Actually Blockbuster will carry HD-DVDs for online rentals. Walmart coming out in December with 199 players for HD-DVD from China and not selling any blu ray devices is the true KO and Blu-Ray will likely be the Beta.
Netflix will probably get more business from this actually over time, since their marketing is more straightforward and untainted by backroom palm greasing. |
Also, most folks with PS3 dont watch Blu-Ray DVDs; The device itself requires the use of a bluetooth game controller, incompatible with the infrared home theater master controls. You can buy another remote for 25 dollars however.
Fundamentally the Blu ray disc is a bit of technologic problem because it requires much more processing and hard drive space to function than an HD-DVD player; thats why they really havent been able to roll out all of those purported added features on the blu ray discs. When the do, current blu ray machines will be obsolete; and amazingly, may not even play the upcoming changes in blu ray disc technology. Lots of infighting too. Just too much basis cost to deliver the product.
HD-DVD is straightforward and elivers the goods, with out all of the false Hullaboo about a "Blu Ray victory is ineveitable" and other marketing drivel. Cart came out way efore the horse. Chinese HD-DVD players will detrmine the market, the 720P displays will disappear, and HD-DVD players will be defacto Walmart type products, delivering outstanding pic and audio performance for under 200 dollars. First format with players under 200 dollars wins; most folks won't pay 500 or more for a DVD player. The value isnt perceived as being there, as Standard DVDs really are still quite nice. |
Lack of content depending on what you watch. There are many movies on HD-DVD that you cant find on Blu Ray. Its about top movies.
The European studios are almost 100% HD-DVD and Asia is leaning that way too.
I like foreign films personally.
Salespeople work for places that are paid to "Place" products favorably. Blu-Ray has greased a lot of palms. |
Actually there is more overall content available on HD-DVD than Blu Ray- there is almost no adoption of Blu Ray among European studios, and none in Asia as well. Blu Ray is actually inferior technology; The disks are more difficult to author ( thats why there are so few game titles for Playstation three). Also, the generational steps of Blu Ray hardware is causing early obsolescence among early adopter Blu Ray player buyers. A very expensive waste for them. Blu Rays hunger for hard drives space and processing is a burden and factors directly into its higher cost than HD-DVD. Its not better- its just more expensive to build to do the same thing HD-DVD already does.
The lower production costs of HD-DVD players is the reason they cost less- nothing else. AS far as studio adoption--its a 60% vs 90% issue among American studios. Its more about which studios have the more popular movies- not who theoretically can make the most-- both sides have large catalogs and can produce mass numbers of Hi Def re-releases for years.
The lower production costs both for players and disks means HD_DVD will win this in the end, and the lack of any international support for Blu Ray to speak of seals the deal.
I am all for a bunch of dual-format players. That makes it easy---but it will be a bit too late before that becomes ubiquitous among offerings. Barring unforeseen change ( which could happen)- its HD-DVDs game to win come Christmas and the Walmart adoption of lower cost chinese made HD-DVD players. There are no blu ray licenses in China for Hardware-- and that dog dont bark-- as they say.
If you can't make electronic in CHina, then you cant compete on price, and you wont succeed in the mass market. |
Its hard to know at this point. Target, Blockbuster, and Best Buy are lining up with Blu Ray. Walmart and Sams are with HD-DVD, and Netflix and Circuit City are neutral.
Blu Ray hardware is problematic in general and hasnt incorporated ethernet connectivity, unline HD-DVD players which have. Waterdowned PS3 dont have enough memory in the hard drive to truely pull off Blu Ray DVDs with interactive features. Blu Ray has the studio output in the US 90% vs 60% of all titles released. European and Asian studios largely produce HD-DVD disks but not blu ray.
In the end, I * think* HD-DVD will come ut on top due to its lower cost structure. But its going to be long and ugly it seems. Sony marketing is excellent actually I find. The equipment however, lags HD-DVD players in general, and changes are causing early obsolescence for early Blu Ray adopters ( poor folks). |
Well a few comments. Asia and Europe are very important. If you all have followed the news lately, Blu ray is under investigation by a European Commission regarding their marketing techniques( ie bribery; pressure tactics) as European movie studios are adopting HD_DVD over Blu Ray for Hi Def movies due to more than one factor. The rest of the world just doesnt through money and influence around like SOny and it is causing very strong resentment.
The reason why Sony doesnt reduce pricing further is they can't do so very easily, as they lose money as it is every time a PS3 is sold. Huge losses that, frankly, are not sustainable.
As far as Walmart and Sams--yes they carry both for now--but HD-DVD has been licensed to Chinese manufacturers and 199 players for HD-DVD will arrive in time for Christmas it seems. Becuase of the mounting losses for Blu Ray and Sony- HD-DVD only needs a stalemate to win, not a victory.
As Hi Def DVD adoption rate increases ( its miniscule now) eventually everyone is gonna have to make movies in both formats in the US as far as Major Studios. Right now, Standard Def DVDs still rule, ad they are quite acceptable to most folks ( me included, although the 1080P stuff is quite incredible if you have the FP, display and player).
It is gonna be a long one, but since HD_DVD can sell players and Titles at lower pricepoints without sustaining the same level losses as Blu Ray, they should win out.
