The 'ins and outs' of Blu-ray

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The 'ins and outs' of Blu-ray

Most technology and movie enthusiasts have heard about High Definition Blu-ray, a technology that delivers higher storage capacity on an optical disk and delivers an enhanced viewing experience - one that is, in fact, considered even better than a movie theatre. However, to maximise your investment, the technology and how it works in conjunctions with High Definition (HD) TVs needs be understood.
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To further enhance the viewing experience, we need an enhanced audio experience. This is done with 7.1 surround sound - the latest version in surround sound technology. It features seven channels of sound that are positioned in various areas, including one for low-frequency effect (such as the rustling of leaves in the background). The speakers are positioned in left, right, centre, left surround, right surround and rear centre positions, providing a '3D' audio experience.
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A 7.1 setup would not have a rear centre channel, but both left rear and right rear.

The .1 channel is for low-frequencies (i.e. subwoofer) and I wouldn't describe its function as for "rustling of leaves in the background" but rather for big explosions and the like.

Thus 7.1 is actually 8 channels (7 positional speakers and then the subwoofer channel)
 
gifs: thanks for that - i was counting those channels too. still quite ok with 5.1 at the moment..
 
hoover99 said:
gifs: thanks for that - i was counting those channels too. still quite ok with 5.1 at the moment..
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And should be okay for a while. Many blu-ray titles still only come with 5.1 sound - finding it hard to find titles locally with Dolby TrueHD
 
When are Blu-ray rentals coming to a rental store near you?
Have not seen any in CPT yet.
 
Nice piece of Sony product placement by Nelmari Claassens...what a droid. But wait thats not all...if you ever doubted the excitement generated by this new technology look at these great feature films about to come out ...
Sony Pictures has an exciting line up of new titles over the next few months, including 'Gattaca', 'Almost Famous' and 'Are we done yet?'. In March and April we will see the release of 'Daddy Day Camp', 'Resident Evil: Extinction' and 'Superbad'."
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The kind of films where you will remark, "Oh my what a fantastic rustling sound" or "Did you hear that explosion and whooomph sound?"
I guess these films are not made for me. The birth of new (Sony) technology but probably the end of good dialogue and plot. *sigh* I think Ive turned into a grumpy old man.
 
all this sounds very exciting but my bank manager says no. i did plead though...
 
Dont see the need for blu-ray right now. Buy the "special" edition of any movie these days and you get 2 DVD, one as the movie and the other as the bonus stuff which is overall very dissapointing. So far I think only LOTR extended edition would want to use blu-ray, otherwise dvds are cheaper and more popular medium.
 
I don't like it. It's money-making scheme. It was tapes, then cd's/dvd's and now what! A 2.1 is still fine for me. I've a 5.1 system but I hardly notice anything except a balanced sound. It's doesn't change the content of a show. If you have DSTV, you will still be watching repeats in HD with 7.1 sound. It wont make a sloppy show better. Garbage shows will still be garbage in Blue ray form.
 
I have always said Blu-ray's biggest competitor is DVD. Blu-ray title prices have gone up since the format war was resolved (check for yourself if you don't believe me). So, it comes down to buying a putt load of expensive hardware, re-buying your current titles (with less portable freedom I might add).

And then put John Doe in front of DVD then Blu-ray title, and he is going to ask what is the big deal. Of course it is a big deal to us in the know and there is a clear visible advantage, but most people are happy with broadcast quality tv. Now tell the guy that certain titles take up to 4 minutes to load. It will also be a while before your corner video shop stocks blu-ray titles. As DragonLogos said, wake me up when I can buy blanks for 10 bucks, and I can pick up the latest title at my corner Spar for R129,99. R3000 vs R219 for a burner? Ha. This is going to take a lot of time.

Sorry, I'm ranting again.
 
The exact same change took place when people moved from VHS (infact early adopters moved to Laserdisc in between) to DVD.

Initially, everything was expensive and required you to change most of your existing kit in order to get the DVD experience. Most likely you needed to buy a receiver, 6 speakers and get a bigger tv and of course get a DVD player. Also movie titles were scarce and also video shops usually only had one shelf of movies on DVD.

The same change is happening with the move from DVD to blu-ray.

Some people are early adopters of technology and already have everything they need to experience blu-ray and HD, and others will have to wait for prices to come down. Just depends who you are.

Eventually DVD will become obsolete, just like VHS, get used to it people, its gonna happen.
 
catweasel said:
The exact same change took place when people moved from VHS (infact early adopters moved to Laserdisc in between) to DVD.

Initially, everything was expensive and required you to change most of your existing kit in order to get the DVD experience. Most likely you needed to buy a receiver, 6 speakers and get a bigger tv and of course get a DVD player. Also movie titles were scarce and also video shops usually only had one shelf of movies on DVD.

The same change is happening with the move from DVD to blu-ray.

Some people are early adopters of technology and already have everything they need to experience blu-ray and HD, and others will have to wait for prices to come down. Just depends who you are.

Eventually DVD will become obsolete, just like VHS, get used to it people, its gonna happen.
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Not quite, the move from vhs to dvd was massive. Suddenly you have interactive features, surround sound, no lines when forwarding, perfect frame by frame etc. It was also a move from an analog format to digital, so the advantages were, well, massive. Also, you could use your current tv and see the results immediately. To see the benefits of hi-def, I need to buy a new tv.

What does blu-ray give that I can't get with dvd? Better picture (with a new tv) and two more surround channels? Longer load times? More expensive titles? More difficulty in making a backup so that my original does not get damaged?

Myself (and a number of people) still need some serious convincing before investing.
 
Nuro said:
Myself (and a number of people) still need some serious convincing before investing.
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Nobody is gonna convince you. You change if you want to. The industry will move forward, as technology always does.
 
catweasel said:
Nobody is gonna convince you. You change if you want to. The industry will move forward, as technology always does.
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Don't get me wrong, I love technology, but Blu-ray might not be the answer. I agree that I will eventually need a hi-def tv anyway, but for other reasons. To make blu-ray enticing, show people stuff that they can't get with dvd, at prices people can afford now. People are already moving towards online rentals where they can stream what they want to see, not so much in SA, but certainly around the world, and after all we do follow world trends. If there is no solid support for a format it will fade. Any physical media for entertainment might not be the answer (for other applications like data backup, sure). Wait too long, and other faster evolving technologies take over. Are people seriously going to invest in more physical discs, and in eight years time something better comes along, and you have to re-buy titles you like? If you use an online distribution method, you will probably only have to replace your hardware, and nothing else.
 
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