If there are anyone still thinking the war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray is still unresolved, they are clearly fooling themselves (to quote someone who predicted it wouldn't be over so soon... He'll recognise himself :P)

I give you this news bit:

Wal-Mart says it's going Blu-ray exclusive


Wal-Mart is the latest company to exclusively back the Blu-ray technology for high-definition DVDs.

The retail giant said Friday that it would phase out discs and hardware using the competing high-definition technology, known as HD-DVD. HD-DVD products will be off the shelves at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores by June, the company said.

Link: http://www.mlive.com/business/ambizdaily/bizjournals/index.ssf?/base/abd-3/120314761245310.xml

Also:http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080215-report-toshiba-making-funeral-plans-for-hd-dvd.html


Now there's no way HD-DVD can get over this!

I see that Walmart is generous enough to leave the market open for other businesses to sell HD-DVD products. Where is your point?

Are you playing the blind and/or retard on purpose?


I think the picture is big enough for you to see it clearly without me having to point in the right direction.

Well? I'm waiting.

Since I'm probably the only one at the shrine with a Blu-ray collection (21 movies) I've been watching the war very close. Wal-mart only selling Blu-ray over HD-DVD is only part of it.

***Toshiba to exit HD DVD, end format war-NHK (http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSL1627196120080216)***

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp is planning to stop production of equipment compatible with the HD DVD format for high-definition video, allowing the competing Blu-Ray camp a free run, public broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday.

Toshiba is expected to suffer losses amounting to tens of billions of yen (hundreds of millions of dollars) to scrap production of HD DVD players and recorders and other steps to exit the business, Japan's NHK said on its website.

No one at Toshiba could be reached for comment.

The format war between the Toshiba-backed HD DVD and Sony Corp's Blu-Ray, often compared to the Betamax-VHS battle in the 1980s, has slowed the development of what is expected to be a multibillion dollar high-definition DVD industry.

Toshiba was dealt a blow on Friday when Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it would abandon the HD DVD format, becoming the latest in a series of top retailers and movie studios to rally behind Blu-ray technology for high definition DVDs.

Toshiba plans to continue selling HD DVD equipment at stores for the time being but will not put resources into developing new devices, NHK said.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne, editing by Mike Peacock)

Wal-Mart To Exclusively Support Blu-ray (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=980)
More Shift Towards Blu-ray in Spain (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=965)
BDA Sees Growth in Europe (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=961)
Hi-Fi Klubben Announces Exclusive Blu-ray Support (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=952)
Spain's Tripictures Goes Blu-ray Exclusive (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=951)
Best Buy to Officially Recommend Blu-ray to Customers (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=950)
Netflix Goes Blu-ray Exclusive (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=947)
Six Degrees Sees Exclusive Amazon Blu-ray Release (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=928)
Highlight Video Goes Blu-ray Exclusive (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=926)
Manga Films Goes Blu-ray (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=924)
Confirmed: Sonic Scenarist to be Exclusively Blu-ray (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=907)
Woolworths to Support Blu-ray Exclusively (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=897)
Blu-ray Holds 90% of HD Recorder Market in Japan (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=878)

The bottom line for me is, i won't be able to ever tell the difference. So i'm going to stick with HD. Anywhere going exclusive just means i'll get it from another competing store that'll increase it's profits by not going exclusive.

The bottom line for me is, i won't be able to ever tell the difference. So i'm going to stick with HD. Anywhere going exclusive just means i'll get it from another competing store that'll increase it's profits by not going exclusive.

Is Walmart big in the UK? I'm curious.

I have nothing on topic to say really though, since I have no interest in getting HD or Blu-Ray movies.

Interesting, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't rooting for BD.

If there are anyone still thinking the war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray is still unresolved, they are clearly fooling themselves (to quote someone who predicted it wouldn't be over so soon... He'll recognise himself :P)

I give you this news bit:

Wal-Mart says it's going Blu-ray exclusive


Wal-Mart is the latest company to exclusively back the Blu-ray technology for high-definition DVDs.

The retail giant said Friday that it would phase out discs and hardware using the competing high-definition technology, known as HD-DVD. HD-DVD products will be off the shelves at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores by June, the company said.

Link: http://www.mlive.com/business/ambizdaily/bizjournals/index.ssf?/base/abd-3/120314761245310.xml

Also:http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080215-report-toshiba-making-funeral-plans-for-hd-dvd.html


Now there's no way HD-DVD can get over this!


ehm, isn't it better to say that the war has ended cause of WB switching to Blu-Ray and Toshiba stopped making HD-DVD players ??????

I knew that it was inevitable, and that this time it would be decided by superior technology and not cheaper technology. We're in the Tech Age after all.

Now that media software is decided,
The next important battle begins!

Plasma or LCD?

I thought plasma lost already?

ehm, isn't it better to say that the war has ended cause of WB switching to Blu-Ray and Toshiba stopped making HD-DVD players ??????

That WB went Blu-Ray exclusive is old news. That thread was only updating the whole story.


Joan, I won't start to think at your place. I'm sorry that you can't do that on your own.



The bottom line for me is, i won't be able to ever tell the difference. So i'm going to stick with HD. Anywhere going exclusive just means i'll get it from another competing store that'll increase it's profits by not going exclusive.


That's the thing Mike. Most movie studios (like Walt Disney, Warner, Lionsgates, etc...) have signed to go Blu-Ray exclusive. So basically, what it means is that you won't find most of the movies that come out on the HD-DVD format.

As for the Walmart reference,
I WOULD say that's the final blow, since it's America's place to shop surpassing Kmart.

They pretty much make expensive technology affordable to the lower class. Hey they sell iPods, and who doesn't have an iPod nowadays.

This thread has delivered exactly what I expected.

1. Hynad gloats about recent developments, slips in a jab at me, and still remains ignorant to the deeper effects of things like this on the market. He's a typical guy who knows a little too much to understand that he knows almost nothing.

2. Marvinstraight pops in for support, slightly exceeding my expectations by offering up a pasted article that is based in speculation and holds no real weight with anyone who thinks about what they read.

3. Not a single person mentions that the entire format war was likely a moot point in the first place thanks to the advent of downloadable media and the vast entrenchment of DVD, nor that all these movie studios and retailers were fucking idiots to rally toward a single worldwide standard when the enormous North American market was obviously leaning heavily toward HDDVD.

Yep. Pretty typical for a thread like this.

We don't have Walmarts over here, do we? We do not have them in Ireland anyways.

