HD DVD sales not good

If I'm wrong about the HDCP thing, that's good news. Admittedly I quit caring about HD-DVD and Blu-Ray a few months ago when it became obvious to me that they were a dead-in-the-water product. Maybe four or five years from now, but not now.

I think the big boom of HD-DVD and Blu Ray will be the release of the console version. Every house has a PS2, and with the new system coming out, blu-ray will get a quick boost in its market share
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Er, not so fast... you might want to check out this article from Wired:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.09/sony.html
 
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LOL, thanks for the second link barry, just not in time! Finished readin the 4 pages now. Its kind of biased in the first page, but i can see where it is coming from. But the last line suprised me

"It just needs to make cool products for the century we live in."

The PS3 is not cool?

Games like MGS, new stuff from the ICO team, EA's constant and much better support for its sports games with Sony, FREE Xbox Live like services, an actual music label, Bigger Hard Drive and more future proof will be the difference in my opinion.

He states the the Cell is harder to get the most out of it now, and graphics will be on par with the 360 from the get go, but the future of graphics will be nice. Only very special teams of Devs are creating anything decent looking on the 360, the rest is just garbage and mud.

An example of something that might win some graphics whores over would be Fight Night 3 on the PS3, it is obvioulsy coming out later than the 360 counterpart, but it looks ALOT better.

And if you are pointing to the price tag, 600 is chump change. Options in a system does not make it a good choice. MS is already ripping simple consumers off with its confusing price situation of the 2 systems, and yes PS3 will have 2 skus as well, but the MS system costs more to upgrade to a premium system, a true option shouldnt end up costing you more to get to the fully loaded system.

The system wars imo are over rated when it comes to games, in my mind, as a TRUE GAMER for 19 years, its about the games, and everyone must own them all, but this isnt about a system war, its a bout the installation of new tech in the home, and i still believe that sony is helping the effort more than being futile.

They are developing new technologies while everyone else is just kinda going with the same ol bland upgrades. No one else is taking a risk, and if they take a beating in the next 5 years, atleast they did what everyone else was afraid to do, and ill be there with them i guess. HD-DVD (dvd 1.5) is just an upgrade, a scared introduction, and imo is the worthless and unneccessary technology, if its going to be an upgrade, then UPGRADE!

Sony is like the only guy at the poker table attempting to further things and is putting their stack on the line to take smaller stacks out, while everyone else just checks and folds hoping to make it to the payout structure. I like a company that goes for the win!
 
Just finished reading the article... That's exactly while I'll be getting a 360... I think it's the content that counts and that's what Microsoft is doing, IMO. :)
 
I think one format has to die before anything good can come of it. I don't want to be in the video store trying to find a HD-DVD version of movies they only carry in blu-ray. It's not even a good system IMO. Why not join forces and make something that is actually useful? I also find it very hard to believe that they cannot make it backward compatible with older DVD players. Does this sound stupid? Isn't it the data on the disc that makes the picture good? not the laser in your player?

Also, I realize you need an HDTV. Considering that 90% (not a real statistic) of people think that Fullscreen is better than widescreen, how the hell can they tell the difference between blu-ray, and hd-dvd? and the player you need? and than you have to have some special hdtv with hdcp-whatsit-majiger. I don't think anyone is sold on a technology that doesn't even know what the hell it is.

Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
directinglegend said:
Why not join forces and make something that is actually useful?
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I think this will probably happen. Sony has a history of realizing it's error and cancelling it's formats in favor of competitors more widly supported formats.



- Mikko ... </dry satire>
 
Sony already attempted to work on a combined format, but using their Blu-Ray technology, seeing as it is simply a better platform holding around 67% percent more per layer, and now EVEN MORE WITH 6 layer discs, each layer holding 33gb.
 
they can't team together because it's an argument orver existing technology over future technology.

Sony believes it's worth the cost of changing the manufactring standared to make "better" blu ray discs. An extremely expensive propisition, which cost will then be passed on to us the consumer. Toshiba and crew believe the standared doesn't need to change to achieve a similar result, saving huge amounts of money by keeping the same manufacturing process. And at least in this infant state of the game, they seem to be right, but we'll have to see how the two compare a year from now.

Of coarse a Ferrari is a better machine then a van. But van gets what i need accomplished without breaking the bank
 
Depends on the application. if you wanna use it as a storage medium, like for back ups, then sure, it's a fact. If we're talking about watching movies, then not so much.

http://www.dvdtown.com/article/warnerbros.hddiscsblu-rayvs.hd/3773/

All over the place people are comparing the discs and finding that the HD-DVD versions are just as good, and often better, then the Blu Ray versions. And Blu Rya players have been an issue with various bugs and costing twice as much.

This could change in the future.
 
The problems with video quality are thanks to the studios. I find problems with the HD-DVD menus being as generic as can be, with cookie cutter menus that are all the same, but again thats the studios decision to skimp on the work for the menus.

At VSDA i got a chance to check out newer flicks on Blu-Ray at their "Blu-Ray Cafe" and was delighted with the newer menus from their studios. While HD-DVD was a few floors up from our suite, they were locked off to the general public, which just is another thing to add to the list that i am disliking their camp more for.
 
Barry_Green said:
See, here's the thing -- DVD was revolutionary in that it offered tremendous convenience benefits over the prior format, VHS.

No rewinding.
No tape crinkles.
No fast-forwarding, instead you could jump to chapters.
5.1 channel surround-sound audio which, combined with a $199 home theater setup, created a real difference.
Bonus features, director's commentary, blooper reels, making-of's, alternate versions, all sorts of things.

And -- oh yes, the picture was better. But that wasn't the selling point. That was a cherry on top.
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As an early buyer of Laserdiscs, we had all those features but still never caught on. It was a huge marketing push and the more convenient carrying size of the DVD's that allowed them to prosper where laserdiscs had failed. The average American consumer is a very fickle but yet easily manipulated bunch.

Cheers
 
Barry_Green said:
People are watching images that are distorted by 33% and THEY DON'T CARE. They probably can't even see it..
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Have you every seen Phil Mickelson when the stretch is on. What a pair of man boobs.

You know it's not that most people don't care, its worse, they don't know how to operate the television and get the stretch off. It is all about the next killer app, it is the only thing that will get people to get over the tech anxiety and expense. (Ipod Anyone?) I think people here sometimes forget that they are in the 99th perecentile when it comes to consumer technology expertise.
 
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wabbit said:
...It was a huge marketing push and the more convenient carrying size of the DVD's that allowed them to prosper where laserdiscs had failed...
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I think it had more to do with cost and the fact that I had to "switch sides" 8 times to watch Aliens!

There's a reason there was a greater marketing push. DVD was a better product.
 
I got HELLA laser disc movies, found about 200 of them in the back of a former taxi cab that my brother was using as a loner from his dead beat mechanic.
 
SD dvds look really good on the new flat panels and I think there is some sort of up-rezzing going on sometimes. I will buy a new flat panel or projector before I buy a HD-DVD or a BLUERAY, and hold off on buying too many dvd's as there is no point to bump money into two unstable formats. I'll use the money to buy more laserdisks! The sound is awesome on those.
 
I got to listen to the new THX setup at VSDA and its something like 7.1 or 9.1, its INSANE, it would have sucked to be next to their suite
 
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