Is Blu-ray worth the $$$?

Question

I am not a techie, but I am not ready to jump on the Blu-Ray bandwagon.

Beta - OK but short lived
VHS - Better than Beta and made Beta Obsolete
Laser Disc - Better quality, but had to flip over a big disc. Didn't take over from VHS
DVD- Better than LD and took over the home video market... DVD players started out at $400 or more. Now they are really cheap.
Blu-Ray??? Will they just be a stepping stone to something else? Will they make DVD Obsulete? Do we really want/need something so clear that we can see Hollywood Actor's zits? Will the Blu-Ray players end up costing $20 if we just wait? Will the "clearer, better" picture make any difference in how much we enjoy a movie?

I think it's just a bunch of hype to get us to spend $$$$$$

But I could be wrong.......

My fiance, whom I live with, is part of the reason I ask the question. We just bought an LCD HDTV. He wants to buy the PS3. Part of his argument is that the PS3 will play Blu-Ray discs. He currently has a PS2 which he NEVER uses and and Xbox that he NEVER uses. He has tons of games for both of these, many of which are still sealed in the wrapper, but purchased YEARS ago. I think that the BLU-RAY option is just not worth it to spend $600 on a game console that will probably never see the light of day, just like the other game consoles.... My thinking is that if Blu-Ray is going to take off like DVDs did, we are better off to sit tight for 3-4 years and get the player when they cost more like $40 and the movies are in the same price range as the DVDs.

Answer 1

At this point in time, it's not worth spending the money on either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. Neither has market dominance yet, and there are many bugs in the latest players. In addition, unless you have a 1080P compatible TV (whose price is still plummeting) , you're not going to unleash either technologies' full capability. Blu-ray, granted they don't screw up the marketing, should come out on top for numerous reasons. First, 9 of 10 major movie studios have signed onto to Blu-ray while only 4 of 10 have signed onto HD-DVD. (yes that makes sense because some have signed onto both) Also, Disney has signed exclusively with Blu-ray, and they control a large portion of the movie industry. Second, the menus navigate faster with Blu-ray. Finally, the discs can hold a lot more data.
In other words, wait until one starts to emerge as the market leader.

Answer 2

Blu Ray is already built into the PS3 and it is being sold for less then a blu ray player by itself cost. If you like playstation, just get the new one. I don't care HOW it looks as long as I can see it (not all snow and jumpy like VHS tapes did after a while) Never heard of Beta and only saw Laser Disc in school!

By the way, EVERYTHING is just hype to make you spend a LOT of MONEY!!! EVERYTHING!!!!!

If he never plays the systems he has, I wouldn't buy the PS3. In my house our Playstation is played a ton and the XBox has gone to pot. The XBox is about to be taken for trade in at a game store along with the games to purchase more PS2 games or put towards a Wii! XBox sucks anyway, the only good games they have I can get for playstation and playstation has a TON more games that are TEN TIMES BETTER!

I would be trying to convince him to sell the systems and the games he has and use the money to buy an HD DVD Recorder for the new TV!!!

Answer 3

Blue Ray has better quality and holds twice as much information on a DVD so Blue Ray is the clear winner. HD DVD has more movie titles at the moment however. If you must jump now then you need to weigh what is more important to you but in the not to distant future, you will be able to buy a player that plays both, so i would hold out if I were you.

Answer 4

It's a toss-up right now. HD DVD or Blu-Ray Disc. If you're
interested in this high-definition format, it might be in your
best interest to get a PS3 (which will play video games
as well as B-RD). You will want to have a 1080p high-
definition television set in order to fully realize this.

There is a following for B-RD, just take a look at
the following site for an interesting example...
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Answer 5

You are not wrong.

As the different formats fight it out, look at the history again. Sony, had both blu-ray and betamax.

Sony does publish a lot of movies, but will you pay $100 or more for a blu-ray movie?

Blu-ray may promise 50 gb video discs, but they won't copy commercial movies, you'll have to pay. But HD already allows copy of commercial movies, you just need the new HD writers.

I'd wait another year on both of them.

Answer 6

actually Beta was better but VHS won out for marketing reasons. If your talking about a standalone player I'd wait (If you have an hd tv setup and always want to have the latest thing than go ahead) I don't think many movies are released in that format yet anyway.

Answer 7

DONT GET BLUE RAY ITS FAILING HORRIBLY. It wont be good for years, get an HD DVD Player. If you Own An Xbox 360 you can get an attachment for 200$ that is an HD DVD Player