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HD-DVD's Temporary Edge 158

Posted by Zonk from the new-format-incoming dept.
kukyfrope writes to mention a GameDailyBiz article speculating on the edge HD-DVD will have on Blu-ray in the near future. From the article: "Although Toshiba may take round one, in the long run 'complicating factors may shift the balance.' ABI predicts that by the end of 2006, only about 30 percent of the global hi-def movie player market will be controlled by Blu-ray, but that could quickly change as Sony launches its PlayStation 3 (which has a Blu-ray drive) worldwide this November. '...its large expected sales figures could change the market dominance picture dramatically,' notes ABI."
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HD-DVD's Temporary Edge More

HD-DVD's Temporary Edge

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  • Typo? (Score:5, Informative)

    by c0l0 ( 826165 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @08:33AM (#15163866) Homepage
    Isn't the competing standard for next-gen optical storage media named "Blu-Ray", and not "Blue-Ray"?

  • This whole argument is so fucking stupid (Score:5, Interesting)

    by BadAnalogyGuy ( 945258 ) <BadAnalogyGuy@gmail.com> on Thursday April 20, 2006 @08:35AM (#15163875)
    Face it. The results of this pissing match will be the same as the results of the DVD pissing match. Everyone's player will support everyone's format. It won't matter what format a disc is recorded in because it will play anywhere.

    This whole argument about "oh which technology is better and which one should we root for?" is crap and a smokescreen. The real argument is about who is building an easier remote control and more attractive cases. These are the things that matter to consumers. Points like which format is supported are moot because the machines will eventually support all the formats.

    • yours is an appropriate nick (Score:5, Informative)

      by muyuubyou ( 621373 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @08:42AM (#15163910)
      This time around one of them is not backwards compatible (requiring an extra lens that would make players a lot more expensive).

      On the other hand, that same one offers a more advanced technology... although probably too soon and too expensive.

      We have quite an unpredictable match in front of us, with many variables... provider partnership, manufacturer partnership, success/failure of the PS3, user need for HD, HD-TV penetration...

      It's not farfetched to think HD-DVD could be dominant for some time, then Blu-Ray later... or not, if it was perceived as a loser and went belly up.
      • This time around one of them is not backwards compatible (requiring an extra lens that would make players a lot more expensive).

        I keep hearing this repeated, but can find no basis for it in fact.

        Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray use the same wavelength of blue light. Both require a second laser in order to support DVDs. Both do support DVDs. Even if one needed a lot more of a DVD drive built in, considering that DVD drives are about $20 retail these days it would be a tiny cost addition.

        The only thing backwar

        • I also think the whole thing is moot. By the time any of the big manufacturers come out with their players, Broadcom's single chip solution to HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will have been implemented in decks by any electronics shop not directly involved with a standard. As a recent employee in the digital TV space, I can say unequivocally that dual-standard decks are so far along that there will hardly be a time that you can buy either format as a single-solution deck and not buy a combined-format deck. Not to men
          • I agree the whole thing is moot. But mainly because I haven't met *anyone*, even people with 60+ inch home theatres, who gives a shit about either format. Most DVDs look good enough on HDTVs that I think it's going to be an exceptionally slow adoption curve. More like laserdisk than DVD.
            • If you've actually watched a HDTV program, the tried out a DVD, you will know that DVD's are crap. There, I've said it. DVD's look like crap on HDTV's when compared to true HDTV programming. If you don't notice this, you need better glasses.

        • Re:yours is an appropriate nick (Score:4, Informative)

          by Pieroxy ( 222434 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @10:12AM (#15164545) Homepage
          I thought current DVD players already have several lasers... because there is no common wavelength to be able to read : CD, CD-R(W), DVD, DVD-/+R(W)

          I may be wrong though. But for sure, the expensive part in a DVD player is certainly not the laser.
    • Yes, but the fight over consumer dollars starts in a fight over shelf space. Do you think retailers are excited about having to stock not two, but three movie disc formats? DVD, DHD-DVD, Blu-Ray... Four if they are stupid enough to carry PSP movies. Assuming the ammount of floor space they devote to media remains the same, they will have to cut the n umber of available titles by 1/3 just to accomidate the stock. Courting the retailers is really more important than consumers. In this regard I think HD-DVD h
    • It won't matter what format a disc is recorded in because it will play anywhere.

