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Miscellaneous laptop discussions : Why Blu Ray?
Why Blu Ray?
by penaltybox - 9/8/08 2:29 PMSorry if this has been asked, but I searched the forums and couldn't find anything on point. I'm looking for a new laptop. I'd like to spend less than $1000.00. There seems to be a significant price jump for laptops with blu ray capability. I'm trying to decide if it's something I need, or is otherwise worth it. To ask a no doubt stupid question: is the only reason to get blu ray so that you can watch blu ray DVD's on your laptop?
Supplementary question: if I go the blu ray route, should I get one that burns as well as plays? i.e., can you even burn blu ray quality DVD's?
Again, sorry if this has already been canvassed. Any advice would be much appreciated! I've asked some sales clerks, but they just go into hard sell mode.
Blu-ray is a high capacity . . .
by Coryphaeus - 9/8/08 5:55 PM In reply to: Why Blu Ray? by penaltyboxstorage device. It'll hold much more data than DVDs, and, as such, will hold true HD movies. Do you want to watch an HD movie on a laptop screen? Not me. That said, there are BR burners, and the software to do this. And they can store a very large amount of data, up to 25 GB of data. That's a lot of backup storage.
For the definitive answers to your questions, go here http://www.blu-ray.com/info/
As far as I'm concerned, a BR drive does not belong on a laptop.
Thanks
by penaltybox - 9/9/08 8:19 AM In reply to: Blu-ray is a high capacity . . . by CoryphaeusHear what you're saying. It's just frustrating - - - you know that blu ray is probably going to be standard on laptops in about a year, and that prices will probably drop to what they are now for non-blu ray capability. Problem is, I need a laptop now, not a year from now. Nature of the beast, I guess.
If I'd had better hind sight . . .
by Coryphaeus - 9/9/08 12:36 PM In reply to: Thanks by penaltyboxOne option for Blu-ray. If the laptop has an HDMI output, and if you have an HD TV with HDMI input, you could use the laptop as a Blu-ray player. This would be the only reason I'd buy a laptop with a BD player. But then again, I couldn't tell you the last time I rented any movie.
Some people use
by orlbuckeye - 9/9/08 12:36 PM In reply to: Thanks by penaltyboxthe Bluray laptop with a HDMI cable connected to their flat screen HDTV along with the other benefits it gives for the laptop.
Check the media price!
by Pilaar39 - 9/12/08 8:51 PM In reply to: Blu-ray is a high capacity . . . by CoryphaeusBefore you even think of using Blu-ray to store or archive data, take a look at the price of the media: about $20 per disc for 25GB, and $40 per disc for 50MB. Might be worth waiting a few years until the price comes down.
The number of times I burned coasters using CDs and DVDs scares the heck out of me going to Blu-ray - imagine burning a $40 coaster!
Re: Why Blu Ray
by Fatboy71 - 9/12/08 11:51 PM In reply to: Why Blu Ray? by penaltyboxJust a thought but if you have a Playstation 3, and a High def TV then you would be able to watch Blu Ray movies on this. If you have the PS3 then you could simply purchase an external Blu Ray drive and connect this into your present laptop and save yourself quite a bit of money in the process.
Here are some results from a Google on external Blu Ray drives.
Blu Ray external hard drive results
by Fatboy71 - 9/12/08 11:56 PM In reply to: Re: Why Blu Ray by Fatboy71Here is the link I mentioned in my earlier post, I forgot to add it oops.
http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=external%20blu%20ray%20drive&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf
Worth it
by abqdsm - 9/13/08 2:11 PM In reply to: Why Blu Ray? by penaltyboxI have a playstation 3 as well as a blu-ray reader in my laptop and personally i wouldn't trade them in for anything. On the right TV or laptop screen its gorgeous. And as was pointed out, holds a ton of data. Prices will drop becuase I'm convinced that blu-ray isn't going anywhere and evidence is go look at Best Buy. The amount of movies that have been re-released it insane. But if movie watching is something you do i would bite the bullet and get the best now.
Blu Ray
by Fatboy71 - 9/13/08 2:20 PM In reply to: Worth it by abqdsmI agree, on a good high def TV the picture quality is outstanding. I can remember about 12 months ago in my local HMV store, they had a little bit on the stands next to the DVD's where they had a small number of Blu Ray and HD DVD disks. Now 12 months later in the same store they have a stand the full length of the back wall of the building solely for Blu Ray films.
Blue Ray
by Renegade Knight - 9/15/08 11:07 AM In reply to: Why Blu Ray? by penaltyboxYou don't yet need blue ray for a lap top. It's not worth the 500 or 600 in extra cost. When the time comes when you will want and need it you will either be looking for a new Laptop or you can buy a USB 3.X blue ray drive.
Might want, but don't need.
by albizzia - 9/16/08 10:51 PM In reply to: Why Blu Ray? by penaltyboxYes, the only real use for a Blu-Ray player on a laptop is to play Blu-Ray movies. Unless you've got a large screen on that laptop, HD video is overkill.
Most software is on CD-ROM disks, a handful are on DVD-ROM, none are on Blu-Ray now and very few titles are forseen anytime soon.
Now a Blu-Ray recorder stores a lot of data on each Blu-Ray disk, and that might be nice for backing up everything or working with very large video files. However, it would definitely drive the price well above your $1,000 limit, and the media is very expensive. A DVD recorder would be much more affordable and should store full backups on just a few inexpensive disks. A CD recorder is the bargain basement choice.
I can remember a time when DVD recorders were costly, and a time before that when CD recorders were also expensive. So perhaps in a few years Blu Ray recorders will be cheap and common - about the time something new and expensive comes along!
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