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Headgeek has chosen HD-DVD... Here's Why...
Hey folks, Harry here... Sorry about the lack of DVD reports over the last couple of weeks - In some bizarre act of God - both my Bedroom and Living Room DVD units decided to die on me. It was right as I was about to put in my Katharine Hepburn collection...
When equipment dies on you... especially the same kind of equipment... on the same day... well it just makes you think... what am I doing? What's wrong? Is this the time to upgrade?
At the same time - ads began appearing on AICN for Toshiba's HD-A2 HD-DVD Player
So today - I finally went over to Best Buy to pick one up for $299, the advertised price... Of course, they were out of stock - but they did have the display model, which had never actually even been hooked up - and I'd get a $100 gift card - that I'd use to pick up a few titles.
What made me go HD DVD?
The kicker is... that it can play the 9000 or so DVDs I already have, as well as the HD DVDs. That Backwards compatibility feels right. Also - from the demonstrations I've seen, HD DVD looks better than the BLUE RAY discs. I also love that the player has an upconversion that raises the quality of my existing DVD library to 720p and sometimes 1080i. I've already tested it out and DVDs that I watched last time I watched them - look better than they had before.
I also have a habit of picking the winning formats. I could be wrong this time, but most of my filmmaker friends, in fact all of them that I have had a conversation regarding this with... have told me... HD DVD is the format to go with.
So - Curious to hear what my first 3 titles in the new format were that I bought?
Well...
The Complete Matrix Trilogy
I just got finished watching the first film projected 10 ft wide in crystal clarity. The sound was awesome and I'm sold. I picked this trilogy because I wanted to see a film series that is stunningly cinematic that never really looked great on my projector before. This is just stunning. But it isn't what I looked at first... or even second.
The first film that I picked up to buy in HD DVD was:
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)
Along with the 1933 KING KONG, my favorite film of all time is THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. The Technicolor is unmatched in human history. The score, my favorite score in film history. The adventure, my favorite. The cast, perfection... I put this HD DVD in first. I wanted to see... just how beautiful my co-fave film of all time would look. I've seen it in 35mm countless times and yet, i've never seen it digitally look like anything other than... well a gorgeous dvd. I was wanting something more.
When that Parchment hit the screen, my jaw hit the floor. It was... flawless - by the time I got to the live-action part i was just wanting to lick the screen. The colors were like some living candied cinema for my eyes to love on. There was Flynn, Rathbone, Hale, de Havilland, Claude Rains and the others. They were stunning. They didn't look alive in my living room, they looked like they were simply perfect. Korngold's score lifting me up. This was exactly what I wanted the format to be. Perfection perfectly presented in my living room.
Then, the second HD DVD that I placed in to look at was:
EXCALIBUR
Wow. I haven't seen this film, this beautiful, since I first saw this film back in 1981. The 35mm prints that i've seen since then look like they've been chewed up. I do have a 16mm print, but it has a couple of light lines here and there. But this was PERFECT.
Of the 1980s films, EXCALIBUR is perhaps in my top 5. As I child, my parents took me to see this so many times, I can't even process how many times I've seen it. John Boorman's take on the Arthurian legend, I feel, will never be topped.
I love that this is where I first discovered Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Patrick Stewart. But more than that... this is my favorite fantasy. The music is stitched to every image. My first girlfriend's father made Merlin's skull cap and staff... and all of Guenevere's jewelry.
For people that are just now discovering Helen Mirren - run, don't walk, to see this movie - in any and all formats... but this format is the best i've seen it since 1981.
I can remember being 9 years old and watching this at the Highland Theater. I can also remember seeing it at the Drive-Ins. And I can remember every moment. The fog looks so stunning.
I can't wait to rediscover my favorite films. Don't worry though, I'll still be reviewing regular DVDs - but I'm also going to be reviewing HD-DVDs. I'm sold on the format, I just can't wait to see what else is coming up in the format.
So, have I chosen wrong? I don't think so, what do you think?
The Complete Matrix Trilogy
I just got finished watching the first film projected 10 ft wide in crystal clarity. The sound was awesome and I'm sold. I picked this trilogy because I wanted to see a film series that is stunningly cinematic that never really looked great on my projector before. This is just stunning. But it isn't what I looked at first... or even second.
The first film that I picked up to buy in HD DVD was:
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)
Along with the 1933 KING KONG, my favorite film of all time is THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. The Technicolor is unmatched in human history. The score, my favorite score in film history. The adventure, my favorite. The cast, perfection... I put this HD DVD in first. I wanted to see... just how beautiful my co-fave film of all time would look. I've seen it in 35mm countless times and yet, i've never seen it digitally look like anything other than... well a gorgeous dvd. I was wanting something more.
When that Parchment hit the screen, my jaw hit the floor. It was... flawless - by the time I got to the live-action part i was just wanting to lick the screen. The colors were like some living candied cinema for my eyes to love on. There was Flynn, Rathbone, Hale, de Havilland, Claude Rains and the others. They were stunning. They didn't look alive in my living room, they looked like they were simply perfect. Korngold's score lifting me up. This was exactly what I wanted the format to be. Perfection perfectly presented in my living room.
Then, the second HD DVD that I placed in to look at was:
EXCALIBUR
Wow. I haven't seen this film, this beautiful, since I first saw this film back in 1981. The 35mm prints that i've seen since then look like they've been chewed up. I do have a 16mm print, but it has a couple of light lines here and there. But this was PERFECT.
Of the 1980s films, EXCALIBUR is perhaps in my top 5. As I child, my parents took me to see this so many times, I can't even process how many times I've seen it. John Boorman's take on the Arthurian legend, I feel, will never be topped.
I love that this is where I first discovered Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Patrick Stewart. But more than that... this is my favorite fantasy. The music is stitched to every image. My first girlfriend's father made Merlin's skull cap and staff... and all of Guenevere's jewelry.
For people that are just now discovering Helen Mirren - run, don't walk, to see this movie - in any and all formats... but this format is the best i've seen it since 1981.
I can remember being 9 years old and watching this at the Highland Theater. I can also remember seeing it at the Drive-Ins. And I can remember every moment. The fog looks so stunning.
I can't wait to rediscover my favorite films. Don't worry though, I'll still be reviewing regular DVDs - but I'm also going to be reviewing HD-DVDs. I'm sold on the format, I just can't wait to see what else is coming up in the format.
So, have I chosen wrong? I don't think so, what do you think?
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I agree that HD-DVD has much better titles right now, I was very tempted with Children of Men and The Big Lebowski. But Blu Ray discs are already outselling them by a 3:1 margin.
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The difference in quality between the two is negligable, but it looks like this format war is Blu-Ray's to lose...
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i havnt liked the blu ray stuff i've seen so far.
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Although I myself am on the fence about doing any type of upgrading at the moment. Everytime I see a display for Blu Ray, it just seems overdone and such.
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Didn't the porn companies pick Blu-Ray? They're usually the best as far as trends to follow...I'll wait until there's one left standing!
Oh, BTW, FIRST! -
Anyone?
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but that 3 to 1 wont be like that for long especially when hd porn hits ....
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AM I first?
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No question.
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I worked at Best buy for a long time........and there has to be a reason it has a 100 dollar gift card instead of the 10% $30 one that is standard..... or you're a good haggler.......and oh yeah the matrix rules... screw the naysayers
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Guess Not
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And I believe the porn companies have picked HD DVD. Great choice, Harry!
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News to me.
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Blu-Ray is DOMINATING HD-DVD, and there are SO many gret titles that are not and will not be available on HD-DVD. Studios that were exclusive to HD are now, or soon will be, doing Blu-Ray, but it's not happening the other way around.I'm afraid you picked wrong this time, Harry.
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mini disk and memory stick, in particular. I prefer HD DVD on that basis.
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I'll let the market decide. Everyone who bought betamax, digital tapes, and minidiscs (me, me, and me) should sit this one out.
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I have faith in Porn
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What a shameless plug...really.
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...the whole format war will be long over. So that's both a happy thing and a depressing thing. But oh well. That's the way it goes. I still collect VHS movies and love my awesome-as-hell VCR more than any DVD player I've ever come across, so I guess I'm living in the past. But as for the whole HD DVD vs. Blu Ray, well, I haven't seen a ton of Blu Ray in action, but I remember going to a store when HD DVD first came out that had a travel DVD (with footage of Greece or something) looping on one of the new players and it blew my fucking mind. The clarity was stunning. I fucking loved it. So, either way, all I know is that I'm jealous of Harry now.
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Neither format shows signs of bowing out anytime soon...I have both and frankly I usually can't tell a difference in quality between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. HD-DVD would be my pick though, they've got their shit together. Video picture in picture commentaries are a great extra and HD-DVD has had support for that built in since day one...Blu-Ray is still playing catch up since they didn't include it as mandatory in their hardware specs...THE DESCENT and CRANK both decided to do a workaround by including two full versions of the film, one standard version and one with the PiP box bunred into the picture, which works but takes up unnecessary space on the disc. In the end, the picture looks great either way, so who gives a shit which format ends up on top?
Sidenote, I bought Casablanca on HD-DVD and yes it's B&W and 4:3 but for a film that's 60 years old, it looks absolutley stunning, I would definitely recommend that... -
I jumped on HD DVD back in November and haven't looked back. People who think Blu Ray is dominating don't have a clue. The HD-A2 recently hit #1 in ALL OF ELECTRONICS AT AMAZON, and all the HD DVD players are far above any blu ray players. The only thing keeping blu ray alive is the PS3, and sales of that are slowing down every week. HD DVD is awesome, no blu ray movie outmatches the quality of HD DVD. Plus, HD DVD has its special features GUI working correctly, unlike blu ray. These past two weeks have put HD DVD above blu ray, and it's not going to slow down now.
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And Blu-Ray is outselling HD-DVD 3-1. What's more, look at studio support. It overwhelmingly favors Blu-Ray. All of the titles you picked up will be available on Blu-Ray in the future. What's more, the PS3 can upgrade regular DVDs to 1080p (I've seen it, looks pretty great). Oh, and saying HD-DVDs look better than Blu-Ray (or vice versa) is almost always either a case of not telling the truth or extreme bias, because the image quality is typically taken from the exact same transfer (if it's a film from a studio that supports both formats like WB). All in all, if Universal announced tomorrow that they were going to put their films out on Blu-Ray, the format war would be over.
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Ah well, what do I know about porn? Anyway, I think you chose HD DVD because Michael Imperioli said to.
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Without the PS3, I'm sure HD DVD would be far ahead. But aren't the studios overwhelmingly supporting Blu-Ray?
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I figure in 2 years they'll be 40 bucks on the walmart shelves too.
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matrix best hd dvd and lord of the rings to follow soon ... and casino royale best blu ray disc ever .... go both formats you cant loose
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and right now... there's something along the lines of 545 titles on HD DVD and only 62 for Blue Ray. That's nearly getting close to 10 to 1 in terms of selection. AND - a lot of Reg DVDs are beginning to master in higher resolutions - like I'm watching a reg. DVD that was actually mastered at 1080i, that I had seen in my other player - and now... it's just perfect.
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hd and regular dvd like the superman returns hd dvd .... and the donner cut in hd dvd was fucking great ......
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...a DVR type product that just lets you download, or chose on demand, HD quality movies. Fuck picking a disc type. HD is the future, but I'm with Mori when he says that DVD will be the last successful hard copy movie format.
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Doesn't the fact that Blu Ray has more storage capacity mean that the picture quality and sound will be better than HD-Dvd?
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I think this is the trump card over porn. Plus, Blu-Ray has more capacity and the studios seem to be shifting to embrace the format (Blu-Ray allows for greater copy protection).
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There's really no difference between the two formats. Whoever hits the $199 or lower price point will win. No one will by BluRay player for $1000+ even if they gave free handjobs with it.
Anyway, has Sony EVER supported a winning format? Betamax, minidisc, ATRAC, etc. Not the best track record there. -
The real numbers are:
184 HD DVD titles.
252 Blu-Ray titles.
And, as previously mentioned, Blu-Ray is outselling HD DVD at a ridiculous rate. -
Katherine Hepburn
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May 30, 2007 8:35:00 PM CDT
no it just means you can get a whole season on one disc
by jeanluc dickhard
wait till battlestar comes out on hd dvd
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Story a few months ago was that Sony refused to grant a license or whatever to any company that was going to press Blu Ray discs, so porn took up HD-DVD.
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I can't believe that no one's pointed out that both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players will play DVDs. I'm still abstaining until the war is over, but if I do give in I'll pick up a player that will do both.
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as PS3 games are Blu-Ray disc, so the comparison is pretty false as it's not a movie to movie comparrison. If we want to see the real numbers one would need to subtract all PS3 software that has been sold thus far from the numbers.
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I've not bought a dvd in months I'm just burning everything till they figure it out cause I'm not going to sink money into discs I'm just going to wind up buying again to have on a Hi-Def format.
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May 30, 2007 8:45:51 PM CDT
northen exposure right now can be seen in universal hd
by jeanluc dickhard
universal movies are all headed to hd dvd, its the safest bet that northen exposure is headed to hd dvd
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Even if you argue the numbers are mixed up or changed or whatever, it still indicates that Blu-Ray is selling better than HD-DVD -- I work at best buy and I have yet to see anyone buy an HD-DVD while I've sold quite a few blu-ray discs -- but basically every major studio except Universal supports Blu-Ray while there are quite a few Blu-Ray exclusive studios.
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Before VHS, people had to resort to visiting an adult movie theater . VHS allowed one to watch porn in the privacy of his or her own home, thus removing the potential embarrassment of being seen walking out of the wrong theater on a Sunday afternoon.
These days, thanks to the Internet, porn is everywhere and only a mouse click away . It’s something to be experienced on a small computer monitor measured in inches, not a large screen that could be measured by the foot. So the Porn industry is no longer the deciding factor when it comes to a format war. I can't remember the last time, or ANY TIME that I actually bought porn on a DVD or VHS. Why? when it's so abundant on the internet.
Sorry, but I'm afraid Bluray will win this one. I've been following this format war for a while, trying to decide which to buy. PS3 are selling, and they are not likely to stop selling. The ones already sold aren't going anywhere, and the demand for Bluray movies will continue to rise. There's a slim possibility that both formats will co-exist in some ways, but it doesn't look like it. Bluray movies are selling very well, and there are more titles. There are more studio support as well. So if you love movies, Bluray is the one to pick. I think you'll be buying a Bluray player in the near future.
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is it pointless to get either a hd or blu ray if your television only has 480p - 1080i capability?
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Nielsen is only tracking Blu-Ray movies. I mean, they're Nielsen Videoscan, why would they bother with Blu-Ray game discs? It's just a fact that Blu-Ray movies are outselling HD-DVD by a wide margin. Advantage for HD-DVD: You get most of Hitchcock's films and some of Spielberg's. Advantage for Blu-Ray: You get Fox (Die Hard), Columbia (James Bond), Sony (Spider-Man), Disney (hell, any Disney classic). Disney could be the clincher. Parents are going to want the format that gives them the opportunity to show Disney movies to their kids.
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It'll be time for HVD anyway. Sorry, but with a high-quality upscaler for my DVD to my hi-def plasma, and more Hi-Def content coming in over cable and satellite all the time, there's simply not enough incentive to invest in one of these stop-gap formats over another. Neither format is offering enough to not be COMPLETELY blown away by the next technology, which simply isn't that far off.
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most movies come out for both formats and i usually get hd dvds but when a movie is out only for blu ray i'll get it like rocky balboa looks great in blu ray animal house looks fantastic in hd dvd
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...there was a study done recently and most people can't tell the difference once the resolution hits 720p so I wouldn't worry about needing a 1080p display.
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Before deciding to pick HD-DVD?
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"The kicker is... that it can play the 9000 or so DVDs I already have, as well as the HD DVDs. That Backwards compatibility feels right."
sorry Harry, Bluray plays DVD just as well as HD-DVD. So that point is moot.
P.S. you beat me to it anchorite regarding the porn argument -
...they're just horrifically expenisve, the first one that can do both discs with full interactivity is 1200 bucks.
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HD-DVD has cheaper players... Blu Ray has more exclusives. Really, Harry, if you are truly a movie geek you should have both formats and a huge HDTV or projector. I would expect that the best possible picture and sound would be a priority for you.
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the quality is too good if that makes any sense. The contours surrounding moving objects in a high definition image is so sharp that it renders them as 2 dimensional. Regular dvd's have a sligh blur that blends the contours giving objects an appropriate dimensional perspective. Hi Def might look clear, but it also makes people look like carboard cutouts.
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...I believe they were too expensive to produce and then projectors caught on so they just kind of went away.
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i'm in canada...ottawa to be precise and i have to say, i've yet to see one store selling blu ray but i'm seeing more and more HD titles now and the thing is i dont even care, i dont go out of my way looking for either, i just started noticing how many HD titles are out there. so maybe i'm just literally not seeing the blu rays and this isnt an answer to who is outselling who but yeah
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There is no war when one format is outselling the other. The gap will not close, it will just get bigger.
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HD was way ahead before christmas. Right after christmas, BR shot to the forefront - probably due to the combination of the Playstation 3 having vouchers for free BR disks and the fact that the system has crap for games, so people bought movies to justify the system.
Because of this, for all of 2007, BR's market share is 67% while HD-DVD's is only 33%. BUT if you go by weekly, the week of 5/20, it was BR 58%, HD 42%. HD's catching back up. Probably due to the fact that PS3 owners are finally getting some games/running out of vouchers and HD is releasing more movies again like the Matrix trilogy. The battle's far from over. HD is still cheaper, and they have the backing of the porn industry. PLUS they've delivered on promises BR has broken, I.E. dual formatted disks.
With the dual players coming out, there may not be a winner - but there's still a long way to go.
And that's just software - HD's kicked BRs butt consistently on hardware sales. -
I'm a pretty big movie guy and my collection is pushing 800. I was in that mid-90's wave that ran out and got DVD shortly after it hit the shelves (and my player cost me near a thousand CDN). But the DVD to VHS switch...it was more than just picture and sound quality. It was scene selection, special features, no more rewinding. And VHS had been mainstream for almost 20 years, and there was a push for that technology to catch up to computers and audio. When I bought my DVD player, I was watching it on a 20" tv in my small college apartment - I didn't need one, but I knew I wanted one. Now, 10 years later, with a solid home theatre in the basement of my house, I feel no real desire or pressure to jump on a new format, spending hundreds of dollars on hardware and paying a premium for the discs, just because the picture is better. My DVDs work on my laptop, I already have one central set up for movies, games, and audio. All HD (or Blu-Ray) offers is better picture and sound. It's not enough. I can't be alone in that. When I do move over, it'll be because a new format is clearly inevitable.
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...Sony went with a format they knew was going to be fiscally unfeasable to most of the consumer base. If I'm going to be rooting for someone it's going to be the HD camp simply because of the fact they at least chose the format that would be more fiscally reasonable for the average consumer.
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Blu-ray holds more data and can hold more info. Due to the PS3, BR sales are higher. Also, BR has 3 exlusive movie studios signed on including Disney. That means all movies from Sony, Disney and I believe a couple other companies will be exclusive to BR. Only one company is exclusive to HD-DVD...not including the porn of course (who did switc to HD-DVD). Having said all that, neither is showing any sign of backing down. So go with what you think looks and works best for you.
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both formats will die as more and more films become available online to purchase. disks will be dead.
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why the hell does porn even NEED high def...... seriously?
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I can't tell a difference--I think it all depends on the transfer of the film. What matters to me is...BOTH formats look much better than DVD, and my TV only does 1080i.
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dvdempire.com is listing 297 blu-ray discs to 288 hd-dvd discs. (these counts include pre-orders & the like).
Porn doesn't need hi-def. Most people get their porn over the i-net at this point anyway.. and the sad fact? Most porn chicks would just look nasty in 1080p. -
The porn industry picked HD DVD, so Blu Ray will go the way of the Beta tape.
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Oh yeah. Sony's never lost a format war.
Sony happens to also be a motion picture studio, so they figured they could leverage that to win with Blu-Ray - in some technical ways Blu-Ray is superior to HD-DVD (more storage) and inferior (more expensive and delicate lasers). So, they patent the whole Blu-Ray suite and figure once they win they'll make a bundle on licensing.
Which blows up in their faces because there is a competing format that is easier to make players for, and doesn't require a license fee to your competitor, so no one uses Blu-Ray. Except for Sony, who is accomplishing nothing but forcing the costs of next gen equipment to go up so that it can support both (which eliminates Blu-Ray lock in, the only other trick Sony has in their pocket).
HD-DVD wins. -
I dont know why all that introduction reminded me of an episode of the Simpsons where Krusty talks about not selling to companies and etc. It made me giggle.
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"there's something along the lines of 545 titles on HD DVD and only 62 for Blue Ray"
Not sure what part of your ample ass you pulled that out of but it is completly wrong.
Also if you think that porn is going to decide this war I'd like to introduce you to this little thing called the Internet where anyone who wants can dowload all the free porn they would ever want. Not to mention that there is porn on both HD-DVD and Blu-ray.
Blu-ray has better video quality thanks to much higher bitrate capabilities (nothing on HD-DVD can compare to the Pirates movies) and more space for lossless audio.
You probably should have actually checked some facts before making your choice. -
...Sony wants every other studio to pay it money to make discs. Unfortunatly some have bought into it, but I think it kind of plays into the whole conspiracy of it just being money changing pockets in the same pair of pants.
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harry is correct my brother and i have this conversation at least once a week. I have both formats hooked up the exact same way and i have already chosen HD to come out on top.
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hoping for blu-ray to come out and topple HD but the porn stats dont lie.
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...I think the price of combo players will come down and that's what people will do. I mean the cases are the exact same style and size I think it's going to be this way for the life of the format till HD download's take off.
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From what I understand Beta-Max was better quality then VHS but VHS has could record longer and was cheaper so won the war so the argument that Blu-Ray is better quality doesn't really matter because HD-DVD is cheaper.
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Harry... your numbers are all wrong. Blu-Ray's numbers are 60-40 to HD. It's just that simple. The one significant studio hold-out to Blu-Ray is (soon to be was) Universal. Video Business reported it is going "format neutral" before the end of the year. And anyone saying HD has a better picture is uninformed. I have both formats. They're both great. But the consumer has spoken and Blu-Ray is simply doing better. If anyone wants to make a really informed decision, go check out both formats in a store other than Best Buy. Or read The Digital Bits. But seriously, Harry... "545 titles on HD DVD and only 62 for Blue Ray." That's called irresponsible reporting. Lastly, Blu-Ray players are backwards compatible and up-res too. Wow... you blew it on this one, man.
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Porn is on Bluray as well.Plus good luck on finding the pirates,spiderman and all the pixar flicks on HD DVD=YOUR NOT.Plus if youve seen flicks like Pirates 1-2,Casino Royal and ones with Great transfers then you will know damn well that both formats are just about equal.But what HD DVD doesnt have is MORE STUDIO SUPPORT.Plus BR plays DvDs and upgrades them too.MAN PEOPLE ARE SO MISINFORMED.
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...Digitalbits covered that and Universal has said they are not going Blu-Ray anytime in the future, that they are supporting HD-DVD only.
Also, people really shouldn't use Disney as an example of who will win as they refused to go to DVD for quite some time so I wouldn't really count them as a winning scratch on the scoreboard. -
harry, at a liberally cheap $20 a disc, 9000 dvd's should've cost you $180,000.
what's $500, then, on a ps3 that will give you access to THAT MANY MORE high-def movies... -
only because they've been handing out coupons for free movies when you buy players. also, i wonder if they're counting ps3 games in that tally or just movies. in any case, hd to win because the players are cheaper. i'm a college student and even i can afford an hd player (to go with my xbox 360)
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the general public. The ones who don't care that much about quality or any of that stuff.In a year or two when they need a new DVD player they will go into a shop and see a HD-DVD player that also plays their original DVDs. It has a similar name to DVD and it also contains the initials HD which will match the HD TV they own.They won't research it they will just go for the cheapest and most familiar choice. The early obtainers will not decide this as they are the rich people who know the facts.Blu-ray just sounds too different to people who feel like it was only yesterday DVD came along. HD-DVD is simply an upgrade to what they already have.Betamax proved that the technical side does not matter to the average consumer.
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Porn is so different now then it was back in the 80s,Fact is the internet is the number one place for porn,not video and people are still being embarrased to buy porn even these days.Point being porn will NOT be the deciding factor in this war like the way it was back in the VHS/BETA days.
Plus who need to see Pimples and bleached ass's in HD? -
Oh, and this crap about "porn choosing HD over Blu-Ray?" Again, where do you people GET this? Sony has NOT locked out porn from this format. Period. Disney, who uses a certain replication plant, will not allow porn to be pressed out in those facilities. BUT... Blu-Ray porn already exists on Japan. Blu-Ray burners are out there, clearly. Oh... and not to burst these know-it-alls bubbles, but the PS3 does not account for the surge in Blu-Ray sales. BECAUSE the install base is too small!!!
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I can't imagine anyone crunching the HD numbers and not coming up with a reasonable conclusion. And this isn't heading where people will think. Yes, Blu-Ray had outsold HD-DVD on a 3 to 1 margin throughout the first of the year but it doesn't take Dr. Manhattan to figure out that the sales were inflated by the sudden installed base of PS3s (still disappointing by VG next-gen hardware standards) which has since leveled off. Warner Brothers recently claimed 100,000 thousand HD discs sold for 'The Departed' with a 60/40 ratio in favor of Blu-Ray...yet this was BEFORE the fairly sizable Toshiba promotion that has jetted the HD-DVD A2 player to the top of several hardware sells lists. This promotion by Toshiba is extremely savvy as this is a nation dictated by price...a nation ruled by Wal-Mart if you will. By the end of June, don't be surprised to see HD-DVD software sales take over Blu-Ray...in fact I'll go one further by guaranteeing that HD-DVD software WILL outsell Blu-Ray going into July. Concerning studio support and the respective formats library, this also needs a bit of scrutiny to peek through the smoke and mirrors. Yes, Blu-Ray has more studio backing with exclusive support from Disney, Fox and Lions Gate which earlier in the year might have meant something - but Fox has pulled most of their upcoming catalog titles off the schedule with key releases few and far between and Disney has yet to announce any animation titles (which would be a HUGE selling point) and certainly Pixar has yet to commit. HD-DVD exclusive studio Universal, however, has a strong slate of catalog titles announced through the Fall. The Weinsteins are also HD-DVD exclusive meaning whatever happens to Grindhouse will fall exclusively on this format as well. Also, remember that rumor about Wal-Mart ordering two million players from a Chinese manufacturer? From Bentonville, Arkansas's mouth to Gods ears, expect to see those players by November for under $200. Only a very naive fanboy would predict Blu-Ray the clear winner at this stage in the game.
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What is LOTR going to come out on? Despite the fact that I already have the regular and EE, I will def. buy an HDDVD version since it will just be so much better. I also like that most of my HD-DVD's have both an HD and regualr version in case Blu-ray does win out.
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Agreed, it's a top-5 80's film epic that can't be missed. Saw it in 1981 in LA and it was awesome. Can't wait to see it via HD-DVD.
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You realize that Toshiba is giving away 10 free movies with their POS player now? Not that it matters since the free movies DO NOT COUNT in the movie sales numbers (and neither do games since.....they're games not movies.)
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Thanks Harry! Call us, we'll talk about the next deal...
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HD-DVD is coming out with 51GB disc (one more GB than BD, take that bitches!) It will be available right at the sametime Disney goes neutral. The disc is all that is holding Disney back.
HD-DVD software sales showed strong signs with the Matrix Trilogy sales.
PS3 sales are slowing, and software sales still are no where near as strong as HD-DVD. In the most important category to most companies: Attachment ratio. HD-DVD kills BD in this category. In addition the Toshiba units by themselves outsell every manufacturer of BD combined by nearly 3 to 1.
WalMart is still in negotiations about their upcoming HD-DVD player (August). The initial offer was something like 6 million players which were to be sold at $199. WalMart says they want the number at $149. So if that deal does go through....Target will soon be making their own deal.
The result? $149 HD-DVD players for the masses. At around the same time Sony will have their $499 BD player out. If HD-DVD does get in Walmart and Target at that price point... the war is over. -
As Jon said, the general public cares more about not having to rewind and having a small disc than about picture quality and sound. I've had a number of people use my widescreen TV and surround sound system and completely butcher the presentation, despite the fact that they all genuinely love movies. They keep the sound on analog instead of going Dolby Digital. They don't even know what DTS is let alone whether or not to look for it. The picture quality is clear enough and you can easily make out everything that's happening on screen. They don't NEED that extra boost. On top of that, most people don't have the capacity to get the most out of their discs. Despite the fact that HD is growning, people have large libraries of completely untapped potential because they are just now upgrading their displays. People like most of us, the truly hardcore seem to be reluctant to jump on the bandwagon. Personally, I think that HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray will both go way of the Laserdisc. Both satisfactory in their own right but never become more than just niche formats.
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I've been visiting this site for a long frickin' time, and that really pisses me off, Harry. The fact that you picked HD-DVD is beside the point -- the fact that you're betting on a lot of people reading this website on a whim will take your opinion as their own -- well, that's just shitty. And, to top it all off, a lot of your stats are wrong.
First, HD-DVD has 213 titles as of 5/29. Not 545. And Blu-Ray has 246 as of 5/29. Read http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates_historical.html and http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/releasedates_historical.html for the complete lists.
And as far as porn goes, you're also totally wrong. Porn will be on both formats, and furthermore, shouldn't even be an issue. How many people actually buy porn anymore anyway? The only reason the porn industry was such a factor when it came to the Beta vs. VHS war was because there was no other way to get it in your own house. With the advent of the little thing called the Internet, the porn industry picked both, and even if they had chosen a side, who wants to see the bumpy pimpled ass of those chicks anyway, in hi-def no less?
On the aforementioned HD-DVD/Blu-Ray website, read some of the reviews. There is a negligible difference as far as the quality goes. And, the fact that all of the studios except Universal are making movies on Blu-Ray, well, as far as the future goes, well, it sure looks like Blu-Ray has the advantage there.
As far as upconversion goes, current updates to Blu-Ray can do this as well. Thanks for pointing out something they both can do.
What I'm trying to point out, Harry, is that the reasons you picked HD-DVD over Blu-Ray seems to be flawed. And to answer your next question, yes, I do have a PS3, but I will be purchasing an HD-DVD unit in the next three months, so I don't really care who wins. My point is that you should make your opinions known, sure, but don't try to sway people based on your "filmmaker friends" or your incorrect stats or whatever.
Why don't you say that the reason you picked up HD-DVD is because that's what Grindhouse, Hot Fuzz and The Bourne Ultimatum will be on, because Universal is HD-DVD only? Good luck with trying to get Cars, or any of the Pirates movies, or Spider-Man 3 on HD-DVD. Yep, Blu-Ray has their exclusives, too.
So yeah, an unbiased opinion would be nice every now and then. No offense, Harry, but you're wrong, not for your opinion, but for your uneducated tirade. -
that alone should tell people to not back Blue-ray
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THis "naive fanboy" who works in the video industry would like to tell you Pixar and Disney are one in the same at this point. IF you had a Blu-Ray player you'd see how far Disney/Pixar has committed to the format in the coming attractions in front of the Pirates films. Not to mention... have you actually read the list of titles coming from Disney? Did you know Universal is going format nuetral this year? No?
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as seen anounced in each fan film from StarWars.com. Or can be seen here: http://gadgetaholic.com/content/view/31/1/
It´s pricey, though. Personally I think that the format player who is compatible with the existing format should prevail: ridiculous to throw away a fine DVD collection just for the sake of "hi definition". -
- it *doesn't* sound like what they've already got- DVD. Blu-Ray may appear to most to be something different and not merely an upgrade to old tech. And I don't know how Harry can make a choice without having a blu-ray player in his house to compare. Anyway, I don't give a fuck which format is ever-so-slightly superior in quality to the other- I just won't buy til the smoke clears.
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That's all it boils down to for this petty, petty man.
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Downloadable Content FTW
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it will be all over, people will pay the extra 50 bucks for a good player as apposed to playing an extra 500 at the very least for one.
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Until a "winner" emerge, it's all speculation. Each side will pick certain facts and opinions that will make it sound like their side is winning. BUT when you compiled all that together, Bluray simply has more. Certainly, there's always a wild card, and something can cause HD-DVD to come out on top. BUT it's unlikely. For now, Bluray looks like the winner.
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Since GE owns Universal and NBC, does that mean that shows like the Office, 30 Rock, and Heroes will be HD-DVD exclusive too? On the flip side, since Disney owns ABC, does that mean Lost will be Blu-ray exclusive? I know that Amazon is already offering Heroes as an HD-DVD set, but what about the others? TV on DVD could be a big market too besides just porn.
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Don't know if it's Exclusive, though.
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I'm not being snarky, but by the time these formats figure things out won't the iTV or Microsoft media boxes be able to download HD movies to peoples homes thus rendering both these formats usless? That is what I'm waiting for anyways. It won't be as cool to not have a nice shelf of well designed (and poorly designed) cases to show off, but what the hell. Actually I'm waiting for PS3, or as I call it my Grand Theft Auto Machine to go down in price then I'll have a blu-ray.
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Not sure where to start since every "fact" you state is wrong...but here it goes.
There may or may not be 51GB HD-DVDs but it has NOT been aproved by the HD-DVD consortium and it will not play on any current hardware.
Both Pirates movies outsold the Matrix set.....yeah that really showed something for HD-DVD.
"Attachment ratio" is the favorite buzz words for HD-DVD too bad it means nothing when BR keeps outselling HD-DVD despite the "3 to 1" sales.
The Walmart rumor has been repeatedly disproved; the press release was poorly translated and now it looks like Walmart may actually be getting into bed with Blu-Ray (though not until next year some time.)
The result? You're clueless.
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Great minds think alike. I swear I didn't read your posts before I wrote mine. It's just funny that you worded things almost exactly the same as I did.
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You really disapointed me... Way to buddy up to the ad gods... For fucks sake man.
Listen the "war" won't be decided for quite some time. But Blu-Ray is looking to win. The arguments made against the format by you and some of the anti-sony drones in the talkback are either misinformed, plain wrong, or no longer valid.
About the laser for Blu-Ray being more expensive, well both formats use a blue laser, and the cost has come down dramatically since inception and surge in demand. This will also drive down the price of the PS3s which will again surge the spike in Blu-Ray discs.
The point about backwards compatibility has already been shot down, man did you get sold or what homie?
The price point issue will work itself out too, HD-DVD hit before Blu-Ray and with the drop in price on lasers, look for cheap Blu-Ray players soon too.
As to the Wal*Mart order of sub $200 HD-DVD, well that RUMOR was already shot down by both Wal*Mart and the supposed distributer. They addmitted Wal*Mart merely INQUIRED if it was possible for such an order to be filled and they never confirmed weather it was HD-DVD or Blu-Ray players either.
Most importantly, is the movies. Disney pretty much calls it. While they might not be announced yet, Disney will most assuredly release their films on Blu-Ray and that along with FOX (aka Star Wars) means Blu-Ray won before it started.
Way to go on getting a deal, but shame on you for the irresposnsible shilling and reporting man... -
and for several reasons. For one, 7 out of the 8 major studios support blu-ray, most of them exclusively. You want spiderman when that is released? Only on blu-ray? Piarates? Same thing. And talking about Batman and The Matrix? Those are being released later this year on blu-ray as well. 2. When Universal's exclusive contract runs out they will be putting movies out on blu-ray as well. You can find articles all over the internet about that. 3. Blu-ray capacity is 50GB, HD DVD only 30GB. 4. While it may not be important to some, until recent models most HD DVD players and movies were only at 1080i, not 1080p. And if the techno world says 1080p is better than 1080i (which it is) people will simply buy what they are told is the best. 5. Sony is not the only backer of Blu-ray. They also have Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic, Hitachi (all of which are making BD players) and Apple is providing Blu-ray support now. and 7. BD players can be purchased for $500-600 this summer and by Christmas they will be at $200-300. Winner: Blu-ray.
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don't even have there film playing at the correct ratio or sound settings. My sister for some reason accidently set the color really high and brightness really low on her TV and if I try and fix it for her she shouts at me and says it doesn't bother her. It's been like that for a year and I can't even bring myself to watch it. She also has a 4:3 tv and instead of watching DVDs in letterbox or even pan and scan she has them all squashed. Once again she won't let me change it because it doesn't bother her. These are the type of people who make up the majority and they don't care about quality.
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I noticed the lack of DVD reports, and wanted to ask if you had seen the new (to me at least) Toho Master Collection DVDs? Gojira 2 disc, Godzilla v Mothra, etc? Made me drool when I saw I stumbled upon it in the South Austin Best Buy.
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First music. Then games. Then movies. Downloadable Content FTW.
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I bet he liked Jar-Jar too at first.
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One, GTA 4 is hitting Xbox 360 day and date with PS3 so your GTA machine has offically been reduced in price, heh.
Two, there will always be a hard copy media format as most people are not savy enough to upgrade storage space in order to accomodate growing collections. I have no problem downloading tv shows but certain ones I will get a hard copy of so I don't have to worry about hard drive space. And I know how to change a hard drive, it's just too much hassel every time I get more movies to have to shuffle space so it's also more convenient. Untill they get the compression rates down to hold massive amounts of hi-def content on a single drive it's going to take awhile for the download services to take off. -
seriously. Everything Harry typed up there was a got damn commerical paid for by Toshiba or HD DVD or mircosoft or some stupid somebody. Harry then has the nerve to get the number of titles screwed and the fact that bluray can play your dvds as well. THe playstation 3 just released a new firmware that upscales your dvds. Bluray is easily the best format out of both, but thats irrelevant. I just cant let it escape how you basically wrote a commmerical here. Straight propagangda.
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Hey modlight,
In the end, even though I have both formats, you are ultimately right. Eventually downloadable content will win out. Not as fast as many predict, mind you. The consumer "trust" factor of downloadable film is really low overall. But that will change over time. My problem (with a lot of what I've read) in this talk-back is just how wrong so many people are on this subject. Too few have any idea how much storage space BD has... which, in the end, is all that really matters in terms of quality. On one end, I could care less who "wins." But what Harry started in this subject is a big black hole of ignorance that's sucking a lot of time and energy into a subject most of the talk backers know nothing about based on their comments. The best being the "inflated" numbers thing re: BD. That's laughable if you know the dismal numbers of the PS3. -
It is failing and it is hurting Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray has higher capacity, so it's better because of that. They look about the same. I'm sure that the HD-DVD ads on AICN have nothing to do with Harry's recommendation.
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Hello, Harry. First off, I'd like to state that I love the site, and do not often feel the need to join talkbacks. I'm mainly a reader. Secondly, even though I will attempt to educate you on my research that I've performed in order to do my job better (as a Magnolia sales rep in my local Best Buy store) I am not categorically stating that Blu-ray will win. My personal opinion is that it will, but more on that later.
I'll start by addressing your statements regarding HD DVD from the original article you wrote. HD DVD players are dipping in price. Mainly because Toshiba is the only one we're selling currently and nobody's buying them. (I'm still eagerly awaiting the LG HD DVD/Blu-ray hybrid.) Seriously, aside from an HD DVD Xbox attachment that I sold in January, I've only sold one actual player since before Christmas. Versus the 13 or so I've sold of Blu-ray (Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Pioneer Elite). Three of them to the same guy who I set up three rooms for. The $100 gift card you got was likely because we're having a problem trying to give these sums-a-bitches away.
To your point of backward compatibility: Blu-rays will upconvert to, in most cases, 1080p. Which is a big difference from 1080i. Progressive viewing will generally look smoother than interlaced because you're actually getting a whole frame each time the screen refreshes. Not to mention 1080i is only giving you half a frame (every other one) each time the processor makes its pass. Read: 540 lines. 720p generally feels better on your eyes and gives you a much smoother image than the 540/540 double pass method. Especially with fast action. This is what causes you to see a blur when the Dirk passes the ball into the paint for Stackhouse to dunk the ball on Duncan. Currently, there are no 1080p HD DVD players even though there are 1080p discs.
As to filmmakers preference, I don't quite understand why any filmmaker (myself included, being one who is trying to get their feet wet) would ever want someone to view their film on a format that is not all that it can be.
To the "porn" industry question: It is true that there are a good majority of studios who are going HD, it's mainly because of cost, not because of Blu-ray "banning" porn. Vivid's announced a Blu-ray release, costs will drop, trends can change, and it doesn't really matter what format it's shot in, as long as it is an HD source. I think that it's a bit too early to call this argument. Besides, this time it might not be "porn" that's the deciding factor in this war. Several production studios have signed exclusivity rights with Blu-ray (which is not just a Sony creation unlike HD which was created by MS).
Disney, Fox, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM have all signed exclusivity deals with Blu-ray while Warner and Paramount release to both formats. What this means is that in order to see Star Wars in High Def, you're gonna have to have Blu-ray.
Indications that HD DVD is in trouble: Costs are dropping dramatically, and not in a good way. It's good for us, because this means Blu-ray will start to drop too. It already has, not good for HD DVD shareholders. Also, HD DVD is releasing a lot of movies now with "protect your discs future compatibility" by releasing sets with HD on one side and standard 480p on the other. I.E. so you can still play it on your future Blu-ray DVD player, though not in High Def.
Some of my first hand observations beginning with quality: The reason some displays will have the appearance of providing a clearer picture on a particular format in the store have more to do with the actual TV than the connected player. HD DVD looks great on a 720p TV, on a 1080p, the TV's processor tries to overcompensate for the lines of resolution that were lost from the original source because the player can't process a full 1080p. I've seen the HD DVD connected to several full 1080p televisions, and frankly, they look like crap compared to the new displays which are now using Blu-ray. Best Buy, or at least my location, has completely changed over all their HD disk displays over to the Blu-ray format.
Blu-ray disc sales have increased over 700% over the past six months, and I see it every day. There hasn't been an HD DVD to hit Amazon's top 10. Blu-ray got there with a movie that no one expected to be a blockbuster seller, Casino Royale.
P.S. I also heard a rumor from my district's TV Calibration tech who is ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) Certified that he was at a conference and found out that due to to capacity of Blu-ray that MS was going to start putting software on Blu-rays....
Later,
Chachi
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We made the right choice.
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Go with the proposed Samsung model that's due to come out later this year. It is a true hybrid player in that it plays both formats and offers full support for iHD and BD-Java special features. The LG model is simply a BD machine that will let you watch the movies on HD DVD. You don't get any special features with it.
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THANK YOU.
If you read my posts you'll see I've been screaming basically the less technical gospel you spelled out so well.
Ryan =) -
It sounds like if anything, this talkback is proving that Blu-Ray is better.
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May 30, 2007 10:17:17 PM CDT
Harry you read my fucking mind. I bought one today!
by allpowerfulwizardofoz
I got the last one at my Best Buy today and picked up that very box set!!! I also picked up Batman Begins and Army Of Darkness. :-)
Don't forget Harry if you go to Toshiba's website you can get 5 more movies for free for buying that player!
And my 5 free choices were Sky Captain, Apollo 13, Constantine, U2 Rattle and Hum and The Perfect Storm.
Go to this website Harry for the 5 free HD-DVDs http://tinyurl.com/2oxr76 -
1st 1080i vs 1080p...if you need a screen 50" or bigger go 1080p.... Anything smaller 1080i is fine, you can't tell the differance until you get past the 50" size tv's!
3 reasons Blu-ray already won!!!
1.Technical = The capacity of a dual layered Blu-Ray disc is, for now at least, 50GB. The capacity of a dual layered HD DVD disc is 30GB. Already we see that Blu-Ray has 66% more overall storage capacity than HD DVD. But it doesn't stop there; Sony has announced that layering a disc beyond dual layering is possible, allowing up to a 200GB capacity on a Blu-Ray disc with 8 layers.Supporters of HD DVD have claimed a primary strength of the format is on the production side, in that a DVD production line can be converted to an HD DVD production line "in 5 minutes." Also, the production of HD DVD discs is said to be around the same as that of current DVDs. While there is no response from the Blu-Ray camp about how long it would take a production line to "make the switch," Panasonic announced back in March of this year that production of Blu-Ray discs could have the same cost-per-disc price as current DVDs. Perhaps lower, even - remember that announcement about Blu-Ray discs made of paper from earlier this year? "The combination of paper material and printing technology is also expected to lead to a reduction in cost per disc and will expand usage," read the Sony press release. Likewise, Sony has developed a Blu-Ray mastering system requiring one fifth the space of current DVD mastering systems, that can also produce DVD masters.
2.Finacial = When it comes to corporate backing, that of Blu-Ray far exceeds that of HD DVD. Currently, the Blu-Ray Disc Association has over 70 members. Pinpointing exactly how many companies are members of the "HD DVD Promotion Group" is difficult, because they don't appear to have a homepage yet. The DVD Forum (over 220 members) has approved certain HD DVD standards, but saying they are all backing HD DVD is very misleading—the DVD Forum was established in 1997 for establishing standards and formats for DVD. Not HD DVD. A poster at the HD DVD booth during CEATEC JAPAN 2004 showed about 47 companies supporting HD DVD.
But it's not just about how many companies are listed on some silly "supporter list," because as with most things these days, quality is more important than quantity. So who's behind Blu-Ray? In no particular order: Sony, Sharp, LG Electronics, Dell, HP, Kenwood, FujiFilm, JVC, Panasonic, Philips, Hitachi, Samsung, 20th Century Fox, and about 50+ other companies. Maybe a couple of those ring a bell? For HD DVD, familiar names include NEC, Toshiba, and Sanyo. Interestingly enough, most of the member companies on the HD DVD radar are media manufacturers, and are members of both Blu-Ray and HD DVD groups. One of the alleged primary backers of HD DVD (and member of HD DVD Promotion Group), Sanyo, even showed products at this year's CEATEC compatible with Blu-Ray.
As you can see, the financial power of Blu-Ray Disc Association members simply dwarfs that of those behind HD DVD. I know what you're thinking right here, though: "Well didn't Microsoft announce the next version of Windows (Longhorn) would support HD DVD? Doesn't that mean they support HD DVD instead of Blu-Ray?" And you'd be right, about the announcement part at least. Microsoft may be a member of the DVD Forum (which as was explained earlier doesn't really matter), but their announcement of Windows support for HD DVD is just that - the OS will support the format. As you'd imagine, the financial backing of Microsoft to either format would give it an enormous advantage over its competitor. As I just said, though, Microsoft did not announce they would be backing HD DVD; they just said Windows will support it. There's no reason they couldn't come out tomorrow and say they'll also be supporting Blu-Ray.
3.Commercial
None of what I just said matters if consumers can't buy movies or other content on the formats. As history has proven time and time again, new formats are driven by content - DVD (as a movie format) did not get popular by just "being there." Each producer had to make the decision to make the switch from VHS to DVD. Blockbuster had to make the switch from VHS to DVD, though they certainly took their sweet fucking time. All this is to say, without content, neither format is going anywhere.
Blu-Ray is once again miles ahead of HD DVD in terms of scheduled content offerings.
TEAM BLU-RAY
Supporting Companies
The Blu-ray Disc Association has member companies from the consumer electronics (CE), information technology (IT), media and software industries. The lists below include current members as well as applicants.
For more information about the various membership levels and how to become a member, please refer to the the About Us section at the top of the screen.
As of March 1, 2007
Board of Directors
Apple, Inc.
Dell
HP
Hitachi
LG
Mitsubishi Electric
Panasonic
Pioneer
Philips
Samsung
Sharp
Sony
Sun Microsystems
TDK
Thomson
Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney
Warner Bros.
Contributors
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Almedio Inc.
Alticast
Aplix Corporation
ArcSoft, Inc.
AudioDev AB
Broadcom Corporation
Canon Inc.
CMC Magnetics Corporation
Coding Technologies GmbH
Cryptography Research Inc.
CyberLink Corp.
DATARIUS Technologies GmbH
Daxon Technology Inc.
DCA Inc.
Deluxe Media Services Inc.
Dolby Laboratories Inc.
DTS, Inc.
Esmertec
FUJIFILM Corporation
Fujitsu Ltd.
Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
Gibson Guitar Corp.
Imation Corp.
InterVideo Inc.
Kenwood Corporation
Lenovo
Lionsgate Entertainment
LITE-ON IT Corporation
LSI Logic
MediaTek Inc.
Meridian Audio Ltd.
Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co.Ltd.
Mitsui Chemicals Inc.
Monster Cable Products
Moser Baer India Limited
NEC Electronics Corporation
Nero
Paramount Pictures Corporation
Pixela Corporation
Prodisc Technology Inc.
Pulstec Industrial Co., Ltd.
Ricoh Co., Ltd.
Ritek Corporation
ShibaSoku Co. Ltd.
Sigma Designs Inc.
Silicon Integrated Systems Corporation
Sonic Solutions
Sonopress
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
ST Microelectronics
Sunext
Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd.,
Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.
Visionare Corporation
Zentek Technology Japan, Inc.
ZOOtech Ltd.
Zoran Corporation
Members
Adobe Systems
Alpine Electronics Inc.
Arima Devices Corporation
ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG
Atmel Corporation
Bandai Visual Co. Ltd.
BASF AG
B.H.A. Corporation
Bose Corporation
B&W Group
The Cannery
Cheertek Inc.
Cinram Manufacturing Inc.
CustomFlix Labs, Inc.
Custom Technology Inc.
D&M holdings, Inc.
Daewoo Electronics Corporation
Daikin Industries, Ltd.
Eclipse Data Technologies
Elpida Memory, Inc.
Expert Magnetics Corp.
Fujitsu Ten Ltd.
GalleryPlayer Media Networks
Gear Software
Global Machinery Co., Ltd.
Hie Electronics, Inc.
Hoei Sangyo Co., Ltd
Horizon Semiconductor.
IMAGICA Corp.
INFODISC Technology Co., Ltd.
Infomedia Inc.
Intersil Corporation
Iwatsu Test Instruments
Kaleidescape, Inc.
Kobe Steel Co. Ltd.
Konica Minolta Opto Inc.
Lauda Co. Ltd.
Lead Data Inc.
LEADER ELECTRONICS CORP
Linn Products Ltd.
LINTEC Corporation
M2 Engineering AB
MainConcept AG
Mitsumi Electric Co., Ltd.
Must Technology Co., Ltd.
MX Production Services
Netflix Inc.
Newtech Infosystems Inc.
NexWave Solutions
Nichia Corporation
Nikkatsu Corporation
NTT Electronics Corporation
nVidia Corporation
OC Oerlikon Balzer AG
Omnibus Japan Inc.
Onkyo Corporation
Online Media Technologies Ltd.
Ono Sokki Co., Ltd.
OPT Corporation
Optodisc Technology Corporation
Origin Electric Co., Ltd.
Osmosys SA
Pinnacle Systems
Plannet Associates
PoINT Software & Systems GmbH
Pony Canyon Enterprise
Primera Technology, Inc.
Q-Tek, Inc.
Quanta Storage Inc.
Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Rimage Corporation
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
Dr. Schwab Inspection Technology GmbH
Singulus Technologies
STEAG ETA-OPTIK GmbH
Targray Technology International Inc.
TEAC Corporation
Teijin Chemicals Ltd.
Texas Instruments, Inc.
THX Ltd.
Toei Video Company Ltd.
Toho Company, Ltd.
Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.
TOPTICA Photonics AG
Trailer Park
UmeDisc Ltd.
Yamaha Corporation
Yokogawa Electric Corporation
1K Studios, LLC
Recognize some of those? I thought so! VIVA-LA-BLURAY 4-EVER!! -
It's essentially the HD-A2 but with 1080p output.
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Forget it... there's no question. Blu-Ray will win. Among the zillion different half-truths, misinformed rumors and outright lies I read in posts above, I have to point out a few things:
1) Porn has not been "banned" from the Blu-Ray format.
2) The Matrix Trilogy won't be a huge factor - it will also be on Blu-Ray by the end of the year.
3) Blu-Ray players DO play DVDs, and upgrade them just as HD-DVD does.
4) Say whatever you want about Sony creating losing formats; They have studio support from all of the majors except Universal, who is the ONLY HD-DVD-only holdout and only has so many cards up its sleeve - mostly Spielberg movies and some TV shows. That's about it.
5) Yes, PS3s account for a large part of Blu-Ray unit ownership, but where is all the HD-DVD support from X-Box?? They have the capability to rival Blu-Ray numbers if they want, but why aren't they?
6) Yes, Wal-Mart is trying to get the prices down on HD-DVD players, and deals are being signed with lower-brand HD-DVD machine manufacturers to get cheaper players out on the market, but that's actually not such a great thing for the brand-name manufacturers. They'll have to compete by selling their machines at a loss, which was a huge step back for the initial DVD-manufacturing economy. HD just can't seem to wait to make the same mistake.
Plus, even if these idiot Wal-Mart shoppers (read: lower-middle class families without the patience to look into the format debate) do decide to buy an HD-DVD player just because it's cheaper, they're going to be pissed off when they find out they won't be able to buy Disney movies, Pixar movies, the Alien movies, the Die Hard movies, the Star Wars movies or the James Bond movies (that's the short list) on their new HD player.
Pretty it up all you want, HD-DVD-fans, but just be aware of one thing: Your format owes its entire existence to Universal's loyalty. The minute they decide to release on Blu-Ray as well, the format war is over. Blu-Ray will have all the cards. HD-DVD will be gone. -
Go to this website
http://tinyurl.com/2oxr76
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Looks like TiNSeLToWN came in to back us up too.
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thelookandsoundofperfect.com
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I have both an HD-DVD player and a Blu Ray player, and whenever a title comes out that I'm interested in for both formats I ALWAYS purchase it for BR. Why? The picture clarity is 10x better and most of the discs have UNCOMRPESSED AUDIO. Take "Dune" for HD-DVD. Whenever there's a noght scene and a character walks by the camera there's always a ghosting effect that happens, like a streaky outline of the character, that stay on screen long after the character is out of frame. Watch the siege scene and whenever a Sardukar (sp?) runs by they always leave that ghost behind... sometimes 3 or 4 on top of each other that ends up covering the whole screen and making it impossible to see what else is going on in frame.
Now take, say "Superman" for Blu Ray... lots of night scenes with action taking place... not one artifact to be found (and I've seen the HD version which in fact DOES have them). Perfect picture from front to back. Even "Underworld: Evolution" which takes place almost entirely at night is PERFECT.
I'ave already heard that Blu Ray is in the lead due to massive sales of "Casino Royale" and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films. I hope it wins because HD just doesn't cut it when you've spent $5k on a 52" 1080p LCD... especially when the firmware upgrades don't seem to work half the time ("Children of Men" anyone?). -
Almost all the HD DVD players sold in my BB store are sold at a loss at this point.... It's ridiculous. If it continues on this path, BB will likely pull it's support. They don't like to take a loss at all.
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I saw that with TiNSeLToWN.
Yes, felt like a breath of fresh air!
Good on ya. -
And for those talking about HD DVD manufacturers taking a loss to get product out on the market, Sony's done the same and worse with Blu-ray. They chopped the price on their initial players (and convinced Samsung and others to do the same) to compete with the lower priced HD DVD players. Toshiba was operating at a loss on the players to be first to market but Sony's taken a bigger deficit, especially in the wake of fewer PS3s on the market than they had budgeted and promoted. Yes, eventually there will be a flood of PS3s on the market but it's happening a lot slower than Sony had anticipated. So they are having to take a loss on the other players to get the Blu-ray name out on the market. Currently, Blu-ray manufacturers that are looking to directly compete with Toshiba and HD DVD are taking a wash (Panasonic has smartly - or not depending on how you look at it - chosen not to get into the price war with HD DVD and have held to their $1200 price tag so far.).
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I seems that while Blu-Ray has Disney backing them, they might have whatever edge they claim to have. Ultimately, I think the winner will be whoever it is that gets Star Wars and/or Indiana Jones. That will be the deciding factor for this format war.
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I work with an internet retailer that offers both HD DVD and Blu-ray and our HD DVD players have easily outsold our BD players 10 to 1. All of the tests we've run between the two formats make us lean toward HD DVD also. The picture quality and faithful color reproduction stood out much greater than Blu-ray. I'm not counting Blu-ray out, but we've seen a preference for HD DVD in the market.
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Does this mean we'll see reviews of upcoming HD releases of not only Transformers & Indy but AssMaster vol.66 as well? Way to go AICN!
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So, I'm not buying any high definition DVD players for a while... Also, it looks like HD and Blu Ray are running neck and neck in releases. Don't know about PS3 games being counted or not but there has to be more than 60 releases for Blu-Ray. http://tinyurl.com/2rkqvo
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You stated that HD DVD is backwards compatible with DVD....well so is Blu-Ray. Then you state that "porn" has chosen HD DVD, but Vivid is supporting Blu-Ray. All the major Hollywood studios are backing Blu-Ray except for Warners because Warner Home Video holds plenty of patents along with Toshiba on DVD and they hope to continue that portfolio with HD DVD while the rest of the consumer electronics companies have sided with Sony to extinguish the continuation of that patent portfolio by backing Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray discs also have better scratch resistant coating than HD DVD (or DVD discs), and they also hold much more data. You claim that HD DVD titles look better than Blu-Ray titles, yet that is continuing the same tired schticht regarding older Sony titles sticking with the MPEG-2 codec instead of transitioning to H.264 AVC MPEG-4 (which Fox has used on some Blu-Ray titles like *X-3*) or Microsoft's VC-1 codec which HD DVD universally uses. If HD DVD is going to win, then there'd be more manufacturers pushing it besides Toshiba. If you are picking the format based upon prior format wars, you are backasswards because it is Toshiba that is in the "Sony Betamax" position, and not the other way round. Plus, if Toshiba wasn't receiving Microsoft monopoly bucks to subsidize/stabilize them [Toshiba], they wouldn't be selling their players at such an extreme loss-leader. I'm sorry, but HD DVD is going down as this generation's version of the Circuit City DIVX DVD format, which also aggressively cut prices on its way out the door to obsolescence. Fact is, you paid $100 more than you needed to just to get a DVD upscaling deck. Suffice to say, if you were choosing which cup was the holy grail, my money wouldn't be riding on you!
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It's hard to believe you have seen a preference for HD-DVD in market with the way BD is kicking its ass in disc sales. Have you seen any Neilsen sales data? It took 3 months for BD to obliterate HD-DVD's disc sales lead. BD has held no less than a 60-40 sales advantage every month since the beginning of the year and currently since inception its 57-43 in favor of BD.
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'Nuff said.
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wow harry wait till the new cheaper blu ray players hit this fall. Don't be sucked in bluray is the way to go. hd dvd is a step back
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Removed those incorrect HD-DVD and Blu-Ray catalog numbers and removed the bit about porn only releasing on HD-DVD. I'm interested to know which filmmaker friends said HD-DVD is the correct format to go with. This whole article reads like a commercial.
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Don't you find it strange that Harry picked HD DVD? This website has advertisement for HD DVD and now harry all of a sudden discovered that HD DVD is the choice. This is all bullshit. i bet Toshiba gave him a player and a nice check to push the format. The point is that Pioneer makes Blue Ray player that is better than the others and with the combination of a Pioneer Elite Plasma tv you are going to get a hell of a picture. I have seen both formats on a lot of different tvs, from LCDs to Plasma and DLP and all of then give you a different picture. All look good but on some sets they just shine. The deciding factor is sells. In the end it does not matter which format is the best. In the end is how many HD DVDs and Blue Ray Disk will sell and which one will out sell the other. So to rap things up, Harry was bought, the format wars is really about money and no one knows what the hell is going to happen.
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Just you wait and see.
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I quote: "Plus, even if these idiot Wal-Mart shoppers
(read: lower-middle class families without the patience to look into the format
debate) "
Nice. Very nice. -
we all see it harry. you are got damn plant on your own site. the wording...its not even all YOU. its completely obvious you are being a planet for a couple bucks. UGH!!!
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I laugh at your petty HD DVD vs Blue Ray bitch fest. Didn't you see Back to the Future part 2? Remember the alleyway with all the trash compacted laser discs and CDs? You did not see one crushed Selectavision disc in the discard pile, did you? The grooved black video disc record will dominate! Smash out.
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To get them to work. Hey maybe I can come out with a standalone disc boiler and sell it on QVC.
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Nasty.
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Nasty.
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Vivid the #1 Adult Entertainment is releasing movies for Blu-Ray. Digital Playground and LFP Video Group has partnered with New Media Adult Entertainment for BLU-RAY! It's almost over as Blu-Ray has overwhelming support for Hollywood, Consumer Electronics Giants and more importantly the consumers. Whoever told you the quality of HD-DVD is better then Blu-Ray needs to stop swallowing the goo from Bill Gates. Blu-Ray is codevelope by Apple Computers and any smart consumer should follow them on new Technology then Microsoft and 1 exclusive Movie Company. The best of luck for you and your HD-DVD player as I will be watching STAR WARS, Spiderman and other exclusives on Blu-Ray...
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harry sold out a long time ago
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The only format that they've introduced that has continued to be used by the average consumer is the CD which they co-created with a number of companies. Their business model is extremely flawed and as such they tend to fail. In recent years the minidisc, SACD, and UMD have all failed to catch on, sure they may have more market share on Blu-Ray now, but that's because of hardcore gamers that shelled out to pickup a PS3 at christmas. Yes the PS2 helped usher in the era of DVD, but the competing format was clearly inferior and over 20 years old. Surveys have shown that the average "ignorant" consumer is more likely to pick up HD-DVD simply because of the name, but both products are still very much in the bleeding edge, early adopter phase. Most people don't even own an HDTV yet. When making your arguments look at who posts on this site, we are not the average viewer, we are the geeks and care about picture quality. I'm sure many of us have bought and installed surround sound systems in our parent's homes (those of us that have actually moved out) because they "need" to have it for the experience. Format wars are run by grandmothers that don't know how to pick out this equipment, they buy Nintendo because it's a name they know, not because it's necessarily what their grandkid asked for. It's gonna be another few years before we'll have an answer and I for one am holding off until either a final blow is made or I can get a dual format player for under $200.
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And I quote from Harry: "there's something along the lines of 545 titles on HD DVD and only 62 for Blue Ray. That's nearly getting close to 10 to 1 in terms of selection. AND - a lot of Reg DVDs are beginning to master in higher resolutions - like I'm watching a reg. DVD that was actually mastered at 1080i, that I had seen in my other player - and now... it's just perfect."
Wrong. The title count currently is 202 titles on HD DVD and 233 on Blu-Ray, and that is even with HD DVD having a several months released lead on Blu-Ray.
http://tinyurl.com/2x4zdt
Furthermore, DVDs have been "mastered" for several years off HD source master copies. One of the first transfers to do so was Oliver Stone's *The Doors* from a 1080i source nearly a decade ago.
What next... Xbox360 shilling? Postings telling us that the Zune is going to eclipse the iPod? If I wanted krap like that, I'd stick to Digg for my online entertainment news.
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I totally have one of those, best $30 I ever spent. Got all the Rocky movies Star wars and a James Bond flick with it.
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The consumer climate has come a long way since the VHS/Beta war. There is room in the market for both Blu Ray and HD DVD.
Heck, if playstation and X-box can co-exist, why not these formats? -
Uhm, not only did Sony do a lot of work at creating the CD format, they also had a hand in creating DVD. Betamax may have been squashed in the consumer market but it has been the standard used amongst the international broadcast industry ever since. As for your claim that "HD DVD" a better name when it comes to consumers, think again. Blu-Ray sounds cool and is easy to remember, like say "iPod" versus the Sansa EF321-2000FRM EXTREME whatever MP3 player, or the V-IIIIIIIIIsdxfrPT naming convention of BMW.
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"545 titles on HD DVD and only 62 for Blue Ray. That's nearly getting close to 10 to 1 in terms of selection"
Sorry Man, there may be 545 HD DVD titles if you count all the repeat foreign releases, but there are more titles out on BD today than HD DVD, and the market is at an ever expanding 68-42 split (2-4% a week expanding gap on average)
As of today, there are 247 BD releases in the US vs 228 HD DVD, including announced discs. Given that 60% of the movies ever made are exclusive to BR, along with 5 of the 8 major studios, and 10% or under exclusive to HD DVD, BD will pull away rapidly.
It's over, it's been over since before it started
"The only format that they've introduced that has continued to be used by the average consumer is the CD which they co-created with a number of companies"
As was the DVD. And Blu-Ray is a collaboration with pretty much the entire industry except Toshiba. Only the disc structure is direct from Sony, the entire software and hardware side, with the exception of the AVC flavor of MPEG-4 comes from non-Sony companies. -
I can do without crystal clear genital warts and surgery scars, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
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Sorry, but HVD is for industrial applications. The players are projected at costing $10k. To wait out for that is absurd. You are looking at a 15 year window before it becomes affordable for the consumer.
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You pulled off that press release about as well as Michael Imperioli delivers his lines in that HD-DVD commercial. I'm sure you already know that blu-ray can play DVDs just like HD-DVD and they both can upconvert them. Also both formats now use the same compression scheme and on dual format releases they look identical. Factor in the increased disk space on Blu-ray releases you will start to see better looking Blu-ray movies. (some of the earlier disks used Mpeg2) Also your comment about the total number of sold disks is completly wrong.. right now Bluray has more disks available than HD-DVD, and that is after a head start from HD-DVD. The disk are outselling HD-DVD disks as well. Clearly you have stupid film maker friends because choosing HD-DVD at this point is choosing the losing format. You're going to feel stupid in a year when you have to buy a blu-ray player in addition to your now obsolete HD-DVD player.
How much did Toshiba give you for this half-assed press release? -
...that's what it sure smells like.
All the misinformation and bull makes it, what, the twentieth time Harry and this site have jumped the fucking shark? Can one sound any more like an HD-DVD shill in the face blatant lies and denial?
First, it's spelled BLU-RAY, and not *BLUE-RAY*, maybe if you stop inhaling candy bars, you might inhale a fact or two sometime (As well as some clueless posters)
1) There are more blu-ray titles out, and blu-ray titles are outselling hd-dvd significantly, week to week (eproductwars).
2) Blu-ray players play DVD as well, and upscale them too.
3) Porn also supports Blu-ray - Vivid entertainment says hi, you perv.
4) Weinstein Company isn't HD-DVD exclusive, they publically stated they'd support HD-DVD first, and Blu-ray later in 2007. That makes Universal the only exclusive holdout - and not for long. Their exclusivity contract is over.
5) Games and freebies are NOT COUNTED BY NIELSEN. If that was the case, Toshiba would be miles ahead in the counts, between the vouchers from them and stores, you could have scored as many as *9* free HD-DVD films. Some retards here for some reasons bring up PS3 and "vouchers" as a reason Blu-ray is ahead. Um, No. They don't count, they never did, and Nielsen never did track them.
6) Matrix is coming to Blu-ray as well.
7) No Disney on HD-DVD. You think parents will be happy to buy HD-DVD because they have a few exclusive Universal movie titles, while 80 to 90% of Hollywood is supporting Blu-ray?
8) No Pirates of the Carribean or Spiderman on HD-DVD. That's what people want now, and they ain't getting it on HD-DVD. That's gotta hurt, Gene.
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was filmed in good ol' Bidwell Park right here in Chico Party Town California
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Harry's "facts" are anything but. Blu-ray has more storage capacity, hence more quality due to less compression. It also has more studio support.
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the players that play both HD-DVD and Blue-Ray. Ya know...for the kids.
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cheaper blu ray players coming this fall can't wait. don't get sucked in by hd dvd bluray is almost twice as fast off the disc and will be able to hold 200 gig.
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I agree HD DVD is the way to go, i just upgraded to HD DVD last month, i was at walmart and they had a RCA HDV 5000 for 225 dollars plus tax, and they also had a phillips bluray disc player for 400.
since i had never seen a blueray or hddvd for that price, i decided this was the time to upgrade, they only had 2 more of the HDDVD players in stock and about 5 of the blurays so i put both on my credit card, with the thought, i would take upto 30days that i have to make a return to decide which format i liked better, now neither one of these deals included free movies but hey at 225 dollars for hd or 400 for bluray it didnt really matter
( by the way this is the walmart on crenshaw and King in baldwin hills ca)
i got both players home and immediately orderd some hddvd and bluray films off of blockbuster online, 2 days latter i got my first titles.
first off you cant make your decision based off standing infront of a instore display. neither format is done any justice in this type of setting.
it didnt even take me 3 days to decide that hddvd was the format i wanted to stick with,
to me the picture and sound was just more to my likeing, i had both hooked up to my toshiba DLP Projector which is in HD.
and the sound was truer and crisper again to me in the HDDVD format.
also the in movie experience is truly very exciting.
i know bluray titles are suppose to have this feature now, but guess what one day is not today, and hddvd has that feature today.
now iam not goin to bash bluray i can see why alot of people prefer it over hddvd, i would have about as much luck trying to convince someone who allready owns a bluray and prefers it, as someone would have trying to convince me that bluray is better.
i am watching my new copy of dragon heart on hddvd right now and let me just say oh my god, its even more beautiful picture and sound wise than it was in the theatres.
harry let me make some suggestions on titles to check out
Van helsing- possibly the HDDVD picture ive seen so far, the resolution especially on the opening scene with the black in white will make your jaw drop.