      This could become true. Or maybe not. It strongly depends on a technical point: Can the hardware to do both be integrated into one apparatus cheaply? Apparently for DVD-R vs DVD+R the answer is yes.

  • Please enlighten me (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 20, 2006 @08:39AM (#15163896)
    Aren't all these crippled by DRM so we should just dismiss them anyway?

    • Re:Please enlighten me (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Yeah, but HD-DVD is the lesser of two evils. Sony's Blu-Ray has the ability to lock itself to one player (to prevent loaning or rentals), and will down-grade to standard NTSC-resolution if your TV doesn't support their DRM scheme - so all the early HDTV adopters can't play high-def Blu-Ray.

    • Re:Please enlighten me (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      DVD has DRM and that single factor didn't slow it's widespread adoption.

      And what kind of DRM are we talking about anyway?

      if it's calling home, thats not going to happen because a hell of a lot of people don't even have net connection. that would kill any format from becoming the defacto standard

      if it's multi region locks, some countries deem it anti competitive and make it legal to work around them.

      if it's encryption of the video then you only need something to grab the outputted image and transfer to anoth
    • Aren't all these crippled by DRM so we should just dismiss them anyway?

      Microsoft has made the argument for mandatory managed copy in HD-DVD: Backup copies. HDD storage. Home network distribution. Low-res downloads to portable devices. That defines Fair Use for the user who is not uploading DVDs to share with ten million of his closest friends on the P2P nets.

      When you have $2000 to $25,000 invested in home theater projection and sound you want HD content from the majors. Serenity is the appetizer, not th

      • ->Microsoft has made the argument for mandatory managed copy in HD-DVD: Backup copies. HDD storage. Home network distribution. Low-res downloads to portable devices. That defines Fair Use for the user who is not uploading DVDs to share with ten million of his closest friends on the P2P nets.

        bull***t, fair use involves "me" choosing the format i want to view my video media on.. and that format better not include apple or microsoft proprietary codecs or encryption because I have a tendency to use a lot of

  • The Sony effect... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Ritz_Just_Ritz ( 883997 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @08:43AM (#15163914)
    Well, we've seen how the adoption of UMD on the Sony PSP console did wonders for that media format. 8-)
    • Yeah, and the PS2 didn't help the penetration of DVD players and lower the price of DVD players either! Oh... wait.

    • UMD only had the PSP (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Nazmun ( 590998 )
      The UMD would be a valid comparison if the ONLY way to view blu-ray's would have been through ps3's and nothing else.

      Sony is aiming for the blu-ray being much more universal and maintream. Not only will blu-ray run on the ps3 but it will also run on standard setup blu-ray machines made by sony and other companies.

      The UMD's weren't supported by other portable viewing machines by Sony or any other companies.

    • Re:The Sony effect... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Kenshin ( 43036 )
      Of course. The topic is "Sony". Let the bashing begin...

      Note: My family had a PS2 before we had a DVD player. We bought DVDs to play on the PS2. Same with other people I knew, both local and on the net.

      People who say "PS2 didn't push DVD forward" are the kinda people who went out and bought a DVD player the moment they hit the market.

  • Enough speculation already! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 20, 2006 @08:44AM (#15163925)
    Geez, yet another "hd-dvd has the lead now, but who knows what will happen in the future, here are my guesses pulled out of my butt" article. Enough, all these stupid articles have absolutely nothing new to add. It's stop for the speculation to stop and time for the players and the consumers to start deciding. It's a waiting game now. Unless anyone actually chimes in with some interesting information (I'll repeat that, INFORMATION), not speculation, not wild-a** guesses, not yet another link to my blog to rack up adsense $$, I think that /. should declare a moritorium on these idiotic articles (not that I expect this to actually occur :( )

  • Beta all over again (Score:5, Informative)

    by argStyopa ( 232550 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @08:46AM (#15163933) Journal
    I'm a definite target-demographic for HD DVD.
    I don't watch TV, I watch DVDs instead - probably 20+ movies per month via Netflix. I don't have cable/satellite.

