Blu-ray or Digital Downloads? Integrators Weigh In

I can’t believe it has taken this long for someone to ask the question…

Disks have been dead for 4 years… get with it everyone! Blu-Ray was dead before the first deck shipped.

Thank you for finally admitting what everyone with an ipod has been thinking for years. Why keep our customers in the dark ages?

BluRay is solid and 100% reliable, plus it is still the “only” source of HD Audio.

The internet, is till nothing more than a “play thing”.  After 10 years of cable and telephone “net” service providers (ISPs)in Houston - all they have proven “it does not work”.

Blu-ray is most assuredly NOT dead, nor was it ever. It is still the highest quality picture and sound available to “Joe the Plumber” for his mainstream movies.

That said, downloaded video is, without a doubt the future of home video content. Computers (and computer-savvy customers) will continue to proliferate and Microsoft or Apple will eventually figure out how to make a functional media distribution system. Hollywood will realize they can either license it and make it usable, or people will just keep “stealing” it.

Let’s see ... I can “rip” a disc to mp3 or vob and play it anywhere ... or I can buy one and only play it in a few locations and have to take 5 extra steps to even accomplish that. If you want to stem the piracy, fix the distribution problem instead of taking the pirates to court.

Anyway, downloaded video and computers can be upgraded with basic hardware changes (bigger hard drives, better video cards, etc) and simple software updates instead of long, drawn-out format war battles leaving customers with worthless HD-DVD players and discs. All of this is better for everyone. It’s only a matter of time until the manufacturers and studios figure it out.

It is obvious that the main distribution of media content throughout our homes will be entertainment servers.  If our industry is to really benefit the integrator and consumer, manufacturers will focus on server systems with the ability to accept and store content from all purchase options.  In other words, a media player should be able to play a disc directly, rip a disc to the server, download online content to the server, record television content to the server, etc.  The various current alliances between media companies and manufacturers that limits what or from where the consumer can download online content needs to end.  The industry needs to adopt a standard that all follow allowing the consumer to buy their preference of equipment and still have access to any media content provider. This will allow competition to be based upon the quality or value of one’s product/content and their customer support.

It’s probably realistic to think that Blu ray will be successful for a few years until download services are as convenient as iTunes is with music.
Products like Vudu take a couple of hours to download HD content and that means people will have to plan around that.
Disney, Sony and others will bring the cost of the hardware and software down and the players will play current generation DVDs so people will eventually migrate to Blu ray.

With a 4Mbit connection, VUDU features instant play HD!  It’s HDX that can take several hours.  Just wanted to clear up this point.

No question about it for me. Blu-ray is the best we have. Unless you love compression, streaming just isn’t a serious high-end option. Ask this question in ten years. Blu-ray quality streaming isn’t going to happen in the mainstream of living rooms on the current Internet infrastructure. Yeah, streaming is convenient, but IMO, when you’re installing Pro installations, you should recommend the pinnacle of image and sound and simply put current streaming options isn’t going to showcase someone’s investment of $20k-$200k in a home theater as well as Blu-ray will.

We cannot forget that access to the movie your customer wants to watch “now” trumps all theories of quality.  If VUDU can offer your customer Iron Man in HDX (comparible to Blu-ray) when they don’t own the disc, why would they not want this capability?  We as an industry are motivated by quality, b ut let’s not confuse our customers motivations with ours. 

Our (your) customer, wants the system to be useable by everyone member of the family, be reliable, and provide easy access to entertainment.  Digital VOD solutions provide the connection to content.  You need to sell systems with this capability, lest your competitor educate your customer and by so doing win them over. 

Quality is not demoable.  How do they A/B in their home a better picture, or sound?  Without an A/B you have no demo.  Instead, your customer showcases experience.  Hence the reason why theaters with Kaleidescape and VUDU always create WOW and referrals for dealers.  Theaters with XXXX brand projector, simply have a big bright picture with a very expensive projector.  In fact it may be possible to claim that my picture is just as good at half the price…because at that moment there is no way to compare.

Lol Blu-ray.

A gasping dinosaur.

Lets see, how difficult is it really?

Go to website, choose movie, download HD movie to computer(like any other file), play movie on computer connected to large screen TV via ethernet or wireless(samsung no less), profit..

Tell me what websites have HD content that looks and sounds even close to BluRay?  Yeah, none.

This is such a silly argument to begin with.  I regularly use both digital distribution and disc-based content.  Its stupid to choose a side.  There are uses for both.