Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD (old)

Page 9 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

dwell

pics?
Oct 9, 1999
5,185
2
0
Originally posted by: Wreckage
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
For Blu-Ray users- why would you want to support a company like Sony?

Supporting Microsoft is better how?

Microsoft is much worse in this capacity. The are funding Universal for the sole reason of mucking up the entire process and keeping hidef discs from standardizing long enough for them to try and push digital distribution.

Someone needs to break it to Microsoft that they have zero pull in Hollywood. If anyone is going to be the winner in digital distribution it's going to Apple. Jobs practically owns Disney and Sony is not going to put their studios on a Microsoft platform.

Universal needs to jump out today and put and end to the format war. All the cash MS is giving them will not make up for all the bad will they are accumulating the more and more people who buy HD-DVD players and discs that may become obsolete if Blu-Ray wins the format war.
 

Wreckage

Banned
Jul 1, 2005
5,529
0
0
This move, rumored to be driven by a $150M exclusivity deal with the HD DVD group, comes after Paramount began favoring Blu-ray releases with higher quality video encodings and more HD features. The deal covers all of Paramount's properties excluding those directed by Steven Spielberg.

I wonder how long MS/Toshiba can continue dumping money like this?
 

tatteredpotato

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2006
3,934
0
76
Originally posted by: Chris
Originally posted by: Wreckage
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
For Blu-Ray users- why would you want to support a company like Sony?

Supporting Microsoft is better how?

Microsoft is much worse in this capacity. The are funding Universal for the sole reason of mucking up the entire process and keeping hidef discs from standardizing long enough for them to try and push digital distribution.

Someone needs to break it to Microsoft that they have zero pull in Hollywood. If anyone is going to be the winner in digital distribution it's going to Apple. Jobs practically owns Disney and Sony is not going to put their studios on a Microsoft platform.

Universal needs to jump out today and put and end to the format war. All the cash MS is giving them will not make up for all the bad will they are accumulating the more and more people who buy HD-DVD players and discs that may become obsolete if Blu-Ray wins the format war.

What makes you think that movie studios won't offer movies on a Microsoft platform? Microsoft already has created multiple platforms for A/V distribution online.

Also what makes you think that Sony won't sell movies on a MS platform? Sure they compete in the Console arena, but Sony sells lots of products that license Microsoft technologies, like their PCs and DAPs.
 

cubby1223

Lifer
May 24, 2004
13,518
42
86
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Uh oh Blu-Ray fans, Paramount/Dreamworks is going HD-DVD exclusive :D


Text

Yahoo Article
Appears that we consumers really don't have any influence what-so-ever. Microsoft paid Viacom $150 million to go exclusive and prolong this pointless format war - and the only option for people who like movies, not formats, is to buy both.

MS/Toshiba sure is willing to spend to no end. I thought that's what the evil BDA did, not the saintly HD DVD group. :confused:

Paramount says they're doing this for the families. I'm sorry, is now making families to buy both Blu-ray players for Disney movies and HD DVD players for Dreamworks movies really in their best interests? No, more families are going to stay out of this format war for even longer!
 

Slick5150

Diamond Member
Nov 10, 2001
8,760
3
81
Originally posted by: cubby1223
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Uh oh Blu-Ray fans, Paramount/Dreamworks is going HD-DVD exclusive :D


Text

Yahoo Article
Appears that we consumers really don't have any influence what-so-ever. Microsoft paid Viacom $150 million to go exclusive and prolong this pointless format war - and the only option for people who like movies, not formats, is to buy both.

MS/Toshiba sure is willing to spend to no end. I thought that's what the evil BDA did, not the saintly HD DVD group. :confused:

Paramount says they're doing this for the families. I'm sorry, is now making families to buy both Blu-ray players for Disney movies and HD DVD players for Dreamworks movies really in their best interests? No, more families are going to stay out of this format war for even longer!

You're being forced to by both? I'm a huge movie fan, and I'm buying neither as I don't believe that either format offers enough of an upgrade over DVD to justify their price, nor do I see either format being a long-term "standard". DVD took over because it was a huge upgrade from VHS. I look at both HD-DVD and BD as being a laserdisc type of technology where it will find its niche, but never be a widely adopted format.

That being said, I do hope HD can fare better than BD, because of its less restrictive DRM policies and being region free.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
116
Originally posted by: Genx87
Ill take HD on demand over this any day of the week.
There are a few problems with that.

First, the HD quality of programming from your cable/satellite provider is noticeably worse than HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. Compression artifacts, macro-blocking, poor color fidelity, and other PQ issues abound. Yes, it's better than SDTV; much better. But a side-by-side comparison would yield a hands-down winner.

