Well, that's all neat and tidy. But what isn't revealed is that STREAMING films don't hold a candle to the video/audio quality of a 1080P BLU-RAY DISC featuring master quality audio. PHYSICAL DISCS will always be around. We don't have the infrasture to even begin to consider true HIGH-DEFINIITON downloads to peoples LCD, PLASMA or PROJECTION MONITORS. Plus, when you BUY something such as a BLU-RAY movie, you own something physical; downloads are never yours.

"Digital delivery is Blu-ray's biggest threat, since a quick adoption of internet-distribution and VOD as a delivery methods of movies and TV-shows by consumers mean that Blu-ray will never really take off." Unfortunately Netflix's success with DD does not appear to be typical across the whole industry, where Blu Ray adoption appears to be far higher. Doubtless Netflix is bucking the trend as their downloads are in effect free, since they're included in their DVD or Blu Ray rental package. For now, at least, there's no additional charge. For the companies trying to make a buck on downloads and streaming, it's a different story. I'm sure most will have seen Steve Jobs comments on AppleTV late last year, describing it as "a hobby". This seems to be backed up by recent reports which show Apple actually lose money on new downloads, but make it the hardware required. Taking a wider view, if one looks at the money the studios say DD is generating, Blu Ray is well ahead in both growth and revenue. For example, this recent Video Business article ( http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6630137.html?desc=topstory ) has downloads at $488 million for 2008, up 73% over 2007. Contrast that with Blu Ray revenue for 2008 of $750 million, up around 300% over 2007. Also, if you look at the success of individual downloads, according to the same article, Universal shifting 100,000 movies via DD is considered "a milestone". Compare that with DVD titles selling tens of millions, and eve some Blu Ray titles selling well over a million, and we can see downloads are still very small beer indeed. Things need to change for DD to become successful, particularly in regards to purchases. The raft of new set-top-boxes are a start, but if DD wants to make inroads into movie purchasing (where the real money is) there'll need to be co-operation between distributors to ensure the consumer doesn't become a hostage to the fortunes of one distributor, tied to their service and hoping they stay in business. The question of transportability also needs to be addressed. At this point in time virtually all DD movies are tied to the STB or PC where they were originally downloaded. If you wish to take a movie to a friends house, options seem to be limited to lifting your STB, or (if you're lucky and the service allows it, and the friend has the equipment) downloading it again at their house. Clearly, a consumer used to picking up a DVD isn't going to be happy with this sort of inconvenience.

Your article is based on a false premise. The netflix streaming feature is standard defintion only. Blu ray is HD. Accordingly, those using netflix streaming are watching tired, less than DVD quality streams. Those wathing Blu Ray are watching high definition content. These are two entirely different markets.

We already know that the quality of streaming HD content falls well below blu ray standards (heck, HD cable can barely compete if you have the proper equipment). I think the bigger problem right now, however, is availability. Of the 150 movies in my Netflix queue, there are nine available to watch online....nine! And only a handful of those nine movies can be played through my Xbox 360 (is it Sony that won't let their movies be accessed through the Xbox...?). Between quality and availability, streaming is simply not a viable option for me in most cases. I would much prefer they bolster their blu ray selection! I am somewhat of a purist, however, and sadly realize I do not represent the majority.

BR lost its window of opportunity. Now, both music and movies are beginning to migrate onto memory cards for increasingly smaller devices. (See MOD Systems, SlotMusic, etc). This is a much more high tech solution. Spinning discs are ANTIQUATED tech, so it was foolish to replace one disc format with yet another. Everyone I know is downloading MUCH MORE than they are buying--especially since many BDs are poor enough transfers that they show little improvement over quality DVD transfers for the xtra $$. Been nice knowin' ya Blu!

dvd never die like vhs. blu may be(espec. in crisis) dvd never! blueoo.com