Sky Captian is another great title for its picture resolution and sound.
sleepy hollow has a incredible soundtrack and picture resolution
the thing looks spectacular in HDDVD aswell
the road warrior, for a 20 plus year old movie you cant tell it from the picture, it looks like it was easily made a few years back.
other titles that look great on hddvd are
Mission Impossible 3
Last samurai
King Kong
V for Vendetta
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
SwordFish
Miami Vice
Troy
March of the penguins
harry one word of advice, the players usually dont come with the latest firmware so i would update your firmware asap, especially if you try to watch universal titles like miami vice or king kong or fast and the furious.
ive built up a great library of about 65 hddvd titles in the last month now, thanks to ebay ive gotten some great deals well below cost on there. so definately check it out
i think the idea of a format war is stupid i honestly dont see why both movie formats cant exsist like the videogame consoles do.
both formats have there supporters,
and for the person who said universal was going format nuetral, you are wrong, universal denied that and reaffirmed in a press release recently that they are commited fully to HDDVD.
and if anyone wants to see it i do have both reciepts from the bluray and hddvd players i got at walmart.
honestly if there is a format war it will come down to the lowest cost player.
and with 199 hddvd players just around the corner and name recognition hddvd will most likely ultimately win, and if not dont forgot HDDVD is region free and you can play imported hddvds on any hddvd player.
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until Criterion announces which format they'll be supporting. All I care about is seeing "Berlin Alexanderplatz" in the format that the greatest DVD label in the world thinks is best for it.
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But I get a kick out of all the Sony shills coming on here bitching. As if it was a personal affront that you didn't pick their format. lol
I prefer the HD-DVD's picture quality too. If I were you Harry, I'd get on Amazon UK and pick up the Fog and the Elephant Man. Oh yeah, and Goblet of Fire looks amazing. -
That's funny, I heard the same thing about HD-DVD. Cheaper players on the way, and higher storage capacity's.
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we must be shills if we think this HD-DVD press release is just some guys opinion. It's one thing to have an opinion.. it's another to spread obvious misinformation. Just an FYI- I have not bought into either format until there is a clear winner.
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that line is fuckin KILLING me right now. dude is not just name dropping, he is INDUSTRY dropping. "well because they have it, YOU must have it too!!"
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Hi Guys! Ever want an exciting tasty piece of meat but you dont have enough time to make it? Well now you do, with George Foremans Grill! You can watch a movie and grill at the same time! All of my fat friends agree, Foreman grill is where its at. Just prop it up so the grease doesnt leave, you know how much I like grease
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What, Harry doesn't have an opinion? He bought a player and he likes it. If you don't have either format then it shouldn't matter one way or the other.
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jae683
your right the goblet of fire looks impressive on hddvd.
iam still looking for the elephant man, i borrowed the french import from a friend at work, and it looked amazing.
iam going to borrow his imported hd dvd copy of terminator 2 over the weekend i cant wait to check that one out.
terminator3 rise of the machines is incredible in hddvd so i can only imagine how judgement day looks. -
it doesn't matter, but it would be nice for someone who runs a supposed "influential" website such as this to try to remain partial. He is allowed to have his own opinion, but maybe next time he could actually do a little research using this magical information superhighway... instead of watching an HD-DVD commercial and waddling over to walmart.
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And it pretty much dooms both formats. And yes, I'm fully aware of the initial public projected apps of HVD. There's going to be a major shift in that target, and the costs are going to plummet. There's simply no impetus whatsoever for me to upgrade to what are not vastly superior formats and are certainly not more versatile formats, since I've got wall-mounted HDTV/DVD combo units in the bedroom and kitchen with no such HD-DVD or Blu-Ray device even being mentioned at this point. And there's just way too many people like me who will be early-adopters when it's cool enough to do so, despite the cost, but not when it's just damned silly.
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Get "The Searchers" on HD DVD, Harry, get "The Searchers." It will have the same impact on you as "The Adventures of Robin Hood." The VistaVision transfer to HD DVD is eye-boggling.
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So why post this joke of an article?
Fuck the AVSForum, btw. -
People still pay money for porn. It's so readily available, why the fuck would anyone care if its on either format?
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watching a bad movie (let alone the unmitigated garbage that's on TV these days) on an ultra-high-def format does not improve the quality of what you're watching.
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I don't think anyone really does. I think it's all sarcasm at this point. Anyone who does care is probably not terribly likely to be a marketable consumer.
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This sites credibility has been non-existant for a while now and it's been hammered home with your inclusion on the HD DVD payroll. I guess a few dollars here and there gives you the ability to lie about jerkoff material and the actual number of titles that have been released for Blu-ray.
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i find it funny when people who havent even tried EITHER format in there own home try to say that bluray is better.
if you think its better, from actual in home experience then i respect your opinon, but if your saying it cause some sales person at bestbuy said it was better when you were standing infront of the in store display for all of 10 mins, then i think your a fool.
like i said standing infront of instore display doesnt do ANY HOMETHEATRE SETUP JUSTICE.
this goes for Bluray HDVD DVD also for televison and projectors as well.
want to hear a funny story, when i was trying to decide which DLP projector i wanted for my home theatre last year i went to best buy, they had 2 projectors they were demonstrating instore, the one i ended up buying(the toshiba) and a sony. they had the sony one setup in there room where they have the surround sytems setup where they could leave the lights off and enable a great picture. and the toshiba set up in area where the lights couldnt be turned off, the sales person kept saying to me see how much better the sonys picture resolution is,(keep in mind the sony was in a darkend area the toshiba in regular floresent lighting) when i said well yeah of course the sony looks better the way your displays are set up, the idiot had no response.
i walked out the door and went to another store one where they had several projectors set up properly in dark theatre type enviorments and guess what one of those was the toshiba i saw at best buy and the sony and guess what side by side i preferd the toshiba, so i bought it. -
Format wars, fanboy reactions, a few genuinely sane arguments. It really does get my blood pumping. But, then, I look into my bank account and realize I can't even afford to by any more regular DVDs let alone anything new. Not like it matters. Thanks to the garbage television I have, any greatness from the new format would be pretty much negated. I should've been a scientist. I'll bet scientists can afford all sorts of things.
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Some time ago, I had read an article that claimed that HD-DVD was winning the format war. Then not long after that, I read some articles that claimed Blu-ray was winning. I also spoke to someone who was into technology and they also claimed Blu-ray and would probably win and become the dominant format by fall or winter. But at the time I wondered, "How long will it take for me to hear that HD is in the lead again?" So now I'm hearing more support for HD. It seems that this issue is in constant flux and I'm wondering if there will ever be a resolution within the next year. At this point, I'm not so much rooting for either format per se, as I'm simply hoping one will win soon so I can start saving up for a new player. Of course, this leads to another concern: what's next? I'm not exactly happy with the idea of updating my library and am wondering if this is really worth it. Once/if one format wins, how long will it take for another new and improved format to come in and replace the existing one? How far away are we from "Ultra High Definition" in 50,080p? And of course, there's the ever-present question of just how good can movies look and sound?
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Its funny you mentioned the searchers on hd dvd i just one it about 5 mins ago on ebay for 9.99 plus 3.99 shipping.
cant wait to see it -
Both these formats will crumble.
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again, numbers don't lie...
upcoming HD-DVD release list:
http://www.dvdpricesearch.com/cgi-bin/dvdsearch2 vs.
upcoming Blu-Ray release list:
http://www.dvdpricesearch.com/cgi-bin/dvdsearch2
HD-DVD has more titles slated for release by a considerable margin. Just goes to show you that Sony can easily pony up the dough to get studios to sign exclusive deals but can't make 'em actually release any damn titles. Fox along with MGM has numerous titles "postponed". Disney has less than ten with an actual upcoming release date...While Warner is releasing titles for both, the preference is clear for HD-DVD. Look at the upcoming Blu-Ray/HD-DVD version of '300' for proof. The HD-DVD version of '300' trumps the Blu-Ray version in special features. Also, Blade Runner from WB is coming to HD-DVD in October only...a Blu-Ray release?..."planned". Wow, you guys got Pirates and Spider-man 3? Ghost Rider? I am jealous...oh wait, no I'm not, I have Army of Darkness, Carpenter's The Thing, 12 Monkeys, The Big Lebowski, Midnight Run, Shaun of the Dead, Spartacus, The Sting, etc. to keep me sated. Y'know...real movies...ever heard of 'em?
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It's funny how pissed people are getting. lol
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So you have chosen HDDVD because you have been payed for it. That's fine, but don't spread the bullshit that blu-ray players can't play the DVDs.
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It's repeated so many times that everybody believes it, but there's no truth to the myth that porn made VHS the dominant format over Beta. There was porn on both formats. The reason Beta couldn't match VHS primarily is due to the simple fact that Sony does not usually license its technology. Anyone could license the VHS patent, but Sony made Beta proprietary.
So porn choosing HD-DVD doesn't mean a damn thing. The format that wins, if it is a two horse race, will be the one that is most cost-effective. Laserdiscs hung in there for a long ass time, but finally died away, and they kicked DVD's ass. -
This format war is a damn shame, but would have been prevented had somebody with some sway stepped in and moderated the 2 camps to work together on a single format. Most people don't know this almost happened with DVD...before it was called DVD. In the early 90's, Sony/Phillips was working on MMCD (Multi Media Compact Disc) and Toshiba, Time/Warner and about 5 or 6 other major electronics corps. were working on a Super Density Disc...IBM President Lou Gerstner, in an effort to avoid a Beta/VHS-like war, stepped in and negotiated the parties involved to work towards a single format...Sony dumped their format, with only a few spec. requests for the winning format...and thus, DVD was born. Fact is, both formats are HD, and, like early DVD, the format has yet to be polished, so, which ever format wins, expect remasters in the next couple of years on some of the titles available now. The one thing I have against Blu-Ray, is sony's greediness with licensing, which is causing some concern for smaller DVD companies like Synapse, Criterion and any others who specialize in films with no mass appeal, this is why many of them are waiting, instead of picking one format or both. A move I will share. I do feel we will have a winner by the end of the year, or early next year though.
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You have to suck it up and pick one and one only. It's in the rule book. It's okay if King Kong is number two.
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I don't have Shaun of the Dead yet. Serenity and Chronicles of Riddick really stood out too.
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They're already remastering The Fifth Element.
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May 31, 2007 12:16:25 AM CDT
At the price break of $300 HD-DVD is going t o sell
by allpowerfulwizardofoz
That was my deciding factor.
1. Because I am not going to buy either an XBOX360 or PS3 as I am an Nintendo Wii and PC gamer.
2. Because I own an LCD HDTV that is 720p and have not been convinced that 1080p is that much different to the eye unless you are getting a TV that is 50 inches or bigger and that would be WAY to big for my living room
3. Because I they offered not only a decent price break but 5 free HD-DVDs AND Best Buy had a deal where if you bought 3 HD-DVDs you got $20.00 off so more or less I got an extra HD-DVD for free for buying 2.
4. I hated my Samsung upcovert player for many reasons not going to list them sorry.
All in all for $300 I feel like I got a great deal and Sony can go fuck themselves with their Blu-Ray. I think this price break was a smart move and I can tell you that while I was there another man came in before me and grabbed one and I grabbed the last one. Word has gotten out and the price with the free HD-DVDs is going to be a deciding factor for a lot of us who were on the fence. The picture looks great, the sound has never been better and I am 100% satisfied with my decision to go with HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray which is way over priced. Maybe the price will drop on the Blu-Ray soon but I am sticking with what I got and all I can do is hope for the best that the format I chose wins in the end and maybe both will stick around. It is what it is.
And again, all you fucking morons that continue to bash Harry and this site saying he's a sell out and getting paid off to support movies and gear are fucking idiots. If you feel that way stop coming here. You sound like morons when you talk shit like that. Sure Harry gets his facts wrong but I think it's more that he gets over excited and wants to make a post about something so he does not fact check like he should so yeah I will agree there but give the guy a fucking break. He's got a wedding coming up and a billion other things on his mind and everyone makes mistakes. If anything it just shows he is just like all of us because none of us are perfect. If you think you can run a better movie website then shut the fuck up and get started. -
Dude, where is part 2 through 10 of the Bruce questions or did he get wise to this site?
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to be sitting around watching movies. And every one of them who has an opinion on the matter is in complete agreement: they get their movies free in the form of Academy screeners, so until those come out on a new format, they don't give a damn. They're happy with VHS if it comes for nothing. Once again, that's what MY filmmaker friends say.
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Remeber people Sony is the company that put illegal self installing tracking software on their cds that opened a door to hackers if you played it on your computer.
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have settled down
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Shaun of the Dead streets late July...the last Tuesday of the month I believe..along with Darkman and Sea of Love.
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from Toshiba hit them with a hammer. LOL. No, really, it's because whoever moved Harry's stuff did a poor job. Coincidence they both broke so close to moving to a new home? I think not...
FACT! Hammers can often cause severe damage to DVD players, especially when the hammer strikes the machine repeatedly with force.
FACT! The name of the moving company was Toshiba Moving Company.
FACT! I am a douche. -
Remeber people Soon-Yi is the step-daughter that put illegal self-lubricating poontang on their stepfather that opened a door to dadaists if you played art games on your surrealists
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I'll have to keep track of that.
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unleashed cosmpic power
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... he is severely ignorant to the actual facts. That's why!
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get Planet Earth, no matter which format.
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AICN ad revenue GOTTA EAT!
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...I know I was...
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unleash cosmpic power
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The fact of the matter is the fact that Microsoft is pushing HD-DVD because Sony is a direct competitor so yeah you're gonna see a lot of fluff saying HD-DVD is outselling Blu-Ray, porn has gone with HD-DVD, blah blah blah. A smart person will just look at the specs. 50 Gigs as opposed to 15, more storage space, and a rapidly dropping price point. Sorry but Blu-Ray has got the market in my eyes and it seems the people who matter, namely the studios. But right now, I don't really give a SHIT!!! I'll wait a couple of years for the prices to drop even further and then pick up a hybrid player or whatever advertising has me working my shit job for. Fuck.
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lol Actually, the movie I really want is Brotherhood of the Wolf
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"Heck, if playstation and X-box can co-exist, why not these formats?"
Because I can't imagine why anyone would want home video to turn into the utter fiasco that video games have become (and have pretty much always been). "Okay, so you want a copy of 'Star Wars' and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' Well, 'Star Wars' will play on what you have, but you'll have to buy a different player for 'Raiders.' That'll cost you at least five-hundred bucks. You want 'The Third Man,' too? That'll only work on the portable version of your player and will cost at least two-hundred." I suppose if you're rich, it won't matter too much, but I don't think anyone else would be too happy with having to buy more than one player. If there is no end to this format war, then I at least hope that companies get to work on a universal player. -
You might be right about the companies pushing their own formats, but almost all the HD-Dvds I've seen have been the 30 gig kind. Most of the Blu-Ray (until recently) have been the 25 gig.
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I'm not upgrading for several reasons, and the main one is the
shitty look of all these HD / BR covers. I hate it that they take up valuable
space on the cover of my favorite movies to make sure I know it's a BR disk, or
an HD DVD. I know, goddamnit, I fuckin' bought it. The covers just look like
crap. Just look at the cover of Robin Hood in this article. Gorgeous,
original poster, and that ugly as hell red HD-DVD advertisement. What a
blemish. I'm a collector. I also buy the cover, and I hate it when Hollywood changes it from
the theatrical release, like the STAR WARS DVDs.
I'm inclined to think BR is the best of the two based on the
simple fact that it has a lot more capacity to store information, and in the
end, it's all about ones and zeros. The more you can store, the more you can
do. Period, end of argument. That the films look
different on either format is a matter of encoding, and that too, is being
worked out. That's the underbelly of this technology. While we're talking about
which format is best, they're figuring out how to best encode their flicks. And
once they've figured it out, they'll all do it the same way, and then, it won't
matter what format you buy it on, because it will be 6 of one, and half a dozen
of the other.
BR may also be the only format that will be able to survive,
once Hollywood
decides 1080 is low def, and that's going to happen pretty soon (next 5 years, guaranteed).
Think about it: the Genesis digital cameras are the first step to getting
digital filmmaking to catch up with the amount of detail you can get on celluloid
film (Lucas used them, Gibson did, too on Apocalypto –
did you notice they weren't shot on film?). I don't think for a second that
digital cameras will not surpass celluloid film in definition and clarity, it's only a matter of time. History teaches us that
technology will surpass itself, and I don't think my grandchildren will know
what film is, unless I teach them (and you better believe I'll be taking them
down to my dark room to show them how you develop film in the dark, and print
gorgeous pictures under a green or red light (your choice – I have both, to adapt
to my mood), it's one of the great art forms.
As for Porn, it's been said on this talkback already:
they're not going to decide anything, because they don't sell all that many
units, be it HD, DVD, or VHS.It's not the business
they're in, anymore. The future of porn is already history: it's the net. Porn practically
invented video on demand. They certainly have popularized it, and they're going
to keep making a killing like that. Also, the porn studios are on their way
out, whether they like it or not (I fucking love it – let the girls get all the
money – they do all the hard lifting, for fuck's sake). As porn stars become mainstream, we can see how it becomes acceptable to be in
porn. And amateur porn scenes are starting to look professional. This will keep
getting better. Pretty soon, porn won't be about fake titted
Jenna Jameson types, it will be about your own neighbor. Hallelujah!
Anyway, ultimately, I think HD or all kind,
is an intermediary step. Once Video On Demand becomes the norm (see Apple TV as
the first consumer friendly proof that it will, and many, many, many, will
follow), only collectors will buy hard copies of movies. That's you and me,
folks. But by the time that is reality, BR and HD DVD will be history, because
they'll have a format that can store three times as much
information on its media... and really, it's all a good thing. The whole
ULTIMATE MATRIX on one disk: it's a moment away.
I therefore side with everyone here: get what you want, and have
a good time. Like Rip Torn said in MEN IN BLACK, "I'm gonna have to buy
the White Album, again." Yup, and we'll be happy to do it. 'Tis the way of the consumer world. -
And I mean EAT a lot.
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There's another reason for not adopting, quite yet. I keep reading
on The Digital Bits that Blue Ray and HD DVD drive makers are all releasing
updates to their firmware, nearly on a weekly basis, because some disk won't play
right. This is kind of like Microsoft updating Windows because it keeps fucking
up. I don't know how easy it is to do, but if it's anything like updating your
CD-ROM drive firmware, it's slightly advanced, and beyond the ability of the
common folk. So if you want to make that CHILDREN OF MEN HD-DVD work, or if you
want to play the dice game on the PIRATES Blue Ray disc, you've got some leg
work to do, no matter how new your player is. To me, it's a sure sign it's way
too early to adopt.
That's it for me, folks, I don't want anyone telling me I
type like I got Diarrhea (too late). -
Fatality!
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Which makes the whole fact that there will probably never be a winner in this format war even more depressing.
Case in point - look at this talkback. There's already die-hards for each format emerging. As long as both have a sustainable market, then the market will remain divided, so pray for that universal player
Until, of course, the next generation of technology comes along and renders them both obsolete. -
BR has regional coding, HD-DVD don't.
European film companies has already choseen HD-DVD.
It is way more expensive to make BR than HD-DVD.
And the quality between these two are minimal, whoever says different is just a fanboy.
Therefor because HD-DVD is cheaper it will win. -
I agree with you on the porn point.
I've heard people say that before about Video on Demand. I've never been a believe in it though. It just seems too temporary. People like to 'own' things, it's human nature.
As far as HD, there's only so much the human eye can pick up. I think they're already approaching film resolutions. I guess you could go higher resolution with all digital movies, but again unless someone watches their movies an inch away from the screen, I'm not sure how much the point would be beyond 1080. -
Brotherhood of the Wolf was released on HD-DVD in the UK in April. Do a search at www.amazon.uk to find it. Considering licensing differences in the UK, there are several titles released on HD-DVD over there that are Blu-Ray exclusive here like 'Total Recall' along with titles from Warner and Universal that have yet to be released on HD-DVD in America like 'The Prestige' and the aforementioned 'Brotherhood of the Wolf'.
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The HELL HD-DVD don't have region coding! Where did you hear that crap????
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I've gotten several titles from the UK and France. They play just fine over here in the states.
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which makes youre entire argument moot! ;)
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I've seen it there. I've tried ordering that thing twice now and they kept telling me it would be sometime in Sept before I got. hmmm.
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Porn sales aren't relegated to home video like they were back in the 80's. You can get porn on the internet and through On Demand or Pay-Per-View. It isn't a driving factor, and there are actually going to be Blu-Ray porn releases eventually. HD-DVD is getting it's ass kicked but Blu-Ray right now, and there are far more exclusive films that will be going the Blu-Ray route. Two years from now HD-DVD will be a format on lifesupport. Think SelectaVision and Laserdisc.
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BLURAYS OF DEATH FORCE COERSION WILL EMINATE FROM THE TAX-PREPARING SURFBOARD OF SS!!! PREPARE FOR SILVER SUFEREE TO DESTRYO THE SPIDER-FELLOW AND THE FLITTERING PIRATE MAN. AH HA!
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maybe it will coincide with the American release date...I like how there are used ones for sell though...no thanks 'swoop-uk'..I think I'll take my chances and save my 23 pounds...
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Thats about it
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I think it must have been released before, because I've seen it with the April release date, but it's Sept now. Go figure. =)
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As far as more resolution is concerned, think of the 70 mm
film format. In IMAX, the film they use to project the image is that big, BUT
they're running the film sideways, to get their image size, which is an area
that is 48.5 mm wide and 22.1 mm tall. It's fucking huge, in these terms. It
also means that they have to run the film through the projector 3 times as
fast, to compensate for the sideways run. But consequently,
you're not getting any "jitters" onscreen, nor do window blinds look
like they're "dancing sideways" as the camera pans over them. I'm
not an expert, but the technology to project film at a higher resolution is out
there, and it has been for a while. The best "Dynamic Cinema" rides
also use similar processes, sometimes projecting more than 24 frames per
second, to get an ultra stable image, which increases the immersive feeling you
get from watching the screen. In the end, the human eye is capable of seeing a
lot more than 1080 p, and until they figure out what that max is, they're going
to keep looking.
They'll be at it for a while, but not as long as it would be
required if humans could perceive movement the way a cat does, which is
estimated to being at least 9 times as well as we do! Great stuff! -
that site goes downhill every day
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Sorry, couldn't resist - but I gotta say... the Talk Backers have made compellingly persuasive (and impressively convincing) arguments here in favor of Blu-Ray, and against HD-DVD. Ah, the joy of fact-checking!
(BTW, remember when you said that 480 was HD? Boy howdy, I sure do...)
http://aintitcool.com/node/31776
However, I am genuinely curious to know what projector you have, and what the specs for it are. And yes, I do envy you for having seen Robin Hood in glorious HD... assuming your projector is actually HD... right? ;-) -
For one the 51GB discs work JUST FINE in current players. This is just as bad as the BS people spewed about 50GB BD discs not working on current players before they came out. They work, and yes, they WILL be out 1st Quarter 2008 at the latest.
The DVD Forum is going to vote on another issue of making REGIONS for future HD-DVD releases. This and the lack of space are the primary reasons for DISNEY, LionsGate, and MGM holding out.
Do the math and you will see that with PS3s the BD market has something like FIFTEEN TIMES AS MANY UNITS IN THE MARKET. All they have is a puny 3:1 edge? Wow that is something for Sony to be EXCITED about!
Toshiba is making money on their 2nd Gen HD-DVD players, the BD camp isn't. Samsung makes VERY little money on their player (about $60). However their Dual Format player coming out this Winter is going to be CHEAPER to manufacture than the BD only player...
It costs less to manufacture both the hardware and software on HD-DVD. The "size," limitation is going to disappear. All that will be left is Studio Support. That will change slowly in 2008. Universal isn't going anywhere. Their President just last week shot down the rumor of them going neutral. I believe the quote was "we'll be neutral when Sony is."
BD Players CAN NOT AT THIS TIME UPCONVERT DVDs as well as the Toshiba Units. Why? The Toshiba units use better video processing. Especially the XA2. That machine is one of the best DVD players on the market at any price. True videophile quality stuff in that unit.
Face it the masses will be buying their $150 HD-DVD players this holiday season to go with their $500 to $1000 HDTVs. The masses will choose the winner of this stupid format war. Not Sony, and not some gaming machine. Nor will Vista and MS be the reason. The only reason is stupid people are more likely to spend $150 than $500. It's sad when BD fan boys are waiting for a $500 player and it being a "cheap," player.
Meanwhile the Onkyo HD-DVD player(s) will be out at $300, $600, and $1000 respectively.
Personally I hope that Samsung unit is around $500 I'd buy it in a heartbeat. -
is like bragging you have the biggest dick in the small dick club. both formats are selling fuck all because the average consumer doesn't give a fuck to be honest....neither of these formats will be replacing dvd the way dvd has VHS...and as for porn well i just don't know if porn will be as big a decider as it was during the VHS beta wars due to the fact that it is so readily available on the internet...will it really matter which format porn goes with? internet has surely made the home dvd market for porn a lame duck in terms of having any sway on soemthing like a format war....
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May 31, 2007 1:08:11 AM CDT
"give the guy a fucking break he's got a wedding comin"
by spencertrilby
who cares for fucks sake? It doesn't allow him to openly lie to us.
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It is indeed Tommy Lee Jones who got that line. I just checked on my miserably low res, soon to be forgotten DVD edition. I still think Rip Torn would have nailed it. What a great actor. Hell, they both are. Maybe they're related.
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i don't know if it is true orif it is just a rumour but apparently the porn industry is worried and panicked about all the new Hi Def cameras and playback systems because now the girls blemishes are all there in hi def...stretch marks, spots, unslightly stray hairs etc etc...and seeing the "models"in such fine detail is actually really gross....if that is true that is hilarious....
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that there were this many Blu-Ray aficionados and vehement supporters out there fighting tooth and nail in favor of. Considering the cheapest Blu-Ray player, the PS3 is $600, I will deem the whole Blu-Ray fanclub as a whole 'Mr. Fancy Pants'
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Sony went all betamax again, you would think they had learned by now
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Here's a happy image for you. The 'Headge Hog' in glorious HD. Enough said. =)
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Yes, what you mention about the porn industry is true. The next big wave in porn girl manufacturing is probably laser surgery to remove such hairs / blemishes. And you know what's a real kisser? The lasers they use appear blue to the naked eye! ZAP!
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Actually I have a ps3, lol. I use it solely for a movie machine because, frankly, the games suck so far.
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http://tinyurl.com/35ufcy
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Well at least you've remained unbiased...I always tend to root for the underdog for some reason...which would explain the museum-like nature of my spare bedroom's closet...here ye, here ye...gather round for a peek at the 'Turbografx-16'....the 'Atari Lynx'...'Jaguar'...Satur...Dreamca...fuck it, I'm getting a Blu-Ray player.
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I know what you mean. I still have a turbografx and an atari 7800 somewhere.
But I get more use out of Toshiba as a movie player though. -
...when the whole HD/Blue Ray stuff is as dead as Laserdisc (Only that it still will be used for Games and stuff)?
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I got a Sharp Aquos 42" 1080p LCD HDTV and it's pretty damn good. The problems? Action scenes get all pixel-y and the same with rain or water shots, lightning, etc. But I play a lot of video games, in fact, the main reason I got the TV was for my X360, and I heard LCD is better than plasma for avoiding image "burn-in". (I'm taking the set back to Costco, BTW, 'cause an entire vertical line of LCD's went out; bummer!) Thoughts? Pro or con? (And what do you use your HDTV for? Movies? Gaming?) Let me know...(oh, and I'm not buying either HD-DVD or Blu-ray until a winner is decided. For now, I'm just getting my HD from Comcast, OnDemand and HBO) And my standard def DVD's look great...
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I still have a year or so traveling around the world and then I'll see what format has won. I is not cowardice, but I'd hate to blow money on a system that will be pushed off the market within a year. But I agree with the fact that DVD is the last hard copy form of entertainment. Everything will be 'fluid' a few years from now.
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... because everyone gets their porn on the net now anyway... it's much more anonymous.
The internet has pretty much killed porn on DVD. -
You can eat the cost of a new player if your pick loses the format war, but replacing a bunch of movies will suck. A new player will be $200 or less when one wins, so its not that much of a pain to replace, but replacing a bunch of movies WILL suck. Till one wins, just Netflix/Blockbuster/whatever. Also, I can't believe Harry didn't know Blu-Ray is backwards compatible and does upscaling to 1080P. Picture quality isn't an all out win for HD-DVD either, just the early Blu-ray discs weren't very good. The newest discs out on both formats look about the exact same. Audio quality can't be judged yet since no one has a DTS HD Master Audio compatible player yet, and that's what Fox is issuing all their Blu-Ray discs in. (Fox, Disney, and Sony don't issue HD-DVDs. Universal doesn't issue Blu-Ray discs.) The Blu-Ray movies with uncompressed 5.1 PCM do apparently sound amazing, as well as all the Blu-Ray movies and HD-DVDs with Dolby TrueHD.
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"most of our passengers get there alive." "pulmonary cancer? possibly. Great taste? for sure."
most underrated film ever. "Sony- because caucassians are just too damn tall." -
Batman doesn't DANCE anymore?
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whilst more people will watch online tv, picking their favourite shows and movies,
there will always be room for "tangible" formats. People like owning things, and always will. -
in the really long run the higher capacity of blu-ray (not blue-ray you rtards) will win out.
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I too work at Best Buy and in OUR district we cannot GIVE a BR player away!!! You have SO many of your facts wrong you REALLY should think about finding yourself another profession... When that guy you sold 3 players to finds out you fucked his wallet for the overprices and undervalued DEAD format, how much more business do you think you will get from him?? I thought our mission was customer centricity but you are obviously a wallet rapist. I myself rarely EVER talk back here but you made my blood boil, It is no wonder people do't like our Brick and mortar stores anymore, because uneducated fools like you work for this company, it is a sad state of affairs.
Current Bullshit HD format Myths that I am SICK and FUCKING TIRED OF HEARING:
-Universal is not going BD, Deal with it.
-Disney is not going HD (YET! They will wait and do whatever Wal-Mart tells them to do, BELIEVE IT, they sell more Disney Movies than ANYONE else, if Wal-Mart gets their players it is DISNEY=FORMAT NEUTRAL)
-Studio support, stop pulling studio numbers out of our asses. It is actually MUCH closer than the FUD would tell you. HD=51 BD=54.
-Lets not forget MOST of the films that are BD can be purchased overseas if you want AND played on your Toshiba here in the states because HD DVD has NO REGION CODING! A simple fix to NOT purchase a SINGLE BR disk and buy overseas ALL the titles you can't get here because of the studios decisions, tell them what format you want to win with your wallet. THEY WILL LISTEN
-Spiderman 3 is not what I would be touting as a "winner"
-Fox has pulled titles, they are NOT releasing on any format for the foreseeable future, but my personal Guess if if BD JAVA doesn't get on board quick it is BAD NEWS for this studio and this formats exclusivity.
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if there are region codes for HDDVD how is it iam watching the uk version Harry potter and the goblet of fire right now, and how is it i was able to watch my friends copy of the french imported elephant man on hddvd.
why dont you check your facts before you open your mouth. -
FUCKIN FUD, HD DVD HAS "NO REGION CODING" learn your facts Ryan!! Christs sake!
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Being "in the industry" or some crap like that I find that beta is still being used, sure it's not commercial, but the cost of the decks and tape stock are high enough and used enough that sony doesn't lose money.
The whole hi-def disc format is lame anyway, give me a d5 deck and projector and seem what "better than film" high definition actually looks like.
Oh and it turns out there are developments of tv's that play 3d without glasses or anything, so then you're gonna have to get something else completely new and different...
Only reason I can see making a choice in the war is the temptation of getting a bluray burner for my computer, but I'm an ahole like that... -
A 360 with the HD DVD drive and a PS3. I shelved the 360 a week ago and plan on selling it later on. But I borrowed an HDDVD from a friend and compared it to my BR's. That made me sure BR is the thing.
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"if you're a sophisticated customer who appreciates quality, why not try Laramie cigarettes? Ah, Laramie, for that smooth, cool flavour".
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spearheaded the whole vhs rush and will factor in on the blu-ray/hddvd debate. i haven't paid for porn in three years but someone is, and their buying a shitload of it. ultimately the cheapest will win, if everyone were cinephiles no one would buy full screen dvd's. i'm waiting for a merge of formats, or i'm regressing back to beta!
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The format war will won by Blu ray when Fox and Lucas film decide to release the original Star Wars Trilogy on the format. Nuff said.
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That he goes HD-DVD. The mans got a million dvd's, would be a shame not to be able to watch those again.
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Enjoy your Laserdics, folks.
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So both your DVD players got busted and you opted for the quickets and cheapest solution, which was the HD-DVD player from Thosbia at 299.
You tell yourself this is awesome, and then you make a post on your website claiming you've probably chosen the winning format because Robert Rodriguez also feels HD-DVD is right. Not to mention, you somehow manage to claim that there are 62 titles on Blu-Ray and 500+ on HD-DVD? What the FUCK did you smoke?
Get your facts straight, man. And the picture quality between Blu-ray and HD-DVD are virtually identical.
Porn doesn't mean shit anymore for deciding a winning format. Internet = free porn.
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...turning 40 this year, I still remember the format wars of yore, including mind-blowing shit that most of you whippersnappers never even heard of, like the Philips Video 2000, which was a technically superior videotape format with flippable (!) cassettes, thus enabling recording on both sides, just like the traditional audio cassette. The picture and sound quality was considerably better than VHS and one had twice as much space on the cassette for recording.
Back in those days, I can remember similar although technologically more primitive conversations among my friends at school where kids would argue vehemently for whatever format their parents had bought, saying things like: "VHS sucks! Betamax's got a much clearer picture!"
The bottom line is that there have to be certain factors fulfilled in order for a format to win, which I believe still holds true today:
1) There has to be an upgrade in quality so resounding that even semi-catatonic and illiterate Joe Sixpack says: "Holy shit! I gotta get me one of these!"
2) Said upgrade must not entail the additional upgrading of Joe Sixpack's television and/or sound system, or he will swiftly lose interest.
3) The price for said upgrade must be perceived as reasonable for Joe Sixpack.
4) The interwebs notwithstanding, Joe Sixpack instinctively wants a system which provides free access to all titles commercially available.
5) Joe Sixpack will NOT commit until there is a clear candidate which fulfills these criteria, at which point a victor will be seen.
The fact is, ladies and germs, that neither of these systems will prevail in the long run. It's been too short of a timespan since Joe Sixpack's latest watershed upgrade to DVD, and most people are completely satisfied with what they have.
I've been deeply impressed with both the Blu Ray and HD DVD demonstrations I've seen, but then again, I was equally impressed in the early 1980's when I was shown a laserdisc demonstration.
Blu Ray and HD DVD are stopgap technologies - mark my words. Regular DVDs will be here for a long time, my friends, before anything topples them from the throne of home video. -
The Pirates movies are on Blu-Ray. That'll be hard to beat. If Lucas chose a side though. I'm sure that format would win by default.
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...who are ragging on Harry for choosing HD DVD, shut the fuck up. If he had chosen Blu Ray instead, you'd still be screaming "sellout!"
How you can claim that his thoughts on the format war (misguided though they may be) are irrelevant on a movie site, HIS movie site, is just laughable. -
Three letters missing and ya sound like freakin idiot.
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am I missing something? If you can buy (for considerably less money) a DVD player that will upscale the images onto your HDTV at 1080p whats the point of spending the extra on HD DVDs (whatever format) and the new player as well? If its the same picture quality (or near as damn it) why the expense? Anyone??
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That's a good deal.
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Isn't the movie compressed on DVD or something and on HI-DEF its transferred at a higher resolution er something? I'm just talking outta my ass here, but isn't it something like that?
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and you know who you are, then literally you're a dick. If your going to websites and PAYING for the exact same shit you can download for free then you are the biggest dick there is. (if your stealing passwords to access porn sites, then kudos.) I'm not just name calling here, you're really a dick because porn is in fact readily available without purchase thanx to kazaa, limewire, and now yes... youporn.com. Not only can you download the shit, but you can burn it, play it on a DVD player with DIVX and enjoy it on your TV as well as your PC. (yes there are many DIVX DVD players in abundance) If the professional porn industry decided they will quit making porn, no one will shed a fucking tear because amateur pornographers will take over and believe me I'd rather watch that shit than any fucking porn with a plot! Porn doesn't need a plot, you watch it, spank to it, and call it a night. Wait, what are we talkin about again? Oh yea! HD-DVD and Blu Ray look the same, neither one is better than the other, and porn in HD is just nasty and entirely unneccessary. Now if you will excuse me, I just downloaded some nice asian porn with hand cream at the ready...
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'know of a way to download the hand cream, too?
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Right now, Columbia, Disney, Fox and Sony Pictures release exclusively to Blu-Ray. Just last week PotC 1 + 2 released on Blu-Ray, which won't happen anytime soon for HD. Everyone else releases on both formats, except Universal, who release only on HD-DVD. If you go to IMDB you can get a listing of there releases for '06. For every Children of Men, there's an Accepted, American Pie 5, American Dreamz etc.
Besides that, Harry, all the benefits of HD-DVD you listed (upscaling, backwards compatability) are also true of Blu-Ray.
Now add to that the fact that there are already 1.3 million blu-ray's in peoples homes in the form of a PS3. Sooner or later they're going to get curious and buy/rent a Blu-Ray disc. The same can't be said for Xbox 360 owners who get to choose whether or not to spend another $200 bucks for the add-on HD Drive. Blu-Ray is the format positioned to win. -
There's actually very little, in terms of quality, that seperates the two formats. Both look and sound amazing and comparing I challenge anyone to actually spot the difference.Anyway, when people remember the old VHS v Beta format war, they all seem to forget that VHS won because it was cheaper to manufacture players and tapes. You can argue all you like about quality; Beta blew VHS out the water, all your average consumer cares about is the cost and HD-DVD comes in well under BR.Howerver, what most people have totally forgotten is that to get the real benefit of these players you need a true HD tv. DVD had no problems because everyone had a standard def TV to play it on; until HDTV is the standard in most peoples homes, neither format will really get anywhere. By the time that happens, broadband speeds should be well through the roof and your HD movies won't come on any format, they'll be downloadable. DLC, it's the way of the future :D
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I'm curious about this feature. Please chime in if you have one of these players and an HD TV (Plasma or LCD). Because after looking into it, I find that a lot of the new plasma and LCD screens do some upscaling of their own. So does that mean a DVD player's upscaling is useless? Does it mean that having an HD TV and a progressive scan DVD is enough (if you don't want to get an HD deck)? It sure doesn't sound like Harry's projector does it, since he noticed a difference in his DVDs getting upscaled by his new player. Sounds like a bunch of voodoo to me. Man, I hate voodoo.
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No, only a handful of people with PS3 are going to be curious to about Blu Ray since alot of users still play on stadard def sets.I can tell you now that the Sony SD RGB scart lead outsells Sony's component HD and HDMI leads.
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It looks nice but you don't the quality you see on a true HD video disc.Basically, the upscaling allows you to watch old DVD's in a nice clean looking way because, on most HD sets, standard def feeds look like shit. They're blocky and pixely. Upscaling stops that but its no substitute for a tru HD disc.
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I don't care which HD format it turns up on as the war will hopefully be over by then.
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LMAO
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I just woke up my housemate with my laughing.
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...hands down. The Chinese manufacturers are able to mass manufacture the parts much more cheaply and, as we all know, Sony keep hold of their product patents so tightly and market them so expensively that they cut their own throats (see Betamax). HD-DVD Rom discs will be available on the market within the next year along with a pioneer burner for PCs. BluRay had it's chance and blew it.
They may currently be outselling HD-DVD 3:1 but all that will change. They said DivX/XviD wouldn't catch on and how fucng wrong was The Man about that one. Having stated that fact, i doubt that i will be replacing all the 4500 XviD films in my collection once i buy my HD-DVD player. Decent upscaling and a capacity to handle extremely high bitrate video/DTS audio is what i'm after. Being on welfare due to my wifes long term illness means that i would have never been able to experience the wealth of (world) Cinema we have enjoyed if it weren't for the invention of DivX. -
Sad that Harry seems to not understand that his credibility on his own forums is now zero and still posts stuff like this. This is what your 'film maker friends' are telling you, Harry? Rest of the world replies 'don't insult our intelligence'. Sad that we have to listen to so much misinformation on here and sad that two employees of 'Best Buy' seem to think that they can foretell the entire worldwide marketing and future sales figures for two competing electronic gizmos from behind their till counters in one store without realising that no one takes the word of someone who works in Best Buy seriously or any electronic store for that matter. No one knows what's going to happen with BR or HDDVD. I know one of these IS a superior technology but that isn't the be all and end all deciding factor. Think I'll wait a little longer, mainly cause I resent having to buy my DVD collection all over again. Nice try Harry. Hope they paid you well for that spot.
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What's wrong with my statement? Did I get something wrong?
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Player Piano rolls. Victrola discs. Vinyl records at 16, 78, 33&1/3rd and 45 rpm. Black and White TV. Mono. 8-track tape. 8mm film. Super 8mm. Beta. Picture disc. Laser disc. Quadrophonic. 8-Track Tapes. Metal Capable Cassettes. Dolby Pro-logic 4.0. The walkman. The boombox. CD-Rom.
Facing immediate obsolescence: Audio cassettes, VHS tape. On the endangered species list; standard format CDs and DVD. Physical CD and DVD burners and dulicaters. There can be only one: DVRs vs. VCRs. HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray. Stereo audio vs. Dolby 5.1. Someone e-mail me when they decide on a format that will be around for the rest of my life, and meanwhile, where do I go to to get my money back on all this obsolete shit I was conned into buying. "CDs are virtually indestructable and will last you the rest of your life. Sure, if they keep the players on the market. Meanwhile, where do I find a stereo phonograph cartridge for less than what my turntables cost me 20 years ago? -
1) having enough cash to make the switch. 2)a player that plays both formats. 3) Star wars. Bluray will have starwars at some point. 4) Lord of the rings! but that will be on HD-DVD! ARGH!
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One hates to break a tradition.
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The Blu-ray association should sue Harry for blatantly spreading misinformation about their products. Blu-ray can play DVD, can upconvert and has more titles today than HD-DVD. What respect I had for Harry is gone today. Its a measure of how desparate HD-DVD is that it has to resort to spreading FUD.
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...if I'm not mistaken, when they said DivX wouldn't catch on, I believe they were talking about DIVX.
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIVX )
Unless the DivX codec itself had a controversial start... if it did, I knew nothing about it. -
It's from New Line. New Line is Warners. Warners is format-neutral. In fact, Warners is the one pushing Total HD discs.
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I'd go with HD-DVD too if I had pick one now. That said, I'm not touching either format until I'm sure it's going to be the winner.
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I think all of you are forgeting one simple fact, the masses decide who wins the battle, not the technophiles. When you exclude gamers and geeks, the average consumer can give a shit less about either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. The general public has barely converted over to DVD from VHS and has no motivation or desire to change to a new format. Think about it, the masses never care what's best. All that matters is what is good enough. People switched to CD's because they were the first format that offered a small size without wearing out. When better sounding options came out(SACD and the like) they were ignored by the masses. For the majority of the buying public, DVD's are to movies what CD's were to music, good enough. That's just my opinion though
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em all. PS3 firmware upgrades em all to 1080p too. And 1080p is better than 1080i.
Headgeek really is the sell-out I've been reading about. Propaganda over disc format should be kept to company PR bastards, not a movie reviewer... -
If this is true, then the lolz on you Harry
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-goddamn-tee you all that NO high def format will break through on a level higher than laserdisc at its peak until HD televisions outnumber regular TVs in people's homes on the same level that color TVs outnumbered B&W ones at the dawn of home video.
When that day comes, which it will, a cheap, universal high def format will be swiftly adopted, but it will be neither HD DVD nor Blu Ray. -
While it's true that you are getting enhanced picture performance on a regular DVD with the HD-DVD player (thanks to the HDMI interface cable), you are NOT increasing the picture quality to 720p/1080i. The best you are doing is sending a pure digital signal from the DVD to the television, and that does improve clarity, but does not "add" pixels to the movie. And why not just wait for the device that plays HD-DVD AND Blu-Ray? It only took a year for LG to develop one, which means that some of the larger electronics companies will probably be producing better ones in the next couple of years.
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What kind of TVs were you using for your comparison? It does make a difference if you're using DLP, LCD or plasma technology. DLP, for example, looks like crap when you're closer than 6 feet, but correctly positioned in your media room it's the best choice of the 3 for a high-def experience.
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Harry, can you pretend that your reviews aren't biased? Your opinions are reaching George W. Bush levels of objectivity at this point.Putting movies you admit to hating on your "DVD Picks" list just so you can get the click-through fees from amazon.com is one thing, but to write a blatantly uninformed article saying "HD DVD is the way to go, and I'm using the player that we conveniently advertise on this site" is downright lame. I'm glad the talkbackers are calling you out on this. The whole upconversion part was a dead giveaway. That's like saying you are picking Diet Coke over Diet Pepsi because Diet Coke is carbonated.Next thing you know, Harry will write a Spiderman 3 review where he defends the pathetic handling of the fan-favorite Venom character because he never really understood or cared for that character anyway, nor did his buddy Sam Raimi.
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FM came out right after AM, but it took twenty years to sell. Why? Everyone already shelled out money for AM! While HDDVD and BlueRay "battle it out" most folks still don't understand what HDTV is (is it cable, TV or programming?) and people who can buy a dvd player for 30 bucks and dvd's for 10, won't upgrade by buying an HDTV, and a 300-600 dollar player. While this is all happening, what has just happened to music with the Ipod, will happen to movies, they will become digital data we buy online, and save on hard drives and little expensive discs will be gone. whomever wins: HDDVD or BlueRay, it will be a marginal victory. The disc, will die.
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Next up, does Harry like Twinkies or Suzie Q's?
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Nothing against BluRay but I went with HD DVD because of the price. $350. I just picked up a 42 inch LCD and have it in the bedroom and the old DVDs never looked better. I only own 3 HD DVDs right now THE THING FORBIDDEN PLANET and SERENITY but have the BB online movie pass and have been renting HD thru them. Just watched THE FOUNTAIN last night in HD. ROBIN HOOD was great and the HD disc had many hours of crazy xtras. I had a upconverting DVD player before the HD deck but the old DVDs look 100% better in the HD deck. When the PS3's get down to $199 I will get BluRay then.
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Way to do your homework before buying a player. (Don't really think you're an idiot) But sometimes, you really should do you homework. Enjoy your 1080i upconversion and lack of HD Transformers, Spiderman3, Fantastic Four, Ratatoullie. The only HD-DVD summer movie exclusive is Evan Almighty. Way to pick the winner! hahahahahaha.
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The Upconvert dvd player is cheap and the reults are pretty fantastic. I am not a 'Videophile' but any movie made in the last few years looks fantastic on the upconvert player and even old movies look pretty great. For me, it's the way to go right now, especially with regular DVD's being sold for $5 everywhere you go. I'm much more willing to experiment or buy trashy fun flicks when they're that cheap. I've seen the hi-def stuff and its great but its still insanely expensive. I think upconverting is the way to go for at least a few more years.
And BTW - who wants to see hi-def porn? Have you noticed how every pore in a persons face is emphasized in hi-def? Can you imagine how some of those 'starlets' are going to look with their spotty asses and thigh bruises? You'll be able to see every stretch mark and pleat in their fake fun bags. Ick. -
but there are some blatant errors in what you wrote about Blu Ray. Yes it's true some early titles used an inferior compression codec but now %99 of BluRay and HD DVD's use identical VC-1 transfers. Also most Blu Ray players will also upconvert DVD's where did you get the impression they wouldn't? As far as Blu Ray outselling HD DVD 3 to 1 that was for the reporting period when Casino Royale was released exclively to Blu Ray. Before and after they are pretty much neck and neck. Hope you still have a progressive PAL converting region free DVD player kicking around!
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Bare with me on this... Now the X Box is losing customers due to the problems with the hardware. Nwo a lot of angry X Boxers are waiting for Sony to get its act together with decent games and decent price. Now when this happens the format wars will be turned on their head due to the PS3' DVD capability. with regard to this article i think this is dishonest. How do we know this is not a paid advetisment. To things will decide the DVD war; porn and the PS3.
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you are wrong about the number of HD DVD's available being higher than Blu Ray. Whoever gave you this info is flat out wrong.
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It's already straight to the internet. Besides, I don't want HD porn myself. Trust me, there will be no HD porn with significant sales on any format.
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If Sony doesnt allow porn makers to format Blu-ray for their releases then Sony will be fucked with its pointless technology/ all the betamax became extinct because sony would not allow porno to be made on Betamax format. History is repeating itself. If sony doesnt allow porn to be made on Blu-ray then Sony can look forward to a bleak future for the blu ray and the PS3. Sony are just not good at dealing with the porn issue.
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I'm very dissapointed that you would lie about the numbers like that. Or again, simply not do your homework before spouting numbers as facts. Very sad time here at AICN.
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I got a Samsung DVD burner with upconvert HDMI output and I must say, the difference is noticable.
I have not compared it with the same title in true HD, but it looks good enough to me.
So, for me, the battle is over -- keep my existing DVDs, and watch them in 1080i on my 108" screen.
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I use HD DVD because I have a 360 and the $100 dollar HD DVD drive was a cheap way into the format. I've bought quite a few discs so far but I figure whoever loses will be bending over backwards to license their technology cheaply to dual format player manufacturers to cover their losses as best they can. There's only one dual player right now (and it's feature crippled and expensive) but they'll become more common and much cheaper as this 'war' drags on. When a dual format player comes out that I like I'll buy that. I think it'll be a couple more years though at least before we see a more clear cut winner.
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Do you just pull this stuff out of your butt? I have a 360 and I've never had a problem with it. In fact, I've had more problems with my ps3 then I've ever had with the xbox.
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There's Harry for you - after all that shit about Pirates 3, he goes and recommends Excalibur, a true and utter treat that anyone who watches will be happy to have seen. Thanks dude!
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Of course, with all that said, some DVDs still look like crap in upconvert -- such as the horribly mastered Excalibur. To see that in true HD...Hmmm...
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Upscaling, through an algorithm, doubles the line count. It can't add detail that wasn't there in the source, but it makes for a smoother picture.
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We've got a 46" 720p Samsung DLP in the den, and in the basement I've just recently purchased the new 61" 1080p Samsung DLP. Before I got the larger TV, I remember doing kind of a half-assed comparison on "Sith" too with the DVD and then the HBO HD broadcast...but my smaller model only came with one HDMI connection (I was doing component cables through the SAT receiver) so it was not a perfect comparison. I do think that in some cases you get a better picture through component cables than HDMI, but I'll save that debate for another day. ;)
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if its by sony, it doesn't stand a chance. Stupid SOBs think they are Kind of Electricity.r
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me neither.
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So.... Blu ray players are not compatible with DVD's? HD-DVD just "looks" right. Porn will win this war.
Blu ray sales are not falsly inflated because they are clear about the distinction between software and movies. And I have been able to watch both formats on an HDTV through HDMI calibrated properly. Do you want to know something amazing....... sometimes 1080p on one format...... looks exactly like 1080p on the other format. Who woulda thunk it. Chances are if you made your purchase and these wonderful revaltions on instore display's and presentations, you were feed a line. The older BR films were of bad quality but ever since the end of 2006 the quality has skyrocket and I have not been dissapointed ever since. I was curious about which format was going to head foward but looking at the release list for both formats it only makes sense the BR will have the advantage.
And this porn thing is entirely stupid. I assure you, you do not need to see porn in HD. And this is a different time and age from the first format war. It is less of a taboo to walk into a porn store, You can get swaths of porn on the internet without having to sacrifice your privacy. If porn was such a huge deciding factor I am pretty sure the sales should be killing the blu ray numbers. But blu ray is climing, it has a larger selection of titles from more production companies and I am pretty sure that these BR sales are going to be treated as a fluke until HD-DVD leaves the market. -
If your TV has an S-video input hooking up your $30 DVD player using a S-video cable will give you a noticable jump in picture quality for $5.
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going to tell us why they suggest it over Blue-ray, or keep that little gem of a secret for yourself? Let me guess, they work for the Universal, the only HD-DVD exclusive studio. Also, keep in mind, 3/4 of the movies coming out you won't be able to see on HD-DVD.
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I recently got a bigscreen HDTV. Got my HD channels and the Universal channel was playing Battlestar. Couldn't wait to see it in Hi-def. I was shocked it looked horrible. Worse than on my smaller t.v. Why? They intentionally film it using heavy grain to give it that "real world" or "documentary style" feel. It looks like hell, on HD only enhances that effect. Even the space scenes use it. I was so let down. You've been warned.
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It was nice reading about Harry's jump into the world of HD-DVD... I guess I am waiting to start buying Blu-Ray or HD-DVD movies... even though I just bought a PS3 on Saturday...
But I kept thinking Harry was going to watch Katharine Hepburn... Katharine Fucking Hepburn and I keep feeling nauseous... Wait is Harry a chick? No fucking man... straight or gay would ever watch Katharine Hepburn movies. GAYROD! -
If so, you should mention that Q&A thing he's let drop. I could've been fun. Not Stallone-level fun. But fun.And they might as well release Die Hard 4 exclusively in HD-Diamond-Gold format because I'm not going to watch it anyway.
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one disc.
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Because I think it was funny when you said that HD-DVD looks better than Blu-ray. Did you did a direct comparison between the two? I have both formats and I can't tell the difference. Also, remember you won't get to see the Spiderman movies and the Pirates movies in HD because those will only come out on Blu-ray bitch!!
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How the fanboys who claim Lucas raped their childhood now say that the Star Wars films will determine which format they choose. Hypocrisy, thy name is flaming fanboy talkback!
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That's not true. Most studios support both formats.
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that piece of shit!!!...
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A trilogy that is coming to blu ray as well. When is HD DVD getting the pirates movies?
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I haven't seen any HD-DVD demos but I have seen a few for Blu-Ray at Best Buy and Circuit City. I have to say I wasn't impressed because the clearness of the picture made everything look weird. The demo I saw of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory made everything look rubbery, and the RV one I saw had the colors popping out so much, that I thought I was watching Dick Tracy. Why is it that the colors seem way too bright? Did whoever set up the TV make it this way so people would be amazed at how Green the greens are, or is it a fundamental flaw in the technology. It just seems that everything I have seen thus far on Blu-Ray has made the props, sets, effects obviously fake in these films.
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harry, the majority of people dont care about buying hd porn...people get their porn on the internet. just because porn bolstered vhs in the old days does not mean you can make the same parallels today. blu-ray is a better format in a several respects (theoretically..there are many variables). but unless you are looking at a proffesional CRT HD monitor (like i do every day at work) you will barely notice any difference.
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I think HD will win, um because
1)my powerful hollywood friends said so.
2)the current dvd player for HD DVD's has better features, (not the format!)
3) this is the kicker, "I have a knack of picking format winners!"
There you go folks...the most well thought out argument in history. Add in some three movies, one uber movie geek friendly, two obscure titles that he can talk emotionally about, and you've got ur standard Harry article here. -
the TV was not properly calibrated. watching HD 1080p on a giant plasma is comparable to theatrical projection. so the goons at circuit city had all the settings jacked up so they pop under the phlorescent lighting. don't let it throw you. that being said be *very* careful about what LCD TV you buy, it is nowhere near as good as plasma or CRT yet.
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The reason is store HDTV's are horribly calibrated, poorly set up, usually have the wrong settings on both the TV and video player, and often faulty or poor cables. TV's are almost always set on "Vivid" Color mode, which makes everything look unnatural. This is because in store you need the TV to stand out amongst the others. At home you would never set it to "Vivid". You very rarely see the best quality u can get in a store. I've seen people sit down in one of those home theatre room like set ups in stores so often, oohing and aahing over a crap picture, its not even funny. From what i've heard both BR and HD look great, and they make movies look awesome.
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The upgrade from VHS to DVD made sense to the general consumer, because tapes were shitty in quality and jammed every so often. Another upgrade from DVD to HD-DVD or Blu-Ray? Not so much sense, especially when every time I go into my friendly neighborhood Target and hear people bitching about how they hate the widescreen format. If you can't sell the masses on widescreen, of all things, you sure as hell aren't going to sell them on HD-DVDs.
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Did you have to take 5 showers after you posted this item? It's like the HD-DVD PR team write that for you. Why wouldn't you just get one of those combo players?
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"It's like the HD-DVD PR team WROTE that for you".
That's what I meant. -
And you're dead on about the HDMI cables - shit, the satellite companies will throw in a free one when you buy an HD receiver. The Monster Cables are good performers in some aspects, but HDMI is HDMI - all that gold plating doesn't make a bit of difference.
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from our geek world for one second, and consider this; Your mother goes to get you a movie for x-mas, she will automaticaly understand what HD DVD is but Blu ray? HD DVD will win simply because of the self explainatory name. Even if you choose Blu Ray you will end up with mom's HD's as well.
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Blu-Ray and HD DVD count for about 5% of total dvd sales, the porn industry may have chosen HD, but Vivid is in talks with Sony to be Blu-ray exclsive, and then you have Wal-Mart they'll be selling HD-DVD players only (ps3 not withstanding). just some points to throw out.
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...The Empire Strikes Back, Spider-Man, Spider Man 2, Return Of The Jedi, Kill Bill 1 & 2, Reservoir Dogs, The Terminator, The Fifth Element, Rocky, Jackie Brown, Fight Club, Lawrence Of Arabia, Predator, Silence Of The Lambs, Sin City, Robocop, Aladdin, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, The Usual Suspcets, Casino Royale & The James Bond Series, The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Some Like It Hot, Dances With Wolves..to name but a very few, will NEVER PLAY ON YOUR HD-DVD PLAYER!! Presumably you knew this when you decided to back HD-DVD only? And there i was thinking that you were a film fan Harry!
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mori's been doing it to. kinda suspicious.
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I own both players and here is what is killing me...
THE SAME EXACT TITLE IS $5 - $10 MORE ON HD-DVD THAN BLU-RAY!!!
WHY???
Because the DVD version is included as well.
GET THE PICTURE FOLKS - if I WANTED the DVD version, why the HELL am I buying the HD one?
Forget the player pricing, it will be the pricing on the films that will matter. Look at the ads in Best Buy - typically will say "$29.99 Blu-Ray, $34.99 HD-DVD"
I own 3 HD-DVD's.
I own 21 BLU-Ray Discs.
AND, I am an avid SONY hater, for the record. But I have yet to see a real crappy Blu-Ray (even Fifth Element was pretty damn good to me).
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WTF? People are getting all obsessive about what format of discs their players can use? Where does this mentality come from that makes people defend their hardware purchases as if it was a religion? I also love all the numbers people keep throwing out; HD DVD has 8827 titles, Blu Ray has 8826! Clear winner! This crap is just bad for the consumer, and you guys need to cite your number sources.
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PS2s seriously helped the growth of DVD. PS3s are seriously helping the growth of Blu-Ray. Do not bet against Blu-Ray yet.
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I have both HD DVD and Blu Ray... it all depends on the master they take it from... some HD DVDs i have seen like Sleepy Hollow and others look like complete shit, my regular DVD looks better upconverted. Same goes for blue ray, the 5th element looks like crap on blu ray, i think they rushed these movies out too quickly and didnt really master it properly for HD.
The problem with the Toshiba HD-A2 is that it only does 1080i. You have to spend another $100 to get the 1080p version, which is HD-A20.
I think blu ray looks better from what i have seen so far. More people seem to be behind it... Pioneer, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and others compared to Toshiba.
I like both... who knows what will happen. Will blu ray end up like Beta? Who knows...
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Upconvert looks way better than regular DVD, especially if you have an HDTV. That's all I'm saying. I shelled out big bucks for the TV but the format war is too expensive and too inconclusive for me to want to weigh in, so Upconvert is a good way to go until then. I've seen Bluray, etc. and it's amazing, but I can wait until I know which way the wind blows, and this is an inexpensive alternative. Jeepers, some of you guys really need to turn down the testosterone. They're just dvd's.
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May 31, 2007 9:02:10 AM CDT
I'm just waiting for Universal to see the Blu-Raylight.
by the outlander
If I go with Blu-Ray I miss out on Universal movies and TV shows, if I go with HD DVD I miss out on Sony, Disney and Fox movies and TV shows. Do the Math.
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Maybe it's because I was born in 1980, and raised on Star Wars, but I tried to watch that movie, and turned it off after the first few minutes. Something about the cheap sets or bad lighting just made it unwatchable for me. I was quite disappointed. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with me?
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Well that makes sense. I guess I'll have to make friends with someone who has Blu-Ray so I can see what it really looks like.
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This HD War was getting irritating. The PS3 is the only reason Blu Ray is selling and that won't last. HD DVD is the way to go!
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1. Porn is unlikely to be a determining factor in this particular format war. Why? Because most of the porn companies are wary of transferring to HD because of the extra production costs. Some big players (e.g. Dig Playground) may leap but most will not make the extra investment until this is settled. So, the amount of porn available in HD will be nowhere near the levels seen during the VHS vs Betamax war (where the impact of video was actually to lower rather than raise costs). Economics people.
2. This is NOT analogous to the VHS vs Betamax war anyway. With video we had various different formats (Video 2000 as well) with different physical sizes, so the notion of an all format player at mass market prices was out of the window. HD and BD are the same size - the technical challenge to manufacturing a tech demonstrator all format player has already been overcome (and that's what the LG model is, a tech demonstrator and nothing more). Now it's down to the consumer electronics industry to apply its traditional cost-down models to the hardware that goes into one of those, and that process is well underway. Expect AF-DVD at around $500 by Xmas and heading south shortly after that (matching the time when HD displays will really be reaching most households). So, to encourage people to opt for one player or another now on the grounds that there will be absolute victory for either format does the readers here a fucking huge disservice, Harry. We're really talking about something like DVD+ against DVD- even in the short term. All you are doing is bolstering the royalty revenues of one camp over another.
3. Capacity claims are of little relevance. The fact is that both formats can already contain movies in 1080p with ACRES of headroom. The extra capacity is - if anything - largely for the gaming industry and even there most of the leading developers cannot see themselves getting anywhere near the ceiling on either format for perhaps two or more generations. Certainly, they won't be there by the end of the PS3's life cycle, not that of the Xbox 360. In short, both formats are ALREADY more than adequate to take us through for at least a decade if not longer. -
Harry doesnt know what he is talking about. He is so behind the times when it comes to technology. He may know movies but he certainly doesnt know technology.
Frank Black must be easily sold on things... i have 5 acres of swamp land in arizona that i can sell you for farming for only $500. Wanna buy it Frank Black? -
I'll go with BR because it's the superior format and it will have the Star Wars movies and Spiderman exclusively. An obvious choice.
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Blu Ray is doing well because people loyal to the PS3 have it, unfortunately there are about a billion people with the ps3, and they're gonna go hd-dvd because it's gonna drop the price first, since Sony has established they are counting on this to not bankrupt them, they can't drop it. Microsoft drops the price, game over.
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I have a PS3, which is a Blu-Ray player as we all know by now. It plays all of my original DVDs too. And, it upscales them just like the HD-DVD player.
Honestly, I had the HD-DVD player for the 360 for a little while, but the Blu-Ray was a better look to me.
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You bought the one that advertises on your website! That's amazing news! It's such cool news! Wow!
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...buys porn?! That's what the internet is for people! Porn choosing HD-DVD is inconsequential. Disc space will win over all. The real snafu for bluray is the price of their players. I'm sure that will change. It's a crap shoot at this point but BR has the lead for now.
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Coherent, well argued. and no comments about Bay.
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Prices have dropped big time as of late... Sony's players are always expensive, cause they always charge more than everyone else no matter if its a TV, DVD player, stereo or whatever.
The PS3 just updated to version 1.80 and that allowed the player to upscale all the discs to 1080.
The update even made the old PS1 and PS2 games look better cause of what they added in the update.
Ive seen dirt cheap prices on 1st gen blu ray players out there on the web. The new ones are cheaper than before. I have HD DVD and the player is so freakin slow to boot up and get things rolling. I throw a blu ray disc into the PS3 and it plays quickly, more so than the Toshiba player i have. I have both cause you can only get certain movies on each one, but the blu ray discs that i have look so much better than the HD DVD discs that i own and have rented.
I think porn on HD DVD would be disturbing, cause you would see all the stretch marks, needle tracks and incisions from all the plastic surgery these women have.
Might take away from the whole aspect of it cause you might be too grossed out by what you see in HD. -
Jesus, you're a professional, get it right.
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I got some looks at the store asking for that one...
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Best Buy? I would think that Harry would have a professional audio/video person set him up. No, he just goes to Best Buy for his professional equipment. Hmm.
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...Jo Blow consumer is an idiot. He'll see the word Blu-Ray and go huh, what the fuck's that, but HD DVD is self explanatory, plus it has logo recognition. PS3's won't make the format, as their aren't enough of them. It's winning now because only early adopters are buying HD players. Not until players are under a hundred dollars will the masses jump on board, and when they do, they'll go HD DVD for the above mentioned reason.
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I sincerely think Blu Ray will win out because it's easier to say. Who wants a 5 syllable format? Not me! H is such an annoying letter anyway.
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5 acres sounds pretty good! Let me think about it, the way I already was about HD before Harry wrote his column. You guys are so quick to take a statement and jump on it with your claws and fangs out, looking for a fight. I am of the camp that accepts that discs are on their way out, whether it be DVD, BlueRay or HD but for now, I'll take the best option. Having managed a video store for 12 years assures me I know a thing or two about this industry and because I married a doctor, it means I could buy both if I wanted to so suck it, with love.
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what a bunch of goofy goober nuts (if I may quote Spongebob)...I own an HD-DVD player right now and bought one for my Dad for Father's Day since they were $237 on amazon (that price has since gone back up to $299) and I will most likely buy a Blu-Ray player or PS3 if they drop in price...but enough with the ignorance spewing concerning HD-DVD...yeah, Harry hurt HD-DVD more than he helped it with that admittedly ridiculously false article YET we all get it. He fucked up, we're all clear that Blu-Ray can upscale and has "hundreds" of titles and can play porn...thanks for the hundreds of posts pointing that out. So basically Blu-Ray is right back up there with HD-DVD again as far as those talents are concerned...whew! To the people spouting off Fox titles and Disney titles with reckless abandon that these will never see the light of day on HD-DVD...these guys are living in a dream world. Fox and subsequently MGM has pulled their upcoming Blu-Ray slate...what is hard to understand about that? They have NOTHING slated throughout the summer...this could and will probably change, sure, but it's still a ominous sign. Disney has less than 10 titles planned for the coming months...the highlight being, ahem, 'Wild Hogs' all the while Universal being firmly committed to HD-DVD confirming catalog release dates left and right. That one thinks they will automatically be transported to a galaxy far, far away because Fox is a, ahem, exclusive is also nutty. I can assure you that Lucas tells Fox what to do with his titles, not the other way around...anyway, Lucas was quoted recently saying that "'Star Wars' will not be on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray for the forseeable future" so by the time Star Wars shows up in HD, it'll probably be for download. Also, check out the top story at videobusiness.com, the price drop has increased sales of HD-DVD players almost tenfold at some retailers...and their theatrical marketing hasn't even kicked in yet...my point? sadly, the war is far from over with the consumer having to suffer the most...
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Have no clue. What they're really gonna hate is all their full screen movies when widescreen is the standard in a year and a half from now.
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I've got a PS3 and an Xbox360 with HD-DVD drive, but if a movie comes out in both Blu-Ray and an HD-DVD/Combo, I'll get the combo disc every time. Simply because I've got DVD players all over my house, one in my truck, a portable unit, DVD drives on my home and work PC's, and all my friends and family have DVD players. The combo discs allow me to watch the standard version wherever I want, or to loan out a disc. Blu-Ray means I watch in one location.
