It should be on par or cheaper than DVD, or it will be another betamax.
It was easy to sell DVDs over VHS (no rewind, much better PQ, extra features), but the difference between upscaled DVD and BD is far less compelling.
With new competition from torrents, Apple TV, streaming Netflix (all of which are DVD quality or lower AND gaining market share), quality has plateaued in the mind of consumers, and price+convenience are king.
Sure, there are always the techies and AV-philes that bought Betamax, Laserdisc, SACD, Mini-disc, etc; but unless BD players and media drop significantly, it will remain a niche format.
Something else to ponder before anyone responds with "OMG 1080P QQ," listen to how terrible a 128k MP3 sound on a good system vs a CD. Then take a look at mp3 player sales vs CD player sales. A majority of consumers care about convenience and price over quality.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
THJ @ Dec 10th 2008 10:57AM
@ daaper
It should be on par or cheaper than DVD, or it will be another betamax.
It was easy to sell DVDs over VHS (no rewind, much better PQ, extra features), but the difference between upscaled DVD and BD is far less compelling.
With new competition from torrents, Apple TV, streaming Netflix (all of which are DVD quality or lower AND gaining market share), quality has plateaued in the mind of consumers, and price+convenience are king.
Sure, there are always the techies and AV-philes that bought Betamax, Laserdisc, SACD, Mini-disc, etc; but unless BD players and media drop significantly, it will remain a niche format.
Something else to ponder before anyone responds with "OMG 1080P QQ," listen to how terrible a 128k MP3 sound on a good system vs a CD. Then take a look at mp3 player sales vs CD player sales. A majority of consumers care about convenience and price over quality.