Digital Copy Included

One of the downsides of Blu-ray is that it is difficult to take the media with you.  No, it's not hard to pack, but if you have an iPod, or a Zune, it's not exactly an easy process to rip the disc, and recompress it for later viewing, assuming you have the requisite hardware and computing power at your disposal.

Well, just in case you've got better things to do, there is a better way.  How about a simple way to have your film in the hi def of Blu-ray, and still have a digital copy ideal for a portable media device?  It's better known as Digital Copy, and the idea is that along with the purchase of the Blu-ray disc (along with some DVD's), there is a legal duplicate of the content suitable for playback on a handheld device.

According to a recent poll, around 50% of consumers have watched a film via this Digital Copy format.  Huh?  I severely doubt that 50% of consumers have heard of this format, let alone purchased a disc with it, figured out how to get it on their device, and then watched it.  While the stats sound more than generous, I hope that this add on feature becomes as standard as including the original theatrical trailer with the film's disc.  In the end, I'm paying for the rights to view the film, and Hollywood shouldn't care which movie theater I watch it in, or what device my eyes stare at for hours!

Welcome To Blu-ray

“With families across the country replacing their TV sets with high definition flat screens, there’s never been a better time to join the HD revolution. And there’s never been a better way of doing so than with Blu-ray. The new home entertainment format still supports your existing DVD collection but also plays hi-def Blu-ray Discs designed to deliver the ultimate home entertainment experience. With picture quality that is five times that of standard DVD and crystal clear cinematic sound, Blu-ray is the best way to bring your movies to life. And with all the latest releases, like Hancock and Casino Royale, available at the same time as the DVD versions – alongside a fantastic selection of favourites like Spider-Man, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and even Monty Python’s The Life Of Brian, the very best in home entertainment can be leaping out of your flat screen and lighting up your living room!

 

Popular TV presenter Konnie Huq is getting on board the Blu-ray revolution by presenting her very own Beginners Guide To Blu-ray. Answering all your questions and highlighting the best Blu-ray Discs out there just in time for Christmas, Konnie’s video is the perfect introduction to the format. Visit www.beginnersguidetobluray.com to find out more!”

BD Live Traffic Is High

BD Live is the feature that allows disc makers to include web only content and interactive features linked into the Blu-ray disc.  The first time I heard about this, I thought it was really cool, and would offer a definite feature to differentiate Blu-ray from DVD, and reinforce the new technology aspect.  After I thought about it, I realized that I didn't have an internet connection available behind my HDTV, and this could not be easily remedied without some serious network upgrades (like a WiFi bridge or a separate Powerline network, as Cat 5e is not an option).  I wondered how many other consumers would not overcome this barrier to entry?

Apparently, it is not much of an issue.  Even though the PS3 is the only player that does BD Live that's commonly available, and even though not too many discs have these features, BD Live traffic has been high.  Even at this early stage, Sony is reporting that the BD Live entertainment site is nearing a million hits.  They are also preparing for more BD Live traffic as The Dark Knight is scheduled for release soon, and it is a highly anticipated BD Live disc.

Just out of curiousity, while I realize that many PS3 owners do gaming and hence need the network connection, how do you folks have it hooked up to your network?

Blu-ray Load Time Shoot Out

With most everything "instant on" in our society, folks don't want to wait for much.  With that in mind, the time it takes to get a Blu-ray disc loaded can be an interminable wait on some players, and can exceed a minute.  With such a time waster, it's enough to make you want to go back to good ol' DVD (well almost anyway).

The Crave gang over at the UK version of CNET took out their trusty stopwatches to get an idea how long different players take to load a disc.  While a four player sample is hardly the definitive study, it becomes clear that the Pioneer BDP-LX71 is not the speed demon of the group, as it takes almost two minutes to get the job done.  Wondering who is the fastest of these disc mounting slowpokes?  It's the PS3 which is the only player that got the job accomplished in under a minute at 43 seconds.  Is it any wonder why so many advocate the PS3 as the best affordable player?

Holiday Blu-ray Deals At Microcenter

If I'm gonna get out of bed early for a deal, it better be a really good one.  For those looking to pick up a Blu-ray player at an affordable price, the upcoming Black Friday deals will likely offer some good players at affordable prices for the nonAlpha Geek budget conscious.  To get you to spend your holiday moolah a little early, the folks at Microcenter are offering some pretty sweet deals, and this includes Blu-ray.  This includes a Samsung for $199, a Sony for $249, and a Blu-ray pc drive for $79.  While you won't have to send in any rebates, you will have to wake up early as there are limited quantities, and it's definitely first come, first served.  Also bear in mind that these deals are only happening 11/22 and 11/23.