BTW, Batutta, I made that same argument about joe six-pack a year ago, and people said I was an idiot. I still stand by it, but i'll go further and say many will buy blu-ray discs and then be pissed off when they don't play in their $29 Apex DVD player. -
And I don't mean to sound like a kiss-ass! (what would kissing your ass even get me anyway?)
I've believed for a while that, despite the studio love for BluRay, HD DVD has the advantage with the average consumer. One--the price. HDDVD was half the price of Bluray when the formats debuted. Second--future costs. HDDVD discs can be made on the same factory lines as regualar DVD (with some equipment modification). BD requires whole new manufacturing. Third--the name. To Joe Six-Pack, the term "HD DVD" is pretty east to wrap the head around. "Hey, it's a DVD that's in HD! This'll look great on that HDTV I picked up @ Wal-Mart!" As opposed to said Mr SixPack saying, "BluRay? What the fuck is that?"
Studio loyalty to one format or another can and likely will change. Just like VHS vs Betamax, I would not be the least bit surprised to see the first Sony Hd-DVD players roll out by 2009. Sony's format options have not exactly played out well in the past. The PS3 is NOT going to decide this. Hell, Sony and Microsoft are currently getting the retail beatdown from Nintendo. With a machine that doesn't play ANY movies.
And even though porn decided VHS v. Beta, don't think it'll be as big an issue this time. To much access to that online/on demand.
Hope you are right, Harry. I'm leaning toward HD DVD myself. Really waiting to see if FOX jumps to HD DVD. Say what you want, Lucas-haters. Porn may not decide this format war. But a mega-super HD Star Wars Saga set might! -
that's better like beta. Dont tellme the pictures better than blu-ray, not even the fucking marketing people say that shit. HD is a smaller jump forward. How conservative of you Harry. You chose the Pat Buhcannon of video formats.
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Seriously. Just a bunch of misinformed garbage. And I'm sure you won't man up to it because you're getting paid.
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From what I've been hearing, their exclusivity is only temporary. If they switch hit, then the Pirates trilogy will be on both formats and, if Blu-Ray's track record of extras continues, will have better content on HD-DVD. I've seen both, own HD-DVD and would own Blu-Ray if the players were more affordable, but I think here's where the war is at this time: Blu-Ray has better support from studios and an instant built-in market with PS3 sales (lackluster, though they may be) / HD-DVD has better extra features and more affordable players. Both offer about the same quality in terms of video/audio (i.e. 1080p, Dolby/DTS lostless sound), but what it will come down to is what the general public endorses. Most people have no idea what Blu-Ray is, but can figure out that HD-DVD is a DVD with HD qualities, thanks to DVD being a wildly accepted format and HDTVs being pushed so hard every day by Circuit City and Best Buy. I'm not talking about the folks on this board when I make this generalization - I'm talking about John Q. Public (i.e. our parents, casual consumers, etc.) who will look at value and name recognition more than the amount of storage on a disc. As I've said, when my parents embrace a technology, that's a sign that it's going to do well! My parents have no real clue what Blu-Ray is, but can figure out that HD-DVD is a higher quality DVD than a standard DVD. The casual consumer will determine the final outcome, folks. Not us.
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BD and HDDVD have one major thing in common. The picture quality. It is THE FUCKING SAME!!!!! I have seen both side by side displayed on the same model TV. Anyone saying one HD format looks better/worse that the other is a fucking mouth-breathing potatohead!
Ah....that felt good. -
It's worth noting that BR outsold HD-DVD on the srength of Sony purchasing over a million copies of Casino Royale to give to PS3 buyers when those figures were collected.
t be bothered to find the culprit but, to whatever douche decided to post BluRay offered superior performance to HD-DVD; care to back that up with some facts? -
Sorry, but with the Toshiba HD-A2 selling at $249 in some places, it makes more sense to buy a dedicated HD player that will also upscale your old dvd catalogue.Honest to christ, the stupidity of some people who suggest that just buying an upscaling standard dvd player as an alternative is unbelievable. Look, upscaled movies look nice, but they don't touch true HD sources, broadcast or on disc. Makes no matter.
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Not a million; 100'000 copies sold with more on order
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who wants to see some guys spotty ass in HD?
The simple fact is that Blu-ray is outselling HD-DVD
"Blu-ray took over the sales lead in February, owning nearly three out of every four high definition disc sales. The sales breakdown also shows people preferring Blu-ray over HD DVD when there’s a choice available between the two formats for the same movie. Case in point - The Departed in Blu-ray outsold HD DVD 53,640 to 31,590 between Feb. 13th to March 31st.
Additionally, eight of the top 10 selling high definition titles in the first quarter were on Blu-ray disc. For the quarter ending March 31st, there were 832,530 Blu-ray discs sold while sales for HD DVD numbered 359,300" -
'Having managed a video store for 12 years assures me I know a thing or two about this industry' need to shut the fuck up. Like this somehow makes you an expert on the movie and electronics industry! Maybe if you owned a whole chain of them I might sit up and take a little more notice. Hilarious. Somehow having the authority to say 'if you buy three movies you qualify for a free bucket of popcorn and a bottle of Pepsi, sir' makes you a 'know a thing or two' about the film & TV industry that is somehow relevant to this. WTF???
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Why would people drop $35 bucks on a porn flick on HD, especially if SD porn DVD prices fall and either way given the huge amounts of free porn anyone can get online? This is a doubly-bad argument because if HD-DVD fails ultimately, they'll just put porn out on Blu-Ray anyway. Read www.thedigitalbits.com and you will understand.
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"Blue-Ray" is a rip-off proprietary marketing scheme concocted by Sony--it's for large multinational corporations and ADD addled gamerz.
DIVX anyone?
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Mush! -
lost will debut on blu ray in december
http://tinyurl.com/ytvjpp
Jwebby
my understanding was that fox pulled their catalog releases to add in he pip features since sony standardized that on their hardware. as for mgm, i don't see them switching camps anytime soon what with sony owning its home video division. -
...that will win the format war. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that there will be a $150-$200 HD-DVD player readily available by Xmas. Sony may price cut the PS3 to $299-$349, but the fact remains that for the vast majority of people, having a "free" BR player with their game system isn't important. They just want the toaster, not the breadmaker. So, if there's no price competitive BR player on the shelves during the holidays, HD-DVD will "win" because the unit sales will tilt the studios towards more titles for that format. Sidenote - 99% of all consumers do not have the equipment, knowledge, or ability to get the most out of ANY HD source, broadcast or recorded media. I've seen dozens of HD-capable RPTVs, plasma, and LCD units setup with composite or S-Video cables, on-board scalers turned off or set wrong, HD cables boxes set to 480i/p, screen distance too close or too far, ambient lighting ignored, and so on. The point is that whatever subtle benefits one format may offer over the other is lost due to the average consumers knowledge and setup. This is one of the reasons PRICE will win. "If you cheap it, they will buy"
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Because HD-DVD looks better and is winning. Duh!
Obviously Nielsen VideoScan reports for the the past few months were inflated because of ps... wait.. They were just fabricated.
And Blu ray eliminating the year long head start of HD-DVD was a fluke and not an indicator of trend. Just you see... soon all blu ray sales will stop. -
They developed the HD stuff about the same time. Plus everyone rips people off when it comes to technology.
Every company that makes technology is a multnational corporation, you freakin moron.
I guess you forgot about the HD-DVD player that you can buy for your xbox 360.. so i guess those people are ADD addled gamerz, as you so put it.
Sounds like Yukon Cornholio is just jealous that his minimum wage job wont let him buy HD-DVD or Blu ray at all.
Everyone on here who gushes over Harry and his rhetoric is a complete kiss ass. Everyone puts him on a pedistal, but he likes alot of crap. It seems like he is starting to be bought off by corporations to make a biased opinion about things.... movies, technology, etc...
As for combo players, there is only 1 out there right now. its that LG piece of shit. They fucked the HD DVD part of the player so bad, that they werent allowed to put the official HD DVD logo on their machine. Combo players are usually bad news, they usually do one thing right and the other one half assed. -
Robin Hood is a visual feast and one of the best films of all time. Other than that, he's an idiot on this subject. If the BR player was a net of $199 ($299-$100 gift card), the article would have been the other way.
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Both formats can and will survive until the next big thing for home use hits. There won't be a winner, people are looking at it too close minded. Everyone has their preference and as it should be, but I don't see one putting the other out to graze. You also have to think about how getting the content into your home may change in the next 10 years, discs may me out of the picture in favor of huge home media servers.
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Just dont say we didnt warn you when the DVDs you were waiting for get delayed for no reason.
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The PS3 was the trojan horse.
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I've spoken to a guy who was producing adult titles back in the days of the Betamax/VHS format war. He said it wasn't the adult industry weighing in that tipped the scales to VHS... it was merely the release of the first really affordable home video player, which happened to be VHS. The more VHS players in homes, the bigger the demand for VHS titles. The adult industry merely followed in step with Hollywood. The same will likely apply to our current war... if there are significantly more Blu-Ray players in homes in three years' time, HD will likely fade.
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They will continuously fight over prices, permits, etc... In the end, people will stick with their DVDs (since they will be cheaper). The companies will agree on a uniform third generation DVD format -- and all will be well (in about 2011). Me? I'm going to purchase an HD-DVD. Why? Cost. Less than half the price for the same quality. It truly sucks, however, that some of my favorite shows/films may never receive HD-DVD treatment.
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Fox's Blu-Ray slate always sucked but you really think they postponed the titles Turistas, Commando, Me, Myself & Irene, Tristan & Isolde and Dude, where's my Car? to add PIP?!! Ridiculous. A diplomatic bowing out - the fact of the matter is that Fox is not all that interested in HD for any format even though they signed a TEMPORARY exclusivity deal with Blu-Ray. By the time one format actually becomes viable, studio support will sway like my wife's tits.
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HD-dvd will definately win. The PS3 is dying people, metal gear will be released on the 360. There's nothing left for Sony's console. Blu-ray is just to expensive. It is only a matter of time before every studio releases films on both format, like Warner atm, and then the hardware price becomes the ultimate judge for most people. There are also to many blu-ray discs encoded with the lame MPEG2 standard instead of the superior VC-1 or AVC. HD-dvd WILL win.
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Ghost Rider's coming out on BluRay!!The arguement is over!!
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One that played both formats. Didn't they have one at the last E3 consumers show?
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Besides Helen Mirren John Boorman's daughter was another nice piece of ass in EXCALIBUR. Thank God Boorman was liberal(or perverted enough) to let his daughter who was playing Arthur's mom be nude in his movie. As for the format war, I couldn't afford HD-DVD if I wanted to right now. I'm still wait a few years to see who wins.
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Here's LG's:
http://us.lge.com/superblu/
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Dual Layer Blu-ray holds 60 gigs of content. HD is half that.
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I mean, he actually bought a floor model from Best Buy. He probably paid $200 for the HDMI cable too. Lame.
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...'cause if you did, you got PWNED!
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thanks for that...and wrong on both accounts...could you stand over there with Harry please and await your Conan "Ass" stamp.
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Check the info on blu-ray from pioneer uk website. Read why they have gone with plasma and read about blu-ray and then say you don't want blu-ray over HD. HD may look better now but blu-ray sounds more durable for the future and with the right equipment will be at the very least a match for HD but has the potential to be better. HD has picked up support because it's the cheaper option.
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Doesn't matter which way you go it's going to be trumped in a few years. Then we'll debate the technology and so on. Everyone is going to have 4 copies of their favorite movies. What the hell do I do with VHS Star Wars trilogy, VHS Star Wars: Special Edition trilogy, DVD Star Wars: Special Edition trilogy, DVD Star Wars new trilogy...? Get the HD DVD version and jerk off to the super cool better sound and effects? Fuck that. They're always going to make these movies marginally better but since we dump hundreds of dollars into the technology we'll swear it's a tremendous difference. Bullshit. Gonna save the cash, I gotsta eat.
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An idiot I may be, sir or madam, however I already own a Toshiba HD player that I can currently watch Casablanca, Robin Hood, The Searchers, Forbidden Planet, Mulholland Drive, Elephant Man, The Thing, The Matrix, V for Vendetta, and hopefully soon Blade Runner along with other great flicks. I'm not anti-big business you twat, just pro-consumer--I want to see good (ie, not shite) movies in the highest quality, affordable format available, and right now, HD has a better selection of films IMHO.
Besides, I always support the underdog.
You can keep your Sony Blu-Ray player/PS3 and watch your exclusive Ghost Rider and X-Men 3 discs till your brain melts out your eye sockets. I'll hold off on POTC and Pixar movies until Disney relents and starts releasing on HD DVD in a year or so, ala the pay each time to play scheme DIVX that I referenced (Disney once was exclusive to DIVX before that scheme went belly up).
Good day, sir--I said good day! -
That price is an ass-kicker, though. I will be waiting for a price drop.
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Hmmm.... razor burns, ball sweat, ass pimples, wrinkles, caked on makeup, herpes sores, some particles of poo that they couldn't quite wipe... all on a 50 inch screen. Maybe I'll stick with SD porn on my 19" computer monitor for now.
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BluRay = earth intruder.
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Hate to go all anti-progress on everyone, but I like my DVDs the way they are. All the perks I've heard that make these discs so advanced seem either pointless or unnecessary.
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Lots of people are saying on the Heroes forum that when the series comes out on HDDVD they are going to buy a Toshiba player. Could this be the "killer app" for HDDVD. I've got a Tosh E1 and a PS3 and I very much prefer the Tosh. At the minute I can only watch up to 1080i but I saw a proper 1080p screen yesterday and I was astounded at how much better the picture was. If you can afford 1080p get it.
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Facts
Max capacity for DL single sided disc - BD 50GB HD-DVD 30GB
Max Mux rate - BD 48 Gbps - HD-DVD 30
Exlusive HD-DVD studios - Universal
Exclusive BD studios - Sony, Fox/MGM, Disney, Lionsgate.
BD players play DVD too!! BD players upconvert DVD too!!
PS3 kicks it old school over any toshiba HD-DVD player.
BD has been outselling HD-DVD by a minimum of 60-40.
HD-DVD's overall disc sales lead was oblitered just 3 months after PS3 was released. Current total since inception 57-43 for BD.
I hope Harry REALLY loves Universal movies, cause thats all he's getting.
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are the HD-DVD people paying this site for this type of commercial plug to sell HD-DVD stuff? I don't care for either one, but it's pretty clear that if there is a winner out of the two, it's gonna be BlueRay disks, just for the ps3 alone spreading the format all over the world. Plus don't forget that BD have larger capacity, better data transfer speed and much greater industry support.
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Well, Harry, first of all, you did NOT make a bad choice. I think you will enjoy HD-DVD quite a bit over the next couple years.
That being said, I do believe you are wrong on a couple of key points, the biggest being picture quality.
Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are almost identical in picture quality when the release is mastered for BOTH formats. In this case, they make sure the encode will fit on the smaller HD-DVD and put the same version on both discs. The only difference an end user will see on the screen will be due to the differences in playback hardware.
If the disc is Blu-Ray exclusive, then the studios will often encode at a higher bitrate, giving you more picture information, and a better picture! However, due to some studios rushing product to market for the launch, the older MPEG-2 codecs were used and the picture quality suffered. Most new Blu-Ray releases are re-encoded in VC-1 or H.264 now and look significantly better than early launch titles.
Noteable is the impending re-release of everyone's favorite demo disc: "The Fifth Element". When this new version comes out, you will be able to see exactly what I am talking about.
The most important piece of the format war puzzle is going to be studio support. What movies are available on what format? Customers are typically not comfortable with an "either/or" choice. They don't care about the technical virtues of Blu-Ray over HD-DVD (or vice versa)...all they care about is if little Timmy can watch "Cars" on the new HD flatscreen the family just got home!
Here is where Blu-Ray has a noticeable lead over HD-DVD and guess what? It's not changed in over a year! Out of the 7 major studios, only Universal is exclusive to HD-DVD. Everyone else is either Blu-Ray exclusive or format neutral. Disney (and Pixar!) and Fox (Star Wars!) are both firmly in the Blu-Ray camp. There catalogs alone will sway many customers when they start releasing the "big" titles.
Also, Sony's secret weapon, the PS3, while less successful than sony would like, is still driving customers to the store to buy Blu-Ray discs! Since the release of the PS3 in Europe, Blu-Ray has been outselling HD-DVD 2:1. The difference is even more profound here in the states.
Bottom line, I think HD-DVD will be around for long enough that you will be glad you got your machine Harry, but don't be surprised if it shares a shelf with a Blu-Ray player in the coming years! -
Harry doesn't have his numbers right and it sounds like he purchased on a whim. Very responsible reporting there...
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TVshowsonDVD.com reports that LOST complete seasons are coming to Blu-Ray. A far superior show to Heroes, and it's coming out on the winnning format
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watching supposed good Network television shows like Heroes or Lost...or as I like to think of them: a mass of tiring, mediocre false tension-generating short films...on HD would be akin to having your ankles crushed and then snorting the dust..i.e. not every pleasant
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HD DVD currently. I might be mistaken as this talkback thread has grown larger than my apt. but nobody has really touched on this that I have read(my apologies if someone made this point already). I think if Blu-Ray ends up winning it will be one of the big upsets in corporate history(not commenting on who is winning now).
Fighting out of the Red corner, HD DVD uses existing laser technology allowing for "economy of scale" production metrics and backward compatibility. The slope of the storage capacity per disc is already beginning to steepen....but not steep enough to counter one of the main selling points of the guy fighting out of the Blue corner.
Blu-Ray has alot stacked against it. It is a disruptive technology both in sense of production cost and application(no backward compatibility-more on this in a bit). The Disruptive Success Story is what drives the technological advancement of our society....but... it usually signals a disruptive break not just in cost but in QUALITY from previous generations and from competition. Blu-Ray has the former covered....but not the latter(everyone here seems to be in agreement with the industry that picture quality on both is practically identical to the human eye).
Now we arrive back to backward compatibilty and practical application and not just in terms of consumer electronics. This is where MSFT comes into the picture. Everyone reading this should be able to figure out from the above why the largest company and producer of software in human history chose HD DVD. The Blu-ray cabal is counting heavily on the PS3 to build awareness for their format. The issues plaguing the launch of PS3 are, in some cases, directly attributable to the inclusion of Blu-Ray technolgy(price, availablity). Couple this with the rising production budgets and shrinking profit margins of video game content providers and things look not so good. The exclusive deals that Sony lived on from 3rd party developers are becoming a financial liabilty to the content creators. With a few notable Japanese exceptions, these guys are seemingly shifting the exclusivity fight to intellectual property. Very difficult to convince the NFL or Marvel to sign into an exlcusive deal when the combined market is so much bigger.
Now that Vista is here and the wholesale migration will begin in force on the enterprise level as well as consumer, Microsoft will use its operating system leverage to shove HD DVD down its vendors' collective throats. There will be price incentive for everyone who does business with MSFT to migrate to HD DVD. Dell, HP, all the movie studios who support Blu-Ray etc will be able to do biz cheaper if they bend to MSFT's view.
So to tie it all up(LOL you guys must be bored already) I see alot of posts about porn and video games and studio allegiances being what is gonna win this for either Red or Blue. If I had to bet though, Vista will decide this little war once and for all in the next 2 years. The combined might of all these companies will be driven before techtonic MSFT and the lamentation of thier women will be heard all round the world.
On a Personal note....HARRY...INVITE ME TO BNAT FOR FUCKS SAKE ITS ONLY BEEN 5 YEARS OF APPLYING. ;) -
will be my pick. I can't wait to see that stuffed polar bear fall on the fat guy in HD! Patrick Swayze FTW!
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...is showing. BRD and HD-DVD use the exact same codecs: H.264 and VC1. There is no quality difference aside from that introduced on the authoring side. The ability to play DVDs is no big deal, Sonys BRD player doses as well. The only reason to pick one of the other is the content and that's it.
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You have to choose correctly Harry. Shaun of the Dead on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. Your life depends on it.Duhh what a geek. And i'm not going to throw away my dvd collection just to rebuy them in whatever the format will be in the next two years. And i dont like the color package of bluray. It will be look bad in my shelf
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Foolish to make a decision based on buying some floor model at an artificially lowered price, foolish to pose such behavior as rational thought and foolish for thinking that your deision matters. It doesn't. You're a good illustration of an uninformed consumer-- I'm not saying you'r wrong about HD-DVD being a future, sustained platform, but your methodology is about as reliable as it is thoughtful-- lacking entirely in both categories.
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Costco has the HD-D2 player (includes HDMI cable)for $249 after instant rebate:
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6447181.html
You also get 5 free HD titles, one each from the following 5 categories:
Category A - Apollo 13, Seabiscuit, Chronicles of Riddick
Category B - Casablanca, Constantine, Dukes of Hazzard
Category C - Four Brothers, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow
Category D - The Rundown, Blazing Saddles, U2: Rattle and Hum
Category E - U-571, The Perfect Storm, We Were Soldiers
The cheapest Blu-ray player is still the PS3, at ~$600. I think HD will win out, based strictly on price point. If the two formats go into this year's retail season with such a disparity in price point, HD is going to crush Blu-ray. -
many more sold than HD. but HD does have the cheaper player
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...replaced with yet another format, and be tossed in the great big ol' junk piles of America, stinking up mother earth with more and more decaying plastics, along with VCR tapes, CD's, current DVD's, shitty old playstation games, worthless computer programs, etc. :-(
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Both BR and HD can play every standard DVD, and they use the same codecs. Sony rejected porn's attempt to license BR, so they went with HD by default and not by choice. Universal is the only studio that is HD exclusive, but this will change when it finally hits them in the head that BR is winning 3 to 1 over HD and will continue to do so from now on. BR has a higher capacity; thus it should have superior everything if this is addressed on the authoring side. The PS3 may have a few dents and dings on it, but it isn't going anywhere, and it is already turning around in the console war. More PS3s will be sold, and more BRs will be sold because of it. Anyone who thinks HD looks better than BR are lying because you can't tell. Maybe, with the old BR codecs, but not with the same identical ones.
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go mets in 07
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I just got an Oppo upconverting DVD player for my 1080, and it works just fine and looks great. I refuse to buy into this stupid debate as to who will win. Who fucking cares. By the time it's figured out, another format will be introduced, and all of you nitwits will be mocking those who still own "crappy HD-DVDs".
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That is of course assuming that Blu-Ray is better at all.
Picture-wise, most experts are claiming that the encoding on HD-DVD is better. Content-wise Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and all those great movies are not out of either format.
Of course all of this is moot now that people have their Hard drive full of HD-Rips that WILL play on media centre a la Xbox 360! HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are already irrelevant. -
HD-DVD had a year's lead time ahead of BR, that's why they have second-generation players out now that they can price lower. Sony is till getting through their first round of players, so they haven't had a chance to lower their prices yet. They will. So, I take issue with your rhetoric. Good day, sir!
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Watch Sony run it into ground.
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The selection is greater with more studio support. This fall will see Spiderman 3, Pirates 3, and Die Hard 4 with the inevitable HD upgrades to the entire series. Plus the price of HD DVD is damn high. Children of Men was $40 on HD-DVD at Target. That is ridiculous. Not that Blu Ray discs are much better but I haven't seen one for $40 yet. Until they get the prices lower both formats are screwed.
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I bought an Oppo DV-981HD recently and couldn't be happier with it's upconversion of my regular DVDs.
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_index.html -
It's simple...
...porn... -
I'm getting the Oppo player too. Do you run it on a 1080p display?
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I myself use an upscaling DVD player (Sony NS75H). Mainly due to the fact that it fit in my then-new AV rack (my old 5-disc changer did not). However any current HDTV will take the 480i signal from ANY decent SD DVD player and internally scale it to the HDTV's native resolution (be it 720p, 1080i or 1080p), often as well or better than an upscaling DVD player. Only way to improve on that is by using an outboard scaler. 480i output via component vs 1080i upscaled via HDMI looks THE FUCKING SAME on my HDTV--both look great. And before the Oppo fans decide to flame me by saying "Shoulda got an Oppo" or "The Sony sucks!" (don't get me wrong, the Oppos are nice units), keep in mind that both the Sony 75H and the various Oppo units scored essentially the same in various PQ tests inthe HQV Benchmark tests. A quick trip over to the AVS Forum will prove that.
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Yeah, I have a Sony KDS-50A2000 and the picture is awesome. They've since replaced it with the Sony KDS-50A2020.
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...the Blu Ray disk would have lost to HD DVD quite a long time ago. The bottom line to consumers is COST COST COST (especially when the quality is so comparable). If any of the Blu Ray supporting studios caves in and begins to create HD DVD versions -- or vice versa -- then the "contest" is over. My money is on HD DVD because of the cost. The cheapest model is the $199 addition to the XBox 360 (and a $299 stand alone version). The cheapest Blu Ray? The PS3! At $599 for the PS3 (and $799 price for the cheapest stand alone version), it is still far too expensive to make a dent into the sale of movies.
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"You're gonna be my regular Saturday night plaything!"
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I never said that upconverting a regular DVD is as good as HD satellite (which I have) or an HD-DVD. I'm just saying that I'm satisfied with upconverting my hundreds of DVDs on my 1080p display.
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It died even faster than Betamax. Way to go Sony, two in a row. Just chuck your PS3s in the garbage now, or take 500 bucks, put it in a barrel, and burn it... It's faster that way.
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a dish signal. I did a test of REVENGE OF THE SITH on a PS3 with upscaling to 1080i and compared it with a 1080i cable broadcast (I think it was coming in at 60hz) and the upscaled dvd beat the cable signal. FYI, I ran the test on a 56" 1080p Samsung DLP set. Do you think dish signal is inherently stronger? Or maybe the disc itself- ROTS is likely as well-authored a DVD as you can get.
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when you got a ps3 thats suppose too be a game console with no games you can either watch a blu ray movie which alot of people do..or folding@home
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...are you fucking nuts? Forget about taking drive-space, how 'bout the fact that studios etc. would just adore the notion of consumers not having an actual hard-copy of "their" content? Then we can enjoy expiration-codes, limits on how often we can watch/burn etc. 'leasing" movies etc....fuck that. People will ALWAYS want the hard-copy...or at least they should. Excalibur....good choice "Show the sword!" "It's the boy-king!" the Charm of Making etc...a treasure of mass-quotables.
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I'm a gamer AND a movie lover. As long as I can remember I've never played a video game and watched a movie at the same time so the PS3's current lack of games does not affect my movie buying habits in the least, other than the fact that I'm buying blu-rays instead of DVDs.
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If you love jagged lines and shit picture, by all means, use a $300 HD-DVD player to upconvert.
Harry you're way off base with this one. -
......I could
alright...
HD DVD has the more attractive price....blu-ray (not blue ray) has the superior technology....
so from a short-sighted view, you go HD-DVD...especially when an idiot posts disinformation about the opposing product....
let's see what is exclusive for HD-DVD....
Universal
what studio's support both formats?...
Warner (WB)
Paramount
what studio's are exclusive to Blu-ray?
everything else I did not list that is a major studio...
Sony (tri-star/columbia)
Disney (buena-vista/miramax)
Fox
MGM
Lionsgate
this means the Pirates series will be exclusive...the spider-man series as well....as well as a whole bunch of other movies...
the highlight for HD-DVD is the Matrix collection.....but blu-ray is getting that later this summer anyways.....
so when you have tour facts straight...HD-DVD is pretty much a waste of money if you want to own high-def content....
now whether blu-ray is a convenient price is up to the consumer....but even the PS3 is more than a fine piece of machinery when it comes to playing DVD's AND BD's......
AND YES....BLU-RAY PLAYERS DO PLAY STANDARD DVD'S...this was more than hilarious to read.. -
cuz it would sure be alot easier for me to just pick up that 360 HD add-on in time for 300...
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hey ccchhhrrriiisssm....do they even still sell the 299.99 version of the 360?...I don't think so...and when you consider all of the costs, you get 499.99. not to mention no HDMI or 1080p without the HDMI...
so with the Elite version, you spend 479.99 and 199.99, that's 680 bucks. not to mention that on average, HD-DVD movies cost at least 5 bucks more than blu-rays.....and then you have what I said previously.............................................studio support..... -
And when was the last time anyone here bought porn? That may have been a tipping point in the late 70's, but it doesn't matter now.
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Sales of HD-DVD titles have made gains on their Blu-ray counterparts in recent weeks, with Amazon.com tracking showing sales of the Toshiba-owned format matching and even surpassing Sony titles.
http://tinyurl.com/2supfu -
could you please step in line with Harry and Akira'sCrow to receive your Conan 'Ass' stamp. Can you please point me to an upcoming release list with Fox and MGM Blu-Ray titles please? I'd like to see all these titles they got planned...and Blu-Ray gets "the pirate series and the spider-man series and a whole bunch of other movies" - you heard it right here, folks, a Blu-Ray spokesman. Can you also point me to a The Matrix Collection Blu-Ray release date that has it coming out later this summer? and while you're out at it, a link to the Blu-Ray release date for Blade Runner which has been confirmed for HD-DVD. And if everybody is going to consider Lion's Gate a big plus, then consider that the Weinsteins are HD-DVD exclusive too...meaning whatever they do with Grindhouse will be HD-DVD exclusive. People are sheep, research needs to be done to make more sense of the BS people are spreading. It's also clear that almost every BR owner/supporter in this talkback has spent a considerable chunk of change on a PS3. That will of course need justification.
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and other retail stores selling the low-end Toshiba player for $300 and below. The war isn't over.
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Wanted to welcome you to every growing club. just watched John Carpenter's The Thing on HD-DVD - Fucking Awesome!!!!! Can't beat the price, can't beat the free HD-Dvds offer. Fuck Sony and Fuck PS3 Xbox 360 ownes anyway.
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care about what you've said.
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It's also interesting to note that while the HD race is somewhat close here in the US (with Blu-Ray STILL in the lead), Blu-Ray is also doing quite well overseas, with BR discs accounting for more than 64% of the HD market, and growing.
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Also, in Japan Blu-Ray accounts for 96% of the HD market.
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congrats, you just skipped to the front of the line for the 'Ass' stamp. So, you mean all those cheap Toshiba players that have been selling actually get people to buy HD-DVD movies? Wow. Ahh, and a poor soul who chooses his films dictated by how well they did in theaters. Makes perfect sense. So along with Grindhouse, you shouldn't care about Army of Darkness, The Thing, The Big Lebowski, etc. being HD-DVD exclusive...
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Good points. Yes, they still sell the $299 version of the XBox 360. Regardless of whether or not they discontinue the entry model, the glorious advantage of a OPTIONAL high definition HD-DVD expansion is that, if Blu Ray happens to win the war, all XBox 360 users will be out is an expansional player (and subsequently purchased HD DVDs). The PS3 fans would, however, have to replace the internal drive (not too easy for the casual gamers) -- or the entire system. Sony has, unfortunately, placed all of their eggs into the one box (Blu Ray) that they created. When some of the far more anticipated games come out for the 360 (such as HALO 3), I suspect that sales will go through the roof. More XBox 360 users do not necessarily translate to more HD DVD expansion players, but the $199 price tag will certainly be appealing. ... ... ... ... As for the advantages of HD DVD, the stand alone $299 (and under) players are very operational. I own one (purchased back when it went for $399), and it is beyond all that I expected. Don't get me wrong, Blu Ray is a tremendous format! I just think that cost will be the ultimate factor. If HD-DVD becomes a hot item (due to its much lower cost), then I suspect that some of these major studios will begin to offer films in BOTH formats (ala VHS & Beta in 1985). Studios will not hesitate where money is to be made! While Blu Ray may have its advantages, they will evaporate in the terms of cost and availability.
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wow, this looks like fun. the matrix trilogy will be out later this year on blu-ray...not later this summer...however, it still isn't an HD-DVD exclusive...unlike the majority of blu-ray titles...and now I'm a blu-ray rep? ahahahaha.....also, MGM and Fox titles don't have release dates yet, and god forbid they did.....BD is already killing HD-DVD and these studios don't have anything listed yet until the holiday season...also, if you're saying the blu-ray supporters are coming with complete BS, then you clearly haven't read paidgeeks' review.....it has BS throughout the entire review...THERE IS NO DENYING THAT....and this format war won't be won in 2007, so MGM, Fox and warner half-assing their releases will not and have not hurt blu-ray...as they have dominated sales...period...and will continue to....and when you mention the PS3...what about it?...HD-DVD supporters talk about it as if it is a cruTCh, when in fact it has helped cruSh HD-DVD....so why does it need justification?....numbers speak for themselves, not disinformation by paidgeek...
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HD-DVD players now cost $200-$300. Blu-ray players cost a lot more.
If you pump the same movie into the same HD set using either HD-DVD or Blu-ray, I can't tell which is which. (I know both look one FUCK of a lot better than regular DVD on that set, but I can't tell HD-DVD from Blu-ray.) None of my many film geek friends can tell whether I'm playing HD-DVD or Blu-ray. I doubt any objective individual could.
Bottom line: It's been over a year already. Blu-ray needs to find a way to get its players' prices down to HD-DVD levels, and pronto.
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Low end players will be out around this holiday season and coming from the number one retail store in the US. Thats Wal Mart and its $250 HD-DVD players.
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They've gone through their 1st generation players already. I'm going to do some digging on the subject, but I suspect that Blu-Ray players will come out later this year with slashed prices too. Like you said, BR cannot afford to wait much longer, that's certain.
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...that the price for the HD DVD expansion player will be reduced to $149 by Christmas. What will the price of a Blu-Ray player be? Unless Sony is planning on a surprise drop in price for PS3, then you will still need to rack out at least $599 (or still pay $799 for a stand-alone player). Ouch! It would be GREAT for a comparably priced Blu-Ray player to be released for $300 or so. If this doesn't happen before Christmas 2008, my guess is that the winner will already be declared by Christmas 2009. ... ... ... ... ... ... "Welcome to Wal-Mart! Would you like a HD-DVD player in your PS3?!?"
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and i prefer HD, hands down...the colors are much more balanced than on the Blu Ray and the pixilation is a lot less noticable, if at all depending on the title. honestly guys, DVDs dont need 50 GB of space. thanks for the review harry. i was thi thinking about upgraing my HD player and i think you sold me on this one.
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you are correct....
however, 7 of the top 10 movies in 2006 are BD exclusive and the other 3 are supported by both formats...
content is key here, you'll know which format you are watching when you see which movie is being played..
also, BD will drop in price by the end of the year, not as much as HD-DVD...but when people actually look to see the exclusive titles on blu-ray they will either wait for BD player prices to come down, decide on HD-DVD and buy a BD player later or buy a BD player now...
why buy a format that only has so many worthwhile titles?...I expect alot of people to hold off until Universal wises up and notices where the consumer money is going...not to mention that HD-DVD dominated the high-def market over in europe up until the release of the PS3 and ever since then, BD has FLAT-OUT dominated....I mean, if HD-DVD wins this format war, then I will buy one...but they could go down to 99.99 and it's still a waste of money to me when there are a serious amount of titles that will never see the light of day on that format (unless they manage to win).... -
You'd think that you would realize that one brief surge in a sector of the market isn't changing the turn of the tide. HD-DVD is getting it's ass kicked in overall sales. The trend in sales has been Blu-Ray. It also has more movies coming down the pipeline and more studios with exclusives. Do a bit more research next time than just one single article. Also, the price point at this stage isn't the biggest issue because people investing in this type of new tech are early adopters. Early adopters are mainly technophiles with lots of spare cash or credit cards that they can slap the goods on. These aren't poor college kids counting their nickels and dimes to see if they can afford it. Yeah, the players need to come down in price but then again, so do the movie prices. Sheesh...come up with some good arguments next time.
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http://www.eproductwars.com/dvd/
At least out of all the rubbish I have heard, Herc makes a sensible arguement. I still see BR as being a winner but price is also a factor. -
May 31, 2007 5:22:37 PM CDT
Here's a good starting point re: Blu-Ray's future pricing
by yack backer
http://tinyurl.com/267ve6
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have a close race. You and avernus are neck and neck for the ass stamp. I never said The Matrix Collection was HD-DVD exclusive...but, yeah, The Matrix Collection is pegged for 'later this year' but not later this summer, glab we got that cleared up. Ok, and you couldn't find any upcoming releases from Fox and MGM. Big Surprise. Ahh, but it won't matter cause Blu-Ray is already "killing" and "crushing" HD-DVD. Hmm, indeed. All those silly recent hardware and software sells lists making HD-DVD sales up. You stinkers. I will say that Harry's article was BS and hurt HD-DVD more than help...but that's all your getting out of me!
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do thoses "3 free" blu-ray movies figure into the final count, is it fair that SONY is buying their own disc when you purchase a BR player.
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...it is that people will put their money down where the price is lowest. VHS became the winner of the VCR WAR only after the price of a device lowered considerably. When the price is low, people will buy. When people buy, the major studios will depart from any "exclusive" versions of a high definition disk. I haven't seen any sort of major projected price drops for Blu-Ray -- even heading toward Christmas. Their expensive production cost will likely keep prices above the $500-$600 mark well past Christmas 2007. This is a dagger! The three important factors are: 1. Cost of player. 2. Title selection and 3. Backward Compatibility. While Blu-Ray continues to enjoy more title selection, the potentional amount of purchases will continue to suffer due to player price. The war is far from over, but HD-DVD seems to have two of the three factors well in hand.
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I'm not fighting for Blu-Ray, and I'm certainly not debating your points. I just found it odd that you mentioned GRINDHOUSE in the context of in-demand titles. The movie was largely a flop, ignored, etc. Be cool.
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... but I don't buy it. If the Blu-ray titles never come to HD-DVD (which strikes me as pretty dang unlikely), I sense most consumers will just wait till Blu-ray players fall under $200 and will simply own both players and an A/B switch. But the HD-DVD-player owners are gonna be buying a LOT of HD-DVDs while they're waiting.
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It comes with an HDMI cable. Niiiice!
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how much money is being made....errr lost on these 2nd generation HD-DVD players that are practically being given away?...
the money isn't being made on the players, it's the movies ahaha -
what about the 5 free HD-DVD titles being given away with every Toshiba player?...I'll throw you a bone and say that evens out the 3 free titles that you mentioned by sony....and I don't even know where you got that from because I've yet to hear of it..
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whats with your infatuation of stamping everyones ass?...grow up..
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I'm bored at work..which is basically the talkback equivalent of a raging alcoholic looking for a barfight, heh.
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Honestly, who cares? You've got your HD-DVD player, well, good for you. I've got my PS3, which plays Blu-Ray, well good for me. They both play regular DVD's as well. Well, good for us.
Whoop-de-fucking-doo. -
you may not buy that point...but the consumers are speaking up....blu-ray came out after HDDVD and have had them in a stranglehold for the entire year and 'since inception'...in the US, Europe and japan...
and just as universal has said they refuse to support anything other than HD-DVD, Disney and Sony companies have said the same thing about BD.....Disney>>>>Universal...you may find the exclusives unlikely, but why go elsewhere when they are doing just fine where they are at?...even with the late start and more expensive player...which will be a factor for only so long.. -
exactly...
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HD-DVD-player owners are gonna be buying a lot of HD-DVDs in the meantime? Well, I hope they're not picky because the selection ain't gonna be that great. ;)
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you crack me up I know you knew this would start a TB bitch fest congratulation You deserve the bandwidth
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well, someone had to correct the disinformation he spread with this crappy article...I guess he figures he'll get more attention with BS than if he actually knew what he was talking about..
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avernus...buddy ol' pal...stamping everyone's ass..heh. It's actually the 'Ass' stamp which Conan O' Brien uses on his show so I guess I grow up when Conan does...which hopefully will be never!
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whoever made the analogy about the little-dick contest got it right. Last year so few players and discs were sold that first-year performances means nothing. Nothing, I say. Ignore all prior data. Look instead to 2007-2008.
The brand new HD-DVD-player price drop changes EVERYTHING. If Blu-ray doesn't match their prices within the next few months, I think we're going to be living in a VHS/Beta Mac/Windows PlayStation/XBox two-format world for the next decade or more. -
Microsoft announced that the XBOX 360 HD expansion drive will go down in cost by the end of the year? O RLY? Did they replace their marketing department with a bunch of baboons? When in the history of consumer sales has a company ever released to the public when it plans to make a drastic price drop? Who in their right mind would buy an HD expansion drive today, or anytime over the next six months knowing it would go down in price by Christmas? (This is coming from someone who was probably the last sucker to pay $300 for his PS2 before they dropped the price $100 two weeks later).
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Backwards compatible with DVD as a reason to go HD DVD? Not a good reason -- Blu-ray can play DVDs as well.
Upconvert DVD to 720 & 1080? Uh, no way.
And Warner puts their classic and new movies on Blu-ray also.
Glad you are enjoying that great high-def image conversion of your favorite movies. Want to see more classics from Disney and Fox and Sony and Lionsgate on that great high-def image you are loving? Only on Blu-ray.
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Hate to break it to you but Lost isnt going to be on Blu-Ray. http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disney/Disney_Says_No_to_Lost,_Badder_Santa_on_Blu-ray/671
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HOWEVER...who cares and why should we give a shit what Harry says? I must admit I have chosen HD DVD, but thats simply because I own an xbox and thought the add on drive for 100quid here in the UK was a bargin, esp when the players are like 500quid for a standalone HD player and nearly 900quid for a Blu-ray player. I think if blu-ray was cheaper and I didnt already own an xbox I would have gone with blu-ray, simply for the titles -xmen, hellboy, bond etc...but you know for 100quid i'm really happy with my HD add on drive and I've really enjoyed the whole in movie experiance on flicks like Batman Begins and V for Vendetta etc. I think Harrys argument is very weak, not that I care, but both formats seem really cool and both have their own thing going on. Harrys view is beyond narrow on this one, esp when hes in a position of "power" like he believes he is. I think this "war" has not even started, we are geeks, we are into this kinda thing, the average joe who is being forced to buy HD TVs (well here in the UK anyway) are totally unaware of this format war. You say Blu-ray to somebody and they say "what?" you say "Hd-DVD" and they say "is that like the TV but now with a DVD?" people just dont know about it yet, or even care enough to know. It just sounds like spending money!....I think ultimately the public will go with what sounds safe when the time comes and thats HD DVD.....It sounds familiar....however how soon can you see this happening? Can we all see the entire globe being on HD players in the next 12-18months? I certainly cannot and thats beacuse right now DVD aint broken for the average joe, the average joe can record on DVD and have DVD rom drives, DVD camcorders, an entire collection of movies re purchased (after the death of VHS) on DVD......you see its not like the VHS when everbody wanted to see the back of the fuckin thing, this format aint dead and right now I cannot see either making a HUGE impact, yeah selling a few mill copies of the departed or bond, but get a player into every house anytime soon.......I DONT THINK SO.........just my thoughts, but hey they are alittle more open than Harry's right!??
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They announced support for Blu-ray long ago. They intended to support HDDVD first, then work on Blu-ray titles in (later) 2007.
Amazon HD-DVD sales spikes can be accounted for, just visit the AVS forums and look at the morons organizing HD-DVD "buy days" to try and pull their doomed format of choice out of the gutter.
The other studios like FOX pulled their blu-ray release schedule for the upcoming BD-Java 1.1 update, scheduled later in the year (and no, not for just PiP, like the HD-DVD desperation FUD'ers would have you believe).
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that "average consumers"....the types who would be interested in buying those cheaper HD-DVD players...probably don't have HDTVs yet anyway. So HD-DVD better get some more studios on it's side faster than Blue-Ray can drop in price otherwise it could be over. Because once middle-America starts getting their plasmas and LCD's etc. this X-Mas & next, you can sure shit bet that Blue-Ray will have come down in price as well and the cheap-Toshibas ain't gonna mean jack. And if Disney is still holding out by then...forget it. Look, I'm an XBOXer and I've been kinda rooting against Sony, but if Blue-Ray wins I'm sure Microsoft will come out with a BR-add-on device for XBOX too. The thing is, I just want a format to emerge, before they're able to start foisting...like I mentioned earlier... "soft-copy/continuous-pay/hell-format" bullshit on us.
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Aren't you guys advertising HD-DVD on the ad banners... which would lead me to think that you already get HD funds. So, I call bullshit - but I can't trust any of the AIC people as far as which format may or may not be best.
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I also see Blu-Ray ads on AICN as well. Just not as heavily as HD-DVD.
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Im talking about the movies coming out on blu-ray and some of the ones have already come out recently...
1. POTC: Dead Man's Chest (BD)
2. Cars (BD)
3. X-men: The Last Stand (BD)
4. The Da Vinci Code (BD)
5. Night at the Museum (BD)
6. Superman Returns (BD + HDDVD)
7. Ice Age: The Meltdown (BD)
8. Happy Feet (BD + HDDVD)
9. casino royale (BD)
10. Talladega Nights (BD)....then you have the top movies of this year..1. Spider-man 3 (BD) 2. 300 (BD + HDDVD) and then the rest are going to be replaced by POTC: at worlds end, Fantastic 4: rise of the Silver Surfer, Shrek the 3rd, Transformers...to name a few which again is pretty much dominated by BD or at worst, comes out on both formats....
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Season 3 collection is not coming *THIS FALL*. That's all Disney said. They were merely countering the claim that the collection would be out in December. They also reiterated their exclusive support for Blu-ray while they were at it. Sucks for you I guess.
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Is that nobody knows for sure which format will win-out. If you did you would be making winning bets in Las Vegas. Seems like most posters opinions are based on what they bought. As far as numbers go MARK TWAIN said ....... There are 3 kinds of lies. LIES, DAMN LIES, and worst of all STATISTICS. Now shut-up before I send all of you to the NERVOUS HOSPITAL. (A litle Slingblade-ism) [Harry number these comments in the dark blue date boxes.]
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I know.
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of course nobody knows who will win....but the hd-dvd argument is that they offer a cheaper product, but you get what you pay for as far as content....they both have their vices...but blu-ray being the superior format with studio backing that makes hd-dvd look like a catfish in comparison....no spine..
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...technophiles are likely to spring for both machines. Let's not forget that many people may still need to upgrade their TV to HD equipment. If one format vastly undercuts the other in price, it should leave its' competition in the dust. I'm still waiting to see who blinks first. It looks and sounds as though HD DVD is making its' best move. Now to see if and/or how Blu-Ray counter punches; and if Sony is still stinging at all from getting it handed to them in the VHS/Betamax war.
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you at least put up a healthy argument, unlike some of the other hd-dvd supporters here....
too bad this site supports hddvd in a seriously biased fashion...I'd actually come here again... -
to come out of nowhere with a low-priced Blu-Ray player to compete with HD-DVD.
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are both so for HD-DVD. HMMMM I WONDER WHY? i also love how they are ignoring all the people calling them plants. 90% of the posts in this talk back are pro blu-ray. small sample size, but shows u something.
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are both so for HD-DVD. HMMMM I WONDER WHY? i also love how they are ignoring all the people calling them plants. 90% of the posts in this talk back are pro blu-ray. small sample size, but shows u something.
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How can one not expect there to be, that's competition. The chinese are already at work on it, expect cheaper units to appear and prices to drop for namebrands for the holidays.
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Stop kicking HD-DVDs ass! You're ruining it!! Stop it!!!
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... when one format wins out, saying the other format's name will be the subject of ridicule. For example "I bought Blu-Ray, how lame am I?" or "I was in the thrift store and they had a dusty shelf of HD-DVD's for 99 cents each, next to some 8-track tapes." Sorry fellow posters, some of us are in for a world of HURT.
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a radio ad from a morning show personality. "Say, friends, lemme tell you about HD DVD, the ONLY way to watch a movie."
Please, Harry. If you didn't have an advertiser on your site that was HD, I'd take you seriously. -
Sales of discs are 3:1. Why is this still a debate? And this is all after HD-DVDs huge 9 month head start. And who doesn't think blu-ray players are gonna drop in price by holiday 07?
Plus Harry, you're a fucking moron. Blu-ray isn't backwards compatible? DVD's "mastered in 1080i" look better on HD DVD. It's 9GB on DL you fat fuck, whether its "HD Mastered" or not its still 480i/p on a DVD disc.
Thanks for throwing more stupidity into an already retarded debate.
Plus what's with all the Sony hating? I could give a fuck if Sony does well, sure, but why are the guys behind HD-DVD suddenly such heroes of kingly virtue? -
swallow the tall tale about buying the player, if they are advertising on this site then they probably sent it to this house with 2 10 year old boys and all the hd dvd he could watch while fucking them. Fuck the war I am buying a PS3 as xbox 360s as as poorly put together as the shitty reviews on this site.
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now THAT was shitty. heh. but I do agree with you, though.
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yeah he typed "as" twice....I was lost when I read it the 1st time ahaha....the 2nd time was a bit more clear...
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... and had a Blu-Ray ad on this site, if the HD-DVD owners would be screaming for your head? On second thought, I know they would. Who knew BR vs. HD-DVD was the equivalent of ...... Liberal vs. Conservative ...... Democrat vs. Republican. I do not have a dog-in-this-fight because I am still analoging it on my Sears 27" Panasonic TV with PIP.
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....why are people so willing to be drawn into the pissing contest between the two formats and their backers? If we had any sense we'd fuck both of them off until they get their acts sorted out and commit to either a single format or hardware that renders the difference no more relevant than DVD+ vs DVD-
One player at reasonable retail cost and handling both is perfectly fucking viable and will be there by the time the mass market (as opposed to the niche market that frequents this site) is actually ready for the technology. It's fucking DVD+ vs DVD-. Who gives a shit, really? The only dumbness here is buying any player locked to one format, unless their primary motivation is a gaming platform.
Oh, and here's Microsoft's dirty secret (although also where they have been way cleverer than Sony. Substituting either a BD or an all-format drive for the current HD only model is no sweat. It's just a firmware issue. Yup, they hedged their bets.
Anyway, there's no virtue on either side of this debate - so why should anyone pick a side to start with? -
I want to play Metal Gear Solid 4. PS3 games are on blu-ray... good idea when you're in the HD era and want to avoid multi-disc monsters. And movie playback is in there... so why not get blu-ray movies? No brainer for me! It's not like I have to shell out more for an extra component whose use is limited to just movies, it's all nicely in there for the PS3 which is also one of the most decent players you can get and now upscales DVDs and games!
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you talking about that sad little press release from Genius (which the Weinstein Company owns)last year about tipping their toe in the Blu-Ray waters in EARLY 2007 with a couple ESPN titles that never materialized? Point me to one legitimate article about 'The Weinstein Company' releasing Blu-Ray titles...also..."The other studios like FOX pulled their blu-ray release schedule for the upcoming BD-Java 1.1 update, scheduled later in the year"...BWAAHAAHAAAA...well, it ain't sexy but it gets the job done I suppose..
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I'm surprised no one has mentioned that right now you can download HD versions of several movies using your Xbox 360. They've done it more like renting them as you can only keep them stored for a limited time, but you know eventually they will change this, you can keep tv downloads forever. A lot of people mentioned downloading movies as the future and you can already do it although somewhat limited. The live arcade and downloadable content with xbox live is great.
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...you said that one of the main reasons you went with HD DVD is because of backwards-compatibility with regular DVDs. I dunno if you're just having a "stupid moment" or something, but Blu-Ray players are fully compatible with regular DVDs as well. I even double checked the specs of all the players on Amazon. They all play regular DVDs.
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Pretty reckless, Harry.
* Blu-ray titles: 307 available on Amazon / 271 in stores as of May 18, according to DVD Release Report (a far cry from your stated 62!);
* HD DVD titles: 250 in stores as of May 18 / 277 available on Amazon (HALF the 545 you wildly put out there).
Buy what you want and tell us about it if you want, but exercise some responsibility to your many susceptible loyal and trusting readers/fans. Don't carelessly throw out the warped and obviously unchecked data that apparently helped you make that decision.
Next time, you might try asking for reader opinions before you buy. Obviously, there are some very smart and much better informed readers of your site.
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but it wasnt positive so i KNOW it wont get posted here. we all know that harrry is roth's pet troll
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erm, NO. HardBoiled special edition Blu-ray (Full HD, 1080p) movie + Stranglhold game combo on one disc, courtesy of Weinstein/Dragon Dynasty & Midway.
Must suck to be an HD-DVD only fantard. -
They will have you by the balls and squeeze you. No way.
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that the guy from some productions company I couldn't remember who just that its one of the big ones is going with HD-DVD because the players come with High Speed internet port for access to special features and Blu-ray players other then the PS3 have not utilized this feature yet. I'm just wondering if This guy has Harry in his back pocket the timing of that article and this post are uncanny.
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I have both HD DVD and Blu-Ray, and prefer HD DVD. THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD looks absolutely glorious in high definition, hopefully more Technicolor treasures will be released to high def! Harry, what Projector do you have? Best of luck with your new gear!
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My Tv is 50 inches and 1080p capable but Im not spending $500. for anything. I've got one open HDMI port thats reserved for which ever Player I get or till sony come backs to planet earth and lowers the price of the PS3. (which in effect would make up my mind for me.)I dont have a particular side because I have not spent any money yet but this battle could ga either way if Blu-ray can get a competitive price of under $200 OR THE PS3 drops to 350-400 it curtains for HD-DVD but if sales for the PS3 start to stagnate and the Blu-Ray players remain to be expensive till the end of the year HD-DVD will overtake the sales and then Harry will be right. until that day all I can say is DAMN YOU MICHEAL BAY !^)
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BR and HD-DVD will survive together.
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I haven't noticed any comments about LG's player that does both formats. Any comments?
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I dont there room in the world for 2 players theres too much room for customer confusion. VideoGame systems are different We all know Xbox games play on the X-box and PS2 games are on the PS2 But when you start flooding the market with Blu-rays, HD-DVD and DVD, you get a shit storm of confused, angry Grandmothers that will say F, it and wait till come out on lifetime movie network. There will be a winner just watch.
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you definitely deserve the 'Ass' stamp...heh, yeah, I read that release too where the Weinstein company and Genius partner with Midway to release a game/movie combo...except that Midway went to them, ponied up a lot of dough that the Weinstein company would be stupid to turn down and...what? Means nothing. No Blu-Ray titles other than this have been announced by the Weinstein company. So for film lovers that don't give a shit about video games, you basically got a great fucking film saddled with one thats gonna cost $70...that blows man. And somehow people have turned this into a good thing...I'll keep my Criterion, thanks.
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It's no surprise that Wal-Mart is investigating making available in their stores the cheapest players possible, whether they be HD-DVD or Blu-ray. Driving prices in their stories down as low as possible is what they do. But here's the problem with cheap Chinese HD-DVD players that a lot of people are glossing over. The kind of people who might buy a $199 HD-DVD player at Wal-Mart are not the kind of people who are likely to want to have to deal with software glitches, firmware updates and disc/player incompatibility problems. Right now, Toshiba and Universal can't yet tell me why the HD-DVDs of The Good Shepherd and Children of Men aren't working in Toshiba's top of the line player. If Toshiba is having issues with their BEST player, does anyone really think a $199 Fuh Yuan player won't have even MORE problems? Who's going to do tech support for Fuh Yuan? Wal-Mart? One would also expect the kind of people who want a $199 high-def player are also going to be the kind of folks who might also want Disney movies for their kids. That's not going to happen on HD-DVD. Not to mention, with cheap Chinese players available at $199, what other major hardware manufacturer is going to want to try to compete with that? There's no profit margin. LG and Samsung are making combo HD-DVD/Blu-ray Disc players available because they rightly perceive that there's a market for such players with high-end enthusiasts. But those players are going to cost in excess of $1000. There's no incentive at all for companies like LG or Samsung to try and compete with the likes of Fuh Yuan on budget players at Wal-Mart. Meanwhile, the prospect of $199 HD-DVD players will force Sony, Pioneer, Samsung, Panasonic and the other major Blu-ray Disc player manufacturers to lower their prices faster (which, as Home Media editor T.K. Arnold pointed out in a recent editorial, may be an unexpected advantage of the HD format war). By the end of the year, a number of name-brand Blu-ray players will be available for $399 or less, with even cheaper models likely to follow in 2008. Cheaper players that WILL play those Disney high-def movies.
And while we're talking high-def movies, let's take a look at the biggest titles people are likely going to want to buy in high-def in the next 12 months or so, and which format(s) they'll MOST LIKELY be released on: Transformers (Paramount/DreamWorks = likely both formats), Shrek the Third (Paramount/DreamWorks = likely both), The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal = HD-DVD), The Kingdom (Universal = HD-DVD), 300 (Warner = both formats), Spider-Man 3 (Sony = Blu-ray), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney = Blu-ray), Next (Paramount = both), Blades of Glory (Paramount = both), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Fox = Blu-ray), The Simpsons Movie (Fox = Blu-ray), 28 Weeks Later (Fox = Blu-ray), Meet the Robinsons (Disney = Blu-ray), Hostel: Part II (Lionsgate = Blu-ray), Ratatouille (Disney = Blu-ray), Live Free or Die Hard (Fox = Blu-ray), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner = both), Rush Hour 3 (New Line = possibly both or neither), Evan Almighty (Universal = HD-DVD), The Invasion (Warner = both), Resident Evil: Extinction (Sony = Blu-ray), Saw IV (Lionsgate = Blu-ray), His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (New Line = possibly both or neither), Blade Runner: Special Edition (Warner = both), I Am Legend (Warner = both), Alvin and the Chipmunks (Fox = Blu-ray), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney = Blu-ray), Alien vs. Predator 2 (Fox = Blu-ray). This obviously doesn't include a lot of catalog releases, but the major new release picture isn't exactly favorable for HD-DVD. And all of this comes on the heels of Blu-ray having just dominated 70% of high-def software sales in the 1st quarter of 2007 (click here). Of course, one should keep in mind that the overall sales numbers for both formats are still but a tiny blip in the overall home video market.
Whichever format you happen to prefer, these are all reality check issues you ought to consider when you're thinking about this HD war, how it might play out through the rest of 2007 into 2008, and which format you might want to bet on (or not) if you're thinking of jumping into the fray at this point. 'Nuff said. -
they had laser discs for one...
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In the first of what observers expect will be many high-profile title showdowns, Buena Vista Home Entertainment on May 22 released the first two “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies on Blu-ray Disc, just before the third installment in the blockbuster franchise opened on the big screen.
The same day, Warner Home Video released two “Matrix” collections on the rival HD DVD format. Within a week, consumers had spent more than $2 million on those releases alone, according to Home Media Magazine market research estimates. The two “Pirates” films sold a combined total of nearly 47,000 units, while the higher-priced “Matrix” sets sold about 13,900 units. -
I misread the title...
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the funny thing is....those numbers would be alot less if they split up the trilogy as alot of the people who like the matrix series, like myself...would only buy the 1st Matrix...
when it comes out on BD, I will only buy the 1st one....I didn't even buy both POTC movies...but I will own both soon as I purchased only one along with apocalypto and pre-ordered blood diamond and weeds:season 1.....so curse of the black pearl can wait...
plus I don't think BD needed my help with both movies ahaha...the hurting has only just begun.. -
so i'm surfin on a local store site and notice they have the full on box set with the 10 discs or whatever that was released a year or 2 ago...but theres another that simply has the 3 movies...but the kicker is, there's only a 10$ difference...like wtf? as for that toshiba player that does both, its 1499$ plus tax here in canada...i mean damn..i'm glad i'm sticking to dvd
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The Matrix Trilogy and Blade Runner has been announced for the Blu-Ray. Blu Ray just has better selection of movies then HD-DVD. If you want to see Star Wars, Aliens, Die hard, Predator, James Bond Movies in High and etc in High Def you better get Blu-Ray because it will never appear on HD-DVD...
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Blu-Ray has had just as many software glitches and issues as HD-DVD has...and right now, Universal and Toshiba can't tell you about the Children of Men and The Good Sheperd? That's odd considering this press release hit digitalbits more than a week ago: "Universal has informed us that they're currently in replication on those corrected/fixed versions of Children of Men and The Good Shepherd (the DVD/HD-DVD Combo discs, which have been having playback and compatibility issues on many brands of HD-DVD players, apparently due to a slightly too thick bonding layer). They expect to start having the fixed discs available for exchange as early as next week. For now, use this e-mail address to arrange exchanges: USHE.ConsumerRelations@worldmarkinc.com (we'll have a phone number for you next week)." Firmware updates will be a fact of life for both formats...
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no, it doesn't...and HDDVD fans try to put an asterisk next to it as if more than half of the PS3 owners aren't going to buy a BD...
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Beta was inarguably the superior format. It seemed like a no-brainer to buy a Beta VCR. And the corporations conspired to force the inferior VHS format on the masses, like it or not. We the people really won't be the ones who decide who wins this newest format war. It will be decided behind closed boardroom doors.
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it's funny you say BD has had just as many glitches when that's a farce...because people are even having trouble with their 2nd generation Toshiba players...
I went to a local Sears and their Toshiba HD DVD display was down because the player was "acting up again"....but "we haven't had anyone return any of their players"......yeah, because nobody owns one.. -
Supposedly Walmart will be the deciding factor on HD-DVD winning the format wars this X-mas. They have purchased over $200 million dollars worth of sub $199 HD-DVD players for our buying dollars this holiday season '07. Also, I think the porn industry has chosen the format because of ease of distribution plus Disney being one of the main backers of the standard. I'll probably end up with both formats in my home only purchasing my favorite titles here and there to oogle over.
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you have to consider the type of consumer we are talking about here...
when it was beta vs vhs, the consumer only cared about price and not about technology unless it was a flying car ......now, in the computer, gigabyte dsl/cable modem era....superior technology does matter....especially when it has superior studio support and also manufacturer support...if Microsoft was so confident in their HD DVD player, they would have just added it onto their 360 Elite as a bonus to compete with Sony...but MS doesn't care, they still want you to pay 200 bucks for an add-on when they have stand-alone players that are goung for 300 right now.....they have even opened the possibility of supporting BD...so in reality, they are trying to milk another format and move along as slowly as possible...I could go on and on...but I think I'm done here...for good.. -
Long time fan. Usually just read, not post. Anyway, I thought i must chime in here with my two cents. There's two articles from a few days ago:
http://tinyurl.com/27ylgj
http://tinyurl.com/yq434s
Both of these articles state that Universal is close (if not already) to supporting Blu-ray besides their already supported HD-DVD, and one article even states how porn IS IN FACT coming out on Blu-ray, as well. If this is true, the format war is over, and for one of the first times in history, the better, more technologically advanced format will win. Only one word for HD-DVD: burn. MAJOR BURN. -
the pron industry didn't choose....and they are a non-factor....this isn't 1976.....we can download all the porn we want if it was such a factor...
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Regular consumers - meaning those who don't stop by AICN everyday - are staying away from both formats in droves precisely because of both the Betamx factor and anger over having heavily invested in the still relatively new reg. DVD format.There are analysts who predict that if this indifference to both formats persists, both will lose.
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yeah, it's a farce...from gizmodo.com: "If you've just purchased the first two Pirates movies on Blu-ray in order to get psyched up for the third one, you probably came up with a whole lot less Johnny Depp and a whole lot more firmware problems than you expected. Apparently at least two players—Samsung's BD-P1200 and Sony's BDP-S1—have difficulty playing back the first two movies, thanks to outdated BD java. And by difficulty, we mean they throw up their hands and give up like a fat man at the starting line of a 10K."..Planet Earth Blu-Ray also had several problems and so on. I don't even care about this petty shit but don't tell me Blu-Ray players don't have their fair share of problems.....oh and PS3 GAMES are not included in Blu-Ray software sales but the PS3 systems themselves are of course included in the Blu-Ray Hardware sales...where the fuck are you getting your information?
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Horseshit. Porn has always driven new audio-visual technology and the non-download side of it is still bigger than the mainstream music and film industries combined.Porn matters and they chose HD-DVD.
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I have nothing to add as far as HD formats...but I keep reading about how everyone uses the internet for porn...That traditional sales are done. NOT EVEN CLOSE. Just because the smart people know better doesn't mean the business isn't booming.
I work at a store that USED to be magazines & movies that is pretty much all porn now (oh the pride). Trust me, porn still sells and sells a ton. We are not hurting for business. Hey, it shocks me that more people don't use the net but it's not uncommon for these guys to drop $100 bucks on freaking MAGS! I don't think porn companys will have a huge impact on who wins this war, but to think porn dvds/mags are dead? Not a chance. -
It's 2 million at a cost of $100 million. You've got to remember most of middle income families picked up the new HD tvs last x-mas as the big family gift and want the content to take advantage of it. If they see an HD-DVD for around $175 at christmas time they will buy it. The porn industry won't be the final factor but will contribute because of the size of the industry. The formats are so close in picture quality that it doesn't matter that blue-ray will have the larger capacities especially with the newer codecs on the market. Which ever gets cheaper first because most consumers were pretty content with the difference from vhs to dvd. They have to have a reason that won't cost them an arm and a leg.
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C'mon Harry, this reeks of kickbacks. You don't even compare both formats in an objective manner before choosing(how about viewing movies in both formats first?), you flat out choose HD-DVD and then you keep posting defending HD-DVD. You don't even say acknowledge someone might have a good point with blu-ray, it's all no no no, HD-DVD will win. Why do you have to defend it so hard?
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There's no shame in admitting you have an Atari Lynx. It took Nintendo a decade to match the graphics power of that little handheld released way back in 1989. The Lynx rocked. Hence the secret behind my user name. But have no fear, Blu-Ray will not be the next Atari Jaguar. However, this all reminds me of something. Back when "Alien vs. Predator" was released on the Atari Jaguar, it was the slickest 1st person shooter on the market, console or PC. Yet the fools at EGM rated it solidly with 5's and 6's. The word on the street was that they took kickbacks for their ridiculously low ratings from Atari's competition. You know, kinda like this HD DVD love fest "review".
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Well, as a person who debated last summer on this format war, I think you may have made a mistake. That being said I think HDDVD will be around for at least another year to year and a half. These are the reasons. First off, blu-ray is technically a better format from the standpoint of having higher storage capabilities. It also has support from more companies. One of the biggest of these being Apple, which is doing business like gangbusters with no sign of stopping. Another reason? Studio support. Blu-ray's only remaining hold out with the studios, which granted is a big one, is Universal. Every other major studio has pledged it's support. HDDVD is missing all of Sony's labels as well as Disney, which is a giant. Lastly and simply, Sony. Blu-ray is Sony's format, and Sony is a juggernaut of a company that has won format wars before. But aside from it's history, Sony is a master of getting it's products out in the publics ears and into their mouths. Blu-ray has already had much more advertising than HDDVD. Don't get me wrong, HDDVD is still a good format. It bosts the same HD resolutions and HD audio formats, and on many discs still has smoother and cooler menus. But just from the standpoint of backing your proverbial horse, blu-ray is eventually going to win out. Most assuredly when and if Universal gets on board. Universal's president has vowed not to deviate from being exclusive to HDDVD, but give him a little more time. Evenutally, he's going to have to bend or Universal is going to be losing sales like crazy. Everyone wants HD everything these days and when you have more choices of movies and are constantly hearing about bllu-ray on TV and in all advertising, people will inevitably back that format. Luckily, HDDVD is cheaper player-wise, so if you've bought a player it won't be quite as bad a loss as buying a $1000 blu-ray player. But hey, I'm not psychic, I suppose only time will tell!
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http://tinyurl.com/2lj52h That would have been a bombshell if it were true...I can't help but think there might have been a glimmer of truth in your original link though. But for now, HD-DVD is safe/the war is still on....unless someone can find something more definitive about Universal wavering
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oh, I'm not ashamed...I still own every damn game for that system including the great 'Battlewheels' - a game way ahead of it's time i.e. Twisted Metal. I've pretty much given up on contemporary games but I still dust off that sucker every so often...
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Like Betamax?
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How big was your paycheck from MS and Toshiba, Harry.
Still shilling like the shill you are, eh? -
Now if everyone could stop with the misinformation.
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My friend bought an HD DVD player and it ended up exploding in his house and killing his mom...From that day on I swore I would go with Blu-ray...
