Buh-bye HD-DVD

[fester8542]

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/080212k.php

HD-DVD has been sinking for a while but this has to be it....

Netflix going exclusive and Best Buy endorsing.

I'm a MS man but Sony played this one well. I thought for sure they were going to loose the format war.

[Yeldarb]

Eff Sony. I'll never buy a Blu Ray player. Looks like I won't be buying a new player until downloadable/rentable hd content for your TV becomes a reality.

[InfestedDemon]

^It already has with the power of Xbox 360 and im unsure wether the same goes for PS3

[DDD]

lol...TigerDirect must have insider info. They are giving hd-dvd players away. WIth a big screen tv

[Butters]

I'v been standing by Blu-Ray since this whole format war started, always knew it would come out on top.

Not to say that the war is over yet, but I do think Blu-Ray will come out on top. Just walk into your local movie store, dunno what it's like in America but here they sell way more Blu-Ray than HD-DVD (there's like 1 rack of HD-DVD and like 8 Blu-Ray).

[Noct]

Personally I prefer HD-DVD due to cost, features, and compatability, but I'll be glad when one format takes over regardless; it will bring costs down and should increase releases. (Plus I'll be able to buy the entire HD catalog for next-to-nothing)

That said, neither format is doing very well and the real fear here is that these will remain as niche markets and end up going the way of laserDisk, VCD, SVCD, etc...

I think the HDM market as a whole had a much better chance of surviving with HD-DVD then BD, but hopefully with Sony's muscle behind it, no competition and the digital tv push that is coming we'll still have a shot at it catching on.

I personally think that dwonloadable media is a completely different animal that would cater to an entirely different market. HD/BD supporters are primarily videophiles who want the best picture/sound quality money can buy, you can not offer that through DLC...

[shane-c]

BluRay will succeed because Sony wants it to. Mark my words...

[Templarian]

^It already has.

[shane-c]

I don't just mean that it will beat out HD-DVD, I mean that it will legitimately succeed, and not go the way of the LaserDisc, etc.

[fester8542]

I'm really surprised. I know the technology is superior by being able to hold a ton more data and all, just the initial reports were really leaning towards HD-DVD. I'm sure price was a big factor in that though.

I wonder if Sony will ever license the technology (obviously for a fee) to Microsoft to create an external Blue-Ray drive for the 360.

[twdesignz06]

A lot of people criticized Sony for including Blu-Ray on all of their PS3's but it seems to have paid off thus far for them.

[Noct]

Well, the extra data has proved pretty unimportant so far. Both formats use the same video compression standards at this point and as far as I know they have yet to come across any movies that they couldn't fit on the HD disk. The only real use of that extra space on the BD so far has been lossless audio, which you need a really high end system and trained ear to notice. I frequent a HDM forum and even the BD supporters there tend to agree that the audio differences are tough to notice. Apart from that, Toshiba has already created a 51gig HD disk, they just have yet to release it publicly.

As far as the inital reports favoring HD, it wasn't just due to cost altough that was a major factor. The first wave of BD disks were quite poor PQ wise, some people even speculated that they were using upconverted SD transfers rather then going back to the source as they do now. Lord knows that wasn't restricted to BD though, I have seen some awful HD-DVDs as well, which is another part of the problem IMO; they need to set some standards for PQ as they continue to ensure that the increased money spent on these disks is not wasted. Especially when you factor in how well some nicer SD drives are upconverting these days. I have some HDs that are barely any nicer then a SD upconvert so it is infuriating to pay $30+ for them.

As of today though, most dual format users tend to agree that the quality of both disks are pretty negligable. That is why I'd be happy to switch camps now if HD does in fact go the way of the dodo.

Both companies were giving the studios money hand over fist to stay in their format, and it appears Sony just had deeper pockets. I think it will be quite some time before we see a total HD pullout though, Transformers sold a ton and proved that the media could sell when marketed correctly.

Anyway, as far as a BD addon goes for MS, they have already said that they most likely will if HD goes away. Personally, I hope they release a dual format drive over a straight BD addon, then I could get rid of my HD player and just use the one drive.

Either way, HD-DVD prices are going to drop like mad and those of us who buy them are going to end up with an entire HDM catalog for next to nothing; I'm pretty excited about that. A lot of analysts have also predicted that HD will end up becoming one of those little extra features many SD-DVD players have today like Divx, VCD, etc... So it's not like HD-DVDs are a waste of money. I still highly recommend the format and drives to people.

[fester8542]

Good post.

My old man who really doesn't understand technology but has a ton of loot ran right out and bought an HD-DVD player. Then two months later picked up a Blue Ray. He is going to toss me the stand alone HD-DVD player so I will pick up a bunch of movies when the fire sale happens.

