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Has it really been almost a year-and-a-half since the death of HD DVD, and we’re still talking about a format war with Blu-ray?
Oh, we don’t mean a high-def optical disc format war. We’re talking about what some are already calling an irrelevant and in a death spiral, against one that’s the trendy future.
It’s Blu-ray vs. Digital Downloads/Rentals, and we’re taking a look at the tale of the tape for this prizefight. Yes, we know what you’re thinking – no contest, why even bother when everyone knows Blu-ray delivers the best video and audio for your movies (and some TV shows) out there?
You may have also thought Blu-ray would have taken off more in the time since rival HD DVD’s demise (despite the ardent HD DVD supporters still out there). Sure, player sales are up, but it’s hardly caught on like DVD.
Anyone who saw DVD as the successor to VHS could use the eyes and ears test to see it was plainly better, much better. Take a 37-inch widescreen TV, and go from upscaled DVD, which can be had for under $75, to Blu-ray, whose options start at twice that amount, and the masses might not think the associated costs are worth it. You know, that whole revolutionary vs. evolutionary argument. Some think we’ll be skipping mass Blu-ray adoption to go straight to digital.
Then again, today’s Blu-ray players can offer much more than just Blu-ray/DVD/CD playback, so value for even the average movie viewers is increased.
The general populace, though, might dig the convenience of a $99 Roku box and Amazon movie downloads for that 37- or 42-inch family room set. No, digital video downloads haven’t exploded quite the way music downloads did, but we’re guessing Apple wasn’t disappointed in the 200 million episodes sold within the first month of offering high-def TV shows either.
We’re not saying one’s necessarily superior overall to the other – it comes down to personal factors (we’ll get to my vote later). There’s plenty to weigh, so here we go, Nick Bakay-style.
Video Quality
Blu-ray’s been touting its native 1080p resolution since inception, and most new HDTVs are going that way, which makes for a tidy tandem. Pickings are slim if you’re searching for HD downloads in 1080p – there’s Vudu and its excellent HDX videos, but if you want Apple TV/iTunes, for example, you’re limited to 720p. If you’re a home theater buff – especially with a ‘Scope projection setup (2.35:1 aspect ratio screen, anamorphic lens, proper scaling) - you love the fact that Blu-ray embraces original aspect ratios, of which there’s a good portion with 2.35:1/2.40:1. If you hate the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen that result when a 2.35 movie is shown on your flat-panel TV, and aren’t a total videophile, you’re probably hitting your zoom mode to chop them out. Some high-def cable TV stations already do this, and so do some digital download services, and maybe you’re not bothered by less resolution.
Edge: Blu-ray
Audio Quality
Much like Blu-ray has seemed to drive 1080p resolution televisions (in the absence of 1080p cable or satellite programming), the format has also given rise to 7.1-channel-capable receivers/HTIBs (home theaters in a box). Relatively few Blu-ray discs feature original 7.1-channel soundtrack mixes (more common in only the most recent of theatrical releases), but the lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio options on most discs are encoded to fill those channels – digitally or through analog outputs – with audio data at high 24-bit/96-Hz or 24/192 resolutions. And again like video quality, digital download/rental options with full surround sound, typically in 5.1 channel, are playing catch-up. For standard-def or “near-DVD quality” downloads you can expect more stereo than multichannel, whereas your typical standard-def DVDs usually contain a 5.1 option.
Edge: Blu-ray
@HTPC guy:
You take people’s intelligence for granted. We all know we should backup our files, but only 1 out of 5 of us do it. What if a fire started in your computer room? Your NAS and all of your DVD backups are toast! Unfortunately I know this from experience, and I had everything backed up twice, once on a NAS, and monthly backups on DVD. I was stupid, and had everything in the same room, not anticipating a fire in that room! Now my NAS is in a different room of the house, and the DVD’s are stored in a third room in a fireproof safe.
@Scott: Unfortunately you have two sides competing against each other when it comes to technology. When studio’s release 2k,4k or even 8k movies, the files will be so large that it will take time for download speeds to catch up. Then a newer format will emerge, and the cycle will repeat again…
If it is a purchased digital download, then you would have the file on your PC, so what would it matter? If your PC was damaged and you didn’t back it up, then you’re screwed, but that would be your fault for being a moron and not backing up your files. If a digital download company went out of business it would make no difference, disc or file you would still own it.
You know what I find funny? That nobody ever talks about the download businesses going out of business. What would happen with all of your DRM-laced digital downloads if the company you bought them through went under? Could someone else pick up the licenses? Sure. Is it guaranteed? No. Will a company like Apple ever go out of business? Probably not, but I’m not taking that chance. If tomorrow they stopped making Blu-rays, I could go out and buy a couple back-up players and know that I will be good for a while. Can you really honestly say that about digital downloads?
It is called technology people, how many young people do you see buying CD’s, the same will come about for movies. Technology will evolve, we will be able to stream full 1080p HD movies. Compare a Commodore 64 to the computers of today, back then general public didn’t think what we have today was possible. They will figure out a way to increase bandwidth and download speeds, they get better and better. That’s why I said it will start with a Blockbuster type company offering streaming for all movies, for a fee each month, then go from there. Files are portable, you get a USB drive and store the movie on there and go, it’s not that difficult. Personally, if they make a new physical format, it should be in the form of a USB drive. You can buy a 1TB hard drive for less than $100 now, technology gets better and cheaper. If you don’t backup what you have on your PC, you deserve to lose it.
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Here is where I disagree, Blu-ray hasn’t really caught on, or DVD would be almost dead by now. 1080p is great, if thay come out with 2160p, then fine. To most humans on this planet, after that it won’t matter. Most people won’t notice enough of a difference to warrant the costly upgrade. Going from 720p to 1080p is a decent difference, 1080p to 2160p won’t be as dramatic. Beyond 2160p, I doubt most people will be able to see a difference at all. As far as backing up your PC, that is why there are services like Carbonite. I bought 2 inexpensive hard drives 120GB each. I have a fireproof safe that I keep one in, the other I keep at work. Every couple of months I bring the one from work home and add all new files to it. Both drives combined cost me $70, not that much compared to losing all of my pictures, music and video.