Not a single person mentions that the entire format war was likely a moot point in the first place thanks to the advent of downloadable media and the vast entrenchment of DVD, nor that all these movie studios and retailers were fucking idiots to rally toward a single worldwide standard when the enormous North American market was obviously leaning heavily toward HDDVD.
How do you figure?
Yes, it's true that in the end, downloadable media will be the standard. But people still need a way to keep an un-erasable hardcopy. A computer can crash and all the information can be wiped out. A virus can destroy info. something simple as a power surge can wipe out huge amounts of info. Either way you look at it, you need an external source to store media. BluRay is the better technology to store these huge amounts of info.

If the US was leaning toward HDDVD, why is it that so many companies jumped ship. Why is it that a huge rental place chose BluRay with only the preliminary numbers. I don't know, but if HDDVD was truly winning here in the US, we wouldn't be hearing all these reports.

As far as to why the movie industry insist on having a standard, well its to save on post-production and editing cost. It's nothing new. They've been doing that. Aside from the whole HDDVD vs. BlueRay battle, they're slowly trying to change toward streamlined editing software of FinalCut Pro & After Effects for editing purposes.

2. Marvinstraight pops in for support, slightly exceeding my expectations by offering up a pasted article that is based in speculation and holds no real weight with anyone who thinks about what they read.

Wow, you figured that one out all by yourself? You're doing pretty good there little buddy. Here's a Gold Star sticker just for you!

We don't have Walmarts over here, do we? We do not have them in Ireland anyways.

I wasn't sure if you did at all either! That's why I was curious about what Mike said.


How do you figure?
Yes, it's true that in the end, downloadable media will be the standard. But people still need a way to keep an un-erasable hardcopy. A computer can crash and all the information can be wiped out. A virus can destroy info. something simple as a power surge can wipe out huge amounts of info. Either way you look at it, you need an external source to store media. BluRay is the better technology to store these huge amounts of info.

I can't speak for Prak (obviously), but

People will still want to store media, but with downloadable stuff becoming more and more popular, is there really much of a reason for most people to invest in a more expensive player or purchase more expensive home copies?

I still don't see how blu-ray OR hd is going to appeal on a wide enough scale to replace dvd.

I still don't see how blu-ray OR hd is going to appeal on a wide enough scale to replace dvd.

Well, as far as downloading media, with HDTV prices coming down and now becoming so popular, exactly how much hard drive space and internet bandwidth do you think you're going to need for your entire HD movie collection?

Also, here's a nice little article I just found. They make a few good points, others I'm not sure of. But its still a nice point of view.

Link (http://www1.epinions.com/content_5157331076)

HD Movie Downloads vs. Blu-Ray Movies
Jan 11 '08 (Updated Jan 22 '08)

The Bottom Line The subject of Downloadable Content vs. Blu-ray Disc has recently become a Hot topic of discussion. Will Digital Downloadable Movies replace Disc media? Let's try to find the Answer.

This is a new subject that has been popping-up on various Electronics News report columns.


OK, lets' look at the "Movie Download vs. Movie Disc" subject a little closer. We will dissect it in a way that will allow us to try and determine the future of the digital HD Movie Download.

These are some of the Freedoms that I am able to enjoy because I own a Blu-ray player (Playstation 3) and Blu-ray Disc collection.

I watched my Blackhawk Down Blu-ray about 8X during this past year. I watched my Pan's Labyrinth Blu-ray 4X since it's release. I watched the Simpson's Movie on Christmas Night and then again last night, almost 4 weeks later, with my little cousin. I also let my brother borrow my 300 and 28 Weeks Later Blu-ray discs. My friend Mike let me borrow his Ghost Rider Blu-ray and I lent him my Casino Royale Blu-ray. I brought my TMNT Blu-ray to my friend Jay's house to see how it looked on his new Samsung DLP flat screen and PS3. It looked and sounded amazing. I bought Pathfinder on Blu-ray for $29.99, watched it, then sold it on eBay for $26.00 + $2.00 shipping.

Ok, that's what I've done with a few of my Blu-ray movies.



Now let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of the Digital HD Movie Download:
1. Does the HD Movie Download allow me the same freedoms in portability that the Blu-Ray Disc does? No. You can only view a Downloaded movie on the device that it was downloaded to.

2. Can I borrow and Lend downloaded movies with friends and family? No. You would have to lend or borrow the whole device or console that holds the download.

3. Can I watch a Downloaded Movie numerous times over the course of a Year or the course of a month for that matter? No. Digital Download Movies are only good for a predetermined term or limited length of time. Usually 24 hours.
For example, Microsoft offers Digital Movie Downloads on their XBoxLIVE service, which costs $50.00 per year. The Downloadable movies vary in price and are not included in the XBoxLIVE subscription fee. Movie Downloads from XBoxLIVE can be viewed an unlimited amount of times for the first 24 hours. Plays after that period will cost the same as the initial download. The downloaded Movie files are in Windows Media VideoHD (aka;VC-1,WMVHD) format at 720p resolution, 6.8Mbps video with 5.1 surround sound. The average Movie download is 4 - 5gb.

4. Are Digital downloadable Movies available in Full HD, 1080p with lossless Audio? No. Not yet. There is no date for the availability of full resolution Downloads.

The only advantage or benefit, that I can see, in Downloading Movies would be, it saves you a trip to the store. If you are home sick, the weather is bad, it's after 10pm and all the Electronics stores are closed or you're just feeling a little bit lazy, downloading a movie is fine.
To me, downloading a Movie is no different than purchasing a movie from your Pay-Per-View service. In some cases Pay-Per-View might even have more of an advantage because you don't have to wait the download time and if you have TiVo you can watch it until you delete it.



The DVD vs. VHS Comparison in relation to The Blu-ray vs. DVD Comparison:
Standard DVD replaced VHS, Blu-ray replaced DVD and Digital Downloads will replace Blu-ray, right? Wrong. Here is why:

While compiling information about a subject or subjects, in order to complete a proper hypothecation, you will need to make sure that the variables that you are using are in accordance with one another and can be related to one another.
So the question is, "Can we compare DVD's replacement of VHS with Blu-ray's replacement of Standard (STD) DVD?" The answer is No. DVD ultimately rendered the VHS Tape useless. Blu-ray is not replacing DVD or rendering the DVD format useless. Blu-ray is simply an expansion of DVD.

If you own a Full HD Home Theater with Blu-ray player, the Standard DVD format can and will be integrated into your Movie, Concert or VideoGame collection in some way. The standard DVD can not only be viewed using a Blu-ray player, but the STD DVD can be viewed at a higher resolution using a process that most Blu-ray players feature. This process is called upscaling.

