Next Xbox 360 to have Blu-Ray.....

[bl4ckfl4g]

Originally posted by: Thraxen

Originally posted by: bl4ckfl4g
I think there are way more people out there like you and me that could care less about blue-ray or hs-dvd. Upscaling DVD players work fine. I'm not rebuying 300 dvds I already have and I have no interest in paying the larger price for Blu-Ray disks. It just isn't worth it to me and never will be. I guarantee when I buy my PS3 in a couple months, I'll never buy a blu-ray movie for it.

I see this reasoning all the time yet it's horribly flawed. As RagingBITCH points out, what makes you think you have to re-buy all your current DVDs? Blu-ray players all play DVDs too. I've picked up a few of my favorite movies in BR, but for the most part I'm just renting/buying new movies on BR. And, yeah, the players are pretty expensive right now, but the movies have been cheap online. You're making a mistake if you're paying $30 at retail B&M stores. Granted, most of the BOGOs and such were likely due to the format war, but I've probably spent $10-12 on average for all my BR discs so far. Even with the format war ending you will likely be able to find good deals online. Hell, just sign up for Netflix and rent everything in Blu-ray. If you have an HDTV you're just wasting its full potential by being stubborn about sticking 100% with DVD.

I just don't care that much about the quality of tv and movies. I only bought my hdtv for gaming. I just don't think blu-tray is ever going to catch on. I think downloadable hd content will surpass it sooner than later.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: ducci
Do people really want Blu-Ray?

I'm serious - is it actually in demand? Will it be in the next few years?

I only ask because I have a 46" 1080p TV, and I have a pretty large collection of regular DVDs and 0 interest in investing in a high definition movie player. Lately I've been streaming DIVX DVD-rips of TV shows to my 360 and it looks fantastic. I've seen the picture quality of both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies, and it's nice, but do people really care? I always hear HD vs. DVD paralleled to VHS vs. DVD, but the difference is nowhere near as close - I just don't see the need.

Add that to the fact that Microsoft already offers 720p downloadable media in their marketplace, and I think Blu-Ray is an unnecessary addition - especially if it isn't used for games.

Why did you get a good HD TV if you have NO interest in HD? Seems like a complete waste of potential on your part. HD is getting to the mainstream and I know a ton of people (me included) would like to have the money to switch. The difference is quality in both sound and picture is definitely worth the price... you can tell the difference in movies like 300.

Really if you want any decent size screen anymore you're getting an HDTV. Some people care more about size than resolution.

 

[RaiderJ]

I would consider getting an external Blu-Ray drive for the 360.

 

[RandomFool]

I'm not a HD guy myself but if I was looking for a blu-ray player and MS released a add-on that's probably the route I'd go. I don't watch much TV and about the only thing I use my TV for is playing games. Most of my DVD viewing is done on a 15" laptop screen. For now I'm perfectly happy with DVD quality.

 

[randay]

as long as we can take the bluray player and stick it into a computer its all good. just like the hddvd player was.

 

[CKDragon]

On my 56" Samsung DLP, HDTV completely blows away standard definition TV and the resolution of video games in native 720p (or the occasional 1080i/p) noticeably destroys all the old 480i/480p content of the last generation. I own the MS HD-DVD add-on because I got a ridiculous deal from Best Buy that let it pay for itself (remember the free box sets? ). However, count me in the group that does not believe HD-DVD & Blu-Ray present enough of an upgrade over upscaled 480p DVDs to warrant must-upgrade status for me, let alone Joe Consumer. If it were not for that very hot deal, I would still be HDM-less by choice.

 

[RandomFool]

Slightly random side question: Were all HD-DVDs the double sided DVD/HD-DVD versions? Or was that just limited to certain discs?

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: RandomFool
Slightly random side question: Were all HD-DVDs the double sided DVD/HD-DVD versions? Or was that just limited to certain discs?

Only certain discs.

 

[skace]

If Microsoft was smart they'd come out with a combo drive.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Microsoft prefers to rent and sell downloadable content.

