Which format do YOU think will win the newest war?

[Blue-Hawk]

I have had this argument countless times with people and most have said different outcomes.

Some say Blu Ray because of the mass amount of crap movies Sony is releasing.

Others say HD because of the licensee's they signed- IE Universal.

I say DVD will stay on top. Reason? Not many people actually OWN either players nor do they care to. Most will buy regular because it's cheaper. Hell, I know very few that even spend the money on the extended/director cuts/collectors of DVD's like I do. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

So, what do YOU think?

[Sekani]

Blu-Ray has WAY more support than HD-DVD does, and Sony can use the PS3 to boast about having a million more blu-ray than HD-DVD players on the market. If the format war were to be decided today, no question who would win.

BUT, a winner won't be decided until HDTVs become more common, prices on next-gen players drop to a reasonable level, and the infamous DRM debacle is resolved. Which probably won't be until 2010.

[UnderscoreX]

More and more stores are exclusively selling Blu Ray over HD-DVD, but we're talking long term here. DVD will still lead the way for a solid 10 years or so. Hell some people still prefer VHS over DVD.

[amtalx]

It's a tough call. HD-DVD is a friendlier format, and Sony has a HORRIBLE history with formats (Betamax, Minidisc, UMD...) In the beginning, they have all been somewhat successful and were usually technologically superior to their competitor. However, Sony's refusal to license the technology to other manufacturers kills them every time. You can't argue with being the market leader though.

[Blue-Hawk]

Sony MAY have a lot of support, but by the end of the year, just about every Blu Ray/PS3 owner will be screwed because of a new legislature that will MAKE Blu Ray use features the current players nor the PS3 can do.

[Sinue_v2]

Couldn't Sony support the new features in a firmware update?

What features are you talking about?

[Blue-Hawk]

On 2007-08-01 10:38, Sinue_v2 wrote:
Couldn't Sony support the new features in a firmware update?

What features are you talking about?


The features are hardware related, from what I have heard. When I find the link I read it on, I'll post.

[Sekani]

Are you talking about AACS?

[HUnewearl_Meira]

Personally, I'm rooting for HD-DVD, but I'm not really clear that there's a necessity for a new format, just yet. I don't think that DVD has been around long enough to be replaced, yet. If the market accepts new formats so readily now, then what's to prevent new formats from being frivolously introduced later? I don't want to have to buy a new video playing device every couple of years because someone got an idea for a trivial improvement to an existing medium. It's stupid.

I submit that there really is nothing wrong with the standard DVD format. If anything about it should be changed to improve playback quality, then it's not the disc itself, but the compression format. Standard DVDs use MPEG2 compression, and simply switching to MPEG4, DivX or XviD would solve the difficulty of providing high definition content without having to invent new hardware.

That's the way I see it.

[amtalx]

You are somewhat right, but there is no way to deliver high definition content without new media. There is simply too much data to fit on current storage media no matter how good the compression is. Hence the need (more of a desire) for a new player and storage format.

[360NyTeMaRe]

I think regular DVDs will win, because most people can't afford HDTV's or BluRay players.

[amtalx]

Thats what tape deck and vinyl users said about the compact disc. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

HDTV penetration increases precipitously every year. That's the first step. Besides, when the FCC requires all broadcasts to be digital (not sure when, I've heard 2008-2010) there will be many ED/HDTV adopters. I am almost positive the broadcast companies won't be required to stop transmitting in analog, but digital will be required. For now, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players are out of reach for the average consumer, but so were DVD players when they were first released.

[kevlar_pso]

I am a little torn on how to vote at the moment. On the one hand you have Blu-Ray. This format has a ton of support, not to mention all the SONY movies I want in HD. I like HD-DVD because you can get disks in the combo format. DVD on one side and HD-DVD on the other side. I have not seen too many movies I want to buy this way though. The one exception so far has been 300. I am glad to see that Microsoft has dropped their HD-DVD player by $20 and is offering five free movies to go with the player. This is something you can hook up to your PC monitor if you do not have an HD set in your living room.