VHS and DVD are in no way interchangeable, which was the reason for the subsequent discontinuation and elimination of VHS.
Not only are the STD DVD & VHS forms of media non-interchangeable with one another, but the gap in technology between DVD and VHS is far greater then the gap between Blu-ray and DVD. The reason there is such a large gap between DVD and VHS is that DVD is a completely different technology than VHS, where as Blu-ray evolved from DVD and is of the same technology.
Here's another way to look at the DVD vs. VHS Comparison in relation to The Blu-ray vs. DVD Comparison:
1.What came first, the chicken (Blu-ray) or the egg (DVD)?
2.What came first, the chicken (Blu-ray) or the Elephant (VHS)? You can't ask that question because it's not relative to what we need the answer for.

This is why "The DVD vs. VHS Comparison in relation to The Blu-ray vs. DVD Comparison" cannot be used to determine an answer to our question, which is, Will Digital Downloadable Movies replace Disc media?



The Downloadable Movie vs. Downloadable Music comparison:
I think this is where analysts and columnists make their biggest mistake when trying to evaluate the future of digital media.
You can not compare downloading movies with downloading music. A full catalog of Music does not require a large amount of Hard Drive space. One single HD Movie with 1080p resolution, 7.1 lossless Audio and Bonus Features could, in some cases, require 20gb to over 50gb of space depending on the movie. Just think of how much space you would need to retain a downloaded version of the Godfather Box set in Full HD.
Music Downloads are portable via an MP3 device such as the IPod. Downloadable Movie content is not portable. Music Downloads are permanent and do not incur future costs on the owner. Movie downloads have a limited viewing time.

As a consumer, I do not want to spend money on a movie that I am only able to view for a limited time. In that case, I might as well go to the movie theater and get my money's worth. I'd much rather order something from Pay-Per-View which I can TiVo. I want to watch my movies when & where I feel like watching them. I want to lend movies to my friends and family. I also want to borrow movies from my friends and family. To me, that is a small part of what makes owning a movie collection fun.

In my opinion, Movie Downloads is an option that is loaded with restrictions and costs to the consumer. Digital Movie Downloads, Pay-Per-View and Divx are more comparable to each other than Movie Downloads and Disc Media are to each other. For now, the Movie Download is a very long way from replacing Blu-disc/DVD media.

Movie Downloads have their place in the industry, but they will never take over as the industry standard. For now it's just another option to Pay-Per-View.

1. Hynad gloats about recent developments...and still remains ignorant to the deeper effects of things like this on the market. He's a typical guy who knows a little too much to understand that he knows almost nothing.

This is exactly what I have been hinting at in this thread.

I thought the main reason why everyone was switching to Blu-Ray was because you can't violate the copyrights of the media printed on the discs? It'll be a slow process because HDDVDs came first so many have those instead of Blu-ray at this point.

Prak, you are so predictable. You have nothing to bring to the debate except petty insults? That is really typical of you.


And of course, Joan's acting her usual self and masturbate on you.



Prak, maybe you don't understand the reason behind topics like this. I'll explain it to you. It is used to get people to debate. Except for you and Joan, it seems like most people here got a grasp about this concept.

It is rather funny to see your reaction here. I talk about the format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, show you that you were wrong about it, and the only possible way you can think of to try to get the upper hand in all this is to insult me and derail the original topic (which again, was about the DISCS FORMATS) with assumptions (of which I thought you didn't like, since you supposedly only talk about facts... bla bla bla?).


Prak, seriously, you disapoint me a lot there. You can't even admit you are wrong when you are.


(I'm awaiting the obligatory predictable reply.) ^^

And I was hoping on some clarification of what I know.

YOU DISAPPOINT ME HYNAD!

LOL

You'll have to ask Prak for that. Not only does he think he knows better than anyone else, he can also tell what you know or not.


Talk about the epitome of egocentricity.

Are there hacks to hold on to those downloaded HD movies longer/indefinitely?

Is Walmart big in the UK? I'm curious.

I think it's non-existant in the UK, I don't recall seeing one.

ASDA is a subsidiary of Wal-Mart. To non-UKers, ASDA is the second largest supermarket chain over here - second only to Tesco.

ASDA is a subsidiary of Wal-Mart. To non-UKers, ASDA is the second largest supermarket chain over here - second only to Tesco.


HA, you beat me to it. Im not really that interseted in the war between HD DVD and Blu Ray. But when i saw the question about Wall Mart, i needed to post. And just for the record, I prefer Sainsbury's, or Aldi's.

So..Hynad and Prak..You were arguing or something..

I am so uninterested in this whole "war." I did not read the articles but mainly the little jabs people are throwing.
It really is sad that the whole Blu-ray, Playstation 3, etc. crew has to band together and push news in other member's faces as a "Told ya so."

Personally, I believe, whoever invests great amounts in either technology is a fucking tard. Wait it out, nothing is definite and no one cares about your own viewing pleasures with such over-priced media.

i still much prefer really cheap dvds, plus i cant afford a blu ray player, and wont i need a new telly to see the benefits which imo are minimal anyways?

i dont see myself getting one for a very long time either way.

I will get involved in the Blu-Ray world when the first recorders gets released next year. Until then I am not all that interested in it.

LOL

You'll have to ask Prak for that. Not only does he think he knows better than anyone else, he can also tell what you know or not.


Talk about the epitome of egocentricity.
Oh, ok :).

Then I guess I'll ask you, Prak. I heard that from a friend and he knows more about this than I do. But sometimes, he can get his facts wrong. I personally knew there was going to be a battle about HD-DVDs and Blu-ray and he said Blu-ray already won for that main reason (no, I don't remember what brought it up in case you were wondering).

Is Walmart big in the UK? I'm curious.

Nope not in the UK. I don't think anyone in the UK has gone blu-ray/HD exclusive, either. By my post i meant that if anywhere in the UK did. :D

How do you figure?

I cut out most of the quote simply because you misread what I posted and drew a wrong impression. I did not say that downloadable media alone would supplant Blu-ray. I lumped in DVD's entrenchment to make the point that it's very unlikely that either HD format had a significant chance of actually achieving any sort of significant mainstream market penetration.


If the US was leaning toward HDDVD, why is it that so many companies jumped ship. Why is it that a huge rental place chose BluRay with only the preliminary numbers. I don't know, but if HDDVD was truly winning here in the US, we wouldn't be hearing all these reports.

That is indeed a mystery, but sales numbers of stand-alone HD players were very definitive. HDDVD players slaughtered stand-alone Blu-ray players in the US (and of course, early mainstream adopters buy stand-alone players instead of game consoles), even though Blu-ray was winning definitively in other markets. It seems that these companies have either somehow completely failed to understand the mentality of the American public or are trying to go against that mentality for some strange reason. I don't claim to understand it, but I can predict the effect, and they won't happy when they reap what they've sown.


