HD-DVD gets support

[alpi69]

Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers are supporting Toshibas HD-DVD standard, was announced now!
SONY is with its own Columbia and MGM at Blu-Ray.

but i think HD-DVD will win: why? because it will be much more affordable for the enduser.

[John_Q]

I wont support either if studios are going to be split amongst them.

Thats just stupid. And Sony once again trying to keep a proprietary hold on their technology...they never seem to learn that one.

[scharky]

can anyone say BETA?

[John_Q]

can anyone say BETA?

Take your pick of any number of products, but yeah betamax is the most famous.

Had a Betamax while growing up too. thing lasted for 15 or more years...it was awesome. over 200 movies taped onto betas cassettes :D.
Used it up until the ejection mechanism finally gave way and I couldnt repair it anymore.

Anyway, the facts the studios arent syncing together on one format...spells trouble to me at the moment.

HD-DVD could end up like S-VHS, D-VHS, or even laserdisc...it might be coming out too early and will end up as strictly a video/audiophiles medium. I dont have an HD TV, and I'm not shelling out for one while my XBR still looks damned amazing as is. I'm also quite vested in DVD in the past 6 years, I'm not blowing all that away for a new format...TWO new formats.

And I dont think the mass consumer market will shell out the money for new TVs for HD-DVD either.

But, I may also be jumping the gun...we shall see what the next year brings.

[Hayden_Rivers]

They'll work it out I think. I would think they would understand that having two formats is going to cripple the inevitable Hi-Def market. Then again, maybe that's what they want considering DVD is a bonafide gravy train of money. Personally, I'm a video junkie and I can't wait to see Lord of the Rings in glorious Hi-Def.

[John_Q]

Yeah, they'll work it out......much like SACD and DVD Audio....

Aint gonna happen, youre going to see 2 formats. Perhaps players that will play both...but still.

I stand by my convictions......for the time being :D

[alpi69]

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5469190.html?tag=zdnn.alert_

[xray]

Its not only Sony with cards on blu-ray. The consortium has Philips,Matushita,Samsung,LG,Thomson,Pioneer,Hitac hi,Sharp,Mitsubishi and Sony in the group.

[alpi69]

they have money while the user doesn´t. that´s why VHS won despite the inferior quality; that´s why HD has problems to get into gears and that´s why Blu-Ray will lose.
if the pricetag is too steep for the consumer then even the best technology will fail.

DV is in fact a crap-technology compared to others, but still every household has a DVcamera nowadays. 3 years ago nobody wanted to pay a fortune for a cellphone with built-in camera. now everybody loves even the 60x80 jpgs because the feature was suddenly "for free".

what i heard the HD-DVD is aimed at the consumer with a decent price. Blu-Ray is targeting the pros or freaks. let´s see how many will buy a Blu-Ray player.....

[DavidP]

By default, I will go blu-ray because in 2006 the Playstation 3 will fully support it(I'm a fan of ps2).

http://dvd.ign.com/articles/550/550363p1.html

[Hayden_Rivers]

PS3 is definetly going to help the Blu-Ray camp. This is a very weird format war. Between Paramount, Universal, New Line and Warner Brothers, I think that's like 41% of DVD sales. But I hear Fox is supposed to be backing Blu-Ray along with Sony and their recently acquired MGM.

[David Jimerson]

Frankly, I'm not sure it matters. The future could very well lie in downloaded content, anyway. No discs at all!

[Policar]

I talked with some guy very high up in Hollywood investing and he said that the new HD formats are gorgeous and he expects them to permeate the market within 5 years. *He says that downloadable context will take 10+ years to become commonplace (at least in the home) but it's the future.
*
Whichever format wins, I hope it supports H264. *I don't care how much disc space you have if you're still using MPEG2 compression. *H264 is ridiculously more efficient and will make a much larger difference than the small differences in HD DVD capacity versus Blu Ray capacity.
*
I hope Blu Ray wins, though. *Plus, the Cell processor sounds so cool and I like Sony's desire to innovate with its new products.

[John_Q]

The only HD-DVD content anyone has seen are the demos. No one has a seen a real hd-dvd or blu ray disc made for market. ie: movie, extras etc etc etc. Only then will everyone be able to tell how great or not great it is.

the four studios that have decided to adopt hd-dvd makes up much more then 41% closer to 70% on the home video market.

Fox is undecided as are the rest of studios EXCEPT for columbia and mgm (Sony) which are obviously going blu-ray.

So, saying youre going to adopt one or the other at this point is moot, because that is basically saying...hey, I guess I'm only willing to buy certain titles. And myself, as a huge movie buff will NOT have boundaries like that put up. Its ridiculous.

