DVD players going to be played out?

Eventually all technology gets played out and rendered obsolete.

Does Blu-Ray have enough perks (pic quality, sound quality, availability of titles, etc.) to make it worth it to you now? You also don't have to give up DVDs, as most if not all players upscale DVDs (although not to true Blu quality.)

I think DVDs will stick around for awhile. Certainly right now Blu-Ray doesn't have enough of the titles I like, and I'd like to have a disc changer (other than the super expensive Sony one.)

no one can see into the future.
i suspect dvds will be around for a long time yet.
im personally waiting for bd player prices to come in around $200 with a lot more reliability and i'll jump in. but it might be a year or two.

how long either/any form of media lasts is anybodys guess.

There are something over 100,000 DVD movie and tv titles, depending on what you count. A few hundred Blu-Ray. It's going to take a long time for the new format to catch up on catalog titles, and frankly for many titles there is not much reason to remaster them for HD.

Even new titles are not yet all being released on Blu-Ray, although this should improve with time.

If the titles you want are available in Blu-Ray, you might wait for sales and try to acquire them instead of the DVD versions.

-Bill

DVDs will become and in the technical sense are already obsolete. However, the market penetration for devices that play DVDs is immense; think Laptops, Portable DVD players, Car DVD players, TVs with integrated DVD, Audio systems with integrated DVD, and HD-DVD players and Blu-Ray players.

Even though VHS is gone, people still have large VHS collections and players to go with them.

In addition one thing not to overlook is the fact that its only a laser and disc "format" change, not a transport mechanism change. Try sticking a DVD into a VHS player or vice-versa .

It's still a 12-cm disc just like CD, Video-CD, CH-DVD, CD-ROM, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray and other formats. The 12-cm disc size seems to have become the de facto standard for disc sizes; even future "disc" technologies (except for flash memory) seem to be geared for that size as well.

Since most if not all DVD players still play CDs and most play Video-CDs, it is likely the nearly all Blu-Ray players--I think all do right now--will still play DVDs for the entire life of Blu-Ray and any successor format would be remiss not to include it as well.

Sponge

DVD should be around for at least another decade.

The trouble with bluray is that unless it catches on very quickly, there will be another format coming from behind them that is superior that will become the standard.

With the relative high prices of the players right now - bluray better catch on fast.

If you are concerned about your disc investments then you might want to consider moving to Blu-ray. I've almost completely stopped buying DVD discs now that their days are numbered. However, you will have to invest around $300-400 in a new player to play Blu-ray discs.

The future is probably going to be some type of on demand system, or downloads. I think DVD will be around a lot longer than Blu Ray.

I don't think DVD will be replaced or going away anytime soon. I don't think we will see much more advancement in player technology though. Just nothing in it for the manufactures with the price levels they are currently selling for but I am sure they will continue to make them. In a few years perhaps as downloadable video catches on we will see very affordable combo players that play everything including Blu Ray and HD-DVD with some fairly good performance capabilities.

DVD is a very high quality medium for a lot of people and its a timeless medium unlike VHS video tape. Also lately you can get DVD's for dirt cheap. Even though I have a blu Ray player my DVD library is still growing at a rate of 3 to 1 over Blu Ray. As Blu Ray catches on and the software for it gets cheaper this will change but right now I can get some classic films on regular DVD for under $10. FIlms I like to own but not willing to spend $25++ for.

Even with Blu Ray I don't find myself complaining about DVD quality. Its not night and day like it was going from VHS to DVD. I agree with so many others that Blu Ray will be fairly short lived. A least as the top medium. Something like a video I-Pod type box that you download and store movies is the future. Not sure I like this since i like owning a physical medium but in reality it might grow on me. Just think of the storage space I could save? I am sure this is the future.

+1
Audio CD's have been around for 24 years and it's still number one in music sales.SACD and DVD-Audio are clearly better formats but they never gained widespread acceptance due to price and title availability,the same thing will happen to Blu Ray.
The benefits from VHS to DVD were noticable and you didn't have to buy a new tv,the benefits from DVD to HDM is only noticable on HDTV's.

Incredible that people need this kind of question answered for them on a forum. Common sense, and a little bit of rational thought goes a damn long way folks.