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...about which player is in the lead right now. Until one of them finally wins out and the other is pretty much abandoned, I'm just sticking with regular ole' DVD. More realistically, until one format takes over half the DVD sections in stores, then I'm not upgrading. I have 1300 DVDs, so I'm not going to risk switching over and start buying new DVDs (and rebuying current ones) on a new format until there is a fairly clear winner. Chances are both will die out to pave the way for the next format anyway. Kinda like how everyone swore up and down that Laserdisc would overtake VHS? Yeah right. Chances are that HD-DVD/Blu-Ray are the "laserdisc" of the this decade and both will be gone or at least dying slowly in a few years time as the next format beyond rises up. And if I'm wrong, well I will eat my words and pick up the player for the winning format. But until one of them has at least of 95% chance of sticking around (and the other has less than 10%) or its proved that both are a worthless stepping stone to MEGA-DVD (or whatever it'll be called), I'm going ahead and getting things in the current format. What makes me even happier is that the prices on regular DVDs are going down because of all the format war silliness!
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I think if the PS3 really takes off in the next year or so with some of thier big games coming out the Blu-Ray will be here to stay. VHS was inferior to BetaMax techically but it didnt matter. Blu Ray has more potential picture quality wise but I think the difference between 1080i/720p HD DVD and 1080P Blu ray is too small a difference to the regular consumer to really care all that much. Whatever Wal Mart and Target ends up selling will probably be the winner.
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Because a guy that names himself as headgeek and misspells blu-ray, says porn is a factor in the high def battle, doesn't know that brd players also play dvds and upconvert them (ps3 with firmware update), names an HD-DVD title that will come to Blu-Ray soon (matrix) as his reason to choose HD-DVD, doesn't face the fact that Blu-Ray has 4 exclusive studios behind it (including Fox and Buena vista), and most important of all IS GETTING FUCKING PAID TO ADVERTISE ON HD DVD ON HIS WEBSITE, has no right to be right.
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"and right now... there's something along the lines of 545 titles on HD DVD and only 62 for Blue(sic) Ray."
That lie was on the net the other day, and the HD-DVD informers said that it was their medium-term plan to have that many titles, and 62 was the number of blu-rays out the firs quarter of this year. At least get the fucking updated facts. -
lol, sorry had to break up the monotony.
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When it comes to interpretations of the King Arthur legend, the race is really for second place -- Boorman's take is authoritative. I'd love to see everyone on the AICN crew do a review of Excalibur.
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If one of the formats can get its players to under $200 by this holiday shopping season then it's all over - they'll win the format war with a larger installed base. Word is that HD DVD players will be selling at Wal*Mart for under $200 by the end of the year. Game, set and match to HD DVD.
That having been said, neither next generation format is likely to light the world on fire. Sales are probably going to never exceed 25% of conventional DVD sales. With high speed cable and fiber to the door being deployed in more and more markets, downloadable video from services like iTunes will slowly replace disc-based media, rendering DVD and its next-generation would be successors equally obsolete. -
Sony ended up having a winner with Beta...maybe not with consumers, but with pros it was, and in a few cases still is the way to go. And of course they've dominated w/ game-consoles. As far as BD, Apple and Dell are huge and definitely not to be taken lightly. I know this thing has swung before (a few months ago it looked as though Sony was toast) but damn, it's not looking good for HD-DVD right now and if the tread that is Universal breaks...I just don't see how it could recover. And this is coming from an HD-DVD/XBOX-supporter. Like I said, it looked bad for BD awhile back too, but weren't Paramount and Warner still on the fence back then? I 'spose anything could happen, but some of the stuff I'm reading around the web, (digitalBits, Apple etc.) the forces lining up behind BD as an all-around format... seems pretty compelling
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think about it, do you really NEED or even WANT to see porn in HD? seriously? you want to see the stretch marks, cold sores and boob job scars in clear, sharp HD? fucking morons.
and don't get me wrong, i'm no prude, i like porn just a much as the next guy, but the fact of the matter is some things don't NEED to be seen in HD. HD is great for watching the baseball game and seeing individual blades of grass on the field, not so great when you are looking at the stretch marks around tera patricks' cootch. you know what i'm saying? -
and disadvantages... i like to think of them the same way i do butterscotch pudding and chocolate fudge pudding. i'll let you decide which is which. damn, now i want pudding.
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How exactly is Blu-Ray a Sony "proprietary" format? Look up the definition of the word, tool. The only company making HD DVD players on the market today is Toshiba. That in itself makes HD DVD "proprietary". The rest of the consumer electronics industry is backing Blu-Ray. And for the nuts that think Sony is money grubbing on the licensing, think again. The reason why the whole market supports Sony is because the patent licensing on Blu-Ray is less than HD DVD. That's the very reason why Sony started the format, so that they wouldn't have to continue paying Toshiba/Time Warner a grip on their DVD patent porfolio. The added bonus is Sony doesn't want Microsoft software touching anything but their Vaio computer line. The reason why Microsoft backs HD DVD is because each player comes equipped with Microsoft's proprietary HDi/iHD/whatever-they-call-it menuing system. Blu-Ray's menu system is a variation of the standard Sun Java. Thus again, HD DVD backs proprietary standards. Why did Sony use the old MPEG-2 codec instead of VC-1 (or H.264 AVC MPEG-4) on their first Blu-Ray titles? Because Sony didn't want to pay Microsoft royalties on VC-1 nor did they want the rest of the studios to use VC-1 on their Blu-Ray releases. There is a reason why the entire consumer electronics industry - besides Toshiba - is against Microsoft. Just look at how Microsoft treats their current proxy known as Toshiba. They give Toshiba the Xbox360 add-on HD DVD drive contract. Just as soon as a cheaper supplier can make it, Toshiba loses the contract. Microsoft pressured Toshiba to cut back support on their Gigabeat MP3 player line in exchange for being the supplier for the Microsoft Zune MP3 player...and now Microsoft is shifting over to another company for the contract. Toshiba is the next Sendo. European readers should get that reference.
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I was thinking about that statement that I read here on the Talkback. Perhaps the talkbackers who did this "test" were comparing the upscaled DVD of ROTS to the HD Cinemax showings via DirecTV or Dish. The satellite providers compress the hell out of their HD transmissions. Cable HD providers don't compress their signals as much as DirecTV/DISH, but they still don't offer the same HD quality as does the traditional broadcast stations transmitting in HD if you still have an antenna on your roof to receive their signals. Although maybe this will change with (at least) DirecTV shifting to MPEG-4 whereas broadcast will be using MPEG-2 for the next 20 years (or more). Damn you, DirecTV and your use of NDS DVRs instead of TiVo.
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The porn industry is backing HD-DVD, but Vivid (the major studio in the biz) is in talks to use Blu-Ray. So its still pretty much in the air. the thing is I've seen HD-DVD at the local porn shops and no Blu-ray.
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Many Talkbackers here are assuming that MGM Blu-Ray title releases will be dictated by Sony just because Sony was part of the private consortium that bought out MGM. While that is true, MGM signed a contract earlier in the year to switch distribution of their home titles from Sony to Fox. So MGM Blu-Ray titles will follow the lead of Fox. Hopefully this means that just as how Fox is holding out for BD-J 1.1, hopefully MGM titles will also show up encoded in H.264 AVC MPEG-4 like some of the Fox titles. After the release of *X3* in that codec, I thought all of Fox's genre titles would follow, but *AvP* was in MPEG-2. I really wish the Blu-Ray Disc Association would mandate AVC as the codec of choice above Microsoft's VC-1 and MPEG-2. Looking at HD DVD, thanks to Microsoft's monopoly money, there's no chance in hell that HD DVD titles will ever see AVC encoding even with the hardware supporting it (rather lacklusterly, I might add). One of the reasons why Toshiba jumped the gun and released HD DVD earlier than planned was because they weren't planning on most titles - if any - would be encoded in AVC so they went ahead and released their 1stGen players with those abysmal Broadcomm decoder chips that couldn't output anything above 720p and choked on AVC. Unfortunately, since Toshiba blew its wad early, Samsung released their Blu-Ray player earlier than expected with the same crummy Broadcomm chip but at least they did equip it with an extra decoding coprocessor to at least coax somewhat of a 1080i (p is debatable) signal out of it.
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That in five years the winning format will be DVDA - who can resist that combo? It's (relatively) cheap, you can see everything from the right position - and backwards compatibility? Don't even get me started! Seriously, though, weakness on the corporate deepthroating by the headgeek...What was the fucking point of that article anyways? Anyone that read it can imagine the phone call the Toshiba reps put in to Harry and how he bent over without a moments hesitation, wincing only momentarily as they slid it in while he sloughed off another shred of self-respect by trying to make statements of personal preference a fact through sheer will power and bad literary slight of hand...What's next - his preference of Macs over PCs? Toast or waffles? Shower or bath? Oh, sorry - neither of the last four choices have corporate sponsors that can line your pockets. Douche.
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5/29/2007 12:16:28 PM, by Bill Binder
Sharp ends the high def wars?
Sharp has made quite an amazing announcement, and one that has slipped almost completely under the radar.
Sharp has just announced the release of a new optical disc player that will allegedly be the smallest player ever produced. In and of itself, this is mildly interesting. But more interesting is that it is capable of playing CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray and HD DVD. That's right a dual format player, that could potentially eliminate the need to worry about formats. Their press is very vague on the availability of this on a consumer level. But the player, be it a consumer item, or component is expected to cost less that $100 and begin shipping next month. If this is indeed a cross platform player, the news will certainly appear here soon.
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And by personal preference - in case you couldn't tell - I meant: Whatever someone else with more money/clout/fame tells him to like...Sorry to be so hard on the big guy, but I've been coming to this site for a looong time and within the last couple years have seen him change drastically. There are a few sincere reviewers on here - actually, most of them beyond Harry. He's changed, taken in by the money and famous friends this site has brought to his doorstep (most of them just looking for a free plug) and now he gladly walks on eggshells and sucks whatever dicks he's told to.
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http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070413-samsung-to-hedge-bets-with-combo-hd-dvdblu-ray-player.html
Yeah, it looks like there will be a dual player in the future. Of course, I have no doubt that it will cost the equivalent of a small nation's GDP. But, if someone has the dough, I guess . . . they should get a life and donate it to a charity. But that's just my opinion. -
Lawsuit, and limited copying?
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/05/28/sony_blu-ray_patent_dispute/ -
Don't hold your breath waiting for Pixar films on Blu-Ray. Why? Steve Jobs (Disney's number one shareholder and Apple's CEO) wants Sony films for the iTunes Movie Store. Are they available? No. So why in the world would Jobs allow his Pixar movies to be released on Blu-Ray, which would only help Sony win the format war? Apple may be a member of the Blu-Ray Disc Association’s board of directors, but you don't see Blu-Ray drives currently preinstalled on Apple computers. Meanwhile, Sony has little incentive to let Jobs sell low-res copies of Spider-Man and Casino Royale on iTunes -- Sony wants to sell you shiny Blu-Ray discs. Prediction -- Jobs will eventually force Disney to go "format neutral" and support both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, flipping the bird to Sony.
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that is a very big deal.......
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Hasn't Pixar's Cars already been announced for BluRay?
Harry chose hd-dvd because he's a cheap ass. I hope other TBers realize you should always do the opposite of what Harry does. -
Actually a Blu-Ray release date for Cars WAS announced and then later pulled with no future release date set (http://tinyurl.com/2ehgsr). This "announce and pull" has happened to many titles from Blu-Ray exclusive studios Disney and Fox, for reasons unknown, to the consternation of many BR owners (myself included).
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HULK, THE THING, and CHILDREN OF FUCKING MEN...
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Sony and Disney...Microsoft,yeah...not so much.
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we'd all have a pair of boob and
ovaries.
That being said, for those of you who don't want to see HD
porn... I don't get you guys. Have you ever been with a woman that doesn't need
to be pulled out of a box and pumped up? You know, a *warm* one you can get to
scream like she's forgotten her alphabet ('xcept for the
7th letter)? I watch porn when I'm single because I don't have a
pretty girl around to play with. But when I do, I don't dwell on her stretch
marks, her pimples, her wrinkles.... I dwell on everything about her perfect,
imperfect body with a billion pixels per eyeball, and I have only one report to
make: AMEN! -
There's already at least one on the market, which also does the upconverting. It's $1200 right now tho.
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They were denied a license by Sony and they had to go with HD by default. They wanted BR and had to go HD because of Sony, so please stop saying porn chose HDDVD because it's disingenuous. They were forced there.
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Hackers and hacking is the reason. The BR studios pulled their titles after the hacking and it's been happening ever since. Blame it on the basement dwellers.
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Market's totally in flux right now with all this stuff. Lots of new products just introduced, more on the way in the next few months. As for picture quality HDDVD vs BluRay, it at least partially depends on the player AND the TV. Some match up really well, others.... Oh and only reason to go 1080p is if you're picking up HDDVD or BluRay, because the cable and satellite companies don't pump out their HD at 1080p - yet. Me, I haven't decided yet whether to blow the money on a Panasonic plasma 1080p or just get a Vizio 720p plasma to tide me over while the dust settles.
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For helping me start an interesting sub-topic on upscaling. I have a vested interest in it, because I take
delivery of a new Panasonic plasma screen, next week. It's the TH-50PX75U 720p
Plasma HDTV, 50 inches. I'll use it with a DVD player, a regular one, because I'm
not going HD until I get a million bucks and can afford to buy THE ADVENTURES
OF ROBIN HOOD for the third (fucking) time, since I killed my Betamax edition, in 1999. And that's just one title out of
well over 500, which give me comfort from their place on my shelfs.
So, anyway, I'm not ready, yet, 'cause I like my DVDs, thank
you very much. I'm thinking that the screen itself is going to be such a huge
upgrade from my 32 inch Sony tube, that it won't matter a bit what the definition
is, coming out of my DVD player. It's just going to rock to my untrained eyes.
BUT, I'm a consumer, and I'm here, aren't I, so I'm tempted by the up-conversion
thing, because after dropping 2 grand on a new TV, what's an extra 100 bucks on
a DVD player? I can get another 5 disc changer, hook it up along with my old
one, and never, ever, ever, leave my couch again.
All this to say, I think I'll do this: I'll get the screen, then I'll go to my local price-fixing electronics store, and
get an upconverting DVD player. If I like what I see,
I'll keep it. If not, I'll return it. It's unscrupulous, but let's face it, all
these fuckers do with their professional lives is try to figure out a way to
get us all to buy another "new" edition of the White Album, so why
hesitate to take advantage of their generous return policies? Prices are going
up, anyway, so fuck 'em.
And that's about it, isn't it? It's about what looks good to
you in your living room. I mean, I get wanting a
bigger TV, I cracked and got one. But the whole HD thing... it just smells bad
to me. It was only yesterday that they were telling me seeing in DVD was the next
best thing to watching people fuck in front of me... I'm still under that spell.
It'll take a while before they get me to upgrade anything but my fucking TV! Vive
la RESISTANCE, putain de merde! -
SuperNintendo v. Sega.
If you see what I'm saying. -
Or maybe not
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Is your ass stamp in 720p, 1080i or 1080p?
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BluRay has them. HD-DVD doesn't. Fin.
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Cause you clearly don't know anything about the technology that plays 'em. Besides Harry's fact-lite article that started all this, now Hercules is jumping on the bandwagon with his belief that "If the Blu-ray titles never come to HD-DVD , I sense most consumers will just wait till Blu-ray players fall under $200 and will simply own both players and an A/B switch." You, sir, are fucking clown shoes. Like consumers, or the market would put up with that. Even if Sony lost, they would end up eating crow like they did with Beta-Max and Minidisk and release their shit on the current standard format. But they won't have to. Titles, more than price, dictate unit sales (if the ps3 could get a 'killer ap' it wouldn't be struggling so hard) And as has already been covered numerous times here, the ONLY movies you can't get on Blu-Ray are those released through Universal. Meanwhile, you won't see films from Columbia, MGM, Disney, Lionsgate, Fox and Sony on HD-DVD unless Blu-Ray dies out. HD-DVD is a couple hundred bucks cheaper than Blu-Ray RIGHT NOW, but what are you gonna watch on it? Not Spider-Man 3. Final thought; here are the top 10 grossing films of 2006, and which format you'll be able to watch them on:
1. PotC: Dead Man's Chest - Blu-Ray
2. Cars - Blu-Ray
3. X-Men: The Last Stand - Blu-Ray
4. The Da Vinci Code - Blu-Ray
5. Superman Returns - Blu-Ray and HD-DVD
6. Ice Age - Blu-Ray
7. Over the Hedge - Blu-Ray and HD-DVD
8. Talladega Nights - Blu-Ray
9. Click - Blu-Ray
10. Mission: Impossible III Blu-Ray and HD-DVD
100% of the top grossing films from 2006 are available on Blu-Ray. 30% are available on HD-DVD. (those movies, grosses and studios came from associatecontent.com and IMDB)
But, y'know, maybe that's not clear enough. Maybe there's a better way to illustrate the INSANE uphill battle HD-DVD has somehow deluded the world into believing it can win. It shakes down like this:
Universal + Toshiba + Microsoft VS Apple INC, Dell, HP, Hitachi, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Phillips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Sun Microsystems, TDK, Thompson, Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, and dozens of others listed at blu-raydisc.com. I threw you a bone with Microsoft, as they only make a player, not movies, and their's is not even a stand-alone. It's a $200 addition to a $400 system that a minority percentage of system owners are actually adopting. This is a pointless argument. I'm not sure what HD-DVD payed for this specific plug, but wasn't the advertising space they were paying for enough? Did that still leave you so in want of cash as to make a fool of yourself, or worse, paint yourself as a know-nothing whore? Look, when I want info on new movie/tv/comic book projects I go to aintitcool.com. When I want a thoughtful breakdown of how a format war will shake down, I'll go with someone who (A)actually knows what the hell they're talking about, (b)isn't making a point to hock a product they already advertise, and (c)doesn't litter there argument with erroneous fact after erroneous fact. -
DVD wins. FATALITY.
I'm with you, lost.rules -
posts should be limited to 100 words max.
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and Eli Roth. Boring sicko.
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And they better keep it PG, too!
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Harry, you really are a fat dumb fuck. But hey... maybe this proves that HD DVD will win.
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Ahh Harry... I can't stay mad at you! But as a close watcher of the details of this 'battle' - as I'm sure many of your readers are - soo many of your statements were just factually incorrect. (As has been pointed out a billion times above) But you actually may be revealing why HD DVD has a chance. If the slack jawed yokels in Walmart think that HD DVD will be compatible with DVDs (and Blu-ray wont be) plus its cheaper... well that's a pretty big advantage.
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You will never ever get Spider-man, Cars, Ratatoille, Pirates, or others on hddvd.
We'll see how things go with Universal. Lord of the Rings is sorta up in the air, but seems dual for now. This format war SUCKS and I hate that this place is pushing the dead end hddvd longer than it needs to.
And to those that think DVD is ok, earn some cash and get a 50+ inch display. Standard DVD is nearly unwatchable after a few blu-ray movies.
We can only hope that standard defintion doesn't win. Wouldn't it just suck if HDTV rules the satellite/OTA/cable markets and old 640x480 rules the PAID disc format? -
They are swept up in the Wii hype or think that Sony's success = ZOMG BADZORS!!!!! It's all juvenile bullshit. Look at what they produce and judge them on that basis. This type of competition will be decided by the consumers. Not fanboys.
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There's a DVD drive built into my old Mac G4. I can watch movies on the Samtron monitor my dad gave me. If the movie gets dull, I can surf the 'nets on Monitor No. 2. My home office chair is comfy. I can make out most faces and even subtitles. I can rent DVDs from Netflix. I own fewer than 10 DVDs. To me, backwards compatible means it plays VHS too.
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You can rent Blu-ray from netflix also (and blockbuster online). And HD-DVD for that matter. Just so you know.
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I think people hate Sony not because of other companies but because they do bullshit like trying to spy on you when you buy an audio CD and make expensive electronics that are not as reliable as cheaper stuff from other manufactur...
Samsung will release an under $500 dual player this xmas.. for those of you that want to wait... Warner is releasing TOTALHD discs that play on both players -- so we will have dual format players and disks --the war will become DVD-R +R -- both will be around -- Blueray is actually taking a slight lead in US due to better titles and more titles -- HD-DVD is leading Europe by a large margin - Japan has not really adopted to either -- so there you have -- thanks to Sony we have two formats -- forever -
Coming out Xmas...
and PervOmatic -- the germans felt the same way when they followed Hitler - maybe you are the sheep --following Sony -- they are really not on the consumers side... seriously --
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I just can't be bothered with this whole HD/Blu-Ray thing. I am happy with my standard DVD player. The quality is good enough, i have like 1500 DVDs i don't see the need to change. Maybe when my player packs up i'll upgrade on replacement but not until then.
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425,000 of the 695,000 next-gen players sold recently are Blu-ray players—about 61 percent of units in the wild. Comparatively, HD DVD accounts for 270,000 units, or roughly 39 percent. Presented this way, Blu-ray looks to have a significant lead.
Yet only 25,000 of those Blue Ray are not the PS3 so stand alone players HD-DVD is in a huge lead because of price...
It will come down to one thing- will PS3 owners buy movies --
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I hate brand-wars
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Just to clarify something here. BluRay isn't technically backwards compatible. To make a BR player backwards compatible with DVD, manufacturers also need to include a red laser to read those discs.Say what you will, but in 3 years time I can guarantee you that new BR players will be released WITHOUT the red laser.Ok now onto the you won't get "cars" or "spider-man" crowd. Do you think studios love to lose money? Do you think if they see a shit load of HD-DVD units being sold they aren't going to jump ship? The studios who are signed up to BluRay aren't exclusivey tied to the format. All of them have clauses that are dependent on the viability of the platform. Sony already took a gamble that PS3 would really shift BR movies and so far it's not worked; i'll say that's down to the lack of HDTV sets in peoples homes.
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I have to agree with Harry, don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Blu Ray, and my samsung player is pretty awesome... however, I've compared a couple of movies (most notibly Matrix Revolutions and Superman Returns) on both formats and I gotta tell ya, HDDVD is the shit when it comes to clarity, my 150inch screen with a pissy little (by dedicated home theatre standards) Epson TW1000 projector through HDMI rocks my world.. the picture is so incredibly sharp that it slits your eyes. It really is the only way to go (now if only I can talk my wife into buying a DLP projector.. then I'll be happy). However, HDDVD IS I'm afraid the Betamax of the HD disc formats.. Its the better of the 2 formats, however, Blu Ray has more backers... the only thing that will give HDDVD the edge is if it gets backed by the porn industry... but why would they do that now?... they're making too much money off hte internet.. or unless Microsoft bring out a 3rd Gen XBOX 360 with a BUILT IN HDDVD Drive that sells for less than the PS3 and RAMPS up their HDDVD compatibility/usability/read write etc. with Vista.... aint gonna happen... having said that... I do love me some HDDVD... Its a shame the format will be gone the way of laser disc in 3 years.
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it pays to read some posts before posting... I could have saved me some time eh.... oh well.
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You've made a great point that ties into the marketing Sony have used to say BR is doing well.Is it fair to say you have a larger market saturation when 90% of the people who've bought your player have no means/intention of using it as a BR movie player? Is it fair to say your BR disc sales are greater then HD when Sony are their own biggest customer giving away discs?
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...as this (model of) t.v. itself will up-convert our dvd collection...while having all the connection-options you would ever want. It has the BEST picture I've EVER seen, which was running Peter Jackson's KING KONG. And BEST BUY also has a 40" version...but I wouldn't be satisfied with anything smaller than the 40". And you know what? Anyone who is looking to jump into "HD" and already has a large dvd collection, the way that Harry went just makes sense. You get yourself an HD-DVD player and save a ton of cash, which you can spend on movies. If up-converting normal dvds is enough for you, than put the cash into regular dvds and a player or t.v. that does up-conversion. However, if you want to experience the BEST picture and you have the television to back it up (or plan to have one), grab yourself an HD-DVD player like Harry did. There's just no way in hell I'd buy a Blu-Ray player, given the options available.
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I rarely buy DVD's movies only tv series since it's more video for your buck. Since I only watch a movie a few times it's easier to rent. I will wait to see what Blockbuster does. Then buy used DVD's if I really like the movie.
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Suck it, Blu-Ray.
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I have exactly 4 HD-DVDs and 25 Blu-ray discs. Seems there is more on BD that I would rather buy. And yes, Blu-ray players up convert DVDs too so that is not really a valid argument for HD-DVD. Also, I don't understand why people keep saying that the Blu-ray disc sales stats are inflated because of the discs they are giving away with the players. Last time I checked the HD-DVD players sales were giving away more titles than the BD. I have seen 5 to 7 free HD-DVDs with the purchase of a player and only 2 free with the purchase of a BD player. I got three free HD-DVDs with the purchase of my player, none with the BD player. I have been purchasing the BDs over the HD-DVDs when they are available on both formats. One of the reasons is that the HD-DVD versions are often times $5 or more higher in price! Go look on Amazon or DVDplanet. I don't think anyone else mentioned that here. Also, when it comes to sales, the BD versions ARE outselling the HD-DVD versions. Just look at The Departed, the first HiDef disc to sell over 100,000 copies. They are counting both formats here. And they must have lied about the 100,000 because it doesn't add up to that. 58,300 Blu-ray and 35,300 HD-DVD. It is not just The Departed either. Also, people say that the PS3 has bumped sales of Blu-ray discs because of a lack of games are stupid. Most of the people who purchased a PS3 have no HD TV and would be stupid to pay $10 to $15 more for a disc that would look exactly the same as a standard DVD on their standard def televsion! And also to the person who said LOST season 3 would not be out this fall on Blu-ray, according to Disney. It was just announced yesterday that the Blu-ray versions will be in the stores December 11th. I hope they do seasons one and two also!
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I guess I forgot to mention this also, but when I first bought my HD-DVD player, I went to some of the HD-DVD message boards and was horrified to learn that a lot of people had to send them back to Toshiba to have them fixed! A couple people had to do it twice! I have not had to thus far, since I have not used it that much. Also, the HD-DVD copy protection was hacked months ago, using an add-on HD-DVD player for the XBOX 360. Haven't heard if they had done so on the Blu-ray, but that alone would lead some studios to not back HD-DVD.
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Blue-Ray holds more data, so in the future won't that be beneficial?
good comparison here:
http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/19/blu-ray-vs-hd-dvd-state-of-the-s-union-s-division/ -
For a HD-Havenot. OK so from what I'm reading, a standard dvd in a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray is "upgraded". Thus someone like myself, who owns over a 1000 dvds were it would be improbable to rebuy the vast majority of what I own on a new format, why would I need to in the first place? Seems if I have a 50'HD-TV and a HD player of some sort then my old dvds would look pretty sweet thus outside of a few titles (lotr / star wars / etc) why would I need to rebuy? Does it really look *that* much better to be spending $1000s for something I already have? What would it matter that Harry couldn't buy Pirates? He could put his standard dvds in and, while not perfect, they'd look very good.
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....the main function porn serves in my life is to crank one out when my wife isn't "available" to render services. porn is all about the "fantasy", so to have the "reality" of a boob job scar rendered in full HD....well, it just ruins that concept imo.
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And who cares about Star Wars on HD-DVD, it's just the stupid Special Editions/Prequels anyway. Besides, Im sure that $$-whore Lucas will figure out some way to finagle around that whole format war thing to cash in on the HD-DVD market...
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And that was using a Sharp Aquos. This could be the encoding that they are using. However, what a lot of people are not considering is that the picture quality between the two formats are either indistinguishable or HD-DVD has the edge. The studios love Blu-Ray because THEY want to dictate to us when and how we play the media that WE purchased. In this respect Blu-Ray is insidious. But the point is moot because both formats are not even making a dent on conventional DVD sales. Only 25% of N.America has HDTV displays. Until that number increases nothing will change...
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http://www.dvdreview.com/news/viewnews.asp?id=9363
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http://www.dvdreview.com/news/viewnews.asp?id=9363
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Yes, Blu-ray has more of the HD disc market than HD DVD. But, together they make up less than 1$ of the entertainment on disc market. I've created a pie chart to show the market share of HD DVD (red) to Blu-ray (blue) to standard DVD (yellow), and it is at http://tinyurl.com/32jtyc -- This format war is far from over because, so far, everyone is staying far away from it.
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From what I've seen, the difference between an upsampled DVD and a HD-DVD is very noticible. Whether you are anal enough to demand the best possible quality and want to see the imperfections on the skin of the actors on screen. I will tell you this though, the movies I've seen that have a great deal of SFX in them actually suffer in HD. It's almost like the old days of seeing black outlines round models.
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Great point! My dad was certain that Beta would conquer VHS due to its superiority. However, this situation may be a little difference in that there are exact proportions for the disks (while Beta/VHS were different). If players could be priced that would support both formats -- and the price was closer to the HD-DVD standards -- then both formats could survive. I suspect that manufacturers will not be able to create low priced dual models for quite some time -- because of the current cost effective limitations in creating Blu-Ray. The ball is in Blu-Ray's basket. They will almost certainly lose the "war" if they do not raise demand by lowering cost. It is classic microecomonics. Demand for HD-DVD will continue to rise because of its lower price. If HD-DVD gains over 50% of the market share, and if Blu-Ray is still overpriced, then the war will come to an end in HD-DVD's favor. If Blu-Ray can lower their price before losing much of its market share, there will be a "tie" (and an advent of dual players). It Blu-Ray was able to lower their price to almost match HD-DVD this year -- then the war would be won in Blu-Ray's favor. The conclusion will be interesting to watch, and it will certainly be textbook material for Economics students over the next two decades!
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Typo...
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One of the reasons I think most consumers will wait to by hi-def DVD (or blu-ray) is that many of us have huge DVD collections. Put in one of these new discs and for those of us who already have the hi-def sets, the difference isn't that substantial. VCR to DVD -- huge jump.... DVD to HD DVD -- yeah you can tell, but not worth $300 player and zillions to update my collection.
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That's what I wanted to know. Since I keep seeing about "upgrading" I wondered what the point was, but if there is a noticable difference, then I understand. Thankfully I'm not not one of those anal folks. Heck, I have glasses and can't see much half of the time anyway! But isn't the *point* of HD to make effect look amazing? Really you think they look worse? If so all this is pretty much a moot point.
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This whole thread is irrelevant. There are already hi-def players on the market that play both formats, and many more on the way. This isn't VHS vs. Beta, where the media is a different size. It's all software on this one.
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to address the exposed false facts and incorrect numbers in his "article" ?*cough*advertisement*cough*methinks Harry's feeling pretty stupid about his impulsive, uneducated purchase
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This was on DVDreview website and sounds highly unlikely.
Looks like something someone made up! $100?
Sharp has made quite an amazing announcement, and one that has slipped almost completely under the radar.
Sharp has just announced the release of a new optical disc player that will allegedly be the smallest player ever produced. In and of itself, this is mildly interesting. But more interesting is that it is capable of playing CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray and HD DVD. That's right a dual format player, that could potentially eliminate the need to worry about formats. Thre press is very vague on the availability of this on a consumer level. But the player, be it a consumer item, or component is expected to cost less that $100 and begin shipping next month. If this is indeed a cross platform player, the news will certainly appear here soon
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It could have been the sources that made them look shit. One of the worst examples I've seen is Stealth, (yes i know its a shit movie), while HD couldn't really ruin the movie any more it made the FX look bad.
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http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/11705/NYPost_Retailers_to_Pull_Plug_on_HD_DVD.html
Should have waited and bought a Blu-Ray player! LOL! Sucky timing! -
... who gives a shit?" - Happy Gilmore
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Ass Stamp #1: Posting a NY Post article in the first place...Ass Stamp #2: Posting a 3-month old NY Post article...Ass Stamp#3: Posting a 3-month old article full of false information..."PS3 [Blu-Ray Player] about the same [price] as the cheapest HD DVD player"...pitiful
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I know, Grande Rojo if you read this then I really would love to be your personal guide at next years CES show here in Las Vegas if you were honestly that mis-informed about the next gen media formats.
Once you see the overwhelming support for Blu Ray from the CE industry, and not just SONY either, you will know of what the talkbackers speak.
Honestly, I think you were or should have been shipped the top shelf Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players and libraries of films on both since day 0, but that's just my opinion... -
...is a friend of Sony. So... There is a recent article out that sales of HD players have increased tenfold since the Toshiba HD players have dropped. Average consumers will determine the direction of this format war, and price directs the average consumer...
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Anyone who thinks Harry went to Best Buy and paid money for his HD DVD is smoking crack. Harry hasn't written a review for anything in years that wasn't bought and paid for by someone. He chose HD-DVD because Sony wasn't willing to give him a free player in exchange for a glowing review because they know nobody listens to this bloated whore anymore.
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http://tinyurl.com/33ja3s ...sorry Harry. Do you still have the receipt?
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...the consumer will lose, because competition improves product quality. So probably the best thing is to just continue the two competing HD formats...
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Well after reading most of this thread the only conclusion I've had is to just wait and see. I'm hoping Blu-Ray wins out so when I get a PS3 (once they put out a game worthy) I don't need to buy another player. But I have finally decided to quit being a slacker and buy a HD-TV any thoughts anyone? I have the money, but I'm certainly not wanting to spend 5k or anything. A friend says he'd buy another Vizio before he'd buy another Sony.
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According to the article, that makes $ revenue between the Pirates Blu-Ray and Matrix HD about even. The article also reiterates what I just posted that the consumer ultimately benefits from this HD format war, not only in price, but in product quality...
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Samsung, all the way. Whether you get 720p or 1080p...Samsung...
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Just release a cheaper 1080i player. Boom! people will buy. It's as simple as that. Just market the 1080p players as the "High" end models. Hell I'm willing to bet that most people that have bought widescreen TV's as of late only have 1080i's anyways.
People just need a fucking insentive. People just want a decent priced machine that'll look f'n awesome on their 46" and up TV's. Even friends of mine that can afford these suckers are waiting just because the fear of being up shits creek when and if the format they chose dies.
When I was younger we had Beta and Laserdiscs. I obviously don't play my Betas much, but I still use the laserdisc to play the original untouched THX Star Wars Saga and certain Criterion discs that never made it to dvd. It's still looks fine and works good enough.
As for High Def discs I've been slowly collecting Blu-rays when on sale. Why? Because when the players get cheap I'll already have a collection of films to watch. I'm not worried if it goes bunk. It's still work as an upscaler and hell that's just mean the discs will go on the cheap until all is gone like Laserdiscs.
As for people freaking out about repurchasing their whole collection again, who says you need "Party Girl" in High Def?
I for one just can't wait to see "Lawrence of Arabia", "Gone with the Wind" hell any three strip film, "The Good,The Bad, and The Ugly", Fellini, and Kubrick films. I'll upgrade those in a heartbeat. Then just buy the most recent films I don't have or just fill in the cracks of my movie library. Once again if Blu-ray fails. So be it. I'll have an upscaling player with a library of HD discs already. I'll also have the pick of the litter when people start selling their used discs.
Can't lose. At least if the player is only $299 or under. -
it's = it'll and so forth. Gramar and spelling error=mind corrected.
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Is this thing still on?
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BestBuy.com is listing the Samsung BD-P1000 at $499.99, and Toshiba's HD-A2 as $399.99, currently on sale for $299.99. At a $100 difference, and with Blu-Ray having more titles, why go with HD-DVD? What else do you need to base your opinion on?
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and that article is damaging to HD-DVD how?..from the article: "Both high-def formats are gaining traction amid growing Hollywood sentiment that the format war isn't necessarily a bad thing. Observers question whether hardware prices would have dropped as dramatically as they have if only one format was on the market".....for fuck's sake people, let people enjoy thier format of choice. Ultimately, I'm a film lover that will do what I need to do to buy the films I have a passion for, and right now I have a HD-DVD player because it was more affordable and their releases skew more classic at this time(and I'm defending HD-DVD on these boards because..frankly, it needs defending from all this BS and rhetoric like the above two links to articles "dooming" HD-DVD) but I'm sure I'll pick a Blu-Ray player up when they became affordable. Live and let live people...
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The average person is probably already stretching their finances to even spend $399. But it is a good point.
The key is "2 year no interest financing". I bet more people would jump on these suckers.
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If you ever see me pay that much to watch some fucking movies...Kill me
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Good 'ol Padme in a pink wig and undies. Doing nothing but stripper splits. All in wonderful HD.
Hee hee. Whatever. "2 year NO INTEREST PLAN"!!! Under $299! Make it happen greedy fucks. =) -
I saw "Pirates 3" in digital projection and I had the same problem. It's distracting how crisp everything looks. It all looks like a cartoon!
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And they ended up inviting in George?Man, that was a great show.
I miss Arrested Development. -
If not, how could you claim to compare them? Anyway, Blu-Ray has the most movies, so when I get a PS3 I'll be able to purchase the majority of them on that! And if HD-DVD exclusive movies from Universal don't come to Blu-Ray? Fuck 'em... I'll just pick up the regular good ol' DVD.
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Opps, did I just say that....
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and since that 'sale' has been quiet successful in encouraging HD-DVD hardware sales, expect that price to stick. Also, despite the fact that Blu-Ray has more studios "supporting" them, HD-DVD has considerable more releases planned through the next four months...
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and since that 'sale' has been quiet successful in encouraging HD-DVD hardware sales, expect that price to stick. Also, despite the fact that Blu-Ray has more studios "supporting" them, HD-DVD has considerable more releases planned through the next four months...
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too much plastic !!!!! too much unnecessary products!!!! THE MATRIX DOESN'T HAS YOU!!! THE MEDIA HAS YOU PEOPLE!!!!!! WAKE UP!!!!
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Who gives a fat flying fuck about which format wins? Are we getting any profit for this? It's not like defending directors or movies we like, these are big corporations we are talking about!!
The problem for me was the all open merchandise that really compromised this site's integrity for me.
What's the problem? Wedding too expensive? -
Porn will NOT decide this format war. This isnt the betamax vhs days. There is this little factor now in 2007 called the internet.
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I punched him in the nuts and tears came pouring out of his eye sockets. I then said he cried like a tranny in a pink dress.
Upconverted dvd's still don't have that pop that HD discs have. It's all in the detail. It's simple math. A 7 gig movie will not sound and look like a 20 gig and up movie. There's just more space and more information. That's of course if the transfer is up to par.
I used to think that I'd use Blu-Ray as disc storage, but it would be cheaper just to get a bunch of hard drives. Besides, in a few years everything will be flash based. So as of now, all I care about is that they drop prices so it doesn't bother me it goes the way of the dodo.
Movies on Flash Storage based hardware. That would be the shit. Nice and dinky. Most of all it could be quickly transfered. -
The point is all about convenience and saving ourselves money and making sure we bet on the right horse! So far it's Toshiba that's fucking around with their proprietary and inferior format. I, the consumer want the convenience of having all my damn movies on one standard player and format. And when it becomes more commonplace I can take them to someone else's place and play them there, or borrow movies from him and play them here without going, uh oh, can't do that... The sooner one of these formats gets ditched, the better for everyone! And frankly, Blu-Ray with more studios, more hardware manufacturers and more disc space is the best fucking solution! And all this shit about comparisons to beta and VHS, yeah Sony's lost on developing their own media proprietary stuff a few times, but they've also contributed to the development of CD and DVD along with other manufacturers. Those formats weren't proprietary, and neither is Blu-Ray. Blu-ray is more accurately compared to the CD and DVD! HD-DVD is the new UMD format! I won't even compare it to Beta, as that was superior. And for UMD's worth... it was only meant to be used on the PSP. Primarily for games! Were proprietary cartridges on the gameboy or on the DS such an issue? Fuck no! They decided to toss in some movies as well, why not? Hell, I bought a couple and dug them while travelling, but only at $7-12 Canadian discounts, fuck if I'm paying the same amount as a regular DVD for that!
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Bottom line: Cost effects demand, and the demand for HD-DVD will increase drastically through the Christmas holiday. If Blu-Ray doesn't follow suit and introduce a comparably priced device soon, then Sony PS3 owners will begin replacing their drives by Christmas 2009. ... ... ... I would prefer Blu-Ray if only for their capacity. However, my money is on HD-DVD because of their price. Mark my words, the studios who produce programs "exclusively" on Blu-Ray will change their minds when they see that there is money to be made on HD-DVD (especially as the masses pick up these much cheaper players). ... ... ... ... Will a dual format player make a difference? In the end, it is twice as expensive for a studio to produce a Blu-Ray and HD-DVD version of the same film. One of these formats will certainly win. Right now, the ball is in HD-DVDs favor because of cost and greater backward compatibility. If they can market this "cheaper" concept -- then they have something to work with. If Blu-Ray can bring a cheaper player very soon, then their superior capacity will win. This war will almost certainly be won by either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray by Christmas 2009.
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If not then stick with HD. My understanding is that a HD ready set has 1 million pixels and a full HD set has 2 million pixels. anything that upconverts is artificially altering the picture this may look ok but it's still artificial. Blu-ray if full uncompressed picture and sound which is why the higher Gig capacity is important. Up till now i was first with blu-ray then i started to believe the shit that hd was better now i know blu-ray is better and i don't give a shit what anyone else does i don't have to sit on the fence any more. Pioneers BDP-LX70 due in the UK soon is the player i will get now my 757i has given 4 good years service. It's will play any disc PAL or NTSC will upconvert etc for my old discs and i have no hesitation in getting one now. Microsoft has enough global power without HD DVD so i'm happy they won't be involved. When pioneer release the 8th generation 50in plasma set it will justify why plasma is the best format over LCD. So to recap If you want the best go with Blu-ray and plasma. If you want an ok/good set up go with HD-dvd and LCD. New technology will always be round the corner but it looks like blu-ray can last the next 10-15 years so i can invest in that time scale if something else comes along so be it , but it won't be HD-DVD for me.
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Week ending May 27, 2007 :
Week: Blu-ray 69 HD DVD 31 :
YTD: Blu-ray 67 HD DVD 33 :
SI: Blu-ray 58 HD DVD 42 :
1. Pirates of the Caribbean DMC BD 100.00 :
2. Pirates of the Caribbean CBP BD 89.35 :
3. Apocalypto BD 73.73 :
4. Ultimate Matrix Collection HD 33.28 :
5. Letters from Iwo Jima BD 26.68 :
6. Complete Matrix Trilogy HD 25.88 :
7. Letters from Iwo Jima 22.06 :
8. Planet Earth HD 17.55 :
9. Casino Royale BD 13.64 :
10. Flags of Our Fathers BD 11.86
Within a week, consumers had spent more than $2 million on those releases alone, according to Home Media Magazine market research estimates. The two “Pirates” films sold a combined total of nearly 47,000 units, while the higher-priced “Matrix” sets sold about 13,900 units.
In dollars, there was much more parity, since the single-disc “Pirates” releases fetched about $25 in stores, while the “Matrix” sets, each with all three movies in the franchise, were priced significantly higher. The five-disc “The Ultimate Matrix Collection” lists for $119.99, with an Amazon.com price of $73.95, while “The Complete Matrix Trilogy” (three discs) goes for $99.99 (Amazon, $63.95)
Bob Chapek, worldwide president of Buena Vista Home Entertainment, calls the “Pirates” sales tally a “strong and significant trend toward consumer preference for the Blu-ray Disc format.”
“We are thrilled by the critical and industry response to ‘Pirates’ on Blu–ray Disc,” Chapek said. “But more importantly, the consumer has spoken loud and clear. This is only the beginning, but it was certainly a significant and explosive indicator of things to come.”
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Umm... how does that work again?
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Well Harry has chosen well as far as im concerned,but whether HD-DVD wins out over Blu-Ray is another matter. Breaking it down Blu-Ray has more studio support which.. lets face it is the major factor here. Im a HD-DVD buyer and am well happy but id like to see more studio support for it,just having universal exclusively isnt enough. Some guy in the retail industry here said that there hadn't been a HD-DVD title in amazons top 10??..er wrong!!..both planet earth and the matrix have sat comfortably in the top 10 for weeks. Another major boost for HD-DVD is both LG and Samsungs forthcoming dual players..the samsung one especially is a major bonus as they are lodged firmly in the sony camp,or at least they were !!! hopefully more major manufacturers will jump on the bandwagon now and theres also the chinese players too. Here in the u.k things are much the same as in the u.s the shops sell both HD and Blu-Ray but support Blu-Ray slightly better. HD-DVD's certainly for the most part have better sound as the discs have either dolby true-hd or dolby digital plus where as blu-ray has just standard dolby digital on there discs..lame..HD-DVD definately is the better equipped and more relibale media format. Im not opposed to Blu-Ray but HD-DVD has impressed me more overall. The more it gets supported the more likely a major studio will start to release on it too..heres hoping!!?
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One poster said that both formats have acres of headroom. I beg to differ. The VC-1 encoded King Kong on HD DVD used up ALL of the space on the 30GB disc WITHOUT HAVING LOSSLESS AUDIO. AVC or VC-1 encoded BDs however can do a film just as long with UNCOMPRESSED 7.1 PCM audio AND a shitload of features on 1 disc STILL with acres of headroom. Blu-Ray should and WILL win.
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So the whole backward compatibility argument for HD DVD is not only bunk, it's COMPLETELY OUT OF LEFT FUCKING FIELD HARRY. All BD players play DVD as well, and all of them upconvert IIRC.
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The PS3 thick of it as a DVD player that plays games and actually it's a bit of a bargain. Do you not think the price will come down naturally ?. The quality of this should more than satisfy the majority of people.
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because of the PS3 the Toshiba could not stay at the $400 mark it's doesn't play games. It was not competitive they had no choice.
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FUCKED UP !
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Both formats offer backward compatibility. However, HD-DVD currently appears to have a much stronger support for your DVD collections. My neighbor has a PS3 (with Blu-Ray) that will only play about 2/3 of his massive DVD collection. He told me that his XBox 360 HD-DVD player seems to play every single DVD. However, this same guy is a big PS3 fan. He naturally is rooting for PS3 to gain back some of the market lost to the 360 and the Wii. This obviously includes an element of bias in favor of the Blu-Ray. Heck, if I spent that much money for a Blu-Ray -- I would root for it too! However, I own an HD-DVD that is wonderful! I see little difference on a very large screen. The only major setback is the "Blu-Ray exclusive" offerings. If the HD-DVD format takes off due to demand created by the lower price, then I suspect that the major studios would simply begin selling both formats. ... ... ... ... ... ... I will say this: Both formats seem to have the potential to win any format war. One will certainly win -- because it would be cost effective for the studios to support and market only one format. The technical advantage goes to Blu-Ray, but the cost effective advantage goes to HD-DVD. The question remains: How much of an advantage is the superior space from Blu-Ray? Does it matter that it holds so much space -- if half of the disk goes unutilized? Will HD-DVD become a hot item because of its upcoming $150 price? I'll be watching!
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Being upset at backing the wrong horse so it's obvious your going to be bias about HD.
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I'd love to experience the feeling of filling my pockets with money and at the same time lying to myself and other around me.
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Haven't you noticed that Toshiba is the only company that makes HD DVD players? It's just like Sony with the Betamax. This is because Toshiba is selling these units at a loss and eating the cost in an attempt at a loss leader strategy. HD DVD can't survive with only Toshiba making players and no other CE company can make an HD DVD player at the same price as the Toshiba ones. Pioneer, Philips, Samsung and Panasonic all make Blu-Ray players though. This is why Blu-Ray will win in the long run. It is in the non-Sony and Toshiba CE companies' best interest for this to happen.
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It won't last as long as blu-ray without having to be upgraded so a couple of years time your going to need to invest again. Bang goes the cheaper argument.
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Your neighbor's PS3 probably doesn't have the latest firmware upgrade. I do, and my complete and vast DVD collection all plays on my PS3 and is upconverted to 1080p.
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Followup to my CE Posting: It actually is HD-DVD that is the new Betamax, and Blu-Ray the new VHS, because Toshiba is the only company that makes HD DVD players.
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...computer in the world, but I will stick with my Dell. Why? I don't need to pay that much money for the power. Eventually, I will only purchase what my pocketbook can afford. This is the only advantage that HD-DVD has over Blu-Ray: Similar quality, less storage capacity, but a much better price. If the studios notice the market, they will begin selling both formats. Once one of the formats achieves a 65% market share in at least 50% of the homes -- the "war" will finally be won. Until then, we will be plagued with bitter studios fighting one another.
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I can't believe how you can possibly think that 3 companies (HD) against the rest of the world is going to win . How are microsoft really that good ?
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that's going to convince me that HD is better than blu-ray. If you bought HD you committed to early. If you bought blu-ray you'll be OK. HD may be slightly better NOW but IT WON'T BE IN FUTURE.
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is THE WINNER.
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do your mommies know you're online and using naughty language? I'd be careful, she may ground you from the PS3 you begged her for...go back to the ISUCKHOWARDSTRINGERSDICKANDPAYTODOIT forums and spread your propaganda there...its like being in a room full of George W. Bush clones...repeating the same shit and not listening to or acknowledging anything else someone has to say.
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Granted I don't have a collection of 9000 DVDs, but I have more than 300 and I've never had any problem playing a single one. Blu-Ray backwards compatibility is 100% for me.
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and save the day for HD i,m going to call it victory for blu_ray
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Most of the reasonable people are arguing that the differences in format are minor. The way that you are talking makes it sound that Blu-Ray is so advanced that HD-DVD is obsolete. By your logic however, neither format is successful because DVD's are creaming HD formats in sales.
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Thanks Darfur
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Why did you have to bring politics into this? I'm a supporter of GWBush -- and very proud of it! You should be very careful about where you obtain your news sources. Other than that, I agree with everything you said.
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VHS once outsold DVD
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I can't say any why HD apart from it's cheaper for now. Someone backing HD please change my mind with something substantial.
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with all my passion however someone supporting HD can change my mind if you can give me something substantial to convince me that HD is the BEST option.
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heh, we'll agree to disagree on politics then and agree to agree on whiny bitches. Fair enough.
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It's hard to respond to an argument no one is making. HD-DVD supporters here seem to bray over and over "It'll win because it's cheaper...and that's about it." Meanwhile, you could make an "Everything You Could Possibly Know About Blu-Ray" Manual from the info thrown up there.
And the mommy thing? It just makes everyone picture you as the comic book guy on the Simpsons. -
Here's yet ANOTHER article on upscaling, but it's a good one, so check it out: http://tinyurl.com/3xbfdo
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...because a lower cost will increase demand. If HD-DVD builds a support base in volume, then their inferior technology can corner the market. For God's sake, look at the PS2 vs. X-Box "battle." PS2 won the battle. Why? It had less to do with superiority and more to do with availability. If a lower price makes the product more widely available, more and more studios will begin marketing HD-DVD formats. The ultimate victor of the war will be determined by price and availability. Blu Ray has more titles, but this may change once HD DVD (with a new lower price) produces more players. My guess is that HD-DVD is attempting to create a base of supporters by lowering the price as low as possible. Blu-Ray CANNOT counter this move (not yet, at least). More HD-DVD players will create more purchases of each of the titles. More titles sold will result in the major studios rethinking the "exclusivity" of one format (Blu-Ray over HD-DVD). Once a format achieves a 65% market share in over 50% of homes, the war will be won. Right now, HD-DVD seems to have a superior market strategy. If Blu-Ray somehow was able to counter this with cheaper players, then they would challenge (and probably win) the war. I just don't know that Blu-Ray manufacturers would be ready, willing and able to make a supply/demand sacrifice this early in the game.
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Also, some people are jaded with the way that Blu-Ray handles issues pertaining to DRM. If Blu-Ray camp want to discuss size issues (30 vs 50 GB), this is easily combated by the idea that dual and triple layer discs will be soon available. Once again, I am not saying that HD-DVD is supreme, but technically I do not see the huge advantage of Blu-Ray.
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but it won't be for much longer and it really depends on what display you are using. HD won't last long without an upgrade and guess what you are going to have to pay microsoft for that. So you will have microsoft making DVD upgrades like computer operating systems. I don't think this will apply to blu-ray. HD backers you need to have more vision.
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who wins. and for both camps. Look at plasma 4 years ago 42in £4500 todays spec 50in £1600 same make.
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Yes, DVD sales are strong. But no one is talking about DVD's. The arguement is about what is the next successor. This stick with DVD's tripe is stupid. It will prolong this battle. One format needs a little support and if it gains enough of a difference it will win. You want to sit and wait? god for you. But I would like BR to succeed because of space (not really quality because that isn't an issue). Why settle for the smaller sized disc? Take companies out of this equasion, take movie companies out, and lets talk about technology. there were CD's, then DVD's, so what is the next step? DVD's aren't going to be useful forever so what do you want? Logical answer is BR because of it's single layer capacity that is larger than HD DVD. People supporting HD-DVD are doing it for the wrong reasons and are stunting progress.
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i may be wrong but from what i understand your current HD player won't be compatible with triple layers and you will need to upgrade. I don't think this is the case with blu-ray who are taking about quad layer 200GB one disc. I also believe that you will need to turnover a HD disc which supports larger capacity.
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i can get a value DVD player for £17.95 at my local Tesco do i want one no.
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I have my hands on both formats and I can assure you. Alot of the films look the same. Some are better on HD-DVD and some are better on Blu Ray. But what does that have to do with the technology? Absolutely nothing. They are not better than each other per se they just behave differently. What has you up in arms for HD-DVD over BR?
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heh, if I looked like the comic book guy, that would indeed be an issue. However, as it stands, I'm a rather handsome fellow. Anywho...it's naive and ridiculous to ignore price as it's the driving force behind this Wal-Mart consumed nation. Price WILL be the deciding factor as its always been - if all other marketing factors are equal. Superior technology means very little to the average consumer and as Darfur pointed out, dual-layer and soon to be triple-layer discs will make this argument moot. The advantage there will mostly apply to PS3 gaming software. Blu-Ray has more studio support but even that needs more scrutiny. Fox and MGM has no planned titles for release for the rest of the year. Sure, I hear it's about a Java update and the threat of copy protection. Who gives a fuck the reason, the fact is Fox and MGM is not a selling point for the better part of the next year and possibly even further. By the time their happy with Blu-Ray copy protection, this damn war could be over. Lion's Gate is a non-entity. That leaves Disney and of course Sony. Disney has 10 announced Blu-Ray titles and the release date of Pixar's 'Cars' has been pulled. All facts. HD-DVD has more confirmed upcoming release dates for titles than Blu-Ray by a considerable margin despite all that "studio support". As it stands, the HD-DVD library will be around the same as the Blu-Ray library at the end of September. I'm not saying HD-DVD will win the format war but it's definitely far from over and it may never be over. I'm just asking that people put their PS3 controllers down long enough to be objective. For my money, an HD-DVD player is definitely money well spent and it will be for a lot of people considering sales of Toshiba players have increased tenfold at some retailers with this latest promotion.
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when DVD player first hit the market they were all over £500 (probably higher can't remember) now the cheapest i've seen is the value one at £17.95
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...there will almost certainly be a single format victor. TV reception is universal and they all follow the same player formats (although some are far more advanced and of better quality). There is only cost effective room for one victor in the home theater war. If Sony had been more willing to compromise, we might all be selling Beta tapes at our yard sales (instead of VHS). But Sony has this terrible track-record of non-compromise. It is evident in Betamax, Memory Stick, UMD, Digital8, and ATRAC. If Blu-Ray flops, this story will certainly make it into the "bad business" hall of fame!
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HD technology won't last longer than blu_ray without more cost and outlay you will have to upgrade your players again as the layer technology won't work on current standards. Blu_ray can full fill future potential without this extra outlay.
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As everyone loves to point sony out for their failures they conveniently seem to forget their successes. The first CD was released by Sony in 1982, 3.5 floppy's, Video8, walkmans, Digital Audio tapes (DAT's), their partial share on DVD's, playstations and their TV's. For their so called failed formats, the may not have taken over the markets but have gained significant uses in the professional industry, which would not really put them down as unsuccessful ventures. Betamax, and minidiscs (which uses atrac format) were/are used by professionals in the TV and Music industries respectively. There is a huge misconception also about the aims or goals for each product. Memory sticks, UMDs and Atracs were used pretty much for sony devices and not licensed out. There for Memory sticks and UMD's are still in use and cannot be described as market failures when their market still exists. Whats even worse about people's anologies about Blu ray is that they mark it as sony's proprietary format when in fact the format is made by 8 different companies, has several licenses out for the hardware and has managed to gain the support of many major movie production companies before starting out. As far as any other movie format goes there is no straight comparison because betamax was not licensed out to many companies and did not win over the support of many studios and UMD's are made for PSP's only which means that they are only going to be purchases by PSP owners and no one else (no home players, burners, UMD computer drives). Quite frankly anyone who thought UMD was a push to supplant any major home format (especially since BR was being worked on years in advance) was missinformed.
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I have been waiting for the dust to settle over the last few years not knowing which one to back pioneers UK website has convinced me blu-ray is the best choice. Pioneer are not as big as most of the other players around however there philosophy of the best over price rings true to me. For a small company like pioneer to put it's head on the block and go against the flow in terms of plasma VS LCD and back blu_ray over HD is enough for me to back blu_ray. i have every confidence that blu-ray is the best longer term choice therefore it has to be blu_ray for me. HD users all the best i'm sure you will still be happy for now.
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HD doesn't look better than BR. After they fixed up all of the codec issue with BR, both formats now use the same codecs. If a film is being released on both formats, one transfer that will fit on the smaller capacity HDDVD is used on both editions. If it's a BR only release, the transfer will be larger and too big for a HDDVD and should look a lot better given BR has a 20 gb advantage over HDDVD. Just remember, if a movie is on both formats, you're looking at the exact same transfer, so there is zero different in quality. If you're seeing a difference, it comes down to bad connectors or some kind of flaw with your hardware.
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BluRay players use Blue Light lasers; blue light drives can't read DVD's. What BluRay players have, at the moment, is a seperate red laser to read older discs; in effect you get a bluray player and stand alone dvd player in one. While your players are capable of playing back the movies; the technology itself is incapable and there's no guarantee that future players will have the ability; which is the whole argument from the the dvd forum and toshiba since, red light technology will ALWAYS play old media.It's one of the many reasons that BluRay players cost more to manufacture and cost more to buy.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_DVD#HD_DVD_.2F_Blu-ray_disc_comparison
Both Blu Ray and HD-DVD uses blue lasers to play their media and that makes your statement retarded. Furthure more People who OWN blu ray players(including me) are coming on here and saying that their players can read DVD's. So if Blu Ray and HD-DVD use blu lasers and then the players can also read DVD's.... what does that tell you? -
HD-DVD also uses red light as an integral component in it's plackback. Blu Ray doesn't use it at all.
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Blu Ray technology only supports media written by Blue Light lasers. Compatability we have on BR players now is down to a seperate red light laser enclosed in the unit.HD-DVD on the other hand supports both Blu-Laser and Red-Laser. There is infact a HD-DVD format that exclusively uses red light playback; it's also called 3xDVD. In effect you get 85mins of 1080p footage on a standard dvd disc. In other words, Red Laser is part of HD-DVD technology meaning it will always be, backwards compatible.
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As someone with a BR player, (PS3) and an HD-DVD player as well as a pretty nice HDMC I've invested alot of time into looking at the two formats.Like I said before, the technology for BluRay and HD-DVD is almost identical except Sony refuse to have integrated red laser support. In effect, should they win the HD format war, there's nothing stopping them from removing DVD support from their future products to push BR disc sales.
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Yeah... how often is that gonna be used? At 85min of playback time, it's useful only for training videos and home movies. In fact, is there an example of a current commercial use for it at all? I doubt manufacturers are going to keep the red light laser in HD-DVD drives JUST for 3xDVD. HD-DVD also ignores the red light laser in 99.9% of instances.
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Onkyo has THREE HD-DVD drives coming out in September, and that includes a $300 player. That player will not be "losing money," and Meridian is also coming out with a $3,500 player in October. The Meridian will also be a world class CD Player and DVD player.
RCA will have a player out again this Christmas, it will be the first RCA manufactured device (the previous HD-DVD player was a restamped Toshiba).
Samsung will have their combo player out this holiday season. They will be announcing a standalone HD-DVD player at CEDIA in September. It's supposed to be around $300.
So Onkyo, Samsung, Toshiba, and TWO Chinese Manufacturers will have players out this holiday season for UNDER $300. The Chinese players will be UNDER $200.
Meanwhile the BR camp is PRAYING that their Chinese Manufacturer can come through with a $350 player!
Combine that with Disney going neutral to help Wal-Mart (their biggest seller) sell their HD-DVD players....
And I'd say the war would just be heating up. First HD-DVD KILLED BD in sales in Software and Hardware in 2006 (with a 6 week head start, not a year like some idiots proclaim on this site). In fact HD-DVD lead into February of this year. Then BD took over with the help of the PS3. Things will even out, and then HD-DVD will take the lead again (and likely to never give it up) come the holidays.
That is unless the BD camp and Sony can find a way to match the upcoming cheap players. -
Not quite, since the red laser is also an important part of HD-DVD for data storage and is used to track the disc in HD-DVD burners. Alot of you seem to forget that it's for more than just movies. Sorry mate, but "99.9%" is a little bit of an exageration on your part there and I'm still right, natively BR doesn't support DVD; it's an added feature to current players. Emphasis on the word "current" there.
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I highly doubt that HD-DVD manufacturers are going to keep the red-light laser for the one guy out there who is actually using 3xDVD. The fact is that the MAIN reason to include the red laser in ANY player, Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, is to facilitate backwards compatibilty with DVDs. So rest assured that red-lasers will be included in all HD players for the considerable future.
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You know, Sony really did dig themselves a huge shit pit with PS3. The backwards compatability is a bit of a misnomer since, in the US and Japan it's a hardware feature, and in Europe it's entirely driven by software; in either case it's very buggy and even with the 1.8 update it's still not up to scracth..thats for another talkback though.To answer your question though, yes, current PS3's have to have the red light to read PS2 software, but their whole strategy is to start selling old software over the internet for download; i wouldn't be surprised, given their shocking track record, that the red laser gets given a heave-ho in afew years time. You're safe to buy one now though if you fancy owning a a $600 games console that has no decent games.
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Why would they remove the red light laser anyway? It's probably the CHEAPEST component in the player, and one of the biggest marketing advantages. Just doesn't make any sense for Blu-Ray manufacturers to remove it now OR in the future.
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The Triple Layer HD-DVDs can be read by the current players. This is the same FUD that HD-DVD fan boys were spreading before the BD50 discs. The Lasers can read multiple layers just fine. No one will be buying a new player to use the 51GB HD-DVD discs.
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Jun 01, 2007 4:24:11 PM CDT
gerrylum, sorry are you sniffing solvents or something?
by theallseeingeye
How much easier can I explain this for you. Red laser is INTEGRAL to the HD-DVD format approved by the dvd forum, (old DVD consortium), and will NEVER be removed.Blu Ray on the other hand doesn't require it for playback and is only included, at the minute, to keep people sweet with huge DVD collections. The goal, ultimately, is to get you to buy all your old movies again.Been there, done that with laserdisc, not doing it again.
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Are a great idea to prevent people from being screwed, but last I read, Sony were being a bit funny with manufacturers looking to make combo units.
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Not sniffing anything except common sense. Sure I agree with you, the ULTIMATE goal is to get people to buy old movies (for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray), but that won't be accomplished by pissing off the customer in the first place. If Blu-Ray players were to remove backwards compatibility, I'd be the first in line to buy an HD-DVD player. Just seems extremely silly to even CONSIDER that a possibility until Blu-Ray is dominating the market, whether or not it's integral to HD-DVD.
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But do you think Sony would remove it BEFORE they win their HD format war? I'm not suggesting they'll do it while theres competition on the market, especially competition that supports DVD as standard. The whole BR/HD-DVD issue isn't about quality of playback or storage space; it's about making sure it's compatible with older technology.
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[wink][/wink]
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No, I can't imagine Sony or any Blu-Ray manufacturer would remove it before they win the HD format war. Actually, it's hard for me to conceive that they'd remove it even AFTER the format war is over seeing as the cost savings are negligable, and there will ALWAYS be DVDs out there that people will want to watch. The fact that I can watch my old DVDs doesn't mean I'm not going to rebuy them on the new format anyway, so I can experience them in HD. I've done so already with several of my titles. They'd just be shooting themselves in the foot if they did that, and if that happened well they deserve to lose the format war.
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Cause mine isn't "buggy" at all when it comes to playing DVD and PS2 games. And the 1.8 update with upconversion to 1080p works like a champ. Just wondering where you got your info from. The X-Box 360 61% crash rate is what I call "buggy".
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It's a case of gettin people to buy that which they already own. If there's no alternative consumers don't have much choice and let's face it, DVD's arent the most reliable pieces of hardware ever made. Sure people are free to buy machines now that upsample to be safe but, they don't last forever and it's a shitload of trouble if to have two players hooked up.
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Jun 01, 2007 4:45:57 PM CDT
cymbol..Oh i'm sure since i can't help but rue the fact
by theallseeingeye
I paid over the odds for an import machine. The playback is adequate, not good a good enough reason to shell out so much money though. A stand alone DVD upsampler does a better job than the PS3 does. It seems clearer on the stand alone unit.As for PS2 games, Metal Gear for me seems to actually run better on the PS2, no idea why but it does.I've owned 2 xbox's since they came out and only one of them has froze on the POST screen. Sorry, but the crash rate, failure rate is something that the sony geeks love to mention when everyone else points out that at least the xbox had software worth buying at launch.
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It's not a matter of cutting costs. It's a matter of value-added to the consumer. HD-DVD player manufacturers aren't keeping the red laser ONLY because they're forced to by the requirements of the format. In fact, I'm sure part of the reason they requred it is because they know that backwards compatibility is a value to the consumer and helps to drive sales. Blu-Ray manufacturers know this too. They know people don't want to have both a Blu-Ray and a DVD player hooked up. So, as value added to the consumer, they include backwards compatibility and hardly any cost to them. If consumers continue to buy DVDs, they're still making money. In fact, it might be arguable that studios make MORE money per DVD than they do per HD-DVD or Blu-Ray due to the reduced cost of manufacturing them. What it comes down to is giving the customer what they want, and what they want is backwards compatibility. Sony knows this and has strived to provide the strongest backwards compatibilty in the video game market with the PS2 and PS3 - far stronger than the 360 ever offered, though that's a subject for another talkback.
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You can try to calm the waters with your post level headedness but people are mostly upset with Harry. People have and will always cry "plant", especially if you own a website a champion an unpopular movie or standard popcorn flick. I never believed it of Harry till his earlier(and unedited) post. Either he was paid, or simply didn't even bother to TRY and find a credible source. I personally will never read another of his reviews and definately won't read his HD-DVD reviews cause I'll always have it nagging in the back of my mind that maybe he was paid to say this. He has truely been diminished in my eyes. I don't care which format he likes, at least tell the truth or check the facts you were paid to say. Sheeesh.
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The whole point of of the HD-DVD format was to provide the new features offered by a high density medium while retaining the backwards compatability with a proven, established format. Structuraly, the discs and formats are identical which is why they work so well together.My whole issue with BluRay is that Sony left the consortium that it founded back in 1995, to pimp a format with no inherent support for DVD. If sony were to come out and say "Hey, bluray players will ALWAYS be compatible with DVD's then I'd be quite happy to give them the benefit of the doubt.
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"failure rate is something that the sony geeks love to mention when everyone else points out that at least the xbox had software worth buying at launch." It's a sad comfort that you have plenty of titles to play while your 360 is at Microsoft getting fixed. My brother in-law couldn't get his fixed. But really, this isn't an arguement on which is better. ( I don't own a 360) I was just saying that my PS3 plays 1080p upscaled DVDs on my 65in and they look awesome. Just a different experience.
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Ok, I guess I give them more credit than you do, but I'll concede that they haven't come out and made a specific guarantee that it will always be compatible with DVDs. But, like I said, if they ever pulled something like you suggest they would, then they deserve to lose the format war.
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I think I will go buy one HD-DVD and one Blu-ray. Just so I am not choosing sides here.
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I was a big PS2 fan - have a kid and they had more children's titles. I went to Korea for a year and got an X-Box a couple of years ago. It was immediate how much better the games were on X-Box. Same game on both consoles - no contest, X-Box. Almost a year ago, when 360 came out, I didn't have the cash at the time so I figured I would wait. While I waited - no new X-Box games came out. They totally turned their back. PS2 games still come out to this day. And big titles. Microsoft will never get my money again. Not after a big "F*ck Off" like that. Sony has promised 10 years for each new format (even if they overlap). So, it's not that I am the biggest fan of PS3 - it's that Microsoft doesn't care and in fact, actively screws its customers. That's all.
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Microsoft didn't have leverage. They have it any time they want to use it. Maybe, if what you say is true, it would have been more difficult, but I hardly doubt they were helpless. Developers want money, they would it. But this is just me guessing. I'm just saying, it just doesn't have the ring of truth to it. But thanks for the info.
