Blu Ray seals their fate*

I have been a long-time A/V nut. If I didn't have a family, or any financial restrictions, I would probably (heh, probably) have a dedicated home theater that would rival Lucas's at Skywalker Ranch.

However, over time, as sucky things like responsibility, looming debt, and family wellbeing become important, I have tempered my home theater desires a bit. My gear is quite meager, but I do stay on top of the latest technological trends.

I've anxiously followed the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray battles. The next format is going to bring us magnificent advances in picture quality. While nowhere near approaching the quantum leap that VHS - DVD was, it will be substantial and will be very influential in setting up the consumer market for the next technological step.

Reading through the specs of both formats, I've been a proponent of Blu-Ray. The discs seem most like DVD in operation, hold more info than HD-DVD and is being supported by Sony who will utilize the format in their upcoming Playstation 3. This practically guarantees a foothold in the market.

I have spent a lot of time arguing Blu-Ray's merits to friends with similar interests. Until today.

This is an old story, but it's the first I've heard of it. That is, I've heard about the digital watermarking and programmable digital cryptography -- that's no biggie. The days of copying rentals had to come to an end eventually.

The problem is that Sony's considering installing self-destruct codes into Blu-Ray players. So if you play pirated material, the players will cease to function. While that may sound like a wet dream to the industry, that's a consumer's nightmare.

First, consider how often you have problems getting something to work right on your computer. Sure, you may have to reinstall drivers or it may be something trite, but it's still an inconvenience. But you're computer, devices and software are created to work right. And they still have issues. So, if something is created to destroy itself, what do you think the consumer confidence is going to be that it won't happen arbitrarily? I have no confidence in that myself.

Second: How are they going to market this feature to consumers? You better not play pirated material or your player will self-destruct in 5 - 4 - 3 ...

Last: Remember the DivX player fiasco? While DivX has gone on to do some really cool stuff on the downloaded video side of the house, their idea for time-stamped DivX discs didn't sell at all. Consumers had no confidence in discs that only played for select time periods.

So, if you're enticed by Blu-Ray, I say forget it. In fact, as the technology comes closer to being released, I say wait for the next generation of players and discs. Wait to see what the early adopters have to say. I'm thinking it's not going to be nice.

*I wanted to say "jumps the shark" but I've used that in two posts recently and I think that uses up my lifetime quota.