HD-DVD vs Blue-Ray?

[Majestyk]

This thread is designed to stir things up. Don't disappoint me folks, I want some bitching and arguing happening here!

So which one do you have or are thinking about buying in to, and why? Or are you waiting until the format war ends?

Begin!

ME: Still have DVD only. Will get HD-DVD in the spring, mostly in part to the fact that I just plain hate Sony. (More the company than the products). HD-DVD will win.

Jeff

[LEDluvr]

I'll take the bait Jeff, but I'll probably disappoint.

I currently have just 'regular' DVD and I'm leaning towards HiDef but since I don't have an HD TV yet it doesn't make sense for me to jump in right now.
I have to agree with you - I think HD will win the format war.

(In the meantime I'll just use my $ to collect LED watches! )

[Fitron]

HD-DVD will win hands down. Why? Easy! The porn industry is using it to make hard core films therefore it wins. Full stop.

You can all laugh but I'm deadly serious. Porn has been responsible for the development of virtually all visual recording mediums. A year after the first films were made hard core films were being sold throughout Europe (made in Argentina starring local whores who were billed as "English actresses". Obviously one of the first used of photography before that was not family portraits but explicit photos. This says a lot about the human condition.

Video was saved only by porn. The movie companies refused to licence their films for release on it and the porno industry slipped in and sales took off in the USA, eventually the mainstream joined in and the rest is history -VHS was the preferred format for the trade and that's what killed betamax off.

The internet porn porn porn porn. The top ten searches of the UK National Health Service was found to be....................porn. Again, mainstream has moved in and taken over and now everyone uses the net, sometimes even for non porn related stuff.

And now the "industry" is using HD DVD so it will win, just as it has done throughout history and then the mainstream will join in (and is in fact doing so). Although why anyone wants to see a spotty arse in close up is beyond me.

No I do not have any porn on my computer, I just have too much time on my hands at work at the moment and access to too many books (of the non porn related kind).

Blue ray deserves to win though. So you're all wrong.

[Led-Time]

The two big hitters in the format war is Sony (Blu-Ray) and Toshiba (HD-DVD) not so long ago Paramount Pictures sided with the HD-DVD camp by announcing it will exclusively release its movies in this format just in time for of the biggest blockbuster of the year Transformers to be released on HD-DVD plus Paramount’s back catalogue is vast. A little known company called Microsoft (Xbox 360 supports HD-DVD movies) allegedly waived a hefty chunk of money around various places to persuade certain people that HD-DVD is the way to go. But on the other side is Sony with its Playstation 3 (which supports Blu Ray for movies) and Sony’s hefty chunk of money behind it and we have a nice little high definition format war.

I have a PS3 connected to my projector (1080p is amazing) for gaming and films its a fantastic bit of kit but it really annoys me that if I want to watch one of the HD-DVD releases I’ll have to buy a HD-DVD player as well which is madness, all I want to do is watch HD films I don’t care what format of disk the machine takes I want to watch films that’s not asking too much is it.

These two big companies are doing more harm than good because most people will be sitting on the fence waiting to see what format comes out on top but if no one is buying HD players its going to go on for a long time, Betamax / VHS anyone. But in the back ground Microsoft are quietly preparing a HD movie download service which will render both formats obsolete when its up and running. Think about it streaming HD movies from the internet into your games console/ PC hard drive and Bob’s your auntie instant HD movies to watch and not a disc in sight, brilliant you might think that is unless you want a hard copy back to the disc’s again then OH Nooooooooooooo....

[rewolf]

These two big companies are doing more harm than good because most people will be sitting on the fence waiting to see what format comes out on top but if no one is buying HD players its going to go on for a long time, Betamax / VHS anyone.

100% agreed (not to forget Video 2000 back then )

The new disc formats also have improved "content protection":
Each disc contains a "black list" of "evil" devices (e.g. that have been hacked to disregard the protection). When you insert a disc, the player updates its internal list. And if it finds itself on the list, or the beamer/monitor it is connected to, its disables the HD output. This can even happen after years when you insert a new disc with an updated list.
Nice feature, isn't it?

In the end, the user pays it all:
- Hybrid players (for both formats) are more expensive to develop and produce, plus they are more complex and error-prone.
- Movie companies release movies in both formats - smaller numbers, higher initial cost.
- Marketing cost of HD-DVD vs. BluRay campaign.

I decided many years ago not to support an industry that annoys its paying customers:
I have no TV, no DVD, no HD-DVD, no BluRay. Instead, I have 3 cinemas within 10 minutes from my home (and friends with DVD players ).

At the beginning of HD-DVD vs. BluRay I tried to understand the technology behind the formats (video/audio formats and encryption). It was too complex for me, so I decided it was useless knowledge anyway that will be obsolete in a few years...
Even the player manufacturers and disc authors have problems with the complexity, there are still compatibility issues and firmware bugs. And then, even before the products have matured, they move on to the next generation and leave you alone with the mess...

So now I'm just watching the "race" with interest, but I don't mind who wins (if anybody wins at all...)