Big Blu-ray Brother Is Watching

Sure, by now we've all heard that BD-Live offers a really cool feature set that allows for interactivity.  These kinds of features could never be done in DVD, and offers a real advantage taking the user beyond what is on the disc, and into exclusive content, which is internet based.  Of course, that means that the Blu-ray player needs to have a connection to the world wide web.  While my initial thought is how to snake some CAT 5e cable to the back of a Blu-ray player, that may be the least of the concerns.  Recalling that the internet goes both ways, and Sony just may be using this new level of connnectivity to collect more than a little data on its users.  Is this just paranoia, or one more example of why Sony shouldn't be trusted when it comes to technology?  Personally, if this type of info is being collected, the user should be informed up front, and not find out later.

Death Race Disc Promises Interactive Contest

I can fully admit that I hadn't previously heard of the film Death Race.  Reportedly, it is coming out in both Blu-ray and DVD on December 23rd of this year, just making it in time for the Christmas holiday.  What is intriguing about the film it that it promises to have a new level of interactivity via the BD-Live feature set.  While details are sketchy, it is planned that there will be some type of contest, where viewers can upload video, where it will be judged by other viewers.  There will be some prizes to be awarded, so quality will clearly count.

Think of this when you see a bargain Blu-ray player, that offers limited BD-Live functionality, that can't be upgraded to the latest BD-Live 2.0.  I'm thinking that we may see more of this type of thing, and I'd hate to be left out of it.  Perhaps features like this will differentiate the Blu-ray products one step further from their DVD cousins.

The Case For Blu-ray, Or Not

"Putting the cart before the horse?"

Every time I think Blu-ray has picked up steam and is finally rolling, we seem to hit a speed bump of some sort.  Case in point: lately I've been pleased to see how the prices of the players, and even the discs seem to be creeping out of the stratosphere of videophiles, and towards the terra firma of mass adoption.  With all signs that this upcoming Black Friday will rack up some serious sales, it seemed to be the way things are going.

However, not so fast.  I found this opinion piece which brings up an interesting point.  While HDTV's have been all the rage for years now, it still is only 25% of US households that actually have one.  That means to the other 75'% of folks, a Blu-ray player will offer no advantage as they have no suitable display for it.  He also brings up that downloads may eclipse Blu-ray as the delivery format of the new hi def digital media as fast broadband becomes more prevalent, if not more affordable.

I think the jury is still out, but we'll have a better idea after the holiday season as to where we stand in the Blu-ray vs DVD skirmish smoldering.  Let's also realize that while the Vatican is distributing their message on every format, they seemed to have skipped over Blu-ray for the time being.  Do they have some inside info?

Blu-ray Scan Goes To the Next Level

For years now, directors that wanted to take their film to the next level of sharpness would shoot in the 70 mm film format.  Never heard of it?  Sure you have, it's better known as IMAX, and it's most often seen at science museums across the country for documentaries.  The picture is seriously vivid, and the screen is humongous.

So how can Blu-ray take it to the next level?  Recall that Blu-ray discs are 1080p, which translates into just over 1000 lines of resolution, assuming your HDTV can display this format natively (smaller HDTV's are 720p which are still HD but display less lines, and standard TV is 480 lines of resolution in case you're wondering).  At any rate, when a film gets scanned for a Blu-ray disc, they need to grab at least 1080 lines.  Generally they do more, in fact a lot more, and the current standard was 4000, which ensured more than enough info to manipulate and compress down to the 1080p format.

Now that your head is spinning with numbers, a new film, Baraka, is using the "Ultra HD Format."  While your Blu-ray player can still only put out 1080 lines of resolution, and your HDTV can only display the same, that's not stopping these serious scanners from wringing every last bit of picture from the original film, that was 65 mm.  This new method scans the film at 8192 lines of resoulution before manipulating it and compressing it.  Reportedly, this process creates a very lifelike apprearance for the ultimate in HD.  Let's hope that more films get scanned via this method for the best image possible.

External Blu-ray Drive Features Quad Interface

I've always preferred an internal drive for my pc.  I've never had the fear of cracking open a case for an upgrade.  However, with notebooks making up more than half of personal computer sales, and some users not wanting to open a case for an upgrade, an external optical drive can certainly get the job done for plenty of users.

The first thing to look for when choosing an external optical drive is if the burner is a good one and supports the format you'll want to use.  Right after that is to make sure that it can hook in to all the computers that you anticipate using it with.  That's where this new drive from OWC comes in.  While most external drives can connect via one or maybe if you're lucky two interfaces, the OWC Mercury Pro can connect every way: USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and 800, and the latest one, eSATA.  Add in a 4x Blu-ray write speed, and support for DVD's, DVD-RAM, and CD-R's, and this is one drive that can get the job done. 

Unfortunately, compatibility has a steep price: $499, and $579 if it includes a full version of Roxio's Toast.