    I have a HD tv that I've been dying to see HD output on, and have an income level such that I could buy an HD DVD player without really batting an eye financially.

    But you know what? Until it seems to be resolved which HD format is going to finally be THE ONE that the market settles on, I'm not buying any hardware. Furthermore, since I'm not buying hardware, I'm not signing up for the Netflix HD-DVD service so I'm (microscopically) reducing immediate demand for HD DVD.

    Congratulations you bunch of selfish, greedy, dumbasses. Your pissing match over 'whose format is better' is no doubt causing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of otherwise early-adopters like myself to wait to spend our cash on your equipment.

    BRILLIANT.
    • The physical transport layer confusion is only part of the problem. There's also all the incompatible DRM schemes, the incompatible revs of HDMI implementations, the utter lack of any content, etc. It will likely be several years before you can put your finger on anything resembling a "standard" that is gaining real market traction and you'll probably have to buy all new home theater bits in addition to the player so that you don't get bitten by incompatibility issues.
    • Until it seems to be resolved which HD format is going to finally be THE ONE that the market settles on, I'm not buying any hardware.

      Judging by how the studio backings are shaping up, it's likely there won't be the One True Format this time. Both formats will ship, and unless the PS3 sells way better than expected, market share is going to be 60/40 one way or the other. Either Blu-Ray will ride the success of the PS3 and take over the world (unlikely), or both formats will succeed. Expect wide availability
    • Let me guess, your one of many that got bitten by the early adoption of DVD-R/RW's? or was it BETAMAX??

      Yeah, I'd be pretty pissed-off too ;)
      </joke>

      * I was going by your lowish ID.
    • Exactly. I'd hate to be stuck with a player for a format no-one uses, but that's eclipsed by how much I really don't want to risk buying HD content that in a format that nothing will support for much longer.

      Oh, and none of the launch titles are exactly tempting me.

      Personally, I have a $150 upscaling DVD player, which looks just great, and is what I'll be using until this mess sorts itself out one way or another.
    • Same here.

      I'm 35, have a 1080p display, and watch regular broadcast TV on it. I *buy* 2-3 DVDs a month (I like having them on display). My wife and I watch about 1 a week. Over-the-air HDTV isn't for us since we have sporadic viewing habits and don't want to get a PVR.

      I will *not* get either blu-ray or HD-DVD until the format war is over. I also will likely not buy either one unless there is some hope that I can rip the movies to my computer.

      My daughter has already destroyed the original copies of a cou
    • Congratulations you bunch of selfish, greedy, dumbasses. Your pissing match over 'whose format is better' is no doubt causing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of otherwise early-adopters like myself to wait to spend our cash on your equipment.

      Just get an HTPC. Swap out appropriate drive as the time comes. Reduces your cost dramatically and allows early adoption without the pain.
    • I'm in a similar situation, but for me the real problem is that the current generation of content and hardware is just sucky. In particular, you cannot output 1080p from the player, and you cannot get Dolby TrueHD (which is only available on one disc) or DTS-HD (I think that's the name) on the digital outputs to anything that can decode it. The current Toshiba player will only decode two channels of TrueHD to the analog outputs, and 5.1 out of the 7.1 possible channels on the other formats. And I suspect th
    • Unlike Beta vs. VHS where the physical formats were quite different, with HD DVD vs. Blu-ray Disc the discs are generally the same physical size, and some consumer electronic manufacturers are already saying they'll be producing dual format players.

      A better analogy here is the DVD-R vs. DVD+R format war (which, if the "war" was any indicator, the consumer ultimately wins by having the formats competing with eachother on prices). I strongly suspect we'll see a price war on software (that is, HD movies) if bo

  • just speculation (Score:3, Informative)

    by slashdotnickname ( 882178 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @08:49AM (#15163947)
    This article has too many "could"s and nothing solid to convince me that either outcome is possible. It's sort of like the early days of beta/vhs. What I'd like to see is an objective study comparing the different formats.
    • Comparison; they're both DRM-ridden beyond levels any selfrespecting person is willing to tolerate.