Am I too negative? Maybe because this is my posting # 666 in this forum

[Majestyk]

One good thing that is happening with the two warring formats is that it's keeping the price of the players down. Sony has had two misses in the past. Beta and Minidisc and their PR statements for BD turn me off. They have constantly stated that the war is over and they will win, or they bash HD for something. This kind of strong arm marketing practice has turned me off from their players...Although to be fair, in the last four months, Sony has backed away from these types of statements...And for good reason!

In the end, I think the winner will be the format that has the most titles and is the most reliable. I read in the forums of all the bugs both formats have.

BTW, if anyone in the US or Canada sees an open box or broken Toshiba XA2 for sale, let me know. I'd love to take one apart. I won't do this with a new or even refurbished unit.

Jeff

[Fitron]

But in the back ground Microsoft are quietly preparing a HD movie download service which will render both formats obsolete when its up and running. Think about it streaming HD movies from the internet into your games console/ PC hard drive and Bob’s your auntie instant HD movies to watch and not a disc in sight, brilliant

Personally I think this is the future, who wants the inconvenience of all those boxes cluttering up your house, it's already happening with mp3's (yes we oldies still buy CD's but talk to a teen - they don't in any appreciatable numbers) and this is just a logical extension of the idea. Save your money and buy a decent tv or projector to watch them on and we'll all look back and laugh at how many boxes we had sitting around under the telly.

[Majestyk]

But in the back ground Microsoft are quietly preparing a HD movie download service which will render both formats obsolete when its up and running. Think about it streaming HD movies from the internet into your games console/ PC hard drive and Bob’s your auntie instant HD movies to watch and not a disc in sight, brilliant

I think this technology has a long way to go. There's no way it can catch up to players outputting 1080p images, on 50"+ plasma screens, and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround. I also don't like the fact that once again, the studios are trying to take away movie ownership, like Circuit City's DVIX Player/Service; which was brought down by home theater enthusiasts. The studios have continuously been looking for ways to make it so consumers can not own a movie (much like one not being able to own Microsoft programs) and have to pay for each viewing.

Just like LED watches, I like to collect DVD's and soon HD-DVD's.

Jeff

[Fitron]

True, we won't see it tomorrow or even next year but it will come into being, that is for sure as the amount of money involved is too much both in terms of investment and potential revenue. Also, I'm willing to bet that there will be a lowish rental charge for each time you watch a film, say a couple dollars or so, just enough to not annoy joe public, after all how often do you watch the same film in a given period?

I also don't like the fact that once again, the studios are trying to take away movie ownership

Nor do I but if I use the service to rent the film then I wouldn't have any issues about ownership. You will feel differently as you want to own the film. It's no different to renting one today via internet and returning it freepost. But I'm not a serious film buff so my opinion is that of the casual user and HDDVD or HD telly is not something that is of overwhelming importance to me.

You're now married - wait until you have kids then try and find the time to watch a film Unless it's Cinderella (AGAIN!!!!!!!) (on VHS no less )

One thing is for sure, whichever format wins, it will have nothing to do with it's technical merits. It will be for unexpected reasons. I was deadly serious about the porn aspect for VHS, and there will be something equally obscure that will influence the outcome. Try "Freakonomics" by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt. Fasinating read.

[LEDluvr]

You're now married - wait until you have kids then try and find the time to watch a film Sad Unless it's Cinderella (AGAIN!!!!!!!)

I can second that Fitron! The only difference is my little boy loves "Cars".

[Fitron]

I've exhaused the Pixar movies, I'm just waiting for Ratattooeee (or however it's spelt) to come out now on DVD then we can watch that one umpteen times till their bored of it.

[Majestyk]

Well so much for HD-DVD.

http://www.startribune.com/science/13486426.html

[Fitron]

Warner said its decision to drop HD DVD was based on consumers' preference for Blu-ray.

Bollocks. Sony said jump and Warners said "how high?" I still reckon it's a temporary victory until downloading takes off.

[Led-Time]

The one thing that seems to have been overlooked is the ripping and burning software, remember when DVD first appeared there was/still is +R/-R +RW/-RW and RAM with SD-DVD nobody cares which format DVD is in because of all the multi format players/burners HD will be the same its just a matter of time. When HD burners and software are commonplace in computers only then will there be a stable HD disc format.

After thinking again about the HD movie downloads the broadband service required will need to be about ten times faster than the 8mbit/sec I’ve got just now as the timeframe to download a 25Gb+ file will be horrendous and that’s just for one film, I think there needs to be a HD disc format just for the simple convenience factor because Joe public wants the simple things in life not messing around with awkward computer stuff or he’ll look elsewhere...

[Fitron]

What you say about download speeds it true enough Klippie but just think how slow the 'net was just 3 years ago for most people. It will speed up and they'll find a way to get lossless compression. But this is a side arguement, it's HD vs Blue-ray. It's as clear cut as Hilary vs Barak, nobody really knows and the best we can do is take a stab in the dark. If I could tell teh future I'd have won the lottery several times by now and have won every Pulsar auction on ebay by now