Apparently, according to The Blu-ray Disc Association, you can kiss DVD and HD Dvd, goodbye forever, because they predict the end of both formats.

So we may have to start saving up, more now than ever.

Or not.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258980,00.html

Blu-Ray has more titles on disk than HD-DVD at the moment.  The deciding factor will be how much the actual players and media prices will drop, and how willing people are to upgrade at the lowered price.  I'd say 5-7 years...not to mention the fact that you have to drop a mortgage on an HDTV :D

True, it is too early for an actual victory to be called.

I will stick with DVD until the very end.  Blu-Ray and HD DVDs are useless unless you have an HD TV, and well, I ain't no millionaire lol

But you know, sooner or later, something will come along that will be better than Blu-Ray, and then something will be better than that, and it will be endless to the point where Technology will eventually kill itself. 

DVDs work, and the picture and sound is clear.  That's all I need

HDTV will become cheaper in the future. SD TVs and DVD players were expensive when they first came out. Now anyone can afford them!

Perhaps....

3 years is too soon I think, more like 5 years at least probably.

I'll get rid of DVDs when they pry them from my cold, dead hands. 


Maybe a tad melodramatic, but I don't have the money to buy anything in HD-TV and I probably won't for a while.  DVDs are good enough for me.

3 years is too soon I think, more like 5 years at least probably.



Yeah, it'll probably be about 5 or 6 years from now before the new formats start to overtake DVD.

Like you guys said, price is a big factor in this. HDTVs are becoming somewhat affordable, but these players are still very expensive. I'm not sure how much HD-DVD costs, but I'm pretty sure that a  Blu-ray player still costs about $1000 :o

$600 for a Blu-Ray player if you get a PS3 :D :D

Yeah, it'll probably be about 5 or 6 years from now before the new formats start to overtake DVD.

Like you guys said, price is a big factor in this. HDTVs are becoming somewhat affordable, but these players are still very expensive. I'm not sure how much HD-DVD costs, but I'm pretty sure that a  Blu-ray player still costs about $1000 :o


Yeah, it's gonna be quite awhile before everyone converts over to HDTV. Generally, television sets last longer than "players" like VCRs or even DVDs, because there aren't any moving parts (like I still see lots of '80s wood-paneled TVs or '90s models in people's homes, and very few older VCRs. The ones that still work are probably being stored in closets or something).

It seems pretty split right now as to whether Bluray or HD-DVD will be the successor to regular DVDs. I think, especially due to the fact that those advanced formats will still play regular DVDs, there's a good possibility they'll co-exist for a few years before one finally "takes over" from old school DVD.

I'd say the early 2010s is probably more when this will happen.

P.S. I still wonder if the new formats could be one of those things the industry gets excited about and swears it's gonna take off, but it never does (usually because it's inferior to something else that comes along, or an existing product is improved). Like Video Disc players circa 1980, or even the semi-successful Laserdiscs in the early-mid '90s.

DVD will be probally gone, in 2010.

Man. I still use my VCR.

Man. I still use my VCR.


:o

Man. I still use my VCR.


No worries, I do too. I have tons of recorded tapes I like watching, and I find it easier to tape off TV the old-school way. But I'm much more into DVDs for watching actual movies. I'm too bonded to VHS to completely ever give them up (I recorded myself from 1991+, so by the time DVDs started really taking off in 1999, that was 8 years).

I <3 VCR, some of the shows I like haven't been converted to DVD yet and it's a good way to relive the good ol' days.

3 years is a bit... soon. I doubt DVD has hit its peak yet. It's still the cheapest option (behind VHS) and anything above that is reserved for the rich basically. Maybe 5-10 years it might phase out. But I can see DVD still in common use in 2017.

What concerns me is the need to preserve data, images, and sound.

The guy who runs one of my favorite electronic music labels, empreintes DIGITALes from Monreal, decided surround sound DVD is "the best format for electroacoustic music," and started releasing titles with that format.  I got annoyed with him because I can't broadcast DVD from my radio station, but that's another story.  The e.D. label isn't releasing trendy dance club music, this is serious music from some of the best electronic music composers in the world, such as Francis Dhomont, Robert Normandeau, Gilles Gobeil, and Denis Smalley.

It's no good for posterity if the playback equipment is out of circulation in 10 years.  Perhaps whoever owns the rights will re-issue the works on the new new format.  Perhaps not.  They don't sell in high volume.  Electroacoustic music is a niche market.  VERY niche!

No worries, I do too. I have tons of recorded tapes I like watching, and I find it easier to tape off TV the old-school way. But I'm much more into DVDs for watching actual movies. I'm too bonded to VHS to completely ever give them up (I recorded myself from 1991+, so by the time DVDs started really taking off in 1999, that was 8 years).