      End of story.
      (atleast for me)
    • While I agree that seeing a technical comparison would be nice, I hope you don't expect that to help you *at all* when it comes to guessing which format will come out on top.

      If the VHS/Betamax story told us anything, it was that the technological differences matter little, and market traction is the deciding factor. (Well, at least as long as the technologies are on approx. the same level and price...).

  • News flash... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by mkswap-notwar ( 764715 )
    Nobody cares.
  • I didn't purchase a DVD player until they were below $100 and I still do not own a PS2. The point is that the early adopters of new tech normally are the people that get screwed the hardest. You get bragging rights, but you also have to deal with bugs and high cost. As before, I'll be waiting until the dust settles.
  • I dont think it is going to matter at all who controls the market because in the next 4 years someone is likely to come out with a dual drive that reads both blu ray and HD-DVD. Id have to say though sony cant be feeling to good if the predictions for there drive's popularity is only 30% of the market. they dont want this to be another betamax and lose another format war that they spent millions on.
    • I think "the next 4 years" is really selling the electronics industry short. The players to read both formats are being designed right now. Broadcom (big player in single-chip MCs for digital electronics) has a chip that decodes both. Slap that into a drive with a few lasers (one each for DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray), and you got yourself a multi-format deck.

  • Blu-Ray Will Win (Score:5, Informative)

    by Glock27 ( 446276 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @08:55AM (#15163981)
    Blu-Ray has two big advantages.

    First, the PS3 absolutely will drive adoption. PS3 will probably sell 10 million units within two years.

    Second, Blu-Ray has already had every major studio but one (Universal I think) commit to releasing content on Blu-Ray. HD-DVD still has three or four studios to convince to support its format.

    Besides, Microsoft really likes HD-DVD...what more reason do you need to root for Blu-Ray? ;-)

    (As an aside, I thought the fit Microsoft threw when it found out Blu-Ray software was going to be Java was pretty funny...)

    • I know that people keep saying that one of Blu-Ray's big advantages is the studio support. I've seen the list of studios, and I agree where they're coming from.

      So why is it that there are already a bunch of films either lined up for release in the couple of months, and even one or two already appearing on shelves, that I want to watch in HD, but Blu-Ray don't have anything other than rubbish officially announced?

    • Re:Blu-Ray Will Win (Score:2, Insightful)

      by SpinJaunt ( 847897 )
      Besides, Microsoft really likes HD-DVD...what more reason do you need to root for Blu-Ray? ;-)
      A Pre-installed SONY Rootkit??
      • No kidding. This is more of a lesser-of-two-evils than the 2004 election. And right now, Microsoft is being beaten by Sony for the top spot on The Shitlist. Microsoft just writes their software so people can use their media, however crap-infested it is. If they didn't, you'd all just be complaining that you needed to spend more to buy a Mac to use the iTunes store. Sony is crapping up the media in the first place - they're much more at fault. Same with this load of "Vista/HDCP" bullshit - it's not Mic

    • Besides, Microsoft really likes HD-DVD...what more reason do you need to root for Blu-Ray? ;-)


      It's not that there is are many reasons to root for HD-DVD, just that there are many more reasons to root against another Sony proprietory format. Oh, and not let's forget Sony's complete disregard for other peoples property by installing root kits.
    • If Sony abandonds it, I might root for it.

    • Re:Blu-Ray Will Win (Score:3, Insightful)

      by westlake ( 615356 )
      Blu-Ray has two big advantages.
      First, the PS3 absolutely will drive adoption. PS3 will probably sell 10 million units within two years.

      The game console as media player makes sense only if you have very limited space and budget. That is not the American HD market.

      HD-DVD still has three or four studios to convince to support its format.

      But even Disney is wavering. 15 GB HD-DVD disks are marketable now. Cheaper players and a 45 GB disk are serious threat to Blu-Ray.

      Microsoft really likes HD-DVD...what mor

    • NO IT WON'T! (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      HD DVD is already selling players (I have already bought one!) and movies are starting to be available.

