The worry and doubt in people's hearts here must be making their fingers tremble because its all too apparent in their responses.

Are HD downloads 1080p now? No. Will they be? Yes, and very soon.

We already have services which allow for download of media on our TVs, why do you think this won't progress any further or that the gap between TV and PC won't blur more is just naive.

I can't say HD downloads will be the mainstream or the future, but I can assure you that I'm one of those who will have no problem skipping adopting Blu-Ray in favor of a format which is a true step forward (if only in convenience) and not just a superficial DVD makeover.

Sony is already banking on the PS4 being exclusively Digital Download Format, and with the PS3 being the flagship in many respects for Blu-Ray, it would seem even Sony has limited ambition for physical formats.

Imagine it, push a new physical format (Blu-Ray) during an uncertain and confusing transitional period forcing people to replace their media libraries while five years down the road planning to make physical media progressively obsolete in favor of a longer term money making venture, sounds like a great way to make money in the short term to me. Exploit the confused and ignorant masses who are baffled by the meriad of Digital and HD TVs available and the slew of emerging formats and media options there of. I don't know why all you assume Sony is this romantic technophile, they've made it quite clear that controlling the content, liscensure and properities of thier media is their top priority. Consumer convenience is something for the PR department to handle, not the R&D. Rootkits and the PS3, to name a few, have made this quite clear.

You're only serving your own selfish beliefs if you honestly think any company won't pull the rug out from underneath you to suit their own interests. I can't say what the future will be, but what I am saying is don't look me in the eye with any confidence and tell me things will be just fine for what you want.

itunes says hi!

The 50in 1080p plasma TVs say hi to your 2in ipod screen...

how many people have big enough hard drives and the fast enough internet to download full 1080p movies.

im not saying it wont happen, but if it does happen, it will take full effect in the next 5 - 10 years.

I guess I didn't get it, I thought you were just acting like an ass. If you were being sarcastic, then I retract.

@Euphoria14 , i like some of your points there, I've always tried to reason that people like to OWN something and it will stay that way for the masses for some time. i never thought about the whole resell aspect of it, that is a HUGE disadvantage for HD d/ls, you were exactly right, if you can't sell it, then you DON'T own it.

@taxman , no sh!t, good one, i hate those stupid little screens. i can barely stand the screen on my psp, and it is VERY big compared to those ipuds.

Well that's not what my ISP says.

http://www.commufa.jp/navi/index.html?link_id=navihead

Well they say up to 100mbps, but yeah Fiber Optical FTW

Oh and before I bought my router I just connected directly to the modem and yeah it still said 100mbps

Sure it could take 5 to 10 years... (I think its more like 3-5 years, but thats my personal guess)

But thats basically how long the Blu Ray should take to hit mass market..

Where not just talking about HD downloads taking share away from Blu Ray, but both formats maturing at the same time.

We already have kids who own Ipods with 500+ songs but never purchased a CD in their life.

What makes people think that the same won't happen with kids having Apple TV loaded with films an not a single Blu Ray?  I don't believe that will be the case with the majority but it will happen...

Physical formats will never be as dominant as the DVD

This thread is wrong: BluRay never had wings.

It still needs to uproot REGULAR DVD (it took DVD 5-7 years to do this for VHS...). Only then can it hope to face off against online downloads which will be far more prevalent at that time.

BluRay is the next Minidisc.

=(

Downloads haven't even beaten CD's yet and it's take years to even do that. CD's still have over 80% market share and downloads less than 20% share of the revenue. Even iTunes with 80% share of the download market is smaller than biggest CD record record labels. Sure, you can easily find kids with over 500 songs but they probably haven't bought none of them.