I bought into the hype of both formats—HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. HD-DVD died, the overprice/overhyped Blu-Ray remains.

Crappy movie selection
Premium prices
Studios reluctance to release day/date with standard DVD
Independent Studios still not fairly represented
Overabundance of crappy movies
yadda, yadda, yadda…

I’m sticking with standard DVDs for at least 5 more years, maybe Blu-Ray will have grown up by then.

Very promising news for a fledgling format.  I think there will always be a place for quality, and Bluray has that ‘in spades’.

Lower movie prices and broader selection would be nice - and both will come - but for now I am enjoying the highest quality movie experience in my home theater.

lol @ the bitterness.  Howcome people eating sour grapes always spread misleading and subjective info or FUD, and never factual info?

Great news for Blu-ray!!! With movie prices coming down again, expect those figures to increase even more.
As they say, ” you get what you pay for” and with many titles coming out on Blu-ray, Ill never get a blu-ray available title on DVD again. Besides a far better pic and sound on Blu-ray, what else can $5-$10 buy you in this day and age? :-)

My question, how long before bitter HD-DUD owners get over their mistake and join the blu crowd? hehe

The pundits are forgetting that the Blu-ray business is currently a supplement to the larger DVD business.  Many people who have moved onto Blu-ray quit buying DVD outright.  I myself quit buying DVD in 2005.

Blu-ray is a path back to those consumers.

Will it completely replace DVD?  Maybe, but not for several years.  It will probably take just as long as it did for DVD to surpass VHS.  And that took at least six years.

But for me as a collector, I am very happy all the studios seem to be embracing Blu-ray.  I have no interest in downloading HD-lite (overly compressed/filtered bit-starved) titles.

found this tidbit regarding Blu-ray sales in the UK, interesting comparison:

“Sales in the first half of 2008 are up 3.3% compared with the same period last year, thanks to the increased level of consumer choice provided by high-definition formats, the BVA said, adding that Blu-ray Discs are up 506% year to date and have a 1.2% share in the total market. The BVA said 111.6 million units had been sold this year, including nearly 1 million Blu-ray Discs.”

via: [url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com]http://www.hollywoodreporter.com[/url]

I haven’t bought a regular DVD since I got my PS3 and HD-DVD player about a year ago. The difference in audio/picture quality is enormous.

While I’ve been able to stock up on HD-DVDs because of the price drop when the format died(you can get many for $9.99 now), I’ve become more discretionary in my Blu-ray spending. I have passed on several movies that I probably would have bought if they were at standard DVD prices.
If I think I am only going to watch a movie once, I’ll wait til’ it goes on sale or comes out on 1 of the HD cable movie channels.

I’m spending less on DVDs now than I was a year ago. When I look at my 200+ standard DVDs, 90% of which I will never watch again, it serves to remind me to exercise more caution when purchasing blu-rays.

Several weeks ago, I traded in my standard DVDs that I had replaced with hi-def. I was only able to get a dollar each for them :-(
The guy at the store said everybody’s trading in their stuff now because of the economy. Of course, he may just be saying that to negotiate a lower price, but I took it anyways.

After I bought my HDTV, I waited until who would win.  Well, the winner’s Blu ray, sold my 360 + HD DVD addon for a PS3, and I’m all set.  I only have a few blu rays, I’ve got Spiderman 3, Batman Begins, and Simpsons movie.  And you guys should really check out amazon.com for blu rays, they’re surprisingly cheap.

I’m as frugal as they come.  So for me, I’ll buy a BR player when they hit the $100 range. 

I’ll start buying BR disks when they start showing up in the walmart $5 bin. ;)

yeah ill go for the 15-30.

You gusy buy all your movies?  That’s NUTS!  have you ever heard of Netflix or Blockbuster?  You can rent Blu-rays too….

who are buying those things, i am ok with my dvd.

Of course I buy movies. I enjoy having a collection I can call up whenever I want without waiting for someone to mail it to me.

There are some films I know I will watch more than once. Those end up in my collection. If I were to take my wife to the theater to see a movie it would cost a minimum of $22.00 since tix are at least around $11 each. That’s without popcorn or other niceties.  If there’s a chance I’ll have guests over to watch something I already enjoy, it’s something I’ll buy for $20-$30 no problem. If I have to plan ahead and order my rental before the guests arrive, it’s more of a hassle to me than pulling it from my cabinet when they show up.

Some people prefer renting, some don’t. I’d spend $204/year with Netflix to keep 3 discs around at all times. That would buy me ten Blu-ray movies at $20 a pop. I’d rather have my 50 favorite movies on-hand at all times than to spend 5 years renting stuff and sending it back. Truth be told I buy more than ten movies a year so I spend more than I would on renting, but I’m happy with the immediate accessibility of my collection.

Wow, Soundzilla hit the nail right on the head. He and I are similar the way we collect and rent movies. If I love it, I buy it. If I think I will only like it, I rent it. If I don’t think I will like it but are pushed by friends or just curious by some scenes I saw advertised, I will down load it :-) Simple as that!

I understand people who are happy with DVD. Its a great, cheap medium for sure….for now!
When that same person gets a new 40-52 inch HD-TV and then sees a good HD movie via either free to air HD or cable/sat , they will realize the full potential for their new TV.
1080p is the latest big buzz “word” and this will drive people to match a player (blu-ray) to their 1080p TV.

My boyfriend is a well educated man who is a project manager yet he didnt own a DVD player and still uses VHS, mainly to record shows. If it were not for me, this may have never changed. SO, for sure some people will never buy blu but I bet those who want big screens will buy it ASAP :-)
Prices ARE coming down so be patient people. Its still cheaper that when DVD was the same age!

$500 for a BR player and $30 a disk! Just goes to show you people need to be taxed more if they have that much money to throw away!

How is it throwing away money?  The point of the article is that folks (me included) would rather spend $20-30 on an BD than going to the movies and spending that much per person.  And if you can get a disc that will offer a better audio and visual experience, why not go for it?  And last time i checked, some DVD pricing is on par with BD pricing!  Check Amazon today.  I Am legend DVD is going for 18.99 and the BD is 18.95.  And the full-screen is $20.49!
And if you are a video- or audio-phile, theres no doubt you need to make the move to BD.