      HD DVD does have good studio support. Read into it, you'll see that most will release to it (except perhaps Sony). There will be tons of great titles to watch regardless.

      Blu-Ray's only real advantage was bigger discs - yet they can't manufacture 2 layer discs yet! Now add a "DVD compatibility layer" and you'd need 3 layers to really have 2 for high def, adn I can't manage to do that anytime soon seeing how
      • Blu-Ray uses Java. ... Blu-Ray will need some hihgly paid expert programmers... Creating even trivial stuff becomes a complex endeavour. On the other hand, iHD is simple XML based markup (somewhat like HTML), which is something most people know nowadays.

        Until someone comes out with a GUI authoring tool for BD-J (think DVD Studio Pro) or an iHD-to-BD-J compiler. Think about it: anything you can express in declarative XML can be automatically converted to equivalent Java bytecode.

        Not to mention that the burna
  • For me it is really simple. I will buy one when you can get a HD-DVD Blu-Ray all in one player. In the same way that there was DVD+R and DVD-R. In the beginning there were two and now the only ones on sale are multi format.

    I know that there are differnt lasers and lenses but so what.

  • Completely Different Scenario (Score:3, Interesting)

    by BoredWolf ( 965951 ) <jakew.white@gmail.com> on Thursday April 20, 2006 @08:58AM (#15163992) Journal
    I think it would be premature to say that either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD is going to be a major player in the market. When the PS2 was released, DVD technology was readily available, and DVDs were a vast improvement over VHS without an exorbitant price difference in media. Both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD seem to be targeted toward the high-tech high-dollar crowd. Buying a new TV is a likely scenario for anyone trailblazing into this new media, and very few people might be willing to do that when they bought a HDTV set a only few years ago. Also, if the PS2 is any indicator of Sony's attention to media detail, the blu-ray player in the PS3 will be a poor substitute for a real Blu-Ray player. If either of the two technologies are to catch-on to the mainstream, either players and media will have to be competetively priced with current DVD technology, or many people will be buying new television sets. Both of these options seem to coincide with either technology taking many years to become dominant, which is paradodical, considering that you need a large portion of people to adopt a technology before it becomes dominant. Maybe companies such as LG will save us the hastle with the creation of a joint Blu-Ray/HD-DVD player [gizmodo.com].
  • The majority of people in the states still do not have a HDTV. The majority of content via cable/satellite/air is still standard definition.

    Both formats are disadvantaged to the mass populace until HDTV's *themselves* become commonplace.

  • I'll go with whatever format Apple ends up putting in their laptops. At this point, Blu-Ray is likely to be that format.

    For the record, Holographic Versatile Disc sounds quite a bit superior; if only it were ready now. And I hate all that DRM crap -- we'd all benefit if some Asian companies got together and presented an open, extensible, non-DRM media disc. Even if I was stuck buying Chinese, Bollywood, and independent films for the first few years, I'd support it.
    • we'd all benefit if some Asian companies got together and presented an open, extensible, non-DRM media disc. Even if I was stuck buying Chinese, Bollywood, and independent films for the first few years, I'd support it

      Goblet of Fire grossed $290 million in its American theatrical release. For an Asian OEM selling HD product in the West, this is the market.

  • Don't underestimate the dark horse. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by hal2814 ( 725639 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:10AM (#15164061)
    As much as folks might be up in arms over the superiority of one format or another, don't forget that there may be a third player in this race: on-line distribution. You can get TV shows off of iTunes now and download them in about 10-20 minutes. How long until movies see a similar distribution that actually works well. Sure they'll have to be higher quality than what iTunes offers for TV but I imagine that a happy medium between size and quality could be met, even for the HD crowd. When there's a decent on-line distribution method, a decent user interface to go with it, and a relatively inexpensive and easy way to get that video onto a TV, then this Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD war will be largely irrelevant.
  • It really doesn't matter who wins. Either way the average citizen is going to get screwed in the end by the DRM. Sure, hi-def is nice. Not killer, but nice. I know I certainly can tell a difference on my 50" TV, but until there is a way to bypass HDCP copyright protection I know I won't be buying into either scheme.

