Netflix goes Blu

[admin]

Reuters is reporting today that the online DVD rental company Netflix has announced that they will only stock Blu-ray discs. Until now, Netflix has supported both high definition formats. With four of the big six movie studios now in the pocket of Blu-ray, it seems more and more companies are abandoning the HD DVD format. For those of you with HD DVD players, this may be an excellent opportunity to pick up a few used discs on the cheap.
http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/netflix-goes-blu/image_thumb

Discuss "Netflix goes Blu" here. Read the article (http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/netflix-goes-blu).

[ivseenbetter]

Dang! It just keeps getting worse and worse for HD DVD! I am sure Toshiba can turn it around though. :rolleyes:

[majorloser]

You got beat to the punch :p

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41024

[Jim Robbins]

I wonder how much Sony paid them to do this. :D

Now, will netflix add the option for "I prefer BD 1.0 because my player won't work with 2.0 discs".

[birdonthebeach]

Might be time to go eBay with my HD DVD player and discs!!!

[croseiv]

So Blu-Ray seems to be the way to go now eh? Glad I've held out on picking a HD format player. The combo players still look attractive though.

[birdonthebeach]

actually, not sure I will go blu-ray. It appears that delivery via the net is well on it's way, with Apple taking the lead. I will sit back and watch to see what develops, enjoying my old-school dvd's for now. I just can't imagine that in a year or two I will be buying or renting discs. I think it will all be legal downloads, purchasing or renting.

[erick.s]

I just read a press release from Best Buy saying they were backing blu-ray. Things are starting to pick up steam now.

[evilkat]

Yes! Another nail in the coffin of the war that never should have been :) I personally don't plan on using the downloads....I love the fact that I can have a library of discs free from storage failure of computers and HHDs (and relatively DRM free!).

[Hi Ho]

This is a dissapointment for me. I was hoping to use Netflix to watch HD DVDs instead of buying them. I'm really not ready to spend $500 or more on a Blu-ray player that's not fully compatible and doesn't decode all of the HD audio formats. All I want is a player that is profile 2.0 compatible and decodes all of the audio formats to MPCM. I got that with my $200 HD DVD player 10 months ago. Why is the Blu-ray side taking so damn long to do this?

[Jim Robbins]

I'll be keeping my HD DVD player, and the movies... And trying to suck down as many cheap titles as I can. It's virtually the same movie experience on either side, so I might as well use what I have and horde what I can if it's cheap. I have a PoS3 for BD movies. I have less of those right now, because the PS3 is less convenient than a stand alone player as I had to use kind of a hack like solution to get my Harmony remote control to work. Anyway, sell me your HD DVDs for like $5 each! *grin*

[dobyblue]

actually, not sure I will go blu-ray. It appears that delivery via the net is well on it's way, with Apple taking the lead. I will sit back and watch to see what develops, enjoying my old-school dvd's for now. I just can't imagine that in a year or two I will be buying or renting discs. I think it will all be legal downloads, purchasing or renting.

I highly doubt once you realise that you're getting 720p downloads with lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 that you'll still considering not getting into Blu-ray.

The 24-bit PCM tracks and 35 Mbps AVC/MPEG-4 encodes Panasonic are putting together for Buena Vista blow away anything you can download...and will continue to for many years to come.

[corey]

Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix: "From the Netflix perspective, focusing on one format will enable us to create the best experience for subscribers who want high-definition to be an important part of how they enjoy our service."

I'd like good old Ted to explain to me just how dropping the format that my Hi Def player uses is going to create the best experience for me. Good thing my A3 is a good up converter, as it's back to Lo Def for me - thanks to good old Ted.

[autoboy]

But we all know quality always yields to convenience, and 720p 6mbit downloads from my xbox 360 on a 40" display (the sweet spot for most homes) looks pretty much the same as 1080p 25mbit. On my 60" display, the 720p picture looks soft, but not soft enough for most to care.

I don't think it will be quality that drives the HD disc phenomenon for most consumers. if these players get cheap enough, people will buy them with their HD displays just like they are buying totally unnecessary HD scaling DVD players when they pick up a new TV. People tend to think that they can only get HD if they upgrade their DVD player, their cable box, etc. So these players should move once they get to the same price level as a decent player.

As far as HD downloads becoming mainstream...I'm not sure if most users have the bandwidth, technical knowhow, and desire to wait hours for HD videos to stream from the internet so I still don't see downloads being mainstream for awhile. In fact, DVDs are so widespread now that I don't think HD will ever displace it fully. I think companies will have to keep both. it will be a long time before HD gets put into people's cars and spare bedrooms.

[rgriffin25]

THe point that most people miss is that we are in a huge transition right now with TV. While music may be portable, having the best quality source for our new bigscreen tvs at home is important. The fact of the matter is once you spend a few days watching HD content, DVDs just dont look as good anymore. With that being said, people like to own their movies which has been proven over the last decade with DVDs. Once the price of Blu-ray discs fall to $15 to $20 (DVDs used to be $20-30 a pop) adoption will increase substantially.

The statement about profile 1.0 players not playing movies is totally bogus! I have yet to play a movie in my Sony BDP-S1 with a glitch. The later profiles are for extra features ONLY. Besides, most if not all players can be updated via firmware to address any issues with playback.

[ivseenbetter]

I have yet to play a movie in my Sony BDP-S1 without a glitch.

So every movie you have played has a glitch? I would be most unhappy in that situation. :D

[allargon]

I'm as red as they come, but this cuts off our rental air supply. :o Hollywood Video and Blockbuster Online? It's back to SD DVD upconversion for me.

I don't know why the Blu guys are celebrating on other forums. With HD DVD gone, there won't be as many (*cough* none) buy one get one free deals.

