This whole DVD-HD/BlueRay thing pisses me off. This is an attempt to get more control, make more profits, and get us to all throw away a bunch of good DVD's that work perfectly well. I believe it is all about preventing people from making copies of movies and music as well. We are all sheep bleating over the edge of a cliff.

Regular dvd's all play on a blue ray player (PS3) - It just doesn't work the other way around.

Is it really better than HD? I mean really. Can it play movies copied from your computer on a blue ray player?

Zits and cellulite.

Nice. Not. Pass.

Not sure what you mean.. Blu-ray discs can hold about just under twice what HD-DVD discs could (HD-DVD is effectively dead as Toshiba no longer supports it). HD-DVD: 15gb single layer, 30gb dual layer; Blu-ray: 25gb single layer, 50gb dual layer. From that standpoint, Blu-ray is superior because high def movies take up quite a bit of space. Esp. when you are shooting for full 1080 size videos. Sometimes people get tripped up over the names of HD-DVD and Blu-ray. The reason those two are tied to the HD format is because these two new disc technologies give you more available storage on one disc, allowing full HD (1080) videos to be stored and played back with ease. "HD" does not mean HD-DVD, it means "high definition".

Whether something burned onto a blank disc on a computer can be played in a particular player depends on the codecs used and supported. Codecs are "compression schemes that store audio and video more efficiently, optimizing for either low space usage or quality per megabyte. There are both lossy and lossless compression techniques." If you use the wrong codec(s), the device you want to play the disc later on will not be able to play the video. It's like asking a person to read aloud something from a French or English textbook when all they can read is German and Italian.

Blu-ray burners are available, though they are kind of pricey and slow at the moment. DVD's work perfectly well for backing up data (I wouldn't want 25gb of data on ONE disc anyway.. talk about all your eggs in one basket), so I will not be abandoning DVD anytime soon. What I look forward to is the roll out of streaming high def sources like Netflix, which currently only offers standard def video. I have an Xbox360 which can act as a media streamer for Netflix videos if you have a Netflix account. No discs to get lost or damaged, just instant video whenever you would like streamed to your Xbox360 hooked up to your high def tv (or any other tv or monitor for that matter).

You're right it is. Keep an eye on what develops with DRM (Digital Rights Management) technologies. Sony has no qualms about using DRM in whatever way it wants and since Blu-ray is THE HD disc format for the forseeable future, it will have great weight to throw around in terms of DRM. Currently, DRM is used to limit what the consumer can and cannot do with the data on the disc he has purchased. Sometimes it is rather loose, other times it is extremely strict (See EA's new game Spore). DRM is used on all types of media, games, videos, music, ebooks, etc. There are sources of DRM free media, but they aren't always the easiest, cheapest, more most legal means of getting it. It is unfortunate that the rise of new technologies like Blu-ray are being used for furthering the industry goals instead of benefiting the consumers, but it's their tech so they can do what they want with it.

In raw data numbers - yes. But with all technologies included, both technologies stored about the same. Had bean counters and lawyers again been kept out of the room, then a superior Sony LED combined with a superior Toshiba recording algorithm would have resulted in a next generation DVD. A product superior to both Blu-ray and HD-DVD. This time, the myopic refused to deal with their counterparts and the computer industry this time did not force them to compromise. This time, it was all about power – not about making a superior product.

Yep. I've read a few places that had HD-DVD been allowed to blossom, it's capabilities would have overshadowed Blu-ray's significantly. But that said you're right the emphasis was not on compromise and making the best product possible for the industry and the consumer. It was about $$$.

The moral of the story is that if you put some variation of the word "blue" in the title the product will succeed.

Blue blue blue...I'm so confused what movies have to do with video game systems. Sheesh...I just want to watch some TV and an occasional movie.

Until they invent a system that will pop some popcorn and hand me a cold beer and won't bogart...I'll stick with what I have (not much) until the wars are over. See also: economic disruption (or how to plan for a rainy day without even knowing it by not needing the best of everything.)

The thinking is that Blu-ray now has the toughest fight of its life: it has to compete against downloads.

Blu-ray player = $250
Blu-ray films = $20
Downloadable Amazon Unbox HD to Tivo or Windows: $14.99
On-demand HD from Verizon FIOS: varies, like $6.99

Yeah, but some of us aren't interested in spending $100 plus per month for FOIS. It's $30-$40 more than it should be, IMHO, and that's a lot.

I'll stick with DSL, copper phone lines, Netflix, and over-the-air tv for $65/mo combined. I might eventually switch to Blue-Ray, once prices come down more.

i bought one blue ray disc (Iron Man) to play in jinx's blue ray player on her computer. It was a great picture, but I didn't really enjoy it any more than regular dvd. not worth the extra, in my opinion.

From what I've read. You won't benefit from BluRay unless you have a large flatscreen tv running at 1080p.

Since we're still using our old analog sets, I think we'll wait and see how things go. I suspect that UT is correct and many people will leapfrog Bluray to online.

Thanks Bullitt.