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And I don't want to turn this into a PS3 vs. XBOX discussion, but the Xbox had more than enough of an installed user base to make it profitable for developers to continue making games for the 360. However that would cut into Microsofts plan to dominate this generation of consoles if people could just continue playing their old Xboxes. It's similar to what AllSeeingEye was talking about. Microsoft essentially FORCED people to upgrade to the 360 by removing support for the original Xbox.
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I meant "for developers to continue making games for the original Xbox".
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staticneuron might have a point, BD seems to be the next step. Even if HD-DVD were to somehow win on the movie front of things, and even if Microsoft cons a few manufacturers into installing HD-DVD drives into their computers. The fact is that BD simply has more storage capacity and would (seemingly) become the preferred format for software/games/ music etc. etc. Apple and Dell are already gonna start doing BD-drives. Microsoft can't push HD-DVD and the only hardware they make (XBOX) doesn't even include it off the shelf. So even if HDDVD were to "win" BD still wouldn't "lose"...our movies might be on HD-DVD, but, like Beta, BD would most likely still be the choice of pros...and further, it would also probably be used by consumers for a whole host of other things as well (However, if BD "wins" [as a movie-format] I would imagine that would be pretty much be the end for HD-DVD) Like I said, I thin BD... having more capacity, isn't going anywhere, whether we watch movies on it or not. And that might kind of suck. Not any worse than VHS winning sucked, or like the US not switching to metric. It could just be a bit less tidy I guess. Something to think about maybe.
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And I've certainly played my part in it...I can GUARANTEE there are no women posting on this one.
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look at some of the dumb things woman talk about....try watching Oprah.
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Don't be an alarmist. AICN gets its funding from advertising via the banner ads and clicks. There are no kickbacks. That's conspiracy theorist horseshit.
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Who says XBOX 360 has no developers? Last time I checked it was ahead in sales and had all the big software deals; something PS3 is sorely lacking due to its high price.
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I missed your follow up post. I was about to say that 360 has ample supply of developers queuing up to make games; including the big japanese companies which is nice considering they usually like to stick to making games for Japanese companies.Look this isn't a console pissing contest. It's neither here nor there why you would prefer xbox over ps3; it's no skin of my nose since i own both. Let's just keep it about BluRay and HD-DVD eh?.......since we all know 360 trounces PS3 into the dust :P Just kidding..now...back on topic.
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Xbox still rules btw. If only because of LIVE, which is still light-years ahead of...everything. I'm sure MS wouldn't pass up the chance for a BD-add-on if got them a little extra cash also. You make some great points all-seeing-eye (I'll assume you're accurate on the native/non-native red light stuff) and as much as I would love to join Headgeek and friends on the bandwagon right now ...I truly believe at this point, that if Universal goes neutral any time soon (and I have a feeling they might) then this debate over. Especially if they do it around three months from now, just after the cheapo Toshiba-players have forced out the high-end manufacturers while at the same forcing down the BD-player prices...and just before the Holidays. That would be the toast burning, no question.
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I fully intended on buying and HD-DVD... The Frighteners is out, but damn it, Best Buy didn't have it. So I was looking at the titles and saw Monster House Blu-ray. I was going to buy it eventually, but these had the Spider-Man 3 bonus disc included, (I like free things) so I picked it up. Now, the woman at the check out had to ring both of them up.....Sooooooooo, does that count for two sales for Blu-ray?
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61% I call bs on that. I got my 360 on launch, as did four of my friends. Not one of them has ever had a problem. No glitch, lockup, or failure. So where is these so called issues?
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It was just the same kind of d00ch-bags that burnt up their original Xboxes when they put it in a confined space. Treat it like a real computer-hard-drive (it basically is) instead of like your old PSone (on the floor/shelf with your books, CDs , dirty clothes/beer-cans) and yeah, it'll choke.
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6 months and counting.
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My nephews got a 360 and it died a month after they got it, which was about a year after launch. They had to send it in to get it fixed. I guess it has worked fine since then.
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NOW. Seriously, there's no need to wait unless you have to Soy. Halo 3 will be fun I'm sure, but think of the people you could chainsaw-kill online until then....trust me, you won't regret your purchase.
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Jesus, Harry, I've seen you blatantly push things in the past but this is really offensive. Citing vague "feelings" about features -- inferring that one platform does not have them when you know well they do -- so as to create doubt in consumer's minds? Linking directly to Amazon? Pushing Best Buy's currently $100 program?
Seriously, if you are going to get take money and shovel product on this site that is your perogative, but do us all a favor and get one of your "filmmaker friends" to write your b.s. story that goes along with it. HD-DVD wouldn't need to pay you off to push their product if they were winning, they're paying you off because they are losing, and your article above is grossing, negligant misinformation, and proves you to have a TOTAL lack of geekitude in knowledge of the Next Gen formats.
Really man -- you should be ashamed and embarassed. -
and I do not regret my purchase at all. I am currently watching The Matrix trilogy and fuck me it looks mind blowing. Debate all you want but $299 plus 7 free HD-DVDs is well worth it.
And at 10:15p I will be enjoying "Knocked Up". -
HD-DVD vs. Blu Ray
The winner is upconverted DVD.
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this little "battle" only pertains to the states. get over yourselves, the rest of the world doesn't care.
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those 1080p projectors are killer. I want one but I don't got the $$$, the space, or even a...Home!
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The animations vary depending on where you're attacking from. Sometimes chunks of flesh spew all over the camera, sometimes less so. There might infinite-ammo codes on the campaign but definitely not playing against others online...you get plenty of modding-d00chbags on Halo-2.
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Do I get a discount for this since I bought the VHS, LASERDISC, DVD 3 times, etc... The companies are so stupid..
You want your format to win - give a $5-10 check by mail if you have the original UPC -- (you have to send it in)... That would make consumers feel like they actually gave a shit...
Seriously though -- this is no war it is a marketing campaign -- A war would mean that there could potentially be a winner -- not gonna happen when only 99% of sales are still DVD -- You need a display over 37" to make a difference anyway ---
And 1080i and 1080p are the same if you watch a movie - I could go into details but it just bore the shit out of everyone... -
...next article, chooses Burger King over McDonalds
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http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/soapbox/soap060107.html
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One of the advantages of HD-DVD is that it is Region Free. So one can play DVDs from nearly anywhere in the world. So movies that may be BR Exclusive in the U.S. can still be obtained elsewhere and will play on an HD-DVD player. Not to mention titles that may be released elsewhere but not domestically.
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"lus, even if these idiot Wal-Mart shoppers (read: lower-middle class families without the patience to look into the format debate) do decide to buy an HD-DVD player just because it's cheaper, they're going to be pissed off when they find out they won't be able to buy Disney movies, Pixar movies, the Alien movies, the Die Hard movies, the Star Wars movies or the James Bond movies (that's the short list) on their new HD player."
Well, from what I've seen most people who would be spending more on a blu-ray player wouldn't won't be able to buy Disney movies, Pixar movies, the Alien movies, the Die Hard movies, the Star Wars movies or the James Bond movies, SINCE MOST OF THE TITLES AREN'T OUT. Disney and Fox have gone AWOL from the whole debate, Lucasfilm has already said that the STAR WARS movies aren't coming out for quite a while... so.. you're dreamin' right now anyway -
The floor unit and a couple of discs may have come out of his pocket, but they'll be sending him early release copies and tons of GIF and JPG ads to compensate his purchase.
--Don't forget that they gave him a playbook full of lies to post here. He thought everyone would kiss his ass like usual but now hes cut and run like George Bush wishes he should have.
--And about those "friends" that he talked to. I hope that none of them are having their films, tv shows, concerts, cartoons, etc. coming out on Blu-ray because that would be silly since HD DVD is the format to go with. I hope those "friends" are people working for Universal and The Weinstein Company. -
Upconverted discs look pretty damned good and the players sell for as little as $75. No new discs to buy and good enough to carry most people over until the format war ends. Still, at $299 HD-DVD is really appealing.
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more like this..http://tinyurl.com/2njzt7 This pretty much seals it for me. I love Harry too, but I fear that he chose...poorly.
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then why are all the major studios besides Paramount backing Blu Ray? Go ahead and chew on that and then enlighten me with your expertise and wisdom.
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So is it any wonder they would go that route? lol
Looke, Harry got his facts wrong, but he has a right to like what he likes. It isn't any less shilling then Digitalbits does for Blu_ray. -
I forgot about that TinyUrl bit there
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I saw this comment up higher on the Talkback. The perceived "grain" is not due to the codec. Sony supposedly did the Blu-Ray master encoding using H.264 AVC MPEG-4 on this baby, and H.264 is better than both MPEG-2 or Microsoft's VC-1. H.264 is what Sony and Apple both prefer. Again, the reason why VC-1 is what HD DVD is backing is because H.264 requires a lot of muscle to decode and cheap decoders - which HD DVD likes - doesn't accomplish the job. That is why Toshiba rushed HD DVD to market, because the cheap Broadcomm decoder chips could render VC-1 perfectly (at 720p) but blew chunks in terms of H.264. Anybody ripping DVDs knows that H.264 is the pristine codec to use in terms of picture quality but taxes the hell out of the processors and thus unless your videocard can do decent HD decoding, you really should be using an Intel Core Duo (or equivalent) at the bare minimum to watch such titles on your rig. Microsoft's VC-1 codec is Windows Media 9.
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Once again people, learn. The debacle involving the "rootkit" that were on music CDs from "Sony" came from the SonyBMG Music company. Sony Corp. proper is a 50% owner in that entity. Sony Corp. proper had no idea what SonyBMG was doing at the time, so if you want to boycott the entity responsible for that fiasco, don't buy SonyBMG Music. Just like if you have a beef with Warner Music, they are an independent company under control by that gimp named Edgar Bronfman and not in association with the rest of TimeWarner (they only own a minority 20% stake).
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Maulrat, you said "I've compared a couple of movies (most notibly Matrix Revolutions and Superman Returns) on both formats and I gotta tell ya, HDDVD is the shit when it comes to clarity". DUDE - Matrix Revolutions IS NOT OUT ON BLU RAY YET so how could you have compared the two? And it is impossible for HD DVD to be higher resolution than Blu Ray for the simple fact that Blu Ray has so much more storage capacity. Movies like "Pirates" use every megabyte of space for resolution quality. If "Pirates" were put to HD DVD they would be forced to transfer it at a LOWER resolution. The only real advantage to HD DVD is that it is a much better name for the average customer.
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"A New Hope" is playing right now, followed immediately by Empire and Jedi - for those of you that think upconverted DVDs look as good as HD, why don't you pop in the DVD (I know you've got the box set) and flip back and forth between DVD and HBO - see what you think. Right now, Star Wars looks pretty damn good on HBOHD, even if it is the "new" version.
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I am totally against Warner's TotalHD discs that are HD DVD on one side and Blu-Ray on the other. Its basically the McDonalds DLT all over again but in disc format. See, Warners does not want to read the writing on the wall and concede that Blu-Ray will win. So, in order to hedge their bets and to massively profit off of all of us, they want to make us pay more money for a combo disc so that 1.) they don't have to be spending money manufacturing two different SKUs for the same movie title and also with the chance that one of the two formats die and they get stuck with a bunch of unsellable discs and have to crush them and bury them in a New Mexico landfill like their former subsidiary Atari had to do back in 1984 with all of those unsold E.T. Atari 2600 cartridges; and 2.) they want to preserve the revenue stream from their patents on DVD to the next disc generation. When Blu-Ray wins, they want to make us have to also pay for HD DVD support which means they'll still profit from the royalties on that license even though their true format they are rooting for lost. That's like having to pay a licensing fee to Pepsi if you want to drink a Coke. Fuck that and fuck Warner Home Video for trying to instigate such a stupid scheme by trying to claim they are on the side of the consumer while trying to anally rape them at the same time via their wallet.
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Jun 01, 2007 10:51:51 PM CDT
Wal-Mart HD Inventory ......................... In Ohio
by red dawn don
I was just in my local Super-size Wal-Mart on 6-1-07. They had 18 titles for sale in HD-DVD. They had 48 titles in Blu-Ray. The HD-DVDs were with the new releases. The Blu-Ray DVD's had their own end-cap display away from the new releases. I am not sure what to make of this. Perhaps, it means Wal-Mart does not yet know which way the market will go.
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I love "renting" movies from XBOX-LIVE but this part from the bits concerns me.."So why would Microsoft do this? The are three reasons why it makes good business sense for the company. First, having HD-DVD playback capability on their Xbox 360 (via the add-on drive) is a smart strategic move to counter-balance Sony's having Blu-ray playback capability built into their PS3 system. Second, HD-DVD uses Microsoft's VC-1 video compression codec almost exclusively. For a variety of reasons - not the least of which is that it's a great codec - this has encouraged a number of Blu-ray Disc studios to adopt VC-1 as well, so more and more Blu-ray releases utilize it too. This again benefits Microsoft. But more importantly, Microsoft's real long-term goal is to dominate the content downloading arena - particularly the downloading of entertainment content to devices in living rooms. That's what many industry observers, including many in Hollywood, see as the ultimate future of the home video industry. Selling lots of Xbox 360s and having everyone adopt the VC-1 codec both work to further Microsoft's goals in this area by helping to drive the growth of Xbox Live. According to the company's own recent press releases, Xbox Live is already "the number one online distributor of television and feature film content in the living room where it's most easy for consumers to access." In addition, "the service has quickly become the number two online distributor of television and feature film content, second to iTunes." Finally, Xbox Live is currently "the ONLY online distributor of major feature films and television programming in high definition (HD) resolution."
Microsoft doesn't give a rip about HD-DVD, or movies on disc at all for that matter, except to the extent that backing HD-DVD for a while now both undermines Sony's efforts and leverages Microsoft's success in achieving their ultimate goal of dominating the future of online distribution of digital entertainment. That's how we see it." See, MS doesn't care if HD on disk flops cuz they and others just want you to download everything. Hell, they don't even want you to have at-home hardware to download to. At some point they want all "your" shit to exist out in cyberspace were they can control it. On some stupid "hip"-sounding service like "Live-Drive" or some bullshit from MTV. And some of you people on here are saying "can't wait" Unbelievable. We need an HD-Hard-Copy winner...soon. Going with the better one, the better-backed one, is only logical. If HD-DVD had the studio support, more storage etc. then that would be logical too, but that just doesn't seem to be the case. So, I don't know...I'm afraid the evidence seems to favor BD at this point. -
....all i know is that the fucking McD.L.T ruled. i forgot all about them until i read the above post by lynxpro, now it's all i can think about. who's hungry? i'm fucking hungry. i need 3 McD.L.T's......like, right now. :)
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I just had a #1 meal from Mickey's, toped off just now with some PB-Capn'Crunch...it was marvelous
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he crew over atDigital Bits knows their shit. Always have. And contrary to popular belief, they are not "shilling" for Blu-Ray, but rather they have made educated and well-researched evaluations and predictions, based on all the (accurate) facts. In the end, they have presented their argument for which format will win in the end.I'll take Digital Bits' impressive knowledge and reporting over Harry's misinformed impulse buys any day.I also restate my earlier question: Where's Harry? He's grown eerily quiet. No response to people exposing your misinformation?
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heres a idea why not just pick the format you like best, and quit bullying those who dont agree with you.
i prefer HDDVD over bluray, (and ive tried them both out in my home) but i can see why others prefer bluray and i would never try to tell someone that they are wrong if they prefer bluray.
you know when dvd was first introduced it didnt have a lot of studio support either. while bluray has more studios supporting them, HDDVD isnt exactly out, especially now that the players are dropping below 300 dollars.
lets see where this debate is in 2 years time, then you can say one format won over another.
i mean comeon this isnt as clear cut as when circuit city tried to foist that divix crap on the general public.
And half of you people bashing hddvd and bluray,dont even own a HD tv set let alone a HDDVD or Blueray player.
or your experience with bluray is through playstation 3 hooked up to your standard tv set.
ive said it before and ill say it again, standing infront of instore displays at bestbuy or circuit city underneath store florecent lights doesnt do either format justice.
trying to convice a bluray supporter who allready owns a bluray or trying to convince a hddvd owner who allready owns HDDVD is pointless, you arent going to change there minds.
if you own one of these players why dont you just sit back and enjoy your movie in your prefered format instead of argueing which is better, when they both have superior picture and sound.
those of you who dont even own a HDTV why dont you atleast try to get one of those first before you even try to say how one format is better.
heres something else most early adopters of a technology realize that there is a chance that there format wont take off and will one day become obsolete.
heres something to think about if not for the ps3 bluray could have just as easily became next UMD disaster.
And even if HDDVD fails in the us it is the preferd format in several overseas countires and since hddvd is not region coded, movies that arent availble on hddvd in the us are availble in other areas, heck iam watching finding neverland on a japaneese import hddvd right now.
no matter what you prefer just sit back and enjoy it.
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Exactly
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---Rightfully so, I might add. HD DVD came out of the gates with their house in order. The masters they were using were in good shape and the codec of choice, VC1 was getting the job done. Audio was free of problems.
---You couldn't say the same for Blu-ray in terms of video. Some of the movies that were released came from out of date video masters. The codec of choice was MPEG-2. MPEG-2 is quite capable, but only 25GB Blu-ray discs were in mass production at that point and the video suffered due to low bit rates and not enough room to breath. Around September, everyone in the BDA got their act together and started pumping out high quality content.
---The oft-dogged PS3 came out and caused Blu-ray sales to spike. Every since December of last year, Blu-ray has been ahead in sales. The content was there, the sales figures (however big or small in comparison to regular DVD) were working out and the Blu-ray format was starting to finally show why it was superior.
---I'm certainly sure that Bill Hunt hates been a logic individual that bought into both formats and is willing to admit that the climate changed and believes that Blu-ray is the better format.
---You can have your preference. I have both formats in my home but I prefer Blu-ray because I feel that it's better. The stats where there on the paper, but the execution was lackluster in the earlier going. Now though, everything has come to fruition for the Blu-ray format. -
To recap, Harry is a sellout, Harry got his facts wrong and didn't apologize, both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray look great, and everyone who bought a PS3 or X-Box 360 is relatively happy with their purchase (once the 360's were returned from maintenance) - sorry, one last rub. It has been a great talk back with lots of good points and a few chaps who have no clue what they are talking about. The point is - I have a 65 inch DLP, 1080p, and play Blu-Rays on my PS3 and they look incredible, and everyone who has HD-DVD and a different/smaller/bigger t.v. are equally as happy with their set-ups. Sounds like we're all happy and want everyone to join us. Well, there are worse things to argue over. Everyone take it easy. I'm out.
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...if you're an avid reader of The Bits, as I am and obviously others here are, you would know that they were firmly on HD-DVD's side at the beginning. Frankly, they ragged on Blu-ray every step of the way and said it would likely fail because of any one of a multitude of reasons. If my memory is correct, which it may not be, those same reasons are now why Blu-ray has all but won the format war and HD-DVD will die a slow death.
Also, if you're going to take Harry's opinion over the guys at The Bits, you need help. They know about this stuff. Harry, from his woefully researched article, clearly did not. I'm sure he does now, but that's too little, too late. Harry, stick to being on Rodriguez's sack. -
"What we've found most puzzling about this format war, is why Microsoft - a company that makes neither movies and TV shows or home theater hardware, is arguably the single biggest corporate supporter of the HD-DVD format outside of Toshiba and Universal. And though no one will say it on the record (though many industry insiders admit, off the record, that they believe it), we'd be surprised if Microsoft wasn't subsidizing both Toshiba's hardware losses and Universal's exclusive commitment to HD-DVD in some way. That's just our gut feeling. We can't prove it. But even Warner, which has a significant financial stake in the disc structure patients for DVD (and thus HD-DVD) has opted to support both high-def formats. Meanwhile, Microsoft has an office of "HD-DVD Evangelism" in house." The charge is that Microsoft has been subsidizing Toshiba's loss-leader sales of HD DVD in a desperate attempt to wreck Sony's financial stake in Blu-Ray and thus fatally damage the PS3 in the process. That is what this is all about. Ensuring Microsoft gets VC-1 and the HDi software crammed into every friggin consumer electronics device, not only to spite Sony, but also to permanently cock block Apple just because Apple backed the industry standard non-proprietary audio codec that is Dolby's/Sony's AAC instead of Microsoft's tin-can sounding proprietary WMA audio codec and the fact that the world loves the iPod and not a Microsoft "solution". The consumer electronics world will be a much better place when Apple, Google, and Sony take turns skullfucking the festering corpse of Microsoft. And when that happens, Toshiba will be one of the victims of collateral damage; bankrupted over this whole debacle and probably a takeover target for LG, Samsung, or the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) owned company known to us as Lenovo. Hey sonnyhooper, the HD DVD side of a Warner TrueHD disc will resemble the cool side of a McDLT in that it will always remain cool from non-use. For the record, I loved that ozone depleting styrofoam packaged burger.
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The Matrix movies aren't on BR, yet and as has been said 1000 times, the same transfer and codecs are used for both formats. There is zero difference (READ: ZERO DIFFERENCE) in quality between the two formats when dealing with a dual release. There is a markedly and startling increase in quality when it's a BR only release. The authoring can take advantage of the huge difference in gigabyte capacity; thus dramatic increase in image quality.
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We really need to demand that they all use the best video codec possible for all Blu-Ray titles...that being H.264 and not Microsoft's Windows Media 9 leftover repackaged under the name VC-1. Let's not give those jokers any more money.
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I was just thinking about this one...why the hell is Universal exclusively backing HD DVD. Do they wish to be a big fish in a small pond, are they really that dimwitted, or is there some other reason? Could it be that Universal's parent company, NBC Universal, might be extracting a concession from Microsoft for supporting HD DVD exclusively? Could it be that that concession is that NBC Universal won't have to pay Microsoft any money once they ditch the "MS" part of the "MSNBC" name which is on the drawing board currently? Hmmmm....one wonders. And in other news related to Microsoft, Comcast just ditched (well, about a month ago) the plan to use their software in the cable set-top boxes. Seems Comcast took Microsoft for a joy ride after taking those multi-billion dollar "investments" from the company last decade. No wonder Microsoft is intent upon helping out the telcos AT&T and Verizon with their IPTV initiatives...
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http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/soapbox/soap060107.html I guess Harry's comments made them "pick a side" on the format war. A good read.
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I guess I am waiting for all of this HD for DVD to work itself out before I buy a new "Hi-Def" player.
How do you feel about the "digital bits" response? -
By posting this error-filled bad decision post praising his format of choice, Harry brought out not only the technophiles who visit the site to correct his mistakes and really compare the two, but also the attention of DVD and Home Theater sites all over (and probably news wires at this point, too)As a result, not only has this Talkback ended up showing the advantages of Blu-Ray and the ticking deathclock for HD-DVD to its regular readers, but it has drawn attention to itself and educated many MANY others to those facts.
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I trust them more than this sweaty, angry place.
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What other screens are you looking at? D'love to know because you're
right, I looked long and hard in the price range I was willing to enter.
I was very impressed with the Samsung screens I saw, too. I also liked that they
come with a VGA input. Panasonic does not put it on the screen I'm getting, but
I like hooking up my laptop with S Video, so I don't care, nor do I think this
is the last TV I'm gonna buy. It's just eh right choice for me at this time,
and in that price range. I'll report on the Panny
when I get it, if this talk back is still alive.
I'm also curious to hear others talk specifically about
their screen / HD – Blu Ray (or not) DVD player
combo. Isn't this what it ends up being all about? I've seen proof during my
"investigation" that some DVD player / screen combos work beautifully,
while others don't as well (although, as long as your plugging two recent
technologies together, the difference is slight). And one thing's for sure:
don't trust anything you see at super stores. Go to a home theatre specialist
while looking, if you can. They're the only ones where you'll get a chance to
see this technology hooked up correctly. The guys at your local price-fixing superstore
may be nice, but in my experience, they don't know that they're talking about,
nor do they really care. -
Uh ... yeah... right. Check out Rock Star Home Theater. It's a licensed Sony dealer.
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SFX heavy films do suffer a bit in
HD. It's almost like you're better off using S video for those, because you'll
get a softer picture, which will, ironically, look better. I think the image
"pops" in some HD coding, right now. The best analogy I can think of
is this: The PS3 is undeniably the coolest, most advanced piece of consumer
electronic widely available on this day. BUT, there isn't a game out there than
can make it sweat. It always takes a couple of years for the game programmers
to learn how to take full advantage of the new chipset. It's cool, if you think
about it in terms that owners of the PS3 will continually be amazed by new
games, and that is a worthwhile pleasure for gamers. But is' also another
reason for me not to buy into HD, yet. They need to figure out how to make the
flicks look their best, first. Sure, HD looks much better than DVD, no doubt.
But it's gonna get better. Let me tell you there is a HUGE difference in the
quality of my first DVD edition of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly vs. the new
one. HUGE! And they're both DVD editions. Same thing with the
new James Bond Collection.
Also, keep in mind Harry is using a projector, and as of
right now, they don't look nearly as good as a plasma or LCD screen. Bigger, yes, but better, no. Although, admittedly,
this is a matter of opinion. -
OK, because it both makes me laugh and frustrates me when I
have to re-read people's sentences to understand what they meant by the context,
as opposed to the word.... Once and for all, the word "moot" should
be used to indicate that a subject IS UP FOR DEBATE. Don't use it to mean that
the debate is now closed, or that there is no argument. You monkeys know who
you are. Check your damn dictionaries: http://tinyurl.com/2m5trd -
The wise assedness here cracks me the fuck up but when is this site going to move to threaded talkbacks? I'd end up giving 2 shits about the format war if it meant I could read these talkbacks with some sense of coherency. This place is like a drop dead hot girl who's bad in bed with a horrible personality.
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Guys, stop being mean to Harry about his opinion. The man
watches movies through a bag of chips. Just let him be
happy with his new set-up. He can't be wrong about the way he feels, no matter
how blurry it seems to be. And besides, he had the right outlook on Spidey 3,
and am I the only one enjoying this talk-back? -
And these pros know their shit, they've been around for ages, and they were once pro HD-DVD! Toshiba and the HD-DVD camp had every opportunity to make this happen but blew it. I'm glad they called out Harry for the blatant disinformation and laid out the facts.
For a high profile site like AICN, it's just irresponsible (fucking retarded) to try a dumb game like that and not expect it to backfire like it has - badly.
Oh, seems there is a lot of dissappointment in the Matrix sales, getting soundly outsold by the Pirates offerings, even with the tempting Toshiba deal which seemed to do dick for sales, as BD sales streak ahead again (13,900 vs 47,000). Dual format releases paint another picture, for example Departed for HD-DVD sold 35,300 while on Blu-ray Departed sold 58,300 (If you're Universal, it's got to cross your mind that you might get more sales by offering on Blu-ray - nevermind, that is definitely what theyre thinking according to insiders). Also, Disney publically reiterated their exclusivity for Blu-ray. By the time the holidays hit, there will be competitively cheaper Blu-ray players (the HD-DVD fantards want everyone to believe Blu-ray prices will never come down).
HD-DVD is finished, it depends on how long MS keeps stringing Toshiba along (or when Universal caves in and goes neutral - the death blow, you might say).
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Harry, Bill Hunt just took the world's biggest verbal shit on you that I have ever seen. "ZING" just doesn't cut it.
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Is so well thought out and would convince ANYONE who doesn't already have their HD DVD allegiance set in stone. Harry Knowles I must thank you for compelling Bill Hunt to write his rebuttal piece and for making it as high profile as it is. Your misinformation was simply ASTOUNDING. You just helped support Blu-Ray a whole lot whether you wanted to or not.
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I'll tell you the ONLY thing wrong with The Digital Bits: They don't do RSS.
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Couple of things I've noted:
1) I own an HD-DVD via an HP laptop. I also own a PS3.
2) I've been an avid fan of TheDigitalBits and agreed to everything they said. . . .until things started smelling funny. Bill Hunt has been publishing less and less of what the recent spate of HD-DVD releases have been great for: IME content.
Case in point: the movie "300" will be released simultaneously on both formats. But only the HD-DVD version will have bonus IME content. I'll tell you what qualities I looks for when deciding which format to buy:
1) Which one has the most bonus content (cos last thing I want is a double-dip)?
2) Which one is cheapest: right now, some titles can only be had on either format, so nobody wins that one. But, assuming it gets released on both, the one with the better codec, bitrate, and price will win. Granted, this whole DVD/HD-DVD combo thing is a double-edged sword -- which is the only reason I can think of why there were more The Departed BDs sold than HD-DVDs.
Right now, besides the argument of who will sell a cheaper unit come Xmas time, the other big thing I see is will BD have their shit together and release their Java so that all these manufacturers can finally release IME-loaded content.
One thing to note as well . . .Sony's playing major catch-up right now, and not just with price but with the eventual java addition. But, let's face it: the first iteration will most likely be buggy, cos no first-gen of anything will be perfect. So, a lot is riding on Sony pulling this off.
As for DigitalBits, I believe they've been bought by Sony, because all their views of late have been one-sided.
As for Microsoft's intentions, let's face it. They're deep in Toshiba's pockets and Universal it ain't even funny. It may not be easily proven, but I do believe there's another factor we're not seeing: If M$ decides to shithole Sony's BD player on the PC, and doesn't allow their drivers to work properly on the PC, what do you think all those who rip off HD tracks would be renting from Netflix and Blockbuster online? It's a no-brainer that if M$ decides to really put the clamp on Sony, that only an HD-DVD drive will be supported by M$ platforms. And we all know that all those hackers love ripping off HD tracks from some source.
As for the case of Matrix vs Pirates: recall that the article stated Pirates may have sold more units, but revenue wise it was a wash. So, from my perspective if I was a manufacturer, my net profit from either was a wash. -
If any studio will be remaining faithful for either format for a long time, you will likely miss a handful of films, if you go with just one format. Buying both players is stupid, wait for the price drop of the combos.
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does anyone actually buy porn to play on hd-dvd? there's a thing called the interweb where you can get all your stuff for free!
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DB just put it all out there with the real info. Damn.
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DigitalBits being bought by Sony? Clearly you've got your tongue pressed up on Gate's applebag to even make that comment. The fact that you say "Sony" has to "catch up", and not the BDA who is behind BD-Java; it's based on GEM (globally digital television application standards middleware) developed by the DVB Project (270+ members) running on Java. It's not something "Sony", as you say, are cooking up from scratch. That DigitalBits has one-sided views only speaks to how far back HD-DVD has fallen. They're behind in sales and marketshare and content and studio support, since December, and it's not changing. They lead only in price, monstrously subsidized, at that. Consumers are voting with their wallets, and HD-DVD isn't being elected, depsite the price. Content is king.
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...Despite. :)
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Warner's day-and-date HD DVD releases such as 300 and Happy Feet come in the dreaded Combo Format, which makes them more expensive than their Blu-Ray brethren. So if it is price that will win like you say, then you are saying BD will win.
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Ain't it cool, suddenly isn't.
I'm going to tease you at the next premier that I see you at btw. :) -
Nice smackdown. I've been reading that site for years.
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Titles You Won't See on HD-DVD until format war is over (not commenting on quality):
All 21 Bond Films
Ghostbusters
Spider-Man 1, 2 and 3
Men In Black I and II
All Rocky Films
Terminator
Terminator 2
X-Men 1, 2 and 3
Alien, Aliens, etc.
Predator, Predator 2, AVP
Fantastic Four 1, 2
Die Hard 1, 2, 3, 4
Pirates of the Carribean 1, 2, 3
Simpsons Movie
Talladega Nights
Star Wars
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
Revenge of the Sith
ID4
A Fistful of Dollars
For A Few Dollars More
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Dr. Strangelove
The Usual Suspects
The Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal
Manhunter
Taxi Driver
Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind
Fight Club
The Professional
Lawrence of Arabia
Bridge on the River Kwai
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Reservoir Dogs
Raging Bull
Sin City
Pulp Fiction
The Prestige
Kill Bills
Donnie Darko
Fargo
Raising Arizona
The Incredibles
Finding Nemo
Toy Stories
Monsters, Inc.
Cars
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Sixth Sense
The Lion King
The Little Mermaid
Bambi
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Cinderella
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Patton
Platoon
Spaceballs
Young Frankenstein
Blazing Saddles
Annie Hall
Manhattan
The Pink Panther films
Red Dawn
Road House
The Great Escape
Stargate
Monster Squad
Spinal Tap
Hellboy
TV - 24
TV - Lost
TV - Grey's Anatomy
TV - Seinfeld
TV - Simpsons
TV - Family Guy
TV - Buffy
TV - Stargate
Titles that will most likely be released/have been released on Both Formats:
Batman Begins
Batman
Batman Returns
Superman Returns
Superman
Superman II
The Departed
The Matrix
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Indiana Jones Trilogy
300
Poltergeist
The Wizard of Oz
A Christmas Story
The Godfather Trilogy
Transformers
Mission Impossibles
Evil Dead 1&2
Goodfellas
War of the Worlds
Titanic
Titles that will be only released on HD-DVD:
Jaws Films
Back to the Futures
Knocked Up
Pyscho
Rear Window
Old School
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The Bourne Films
Children of Men
King Kong
The Mummy Movies
Hot Fuzz
Shaun of the Dead
Army of Darkness
E.T.
Dracula
Frankenstein
Hulk
Serenity
Schindler's List
TV - Heroes
TV - Battlestar Galactica -
It's all very well for you to claim the five big boys in Hollywood have chosen Blu-Ray but you undersell the support that HD-DVD has. Why is that? While only Universal Studios are giving their exclusive support to the format, you're being a bit disingenuous to suggest that’s as far as their support goes. What about the support given by the many studios who, quite rightly, are sat on the sidelines waiting to see which horse to really back in the long run? Did it simply not cross your mind to mention the current support from Warners, New Line, Dimension and HBO. Not to mention the formats increasing popularity with movie and TV studios outside the USA, (yeh there is such a place called, "The Rest of the World"), Studio Canal being the most prolific of the non-US backers.Now I've got no vested interest in backing one specific format except where it might adversely affect the consumer. HD-DVD certainly seems the most faithful and unified format going given it's clear compatibility and links to the existing DVD format; a format you've established yourself with.Finally, perhaps you could find time to elaborate on HD-DVD's business model which, in your words is an "utter and complete disaster from which it will not recover". You mean the business model which is fully compatible with DVD? The one where disc sales aren’t affected by the numbers of units given away free with players? The business model which doesn't rely on the sales of a games console to bully studios into supporting an unproven format?Don't get me wrong, I've seen many companies pull shocking tricks in the past, but Sony have outdone themselves this time round. If I'm not mistaken Toshiba have invited Sony on several occasions to unify the two formats but each time, Sony has walked away. You don't think that's because they've mistakenly believed that strong PS3 sales would affect those decisions do you?You want a prediction Bill, from a consumer who spends a shitload of money on DVD and other tech toys? I can see the opposite to what you’re saying. I can see HD-DVD outselling Blu-Ray on cost alone. People aren’t stupid, they can see that both products offer exactly the same thing except one is cheaper, much cheaper. PS3 isn’t going to be the big deciding factor because the console has so far underperformed and Sony has revised sales forecasts. You’ll find the bigger studios backtracking on their exclusivity deals with Blu-Ray and making HD-DVD too.This isn’t just a Betamax v VHS arguments, Sony’s track record with their own formats is pretty laughable. Mini-Disc? UMD?
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Not until PS3 comes down. You make a cheap $249 Blu-Ray player, the only real appeal of a PS3, as it stands, disappears. Don't expect a cheap Blu-Ray player anytime soon, not until PS3 drops considerably in price
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A few more titles that are or only will be released on HD-DVD: Jurassic Park films, Shrek films, The Thing(1982), All Hitchcock's Universal films including Vertigo and The Birds, American Pie, Babe, Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty, Casino, Cape Fear, HULK II, Dune, Flash Gordon, Creature From the Black Lagoon, Invisible Man, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, Big Leboski, Monty Python's Meaning of Life, Mulholland Drive, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, films owned by European independent companies like Studio Canal who own a ton of European classics, and Harry and the Hendersons.
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Warner will excusively release Blade Runner to HD-DVD this fall because they say HD-DVD has better in-feature capability.
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In September...
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That's nice, except Warner announced: "A Warner Home Video spokesperson also confirmed to High Def Digest that the studio's release plans for 'Blade Runner' include issuing the film on the high-def DVD formats it currently supports, including HD DVD and Blu-ray."
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While I may be wrong on the BluRay/HD-DVD release scehdule, the quote you just posted is a year old and, as it's been stated, Blade Runner is getting the HD treatment first because BR doesn't have the structure in place to add all the extras.
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...for the same reason Blade Runner and Matrix are exclusively HD-DVD. HD format has superior in-feature capability over Blu-Ray. Does that mean The Dark Knight will exclusively be HD-DVD? Also, Conan the Barbarian coming to HD-DVD...
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...can cry "Blu-Ray!" all they want, but the fact is that Universal is owned by NBC, which is an affiliate of Microsoft, who created HD-DVD. Universal is not going to cave on HD-DVD. And Universal is too big a studio to be dismissed. Disney will cave in and go HD-DVD before Universal ever would go Blu-Ray. The fact is HD-DVD owns Europe since the inclusion of Studio Canal. The fact is that Toshiba HD-DVD player sales have increased tenfold since the price drops, creating a huge base of HD-DVD consumers in the average consumer market. Blu-Ray studios like Disney and Lionsgate are watching that. The fact is that HD-DVD has superior in-feature capability to Blu-Ray, hence "nuetral" Warner titles like Matrix, Batman Begins, and Blade Runner getting the HD treatment over Blu-Ray. You can talk future Blu-ray releases all you want, but if you want to experience them now or in the foreseeable future, you have to go HD-DVD (and it's now inexpensive to do so). Also, the brand title "HD-DVD" has "DVD" in it, which equates to familiarity amongst average consumers (what the hell does Blu-ray mean?), which may or may not mean anything, but I'm just saying... And finally, BLADE RUNNER on HD-DVD EXCLUSIVELY, bitches...
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And to be honest, nothing anyone on this forum, know matter how much they cry and gnash their teeth, is going to change anything. Whichever format is going to 'win' will do so irregardless of anyone on this talkback. So, frnakly, this entire thing has become pointless.
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Your defeatism irks me. One man/woman CAN make a difference. Yes, even you, jae683...
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just the naming convention alone will make people think they need an "HD" DVD player, IMO.
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If you haven't. http://tinyurl.com/2njzt7
I think they've got something there. -
but i still can't get over him referring himself as "headgeek" ...what's with the ego...keep it real bro
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However The Digital Bits has made a good case for Blue Ray for some time now. As an owner of one of those old ( 2002 ) HD sets that only has component outputs I'm hoping that they never activate the need for an HDMI output ( downgrading the signal to 480 lines ) as my tv is still going strong and looks great! And I don't want to fork over another $ 2600.00 bucks for a new set just yet. I'm still holding off but I think it'll be Blue Ray.
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If people genuinely gave a serious fuck about picture quality and weren't just jumpng on a bandwagon then Superbit dvd's would have sold better and been more widely available.
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Just kidding. It sounds like HD-DVD is going to win by default due to the backwards compatibility, and (unlike VHS), it really does seem to be the better format.
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Wow, Digital Bits pretty much authoritatively dismantled all of Harry's reasons for choosing HD-DVD. So this should be interesting to see how Harry handles being wrong. I think a simple admission of his misinformation and another article to set things straight would be the honorable way to handle this with out eating too much crow. I’m not pushing one format over the other; I’m still in a wait and see mode. The only advantage I see of HD-DVD is it is cheaper to produce and used preexisting dvd authoring factories and software. Blu-Ray is more expensive currently to produce, but it is a technically better format. Still an interesting format war to observe.
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"there's something along the lines of 545 titles on HD DVD and only 62 for Blue Ray" --- Fall 2006 called, it wants its arguments back. Blu-Ray has more titles than HD DVD right now. FACT. You don't know what the hell you are talking about and the more you talk, the more you make a complete ass of yourself.
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Don't you wonder why there are so many HD-DVD/DVD combo discs? Why would you want the regular DVD version on one side and then the HD-DVD on the other side? Oh, wait, I get it when the HD-DVD format fails, you will still have your regular DVD version that you can play on your Blu-ray player that will upconvert it......
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It's just not called Superbit anymore. It's now double dipping 2 Disc Special Editions.
It's everyone elses answer to Superbit. -
DigitalBits hasn't made any kind of case against HD-DVD. Everything that Bill Hunt has said in his article is pure supposition and based on what he feels will make the format the sure fire winner. Those opinions are highly dubious given the exceedingly large amount of evidence to the contrary. Also, when you state that cheap HD-DVD will actually kill the format since enthusiasts will only pay top dollar you're kinda kidding yourself. No, what he did do was correct Harry's erronious statements regarding the technical aspect of the format; nothing more.As for technical superiority, the only benefit of BluRay over HD-DVD is potential storage but, for the record, Toshiba have already announced triple layer HD-DVD's which will exceed the current BR media capacity.Look, I love going to thedigitalbits, it's been an invaluable resource to me over the years collecting movies. But Bill Hunt's arguments against HD-DVD just don't cut it with me. Last year he proclaimed a BR demo he saw as being the best HD showcase he'd ever seen. I was a little condfused with that statement since, up to then, he'd been an avid praiser of HD-DVD. Since I firmly believe anyone who says they can tell the difference, in terms of picture quality, is clearly up their own arse, it's not a statement I'd take too seriously.Harry might be a misinformed doofus when all is said and done, but Bill Hunts expertise is certainly called into question when he makes bold claims like has done in recent months. The fact is, despite his protestations, HD-DVD units continue to sell and, the stats for BR hardware is fairly misleading given the vast majority of people who have bought that hardware bought it to play games on.
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Trancer: You might wanna catch up on the conversation before you chime in (I know it's long, but at least skim!) As has been pointed out HUNDREDS of times, Blu-Ray is backwards-compatible as well (just one of many MANY facts Harry got wrong)stvnhthr: That's what I keep saying! How will Harry respond? Answer - He won't. He's noticably disappeared and shut his mouth in embarrassment and shame for his misinformed, full-of-BS article.polyh3dron: Glad you're on the right side here, but again, at least skim over the existing posts - this has been addressed over and over.
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It also renders the whole "HD-DVD is cheaper" nonsense null and void. A good portion of the day-and-date releases that come out on both formats are cheaper on BD because the HD-DVD is a combo disc.
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Now that the formats have their poster children, let's have them fight it out to decide the winner of the format war!!!Of course, all Bill has to do is run around for a minute until Harry starts wheezing and collapses
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How does it render the FACT that HD-DVD is cheaper null and void? Hmm? Since the players are definately cheaper I'd say you were talking nonsense.ShiftyEyedDog2, DR is backwards compatible; but the technology isn't designed around DVD so should they win, 2 years down the line, they can start manufacturing machines that don't play DVD.
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You said, "I was a little condfused with that statement since, up to then, he'd been an avid praiser of HD-DVD."
I think you actually pointed out what makes Bill Hunt a RELIABLE source of information: He's not stubborn and single-minded. He has the objectivity to constantly re-evaluate as more info is available, advancements and improvements occur (or don't), and better hardware and software becomes available to analyze. He doesn't just pick a side and blindly stick with it despite the ever-changing facts. If suddenly HD-DVD got their shit together and fixed all their problems and suddenly had the support of more studios and more titles than Blu-Ray, he'd probably reassess the situation yet again (But at this point they've fallen so far behind, it'd take huge drastic changes for that to happen). This site could learn something from Bill about objectivity. -
An extra $5 for an HD combo disc every couple of weeks is nowhere near as bad as plopping down an extra $200-300 for a Blu-Ray player in one visit to Best Buy. And owners of HD-DVD Combo discs can play them not only on their HD players, but on their computers, on the road, at a friend's, their Grandmother's, or their DVD players if they don't own HD yet but are leaning towards it. Can't do that with Blu-Ray.
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Not quite since I'm not the only person here who's noticed Bills sudden preference for all things BluRay; as someone in his position he should be a little more impartial.My whole issue with Blu-Ray isn't a technical one or even one about favourites. Personally, i love Sony TV's although I'm back on Pioneer plasmas at the minute but I just don't see the need to split the market in two when compromise has been offered on so many occasions.I'm not disputing that BR looks good, Casino Royale looks awesome, but it'd look just as good on HD-DVD. Blu-Ray is nothing more than a way for Sony to throw its muscle around. They've been invited countless times to merge to two platforms but they've walked away each time; i guess thats what happens when you think you've got the market stitched up.To be honest, if Sony were to release an ammended white paper that states DVD will always be a supported in Blu-Ray hardware I'd be a happy chappy but they don't and won't. Period.
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Sadly, Yackbacker, no I don't, only because these things seem to happen to me in groups too. Almost simultaneously, my main DVD player started freezing up, my cheap-o bedroom one completely died, and the DVD player on my laptop started glitching up. I guess the gremlins just found their way from my house to Harry's
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Not really, considering the amount of movies Mr. Knowles probably plays. Those players were probably both spinning discs 24/7...
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Neither!
Hey people, lets look at this from a profit standpoint. Back in the good(?) old analog days a manufacturer had to slap a hundred or so tapes into a high-speed duplication machine that would take up to half an hour to spit out the finished media. That media (VHS/Beta) would be shipped overseas (cost increases as the weight/volume does) and eventually reach our shores where it would be sold to the retailer.
The retailer would mark it up to the point of sale price and sell it to you. So to recap...
Cost per unit for manufacturer for tape... $1
Cost per unit for retailer... $4
Cost to consummer per unit... $20-$100 (intial release only) $10 (subsequent releases)
So the profit of $3 for the manufacturer (not including shipping) makes tons of sense when your selling millions of units but not so much when you only sell hundreds of thousands and no sense at all when your installed base goes down to mere thousands (ie. Beta).
But digital media have fewer of these drawbacks.
Cost per unit for manufacturer for disc... $0.10
Cost per unit for retailer... $10-12 (initial release) $6 (subsequent releases)
Cost to consummer per unit... $20-$30(intial release only) $10 (subsequent releases)
Now I will say that these numbers are not the real prices but have been greatly simplified to make my point. The thing to note here is that with tape the majority of the profit was going to the retailer/wholesaler and with digital the main profit is going to the original manufacturer. This plus the profit margin being much greater with disc (less cost for making/shipping) the manufacturer needs less of an installed base in order to make and maintain a profit. And people... thanks to the HD Add on and the PS3 there is more than enough installed base already for any manufacturer to continue to make a profit until the next big thing comes along.
So in conclusion... Everybody Wins and there's actually no real need consumer-wise for it to be any other way.
As to which is better...
HD-DVD is a higher definition version of the current DVD technology (both hardware and software) and as such is fully understood by the people making the product. This allows for strict quality control and therefore better looking/sounding movies for all.
Blu-Ray is a next gen technology with a lot of headroom for further development. We've only begun to see the stuff it can do. However as with any newer tech there are teething pains which will result in less than optimum results (Mpeg 2... my God Sony what were you thinking?). In the long run BD will outlast HD unless both are knocked out by newer distribution methods because as you might have figured out by my examples the cost of shipping is higher than the cost of manufacturing therefore if the studios can figure out a way of digital distribution that minimizes their risk of profit loss HD AND BD will both be found only in the museum alongside the extinct
VHS and Beta Tapes. -
Anyone who thinks Harry is a paid shill also needs to consider that the proprietor of the Digital Bits has been a Blu-Ray zealot for months. I don't think anyone can prove he's a paid shill, but he certainly is carrying a lot of water for Phony and their Blu-Ray backers. Reality check: Fox has stopped releasing Blu-Ray discs, Phony and Disney have curtailed their releases for the summer, while Warners and Universal are releasing tons of stuff on HD DVD. So where's the beef(or in this case, shit burger)?
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While Harry is free to choose whatever he likes, it should be noted that his facts were just flat out wrong.
1. Blu-ray IS backwards compatible with DVD
2. HD DVD has fewer titles available than Blu-ray
3. Porn supports both formats and will not be a deciding factor this time around.
4. Blu-ray is technically superior to HD DVD is every way
5. Blu-ray players have dropped in price considerably.
6. Blu-ray enjoys much greater stability technically than HD DVD.
7. Blu-ray titles outsell HD DVD titles 3 to 1 across the board.
These are FACTS that Harry ignored. Harry needs tomake some corrections. I don't expect him to suddenly support Blu-ray, but if he is going to post an article like this, he owes it to his readers to get his facts correct. -
Bill Hunt was pro Blu-Ray from the beginning. When the format debuted last summer with some really shitty software(THE 5TH ELEMENT, HOUSE OF 1000 ARTIFACTS,er,DAGGERS), he had to say something pro HD DVD because the format was so plainly superior to the crap Phony was putting out for double the price and half the performance. Now that Blur-Ray has caught up somewhat in the quality department(though it still can't do all of the interactive features of HD DVD), Hunt went right back to his "HD DVD has no right to exist" rhetoric. He has a bias and an axe to grind. Which is fine in our freemarket society. But please don't say he's "impartial", because he's not.
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Since you joined late, here's a quick catchup for you.1)Blu-Ray is not superior to HD-DVD, it's exactly the same encoding process. Get a clue.2)If you want to be technical, in the UK HD-DVD outsells BR 4:1; stick that in your pipe and smoke it3)Blu-Ray is technically more stable? What crack pipe have you been smoking? It's a known fact that the whole reason PS3 was delayed was because there were tech issues with the Blu-Ray drives.4)The cheapest BR players still cost nearly twice that of HD-DVD which offers exactly the same viewing experience.You're as bad as harry is for talking shit.
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Neutrality is nonsense. Hopefully we'll see more and more people leaning one way or the other. I hope it starts a domino effect on all high def sites. I just hope it ends this retarded division.
They're both decent formats. I'm just gonna duck and cover with Bluray.
Ra! ra! ra! -
They know more about hardware than Harry does, and I'm more likely to trust those at digital bits, than those on AICN when it comes to hardware, plus they're research is a lot more solid than Harrys. Just stick to movies and leave the hardware facts to the experts.
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Since the porn industry's no 1 producer is putting his filthy filthy wares on BluRay. So you get your BluRay money shots..at least until HD-DVD beats it into the ground. :D
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Gotta love this.
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The PS3 has to be backwards compatabile with DVDs and CDs... you know... for PS2/One games... and one of the other media functions of PS3 is playing music and ripping tracks? As will Blu-Ray players. Sony need not say anything about 'reaffirming' DVD support because it's already a damn given! To even think that they're gonna drop it when DVD sales are far and away the most popular media disc is hilariously stupid. Sure games are being downloaded, but you think people are going to stand to download games they already own when the system has teh drive to do it? And it's only PSOne games offerred for Download, more so for the novelty of playing them on your PSP! There aren't going to be any announcments of PS2 downloads... not when PS2s are still selling unlike the as-of-recently discountinued PSOne which had a good run, unlike two other console manufacturers... Even moving to software emulation STILL requires the disc. Anyway, the point is that anyone trying to shake up fear that Sony will drop DVD support from any Blu-Ray device is clearly only kidding themselves to boost their position that choosing HD-DVD was the right move.
As for the Digital Bits author switching sides... if the situation warrants it and convinces anyone no doubt they would, and overwhelmingly everything is in Blu-Ray's favor as far as the eye can see. As for the whole price debacle of HD-DVD, the only reason it is that low is because Toshiba's desparate... hell they're even giving you $100 rebates and 7-10 movies FREE! It sure is a damn steal. But would it be worth it? Only if many people go in droves to buy the thing, and that's yet to be played out... and what? You think the Blu-Ray camp is just going to sit idly by and watch it play out? It won't come down to price... but rather what can I get on the system... Sure the Xbox 360 is cheaper than the PS3... but I care for none of the 360 exclusive games... Same deal... if more particular movies are going to release on Blu-Ray exclusively, some will be content to simply wait for Blu-Ray to drop in price just as they've 'supposedly' waited for HD-DVD to drop in price. If they waited this long to pick one up, then they're going to be content to wait some more... and I doubt these same wal-mart-shopping full-screen preferring people are going to rebuy movies they already own on DVD when the device plays and upscales it... they're going to pick up what's new! So Universals's back catalog be damned when these mass consumers are making their decision. That's only for you movie junkies! Shit, the only films I'm gonna bother rebuying are The Matrix Trilogy! I'd only pick up something else if it's in the discount bin. Plus there are also store innitiatives, some are starting to pick and choose one format to overwhelmingly support and the word is Blu-Ray is that format. Uninformed customers will listen and purchase whatever the salesman convinces them to. Stores want the format war to end and if they have to play a hand in doing that, then they will because they're the ones that have to deal with stocking that shit.As for the rest of the world, Blu-Ray is trumping in Europe, and you can practically call it the only format selling in Japan. So far the only thing that could be a possible slavation for HD-DVD is that just maybe the lower price this holiday season could spur sales... and to that I'll say, "We'll see..."And lastly this naming crap... HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray sounds cooler, so check! And for those thinking that the word 'DVD' in the title will convince customers to associate it with regular DVD will be right... but no customer is going to just pick it off the damn shelf and walk away with it... they will call the employee on the floor and inquire about it to confirm their expectations. of said word 'DVD' in the title 'HD-DVD.' And all it's going to take is for the store employee to inform them that Blu-Ray players also do all that, and maybe even teh benefits of Blu-Ray over HD-DVD. Thus the customer is informed! And you know another reason why the customer will be informed? Because Blu-Ray players may at that point still cost mroe than HD-DVD players. And as ever damn employee is told to do, you will try and get the customer to spend MORE MONEY at your store, whatever the case or whatever the customer decides to get, they are going to be informed one way or another... And just as customers are likely to pick up whatever's cheaper, another case can be made that the customers by default also believe that the more expensive product is also the superior product! So whether Blu-Ray movies by then contain fancy Java menus or extra features that HD-DVD currently has... this won't matter as the 'higher price = better product' conception still has sway over these consumers and they just might consider getting that one... because for all they know, it's gotta have more features than the cheaper one... So what I'm trying to say is... don't bank on the cheaper price being HD-DVD's salvation. It's not as clear cut as you'd think... -
I repeat, only on HD-DVD. What are all you Blu-Ray supporting Blade Runner fans going to do? I guess hang out at your friend's house who has an XBOX 360, no doubt...
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HD-DVD andBlu-Ray have the same audio and visual capabilities. Blu-ray is technically better because it can pack more data into the same space 25 gigs while HD holds about 15 gigs tops. HD is cheaper to make since factories can use existing materials to make HD DVD discs. HD DVD use a 0.6 mm-thick surface layer, the same as DVD, while Blu-ray has a much smaller 0.1mm coating layer. HD DVD should be easier to create a burner for, and their movies are easier to back up, there are already software cracks to backup XBox games and HD DVD movies, none is currently available for Blu-RAy. I would love for HD-DVD to become the new standard for DVD burners while Blu-Ray become the standard for commercial releases. Unfortunately both sides are going for an all or nothing approach.
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...you can only get the titles he picked up on HD-DVD. HD-DVD's catalog seems to be more classics heavy than Blu-Ray's. And so Harry got some of his facts wrong, but being misinformed certainly isn't lying, is it? I mean, who comes here to get tech info? And to above posters who state that Harry picked wrong, well if he picked "right" (meaning Blu-Ray), he wouldn't be able to watch Matrix Trilogy, Adventures of Robin Hood, or Excalibur in glorious hi-definition, would he? Eat it, Blu-Ray backers!
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Chishu_Ryu:
It's already been announced as coming to both HD DVD *and* Blu-ray Disc. Stop spreading FUD.
As for the Matrix trilogy, that's coming to Blu-ray too (Warner is neutral, in case you forgot). And Harry was wrong on a great many things, most importantly the backwards compatibility issue (ALL currently shipping (and announced) Blu-ray Disc players WILL play your DVD collection, often upconverted as well to 1080i or 1080p). -
Can you scan the web and give me a release date for Matrix and Blade Runner on Blu_ray? Good luck with that. Fact is, Matrix is already out on HD-DVD, and Blade Runner on HD-DVD, not Blu-Ray, is here in September. HD-DVD has superior extras capability over Blu-Ray, that's why. It's the reason you can't find Batman Begins on Blu-Ray disc, either, with no release date in sight. In this case, Warner is not nuetral, they're just going with the currently better format.
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Well, I actually own an HD-DVD player (well the add-on for the xbox 360 which came with it when I bought it from a friend). The problem here is that a lot of the titles I would most likely buy is or will be on Blu-Ray only. I really hate this format war shit. I've only purchased one HD-DVD "Full Metal Jacket" which is also on BD. Personally I think Blu-Ray will win or both will fail when downloading movies will become more available.
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I am a movie buff. I enjoy movies as a hobby. Plain and simple the price and free HD-DVDs is what sold me to jump in. I already owned a Samsung upcovert player which IMO was total shit. I hated that player but was going to wait until either the price dropped on one of the formats or one format bowed out. So the price did drop and I jumped in. I have no regrets at all. There are plenty of titles to chose from that I enjoy as a movie buff. Even if the format war ends with Blu-Ray as the winner I still don't feel like I lost out only because of the free titles I got and the ones I have in my netflix que waiting to arrive. I was able to sell my Samsung for $60 on Craigslist so I've really made out IMO. Besides the format war is not going to end anytime soon and who knows with this price drop and once the dust clears the tide may turn in HD-DVD's favor because of it. In the end we will all be downloading our content anyway in HD so in reality both formats will lose out but you know what, I got the disposable cash and again it's about enjoying the quality right now at an affordable price so who cares? I get to watch some of my favorite movies right now in beautiful HD-DVD on my 37 Inch LCD HDTV and it totally rocks! Very pleased with my purchase.
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http://tinyurl.com/36fvud
now stfu -
Well done, sir.
You know what I do when a subject I know nothing about comes up ? I SHUT THE FUCK UP! -
...but I would buy a Blu-Ray if the price dropped in half. I didn't buy the optional HD-DVD player with my X-Box 360 (for $199). I purchased a great little stand alone version when it cost $399. I thought about purchasing a PS3, but I am more of a PC gamer (with the exception of some of the better titles available on the 360). Until Blu-Ray drops their prices to a "purchase-justifiable" level, I will continue to watch and enjoy my DVDs and HD-DVDs!
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...if a person were to purchase a HD-DVD player for $299 -- they could still purchase 15-30 additional titles (available for $20 each at Walmart.com) for the price of the cheapest Blu-Ray model. Wow! Wal-Mart has about 200 titles available online for purchase -- with the majority available for less than $20-$25! My favorite HD-DVD thus far: Batman Begins (for $20).
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Warner is not going with the "better format" they simply have a stake in having HD-DVD win. In fact, they are playing down right dirty. They completely lied. They claim to support both formats then release HD-DVD movies with better audio formats and not their Blu-ray counter parts (like Superman Returns and many, many more - in fact I'd say most). Then when Blu-ray supporters don't buy it cause it is inferior, Warner says, gee, people must want HD-DVD more. Paramount has been doing much of the same. After many websites, forums and customers called them out (much like they did with Harry) they are now changing their tune. 300, will have both great audio options for both formats. As for Batman and a couple of others, Warner has PIP on HD-DVD, and says they won't release those on Blu-ray, until they can finalize the software to play it properly. I doubt most Blu-ray people care about PIP, but Warner seems to have this one last ace in their pocket allowing them to be exclusive on some titles. We'll see what happens once the software is complete (expected soon). That's why most of those PIP movies are being set for release in the near future. While the PIP issue may be legit for now, their is no reason for them to intentionally make inferior products for their Blu-ray customers. Warner isn't going with the better they are simply playing dirty to make sure their format wins. Glad I could clear that up for you.
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Johnno, you gotta keep it short n sweet there man. I appreciate you love your Sony PS3, you go in battling for that machine; they should give you a job. Anyway, just scanned it there mate. Keep fighting the good fight but, just a point, BR is outsold in UK 4:1. Infact, Europe prefers HD-DVD mate; It's a fact. Also Bill Hunt really shouldn't be allowed an opinion, if Harry Knowles insn't allowed one which seems to be the burning issue for some Blu-Ray fans here. Yes, Harry is full of shit, but it's seem more and more his choice of HD-DVD which is making the fanboi's over-react rather than his inability to get his facts right.stvnhthr - more space is great, if you want a commercial solution. As it stands now there are no BR movies that fill the 50gb allocated to them. There are no PS3 games either. But that's beside the point since you, I, Harry or even Bill Hunt couldn't spot the difference between a movie encoded to fill 25Gb or 40GB. I don't care what anyone says, you just dont have the ability to see it. The only real benefit BR will have in the future is the space for extras but that's even debatable since they've got an ass load of problems with their Java platform and Sony are being shits with studios wanting to use the old XML stuff.Either way, space is no real benefit if it's not being used. The point i was addressing though is peoples misconception that BR = better picture when it doesn't. Not by a long shot.
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Methinks mine nipples have broketh through the outer extremities of my cotton t-shirteth. Meanwhile, I think I'll hold off on the whole format war (until there is a clear victor) and live vicariously through the headgeek. So whaddya say Harry...how 'bout picking up some better titles? When does LOTR come out in 1080p?
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It's not a conspiracy mate. Warner have no vested interest in either format which is why they're happy to sit on the fence. The reason why you're seeing BETTER HD-DVD releases from them is that the format is inherently similar to DVD so there's no real new process to making the discs. What's more, the software was finished years ago. Blu-Ray on the other hand is yet another example of Sony rushing out headlong to face competition. Infact, as I've read, Sony are telling alot of studios to not release their big flicks until they have the issues fixed. Good luck with that.
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Here's a hint: The mass market doesn't give a rats ass about how many pixels or sound channels the new formats offer over DVD. In the grand scheme of things, the difference of HD/Bluray over regular DVD as opposed to DVD over VHS is rather small. The format that will "win" will be whatever is cheaper and lets the person use all their old DVDs. If they can throw in some cheap DVR or RW tech, then even the better. DVD, only extremely recently, is finally overtaking VHS. You know what a huge segment of the marketplace buys to play their console systems? RF ADAPTERS. Hell, that isnt even stereo sound.
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Blu-ray just plain sounds cool. "HD-DVD"? Sounds like a diagnostic test for a venereal disease. That is why Blu-ray will win the format war. That and superior product, variety, and an increasingly dominant share of the market that has skyrocketed in the past six months. There's no format war any longer, folks, there's just the corpses of HD-DVD cluttering the aisles.
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They singlehandedly forced slow consumers to finally purchase a DVD player! Just a few short years ago, there were still a large segment of the population refusing to buy DVDs (both players and movies). When did this end? The penultimate transformation took place when Wal-Mart announced that they were discontinuing the VHS version of films. Currently, Wal-Mart offers 200 titles in HD-DVD and 190 titles in Blu-Ray. Once Wal-Mart execs decide the "winner" (behind closed doors and after serious negotiations), the war will be over. Since Wal-Mart is all about pricing gimmicks -- I am suspecting that they favor the HD-DVD format. Blu-Ray needs to QUICKLY offer a player that is comparable to the much lower HD-DVD prices. If they don't, it might be cost that ultimately determines the victor.
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You said -
1)Blu-Ray is not superior to HD-DVD, it's exactly the same encoding process. Get a clue.
No, you get a clue. Since BR uses H.264, a way superior codec than VC-1, I doubt that. Any professional who knows anything about video will state that. I know some BR discs are using VC1 right now, but it's a stop gap until they get the Java standardised, (the cause of the problem, but from what I hear, just about sorted). The reason they use VC1 right now is to get titles on shelves. End of story.
2)If you want to be technical, in the UK HD-DVD outsells BR 4:1; stick that in your pipe and smoke it
Where the heck have you got that from? I know HMV stocks more BR discs than HD DVD for starts. All this crap about European film distributors going HD DVD only is bull. They're doing it for both for a kick off. They don't have a preference. If they see a space for their product, they fill it. ALL film distributors will do that. ALL OF THEM.
3)Blu-Ray is technically more stable? What crack pipe have you been smoking? It's a known fact that the whole reason PS3 was delayed was because there were tech issues with the Blu-Ray drives.
Yes and they're fixed. What are you smoking? And I wish people would listen when we've established that BR is backward compatible with ALL your DVD's. IT IS. So stop claiming otherwise, you lying hacks. Are you saying that the X Box 360 is a stable device? You really are smoking something aren't you? PS3 is updated and works just dandy, as do the current players you can buy.
4)The cheapest BR players still cost nearly twice that of HD-DVD which offers exactly the same viewing experience.
Except for when it clearly doesn't offer the same 'viewing experience'. Sure, it's more expensive right now, but so was HD DVD six months or so back. It'll drop. It's pure economics. I remember when I bouth my DVD player for 299 pounds when they were first out. Boy did I look silly six months later :)
Also, you barking 'I dont care what anyone says, you just don't have the ability to see it' Well hey, I FUCKING DO CAUSE IT WAS MY JOB FOR 15 YEARS and I resent you telling me that I don't. Like people are stupid and don't have eyes.
The whole point of this is that HD DVD got out of the gate first by using old technology, wheras Sony and others in the BR camp would rather get it right and give the consumer the best experience technically possible. It's a bit like there are two competing car manufacturers and all us car fans out here are waiting for the ultimate car. Sony say 'we've got a great car, you'll just have to wait a little longer but it'll be worth it. Whereas Toshiba over at the HD DVD car factory say 'hell, we've got the same shell, we can make our car go just as quick, the engine is a little out of date and not as good but you can have it right now and it looks just as shiny.'
I can understand why some have bought HD DVD already. It's exciting to think that you can watch films at home in a format like this. Personally, I'd rather wait because I know what's coming. I don't want to watch films with VC1 encoding and inferior sound (which BTW HD DVD has thanks to space limits) when I know I can buy it in a better format a few months later. I'll be damned if I ever have to buy my movie collection again. HD offers the home movie collector a great opportunity to have them in a great format that's perfect for watching at home. Just don't try and sell me short with some shitty HD DVD short stop gap when in six months this will all seem moot. There's a virtue to having some patience, the same way I would never watch a pirated film of something I'd really like to watch just because it's there. People who buy HD DVD are buying it because they are impatient. When HD screens are all at a high contrast ratio (like say 15-20,000:1), your VC1 will look like Windows Media Player from 1999, patchy and lacking in depth.
Think I'll wait.
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Sorry 'bout my last post and the lack of :)
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Someone already posted a link for Blade Runner on Blu-ray Disc. As for The Matrix films, Warner has already said they ARE coming, likely this year. As far as Batman Begins, etc., Warner said at CES '07 they were planning on bringing parity to their high-def releases this year (of course Warner routinely screws over Blu-ray Disc releases by having sub-par audio options or recycling their HD DVD video encodes on the Blu-ray Disc release (wasting the extra 20 GB of space)).
Warner is a good studio and all, but they need to get their act together with their high-def releases if they want to be taken seriously as a neutral studio. Paramount, on the other hand, is doing great lately with their dual format releases (newer Paramount releases use AVC on BD, and VC-1 on HD DVD, and usually include lossless audio on both). I'm particularly looking forward to The Untouchables in July on Blu-ray Disc (also coming to HD DVD, for those interested). -
It's the best format, we all know it. Imagine watching The Matrix on a Sony Trinitron TV from a Betamax video player!
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Sine you've obviously been reading bullshit sites allow me to comment on your bullshit:
1)Blu-Ray is not superior to HD-DVD, it's exactly the same encoding process. Get a clue.
-------->>>Worng. The encoding might be similar, but the capacity and bandwidth of Blu-ray are MUCH greater than HD DVD. Have any interest in seeing the extended editions of LORD OF THE RINGS on HD Media with lossless sound? IMPOSSIBLE on HD DVD with their lackluster storage space.
2)If you want to be technical, in the UK HD-DVD outsells BR 4:1; stick that in your pipe and smoke it
Wrong again: BD currnetly enjoys a 10:1 sales advantage over HD DVD since the release of the PS3. Check your facts, moron,
3)Blu-Ray is technically more stable? What crack pipe have you been smoking? It's a known fact that the whole reason PS3 was delayed was because there were tech issues with the Blu-Ray drives.
Toshiba HD DVD players have been PLAGUED with playback issues siunce day one. BD took the smart route and have issued an entire batch of players (including the PS3) that have been largely problem free. Even Toshiba's best player can't match that.
4)The cheapest BR players still cost nearly twice that of HD-DVD which offers exactly the same viewing experience.