Yup, MS is going the way of the future with digital downloads. It might be a far off future but it will come to reality eventually. I also agree with Queasy about not seeing a 360 with a built in blu-ray player until the next gen system. I'd say at best they might sell one separately like they did their HD DVD player.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: skace
If Microsoft was smart they'd come out with a combo drive.

Not really. With HD-DVD dieing as fast as it is, the time and money spent engineering their own combo drive to the point where it is reliable (no combo drive is reliable atm) would not be worth it.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Xavier434

Originally posted by: skace
If Microsoft was smart they'd come out with a combo drive.

Not really. With HD-DVD dieing as fast as it is, the time and money spent engineering their own combo drive to the point where it is reliable (no combo drive is reliable atm) would not be worth it.

Um, yea. Why would they come out with a combo drive for a format that's now effectively dead? It would just increase the overall cost of the player, whereas they could probably sell a BR add-on attachment for whatever the HD-DVD attachment is selling for now.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: Xavier434

Originally posted by: skace
If Microsoft was smart they'd come out with a combo drive.

Not really. With HD-DVD dieing as fast as it is, the time and money spent engineering their own combo drive to the point where it is reliable (no combo drive is reliable atm) would not be worth it.

Um, yea. Why would they come out with a combo drive for a format that's now effectively dead? It would just increase the overall cost of the player, whereas they could probably sell a BR add-on attachment for whatever the HD-DVD attachment is selling for now.

Hopefully cheaper.

I don't mean to go off on a rant here but I wish MS would reduce the mark-up on all of their accessories. I know it is a good revenue stream for them but c'mon.

After 2.5 years, the wireless adapter should come down in price (and I was a defender of the $99 price to begin with).

The hard drives should come down in price with the way 2.5" hard drives are priced today. I don't care if you have to make a shroud and format it especially for the 360.

The memory cards need to come down in price as well. I can buy a 4GB USB thumbstick for cheaper than a 512 MB memory card for <blank>'s-sake.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Hopefully cheaper.

I don't mean to go off on a rant here but I wish MS would reduce the mark-up on all of their accessories. I know it is a good revenue stream for them but c'mon.

After 2.5 years, the wireless adapter should come down in price (and I was a defender of the $99 price to begin with).

The hard drives should come down in price with the way 2.5" hard drives are priced today. I don't care if you have to make a shroud and format it especially for the 360.

The memory cards need to come down in price as well. I can buy a 4GB USB thumbstick for cheaper than a 512 MB memory card for <blank>'s-sake.

I'm hoping it's cheaper too, as the corresponding PS3 has it built-in, but I highly doubt they'll sell it for cheaper than $150 when they do release it. They'll continue to sell it for the current price until the next console comes out.

That being said - you can get the original XBox wireless adapter/bridge for cheap at Fry's, but it's limited to 802.11B, which would suck for file transfers/streaming.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
That being said - you can get the original XBox wireless adapter/bridge for cheap at Fry's, but it's limited to 802.11B, which would suck for file transfers/streaming.

It supports G and B. Just doesn't support the latest security protocols like WPA. Still stuck on WEP.

The 360 wireless adapter supports A and G which I though justified the price when it was released. 2.5 years later, it is begging for a price drop.

 

[MBrown]

I doubt they will have it built in but I am sure they were make an add on.

 

[jtvang125]

So MS is actually going to try and play nicely with blu-ray even though the UI is Java based?

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Hopefully cheaper.

I don't mean to go off on a rant here but I wish MS would reduce the mark-up on all of their accessories. I know it is a good revenue stream for them but c'mon.

After 2.5 years, the wireless adapter should come down in price (and I was a defender of the $99 price to begin with).

The hard drives should come down in price with the way 2.5" hard drives are priced today. I don't care if you have to make a shroud and format it especially for the 360.

The memory cards need to come down in price as well. I can buy a 4GB USB thumbstick for cheaper than a 512 MB memory card for <blank>'s-sake.

I wouldn't expect much. Accessories/Controllers/Etc are a prime source of profit for resellers like Gamestop. They make their money off of accessories and used games primarily. They don't make very much off of the consoles and new games.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: jtvang125
So MS is actually going to try and play nicely with blu-ray even though the UI is Java based?

Of course. They don't care if it is Java based. They only care if it will make them more money.