[David Jimerson]

IHe says that downloadable context will take 10+ years to become commonplace

I wonder why that would be . . . the capability for it exists in far more homes than does HDTV at this point. The technology is already there.

[John_Q]

I wonder why that would be . . . the capability for it exists in far more homes than does HDTV at this point. *The technology is already there.


Simple.

Piracy and the MPAAs huge fear over this issue.
They want it resolved before you'll ever start seeing major release downloads and satellite beams to movie theaters with Digital Projection.

[Ranger]

This whole witch’s brew has been stewing for quite a while. To no ones surprise, the main factor is cost. In one camp, you have the consumer electronics industry (i.e. Sony, Panasonic, Dell, etc. etc.) that believes Blu-Ray, with its higher storage capacity, is the next legitimate successor to the DVD. Unfortunately on the other hand, you have the majority of movie studios that are reluctant to make costly production line changes when instead they could do it on the cheap with HD-DVD.

Basically, it's the geeks versus the Hollywood bean counters.

For all involved, this is a very dangerous game that's being played out. Talk about a battle of the Titans. Unless all sides come to a consensus soon, these new formats could be dead long before it ever gets off the ground. Like SACD and DVD-Audio before it, these competing formats will only confuse the public and slow its adoption. To the average consumer, DVD is high definition. Consumers will balk at the notion of having to buy different HD players simply to watch various movies. If they have to choose one or the other, most will be content in keeping what they already have - DVD.

If I was Sony (Blu-Ray), I would be very concerned at the moment. Despite all of their efforts so far to court favor with the CE industry, unfortunately, the bloodsuckers (content creators) out of Hollywood will ultimately drive the train in this new format war. If they (studios) can do it on the cheap, then that is the direction they will take - innovation and efficiency be damned. The Blu-Ray supporters have got to convince the studios that it's in their financial best interests (in the long term) to go with higher capacity transports. Additionally, Blu-Ray manufacturers have got to keep its costs to the consumer down to an attractive level (even if that means taking a loss in profits for the first few years). Meaning keeping BR players below $200 and disks on or below $22. Otherwise, my fear is that HD-DVD will be the format of choice for the next generation.

[David Jimerson]

Simple.

Piracy and the MPAAs huge fear over this issue.
They want it resolved before you'll ever start seeing major release downloads and satellite beams to movie theaters with Digital Projection.

Yeah, but ten years?

[Barry_Green]

I'd think more like two to four years. Buymusic.com and iTunes have been smash hits with consumers. If they could solve the problem with making music available for sale, somehow they'll solve the movie problem too, and it'll be a huge hit.

[Taylor Moore]

Not to make my pocket protector smoke but...10 years.
I have been working as a consultant with a technology firm and they have created a system that delivers content over broadband at 100 times faster than conventional media and data downloads. It is intended to deliver media and data of all types and has full encryption through out it's delivery path, and the system is resolution, encoder and format independent.
It's main purpose is to empower the indie filmmaker producer, who doesn't have the ability or means to get present day distribution of their product...either their product is too specific in content(not a mainstream blockbuster) or a niche market(training and education). It allows the indie producer to find his niche market, and become his own broadcaster.
The publisher/broadcaster determines what content to make available
and can easily remove content completely from the network. Also the system will allow for DRM (Digtial Rights Management) to control copyrights and ownership. As well allowing the producer to make revenue directly back into his pocket with no middleman taking the majority of his profits. I believe this will allow the indie producer, to find his elusive niche market and control all aspects of his distribution and promotion.
The system is presently in Alpha and will be going to beta in January 2005.
I will keep you up on what happens as this tech moves forward, as this will create a big oportunity of all us DVX indies.
For those interested read the “The Long Tail” Wired Oct 2004


8)

[Loki]

This is a somewhat more complicated format war than previous venues for one simple reason.. The playstation 3. The might of Sony will truly shine with the release of that console. If Sony sells 20million PS3 systems in north america alone (which is an easy senario to picture) then that is 20million people with a Blu-Ray player.

That combined with the fact that sony has Columbia Pictures and now MGM to draw from, they have a lot of muscle. I think Sony might be able to bring hollywood to it's knee's and actually win this format war.

And I do hope they win, the Blu-Ray format appears superior in everyway to the HD-DVD spec..

The problem with hollywood is they are not foreward thinking, never aware of future earnings, or future profit... far too concerned with making a quick buck today to please investors. Sad but true.

More Power to Sony and Blu-Ray... I want that ridiculous 50GB of storage for some truly awesome looking films all encoded in stellar H.264..

[John_Q]

That combined with the fact that sony has Columbia Pictures and now MGM to draw from, they have a lot of muscle. I think Sony might be able to bring hollywood to it's knee's and actually win this format war.



yeah...no...the four studios that chose to go with hd-dvd make up about 70% of the dvd market...