Blu Ray and HD-DVD on one chip

Jarred Land

Jarred Land

President/Founder
Staff member
today i just bought a bluray player.. and 15 minutes after watching my first movie i got an email alert:

"
Announced today is the Broadcom BCM7440 Blu-ray/HD DVD SoC that offers OEMs a high performance single-chip media player design, which integrates a multiple-core MIPS® architecture, a multi-stream HD video decoder, dedicated graphics engines, DSP-based audio processors, a security processor, DDR2 interfaces, integrated video and audio outputs and a complete array of system and network connectivity interfaces. The BCM7440 is supported with a complete reference design, the BCM97440 and software stack, which includes support for all Blu-ray and HD DVD profiles."

so it looks like there will be dual players out next year.. kinda like the dvd + / - thing that was resolved.

good to see... but i still think they gotta sort out the dual format thing for distribution.. making both blu ray and hd-dvd stamps is out of the grasp of most filmmakers right now.
 
Ya know, I'm going to stick with my 2-head VCR for now. Still works like a charm despite the auto tracking not working as good.

:nads:
 
Bluespider does bring up a very good point that's always worth keeping in mind: Tape works. Always.

- Mikko ... only has a VHS deck, no DVD player. Currently very entertaiend by VHS copies of bond movies recorded from TV.
 
mikkowilson said:
Mikko only has a VHS deck, no DVD player. Currently very entertaiend by VHS copies of bond movies recorded from TV.
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Wow, you have a much lower threshold for pain than I do! :grin:

I think an HD disc format will eventually take hold, it just isn't going to come as quickly as some may have wanted. The quality does definitely look better. One of Barry's posts in another topic summed it up well, though... quality alone will not make the mass audience adopt something. However, just the fact that it will enter into our daily lives (Blu-Ray on the PS3, HD-DVD on the Xbox 360, data drives for personal computers, etc.) will make one (or both) of the formats ubiquitous and accepted. The other thing that has to change is price; most people just aren't going to pay for a new player if it costs $1,000. You can pick up a DVD player now for what, $30? The gap is still too large. That being said, I think it will happen eventually.
 
With the PS3 (Blue-Ray) and the XBOX 360 HD-DVD player coming out next week the format war has just begun. However, several companies have already announced dual-format players including LG, Samsung, Toshiba and others (some of which will be on the market in a few months) so I am guesing we'll soon see all players with dual support. Ricoh announced a dual-format chip in July and several other companies are cloning the two formats: Warner Bros. even filed a patent for a hybrid HD-DVD / Blue Ray disc not too long ago indicating that even the companies themselves are getting cold feet in this stupid format war.

In the end it probably becomes a question of how much you are trying to cram onto a disc - sorta like dual layer vs single layer DVDs now. Last I heard the Blue-Ray people have made a Dual layer Blue Ray disc that can store up to 50GB of info. Can't imagine how many special features you have to put on the disc to use all that space.

why can't everone just get along?

mor10
 
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Your right morten.. but when broadcam makes an anouncement they are making a chip its huge... those guys are the big guns in the SC world.

The 50gb discs start coming out next week i believe and i think Superman is gonna be a big one next month.

To me Bluetooth has the advantage at this point i think.. 8 out of 9 studios support it, the PS3 has it BUILT IN, and the top set top makers are rolling them out. Panasonic, Pioneer Elite, Samsung, Sony all have Blueray players rolling out in the next few months. As much as I hate it, i think it may be bluetooth that wins this one. damn sony.
 
Jarred Land said:
To me Bluetooth has the advantage at this point i think.. 8 out of 9 studios support it, the PS3 has it BUILT IN, and the top set top makers are rolling them out. Panasonic, Pioneer Elite, Samsung, Sony all have Blueray players rolling out in the next few months. As much as I hate it, i think it may be bluetooth that wins this one. damn sony.
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jabra-bt350-bluetooth-headset.jpg


? :huh:


- Mikko ... is amazed to hear that his 5 year old phone will show HD movies. :)
 
The technical obstacles necessary to include support for both formats in a single playback platform are not all that difficult to overcome, however, the licensing issues are massive. As of right now, both preclude support for the other in their licensing agreement. I doubt that we will see any "real" products support both formats this selling season. There were products shown as early as this last CES (January 2006) that intended to be dual format, but none have actually shipped.

I do agree with Jarred's statement about Sony. They always seem to make things difficult for everyone.
 
I used to have a lot of Sony electronics, from my 36" Trinitron to ALL my stereo equipment and DVD player. I have had problems with both my DVD player and CD player. Both have been replaced by other brands. I find myself moving away from Sony as I replace my electronics...
 
so.... let's say I buy an XBOX360 + the HD-DVD player to play HD-DVDs (that's around $600 canadian) and the PS3 at another $600 canadian to play Blue Ray. Now I have a problem. Both of these boxes are stand-up while my rack only supports "flat" stackable players. GRRR.

(my point if you didn't get it: right now it makes more sense to buy a gaming consol than a player if you want to play these discs: with an XBOX360 or a PS3 you get harddrive space, a media player pluss gaming for the same price you would pay for "just" a disc player).

that said I'm not buying this technology in protest. How many will join me in the crusade against endless new money sucking formats?

*deafening silence*

mor10
 
Jarred Land said:
Your right morten.. but when broadcam makes an anouncement they are making a chip its huge... those guys are the big guns in the SC world.

The 50gb discs start coming out next week i believe and i think Superman is gonna be a big one next month.

To me Bluetooth has the advantage at this point i think.. 8 out of 9 studios support it, the PS3 has it BUILT IN, and the top set top makers are rolling them out. Panasonic, Pioneer Elite, Samsung, Sony all have Blueray players rolling out in the next few months. As much as I hate it, i think it may be bluetooth that wins this one. damn sony.
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I got very very confused before I realized you were talking about Blu-Ray.:)
 
Only problem is getting a hold of the PS3, thats it. Its great to see what , up to about a year and a half ago, maybe longer, (when i was talking HD up and how GREAT it is) that this HD thing has begun to really get people hooked even the nay sayers from that time.
 
I'm buying a PS3 so I can have a Blu-Ray player AND a cool new game machine. I think a few million other people are planning to do the same. I have both an XBOX and a PS2. But I'll wait to buy an XBOX360 when they go on sale at Target for $149, after the launch of PS3 and Wii kill off 90% of XBOX360 console sales.
 
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