[Edited 11/22/10 3:43am]

i know just how you feel. my eight track player is on its last legs...

I haven't bought into the blu ray thing yet either.

Maybe part of it is me recording movies and programs off

tv with my dvd recorder.

I'm still on DVD's for now (i have thousands). If it's a 'vanilla' DVD (no extras) it doesn't get bought til 6 months later when it's in a sale at £3 or something.

I'll get Blu-Ray next year as i know i'm missing out, but won't be re-buying all my DVD's. Only some of them.

No problem. Blu-ray players can play DVD's.

If you have the right hardware there's no color. Once I bought my first blu-ray disc I didn´t buy any more DVDs.

Many blu-ray movies come with the DVD as an extra, so you might start buying those double packs now thinking of the future

Thankfully, I don't own too many DVDs, perhaps 70 or 80, so if someday I'm forced to update them all to Blu-Ray, fine by me... no big deal

and as Pandurito has said, the Blu-Ray player can read DVd's , so

I have a top-of-the-line bluray player that plays all regions (which is quite unusual), has full 3D capacity etc. To be honest though I almost only still play DVDs on it and the simple reason for that is price. DVDs are still quite a lot cheaper and if you have a good TV they definitely look good enough. The day bluray and dvd cost the same though, I'll definitely purchase only bluray discs from then on.

So I guess the bottom line is that in my opinion, you're not really behind the times. The transition is still happening and it's going quite slowly. The leap from VHS to DVD was both a lot bigger and a lot faster than the leap from DVD to Bluray.

After Bluray I don't think there'll be any more discs/cartridges/cassettes etc. All movies will just be downloaded directly to your hard drive.

I own too many DVD player's, and i have yet own a HD TV. Still using the bulk

dance4me3121 said:

Lately Ive noticed that when NEW movies are being released on DVD,there is barely any special features at all while the BLU RAY will be packed with a bunch of extras.That dissapoints me,I guess they really want to us to buy the blu ray instead.

That may be the case, but a Blu-ray disc can also hold a lot more information than a regular DVD. So, it may just be a matter of, 'Hey, we've got all this extra space - might as well throw a buncha other shit on there. '

I was wondering how much of the org is still behind in technology? I'm still on dvds but atleast I'm not watching VHS.

I have a laptop with a Blu-ray player (I passed on the drive that can burn 'em, too), but I rarely watch any kind of disc. I have a DVR with a hard drive and I record a lot of TV on that (it can also record to and dub to DVD). I love it! Sometimes, on lunch, I'll watch my home TV or something on my DVR via my Slingbox (love that, too!). NB: Not all DVRs, DVD-recorders or DVD-players can be controlled by a Slingbox.

My last question is,How long do you think they will continue to make DVD's?

I think the real question is, "How long do you think they will continue to sell movies and TV shows on hard media?"

As broadband gets "broader", you'll just download everything. Judging by products like Apple TV, the death of the disc might be imminent.

I only buy Bat-DVD (Way better than Blue-Ray)

kpowers said:

I only buy Bat-DVD (Way better than Blue-Ray)

dance4me3121 said:

kpowers said:

I only buy Bat-DVD (Way better than Blue-Ray)

hi there,do u own all the Batman movies? i watched Batman Begins the other night on dvd,its a amazing film.

Own it??? I lived it.

I think everyone should just get used to the fact that almost none of your technology is going to outlive 5-10 years of usefulness. Tech improves at such a drastic rate now that you truly can't keep up.

I remember it was just three years ago when there was a huge format battle between Blu-Ray and HD DVD, with the manufacturers eventually deciding to go with Blu-Ray, even though HD DVD was outselling Blu-Ray at the time. But frankly, I think it's mostly a waste of time, because we're almost at the threshhold where it will be easier just to stream and/or download HD movies onto your DVR.

728huey said:

I remember it was just three years ago when there was a huge format battle between Blu-Ray and HD DVD, with the manufacturers eventually deciding to go with Blu-Ray, even though HD DVD was outselling Blu-Ray at the time. But frankly, I think it's mostly a waste of time, because we're almost at the threshhold where it will be easier just to stream and/or download HD movies onto your DVR.

Streaming HD still looks like crap if there is a lot going on in the screen, it starts to break down to less than VHS quality...

A battle scene with explosions for instance.... A racing scene... Almost 75% of the new star trek movie...

[Edited 11/22/10 21:23pm]

ufoclub said:

728huey said:

I remember it was just three years ago when there was a huge format battle between Blu-Ray and HD DVD, with the manufacturers eventually deciding to go with Blu-Ray, even though HD DVD was outselling Blu-Ray at the time. But frankly, I think it's mostly a waste of time, because we're almost at the threshhold where it will be easier just to stream and/or download HD movies onto your DVR.