As far as to why the movie industry insist on having a standard, well its to save on post-production and editing cost. It's nothing new. They've been doing that. Aside from the whole HDDVD vs. BlueRay battle, they're slowly trying to change toward streamlined editing software of FinalCut Pro & After Effects for editing purposes.

Gotta call bullshit on this. Post-production and editing are part of a film's production and are handled well before the home video release is planned. If you mean the minor edits that are done to a film for the home release, they remain the same no matter which format the movie is printed on. If you're specifically referring to the authoring of the discs for that release, then your theory is still shot to hell because that has to be done differently for the various regions anyway, so there really wouldn't be anything lost if they authored it for HDDVD in the US and Blu-ray elsewhere.


Prak, you are so predictable. You have nothing to bring to the debate except petty insults? That is really typical of you.

You have the nerve to say that after trying to poke fun at me and lower my credibility in your first fucking sentence? What did you expect when you come out swinging with a cheap shot? Of course I'm going to insult you, and it's well-deserved.


Prak, maybe you don't understand the reason behind topics like this. I'll explain it to you. It is used to get people to debate. Except for you and Joan, it seems like most people here got a grasp about this concept.

See above. You know I'm fine with debating, but you (whether it was intentional or not) made it personal at the start.


It is rather funny to see your reaction here. I talk about the format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, show you that you were wrong about it, and the only possible way you can think of to try to get the upper hand in all this is to insult me and derail the original topic (which again, was about the DISCS FORMATS) with assumptions (of which I thought you didn't like, since you supposedly only talk about facts... bla bla bla?).

And here you go again, being precisely what you accuse me of being: a pompous, self-absorbed ass. If you would bother to think back on our previous conversations, maybe you would realize that we covered this very eventuality, which I acknowledged as very possible, and explained the effect it would have.


Prak, seriously, you disapoint me a lot there. You can't even admit you are wrong when you are.

If you want to say I'm wrong, then fucking prove me wrong instead of cherry picking my statements like a damn desperate coward.


(I'm awaiting the obligatory predictable reply.) ^^

I hope this has been predictable enough for you.


LOL

You'll have to ask Prak for that. Not only does he think he knows better than anyone else, he can also tell what you know or not.


Talk about the epitome of egocentricity.

Experience real perfection one time (just once!) and you'll be able to understand. Until then, snapping back at me is worthless since you don't know where I'm coming from.

Hynad, had you brought out your arguments when I challenged you to in my first reply to this thread, then maybe it would lead credence to your assertion that the intent of your topic is to stir up a nice hard debate on the fate of the Blu Ray technology. You still have to justify your hysterical and provocative tone which you started the topic with in your first sentence, not to mention calling it a "war" in the first place. Did you even stop to really think of the marketing implications of the decisions made by Wal-Mart?

Could it be that the reason you started this topic is more....personal and that you lack any real arguments and thus opened the discussion thread in hopes that any other supporter could fill in the blanks for you?

Did you even stop to really think of the marketing implications of the decisions made by Wal-Mart?
What would these be?

And yet, nothing about what I've said...

What would these be?

Send some monies my way and I will do some OMGZ CREEDIBUL RESUURCH to give you teh answers.

Send some monies my way and I will do some OMGZ CREEDIBUL RESUURCH to give you teh answers.

I take it you don't know either then.

By the way, me too. I was asking because I'm interested though I have no knowledge of Wal-Mart's marketing strategies.

That is indeed a mystery, but sales numbers of stand-alone HD players were very definitive. HDDVD players slaughtered stand-alone Blu-ray players in the US (and of course, early mainstream adopters buy stand-alone players instead of game consoles), even though Blu-ray was winning definitively in other markets. It seems that these companies have either somehow completely failed to understand the mentality of the American public or are trying to go against that mentality for some strange reason. I don't claim to understand it, but I can predict the effect, and they won't happy when they reap what they've sown.I totally understand. Companies always do that, they completely refuse to hear the public and think that the public will do a complete 180 and come around.
In this case, I think it was more of a technological difference that was the deciding factor. Since Blu-ray held more memory, it was the obvious choice. Like I said, that's what I think.




Gotta call bullshit on this. Post-production and editing are part of a film's production and are handled well before the home video release is planned. If you mean the minor edits that are done to a film for the home release, they remain the same no matter which format the movie is printed on. If you're specifically referring to the authoring of the discs for that release, then your theory is still shot to hell because that has to be done differently for the various regions anyway, so there really wouldn't be anything lost if they authored it for HDDVD in the US and Blu-ray elsewhere.

Yes I know that, that's not what I was talking about. What I was saying is that they want to have a standard cost efficient process all around, from production to home video release.
Right now, studios use several different types of editing software (Avid) that are editing specific and are rather expensive, which means you need different software to do different edit tasks. Final Cut and Adobe Premiere and others (Final Cut and Premiere are the front runners)do it all which is why they're both rather popular. Right now, Final Cut and Adobe Premiere will most likely take over. Final Cut has already taken over T.V production, and independent films. , and are slowly taking over Hollywood. So the battle is really between Final Cut and Premiere. However, Final Cut is the only one that is cross platformed with Mac and PC (except for the newer Intel Macs) since Adobe doesn't want to shell out money for a Mac OS version. What Premiere has has over Final Cut is that it can integrate Adobe software better than Final Cut can.

Joan: You wanted me to explain what was my point. You just had to read the title to know. The rest of my post was just backing it up. But of course, you had to be following the news a bit to know about WB, Walt Disney, and all the other major studios going BD exclusive. Maybe you should do your homework yourself instead of always relying on the others to do it for you. Seems like you're always waiting for someone to make a decently worded comment to then "sheep" it.

Maybe you just didn't realise that all I was doing was sharing the news. You know what the word "share" means?

It's kinda hard to know, because so far, you've shared nothing in this here thread.




Prak, my original intent was to make a "flashback" joke about what we discussed a few months ago. It's really appalling to see how gigantic of an ego you have. But maybe I should have put the ":P" in bold for you to figure out it wasn't to be taken as an attack.


As for the debate going on here, most of the data are still floating somewhere in the time stream. When you think about it, it IS pretty much likely that we will end up downloading most of our media from the net at some point in the future, like you say. But to content costumers, this would need better infrastructures to make the transfers faster (I'm talking about HD contents. I'm stating this just to make sure you realise it is a lot more time consuming to download then a regular DVD image.). I know most of us already download plenty of stuff and are used to the wait. But to the regular costumers, I'm not sure they'd be pleased to have to wait hours for something they already paid.

Having data on a disc is a security, like someone else stated. There are already some companies out there that give you a virtual proof of purchase that you can use if your data got erased to get them back. But the downloads are still time consuming.

