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[bdawg923 (Max)]

I agree with OMD that Blu-ray prices will begin dropping. The companies will develop new cheaper ways of producing the discs, players will have smaller Blu-ray lasers, all the parts will become smaller, and therefore cheaper in the coming months and a little longer down the road.

The latest news is that Wal-Mart is also going Blu-ray exclusive in June which is HUGE because Wal-Mart is a major retailer. Soon people aren't going to have any place to buy an HD DVD disc if Toshiba drags this format war out any longer [looks like they won't though- minimize losses: http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/14/toshiba-gearing-up-to-drop-hd-dvd/]. source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/15/wal-mart-to-officially-discontinue-hd-dvd-sales-by-june/

Another interesting bit of news: Toshiba might be gearing up to make a Blu-ray player. http://1080living.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=30

[Chris Rossini]

Just in case anyone is interested...I learned something new...I remember reading not too long ago that DVD's will not play on Blu-Ray machines.

It turns out this is incorrect.

Since I have a decent size DVD collection, I was happy to read the following on Blu-Ray.com:

Will Blu-ray be backwards compatible with DVD?

Yes, several leading consumer electronics companies (including Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Pioneer, Sharp and LG) have already demonstrated products that can read/write CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs using a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical head, so you don't have to worry about your existing DVD collection becoming obsolete. In fact, most of the Blu-ray players coming out will support upscaling of DVDs to 1080p/1080i, so your existing DVD collection will look even better than before. While it's up to each manufacturer to decide if they want to make their products backwards compatible with DVD, the format is far too popular to not be supported. The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) expects every Blu-ray Disc device to be backward compatible with DVDs.

[OldManDeath]

Another article (from IGN) about the death of HD-DVD, however, this one goes in a time line fashion from the beginning to the end.  http://gear.ign.com/articles/852/852769p1.html

Also, I just took the plunge and bought a PS3 and the game that got me interested in the console, Time Crisis 4.  Now I plan to also get the only other game that had me thinking about the PS3 from before it launched, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom.

The only thing purchasing the PS3 will do for me now, is hasten my purchasing of a new Stereo receiver as mine does not have HDMI.  Also I will want to replace my Rear Projection 50 HDTV with a flat screen one that is full 1080p.  And I thought I was going to save money this year! 

The PS3 40 GB system came with the Blu-Ray Spiderman 3 movie, so I will get to see how the format looks and the menu system works.  I had a HD-DVD player with the Xbox 360 I had and sold to my son, so I still have a faint remembrance how the HD-DVD looked and menuing worked to compare.

[El Guru (Al)]

Y'all might want to fix this:

Another article (from IGN)about the death of Blu-ray

[OldManDeath]

Y'all might want to fix this:

Another article (from IGN)about the death of Blu-ray

Fixed.  What the hell was I thinking?  Oh, I had Blu-ray clouding my thought process as it was all that was on my mind at the time.

Got the PS3 initial setup done and plan to watch the Spiderman 3 movie after I go get something for dinner.

[Ryan Wagner]

Just in case anyone is interested...I learned something new...I remember reading not too long ago that DVD's will not play on Blu-Ray machines.

It turns out this is incorrect.

Since I have a decent size DVD collection, I was happy to read the following on Blu-Ray.com:

Will Blu-ray be backwards compatible with DVD?

Yes, several leading consumer electronics companies (including Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Pioneer, Sharp and LG) have already demonstrated products that can read/write CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs using a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical head, so you don't have to worry about your existing DVD collection becoming obsolete. In fact, most of the Blu-ray players coming out will support upscaling of DVDs to 1080p/1080i, so your existing DVD collection will look even better than before. While it's up to each manufacturer to decide if they want to make their products backwards compatible with DVD, the format is far too popular to not be supported. The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) expects every Blu-ray Disc device to be backward compatible with DVDs.

Thank goodness we don't have to go through the same thing with the VHS to DVD transition where you had to buy a unit with both inside. Now we'll still be able to use just one drive.

[Pieter]

I agree with OMD that Blu-ray prices will begin dropping.

