Since Blu-ray went obsolete in 2009 ...

[Bligmerk]

With all the next gen bits-n-bites clickety-clickety going on, maybe it would be amusing to review next gen storage, since Blu-ray went obsolete in 2009. Wut?

http://www.pcmech.com/article/guess-...olete-already/
Guess What? Blu-ray Is Obsolete Already

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/com...torage-1099304
Whatever happened to holographic storage?

It's a real chuckle to remember how so many people were saying Sony was totally fucked, how they risked so much on Blu-ray, only to see it go obsolete in 2009. Well, that's what happened, didn't it? Oh wait, that was in the alternate universe timeline scenario. The question always being asked back then was "How can Sony future proof a console when the future wasn't even here yet?".

It will be interesting if Sony unveils a new Blu-ray format or maybe Feb. 20 is the Vio-ray for 4K? There are a lot of purple tinges in that video. Strange, how these "devs", "insiders", and "sources" don't have anything specific to say there, or maybe it isn't that strange, if they don't have a clue...

[Varsh]

In the last year for a lot of first world countries the internet has been exponentially faster and always online which is starting to negate the need for hard copies of software, seeing that most games are still between the 4GB to 15GB range there isn't really a need to swap out the Blu-ray drive neither. It's essential to keep the Blu-ray drive (no need to change it) as I'd imagine more than half of the user base does not have a fast always online connection and so would require a hard copy for their games.

4k might be arriving but it is still going to be far too expensive to implement and purchase a TV with that resolution. The games are struggling at 1920p let alone jumping higher than that! The next generation games will stick to trying to achieve 60FPS at 1920p and not drop anywhere less, if they do then you'll know that 4k is a long long way off. Besides it will take about 4 years before consumers might even contemplate on purchasing a TV of that size let alone have even a single TV station broadcast in that quality as there simply isn't the bandwidth.

[DarkVincent07]

For a while I honestly though the Ps4 would use these holographic disks since every PlayStation console + handheld has had a new/difference media device for games... but eh, 500GB is really NOT necessary at this point in time because the content isn't there.

Though putting all 9 seasons of Seinfeld on 1 disk sounds pretty rad

[Wrath]

Digital is the future! I will rip my entire blu ray collection to the PC and enjoy lossless quality with a click of a button.

[Dave-The-Rave]

Game sizes are only going to get bigger next gen and it takes long enough to download a current gen game off the Playstation Store, we are still a while off complete digital.

[Ghost-Rhayne]

WAYYYY off from digital only. Data plans and net speeds still suck ass for many people. Simply isn't gonna happen. Physical media stays here for the time being.

[Wrath]

I wasn't even referring to the general public. All I know is that from now on every game will be downloaded from the PSN store and every blu ray will immediately be ripped to my PC right after buying it. This way, I will have a massive digital movie/games collection a few years down the road when things are really going to pick up.

And with amazing tools like Plex or XBMC you will never want to go back again.

Just take a look:

[billm0066]

Maybe when Google can roll out fiber to more than a few blocks in one city we will be set. Even Fios coverage is pretty small. I think most people are stuck at 3mbps-30mbps.

[Bligmerk]

Digital distribution has grown a huge amount since the PS3 came out but it looks to still be a few years before there's enough widespread bandwidth to totally displace physical media plus we know now what it's like to totally depend on an online connection, then to have it go out for whatever reason (people are accidentally cutting fiber all the time).

With the PS3, we have games like inFamous, Uncharted and several others that are challenging the limit of dual layer Blu-ray, 50GB, right now. PSN, or SEN now, has spearheaded the way for multi-gigabyte digital downloads but it is still a secondary choice for most.

