Broadcom's Treaty In the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD War

eldavojohn writes "For a while there, I didn't know what to buy. Blu-Ray or HD-DVD? Which would be the leader? Only a fool would buy discs of the technology that would be the next Betamax. Fortunately, my dilemma has been solved by Broadcom. From the article: 'Consumer and communications chip supplier Broadcom Corp. Thurs. (Nov. 9) introduced what the company labeled the first single-chip solution to support both Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD standards.' I guess I'll just wait until I can get a player that will play them both."

Best answer...

[Overzeetop]

Buy neither. Technology designed by lawyers should not be rewarded.

neither

[tehwebguy]

i don't see any reason to buy into either one. i'm not planning on getting a new tv any time soon, and i don't need to pay even MORE per movie.

Re:Pr0n

[archen]

This is probably on the fast track to killing both if one or the other isn't decided. If you look at the costs at ramping up production of bluray or hd-dvd it's not worth it. Current facilities that produce DVD's took millions to tool. Unless the consumers actually put their weight behind one, these places are probably just going to keep pressing DVDs. Which in turn means less selection in titles, which reduces the demand for the format and keeps economies of scale from taking effect.

No thanks to both...

[dslauson]

The industry has transitioned from "Just look at all the great things you can do with technology!!!!" to "Oh, crap. People can do way too many things with technology."

The new generation of hardware, software, and consumer electronics they're trying to cram down our throats offers only minimal improvements over the old stuff in order to try to get the consumer to give up all the things they used to be able to do.

This is the reason that I'll never buy either of these products. I'm pretty happy with DVDs, thank you very much.

Re:Best answer...

[nomadic]

So the actual technical standards and implementations were designed by lawyers? I knew I should have taken more circuit design classes in law school, sounds like I really missed out...

Re:Buy neither?

[Nemetroid]

Watch the details outside the picture itself too. Not discrediting the difference (because of course there is one), but especially the silver bar around the screen is much lighter and sharper in the HD-DVD pictures.

Re:Not happening.

[HTH NE1]

However, in the meantime, devices using the chip capable of handling both formats will be crippled so that only one format can be used per device. Just because it can support both formats doesn't mean it will in the same device. Drive makers can instead buy this chip in bulk rather that two other chips (one per standard) in bulk and not worry about having half their purchase become worthless because of consumer adoption of one format over another.

That's the benefit.

At least until someone learns how to flash a drive to enable both formats.

Ya right!

[Dion]

What makes you think that there will not be thousands of factories in China pumping out DVD players (and DVD drives for computers) and SD TVs for years to come?

Re:dual player

[swillden]

There wont be any legal dual format players any time soon. The Sony Blu-Ray license prohibits HD DVD playback in the same machine.

Just like the DVD-CCA's CSS key license prohibits region-free players :-)

Re:Ya right!

[novus ordo]

See PS3.

This doesn't help the consumer at all

[Stinky Fartface]

Even if all this tech came together and formed a great hybrid player, it still doesn't resolve the central issue of which format to support. I mean, what format are you going to buy your media in? It's great it supports both, you can always rent or Netflix either, but you still may find yourself several years down the road with a library of movies in an obsolete format. The player is only a small part of the problem. Additionally, it doesn't solve the issue for the retailer either. Space in stores is finite, and you can be sure that no retailer wants to reduce the variety of merchandise just so they can carry three formats of every title.

Re:Pr0n

[Chris Burke]

Are we going to see movies and studios side with the separate technology and the consumer simply use both?

I can't see how anyone who was around when the various writeable DVD formats were around, resulting in all drives supporting 'DVD +/- R/W', would see it working out any other way. A fractured market won't work. They want to convince people to upgrade to their HD DVD player -- "plays half of upcoming new releases!" isn't going to do it.

The only kink is that I thought I'd heard the consortiums were trying to stop licensees from making cross-compatible players. I'm mistaken, or they changed their mind because they realized it wouldn't work.