This is a subject that I have really gone back and forth with in my mind. Since HD-DVD made a graceful exit from the HD scene, I finally went out and got me a Blu-Ray player (Sharp BD-HP20U). The quality of the picture in my home theatre (more on what I have setup later) is great although I am needing to recalibrate the projector.
But things I am not happy with include:
- The performance of the unit in booting up and performing the initial read is poor compared with DVD.
- The idea that you have to periodically update the firmware seems a bit much for the typical person to deal with.
So comparing this with the available HD movie download options is going to make the next year or so interesting. The question is if Blu-Ray sales really pick up because HD-DVD disappeared or if the availability of hi-def downloads keep Blu-ray sales at bay. One good option for downloads is the availability of the new AppleTV appliance which no longer requires a connected computer to function. Here is a good comparison of the two. Other than on demand downloads over my cable service, XBox Live has a decent list of movies and TV shows for viewing. The intriguing idea is the rumor about NetFlix integration with XBox and PS3. That could really boost things for the download market.
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