When comparing VHS tapes to DVD's, one has to remember all the negatives concerning VHS tapes.

You had the stretching and crinkling of the tape itself even in a great VHS player, even after one pass causing intermittent video and sound fluctuations. Where as a DVD when properly cared for will last forever.

The physical size of the VHS cassette was huge compared to a DVD causing storage issues.

DVD's had much higher storage capacity compared to VHS so you could store a digital 480i video along with a Dolby digital /DTS multi-channel audio track, VHS tapes usually offered just Stereo.

VHS tapes could not easily be navigated to a particular scene or include numerous extra features like DVD's.

You always had to wait to rewind a VHS tape before ejecting, compared to just ejecting a DVD and the DVD player remembers where you stopped.

As you can see there are so many technical advantages to using a SD-DVD compared to a VHS tape that making a argument that DVD's will go the way of VHS tapes just because a few hundred Blu-ray DVD's are now available is just BS.

After some cleanup...
We're here to talk about DVD players. There's other forums here for HDTV hardware, software and movie downloads.

larry

Standard DVD is engrained into society..it will be around for many many years IMO.

I don't think Blu-ray will catch on quickly enough to secure a hold on the market for anywhere near as long as DVD has.

And that realization, I think, played a part in Toshiba's decision to fold up the tent on HD DVD. Why fight tooth and nail, subsidizing players and playing cloak and dagger for studio loyalties, to come out on top in a war whose winner will only reign supreme for a few years?

DVD players will surely be around for a long time. I can't imagine Blu-ray replacing DVD. However, Blu-ray has effectively become the high end, premium quality DVD. I believe Blu-ray will maintain a secure position for many years to come. It does not need to replace DVD to survive. If you have an HDTV and want to own movies Blu-ray media is the natural choice.

I pretty much agree...the country it to deeply rooted with SD DVD and even though Blu is the only high def disc left after the war...the pricing is WAY to high for 98% of the public to care about hi-def discs...I think Blu may end up niche at best unless you can get players and discs at SD levels REAL soon.

Emilio, is that you?

+1
I agree. Today I bought Apocalypto, Poltergeist 25th remastered, Planet Terror, and Death Proof, all for the price of ONE BD. I frequently pick up $5 movies that are worth adding to my collection, recently got Troy Directors Cut, Gladiator, Master and Commander, and Equilibrium, all for $5 each. Now I realize these have been out a while, but it is only slightly more than a rental. With the 983 and my upcoming 9G pioneer 50", I think I am going to have a steller picture. Heck, my Denon 2910 and older Pioneer that's going in the bedroom, with a well shot and transferred disc, looked almost identical to DTV HD lite. I'd cue up a movie in sync with the HBO broadcast of it and A/B the two. On my 43" Pio virtualy identical. Now I realize you guys with bigger sets than 50", and those with projectors, really benefit from BD....... but to the average consumer viewing on a 37" LCD, they are going to have to really drop the software prices for this to become more than a niche product. Just my opinion.

John

100% agreed.

If you collect movies as a hobby I can understand. But, how many times can you watch the same old movie

Very many times.

Do you listen to a song just once?

I like to have movies on hand just in case I'm in the mood. In a world of instant online access where there are acceptable quality compromises, I might not need physical discs. Where I live that will happen approximately "never".

-Bill

I guess we can say you're not too appreciative of film to make such a statement.

You never watched a movie more then once? Star Wars or Lord of the Rings for example. Right now you can buy many popular DVD's for $4 to $8 dollars, who needs to rent anymore.

The current pricing of most SD DVD players and media is very attractive to most consumers. Buying a DVD is cheaper then going to the theatre and for families that a major attraction!

Three times, no more, no less. Regardless of whether I liked it or not. After that, I burn the disk.

If it's a remake, twice. Except for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Because Jessica Biel is hot.

+1
Most of mine are popular, classics, or favorites to me, and over time will be watched again and again, just like listening to a favorite music CD.

John

Agreed, I commented on this in another thread. You'd be amazed at the number of excellent titles I have picked up new in the $5 range, far to many to list. When you factor in the gas and trip there and back, beats a rental.

John