Since this post was originally made, there have been some minor improvements in consumer/prosumer Blu-Ray Disc creation. Most of those are simply in the ease of authoring discs, through software such as
TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4, or
Sony Vegas Video 8 with the optional DVD Architect 5.
However, the playability of BD-RE in Blu-Ray decks is still hit-of-miss, according to various (angry!) user reports out there.
I still firmly believe Blu-Ray is the answer to a question nobody ever asked. It's on par with S-VHS or Laserdisc, destined to niche status favored by a relatively small amount of self-proclaimed die-hard enthusiasts. Solid-state and on-demand media is the future, powered by downloads, hard drives and thumb drives. Discs have fallen out of favor, due to scratches, skipping lasers, and things of that nature.
I still watch the Blu-Ray status regularly, and have yet to see prices or functionality exceed the abilities of DVD, or answer the questions consumers are really asking. Price alone has been a primary killer, in an economy that now (rightfully) villifies high-dollar wasteful luxury expenses.
Higher definition may be its primary advantage, but in a world fascinated by Youtube and iPods, such detailed-oriented imagery is clearly not a priority of the masses.
