A couple of days ago we posted a quote from Samsung
that Blue-ray technology would be obsolete within five years. Well, Sony didn’t like that and fired back, with the most asinine argument ever: People thought that paper would die out, but it didn’t, so the same is true of Blu-ray.
How can they seriously compare paper, which is ubiquitous and we all deal with every day of our lives, to something that is only being used by a tiny proportion of the population?
Anyway, here’s the dirt from Tech Dirt from Wired:
Remember all that hype about the paperless office? The paperless home? Heck, even the paperless life! Well, so do some Sony executives who think the persistence of paper proves that Blu-Ray discs is here to stay. Speaking at an expo in Denver, Sony SVP Andy Parsons said, “I’m fond of recalling the old visions of the past that the paperless office would completely obliterate the need for paper. It seemed like a very reasonable, logical prediction decades ago that turned out to be completely wrong.” The only problem with this self-promotional position (besides the fact that recent research shows younger people aren’t interested in using paper) is that it ignores the many formats of information that have come and gone. Paper is unique in its ubiquity, but Sony should know all about formats which die; after all, they invented a couple. While discs may be around for a while due to existing infrastructure, the clear trajectory is towards digital only as evidenced by the swing towards net-centric devices like Apple’s MacBook Air, the iPhone and Dell’s new netbooks. As bandwidth and net-connected devices increase, shiny pieces of plastic will disappear (for everyone but the collectors) along with their tape-based predecessors.
Maybe the Sony statement is a bad translation?
Still, it is always fun watching rich/powerful people obviously lying to protect some perceived interest of theirs. What this statement really means is that Sony is not to be trusted for anything they say, if you needed more reasons.
Sony being out of touch with reality… What’s new about that?
There will be a place for permanent digital media. If someone wants to own a copy of, say, Casablanca or Star Wars, a DVD of some kind will be the way to go.
However, I’ve seen the demos of BluRay versus DVD at Best Buy, and there’s not much difference between those formats (or HD-DVD for that matter).
#1 – bobbo – Still, it is always fun watching rich/powerful people obviously lying to protect some perceived interest of theirs.
I remember this financial guy who got interviewed on TV in the late 1990s… he told the reporter that RealNetworks’s RealAudio and RealVideo would be the only formats with a future since MPEG couldn’t be streamed. I bet he had a good portion of RealNetworks shares.
#3 – Floyd – If someone wants to own a copy of, say, Casablanca or Star Wars, a DVD of some kind will be the way to go.
So hardisk and flash memory wouldn’t do?
#4–Jag==the obviously lying rich/powerful guy you can see right now is the defense of Palin’s experience. You saw Jon Stewart nail Karl Rove in his double standard/manipulation. Chris Matthews did a good job last week nailing a repug operative on Palin: the guy would not get off how great her experience was but could not name a sinlge accomplishment yet continued to praise her. Its good when the talking heads go repetitive 4-5 times to make it clear those spinmeisters are just reading a script==divorced from reality.
I kinda don’t know what the politcal types do it as the people dumb enough to be “for them” aren’t likely to change their minds no matter what.
Oil execs recently saying they need more offshore leases is another example==and the guys still touting the benefits of corn based ethanol.
Those guys==and most guys/gals in such jobs would smile while sucking turds.
6 bobbo. Yes, I see what you’re getting at. But don’t you think Obama’s experience with Blu-ray is no better than Palin’s? Yet Obama wants to be the Prez.
RBG
#7–RBG==I may be missing your point, but its more likely that as a guy Obama might have more interest in his media cetner than would Palin? Gross generalization, but without facts, that would be my guess.
Heres another one===Bill Gates testifying before Congress that there aren’t enough qualified programmers and electrical engineers and what not in American and therefore the 1-B (sic?) Visa Program needs to be expanded to “unlimited” otherwise it will hurt business in America.
Good one Bill. Hate to see him in action if he weren’t a philanthropist.
I’d say that physical media will be around a lot longer than people predict. I work in television, where for years people have been predicting that everything will soon go tapeless. But the benefits of tape keep it going strong.
It would be more accurate to say that people will continue to prefer a permanent, physical medium – for any type of media – whether it’s video, audio or print.
I still buy CDs to rip to my iPod – I like having the physical backup. I buy DVDs, but I’d also buy movies on Blu-Ray, or SDHC, or some physical media, rather than reply on streaming or downloadable content.
I buy books because I like having a permanent copy – but I read newspapers online, since the value of the content is based on the timeliness of the information.
Sure… BD’s are here to stay… Just as the UMD and the memory stick on exclusive Sony products that only those who want to burn money for a so-so product that could have been an outstanding piece of technology if it weren’t the DRM overload.
“BD’s are here to stay… Just as the UMD and the memory stick…”
Don’t forget beta tapes (for home use) and SACDs.
8 bobbo. Right… right… and it’s those visa people who are needed to support Blu-ray. (bobs: I’m messing with you because you are so foamingly & gratuitiously OT.)
RBG
RBG–thanks for the clue, but isn’t this thread about powerful corporations talking nonsense?
I think so.
Samsung is right with their assertion except I think five years is being too generous. People said Toshiba’s HD-DVD lost to BluRay but in actuality Toshiba won because it understood the market was a no-win and got out. Sony will realize the same thing soon too. Spinning plastic is a dead-end technology and broadband on-demand video services will continue their advances and take over the market.
