About a week ago, I decided to get rid of all my Blu-ray discs. It was not a large collection, only 110 titles. Still, the discs represent an investment of about $2000, and I bought most of them over the course the last 18 months. Although I've watched Blu-rays since the format first came out, I started buying them on a regular basis when I started writing comparisons of Blu-ray with online delivery formats here on AVS forum. A recent poll by Scott Wilkinson showed that three quarters of AVS members prefer to get their movies on Blu-ray. With over 1000 votes, it might not be a scientific poll, but it is indicative of how the broader AVS community feels about Blu-ray versus cloud-based HD movie formats. In past articles, whenever I suggested that the online-delivery formats come close to matching Blu-ray in overall quality, it has triggered a lot of debate.
My Vudu HDX movie collection replaced my Blu-ray collection
When I first started with the format comparisons, it was not uncommon to see a big difference between Blu-ray and online formats such as iTunes HD and Vudu HDX. But as time went by, the overall quality of those online delivery formats improved. It's not because of an increase in allotted bandwidth; the specs for iTunes HD and Vudu HDX are the same as they've been for the last few years. I believe it's because the content providers have improved the quality of their product. Ultimately, results matter—cloud-based HD movie formats now look very good, even on a large screen. In 2014, the main reason I continued to buy Blu-rays was for 3D. While I enjoy 3D on occasion, I don’t enjoy wearing glasses to experience it. Recently, several factors led me to a change of heart about watching movies in 3D on my Vizio M3D550KD, a 1080p, passive-3D, LED-edgelit LCD. The first disrupting factor was a two-month trial of a TV featuring Ultra-D glasses-free 3D; you can read about that experience in this thread. After spending those months watching 3D without having to wear glasses, I can't go back to watching my Vizio or any other TV that requires spectacles in order to experience the illusion of depth. The Ultra-D TV along with my (former) collection of 3D Blu-rays
The second disrupting factor was my very recent purchase of a Samsung PN60F5300 plasma. For $799 (on sale), it offers 60 inches of plasma image quality—including the ability to calibrate color using 10-point grayscale controls. What it does not have is 3D. When I compare the experience of watching actual 3D on my Vizio versus 2D on the plasma, there's no question that the plasma wins out. Even a movie like Gravity benefited more from plasma's intrinsic deep blacks and high motion resolution than it did from its award-winning 3D special effects. Now, before you suggest that I should have purchased a plasma with 3D capabilities, I should mention that I bought the Vizio M3D550KD because I could not stand watching active 3D using shutter glasses. Prior to the Vizio, I owned a Panasonic plasma (VT30) that featured active 3D. As sharp as that VT30 was in full-HD 3D mode, it was also too dim to watch, and it suffered from crosstalk. It hardly matters what the problems were, because I accidentally broke the screen on that plasma—don't ask how, suffice to say it was my fault. The replacement for that panel was the Vizio; at the time, I found passive 3D on an LCD TV was much brighter and easier on the eyes. Also, I was so excited about 3D that I was willing to forgive many of the image-quality flaws of edgelit LCDs. Those factors came together in my decision to get rid of all my Blu-rays. Almost on a whim, I took my stack of discs down to the CEX store on South Street in Philadelphia and waited as the employee inspected and scanned each disc. After almost an hour, the deed was done, and I accepted a cash payment of $340 in exchange for my stack of discs. I had expected to get less out of the transaction, so I was happy with the result. Prior to stopping at CEX, I tried to sell the discs at a used movie/bookstore where the owner looked mortified that I wanted money for my collection. Given that, and the fact that Amazon was only offering a pittance in credit for the same titles, I was perfectly happy taking the money from what amounts to a glorified pawnshop. On June 3, 2014, 300: Rise of an Empire came out as a digital early release. The sequel to the R-rated blockbuster 300 is a completely ridiculous, exploitive, gratuitous, and violent movie full of in-your-face 3D special effects—it's the sort of movie I buy on 3D Blu-ray. This time, I looked at the options available on Vudu and decided to buy the combo pack that included the 2D and 3D versions in HDX format, which include special features. It was not cheap; after tax, it cost me $35. The 2D version looked and sounded great, with only a few banding artifacts creeping into deep shadows, but 99% of the time it looked fantastic. The 3D version of the movie was quite a surprise—it looked as good as any 3D Blu-ray I've seen, with nary an artifact to spoil the effect. 300: Rise of an Empire is available for online delivery—in 2D and 3D—with special features.
I know that giving up Blu-rays won't work for many people—access to adequate bandwidth is a major issue in many areas, and some people feel that physical media offers more security—that a disc represents ownership and a license to a cloud-based product does not. I've read many comments along the lines of, "What happens if the cloud-based movie service goes out of business?" That's probably the most contentious aspect of my decision—are my UltraViolet-licensed titles going to be accessible forever? I don’t have a good answer for that, but it's a risk I'm willing to take.I fully agree with anyone who claims that Blu-ray currently offers the very best 1080p image quality that's available to consumers at a reasonable price. In my own comparisons, I've never seen an online format such as iTunes HD, Amazon HD, or Vudu HDX beat Blu-ray in terms of picture quality. Nevertheless, I've also seen those formats—and especially Vudu HDX—come incredibly close to Blu-ray's picture quality time after-time. The quality difference is no longer enough to keep me on the physical-disc side of the fence. I strongly prefer having my library readily available on multiple devices. In addition, before anyone even asks—I flatly refuse to rip Blu-rays. It's a shame that the laws are what they are, but that doesn’t mean I'm ready to break 'em. Going forward, I'll probably buy 3D Blu-rays when they go on sale. The price of 3D via online delivery is often higher than the Blu-ray version, and as I discovered, 3D Blu-rays retain at least a bit of resale value. Buying, then selling, 3D Blu-rays allows me to view a movie in 3D for half the cost of 3D on Vudu HDX, and I still end up with an UltraViolet license that I can redeem for a 2D HDX copy of the film. Is it the best of both worlds? It is for me, at least for now. When it comes to 2D movies, I'm considerably less motivated to buy Blu-ray in the future. I've grown comfortable with paying $15 for a license to an iTunes HD or Vudu HDX version of a movie. For me, the plusses outweigh the minuses. Part of what makes it work for me is that I already have fast Internet access, and my viewing habits don't put me at risk of exceeding my bandwidth cap. I fully acknowledge that adequate Internet bandwidth is a pre-requisite to successfully making the transition to cloud-based content delivery. For me, the time to make that switch has arrived. I'm sure that other AVS members will have a different take, so whether you think I'm crazy, impatient, savvy, or just plain dumb for selling off my Blu-rays, please chime in and let me know your thoughts on this controversial
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