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Killing BluRay, new Oppo BR 83

OK, I have been vocal on these forums with my opinion that BluRay is a short term media, and will not become the dominant media format. My reason:

1) There is not a mind blowing difference in BluRay quality
over the existing domintant format of DVD. That's not to say BluRay is not better, but it's not the difference between VHS and DVD, where you couldn't believe what you were seeing. Does it look and sound better, yes. Does it change your life, no. Especially with the quality of the upconverting DVD players available.

2) Given my first point, I don't think there is a big call to replace any purchased DVD's with BluRay. Any videophile who had a bunch of VHS tapes did that immeadiately with DVD, but why do it again? Basically the same disk, great sound, and small size, with excellent picture. I don't think that investment is going to be made again, and that means the market for BluRay discs is MUCH smaller for classic movies.

3) The advenet of internet based movie downloads is already available in HD. Granted, it's only 720 and no HD soundtracks, but does anyone believe that is not coming, and quickly. I love using my AppleTV to rent movies, never leave the house, and don't have to return. Honestly, I have bought a bunch of movies that way, since I have such a big network storage capacity. I think this will be the dominant AV format going forward, both movies and music. More high res video and music available faster. I believe that the rise in the market for outboard DAC's will become even greater, and they will have he ability to decode the new higher res music, and possible video soundtracks in surround. Output to analog preamps for Audiophile grade sound will become the norm for audiophiles, or hybrid HT/2 channel systems, as is becoming the norm.

I whole-heartedly believe this since recieving my new Oppo BluRay player. It is a great player, and it's the second BluRay I have had in my system so it just has re-inforced my previous hypothosis regarding the future of BluRay. Don't get me wrong, the player is STELLAR in every way. Considering the price, it's almost criminal especially on SACD and DVD-Audio (which I have not had any of the problems that the first firmware owners had). I have not gotten to use it as a CD transport yet, I am waiting on one of Paul G's (TubeAudioDesign) new DACs and the redbook CD sound on it's own was just OK.

That said, after watching several movies in both BluRay and DVD on the same player, the difference is just not that huge. It is better, but not enough to make me run out and buy any of those movies again on BluRay. It's the difference, to me, between the Magnepan 3.6 and 20.1. It's definitely better, but they are both excellent.

OK, those are my thoughts, FWIW.

I came to these conclusion
macdadtexas
macdadtexas OP
1,794 posts
 
last night I rented "Watchmen" on AppleTV (terrible movie by the way) and to me it verified what I have been saying in this thread regarding the death of, not just BluRay but all disc distributed digital media.

When I first started the movie it was too dark and hard to discern details, so I made a few picture adjustments, and the picture was fantastic. My wife thought it was a BluRay disc. It was the best looking downloaded movie I have ever seen. It looked better than DVD's, even those upconverted on my Oppo BluRay player, and was fairly close to BluRay discs I have rented. Certainly close enough that I was glad I didn't drive my car to the store and rent it.

I still contend there is not a big enough difference in quality to make people go out and rent (maybe videophiles will still buy as we do with vinyl) software that can be downloaded that quickly. My movie was available in 5 minutes. As the technology continues to advance, especially 4G networks, this can and will become instantaneous, and full 1080p (and higher) video will become a commonly downloaded accurance.

I also believe that where there is demand for it, the higher resolution audio downloads will become more common. But the market for that seems fairly small right now, the common consumer is happy with MP3, and doesn't have the equipment to hear the difference. I believe that is what will happen with video as well.
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,611 posts
 
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Macdadtexas, do downloaded movies come encoded with hi-def DTS, or Dolby True HD? What type of sound are they encoded with? What was your experience with the soud quality?
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macdadtexas OP
1,794 posts
 
No HD soundtracks yet. They come with standard Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks. Sounds very good though.
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,498 posts
 
Macdadtexas, I still think things are years off before the internet will provide the quality the present Blu Ray disc does.
Also, my computer and my internet provider are not reliable enough to have the quality I am seeking in video/audio.
The fantastic video/ sound quality from Blu Ray can not be duplicated from the internet at this time.
jfz
570 posts
 
Macdadtexas,

I will not agree or disagree about the future of Blue-Ray, or how many people will feel that BR makes enough difference to "invest in". I will, however, make an audio analogy: just as with truly great/neutral speakers one will hear differences that would otherwise be masked (and unappreciated), the same is true for video. The better the display (and associated audio system), the more one will appreciate BR. Just my two cents.
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