Survey Addendum
Dear Gary:
I’ve been reading Widescreen Review since Issue 1, which I bought at a little LaserDisc store in La Canada Flintridge. My backstory is that I bought my first VCR in 1986 and ran out and rented my favorite movies––Lawrence Of Arabia and Forbidden Planet––and instantly became utterly disenchanted at the picture and sound horrors that passed for home video in those days. In 1991, I started my LaserDisc surround sound home theatre and T2 was my first purchase. I could go on about my high-end purchases and experiences, but what I am really writing you about is this:
I am more or less an early adopter (even to the degree that I have a Millennium DTS processor!). As a result I have second-generation Blu-ray and HD-DVD players at a cost of $500 each and about 20 to 25 discs of each format that I picked up right away. A few titles I bought in both formats so I could do A/B comparisons––like 2001 and The Phantom Of The Opera. Frankly I was disappointed when Blu-ray won the format war, but that is neither here nor there. Now, however, I am estranged from the format because the discs are so expensive! On average a new title is between $25 and $35, and frankly I don’t have that kind of money. I did buy the Blu-ray of How The West Was Won, but that was a special treat. Typically, I will only splurge for the absolutely must-have older titles (most of which I already have in both LaserDisc and DVD).
Anyway, I just wanted to say this, as there was no spot in the survey. Thanks for the good work that you do.
Thomas K. Miller
editorgary@widescreenreview.com
Editor-In-Chief and Publisher Gary Reber Comments:
I think that for the Blu-ray Disc format to succeed it will require a substantial price reduction on the releases across the board. One must constantly compare prices to find substantially lower prices.
Blu-ray is still challenged with solidifying the early-adopter enthusiasts’ segment of the home theatre market. This is surprisingly taking much longer than I anticipated, given the extraordinarily significant improvement to picture and sound quality that the format offers––far better than DVD at its very best and far better than the best theatrical exhibition (exclusive of theatrical scale).
You can E-mail Widescreen Review @ editorgary@widescreenreview.com