Big win for Sony...

[skim36]

If you move over to TigerDirect.com, there's a news story there that says Warner Bros has officially chosen Blu-Ray exclusively.  Warner was the last company standing on the fence as it were.  As a result, HD-DVD has pulled out of the CES, story here:

http://news.tigerdirect.com/2008/01/05/hd-dvd-not-in-the-party-mood-for-ces-withdraws-event/

[odysseyroc]

If HD-DVD goes away, then it becomes Blu-Ray vs SD DVD. Winning the HD format war may mean nothing, since most people don't seem to care about it at all.

[Lakersfan]

All I'm waiting for is the player that plays DVD, Blue-Ray, and HD-DVD... Once that happens, then I'll look into buying one.

[AtomSmasher]

All I'm waiting for is the player that plays DVD, Blue-Ray, and HD-DVD... Once that happens, then I'll look into buying one.

They've been making players that can do that for a while now.

[Malenko]

All I'm waiting for is the player that plays DVD, Blue-Ray, and HD-DVD... Once that happens, then I'll look into buying one.

They've been making players that can do that for a while now.

for at least a year.

 I chose HD DVD because it was a cheap addon for my 360; its sonys fault there is a format war in the first place, and I dont want a PS3.  Companies choosing one format over the other, when they dont have to (ie sony pictures group pretty much has to support blu-ray), is a bad business move; you're alienating 1/2 of your potential customers.

[pointdablame]

Yeah this is pretty big news.  I actually hope it leads to a definitive winner in the HD format wars... its getting really, really old.  HD still makes up a small portion of DVD sales as mentioned so this wouldn't be the end-all win for Blu-Ray, but at least there'd only be on HD format competing.

[ChadTower]

I really don't care.  I buy few DVDs of new content anyway.

[shmokes]

I hope BluRay wins.  I plan to get a PS3 in the distant future, and as much as it's not going to happen any time soon it will still almost surely be my first HD player.  For obvious reasons, if my HD player will only play one format I want it to be the format that won the war.

[ChadTower]

If the PS3 is as good a DVD player as the PS2 is you'll be better served to use it to hold up a wobbly table.

[tommy]

If the PS3 is as good a DVD player as the PS2 is you'll be better served to use it to hold up a wobbly table.

It's pretty sad when a consoles secondary use becomes more of a story then the actual propose it was made for.

[ChadTower]

It's pretty sad when a consoles secondary use becomes more of a story then the actual porpoise it was made for.

fixt, tommyfin

[ahofle]

Sweet, now we can start paying $30 for a copy of Rush Hour 3.

[Grasshopper]

I hope BluRay wins.  I plan to get a PS3 in the distant future, and as much as it's not going to happen any time soon it will still almost surely be my first HD player.  For obvious reasons, if my HD player will only play one format I want it to be the format that won the war.

Well as long as dual format players become cheap (which they almost certainly will), it's probably better if there isn't a clear winner, at least from the consumer's perspective. But if there has to be a winner, then I'd have a slight preference for HD DVD simply because I've heard that Blu Ray's DRM system is harder to crack.

God how I loathe DRM.

[97thruhiker]

Well I will continue to buy/rent standard DVD's for a long while because I'm satisfied with the picture using my upconverting DVD player.  I have a 47 inch LCD TV and love watching HDTV on it.  The picture I get from my upconverting player looks extremely close (almost undectable) to what I get in HD service from Directv.  Why pay a couple of hundred dollars for a player that may make the picture a tad better (as well as the discs costing much more).  I could care less about "special features" so that argument fails with me also as this new format touts more of these options.  The only thing about the new format discs that care about at this point is backup storage of all of my movies/tv shows that I rip into digital format to play on my portable player as 4.7gigs is actually getting quite small.

[shmokes]

If the PS3 is as good a DVD player as the PS2 is you'll be better served to use it to hold up a wobbly table.

It's pretty sad when a consoles secondary use becomes more of a story then the actual propose it was made for.

Yeah, cos the fact that PS2 is a ---smurfy--- DVD player is much more of a story than, say, the fact that PS2 is the most successful videogame console of all time.   

[tommy]

I'm talking about the PS3.

[SavannahLion]

So when can we count on our disc rights being revoked?

[Samstag]

So when can we count on our disc rights being revoked?

Not until I stop paying for my Netflix account, I'm guessing.

[shmokes]

I'm talking about the PS3.

Heh . . . well the post you responded to was talking about the PS2.  We don't have any indication so far that the BluRay drive in the PS3 is shoddy.  BTW, you're kidding yourself if you think there's really a huge number of people who bought the PS3 primarily because they wanted a BluRay player.  Those people exist, don't get me wrong; and a lot of people who bought the PS3 are happy that it doubles as a BluRay player and use it as such.  But they the VAST majority of PS3 owners bought it to play PS3 games on it just like they did with their PS2s. 

