Comments on: Netflix to Support Blu-ray Exclusively

By: thomas

thomas — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:07:34 +0000

I wrote about the hddvd/bluray war last month. It really sucks that Sony is going to have such a tight control over our multimedia. Of course, that’s until online content becomes the standard.

By: RacerX

RacerX — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 03:41:25 +0000

The big question is why? Why two formats in the first place. Sorry to break it to those HD lovers but BlueRay is just better tech. It holds more, better audio, etc..

So why not have everyone buy a big Baskin Robbins Ice Cream cake and sit happily together?

IP – Intellectual Property. Sony and Philips get paid for every CD and DVD made, including blanks! Sure it is micro cents on CDs now and pennies for DVDs, but when the next gen time was due for DVDs, which revolutionized Home Video, no one wanted to keep paying Sony. BlueRay is new Sony/Philips IP.

I understand the sentiment, but it was the consumer who gets hit…

By: Jo

Jo — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:38:25 +0000

I actually work for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Jeremy is right.

It was expensive for everyone involved (including the consumer – of ALL formats) to support both formats. Since the consumer couldn’t decide, we HAD to.

So, no, Flexo and RS, this is not bad news. It’s great news for everyone.

Unless of course you were an early HD adaptor. Then it sucks for you. Use this as a lesson not to jump in too quickly.

By: Adfecto

Adfecto — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:05:12 +0000

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http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSWNAS040320080212

By: Adfecto

Adfecto — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:04:24 +0000

Best Buy has entered into the fray with news that they will officially be recommending Blu-Ray to consumers. Here is the link:

I’m glad this war is finally getting decided. I was not going to buy anything that might have gone the way of the dodo bird and Betamax. Maybe I’ll be a good American and spend my stimulus package rebate on a PS3… oh wait that’s imported from Japan. I guess I’ll pay off debt and wait awhile longer (like a good wealth builder!).

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:28:49 +0000

The consumers were NEVER going to make this decision. They proved that. I, like most people, have simply waited the whole thing out and chose not to care about Hi-Def DVDs at all until there was a chosen format. I’m glad there now seems to be one.

By: KC

KC — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 22:01:53 +0000

Thanks Flexo for the info. I have the 3/month subscription and its pretty cheap (and the price has actually dropped since I joined a few years ago). I usually watch TV series on dvd and those take longer to view – I probably should scale down to 2/month. But it is a subscription I use and enjoy, unlike some other things I’ve tried.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:52:40 +0000

Netflix will continue to offer standard DVDs, but their inventory of HD DVDs will be eliminated when the discs end their natural life cycle (a couple of months on average). Future HD DVDs will not be stocked. If you have a standard DVD player or Blu-ray player, there’s no need to cancel the Netflix subscription.

Now if you don’t watch your Netflix discs often enough to make the monthly fee worthwhile, then you should consider cancelling no matter what format of disc you’re (not) watching.

By: KC

KC — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:22:42 +0000

So what does this mean for Netflix subscribers? I know nothing about DVD technology, except that I bought a cheap one at Wal-Mart in 2002. Is it still going to work with these discs or should I consider canceling my Netflix subscription? Thanks.

By: RS

RS — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:11:45 +0000

This is terrible news. I agree with you when you say that consumers did not make this choice…the studios did. I do not think that we as consumers are being left with the best choice in this situation.