I can only hope for a dual format drive for the 360. That would be awesome.

[DanontheMoon]

http://www.tu.no/multimedia/archive/00026/PirateBay_1_NETT_26916c.jpg

Bah, who needs a player?

[shane-c]

I think the technical benefits and drawbacks of BluRay vs HD-DVD are only part of the picture. They're both good products - now it's just a matter of who can flat-out sell it better. And my money's on Sony.

The average consumer won't know how many gigabytes the disc holds, or the type of video and audio compression it uses. They'll just know what they see on store shelves, and what commercials tell them. Marketing, deals with other companies, and penetration will be the huge factors. (They pretty much are already)

[Noct]

Heh, the Pirate Bay, I haven't been there in a long time...

Anyway, that underscores my entire point from above about downloadable/streaming media not being the same market as HDM. People like myself (early-adopters) who bought into HDTVs and HD/BD when it first hit the market did it becuase we wanted absolutely pristine top-of-the-line quality from our movies. I purposefully pay twice the cost of a SD to get a HD disk because I want that resolution and audio/video quality.

When you download/stream a movie you have absolutely no idea what compression formats were used, what audio you are getting, etc...
I do NOT want "HD" movies that some joker has "optimized" for streaming. It will remove most of the point of HD media in general and leave us with pixelated, artifact-laden, fuzzy looking crap.

I mean, there are certainly exceptions to the rule, some of the HD channels have outstanding quality to their broadcast, but none of them EVER come close to the quality of a HD-DVD that was produced directly from the original film stock.

Take Blade Runner for instance. It's a 25+ year old film that was just put on HD-DVD, and HD supporters have pretty unimously agreed that it is the single best picture and audio quality they have ever seen/heard in their homes. Take that movie and compress it for download/streaming and it is going to suddenly be a 25 year old sci fi film again...

@shane -
No argument there man, like I said, I personally think HD-DVD is a much better product, but Sony has led the market because they have done an overwhelmingly better job of marketing BD. Most joe six pack types think BD is better since it is what they see the most info about. Problem being, those people aren't really who the market is aimed at right now. Most of your employees at major retailers couldn't even discuss the differences between the formats with you, much less your average joe on the street.

Much like the way Sony marketed their way to the top with Ps2 over (the superior) Xbox, they have managed to put enough money in BD to have it lead the pack. The only problem is that the format war caused so much confusion/fear towards HDM in general that a lot people have been scared away or disinterested in it completely now. Thank god for Ps3s though, I personally strongly prefer the 360 for gaming, but the PS3 will force a large number of BD players into homes and hopefully keep at least one format alive.

[wizard]

I'm considering getting a PS3 now that it's officially over.

[paddy.]

Eff Sony. I'll never buy a Blu Ray player. Looks like I won't be buying a new player until downloadable/rentable hd content for your TV becomes a reality.
It already has. (http://www.apple.com/appletv/)

[Capt_Crow]

I don't want to start another war here but I need to say this.

Fact: HD DVD and Blu-Ray have very similar if not identical price points on new movies/games.
Fact: Blu-Ray can hold more information.
Fact: Most movie studios have not yet taken advantage of the extra space on Blu-Ray discs.

But why would you choose HD DVD? Thats like buying a small house for 20K when you could buy a mansion for the same price. You might be thinking that movie/game studios will never take advantage of that space or that we'll just never need that much space. Well the answer is that we will need that extra room soon. Technology moves fast in this day and age. Next year there could be a new SUPER high definition TV and video recorder. Then we'll need that extra room on a disc. Plus with all the lighting effects, textures and everything else going on in games like Killzone 2 and Cyrsis that extra space won't stay extra for long.

[Theros]

It already has. (http://www.apple.com/appletv/)

Just cuz they have the ability to do that doesn't mean people will actually buy into it. Just look at their AppleTV sales....sagging.

[InfestedDemon]

isn't Pirate Bay a taboo here on the forums?

[BS]

My parents bought an HD-DVD player last week. I told them to buy Blue-Ray, but they had some "special advice" from a "friend".

[paddy.]

Just cuz they have the ability to do that doesn't mean people will actually buy into it. Just look at their AppleTV sales....sagging.
I didn't say it was taking off, just that it already exists in a nice, simple form.

[Theros]

My parents bought an HD-DVD player last week. I told them to buy Blue-Ray, but they had some "special advice" from a "friend".

Go tell them that they just wasted their money....haha, I'd love to see the reactions on their faces when you tell them.

[BS]

^ I've been telling them that since the beginning. Even when Netflix dropped HD-DVD I was telling them they still had time to take it back. Oh well.

[nobody]

I just bought 12 HD DVD players for 7 dollars!