# What's Happening with Blu-Ray? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185 "2013-08-02T20:51:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/41 "2013-08-04T23:23:49Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Beyond that, how many have been remastered from film to actually be in 1080p? I bet a lot are just DVDs reformatted into 1080p without any actual increase in resolution. Hell, I’ve seen DVDs that were mastered from a VHS source with flagging and other stuff I haven’t seen in years. And, no, it wasn’t a VHS to DVD rip of grandma’s 80th birthday or anything, it was a commercial DVD bought at a store (albeit for a couple bucks). ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/42 "2013-08-04T23:53:34Z")
> [@jacobsta811](#): > > Incorrect. Interlaced and Progressive refer _both_ to the signal, which can be either, _AND_ to the display, which ALSO can be either. Admittedly you are going to find very few interlaced HDTVs, because LCD and Plasma are both natively Progressive scan technologies, but they do exist. CRT HDTVs are (or mostly “were”) sold at native 1080i - [http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Sony-FD-Trinitron-WEGA-KV-30HS420-30-1080i-HD-CRT-Television-/48202574](http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Sony-FD-Trinitron-WEGA-KV-30HS420-30-1080i-HD-CRT-Television-/48202574). Edit to add, and obviously a standard CRT old school tv was 480i, not 480p. Yup, there were CRT HD sets around back in the day. A friend of mine had one (and watched stretched SD material on it :smack: ). There were ‘i’ 1080 flat panels displays for a while, but as you say this wasn’t really a function of the panel but of the signal, as those sets had component video connections, and component video doesn’t have enough bandwidth to carry progressive 1080. IIRC at some point TVs with DVI/HDMI + HDCP came around so that 1080p material could be sent to and displayed on flat TVs, which is when ‘i’ 1080 flat TVs became ‘p’ 1080 flat TVs, at least in a marketing sense, even though they’d been progressive the whole time. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/43 "2013-08-05T13:16:32Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Hell, I’ve seen DVDs that were mastered from a VHS source with flagging and other stuff I haven’t seen in years. And, no, it wasn’t a VHS to DVD rip of grandma’s 80th birthday or anything, it was a commercial DVD bought at a store (albeit for a couple bucks). That’s the kind of thing I suspect is going on; it’s much the same as what we see on cable/satellite TV- just because the station is HD, it doesn’t mean the content is automatically HD. For example, something like “Ghostbusters” is probably just DVD resolution reformatted into HD, not remastered from the original film into HD. All that being said, my usual rule is to: 1. Not re-buy stuff I already have on DVD. 2. If I’m planning to buy something on disc, then I look closely at what I’m getting. If it’s made past about 2007 or so, I’ll usually spring for DVD, but if it’s something from before that, I usually won’t spend any extra money to get Blu-Ray, unless it’s explicitly called out as remastered. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/44 "2013-08-05T13:34:06Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I’m thinking that if you drew a Venn diagram of people who are really into high definition movies and might be willing to upgrade their library to Blu-Ray in circle 1 and people who are willing and able to use downloading to get them, legally or not, in circle 2, there’d be a lot of overlap. Maybe it’s just me, but I believe that anyone who illegally downloads a movie _ **NEVER** _ had any plans on paying to see said movie. They might have rented it, but I highly doubt it. In my opinion, Blu-ray would be in the exact same place even if illegal downloading was impossible. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/45 "2013-08-05T17:46:59Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but I believe that anyone who illegally downloads a movie _ **NEVER** _ had any plans on paying to see said movie. Maybe later, indirectly on cable/satellite, but yeah, I agree with you. People who are willing to pay are deciding what the best option is, not illegally downloading it and then paying for it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/46 "2013-08-05T19:08:56Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but I believe that anyone who illegally downloads a movie _ **NEVER** _ had any plans on paying to see said movie. Possibly, or not. If there was no pirating option, maybe teener-twenties would find something else to do with their time, or they’d find a way to watch some portion of those movies paid. I am highly suspicious of your statement because it tends to lead to “…therefore the greedy movie/music/publishing company isn’t really losing any money, anyway.” (Not saying you intend it, but it’s the bedrock argument of pirates who don’t think they’re really stealing.) