Blu-ray: Will it Survive?
Question: Do you prefer your entertainment to be at the Highest Quality and be less convenient OR do you prefer your entertainment to be convenient in substitution for Higher Quality? Let the battle begin.
Over the last couple of years, we have seen Blu-ray disc player prices dramatically decrease. Rumor has it: This Black Friday…Blu-ray players for 99 bucks! After these drastic price reductions, you would think people would flock to purchase their very own unit but this is not happening. The market is showing very little growth in Blu-ray player ownership. Why? My theories:
#1: The discs are very expensive. A single disc can cost $35.
#2: You need the right components to make Blu-ray worthwhile. 1080p TV, HDMI cable, Nice Surround Sound amplifier and speakers, etc.
#3: Our ipod generation wants it now!…That’s right…Instant Gratification. The Apple iTunes store has taught us that we no longer have to wait for our entertainment but just merely click. Why go the store when you can watch movies online, on your smart phone, or even better…have them streamed to your TV? Movie streaming pioneers such as Netflix, Yahoo Movies, Apple TV, and services such as cable, TiVo, and satellite pose possible threats to Blu-ray because they give us the ability to watch our movies on demand.
More and more, we our becoming a society of convenience. The Internet has made information global and easy to discover. Carrying around physical media just does not cut it. Generally, convenience and pricing are what have made electronic products succeed and fail. Example, Betamax movies versus VHS movies. VHS movies were cheaper to make therefore drawing the consumer in more.
Digital content via the Internet versus Blu-ray media:
A Blu-ray disc costs close to thirty dollars. Buy the HD version of the same movie on iTunes and the cost is twenty dollars. Purchasing the digital version also allows you to put the movie on your AppleTV, ipod, or computer. Last point; buying a movie off the web lets me avoid SUV driving Soccer Moms from crushing my Honda Civic. This is Ricardo Amell (Correspondent GEEK for John Ahren’s Gadget Review World), signing off…
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Ricardo Amell
rickyamell@gmail.com