[ark_ader]

I thought you can image the blueray disc via linux........

[AcidArmitage]

i dont trust sony.... not one bit 

[tommy]

I'm talking about the PS3.

Heh . . . well the post you responded to was talking about the PS2.  We don't have any indication so far that the BluRay drive in the PS3 is shoddy.  BTW, you're kidding yourself if you think there's really a huge number of people who bought the PS3 primarily because they wanted a BluRay player.  Those people exist, don't get me wrong; and a lot of people who bought the PS3 are happy that it doubles as a BluRay player and use it as such.  But they the VAST majority of PS3 owners bought it to play PS3 games on it just like they did with their PS2s. 

I think you still got me wrong.    I was saying that it's sad that the PS3 is not really being talked about because of games or gaming and the big news is only about the DVD wars that would benefit the PS3. That would be the secondary use I was speaking of and it's getting more attention than what the PS3's real purpose is, playing games on the thing.

I guess I shouldn't have quoted chad in my original post, that's where I lost you I think. 

[shmokes]

Well . . . I understand you, but I disagree.  BluRay winning the format war (probably) is big news for the PS3, but it ain't the only thing PS3 has going for it.  PS3 having an arguably stronger library than Wii is certainly noteworthy.

[SavannahLion]

I thought you can image the blueray disc via linux........

That should be interesting to read up on. I wasn't aware any of the distros had BluRay support.

If that's true, then that would be BluRay's only saving grace in my book.

[shmokes]

I'm under the impression that BluRay has been completely cracked.  AnyDVD (an awesome program, BTW) claims that it strips the copy protections from both BluRay and HD DVD on the fly.

[SavannahLion]

I'm under the impression that BluRay has been completely cracked.  AnyDVD (an awesome program, BTW) claims that it strips the copy protections from both BluRay and HD DVD on the fly.

I've heard about the work with HD DVD and how it was cracked, but apparently I haven't kept up with the cracking scene on BluRay. That's just down right ---smurfing--- awesome! I've got to research it tonight.

[tommy]

Well . . . I understand you, but I disagree.  BluRay winning the format war (probably) is big news for the PS3, but it ain't the only thing PS3 has going for it.  PS3 having an arguably stronger library than Wii is certainly noteworthy.

 

Right now, as far back as the PS3 is to the pack, the best they can hope for is their DVD winning the war. Something being talked about as far as Sony goes is better then nothing, as it is now. I think that's about all they have right now. Any win is a win for a console in deep ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

This is still sad.

[patrickl]

Any win is a win for a console in deep ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

This is still sad.

How is the PS3 a console in deep ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---? The Wii is indeed a bigger sales hit, but the PS3 is selling at the same rate as the Xbox 360 (if you compensate for the difference in release date). In fact the PS3 sells at the same rate as the PS2 did from it's introduction. You'd probably have called the PS2 a console in deep ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

[ChadTower]

There are HD rips all over the internet... not sure if they're coming from HD DVD or BluRay, but it's high profile stuff.  The 6 Star Wars movies just hit the net in full 1080p, for example, ripped in H.264.

[big daddy]

Also looks like Paramount is about to jump
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/09/sony.digitalmedia

its sonys fault there is a format war in the first place

absurd

If the PS3 is as good a DVD player as the PS2 is you'll be better served to use it to hold up a wobbly table.

The PS3 was better (and cheaper) than most of the standalone players at one point (I don't know if that is still true).  Take a look through around AVSforum and you'll find a lot of videophiles who bought a PS3 strictly because of how good the blu-ray player was.

To all those talking about expensive media, how no one is interested in HD anyway, etc....you guys need to come out from under your rock.      This IS the next-gen format, with billions at stake.   There's a reason these major studios were slugging it out for this. 

Prices will come down, people will adopt, $ will be made.  It's all a given.  For all you anti-sony guys, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

[odysseyroc]

Also looks like Paramount is about to jump
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/09/sony.digitalmedia

Paramount is denying that they are jumping. Of course that could change tomorrow, but as of right now they say they are staying with HD-DVD.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aZzib5lwheBc&refer=asia

The PS3 was better (and cheaper) than most of the standalone players at one point (I don't know if that is still true).  Take a look through around AVSforum and you'll find a lot of videophiles who bought a PS3 strictly because of how good the blu-ray player was.

To all those talking about expensive media, how no one is interested in HD anyway, etc....you guys need to come out from under your rock.      This IS the next-gen format, with billions at stake.   There's a reason these major studios were slugging it out for this. 