Blu-ray players: Mighty pricey

See? Told ya. It's simple economics.

[OldManDeath]

I agree with OMD that Blu-ray prices will begin dropping.

Blu-ray players: Mighty pricey

See? Told ya. It's simple economics.

True, but you are forgetting that they will come down as more people buy them.  It is just like with any new technology.  It's pricier in the beginning, then gets much cheaper over time.  The only reason the pricing is going up on Blu-ray right now is because they had to drop prices during the war with HD-DVD.  Now Blu-ray is THE new technology.

This is all pretty much a moot point anyway.  Blu-ray will not see the same popularity or success as DVD simply because the days of physical media for movies is coming to an end soon.  In the near future you will get your movies via electronic distribution.

[Pieter]

True, but you are forgetting that they will come down as more people buy them.

And what about the supply and demand rule? If the demand goes up, the available supply goes down, which in its turn raises the price.

[IceDogg]

I don't know about any one else, maybe I'm in a minority here, but I still want a physical copy of stuff I BUY. I've used Steam for games and I've bought software (utilities) online but I also burn them to media disk for a physical copy. Maybe Blu-Ray might see a different kind of market (blank disk and burners) but I still think they will do alright because people are still going to want physical copies of what they buy.. even if they buy it online via downloading it. So, maybe Blu-Ray will be a bigger hit, in the long run, with burning and blank media as more and more people get digital downloads.

What do you all think? Am I the only one that doesn't want to keep re downloading something I bought or have to keep it on my Hard Drive?

[spock1982 (Ernie)]

I agree with IceDogg about having physical media on hand. I just have had too many issues with music that I have purchased on line and now I like to have physical media for everything that I purchase. It is far less of a hassle to keep things straight if I have a disk I know I can play it again if my computer dies or the internet connection is down or whatever.

[Ryan Wagner]

I burn very few things to discs these days simply because I have a lot of redundant backups on other computers. I also use Flickr as a complete backup for all of my photos, and it would be extremely odd that they would lose all of my photos at the same time the other three computers do that backup the photos.

[OldManDeath]

True, but you are forgetting that they will come down as more people buy them.

And what about the supply and demand rule? If the demand goes up, the available supply goes down, which in its turn raises the price.

This is true, however, this does not always seem to apply in the electronic/computer world that I have witnessed over the years.

The one thing I hate is what is going on with gas prices.  Demand is high, especially here in the US, but the supply is not down, and prices continue to go up.  The big oil companies are loving it because it is not costiung them any more to make it and they are reaping astronomical profits.

[OldManDeath]

I don't know about any one else, maybe I'm in a minority here, but I still want a physical copy of stuff I BUY. I've used Steam for games and I've bought software (utilities) online but I also burn them to media disk for a physical copy. Maybe Blu-Ray might see a different kind of market (blank disk and burners) but I still think they will do alright because people are still going to want physical copies of what they buy.. even if they buy it online via downloading it. So, maybe Blu-Ray will be a bigger hit, in the long run, with burning and blank media as more and more people get digital downloads.

What do you all think? Am I the only one that doesn't want to keep re downloading something I bought or have to keep it on my Hard Drive?

I used to burn copies of everything as well.  However, ever since getting my Drobo unit and populating it with four (4) 500 GB drives, which gives me 1.3 TB of safe and secure storage, I do not worry about losing anything.  The great thing about the Drobo is that it is infinitely upgradeable as larger drives come out.  If I start getting low on space, I can swap out drives on the fly to up my storage.

Now with my PS3, I can access the video on the Drobo and stream it via Media Player 11 to watch on my big screen.  Of course, as long as it is in a format that the PS3 supports, but with their latest update, it supports a bit, and works flawless with DIVX avi files.

Couple that with converter software and you can take that one digital copy and convert it for other hardware players.

[IceDogg]

It's a good system and I would use it in a second myself, but kind of expensive. Granted so are Blu-Ray burners for now. Hard drives sure are getting cheaper and cheaper now days, so it's something to think about.