It seems like it wasn’t too long ago that DVD’s became popular and were all the rage. Then, the next thing you knew, it seemed that there was a new and enhanced DVD player available almost every other month. New TV technologies have come out along with advancements in cinematography. Communications and entertainment technologies continue to change and evolve at an incredible pace.

Not too long ago, with the excitement surrounding high-definition (HD) entertainment, Blu-ray became the buzz that people started talking about.

While I thought it this new technology was cool and became just as excited as the next person, I had my doubts about how great it could possibly be. I mean, what could be so much better about Blu-ray? Wouldn’t the picture quality seem just the same as all the rest after I made the purchased and the novelty wore off?

I refused to give in for quite awhile. My DVD/VHS player worked just fine and movies played great on my nice big flat panel TV. That was until one day when I went to get a DVD out (one of my Netflix rentals) that I had watched the night before and my player wouldn’t turn on! I tried every plug in my apartment, waited a few hours and tried again. Nothing. I needed to return the DVD to Netflix and therefore needed to find a way to get the DVD out.

I figured the best thing to accomplish this would be to completely take apart my DVD/VHS player. Not only would I get the DVD out, but maybe I would figure out why my player wasn’t responding when I plugged it in. I carefully took apart my player and retrieved the DVD without a scratch.

The mess of player parts that sat with me on my living room floor was quite a sight. To my surprise (and I am sure everyone else’s too), I put the player back together just the way it was. “Maybe it just needed a little refreshing” I thought in my hopeful mind.

No such luck. It still didn’t work. After a few days of keeping the broken DVD/VHS player in my apartment, I tried plugging it in one last time and of course, it was true…it was dead. It was six years old! I decided that I would spend nearly as much trying to get it fixed as I would on a new player. This was when I finally gave some real consideration to buying a Blu-ray player.

A few weeks ago, I bit the bullet and bought a Blu-ray player. I was thrilled about the purchase and hooked it up as soon as I got home. I bought a Samsung Blu-ray player to go with my Samsung TV. The player I bought came with Wi-Fi built in (as opposed to Wi-Fi ready), so it was ready to go. I plugged everything in, went through a few setup steps and there it was – the most beautiful HD picture I have ever seen on my TV screen.

Not only is the picture incredible, but there are some really cool features too! I can store photos and videos, stream Netflix or Blockbuster, stream Pandora internet radio, play games and get Samsung apps (I still have to figure this part out to it’s full extent). My Blu-ray player is one of the best electronic purchases I have made in quite some time. I am so happy I decided to buy one after my long period of hesitation.

I love my Blu-ray player and am now trying to convince all of my friends and family members that they need one. For my guy friends that enjoy a video game every now and then, I tell them they must buy a PS3 or other system that is Blu-ray compatible. For my movie fanatic friends, I insist that they get a Blu-ray player. For all of those ones who think I’m just thrilled about my new gadget, I make them come to witness the excitement first-hand and more often than not, they end up going from indifferent to excited and wanting one for themselves.

I adore my Blu-ray player. I guess there is a difference after all…

What new gadgets have you put off buying, then once you decided to go for it, you couldn’t believe you waited so long? Do you own a Blu-ray player? What’s your favorite feature?

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Tags: Blockbuster, Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray Player, DVD, DVD player, electronics, Entertainment, Film, gadgets, high-definition, Movies, Netflix, Pandora Radio, picture quality, repair, Samsung, technology, television, videogames