MojoLists

Blu-Ray firmware updates are a regular part of life with a Blu-Ray player. Unlike DVD players, where firmware updates were a very rare occurrence, Blu-Ray players require constant updating in order to play the latest movies and the Java based extras they hold. Firmware also updates the audio and video capabilities of the player.

For some of us, the process is as simple as plugging a CAT 5 cable into the back of the player and letting the unit update itself. Others may have to turn their player on, prolonging the already long wait to see the movie menu start. The last way to update the firmware requires the user to either wait for the update in the mail or download it and burn it to a CD. Prior to setting u0p my wireless Ethernet bridge, I was the burn and update kind of guy.

Failure to update the firmware can cause movies to be unplayable or cause all kinds of unforeseen problems. Manufacturers commonly add features which keep the players somewhat future proof. It also allows them to bring a bug filled wreck of a product to market and fix it as they go along. I have not heard of any players that were bug free and just to make you scratch your head, the firmware updates often introduce additional bugs that have to fixed by later upgrades.

The firmware upgrade system isn't clean or even easy in many cases but it does allow Blu-Ray to continue to grow towards being a mature technology. Updates are a fact of life if you have a player and should be done on a regular basis to ensure your player continues to work properly. I don't see an end to the update cycle but hopefully, they will become far less frequent in the future.

Blu-Ray sale pricing has begun to show signs of coming down, not to DVD levels but it is still an improvement. Mainstream titles such as Black Hawk Down, The Shining and Underworld can be found regularly for $14.99 along with a smattering of other archive titles. I picked up MiB and The Fifth Element for $9.99 recently as well.

New releases still seem to be holding to the $22.99 - $29.99 pricing structure but I expect to start seeing these come down over the next year as well. Blu-Ray has continued to show market strength in a difficult economy and can only go up from where we stand today. Archive titles are at a price worth considering VS their DVD counterparts already, at least if you remain patient.  

I have found the best prices at Fry's and Amazon with some surprise bargains at Best Buy. On a side note, for those of us who still have HD-DVD players, Fry's has some very good deals on the remainder of their HD-DVD stock. I picked up Battlestar Galactica: Season 1 for $9.99 and a number of other titles for under $5 recently.

For true bargain hunters, the wait is nearly over and for those simply looking for a good deal to add to their collection, the time has come. Happy Hunting.

It was 1998 when I first started collecting DVDs, and oh what a time it was. Buy one get ones were all over the web, it was difficult to pay more than five or six bucks for a disc back then, if you knew where to go. It was the golden age of collecting and in a very real way, it was responsible for the super fast adoption of DVD.

Blu-Ray has seen its share of buy 2 get one deals, super special pricing and so forth, but it in no way compares to the early days of DVD. It was the perfect storm. I was working for an online company at the time and was very in-tune with the fledgling industry as a whole. The rise of the internet played a big part in the surge of consumer technology. New product news traveled fast and people wanted it, now.

The general idea behind internet sales sites was not to make money, at least not for a few years or even a decade. It was all about being cool and getting as many customers in your doors as possible. Music, movies and book sales were the driving force behind Amazon and many other companies, they practically gave away the media. Just to ensure they were not going to make any money soon, they often threw in free shipping.

I miss those days but I also realize that they had to end in order for these companies to survive. I grit my teeth when I look at prices for new releases and have had to adopt a different mindset when adding to my collection. In the old days. I bought everything the week it came out, assuming it had received high ratings for picture and sound quality. Today it is more difficult to get me out there on any given Tuesday, I can wait most of the time.

Waiting serves two purposes and unless I absolutely know I have to get the movie, I wait. First off, waiting means the price will come down, way down in most cases. Second, I end up finding I really didn't need the movie. I rent it and will probably never watch it again.

Waiting was unthinkable before, I would miss out on the good deals... hey, wait a minute... you know what? That old marketing ploy actually worked. Amazon got me collecting on the cheap, they hooked me like a pusher births a junkie. All those years ago I thought I was taking advantage of these companies but they were just waiting for my addiction to fully kick in.

I don't collect as much crap as I used to and I figure the stores I buy at are even making a little money off of me now. Perhaps Blu-Ray needs to go out and offer up a few cheap highs to the public. It worked in the past, besides, I could deal with a good sale on Blu-Ray movies right now. I still have a taste for the addiction but I am staying on the wagon, at least for now.