DVD vs. Blu-ray, from one who went to the other side

So this past Christmas, I did something that I once swore I'd never do: I went Blu, even after all the years I bitched about the format and refused to embrace Blu-ray over DVD.

It actually wasn't an intentional transition, because on a whim, Nora and I bought a widescreen TV the Saturday after Black Friday (somehow still snagging a Black Friday price), and I learned very quickly that a standard-def DVD player isn't going to give the same results on a 720p HDTV. So for Christmas, Nora bought me a Blu-ray player . . . and I have to confess, the Blu-ray experience so far has been pretty good. It took a little while for me to adjust and to learn the breakdown of standard-def vs. high-def, but it's actually very simple:

• Standard-def TV = standard-def disc player
• High-def TV = high-def disc player
• High-def TV combined with a standard-def player = a very large bridge to gap

The thing I had the hardest time adjusting to was the fact that Blu-ray players operate sort of like computers—i.e., they require an internet connection to download software/firmware updates. DVD players (and as I understand it, HD-DVD players before they lost the format war) were mere appliances that didn't require internet connections to download software. In my opinion, the appliance motif was better, because the biggest troubles for me have come when the Blu-ray player downloaded a firmware update that ended up causing more problems than fixing/preventing them (a problem, I understand, that isn't too uncommon in the world of electronics).

My movie purchases have largely been Blu-ray discs since getting the player, though I still get DVDs if a Blu-ray isn't available. And in either case, I'm satisfied with the results on the Blu-ray player, because it upconverts my DVDs pretty well—provided, of course, that it's a decently-produced DVD. Because if it's a crappy DVD release that the studio just phoned in, that's gonna show up tenfold on an HD setup.

I have not gone on a bender of replacing all my DVDs with Blu-rays (I made that decision long ago), but will occasionally upgrade if the DVD doesn't upconvert well, or if it glitches pretty seriously in the Blu-ray player (some DVDs do that, actually!). So far, the upgrades from DVD to Blu-ray have been minimal, and I'm content with that. And for the Blu-ray movies that I own, so far I'm pretty pleased with the results. Apocalypse Now simply looks amazing on Blu-ray, and Collateral shows a vibrant and rich color scheme in HD.

All the same . . .

I feel kinda like a hypocrite, in spite of enjoying the Blu-ray experience, because DVD is still a medium that works, and works well. And it still angers me that there continues to be this forced transition by the industry to move from DVD to Blu-ray. Nowhere is this more apparent than BestBuy, where most stores have given Blu-ray the dominant amount of shelf space over DVDs—an unnecessary move, in my opinion, because even though Blu-ray has seen in increase in market saturation, there's still gonna be a large market segment that won't go high-def, either out of preference or affordability. (And don't get me started on the built-in obsolescence of Blu-ray and DVD in favor of digital downloads.)

Okay, now that I've vented, let me just reiterate that both formats work well, but my recommendation is to utilize only what your setup requires—e.g., you should only consider going Blu if you have an HDTV. It would be nice, I feel, if DVD and Blu-ray could peacefully co-exist, but time will obviously tell there. In the meanwhile, I'll still continue to buy movies in both formats.