TECHNOLOGY, while being brilliant, is a bit of a pain sometimes, and for want of a better clichm, a bit like waiting for buses.
Nothing comes along for ages, and then all of a sudden theres more than necessary.
For example, VHS was first introduced in 1976, and we had to wait until 1996 before DVD was released, but it didnt really take off until the millennium.
Thats a 20-year gap, with the last VHS (A History of Violence) being released in 2006. Blu-Ray, what appears to be DVDs high definition successor, was also released in 2006. And with downloads also becoming popular at the time, the influx of technology has left customers scratching their heads a little.
Firstly, whats the difference between the three formats? Truthfully, not a lot, with downloads starting to support HD clips and Blu-Ray being a step up from DVDs. Although Blu-Ray is of a higher quality, its not a huge leap.
But, the real difference lies in the pricing of the three. Downloads are normally the cheapest, with xBox live and iTunes being the biggest distributors of TV programs.
An iTunes video will set you back around s1.89, with movies being available to rent later in the year.
Add on the BBCs popular iPlayer, and its easy to see why downloading is becoming more and more accepted.
DVDs are still the cheapest physical format, with a rough price of s15 for a new DVD, whereas Blu-Ray is normally s25, so unless you demand the highest quality you can get, its best to stick to DVDs at the moment if budget is an issue.
Or, if money is no object, how much bang are you getting for your notes?
Simply put, you get what you pay for.
Or, at least, you should do, as is the case with DVDs and downloads. However, considering you're paying s25 for a revolutionary disc, its surprising the lack of special features that are on the Blu-Ray discs at the moment.
In fact, youre likely to get more special features from a DVD, as its still the highest selling format.
And what about the technology needed to play the stuff? Downloading should be fine, as long as you have a PC and a solid internet connection, and with DVD players at s20, Id guess very few people dont have a DVD player.
Blu-Ray on the other hand Providing you have a HDTV, a PlayStation 3 or dedicated Blu-Ray player, and a HDMI cable, then consider yourself lucky and able to play them, in all their high-def excellence.
But its not all doom and gloom for Blu-Ray.
The picture quality is the highest you can get on the market; it can store a vast amount of features and is capable of holding 50Gb on a disc.
Soon, Blu-Rays will come with a PSP version on the disc, which can be copied onto a PS3 or PC and then transferred to a PSP. Two copies for the price of one.
There is also an interesting feature allowing people who are watching the same film to instant message each other while the films playing, using a Blu-Ray player, so its not as if the price tag isnt justified.
Even so, in five years time this will be super, but at the moment, its all an empty bag of promises, and for the sake of s10, is it really worth watching something in shiny vision, when a DVD will play the exact same movie?
If history repeats, it will be another 10 years before Blu-Ray can effectively step up to the plate, and by that time, digital downloads, be it free or at a price, should be the most convenient way of getting the latest movies, without looking like theyve been filmed on a muddy camera.
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