Blu Ray is the only “winning” technology that no one I know owns — OK, one person who’s a total tech nut. Maybe HD DVD should give it another shot.
Well, the point is that people still want physical media. Blu-Ray will do well when prices come down enough that it can fully replace DVDs.
I think DVD vs paper is a better comparison. All of these things come out that claim to replace it, and then they fade.
DVDs are cheap, drives are cheap, burners are cheap. They get the job done and have deep adoption.
The more esoteric format probably has a better chance of sticking around as a format for a game system. Blu-Ray will likely be dead as a format outside of PS3 in a few years.
paper will die out. in the future each person will have one sheet of special paper to carry around with them. this special paper will be able to display text, images and videos. you could read a whole book on this one sheet of paper, you just turn it over and it displays the next page. you will of course be able to fold it up into your pocket. this has been obvious for decades.
sony suck dick.
#5: “If someone wants to own a copy of, say, Casablanca or Star Wars, a DVD of some kind will be the way to go.
So hardisk and flash memory wouldn’t do?”
Nope. what happens when the hard disk or flash memory go bad? Assuming you have plenty of room on your hard disk to store your movies, those hard disks are still more likely to die from head crashes and other mechanical failures than DVDs, which are a simple storage medium.
what #10 and #21 said.
However, how archival is a DVD of any stripe, anyway? Over decades, tech changes to the point that even methodologies coddled along for legacy purposes and the niche market of enthusiasts eventually become quaint. I’m still trying to decide what to do with the couple hundred laserdisks I still have that require a separate player (and separate maintenance and space and power…)to use.
#21 – Floyd – Nope. what happens when the hard disk or flash memory go bad? Assuming you have plenty of room on your hard disk to store your movies, those hard disks are still more likely to die from head crashes and other mechanical failures than DVDs, which are a simple storage medium.
DVDs gets scratched. Hard disks can be set up in a RAID configuration to minimize the damage of a hard disk crash (how ofter does a hard disk crash actually happen?).
Given the as yet undetermined life of optical media – both “fixed” and recordable, paper may yet take the honors for longevity !!! What we need is some type of machine readable binary storage for paper – like the format proposed a long time ago by Byte Magazine – microprinted bar codes. These could last as long as paper !!!
“what happens when the hard disk or flash memory go bad?”
You then download them off the internet.
I’ve read that Mexico is turning out more engineering grads than the US is. I guess the math is just to hard or something.
If floppies can go any digital media can go.
Blue ray is way to expensive and unlike HD-DVD they never got their act on standards together and they haven’t got there prices down to something most people are willing to pay for. They may have bought the movie studios but those people aren’t noted for their vision when it comes to media.
I can easily see Blueray biting the big one before it ever shows a profit.
Super hige def music didn’t take the world by storm either.
Download is the future.
Blue Ray sucks because same thing as DVD.
You have to open the stupid Secured disc packaging.
Check the disc for damage. Get up of the couch, press open on DVD player, load the Disc and press play.
Wait 5min to load up the intro screen. Wait 10min to read the FBI warning, Watch the Copying is Illegal clip that you can’t skip.
Then It will load crappy animated time wasting menu system with swish and swash crappy sound effects that doesn’t make the movie that was remake of 1970 remake of 1960 movie not any better then 1950 orginal version of it.
You select Play and stupid green screen that tell you to put your children outside because its rated R. Even if you got no kids in there You can’t skip because “You Paid Good Money For it!”
This is why I download movies from online.
Just download and play, no BS!!!
# 22 Smartalix said, on September 7th, 2008 at 5:24 am
what #10 and #21 said.
Seems clear to me that 120mm binary discs are here to stay.
The rest of the (software) debate should be easy.
Dangit. Why didn’t I say that.
What I find interesting, is that we have HIGH DEF, on DVD…
What the HELL we need BR DVD for is the EXTRAS..?
EVEn if you use 2 DVD, the price BEATS, BR DVD.
so we have 2 DVD at about 9.4 GIG..(basically DOUBLE SIDED DVD)…
The only reason for BRDVD is RAW FORMAT, and SECURITY..
DVD=MP2 format…
MP4 format is compressed and takes about 1/2 as much SPACE..
BRDVD=?? format is already BROKEN, can be compressed, and stored on your COMPUTER.
SO WHY do we need MORE security and MORE space? WHEN we already have enough??
Only reasons for LARGER media(using logic) is STORAGE of ALL THOSE DVD(DS=double sided) DISKS. AND AFTER you convert to MP4(ask apple)(P2 uncompressed, MP4 COMPRESSED)(IPOD=MP4=???) we can STORE 2=4 times as MUCH data…
NOW…the MAIN reason for a BRDVD on a computer would be DATA/PROGRAM/OS BACKUP.
Is 29GIG enough??
I DONT THINK SO!!!!!!
10 would be a SMALL amount at this time.
NEW media has to keep EXPANDING to WHAT IS NEEDED…
If these groups WERE SMART, they would let DVD become obsolete, and THEN USE IT…
Hard drives are AIMING for the Terabyte…THATS OVER 40 BRDVD… DO YOU WANT TO BACK THAT UP?? KEEP IT SAFE??
one scratch, and you AINT GOT A BACKUP. YOU GOT EXPENSIVE FREEBIES…