Blu-ray Making Gains Like A-Rod

[bootman]

So argue all you want about bargain hunting for cheaper Blu-Rays, they are hard to find unless you are wanting older catalog titles!!! I can buy Benjamin Button on DVD right now $16.99, how much will the Blu-Ray disc cost me???

$17 for the single disk edition, yes.
The two disk DVD version (the content equivalent to the bluray) is virtually the same price as the Bluray (~$25)

 

[jostenmeat]

So argue all you want about bargain hunting for cheaper Blu-Rays, they are hard to find unless you are wanting older catalog titles!!! I can buy Benjamin Button on DVD right now $16.99, how much will the Blu-Ray disc cost me???

$17 for the single disk edition, yes.
The two disk DVD version (the content equivalent to the bluray) is virtually the same price as the Bluray (~$25)

Interesting to me that there is a cheaper alternative available with the "single disc" version. I wonder how often that will happen with titles that are released on Criterion. Directly from Criterion's website:


Do Criterion Blu-ray discs cost more than DVDs?

Criterion’s Blu-ray editions will generally be priced to match our DVDs. It makes sense to us: High-definition mastering and restoration has been a part of our DVD production standard for years. And for our customers who might be on the fence about whether to buy DVD or Blu-ray, we thought the best thing we could do was take price out of the equation



As it happens, the two disc set is still $3 cheaper at Amazon. But, from the cursory research I've done on this title, the BD is supposed to be spectacular. Even if it wasn't spectacular, I would think that $3 is a very large ROI on resolution alone. doby blue has pointed out before that the % difference in vertical lines of resolution is greater between bluray and DVD, than between DVD and VHS.


1080/480 = 225%

vs

480/250 = 192%

FWIW.

 

[bmz]

Wow!! So far in 2009, blu-ray has sold as many standalone players as HD-DVD did in the last quarter of 2007!!

 

[bootman]

Even if it wasn't spectacular, I would think that $3 is a very large ROI on resolution alone. doby blue has pointed out before that the % difference in vertical lines of resolution is greater between bluray and DVD, than between DVD and VHS.

Don't forget about HD Audio also
That to me alone is worth the extra $3.

Now if those that don't like Blurays (for whatever reason ) can't hear the difference between a HD Audio track and DD, then I really don't know what to say. This is the Audioholics forum right?

 

[j_garcia]

I hate this argument of comparing prices now for BD vs. when DVD came out because there isn't any comparison!!! When DVD came out, and I was an early adopter, VHS tapes were expensive (because they cost so much to manufacture) and poor quality compared side by side with the advanced features of DVD!!!

This is not the case now!!! DVD is still a cheap alternative, especially if you want to buy new release films every Tuesday which I normally spend about $16.99 on unless it is a 2-Disc edition and the quality differences are hard to justify when you factor in great upscaling DVD players!!!

I know I can find cheap Blu-Rays, unfortunately I have a large DVD collection (just under 1000) and I will not double dip for a Blu-Ray unless I consider the movie to be really worth it, so I prefer to buy mostly new releases and you don't find cheap or on sale new release Blu-Rays!!!

So argue all you want about bargain hunting for cheaper Blu-Rays, they are hard to find unless you are wanting older catalog titles!!! I can buy Benjamin Button on DVD right now $16.99, how much will the Blu-Ray disc cost me???

I don't really follow your argument... The quality is clearly superior, but you aren't willing to pay a little more for it? I was a first generation early adopter when DVD came out because it was obvious to me that VHS was a thing of the past already, and I had a fair number of VHS at the time with a decent HT - the difference was very noticeable both in audio and video, so I fail to see what you are getting at? I stepped up to DVD for a reason, and now BD for the same reason. I don't disagree that DVD is a cheap alternative, but I would prefer to purchase the higher quality version of something rather than spend a few dollars less just to have it and have it at a lower quality.

As was already mentioned, Benjamin Button with similar features costs about the same as what the BD with all those features and more plus superior audio and video does. Seems like a simple choice to me. For movies that I don't need to own, there's Netflix.

FYI, the 9.99 sale is going on through the 14th at Frys right now, though the selection is a bit slim. I still picked up a few of them for my mom for Mother's Day.

 

[MatthewB.]

I actually buy my Blurays not for the better picture quality, but the far superior lossless audio. I am an audioholic first and although the PQ on Bluray is outstanding, I feel the sound is leaps and bounds better than standard DVD and my ears can hear the tiniest nuances when it comes to sound. In fact when I was watching X-Men 2 on Blu (a movie I have watched alot of times on DVD) I heard so much more and actually saw a few things that the DVD didn't show.