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/47 "2013-08-05T19:39:19Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I am highly suspicious of your statement because it tends to lead to “…therefore the greedy movie/music/publishing company isn’t really losing any money, anyway.” (Not saying you intend it, but it’s the bedrock argument of pirates who don’t think they’re really stealing.) For the record, I don’t pirate anything and I think people who do pirate are jerks who are committing a crime. As a website owner, I feel much the same way about people who think it’s fair to use AdBlock. But people who pirate aren’t even attempting to figure out a way to compensate the creators. There are dozens of ways to do that that don’t involve paying full price for a movie ticket. Some of them, like watching it on TV or borrowing the disc from the library, are essentially free. So yeah, I’m a pretty firm believer in the theory of “…therefore the greedy movie/music/publishing company isn’t really losing any money, anyway.” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/48 "2013-08-05T20:14:38Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > As a website owner, I feel much the same way about people who think it’s fair to use AdBlock. Then you should put your site behind a paywall instead of expecting income from being an e-pimp. Really. If your site has commercial value, people will pay; that you have to try and shake it out of them - that you think the visit is worth the shaking - might just be contradictory data. > [@](#): > > So yeah, I’m a pretty firm believer in the theory of “…therefore the greedy movie/music/publishing company isn’t really losing any money, anyway.” Just like you’re not losing anything when we drop by, ad-blocked. We weren’t going to click on any of your ads anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/49 "2013-08-05T20:24:47Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Then you should put your site behind a paywall instead of expecting income from being an e-pimp. Really. If your site has commercial value, people will pay; that you have to try and shake it out of them - that you think the visit is worth the shaking - might just be contradictory data. > > Just like you’re not losing anything when we drop by, ad-blocked. We weren’t going to click on any of your ads anyway. :smack: Le sigh. What am I shaking out of people if I have a small ad on the side of the article they’re reading? They’re free to click on it, they’re free not to click on it. All I ask is that they don’t purposely block it. And it doesn’t matter if you click or not. I get paid if an ad is shown, but by disabling the ad, I get nothing. Thankfully, most people don’t use AdBlock, so it’s not a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/50 "2013-08-06T00:46:36Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Then you should put your site behind a paywall instead of expecting income from being an e-pimp. Really. If your site has commercial value, people will pay; that you have to try and shake it out of them - that you think the visit is worth the shaking - might just be contradictory data. Are you actually being serious? So you think Google would still be in its position if it put everything behind a pay wall? Why wouldn’t every big site do this then instead of being at the mercy of the ad market? > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Thankfully, most people don’t use AdBlock, so it’s not a problem. Hmm, you’re pretty fortunate then. Destructoid posted a few months ago that half their users were using Adblock and it was basically killing them. Article here: [http://www.destructoid.com/half-of-destructoid-s-readers-block-our-ads-now-what--247904.phtml](http://www.destructoid.com/half-of-destructoid-s-readers-block-our-ads-now-what--247904.phtml) ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/51 "2013-08-06T01:28:48Z")
As far as adblocking, I’d _consider_ turning off that extension on a site where I could be guaranteed the ads wouldn’t have sound, hyperkinetic graphics that are not only distracting and a waste of my processing power but can be motion-sickness-inducing, or malware. ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/52 "2013-08-06T04:02:14Z")
That’s pretty much the reason I got ad blocking on my computer. There’s one website I’ve frequented for years, but over those years it’s become positively _bloated_ with ads showing up _everywhere_, including in the middle of the articles. They even have popups and popunders. It’s just everywhere. So now I have ad blocking. Those are the ones to be mad at: the ones that go so far overboard that people just reflexively go for ad blocking. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/53 "2013-08-06T11:12:36Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Hmm, you’re pretty fortunate then. Destructoid posted a few months ago that half their users were using Adblock and it was basically killing them. > > Article here: [http://www.destructoid.com/half-of-destructoid-s-readers-block-our-ads-now-what--247904.phtml](http://www.destructoid.com/half-of-destructoid-s-readers-block-our-ads-now-what--247904.phtml) I saw the same article and ran that AdBlock tracker program on my own site. I was as surprised as you were. