Having beaten HD DVD in the format war, Blu-ray remains the champion of high-definition. But how long will that dominance last? Not long, according to one high-level Samsung executive.
“I think it [Blu-ray] has 5 years left, I certainly wouldn’t give it 10”, Andy Griffiths, director of consumer electronics at Samsung UK told Pocket-lint.com.
Griffiths didn’t elaborate on exactly what would knock-out Blu-ray, only adding that it will be replaced by another format or technology.
With that said, Griffiths also believes the time is now for Blu-ray. “It’s going to be huge”, Griffiths is quoted in Pocket-lint.com. “We are heavily back-ordered at the moment.”
In sticking with predictions, Griffiths also says OLED will become mainstream in 2010.
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1440p? I don’t think that will ever see the light of day for home video. I think 2160p with a much wider colour gamut will be more likely. The HDMI interface will be just a bad memory of the past and replaced with something (hopefully) more thought out.
It’s all about market share and accessibility. As technology continues to mature, so will the method of delivery. Everyone doesn’t have the same equipment, nor can everyone drop tons of cash to upgrade every time the latest and greatest devices hit the consumer market. Blu-Ray media will enjoy being king of the mountain for awhile, just as VHS and DVD once had their spotlight of fame. Currently 1080p is king but 1440p is right around the corner.
I am still looking for numbers on Blu-Ray adoption. I see a few more in my local Blockbuster, but not a huge number. If a lot of people are like me, it looks great and all, but why would I want to buy a Blu-ray if all I have is a 720P plasma and I generally watch DVDs on an upconverter. Further, I just can’t fathom paying $25 a disc when I can rent from Redbox for $1 per night. The economy is just too undertain for me to take that kind of a risk right now. Would like to have one for Christmas, but I would rather wait it out.
I think most of you are putting words in his mouth. He never said that downloads would replace BD, just that it wouldn’t be dominant after about 5 years.
When Toshiba threw in the towel on HD DVD, they announced heavy investment in flash memory. In the computer world it appears that flash memory will replace hard disk drives in the next few years. This is already happening in laptops and as the prices of flash memory drop, it is very conceivable that you will be able to buy your 1080p HD content with full audio resolution on a small memory card. This card will in all likelyhood have full DRM protection and offer everything BD does today and at a cost equal to or less than BD discs today.
Give the guy a break… he may not be as dumb as most of you think. I think it would be nice to have a media that you just plug into your TV or receiver or even a small player similar to an iPod that has HDMI output for your AV receiver and HD display. It would be far less costly and far more reliable than blue laser technology and could easily exceed BD for bandwidth and capacity.
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Yeah Curtis, because posting comments about how stupid people are in a discussion… 
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Maybe I’m misunderstanding what he’s saying , but I sense a bit of contradiction. “but it now, because it’s disappearing soon!” Not the best way to market something.