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By Stevie Smith Aug 21, 2007, 13:25 GMT
HD format war not over as Paramount dumps Blu-ray
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Older Talkback
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HD-DVD format makes from a consumer sales point is going to win out.
HD is the new coined phrase for 'up and coming video technology'....
HD TV's
HD camcorders
HD computer monitors
even TV stations are coining terms like ESPNHD DiscoveryHD etc....
High Def is a industry word that stands for 'future' in the public mind of America. The people creating the technically infereior HD-DVD format obviously took this fact into consideration on their name. Combining HD and another obviously known term DVD into it's format means consumers already know what it means..... High Definition Video on a Disk that is similar to DVD.
Just like with Laser Disk, Betamax and MiniDisk the audio/video philes pick up the devices early giving them a 'virual' lead. Unfortunately cost is the driving factor for the market and too many past examples are shown to ignore. Funny that Sony always seems to be on the losing side.
The real question here is why these companies would pick a side so early? Disney for example should realize that their movies are targeted at kids and families. Since when are *they* the target market for quick adoption of expensive technology?
For me it comes down to the history of Sony... They have shown consistent disrespect for the consumer. What sort of company knowingly releases copy protected CDs that infect any computer they are played on with virus-like files? I used to be a big Sony fan, but am now replacing my Sony products with non-Sony alternatives as soon as possible.
If Blu-Ray wins... just wait to see how consumer friendly Blu-Ray 2 will be. However, the more likely outcome will be that neither format wins. The next new thing will render both obsolete before a decision is final.
Whos cares anyway, apart from fitting more detail on console games I cant see the point of the formats for films anyway, I mean you watch a film thats a hour and a half long then thats that, unless your really geeky and get excited at how many pixels per square inch or how it sounded on your 5.1, its just marketing to get people to spend cash that could be spent elsewhere, DVD is fine, well its better than a Cinema film with all the grainy pictures from reels and yet we spend a small fortune that way but nothings really said, so keep DVD but complain about Cinema release quality and let the fat cats argue about the formats whilst us peasants carry on watching DVD films or torrents of DVDs.
Soooo...which tv should I buy?
Blu-Ray makes no sense. It's just another format trying to get a piece of the market. In fact, neither HDDVD or Blu-Ray make much sense. Unless you are using these disc's to project a picture the size of a football field, they have little advantage over a DVD played in a HDDVD capable player. Even the fact that DVD's are compatible with HDDVD players should totally negate the the need for any new format from Sony.
'This too shall pass'
First, anyone that says that you can't see the difference between between high definition format and standard DVD is either blind or has not seen 1080P on a good TV screen.
The difference between the picture quality for a BluRay disk at 1080P on a good screen and a standard DVD on the same screen is almost as great as the difference between VHS and DVD.
Also, uncompressed audio on a decent sound system adds an additional dimension to the movie experience.
The reason why Disney would chose BD is pretty clear, there are a lot of Playstation 3 consoles out there, they all support the BD format. The picture quality of the Playstation 3 is superior to the dedicated BluRay and hdDVD players and are more likely to be updated.
The reason Paramont announced they were going to stop support for BD has more to do with the $150,000,000 that Toshiba is giving them than any alturistic concern for the cost of the players.
Screw Sony! Quality of their products is awful, prices are high. They have to think hard to make further steps. And first of all - QUALITY!!! If they can not make their toys in Japan or other normal country, they HAVE to control their Chineese screwed-hand workers!
I love watching HD downloadable movies from XBox Live. The movie selection is currently pretty meager (and geared towards teenage boys mostly). The player software is a little feature limited too (comparable to a $49 DVD player).
BluRay and HD-DVD should just go away as our downloadable selection increases.
I read Paramount's CTO's explanation from dumping Blu-Ray. The man's a techno-geek and the reasons given are idiotic and have little to do with the consumer's needs and more to do with his and Paramount's ego. As usual it is the consumer that is the loser. With Blu-Ray outselling HD-DVD 2 to 1. How can this be a sound business decision? HD-DVD is going to endup being Paramount's 'BetaMax'. (The irony is NOT lost.)
Early adopters always role the dice on technology. We are willing to pay a higher price for the benefit of a superior user experience prior to volume pricing kicking in. I did my homework, saw 1080p video on prototype monitors prior to mass production, and came to the undeniable conclusion that Blu-Ray was the only way to go. I do not regret my decision in the least, even though it took nearly a year after my Blu-Ray purchase for a big screen 1080p monitor to be produced that did the player justice.
And yes, the picture on a 63' Samsung 1080p Plasma from a Sony Blu-Ray player just reaches out and grabs you, especially with a seven channel DTS or Dolby Digital soundtrack -- it's film quality. There is no way you would mistake this resolution for a standard DVD, LaserDisc, or heaven forbid, VHS tape.
When it comes to marketing, Sony has a tin ear, as do many Japanese manufacturers. But this is not like VHS, BetaMax. Betamax capacity was only one hour, while most movies are 2 plus hours -- that was the fatal flaw. I see the HD-DVD limitation vis a vis Blu-ray in the same vein.
Sony's biggest error to date has been its reluctance until just recently to work with the porn film industry, while HD-DVD jumped right in, so to speak. Blue movies helped jump spark the DVD revolution -- Sony was missing a bonanza marketing opprotunity -- Real Blu-Ray (LOL);-). Time will tell.
As for obsolescence, I don't really care. That's life and progress. Does the computer you bought 6 or 7 years ago capable of running Microsoft Vista? Do you use the same razor you used a decade ago when you shave?
I know that the HDTV I am watching will be obolete in a year, and its price will drop by close to 50%. So what? Football season and the World Series are coming and I can't wait. Not to mention some great new Blu-ray film releases. And you can bet that someone is working on an ATSC standard modification that will make 1080p broadcasts possible via OTA (Over the Air) transmission. Once again, so what? Things change -- I still have some of my favorite LaserDiscs that will be upgraded when the time comes. Likewise there are still some 33 rpm audiphile LP's in my library that still sound great. Hey - you have to have hardware to connect to all those inputs on your AV receiver.
But Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD is just stupid. The old DVD manufacturing facilities are amortized and obsolete. So what if HD-DVD is interchangeable with DVD. The content suppliers (i.e the studios) will find a way to fill up the Blu-Ray disc as will the computer and software manufacturers who will realize manufacturing cost reductions by being able to squeeze more content on fewer Blu-Ray discs.
Seriously, from a business standpoint, Blu-Ray should win this battle.
I love my hd-dvd player and i love the movies i get to watch. I am happy with this player atleast two years by then online hd movies will be perfected. I mean they almost are, the other day i rented 300 off of my xbox 360 and it was great, but not as great as it is on an hd-dvd disk
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