Not true again. The recent BD versions of the Pirates of the Caribbean films are encoded at high bitrates that make them truly transparent to their master sources. This high-bitrate encoding is impossible on HD DVD and therefore the quality of theses releases would have again beeen IMPOSSIBLE on HD DVD.
You're a fucking idiot if you think you can school me on this. You haven't even the slightest clue as you continue to spout off Toshiba talking points. YOu must be very proud -
Yadayadayadayada...
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Currently HD-DVD has a capacity of 30 gigs, not 15 "tops" Most of the movie in HD-DVD are 30 gig discs. Most of the movies in Blu-Ray are 25 gigs.
Also the codecs looks exactly the same. -
For the last 6 months, the majority of BD releases have been 50GB, Most HD DVD release have been at the format's maximum of 30GB. That extra 20 GB is very useful... just take a look at Pirates of the Caribbean on BD for proof positive.
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Donkeykick, please, go read afew articles before you come in here professing to actually have a clue about the subject at hand, you evidently don't. HD-DVD offers exactly the same video codecs as BR does. 30GB is more than enough to put any extended version of Lord of The Rings and any "expert" will tell you that. But don't worry you keep spouting the FUD that BR fans usually do, if you scream long enough someone might take notice.Oh and go check endgadget for the official stats on how much HD is in the lead in Europe. If you don't get your facts straight, i'll just have to keep schooling you.
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The recent BR releases have all come on 50GB discs but none use the full capacity of the disc. Not one single movie maxes a BR title out. Nothing to brag about; it just proves its a waste of space?
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Interesting. I've had an education. Still think neither format will truly catch on. Poor Harry. The guy could say the sky was blue, and people would be coming out of the woodwork to personally bash him.
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Jun 02, 2007 4:57:39 PM CDT
Oh and for anyone expecting cheap BR players anytime so
by theallseeingeye
Sony make a reported loss of $700 a machine on PS3 - you won't see cheaper stand alone units until the price of the PS3 falls, (being the cheapest player on the market is one of its "selling points"), and unless they're prepared to take a further shafting on price I'm betting they'll continue to do what they've done since day one and expect mooks to buy the machine on brand name alone. Might work had they had some games to go with that that are worth investing in the games console for..but..you never know, they might come up with something.
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I don't know, I guess I could see where more space would be useful. Say for instance if you wanted copies of all the versions of each Star Wars film on on disc, or say a whole tv series on one disc, or 2 or 3 bargain movies on one disc for one low price, or a video game like Metal Gear Solid could put on nearly twice as many levels with more cut scenes, or if you had a Hi-Def Video Cam which shot directyly onto disc more space would be nice, or perhaps in the future techonology might continue to advance forward and there may be a use for that extra space Blu-ray offers. Still HD-DVD has its advantages, the dvds are a bit sturdier and if you ever wanted to buy blank HD-DVDs in bulk for your computer they would be a lot cheaper than the current cost for Blu-Ray. BLu-Ray is better for space reasons, but I'm not convinced it is the best for the consumer market when it comes to the next blank media storage medium.
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It's about bandwidth, STUPID!
HD DVD Max Video Bandwidth:29.4 Mbit/s
Blu-ray Max Video Bandwidth: 48.0 Mbit/s
This is where the difference is important. Take, for example, the HD DVD release of the theatrical version of King Kong. the 30GB disc was full to the brim with a picture quality that showed major artifacts and comrpression problems. In addition, there was no room left on that disc for lossless audio tracks. So, an extended LotR release wouldn't be possible, EXCEPT if you are comfortable with heavily compressed video and lossy sound.
Pirates of the Caribbean on BD easily maxes out the bitrate capabilities of BD and provides lossless ound on a BD 50 disc and shows no signs of compression artifacting of any kind. THe HD DVD spec wouldn't be capable of reproducing this film in the quality it was presented on BD.
END OF STORY.
And yes, you are correct in that both BD and HD DVD can use the same codecs, HD DVD just can't use them at the bitrates required to create compression artifact-free video. Oops!
By the way, Panasonic has a stand alone player debuting in 1 week with a street price of $499 and the new Sony stand alone player will be out in June at $459 street price. Both of these players contain features that HD DVD couldn't dream of at their current $299 price. FUD, sir, seems to be YOUR domain.
By the way, I'm looking at the official sales numbers for the UK right now and BD outsold HD DVD 11:1 in May and 9:1 since inception. Of course, if you count those few months before the PS3 was out, HD DVD was winning. Not anymore. Get YOUR facts straight, moron. -
Hey there, seems a lot of people are targeting you out. This is just a reply, not a battle. But I would say that the Warner thing is a conspiracy. There is no reason they can not put the same superior audio format on the Blu-ray disc. I own Blu-ray, and don't have a problem with people who like HD-DVD, but I do have a problem with "neutral" studios obviously favoring a format. It has only been after countless websites and forums cried foul that they have changed their ways. (Again, this is specific to the audio issue, not the PIP - which may be a legit reason, so I don't have an issue with that so much.) Any way, take it easy.
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You would think someone just called their mother a cunt the way they behave. To back up allseeingeye, yes HD and BR both utilize the same video encoding so claimint one is superior is absolute crap. Stvnhthr, it would be nice to get all the star wars movies on one disc, but after you put one movie on a BR or HD you've only got room for the bonus materials. I gotta say that some of the arguments against BluRay are certainly more persuasive than agains HDDVD
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What you are talking about is the mastering process of individual studios. By your reckoning BluRay should be crap because early discs used MPEG-2 and didn't use 50Gb disks. Sorry, but troll that shit somewhere else and come up with a definate, fact filled argument to make your points huh?
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What arguments against Blu-ray are persuasive? Just wondering which ones you are referring to. And I think the reason so many Blu-ray people are hot under the collar is 1) the article Harry wrote (before editing) was full of lies. That started the "hot" debate. 2) Blu-ray has more disc space HD-DVD has 60 gigs max and Blu-ray has 100 gigs max (of course, what they don't tell you is that this is only using them as a "flipper disc", not on one side.) Really, that is the only thing Blu-ray has over HD-DVD in the end. But 20 to 40 extra gigs is going to be needed for future movies to get the best treatment - especially long movies such as LOTR, etc. I think they get "mad" that people would knowingly take the short end of the stick just to have cheap players. Hope this sheds some light on why we get annoyed with the HD-DVD consumers. We're going to end up with another VHS, when everyone knew that Beta was better back then. Oh well. Peace.
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sorry guys..not happening. The asses at highdef digest got a little presumptuous. As anyone with the insert can tell you, and as you can see for yourselves...the insert states coming to HD-DVD ONLY in October. This isn't to say Blu-Ray won't get the title later on, as I'm sure it will with inferior features but come October, HD-DVD will be the only way to see Blade Runner in HD. This is fairly easy to figure out because if you flip that insert over, it touts the Kubrick Collection coming to HD-DVD AND Blu-Ray. I could be wrong so please correct me with a link to an official press release from WB saying otherwise...
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Time and time again it's been mentioned on this talkback so far that HDDVD have been showing off their newer high capacity disks. The size difference though isnt an issue since like allseeingeye said its just not possible to detect the difference between a 20 or a 40 gig encode. Not possible at all. As for why i think Blu-Ray isn't a good format to pick, I just think that it's a safer bet to stick with the established rather than risk it all on something new. Like eye said, they could all reach agreement when DVD first came out, why can't they reach it now?
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Anyone with a player (BD or HD-DVD) want to shed some light on this? How much of a pain in the ass is it? I got out of PC gaming and bought a Playstation because I was sick of patches and installs. Now gaming is going back that way on the consoles. So now it appears are HD players. If I buy a movie for the player, I want it to play. I don't want to jack around with tech support in India because a 15 year old broke their DRM code. And I don't want everything in my house hooked up to the fucking internet. Just personal preference I suppose. I've got a 50" 1080p TV but I'm waiting on the side lines until all studios either settle on one platform or go multi-platform but the firmware update issue is a stumbling point for me. Any one with experience care to shed some light? Is it Blu Ray and HD-DVD both that require the updates?
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The problem that initial runs of HD-DVD had is familiar to Blu-Ray in that not the best encoding was used in 1st gen discs, much like 1st gen DVD's. Donkeykick is just grasping at straws to make his argument right about BluRay being technically superior when anyone with half a brain can figure out its not. For one thing, the format isn't natively compatible with DVD. Said it before and I said it again, if anyone thinks that's not an issue they should seriously reconsider the ramifications. Alot of movie buffs will only get premium titles in HD but for smaller features they'll keep their old dvd's; i would hate to see mine and anyone elses collection become useless when Sony decides it's time that everyone bought more discs.Look, i've said this before, i'm not knocking BR technically, i can just say with absolute confidence, as someone with both formats, that there is absolutely no visible benefit to one over the other, some fools might say they can here hear a difference but they're just as foolish as the people supposedly capable of detecting every 100'000th pixel that is flickering or artifacted in comparison. Fact is, from a consumers point of view BluRay is more expensive and the benefits of the format certainly don't make up for the cost. It was arrogance on Sony's part not to sit down like they did in 1995 and develop a unified platform to avoid this mess, but in recent years the Japanese giant has become increasingly aggresive in its marketing and alot of economists will agree they've lost the plot somewhat.
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I only own the PS3 for my 65in DLP, 1080p. I had to get the updates for the latest things like playing standard DVD's at 1080p, and the latest audio codecs. I decided to get a wireless router so I didn't have to connect anything. It's worked like a champ so far. I would suggest a PS3 since it will always be up to date. Also, just to let you know, I called Playstation once to ask about bitstream audio vs. PCM, and I got a person who speaks english with no accent and very helpful. Not only that, they actually knew what I was talking about. I'm sure someone else can fill you in on other players and the HD-DVD side of the house for comparison.
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Depends if you go stand alone or opt for a plug in drive for a console. I know both PS3 and 360 have both had downloadable updates for their respective HD platforms and they go on no problems. Stand alone could be different but I had an older DVD player that could update itself with firmware burnt to a standard CD-R. It wasn't hard.
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for future additions, especially for lengthy movies. You want LOTR, (I know we keep using that as an example, but hey, it's a long ass movie) with PIP, lossless audio, audio commentaries all on one disc? Then you better go with the 50 gig (one sided)on Blu-ray - remember, the 60 gig for HD-DVD is a flipper - otherwise you have to start sacrificing video bitrates or lossless audio. So yes, it will matter as more functions become available. What do you think? Do I win? Haha! Really, I think Blu-ray is just better as a "future buffer".
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I know that players available now support DVD playback but it's definately something to chew te fat over for 5 years down the line. I know id hate to lose my collection to modernization.
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Thanks for the info!
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Thanks for the clearup, toshiro
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But look at it this way - Blade Runner is a perfect example of a movie that fits onto an HDDVD with extras in place. What else are you going to fill that space up with? Theres already room to spare on HD-DVD so putting a longer feature on or better audio shouldn't be a problem. The trend with technology has been that encoding becomes better and as it does the space required lessens. It's not a case of future proofing since the developments now won't be about making larger disks but rather making more fit onto what we already have. I have to agree with eye on that count.
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If Blu-Ray was natively compatible with DVD I'd sit on the fence too. I'm just concerend that, given sony's track record, they'll cut the DVD access off. For my money, it's a safer bet to stick with a brand that's widely accepted and based on what we've had for the last 10 years. Not even a choice really.That's also a great point about technology too. Just look how far we've come in the last five years with things like DivX and xvid. They're DVD quality movies in a 1/3 of the space. Just think what they'll do in another 5 years again.
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What do you mean Sony's track record? I'm serious, I never heard anything about it being bad. I wouldn't mind some further info if you have the time. Thanks
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I spent about a year looking at TVs and Players and here are my tips. You have to see the items in action at a store. You go into Best Buy or Sears or Walmart they will have rows of TVs set up. ( Who knows if any are set-up right because I've seen a LCD look like the BEST in the store and then the same model looking like CRAP at a different location ) For TV's the one thing I looked for was a TV that didn't pixilate at fast action. I saw $5000 TVs were the picture broke-up during fast action scenes ( while this could of been that the video source was bad I ruled out any TV I saw this on as I knew I could be feeding it crappy video so I wanted a TV that would help out the image even if it was poor (old VHS, 8mm). I ended up getting a 42 inch Olevia LCD for $1079 ( because we play PS2 for hours and Plasmas get burn in ghost from games I went with LCD) I took a hit on the contrast levels but so far the picture has been pixel break-up free and I'll take that over the shortcomings of the LCD contrast. I went with HD DVD just based on price. As to missing out on all the Great BluRay titles my Superbit DVD of THE FIFTH ELEMENT looks beautiful in the HD DVD player... and so does PIRATES and LION KING. Any of the new DVDs that have a remastered source look really good upconverted to HD because even a HD MASTER downconverted for SD DVD contains extra picture detail the upconverters can use giving you a sharper picture. I can live with getting all the DVDs titles not out on HD DVD in the $5.50 bin at Walmart. I had tried to watch SPY KIDS 3-D on a 30 inch CRT HD TV but the 3-D image was soft and didn't work too well. I tossed SK3D into my new set-up and WOW! It looked pretty good ( Not Imax but better than it did) The 3-D was popping out and the image was sharp. So for under $1500 I now have HD DVD and a 42 inch HDTV that makes me feel like I'm out at the movies without the babies and cell phone chatter. I'll hook up the Laserdisc player to the LCD and see what that looks like lol , who knows.
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Fuck me. I am so sick of listening to your complete technical BULLSHIT. You really do have NO IDEA what you're talking about, it's laughable. If it was for fucktards like you and your HD DVD supporters on here, we'd all still be driving black Model T Fords from the 1920's in the fear of 'backward compatibility' flying in the face of an informed technical standpoint, which you clearly lack. What you and others seem to think is that there will be titles that will never get released on Blu Ray and vice versa. You dumb idiots. We're talking about a global market here. Distributors want to provide for all markets, so you can bet when Blu Ray is there, which it now is, every title will be eventually released and every glitch will be and practically is ironed out. The same damn thing happened with DVD, some titles not playing. Hell I remember getting my DVD player upgraded because it wouldn't play 'The Matrix' right. You know what? Enjoy your HD DVD's. I know for a cast iron fact that you're utterly WRONG ON EVERY POINT - technically and what is going on in film distribution which I happen to know ooooh just a little bit about as well as the technical side of this shit. I'm sure your VC1 encoding looks very nice on your low spec HD TV's right now. You buy one in a few months with a better contrast ratio and then see what you think, dumb ass. It's about future proofing, not what looks great next week you short sighted hack. Okay? I'm done. Sorry for the verbals but christ almightly I am sick of reading this ill informed grade A bullshit. Harry, enjoy your HD DVD. I'm sure Sony or whoever will give you a freebie in a few months, so what the hell do you care anyway.
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The big problem Sony have been hammered for is their PS3 console. It's an expensive piece of kit but it's blatantly obvious that Sony see it as a means to push Blu-Ray into peoples homes. Here in the UK they were heavily criticised by gaming press for promoting PS3 mainly as a Blu-Ray player.To save costs in Europe, the hardware integration for backwards compatability was removed, (an item that costs a measely $20 and is a drop of the $700 loss per machine they sell), which also garnered them serious criticism since the price in Europe is far greater than anywhere else in the world; PS3 in the UK is $250 more expensive than ones in the USA.They've had several corporate shake ups over PS3 but Blu-Ray has equally taken its toll. Supposedly the board at Sony Corp were split over merging with Toshiba; hardliners won through and you've now got the current format war. Worth noting was that analysts panned Sony for not coming to an agreement because their track record of new formats isn't all it's cracked up to be.Then you get the whole problem Sony had with DVD's recently. Some DVD's were refusing to play on some machines, (laughably their own players were worst affected), due to an extra layer of encryption (ARccOS); Sony maintained it was only a small problem but it was more widespread than they'd lead you to believeThere are so many shit storms in that company right now that their stock has taken a hammering and faith in what was once a brand synonymous for quality isn't what it was 10 years ago.As for my own opinion, I was extremely peeved with PS3 because I really wanted it to be cool but it's apparent to me that, for Sony at least, it's all about Blu-Ray. I've got a PS3 gathering dust because there's not one title I want to play on it. And don't excuse them by saying it's new hardware, by their own admission dev kits have been in hand for over 2 years, there should be something worth playing by now but as it is, we've gotta wait till next year before the really big titles come along.
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Why not take a leaf out of your own book of infinite wisdom and apply the same rules to HD-DVD? Oh that's right, 'cos you're an ass-munch.Look, if you know for a "cast iron" fact, then prove it. Everything I've stated is either a)Common sense or b)included in the Blu-Ray white paper.You're a fucking pathetic whiney Sony fanbitch..it's plain to see to all. Good day sir.
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Dude you need to chill out and stop pretending you work in the movie industry to actually reinforce your opinion. You see that on here all the time and buddy, no one buys it. Sad really. Instead of just telling us you know better why not actually prove it.
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I'm sorry you can't afford an HDTV right now. Maybe when you grow up and graduate college and get a career and then finally move out of your parents house and get a house of your own you can afford one. By then, the TV's should also be up to your standards. Until then, you have my sympathies...
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Right, so while it's totally fair for someone like Bill Hunt to sit there and say HD-DVD is dead in the water and argue that any support that the HD-DVD camp has will drift over to Blu-Ray in the end, it's wrong for me to contradict that?I think I'm being targeted here by more than the usual suspects who post on these talkbacks. What's wrong? Don't like the questions I've asked about digital bit's seeming unwavering stance towards Blu-Ray?Sorry but all I've done is taken the same stance as digital and turned it on its head; since it's all supposition anyway I can do that but I have the added advantage of knowing that cheaper brands generally prevail in the marketplace. Go google economics you turd.And yeh, nice try with the old "i work in the industry line", god i laugh my arse off each time i read that shit on these pages.
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...there's a pile of money and cocaine on top of his new HD-DVD player.
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That was set to revolutionise the music industry with its compact size and portability. I remember a guy, like you metaluna, except he supposedly worked in the music industry, that claimed it was going to be THE format of the future. What happened to that? Oh yeh, got shit on for being too pricey.Or how UMD, the format that was going to revolutioise portable media playback. There was another guy on an internet forum like this who supposedly worked in the movie industry and said it'd be the next DVD. What happened to that? Oh yeh, no one bought into it and it's exclusively found in Sony PSP which, laughably, they can't even give UMD movies away for...
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Wouldn't you choose HD-DVD for money and cocaine? You'd be an idiot not too.
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..as much as anyone. Seeing him hobnob Sony at the VSDA expo last year was sickening.
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Is that people slam Harry for choosing HD-DVD and having ads on his site for the platform while Bill Hunt does exactly the same thing on his for Blu-Ray and doesn't get so much as a question. Odd that.
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You hob knob with those who are associated with the best. There's nothing wrong with that and everyone here would do the same if they were in a position of power or had access to these individuals.
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...and anyone saying something along the lines of it not being natively compatible with DVD is a liar. It is pure FUD and the worst kind of fear mongering. Show me a single Blu-ray player that isn't compatible with DVD and I'll eat my hat. The fact of the matter is, both HD DVD and Blu Ray use the same violet laser technology to achieve betrter storage and data rates. What we are debating is future-proofing and hardware capability. If anyone tells you that Blu ray won't support your DVD collection, then they are simly lying to you.
Allseeingeye, you should be ashamed of yourself.
The truth is, that while BD is usong newer technology to deliver an HD picture and lossless sound. HD DVD simply is attempting to use 15 year old, modified DVD technology to deliver HD. NO BD PLAYER WILL BE PRODUCED THAT WON'T PLAY YOUR DVDS.
END OF FUCKING STORY.
ALLSEEING EYE is a fucking Microsoft plant and we all know it. As a matter of fact, we know exactly who you are.
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Oh, the UK version. Yeah, I had heard about the backwards compatibility. That was terrrible that they didn't include that. I wouldn't have purchased my PS3 if it didn't support my previous titles. In the U.S. it does. From what I understand, 360 doesn't. As for lack of titles, can't argue, I can only hope Sony gets their shit together. And personally, I DID get the PS3 so I could have a Hi-Def gaming system and Hi-Def movies. That was my whole point of getting it. With the upconversion and free on-line, and other features for use on the hard-drive, I'm pretty happy with it. What it doesn't have in bulk of games, it makes up for in movies available - especially newer movies due to current studio support. I don't care about old movies like Blade-Runner. I'm not buying all my old movies yet again. Not till they become holographic . . . I'm sure we'll have a 3D format war as well. Till then, everyone just be happy with the choice they've made and hope your format wins so you new collection doesn't become a useless collection (like those suckers who supported Divx). Any way, thanks for the info, even though I haven't personally had any issues. Take it easy.
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..play BD movies.
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I did a fair amount of research before choosing the PS3/Blu-Ray over what Microsoft had to offer.
There is more than one fairly recent review out there that not only claims the PS3 to be the best in terms of Price, but also quality PURELY as a BR player.
I guess that could have changed. In regards to hanging with the "cool" kids on the internet who like to feel important by jumping on the "bash SONY!" bandwagon, to each his own.
I personally saw the upside to Blu Ray and to a company trying to develop different and competing tech ala Blu Ray vs. HD-DVD, Cell/SPE architecture vs. more standard MS set-ups. The competition will do both sides some good. Sony knows MS will try to OutPACE them in terms of competing tech which is why they took the chances they have.
As for GAME titles, in 12 months time, watch what happens with the PS3. -
OK, here's my take...... Fuck the so-called format war altogether. Up until now, I've always been an early adopter but maybe it's because I'm tired of buying the same slate of my favorite movies every 5 or 6 years either in a new format or as a double, triple or beyond- dip into my wallet with a new upgraded, remastered release (I mean, how many times have I bought Close Encounters of the Third Kind?!?) I've so far sat out the HiDef format altogether. The competing video formats is even dumber than the VHS vs Beta or Laserdisc vs CED disc "wars" because as it's been pointed out many times, when you get right down to it, the actual transfers of the movies across both formats is identical. It's sheer stupidity and greed on the part of the major studios and hardware companies that's driving this............. And in a momentary lapse of sanity when I think I'll go buy either a Blu Ray or HD-DVD player because a certain movie I really like has been released, I read something along the lines of stupid software glitches like the issues with the just released Pirates of the Caribbean movie's menus taking up to 5 minutes to load or the movie locking up the player altogether like some homemade bootleg dvd authored on someone's laptop and I come back to Earth and realize no one's getting my money for either format for at least another year or more.
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Harry..... Worst Shill Ever.
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on my up to date PS3.
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What a complete waste of webspace. At least Bill Hunt got it right.
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UMD was a format specifically for PSP... I've never heard of it being considered for anything else... there haven't even been any standalone UMD players, not even from Sony... So why the hell are we comparing it? It was built for PSP games, and they thought it was a good idea to include movies as well. And you know what? It's actually pretty good! Like having a little plasma in your hand, nice sound through headphones. Movies didn't take off on PSP. Understandable, hell Nintendo tried releasing cartoons on Gameboy Advance cartridges and that didn't fare so well either... Though some titles are still coming out on UMD, they're just being a bit more selective with what they release and not just releasing every damn thing. Specific titles that appeal to PSP players and exclusive things like the Silent Hill Experience or Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel. Hell I heard some movies like Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children on UMD practically matched their DVD sales! And that's another big exclusive to Blu-Ray with additional content that'll have the Japanese all over it. Hell, that's another title I'd rebuy just to see the ass-kicking in hi-def.
And as for Blu-Ray... people keep talking like Sony is the only one involved here... when it's a whole consortium of hardware manufacturers! Look up the Blu-Ray Disc Association. Toshiba is the one pulling out and being too much of a bitch to concede on one format. And by all rights it should be Blu-Ray because it is better! More disc space, better transfer rate! No brainer there, but there's more money involved if Toshiba chooses to have their format and win! So they're gambling on theirs working out. Microsoft only supports it because it wants to throw a wedge into Sony's plans with PS3 and have its codec in use. It doesn't give a damn for physical storage, it wants to push downloadable content and control what you purchase! Blu-Ray isn't like mini-disc or other Sony proprietary formats. It's developed together with others just like the CD and DVD.
As for other Sony issues and the PS3... the whole oft said argument that the European price is more expensive when you do a conversion... yeah, practically everything in Europe is more expensive when you convert it! Especially when you're a fucking tourist! A small glass of Orange Juice in a bar in Euro will run me up close to $10! Holy Shit! If I lived in India and earned Rupees, that'd be like Rs. 250! I could get a couple of meals for that much in India! For those that earn in Euros, they can afford it, so that point is pretty much bullshit, comparatively you're paying your earned equivalent to what people in the US make in salary, "cost of living" and all that shit. At least it's not as bad as other countries where the PS3 is sold at not only full conversion, but at a profit because the gap between rich and poor makes it that much more negligable! Especially when the company selling it to you sells it at a loss in Europe and other 1st world nations. People are just bitching to save a buck. Sure we all love to save money, but stop pulling some bullshit reasons. And as for backwards compatability and the emotion engine being removed. Yeah, sucks... but the firmware updates have been coming and still coming and Sony's been delivering pretty damn good even giving us PSOne and PS2 upscaling to 1080p. Most updates even arrive in Europe first. Which is more than we can say for Microsoft's commitment to backwards compatability...
PS2 was also bashed for including a DVD player and it's shitty launch titles. Same scenario all over again, thoguh one wonders how it'll play out in the end. And as for waiting for next year for good titles? Practically most anticipated games are multiplatform releasing this year, and Sony's other big exclusives as Heavenly Sword, Lair, Little Big Planet, Warhawk, Folklore etc or hell maybe there are PS2 titles releasing that you can play on it, and all these are coming out before this year is over. Hell, Metal Gear Solid 4, the flagship title for Sony is still scheduled for end of this year. There's no confirmation whatsoever that it's been delayed. If you don't like 'em it's a matter of your taste... maybe you're just too choosey, if so, maybe you ought to return it and stick with Xbox 360 or a Wii. If a console doesn't have anything I want, I won't get it. But I'm not going to continuously bitch about it when there indeed are games that other people are raving about. Buy it when something you really want comes out. But if you choose to adopt early, then you have to deal with that shit. -
FWIW, when it came down to Joe consumer buying a format when presented, he's look at 2 things: price and best bang for the buck. In all likelihood, by the time movies grow too big for their britches to fit on it, HD-DVD may already come out with the Gen3 version and higher capacity disks. Don't quote me on that, but since they got to market first, they have the upper hand with price, and maybe the technology (cos it's been around longer). Granted, both Sony and Toshiba will continue to release their patches, we won't know who'll have a snafu. but, as it stands, HD-DVD has the edge on price.
Ok, so let's talk about best bang for the buck: Joe Consumer wants to buy the movie "300", alog with an HD player. On one side he sees that the HD-DVD version has IME, while on BD it doesn't. Hmm . . .which one has the bigger bang for the buck???
As for the concern why they came out with the HD combo disc: the assumption was that people would buy it who don't have an HD player yet, and later when they buy one, then they already have the media for it. It's a double edged sword, in that it costs more (again, this goes back to price -- why would I want to pay more). But, it might be a loss leader if it helps hook those people into buying an HD player. Personally for me, buying the combo disc means I can play the DVD side in my car while traveling, and then play the HD side when at home. Then again, no one's stopping me from playing the DVD side on my PS3 either -- it just won't be HD quality.
What is interesting is that Harry has chosen to go with HD-DVD, while DigitalBits went with BD. One thing you won't see is how many emails Bill Hunt won't publish lambasting him for not being impartial to both formats. Whereas Harry is willing to put his neck on the line and allow people here to post their opinions. If anything, I'd say kudos to Harry for having the bigger balls, and a big thumbs down to Bill Hunt for posting his opinion on Harry's word when we know full well there's no forum to call Bill Hunt on his bias.
This format war is far from over, but with Toshiba lowering their player prices, and the slate of movies being released EARLY on HD-DVD with more features, it certainly has heated up a few notches more. December will be the big tell-all. -
polyh3dron wrote: Both Pirates films work fine on my up to date PS3.
That's swell but I have no desire to buy a PS3 as I don't play video games. I'd rather have a nice(r) stand alone player built by someone other than Sony. And as I said, the first Pirates movie has had the menu and lock up problems on a wide range on players from Samsung to Pioneer. This is a confirmed fact that the various hardware manufacturers are right now struggling to address with pain-in-the-ass firmware updates. Basically, the disc was encoded to work first and foremost on the PS3 at the expense of compatibility with any other player. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to buy a product or invest in a format that the software still doesn't have the bugs ironed out of and doesn't work on the vast majority of players it's supposed to be viewed with. -
Radagaster wrote: What is interesting is that Harry has chosen to go with HD-DVD, while DigitalBits went with BD. One thing you won't see is how many emails Bill Hunt won't publish lambasting him for not being impartial to both formats. Whereas Harry is willing to put his neck on the line and allow people here to post their opinions. If anything, I'd say kudos to Harry for having the bigger balls, and a big thumbs down to Bill Hunt for posting his opinion on Harry's word when we know full well there's no forum to call Bill Hunt on his bias.
Gimme a fuckin' break. First off, there *is* a forum where people *can* post (dissenting) opinions about this issue at The Digital Bits. It's called, you guessed it..... The Digital Forum. Second, Harry's piece was the most blatant shill for a product outside something from The Howard Stern Show I think I've ever seen. Discounting the comically ill-informed comments he made which has rightfully brought on so much criticism, it's just shameless promotion on behalf of Toshiba. The image of the player is a link to order it on Amazon.com. Plus, there's a fuckin' random ad for the Toshiba player on the top right side of this page fer Chrissakes! Just hit refresh on your browser a few times and it'll show up.
Anyone who defends Knowles for doing anything better than shilling for Toshiba under the guise of an "unbiased" article about his latest purchase probably bought tickets to the David Lee Roth/Van Halen reunion tour earlier this year. -
Evar.
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for misinforming his loyal members. Seriously, it's a good thing most of us keep on the technical side of things. Stick to movie news and leave the technical stuff to Digital Bits please. And was this a paid advertisement or something? "It just feels right" sounds like a tagline Toshiba would come up with. Come on Harry, man up and apologize.
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just for your info
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The article that killed HD-DVD. Without it Bill Hunt may not have launched the salvo that he did. This has obviously been noticed by a whole shitload of people and it may signify some kind of turning point in the format war. Mark my words.
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funniest thing I've read at AICN in many months.
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you didn't read Bill Hunt's response then.
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WITH you...even if "turning point" is a bit of a stretch. Yes, all Harry has to do to right the ship is post a link to his article and admit he is getting paid to advertise the very player he "recommends".
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a sensible point for point reply from avsforum: http://tinyurl.com/24tfpn ____go to post #96.
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Seriously. As if what one hack writer or other is going to say will make any difference in what people will buy. All the techno-babble b.s. coming from both sides is just stupid. They argue every little point into minutia as if their lives depend on it. Guess what, if Blu Ray or HD-DVD loses the format war, the world isn't going to stop turning.
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so that I can watch movies in HD and own the copies of them on discs. MS is supporting the losing format in the intention of making bothe formats die so that they can take over with an HD movie downloading service with the DRM restrictions that studios are salivating for, because they don't want people to actually download and own a copy of their film, a "rental" or subscription model is much more lucrative to them. If MS pulls this off they will lure all the studios away from iTunes except for Buena Vista since Steve Jobs holds a gigantic share in the corp. MS is simply trying to eliminate the HD movie competition before rolling this out.
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Bill bests Harry with his e-prose. The guy can write, even if the article is a bit long-winded.
I'll go check out post #96 now. I find it all fascinating. -
The whole onslaught of Wal-mart HD DVDs set to hit was false and retracted.
I have read, however, that Dell is planning to go retail with their computers...that contain BR disc players...through...you guessed it.
Walmart.
True? Who knows, but to think that the backers of Blu ray will just up and allow the HD-DVD competition to steamroll them with Walmart is funny... -
He says that more titles are announced atm for HD DVD. 17 more to be exact, but titles get announced all the time. Some get announced early and some get announced closer to release time. big deal. As for the porn thing, Hunt never said that BD had more porn, he said porn didn't matter and that it was funny that Harry was trumpeting HD DVD porn as the clincher when there are a whopping 9 porn HD DVDs out there. This Michael HDDVD guy puts HILARIOUS spin on these points made by Hunt. I had a few laughs reading it. Thanks. It is ANYTHING BUT SENSIBLE.
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The guy who posted that knows it's been retracted but HD DVD fanboys are really sneaky when it comes to things like that.. They'l try to convince someone that all the new BDs coming out are still 25GB and MPEG-2 encoded if they can get away with it.
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sorry guys, but a lot of real home theater enthusiasts are coming out of the woodwork to denounce Bill Hunt and his article which is quasi-competent at best...rather he's in Sony's pockets or not, he will probably regret such an absurdly one-sided take...check out this ADULT and EVEN-HANDED reaction to the situation on this thread at hometheaterforums: http://tinyurl.com/34pqqe
_______not just a bunch of juvenile jackasses bringing their videogame format wars into HD...and embarrass themselves by scoffing at any real points... -
Poop feels like a more solid bet to win the format wars.
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"juvenile jackasses".
I bought a PS3 because it was rated as a best buy AND rated as best quality AND I checked out the specs and backing for both HD and Blu ray AND it satisfied my kid's Holiday wishes. I've done my research. I would just be careful not to present in such a way as to suggest most here are juvenile dumbasses while you, in fact, are home theatre royalty who needs to teach the peasants a lesson.
it smacks of ingorant, elitist crap.
I'll go check that link as I always like to learn and stay informed. Thanks for the info. -
that just a few days after "Headgeek" announces his position in the format war there's a big 'ol TOSHIBA HD-DVD ad on the right side of nearly EVERY page on this site? Hm. Can anyone say "sellout"?
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no one wants hd porn, and you're all jackasses.
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and a bit reactionary aren't we? I have no problem with your best buy, best quality, for you and the kids PS3, more power to you. But lets face it, the overwhelming Blu-Ray "support" in these talkbacks are due to one reason and one reason only: a system designed primarily to play videogames also just happens to play BDR...hence the juvenile, yes JUVENILE, knee-jerk reactions. Please check out the link and tell me thats not a more pleasant experience?
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Bill Hunt receives "PRIVATE" emails and can do whatever the hell he wants with them.
If and when The Digital Bits ever has a talkback function you're silly argument will fly. -
but the interesting question becomes...does not picking a side make it better or worse for the HD enthusiast who doesn't want to be railroaded into a DL content-only future? Because that is what ole' Billy G is hoping for - the lose/lose. It's very Machiavellian if you think about it. But yes, I do like the site and appreciate the link. I think I will become a member to see what HTS info/deals I can find. Also, more than one response in this thread pointed out that the Blu ray tech was the main reason for the purchase and not gaming.
Sorry if it came of as reactionary, I was just making a point about tone in your thread, i.e. your points might be overshadowed by tone and overlooked. -
Maybe Harry is a genius and was offered $$$ to promote HD-DVD but secretly he covets Blu ray. He knows the fans will create a huge backlash and everyone wins! Headgeek, you GENIUS, YOU! *Wink, wink*
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If HD-DVD can get a massive amount of sub-$200 HD-DVD players into Wal-Mart by this X-mas shopping season, then this debate is moot. At that price point literally every DVD shopper will be buying HD-DVD. Once that base is installed, it will be nearly impossible to overcome. The studios holding out against HD-DVD will have to give in if they want to make sales. Once again marketing defeats innovation. :(
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Unfortunately Walmart has a bigger problem at their hands with trying to appeal to the non-low end buyers. Target and Kohl has a tighter rein on the upcoming videophiles.
About the only website I've felt has hit it on the head is HTF -- right now no format is a clear winner. The only real thing that's letting me decide which to buy is the content. And right now, for me it just so happens that there's more HD-DVD content more interesting to buy than BD.
Don't get me wrong: I bought the 2 POTC movies, and Ultimate Matrix as well. It's just that right now, based on HiDef Digest reviews, the HD-DVDs contain IME stuff that BD ones (and the POTC ones are just the beginning) hardly have.
Let's face it: When Heroes on HD first gets released, it's gonna be in HD-DVD. When BSG:S1 first gets released, it'll also be in HD-DVD. When 300 in HD comes, it's HD-DVD that has extra IME content. And when Blade Runner first comes, it'll also be in HD-DVD. So, as far as I can see, I'll get to enjoy the movies I want by staying format neutral. Oh, and trust me, when Cars comes out, I'll be buying it in BD as well. -
"Gimme a fuckin' break. First off, there *is* a forum where people *can* post (dissenting) opinions about this issue at The Digital Bits. It's called, you guessed it..... The Digital Forum. "
Please point me to this forum you speak of that Bill Hunt chimes in on. As far as I can tell the only way I can give him some piece of my mind is via emails.
All in all, at least we know where Harry's at, and Bill Hunt finally came out of the HD closet in support of BD. -
That ad existed long before Harry's ridiculous article. Also, Wal-mart and porn will be a non-factor in the war. BR is the winner. It's just a matter of time before all the legitimate factors kick-in, and the format fades. HD is a high-end product that requires an expensive television, and cheap HDDVD drives at Wal-mart won't change this. The people buying HD media are educated on the subject and won't even waste their time with cheap, Chinese drives.
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Actually, itt shakes down like this: Universal + Toshiba + Microsoft _ PORN VS Apple INC, Dell, HP, Hitachi, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Phillips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Sun Microsystems, TDK, Thompson, Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, and dozens of others listed at blu-raydisc.com. And as long as HD-DVD has PORN on its side, it's got a fighting chance.
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UMD was pimped to multiple companies for portable media. That's why I bring it up.Donkeykick, you're a tool. I've said "current" BD players off DVD playback but the technology ISN'T natively compatible meaning that they can remove that compatibility when they want to. get a clue you dick.
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This will be something of a rambling post. Here goes. First - I do not see downloadable content eliminating high definition discs of ANY sort, any time soon. I like the idea of having a movie collection, and so do most people. My god...you fanboys on this sight are telling me that you will be happy simply downloading a film. THIS is a preposterous idea!!! Just look at the marketing of DVDs. Lord of the Rings, in Tome-like cases with action figures. Why all of a sudden is everyone declaring HD media obsolete? Perhaps, when hard drive storage is sooooo cheap that it won't matter....OK...MAYBE. But I like the idea of a cheap HD media DISC. So we have gone from cool movies being shown on television for FREE, to PAYING for cable, and NOW we are looking forward to paying for downloadable movies that we can't copy or manage without going thru some scheme? I initially thought Blue Ray was a better idea. More capacity is better, right? Well, I wish HD DVD were winning frankly. I don't really care about extras on a disc. I just want the best picture I can get. Both formats have essentially equal specs. The high end Toshiba DOES play 1080p instead of interlaced, and this should come down in price soon. As for uncompressed audio.....do any of you teenagers realize what is necessary in audio equipment to take full advantage of such a thing? Thousands of dollars that 99% of you nose-pickers don't have!!!! Both of the Blue Ray and HD-DVD formats are 7.1 too. Try playing that over your $300 5.1 setups. What I am getting at is this....just how much capacity do we need? Besides...HD-DVD is evolving to include more features as higher capacity HD-DVD discs become available. Now....what about the movies available. I loved Casino Royale and look forward to Pixar on BlueRay. But the HD DVD players are super cheap and you have Casablanca (absolutely stunning in HD DVD according to DVDbeaver.com - look up their review), Excaliber, Forbidden Planet, John Carpenter's the THING. This brings me to another point. If it costs all these companies less to manufacture the discs, with less of a complicated outlay, then the availability of films SHOULD be quicker on HD DVD. Everyone here CLAIMS to love video obscura. Now ....you can be a poser and grab the Grindhouse film ASAP on whatever effing format it comes out on....but what about all those cool obscure movies that everyone claims to love. Do you think Coffy is going to be released on Blue Ray anytime soon? Spider Baby....60's Italian Horror.....Liquid Sky....or any wierd shit that we'd love to see.....I could go on and on. Do you really think that these cheapo GEMS are gonna be on BluRay anytime soon?!? Oh, how bout all the classic Kung Fu movies? If it costs only a pitence to make an HD DVD version of a film, then we are likely to see "The Five Venoms", or whatever oddball awesome Fu flick a helluva lot sooner in high def on the CHEAPER format...and THAT format is HD DVD. BluRay is the format of the current studios as far as I'm concerned. They want you all to be excited about Fast and the Furious, and the SAW movies, and the Pirates bullshit. Now I don't see HDDVD winning, but I sure as hell don't want it to lose because of this. The Matrix will be out on BOTH HDDVD and BluRay....whereas Peter Lorre in Mad Love, or Charles Laughton in The Island of Lost Souls will NEVER be out on BluRay. Hell...it's not even on DVD yet. Does this mean I might have to wait 2 decades for BluRay to dominate? If HDDVD dies, there goes any chance of seeing anything cool. If that happens, I hope you fanboys are happy watching V for Vendetta over and over and over...cause the studios will spoon out blockbuster after blockbuster with NO chance of anything obscure coming out. It's no accident that Forbidden Planet is HDDVD. With it costing less to put out DVD and HDDVD versions, they said What the Hell...put it out! Also...what about region free? Now I may be wrong on this, but isn't HD DVD supposed to be region free whereas Blue Ray is NOT?? Do we want this shit to continue. Don't get me wrong...I think Blue Ray is better due to larger capacity and uncompressed audio, etc. I'm a 41 year old professional who hopes to start building a home theater soon with Meridian and Bel Canto gear. Can most of you all say the same? I can afford to buy both players. My point is this. OK...you're 18 and you'd like the "superior" Blu-Ray format to win. I understand your devotion....but just realize that you are being played. These monster companies like Sony and Pixar LOVE the fact that you are rooting for them and hollering about the superiority of BluRay. DON'T FALL INTO THEIR HYPE-TRAP. If we can get cheap HDDVD discs out there from foreign companies...all those oddball foreign films we all love...CHEAP and SOON...isn't that the format we all would like to see win?
Now I realize I am exagerating a bit to make a point. Frankly, I'd like to see cheap dual format players ASAP so I could buy one and have whatever disc that comes out. I've held off purchasing DVD's knowing that a high definition format was around the corner for years. I still love DVD's and will begin collecting those too. I simply can't wait forever. This whole format war sucks. If we didn't have it, we'd be getting Criterion discs in high definition by now already (look at the Criterion website if you don't believe me). All of these films are being mastered in HD for future production. The only thing holding this all back is the stupid format war. So...in closing...DON'T WISH FOR HDDVD TO LOSE. BluRay IS here to stay, the studios will see to that. Hope that the cheaper format (HDDVD) continues, so that we can have a chance of seeing Film Noir titles in 1080p!!!! Nuff said. -
points to convince me that HD is the best option, to be fair some of you have made good comments on going with HD over blu-ray. cheaper same/better quality (for now) but in my gut i still just feel that blu-ray has the better potential. For the same reason that someone won't commit to blu-ray cus sony going to pull the compatible plug in a few years time with blu-ray is the same reason i won't go HD cus i feel the technology won't meet future demands without more outlay and i don't want to be going through this again in the near future. Picking sides is now an important issue because the longer we stay on the fence the longer we have to put up with this shit and bollocks to dual players i had all that with laser disc and dvd convenient yes but expensive. Pioneer has finally made me pick sides the BDP-lx70 it ticks all the boxes for a new player in my budget and yes you can call me a pioneer pimp i don't care i've used them since i was 30 for 12 years and have never been let down so i'm staying loyal. If we want to end the war we must now pick sides harry's gone with HD i'm with blu-ray but i feel the time is now to take a stand and anyone going for a new player need to choose wisely so that we all get something that will last for a few more years before the next big thing comes along.
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Bravo!
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Vise Versa.
I'm all for technology. If one side wins then I'd expect to finally start seeing mutiple realeases for whatever format is chosen Obviously in the here and now it's slim pickings. But in a year or whatever expect that none of that will matter. What matters is one of these formats just takes over already so that we can see a floodgate of films produced in HD.
Fuck release dates and what films are on who's side. It's all about technology and just choosing which piece of plastic you feel is expandable in the future. That is all.
Believe me that once a format is chosen then we'll start see the floodgates open on films we charish and love. So chose the technology you prefer and the titles will come. As for region fee, some company will step in to supply the masses for that.
I chose Blu-Ray cause it seems it can be further expanded. I think HD-DVD looks nice also, but that's it. It may be cheaper but Blu-Rays can't stay a gazillion dollars forever. Especially when it becomes universally accepted. Much like players for DVD, VHS, CD, and MP3.
Hell, I remember back in the day hunting for VHS films and they were like $80 friggen bucks! Obviously in ended up getting cheaper.
I guess people should just think of when buying either of these two formats as ballots. Cast your vote and let the chips falll where they may. You can only do your part by buying. That is it. Dollors is the ballot. -
Second of all... how can Blu-Ray lose when they put out films like this? http://tinyurl.com/3ys2ez Hee hee.
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You're absolutely right, the technology can't stay expensive forever, but Sony has put too much faith in it's PS3 brand; the idea being 'we've sold 72 million PS2's means we're going to sell 72 million PS3's', has long been a foolish response that they've used when questioned about pricing, lack of software, delays, competition etc.As it stands, the only real benefit to owning PS3 is that it's a cheap Blu-Ray movie player and since they lose $700 on every unit they sell I wouldn't be expecting a price drop anytime soon. As the licencees of the technology, they'll ensure that their flagship product remains cheaper than the stand alone options.
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Stop roughing the suspect in front of your new HD DVD player and let's post some new picks and peeks. You know... for normal DVD players - the ones that already have a damn market. Looks like we're stuck on the third week of May and this TB sucks. Waaahhh, HD DVD is better, waaaahhh Blu-Ray is better. Here everyone, maybe this will help settle the argument - shut the fuck up. Betamax was better too, and you know where that ended up. Same place as this TB.
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http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/soapbox/soap060107.html
These cats actually KNOW what they're talking about. They're not just making decisions based on their advertisers, Harry. Check this well-worded arguement out. -
We've already had the many loyal Bill Hunt fans on here hypocritically ripping harry for shilling HD-DVD when he himself shills Blu-Ray. Keep up will you?
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How many links to that Digitalbits article are there now?
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You're late to the show, mate. This has been talked about for the past day and a half...
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...I recognize that Blu-Ray is superior in its storage capacity. That extra storage potential, coupled with the studios that are Blu-Ray exclusive, are huge factors in this debate. However, I own a HD-DVD player. Why? I purchased it at Wal-Mart when the price fell below $400. Since the casual viewer will hardly notice a difference in the two formats -- they will notice a difference in the price. Wal-Mart will sell a "Harry Knowles' buttload" of these much less expensive players by Spring 2008. Microsoft has announced that they are lowering the price of the optional HD-DVD player for the XBOX 360 to $149. Since Wal-Mart currently carries slightly more HD-DVD selections than Blu-Ray, I imagine that this will all add to a huge economic "demand" impact of the HD-DVD players. Once the studios see such demand, they might reconsider the "exclusivity" of the superior Blu-Ray technology. ... ... .... .... ... .... .... ... ... Besides, "more" does not always mean "better" in the immediate here and now. Currently, I can purchase an SD card that has 16 GigB of memory for my 7 Megapixel digital camera. While it might be great to enjoy such memory, there is no reason to spend $500 when I can't really enjoy the benefits immediately. Again, there are currently some 12 and 14 Megapixel digital cameras available at WalMart. But why spend $2000 when I can enjoy a nice 8 Megapixel for less than $250? In other words -- COST AFFECTS DEMAND. The lower the cost of the player -- the greater the demand. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... As an engineer, I recognize the superiority of the Blu-Ray storage capacity. That is a HUGE jump in technology. But is it large enough a selling point to make American consumers pay more than TWICE as much for a player? I don't think so. ... ... ... ... .. ... ... My guess: The Blu-Ray format will be in serious home theater trouble if they cannot lower their price of their player to become HD-DVD comparable in price. If they don't, PS3 users might be changing their drives by Christmas 2009. If they can, Microsoft might sell an optional Blu-Ray add on for the 360. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... The ball is in Blu-Ray's court. The "stand-alone player" price will ultimately be the deciding factor. I won't buy one until the price drops to near HD-DVD levels (and I don't really like/want the PS3). Good luck, Blu-Ray! I hope you make the right (marketing) decision!
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When it was being pimped out to all these companies was it for: a) Making UMD players and hardware?b) Making media on UMD specifically for PSP? And even if it is a (or a and b) was it something seriously pursued or just the usual occasion where, when any company has a product, they research it and pitch it to other companies to see how far they can take it; which isn't unusual as large corporations usually do all their homework to see every possibility that they can utilize for any given product or patent which doesn't necessarily mean they are dead set on using it or any feature. For an example of that, look into another big internet fiasco over Sony's patent of discs that are registered to one machine and can only be played on that. Everyone believed Sony was going to put that into PS3 and try and screw up the resale and rental game market, however it was just one of many random patents that corporations like Sony file, probably on a daily basis, and they hadn't any intention of using it. And another thing to everyone about this Bill Hunt Vs. Harry thing. The reason we're so upset at Harry and not Bill Hunt is because Harry stated outright wrong and incorrect information in favor of HD-DVD. Bill Hunt uses good but ARGUABLE points in favor of Blu-Ray. That's a BIG difference!
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Harry's article isn't really wrong if you really read it. He didn't discuss choosing HD-DVD over Blu-Ray, he discussed upgrading from DVD to HD-DVD. He doesn't necessarily say Blu-Ray is non-compatible with DVD or doesn't upconvert DVD's (althoough I don't think it upconverts to true 720p). Although I can see how anyone can read it otherwise. Again, if you read the article from this perspective, Harry was really just saying what he like about upgrading from standard to hi-def, and from what he's seen and heard and the current prices and the titles available, he chose HD-DVD as the way to go.
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strategy...if they slash prices, how much does Toshiba and co. lose per unit? Also, the whole "Walmart to get a gazillion ultra-cheap sub $300 HD-DVD PLAYERS!" has been outed as false information and retracted last time I checked. I'll Google it.
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UMD was being pimped to various companies as a mobile media solution before PSP was released. The same way Blu-Ray has been sold to various other manufacturers; it's was a great idea, just 5 years too late for it to be of any value given the rapid increase in digital storage devices. There's a reason why studios are cutting back on UMD movie production; the sales are abysmal and I'm pretty they expected more devices to actually utilise UMD. In the UK they can't give them away.To address the Bill Hunt/Harry Knowles thing again. Yes Harry was very wrong to bullshit people like that, but as technically accurate as Bill Hunt is, he's not exactly being honest with regards to HD-DVD's position in the market and HE is just as, if not more, guilty than Harry of shilling one piece of hardware over another. Technically, Harry simply reviews movies; Bill on the other hand has been a resource for DVD fans for 10 years, While he's entitled to an opinion I'd say it was wrong for him to mark that opinion as fact and wrong for him to deride the people who've already invested in HD-DVD. He never addresses the fact that there are over 200 companies that support the HD-DVD standard or mention that, at last count by endgadget, it was beating Blu-Ray hands down. It's not as clear cut as Bill Hunt would have you believe. But hey, it's not only me, some of the respectable people at the Home Theatre Forum are also a bit pissed about that soapbox retort.
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Sorry meant to say, was beating blu-ray hands down in Europe.
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When he touted ridiculous figures such as HD-DVD has 200 movies while Blu-ray only has 67 (or some very similar number comparison) and a couple of other totally of the comments. That's what started all this. He later went back and edited the article. So, most people came on at first to correct/bash him for not doing his homework.
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...does anyone say anything to people like Bill Hunt and co who like to make out that Universal is the only movie studio supporting HD-DVD when there are many more who are bi-partisan in the whole HD format war? No they don't. While Bill Hunt has certainly got alot of facts included in his piece he's definately ommited afew glaring ones too.
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I'm one of those knuckle-dragging, mouth breathers who shop at Wal-Mart and will indeed vote with my wallet. And there's no way I'm paying three or four hundred dollars for a new player that requires you to spend thirty to forty dollars per movie.
So, until the people in charge figure that one out, I'm not buying either. -
Ummm...most titles of both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are available at WalMart for less than $20-25. WalMart currently carries 200 HD-DVD titles and 190 Blu-Ray titles. You can view their selection at WalMart.com.
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Might be the most cinematic eye candy I have ever seen since I saw Star Trek The Motion Picture in the theater when I was 4. Harry you gotta review this, you see things in the print that you never saw before. Even with the sound down just amazing on a 65" screen!!! And now word that Blade Runner is coming to HD DVD, STar Trek The Motion Picture by X-mas, my eyes may explode!!!
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Direct quote:
"it has the support of EVERY HOLLYWOOD STUDIO BUT UNIVERSAL, it has the support of the MAJORITY OF HARDWARE MANUFACTURERS, and nearly the ENTIRE computer industry". He did not talk about which studios support HD-DVD or not - he was only pointing out that all studios except Universal support Blu-ray. If people somehow take that as "Universal is the only supporter of HD-DVD", that is not his fault. The point is, what he said was a fact - what Harry said was down right wrong - as was proved later by his edit. There is no getting around that fact. Harry lied intentionally or unintentionally, and did a quick edit to correct without speaking to his mistake. No matter what people think about Bill Hunt, (whether he gets paid by Sony or not) at least he isn't giving false information. Harry should know better, and if he didn't that is proof enough he should stay out of the conversation when it comes to technical issues. -
...you did well. I am with you, big fella. If the PS3-biased geeks want to criticize you for getting the same quality for less than half-the-money -- so be it! I am happy with my HD-DVD player. It is extremely clear and has been a joy to use. I've never had to "update my firmware" and it has played EVERY dvd in my extensive collection (making them look extremely sharp). I have no bias one way or the other. From an engineering standpoint, Blu-Ray has an advantage in storage capacity. Is that enough to overcome its much greater cost? I don't know. I think that Wal-Mart sales of the <$300 players and the fact that Microsoft has announced plans to lower the price of their optional XBOX 360 player from $199 to $149 by Christmas will make a huge impact in the demand for HD-DVD titles. If this happens, some of the "Blu-Ray exclusive" studios might reconsider their decision to go solely with Blu-Ray (ala Beta/VHS in 1985). The bottom line for most consumers is the cost of the player. If the new low price for the HD-DVD players can catch on rapidly enough, then the public will probably prefer the price over the extra storage capacity. I just feel that the "war" was Blu-Ray's to lose. Now, the victory will go to the best marketing strategy and cost/demand curve of microeconomics. MARK MY WORDS: If Blu-Ray doesn't drastically lower their prices by the Spring 2008, then they will lose this war! If they can lower their prices to compete with HD-DVD, Blu-Ray will win.
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...you did well. I am with you, big fella. If the PS3-biased geeks want to criticize you for getting the same quality for less than half-the-money -- so be it! I am happy with my HD-DVD player. It is extremely clear and has been a joy to use. I've never had to "update my firmware" and it has played EVERY dvd in my extensive collection (making them look extremely sharp). I have no bias one way or the other. From an engineering standpoint, Blu-Ray has an advantage in storage capacity. Is that enough to overcome its much greater cost? I don't know. I think that Wal-Mart sales of the less than $300 players and the fact that Microsoft has announced plans to lower the price of their optional XBOX 360 player from $199 to $149 by Christmas will make a huge impact in the demand for HD-DVD titles. If this happens, some of the "Blu-Ray exclusive" studios might reconsider their decision to go solely with Blu-Ray (ala Beta/VHS in 1985). The bottom line for most consumers is the cost of the player. If the new low price for the HD-DVD players can catch on rapidly enough, then the public will probably prefer the price over the extra storage capacity. I just feel that the "war" was Blu-Ray's to lose. Now, the victory will go to the best marketing strategy and cost/demand curve of microeconomics. MARK MY WORDS: If Blu-Ray doesn't drastically lower their prices by the Spring 2008, then they will lose this war! If they can lower their prices to compete with HD-DVD, Blu-Ray will win.
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I'm not the only person who has picked up on his glaring omision of facts. It's been mentioned here and on sites more reputable than his own. The fact is, if you're going to get on your high horse and accuse someone of not giving a totally honest or fully informed review, you'd best not commit the same mistakes as the person you are lambasting. Under no circumstances should people finish reading his article and make the mistake of believing "universal is the only supporter of HD-DVD". It's his responsibility to make sure there's no confusion on the issue. But no, Bill instead wrote a diatribe which effectively tells current HD-DVD owners they're wasting money on a format that's dead, (subjective), that BR is the superior format, (subjective), that BR will have better movies, (subjective and, as a matter of fact not true at present) and in turn putting off potential buyers of the format too. That's just wrong. But since the whole site has turned into a Pro BluRay rally, he's gone on record as refering to HD-DVD owners as constantly "crowing" and the forums there are filled with people who smack down anyone with a positive word to say about HD-DVD. Well, quite frankly the only person "crowing" is Bill Hunt.But that's not all, if you want to talk facts, Bill also came up with this choice nugget "With AACS already smarting from a series of cracks, hacks and work-arounds that have exposed existing high-def titles (including The Matrix) to copying, does anyone really think those studios are going to start releasing their titles on HD-DVD format, especially when Blu-ray is already dominating software sales? Again, there's no incentive whatsoever". - Now that's as blatant a lie as anything Harry said, BR movies have been up for download since day one near enough; he knows this but he just refuses to mention it just like he won't mention studio support eitherHe starts to close his article with ""It would be nice to think that we could just stay neutral in this thing." - Sorry, but how you can say that and then go on about how BR is your choice for the future is anyones guess. It would have been nice if he'd stayed neutral, written a post to correct Harry and left it at that.
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Nowhere in his post did he say, "universal is the only supporter of HD-DVD". This is the quote. "HD-DVD has just one major exclusive studio supporter: Universal. Blu-ray has FIVE: Disney, Fox, MGM, Lionsgate and Sony." You keep getting on Bill for saying something he didn't say. There are two quotes about Universal and neither say what you said they did. Please re-read them before "quoting". I'm not sure what else you want him to say about studio support. The breakdown is pretty clear. What else should he say on the subject?
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But you yourself just said - "If people somehow take that as "Universal is the only supporter of HD-DVD", that is not his fault" - You mean that it's acceptable that a supposed professional in the field would make a mistake to let people come to that conclusion anyway? Not in my book. What he should have said was "HD-DVD has one major exclusive studio supporter: Universal 'but has non-exclusive deals with Warner Bros, New Line, Dimension, Studio Canal and nearly 200 other companies who have chosen to support the format. But he won't because it's not Blu-Ray.Care to comment on the blatant lie about copy protection?
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You can't be bothered to put a note mentioning what errors you corrected, thereby making the blu-ray advocates seem like they're making a big deal out of nothing.
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What am I on about..I was quoting you.
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so i don´t have to choose
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No, I don't care to comment on copy protection - as I really don't know much about it :-) I know the studios keep saying they have copy protection then it gets cracked (like the latest AACS which was cracked a few days/weeks after movies came out with it). That's the extent of my knowledge on the subject. Sorry.
And yes, I suppose he could have phrased the studio support as you did, but he didn't and the point is, how he said it was one of several ways you could have phrased it, but either way it wasn't a lie. Again, like Harry's unedited post. So no, I don't think Bill Hunt's at fault that people came to the wrong conclusion. If you read it, it is basic, consise facts. I think it was pretty clear.
Anyway, take it easy, it been a good talkback.
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Yes, Blu-ray "has the support of every major studio except Universal." That was the digital bits. And again, this statement is not unclear.
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By posting blatant disinformation which you received an uproar about and then editing it afterwards to make all the BD defenders look stupid you have lost this reader. Now I am completely sure of the fact that you are 100% douche.
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DAMN YOU HARRY KNOWLES
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Wow, a little late for that, Harry! You think you could do that and no one would notice?At least have the balls to just add a note stating that you got some facts wrong, and have changed them. Don't just delete or change stuff without any acknowledgement. It's not like everyone will suddently think we imagined your errors.** If anyone here has the original unedited post somewhere, please post it here so new visitors can see iti in its original error-filled glory.
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But none the less, it's still pretty lame and I'm not the only person who see's it for what it is. It's all very well saying "it's the truth" when the truth can be bent or facts ommited to fit a certain situation. Bill Hunt wanted to shit on HD-DVD so he ommited afew facts which would be fair enough if he didn't have a site that alot of people use for advice. He knows how reputable his site is, he knows how popular this one is and like someone at HTF said, this smacks of nothing more than him biting back after a week of success for a format which he predicts is dead in the water.
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"universal is the only supporter of HD-DVD" - I said the real article implied less support than it actually has.
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but we have made many, many posts here and maybe it said it mistakenly. If I did say that, I was wrong, what I should have said was, "Universal is the only exclusive supporter of HD-DVD". Harry - take note - that's how easy a correction is. Anyway, Bill Hunt is now, (as of yesterday) a full supporter on Blu-ray only. And I really don't see it as ommitting facts. I still think the statements are clear.
Anyway, it has been good talking with you. I'm going to leave these talkbacks and let you have the last word. I've spent too much of my time on this, although it has been fun. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out around Christmas time. Take it easy. -
The quotes i put round that weren't intended to say thats exactly what Bill Hunt said, rather thats what more uninformed people would assume, i meant to use ''s insted. Anyway. good talking to you too cymbol.
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BLAH!
Rear Projection is the only way to go. It has a more filmlike appearance than both.
I have no interest in Plasma or LCD until the technology improves.
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You can get quite a few Bluray exclusives on HDDVD via imports
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I lived thru the Beta VHS fiasco. I remember that everyone who owned a Beta player had the superior technology. Some arguments were that Beta pulled the tape only a SMALL amount to place it on the player head, whereas VHS yanked it further and would result in greater wear. Frankly, I cant remember the other spec advantages. Sony WAS reveared back in the 80's. The Walkman was the ipod of its day. Sure, an ipod is amazing...but I remember lines of people putting on a Walkman headset for the first time. This was many people's first exposure to really good sound quality. Most people were stunned! That sounds funny now, but back then, these little cassette tapes were a technological leap for most people. Now many people who bought Beta were CERTAIN that Beta was better. They spent something like $700 bucks for a player (equivalent to $1500 back then, lemmie tell ya), so they really had a vested interest. People (aided by Sony's relentless marketing as a superior product) took similar stances that BluRay (er, I mean Beta) was better. Heck, Sony was the Apple computer of its time....LOVED for its technological innovation and form factor. Rightly so! It kinda pains me to see how Sony has fucked up over the years. I was screwed over with a lemon DVD 5.1 Dreamsystem, and I won't ever think of Sony the same. $600 down the effin' drain. But I digress. Sony kept the cost of Beta significantly higher. This added to their elitist approach (a marketing gamble which argued by reasons of price, that Beta was a superior product). In the mind of the consumer, paying for a cheap player might indicate an inferior product. How good can it be if it's this cheap? Companies like OPPO are bucking this trend...successfully! Consumers are reaping the rewards of cheap electronics, and learning to realize that cheaper can be better. Hence, plasma may be better than LCD (I think so) but is it worth the difference. Also...who wants to spend an arm and a leg to get burned. After my 600 dollar loss on the 5.1 Sony system, I bought a crummy Chinese $25 dollar DVD player. Yes, the remote has already gone out but I'm not out hundreds of dollars. I'm sure many of you have had this experience. In the 80's, it seemed the quality/price difference was real. You spend big bucks, you get a solid item. Today, that guarantee seems gone. I was loyal to Sony and spent the money to prove it. Instead of issuing a lemon recall, I had to send the item to be repaired TWICE and pay for half the repairs, AND the sucker broke a week after it was fixed....both times. My point is this. Price will be a deciding factor in this war...and it should be. Cheap HD DVD means the consumer takes less of a risk. Hell, dual players are around the corner anyway. Just like we have DVD players that play SACD and DVD-Audio without fuss, we will have cheap players that play HDDVD and BluRay. Great!! This would be a win for the consumer, I think. I realize Toshiba/Microsoft camp is a monopolizing evil corporation and that Sony et al. are the same. Frankly, Apple is a money-grubbing evil company, but I am loyal to their products AT THE PRESENT TIME. This WILL change. The saying goes "be careful what you wish for". In 10 years time, perhaps Apple will own 30 - 60 percent of the market share. It could happen. Doubtful, but could. Next thing you know, Apple has us by the balls and is the next Microsoft. Viruses begin to plague Apple computers. Gone is the lustre of being the COOL underdog. What is my point? This BluRay/HDDVD thing is a blip in time. In 2 years, all players will be able to play both formats. And hopefully, a cheap format will be come along with serious movie content. THAT is the important point. I saw an interview online with one of the founders of Meridian audio. He bemoaned the whole DVD-audio, SACD thing. This is a niche market. Even people who are into high-end audiophile audio (aside from the vinyl fetishists) have tons of CD's. Let's say you want to hear your favorite artist or pick up something new. The format will be available on CD....not necessarily DVD-audio. That is the goofy reason why people are willing to spend thousands on an audiophile CD player. Now, I realize the most movie studios are pro BluRay. But if the manufacturing end of HDDVD is cheaper, that is what we should support. Heck. I do NOT want BluRay to "WIN". I fear that this would greatly delay cheap high definition movies. With several dual-format players a near certaintly, we should hope for the easier and cheaper format to proliferate. Also, I hope that Warner's dual disc gains strength too. If cheap enough to encode both HDDVD AND BluRay on one disc, THEN maybe Criterion will jump on board. Instead, they are sitting on the fence, and "don't feel it's right to take sides, at the expense of screwing over one half of their customer base". Sooooo....dual discs could end THAT argument....and next thing you know we would have Seven Samauri in high def. That would be great!! And high definition DOES make a big difference for old B&W films! Anyway, the 2 format war sucks, but there are advantages from it as well. Without it, would there be a drive to get the cost down or more movies out? DVD didn't have the full backing of Sony in the beginning....look at things now. Spielburg was hesitant to support it, right? Now look. That is why HDDVD could be a good thing. Cheaper and easier to manufacturer means more movies available sooner. That is what we want. Even today, in my mind Beta is/was better. That was drummed into my head for years. But lets face it...the destruction of the "better" Beta was ultimately a good thing. VHS had a slight longer playtime, and the players were cheap as hell. THAT is what drove the whole video revolution back in the 80's. With only Beta players at 500-800 dollars a pop, no one would have adopted the whole idea of tapes...not for a while at least. Did it really matter that you bought "The Goonies" or whatever shit you liked, on VHS and not beta. You parents could afford VHS, the tapes were cheap and readily available, and so...you got to start collecting films without much pain. So....THAT is why cheaper should be supported. Cheaper IS better in this case, and HDDVD will drive the costs down and availability up. THAT is why HDDVD's presense should be lauded, even by people who own BluRay. BluRay is not going to disappear. There is TOO much support for it. You are safe buying a PS3. If it only costs a few thousand to reconfigure a DVD manufacturing facility to HDDVD (versus hundreds of thousands or millions to convert to BluRay) THAT is what we should be happy to support. That company could sell HDDVDs for a higher profit at the same cost, and THEN many MANY movies should become available. So we will have dual players. What's the big deal? Dual players will be cheap, and you can get whatever HDDVD or BluRay is out there. And the REGION-FREE issue is the most significant one that gets overlooked in this argument. HDDVD's from overseas would be a wonderful thing. There are so many films and TV shows that you can't watch without a region free player. With a region free format, you could get any damn movie you'd want! Oftentimes, cool old films are available from the UK or Korea, that just aren't out in the States. THIS is what we want to support. HDDVD would facilitate this move. I dunno....I could be totally wrong on this, but HDDVD's presence is a good thing, even for BluRay fanboys. Hell, you will always have your PS3 to play BluRay's right? The availability of both formats will eventually drive movie availability. The only thing holding the highdef next wave is the cost. As soon as it becomes cheap, you could buy either cheapo player and not worry too much. These players break anyway. In 3 years you could get a BluRay AND an HDDVD player for not too much cost, right. Say, $200 for a BluRay, and $100 for an HDDVD player (or $400 for a dualformat player). Then, you buy whatever the hell format you want. And if it's cheaper and just as good on HDDVD, you buy it without too much sweat. You buy region free DVD's of cool stuff from YESASIA (a cool overseas DVD site). You buy whatever HDDVD is available from BFI classics. You buy an OK pressing of some Filipino monster movie in high def. Heck, if it's not too good, who cares. HDDVD is cheap. If you wanna start collecting the Pixar films, or classic Disney or Bond films on BluRay...you do it, as the BluRay Disney Sony thing will stay around. The days of being an early adopter are numbered THANK GOD! Let's get into EITHER format that is cheap with less risk. I want HDDVD to stick around, cause BluRay aint goin' nowhere. The risk of one format would mean ultimately, fewer movies. Please correct my thoughts on any of this if you feel I'm wrong. We should all be hoping for REGION-FREE and cheap!!!! Fuck technological "superiority". The differences between the 2 formats are relatively nil.