I never watched extras with SD DVD's. However, I found some of the online stuff with HD DVD compelling. It will no doubt make its way into Blu-Ray with Warner's experience. Unfortunately it will be awhile (if ever) before the Blu players reach the awesome pricing that HD DVD players did last year.

Off my soapbox, the Netflix CEO said that Blu-Ray had the edge and that they would be resolving their high def disc supply problems in a couple of weeks. I guess we should've seen it coming.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/forum/index.php?m=02&y=08&entry=entry080204-051106

http://www.tvpredictions.com/netflix012408.htm

[gene]

Downloadable media will never displace had disc sales in the home theater market. People like owning a disc and the Audioholics like us prefer better audio and video quality.

[stratman]

I'm as red as they come, but this cuts off our rental air supply. :o Hollywood Video and Blockbuster Online? It's back to SD DVD upconversion for me.

I don't know why the Blu guys are celebrating on other forums. With HD DVD gone, there won't be as many (*cough* none) buy one get one free deals.

I never watched extras with SD DVD's. However, I found some of the online stuff with HD DVD compelling. It will no doubt make its way into Blu-Ray with Warner's experience. Unfortunately it will be awhile (if ever) before the Blu players reach the awesome pricing that HD DVD players did last year.

Off my soapbox, the Netflix CEO said that Blu-Ray had the edge and that they would be resolving their high def disc supply problems in a couple of weeks. I guess we should've seen it coming.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/forum/index.php?m=02&y=08&entry=entry080204-051106

http://www.tvpredictions.com/netflix012408.htm

Well look at it this way, this is only round one. By far the biggest challenge to the hi def format hasn't begun yet. The day that BD starts going after SD DVD is when we'll see what it's made of. Try and convince Joe and Mary Blow to switch to a new format when their old format is just fine. If the economy really slows down that'll be next to impossible. Player prices will stumble drastically as more and more manufacturers start producing cheap BD players creating economy of scale. Market signals still favor mass discounts and freebies as BD will have to make inroads into the mainstream population, something that neither HD DVD or BD has been able to do, so far they're both niche players with less than 10% market penetration. So far SD DVD is the king of the hill and in my opinion BD will have to drop prices dramatically before you see wholesale adoption.

I'll go out on a limb and say that Toshiba will be left hanging dry by the start of summer.

[rgriffin25]

So every movie you have played has a glitch? I would be most unhappy in that situation. :D

oops that was a typo, I have yet to have a glitch. Thanks for pointing that out!

[kicknsupra]

I'll be keeping my HD DVD player, and the movies... And trying to suck down as many cheap titles as I can. It's virtually the same movie experience on either side, so I might as well use what I have and horde what I can if it's cheap. I have a PoS3 for BD movies. I have less of those right now, because the PS3 is less convenient than a stand alone player as I had to use kind of a hack like solution to get my Harmony remote control to work. Anyway, sell me your HD DVDs for like $5 each! *grin*

yeah what he said i am going to do the same thing i had to buy a cheap intec remote for my ps3 to make it work with my harmony
i cant wait to find some cheap hd-dvds
ebay here i come:D

[Clint DeBoer]

Downloadable media will never displace had disc sales in the home theater market. People like owning a disc and the Audioholics like us prefer better audio and video quality.See? Even internally we don't agree on everything all the time... Complex issue to be sure...

[Buckeye_Nut]

I'm glad I chose to return my HD-DVD player on January 5th while I was still inside the 30day return window.

I almost kept it for the sole purpose of renting HD-DVDs on netflix!! I figured as cheap as they players have become, it would make a nice compliment to my BD player. I did return it but only because it seemed like my queue was filled mostly with BDs anway, so I didn't think it was worth keeping.

With both BBuster and Netflix now abandoning the format.......geez. Those players have become all but useless unless you're willing to purchase every single movie you watch.

[Seth=L]

I wonder how much Sony paid them to do this. :D

Now, will netflix add the option for "I prefer BD 1.0 because my player won't work with 2.0 discs".
I seriously doubt Sony payed them.:rolleyes:

[rgriffin25]

See? Even internally we don't agree on everything all the time... Complex issue to be sure...

So Clint, you don't want a better picture and lossless audio? I'm confused?? :p

[westcott]

THe point that most people miss is that we are in a huge transition right now with TV. While music may be portable, having the best quality source for our new bigscreen tvs at home is important. The fact of the matter is once you spend a few days watching HD content, DVDs just dont look as good anymore. With that being said, people like to own their movies which has been proven over the last decade with DVDs. Once the price of Blu-ray discs fall to $15 to $20 (DVDs used to be $20-30 a pop) adoption will increase substantially.

The statement about profile 1.0 players not playing movies is totally bogus! I have yet to play a movie in my Sony BDP-S1 with a glitch. The later profiles are for extra features ONLY. Besides, most if not all players can be updated via firmware to address any issues with playback.

I have run across several BR discs that will not play in my BD-P1200 player. I have yet to have a disc not work in my HDXA2. As others have said, BR was rushed to market with way too many shortcomings for consumers to have to deal with. I too was hoping to use NetFlix so that I would not have to buy either discs.

In the meantime, I will keep checking for the latest firmware updates, making a list of all the movies I wanted to watch but couldn't, and hating Sony just as much as I ever did. And for what? A marginal difference in video quality that is more dependant on transfer effort than the technology.

[EJ1]

I have run across several BR discs that will not play in my BD-P1200 player. I have yet to have a disc not work in my HDXA2. As others have said, BR was rushed to market with way too many shortcomings for consumers to have to deal with. I too was hoping to use NetFlix so that I would not have to buy either discs.
Ran across a Samsung lawsuit for that player.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2008/02/08/BluRayNewark.pdf