    Now I've been following the articles but I'm not much of a mathematician so I'll have to leave it up to others to work on breaking the encryption. I'm sure it's doable given enough people and a l

  • Blu-ray is walking dead (Score:3)

    by TheSkepticalOptimist ( 898384 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:13AM (#15164076)
    Look, HD-DVD is available now, while Blu-ray is still struggling. The Fact that Sony couldn't get the PS3 released with Blu-ray technology now sealed its fate.

    Plus, the simple fact is, Sony has never successfully launched a media format. BetaMax, MiniDisc, SuperAudio, UMD, MediaStick, and now BR-DVD you name it, if Sony had a hand it its development, it failed, most of the times miserably.

    I think that both next generation DVD's will face serious lack of adoption as there just isn't any pressing need for consumers to upgrade their systems. But of the two formats, Sony doesn't have the reputation for making it work, and HD-DVD will become the next generation standard.

    What will mark the success of this format is the first camp to offer a recordable PC drive. If Sony gets a Blu-Ray rewritable DVD drive before an HD-DVD, then I might change my story. But I doubt that will happen considering Sony is still struggling to define the format for read only drives.

    I think Sony truthfully delayed the PS3 because they are uncertain if Blu-Ray will succeed. If they can't sell BR-DVD players and BR-DVD movies in the next 6 months, why release the PS3 with the failed Blu-Ray technology.

    I have nothing against Sony, and look forward to the PS3, but I think in the long run I would put my money on ANY non-Sony inspired digital media. It just makes common sense.
    • Yes, sony had a hand in those...

      So of the 3 most popular formats used in home video/audio now. The only one sony didn't ahve a hand on at launch is vhs.
  • Well I trust Sony so much, I know they will do the right thing and be the winner, just like they have in the past with so many products.

    Just like my BetaMax, my Sony Memory Stick, and my Star Wars Galaxies Jedi they destroyed to turn the game over to a 10yr old audience....

    Of course I also enjoy the rootkits they make, that is always nice and consumer confidence building.

    Sony will do well in Japan, but don't look for it to happen in the US, and the PS3 is not the media transition for Blu-Ray adoption.

    I have
    • You may not have, but a lot of people did. The numbers of young people or starving students who bought a PS2 for gaming AND DVD watching is probably larger than you might imagine. Two devices for one price? Score.

      And while the price of the PS3 will probably hurt initial sales to the same demographics this go-around, rest assured there will still be a fair portion of sales that will be for the same reasons.
      • You may not have, but a lot of people did. The numbers of young people or starving students who bought a PS2 for gaming AND DVD

        True, but the past does not ALWAYS predict the future.

        This is several years later, and MOST University require Laptops, and most laptops have DVDs.

        Just as they will have HD DVD before long as well. You will have better luck as a student getting mommy and daddy to get the laptop with the HD DVD player built in rather than spend another 400 bucks for a PS3.

        It would also let you save
  • Everyone knows any media format crafted by Sony is doomed to fail. Maybe it's a curse, maybe God's pissed at them, who knows. But the fact remains, Sony formats fail. Always.

  • or will they both lose to plain old DVD? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by bzipitidoo ( 647217 ) <bzipitidoo@yahoo.com> on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:26AM (#15164182) Journal
    Does anyone use Super Audio CD? Or DVD-audio, Video CD, or Super Video CD? Video CD was kind of cool for a while when blank DVD-Rs were much more expensive than CD-Rs but now who needs it?

    HDTV quality would be great, but not if we have to pay $1000s for an HDTV that might not be "compatible" (read, DRM capable), and another premium for a special player. Especially annoying when a $100 computer monitor is more than capable of displaying content at HDTV resolution. Then we get to pay lots more money to "upgrade" our libraries from DVD to a format we may not be able to back up or play at full resolution thanks to all the DRM crap. And we won't be able to skip the commercials. Is any ordinary Joe not going to see these problems? Not after the first ones to try it get burned and word spreads. The studios think we're all that stupid? DVD is good enough. I bet the negatives of DRM and price will more than offset the positives of higher quality video, and this will lose out the way Laserdisc did to VHS.

