Top 5 Reasons Blu Ray will never be in my home

If you google around, you will find lots of discussions on the Blue Ray format controversy. I decided to simply list my top 5 reasons (top 5 not all the reasons) why a Blue Ray DVD player will never enter my home.

1)Freedom and Spyware
I refuse, absolutely, and unconditionally, to be told when, where, how and in what type of machine I am permitted to watch a movie in my own home. Case closed, give it up. I couldn't care less if you would pay me to have the player in my home, make me a movie star, whatever, no one, let alone a corporation, is going to tell me what to do. I also refuse to have my movie watching choices monitored (and potentially screened by who knows?), have my email sold to marketing companies who will them email me with $2.00 coupons for the latest $30 movie title it decided "You might like this". They can all swear up and down that "they take my privacy seriously", but I have the right not to believe them, and I don't. Not since a certain DRM inspired rootkit fiasco.

2)Internet Connection Required
The Blu-Ray FAQ
states that you don't need an internet connection for "basic playback"

Do I believe that, for now, maybe, however, the bait and switch will come. Otherwise, why bother with BD-Plus? BD-Plus allows vendors to download and update codes into your player? If an internet connection is NEVER required, BD-Plus is useless. At some point you will stick in a new Blu-Ray DVD and the machine will stop working and display on the screen "For your viewing pleasure, you will no longer be allowed to watch movies until server validation occurs" because the DVD uploaded the code telling the player you must phone home.

See, for YOUR sake and viewing pleasure, it must be PROVEN that you are behaving like a good little consumer, following their rules. Besides the implications in my first reason, it is impractical. Not everyone has broadband so is it required to install a second phone line, get local unlimited internet dialup access for the privilege of watching a movie. Once you connect once, will they NOW require you are always connected? Does the ISP cost get billed directly to the manufactuer? What if there is no access in the room you want to watch? Are you going to run phone wires through the walls, be forced to purchase a wireless router, etc. The list of problems with this requirement are simply too much to list, and they can change the rules at ANY time (Thanks to DRM)

3) Software Faults and Crackers
Ok, you have your friends over, you slide in the DVD (rented and unfortunately for you, scratched in a critical way causing confusion in the player) and all of a sudden you get a Message on your screen "This DVD can't be certified by our servers, you will NOT be allowed to watch this movie, we're sorry for the inconvenience. If you feel this message is being displayed in error...".

I believe, UNCONDITIONALLY, in your inability to create bug free software. Before you get upset at that, NO ONE, not just you, writes perfect software. As close as it may come is NASA where every line of code is reviewed by 3 people and they strive for 100% complete path testing. If you wanted to achieve that level of quality control, your DVD players would run in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. They won't cost that much, you are not doing that much testing and there will be bugs that impact customers. I have 17 years professionally as a system test engineer, all telecom, and no matter how good it gets, ALL software has bugs.

This will be internet connected device, and is updateable through communication over the net to your servers. The software controls WILL be under attack by skilled crackers, your server(s) may well get compromised by skilled crackers, and when it does, and your server dutifully downloads all the wrong keys disabling thousands of machines, what will you do? After the first successful virus attack is made on Blue Ray devices will you provide, free of charge the anti-virus checker and subscriptions? How about a spyware checker, how about Trojan protection. And NONE of the above is done in ANY way to increase a users enjoyment of a movie.

4) Computer Compatibility
I use Linux. I have never used professionally anything other than UNIX or Linux, and at home, Linux only. 100% of my hardware purchases are made with Linux compatibility in mind. I will never use another OS, and since Blue Ray will ONLY work on a DRM infected operating system, it will never have a place in my computer. You aren't alone though, I will never use or own an iPod, Download DRMed music from anywhere (I don't download any music actually) until and unless FULL Linux compatibility is available and I can listen to the music the way I want, when I want, on whatever player I decide. I threw this in so that you can see that personally, I am not just picking on Blue Ray out of the blue.

5) What do I get?
Seriously, I am not joking, what do I get. I currently have a DVI input big screen TV. You are going to cripple the full HD Effect to non HDMI inputs.

"Also, if this flag is activated, then the player must downgrade any signal that is leaving the device on an analog connection. Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players honor this flag and will only output fvideo at 540p - and as we know 540p is not really high-definition. "

Does anyone reading this think that flag won't be set? I ALREADY get that quality from my upconvert DVD player. Why would I want to put up with #1 through #4 to get an experience I am already getting. Rich interactive experience you say, I say "Go Away". These are the 4 buttons I use when watching a movie. Start, Stop, Pause and Rewind. I have ZERO interest in joining an online discussion group to talk about the movie, or stream in interviews, or whatever other "rich experience" you might have in mind for me. I want to watch a movie, plain and simple.

Well, there you have the top 5. Notice how price isn't even a consideration? The technology makes it unsavory at ANY price. I never did get to the part where you can change the DRM rules as YOU PLEASE at any time and take away something a consumer COULD do in the past. I could make this a top ten, but why bother, isn't 5 reasons enough?

NOTE: HD-DVD is not much, but is a little better, than Blue Ray in my opinion, however, 4 and 5 apply to it, so I'll pass on that technology as well.

Happy Trails

Follow Up Story
Another Blu-Ray Update, Some Good News

TripleII

P.S. All this in a futile effort to eliminate piracy.