Microsoft: We don't need no stinkin' Blu-ray

[Fritzo]

I feel this way too- Blu-ray is going to be passed by for streaming:

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/40992/MS-Blu-ray-being-passed-by

Xbox 360 platform holder asks the question” “Who needs Blu-ray?”


Microsoft has issued its most blatant dismissal yet of high-capacity disc technology Blu-ray, seemingly ending all talk of its possible inclusion in future versions of the Xbox 360.

When asked if the inclusion of just DVD technology and not Blu-ray in Xbox 360 could potentially lessen the console’s lifespan, director of entertainment and marketing Stephen McGill told Xbox360Achievements:

“I think people may have spoken about that originally, but that's long gone. I think people now recognise what a smart decision it was to keep the pricing low.

“Actually Blu-ray is going to be passed by as a format. People have moved through from DVDs to digital downloads and digital streaming, so we offer full HD 1080p Blu-ray quality streaming instantly, no download, no delay.

“So, who needs Blu-ray?”

 

[rivan]

:thumbsup:

 

[Malak]

FF13 owners need blu-ray.

Also, streaming will not bypass blu-ray either. Are they planning on streaming all their games in their next console too?

 

[Beev]

I don't care what format it is. I just should not be switching discs to play games. This is not the PS1 era.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Meh, I rented an HD movie the other night and had to wait ages for it to buffer enough to be worth starting, then just 20 mins from the end it starts buffering again (152 min film). What a ball ache.

Physical media = put it in, watch.

 

[Ns1]

meh, I sold my BR player.

 

[Gibson486]

Considering the buffer problems that I have seen with HD stuff on Netflix, i am going to say no. Digital copies, on the other hand....sure.

 

[secretanchitman]

its just the usual microsoft crap - they were for hd-dvd originally and look where that got them. by the time the next generation of consoles come out, blu-ray will be a hell of a lot cheaper to implement, so it would be a no brainer for microsoft to put in...but i doubt it, because they are super stubborn and only want their formats to succeed (playsforsure? yeah right).

i personally think that we'll have a streaming and blu-ray future. blu-ray for the ultimate in quality, and streaming for the instant/on-demand folk. i will continue to use blu-ray because its just much higher quality than streaming, period.

 

[rcpratt]

so we offer full HD 1080p Blu-ray quality streaming instantly, no download, no delay

No, no you don't. If it were true bluray quality, people wouldn't buy blurays. Streaming is a long ways away from being good enough for me to use. And I bought a PS3 for that reason. You fail, M$.

 

[phoenix79]

physical media = put it in, watch 20 minutes of promos, wait for the menu to load, watch another 15 minutes of previews, watch movie. What a ball ache.

ftfy

 

[Crusty]

Bluray isn't going anywhere for the time being. If there is going to be a viable streaming replacement there needs to be tremendous increases in the average amount of downstream bandwidth to houses.

 

[slayer202]

it will be a while until we move to pure digital distribution. blu ray will stick around for at least another generation or two of consoles

 

[Malak]

ftfy

What previews? Takes seconds to get to menu and press play.

 

[irishScott]

Streaming in inherently unreliable. Physical media may be somewhat sidelined, but it'll never be made obsolete. What Microsoft is saying is that they're going to force you to use their system for their profit, even if it doesn't make as much sense from a consumer standpoint.

And are we so lazy that changing physical discs is now just too much a pain to go through? I'm sorry, if you see changing discs once every, what, hour? (at worst) as a pain you need to get some discipline. Like 5 year old level discipline.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Bluray isn't going anywhere for the time being. If there is going to be a viable streaming replacement there needs to be tremendous increases in the average amount of downstream bandwidth to houses.

Bingo. At an average of 3.9Mb into the US home you can forget streaming any HD content seamlessly and without constant "buffering" messages and pauses.

 

[mmntech]

Streaming wont become practical until everyone can be guaranteed 5mbps broadband with much higher caps. Internet here is still too slow and expensive for larger games. Especially with titles toping out at 14GB+. Thats half most peoples bandwidth allotment.

 

[irishScott]

ftfy

Or you could learn to press the menu, skip and fast-forward buttons on your remote. Moron.

 

[zinfamous]

lol at thinking that streaming > Blu Ray.

it's separate arguments: Convenience vs Quality. Anyone that has even a minor interest in quality PQ and AQ would never outright prefer streaming over HD media.

both have their merits, though.

 

[rcpratt]

Streaming wont become practical until everyone can be guaranteed 5mbps broadband with much higher caps. Internet here is still too slow and expensive for larger games. Especially with titles toping out at 14GB+. Thats half most peoples bandwidth allotment.

If they're promising "true bluray quality" we're going to need a lot more than 5 Mbps.

 

[I Saw OJ]

I traded my 360 for a PS3 just for blu-ray.

 

[dwell]

Who wants to pay $6 to rent streams of crap movies on XBL when with Netflix for $10 a month I get Blu-ray discs day one and can still stream the crappy old movies if I want.

Microsoft botched this gaming generation towards the end. Kinect is the last nail in the coffin.

 

[BeauJangles]

Bingo. At an average of 3.9Mb into the US home you can forget streaming any HD content seamlessly and without constant "buffering" messages and pauses.

Which is why these companies should offer downloadable versions of their video / games / whatever. A huge reason people pirate movies is because there is no alternative to streaming besides Netflix.

 

[Crusty]

Streaming wont become practical until everyone can be guaranteed 5mbps broadband with much higher caps. Internet here is still too slow and expensive for larger games. Especially with titles toping out at 14GB+. Thats half most peoples bandwidth allotment.

5mbps is nowhere near enough to stream Bluray quality audio/video. You're off by an entire order of magnitude.

 

[JTsyo]

Are there any xbox games that on multiple discs?
you'll probably need physical media for another 7 years or so while infrastructure catches up for HD streaming.

 

[Malak]

Are there any xbox games that on multiple discs?
you'll probably need physical media for another 7 years or so while infrastructure catches up for HD streaming.

Yes. As I stated earlier, FF13. It also has noticeably lower graphic quality because of it.