Streaming HD still koos like crap if there is a lot going on in the screen, it starts to break down to less than VHS quality...

A battle scene with explosions for instance.... A racing scene... Almost 75% of the new star trek movie...

Streaming HD in the USA sucks right now because broadband in this country is being hijacked by the cable and FIOS providers in order to justify charging exhorbitant rates for internet access. Europe's broadband is three times faster the USA and costs about half as much per bill while Japan and South Korea are downloading broadband at an average of 12 MBps while paying dial up prices to get it.

[Edited 11/22/10 20:53pm]

i'm still on DVD's and an analog TV. we dont have a TV aerial at our place so even if i got a new digital TV it wouldnt work anyway. plus i've no real use for a blu-ray, at least until the prices drop, like when they're done maximizing their profits offa a consumerist society that will upgrade to the latest thing when they dont even need to.

I fought the Blu-Ray change for a long time. Then I saw a movie I really loved on still on DVD, but being played on a Blu-Ray player and giant 1080p HD TV. That alone was enough to make me go ahead and purchase the new equipment. But seeing movies that were made more recently (a lot of digital involved in their production), with great transfers on a Blu-Ray disc is pretty incredible. Huge, huge difference in depth of field and clarity of picture.

Things to remember...

You can play all your DVDs on a Blu-Ray player forever. They won't stop working.

Most good Blu-Ray players up-convert your DVDs so they look slightly better than playing them on a DVD player. I doubted this, but I'm a silly geek and I tested a bunch of discs to see if I could tell the difference. Will all but one of them the difference was very evident.

You can still buy DVDs for as long as they keep making them.

You can now buy a GOOD Blu-Ray player on the CHEAP!

You won't get the full effect from the change unless you have a good HD TV and fork over the cash for the good cables, too.

Blu-Ray holds a great deal more data than DVD, so there can be more of those special features, often kept to one disc that also contains the movie.

Unfortunately, studios are making more money on Blu-Rays right now, so those special features are going to continue to be produced for that medium.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is streaming HD? Like, from Netflix or one of those other services?I haven't tried that yet. Couldn't get the Blu-Ray wireless to connect to the network, but I didn't really care about that feature so I only tried once.

The premium channels all have a ton of stuff available OnDemand in HD now and that stuff looks great. It's so clear that some of the actors I've been watching for years actually look different now.

Remember the resolution of a movie as old as Gone With the Wind was still what is now considered to be HD size. Until they released HD tv (which they were already testing in their labs with The Fall Guy in 1980 or so. I remember reading a reviewers reaction as kid) and HD movies (like blu-ray) we have never seen that much resolution unless it was projected off film at the theater.

It's wrong to think that HD and blu-rays only apply to modern movies. There's a reason Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind and the like were put to blu-ray!

JerseyKRS said:

I think everyone should just get used to the fact that almost none of your technology is going to outlive 5-10 years of usefulness. Tech improves at such a drastic rate now that you truly can't keep up.

Sorry, but that's false

some people still buy vinyls, many people still buy CDs, many people still use Windows XP, and many people still buy DVDs (HD or the older format)

and, at the same time, some people buy Blu-Ray discs, use Windows Vista or Macs, and some individuals use iTunes or Spotify only...

JoeTyler said:

JerseyKRS said:

I think everyone should just get used to the fact that almost none of your technology is going to outlive 5-10 years of usefulness. Tech improves at such a drastic rate now that you truly can't keep up.

Sorry, but that's false

some people still buy vinyls, many people still buy CDs, many people still use Windows XP, and many people still buy DVDs (HD or the older format)

and, at the same time, some people buy Blu-Ray discs, use Windows Vista or Macs, and some individuals use iTunes or Spotify only...

why didn't you bold the almost part of it?

I would also argue that vinyl is a niche market, and it's usefulness has been replaced.

CD and DVD sales are less every year due to music files and streaming video soon replacing them. So, although they are not replaced yet, they're on their way. Will they disappear compltetley? Probably not.

Even XP will no longer get MS support eventually.

I'm just reinforcing the fact that formats are constantly being trumped by new tech and the standards tend to fall quickly in today's tech. enviornment.

Just because you can still buy and use old tech doesn't mean it hasn't been replaced by something newer and better.

JerseyKRS said:

JoeTyler said:

Sorry, but that's false

some people still buy vinyls, many people still buy CDs, many people still use Windows XP, and many people still buy DVDs (HD or the older format)

and, at the same time, some people buy Blu-Ray discs, use Windows Vista or Macs, and some individuals use iTunes or Spotify only...

why didn't you bold the almost part of it?