Yeah, I still use my VCR all the time too. It took years for me to get a DVD player, and honestly I never have really got into DVD that much. Over the years, I've gotten hundreds of VHS tapes, but I don't think I have more than maybe 50 or so DVDs.

I don't know why we need HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats. Normal DVDs look good enough on a HD screen. Back To The Future looks awesome in HD and it's on normal DVD format!

Good question.

I don't know why we need HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats. Normal DVDs look good enough on a HD screen. Back To The Future looks awesome in HD and it's on normal DVD format!


We don't *need" them, but obviously the hardcore nerdfolk WANT it ;)

I've got loads of DVDs so I'll feel sad to see them disappear. The first advert for DVD and Blu-Ray Disc was for Casino Royale that I saw on bus shelters around North London.

I've got loads of DVDs so I'll feel sad to see them disappear. The first advert for DVD and Blu-Ray Disc was for Casino Royale that I saw on bus shelters around North London.


You can still play the older regular DVDs on the Bluray and HD players, so even if the conventional DVD players do fade away, the discs won't be obsolete (like VHS became when DVDs got big).

You can still play the older regular DVDs on the Bluray and HD players, so even if the conventional DVD players do fade away, the discs won't be obsolete (like VHS became when DVDs got big).


Exactly.  One of the things that held back the "First Gen" HD formats was the fact that they were not backwards compatible with DVD.  That is no longer the case however, and even now new formats are about to be released (both HD and Blu-Ray are about to release "Triple Layer" players).

Right now, the format is simply in to much of a state of flux for anybody to seriously consider.  Wait until one or the other achieves maket dominance, and things to standardize first.  Otherwise you have a 50-50 chance of being stuck with the modern version of the Betamax or CED.

And because of backwards compatibility with DVD, expect those disks to be made for many years to come.  After all, you can still get the new releases on VHS, because for some cases, it is still the best choice.  But it is less then 10% of the market today.

Apparently, according to The Blu-ray Disc Association, you can kiss DVD and HD Dvd, goodbye forever, because they predict the end of both formats.

So we may have to start saving up, more now than ever.

Or not.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258980,00.html


I don't think so... Not all people in the world can instantly stick to Blu-Ray, especially in my home country, where fluctuating economic conditions keep people from buying more high-end stuff. I think DVD might still persist, along with Blu-Ray, HD-DVD and stuff. Actually, HD-DVD was a bit of a recent technology, so it might take years before we say goodbye to it. Case in point was the CD, which first surfaced in the mid-80s but gained mainstream acceptance in the 2000s, so DVD won't say goodbye for us as of now...

Can normal dvds be played on HD-DVD or Blue Ray players?

And do these Blue Ray / HD-DVDs come in similar sized packaging?

I love the big bulky tv dvd boxsets with their foldouts and booklets and would hate anything smaller.

Can normal dvds be played on HD-DVD or Blue Ray players?

And do these Blue Ray / HD-DVDs come in similar sized packaging?

I love the big bulky tv dvd boxsets with their foldouts and booklets and would hate anything smaller.


The players should be backwards compatible and should also play CDs and CD-RWs as well as DVD-RWs.

The packaging looks to be about the same size.

The players should be backwards compatible and should also play CDs and CD-RWs as well as DVD-RWs.

The packaging looks to be about the same size.


That sounds okay to me then. Everyone can just upgrade when they're good and ready in that case. I was reluctant to get into the dvd market... ha ha... but ended up buying a player in 2001 (which sounds pretty late in the day doesn't it).

Can normal dvds be played on HD-DVD or Blue Ray players?


They can on the newest generation of players.  But the first generation of Blu-Ray could not read standard DVD disks.  HD-DVD on the other hand could, since it was basically just an improvement of the current DVD standard.

And with yet another incarnation of both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD about to hit the streets, that means that the current players will all be obsolete within a year.  Much like the original VHS and Beta were made obsolete by VHS 2 & 3 and Beta 2 & 3.  And anybody around in the early days of DVD should remember "DVD Red", DVD Gold", and the other conflicting standards that prevented older players from working with newer disks.

I'll never give up my Beta, VHS, and SVHS players and movie collections. I don't really care if its outdated. Come on a few years from now they will try and get people to run out to buy some super blu-ray or some ****, just when normal blu-ray is starting to become more popular or so. I know some people like that, and will spend more money to buy the same movies again on yet other format.  But I don't care for it. I own a DVD player ( looks good to me ) and when that goes "outdated" you think I'm going to quit using it or that the movies will turn to dust? No I don't think so. If you use something, you don't really ever say ' goodbye' to it.

Dave.