Inazuma wrote:I skipped Blu Ray completely. Never bought a single movie on BD. I already had the internet prior to Blu Ray coming out so it was obsolete on day one.
This is not true. Blu-Ray is superior to all instant streaming services. The audio is far superior and the high definition is better. Additionally instant streaming isn't ready for primetime. As convenient as it is, the fact of the matter is most of the Western world simply does not have the internet infrastructure required to stream media at the same capacity which we currently consume optical media (DVD and BD). This is especially true for the United States. We still have an internet based on a copper wire backbone. Until our internet becomes based on a fiber optic backbone this will not be possible. Hell, a lot of the US's rural areas still only have dial up.
Additionally the cost of building this new fiber optic infrastructure may very well drive the cost of high bandwidth internet services higher than their optical competitors. There's also bandwidth caps to consider. Most people don't know that in addition to throttling your internet speed most high speed internet providers also have monthly bandwidth caps. Those caps aren't an issue now, but if we're to change over our media to a streaming based model from a physical model its something that will become a problem.
I am fairly certain that Inazuma was just downloading the video files, not streaming them. The fiber optic backbone is closer than you might think. In 2000 it cost almost a million dollars to place a quarter of mile of fiber, in 2010 it cost a quarter of a million to lay a mile, with the price slipping slowly every day. True many places still do not have even dsl - hughesnet does not count. But fiber is expanding, and Verizons 4G LTE network will ensure highspeed data connections across the 48 states by the end of 2013 (or so they say).
Ironically, the company laying the most fiber right now is not Verizon, it is Comcast.
Comcast has a 500GB per month cap. Again not something any of us are likely to run into issues with today.
I'm not saying streaming doesn't have a place, and its not the future, however; people are claiming that Blu-Ray is already obsolete. BD is out here and now. We have to wait for our internet infrastructure to become ready. There's also the issues of where they're going to lay it. A lot of that copper wire was put down and houses and other development has occurred on top of that. Property rights makes it harder to just dig it up and replace it. This is actually where China has a big leg up on us. If they want to lay down fiber optic cable or a bullet train and a town is in their way, the town goes away. If a natural forest preserve is in their way, bye bye forest.
Inazuma wrote:I skipped Blu Ray completely. Never bought a single movie on BD. I already had the internet prior to Blu Ray coming out so it was obsolete on day one.
This is not true. Blu-Ray is superior to all instant streaming services. The audio is far superior and the high definition is better. Additionally instant streaming isn't ready for primetime. As convenient as it is, the fact of the matter is most of the Western world simply does not have the internet infrastructure required to stream media at the same capacity which we currently consume optical media (DVD and BD). This is especially true for the United States. We still have an internet based on a copper wire backbone. Until our internet becomes based on a fiber optic backbone this will not be possible. Hell, a lot of the US's rural areas still only have dial up.
Additionally the cost of building this new fiber optic infrastructure may very well drive the cost of high bandwidth internet services higher than their optical competitors. There's also bandwidth caps to consider. Most people don't know that in addition to throttling your internet speed most high speed internet providers also have monthly bandwidth caps. Those caps aren't an issue now, but if we're to change over our media to a streaming based model from a physical model its something that will become a problem.
I was talking about downloading from the internet, not streaming.
Just talking for myself, Blu Ray was obsolete on day one because I have a fast internet connection with no bandwidth cap. I currently have 20mb/2mb, and later this year 50mb/5mb will be available. I can't wait.
Jamisonia wrote:Comcast has a 500GB per month cap. Again not something any of us are likely to run into issues with today.
Most necks of the woods it is 250GB for resi, and uncapped for commercial.
Jamisonia wrote:I'm not saying streaming doesn't have a place, and its not the future, however; people are claiming that Blu-Ray is already obsolete. BD is out here and now. We have to wait for our internet infrastructure to become ready. There's also the issues of where they're going to lay it. A lot of that copper wire was put down and houses and other development has occurred on top of that. Property rights makes it harder to just dig it up and replace it. This is actually where China has a big leg up on us. If they want to lay down fiber optic cable or a bullet train and a town is in their way, the town goes away. If a natural forest preserve is in their way, bye bye forest.