I didn't bold it because, excluding cassettes, EVERY major technology is still alive and well, including vinyl

but don't take it personally it's just that I've heard so many paranoid stories or false threats about the "complete" death of older technology (once I heard that "DVD discs only last for 10 years and then they just don't work anymore" , or that vinyl would completely disappear after 1995, ) that I just can't help laughing when somebody (specially a crazy "insider" of the business industry, I'm not sayin' that you are one) starts preaching about the end of Cds and DVDs or even Windows just to increase the sales of Blu-Ray, iTunes or Mac/Apple

JoeTyler said:

JerseyKRS said:

why didn't you bold the almost part of it?

I didn't bold it because, excluding cassettes, EVERY major technology is still alive and well, including vinyl

but don't take it personally it's just that I've heard so many paranoid stories or false threats about the "complete" death of older technology (once I heard that "DVD discs only last for 10 years and then they just don't work anymore" , or that vinyl would completely disappear after 1995, ) that I just can't help laughing when somebody (specially a crazy "insider" of the business industry, I'm not sayin' that you are one) starts preaching about the end of Cds and DVDs or even Windows just to increase the sales of Blu-Ray, iTunes or Mac/Apple

agreed.

The price factor always ensures life after death. lol

JerseyKRS said:

JoeTyler said:

I didn't bold it because, excluding cassettes, EVERY major technology is still alive and well, including vinyl

but don't take it personally it's just that I've heard so many paranoid stories or false threats about the "complete" death of older technology (once I heard that "DVD discs only last for 10 years and then they just don't work anymore" , or that vinyl would completely disappear after 1995, ) that I just can't help laughing when somebody (specially a crazy "insider" of the business industry, I'm not sayin' that you are one) starts preaching about the end of Cds and DVDs or even Windows just to increase the sales of Blu-Ray, iTunes or Mac/Apple

agreed.

The price factor always ensures life after death. lol

I think the only formats that stay alive are one that have any good inherent qualities. Records still sound great when played on good equipment. Better than CD. So, even thouh it's not as convenient, it has a good quality. But other inferior formats like VHS, 8-track, cassette, diskettes, zip disks... etc

they really do fall extinct. They are not in use! The only reason someone would use VHS is for artistic effect or because a VHS is not available in any other format.

ufoclub said:

JerseyKRS said:

agreed.

The price factor always ensures life after death. lol

I think the only formats that stay alive are one that have any good inherent qualities. Records still sound great when played on good equipment. Better than CD. So, even thouh it's not as convenient, it has a good quality. But other inferior formats like VHS, 8-track, cassette, diskettes, zip disks... etc

they really do fall extinct. They are not in use! The only reason someone would use VHS is for artistic effect or because a VHS is not available in any other format.

truly good point

that's why DVDs or remastered CDs are here to stay , in a tense coexistence with Blu-Ray and Internet downloads (legal or ilegal)...

[Edited 11/23/10 6:59am]

robinhood said:

i'm still on DVD's and an analog TV. we dont have a TV aerial at our place so even if i got a new digital TV it wouldnt work anyway.

My laptop came with an an antenna (about 8" tall?) that I can plug into it. With that, I can pull in about 8 HD channels. Of course, your mileage may vary according to your distance from HD channel transmitters.

You can get an indoor antenna for as cheap as $10.99 at Best Buy. They also sell the more powerful, outdoor ones for up to $150:

http://www.bestbuy.com/si...&iht=n

Ace said:

robinhood said:

i'm still on DVD's and an analog TV. we dont have a TV aerial at our place so even if i got a new digital TV it wouldnt work anyway.

My laptop came with an an antenna (about 8" tall?) that I can plug into it. With that, I can pull in about 8 HD channels. Of course, your mileage may vary according to your distance from HD channel transmitters.

You can get an indoor antenna for as cheap as $10.99 at Best Buy. They also sell the more powerful, outdoor ones for up to $150:

http://www.bestbuy.com/si...&iht=n

thank you! is that like a set top box? i really need to get one.

JerseyKRS said:

I would also argue that vinyl is a niche market, and it's usefulness has been replaced.

Vinyl and it's peripheral hardware are growing markets. It's been growing consistently for the last five years or so. And for a lot of us it never went away to begin with. I've been going to Berkeley or SF on the same consistent basis to buy new and used vinyl for the last 21 years.

All the other stuff you said, I generally agree. But it is true that you don't HAVE to upgrade nearly as fast as you used to. Not until the current media formats changes completely. Nothing going on right now like the switch from cassette to CD, or VHS to DVD. So long as they keep making new discs or new disc readers that are backwards compatible people can take their own sweet time upgrading.