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/54 "2013-08-06T13:14:51Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Are you actually being serious? So you think Google would still be in its position if it put everything behind a pay wall? Why wouldn’t every big site do this then instead of being at the mercy of the ad market? I suspect JB is not Google. You? I pit-too the notion that any nameless individual can run a site worth any payment whatsoever, unless it has such a strong draw it can run in paid access mode only. As running a website is the next thing to costless these days - maybe $100 a year for registration and quality hosting? - anyone who has to shake down the passersby for operating costs perhaps needs to be in another line of hobby. I run ten right now, including two for community groups, out of pocket change. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/55 "2013-08-06T13:29:47Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > As running a website is the next thing to costless these days - maybe $100 a year for registration and quality hosting? - anyone who has to shake down the passersby for operating costs perhaps needs to be in another line of hobby. I run ten right now, including two for community groups, out of pocket change. I ask again, please share your definition of “shake down.” How is a small advertisement next to an article a “shake down”? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/56 "2013-08-06T14:24:22Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I ask again, please share your definition of “shake down.” How is a small advertisement next to an article a “shake down”? How is someone jingling a cup at you as you walk by NOT one? Most of your opinions seem to boil down to “everyone does it, therefore it’s okay.” The conflict between you and I is that I don’t think mass acceptance of a practice (especially largely passive acceptance) constitutes an ethical basis for following it. Yes, we swim in a sea of advertising. That doesn’t make more of it okay, especially when it’s just random third-party shilling because someone will throw a few click-dollars your way for letting them bug your visitors. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/57 "2013-08-06T14:29:11Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > How is someone jingling a cup at you as you walk by NOT one? What cup? Do you go through magazines and tear out all the ads before you read it? How is a web ad different? You don’t have to click it, but it’s my opinion that purposely blocking it is a jerk move. ---
**Author:** ![eastcheap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@eastcheap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eastcheap)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/58 "2013-08-06T15:59:07Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > How is a web ad different? Speaking for myself, the biggest difference is that I have to _pay_ for the damn things; frequently much more than I pay for the page content I want. No DSL or fiber or cable where I live (geographically, that’s true of most of the U.S., so you Aussies and Kiwis out there aren’t alone). Darn tootin’ I use Adblock and NoScript and do anything else I can to keep things under control. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/59 "2013-08-06T16:08:06Z")
> [@eastcheap](#): > > No DSL or fiber or cable where I live (geographically, that’s true of most of the U.S., so you Aussies and Kiwis out there aren’t alone). Geographically, maybe. But 90% of those who own a computer have it hooked up to DSL, Cable, or Fiber. [http://gigaom.com/2012/09/04/90-of-us-households-with-computers-have-broadband/](http://gigaom.com/2012/09/04/90-of-us-households-with-computers-have-broadband/) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185/60 "2013-08-06T16:17:53Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > What cup? Do you go through magazines and tear out all the ads before you read it? I routinely shake out all the blow-ins and tear out the tear-outs before I start reading, yes. If some form of ad-block existed for magazines, I’d use it. (That includes paying more for magazines I actually want to read, and blunting the influence ad pages have on editoral, which is often considerable and corrosive.) > [@](#): > > How is a web ad different? Because the medium is malleable and it can be blocked. You know WHY it can be blocked? Because it’s being drawn from a third-party location, usually a commercial ad hosting system known to the adblocking list. Right there is the key to the problem: you aren’t running ads as any kind of service to your visitor; they aren’t your ads (which would be impossible to block as part of the site content); you aren’t even selecting the ads to be shown. You’re just pimping out your margins without a thought of anything but a few dollars in click revenue. > [@](#): > > You don’t have to click it, but it’s my opinion that purposely blocking it is a jerk move. And “jerk move” is the very beginning of my epithets for people who basically prostitute their site to carry third-party ads. I guess we’re even. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-with-blu-ray/665185.md?page=4)