Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

I was talking with a couple of friends over a meal after watching the Ant-Man and the Wasp and one of them was a hardcore blu-ray collector.

I said based on what I heard it is a dying industry because everything is streamed nowadays. However, he said there is still a market for it because of the extras.

I am intrigued to know what you all think?

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

Figures. I've only just started buying them. :shrug:

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

Did Blu-Ray ever actually take off?
I mean, in HMV the DVD sections are huge, and Blu-Ray barely gets 3 shelves.
It's always been like this. I think price is a factor... a new movie on DVD never goes over £10, and the older Blu-Rays tend to start at minimum £20.
It's a lot of money for something that still, even today, isn't an improvement over DVD.

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

Yeah, Sony did the whole Playstation-as-loss-leader thing to get a leg up, in theory, but their timing might not have been great.

I gotta admit, I kind of always assumed I'd prefer physical media, and in a vacuum I still do...but I'm fine owning things digitally way more, and way more often, than I would have ever guessed. I bought a Blu-ray the other day, and I think it was the first time I'd purchased one all year.

Increasingly, I buy things I absolutely adore (or for which there are scads of great extras, though these are often one and the same) in physical media, but that's about it.

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

@Yoda - was there not a similar thread somewhere (that had the emphasis more on dvds). Tried a qwick search but couldnae find it.
Might just save a few people from reiterating their thunks.

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

How do you think I feel??? I just started collecting HD DVDs.

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

You must shop in some expensive shops then... the blu-rays that tend to start from £20 are the Ultimate 4K editions that have their own section in HMV and most of them start at £19.99, average price of a new release blu-ray unless it's a special edition like a steelbook or 3D is about £14.99. Older blu-rays cheaper(a lot of my blu-rays from HMV were about £8.99), certainly don't start at £20 for older films unless it's something special or nearly out of print...

And yes the DVD sections in HMV are huge but they also have more than 3 shelves of blu-rays unless your shop is absolutely tiny. My HMV has at least 10+ shelving units of blu-rays and that's in a small town. The HMV in my nearest city has even more.

As for new DVDs never goes over £10. Isle of Dogs on blu-ray is £14.99, on DVD it's £12.99. That's HMV prices at the moment. Same for say Ready Player One, the expensive blu-ray for Ready Steady One is £24.99 for the steelbook edition blu-ray.

Call Me By Your Name - came out earlier in the year on blu-ray is now £9.99, and £6.99 on DVD in HMV. Older film by only a few months.

I agree with Yoda about buying blu rays for beloved films, or items of high interest that have at least a coveted director commentary, or a plethora of supplemental material. My blu ray collection doesn;t play around. I don;t buy There's Soemthing About Mary on blu ray..I'll take that for FREE on dvd...but you can bet your assnick that I'll be getting Maximum Overdrive on blu ray this October 23rd...and how could you watch something like Blade Runner or BR2049 on anything less than a blu ray these days? Need that bitrate!

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

I pick up blu-rays 2nd hand or in HMV 5 for £30. Yesterday I picked up 9 for £13.50 (both Sherlock Holmes', Scott Pilgrim, Riddick, Source Code, 3:10 to yuma, Whip it, the Hangover, Live by Night) thought I'd done pretty well
I tend to buy digital or 4k otherwise

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

I really hope not, I love my physical Blu-Rays, I just feel closer to the project and it really makes me feel special. Owning purely digital sounds so stale for me.

I think there will always be an audience for it, so I don't think they'll discontinue them, at least not in the near future. They still produce CDs and those get much less purchases than Blu-Rays

The blu-ray market isn't truly dying more so than it is revolving. Sure, sales of physical media is isn't what it once was due to streaming services and piracy delivering a quick and easy solution for film viewing, but people do still buy movies and you don't have to worry about them disappearing from store shelves any time soon. 4K discs appeal to collectors, home theater buffs, and to those looking for the next big thing, and they're apparently selling well enough to where studios are starting to release catalog titles on the format. Blu-ray discs are the new norm and while they're still considered boutique to some, they're selling well and appeal to collectors and those interested in A/V quality better than what you can get via streaming. Collect and enjoy, because they aren't going anywhere any time soon.

Blu-ray is a massive improvement over DVD on every conceivable level. When I made the jump my jaw was literally on the floor, it wasn't even close as to the level of A/V quality between blu-ray and DVD. I admit the jump in quality with 4K over blu-ray is not nearly as noticeable, if at all, but 1080p vs 480i is honestly night and day.

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

What most people don't realise is that humans cannot see in 4K.


Ophthalmology professors have actually gone on record and said that manufacturers can make as high a resolution as they like, but the human eye simply cannot perceive that much detail.
It's a lot of cash for something that's actually psychosomatic.


This is interesting:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxNBiAV4UnM

According to most, if you want to truly "notice" 4K you'd need a TV bigger than 75 inches, which is not commonplace in the average household. People also say HDR makes a huge difference in movies due to the wider color gamut, but all it really does is darken the picture to the point to where some films are unwatchable. I do, however, love the upscaling of blu-ray to 4K, all of my blu-ray discs look much better with the upscaling.

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

How come the video has gone way up in quality but audio stays the same as it's been like since the late 90s? Everyone is up to 4k, but no one cares to advance audio beyond 24bit/48khz for 4k movie releases.

The audio is moving upwards, I mean, we've got 7.1 now over 5.1, and DTS has moved the needle too. I just think that studios think of movies more as a visual medium than an audible one. I think you're question should definitely be asked for the music side of entertainment. Why hasn't the music space adopted a higher quality audio format other than CD?

Re: Are blu-rays a dying industry?
 

blu ray is only for data preservation, not for fast data reading.