In the US we have this "brilliant" aspect of your property called Utility Right of Way/Thoroughfare which is a section of your property that the government owns for utilities. Usually it is up to the first six feet of your property. Which means, that the first six feet of your property can have a sidewalk or bus stop put there and there is little you can do about it - though you can petition for the bus stop to be put somewhere else with your local human moving group (in my case MARTA). This Utility Right of Way/Thoroughfare is where all of the poles that the ILEC and power companies own are (well the vast majority). To add fiber all the company has to do is to get a Exhibit A from the pole owner or a county permit to bury it (usually faster and cheaper now that the ILECs are dragging their feat to make it that much harder for the other providers to take away their customers). As we know it twisted pair is very much on its way out, and in 20 years, so will copper. The lines will probably be there for another 50 years, but they are being phased out. I mean over twisted pair it is technically possible to get a 40 megabit connection, but you would have to be like feet from the dslam or the exchange hotel.
AppleQueso wrote:Don't underestimate the amount of people who still prefer physical media. It's the main reason I jumped on the Blu train.
BluRay is the worst of both worlds when it comes to physical vs digital distribution. It has all the downsides of physical media (takes up space, can be lost, broken, etc), as well as some of the downsides of digital media (firmware updates on a video player?!). On top of that, ripping bluray discs to a home media server is still non-trivial. Altogether this makes BluRay a very unappealing medium.
We are prepared to live in the plain and die in the plain!
AppleQueso wrote:Don't underestimate the amount of people who still prefer physical media. It's the main reason I jumped on the Blu train.
BluRay is the worst of both worlds when it comes to physical vs digital distribution. It has all the downsides of physical media (takes up space, can be lost, broken, etc), as well as some of the downsides of digital media (firmware updates on a video player?!). On top of that, ripping bluray discs to a home media server is still non-trivial. Altogether this makes BluRay a very unappealing medium.
You forgot to mention that Blu Ray has unskippable commercials that play before you can watch the fucking movie. Paying $25 for a movie and then being forced to watch commercials after that is outrageous.
Blu Ray is a nice storage medium at least. Download your BD rips off the internet and then burn em to a BD-R to store em. Best of both worlds, lol. Bullshit free physical media, like it should be.
I have 2 CD binders completely packed with anime that I downloaded off the internet.
Jamisonia wrote:Comcast has a 500GB per month cap. Again not something any of us are likely to run into issues with today.
Most necks of the woods it is 250GB for resi, and uncapped for commercial.
Jamisonia wrote:I'm not saying streaming doesn't have a place, and its not the future, however; people are claiming that Blu-Ray is already obsolete. BD is out here and now. We have to wait for our internet infrastructure to become ready. There's also the issues of where they're going to lay it. A lot of that copper wire was put down and houses and other development has occurred on top of that. Property rights makes it harder to just dig it up and replace it. This is actually where China has a big leg up on us. If they want to lay down fiber optic cable or a bullet train and a town is in their way, the town goes away. If a natural forest preserve is in their way, bye bye forest.
In the US we have this "brilliant" aspect of your property called Utility Right of Way/Thoroughfare which is a section of your property that the government owns for utilities. Usually it is up to the first six feet of your property. Which means, that the first six feet of your property can have a sidewalk or bus stop put there and there is little you can do about it - though you can petition for the bus stop to be put somewhere else with your local human moving group (in my case MARTA). This Utility Right of Way/Thoroughfare is where all of the poles that the ILEC and power companies own are (well the vast majority). To add fiber all the company has to do is to get a Exhibit A from the pole owner or a county permit to bury it (usually faster and cheaper now that the ILECs are dragging their feat to make it that much harder for the other providers to take away their customers). As we know it twisted pair is very much on its way out, and in 20 years, so will copper. The lines will probably be there for another 50 years, but they are being phased out. I mean over twisted pair it is technically possible to get a 40 megabit connection, but you would have to be like feet from the dslam or the exchange hotel.
Internet is not considered a utility and therefore does not enjoy laws designed for utilities. Utilities: Landline Phone, Water, Electricity, Gas
Blu-Ray's do not have unskippable commercials. Try pressing menu, chapter skip, or fast forward (usually chapter skip). I do not believe downloading to a drive should be considered. All legal downloading is DRMed past the point that would ever put it in competition with Blu Ray.