With the advent of digital cable TV, it is now possible to stream some of the movies or TV programs. But if you want to keep any of that, you still have to set your recorder. And there is still the problem of artifacts and the lost of signals you don't get from a disc format, not talking of the portability.

Furthermore, DVDs are still good for most people. But when you think about it, people will need a format to write their HD recordings on when HD becomes mainstream (which is inevitable). There are always HDDs, but they are not easily portable. And I don't think many people here are willing to wait 2020 until they finally manage to produce affordable 200gigs keys.

For those of you who are confused why Blu-ray won, even though HD-DVD supposedly has a higher install base, if the video game threads have shown us
anything its that software is whats important. Here are the Nielsen/VideoScan numbers going back to April. Even during big releases like Transformers, the Bourne series, Shrek or even the Matrix, Blu-ray has never lost a week in movie sales. Paramount/Universal switching to HD-DVD couldn't even win them a crack passed 49% of the market for even 1 week.

Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending February 10th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom021708/index.php

WE: BD-81% HDD-19% YTD: BD-77% HDD-23% SI: BD-65% HDD-35%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending February 3rd

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom021008/index.php

WE: BD-74% HDD-26% YTD: BD-76% HDD-24% SI: BD-65% HDD-35%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending January 27th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom020308/index.php

WE: BD-82% HDD-18% YTD: BD-77% HDD-23% SI: BD-64% HDD-36%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending January 20th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom012708/index.php

WE: BD-83% HDD-17% YTD: BD-76% HDD-24% SI: BD-64% HDD-36%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending January 13th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom012008/index.php

WE: BD-85% HDD-15% YTD: BD-74% HDD-26% SI: BD-63% HDD-37%

Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending January 6th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom011308/index.php

WE: BD-65% HDD-35% YTD: BD-65% HDD-35% SI: BD-62% HDD-38%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending December 23rd

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom010608/index.php

WE: BD-61% HDD-39% YTD: BD-64% HDD-36% SI: BD-62% HDD-38%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending December 16th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom123007/index.php

WE: BD-61% HDD-39% YTD: BD-65% HDD-35% SI: BD-62% HDD-38%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending December 9th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom121607/index.php

WE: BD-76% HDD-24% YTD: BD-65% HDD-35% SI: BD-62% HDD-38%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending December 2nd

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom120907/index.php

WE: BD-58% HDD-42% YTD: BD-65% HDD-35% SI: BD-62% HDD-38%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending November 25th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom120207/index.php

WE: BD-72% HDD-28% YTD: BD-65% HDD-35% SI: BD-62% HDD-38%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending November 18th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom112507/index.php

WE: BD-66% HDD-34% YTD: BD-65% HDD-35% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending November 11th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom111807/index.php

WE: BD-65% HDD-35% YTD: BD-65% HDD-35% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending November 4th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom111107/index.php

WE: BD-71% HDD-29% YTD: BD-64% HDD-36% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending October 28th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom110407/index.php

WE: BD-55% HDD-45% YTD: BD-64% HDD-36% SI: BD-60% HDD-40%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending October 21th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom102807/index.php

WE: BD-51% HDD-49% YTD: BD-65% HDD-35% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending October 14th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom102107/index.php

WE: BD-71% HDD-29% YTD: BD-66% HDD-34% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending October 7th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom101407/index.php

WE: BD-68% HDD-32% YTD: BD-66% HDD-34% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%

Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending September 30th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom100707/index.php

WE: BD-54% HDD-46% YTD: BD-66% HDD-34% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending September 23rd

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom093007/index.php

WE: BD-63% HDD-37% YTD: BD-66% HDD-34% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending September 16th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom092307/index.php

WE: BD-61% HDD-39% YTD: BD-66% HDD-34% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending September 9th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom091607/index.php

WE: BD-60% HDD-40% YTD: BD-66% HDD-34% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending September 2nd

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom090907/index.php

WE: BD-56% HDD-44% YTD: BD-66% HDD-34% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending August 26th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom090207/index.php

WE: BD-68% HDD-32% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending August 19th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom082607/index.php

WE: BD-71% HDD-29% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending August 12th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom081907/index.php

WE: BD-66% HDD-34% YTD: BD-66% HDD-34% SI: BD-61% HDD-39%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending August 5th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom081207/index.php

WE: BD-62% HDD-38% YTD: BD-66% HDD-34% SI: BD-60% HDD-40%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending July 29th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom080507/index.php

WE: BD-66% HDD-34% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-60% HDD-40%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending July 22nd

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom072907/index.php

WE: BD-74% HDD-26% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-60% HDD-40%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending July 15th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom072207/index.php

WE: BD-61% HDD-39% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-60% HDD-40%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending July 8th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom071507/index.php

WE: BD-66% HDD-34% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-60% HDD-40%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending July 1st

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom070807/index.php

WE: BD-65% HDD-35% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-60% HDD-40%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending June 24th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom070107/index.php

WE: BD-70% HDD-30% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-59% HDD-41%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending June 17th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom062407/index.php

WE: BD-64% HDD-36% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-59% HDD-41%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending June 10th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom061707/index.php

WE: BD-66% HDD-34% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-59% HDD-41%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending June 3rd

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom061007/index.php

WE: BD-61% HDD-39% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-59% HDD-41%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending May 27th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom060307/index.php

WE: BD-69% HDD-31% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-58% HDD-42%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending May 20th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom052707/index.php

WE: BD-58% HDD-42% YTD: BD-67% HDD-33% SI: BD-57% HDD-43%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending May 13th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom052007/index.php

WE: BD-62% HDD-38% YTD: BD-68% HDD-32% SI: BD-57% HDD-43%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending May 6th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom051307/index.php

WE: BD-60% HDD-40% YTD: BD-68% HDD-32% SI: BD-57% HDD-43%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending April 29th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom050607/index.php

WE: BD-71% HDD-29% YTD: BD-68% HDD-32% SI: BD-58% HDD-42%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending April 22nd

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom042907/index.php

WE: BD-52% HDD-48% YTD: BD-68% HDD-32% SI: BD-57% HDD-43%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending April 15th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom042207/index.php

WE: BD-61% HDD-39% YTD: BD-69% HDD-31% SI: BD-57% HDD-43%


Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending April 8th

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom041507/index.php

WE: BD-62.4% HDD-37.6% YTD: BD-69.4% HDD-30.6% SI: BD-56.4% HDD-43.6%

I'm afraid to ask this is going to mean for people who aren't gamers but just want to watch a movie. The electronic market is getting ridiculous these days.

