One thing I have learned is that there are some very smart people that work for these companies, don't under estimate their ability to understand things. Blu-ray DVD players are expensive and missed their opportunity to go mainstream. The major expense is the drives. Net Flix and Blockbuster are going on-demand, so are many other makers of DVD players by incorporating a CAT5 connector right into the player with the software built in. Current models up-convert to 1080p and are cheap. If you supply a HD video via a USB or CAT5 connection than the drive is not needed.
Between DivX, USB, and video on-demand Blu-ray is dead. I play all my movies from my USB pocket drive or a flash drive in DivX format and the picture quality is great. Is it high def? Depends on the original source and how I obtained it. Rip a Blu-ray movie to your computer, play it back via USB connection and you have no need for a stand alone player that costs $250. There are many websites that provide HD content for downloading as well. A Blu-ray drive for my computer was $89 and with that I am able to buy inexpensive DVD players that play at 1080p (provided the content is in high def). Most people could afford only one Blu-ray DVD player, but may have more than one HDTV. Up-converting DVD players pass the signal through and give you HDTV on the cheap.
Western Digital recently released a box that does this very same thing for $129, and all it does is provide a HDMI output and USB connectors, passing HD content to your TV. That very same capability is now in cheap DVD players, so which company really missed the mark? I would say Western Digital is late to the game with a product that has no useful purpose when a $59 DVD player that up-converts, plays DivX, and has a USB connector does it all.
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One thing I have learned is that there are some very smart people that work for these companies, don't under estimate their ability to understand things. Blu-ray DVD players are expensive and missed their opportunity to go mainstream. The major expense is the drives. Net Flix and Blockbuster are going on-demand, so are many other makers of DVD players by incorporating a CAT5 connector right into the player with the software built in. Current models up-convert to 1080p and are cheap. If you supply a HD video via a USB or CAT5 connection than the drive is not needed.
Between DivX, USB, and video on-demand Blu-ray is dead. I play all my movies from my USB pocket drive or a flash drive in DivX format and the picture quality is great. Is it high def? Depends on the original source and how I obtained it. Rip a Blu-ray movie to your computer, play it back via USB connection and you have no need for a stand alone player that costs $250. There are many websites that provide HD content for downloading as well. A Blu-ray drive for my computer was $89 and with that I am able to buy inexpensive DVD players that play at 1080p (provided the content is in high def). Most people could afford only one Blu-ray DVD player, but may have more than one HDTV. Up-converting DVD players pass the signal through and give you HDTV on the cheap.
Western Digital recently released a box that does this very same thing for $129, and all it does is provide a HDMI output and USB connectors, passing HD content to your TV. That very same capability is now in cheap DVD players, so which company really missed the mark? I would say Western Digital is late to the game with a product that has no useful purpose when a $59 DVD player that up-converts, plays DivX, and has a USB connector does it all.