Why So Blu?

Goodbye To You, Why So Blu!

With the posting of this piece, my tenure at Why So Blu? has come to a close. After 10+ years and publishing over 1,800 reviews and articles, I have returned my keys to the building to Brian White. I walk away on my own accord with nothing but glowing things to say about Brian and my time here writing for the site I’ve called home for so long. No, I have not succumbed to the giant, spooky streaming monster. I will still be collecting, promoting, and having a passion for physical media after this. It’s something that is never going to change in me.

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For those who have been reading and following along with me over the years, you are most definitely owed some more context behind my exit. First, thank you for any and all forms of support over the years. It has meant the world to me, sometimes even keeping me going and preventing me from hanging it up even earlier. When you are on social media or the internet, you have no idea how a little gesture or act you do may have big results for someone. Looking back, even the people who were very negative about me on the various forums at least were paying attention and giving time to the work I was putting in.

I said, “Hanging it up even earlier”. That’s very true. For a few years now, I have been thinking about stepping away. That was a personal goal when I created my podcast, The Brandon Peters Show. I wanted to take everything I was doing (podcasting, writing, 4K/Blu reviewing, etc.) and move it into one single outlet. For one reason or another, I just couldn’t find it in me to make that leap. But now, three years later, life has finally made itself clear: it was time to do it.

Before Why So Blu?, I worked in 3rd party quality control for four years with DVDs and Blu-rays. I was there at the advent of Blu-ray (as well as HD-DVD). I played a role in helping pioneer testing standards and even little quirky things like Beta-testing menus for Criterions as well as making the suggestion to include the little “update your firmware” card inside the amaray cases when non-issue troubles kept coming back from customers in the early days that were merely because they hadn’t updated or known about updating. I left that position 15 years ago this month on the 10th. I started writing Blu-ray reviews on this site in May of 2013. Being involved professionally with physical media has been roughly 15 years of my life. I absolutely love this field; I honestly can’t get enough, which is why it has been so hard to walk away.

Many people, even those who know a lot about this stuff, don’t realize how much time goes into just one review. To start, just think of how long a movie is and how long bonus materials run. When a release boasts “over 15 hours of new bonus features”, for a reviewer, that may not be as exciting as it sounds to someone who just buys it. Then you’ve got to add prepping to write it, writing it, screen capping it, getting those images ready for posting, scoring all the specs, keyword tagging, SEO keys, and then getting it out there to social media. You also email back and forth with studio/marketing firm reps, attempt to hit a release date deadline, and probably some other intangibles I’m not thinking about at the moment. This is all for a single title. 

No, this isn’t fishing for compliments or trying to make you feel sorry for the guy who has free copies of movies and shows for the past ten years, just more an understanding of what kind of work a person is putting in exchange for them. I’m not a fan of every reviewer’s opinion, and even the ones I like least, I still appreciate the effort they are putting in.

In contrast, getting to review DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4Ks also rules. To your casual person showing up at your home, I always have had a collection that seems “a bit much” to them (“Haven’t you heard of Netflix?”). With Why So Blu?/Brian White, my collection skyrocketed from even that crazy amount. We don’t get paid here beyond the Amazon Associates links, but we get free titles. The exchange rate on how those cost to how much time/work is put into a single review is probably quite laughable, but I’ve probably saved a ton of money working here. At the end of 10 years, I’ve probably made at least a low-end year’s salary in discs. You also get them plenty early a lot of the time, and sometimes you get some impressive box sets or movies/editions you otherwise might’ve passed on with your wallet.

Looking back at Why So Blu?, it has been a lot of work, with plenty of stress in trying to power through a stack of discs needing reviewing. But it has come with lots of rewards to reap beyond review copies. I’ve had the man who directed my favorite film of all time praise my Blu-ray review for his movie, The Thing. For Halloween 2018 (the holiday and the year, not the David Gordon Green film), my article documenting the history of the Halloween series (now we are talking movies) on home video wound up with Katie Rife making it the spotlight and subject of the main article that year on the A/V Club (back when it was a more credible outlet). The relationships I’ve made with the studios and marketing firms have been wonderful, highlighting the incredible folks at Shout! Factory/Shout! Studios. They were the first I worked with on my own, and they’ve been nothing but the best.

This all wouldn’t have been possible without Aaron Neuwirth recommending me to site owner and creator Brian White and him giving me a shot. Beyond giving me a shot, Brian has been one of the greatest champions of me and my work. He would go beyond the call of duty to ensure titles were acquired and always stood by me with what I’d written, opined, or wanted to do as an editorial piece with only the most enthusiasm. Whether we would agree or disagree, I never questioned or felt I didn’t have his support. I’ve come across few who are as generous and supportive as Brian. He’s a rare breed. And the rest of the staff here currently – Aaron, Gerard, Adam, Gregg – all swell humans, too!

Brian has always asked, “How do you do it?” regarding my output of reviews, in addition to podcasting, other creative endeavors, having a full-time job, and parenting. Despite my ambition, passion, and drive – my secret is my wife. Without her support, help, and understanding of what I am doing and what it means to me, it would never have been possible or wouldn’t have for as long as it has been. While I’ve sacrificed time doing these reviews and the like, she’s also made sacrifices to allow me to do all these things. To say I’m beyond grateful is merely words I’m writing in this paragraph, and I can’t begin to truly show my appreciation and admiration for her.

What happens from here? While I had dual citizenship in my Blu reviews and podcasting, the time has finally come to move forward with the podcasting. Time isn’t as available as it once was, and podcasting has opened opportunities I would like to put forward the time I do have, be it studies/recording/editing episodes of my own show or now being a part of the crew for PopCon in scheduling and running the Live Podcast Stage and Podcast Awards. There are other endeavors as well that I have been taking on this year (Doctoberfest, HearNow Festival), and some that are not yet announced but will be known in 2024.

Suppose you are someone who has enjoyed my physical media review and news output for the last ten years here at Why So Blu? (or even before that); fear not. This is not the complete end. I will still be creating material about the physical media realm in some capacity; it will just be a little different and not as much or as regularly as you have seen here. As I said, I have a real passion for collecting 4K and Blu-rays, and if I want to record a podcast/video about something newsworthy, a new release I was sent, or talk with a guest on my show about it, I’m going to. I urge you to follow me on social media @brandon4kuhd (X/Twitter, Instagram, and maybe even a TikTok is in my 4K UHD-loving future) and subscribe to my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/brandonpetersshow) as I will be covering/reviewing/discussing/showcasing there as I see fit.

Thank you to Brian White (whom I will forever call “Blu-ray Jesus”). Thank you to the writers I have been privileged to write alongside during my stay. Thank you to Aaron Neuwirth, the spark that created this fire. Thank you to the forum folk who wrote some of the nastiest things about me or my reviews that kept me entertained. And thank you to anyone who took a moment of their time to notice.

It’s the end. But the moment has been prepared for