Prak, my original intent was to make a "flashback" joke about what we discussed a few months ago. It's really appalling to see how gigantic of an ego you have. But maybe I should have put the ":P" in bold for you to figure out it wasn't to be taken as an attack.

Jokes like that are nice when they stay between two people. Referencing it under debate conditions, however, is another matter. I understand you didn't mean any offense by it, but you put me in a position where I had to come out swinging to protect my credibility in the eyes of others who aren't in on it.

It isn't a matter of ego at all, and you're not going to be able to keep bringing up this "ZOMG BIG EGO" line forever.


As for the debate going on here, most of the data are still floating somewhere in the time stream. When you think about it, it IS pretty much likely that we will end up downloading most of our media from the net at some point in the future, like you say. But to content costumers, this would need better infrastructures to make the transfers faster (I'm talking about HD contents. I'm stating this just to make sure you realise it is a lot more time consuming to download then a regular DVD image.). I know most of us already download plenty of stuff and are used to the wait. But to the regular costumers, I'm not sure they'd be pleased to have to wait hours for something they already paid.

Of course, the regular customers you mention are still a very long way off from changing over from DVD.

In fact, terri_07's post is a good example of how most of the public feel about the format war.


Having data on a disc is a security, like someone else stated. There are already some companies out there that give you a virtual proof of purchase that you can use if your data got erased to get them back. But the downloads are still time consuming.

With the advent of digital cable TV, it is now possible to stream some of the movies or TV programs. But if you want to keep any of that, you still have to set your recorder. And there is still the problem of artifacts and the lost of signals you don't get from a disc format, not talking of the portability.

Furthermore, DVDs are still good for most people. But when you think about it, people will need a format to write their HD recordings on when HD becomes mainstream (which is inevitable). There are always HDDs, but they are not easily portable. And I don't think many people here are willing to wait 2020 until they finally manage to produce affordable 200gigs keys.

No one ever said there aren't hurdles to be overcome. And honestly, I don't care much about the future of digital distribution. I simply regard it as the obvious and inevitable progression of technology. The HD disc formats are a far more interesting discussion topic.


For those of you who are confused why Blu-ray won, even though HD-DVD supposedly has a higher install base, if the video game threads have shown us
anything its that software is whats important. Here are the Nielsen/VideoScan numbers going back to April. Even during big releases like Transformers, the Bourne series, Shrek or even the Matrix, Blu-ray has never lost a week in movie sales. Paramount/Universal switching to HD-DVD couldn't even win them a crack passed 49% of the market for even 1 week.

Marvin, you've neglected one hugely important fact; there are a lot more Blu-ray players out there. Tons of people who buy a PS3 are going to pick up a Blu-ray movie or two to go with it. The important question is why the voice of the mainstream, which was showing support for HDDVD through higher stand-alone player sales and a higher software attach rate, was silenced.

Jokes like that are nice when they stay between two people. Referencing it under debate conditions, however, is another matter. I understand you didn't mean any offense by it, but you put me in a position where I had to come out swinging to protect my credibility in the eyes of others who aren't in on it.

It isn't a matter of ego at all, and you're not going to be able to keep bringing up this "ZOMG BIG EGO" line forever.

If it wasn't about your ego, I think you wouldn't have been offended like you did, and you wouldn't think your credibility was on the line like this. Everybody make mistakes, and that you don't accept that about yourself speaks for itself.

As a matter of fact, your credibility is still undamaged. Because all you said back then was still yet to be seen. All there was to it were speculations. In any case, I didn't name you in the original post so only a few people here could possibly know who I was talking about.



Coming back on topic...

The important thing isn't the number of players sold. That's not what the movie makers make money on.

The important thing is what kind of format the costumers buy more of.

In this case the Blu-Ray was clearly ahead, so I understand why they'd decide to go exclusively with Blu-Ray. Having to support only one format is a lot cheaper than going for 2.

Way to ignore the entire point of my argument.

The important question is why the voice of the mainstream, which was showing support for HDDVD through higher stand-alone player sales and a higher software attach rate, was silenced.

Higher software attach rate? The data collected seems to differ.

Betamax ftw!

Higher software attach rate? The data collected seems to differ.

What data? Show this data that differs.

Bloody hell, what a thread! and all i was going to say is that maybe its not quite the time for Blu-Ray yet - Then again , in the UK,it might be a different story altogether - It would seem to have taken a better hold elsewhere globally. (From a purchase point of view,but this is about the technology, lol - That frazzled my single brain cell from the word Go, hahaha! But its opened my eyes a bit, and i learned something,and all!

Prak, the PS3 has no good games out right now. It is a basically a stand-alone Blu-Ray player. You have to keep that in mind.

Opinion, not fact Gara.

kthxbai

Garamond called this from the beginning. Well, since he got a Blu Ray drive :)

Like i said in a earlier post, im not that interested, But, on the radio today, it said that Toshiba,(i think it said Toshiba) and pulling out of making HD DVD's. Now, if this has already been coverd, then sorry. I couldnt be arsed reading the first few post's again...

Well, I'll stay out of the market until region-free Blu-Ray players that are actually affordable and doesn't output HDCP-protected signals from it's HDMI ports comes out. Sure, Malaysia shares the same region as the US, but I do also import and watch French cartoons, and French is not in the same region in the US.

Its official.

Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses (http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2008_02/pr1903.htm)

TOKYO--Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has undertaken a thorough review of its overall strategy for HD DVD and has decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. This decision has been made following recent major changes in the market. Toshiba will continue, however, to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.

HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital convergence of tomorrow where the fusion of consumer electronics and IT will continue to progress.

"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality."

Toshiba will continue to lead innovation, in a wide range of technologies that will drive mass market access to high definition content. These include high capacity NAND flash memory, small form factor hard disk drives, next generation CPUs, visual processing, and wireless and encryption technologies. The company expects to make forthcoming announcements around strategic progress in these convergence technologies.

Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements. The company will continue to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives within the overall PC business relative to future market demand.

This decision will not impact on Toshiba's commitment to standard DVD, and the company will continue to market conventional DVD players and recorders. Toshiba intends to continue to contribute to the development of the DVD industry, as a member of the DVD Forum, an international organization with some 200 member companies, committed to the discussion and defining of optimum optical disc formats for the consumer and the related industries.

Toshiba also intends to maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD.

Like i said in a earlier post, im not that interested, But, on the radio today, it said that Toshiba,(i think it said Toshiba) and pulling out of making HD DVD's. Now, if this has already been coverd, then sorry. I couldnt be arsed reading the first few post's again...

Yeah, i think your post covers it a little better then mine...lol

Okay, now that the sideshow's over, I can finally see if my predictions pan out.