Of course, there is room for improvement to bring parity with HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, but the infrastructure won't be in place for another few years (and even then, not widely).

Microsoft pushing for HD download content has numerous problems. First and foremost, PQ and network capability. People who want HD content are concern with PQ, and for downloaded HD content to have parity with HD-DVD/Blu-Ray requires massive bandwidth. The US telecommunications industry has shown extremely slow progress in bringing even mediocre high-speed access to all areas of the country; we are years away from having high-enough speeds to stream excellent quality HD content in most areas of the country. Second, there is no incentive for people to choose downloaded content versus physical discs. Studios have shown a reluctance to lower the price significantly for digital versus physical distribution methods. If that remains the case, people will always prefer buying their HD content physically; I can drive down the road, buy an HD copy of my favorite movie, and be back home an hour before a HD copy could be fully downloaded. Physical copies can be loaned, ripped into digital copies, and resold easier than digital copies.
 

tatteredpotato

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2006
3,934
0
76
Originally posted by: cubby1223
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Uh oh Blu-Ray fans, Paramount/Dreamworks is going HD-DVD exclusive :D


Text

Yahoo Article
Appears that we consumers really don't have any influence what-so-ever. Microsoft paid Viacom $150 million to go exclusive and prolong this pointless format war - and the only option for people who like movies, not formats, is to buy both.

MS/Toshiba sure is willing to spend to no end. I thought that's what the evil BDA did, not the saintly HD DVD group. :confused:

Paramount says they're doing this for the families. I'm sorry, is now making families to buy both Blu-ray players for Disney movies and HD DVD players for Dreamworks movies really in their best interests? No, more families are going to stay out of this format war for even longer!

So you're saying that Toshiba should abandon its format and stop supporting all the comsumers who bought HD DVD players? Man I hope you never run a business.
 

cubby1223

Lifer
May 24, 2004
13,518
42
86
Originally posted by: Slick5150
Originally posted by: cubby1223
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Uh oh Blu-Ray fans, Paramount/Dreamworks is going HD-DVD exclusive :D


Text

Yahoo Article
Appears that we consumers really don't have any influence what-so-ever. Microsoft paid Viacom $150 million to go exclusive and prolong this pointless format war - and the only option for people who like movies, not formats, is to buy both.

MS/Toshiba sure is willing to spend to no end. I thought that's what the evil BDA did, not the saintly HD DVD group. :confused:

Paramount says they're doing this for the families. I'm sorry, is now making families to buy both Blu-ray players for Disney movies and HD DVD players for Dreamworks movies really in their best interests? No, more families are going to stay out of this format war for even longer!

You're being forced to by both? I'm a huge movie fan, and I'm buying neither as I don't believe that either format offers enough of an upgrade over DVD to justify their price, nor do I see either format being a long-term "standard". DVD took over because it was a huge upgrade from VHS. I look at both HD-DVD and BD as being a laserdisc type of technology where it will find its niche, but never be a widely adopted format.

That being said, I do hope HD can fare better than BD, because of its less restrictive DRM policies and being region free.
Well congratulations that you don't see a big difference in hi def, have a cookie. :cookie:

I have a set where I can see enough difference between upconverted standard definition, that the price of being an early adopter is worth it. I wish one of the two formats would go big, not be a niche product like laserdisc, but news like this today just brings us one step closer to niche.
 

MikeyLSU

Platinum Member
Dec 21, 2005
2,747
0
71
This is bad news for anyone format neutral IMO...The only way this things ends quickly is if Blu-Ray wins.

I can't imagine HD winning this quickly at all, they came out first and are already losing the sales. This will drag this thing out much longer and MS may win in that neither catch on.

 

spacejamz

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
10,997
1,745
126
that was a good move for the HD DVD camp...transformers is gonna big big...looks like it caught a lot of people by surprise...

Fox finally announced a bunch of blu catalog releases today...looks like there will be another announcement for this year's new movies (Simpsons, Fantastic Four 2 and Die Hard 4)...

MASTER & COMMANDER.............................OCT. 2
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW.......................OCT. 2
FROM HELL................................................OCT. 9
THE FLY (1986).......................................... OCT. 9
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS..........................OCT. 9
28 DAYS LATER..........................................OCT. 9
ROBOCOP (MGM).......................................OCT. 9
AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) (MGM).............OCT. 9
BATTLE OF BRITAIN (MGM)..........................NOV. 6
A BRIDGE TOO FAR (MGM)......................... NOV. 6
I, ROBOT...................................................NOV. 13
DIE HARD..................................................NOV
DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER...........................NOV
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE .................NOV
RED DAWN (MGM).......................................NOV
MR. AND MRS. SMITH .................................DEC. 4
INDEPENDENCE DAY...................................DEC. 4
CAST AWAY................................................DEC. 4
RONIN........................................................DEC. 4
 

montypythizzle

Diamond Member
Nov 12, 2006
3,698
0
71
Originally posted by: spacejamz
that was a good move for the HD DVD camp...transformers is gonna big big...looks like it caught a lot of people by surprise...

