Even More on Blu-ray
Ever since seeing the first Blu-ray disc on a Best Buy shelf the other night, I've been intermittently thinking about the format, and DVD, and the upcoming war with HD-DVD.
I started talking about Blu-ray over a year and a half ago. Granted, at that time I made some wild predictions (unless for Chrismukkah last year you received The Incredibles on Blu-ray and Ocean's 12 on HD-DVD ...)
But the more I've thought about it, the more this Blu-ray thing really cheeses me off.
Americans have embraced DVDs like crazy. I was looking all over this morning for facts and figures to show how much money we've all put into DVDs, or how quickly we've embraced the format. And frankly, I couldn't find anything. But I swear I've read facts that say that DVDs were adopted much faster than radio, TV, VHS tapes, computers, CDs, everything.
So let's run with that assumption.
And it's my impression that Blu-ray discs playing on a standard TV will look about the same as DVDs playing on a standard TV. That you really need a HDTV to see the difference. And how many people do I know who own an HDTV set?
One.
I know one dude who has an HDTV.
Now, I just read this morning that by the end of 2006 it's estimated that 9% of American TVs will be HDTVs. Doesn't this sound bogus to you? That would mean effectively one out of ten of your friends would have an HDTV. Unless all of my friends start getting promoted or a big bonus this fall, I doubt a tenth of my friends will have a HDTV come New Years Eve.
In fact, in Portland and in Southern Maine right now I know the most people I've ever known who don't have cable TV. And it's not that we're all poor, either. (Although that's why Dan and I didn't have cable at his house.) I think lots of people around here would rather spend their time doing other things. Especially in the summer. In fact, oddly enough, I haven't watched TV since ... wow. When was the last West Wing? I know I watched
Marissa Cooper die on the OC. It's been a few months. (Besides the occasional Red Sox game at the Mad Monkey Cafe.)
The real shitty thing is that the government is taking away analog TV transmissions on February 17, 2009. They want to sell off the VHF frequencies to cell phone companies. So we're all going to need a HDTV or a converter to even watch TV. Bogus.
I mean, I can see watching sports in HD. That's cool. But do we really need to see Saturday Night Live or My Name is Earl in HD? It's just stupid. It reminds me of an old article from The Onion: High-Definition Television Promises Sharper Crap.
More facts about DVD I learned today:
I started talking about Blu-ray over a year and a half ago. Granted, at that time I made some wild predictions (unless for Chrismukkah last year you received The Incredibles on Blu-ray and Ocean's 12 on HD-DVD ...)
But the more I've thought about it, the more this Blu-ray thing really cheeses me off.
Americans have embraced DVDs like crazy. I was looking all over this morning for facts and figures to show how much money we've all put into DVDs, or how quickly we've embraced the format. And frankly, I couldn't find anything. But I swear I've read facts that say that DVDs were adopted much faster than radio, TV, VHS tapes, computers, CDs, everything.
So let's run with that assumption.
And it's my impression that Blu-ray discs playing on a standard TV will look about the same as DVDs playing on a standard TV. That you really need a HDTV to see the difference. And how many people do I know who own an HDTV set?
One.
I know one dude who has an HDTV.
Now, I just read this morning that by the end of 2006 it's estimated that 9% of American TVs will be HDTVs. Doesn't this sound bogus to you? That would mean effectively one out of ten of your friends would have an HDTV. Unless all of my friends start getting promoted or a big bonus this fall, I doubt a tenth of my friends will have a HDTV come New Years Eve.
In fact, in Portland and in Southern Maine right now I know the most people I've ever known who don't have cable TV. And it's not that we're all poor, either. (Although that's why Dan and I didn't have cable at his house.) I think lots of people around here would rather spend their time doing other things. Especially in the summer. In fact, oddly enough, I haven't watched TV since ... wow. When was the last West Wing? I know I watched
Marissa Cooper die on the OC. It's been a few months. (Besides the occasional Red Sox game at the Mad Monkey Cafe.)
The real shitty thing is that the government is taking away analog TV transmissions on February 17, 2009. They want to sell off the VHF frequencies to cell phone companies. So we're all going to need a HDTV or a converter to even watch TV. Bogus.
I mean, I can see watching sports in HD. That's cool. But do we really need to see Saturday Night Live or My Name is Earl in HD? It's just stupid. It reminds me of an old article from The Onion: High-Definition Television Promises Sharper Crap.
More facts about DVD I learned today:
The first DVD players and discs were available in March 1997.
PlayStation 2 (with the ability to play DVDs) was first released in North America on October 26, 2000.
DVD player sales exceeded VCR sales in 2001.
Circuit City and Best Buy stopped selling VHS tapes in 2002 and 2003, respectively.