Prices will come down, people will adopt, $ will be made.  It's all a given.  For all you anti-sony guys, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

PS3 is the player to get, mostly because it's the only current player that will be upgradeable to the 2.0 profile and BD Live. If I were buying a BD player right now, there is no doubt it would be a PS3.

It's not a given that Blu-Ray is going to become the standard. Right now if you added up everything that both HD formats combined have sold, it's not even a drop in the bucket of what SD DVD sells. Add that to the fact that a good upscaling DVD player is good enough for most people and audio system that takes advantage of lossless audio is going to set you back about a thousand bucks, and you can see why there is so little demand for a next-gen format right now.

[shmokes]

To all those talking about expensive media, how no one is interested in HD anyway, etc....you guys need to come out from under your rock.      This IS the next-gen format, with billions at stake.   There's a reason these major studios were slugging it out for this. 

Prices will come down, people will adopt, $ will be made. 

I wouldn't be so sure.  The leap from DVD to BluRay or HD DVD is not nearly as dramatic as that from VHS to DVD.  People are very happy with the DVD, and the picture quality, even on 1080p TVs is very good.  Of course the studios are going to release content for the new format and try to encourage people to adopt it.  It means loads and loads of repeat sales.  How many movies do you own on DVD that you already purchased once before on VHS?  Studios get to sell you the same product twice when you decide to move to a new format, but still want to own your favorite movies, or maybe want to experience them in higher quality.

However, as I said, the jump from DVD to HD media is not nearly so dramatic.  DVD is already digital, ditches rewinding, has interactive menus, lets you jump to any chapter, digital surround sound, and it represented a HUGE, VERY NOTICEABLE picture quality improvement, immediately obvious to a casual observer.  The HD formats have really only given us a better picture, and the average consumer was not dissatisfied with the one they were already getting from their DVD players.

If you ask me, BluRay will win in a two-way battle against HD DVD, but in a three-way battle, DVD will never be defeated by either format.  At best we will probably get discs that will play in both DVD and BluRay players.  The technology that truly succeeds DVD will probably not be physical media at all, but rather digital delivery/storage.

BluRay will be moderately successful, but we're not going to see DVD disappear in the next ten years, and you can only imagine what we will have in terms of internet pipelines, media centers, streaming media, movies-on-demand services from the likes of Blockbuster/Netflix ten years from now.

[ChadTower]

For many people the leap from VHS to DVD was more about audio and 5.1 than it was ever about picture quality.  Sure, you could get a better picture, but many of the early adopters were jumping on digital audio, Pro Logic, and 5.1.

There isn't nearly that type of audio jump in the new formats, so that must be considered as well.  5.1 to 7.1 isn't all that different.

[somunny]

I see an external Blu-Ray drive in the 360's future...

[shmokes]

I doubt it.  By the time it's even something that would be on MS's radar stand-alone players will probably be under a hundred bucks already.  Why bother with an add-on?

[Samstag]

I doubt it.  By the time it's even something that would be on MS's radar stand-alone players will probably be under a hundred bucks already.  Why bother with an add-on?

They've already announced an interest in it.

Considering that standalone Bluray player prices haven't budged much even while competing with $100-200 HD players, I think we're still a long way from seeing those players at what I would consider reasonable prices (sub-$100).

[somunny]

I doubt it.  By the time it's even something that would be on MS's radar stand-alone players will probably be under a hundred bucks already.  Why bother with an add-on?

You don't think they pay attention to market trends?  My guess is that they do.

[shmokes]

Of course they do.  Which is why they'll note that expensive add-ons for consoles are almost always complete failures in the market.  Previously Sony had a $500-$600 machine that was a very good BluRay player, while the next cheapest BluRay player was $1000+.  So MS said, "Well . . . if you want to spend as much money on a 360 as you will on a PS3, our player can play HD discs too."  The existence of the HD DVD add-on, in fact, probably had a negligible effect on Xbox 360 sales, but . . .

At any rate, just like the PS2's DVD playback functionality has been a moot point for years, once BluRay players drop to sub-$100 (by Christmas '08), nobody is going to really care that their $350 PS3 (assuming another price-cut) can play BluRay.  And MS is sure as hell not going to release a peripheral that almost nobody will buy so that they can keep up with a PS3 feature that nobody really cares about anymore.

[SavannahLion]

From what I recall, the HD-DVD add-on sales did pretty well on its own. Microsoft probably would have sold just as many even if it didn't have the 360 tie-in.

Come to think of it. I don't think I have personally seen any HD-DVD actually attached to a 360 in anybodies home. 

[shmokes]

Doesn't the HD DVD addon rely on the 360 for processing?  Surely the thing can't stand alone as its own player . . .