It is way too early to tell. Judging from all the news I hear, I think Blu-Ray will win in the end. Target is only carrying Blu-Ray this Christmas season. Wal-Mart was rumored to only carry HD-DVD players this Christmas, but I have heard that rumor was debunked. I will be getting a 360 and the HD-DVD add on personally. When and if Blu-Ray wins, the PS3 will be cheap enough for me to buy. I am an accessory type of guy, so I tend to hoard all kinds of crap. I still have a Dreamcast racing wheel in my garage, even though my DC has been out of commission for over four years.

[DurakkenX]

meh how bout they upgrade our internet and then sell us the data... it's not like we don't already have big enough hard drives v.v Digital distribution is the way of the future

[amtalx]

Because streaming a 15-35gb movie is silly. The cost of the infrastructure renovation to support that kind of bandwidth would be astronomical. Not to mention movies collectors would be boned. Do you have enough HD space to store 300 DVDs on hard disk?

300*20gb = 6 terabytes.

[360NyTeMaRe]

Actually most average DVDs are 7GB

[Blue-Hawk]

On 2007-08-03 10:13, DurakkenX wrote:
meh how bout they upgrade our internet and then sell us the data... it's not like we don't already have big enough hard drives v.v Digital distribution is the way of the future



That won't be a thing that's going to happen too soon, either. Not everyone can afford to pay for a high enough broadband connection nor does everyone in the country even HAVE high speed access. Believe it or not, there ARE a few areas that can't get high speed.

[VioletSkye]

On 2007-08-03 13:18, 360NyTeMaRe wrote:
Actually most average DVDs are 7GB


amtalx is speaking about HD disks (HD DVD and Blu-ray) not DVDs.

Also, as most of you know, there are hybrid players that will play both formats.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: VioletSkye on 2007-08-03 13:57 ]</font>

[DurakkenX]

On 2007-08-03 13:21, Blue-Hawk wrote:

That won't be a thing that's going to happen too soon, either. Not everyone can afford to pay for a high enough broadband connection nor does everyone in the country even HAVE high speed access. Believe it or not, there ARE a few areas that can't get high speed.



dispite the fact that we already paid for the same thing they have in japan but the companies decided to screw us all over ^.^

[Blitzkommando]

On 2007-08-02 16:08, amtalx wrote:
Thats what tape deck and vinyl users said about the compact disc. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

HDTV penetration increases precipitously every year. That's the first step. Besides, when the FCC requires all broadcasts to be digital (not sure when, I've heard 2008-2010) there will be many ED/HDTV adopters. I am almost positive the broadcast companies won't be required to stop transmitting in analog, but digital will be required. For now, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players are out of reach for the average consumer, but so were DVD players when they were first released.


On January 17, 2009, all television signals will be required to be in a digital format. Period. There will be digital-to-analog adapters for televisions for purchase with up to two coupons for $40 each per household provided to make the purchases. This change includes both over air and over line signals. A lot of people still don't even know that is happening but are going to wake up January 17th and find their television won't work anymore.

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html

Expect to see junkyards full of analog televisions January 18, 2009. Also expect HDTV sales to go through the roof and complaints about the government to skyrocket.

[VioletSkye]

Many places are starting to introduce the analog-digital simulcasting into their signals, which has wreaked havoc on some systems because of the quality issues that have crept up in terms of sound cutting out, heavy digitizing and poor image quality. All are known issues though and have either been fixed or are being worked on.

[Blitzkommando]

On 2007-08-03 15:32, VioletSkye wrote:
Many places are starting to introduce the analog-digital simulcasting into their signals, which has wreaked havoc on some systems because of the quality issues that have crept up in terms of sound cutting out, heavy digitizing and poor image quality. All are known issues though and have either been fixed or are being worked on.


Yeah, our signals have gone out a number of times (on TWC) and even HD service has gotten horribly pixelated/laggy on some channels later to be mysteriously back to normal.

[Sekani]

On 2007-08-03 15:33, Norvekh wrote:

On 2007-08-03 15:32, VioletSkye wrote:
Many places are starting to introduce the analog-digital simulcasting into their signals, which has wreaked havoc on some systems because of the quality issues that have crept up in terms of sound cutting out, heavy digitizing and poor image quality. All are known issues though and have either been fixed or are being worked on.


Yeah, our signals have gone out a number of times (on TWC) and even HD service has gotten horribly pixelated/laggy on some channels later to be mysteriously back to normal.


I had just assumed this was because TWC sucks ass (yes, they provide my service as well).