Blue Ray is DEAD!

The battle between HD-DVD and Blue Ray was pretty much settled last year at the CES with Warner Bros crossing the DMZ. But now, it looks like Blue Ray is dying or fuzzy as New York Times Article states it. The article still gives it hope, but I predict that it won’t last more than a couple of years.

iTUNES, HULU, VUDU, YOUTUBE, etc…

With internet speeds increasing, video codecs creating  better but smaller HD files, iTunes offering HD movies as well as Vudu, Blue Ray is going to have a short shelf life. But it’s not just the technology but also the mindset of consumers that is driving this. The success Youtube, Hulu, Vudu, Slingbox, Bit Torrent, DVRs and iTunes are showing us that the viewing audience is ok with mediocre image quality as long as we can get it when we want and it’s free or cheap.

TVs are no longer tvs, but computer monitors. With the cost of the LCD Flat Screen HDTVs dropping and with the DTV signal change in February, why wouldn’t you get one. Viewers are also learning to hook up their computer to it and play their movies through the computer.

CONTENT OVER QUALITY:

I also noticed that viewers will always choose to watch something that is interesting and engaging rather than something with no story but technically amazing. (I can list a lot of movies/shows here, but I will refrain for time sake). If the story is great, it doesn’t matter how it was shot and displayed. I watched videos on my computer, on my iphone, on people blogs, facebook, websites. As long as the content was fascinating, I watched.

DISCLAIMER:

There is no replacing the telling of a great story using great technology that is used purposefully. I personally would love a Blue-Ray DVD player and a HDTV. I love going to the theaters and watching a film. Have you seen an IMAX film. (not the ones that they blow up a regular 35mm movie, but the ones they shot with 70mm film) Amazing. It is hard for me to watch football games not on a highdef television. (GO CHARGERS!)

But this entry is more about the business of Home Entertainment formats.

HOPE FOR BLUERAY: Here are some reasons why they might survive.

1. Prices are dropping: With the economy today, they have to drop.
2. Additional great content that you can only get on Blue Ray: But they are also starting to be available at the websites associated with film
3. Early Adopters or as I call them, Easy Money: It’s no longer the latest technology and about to be old news
4. I don’t know what I’m talking about: But I do.

 

iPhone: it’s only a brick until you use it

“My life is so much better with an iPhone.”

I know there are as many iPhone haters as there is iPhone-philiacs but this needs to be said.

Similar to the controversy of whether film is better than digital, or the mp3 being the end of high fidelity, there is a little stirring going on in the world of “mobile phones”.

I do agree that there are great phones out there that come with your very own “verizon gang” or the “time square inspiration quote of the day” from the Sprint’s CEO and there is no denying that. My wife has the LG Shine (mainly because Lauren Conrad from the hills endorse it) and it fulfills it’s purpose as a phone.

My argument is that the iPhone is not a celluar phone. It is a mini computer, camera, Internet browser, game console (fieldrunner being my favorite game), personal finance (Bank of America app, Mint), social network tool (twitter, facebook), music and movie player (iPod), harddrive, Bible (YouVersion) and etc…

The iPhone has in a couple of years created a whole new category of gadgets: The portable computer that happens to have a phone option. Even this posting is all done through an iPhone. (it’s not even the 3G version).

But as my title of this posts states, an iPhone is only a brick until you use it. Not as a phone but as your mini portable computer. Did you know, you get free wifi at McDonalds and Starbucks as an iPhone owner? (by the way, those two stores are pretty popular.)

But to be fair, this mantra is for any device. If not used, it’s only a brick. Whether it’s a fancy digital camera you bought at costco or the new MacBook or PC, or one of the many blackberries out there (another side note: why does there have to be so many different versions of the blackberry), learn to utilize it to it’s fullest.

“One is free to choose your own weapon but one, is at a miss, if one does not learn to use it to it’s fullest potential.” – Artisan Warrior

Even right now, as I’m cradling Baby Sophia in my arms, I’m writing this post entirely with one thumb. And this post is helping me improve my writing through blogging. Blogging helps me clear my thoughts. Therefore I’m a more focused person which makes my wife happy. Which results in my life being better because of the iPhone. 🙂

Here is one of many example of how I utilize my iPhone. I take daily pictures of my newborn daughter and post them on facebook. Here Is a screen capture I made, yes with an iPhone.