For those considering a purchase of the Blu-ray edition of the Wilco doc "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," the band has a word of advice: DON'T. Todd Martens notes this message at the end of a Wilco email: "Without consulting us, the DVD company (not WB/Nonesuch) that released "I am trying to break your heart" is about to issue a Blu-Ray Edition which, no surprise, costs considerably more (nearly 2x) than the standard DVD. We're unsure as to the rationale for the release, given that the film was shot in beautiful grainy B&W and has a stereo-only audio track... there is, in our opinion, not much to be gained by spending the extra cash. It's your money... and in this case you should probably hang onto it." Word. UPDATED: Distributor Plexifilm has changed its mind for now. From an announcement on the distributor's website: "We don’t feel comfortable releasing a version of the film that Wilco might have reservations about. So here’s what we’re doing: we’re postponing the Blu-ray release, to give us an opportunity to show the band the differences between the HD and standard definition versions."[Pop & Hiss, pt. 1, pt. 2]

"Blu-ray is in a death spiral," writes Robin Harris, who says the format is heading straight for niche ignominy. She points to its tiny market share, the coming onslaught of HD downloads and consumers who "don’t care about Blu-ray’s theoretical advantages. Especially during a world-wide recession." And the Blu-ray Disc Association didn't help matters; it "hoped for a massive cash bonanza as millions of consumers discovered that standard DVDs looked awful on HDTV. To cash in they loaded Blu-ray licenses with costly fees... That’s why you don’t see quirky indie flicks on Blu-ray. Small producers can’t afford it - even though they shoot in HDV and HD." Harris does have a few recommendations, though: Recognize that consumers don't need Blu-ray and price accordingly, keep disc margin prices low and take action now. She closes with a line from "The Matrix:" "Like Agent Smith delivering the bad news to a complacent cop: 'No, Lieutenant, your men are already dead.'" [Storage Bits]