Fox finally announced a bunch of blu catalog releases today...looks like there will be another announcement for this year's new movies (Simpsons, Fantastic Four 2 and Die Hard 4)...

MASTER & COMMANDER.............................OCT. 2
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW.......................OCT. 2
FROM HELL................................................OCT. 9
THE FLY (1986).......................................... OCT. 9
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS..........................OCT. 9
28 DAYS LATER..........................................OCT. 9
ROBOCOP (MGM).......................................OCT. 9
AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) (MGM).............OCT. 9
BATTLE OF BRITAIN (MGM)..........................NOV. 6
A BRIDGE TOO FAR (MGM)......................... NOV. 6
I, ROBOT...................................................NOV. 13
DIE HARD..................................................NOV
DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER...........................NOV
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE .................NOV
RED DAWN (MGM).......................................NOV
MR. AND MRS. SMITH .................................DEC. 4
INDEPENDENCE DAY...................................DEC. 4
CAST AWAY................................................DEC. 4
RONIN........................................................DEC. 4

GREAT movies that need to be in HD.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
116
According to Wiki:

HD-DVD Exclusive Studios: Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, The Weinstein Company, and First Look Studios.

Blu-Ray Exclusive Studios: Sony Pictures Entertainment, MGM, Disney, 20th Century Fox, and Lionsgate.

Also remember that each of those studios have many subsidiaries, big and small.

As far as 2007 blockbusters go,

1. Spider-Man 3 - $336M (Blu-Ray Exclusive)
2. Shrek The Third - $321M (HD-DVD Exclusive)
3. POTC: At World's End $307M (Blu-Ray Exclusive)
4. Transformers $306M (HD-DVD Exclusive)
 

Muadib

Lifer
May 30, 2000
18,127
912
126
Originally posted by: jpeyton
According to Wiki:

HD-DVD Exclusive Studios: Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, The Weinstein Company, and First Look Studios.

Blu-Ray Exclusive Studios: Sony Pictures Entertainment, MGM, Disney, 20th Century Fox, and Lionsgate.

Also remember that each of those studios have many subsidiaries, big and small.

As far as 2007 blockbusters go,

1. Spider-Man 3 - $336M (Blu-Ray Exclusive)
2. Shrek The Third - $321M (HD-DVD Exclusive)
3. POTC: At World's End $307M (Blu-Ray Exclusive)
4. Transformers $306M (HD-DVD Exclusive)

Damn not Shrek the third!!!:(
 

JC86

Senior member
Jan 18, 2007
694
0
0
format wars be damned. I say both BD and HD DVD fanbois unite and boycott both formats till they all offer content in both formats. This is ridiculous, forcing one to buy BD players to watch POTC or Spiderman and HD DVD players to watch the Bourne series, Transformers, or Shrek.
 

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
32,444
33,451
146
Originally posted by: JC86
format wars be damned. I say both BD and HD DVD fanbois unite and boycott both formats till they all offer content in both formats. This is ridiculous, forcing one to buy BD players to watch POTC or Spiderman and HD DVD players to watch the Bourne series, Transformers, or Shrek.
I wouldn't say forcing, but they are definitely using some sweet ass honey to attract me to HD-DVD. Since I have a PS3, the BD player is a bonus, not its sole purpose, and the DVD upscaling is quite good. So I may just get the DVD version of those movies, particularly Shrek, since the animated stuff still looks excellent that way. Or if I can find the add-on for the 360 around $100 from a reputable seller, I'll pick one up.

 

fisheerman

Senior member
Oct 25, 2006
733
0
0
Bring on content on demand and screw these disk wars...................

I think somebody said it that this Bluray vs hddvd will go the way of laserdisk

thats what im waiting for.

microsoft live has some pretty good offerings now.

how long until the cable companies jump on COD?

-fish
 

spacejamz

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
10,997
1,745
126
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Uh oh Blu-Ray fans, Paramount/Dreamworks is going HD-DVD exclusive :D


Text

Yahoo Article

Looks like the deal is that Paramount/Dreamworks will get $150M plus advertising concessions to be exclusive for 18 months...
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
This format war sucks diseased monkey balls. If you only have one format, you miss out on many great titles, either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. Hopefully this starts to tank player sales for both camps. I want them both to lose so that we can get some sanity in this area.