I can't help but think that one of the main reasons that BluRay hasn't taken off is the prohibitively high cost of the movies. Why pay 20 quid when the same thing on DVD can usually be bought for under a tenner? I know the quality is better but unless you have an HD TV you aren't going to see that benefit.

Drop the price and watch it take off.

{climbs down of soap box}

I agree with the price issue. A BlueRay player and a good HDTV (Sony X-Series for example) will produce a picture that is not that far off a HD picture... or at least there isn't GBP10 worth of difference. The recent Woolies and Zavvi issues have seen soe bargains on the Blu-ray shelves so I've personally upped my collection fom zero to ten in a month. That wouldn't have happened at GBP20+ per unit.

BluRay will never take off for consumers like DVDs did or come close. The market will be around for a while but this article points out the problem... there is a better solution than buying a disc at a store. We are a connected world and for many people they are done buying CDs to listen to or DVDs/BluRay discs to watch. Consoles like the Xbox 360 are pushing downloading videos, NetFlix is joining downloadable content as well, Hulu and TV.com are streaming TV and movies... There will be some areas that can't get enough bandwith or costs are still too expensive, but for many the move away from physical media is already here.

Most of us in the UK want to watch movies on our TVs, not their laptops, but there is no doubt that bluray remains a luxury item which is just not essential enough to warrant the extra cash. It's like having the choice between buying the "deluxe limited edition director's cut" of a movie, and a "standard" version which is cheaper. Most of us opt for the latter.

Well there is a LOT more politics in this than people realise, mainly revolving around movie studios having to give Sony thier master, that can't be used for future stuff down the line.

Also from the point of the consumer, BDs are are being released with LESS than what appears on the comparitive DVD, just hunt through some of the recent releases, until BDs have more features than DVD (and not just BD-Live) then I'm sure things will take off, but returning to the 1st point, cost per program minute makes things costly for the movie companies on BD.

Maybe the demise of HD-DVD wasnt such a good idea after all as at least the movie companies were still in control of thier own work.

"first two years of hi-def"

Are you somehow including HD-DVD and its start date in this comparision to unfairly compare? I noticed you are avoiding talking about how well Blu Ray is doing now and since HDDVD lost the war. Yeah lets focus on HDDVD in a comparison but mention Blu Ray in the title of the article and lets leave out the last year in the comparision because Blu Ray really took off and truely is doing well now.

I hate these BS articles that twist and lie to people.

The difference in durability is also something that has made a difference. The reason our shelves shifted quickly from videos to DVDs is when customers had issues with their VHS rental chewing up, it was a damn sight harder to fix than refurbishing a DVD. Although Bluray discs are proving a lot easier to keep in prime condition, the difference between Bluray and DVD is nothing like as big as that between DVD and VHS.

Bluray will be around for a while, but if it is going to get the injection it needs, then we need a lower price bracket, even if it means just vanilla, no-frills discs - as commented earlier, this is what most people want from their discs.

There is another factor missing from the argument thus far, the economic environment. Comparisons with the rise of DVD are well and good, but the economy was not in recession at that time. Even with the reduction in hardware prices at the moment, people still see Bluray prices as premium pricing, and are holding fire until they can get some budgeting in place, or someone knocks down their prices.

why do the studios have to give sony the master? where on earth did that nugget come from?? Price is the issue. Downloads? I dont know many people who can download quickly and easily

It's unfair to compare DVD sales and downloads to BD. Blu-Ray is championed by AV enthusiasts, being one myself, I can safely say that when you buy the best, it shows. The difference between watching a BD to a download or a DVD is sizable. I wouldn't agree with the 'Special Edition DVD to a normal DVD ' comparison, trust me, when you see The Dark Knight on a Pioneer Kuro you'll see the difference. Trust me! A price drop, in my eyes, is not needed. I don't mind paying a bit more because I see where it goes. Lets see if there's a change when the price of LCD's goes down, I just hope the guys backing BD put money into marketing!

Lee

I’ve had a PS3 and HDTV for since PS3 launch, and most defiantly the only reason I haven’t until very recently bought Blu-Ray is price - I simply couldn’t justify the extra £10 - £20. Especially as the PS3 up-scales quite adequately – quite simply DVD has been “good enough” now we are seeing a drop I’ve re-bought some of my favourite and the difference is fantastic – but when you’re on a budget it- got to be a few pounds more – not 2/3 time the price.

Prices will come down of BR.

I see don't see download taking off properly for a good few years, and the reason is that movie collectors etc. are going to need to invest in some serious hardware (ie. multiple terrabyte hard drives and super fast internet connections) in order to make the most of it.

Also, people don't need to upgrade to BR from DVD like they did with VHS to DVD. All BR players will play DVDs so somebody's DVD collection isn't made redundant and doesn't need to be re-purchased if they are happy with up-scaling their current collection. I personally see no need in re-purchasing older films on BR but for all new films I certainly buy on BR - the enhanced quality of BR justifies the extra cost.

But what I see happening is that in a few years time when the price of a BR players is comparable to that of a DVD player will be that people will then upgrade and they'll be safe in the knowledge they won't have to buy their existing DVD collection again. And around this time I can see the major studios doing things like releasing onto BR before DVD to encourage sales or simply not releasing onto DVD at all.

Incidentally I don't consider the price of BRs that expensive anymore - especially if you shop around. One large online retailer that is named after a South American rainforest is often doing 3 for 2 on BRs - and the prices are on the already reduced prices so you get double savings. But saying that I work for a very large company that is owned by one of the major film studios and we get staff discounts on BRs and DVDs and the price we pay is exactly the same for either format... So someone along the line is inflating prices.

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