Is Blu-Ray technology really better? If so, how does this affect me the consumer? Because all I know right now is, Blu-Ray costs more.
********. My HD-DVD drive for my Xbox360 is now an obsolete piece of junk that I have to keep around to play the whopping nine movies I have in that format. I gambled on the wrong horse.
BBC coverage of the battle It doesn't sound like there is a big difference between the two and costs should come down as all manufacturers enter the Blu-Ray arena. Of course, a year from now I'll be one of those folks wondering why my TV is just showing white noise.
I've got the basically the same thing... but it does do a great job of upconverting my regular DVD collection. I can afford to wait until the Blu-Ray prices come down before switching to that, and then I can move the HD-DVD player to one of the other rooms in the house.... Hopefully in the short term prices for HD-DVD movies get slashed significantly...
I expect we'll see that, but I'm reluctant to spend any significant amount of money for media in a dead format; if my player dies, my media collection is junk. $5 bargain bin deals, I can see, but I'm not about to drop $55 on Planet Earth. So now I'm pretty much going to have to get a Blu-Ray player at some point. Problem is, right now they're all so expensive I might as well get a PS3, as it's only marginally more expensive but with tremendous additional capability. I'm not a happy camper. I really thought HD-DVD was going to win, mostly because of the brilliant name. It's idiot-proof marketing. 'Blu-Ray' is about the most idiotic name I can think of for a DVD format that supports high definition.
I'm sorry about your trouble. Seriously. I was hoping that Sony would win this fight simply because I've been a longtime fan of the Playstation platform. Blu-Ray's name comes from the blue-violet laser used to read and write to the disk, but you obviously knew that. More media attention: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7252506.stm Sony's gamble paid off and Microsoft really wasn't much of a team player with Toshiba.
I'm covered since I'm dual format, but am anxiously awaiting the slashed prices for HD DVD movies. Many dual release movies have better features on the HD DVD version so I have no qualms buying discs for HD DVD. Considering that I paid $99 for my HD DVD add on a year ago and all the BOGO deals I got I don't regret paying what I've paid for my HD DVD collection, which is at 30+ movies. Then again, it's also a risk when becoming an early adopter. As for the PS3, yeah it's one of the better blu-ray players out there right now but keep in mind that it CAN'T process DTS HD or DTS HDMA audio, which if you're an audioholic is a huge let down.
Yes, but a good deal of my collection is Region 2. I'm trying to figure out a way to Region hack it right now.
Good to know. I guess I'll be waiting for more players and cheaper prices before I migrate to Blu-Ray. I don't really want a PS3 anyway.
Yes. It stores way more on a disk, and was originally designed to provide reliable read/write media for computers. Not a lot if you are buying movies. They look pretty much the same on both. And it will probably stay that way. They have to look "premium" compared to regular DVDs, and for each Blu-Ray disk and player there is a license fee going to Sony, unlike regular DVDs which have no corporate licensing ownership.
Firmware upgrade won't do a thing since the PS3 can't bitstream DTS-HD MA or TrueHD. It can only decode TrueHD and hopefully will someday decode HDMA.
Somehow I knew you'd say that. Just telling you what I had read somewhere. Can't believe everything you read. On a side note, it's going to be interesting to see how this affects console sales. The PS3 is drilling the 360 in Japan and European countries like Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. It's three to one in sales in PAL areas and the PAL PS3 install base will be larger than the 360's by this summer. In January, the PS3 outsold the 360 in the US. And all of this was happening before HD DVD kicked the bucket.
Yes Blu-Ray stores more data. The video and audio quality was a wash. A negative (for consumers) is that Blu-Ray still uses regions. HD-DVD does not implement regions. You buy a disc from Japan and play it anywhere else. Great for imports. Oh well, life goes on. I've started a petition to get Toshiba to release the specs on the entire HD-DVD line. Maybe the Open Source community can come up with something to use those 1.3 million players out there: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/HD-DVDSpecRelease/ and please digg it here: http://www.digg.com/gadgets/Petition_Toshiba_to_release_specs_for_their_HD_DVD_players Thanks
Great idea. I was talking about this with a coworker yesterday. Signed and dugg. And I'll pass it along on the tidbits mailing list here at the supercomputer center I work at.
LG says they have no plans to abandon HD DVD and will continue to make players as long as there are consumers. At least I'll have a back up.
Also... GameStop no longer takes HD DVDs, including your 360 add-on. P.S. I bought a couple of Blu-Ray movies today.
I was perusing through deepdiscount.com and a lot of their HD-DVDs have gone down from $30 to $12.20. Who knows, these might be collector items one day.
It'd be FUN if it was a marketing ploy, wouldn't it? "Let's say we're done, deeply discount everything, then strike Blu-Ray when they're least expecting it." Reminds me of the Trojan Horse, in a way. Oh well, I can dream. HD-DVD can have a place on the shelf next to laser disc, Beta Max, and 8 track.