[Scarlett.]

Now in development: HVD



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_Versatile_Disc

[Shaun]

-is still on DVD and quite happy-

[Angus]

Great stuff. I remember predicting this technology about a decade ago but it's nowhere near refined enough for commercial end use yet. Meanwhile I am happy to carry on buying dvds for peanuts as people switch to blu ray which, by the way, I have on my laptop but never bother using.

['Conor]

i have never ever watched or had a blu ray

[Stu]

It's absoloutely, horrendously useless. It's main selling point is that it can hold between twenty to two hundred Blu Ray's. Meanwhile even the most ardent game developers are struggling to get games - which weigh in far heavier than films - to fit onto a Blu Ray. Metal Gear Solid 4 is literally the only thing on the market that had to be forced onto a Blu Ray.

The technology might prove useful for mammoth games eventually in like ... five to ten years ... but by then hard formats will be piss compared to downloads anyway. Unfortunately that is the way things are heading. Away from beautiful material posession. Take all your systems and formats and acronyms. It's digital content that is the future.

Blu Ray is awesome, by the way. DVD is fine too but I can never fathom people who watch a Blu Ray on a HDTV and go 'well I don't notice the difference'. It's amazing. Especially with the right movies. District 9 stand up.

[BB_Eye]

When it was a still a niche for videophiles and Sony fans, many feared even blu-ray would get beaten out by digital downloads and it probably very nearly did. Still, I think blu-ray will be the last big physical format and rightly so.

I have no idea how an HVD can possibly improve upon it. You would need a television the size of Battersea Power Station to appreciate so little as a twenty fold improvement in screen resolution.

As for audio, even with blu-ray, you have to fork out £2000 on speakers and amplification to appreciate the full benefits of blu-ray's lossless 7 channel audio and even then, the differences are scarcely noticeable to the human ear (this was the main reason SACD's failed).

I almost feel bad for HVD. It's won't even get to enjoy the fleeting shelflife of the ill-fated Betamax and HD-DVD.

[Rob]

I haven't even got blu ray yet, i'm so behind with the times!

[Scarlett.]

I have a PS3 which has Blu Ray, I plan on buying a few films for it

[Rob]

Blu ray is so expensive, and i don't see the advantage over DVD

[Jords]

DVDs >

[Jessica.]

I think we still have a VCR somewhere.

Anyway I have never used blu ray, I don't see a point, the closest I've come to watching blu ray was downloading a season of lost which was ripped from blu ray and I didn't even notice a difference in quality from the other seasons I watched, just that the file size was bigger. Everything I have plays DVDs; computers, laptops, xbox, even my CD player can play DVDs, don't think I will be switching to blu ray or that HVD any time soon. DVD

[Stu]

Downloading a Blu Ray file is just plain mickey mouse. They are normally only slightly better quality than your standard DVD rips. It's not the same as buying and watching a Blu Ray on an HDTV.

They are better than DVD's. Not in a massive, life changing way but they are better. Most people who say Blu Ray's are pointless are invariably the people who can't afford/don't have the means to play them.

I prefer DVD's in the sense that they are cheaper and plentiful but having the capacity to play both I would always pick the Blu Ray if it was offered at the same price.

DVD's seem worthless now in comparison. Not in terms of content mind you but in terms of price and given that they are so easy to download. Blu Ray's are something I collect now. I can't imagine building a 'collection' of physical DVD's anymore. If I'm not stealing something for free off the internet I want the best quality I can for my hard earned cash.

[Shaun]

I've only watched a handful of Blu-Rays and they're invariably better quality than DVDs. But I don't see anything particularly dismal about DVD quality. I think if I had the money I probably would buy a blu-ray system.

[Locke.]

Only Blu-Rays I own is the Lost boxset, don't have a blu-ray player though I just use my PS3..

[Ramsay]

Blu Ray Pwns

[Scarlett.]

Hologram pwns o.o

Youtube video

Youtube video

[_Seth]

Blu-ray is already future-proof because disc space can be expanded.

[BB_Eye]

Originally Posted by Stu

Downloading a Blu Ray file is just plain mickey mouse. They are normally only slightly better quality than your standard DVD rips. It's not the same as buying and watching a Blu Ray on an HDTV.

I know there are some movies in 1080p which can be illegally downloaded in 10gb (could be compressed though), but I think you miss out on on the higher bit rate (this was an advantage blu-ray had over HD-DVD incidentally) and the lossless surround sound. Not that the latter is much of an issue.

Originally Posted by Stu

They are better than DVD's. Not in a massive, life changing way but they are better. Most people who say Blu Ray's are pointless are invariably the people who can't afford/don't have the means to play them.

I prefer DVD's in the sense that they are cheaper and plentiful but having the capacity to play both I would always pick the Blu Ray if it was offered at the same price.

DVD's seem worthless now in comparison. Not in terms of content mind you but in terms of price and given that they are so easy to download. Blu Ray's are something I collect now. I can't imagine building a 'collection' of physical DVD's anymore. If I'm not stealing something for free off the internet I want the best quality I can for my hard earned cash.

I agree - I never opt for DVD if there is a region 2 compatible copy of the same movie on blu-ray, even if it is out of print or I have to import it. It's great that DVD's are ten a penny now and won't deny some of them are a real bargain, but I can't comprehend how any self-respecting movie fan could say there is no difference.

And if you bought a 42" full HD television and decided to stick to DVD anyway, then all I can say is what a massive waste of money and carbon emissions.

[Claymores]

This thread amuses me because first there was Betamax and VHS.

I just threw 500 VHS tapes in the public skip cos they took up too much room and not even charity shops wanted them.

[Stu]

I still have 200 odd wrestling tapes I regularly throw on. The tracking lines and odd dips in the sound all add to the charm.

My VHS player is the longest lasting item I have in my room. Been with her for about twelve years.

[MTVN]

We still have a VHS player, managed to get Shawshank Redemption, Philadelphia & Top Gun vidoes for 10p each the other day

[Scarlett.]

Originally Posted by Claymores

This thread amuses me because first there was Betamax and VHS.

I just threw 500 VHS tapes in the public skip cos they took up too much room and not even charity shops wanted them.

I knew about Betamax and VHS, but the title would have been too long winded with them both lol

[Claymores]

Originally Posted by Chewy

I knew about Betamax and VHS, but the title would have been too long winded with them both lol

Ha - as I'm an oldie I just meant that that I now regard formats/media as being a bit time-limited and disposable. I threw away 500 VHS bought tapes, but kept 25 - the 25 are things I recorded from satellite that are Claymores games that will never be released anywhere! If I can be assed, some day I'll get them transferred to DVDs.

I've given-up buying movies as have Sky and just accept whtever is on! I have a few Blu-Rays and a player but rarely use them.

[Claymores]

Originally Posted by MTVN

We still have a VHS player, managed to get Shawshank Redemption, Philadelphia & Top Gun vidoes for 10p each the other day

Damn blast Matt - you could have gone thru my VHS collection and taken loads to make me feel less guilty of sending things to the landfill

[Claymores]

Originally Posted by Stu

I still have 200 odd wrestling tapes I regularly throw on. The tracking lines and odd dips in the sound all add to the charm.

My VHS player is the longest lasting item I have in my room. Been with her for about twelve years.

That's the things you keep - things that'll never be released onto a newer format. I don't have a VHS player anymore but keeping unavailable stuff just in case I ever find the time/mood to get them transferred.