There is virtually no doubt the PS4 is going to support 4K. The PS2 spearheaded 480p with DVD, the PS3 spearheaded 1080p with Blu-ray. No reason to back tread how both consoles were the primary content delivery systems in the beginning. The same situation is setting up for 4K, there are very few 4K content source delivery systems now. Sony has had to push the technology forward before, they will do so again.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...adcasts-415827
Japan Planning 4K TV Broadcasts in 2014

The Japanese government has said they are doing this to start the drive to 4K. Sony is a major player in this. UltraHD may be adopted slower than even HD has been, but it is going to happen. In fact, the major manufacturing suppliers are pushing to start introducing 8K but that is another topic.

This is from 2010. No doubt, there has been a lot of development since then:

http://www.slashgear.com/sonys-blue-...u-ray-2395219/
Sony’s Blue-Violet Laser Will Bring 20x More Capacity Than Blu-ray

With developers like Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch, there is no doubt they will have ideas for what to do with more storage space. It might be awhile for 4K games to show up but, again, Sony future proofs their consoles to the extent they can. All indicators point to the PS4 having the next physical media beyond Blu-ray. Maybe Blu-ray does go obsolete in 2014, or at least, gets outdated.

[Blacksite]

Digital is the future! I will rip my entire blu ray collection to the PC and enjoy lossless quality with a click of a button.

There was a rumor recently that both Sony and Microsoft had abandoned the idea of going all-digital with their next-gen platforms. Personally, I'm glad to hear it.

[Wrath]

There was a rumor recently that both Sony and Microsoft had abandoned the idea of going all-digital with their next-gen platforms. Personally, I'm glad to hear it.

They still offer it though as an alternative. There even is a 27GB Ni No Kuni on the PSN so I'm sure they will push it even further in the future.

[radgamer420]

There was a rumor recently that both Sony and Microsoft had abandoned the idea of going all-digital with their next-gen platforms. Personally, I'm glad to hear it.

I heard the same thing and I'm also glad to hear it. I'm sure that there will be a DD option for every title released but physical media isnt going away just yet.

[DarkVincent07]

I heard the same thing and I'm also glad to hear it. I'm sure that there will be a DD option for every title released but physical media isnt going away just yet.

It will likely go the way of Music CDs. You can still buy them and they will never die but most people have a digital library

[radgamer420]

It will likely go the way of Music CDs. You can still buy them and they will never die but most people have a digital library

Eventually yes but music files are alot smaller than next gen game files will be. And with many US IP's imposing bandwidth caps I dont see physical media being displaced until there is the proper internet infrastructure. But youre right its heading in that direction and for the next gen I believe there will be both digital and physical options for every game the day of release. Sony has already been doing this with alot of titles. You can even preorder your digital copy.

[DarkVincent07]

Eventually yes but music files are alot smaller than next gen game files will be. And with many US IP's imposing bandwidth caps I dont see physical media being displaced until there is the proper internet infrastructure. But youre right its heading in that direction and for the next gen I believe there will be both digital and physical options for every game the day of release. Sony has already been doing this with alot of titles. You can even preorder your digital copy.

The complete Vita library is like this. But yeah, When I have the choice I will ALWAYS go physical. Always.

Anyway, enough slight off topic from me ><

[radgamer420]

Yep me too.

[Morganator]

Eventually yes but music files are alot smaller than next gen game files will be. And with many US IP's imposing bandwidth caps I dont see physical media being displaced until there is the proper internet infrastructure. But youre right its heading in that direction and for the next gen I believe there will be both digital and physical options for every game the day of release. Sony has already been doing this with alot of titles. You can even preorder your digital copy.

The actual main hurdle for the USA isn't the technology in itself or the actual infrastructure upgrades that would be needed. It's those damn antiquated telecom laws that need a repealing and reconstruction from the ground up. It's the bureaucracy. If it wasn't for these laws, we'd all have between 10Gbit-1Tbit connections by now.

[Varsh]

And with amazing tools like XBMC you will never want to go back again.

Just take a look:

Already been running on my Raspberry Pi for the last 3 months. It has totally replaced my PS3 as a media centre!