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inthepast few months,Ive bought more import HDDVDs discs than I have ones here in the states
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I at one point considered buying a HD-DVD player (the HD-01 - a predecessor to the model you have bought) - i couldnt decide and was unsure, i have a xbox 360 and went for the cheaper option of purchasing the add on drive - my hesitation came as i was intending to buy the playstation 3 which had a blu-ray player built into it. While i know that the HD-DVD external drive for the 360 is not perfect (for one reason the audio is re-compressed by the 360 into normal 5.1 because of the way the machine works) i have now decided to go with blu-ray. I will keep my HD-DVD titles that i did purchase (Batman begins looks glorious in HD) but i doubt i will get any further HD-DVD titles (and Blu-Ray just got better with my recent purchase of The Fountain). Blu Ray actually has the capability for more data, on a lot of titles they are including completely uncompressed audio (which being an average of 15gb for a 5.1 audio track would take a massive bite sized chunk out of the space on an HD-DVD disc). Oh, and the backwards compatibility options you mention? they're all there - even the option of upscaling to 720 and 1080 resolutions, just that HD-DVD models were doing it sooner (Unfortunately due to the continued delay in Blu-Ray's release - but the option was now available on the PS3 aswell with the latest software update).
Not to mention, the fact tha ta lot more of the studios with a lot of people's favourite titles are only being released on Blu-Ray - Even Warner Bros who were staunch supporters of HD-DVD have started releasing titles on Blu-Ray (Superman Returns and The Departed are now available on both formats - though strangely Batman Begins isnt, which would sell millions of copies). -
I just think he got excited about his new toy and blathered on. People need to chill out on the conspiracy theories.
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Jun 03, 2007 5:25:38 PM CDT
Day # 4 and still zero regrets about my purchase.
by allpowerfulwizardofoz
About to rock Planet Earth in a few mins in my HD-DVD player. You whiners are hilarious.
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Hadn't trudged through all the previous posts. My mistake. See Harry, I admit my mistakes. It's OK. Really.
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Yes, he probaly dd, but he's in a position of great power, and as all of us who are geek's like harry will know "with great power comes great responsibility" - the responsibility to be correct as harry is essentially a web journalist, he has to be sure that everything that he puts up is correct and fact - which he just did not do. And because of the fact that most people will take what's been said AS fact, given the number of people who read this site, that's a GREAT deal of dis-information. That's what people are most reacting to.
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were his intentions. Do I think he tried to intentionally mislead anyone? No. I think he was careless in posting before check his facts, but I chalk that up to him being excited about what HD was.
If you're a true lover of movies, which he is, then you have to be excited about HD. -
Great, go tell Bill Hunt the same thing on Digital Bits, apparently he's allowed to say what he likes because, the site's essentially a blog. I'd say this was no different. Good for the goose is good for the gander.
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Been bouncing back and forth between this TB and the one for Capone's "interview" with Eli Roth, and it appears the Harry hate has reached record levels.
1) Even if he didn't comment on it, at least he went back and corrected the errors he had made. I choose to be an optimist and believe that he was just gushing and didn't take the time to do the proper research.
2) Of course he's shilling for his advertiser. If someone just dumped cash into your website AND it was for a product that you really liked, wouldn't you?
3) Bill did the same damn thing, only he hasn't gone back to correct his errors. Not blasting him for it, he doesn't have to. Just saying.
4) It's Harry's website, he can do whatever the fuck he wants. Ditto for Bill. Choosing one over the other when they are both doing the same damn thing is intellectually dishonest.
and finally
5) Speaking of choosing one identical entity over another, choosing MS or Sony over the other is just as intellectually dishonest. They are both big, impersonal corporations who love your money but will fuck you and your mother in the poopshoot if it means their stocks will go up $0.10. They do not give a damn about you and your love/fanboyism. You are a walking checkbook to be fleeced. Get over it. -
this talk back is so hillarious,
how many of you posting on here actually own either HDDVD or Bluray players, or even own a HD televison set.
both formats provide great picture and sound, ive said it earlier ive tried both formats in my home. i prefer HDDVD, but as i said earlier i can see why those who own bluray prefer that and i wouldnt ever try to change there opinon they are entitled to it.
it all comes down to personal preference last i checked were allowed to have diffent preferences.
some of the people on here makeing comments supporting bluray or hddvd are valid and make sense.
but 95 percent of you posting on here dont even appear to own one of these formats, or your makeing your choice based on standing in front of a instore display under floresent lighting for 10 mins.
as i said earlier those instore displays do a great injustice to BOTH format.
and a clear leader wont be known for quite sometime yet, anyone who claims otherwise is talking out of there butt, unless you have the power to see the future which guess what you dont.
and i dont know about you but i dont let any website (i dont care who is maintaining it) make my decisons for me or influence my buying decisions. even if you dont have the money to test both formats in your home (that goes for any new tech for that matter) surely you all have atleast one or two friends who own at least one of these who can show it off for you in your home, at least that gives you a better idea as to what you will like better than a stupid instore display in electronics store.
if you allready own one or both of these formats why dont you just sit back and enjoy one of your hd titles instead of trying to change someones mind who is allready clearly set in stone. -
Where are you guys getting your import HD-DVDs? I only saw a couple of them on ebay, but wasn't interested in them. How much are they? The ones on ebay were well over $50, so I don't know if I am willing to shell out that kind of money yet.
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Harry's got a blu-ray disck advertisment on his website. BLU-RAY Pirates! Funny.
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I just got a package from a order with www.sendit.com from the UK that included Brotherhood of the Wolf and La Haine for around $60 together including shipping. Not a bad price considering $25-$35 is not an uncommon price for an HD-DVD in the states. Shipping is also cheap at only a pound and a half per movie there. The various outlets of international Amazon e-tailers are also a dependable place but very rarely your cheapest option.
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I'm Mexican, this comment has nothing to do with Johnny Deep
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HD-DVD is like VHS while Blu-ray is like Beta. Everyone laughed at beta and chose VHS but the fact was that Beta was better quality and VHS was subpar - thats why they created S-VHS to try and match the quality of Beta. The proof is in the historical fact that TV stations used Beta while consumers used VHS. It's the same thing all over again. DVD has brought in HD-DVD because BLU-RAY has come onto the market. HD-DVD will quite possible win the consumer batter because the systems can handle original DVD, and like Harry, people will believe that their DVD's look better because they're watching it on a HD-DVD player. But you can't up-quality by transfering an inferior quality to a higher quality. Thats like saying Mini-dv transfered to film looks better. Blu-ray may not be much better in visial quality - it gets to a point where it really doesn't matter anymore, but Blu-ray is better in it's packaging and it's storage. And time will tell whcih one lasts longer. Has anyone noticed their old DVD's starting to flciker and deteriorate? Thats the true future of DVD, and in my opinion HD-DVD. At least blu-ray is a closed protected cartridge.
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http://tinyurl.com/24p4o7
Plus 5 free HD-DVDs. I think HD-DVD is going to crush Blu-Ray at this rate. And the reviews coming in from the player are great. -
cause if that was a serious post, you are most likely one of the people i was talking about who dont own either product yet.
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ive found several great titles on import hddvd that i got quite inexpensively on ebay includeing
The FOG 24.95 plus 3.99 shipping
Finding Neverland 29.43 plus 2.50 shipping
Harry potter goblet of fire 31.53 free shipping.
Terminator 2 33.55 freeshipping
basic instinct 28.95 free shipping
reign of fire 19.63 7 shipping
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I currently use the HD-DVD add-on for my XBox 360, which outputs component (no HDMI on the current 360) to my 720p Samsung TV. I'll probably end up getting the cheap HD-A2 as I've heard the codecs in the gaming systems are never as good in the stand-alone players. Anyway, my HD test subject of choice is Ang Lee's HULK, as I own both the standard and HD copies. The standard HULK is upconverted close to HD standards, very little artifacting, kind of like watching it on my laptop. With the HD HULK, there is less artifacting and pixelating (though both look pretty good in that aspect, since I'm not going higher than 720p), but where it really stands out to me is in the colors. Objects are seperated more, there is better contrast, and the colors and hues almost vibrate off the screen. I'm sure Blu-Ray looks fine, too, but I love Ang Lee's film, and having HULK in HD was a major reason I went with HD-DVD. Plus, the salesmen at Best Buy did his best to hock an XBox 360 system on me over the Toshiba player or the PS3 for some reason. I've been happy with the purchase, and have even become an avid gamer, though I've tried my best to avoid it all these years...can't get crap done now...
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That's the cheapest new Blu-Ray title released that I've seen so far. Fry's will be selling it on Tuesday.
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Here's what it comes to. Blu-Ray has a lot more going for it in terms of quality, studio support, space, whatever... HD-DVD currently has Picture in Picture for the time being and is cheaper. So it comes down to this Holiday Season when prices drop, players and consoles sell and that's when the shit hits the fan. HD-DVD has a chance to pull through... nobody knows yet how it's going to go. So hedge your bets and let's all shut up and see how it plays out be the end of this year... Will low prices for HD-DVD before Blu-Ray drops their's help it out? Or will Blu-Ray pull a coup and drop theirs to match HD-DVDs? Or will consumers not even give a damn to pick up cheaper HD-DVD players anyway? Maybe nothing will happen and we'll still be arguing about this a year from now. I don't know... I'm not a doctor... So let's just wait it out... Me? I'm betting on Blu-Ray, I tihnk it will win, and also because I'm in it for a video game console. If it goes the way of UMD, not a big deal, I'll play games on it. If Blu-Ray wins on the movie front, then it's just more convenient for me. If not, I'll stick with DVDs until the whole format war thing is over and all studios are releasing on HD-DVD. But nobody knows... and if HD-DVD enthusiasts are saying this holiday season prices are gonna be all time low and consumers are going to buy and studios are going to switch allegiences and all of that happens in a nice little package. Then I say, alright, let's sit back and watch and wait. I'm finished here... Let's have another talkback opportunity a year from now when Neill Cumpston announces on AICN that he's going with this particular HD format player and its quality smashed his eyes like a hammer on his balls if they were iced whiskey.
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That would seriously make me laugh harder than the anti-Blu-Ray tirades the HD DVD fanbois rattle off as they cash their Microsoft monopoly-financed checks.
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You're a liar and a moron and a revisionist cheating BITCH.
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"History will teach us nothing..."
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Sure they will. The same Joe Sixpack that bought his sub-$1000 HD-TV at Wal-Mart, will also buy his sub-$200 HD-DVD player at Wal-Mart. They don't need to appeal to techophiles. They just need an attractive price for the average shopper who doesn't care about formats.
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Thank you, Harry, for providing a forum for one of the most interesting Talkbacks I've ever seen on this site. And thank you, Digital Bits for your illuminating article posted in response to all of this. The Bits article is thoughtful, levelheaded and very, very informative, the best piece I've yet seen on the current state and possible future of this format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray. As of now, I will be favoring Blue-ray.
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...you did well. I am with you, big fella. If the PS3-biased geeks want to criticize you for getting the same quality for less than half-the-money -- so be it! I am happy with my HD-DVD player. It is extremely clear and has been a joy to use. I've never had to "update my firmware" and it has played EVERY dvd in my extensive collection (making them look extremely sharp). I have no bias one way or the other. From an engineering standpoint, Blu-Ray has an advantage in storage capacity. Is that enough to overcome its much greater cost? I don't know. I think that Wal-Mart sales of the less than $300 players and the fact that Microsoft has announced plans to lower the price of their optional XBOX 360 player from $199 to $149 by Christmas will make a huge impact in the demand for HD-DVD titles. If this happens, some of the "Blu-Ray exclusive" studios might reconsider their decision to go solely with Blu-Ray (ala Beta/VHS in 1985). The bottom line for most consumers is the cost of the player. If the new low price for the HD-DVD players can catch on rapidly enough, then the public will probably prefer the price over the extra storage capacity. I just feel that the "war" was Blu-Ray's to lose. Now, the victory will go to the best marketing strategy and cost/demand curve of microeconomics. MARK MY WORDS: If Blu-Ray doesn't drastically lower their prices by the Spring 2008, then they will lose this war! If they can lower their prices to compete with HD-DVD, Blu-Ray will win. HAVE A GREAT DAY, WANNABE TECHNO-GEEKS! YOUR PS3 IS CALLING!
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Uhm, hello you HD DVD fanbois, quit bringing up that bogus article regarding Wal-Mart and the alleged cheapo HD DVD players. It has been confirmed that the Chinese article in question was mistranslated. It did not say "HD DVD" no matter how much you try to say it did. It could be Blu-Ray, or hell, it could even be the alterna Chinese next-gen disc format that promises to be the next VCD for South East Asia. Now instead of continuing to recite a lie online, how 'bout you fire up your Xbox360s and get some more of your money's worth out of those units before they catch the eventual red-ring-of-death...
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If I were the owners of the patent portfolio of the company formerly known as Nuon, I'd be suing to get some mad Microsoft monopoly money... I wonder, does anyone on the Talkbacks own a Samsung Nuon DVD player?
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This has been the best talkback in a LONG time. It really has got my juices flowing.
I agree with the people critical of this post as being factually incorrect, and they should be mad. BluRay is technically superior, but price will decide this.
Ha, ha! Harry pretends he is just a big fanboy with only a few bucks to shell out. I'm sure he went to the SuperWalMart, parked his Gremlin, then trudged his way to pick up the right player. Surely he has to watch his money...I mean, he's not an industry player with one of the most frequented movie sites on the web. I mean....he's gotta save his money. Heck, its not like he gets free DVD's, etc from the companies. Oh that reminds me...I got some positive feedback from some of my posts. Just when do I get to guest host Ebert & Roeper? ....
Seriously. Time to switch the focus from "HD-DVD vs BluRay" to "Harry Knowles... incredibly naive vs outright dishonest?" What about the statistic that BluRay has sold so fewer titles? Who's leg are you trying to pull? Are you truly THAT out of the loop? And if so....how can that be possible? Also, giving you the benefit of the doubt - You do have some sway amongst your fanbase, right? No? Are you telling me that the whole "Snakes On A Plane" hypefest didn't have some origins on this site? Lets pretend that you just really like Samuel Jackson. Maybe that is so. But lemmie ask you...given that you might have a real influence on swaying people to one format, don't you have the responsibility to get your facts straight? Are you really just a fan at this point? Sure....sorta like Michael Moore is just an average Joe who's pissed at Bush. Come on Harry. I hope that HD-DVD gets a chance (and I LOVE that you LOVE Excaliber), but I think it is time for you to defend or explain yourself on this one. You should at least apologize for getting your facts wrong. I mean, your scenario of picking HD-DVD is likely to be replicated by thousands or millions of Joe-Sixpacks at WalMart. But Harry...you are not a fanboy anymore (even though you may wish you were). Come on Harry....fess up or correct yourself. -
Yeah, I guess those $250 HD-DVD players on Amazon are mistranslated, too. This format war will be won on price and marketing, no matter how much the gaming geeks worship their PS3's.
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...and don't get me wrong he knows what's up but he was neutral on it for a long time, then all of a sudden it was BLU-Ray everything, Blu-Ray for the win, yadda yadda, so I'm not taking his opinion with too much trust either. I'm waiting it out till either they pick a winner or announce that no winner will be picked and that you either need to wait for a combo player or get both seperatly, which at this point the ammount of media out for both is pretty even in every store I go to and think that both could co-exist fine, some will pick sides some will buy both and some will get combo players. But before I sink dime one into it I want a clear decision as to the future of either format.
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I have had to get lotion for both these diseases and HD takes the cake, I couldn't pee straight for a week
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Unless they drop the price of a PS3 you won't see the price of a stand alone Blu-Ray player drop either. It's a vicious circle for Sony, they want their format to win but they can't afford to take anymore of a hit on PS3 which is already losing them somewhere in the region of $700 a unit.As for Harry shilling for HD-DVD, yeh it's blatantly obvious what he's doing but it's no more obvious that what Bill Hunt has been secretly doing for months since his site has carried Blu-Ray ads for some time now. His outing only came on the heels of Harry's "decision" to pick a format; evidently someone out there gives Harry more credit than alot of us do :PBill Clay, you're wasting your breath pointing out the cheapness of players on amazon, all BluRay fans come with "BluRayBlinkers"(TM) which prevent them from seeing positive news on HD-DVD. Bill Hunt doesn't use his though; he needs to make sure he knows all the information that he can deliberately leave out of his articles.
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Harry, you need to put a little "*-edited for accuracy" foot note at the end of your article. I know it is a bummer, but once you make a blunder and are called on it you need ot own up to it. Otherwise it makes your talkbackers look bad, when the mistakes were yours not theirs.
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The consumers will decide which format if any to fully embrace. Please consider that only 25% of homes are equipped with HDTVs. Also understand that we cannot tell the future, so all of this HD-DVD Will do this, and Blu-Ray Will do that... rings a little hollow. The sad thing is as movie lovers, whichever format you pick you are going to be without some of the greatest movies ever made. As an owner of HD-DVD attachment for the X360, I am saddened that I cannot get Casino Royale, while enjoying Grand Prix and some golden oldies. Shame on you Blu-Ray AND HD-DVD camps for this mess...
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That's what this TB reminds me of. Both are obviously great formats in picture quality.
And I, a Blu-Ray supporter, do see a good thing about HD-DVD. It's driving down the Blu-Ray prices. Hopefully that'll make more people buy 'em, but $499 still doesn't sound promising. Not when someone can say, "yeah but HD-DVD is half that".
Eeesh. Sony must have been watching the Amazon pricing to cut their cost down. They either feel really strong about their sales or can't convince manufacturers to look at the the long haul.
I don't think the PS3 is a price point barrier anymore, because they're "trying" to aim that at people who are into multi-media stations. It's not for the average movie watcher. Sony won't let their ship sink due to one aspect of expanding the Sony name in house holds. At least I hope.
I wish people would stop throwing around the "fanboy" name calling to BluRay and HD-DVD supporters. It's weird had that became an ugly word. I find it passionate that someone finds something they can really get behind. As long as they sound level headed.
As fo Bill and Harry, it just shows the two different natures going into this. One who doesn't really know what makes things tick, but LOVES what he's seeing. On the other is someone who technically feels the other is better. Facts or none facts. Those are the divisions and the average person is a "Harry". -
Ah, the universe just got shorter.
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Thanks! I read this article this morning. I think that Blu-Ray might finally be moving in the right direction! Now, if the manufacturers could quickly reduce the prices again (in half), then Blu-Ray will probably win this war. Odds are that this price is not good enough to make a dent in the current $299 stand alone and $199 XBOX add-on prices. But Blu-Ray is finally moving in the right direction!
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You're old and sold out, leave this game to the people who still have a soul. So how's Robert and Quentin these days, old man? You celeb thumping hack!!!!
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Actually, HD-DVD is now a measley 250 buckaroooonies on amazon. Friggen nuts. Man, Sony better get their finger on the pulse and jump on.
Easy fix. Make a 1080i player for this same price point, much like the cheap HD-DVD player and boom. Back in business. Market the 1080p as future proofing with high end machinery like PS3 or what have yous. Simple. You have created competion with in yourself. It's also known as choice. You have low end, mid range and high end. This alone will attract more customers.
They should just make the low end player themself. Just get it done and end this thing already. As of now I'm the only one of my friends that has High Def discs. My friends and family saw the price drop of HD-DVD and it looks like I may be the only one with Blu-Ray. Which may be a small blessing. I could just go to their houses to check out Excalibur. What a great friggen movie. -
Most people buying blu-ray players now are people who can afford it.. and for people with money: More expensive = Better Quality.
The problem is, the VAST majority of consumers MUCH prefer: Least possible expense = Least acceptable quality. These people are the market that most manufacturers are going for. Sony is just praying to whatever gods' they hold dear that they can force HD-DVD out of the market before HDTV penetration passes a certain threshold. Retailers of course prefer the more expensive device (thanks to higher margins), and studio's prefer the DRM... but people seem to be forgetting that the consumer will either buy or not buy that which is the best VALUE... and in my opinion (after tons of research and still not bought either one) HD-DVD is the better value. If Blu-Ray succeeds, I think nothing short of some sort of anti-competition hearing needs to be held. If this was truly a balanced marketplace HD-DVD would have run away with it.. Oh, and Grand Theft Auto, MGS, and Resident Evil are coming out at the same time on both consoles... so those of you holding out for a PS3, save your cash and get a 360. -
Before you pay to get your phrase trademarked, you may wanna double-check it. I think you mean "BluRayBLINDERS", not "BluRayBlinkers" I'm not sure what a blinker does - warn you when they're about to make a left turn with their Blu-Ray? lol
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This is from PC World magazine about how much the PS3 is losing on each sale for Sony....
The combined materials and manufacturing costs for each device come to about $806 for the model with a 20GB hard drive, excluding the cost of the controller, cables, and packaging, iSuppli said.
With a suggested retail price of $499, that would mean Sony is taking a loss of about $307 on each console it sells. The differential for the 60GB model is less, with the cost exceeding the price tag by $241.
By comparison, the materials and manufacturing costs for the hard-drive version of Microsoft's rival device, the Xbox 360 are $323, iSuppli estimated. That's less than the suggested retail price of $399.
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My biggest deciding factor was that Blu-ray was never fully realized at launch and they still don't have things fully implemented. I wish they would tell consumers that these $1,000 players won't do everything they are supposed to when they are buying them at retail. Plus HD DVD is better overall IMHO, Especially features. Look at the upcoming re;ease of 300 and tell me the other version look like the better deal.
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Talking to people about TV's is already a big whirlwind of confusion. All and all the market is really young and it takes a large amount of patience and understanding.
But thy still could at least have a high and low. That's what the $250 HD-A2 player is. It doesn't output to a 1080p. Where as the $540 HDX-A2 does. I think it actually helps also that Toshiba is the only one for HD-DVD as anchorite said due to simplicity.
As much as I want Blu-Ray to win, not because I feel it is better, but because it seems expandable. But the problem now is the fact it isn't streamlined. You've got five or so different Blu-Ray players that all "seem" to do the same damn thing. All any normal person wants is something to just plug and play.
There's 5 things needed looking into with this whole High Def situation.
1 Do you really watch HD cable?
2 Do you need a 1080p or 1080i tv?
3 Are you truly unsatified with the look of your DVD's ?
4 Do you have the proper reciever for HD viewing?
5 BUDGET
The main reason for this big debate is for early adopters. I like the look and idea behind Blu-Ray but they need to really get in gear to end this by Christmas. Even if it fades and dies off at least I'll still have the movies I've purchased and a decent upconverting player.
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...is that the fan is just so darn loud! It sounds like the fan from my Dad's old crappy Compaq Presario! It is rather distracting when watching the quieter moments of a movie. Perhaps my friend has a defective or cheap fan within his PS3, but I've heard several other friends complain. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... If I were to purchase a Blu-Ray, it will only be after the price drops significantly and becomes comparable with my stand-alone HD-DVD. I really enjoy my HD-DVD! Call me a "tight-wad" but cost matters to me. I justified the purchase of my HD-DVD for $399 a while back because I didn't foresee a drop in price anytime soon. Even if they continue to drop near the $200 level as they are expected to do, I will only be out a couple hundred bucks. If Blu-Ray manufacturers can offer a player for less than $399, I might consider purchasing one. However, there are no plans to offer one for less than $499 in the near future.
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Sorry Harry, but sites like thedigitalbits.com a far superior when reporting on current home video tech, they know their shit! The fact is, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD both have the same fundemental abilities, so your 9000+ DVD's and my 900+ DVD's will play, even upconvert just as well with Blu-Ray! And, Blu-Ray movie titles are selling better than HD-DVD titles...on a title-per-title basis! Example being Warners release of The Departed on both formats, the Blue-Ray selling better...that's just one example. Blu-Ray does have major studio support, and porn will not be a determining factor given the easier (and cheaper) on-line access. Plus, sales of porn on video have fallen quite a bit...sorry! Love your site, been coming here since '96...but you should really be more carefull when posting things of this nature.
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I don't know what's wrong with your friends PS3, but my PS3 is generally WHISPER quiet. The only time the fan kicks into high gear is if I'm doing something processor intensive such as protein folding. My PS3 is FAR quieter than my 360 [RIP] was, which sounded like an F-18 taking off no matter WHAT it was doing. I can't imagine what watching HD-DVDs with that thing would have been like, and I'm thankful I don't have to.
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Maybe his PS3 is defective? My 360 is also whisper quiet -- hence the comparison. Perhaps your 360 is defective too? The only reason that I purchased a stand alone HD-DVD (versus the optional $199 add on) was because I take the 360 with me on occassional business trips. My newlywed wife didn't want to move the movie player. ;)
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But my 2001 G4 sounds like it's gonna blast off into outer space.
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Dudes bill over a DB has been following the new HD formats from the beginning (and I mean when the shit was merely an idea) and since that time he's been pushing for a unified HD format, not two seperate formats. However the studios stayed the course and now sides have clearly been chosen. Bill didn't choose blu ray because of ads, the guy has actually tried both formats, various players, gave them thorough testing and seems to like both formats, however, to quote optimus prime "One shall stand and one shall fall". After giving each format a thorough testing, knowing what they can do Bill choose what he thought was the best format. Now AICN is a very, very popular site and I am sure that Harry has just about the same resources when it comes to finding out about each formats, but if you read his article, he went out, bought one player that he saw on an ad on his own site, and chose that player as the best and clear winner of this format war. You can't compare harry knowles to bill hunt, because one studied BOTH formats before making a choice and one just chose a format "just because". Everything Harry stated in his article (except the price of the player) has been wrong and it should be re edited. Or at least he should get a Blu Ray player, compare the two and then make a judgement (though i know many talkbackers will still say he is wrong for whatever format he chose lol) at least he can say hey "i tried both, i know what they both can do, i choose such and such."
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I found it on the thread "HDTV Software media discussion" DB weren't rude to Harry...they just pointed out facts that he missed...or was paid to ignore.
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That's bullshit. Sure the PS3 has a selling point as a cheap blu-ray player now... but that doesn't mean they can't make cheaper Blu-ray players without the tech of the PS3 at a cheaper price! There's no rule that the PS3 price has to fall for Blu-Ray to become cheaper. I guarantee you that you'll see cheaper Blu-Ray players than the PS3 and the PS3 will still be marketed as an all in one entertainment system. Selling more stand-alone blu-ray players cheaper than the PS3 and capturing the market also makes the PS3 look more appealing even if it is costlier, but at least the price won't go up!
And Lolthien, MGS on 360? Yeah, dream on... It's funny how you state that as absolute fact. You're as bad as Harry, but I guess a large portion of HD-DVD people are pretty ignorant! But hey! I can be a shill too! Hey everyone! Invest your money in the right direction and buy a PS3! Grand Theft Auto IV, Assassin's Creed, Devil May Cry 4 and Resident Evil will be coming out on both consoles so you can ahve it all with PS3! Oh it may be costlier but consider all that you get... and since many of you like to save money! Free online! Yeah, not as robust as LIVE, but it's FREE! That's cheap! If you don't need to spend more on better technology like Blu-Ray then you're gonna love the lower end Free online on PS3! Most of you are too out of the loop to tell the difference! You go online on both, you buy things off the online store on both, you play online against random people you don't care about on both! What's the difference? You won't really care or tell, and if you can? So what? You know cheap when you see it! Don't pay Microsoft for playing online or to download map packs and content that developers would rather offer you for free! What a ripoff! Not only that! But you get exclusive games like God of War, Heavenly Sword, MGS and Final Fantasy that won't be coming out on Xbox 360! Know why? Blu-Ray! That's right! Kojima and Mr. Enix are both loving the large capacity discs for... you guessed it! HD content! Whether it's quality Surround Sound or pre rendered Hi-Def visuals, or simply the potential for bigger and better gameplay experiences! The sort of things that Won't fit on your 360's DVD9! Not only that... but spend more money on the HD-DVD add-on! It will never be used for games, but you can watch HD movies with picture in picture on a format that currently has less studio support! And what's this? When you purchase all these things together you might end up matching the same price of a PS3 anyway? Wowzers! And another thing! not only is PS3 backwards compatable with Cds and DVds, it's backwards compatabile with so many other things like PSOne and PS2 games! Free firmware updates release all the time to make sure everything is ship shape! And everything upscales to the highest resolution! YOu get so much more! And when you think about it, at that Price... it's a steal!!!!
360 and HD-DVD owners want it NOW and they want it CHEAP! And they will sacrifice good tech and future proofing to save a dollar! And they'll put up with cheap Chinese brands and crashing Xbox 360s just as long as it's cheap and they don't have to patiently wait for better technology to come out and come down in price! And all the time they will lambast the competition. They will say there are no games they want on the PS3 and salivate at the mouth for PS3 titles and spread rumours around about those PS3 games coming to the 360 in teh hopes that wishing enough makes it so. If a developer wants to take advantage of Blu-Ray disc space they will foam at the mouth and demand that that developer is talking out of their ass and some sort of effort be made to stop it from happening! Make a game that goes past the potential of the unit they compromised on? Can't have that! Progress must not be allowed and ridiculed at every moment! It's a vicious cycle!
See? I can behave like some of you as well! Give me my Nobel Prize! -
But my F-18 sounds like a fighter jet about to take off! Oh... wait...
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Harry, just keeping this stupid thread up is a total disservice to consumers everywhere. Please stop it and admit you didn't know what the fuck you were talking about. "The backwards compatibility just feels right." MMmm-kay.
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Prices on next-gen optical HD players continue to plummet today with Sony's announced price drop on their new BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc player. At $499 list, it's now priced for $100 less than the Playstation 3 which currently reigns supreme as the cheapest (and noisiest) BD player on the market. In fact, the move might even cannibalize PS3 sales now that BD buffs have a cheaper source for HDMI 1.3 playback from a unit offering a traditional remote control and A/V stylings.
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Jun 04, 2007 12:59:20 PM CDT
I am waiting for the Philips HD-DVD/Blu-Ray/DVIX Player
by darfurontherocks
My trusty Philips Dvix player is a champ. And it only costs $50! Once they come up with a $100 HD player with Dvix then the game is over.
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I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said. This article is a travesty and Harry is a dirty, cheating revisionist.
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...An extremely corpulent man, but a man nevertheless. He has his opinion, and that is it, just his opinion. It may be misinformed, but whether or not we adopt his beliefs is OUR decision.
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At least here in Europe. You just have to take a look at the selling and renting charts. From November to March HD-DVD was the best selling medium, but since March (and that may or may not due to the fact that the PS3 was launched in that month) the selling numbers for HD-DVD stagnated and are now retrogressive whereas the BD sales increased more than 10 times. That's not only a trend but a steady development.These are just facts, I'm not trying to push or badmouth either format. I love my good ol' DVDs!
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In my dreams I have an F-18! Haha! I'm sure by the holidays prices for Blu-Ray players will drop MORE than another $50. I would not be surprised to see a $299 Blu-Ray player for Xmas 2007.
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then the inferior format will win.
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So I am just wonder if Toshiba slashing their prices like they have been could be healthy. I mean the lower the prices go, the less money the could be making, IF they are making money. If they are losing money on each sale, they are losing MORE money each time they decrease the price. At least Sony was smart an discontinued the 20GB PS3, which was losing them more money than the 60GB and yes they hope to make up for it in sales of games and Blu-ray movies. Also, for those of you complaining that the Blu-ray sales are inflated because of the sales of GAMES, a look at the stats online clealy state that the stats are for MOIVES and do not include games. Another thing, The only reason there are so many HD-DVD titles is because Universal seems to be throwing every movie they have in their catalog on HD-DVD.
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Pioneer the BDC-2202 blu-ray player thats coming to the states i might add for wait for it $299. source endgadget is this true and why haven't the cheapo oh so cheapo HD backers said about this ?
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Shame it's only a pc drive but hell it's cheap just upgrade your computer.
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nothing like sprawling out on your office chair and cuddling up with your keyboard to watch an HD movie on a 17' monitor....
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(like most people) I have a shitty 27" t.v. It makes no difference which one is better to me, because I won't be able to tell anyway. Still, since my DVD player is dying, I'll go with whichever one is backward compatible.
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he listens to the a/v sales people and believes what they say.
two minutes of research ahead of time and he would have been a better prepared consumer. -
That made me laugh.
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I'm patient when it comes to this (and don't want to end up buying the "Betamax" of the HD wars).
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That's why you buy HDMI cables online from a place like monoprice. 6 bucks beats 60 bucks anyday.
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Ahhh.... But I have noticed a difference with the cheap cables that were provided with my HD-DVD player. I didn't like the picture quality, so I figured, maybe it was the cable. I paid $50 for a new on and it made a huge difference.
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www.eproductwars.com/dvd
While I admit that a miracle can still happen and HD-DVD can win this war, right now, there is NOHING that indicates that it will. Take a peek at the link above and see how hard BR is kicking HD-DVD's ass. HD-DVD players are dropping their prices? Big deal. Thanks to PS3 BR is at over 1.3 million homes in the US right now against the 200.000 HD-DVD players + XBox360 add-ons. I'm not even gonna mention studio support. Now take your own conclusions. -
I'm just too poor for that.
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They're making back in spades with their overpriced consumer electronics. SONY deserves to lose a few bucks for a change (and this is coming from someone who tacitly supports Blu-Ray).
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Typical.
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What did it say? I didn't see this article untit today.
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and uses Hunts ketchup. HARRY, THIS IS A LIE. TAKE IT DOWN!
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Another extinct consumer player.
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Another dead format.
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Sharp will end the format war..
Just wait and see. As for the name recognition hddvd sounds like some stutterin mother fucker and Blu-Ray well I'm sure some of you have..Blew Ray... -
posts deleted... imagine that... Toshiba and Microsoft have censored any positive BD info...
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The original article also included several "Facts" that harry had horribly wrong, such as saying there are 200-some HD-DVD titles and only 62 Blu-Ray. After getting completely SLAMMED for his uneducated, inaccurate errors, he has since edited his article, but with no indication, cuz he's a pussy who cant own up to his mistakes. Read thru some of the earlier comments or go to thedigitalbits.com article referenced earlier in this talkback to see.
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Harry said there were 545 titles on HD-DVD and 62 Blu-ray!
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i knew id forgotten the actual numbers, and didnt take the time to look them up. i forgot just HOW out-of-whack they were!!!
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"only reason there are so many HD-DVD titles is because Universal seems to be throwing every movie they have in their catalog on HD-DVD."
You maybe right about that, which was one of the two things that made hddvd more impressive to me, after trying both out in my home. Universal has a pretty impressive catalog of movies out there, and they are really putting a lot of effort into releasing as many of them as possible on hddvd. if only sony fox and disney would do that with there titles,on bluray.
i honestly think we will see JAWS,Jurrasic Park, Back to The Future Trilogy, Psycho, on HDDVD before we will see the likes of Star Wars, Beauty and the Beast(even though its mentioned in the disney bluray videospot),ALaddin, SNow WHite,XMEN,or rocky
the other reason i choose hddvd was currently hddvd has more features such as u control and in movie experience, while bluray is said to utalize these one day, they arent today and hddvd allready is.
also the 499 pricepoint is nothing to get to excited about yet, as i mentioned earlier walmart in baldwin hills ca had a phillips bluray player for 400 even plus tax. which is still a lot for a majority of people, but who knows maybe this means by christmas we will see 299 bluray players.
in the end both have an amazing picture.
the only thing that frustrates me about both formats is how many titles are not released day and date as the standard dvds.
to me back in 1997 this was one of the things that made dvd so appealing.
i could go out and buy austin powers for 19.99 at suncoast motion picture,the same day it became availble for rental only on VHS.
it was very attractive to not have to wait 9mth to a year for the price to drop from the 99.99 vhs price the studios charged so that only video stores bought vhs copies durring that first 9 mths to a year. there were very few movies that intially were released at a low retail price on the same day the rental came out.
i even remember the big deal that was made over NEWLINE CINEMA releaseing DETROIT ROCK CITY on dvd for sale 2 weeks before it was availble for rent. its sad that neither format is releasing a majority of there new movies day and date on hd and standard formats. -
Again, let's not forget Warner Brothers has released about a dozen or so titles exclusively to HD-DVD. Seems the Warner folks aren't so "nuetral" after all...
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wow i need to rephrase my last paragraph after reading how it came out.
the only thing that frustrates me about both formats is how many titles are not released day and date as the standard dvds.
To me back in 1997 that was one of the things that made dvd so appealing.
i could go out and buy austin powers on special edition dvd (yeah before it was called platinum the first time it was released it had the special edition banner)for 19.99 at suncoast motion picture,the same day it became availble for rental only on VHS.
it was very attractive to not have to wait 9mth to a year for the price to drop from the 99.99 vhs price the studios charged so that only video stores bought vhs copies durring that first 9 mths to a year.
back then there were very few movies that intially were released on VHS at a low retail price on the same day the rental came out.
i even remember the big deal that was made over NEWLINE CINEMA releaseing DETROIT ROCK CITY on dvd for sale 2 weeks before it was availble for rent VHS.
its sad that neither format is releasing a majority of there new movies day and date on hd and standard formats. -
wow i need to rephrase my last paragraph after reading how it came out.
the only thing that frustrates me about both formats is how many titles are not released day and date as the standard dvds.
To me back in 1997 that was one of the things that made dvd so appealing.
i could go out and buy austin powers on special edition dvd (yeah before it was called platinum the first time it was released it had the special edition banner)for 19.99 at suncoast motion picture,the same day it became availble for rental only on VHS.
it was very attractive to not have to wait 9mth to a year for the price to drop from the 99.99 vhs price the studios charged so that only video stores bought vhs copies durring that first 9 mths to a year.
back then there were very few movies that intially were released on VHS at a low retail price on the same day the rental came out.
i even remember the big deal that was made over NEWLINE CINEMA releaseing DETROIT ROCK CITY on dvd for sale 2 weeks before it was availble for rent VHS.
its sad that neither format is releasing a majority of there new movies day and date on hd and standard formats. -
Radagaster wrote: (I wrote)"Gimme a fuckin' break. First off, there *is* a forum where people *can* post (dissenting) opinions about this issue at The Digital Bits. It's called, you guessed it..... The Digital Forum. " Please point me to this forum you speak of that Bill Hunt chimes in on. As far as I can tell the only way I can give him some piece of my mind is via emails.(snip)
http://www.thedigitalforum.com/
And please show me where Harry has posted any sort of reply to the hundreds of comments here. I will also add Bill Hunt *has* addressed the controversy again today this story has garnered. On the other hand, Harry has quietly changed his original comments in his Toshiba shill article at the top of this page without any indication of editing thus clumsily covering up any errors in his original comments. I, and I'm sure many others can only assume he knows he fucked up big time yet he is too cowardly to admit it. I fully expect this entire TB to disappear in the next few days while the article remains on the site (because well, it's an ad). It's simply indefensible. -
Radagaster wrote: (I wrote)"Gimme a fuckin' break. First off, there *is* a forum where people *can* post (dissenting) opinions about this issue at The Digital Bits. It's called, you guessed it..... The Digital Forum. " Please point me to this forum you speak of that Bill Hunt chimes in on. As far as I can tell the only way I can give him some piece of my mind is via emails.(snip)
http://www.thedigitalforum.com/
And please show me where Harry has posted any sort of reply to the hundreds of comments here. I will also add Bill Hunt *has* addressed the controversy again today this story has garnered. On the other hand, Harry has quietly changed his original comments in his Toshiba shill article at the top of this page without any indication of editing thus clumsily covering up any errors in his original comments. I, and I'm sure many others can only assume he knows he fucked up big time yet he is too cowardly to admit it. I fully expect this entire TB to disappear in the next few days while the article remains on the site (because well, it's an ad). It's simply indefensible. -
Sony has a long history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
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had the price not been so high. 30 fuckin dollars for a little disc when for half that you can get a DVD with all the fixins. Yea Sony really did screw that one up. I'll stick to kazaa lite thanx.
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Hey Partyslammer, chill out. I simply can't understand why people are taking this so personally. It's not like Harry commited murder or anything.
I guess it's the knee-jerk-reaction generation. -
So the total loss for Sony, per machine is $307? Right, now add on the shared per unit cost for advertising, shipping to retailers and packaging. For what it's worth, since you clearly don't want to listen, Sony have lost $2billion USD on PS3. While the whole company is in profit, SCEI is losing money hand over fist. Even the Bank of America have chimed in to state that nothing less than a $200 price cut, which will never happen, will boost their sales.Shifty, the blinkers is the UK name for them, you can trademark the US version if u like, although, we'll probably wind up getting the same name over here eventually; Marathons became Snickers in the end.
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I've been telling you about MGS4 on 360 for months now. Check this outhttp://tinyurl.com/37j8vu - Nice little cease and desist order placed on them for leaking the contract detailsOr how about this http://tinyurl.com/3d33df
- You'd think Kojima prodcutions would flat out deny it rather than say, make PS3 owners feel better?Given that every MGS game, (with the exception of 3 and that was because it came too late in the XBOX lifespan to get a release), has wound up on other platforms, MGS4 going multi-platform is a bit of a no-brainer.Edward Brock, oh dear, it's all very well to count every PS3 as a Blu-Ray player in a consumers home, it is after all why Sony included BR in PS3, but at least you know that every single person who owns an HD-DVD player is using it to play HD-DVD, the BR usage in PS3 is well known to be a fraction of the total number of units sold. -
Well, duh. But we're still talking about 1.3 million potential costumers, at the very least. They won't need to buy a new player once they decide to go HD. Besides, looking at the 3:1 or whatever sales difference, I'd say that at least *some* of them are using their PS3 to watch movies.
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(I did check this amount on several different websites, so don't tell me I am wrong) Actually that $307 is no longer correct... it would be the $241 since the greater loss was on the 20GB hard drive version which Sony no longer produces. The stopped shipping those quite some time ago. Plus, now the loss may be slightly less because they just lowered the price of their newest Blu-ray player by $100 due to the decrease in the cost of manufacturing. And yes, it is not correct to assume that every PS3 is being used as a Blu-ray player, since paying extra for a HD format disc when you don't have an HDTV would not make the picture quality any better. But, that still doesn't make up for the fact that Blu-ray discs ARE outselling HD-DVDs AND if you read the stats correctly they state that the stats are for MOVIES only and do not include GAMES.
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Take this thread down!!
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Oops! Thanks for educating me. I had no idea. (stupid ignorant American!) Maybe I WILL trademark the US version, and when the UK ends up adopting it, I'll steal all your royalties! HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHA!!!
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Last I checked, that digitalforum site you mentioned is not endorsed nor openly acknowledged by Bill Hunt at his DigitalBits site. Otherwise, it's just a fanboy site for theDigitalBits. So, please don't compare Bill Hunt to Harry in terms of having the balls to host a talkback. Nice try, but not the same.
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I wouldn't say that the "PS3 is failing"...but the marketing "geniuses" behind the PS3 are probably working elsewhere by now. I never really cared for the PS consoles (1, 2 or 3). While they did have a few cool games, my favorite games were either also available on the XBox or the Nintendo -- or they were XBox exclusive (like Halo). Besides, I am a PC gamer. I prefer my mouse to any controller. I doubt that any game on either the PS3 or the 360 will be inherently greater in technology since the difference between both machines will be visually nominal at best. Sony is YEARS away from creating a game that will take 50 Gig of memory and could utilize the PS3's Blu-Ray storage capabilities. I own a 360 and the only major title that I am looking forward to is HALO 3. Until then, you will probably find me on the PC playing HALO CE or HALO 2 VISTA.
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Harry Knowles for "That Backwards compatibility feels right." Wow. I mean, the blatant incorrect nature of that statement has already been beaten into the ground, but has anyone just looked at that sentence? It "feels right"? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? It's like a child's reasoning, almost (even more so when you realize that both players are backward compatible, making his reasoning not only child-like but also supporting a flat-out wrong statement). You can't tell us all you're picking one format over the other when there is a huge possibility of conflict of interest and support 'your choice' with bullshit reasoning like it 'feels right.' Anyway, if that 'article' by Harry doesn't scream 'sell-out,' I don't know what does. And I've been reading thedigitalbits for a long time, and they were supporting HD-DVD for a while (much like dvdtown to this day supports HD-DVD, though they claim neutrality). However, once the PS3 hit and Blu-Ray sales sky-rocketed past HD-DVD sales (and no, those sales do not include video games), the guys at the bits basically came to the conclusion that Sony's gamble has, it seems, paid off and that it would take a lot for HD-DVD to co-exist with Blu-Ray, much less win the format war. Unless Universal puts out quality HD titles like Jaws, Jurassic Park, and E.T. soon, then say goodbye to HD-DVD, because the studio and corporate support is simply not there to sustain the format.
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If anything can give HD-DVD a chance, it is its name. It sounds like DVD, so your average Joe will likely go "hey that right thur sounds like DVD, lemme get myself one of them HD-DVD machines! Yippee ki yay!" But, again, if the average Joe realizes that his selection will be extremely limited in that format's selection, he may choose to hold off until a winner is declared or pick up a Blu-Ray player. So, I suppose HD-DVD still has a chance, but it is a very uphill battle.
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Smooth as shit out of a duck's ass. Harry, admit you were wrong already!
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Last time I checked, (two minutes ago) Bill Hunt was the administrator of the Digitalforum.com. It even says The Digital Bits Welcomes You.
Welcome! As the editor of The Digital Bits, I'm very pleased to be able to introduce you to our new discussion forum!
We've been thinking of creating a place like this for a while now - a place where readers of The Bits could go to meet online with one another, to talk about film and DVD releases, and to get answers to questions they might have. The staff of The Digital Bits will check in regularly here, along with all our friends from MusicTAP and Digital Audio Video.com, to answer your questions and share our love of films, music, games and all kinds of digital entertainment. 2006 is going to be a big year, with two new high-definition disc formats (Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD) coming, along with new videogame systems (Xbox 360, PS3 and Revolution) and we think changes in the way movies are distributed as well. There will certainly be lots to talk about, and lots of news and opinions to share.
We hope you feel at home here, and return often. Invite your friends to join you and let's get a lively discussion going, shall we?
So welcome once again and we'll talk more here soon!
_________________
Bill Hunt, Editor
The Digital Bits
http://www.thedigitalbits.com
billhunt@thedigitalbits.com -
XBOX360 is NOT outselling the PS3. Take a look at any chart tracking the month-to-month sales of both systems for the same time, and sales are just about equal. http://vgcharts.com/page3.htm l
As you can see, the PS3 is actually OUTSELLING the 360. -
The REASON the digital bits has a separate discussion forum and doesn't host a talkback-style forum right there at the end of each of their articles is simple:Because it becomes a giant clusterfuck of arguing like the one you're all reading now! They try to have a little more class as a legitimate site as opposed to a gathering of fanboys seeing who can come up with the dumbest catchphrase!
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No one I know owns a ps3, and the Best Buy by me has had stacks of them collecting dust. It's DOA when MGS4 comes out on 360.....recognize, bitches.
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For proof that MGS4 is coming to the 360 you're using a joke article... and an article referring to the Kojima Productions Report from Ryan Payton (which being the MGS fanboy that I am, I listen to every week! So, way ahead of you there! Now let me school you). On it Ryan restates that they are making MGS4 fully with PS3 in mind no compromises or thoughts abotu any other system, which as I see it, makes a case against the 360. To update you on the most recent podcast he again reiterates that anything he says about 360 versus PS3 MGS4 should not be taken seriously when interenet sites began quoting him as an authority hinting that MGS4 was going multiplatform. Ryan Payton personally doesn't care about either console, btu he says any such decision lies with Hideo Kojima who again reiterated that the PS3 was best for MGS4 at GO3. The podcast covering that event by Ryan And Aki Saito said that Kojima's comments pretty much made it clear that MGS4 was exclusive to PS3. Konami again recently stated that there were no plans to brings MGS4 to 360 when more Xbox fansites began off-handedly confirming that it was. I don't think there will NEVER be any word for word confirmation about whether the game is going to ported, regardless of whether it will be or not. Trailers etc. will say "coming to PS3." And when it's out on PS3 there will be no mention at all about that possibility. If it is, it will pop up out of nowhere years from now from Kojima Productions themselves. I wouldn't bet on it... and anyone going around telling you for sure otherwise is just wishing upon a star. Frankly I think it'll be funny if once again the next trailer at E3 teases that MGS4 might go to 360? Only it'll be much the same way as the first TGS'05 trailer where they teased that MGS4 might be turning into an FPS... as a joke! Hell even I won't say it'll never go to 360, but I'm feeling 99% sure that it isn't. So remind yourself and any others you meet that any such report before Kojima Productions themselves says it'll go multiplatform is bullshit and to stop wasting everyone's times with false certainty and mock reports cut and pasted from old IGN articles about MGS2: Substance. And Guess what! I don't know who the hell says all developers are looking to multiplatform as the new thing this gen, because a lot of them aren't... so I don't know where that new religion spawned from but its damn disgusting. So let's all stop making up shit and barking at developers to bring exclusive anounced games to each others console and hold off the festivities only when the answers are revealed from the horses' mouths.
And Coughlins Laws, where PS3 is concerned, games are still releasing on Blu-Ray regardless of movies. Sony sees the expanded storage of the format as being very beneficial for games, and so do Hideo Kojima, Square Enix, Naughty Dog, Insomniac, ROckstar and Xbox360 developer Team Ninja. And it can play movies too, it's a storage disc! So why not make it all in one? Blu-Ray movies fail? Oh fucking well... Not like UMDs failing on PSP are hindering games sales or games releasing and taking advantage of the UMD memory over the cartridge. And I dig the few UMD movies I own like Matrix, house of Flying Daggers, Kill Bill, Advent Children etc. Of course the reason UMD failed is the fuckign price, which was ridiculous! The most I'm willing to shell out for UMD movies is $15 Canadian at the MOST! Pay that much when I can get a fucking DVD with more extra features for less? Sony can kiss my ass! Also studios released way too fucking much without considering teh target audience. Hell I think more UMDs were released for the PSP's launch that either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray's put together! Not sure about that thoguh, but I know it was a lot. I'd only willing to pay a premium price for UMD special discs that are exclusively only for PSP like Silent Hill Experience or MGS:DGN. If Sony wants movies on it then they should put out old favourites that appeal to gamers and sell them for, at most, $10. Or bundle them for extra $ with the DVD or Blu-Ray release in it's own package. Or in teh future come up with a way for the UMD format to play with at least DVD quality on your television screen by tossing in a little slot on their DVD or blu-ray players. Then the price will seem bout right if it was the same as DVD. But I guess that would be too smart or high tech for Sony... -
You either didn't understand me or you can't read a graph. I'm not saying that PS3 has outsold the 360 in total units sold, but the 360 has had a year head start. I'm saying that the PS3 has outsold the 360 at the same monthly intervals after each systems respective release. In other words, the PS3 sold more units in each of its first 13 months than the 360 sold in each of ITS first 13 months. This is not an opinion, this is undisputed fact. Sure, the PS3 didn't outsell the 360 by much each month, but it STILL has been consistently selling more than the 360. The fact that you don't know anyone who owns a PS3 means nothing. 360 has sold, what, 10 million machines? And still, I can't say that I personally know anyone who owns a 360 either. Neither machine comes anywhere close to the hundreds of millions the PS2 has sold, and yes I know at least a dozen people who own a PS2.
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I knew you'd bite at that. Considering that the report has been mentioned on SEVERAL good sites and no where does the company who linked that article claim its a joke, infact most suggest its serious evidence, then yes, i'd say that's a definitive article. Not only that, but u can't refute the fact that MGS has appeared on everything nearly.Don't try and school me Johnno, I'll take the professional opinions and facts any day of the week mate, MGS fanboy or not.
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Interesting statement, AllseeingEye, as you've attempted to derail Bill at thedigitalbits who, most would say, is something of an authority on the subject of DVD, format wars, etc. Very curious, indeed. Also, you happen to be on the side of people (not saying you agree with them, necessarily) who say that Blade Runner is coming exclusively to HD-DVD. I'd say there is FAR more proof of Blade Runner coming to Blu-Ray than MGS 4 going to the 360 (WB has said Blade Runner is going to Blu-Ray, Konami has said there are no plans to release MGS 4 for the 360).
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I can acknowledge that there is a possibility MGS 4 will go to the 360. That's fine. Do I think it's likely? Not really. But it could still happen. Am I certain Blade Runner will be released on Blu-Ray? I'd say I'm 99% sure.
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Basically even if I took it seriously ,all it would tell me is what we already know... unless a contract states otherwise, at the end of the day, Kojima Productions and Konami are third party and can always decide when and how to release any game they make... thanks for clearing that up... Sure it's possible to bring MGS4 to 360... it's also possible that they can port it to the Wii... or PS2... or PSP... or DS... or Gameboy... or NGage... or cheap mobile phones... or Tiger electronics... or my LCD wrist watch... just a few sacrifices here and there each time, but the core gameplay is what really matters... right? Why deprive an audience?
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There's a difference between the opinions and facts of independant jounalists at places like IGN, Gamespot, 1UP, Joystiq, Spong,..shall I continue.Bill Hunt on the other hand is clearly as guilty as Harry is of shilling one particluar platform over another and as such, both sides of the story need to be told. Let's get our "facts" straight here shall we? When the overwhelming majority of developers/journalists/bloggers are all reporting the same news you sit up and take notice.Don't confuse Bill Hunts opinion as anything other than opinions; I've never disputed any of the facts he's said, rather mentioned the facts that he omits to make his point.As for Blade Runner, I've never BluRay but it's not really a secret that a)WB titles come on HD-DVD thick and fast; the same can't be said of Blu-Ray and B) For all the exclusive support there aren't the movies to actually accompany it. At 5:1 exclusivity from studios I'd expect the titles to match that ratio; they dont.Johnno, did you even read the first link i posted? That 'blogger' is fairly well connected in the gaming industry and claims to have seen the contracts for MGS4 on 360; Sony and Konami aren't in the habit of issuing cease and desist orders on bloggers reporting spurious claims unless they adversely affect business. Combine that with the podcast you seem to think is a joke. No firm confirmation of exclusivity and reassurances that multi-platform won't affect the game only spell one thing; why even mention it, if it weren't going to happen? You'd just say, "It aint coming to 360". You wouldn't go into a lengthy diatribe of how a port wouldn't affect the development on PS3. Simple eh?As for your idea that you could port to any platform, well yes, that's right. But what PS3 fans are really afraid of isn't that the game will come on 360 but that it won't be any worse than their own version. As you say, Konami are free to make it for any platform they like; given the franchise's appeared on Gamecube, PC and XBOX I'd say that the odds of it coming to 360 are overwhelmingly high.
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Yeah, and AMAZON already lists MGS4. (motify me when it is available only) Apparently they only have it up for the PS3......and nothing else.
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Both of the fromats aren't needed. DVD already looks great, and we don't need more disc space. What more do you want? Commentary with the people who catered to the set? Jesus Christ.
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I want my movies that I watch on my High Definition TV to be in High Definition.
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And I'll take your word for it that this guy is 'well-connected', but he's not the first 'well connected' industry man to 'confirm' a port only to be shot down later...I am afraid of one thing though... and that's compromises for a 360 version! MGS4 is a big franchise that I love and I'd love to see it take advantage of stuff that only Sony offers, like Blu-Ray and deliver on it's promised potential of using the Cell processor as shown in the first TGS'05 trailer as "the key to winning the console war". As well as other things such as PSP conectivity, HOME and play online for free! I'm a casual online player so LIVE's benefits don't matter to me, and if the servers for it drop, then m'eh... But fine, let's entertain the notion that this is coming to 360... I want this game optimized for PS3, not for multiplatform use. If they do that, release it on PS3 fully optimized for what they can get out of the system and all it can uniquely do... then fine, spend time porting it to 360 while I play. If they can deliver on all those other extras like PSP connectivity etc. like Ryan Payton promises, then fine, port it to 360 afterwards and deal with that shit there. Make the game and try to be ambitious without worrying about DVD limits... if you want to make it multidisc on the 360 AFTER? Fine, I have what you tried to accomplish... etc. etc. And if in the end the 360 ends up as good as the PS3 version a year later? Well fuck me, I'm impressed, I guess all that talk about PS3's potential really doesn't mean shit, at least where MGS4 is concerned...! Now if I'm guaranteed all of the above, then excellent, do what you want afterwards... Sucks for Sony and they better start doing some shit. But as for me, the only thing that the PS3 will always have on this game that the 360 won't... the dualshock designed controller... I prefer it... not a big wow factor but that's what it'll come down to... Sort of like playing Twin Snakes on Gamecube... the controller is awful compared to the Dualshock... no pressure sensitive buttons, etc. I don't know what 360 has but the different shape is anough to put me off. Fankly if there is a port happening, I'll bet it'll be like the twin snakes scenario... that job will be outsourced. And I didn't say the podcast was a joke, I was referring to the destructoid article which comes off that way. If I were to treat it more seriously... it talks about contract exclusivity for a limited time... and you know what... I bet that contract is no different than the other contracts for the other MGS games! So what is that telling me? As I said... that Konami and Kojima can do whataver they want with their games according to contract... thanks for clearing that up... with that then-unknown fact out of the way... where can I see the 'confirmation' that this means it's coming to 360? Know what that article really is? A hypothesis! "Game has exclusivity rights for a year and exclusivity rights over at end of year..." So now... does this mean a port will happen? This guy says so thoguh I don't see anythign in the article where the development crew tell him that. Okay Mr. Man... Sure, it's possible... but then again Kojima and Konami might decide not to bother... unless of course, MGS4 sells horribly on PS3... which I highly doubt.So what do we have here? Another speculative piece based on exclusivity deals that don't seem that extraordinary from the past MGS games. Of which one was remade by silicon knights for gamecube and also put on PC, another went to Xbox and PC, and the third one is exclusive only to PS2, and of course there's Portable Ops which is exclusive to PSP and that heavily ties in to the exclusive PS2 game and hints towards the outcome of the PS3 game... pretty strong brand of products tied in there... But whatever, if just like you say HD-DVD can kick back this winter... maybe MGS4 will go multi a year from release... I'll sit back and watch and play MGS4 on the first piece of hardware it's out on. But I wouldn't get anyone's hopes up over MGS4 on 360, in the end, I believe it ultimately lies with Kojima who by all accounts isn't interested in porting, employee for Konami or not, he holds a lot of sway and I'm sure holds the rights to his franchise and characters and the direction of things made under his studio KojiPro... because Konami ain't Walt Disney... But for now... I watch... I wait... and I got things to preoccupy my time until then... but now that I tihnk about it... I believe it will go multiplatform... to the PC...
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cuz around me (Chicago) it's ALL 360....I know quite a few gamers, and only a handful own a PS3 *shrug*...what does that mean? who knows. I know the PS3 is probably selling well in Japan, so maybe that is skewing the numbers....but I don't see ANY games for that system that justify the purchase. With GTA coming to 360, and MSG4 possibly being a multiplatform release, I don't see much of a bright future for PS3.
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But the PS3 has a bunch of great games coming out for it that totally justify the purchase for me at least. Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, Lair, Heavenly Sword, Little Big Planet, Final Fantasy XIII just to name a few and none of which will be coming to the 360. It doesn't help that there's really nothing that the 360 offers that I want to play, either. I'm not worried about the PS3 at all, but I do believe there's room enough for both.
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Um I own a LCD HDTV and with a HD-DVD player and I am a movie buff. I am not sure what drives you to make a statement that DVD looks good enough but unless you actually have a high end set up in your house your statement is moot. There is a HUGE difference in quality between that of a normal DVD even one that does upcovert and that of a movie that has a true HD-DVD picture. Please don't comment on either format unless you own one or the other and you are speaking from experience and if you do own one or the other I can only assume that you've chosen shitty movies in your collection that have had a sub par transfer or you are not set up correctly with your gear. Anyone who owns one or the other be it HD-DVD or Blu-Ray is going to have my back on this one.
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545 HDDVD titles vs 62 for Blu-Ray??! Where in magical fairy land did you get those numbers? The real numbers for HDDVD are 207 released and 54 more on the way this year. Blu-Ray has 241 released and 40 more on the way. I want what you're smoking or snorting!
Also, both Blu-Ray and HDDVD have full 100% backwards compatability, so your one-sided "fact" is moot.
And as for HDDVD's looking better than Blu-Ray: they all use the same codecs, so they look the same -the equipment will make the difference... -
This is such a puff piece.
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Hi-fucking-larious!!!! A week later we are still argueing about this!!!! Neither format means a hill of poop unless you have a TV that can properly handle the beautiful color seperation and black levels that HD-Bluray players can deliver. The fact of the matter is that all 1080p is not created equal and many of the DLP-LCD-SXRD-and even some of the cheaper plasmas don't have near the accurate color seperation and black detail that the now supposedly outdated CRT big screens have. For example I considered purchasing a new Mitsu 65" DLP (diamond series) in the interest of saving space that my 65" mitsu rear projection CRT takes up. But the picture on the 1080i CRT is so much crisper with noticibly better colors, black levels and lack of artifacts and dot crawl that i have decided to save my money and enjoy what i have. Wanna have the ultimate HD movie experience, pick up either HD or Blue Ray. Go to ebay or Craigs list and pick up a nice 1080i rear projection big screen with HDMI or DVI (Mitsu, Toshiba, Pioneer Elite, Sony Hi-scan or even Phillips last CRT Hd sets. Many people are getting rid of these sets cheap as they join the flat-panel revolution. I've seen Mitsu Diamond or Pioneer elites that 3 years ago retailed for $3000.00 or more that can be had for $700.00. These sets get every bit as good a picture as the higher end Plasmas at a fraction of the cost. And while they may take up a bit more space many of the new flatpanels require a bulky stand that ends up taking up the same volume anyway.
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"Debbie Does Dallas...Again" is going to blu-ray within the month, so porn chose both... Also, only Universal supports HDDVD exclusively and saying Disney isn't big is just stupid.
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"Debbie Does Dallas...Again" doesn't count when you say porn chose this or that. They're talking about the porn industry of today, not the garbage like Debbie from 30 years ago, Numbnuts. Porn didn't choose HD, they were forced there by default when they were denied a BR license from Sony.
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It's already been confirmed, DMC4 jumped ship, and it's looking like FF13 will, too. Too bad for Sony. That's what they get for thinking the general public would be interested in a $600 gaming console. Dickheads.
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Sony never denied anyone any license, tool. It was Disney who stated they didn't want Porn being produced on *THEIR* replication lines. That's all. The BDA went on to clear the air because of morons like yourself:
"There is not a prohibition against adult content," said Marty Gordon, vicechair of the BDA US Promotions Committee and vice president of the Philips Electronics Hollywood Office. "The BDA welcomes the participation of all companies interested in using and supporting the format, particularly those from the content industry. We look forward to working with any content providers interested in providing their audience with [the] best possible high definition home entertainment experience."
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I got a new Panavision plasma screen: 50 inches of pleasure!
It's a 720p native resolution model, because I have no plans of hooking up any
HD devices to it, just my old, Sony 5 DVD changer. It's a regular progressive
scan model with NO up-conversion. I hook it up with the 3 pronged video composite
cable, then I run a regular red an white stereo cable
for sound. The image is absolutely outstanding, and it's huge! I love it. But to
be fair, you should know this is an upgrade from a Sony 32 inch tube, so I'm easily
impressed.
Because I'm a consumer, I fell for the up-conversion
potential, as advertised, and during my research, all I got was conflicting
reports on tis usefulness. So I bought a Panasonic
DVD player with up-conversion, and hooked it up to the plasma screen with an HDMI cable.
I compared my two copies of EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (yeah, yeah,
yeah, I have two copies of that flick, they're identical, I'm George's bitch,
and all that). With one in each player, I ran the films side by side, same
scenes, with a slight delay, so that when I switched over, I could see the exact
same thing and compare fairly, between the two players.
Turns out, my plasma screen up-converts
from the progressive scan player, just dandy, without a sweat. Is there
a difference? Yes, the HDMI hook-up does, indeed,
give me an infinitely-slightly better picture over the video composite cables. But,
I mean, you gotta REALLY look, and ultimately, I think it's more about how the different
DVD players decode the signal. I don't think anyone would notice.
Conclusion? If your widescreen TV
is recent, it looks to me like it will do all the up-conversion you'll need,
thereby making the purchase of a new one player, pretty useless. At least, this
is the case with this screen I got. It does NOT need an up-converting player,
that's for sure. As for HDMI, it's nice to run just
one cable for sound and picture, but it makes no difference on my analog
set-up, quality wise. I'm taking the up-converting DVD player and its HDMI cable back to Best Buy for a refund. I don’t feel bad
about it, either. Half a dozen of their minions told me I'd see a good-enough
difference that I would care, so screw 'em!
Now, I'm not saying HD isn't gonna look a hell of a lot
better on my screen, OK? I know it would. I'm just not interested in upgrading.
I was the guy who started asking about up-conversion, and I got my answer: it's
useless unless your TV is old (maybe, I don't know).
I think a lot of people are like me, they have an old
set-up, tons of DVDs, and they're thinking of getting a widescreen TV. Then, an
avalanche of sales pitches fall on 'em: get HD NOW! Or
at least get up-conversion, it does HD without being HD! (I knew that was too
good to be true, don't worry, but I thought maybe it might improve the picture a
little.). Thing is, a new widescreen TV is gonna do it for you, as reported on
some of these posts, and I wanted to confirm that's my experience. I hope this
helps people buy their next TV.
Cheers, mates. -
Well, we really won't find out for quite some time, since word is this game probably won't be released unil March 08. If it really is to be then, these things are notorious for being pushed back.
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I'd be willing to be either Amazon gave you your player, you comp'ed it from a tech company, or bought it at a HUGE discount ... Before we take your opinion on the 'format wars' lets see a link to a receipt. That way we can tell just how much of your opinion was bribed.
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Hey man, it's old bitchy Half Vader here. I can't believe I missed this hilarious thread and Harry's greatest fuckup probably since Godzilla (I've been without the 'net for almost one torturous month where every day is an eternity).
As you know I tend to disagree with you on things, but that doesn't mean I don't think you're a cut above most for your reasoned and informed opinions. You said a lot of sensible stuff on this one (I did try valiantly to read 'em all until the rabid MS fans finally got the better of me patience-wise), but there was just one little thing I've talked about in the past that I thought I'd chime in on. The bit where you mentioned about the initial talks between the two camps? You had it the wrong way around. Much as I like Toshiba's products and have bought their stuff, they were colossal pricks through the whole process and it was actually Sony that kept trying for a resolution, not the other way around. I wish they'd tried harder than the "three strikes you're out" thing before they finally gave up, but Toshiba were completely rude, mudslinging and unprofessional throughout the whole process so I guess that's why Sony gave up and started some abuse of their own. I'm not excusing Sony's non-stop streak of stuff-ups ever since (just to be clear), but they WERE the ones trying to avoid all this at least initially. Serves Toshiba right that they completely fucked up their chances with the incredible SED format. Karmic retribution for being politically Microsoft's bitches. Also I know you've got techy friends and all but I was pretty sure it wasn't early tech problems with the process as much as supply of the diodes themselves? Anyway thanks for your interesting posts mate. Cheers. -
Backward Compatibility just FEELS RIGHT, BROTHER!
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Universal's exclusive contract with Toshiba is up at the end of 2007, and Pioneer says that Universal will go "neutral" - releasing movies on both formats. This is probably the death-knell for HD-DVD, as Blu-Ray will have every major studio in its corner except for the Weinstein company.
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where did you read this??
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http://formatwarcentral.com/index.php/2007/05/09/universal-going-neutral/
and
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=845226 -
I've always expected format wars to take place between large robots with hard drives vulnerable to magnets.
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breaking news? HA what a joke that rumor was reported over a month ago, and since then the digital bits reported that the story was faulse, and that universal confirmed to them they were completely behind hddvd. what a doofus you are.
heres something to ask yourself birdbrain, why would pioneer announce universal was going format nuetral. wouldnt universal be the one to do that.
oh and by the way when you use the link you sent, the site doesnt even have the article you mention -
I'll just wait for a player that plays both HD and Blu-Ray! Why the competition? We all know that there are studios that won’t jump formats. Besides the competition is good for the consumers! Within a few months the prices for either players will go down 50%. Guarantee! Look at the historic pricing trends for all media players (VHS, beta, CD, DVDs, etc.). They will all fall down in prices! Your best bet (my personal opinion), you are better of waiting for 12-18 months – and purchase a combo player (plays HD and Blu). This will allow you to play EITHER formats! At the mean time enjoy the current DVD format on you NON 1080p TV.
