Who's down with the Blu-ray?

[mredskins]

Don't forget MAJOR VIDEO!!!!!

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

I remember trips to Erol's to rent videos. Before Erol's, there was a small chain (I know of stores in Bethesda and Gaithersburg) called The Video Place that we went to. And we also had a Beta machine, that had a wired remote that essentially had 2 functions on it: Play and Pause.

Does that mean your family also had to invest in a rewinding machine?
We had one for some reason. I think it got used twice.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Does that mean your family also had to invest in a rewinding machine?
We had one for some reason. I think it got used twice.

Actually I had a rewind machine it did it faster and was less wear and tear on the VCR.

[Dirtbag59]

Got myself a PS3 for Christmas and it's beautiful. Though I've only really rented the Dark Knight to see how it looks on Blu Ray (my family has a 1080i 50 inch). It was so good it almost gave me another seizure that's how much detail was in the picture. The funny thing is they really used the whole disk for the Dark Knight (50 GB) and put the special features on a seperate disc.

At this point though Sony is probably wondering why the Blu Ray isn't taking the world by storm when to fully utilize a Blu Ray you have to get a player in which the cheapest is around $200. Then you have to make sure you have a TV thats at least 720p which can run you up another $1,000+ then if that wasn't enough you have to pay around $30 per movie. But hey the picture is absolutely fantastic. So technically to watch the Dark Knight on Blu Ray you have to pay at least $1,230 and thats being cheap. Maybe $1,208 if you rent it. Still the picture really is unbelievable especially the scene in the Dark Knight where Batman takes on the Joker for the first time in the movie.

[saden1]

The cost of progress? It's an investment? Once you see blu-ray you never go back?

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by mredskins

Actually I had a rewind machine it did it faster and was less wear and tear on the VCR.

Hell yeah. I had a rewind machine that was shaped like a red sports car. The top popped up like a convertible, and that's where you stuck the tape in to be rewound. It was friggin sweet.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by saden1

The cost of progress? It's an investment? Once you see blu-ray you never go back?

You know I heard the same thing about HD TV but after watching one I did not have the desire to run out and spend a grand for a new TV. I curently have a large TV which gets a great picture so its just hard for me to justify buying one without a real need to have one. I have always been pretty conservative when it comes to spending so maybe one day I'll jump on some of this new tec stuff. I did just upgrade my phone to one that takes pictures.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by firstdown

You know I heard the same thing about HD TV but after watching one I did not have the desire to run out and spend a grand for a new TV. I curently have a large TV which gets a great picture so its just hard for me to justify buying one without a real need to have one. I have always been pretty conservative when it comes to spending so maybe one day I'll jump on some of this new tec stuff. I did just upgrade my phone to one that takes pictures.

In regards to tech. Always be one step behind and you are golden. If you are on the cutting edge of any new tech you probably spending a ton and that same product a year or two down the road will be cheaper and better.

My poor dad bought a Samsung DLP 61 720p inch five years ago for about $7K. Now that same TV is 1080p and probaly around $2K.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by mredskins

In regards to tech. Always be one step behind and you are golden. If you are on the cutting edge of any new tech you probably spending a ton and that same product a year or two down the road will be cheaper and better.

My poor dad bought a Samsung DLP 61 720p inch five years ago for about $7K. Now that same TV is 1080p and probaly around $2K.

I like that philosophy. It reminds me of when I bought my PS2, the cashier at Best Buy seemed like he was trying to stop me from spending money. He was going on and on about how I should just wait until the PS3 came out because as soon as it did I'd want that instead (basically telling me that I was an idiot for buying the PS2 at the time). Well, that was back in 2002, so I'm glad I didn't take his advice because I got a good 6 years out of that PS2. I am mad that I didn't decide to spend my money at Circuit City though just to spite the D-bag cashier.

[onlydarksets]

It's getting easier, though, as it seems that technology has hit an equilibrium. Sets aren't going higher than 1080p, 120Hz is about as high as you need to go (although 240Hz is on the way), and Blu-ray maxes out every consumer set on the planet. The biggest pushes these days are to make sets thinner or to add other features, like NetFlix Watch Now. I've had my TV for 2 years, and I have no real desire to upgrade. In the 2 years before that, I probably went through 7 different sets, because a new one with appreciably better features would come out every 3 months.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

I like that philosophy. It reminds me of when I bought my PS2, the cashier at Best Buy seemed like he was trying to stop me from spending money. He was going on and on about how I should just wait until the PS3 came out because as soon as it did I'd want that instead (basically telling me that I was an idiot for buying the PS2 at the time). Well, that was back in 2002, so I'm glad I didn't take his advice because I got a good 6 years out of that PS2. I am mad that I didn't decide to spend my money at Circuit City though just to spite the D-bag cashier.

Nice!

In regards to consoles (PS2, xbox, Wii, etc...) the only reason to upgrade them is for better graphics. But as the Wii has provided gameplay is the real X-factor when it comes to games. I don't care how awesome the graphics are if the gamepaly sucks why paly it. I bet a million bucks there are more fun games on PS2 right now then there are on PS3.

[BDBohnzie]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Does that mean your family also had to invest in a rewinding machine?
We had one for some reason. I think it got used twice.

No, we just had to get off our asses and walk to the VCR to rewind instead of using the remote. Never had a rewinding machine...

As far as technology goes, the only thing I've run out and bought when it first came out was the XBox, which also doubled as my first DVD player. Other than that, I still have 2 CRT TVs that are running great (We have a 19inch HD LCD in the kitchen that has an HD box on it, but the TV was a gift) and don't mind DVDs when I watch them.

Once those CRTs break down, I'll go out and get what I need. I've been eyeballing a 26 or 32 inch LCD for the bedroom, and a 42 inch LCD for the basement. I saw Vizio came out with a 55 inch 1080p 120Hz LCD TV for $1999. Not that I'd run out to get that, but that just shows me that eventually, what I'll be looking for will be found at a reasonable price.

As far as Blu-Ray, eventually I'll get on the wagon, but I'll wait until I can get a player for less than $75.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by mredskins

In regards to tech. Always be one step behind and you are golden.

I hear that! I just bought an 8 track player and let me tell you, you can really hear Freddie Mercury hit those high notes

[saden1]

You don't have to be a step behind, you just have to wait long enough and pick the winner if there are multiple competing product. Blu-Ray won, HD-DVD lost. Hope that HD-DVD players doubles as a regular DVD player.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by saden1

You don't have to be a step behind, you just have to wait long enough and pick the winner if there are multiple competing product. Blu-Ray won, HD-DVD lost. Hope that HD-DVD players doubles as a regular DVD player.

A guy at my work was recently telling me that he needed a new DVD player, so he purposely bought an HD-DVD player online because it was only about $100 but it has the up-convert function. Sounded like a decent idea to me.