    • Yes, but most people can't tell the difference between 128kbps+ AAC/Lame compressed audio and the original CD source. Giving them even more audio data they can't hear is a pretty hard sell, especially when most of us listen to music on cheap earbuds or Best Buy $300 stereo speakers. DVD-Audio and SACD were solutions in search of a problem only extreme audiophiles have.

      HD video content is the exact opposite -- even the least technically adept person with no interest in the content can see the huge visual dif
    • "Does anyone use..." "...Video CD, or Super Video CD?"

      Um yes?
      I take it you dont visit chinatown very much.

    • As others have said this will likely end up like SACD / DVD-A: a great idea and improvement that doesn't get picked up due to the lack of killer apps. Just like Laserdisc completely failed to gain mainstream acceptance even though there wasn't a competing format.

      Personally I think that the PS3 might have a shot at driving acceptance of Blu-Ray (and I certainly hope it does since I prefer it over HD-DVD), but that's yet to be seen.

      One of the more problematic ideas though is something that really could have h

    • Or DVD-audio, Video CD, or Super Video CD? Video CD was kind of cool for a while when blank DVD-Rs were much more expensive than CD-Rs but now who needs it?

      I still use it. Nobody can see the different in a 90min movie between the SVCD and DVD version. CDs are still cheaper.

      HDTV quality would be great, but not if we have to pay $1000s for an HDTV that might not be "compatible" (read, DRM capable), and another premium for a special player.

      Bullshit. HDTVs are below $500, and every one made in the past few y

  • Translation:
    Three people will have blue ray players, the other seven people who have a hd player will have HD-DVD.

    The interest for these seems to hardly be there. I know I won't be buying one any time soon due to all the drm crap they force on you.

  • Sony Stock (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Borland ( 123542 )
    If the outlook is dim, why is my Sony stock going up like mad? They have other businesses to be sure, but a loss in this arena would sting.
  • I don't really see myself using either format. Why? Because discs aren't how I consume media anymore. I download everything. I'm just waiting for them to come out with pay services with better quality, and then I'll be buying everything instead of pirating it. But either way, I'm not buying discs anymore. Why would I when they're DRMed to hell and want to bully me into purchacing "compliant" hardware? I'd rather just download the illegal unrestricted content. I do it for DVD-quality now, I'll do it for HD-q
    • 1. Its out yes, but the players are very glitchy and there are only a handfull of titles.
      2. Not important, afterall you said you don't care about owning discs so why do you care if you can make a copy right now of them?
      3. blu-ray has exactly the same capabilities.
      4. xbox 360 doesn't have an hddvd player. They aren't region free, its just that the regions are wider.

      The quality of downloadable ripped films is complete crap unless you get the iso's of the real dvd. But by the time you have downloaded it you
  • So that I can just ignore all these articles.

    As another Slashdot poster said in a previous article, the media machine will make sure the buzz for the new formats will only increase... after all, if everyone's talking about them, they must be worth purchasing, right?

    Well, I find this topic deeply uninteresting, and would be that much happier if I could avoid the upcoming flood of BluHD-DVDRay articles (what's this doing under games, anyway?).

    And yes, this is the first and last time I'll post complaining abou
  • Nobody but the truely MUST HAVE early adopters who have too much money (and who does, anyway?) will get a HD-Player until either the war is over or players support both formats. Until then, it does not matter whether you are out first.

    Imagine someone came up with a console that plays XBox360 and PS3 games (let's ignore for this moment, or forever (your preference), the legal issues around it). What console would you buy? A 360? A PS3? Or the one that plays both?

    And what games would you buy? PS3 games? 360 g
  • - has burner available for my PC $100 & - [HD||BluRay]shrink/decrypter/fab is available for & - [insert chinese company] makes a player for
  • I'm going with neither format.

    The switch from VHS to DVD was very similar to the switch from Tape to CD.

    The switch from DVD to BluRay/HD-DVD will be the same as the switch from CD to DVDAudio... it just ain't going to happen.

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