Blu-Ray Discs - Research Paper Example

 Blu-Ray Discs Blu-ray Disc is denoted by BD. It is an optical disc storage medium which was designed as a supplement to the DVD format. The format’s standard physical media is made up on 12 cm, 25 GB per layer optical disc, and a 50 GB dual layer disc. More layers can be added as a future possibility. The name Blu-ray disc signifies the “blue-laser” which is used to read the disc. The blue laser allows for five times more storage than on a DVD. Blu-ray Disc is the brain child of Blu-ray Disc Association. It is a group that represents makers of consumer electronics, computer hardware and motion picture. Around June 2009, more than 1500 Blu-ray Disc titles became available in Australia and the United States. More than 2500 of them were found in U.S. and Canada and by July 2010, 3300 titles were released. Blu-ray Disc’s direct competitor was HD DVD format during the high definition optical disc format war. Toshiba the main stream supporter of HD DVD format agreed and went on to release their Blu-ray Disc player. Why the product might fail? Blu-ray disc was the declared winner in the format wars last year. It had sent HD-DVD technology to dustbins when it was launched. However the scenario is slowly changing. The consumers have stopped caring about the Blu-ray disc. Traditional DVDs have out sold the Blu-ray discs by a whopping 6 to 1 margin. A survey was recently conducted, called the Harris Interactive survey. The survey unveiled that 93% of Americans have no plans of buying a Blu-ray player in the next couple of years. Even though, the Blu-ray disc sales have been slowly on the rise, it is speculated that the product won’t last long because of the rapid penetration of technology and internet in our practical lives. Blu-Ray players and Blu-Ray discs will not reach the critical masses to turn it into a commercial success any time soon. Even though, it’s unlikely that the Blu-ray folks will give up on the product any time soon, but the product is speculated to reach its dooms day soon. There are various reasons why growing penetration of technology in the daily lives of a common man won’t let Blu-ray succeed. Some of these are discussed here. Video Quality: It is very hard to make out the quality difference between a standard DVD and Blu-ray discs. The difference is barely visible to the naked eye. DVD has also grown over the years. Today, thanks to innovation and technology, the DVD players now have “unsampling”. This unsampling converts the DVD movies to near HD quality. Thus, for someone who is a big movie buff, it will be difficult to make out the difference between the two. (Five-Reasons Blue Ray will fail) Costs: In the given economic conditions, where unemployment is on the rise and inflation round the corner, it will be difficult to pay the $200 premium for a Blu-ray player. It will be difficult to convince the consumers on the value provided for the premium that they are paying. DVD players with HD sampling are out there in the market for as low as $ 50. How can a $200 compete with a $ 50 for the same quality? This will be a tough call. Moreover, most Blu-ray discs cost $10-15 more than the regular DVDs. For someone who is in to technology, won’t find Blu-ray convincing enough to be bought as a gadget. Yes, one might be tempted to get the latest, but only if the price was the same? HD requirement: Blu-ray experience can only be enjoyed on an HD TV. This is where the stunning HD quality will come through. A very little percentage of the population owns a high definition TV at the moment. While the percentage may grow in the coming years, it is still a major limiting factor in the adoption of Blu-ray. Technology penetration: Netflix and various other competitors have been rapidly promoting the concept of disc less video. There is cable, there is satellite and there is fiber-optic TV. The providers of each of these are now offering pay-per-view movies in high definition. Why should one run to the video store, when the movie is a few button clicks away and get the same result. Why should they feel like paying for both the discs and the cable for the same quality? This is why many people feel that the days of renting movies and spinning discs are as it is coming to an end. YouTube, Joust and Hulu: Sites like YouTube, Joost and Hulu have become very popular today. The young generation is all over these sites. They get broadcast TV and movies there. Entertainment is slowly moving to the web. The rising bandwidth speeds have made video streaming fast and convenient. Entertainment is now slowly moving to the web. Thus fast access to high definition movies, TV shows and streaming media servers will take over the market for the disc players. For most consumers Blu-ray’s biggest selling point over DVD would be the image quality. Blu-ray movies are currently offered in the market at 1080p which is four times higher than the resolution of DVD. Blu-ray has other edges over the DVD. For instance it’s BD-Live. Through this feature, internet connected players are able to access bonus online material. Irrespective of this, the total value of all the added features isn’t big or notable enough to attract eyeballs. Sony and other rooters of Blu-ray can only claim that Blu-ray is the high definition version of DVD. Blu-ray’s value ads are just enough to woo the average consumer into purchasing it for a $ 200 investment. As it is unemployment rates are on the rise and economy plunging into recession. This automatically makes the consumers prefer the standard DVD player or the web before jumping to Blu-ray. Technology is rapidly advancing too. Soon the paradigm will shift to the digital delivery of movies. Systems like Roku Netflix Player have already emerged. They are available for a measly $ 99, have the higher quality of HD alongside the value of not needing to go to a store to purchase the discs. Some other systems like the X-box 360 are also available. They are less expensive, are cheap and can offer the complete HD experience without any physical media. Proponents of Blu-ray may claim that the quality that Blu-ray promises is far superior to DVD and HVS. But this argument is not convincing enough. Even if video streaming and downloads are forgone, there is still the cost factor that inhibits its success. Moreover, digital delivery offers the priceless value of not leaving the couch to go find and then watch a movie. To make Blu-ray a success the companies selling it need to bring it’s prices down, add more value to it and make it more user friendly. Conclusion: Thus, it won’t be long before the Blu-ray discs are shown the exit door. Disc media is as it is at a risk of survival, let alone the possibility of products with higher prices and low value becoming a commercial success. Where Blu-ray disc is concerned, there are a lot of inhibiting factors that come in the way of its success. These include high cost of the players, the need for HD TV to enjoy the HD quality that is its core competitive edge and the need to go and fetch the videos. Consumers don’t think that the value the player offers justifies its cost. They are hence, still averse to purchasing it. Moreover, the rapid penetration of video streaming via YouTube, Joust and Hulu also limit the success of this Blu-ray. Bibliography (n.d.). Retrieved Oct 17, 2010, from Five-Reasons Blue Ray will fail: http://askbobrankin.com/five_reasons_bluray_will_fail.html Read More