NOTE: if you don’t have a 720p or an 1080p TV, you’re wasting you $$$!
Problem Solved!
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That rumor was smashed to pieces almost a month ago by Universal Home Entertainment's Ken Graffeo. Try and keep up.
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Jun 07, 2007 1:35:37 PM CDT
HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Meh....The Wiley Wars was a Real War!!!!
by darfurontherocks
These format wars pale in comparison to the Wiley Wars that I fought in on the NES...
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Blu-Ray is obviously the way to go, then.
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"The kicker is... that it can play the 9000 or so DVDs I already have, as well as the HD DVDs. That Backwards compatibility feels right. Also - from the demonstrations I've seen, HD DVD looks better than the BLUE RAY discs. I also love that the player has an upconversion that raises the quality of my existing DVD library to 720p and sometimes 1080i. I've already tested it out and DVDs that I watched last time I watched them - look better than they had before."
After reading those first lines I thought to myself. How the hell is this Harry guy, he really doesn't have a clue does he? What is he talking about? Like this is something special with HD-DVD?
Yes, HD-DVD looks good, but Blu-ray looks just as good, and sounds just as good too. Is Harry drunk?? Talking about backwards compatibility, lol, what a toon. Harry get informed you clown before writing fud.
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Well, It seems many of you americans think HD-DVD is outselling Blu-ray in Europe. That is plain wrong.
Since march 2007, Blu-ray outsells HD-DVD by 3 to 1. Get a clue. Most stores I've been to in Norway carry only Blu-ray movies (because of the PS3). -
Nobody has confirmed that MGS4 has gone multi. And Square Enix JUST CONFIRMED that they have ABSOLUTELY NO PLANS to bring ANY Final Fantasy game to the 360 with the exception of XI. And not that it sounds convincing but Sony claims the recent job cuts are similar to the job cuts that came before it as having to do with industry movement to digital distribution which affects all products... not just the PS3. And given that the PS3 is being sold below it's manufacturing price, even if Sony sold more than Nintendo and Microsoft combined they'd have racked up an even bigger loss.
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That is, I'll think about getting one of these players, only when I finally decide to spring for an HDTV maybe some years down the road. For now, my 32 inch Toshiba CRT is working fine. Who wants to blow $1000 on a TV, plus $300-400 for a player, plus HD movies, plus accessories /cables, etc. all for watching some DVDs that are a bit sharper than regualr DVDs? I guess it's cool if you have that kind of disposable money laying around. I sure as hell don't.
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HD-DVD will surely make some headway due to their insane price cuts of late. But they are lagging behind Blu-Ray in hardware and software sales at the moment. The PS3 was the Trojan Horse. People should be championing the technically superior format (Blu-Ray) anyway.
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Say it right, ya goose. You're on the internets!
Also Allseeing, I don't think anyone can bitch about free movie offers as a false advantage at this point. They've both been at it in various territories for a while now.
Does anyone know whether HD-DVD was even released at all in Australia? I know JB are stocking Blu-ray only, but I gave up asking ages ago about HD-DVD as either the retailer didn't have a date or didn't have a fucking clue what it was (to be fair though, no shop assistant these days can do much more than recite what's in the catalogue). Anyone know what fucked up there? -
I'm a copywriter for the electronics division of major department store, so I deal with product descriptions all day long. I've run across my fair share of both HD DVD and Blu-ray players. And you know what? A lot of them have the same features. Both play regular DVDs. Players on both sides feature 1080i upconversion. If you're trying to pick based on features, you're going to be shit out of luck. Just pick which one you think looks better and go with it.Or you can be like me and just keep your fucking DVD player. Whatever you buy will be outdated in two months anyway.Seriously. Whatever you buy today, I've already written up a product description for its cheaper, better replacement that will be coming out this fall. So enjoy that.
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The folk who buy Blu Ray players are generally wealthier than HD DVD player purchasers. This also explains why there are greater BR disc sales than HD-DVD disc sales: the Blu Ray owners are wealthier and buy more titles.
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Jun 08, 2007 6:47:21 PM CDT
BluRay buyers are wealthier, ergo greater BR disc sales
by atomik kinder
Not really. I do not consider myself wealthy at all. I have both HD-DVD and Blu-ray, but I buy mostly Blu-ray because the movies that I want to watch are on Blu-ray. Plus, I usually pick the Blu over the HD when they are both available because the Blu is less expensive. And no, I did not purchase the Matrix box. It wasn't because it was expensive, it was because I really don't care for the movies. The first was pretty good, but the other two were just awful. I doubt I would pick up the first one if it was avialable sperately even.
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Wow, i guess we can be civil when it's not a Transformers thread after all. Anyway, to address the statements.1)As I understand it, Sony walked away from the discussion table about unifying the two formats. While I'm pretty sure that Toshiba were probably stickling over certain aspects of any agreement the fact remains that Sony have, for some time now, felt they had the ability to bully people into buying their platform. I can bet you a dollar right now that if PS3 was still a year away, they'd have signed. However, they rushed PS3 to market to compete thinking it would be enough to sway studios with the philosophy that, 3.3 million PS3's = 3.3 million BD players; while technically correct it's factually wrong since at best 20% of people have the ability to enjoy the benefits of the format. Anyway, it's no surprise to anyone except, a)Sony and b)Sony fans, but the gaming community are giving SCE so much shit about their prize platform its comical. I mean, why release a games machine and have NO games for it? My whole point about alot of games going multi-format was to simply emphasise developers current views on the whole platform; ie. it's not worth making exclusives for yet. Infact with the exception of Factor 5's Lair title, the only sought after PS3 titles are all "in-house". So congratulations to Sony on releasing a cheap BR player. I hope they release a games console soon.2)I'd say the free discs was a bit of a gyp since, especially here in Europe, i find the selection of HD-DVD'S, (in what stores that carry) them to certainly make the BR collections look pretty weak. FF4? Hitch? One of the broadsheet papers over here, I think it might have been the gaurdian, did an article on this and when you take into consideration actual disc purchases only, ie, not discs given away free, HD is the better selling format. It's a moot point when you state your format outsells another when you're your own best customer; that's the equivalent to a kid who can't sing releasing a single and buying every copy to go to No1, it's a false achievement.Since I have both formats anyway, it's no skin of my nose but as someone in that position I can safely say that, so far,1)HD-DVD has the better titles.2)Blu-Ray offers, so far, nothing it's cheaper counter-part doesn't offer.3)Sony have been a bunch of cunts with the whole affair and we wouldn't be here arguing about this if they'd just got their heads from up their own arses and signed up to a unified format but they didn't cos they are dicks.Phew, anyway Half Vader, i'll see you in the next transformers talkback,.
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Your facts on this are flat-out wrong. I happen to agree that HD-DVD will win (mainly because players are cheaper and more available at discount stores like Walmart), but c'mon, it comes off like you're juicing the sales because you have stock in HD-DVD.
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@TheAllSeeingEye
Find your happy place. Good luck on your planet. -
Wow, was I really that snotty in Transformers? I certainly was pushing shit uphill (in more ways than 1 maybe), but I don't remember being such a dick, although I think someone like Yack or Paz or someone tried to rip me a new one for my opinion (which I'm entitled to and can actually back up as being professionally informed). Sorry if I went off more than the screaming G1ers.
As I say, I think it's to-may-to to-mah-to with us. You say Sony were the ones who left, I say they left because Toshiba were cunts too and were so full-on about microsoft's interactive stuff (hmm wonder why) and assholes about making any deal that at some point Sony realised it was hopeless and it was Toshibas fault the talks stopped. Sony DID try to compromise. Ironically yes Sony have been cunts ever since, I agree. We probably need to dig up the articles.
Of course HD-DVD have 'better titles' for the moment because they're smart enough to know they need to push not just new but as many big name Universal catalogue titles out the door at this early stage as possible before the regular consumer comes to and realises that in terms of exclusive studio content Blu-ray has more up their sleeve. The salesman sure won't tell you if it'll sell more HD-DVDs, just like he never told all those poor fools that he was selling them all 720p and lower TVs and that hey, it's not even full spec! It seems pretty obvious that this HD-DVD woolpulling tactic (remember the Spielberg fiasco?) combined with MS financial support to subsidize those unbelievably cheap players is meant to turn the tide early on to turn studios around again and win the battle before it draws out into one they're less likely to win. A false achievement, as you say. Still, Sony sure did fuck around for long enough realeasing almost nothing but fucking Jennifer Aniston flicks!
Blu-Ray offers nothing more? Sure, if you look at only half the equation, which is movies. Why does everyone contimue to ignore computer storage where capacity is king? Sure, HD-DVD are working on more layers which they themselves admit are too late for the movie playing spec, but even there with every layer matched Blu-ray pulls ahead in terms of storage. Yep I agree you may not notice much of a difference with movies now that Sony has pulled its head out enough to stop mastering in mpeg 2 because they wanted their existing authoring tools used and are employing h264 or vc1 as well, but as I said that's not the whole story is it?
Anyway as I said if you're still listening thanks mate. We just see things differently, but I'm sure we both agree it's completely stupid that it's all come to this.
Bordello I come from the wonderful land of Oz. It's nice down here. -
Why not wait and buy the hybrid players?
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Until they're affordable, I meant.
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Sorry Half Vader, my silly comment was not meant for you, but for TheAllSeeingEye.
I have "Discovery Atlas: Australia Revealed on Blu-ray so I know it's a wonderful land :)
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I suggest you get "English Language: Grammar and Diction Revealed" on Blu-Ray and brush up on your a)sarcasm, b) english.Then follow that up with "Making a point: How to do it without looking like a right cunt". I'm sure they're available on your planet.
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Yeh, there's some debate about the Toshiba/Sony discussions that were held. Since I'm of the opinion that Sony were so far up their own arse when it came to Blu-Ray i'm fairly sure that Toshiba could have given them any deal they wanted and they'd have still walked away thinking they had the better hand.
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I respect that you support HD-DVD, but article are full of miss-informations.
If you truly are a moviephile, you should review releases regardless of what format they are in. I went into you dvd review article expecting to see something on Pirates, but there was nada. :/ -
ccchhhrrriiisssm-Are you me? Sure seems like it, I'm an EE as well and have come to the same decision on this issue. The lower price of HD-DVD will translate into a larger installed user base, and after this holiday season (esp. if we see sub $200 HD-DVD players) the BR exclusive studios will start to waver.
Personal note, I actually made some big purchases shortly after reading this thread (but in no way because of it). On Monday I bought a 42' LG LCD 720p for $1440 and the Toshiba the cheaper Toshiba player for only $200 (there was a $100 discount because I bought the TV). Why only 720p? Because for a 42' you need to be less than 4 feet away to actually see the improvement for 1080p.
I also picked up the following in HD-DVD: Children of Men, Planet Earth (off Amazon) and the Matrix Trilogy (for only $20 due to a pricing error on CircuitCity.com, thank you slickdeals.net!). All look absolutely stunning.
So yes, I believe the mere fact that I just walked away with a $200 HD-DVD player means that many other people are going to do the same, and price not technology will end this war. -
I am not so sure about that. I have the exact same player and it is VERY buggy. Just wait you will see when the picture starts skipping. I veiw this as kind of like the cheap $15 DVD players that Wal-Mart sells. They work, but just not that great.
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Are there any discs that are particularly buggy? I've only had mine since Monday but it's been perfectly fine. Have you had it for a while?
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Children of Men and the Good Shepherd are the two that I have that do it. I have read there are a few more. The problem is, it may not be the discs, but the player itself. I was first reading a forum when I first bought this a few months ago, I was reading an HD-DVD forum where a three or four of them had to send them back for repairs. Looked like it might actually be the drive and not just a firmware update. They said Toshiba was pretty fast about it though. May have to send mine to be repaired...
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...the guy who sold me my Betamax. He said, "You're gonna love this Blue-Ray!"
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- or are you trying to say you like Blu-ray? Way to make the joke turn back on you mate!
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He must've been a HD-DVD fanboy. Cause Blu-ray supporters at least know how to spell Blu-ray.
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@TheAllSeeingEye
I can see I hit a sore spot there ;)
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No, again, get a fucking dictionary, on Blu-Ray, you tit. It's a sore "subject" you moron; sore spot implies you're fingering my hemorrhoids or prostate. Would you like that? Anyway, no sore spot since, like i said, I've got both formats and, not being a fucking sheep guided round by the likes of Sony or their new bum boy Bill Hunt, I can make my own mind up. 2 Words for you, and they're the same in any language, Dolby TrueHD..sorry what format is that mandatory for again? Refresh my memory.
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I may be wrong about this but I believe that the main reason why Sony lost the tape format wars was because it was unwilling to sell licensed porn in the beta format. I thin also that vhs was cheaper to produce and that was another reason the porn industry picked vhs. If the porn industry has picked HD-DVD as the format of choice for it's titles, then it could be a pretty safe best that bluray will be lest behind (and may only be a PS3 format in the future.
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Actually I checked the "fucking dictionary" so I'm sure of it. You crazy kids!;)
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Bloody typos.
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hehe, you're a funny toon man ;)
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... because I've got a crush on Dr. John Ayrton
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Can you tell me why Dolby TrueHD is better than Multichannel PCM?
I'd go with the uncompressed PCM.
And it's spelled Blu-ray not Blu-Ray you mongo. -
You correcting AllSeeing while making the @/at mistake again. Kiss and make up mate.
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WOW!!
Harry you got alot fo your fact wrong man... I have lost alot of respect for you after this sell out..
#1 Blu-ray is also backward compatiable with the 9000 dvd's you mention.
#2 Blu-Ray also upconverts all you dvd's to atleast 720p some even 1080p
There are also alot of other facts you left out but thats ok... It seems you habe sold out and it is a sad day for Aintitcool.co as I wont be returning... -
Anything made my sony will break within the year. I support Toshiba, they made my first DVD player, and it was awesome.
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Harry's been proven wrong on most counts and his post only reveals how ignorant he is. Sad that he's such a corporate shill...
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Well the brain thrusts at best buy
have ended the "month of june promo early"... there is now a $50.00 reduction in price to $349.00 for the entry level player. I was seriously thinking of buying one but now i'll wait and see how the formay war is resolved.. My gut says both will survive and my brain says that is unfortunate.... -
Oh, this gets even better! LOL!!
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/01/10/universal-no-new-hd-dvd-titles-for-2007-announced/
HD-DVD for the LOSS! -
That was this last January moron. Guess that didn't work out too well for you, did it?
Actually, if you go to the main page of that site, there's encouraging news for the HD-DVD camp. -
This article seems to point out that HD isn't doing nearly as well as they thought. Keep in mind as well that it says specifically in the article that the figures DO NOT include game consoles (which is significant for the fact that if PS3s were included as well as PCs with Blu-Ray drives) that the Blu-Ray percentage would be MUCH higher. http://tinyurl.com/yonvu5
Also keep in mind that the person commenting is the head of Universal, which is an HD exclusive studio so it's kind of his job to try to slam Blu-Ray. There's no way to deny the key message of the article though-that HD is failing. -
Now I will stay with my upconverter and sit out the fight till there is only one left standing..
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Despite the recent hullabaloo about HD DVD dominating the stand-alone high-def disc player market, it seems HD DVD-backer Toshiba isn't selling as many HD DVD players in North America as it had originally projected.
The manufacturer said Tuesday that it now expects to sell 1 million HD DVD players and recorders in North America by the end of its fiscal year (ending March 2008), down 44 percent from its previous estimate of 1.8 million unit sales.
The announcement came as a surprise to industry observers, following several widely-reported announcements of strong HD DVD player sales in recent weeks, which had been attributed to a $100 rebate program for HD DVD players currently being offered by Toshiba at many U.S. retailers.
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You gotta read this article released today via Home Media Magazine. It seems Microsoft doesnt want HD-DVD to be a part of their future--guess bluray will win after all: http://homemediaretailing.com/news/html/breaking_article.cfm?sec_id=2&&article_ID=10757
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That article doesn't say Blu Ray will win. God you people are just stupid. It says both formats will ultimately fail to downloadable content.
Nice try on the spin though, I give it about a 5 out of 10. -
hey moron.
instead of spinning it to how you want, try actually READING the article, they are talking about all optical discs not just hddvd, they are talking about bluray and standard definition dvd as well.
but then someone like you would take the time to actually READ, now would they.
weather it be bluray or hddvd or dvd. it will be a long long time till downloading is the way movies are bought. to many people still dont have access to the internet in there homes to many people dont have credit cards, and to many people like to own something they can hold in there hand.
what happens the first time your computer crashes and your harddrive with all those movies is wiped out.
i know if we ever get to the point where you can only download a movie to own it, i wont own it. i dont download music and guess what iam not going to download movies either. so if we ever get to that point i guess i will be sticking to cable. -
iam watching bruce allmighty on hddvd right now and let me just say its.......
B
E
A
UTIFAL.
The resolution is just amazing especially when they are on top of mount everest. aboulutely stunning.
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mr dark, it hasnt been ended early the promition has been expanded (as was it was explained at the start of the discounts) to unclude all model hddvd players from toshiba not just the 399 ones.
best buy and circuit city just arent advertising the 299 price anymore . -
But you'll have to forgive them. Being Sony plants, they can't help but try to slant everything. I wouldn't be surprised if they were one person posting under psuedo-names. lol
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fanboy an'all, it wouldn't hurt you to pull your head out of Bill's ass from time to time. Might help you think straight.
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For entry level toshiba HD-A2
Was just there.. -
I was givin a HDDVD disc of Forbidden Planet a while back..Its still sealed..I own an upconverting dvd player right now.
I really want to move up to one of the two formats or wait till combo.. I've seen both formats under optimum conditions there both sweet. I never thought it would happen so quickly to get where video has gone in Home
Theater..I have read all the press
and I lean toward Blu-ray or I already would have bought hddvd.. -
I am so not an MS fanyboy it's not funny. I used to build pc's for a living. I use a Mac now. And I have both formats already, so that part of it doesn't matter to me. I just prefer HD-DVD. I say that not because of fanboys, corporate shilling, Site preferences, or forcasted sales, or lack thereof, but because of what I've seen with my own two eyes.
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You guys are missing the point. Microsoft WANTS both formats to die so they can then push their downloadable content on us. The ONLY reason they're "supporting" HD-DVD is so they can drag out the "war" and ultimately destroy hard-copy content altogether. Read between the lines folks [quote]“I don’t know that [HD] will be delivered on an optical disc in five to 10 years,” he said, pointing to downloads and broadband delivery. “At Microsoft, we’d rather it wasn’t [on a disc].”[/quote]OF COURSE NOT! But...[quote]He added that Microsoft is “very firmly planted in HD DVD”[/quote]And you don't see the Palpatine-style master-plan here? Do understand the DIVIDE part of "divide and conquer"? They're funding the war! Get it? I don't give a shit which one wins or which one is supposedly better, one of them NEEDS to emerge sooner rather than later. It only makes sense that it be the one that's closer ( & probably better) and not being peddled by a corporation that just admitted they have no interest in "disks" at all. DL-content is not that far off. XBOX-LIVE and Netflix are doing huge business already. I'm not a "Sony-plant" I have a 360 and XBL. You get a movie for two weeks/24 hours after download. It's basically a rental. But after reading that and all the copyright-protection bullshit that MS and Applle have foisted on us with "our" music, you should be shitting your pants. Are you sure would to "buy" movies from these fuckers? As far as "crashing hard-drives" go, the assholes have a solution for that too...online hard-drives. It's already happening, look at photobucket/Flickr etc. Eventually they would prefer if all your shit was out in cyberspace. And you fuckers will buy into it too because you'll want extra room to store all your content where it's "safe" And it will seem more practical than getting more hardware. But once you start down the dark path, will really "own" anything? "Live-Drive" or some other such bullshit is closer than you think. You see, there's so much more behind the statement “At Microsoft, we’d rather it wasn’t [on a disc].” Reject the path that MS has laid for us. Choose a format NOW before the day comes when you have no choice. The MS-engineered war must end lest both sides lose and a new galactic-empire is formed. With all the current studio-support, Blue-Ray is our only hope. And don't think for a second that the shroud of the dark side isn't already upon us. This shit can happen, and it WILL...if we let it. Remember when TV was actually free?... That's what I thought.
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Microsoft is only supporting HD-DVD to drag out the war? Really? So there's no money to be made on HDi, VC-1, and XBOX 360 HD-DVD drive? You want to talk about un-ethical digital rights management? Google "rootkit" and talk to me about how righteous Sony is. Betamax, Minidisc, Memory Stick, SACD, UMD....Blu-Ray. Another failed attempt at a proprietary format for Sony. BR was concieved to deliver MPEG2 encoded HD video, hence the necessary additional capacity. Except, whoops!- Microsoft has a vastly superior codec- VC-1 - that can delivery better quality with less space. So tell me again why the twice-as-expensive Sony technology is so compelling? Movie studios? Wait and see what happens with movie studio support the longer this thing draws out. Disney and Fox were DIVX exclusive in 1997. That didn't work out either.
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They can suck a fat one too. I bought an XBOX because I didn't want them to completely dominate the console-market, in which MS, for the first time, was the underdog. But this format war has much farther-reaching consequences than a typical game-console war. We don't need/want an underdog or balance in this case. "Wait and see what happens with movie studio support the longer this thing draws out." Hear you nothing that I say? Again, that is what MS wants. They don't give as hit about HD-DVD. Sure, they don't mind making a couple bucks off an add-on (they'd make a BD add-on too) but they've just made it clear they want discs, and most likely all tangible-media to go the way of the dodo. "Disney and Fox were DIVX exclusive in 1997" EXACTLY! They ALL support DRM!!! We should be thanking the gods that BD has the studio support that it does! You think it would be a good thing if this shit gets "drawn out" again so the studios can have time change their minds? The clock is ticking my friend. Like I said, I don't give a shit which side wins, (six months ago I was 100% behind HD-DVD) we just need one to WIN! Otherwise they both lose. No Republic, no separatists, just the Empire. You guys can sit around AICN screaming "Sony-fanboy/plant/shill" to your heart's content, but in five years we ain't gonna have shit. You thought DIVX was bad? Wait till media is out of your hands. We'll be paying, and paying, and paying. Fuck Sony too, but right now they are the lesser of two evils. MS just took off the mask and revealed the monster. “At Microsoft, we’d rather it wasn’t [on a disc].” How much clearer can they make it? Why choose the format supported by the enemy? Why wait around for studio-support to rotate back to HD-DVD? It WON'T! They'd all just turn around and do exactly what MS has really wanted them to do all along... which is to bail disks altogether and jump on the DL-path they're secretly working on (somewhere on Geonosis maybe). HD-DVD is a fucking ruse man. It may have started off noble but it is now an MS-puppet. That's the only reason it's even still in the game. MS is probably even giving money to Universal. They're not betting on a dying horse because they believe in it or feel sorry for it. They've stated what the bigger picture is there should be no further debate. For us, at this point, it' not about helping Sony... it's about keeping movies on our shelves where they belong. Yeah, you're right. Sony just paid me to say that/I'm under Digital-Bill's evil spell. YOU ARE THE BALL-LICKERS! Enjoy your downloads boys, maybe you can figure out how to hack those expiration-codes, or make "Live-Drive" free. Cheers
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HD-DVD is a fucking ruse? HD-DVD gives you the exact same viewing experience as Blu-Ray (more actually, since HDi has been complete since day 1 and BD-J 1.1 isn't mandatory until 10/31/07), and costs half the price. How is that bad for consumers? Sony's exclusive studios were sold on the premise that the extra capacity is needed and the PS3 was a trojan horse. Neither of those are true; King Kong on HD-DVD is widely considered a reference-level HD movie and it’s on a 30GB HD-DVD disc with VC-1 encoding. The PS3 has essentially been a colossal failure (contributing to Sony's 1.7 BILLION debt), consistently coming in 4th behind its own PS2 in console sales, and selling not even half of its projected sales volume through 06-07. The attached rate for Blu-Ray discs to players when considering the PS3 is an amazingly lame .46. That means 1 BR disc sold for every 2+ PS3s sold. The same attach rate for HD-DVD is 3.6 discs sold for every HD-DVD stand alone or Xbox add-on drive. And as HD-DVD continues to nip at Blu-Ray's heals in software, the exclusive studios will realize that the real winners are WB and Paramount who are releasing in both. Studios don’t care about formats, they care about money. Once they see there is money to be made in the growing HD-DVD base, they’ll cave. You want to scream for the viability of an HD disc format? Scream at exclusive studios to go neutral and let the consumers decide. And I guarantee consumers will pick the one that’ll be $199 by Christmas (hell it’s $199 now if you know where to look). Studio exclusivity is far, far more dangerous to the format war than some guy at Microsoft who thinks downloading movies will be viable in 10 years. And Microsoft paying for Universal’s exclusivity is some bullshit if I ever heard it. Universal has publicly trashed Sony for their continuous string of failed formats and, after the UMD disaster, chose HD-DVD because they wanted a winning horse. Universal is the most supportive studio of any HD format; moreso than Disney and Fox (where the hell are Fox’s BR movies anyway!?). If anyone needs to cave, it’s Disney who sat on the committee to finalize HDi specs, before making a last-minute knee-jerk switch to Blu-Ray. Once one caves, the rest is a house of cards.
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If it's the "exact same viewing" experience" then who cares which one wins? I don't give a frog's fat-ass if the tennis-ball lands back in HD-DVD's court as long as as it happens quickly. And I don't see the need to try and force it to happen when BD seems to have a bigger edge right now then either format had six months ago. As far as cheap prices go, your typical Wal-Mart shopper who would go for a cheaper player probably doesn't have an HD-TV anyway, and by the time they get one (most likely this Holiday-season) Those same cheap players will have in turn caused a price-drop on BD-players as well. And sometimes lower-prices can make a product look "cheap" to consumers rather than simply cheaper. And brothers, keep in mind, this isn't like VHS vs. Beta. Back then there wasn't another option looming on the horizon. The two could co-exist for a little while until one could finally win out. In this case the two could just cancel each other out with MS waiting in the wings to peddle their "non-disk" bullshit. And btw, I think it's far more likely that Universal will cave sooner then, uh.. seven other studios. I mean, c'mon...let's be realistic. Maybe what you're saying is possible...maybe they will all make a "last-minute knee-jerk switch" to HD-DVD. But why would they? Is HD-DVD really all that much better? You seem to think so. But there are plenty of others who would argue the opposite. Beta was better than VHS, but that didn't seem to bother consumers that much. Sure, the HD-DVD players are cheaper right now, but that seems to be pretty meaningless at this point. It might be a factor in five months, it might not. I just hope this thing is settled one way or the other by year's-end. I know the clock is ticking faster now because of the aggressive nature with which MS is pushing Downloadable content. Also, I don't think the notion of MS paying Universal is that far-fetched. You mean to tell me they're passing up millions of dollars in Blue-Ray sales just because they truly want the consumer to have a better product? Hey, I'm sure there's some bullshit going on with Sony and Disney too.. but, I just don't care! Fine, HD-DVD then...you better have it done by X-Mas Johnny, or you're fired!
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One thing- 7 studios do not have to cave. Blu-Ray currently has 7 of 8 major studio's support (and one of them is Sony- Columbia/MGM). HD-DVD has 5 of 8 major studio's support. The only ones that have to "cave" are Disney and Fox. With Fox not releasing a damn thing, I think it'd be pretty easy for them to switch from releasing nothing on Blu-Ray to releasing nothing on HD-DVD. With the exception of Pirates, Disney's not much better. I wonder how they feel that their current flagship franchise, Pirates, sold a craptastic <50,000 Blu-Ray discs.
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50,000 Blu-Ray discs.
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Blu-ray all the way baby.
Selling 3.5million PS3's within 7 months is a "colossal failure."
LMAO@Johnny Boy
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I don't hold it against anyone who bought a PS3- no doubt it's a great (expensive) piece of consumer electronics. However, you can't dispute facts. The PS3 was continually delayed due to Blu-Ray specs; after release, the PS3 has been beaten consistently by the Wii, the X-Box, and Sony's own PS2 in console sales; the PS3 is a huge loss-leader for Sony with estimates of $200+ lost on each PS3 sold (largely due to the Blu-Ray drive); Playstation chief Ken Kutaragi steps down after the lackluster launch; Goldman-Sachs predicts a $2B loss based on the PS3 production and is right; Sony cancels the 20GB version (supposedly an even bigger loss leader than the 60 GB); Sony SHIPS just 3.42 million PS3's worldwide, which is down from Sony's projection of 6 million units shipped through fiscal year 06 (note SHIPPED and SOLD are not the same); Sony US announces PS3-related job cuts. So they ship almost half as many as they predicted, take a $2B loss, and their shipped units are piled up at Best Buy in bulk (I won't even bother with a guess on how many units retailers have actually sold to end users). Yes, thus far, PS3 is a collosal failure.
Despite all of this bad news, Blu-Ray IS PS3. If Sony relied on standalone player sales, Blu-Ray would've been stillborn. The problem Sony faces now is that the PS3 is the least expensive Blu-Ray disc movie player, and the most expensive game machine. They need to lower SRP dramatically to compete with HD-DVD in standalone Blu-Ray player sales as well as the video game console wars, but it's already taking a fiscal bath at a $600 srp. Sony's use of the PS3 as its Blu-Ray savior is reckless, and it will end up relegating Blu-Ray to a PS3 movie format, much like UMD is the PSP movie format.
The ONLY bright side Blu-Ray has right now is studio support and a lead in disc sales (which again, when you consider attach rate is actually pretty poor). However, HD-DVD's disc sales have been on a continuous slow but steady upward trend since March, where Blu-Ray's have remained relatively flat. I expect more of the flat line in movie sales when PS3 actually gets some decent games out.
HD-DVD's strategy from the beginning was to remain viable against Blu-Ray long-term and compete on price to establish an equal footing and show the two non-Sony movie studio exclusives there is money to be made on the format. Sony's strategy was that their technology was "better" and people will buy PS3 at any price, hence they bury HD-DVD right out of the gate. HD-DVD is succeeding at their strategy; Sony is not. No one at Sony could have predicted a year after format launch that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are practically even, and Nintendo of all people would steal the video game market.
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"The kicker is... that it can play the 9000 or so DVDs I already have, as well as the HD DVDs. That Backwards compatibility feels right."
Wow. You really know your tech.
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Blockbuster to favor Blu-ray HD discs over DVD format
By Gary Gentile / AP Business Writer
Article Launched: 06/17/2007 02:40:24 PM MDT
LOS ANGELES - Blockbuster Inc. will rent high-definition DVDs only in the Blu-ray format in 1,450 stores when it expands its high-def offerings next month, dealing a major blow to the rival HD DVD format.
The move, being announced Monday, could be the first step in resolving a format war that has kept confused consumers from rushing to buy new DVD players until they can determine which format will dominate the market.
Blockbuster has been renting both Blu-ray and HD DVD titles in 250 stores since late last year and found that consumers were choosing Blu-ray titles more than 70 percent of the time.
"The consumers are sending us a message. I can't ignore what I'm seeing," Matthew Smith, senior vice president of merchandising at Blockbuster, told The Associated Press.
Blockbuster will continue to rent HD DVD titles in the original 250 locations and online, the Dallas-based company said.
The decision was helped in large part by the lopsided availability of titles in Blu-ray, Smith said. All major studios except one
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are releasing films in Blu-ray, with several, including The Walt Disney Co., releasing exclusively in Blu-ray. Only Universal Studios, which is owned by General Electric Co., exclusively supports HD DVD.
Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., and Paramount Pictures, which is owned by Viacom Inc., release films in both formats.
"When you walk into a store and see all this product available in Blu-ray and there is less available on HD DVD, I think the consumer gets that," Smith said.
The rollout of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 game console, which comes standard with a Blu-ray drive, also helped give the format momentum, Smith said.
Blockbuster's decision, while significant on it's own, could boost Blu-ray even more if other retailers follow suit.
"It will help shift the balance toward Blu-ray, clearly," said Richard Doherty, president of The Envisioneering Group, a research company.
The North American HD DVD Promotional Group said Blockbuster's decision was shortsighted and skewed by the success of films released by Blu-ray studios in the first three months of the year. The group said HD DVD has since gained momentum, selling more players and popular titles such as "The 40-Year Old Virgin" and "The Matrix" trilogy.
"I think trying to make a format decision using such a short time period is really not measuring what the consumer is saying," said Ken Graffeo, co-president of the group.
The two formats have been battling it out since they both hit the market last year. Studios hope the high-definition discs, with their sharper picture and more room for interactive special features and games, will replace standard definition DVDs.
The formats are incompatible and neither will play on standard DVD players, although standard DVDs can be viewed with either a Blu-ray or HD DVD player.
The Blu-ray camp has been helped by the release of such huge hits as "Casino Royale," ''Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Spider-Man" coming out exclusively in its format.
As the battle has unfolded, the price of the high-definition players needed to show the movies has plummeted. Toshiba Corp., the major supporter of HD DVD, is selling its player for $299 with a rebate, down from $499 when it first went on sale.
Sony, which is pushing Blu-ray, recently slashed the price of its player by more than half to $499. The player retailed for $1,000 when it first was introduced. -
Come to the darkside..., we have cookies.
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The same Blockbuster that's lost 46 million this first quarter? Yeah, this is a major announcement. Blockbuster is hemmoraging money and wants to force a winner so that they can capitalize. Once again, the real winner will be Netflix who offers both formats and understands that there is no way any of the sales statistics thus far will decide the outcome. Right now, the war is two fleas fighting over a dog's ass. The first format with a $200 srp player in Wal-mart wins. This will no doubt earn the Blu-Ray boys some PR points. Too bad there's not a damn thing under $600 for Blockbuster customers to actually watch Blu-Ray movies with.
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YOU'RE OUT, HD DVD! AND THE WINNER IS...
http://tinyurl.com/yuk4rw
How are you HD DVD talkback flagwavers gonna get over this teeny tiny hurdle now? Still got the receipt? -
Losing 46 million in business terms is a blip if you have a business as large as Blockbuster. I seem to remember them doing this with VHS/DVD. How you expect everyone in the country to wrestle with another bunch of cables behind their TV and PC so they can download movies is farcical. My old Dad wont be doing that or my techno fear sister. They'll be paying their money over the counter at BB until hooking up to downloading is a no brainer, which right now it isn't. So get over it. Blu Ray won. Thank you and goodnight.
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Which will probably be Blu-ray with the GoWell G875 Blu-ray Player from China. Looks like Wal-Mart will probably pick Blu-ray too.
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Well hot damn! Fair enough. Congrats to the rich kids, the war is over! The format with region coding, DRM, higher price points, and incomplete specs gets the nod!
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You suck dicks don't you?
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This isn't going to decide anything.
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One more reason why HD-DVD is dead...
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=265#comments -
http://boingboing.net/2007/02/13/bluray_and_hddvd_bro.html
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Glad Blu-ray is turning out to be the format people prefer.
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DVD is the format people prefer. Of the 1% of disc buying public that is actually buying HD, 58% of those buy Blu-Ray because they bought a PS3. The other 42% buy HD-DVD and bought a standalone player to do so (whether it be from Toshiba or XBox add-on) That's one lame yardstick to make any conclusions by considering Sony's got 3m PS3's in the marketplace and Toshiba/MS have 350K total players. What happens if PS3 sales continue to stagnate and HD-DVD players explode? If Blu-Ray somehow destroys HD-DVD this holiday season via PS3 price-drop or surprise-cheap standalones, then maybe you can start talking about what the poeple prefer. No matter how much the BR fans smell blood in the water with the Blockbuster announcement, mass adoption is way off for either format. The more time it takes for mass adoption, the longer HD-DVD has to gain a foothold via its primary advantage- price.
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Blu-ray! We're number one! You're number two!
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You're winning by .16% of all software sales! Congrats! I sure do have to eat my humble pie! Everything is an exclamation!
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Some talking points
1) Harry's whole article is bollocks. No need to beat his hairy ass. Literally NOTHING in his post is accurate.
2) Blu-ray players are higher in price and need to hit below $300 to approach mainstream adoption.
3) HD-DVD and Blu-ray offer IDENTICAL picture/sound quality on go-forward releases (VC-1 and TrueHD).
4) New releases will count FAR more than catalog sales save a HANDFUL of blockbuster titles BECAUSE:
5) Upscaling makes HD "repurchasing" a tougher sell AND
6) Newer movies benefit from the crystal clean film assets that really shine in HD.
Of course, there are some epic movies (Lawrence of Arabia, Ten Commandments, etc.) that will really look astounding in HD. But are you REALLY sweating to get an HD transfer of "Scary Movie"? I'll pass.
On the other hand, thanks to my PS3, projector and 92" screen, the wife and I are already deciding which NEW movies will end up as strictly home vs. theatrical viewings: FF:Silver Surfer (Fox release=Blu-ray purchase); Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount=movie and home purchase); Evan Almighty (Universal=maybe a DVD rental).
With two kiddies, most family movie choices (Pixar/Disney's included) are going to be seen on the home cineplex too. Factor in babysitters, snacks and gas and the economics of HD start to look a LOT more favorable. Easily, $70+ per film in L.A. for a family of four.
Blu-ray's studio support guarantees a stronger stream of FUTURE releases as well as some incredible catalog properties already mentioned here... Blockbuster's Blu-ray "exclusive" announcement makes them the first and largest brick and mortar retailer to declare for one format... Things are trending toward Sony, IMO. -
Several HT forums are starting to get posts from blu-ray dvd owners that seem to suggest that at least one title, The Prestige may be prone to disc rot very similar to that phenomenon found notably in the past with some laserdiscs (specifically with mid 90's Sony/Tri Star discs) and a few dvds and cds. Most of the time, this issue has been traced to contamination or incorrectly mixed chemical materials in the lamination process. It's very possible just a select batch of this one title during it's initial pressing was affected. Here's a link to one such thread in the AVS forums:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=857067&page=1&pp=30
Anyone here have this problem? -
http://www.eproduct wars.com/dvd/
Yep, just only a 0.16% lead by BD. And look at that dive by HD-DVD at the end on the second chart. While BD sales steadied. All because an insignicant Blockbuster corporation announced full support for BD.
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You HD-DVD supporters don't even realize when your end is near. Sorry you invested in a dud, but it happens.
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Lol! For a few days from 6/19 to 6/22 HD-software sales went down. You’re right, HD-DVD lost! How about you look at some actually meaningful numbers, like the sales trend from March 07 to current - http://www.hdgamedb.com/amazon/history.aspx?TYPE=100&SPAN=90. Be sure to put your Blu goggles on so you don’t see the steady upward trend in HD-DVD sales. Looks like Blu-Ray took a dip since 6/5 as well. It must be rapidly failing too! This isn’t day-trading kiddies. The first time we’re even going to get a glimpse of how this might turn out is post-Christmas going into CES 2008. BDA’s own Frank Simonis said it will take three years for Blu-Ray to win. Also, sorry to say vaaj, but Blockbuster didn’t announce “full support” of Blu-Ray. They announced that in a majority of their b&m stores (the non-flagship locations) they will be renting Blu-Ray only, because Blu-Rays were rented 70% of the time in the first quarter (same time Blu-Rays were selling 70%). This, btw, is while HD-DVD had its worst-to-date drought of new releases. Blockbuster said publicly that they will add HD-DVD when customers demand it. Keeping in mind, they will continue to rent HD-DVD in their 250 highest volume locations as well as online. Feel free to watch the carefully open-minded interview with Nick Shepherd’s “staunch” Blu-Ray support- http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=383736735&play=1. Third point of bullshit- the most accurate sales numbers for the formats say 1.6m Blu-Rays vs. 1.1m HD-DVDs sold to date. First off, that kind of volume over a year’s time is laughable, even combined. Second, that attach rate blows considering so many more PS3’s. Even so, that’s 59/41 in favor of Blu-Ray. My apologies, you’re ahead by a whopping 18%. 18% of shit volume (again, approximately 1% of ALL movie discs sold). And if the PS3 is the next coming of Christ like some of you describe it to be, why did Sony Chairmen Howard Singer just admit publicly 1) Sony has been struggling 2) they are in recovery mode 3) PS3 launch was bungled. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070621...DkYigdorC9k24cA. All the while kicking the “father of Playstation”, Ken Katuragi, right out the door. Yeah, that’s a move you make when your division is successful. Also, anybody notice what the top three DVD Players are on Amazon.com (y’know, the world’s largest online retailer) for the last month now? I feel sorry for the Blu-boys who think this thing is won. Sony pwns!
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He can't act for poop, but this deserves a Vin Diesel quote.
"Ask any racer, any real racer. It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile; winning's winning." -
Blu-ay is ahead in both disc and hardware sales (when considering PS3). Those are undisputed facts. But how far ahead and at what overall volume? Take another look at this graph- http://www.hdgamedb.com/amazon/history.aspx?TYPE=100&SPAN=90.
See the huge spike in HD-DVD sales on 4/15? That happened becuase a few over-zealous fan boys at avsforum.com organized a "buy day" to coincide with tax day. Fanboys on one website can cause that kind of spike with the current sales volume. This fight is over peanuts. Claim victory all you want (weekly, I think, is the current BDA victory march schedule), but as long as sales are pitifually low and Universal is exclusive, two formats remain. -
Quintus: People should know when they are conquered.
Maximus: Would you, Quintus? Would I?
One studio versus seven. Just my opinion, but I think BD has the better odds. But whatever helps you to sleep at night with you HD-DVD player. -
Glad someone is talking facts instead of bs (for once).
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Again with the bogus "facts." HD-DVD has 5 of 8 major studios supporting it, including Universal exclusively. Blu-Ray has 7 of 8 major studios supporting it, including Disney, Fox, and Sony exclusively. And imo, I'll take Universal, who actually releases movies, over the Blu-Ray "supporters" who have nothing to show but a list of canceled or 'coming soon' titles.
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Yeah, that "huge spike" was caused when the buy day people all bought from AMAZON, one retailer. But, it didn't even cause a blip on the big picture of the weekly sales where Blu-ray had still outsold HD-DVD by a great margin.
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But you are also forgetting the smaller studios, which cause an impact too. Lionsgate and also Starz/Anchor Bay. Oh yeah and just look at the AVS forum. Alot of people complaining about Universals horrible transfers. And just look at their picture quality ratings.....
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I have several Universal discs, and none of them looks horrible. There are some older movies that don't lend themselves to HD as well, but both formats have that issue.
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I'm fortunate enough to own both formats and when choosing which version of a movie to buy(if available on both formats which 75% of movies are), i wait to read the reviews over in the AVS forums where people generally know what they are talking about, unlike a good number of those who posted above.Sometimes I buy the BRD and sometimes the HD DVD.At this point in time i own a good majority more HD DVD for the sake of quality.Until BRD finalizes it's specs later this year, i don't expect the trend to change much.
Most people who i see posting in this thread that aren't neutral are obvious owners of PS3's.It's so easy to tell.Some people get so defensive when they read that in some way HD DVD may be superior to BRD that they take it personally.Most likely because of the lack of decent games and it's third place position behind the Wii and the 360.If i spend $600 on a game console and all it turned out to be valueable for was to play BRD's, i'd likely feel a little slighted to.
The truth is, the winner(if there is even one)of the next gen dvd war will be the one that makes alot of affordable players and movie titles available to the public.Right now the average consumer can't afford to buy into either format, but they will be the ones who evetually decides who wins. If in the meantime they don't start choosing digital download first because the same people also don't NEED to own a physical copy that can get lost or scratched when they can simply stream the movie to their set top boxes in under 5 minutes.$500+ multifunction boxes aren't going to be anything more than niche market products no matter what anyone says or believes.
Until the day comes when everything takes off people who do own next gen disc players of any sort ought to just enjoy what they've got and stop worrying about the next guy that may own something different.Acting like fanboys and throwing around false facts and numbers doesn't do anything but show everyone else how immature and unstable some grownup people really aree. -
I wish I had your connection! 83MB/sec throughput is awesome (25GB/5 min)... especially when hi-speed DSL averages less than 300K/sec.
I've watched hi-def movies on cable. The picture is nice, but pixelation hits hard in high speed/motion scenes. It simply does not compare to having a hi-def disc. Downloads are for renters not owners. When you factor in the high cost and relative instability of hard disks, they simply can't compare to a durable, transportable and high quality images that the two disc formats offer.
By the time mainstreamers start buying HD discs, there will be no discernible difference in quality between blu-ray and HD-DVD. At that point, content choice and player price will be the leading factors. Blu-ray players are coming down in price and they have more exclusive content providers; I think it's unreasonable to posit that one studio will keep HD-DVD alive when there is so much more content exclusively available for blu-ray (potential catalog releases and current hits). -
Well, I can’t watch potential at home; I can watch movies. And there are five major studios supporting HD-DVD, not one. Studio support is not a deciding factor this early in the format war when a) released titles on the shelf are equal for both, b) Much of Blu-Ray’s exclusive content is conspicuously absent, and c) Blu-Ray’s hardware is priced way out of range of the magical number- $199. Studio support is not absolute. When it’s apparent that exclusive studios are missing out on half of the potential HD consumer base, we’ll see some moves. Studios care about money, not formats.
We'll see what Q4 holds for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD standalone prices. Everything hinges on hardware at this point. -
Blu Ray prices may come down, but HD-DVD players will still be cheaper. And as LaPlegm said above, there is more than one studio that supports HD-DVD.
But in the end, I agree with Tezs. Nothing posted on this forum is going to make a dent on which format will win. What will be will be, as they say. -
What I tried to make clear is that the ONE studio (Universal) is the differentiating factor. Fence-sitters can't sway the argument since their product will ultimately be available on both platforms. Therefore, platform EXCLUSIVES will have a greater impact on decisions.$199 isn't realistic for this technology yet. In the meantime, DVDs high market penetration combined with uniformly high quality transfers (for new releases anyway) will keep customers happy until the format drama is concluded.
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CD's are becoming obsolete. Digital Music is taking over, you can thank Napster and the IPOD for that. Film will become completely digital in time, the same way Music is becoming completely digital... sure you can still find any format you can think of... but the mainstream today is the digitalized internet media...
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http://tinyurl.com/2d543f
Courtesy of the very eloquent writers of gamesindustry.biz (not that I haven't a wonderful way with words). -
Just admit you work for Toshiba.
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Oh Zool-ie, you nut. I don't work in consumer electronics at all, but it might be fun. Maybe a Toshiba salary would enable me to afford a PS3. Viral marketing is shitty no matter which side, but Sony seems to take the cake in that regard: http://www.campaignhd.com/407_Phase_Hydra.html
So apparently people do like a good value, because Toshiba sold 70% more HD-DVD players over May/June when they went on sale. Looks like the new lower pricing becomes permanent on July 1st.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070629/nef003.html -
http://tinyurl.com/222lk3
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http://www.gamesindustry.biz/ content_page.php?aid=26380
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http://avzombie.com/blog/2007/06/25/no-new-blu-ray-player-planned-by-panasonic/
More evidence of the double-edged sword that is the PS3. Panansonic has as much stake in Blu-Ray as Sony, so this is a curious move. If they are not willing to subsidize the cost of players to the extent that they can be competitive with the PS3 (or S300 standalone), they must feel PS3 will single-handedly carry Blu-Ray into 2008. That’s a very serious gamble and potentially one step closer to Blu-Ray being a PS3 only format if the software tide turns.
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Only because there aren't any games worth playing on the machine. Blu-Ray is all it's got right now. I don't know if I would be proud of that if I was Sony.
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http://blog. pixelperfectproductions. com/?p=54
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Who wants it in HD? Most of the world is happy just to see a tit watching the Spice channel through the static!
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...I thought I should finally pay it a visit.
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Actually im going to get both. Blu Ray is probably going to win in my opinion.
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Viacom Inc's (VIAb.N) Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc (DWA.N) said on Monday they will release their DVD titles exclusively on HD DVD, the high-definition digital movie format whose sales have lagged those of rival Blu-Ray so far this year.
Paramount, which distributes DreamWorks Animation's DVDs, settled on HD DVD after determining that the format offers better quality and lower-cost players and lower manufacturing costs, the studios said in a statement.
Two competing technologies -- HD DVD and Blu-Ray -- are waging a battle to dominate the next generation of DVD players that promise crisper video, audio and in some cases more content in the multibillion-dollar home entertainment arena.
Paramount's first releases under the exclusive HD DVD program include "Blades of Glory" on August 28 and the summer blockbusters "Transformers" and "Shrek the Third," due for release later this fall.
The exclusive agreement does not include movies directed by Steven Spielberg for DreamWorks SKG, which is a Paramount unit. His films are not exclusive to either format, Paramount said.
The agreement does include all other movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films.
HD DVD was developed by Toshiba Corp and backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and is supported by Warner Bros., Universal Studios, New Line Cinema, HBO and the Weinstein Co. -
My PS3 has built in wi-fi, internet, plays next-gen games, upconverts all standard dvd's, is front slot loading (very cool), has a bluetooth remote, and looks as sexy as a Porsche.
Blu-ray discs are less expensive than their hd-dvd counterparts.
Blu-ray has a 70% to 30% market share in players, plus PS3 will sell like mad this holiday season. -
Paramount only went w/ hd-dvd because of a big payoff meant to try and save the format. Blu-ray has an over 2 to 1 lead in movie sales and players sold. PS3's will win this war, not Paramount.
Hd-dvd has Paramount and Universal, blu-ray has Sony, Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, and MGM exclusivity. Also, Blockbuster is blu-ray exclusive, and Target has announced that the only hd-dvd player they will be selling from now on will be the Xox360 add-on player.
Blu-ray has a higher storage capacity and faster data transfer rate. -
just after Harry signed the deal to give out HD-DVD players at BNAT?
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Which pretty much kills HD-DVD's future. I assume the self-destruct devices hidden in each HDD player will detonate at any moment.
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Looks like you were wrong.
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Ah well, everybody chooses badly from time to time... my best friend still has his Virtual Boy.
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I still have one and it kicks 3D infra-red ass... to hell with eyeball cancer.
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BluRay always was the better format, at least on specification. At least the better format won out this time unlike the whole Betamax vs VHS thing.
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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May 05, 2011 8:50:19 AM CDT
"So, have I chosen wrong? I don't think so, what do you think?"
by kevin_costners_recycled_piss
I think you got pwned fatman. Well and truely pwned.
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Jan 27, 2012 8:37:56 PM CST
What finally killed HD-DVD? Was it when Disney deciding on Blu-ray or something like that?
by stereotypical evil archer
I hate dealing with firmware issues on Blu-ray... that shit has to disappear.
Back in the day HD-DVD looked more film-like than Blu-ray, but thet Blu-rays they used back them probably had too much noise compression or some techno babble like that.
Blu-rays are still too expensive upon new release.
Until digital copies become 1080p and NEVER EXPIRE, the physical format will be alive and well for some time. -
Jan 28, 2012 5:40:30 AM CST
I've chosen 5-1/4" floppies, and here's why...
by inexplicable_nuclear_balls
Bigger is always better.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejOLFlccoTI
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I hope they paid you very well at the time, though.
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Jan 28, 2012 11:39:03 AM CST
What a fuckin dick! Next Harry's gonna say Chronicle was good......
by creepythinman_eats_cock_fact.
Oh, wait.
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how did u do it?
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Jan 28, 2012 12:57:20 PM CST
Harry has chosen to accept studio pwesents...Here's Why...
by banned_of_brothers
The kicker is... that I can add to the 9000 or so pwesents I already have. It just feels right.
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The kicker is... that I can add to the 9000 or so people I have already banned for disagreeing with me. It just feels right.
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Jan 28, 2012 4:43:42 PM CST
so where did he shove all his HD-DVDs anyway - inquiring minds don't care
by cozy
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I still use mine right next to the BR deck. The HD DVD deck is a better upconverter so my DVDs get more play on the HD DVD deck Vs the BR player. I still have 3 HD DVD decks so they will be in use for years to come.
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Jan 28, 2012 5:59:14 PM CST
Holy shit, Harry's whole reasoning was bullshit and wrong
by jackslater4
Hilarious
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I'd shoot Donald Reagan to prove my love for Lisa Foster.
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It was a complete shock to me that Blu-Ray was the winner. I love it now, but hated it then. Well, at least I didn't get invested in either until the dust settled.
I just assumed that since this came out of Sony, it would died a slow, proprietary death. Boy was I off. -
Jan 28, 2012 6:17:22 PM CST
Harry has chosen the 8-Track over the iPod, and here is why...
by lowjason77
It's probably a good idea if Harry never openly supports anything on his site again, including films...
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In both HD-DVD AND Blu-Ray.
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You never have to buy gas. If you get tired, you can just plug your hd-dvd player into the rick-port, watch Martix Reloaded, and rest up until you have the energy to make it to Circuit City.
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We need to keep this thread going.
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Make this the forum!
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Like. Fuck up Yoda and Shit.
Spread the word we should congregate here.
So, Has anyone Seen-
Bloodbath at the House of Death, with Vincent
Price? -
Jan 29, 2012 7:47:42 AM CST
Blu-ray will be obsolete soon enough now every new TV will have WiFi and USB ports
by siouxcitysarsaparilla
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Good point, but will those actually be better than a Blu disc?
What I mean is, I still have DVD, and XBOX360. And Atari 2600, Dreamcast, Turbographx-16. (with CD).
I dont even care about BLU. What does a stream from my puter, or someones' puter, hitting my TV really mean to me?
Does it have special features? Can I hold it?
I could watch any movie on a computer, but I simply don't.
USB ports and WIFI are bullshit tech terms. LIKE FUCKING PONG!
We all know it doesn't change how people view films.
Shit, I prefer VHS and Cassete tapes.
Not arguing, but all this stuff is not the second coming.
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Because the average person has no fucking idea what "blu-ray" means. But the average person can hear "HD-DVD" and understand that it's some kind of enhanced DVD.
I think if things had gone differently and HD-DVD had won, there might still be disc rental stores in my city. If not that, then maybe at least people like my friend with 3 blu-ray players and no blu-ray discs except the ones I've given him would actually watch high definition discs instead of just watching DVDs all the time.
So blu-ray won, but I wish that HD-DVD had won. I still have a hybrid BR/HD-DVD drive in one of my older computers. -
Jan 29, 2012 8:29:13 AM CST
Never saw a single compelling retail demonstration of HD to this day
by autodidact
Am I the only one puzzled as to why not a single store on the planet ever set up an SD TV playing SD content next to an HD TV playing the same content in HD?
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The majority of people are fucking retards. I knew, as any intelligent person knows, that Blu-Ray is, was, and will be superior. The majority voted for a racist piece of shit, George Bush Jr. TWICE and he won and he fucked the world and the future, nailing us to a moving train on a path to total annihilation. Why would I expect fucking retards of America to pick the right choice?
Well, my jaw dropped when Americans finally made a right choice.
Unfuckingbelievable that there may be a little glimmer of hope for humanity afterall.
WHAT THE FUCK HARRY? -
Jan 29, 2012 8:41:35 AM CST
what killed HDDVD is when PORN decided on Blu are their sticky format of choice
by cozy
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and I just got my first ipod 2 years ago ....... I am always late to the party
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If you don't already own it in blu-ray, now is the chance!
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And the world is a much nicer place as it is run by Germans..
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Jan 29, 2012 10:27:03 AM CST
Within eighteen months it will be commonplace for your grandad to...
by siouxcitysarsaparilla
Watch video on demand on his 50 inch Internet television just as easily as you surf YouTube on your laptop today. The technology is already here and you don't even need a premium subscription as the top models have web browsing. You'll be able to stream content from your hub to all the other devices in your house and you'll be able to rip anything on your personal digital recorder direct onto a USB memory stick which you can watch at your friends' houses too. Why the fuck will anybody need to go to the shopping mall to buy Blu-rays? Never mind the shops Amazon is fucked too. Why else are they robbing the publishing industry blind trying to muscle in with Kindle the same way Apple fucked the music business with their iPod more than a decade ago.
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i play dvds on my xbox 360 and stream other things to my Roku. when i want superior quality, i have ways of doing it but for the most part, i'm not a stickler for quality. i rarely sit and engross myself in movies at home. if i do, it's because road warrior or ALIEN is on tv and i'll get stuck watching it in pan and scan and edited for tv even though i own them...life is funny that way.
it doesn't make me lazy or stupid, i just really don't give a shit about spending tons of money on rebuilding my movie collection every 3 years because they change formats and tvs on us. i'm always a late adapter with home entertainment. i spend my time and money on outdoor life, supplies and design software, unfortunately.
hell, in my studio i even hooked up an old tv to a fucking vcr so i could play old classics like raiders, empire, goonies, etc in the format i grew up on for the sake of nostalgia and ambience in the back ground while i work.
plus, if i'm busy and the movie ends, the shit rewinds itself and doesn't loop a really loud bad annoying 8 second long menu screen endlessly.
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It is easier to fuck on a train...no unexpected turbulence knocking your shit out before you knock up your girl.
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TV has no future...nobody is going to sit down and watch other people when they can go outside and actually do things with their free time....Radio is the way to go, you can drive your car and listen...try doing that with your Giant Bulky Television set!
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Jan 29, 2012 11:15:38 AM CST
i choose my imagination over the fake experiences of movies, and here's why
by zombot
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Life is long lasting whereas with death you go to the funeral and that's it. In a hundred years time I tell you life is going on strong but death, where will death be? Dead and buried, that's where death will be. Life, life will still be living.
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too bad all we ever seem to have anymore is no options, or indecision over trivial ones.
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Jan 29, 2012 12:31:19 PM CST
Actually the idiots voted for Obangyomama and in spite of that BluRay won
by cozy
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Jan 29, 2012 1:24:11 PM CST
i once spent a week touring a whales vagina...and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 29, 2012 1:26:25 PM CST
sporty spice is the most attractive spice girl...and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 29, 2012 1:30:15 PM CST
i was once sandwiched between a donkey and a vending machine...and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 29, 2012 1:41:33 PM CST
I chose a shallow observation over any actual thought, and here's why:
by oscar_bait
HD DVD sounds like an upgrade. Blu-Ray sounds like a Star Trek weapon. "Set Blu-Rays to impress."
Why buy into an upgrade when you can get the future?
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calling Harry out on an incorrect format choice 5 years after the fact? They were comparable formats and one lost. It's not like he drafted Sam Bowie and passed on Michael Jordan. HD-DVD had a better name to be honest (it explains exactly what it is) and the quality of the two were/are similar. It was a best guess that he got wrong. It must be awesome for you all to know the future and get everything right all of the time.
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SONY may of won but the consumer suffers in the end. I watched THOR on DVD and Bluray and from 10 feet back on a 42 inch TV they both looked the same. That is the main reason people are not jumping onto the Blue wagon.
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No, wait a minute, I'm loving this shit.
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I only suggested this a day or two ago and already it's climbing up the charts? Thanks!
BTW: Was Harry wrong on this one or what? -
Jan 29, 2012 7:12:39 PM CST
I would love any of you asshats dogging Harry for making this call..
by autodidact
.. to explain why you think it was such a TERRIBLE call in 2007. What in your opinion makes it so obviously wrong!?
Nothing does. You're just a bunch of insecure nerds who love to pick on Harry anonymously. Meanwhile you're making fun of someething which, aside from perhaps being slightly premature, is really not all that laughable at all when you consider what AICN is and who Harry is.
Idiots. I need to stop reading these TalkBacks. -
Jan 29, 2012 8:02:10 PM CST
No, but you need to stop calling people idiots for having an opinion.
by jaka
Really. You do.
Also, generalizing a bit there, don't you think? "A bunch of insecure nerds"? Really? I think you'd be surprised how many people here don't come close to fitting that description.
Lastly, you remember that BNAT where Harry gave away HD-DVD players? Yeah. Anyway. -
Jan 29, 2012 8:04:22 PM CST
Serious question: Was there a time when blu-ray players were NOT backwards compatible?
by jaka
Because that's the only way I've ever know them.
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Jan 29, 2012 8:49:32 PM CST
I'd bet most of the guys making fun of this five year old post
by autodidact
Are insecure nerds. From what I've seen a gaggle of insecure nerds can be as vicious as a pack of 14 year old girls when needlessly (and without any self-awareness) mocking something.
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My reasons for choosing it were that it just worked better from what I'd seen than blu-ray did at the time and it was easy to get a lot of shit for nothing. Hell, it STILL loads faster and the menus feel less like they might crash than blu-ray.
Also, back when this war was going on, a smart person could get a SHIT-LOAD of movies in HD for next-to-nothing (and sometimes nothing). I remember getting the Toshiba A3 and like 15 or 20 movies during this one promotion for $150 and then some kind of $50 rebate that I then used to buy my first blu-rays on amazon when it went kaput. During the fire sale, I picked up a ton of other titles, like Blade Runner 5 disc set on HD for like $10 and others for $5-$7! And those free movies were almost all Kubrick titles and then Goodfellas, 12 Monkeys, 300, The Bourne Identity... not shit, but stuff I'd actually wanted to see.
When I got my first blu-ray player, they started a fire sale on the dual format players (that ended as quickly as it started when people with HD DVD rushed to them to hedge their HD DVD collection being playable into the future while also jumping into BD). Anyway, I got the LG BH200 for just a few hundred bucks. Funny story about that player... LG just kept updating the frigging thing and then they were gonna stop just shy of doing BD 2.0 with BD Live or whatever, so they gave EVERYONE WHO BOUGHT ONE $75. Then they upgraded it to 2.0 anyway! The latest update wasn't even that long ago... so LG, you forever hold a place in my heart for not fucking over customers.
Long story longer - I STILL use the Toshiba A3 as an upscaler like someone else here mentioned. As a matter of fact, i can recommend it for that sole purpose if you see one floating around online. It literally makes many DVD's look exactly like HD and is MUCH better than the upscaler in my more expensive BH200 and all the latest blu-ray players I've seen at my parents, friends, etc. Then I've got the other machine for HD-DVD's and Blu-rays. And I have a ton of pristine HD movies that I got for next to nothing cause of some stupid format war. I win. -
...packs of 14 year old girls can be pretty vicious. Also, I think you misunderstood my comment. Doesn't it make it WORSE that most of the people posting are not just "a bunch of insecure nerds"? I still think you'd be very surprised.
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Fuck do you think my screen name is for idiot?
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Seriously, he approved and defended Harry's illiterate Chronicle review.
Now THIS?
ASSCLOWN
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DAMN YOU MICHAEL BAY
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Jan 29, 2012 10:48:40 PM CST
I've chosen stealing movies over the internet... and heres why
by soup74
arggggg matey!
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I read somewhere you were a dick!
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Something unfunny about Brian Cox.
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something something star wars gay. also star trek. star terminator. star 80. *69. and star starship troopers.
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Jan 29, 2012 11:02:25 PM CST
xenodistortion - Those last two posts are actually funny.... and heres why
by jaka
They made me laugh.
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Jan 30, 2012 12:25:55 AM CST
I looked over and saw Kurt Russell was laughing at this thread, so I guess it's ok
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 12:30:08 AM CST
when i squeeze my ginger nips, cinnamon comes out....and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 12:32:24 AM CST
jennifer aniston is the best actress of her generation...and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 12:35:11 AM CST
a series of harry potter movies will never be financially successful....and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 12:49:40 AM CST
attack of the clones is better than Godfather part 2...and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 12:50:00 AM CST
i prefer woody allens older, less funny movies...and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 12:50:40 AM CST
i once pooped in a bucket....then weighed it....and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 12:51:45 AM CST
jennifer lopez doesnt look high maintenance to me...and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 12:54:08 AM CST
if you think about it, Hitler was ahead of his time....and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 1:00:00 AM CST
i once made a womb for myself made from plastic bags and tinsel....and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 2:09:34 AM CST
Inception sucked, the Green Lantern was great, and HD DVD is better
by double_l88
HD DVD was always inferior to blu-ray, thankfully it did not win. Harry's reasoning is all wrong. Wonder what Toshiba or Microsoft sent him for writing this crap.
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http://www.aintitcool.com/node/11793 ...love him or loathe him, Harry sure loves Del Toro's tongue on his clit!
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Jan 30, 2012 6:01:56 AM CST
Blu-ray had the catchier name, and was/is standard
by bedknobs_and_boomsticks
on the PS3, why it won. Probably people were influenced by the storage space they touted. I've never seen HD-DVD so have no idea of the difference in quality. I have a PS3, but an ancient TV, so the clarity doesn't matter.
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Jan 30, 2012 8:28:17 AM CST
Inception was great, Green Lantern was lame, and Harry was still right to go with HD DVD as the better format
by alan_grant_lives
now git you dogs!
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I also have a habit of picking the winning formats. I could be wrong this time, but most of my filmmaker friends, in fact all of them that I have had a conversation regarding this with... have told me... HD DVD is the format to go with.
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Jan 30, 2012 10:05:07 AM CST
I've also chosen to pirate movies online....and here's why
by mikeyeieio
Plunder The Booty
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Jan 30, 2012 12:06:32 PM CST
i scream "henry kissenger" whenever i climax...and heres why
by hddvdlover
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Jan 30, 2012 12:12:17 PM CST
you should put all your money in myspace shares....and heres why
by hddvdlover
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HD DVD forced it to debut early and that caused problems.
To be clear, HD DVD was an incredibly inferior technology to Blu-ray which itself launched before it was ready.
When HD DVD launched, it didn't even have lossless 5.1 sound, let alone 1080p picture. It couldn't do 24p, froze frequently, and couldn't even play all its own discs. It had no ability for online content until a year into its production.
HD DVD was a mess, but it cost half as much as Blu-ray, and THAT'S what caused it to take an early lead, along with hitting shelves several months before Blu-ray.
Also Blu-ray had a problem with the first HD compressions which caused them to be soft. They were using MPEG 2, which was the broadcast HD standard. HD DVD used AVC, which is a far more advanced compression codec. So even films that debuted on both formats generally looked better on HD DVD.
HD DVD had many, many drawbacks. First of all, it's just DVDs. Modified DVDs, but DVDs just the same. This made space a huge issue and is why only the theatrical version of King Kong could fit on it for example.
Also, there is no protection on HD DVDs against scratches and fingerprints, as there is with Blu-ray.
HD DVD came up with =combo= discs, which were HD DVD on one side and DVD on the other. Due to some sort of manufaturing error, most of these combo discs shipped with problems changing layers on the HD DVD side. Almost every combo disc I had would freeze at this point, freezing the player until I forced it off. I would then have to go through the chapters and start the film AFTER the layer change. That REALLLY sucked.
These combo discs cost $5 more than their Blu-ray counterparts, but unlike BD combo packaging now, we had no alternative. It was combo disc or nothing.
HD DVD's biggest mistake, and what led directly to its downfall, was when they had next to nothing to release for several months. I believe it was right after Christmas 2007. Blu-ray had tons of stuff coming out, but HD DVD said =Oh it's traditional that there aren't many home video releases after the holidays=.
HD DVD lied over and over again with a straight face. Eventually people caught on that they were completely full of crap. At some point it became obvious they were losing and losing big. That point may have been when they did a Superbowl ad buy and changed it at the last minute from being a national ad in HD to a regional ad in SD.
Just before CES (2009?), Warner Brothers (the largest catalog studio) announced they were ending support for HD DVD. That was the sword to the skull of HD DVD and within a week, all major retailers ended their associations with HD DVD. -
Jan 30, 2012 5:18:00 PM CST
Carlton and Damon have a really awesome season 6 of LOST in store which ends the show beautifully, and here's why:
by duke_fame
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Jan 30, 2012 5:37:45 PM CST
I chose blu-ray purely because I'd read it had larger storage capacity and it came with a free state-of-the-art games console (at the time)
by in6087
I knew DVDs were being released in sueprbit format, but they were bumping up against storage capacity limits there, so it seemed to me that more was more with regard to the hi-def formats.
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Jan 30, 2012 10:06:11 PM CST
wrath, If Bluray was so great why do they use HD DVD's VC-1 codec?
by mace tofu
Bluray needed big disc space for the bloated mpeg-2 format Vs HD DVD's smaller VC-1 codec. I notice that many of todays Bluray's use VC-1 Vs Mpeg-2. Why is that if Mpeg-2 is so great for HD?
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BROTHER!
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It fucking rules!!!
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Jan 31, 2012 3:27:51 PM CST
Lindsay Lohan will win an Oscar before 2010 and here's why . . .
by christopher_chance
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Are you fucking kidding?
PSYCHE!
PSYCHE YOUR MINNNNNNND!
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