HDTV and Home Theater Podcast

I'd answer "I don't know". I'm waiting to see if BluRay and the places I'd rent them (e.g., Blockbuster) survive and what happens with digital downloads, bandwidth caps, etc. before deciding whether to buy one.

I never understand why people are waiting for Blu-ray (with the exception of financial situations) you'll have people who can afford it who say they are waiting for prices to go down. Prices are already down, what are you waiting for a $50 player? And then you'll also see people who defy logic and say that they are waiting for digital downloads ans see what that does to Blu-ray. Don't even get me started on my rant as to why physical formats will never die.

I'm assuming the PS3 counts, yes? :) That is what I have.

Internet Streaming or Downloads that can match the video AND audio quality of Blu-ray are still a long ways off and, indeed, might never arrive. The biggest hurdle is bandwidth, but there is also the fact that the Studios simply are not making Internet versions available at the same quality.

And then, there is the price! Vudu's HDX actually LOOKS pretty darn close to Blu-ray! But it doesn't SOUND as good as Blu-ray. Fine...maybe some people don't care. But the PRICE is as high as renting a Blu-ray from a brick & mortar store! So what's the incentive? Wait 4 hours for the HDX to download, or pop out to the store and pick up the Blu-ray for the same price?! Or better yet, pay less per disc with a Netflix subscription or pay $1/day from RedBox (availability willing).

The other Internet streaming or download providers are even worse than Vudu when it comes to pricing and their so-called "HD" quality looks about the same as DVD!

Will Internet distribution quality get better in the future? Yep...I'm pretty sure that it will. Will pricing get lower? I'm pretty skeptical of that. Will Studios put their whole catalogue out there for Internet distribution? If the money is there...eventually, yes. But Hollywood is SLOW.

Blu-ray gives you the highest quality we've ever had in our homes - bar none! It's available right now, the Studios are supporting it well, the price for renting is on par with DVD and players are available now for under $100! Really, the only remaining complaint is the price to own Blu-ray movies. You can largely get around this by buying online from Amazon, DeepDiscount, iNetVideo, etc.

The only place where the Internet holds an advantage are with illegal bittorent downloads. That is really what people are all excitied about when it comes to Internet distribution - getting movies for free, but illegally.

People are "waiting to see what happens with Blu-ray?" That's just weird. Also easy to answer. It's gonna get cheaper and cheaper and eventually be the standard format. In 1997 I bought a 2X CD burner for $250 and waited 30 minutes to burn a $4 blank CD-R, and WAS ECSTATIC! And it was uphill both ways in the snow. For quite some time now, combo DVD / CD burners have been the only thing you can buy, and online they are $20.

So... the only scenario I can think of where you would not buy a Blu-ray player now (assuming you can afford it, and if you are reading this, you can) is if you have a smallish TV, NEVER buy movies, and refuse to ever get a better TV.

It's even more bothersome when I hear someone has bought a camcorder that is standard definition.

I'm waiting until the prices come down in price where I live. The entry level BD player here is about NZ$550 still way too expensive to be considered a mass market item as DVD players are. Waiting to the Popcornhour C200 to be released in the next few weeks for more info on the BD drive playback features..

Anyone who has an HDTV but doesn't do Blu-Ray has wasted their money on the TV. The combination of picture & DolbyTrueHD/DTS Master Audio sound is phenomenal compared to watching non-HD movies with the older codexes. Picture and download quality don't match what I see and hear on Blu-Ray. I was an early adopter and now own the Oppo 83, which I am delighted with.

Owning an HDTV without having a Blu-Ray player is like putting low octane gas in a hi-end sports car. It may get you from place-to-place, but you won't enjoy the ride.

To Kevin,

That also goes in the opposite direction though. There are many, many people out there watching smaller screen sizes or who are sitting farther away and when it comes to audio, it's even worse! There are people using only the built-in TV speakers. There are plenty of people who have surround sound, but it's a HTiB (most of which aren't even capable of handling HD Audio). And worst of all are the people who paid a good amount of money, but ended up with Bose (makes me want to puke).

Even if people out there get past all of those hurdles - they buy a large display and sit close enough that they have about a 30 degree field of view; they also buy a good quality surround sound system that can fully handle HD Audio - they do all of that, but they still have to position it all properly, calibrate the display, calibrate the speakers and have everything properly connected and adjusted in the menus! It's all just too much for most people.

My point is that Blu-ray all on its own is not really enough. For the many, many people out there who are watching on smaller displays, using low quality audio setups, or have decent equipment, but just don't have it all set up and calibrated correctly - for them, Blu-ray doesn't make nearly as noticable a difference! Compare a Blu-ray to a DVD on a good quality, properly set up, properly calibrated system and I agree 100% with you! There is no mistaking the superiority of Blu-ray and that is why I LOVE it! But for a whole lot of people out there, they don't really get what all the fuss is about, and that is such a shame :(

I just bought another Sony 400 Disc Changer for my system, although Sony's latest 400 Disc Blu-ray players are nice it just a little on the high side for me with the little extra benefits Blu-ray would give me and also the fact that my main watching TV is only native 720p. I MAY buy a single disc player in the future.

I own a PS3 (in our family room) and a standalone Blu-ray player (master bedroom). Also own the HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 and a standalone HD-DVD player that I still use.

Assuming that 'Never' is a valid choice for people who have some sort of issue (technical, political or otherwise) with BluRay, there should really have been a choice of 'No Current Plans' to select for individuals, such as myself, who currently feel no particular need to make the jump.