Zoe takes the Blu-Ray plunge

Ok, I took the plunge. I am now the happy owner of an “entry level “ Blu-ray player.  I have been putting this purchase off because I have backed the wrong horse more than once, Beta anyone? And I was the proud owner of an HD player that a friend got me. (Just for perspective, when Blu-ray was announced the winner I went on e-bay and discovered that my HD player was now worth 52 cents. can you say paperweight?) So I really do have enough old AV equipment to build a house using their carcasses as walls.  But I am also supposed to be leading folks with my tech acumen (har har) and so that makes the
Blu-ray an important device for me to get.

We have been bringing a few Blu-ray movies here and there, mostly big pretty family friendly movies.
(see list below) We are keeping an eye out for the movies with deep beautiful color saturation and sweeping epic designs.  We want your first experience with Blu-ray to be dazzling.

So when I got my player set up and shoved in a disc, I chose to play “The 5th Element”. I skipped ahead to the scene with the Diva on the luxury star ship. I wanted big, pretty, sweeping.

What I got was Spectacular! I remember seeing this movie in the theatre twice because I knew I would never get to see the colors like they were on the big screen on a TV. And though I have seen it on my very serviceable DVD player on my very serviceable TV, I was not expecting the experience I had with my new Blu-ray. It was like I was seeing it in the theatre again, vibrant, dazzling, and almost too detailed. Did you know that during one earlier scene, (because yes, I watched the whole movie again, twice!) Ian Holmes has a bloodshot eye? Well, I know this now. The detail is startling.  And I have only just begun to find all the cool extras, designed to make movie nerds the absolute kings of all trivia and cool information. I will most likely be playing around with my new toys for a long time before I get tired of it.

So I guess the question is, should you go blu-ray or not? If you have a TV with a 1080p resolution, then just bite the bullet and get the “cheap” entry level player. And since Blu-ray is backward compatible (meaning that you can watch your current collection of DVD’s on the player, unlike VHS to DVD) It seems like it might just be worth it. Watch the papers this Holiday season because I bet the prices will all drop a bit on players and discs.

Just know that we are carrying discs and will carry more and more as they become available. Blu-ray is not going away, that is for sure. And after my first experience with it, I now understand why. But also, don’t panic, this is going to be a much more gentle transition and you won’t be stuck with a bunch of movies you can’t watch (VHS anyone?).

Remember you can always ask us about your choices and request movies for us to purchase for the store.  That way our collection and yours will grow.

So go forth into the Blu-ray night. All is fine.