TIME helps answer the question: Should you make the jump to Blu-ray?

Posted Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 9:05 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

It's the home entertainment quandry on many consumers minds these days: To go Blu-ray or not.

In the Mar. 2 issue of TIME magazine, writer Richard Corliss helps answer that very question. The movie critic took the plunge himself recently and reports back on his findings. He dishes good and bad on the hi def video format.

First the good:

Pop in some treasured oldie like John Ford's 1956 western The Searchers, and voila! Instant enlightenment... Colors and textures are richly, plausibly vibrant, with an astonishing depth of field... Blu-ray gives a 3-D impression, you could almost walk among and touch them.

Corliss also cites the backward compatibility of Blu-ray. You can play DVDs on your new player, something you couldn't do when you made the jump from VHS or laserdisc to DVD.

And the bad:

DVDs are fine... The Searchers, The Third Man, The Dark Knight and WALL-E all look terrific on DVD. As terrific as on Blu-ray? Not quite. But what are we, eye doctors? And the majority of movies can't be visually sumptuous. You could watch a Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler picture on the oldest TV set, with tinfoil on the rabbit ears, and not miss the important stuff: the comic spectacle of men behaving like boys.

He also speaks of Blu-ray's ultimate doom: digital downloads. He quotes CNET's tech guru David Carnoy, "Digital downloads will not eliminate the need for discs anytime soon." According to Corliss, it'll be a while before downloads can match Blu-ray's quality as bandwidth remains a major hurdle.

Corliss prognosticates a 10 year life span for Blu-ray before downloads take over. Here's how he sums up the Blu-ray question:

Ten years is a lifetime in entertainment technology; it's about as long as the age of DVD. Until the digital millennium arrives, Blu-ray is the best, and best-looking, way to see movies at home. It's less than a revolution but more than a gimmick.

I think that last sentence answers the debate quite nicely. You want the most bang for your entertainment dollar -- especially in today's fragile economy. Home entertainment remains the sound financial choice. And if you want to maximize your investment, Blu-ray is the best bet.

You can read Corliss' full article on TIME.com.