Think you want a blu-ray player to go with that shiny new HDTV? Think again. Here are seven reasons blu-ray will soon be vaporized.
1) Optical disks are doomed
Discs of all kinds (CD, DVD, Blu-ray) will become obsolete as a new wave of digital media services crashes into the living room.
“The Blu-ray format is in jeopardy simply because the advent of downloadable HD movies is so close,” said Roger L. Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates. a research and consulting company. “Streaming video from the Internet and other means of direct digital delivery are going to put optical formats out of business entirely over the next few years.”
2) Vudu
The VUDU box ($149.00) may be purchased at Best Buy. Having VUDU means that you don’t need to plan anymore. With a large catalog of new releases and library titles available instantly, you will never need to drive or wait for the mail again.
3) Amazon Streaming
In 2008 Amazon rolled out its Amazon Video on Demand video streaming service. Today you can instantly watch over 50,000 hit movies and TV shows through the service on your laptop, XBOX360, TIVO, and even directly through select HDTVs.
4) Roku
Roku is a set-top device similar to the VUDU box. With a Netflix subscription, which start from $8.99 per month, you get access to over 12,000 movies and TV episodes – including hundreds in HD.
5) Netflix Streaming
Netflix has partnered with several hardware companies in an attempt to make its service more or less ubiquitous. One cool feature is in addition to streaming movies instantly, you also continue getting Netflix DVDs in the mail at no extra cost!
6) Apple
Apple has a seemingly infinite amount of portable devices on which consumers can beam down movies and shows for instant gratification. Among them are the iPhone, the iPod (many flavors), and any the very portable MacBook laptops.
7) Cheap(er) Bandwidth
Monthly cable modem bills haven’t decreased much over the years; however, internet download speeds have come a long way since the early 2000s. These days it’s not uncommon to have a 10Mbps pipe (that’s FAST for you non-geeks) in your living room! This means with a VUDU box you can stream crisp 1080p video (with digital surround sound) nearly instantly. Zooooom!
