Woorkz

So, I have my brand new LED TV and just got my free Blu-ray player from Vizio to go with it. I hooked up my new Blu-ray player and got it all set up. It plays DVD’s too. In fact, that is really why I wanted it, so I would have a stand alone DVD player. Yesterday I was at Target and decided to breakdown and buy a new Blu-ray movie for my new Blu-ray player. I took my 3-year old over to the movie aisle to see which movie she would like to buy. Something to note here, I do not buy a lot of DVD’s, we use Netflix, Netflix streaming, and redbox.

As we browsed the Blu-ray movies my daughter spotted the Monster’s Inc. Blu-ray, one of her favorite movies, and the Snow White Blu-ray edition. I went to grab the Monsters Inc. and then looked down at the price. I almost choked on my gum when I saw the price tag of $34.99. There were DVD players sitting there for less than that. Upon looking at all the titles, it occurred to me that a standard price for a Blu-ray was $30. No Blu-ray’s for me, I can get 30 movies from Rebox for that price.

I must say that the jump from VHS to DVD was dramatic and changed the industry of home entertainment. Does Blu-ray do the same? I don’t think so, at least not yet. When looking at a movie in SD (Standard Definition) DVD quality vs. Full HD 1080P I can’t really see that much difference. Yes, it looks a little better, but not $34.99 better.

Blu-ray does have many capabilities that have yet to be marketed and used, such as 3D and beyond. It’s storage also opens up many possibilities in the gaming world. In this tech geeks opinion though, Blu-ray is not going to take over the DVD. For most people a technology must be dramatic for them to abandon their old ways and embrace the new. I do not think that Blu-ray offers anything significant to get most people to make the switch. This will be true unless the price of the players goes way down, the price of the disc’s goes way down, and everyone gets a 1080P television.

For the above reason I believe that streaming video companies will start to push Blu-ray products out of the market and take over the way the people watch their movies. I can stream Monster’s Inc. in 1080P 7 times for the price of the Blu-Ray disc (not that I would do that, I can get it free on Netflix Streaming). Sorry Blu-ray I don’t think you are worth it.

It seems lately there has been a large push in the home theater arena towards sound bars. The claims from manufacturers are that the sound bars are replacements for full surround systems. This week I received a free sound bar/subwoofer from Vizio in return for a marketing program I participated in after buying a new 55-inch LED TV. I was very interested in testing the new sound bar compared to my 7.1 in-wall surround system.
I am no audiophile, but I do enjoy clean and crisp audio from my home entertainment system. I hooked up my new sound bar and was surprised by the audio quality that it delivered. As I fired up the wireless subwoofer, the deep tones filled the room. The sound from this system was very impressive.
I must say though, that even though the sound was great, it did not replace the effects delivered by my true 7.1 surround system. In my opinion the sound bar / subwoofer system is a great alternative for those wanting affordable sound quality. But, if you want true surround sound effects, you must install a true surround system.