Are current 1st Gen Bluray Players Obsolete?

[joepic]

Before you put your money down be sure and read this article.

http://www.hdnowonline.com/Comment_BD_1G_Obsolete.html

[MozartMan]

This is bull shit HD-DVD propoganda run by rdjam and other HD-DVD zealots from AVS forum.

[oldandinthe way]

Only chronic "early-adopters" are buying either format.

They know what they are getting into.

"How do you tell the pioneers? They're the ones with the arrows in their backs."

[RLT69]

What did you expect coming from the, "The High Definition DVD Studio Support Petition Campaign." Talk about bias.

:P

[Cornucopia]

Talk about FUD...

Here's a quote

Further, a search on the Bluray site for "BD-Video" comes up blank. How are the buyers supposed to educate themselves?

Sure enough, clicking THEIR link came up empty. Why? Because, BluRay simply doesn't use the same terminology as DVD/HDDVD. If they did, they'd run up against licensing/patent/copyright/trademark issues. So they call it something else.
Anybody with half a brain could do a couple clicks from the main menu and end up with an actual helpful page like this:http://www.blu-raydisc.com/Section-13470/Section-13628/Index.html where there's plenty of info with which to "educate one'sself". Or http://www.blu-raydisc.com/Section-13470/Section-13627/Index.html. Gee, they call it "HDMV".

What sites like this need isn't a bunch of biased fanboy bandwagon-jumpers, but more critically-thinking scientists/engineers that can objectively weigh the actual pertinent feature differences of the two (and there are very few of those) and help/explain to others here without the exaggerated venom and anecdotal (read: fabricated?) basis.

Scott

[jman98]

This was also in the article and it said that BluRay players are

not being required to play "legacy" formats like DVD and Audio CDs.

That's the first I've ever heard of this. My understanding is that all BluRay players can play DVDs and CD audio discs. I'd advise taking this article with a grain of salt. On one hand the article may not be from unbiased sources. On the other hand, just to get it out the door Sony rushed BluRay out before it was really ready and the first releases such as "House Of Flying Daggers" were universally condemned as not looking as good as HD-DVD discs of the time. Part of me can believe that Sony has yet again botched BluRay but I'm not sure I trust the source, so caveat emptor.

[Cornucopia]

This was also in the article and it said that BluRay players are

not being required to play "legacy" formats like DVD and Audio CDs.

Yeah, but DVD players (all) have never been "Required" to play audio CD's either, but they ALWAYS have (not counting problems with CD-R/RW). Any consumer electronics company would be shooting themselves in the foot if they ignored mass backwards compatibility like that, especially now that many consumers are more aware of the need for open-ness to "homebrew" options.

Of course, CE companies have been known to shoot themselves in the foot before, eh?

Scott

[ron spencer]

first generation is ALWAYS wacked...even the 1st generation walk-mans....this will NEVER change.

[Specialist]

The editorial makes some very good points, which is why I'm waiting.

Somebody said early adopters know what they're doing.

I disagree.

I see clueless consumers being led down the primrose path by blue-shirted sales floor kids in local electronics stores.

They're getting fleeced.

It's best to wait on high definition until they start selling the really good stuff instead of the half-baked crap.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[ozymango]

No offense against Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD, for that matter), but what first-generation hardware device is not obsolete within a relatively short time? Anybody out there still using a first generation CD-ROM drive? Or even a first-generation DVD drive/player?

Just be glad your new Blu-Ray player didn't come with a wired remote! :P

[joepic]

Dismal PS3 Launch Forces Sony to Discard Blu Ray -- RUMOR

http://www.gadgetnutz.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=00264

One user input:
"I work at the Fry's Electronics' Phoenix Store. We have a full pallet of PS3s just sitting on the floor collecting dust. Last weekend only 10 were sold. A stark contrast to the 360s that sold out by the truckload everytime they arrived, a trend that lasted all the way into mid summer of 2006.

Further more, we have a 360 and a PS3 running side by side on 52" Samsung DLPs that do run 1080p. So far not one customer has told me that the PS3 looks any better. Our TV specialists also note that the difference in 1080i and 1080p is only noticeable on HDTVs around 82" and higher.

Bottom line is that the PS3 has no benfits over the 360 to any consumer unwilling to drop $5000 on an 82" HDTV and a $600 Gaming unit..."

[jman98]

No offense against Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD, for that matter), but what first-generation hardware device is not obsolete within a relatively short time? Anybody out there still using a first generation CD-ROM drive? Or even a first-generation DVD drive/player?

Just be glad your new Blu-Ray player didn't come with a wired remote! :P

This is really good advice. I bought something relatively close to a first generation CD player in 1986 and it had problems. I bought a Technics player and some discs skipped badly in it. Technics at the time was one of the few companies using a single laser in their CD players. Most used 3 - one to track the disc and one in front and one in back to keep it in alignment. I junked my Technics player around 1988 for one made by a company whose name I have forgotten, but the player still mostly works. I rarely use it, but it still works on most discs, although it's not real happy with some CD-Rs and it sometimes skips on commercial CDs, but most of what I have it plays OK 19 years later.

I bought an early Apex DVD player because it was maybe the first on the market that could be hacked to be region free. It had all kinds of problems on seamless branching DVDs and eventually those became so common that I had to replace it. I bought another Apex and got 2 very good years out of it before replacing it.

Early adopters do sometimes come out with the short end of the stick.

[oldandinthe way]

Early adopters almost always wind up with an overpriced, under featured product, but they get pleasure having the ability to do something no one else can.

And there is always something new to pursue.

If some clueless consumer gets talked into buying Bluray or HD-DVD at today's prices - that salesman needs a bonus and training in ethical behavior.

I don't see that happening - even at BestBuy

[Specialist]

If some clueless consumer gets talked into buying Bluray or HD-DVD at today's prices - that salesman needs a bonus and training in ethical behavior.

I don't see that happening - even at BestBuy

Sadly, it happens all the time when it comes to high definition.

Read and learn.

From the June 2006 issue of Popular Mechanics: http://tinyurl.com/f5o58

So you just bought an HDTV. You laid down serious cash for your new set, upgraded your tuner box and hooked it all into your surround-sound system. Then you turned it on and tuned into a whole new era of disappointment. Those HD pictures don't look as good as they should. The image breaks up into little blocks. Fast-moving objects aren't crisp. And standard-definition TV programs look like garbage. Is it your TV? Is it the fault of your cable or satellite company? The truth is that it could be either, or both. HDTV is still an evolving technology and plenty of glitches make it onto the screen. Some problems can be fixed with a simple adjustment, while others should send you back to the store with receipt in hand. And many problems have nothing to do with your set at all. Here's your troubleshooting guide.

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net