I'll say it again, just for posterity. In the United States, Blu-ray cannot even come close, at ANY point in its lifespan, to supplanting DVD as the dominant mainstream home video format. Other countries are irrelevant to this assessment, so don't drag them into it.

Why do you think this, Prak? I mean sure, not now but what about in, say,10 years?

What data? Show this data that differs.

^^ That's the entire point Prak. There are no data that can point in the direction you speak of. So these claims are just speculations on your part.

I NEVER MADE A SINGLE FUCKING CLAIM TO THE CONTRARY.

I've said from the very start that I'm working solely with my own logical interpretations of the basic data, the same as everyone else is.

However, you made a claim about differing data. Show this data or I am completely discounting every single word you've ever said on this issue. There is no room for debate at this stage. Put up or be shut up.

The important question is why the voice of the mainstream, which was showing support for HDDVD through higher stand-alone player sales and a higher software attach rate, was silenced.

Of course you said that, right?

You make claims like the one quoted above and just let them float in the air with nothing to back them up, and you have the nerve to ask me for the differing datas (which I mentioned to make you admit that the bold part in the quote above cannot be verified)?

so the format ars are comeing to a end maybe it might be worth it to get a ps3 then

Of course you said that, right?

You make claims like the one quoted above and just let them float in the air with nothing to back them up, and you have the nerve to ask me for the differing datas (which I mentioned to make you admit that the bold part in the quote above cannot be verified)?

You must be fucking kidding me. It is verifiable fact that in the US, more HDDVD movies were sold per player than Blu-ray. According to Nielsen VideoScan, the overall market share of discs sold in the US is approximately 65% BD and 35% HDDVD. Now when you consider that including all PS3s on the market, Blu-ray accounted for at least 80% of the players in the North American market, the difference in disc sales shows a stark contrast.

I never make a claim I can't support. You should know that. As you say, I have a big ego, but I've fucking earned it by being the best and the brightest.

When you only take into account one country, you're likely to miss the view on the big picture.

I hate to break up this little e-squabble, but...


Why do you think this, Prak? I mean sure, not now but what about in, say,10 years?

When you only take into account one country, you're likely to miss the view on the big picture.

/facepalm

Enough of this. You're dancing around things I've already talked about, making me repeat myself endlessly, and it's really fucking boring and annoying, so I'm done talking with you about it.

Swami, my views are documented and I'm now officially sick of discussing them. Go find other posts if you want to know more about my predictions of the market's future.

*sighs*

Ok...

*dons spelunking gear*

/facepalm

Enough of this. You're dancing around things I've already talked about, making me repeat myself endlessly, and it's really fucking boring and annoying, so I'm done talking with you about it.

Swami, my views are documented and I'm now officially sick of discussing them. Go find other posts if you want to know more about my predictions of the market's future.

Nope, you're the one questioning why most of the major movie studios turned their back on the HD-DVD in favor of Blu-Ray (suposedly) all of a sudden. With the lack of any official numbers, you might come up with a conspiracy theory bordering on paranoia out of a Dan Brown novel or just notice that most reports seem to indicate that Blu-Ray movies, although there are less players sold compared to the HD-DVD ones, sold a lot more and presented a much higher increase in popularity. Just look at the last holiday season reports, which was before the announcement of WB going BD exclusive. I wouldn't be surprised that WB took the decision to go BD exclusive BECAUSE of these holiday sales reports, since the official annoucement came in early January.

There are obvious reasons why every major studios jumped on the Blu-Ray wagon. One of it was in their contract clause which specified that if Warner Bros (which is one of the biggest studio, if not THE biggest studio) signed for Blu-Ray Exclusivity, then they would go that route as well. It's not really hard to understand. The smaller studios didn't want to be stuck with an obligation to produce movies for an unpopular movie format. And since The Blu-Ray offers better specs than HD-DVD, it gives the format a longer natural life-span.


Now why did WB went BD exclusive? There might be a lot of possible reasons. And sale figures is the most logical one. But it will be hard to say until we get those darn numbers (and not just the US ones, mind you!).



Region free is all that the HD-DVD players had over Blu-Ray, but it is only a matter of time before we see that feature implemented inside third parties' Blu-Ray players

Prak you have to account the PS3 as a stand-alone Blu-Ray player because anybody who is using the PS3 to play games is obviously missing the whole point of that system.

Prak you have to account the PS3 as a stand-alone Blu-Ray player because anybody who is using the PS3 to play games is obviously missing the whole point of that system.

Yeah, at 400$, the PS3 is one of the cheapest Blu-Ray player out there. ^^

The PS3 sold about 10 million worldwide, if I'm, correct. Of course, not all PS3 owners use their consoles for watching BR movies, but still, a large number of them do. The PS3, in my opinion, played a major role in the HD format war, as it increased the Blue Ray players' owners, and therefore the sells of BR movies.

The PS3 sold about 10 million worldwide, if I'm, correct. Of course, not all PS3 owners use their consoles for watching BR movies, but still, a large number of them do. The PS3, in my opinion, played a major role in the HD format war, as it increased the Blue Ray players' owners, and therefore the sells of BR movies.

The 360 making the HDDVD player a separate accessory might have hindered the HDDVD side, as well.

Extra noticeable in case anyone thinks it's not pure speculation.

I knew this was going to happen. Which is why I didn't bother buying anything that is technology new.

Well, it's official. If you guys haven't heard - which I'm sure you have - Toshiba has officially announced that it will stop making any more HD-DVD players, and will now concentrate on developing a new chip - I don't quite remember if it's that - for cell phones.

I give Blu-ray another 8-10 years till we go completely downloadable - that's how long I think it will take 'till movie downloads are fast and as good in quality as discs.

The 360 making the HDDVD player a separate accessory might have hindered the HDDVD side, as well.

Extra noticeable in case anyone thinks it's not pure speculation.

Whats your point here? I cant see how it could be that negative, as the Xbox 360 had no HDDVD support to begin with. If you are implying that the fact that Microsoft did not include HD DVD playback support from the beginning hindered the HDVD format, then I agree.

On the other hand I had not been following the HD war at all, as I do not really care.

If you are implying that the fact that Microsoft did not include HD DVD playback support from the beginning hindered the HDVD format, then I agree.

Obviously.

The thing about buying a Blu-ray player or PS3 is that it doesn't have to replace your DVDs. If you have an HDTV and want to take advantage of HD movies, once you've watched Crank, Cars or 300, you'll know what I mean, then a Blu-ray player down the line will be worth it because it'll still play your existing DVDs and upscale them. I'm seeing Blu-ray players as an upgrade from DVD. Unlike when DVD came out 10 years ago you weren't able to play your old VHS tapes. I got my Sony Bravia 32" HDTV for $900 and I'm running an HDMI cable from my PS3 and I cannot begin to describe how beautiful my Blu-ray movies look. I'm just happy I've been able to keep everything well under $2,000 for such a great movie experience.