Also, Blu Ray machines need a lot of memory to do those interactive features as well as an ethernet connection. The players dont have it right now, Tosh stuff does, and as those differences come to mean something, it will only widen the gap in offereings or price or both. |
My only comment is that all of those companies are competing with each other. I do think that cheap chinese HD-DVD players coming out this fall ( which the AP confirmed last week) seals the deal, because you get a greater bandwidth of buyers. Right now, the masses are locked out because Blu Ray players are all at a higher price point.
If the total volume of hi def titles goes up as far as sales, at some point all studios must follow suit just to go after the sales. Right now, the numbers of Hi Def disks sold is just too small to be significant. |
The Associated Press reported the Chinese HD-DVD confirmation on fall release at $199 in several newspapers last week. Its not very far away.
The Majority of Blu Ray players unfortunately dont come with the technical specifications needed to utilize many of Hi Def DVD capabilities. I am not aware that any have ethernet connectivity, needed for the interactive feature aspects. Also, as the format has itself changed, early Blu Ray player buyers are already obsolete.
The actual title sales are about even worldwide, and that total is less than 1% of total DVD sales. All HD-DVD has to do is continue to exist, and as the total volume percentage of Hi Def DVDs increases relative to standard plus Hi Def SAles, all studios will have to release in both formats or lose a lot of money, as more and more people purchase 1080P displays and want Hi Def DVDs.
AS far as the codec used by the chinese players, it certainly isnt inferior; it was codesigned with Toshiba to handle certain copyright issues frankly and will play HD-DVDs perfectly, by report.
Blu Ray and Sony are facing problems with the European Commission due to "marketing technique" issues and European studios arent supporting Blu Ray at this time for the most part.
Current Blu Ray losses are mounting although obviously Sony and Co have a lot of resources. Eventually non-sustainable and the production costs and needed memory and processing capabilities are so high on the Blu Ray Side that in the end, its just not a competitive format, only being propped up by a lot of Sony Marketing and false advertising. And a lot of dollars!! |
The Associated Press confirmed the Chinese HD-DVD player release at 199.99 for this fall; that's where all of the codec info came from as well.
Without an ethernet connection currrent Blu Ray players are going to be obsolete. The Toshiba players allow for online updating of software ( which is very cool) as well as use for online interactive features in the future. The HD-DVD players of course upscale standard DVDs wonderfully as well.
The memory requirements and processing power needed to make Blu Rays less efficient software writing means either a very expensive player or some lessor performance characteristics as far as speed of loading as well as interactive features.
I don't disagree that the "format war" won't go on for awhile for sure; and I don't know if either format will truely win as well.
I would stay away from Blu Ray players for now though- they will improve in a way that will make current ones obsolete very quickly. As has already happened. |
Oh yea- alomost forgot, the writer of the Associated Press Article is Gary Gentile and it came out August 10th 2007. He writes out of Los Angeles but I saw the article on a Nashville News Affiliate website. The article is not totally focused on China by any means; but it does clearly state that HD-DVD players made in China are expected to be released for 199.99 in December. |
There are pictures of one of the Chinese HD-DVD players now available. If you think about it, of course less expensive HD-DVD players are just around the corner. Obviously there is no blu ray answer on the hardware side. There never has been. Thats why I would stay away from Blu Ray for now.
Blu Ray hardware is simply lacking and faces early obsolescence. The DVD video quality is excellent on both Medias. Costco is selling HD-DVD players, and the entry level model is on sale online for 249. HD-DVD , if you had to pick one now, is the way to go, due to ethernet connectivity, upscaling, and ability to play standard DVDs.
I wouldnt be accepting any substitutes for now. Blu Ray marketing got ahead of the product. |
Well, looking at overall titles before this change, 90% would be released on Blu Ray and 60% on HD-DVD from American Studios. European studios were in HD-DVDs favor technically.
With this change I actually think its slightly in HD-DVDs favor as far as total titles and American studio support. Pretty major stuff really, in the minor world of Hi Def DVDs. |
Actually, believe it or not, 720P displays are being slowly replaced across all technologies by 1920 x 1080 displays with HDMI 1.3 connectivity as the standard. So in that sense, a Hi Def PLayer makes sense, particularly if it can upscale and play regular current DVDs. |
Just to update, it looks like there are going to be 9 or 10 HD-DVD player manufacturers on board in time for Christmas, with sub 200 dollar HD-DVD players. The pictures of these various units are now everywhere. Names like Onkyo, Intgera, and Magnavox as well as some newer ones. In ddition, Alpine went HD-DVD for Car Video ( quite the industry I understand) there is also a portable HD-DVD manufacturer as well, which is pretty cool too. Probably ubiquitous Hd-DVD drives for computers in the near future ( besides Microsoft).
This, inconcewrt with the now slight lead HD-DVD has in movie studios among the top 100 releases for movies this year, makes HD-DVD the current format of choice it seems. |
Well thanks for your post. I think we agree on most things. Blu Ray isnt going away anytime soon obviously. And sure there will be punches flying in both directions in one form or another to be sure.
The thing about 150 million though- thats more myth than reality. Nobody is saying that anyone specific paid anything--in other words, nobody is saying we paid this much money. Toshiba doesnt have 150 million dollars to pay a studio with as an FYI.
I do know its cheaper for astudio to get HD-DVD mdae than Blu ray discs, and thats better for everyone in the end.
I agree content is important, but in an even playing field which we now have, production and hardware costs will win out--its just that way. |
