ABI Research : DVD upconverters growing faster than Blu-Ray. Choosing Blu-Ray was a mistake

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/bluray-market-too-reliant-on-the-playstation-3/?biz=1

Turns out DVD upconverter, not Blu-Ray, is taking off in response to HD-DVD's demise.

Well, that's only because of the price and that more titles are still being released on DVD than BD.

Upconverting is good, but to me it's like winning Monopoly's second prize in a beauty contest. It still really doesn't compare to the quality of high-definition.

Last time I checked... Consumers DID NOT WHOLEHEARTEDLY CHOOSE blu-ray, as the FINAL hi-def format. Inside handshakes (with WAD OF MONEY between palms) by Sony Monkeysuits ELIMINATED the choice for us, even before EVERYONE (as in THE CONSUMERS) can decide for themselves.

Good job Sonia.

Blu-Ray is still a niche market right now and will likely remain that way for some time. The prices of Blu hardware/software is still too high for the average consumer. As much growth as they talk about Blu having over the last 6 months is still only a drop in the bucket overall when compared to standard DVD sales. Upconverters are only one obstical Blu must overcome. There are several MAJOR companies ready to roll out their HD VOD services such as BlockBuster and even Sony themselves. If Jo Blo can go buy a DVD upconverter that can do 80% of the quality of Blu-Ray/HD DVD for $80 then why would he spend $320 more for that last 20%?? The slight difference between a decent upconverter and Blu-Ray simply isn't worth the extra $320 to the general public. So until Blu-Ray hardware can be purchased at Target/Wal*Mart/Fred Meyer for under $200 and movies can retail for $25 or under, Blu will continue to be a niche market and will eventually lose it's relevence in the media markets just like Laser Disc.

Making the claims that you can create something out of nothing is stupid...you cannot do it.

E=MC(squared)

The same hold true for taking a SD DVD and claiming you can make it "appear" to be almost High Definition

If it wasn't there in the first place, you cannot interpolate it.

Fine, perhaps if you have the BIG BUCKS to purchase a true line doubler, like a Faroujda...sure, I'll buy in. But some piece-o-crap graphics chip for $5.00 isn't going to cut the mustard.

If you choose to fool yourself in believing that your $80 SD DVD player with an HDMI output claiming to be 1080i or p is going to even come close to that of a legitimate HiDef signal, I've got a bridge for sale in San Francisco

Sy Syms once said, "An educated consumer is our best customer" )

This is so funny, but can any of you Blu ray bashers account for the 351% sales over last year? And by the way did you bother to mention that DVD decreased in sales by 1.7%.

r-u-serious,

Thank you for explaining it much better than I did. Trying to make something out of nothing. BRILLIANT

[Post edited by tony1569 on Apr 24, 2008]

Quote:
This is so funny, but can any of you Blu ray bashers account for the 351% sales over last year? And by the way did you bother to mention that DVD decreased in sales by 1.7%.

I think you've done it yourself. The 351% rise in Blu-ray probably accounts for the 1.7% drop in standard sales.

An educated consumer you are not. Your lack of understanding how upscaling works is plainly obvious. Please remedy this.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=477740

Upscaling DOES work. I've seen it displayed on my 1080p TV from both my HD-A35 player and on my Xbox 360 HD DVD drive. The upscaling quality on the HD-A35 is much better than that of the Xbox HD DVD drive. Comparing the HD DVD version of Batman Begins (which is one of the best mastered HD DVD's to date) to the upscaled SD DVD version there wasn't a level of difference that would have anyone rushing out to buy an HD DVD player or a Blu-Ray player for $400. But a standard SD DVD upscaling machine for $80? Probably. Sure the HD DVD picture was clearly superior, but only to me and a few of my friends. My kids and wife didn't readily see a difference. And my TV is no slouch either. Here is the Amazon.com ad with customers reviews: http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HD56FN97-1080p-HDILA-Projection/dp/B000HEBX4G

"What if the x-box 360 had come with a hd-dvd drive built in?" Yeah,thats what I thought.

What does this have to do with the topic at hand? NOTHING. I have already been stating here for more than a month now that "Upconversion" will do for "Joe Blow" and the next REVOLUTION will be Digital Downloads.

[Post edited by bladerunner1 on Apr 24, 2008]

Forget the what if's and let's embrace the what is but yeah if the HD DVD drives were included in the 360's the outcome of the "format war" may have been different.

[Post edited by Falcon01 on Apr 24, 2008]