The thing about buying a Blu-ray player or PS3 is that it doesn't have to replace your DVDs. If you have an HDTV and want to take advantage of HD movies, once you've watched Crank, Cars or 300, you'll know what I mean, then a Blu-ray player down the line will be worth it because it'll still play your existing DVDs and upscale them. I'm seeing Blu-ray players as an upgrade from DVD. Unlike when DVD came out 10 years ago you weren't able to play your old VHS tapes. I got my Sony Bravia 32" HDTV for $900 and I'm running an HDMI cable from my PS3 and I cannot begin to describe how beautiful my Blu-ray movies look. I'm just happy I've been able to keep everything well under $2,000 for such a great movie experience.

I'm officially envious :D

The thing about buying a Blu-ray player or PS3 is that it doesn't have to replace your DVDs. If you have an HDTV and want to take advantage of HD movies, once you've watched Crank, Cars or 300, you'll know what I mean, then a Blu-ray player down the line will be worth it because it'll still play your existing DVDs and upscale them. I'm seeing Blu-ray players as an upgrade from DVD. Unlike when DVD came out 10 years ago you weren't able to play your old VHS tapes. I got my Sony Bravia 32" HDTV for $900 and I'm running an HDMI cable from my PS3 and I cannot begin to describe how beautiful my Blu-ray movies look. I'm just happy I've been able to keep everything well under $2,000 for such a great movie experience.

I got my Emerson 32" for under $600. =P

Yeah, but Sony > Emerson by about half a light year, too.

And both screens are 720p... At 32", no TV other than the Sharp Aquos gives a full 1080p resolution.


But at this size, there's not that much of a difference. Except if you run your PC on such a screen.

Yeah, you have to have at least a 40" - 42" in order to notice a 1080p signal. Mine is running 720p and even that is spectacular to me.

Marvin you overpaid on your TV if it is a recent purchase.

If you bought the HDMI cable from a store you also overpaid for that fyi.

At least your TV is better than your PS3 though because that is a piece of junk.

My monitor is 1050p not 1080p fyi.

At least your TV is better than your PS3 though because that is a piece of junk.

Essential, but missing footnote: Until Disgaea 3 comes out in the US.

And both screens are 720p.

Mine is running at 1080i. >.>

720p is better than 1080i, but it's hardly noticeable (again, it is mostly noticeable when running such a screen from a PC). A resolution of 1080i alternates 2 screens of 540 lines while 720p gives you 720 lines at all time.

720p is better than 1080i, but it's hardly noticeable (again, it is mostly noticeable when running such a screen from a PC). A resolution of 1080i alternates 2 screens of 540 lines while 720p gives you 720 lines at all time.

Exactly what Hynad said. Also, in 720p, you'll notice less "trails" when things are moving fast. I know I noticed when I tried switching between 1080i and 720p while watching Spiderman 3. 720p moves much nicer.

I'll give it a look for comparison. Thanks.

edit: So I switched my resolution to 720p and played a level of LAIR. I watched all the cutscenes and did as much fast movement as I could without losing the level.

Switched it back to 1080i and played the same level.

Verdict from my personal experience: 1080i looks sharper and I actually saw more "screen tearing" in 720p. =/

I think Lair is actually a good game. I just hate the level where you have to take out all the spot lights.

LAIR is a spectacular game, true story.

Anyone who complains about the controls SUCK. >.>

I pretty much hate any level where you have to protect mantas -_-

Yeah well those who complain are having there wish come true since Factor 5 announced they were going to "fix" the control problem (http://www.thebitbag.com/2008/02/23/lair-analog-controls-confirmed-for-march/)by allowing people to use the analog. And yes LAIR is a spectacular game. If you can get your hands on a dualshock 3/Sixaxis, it makes it even more spectacular. I found mine at a local shop that imported them so I've had mine since December. It makes playing Uncharted and Resistance: FoM so much better.

Meh, I s'pose. Rumble never has been that big of a deal to me.

Plus I already got 2 SIXAXIS controllers, not sure if I wanna throw down 30-40 some odd dollars for a rumble in it.

If there are anyone still thinking the war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray is still unresolved, they are clearly fooling themselves (to quote someone who predicted it wouldn't be over so soon... He'll recognise himself :P)

I give you this news bit:

Wal-Mart says it's going Blu-ray exclusive


Wal-Mart is the latest company to exclusively back the Blu-ray technology for high-definition DVDs.

The retail giant said Friday that it would phase out discs and hardware using the competing high-definition technology, known as HD-DVD. HD-DVD products will be off the shelves at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores by June, the company said.

Link: http://www.mlive.com/business/ambizdaily/bizjournals/index.ssf?/base/abd-3/120314761245310.xml

Also:http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080215-report-toshiba-making-funeral-plans-for-hd-dvd.html


Now there's no way HD-DVD can get over this!

HOLD THE FISH

I don't have to much knowledge on this subject, but i did find these...





I had always leaned toward Blu-ray being the format to win out. ...idk.

A. Those are completely and totally worthless since you posted them with no sense of context.

B. It's a moot point anyway.

C. At least your post was less retarded than the one before it, so no insults for you today.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/MrZeee/20070705.gif

:rolleyes:

lols :)

HOLD THE FISH


-.-

:rolleyes:

blu-ray is still too expensive for me to consider getting anything related to it whatsoever, not to mention very few shops here actually sell blu-ray disks.

Least the PS3 isn't totally obsolete eh!

My partner and I are perhaps a little too enthusiastic when it comes to home theater, We loved the dvd generation of 16:9 and 5.1 ch sound but have been anticipating HD media for so long.

To side step other arguments in this thread and not to compare international markets, Blu-ray seemed to be the natural progression for Australia when it came to the format war, HD-DVD never really made a strong impact.

We have a 46" Samsung LA46m81bd Full HD LCD and watching Full HD movies on Blu-ray is an unreal experience, I love the full 7.1 ch uncompressed Surround sound and glossy beautiful 1080P picture sharp and colorful, It really makes re-discovering all your old/new favorites enjoyable as they appear unlike you have ever seen them before - the quality looks so much better than at a cinema.

Other media are capable of this too and does not make blu-ray dominant or unique but by comparison I would pay extra for a BD version of a movie over a grainy DVD anyday.

Support the industry and purchase people!

okay i will!

I was happy to hear the news. Since the beginning I`ve seen Blu-Ray as the future although discs are already an ancient thing. I`m waiting until everything becomes downloadable to flash-card based hdd`s.