came back.

robtion34d ago

Yep. Yoshida was responsible for bringing one of the best games of this generation to playstation (Stellar Blade). He is an actual gamer and is in touch with what gamers want (creative, fun games, not GaaS and agenda pushing). He also seems like a genuinely nice guy if you watch some interviews. Of course they got rid of him.

darthv7235d ago

Makes you wonder if MS even thought about hiring him after Phil and Sarah were leaving. He certainly couldn't make their situation any worse.

Agent7535d ago

Microflop. After Windows XP and Xbox 360, it all went floppy.

S2Killinit35d ago

Floppy 😆
No pun intended

badz14935d ago

Yoshida for President! Jim Ryan was and always be a hack! Sony should get Shu back

Lightning7735d ago

All the gamer/consumer lead heads are gone across PS and Xbox. shuhei gone phil's gone (questionable) but gone. The future of gaming is somewhat uncertain across the board.

Show all comments (30)