I am an early adopter.
I am one of those geeks who sees something really cool and has to have one of them before the masses. Not to keep ahead of the Joneses, but because when I see something cool it usually sticks around, and I want to enjoy it for as long as possible.
I, like many others, predicted that Blu-ray would win out over HD-DVD. I predicted this the first moment that the format fight hit the trades, which was long before it hit the populace news sites, and made the same arguments throughout; storage space, quality, and the PS3.
Blu-ray: It rocks socks
For those who don’t remember back when the PS2 first came out DVD was in its infancy. DVD had just got done fighting a war with DIVX (Digital Video Express, a failed attempt by Circuit City to co-opt the next generation of media) for supremacy of the next big home video format. When both hit consumers it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that DVD would win out since DIVX was a rental disc while DVD meant that people owned a copy of the movie they could watch at any time without having to pay again and again.
Another factor was the release of the PS2 which brought a cheap DVD player into the home of millions of families the world over. The PS2 was the first DVD player for many people and remains that way for many more.
When the next format war (HD-DVD vs Blu-ray) came around there were some repeats of previous stances as well as other strong factions. Microsoft was now in the home console arena and was pushing for the HD-DVD spec, even going so far as to release an HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360, and companies like Warner Bros. decided to back HD-DVD exclusively. It did look like HD-DVD was going to win, even with Blu-ray being the superior format, until Toshiba saw the writing on the wall and conceded defeat to Sony; Warner Bros. had an about face and decided to back Blu-ray exclusively, as well it seemed as if most consumer electronics stores were pushing Blu-ray more than HD-DVD. Add in Blockbuster removing all HD-DVD discs from rental then going Blu-ray only for their next generation media rentals and that was that.
A brief explanation of the end of the HD-DVD vs Blu-ray war, thanks to Hitler:
Sony, having won this war and feeling vindicated from the VHS/BETA war in the 1980s, pushed their PS3 campaign into high gear. Problem was that they were in third place and their console was still too highly priced. When I purchased my PS3, one of the last of the 80GB Backward Compatible models, I doled out $800. That $800 covered:
1.The console itself which came with one game (which I can’t even remember) and one SIXAXIS controller.
2. The Bluetooth remote control (Best. Remote. Ever. All remotes need to be Bluetooth.)
3. HDMI cable (purchased online cheap).
4. Two games: Folklore and Heavenly Sword.
5. Two movies: Spider-Man 3 and Silent Hill.
At the time Sony was running a promotion that with every Blu-ray player purchased, including the PS3, a person could get five free Blu-ray movies with proof of purchase. They had a specific list to choose from, being able to pick some from one category but only one from another. I ended up with:
1. The Fifth Element
2. Pirates of The Caribbean
3. Ultraviolet
4. Superman: The Movie
5. The Devil’s Rejects
In all I jumped in head first in the Blu-ray race, my predictions from long ago having come true. I had just purchased an HDTV set from Vizio not long before hand and was enjoying it immensely with the upscale DVD player I had purchased with it, but wanted more. Yes, I had just spent $800 on a PS3 with minimal entertainment to go along with it, comparatively, but it was so worth it.
As time went on Sony figured out their mistakes and pounced. They dramatically lowered the price of the PS3, introduced a Slim model, and became the number one and best Blu-ray player in stores and homes. The PS3, like the PS2, pushed the next media format into the living room making it easily accessible.
The PS3 as a Blu-ray player is pretty much unparalleled. It has the features needed, and like most good Blu-ray players it is updatable over the internet with new Firmware to expand features. Sony has been great at this, not letting the PS3 get too far out of date for even a moment. Yet, with all of this wonderfulness, I am not enjoying my Blu-ray experience nearly as much lately. Why? Because studios suck.
After the debacle with getting my PS3 repaired and UPS being absolute idiots, I have been able to enjoy even more Blu-ray thanks to Netflix. I have had Netflix for a long time (again, early adopter of their service back in 1999), but their Blu-ray selection has finally started to take off in the last few months. Where before it was a rare movie to be available on Blu-ray more and more are available in the format. This has allowed me to sample Blu-ray discs from many different studios outside of the ones that I purchase to own.
Who gets it right and who needs to learn a few lessons?
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