Scuba Steve

Michael Bay would be a complete idiot to drop out of Transformers 2 because of this. Transformers was easily the best movie of his career, and he'd be easily replaced (probably by someone with a great deal more talent.)

Sorry for the rant, but I just can't stand Michael Bay.

More on the topic, I don't see Microsoft going all out to support HDDVD quite yet. I'm pretty sure MS has a lot more juice to throw behind it still (money) and then we can see where we're at.

deviantCharles

When I wrote "just because something new came along", I meant just that. We didn't magically change our minds about VHS when DVD came along. It took a few years for us to realize the advantages. That is what the HD-DVD group wants to do again, make us realize the advantages of going to HD.

You may claim most people know, but surveys about consumers and HD show otherwise.

Lord_The_Night_Knight

vonfaustus

Xephos

Lord_The_Night_Knight: "VHS didn't fall behind just because something new came along."

[en.wikipedia.org]

Decline of VHS
______________

*Caption of photo of a cart filled with VHS cassette reads:
"VHS has become obsolete with the introduction of the DVD format."

--------------------------------------------------

I could go further but what would be the point.

dadeisvenm

I repeat, you insisting DVD is on the way out is not proof it is.

Lord_The_Night_Knight

Reads pretty clear to me... Can't see where I misread your statement, but if you say so.

I expect the change like I expect the change of candle light to light bulb or horse and buggy to automobile. People like you are why we still have gas powered cars; to afraid to forge ahead and content with the familiar. I'm not bother because when DVDs were new, I stopped buying tape and built my library around the new technology.

I can make the prediction because HD content has been around for over 20 years and the EVENTUAL change from old to new has built up to this point.

But you know what... don't change. It always nice to know people like you still support vinyl.

dadeisvenm

One format is going to win but said format has to beat the other format before it WILL inevitably replace DVD.

We are in a transitional market were the public are gradually moving forward and new technologies are forging that market. Whether or not people except the change is irrelevant."

You expect the change, so that does make it relevant, since you making the prediction means you have a stake in it happening, or else you wouldn't be insisting it so much.

Besides, I stated that THE COMPANIES stated that DVD is their competition. I did state that I personally think that. It was obvious in my last post, so you obviously read it wrong. If you can't even read a post correctly, I don't think you can make honest predictions about the state and future of a market.

Lord_The_Night_Knight

It is worth if if he never works again. Dang he has some awful movies but then they sell...

datafox

If you're going to name Dreamworks and Paramount separately (Dreamworks is just a subsidiary of Paramount), then you should've listed MGM and Columbia Pictures for BD as well.

valkyriex

The director behind such films as 'Bad Boys', 'Pearl Harbor', and the recent 'Transformers' movie is upset by Paramount's decision to drop support for Blu-ray. On a post on his personal web forum entitled, "Paramount pisses me off!", Michael Bay says, "I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!"

It appears the accountants who thought the $150M was a good deal didn't take into account that they would lose one of their star directors.

Kokuryukai

One format is going to win but said format has to beat the other format before it WILL inevitably replace DVD.

We are in a transitional market were the public are gradually moving forward and new technologies are forging that market. Whether or not people except the change is irrelevant.

dadeisvenm

From the article:
"But money talks: Paramount and DreamWorks Animation together will receive about $150 million in financial incentives for their commitment to HD DVD, according to two Viacom executives with knowledge of the deal but who asked not to be identified."

Also
"Microsoft, the most prominent technology company supporting HD DVDs, said it could not rule out payment but said it wrote no checks. "We provided no financial incentives to Paramount or DreamWorks whatsoever," said Amir Majidimehr, the head of Microsoft's consumer media technology group."
---------------------------------------------------
Microsoft has no interest huh?

optimusprime

MajoShinpan

Exactly. SACD and DVD-Audio sure didn't overcome the plain old CD. Both of *those* formats are on their way out and that is the future of BR and HDVD if crap like this continues. People rallying around one format or the other is completely stupid because if it continues like this, you're going to need to own a player for both formats anyway.

It's in everyone's best interest for one format or the other to win and have this be done with. We were on that path and now we're looking at years before this could be resolved. The longer this goes on, the slower the growth of HD discs because no one is going to want to buy in to either so long as both are around.

skullivan

@dadeisvenm: You still don't get my point. I was simply clarifying the point that HD-DVD's main competition is DVD more than blu-ray. That was all.

Lord_The_Night_Knight

Then who gives a shit.

slayaz

[www.shootfortheedit.com]
"I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!

Bay"

Kreean

It just worked for me, but didn't awhile ago either. I think the site is having issues.

nextgengamer

The proof is you can go to Amazon.com and buy DVD or VHS not Laserdisc. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban VHS [www.amazon.com]

Where did you here HD video CAN'T be viewed on SD television. It obviously won't be HD but it IS viewable. I play my PS3 on my 20+ year old SDTV and view HD video on it all the time. The TV doesn't even have component connections. I have to connect everything through my VCR. So.. Yeah first hand account. :P

dadeisvenm

[www.shootfortheedit.com]

I can't blame him either. As a director, you want the mass to enjoy your movies."

That link isn't working.

Lord_The_Night_Knight

[www.shootfortheedit.com]

I can't blame him either. As a director, you want the mass to enjoy your movies.

nextgengamer

This isn't the same as SACD/DVDA because it's a lot more simple: buy HD TV, buy HD player, you're set. On the other hand, SACD/DVDA required a receiver with six channel analog inputs, they required you to buy six RCA cables, hook them up, set up your receiver, calibrate your subwoofer ALL over again, and on top of that, still have to buy a specific player. Also, SACD/DVDA offered nothing to the average consumer. Yes, classical music fans have tons of releases, but everyone else has to settle for an excellent Pink Floyd CD and a Shania Twain album. On the other hand, Blu-Ray already has dozens of titles for the average consumer, while having dozen of titles for the film lover, and simply is expanding upon what made DVD great in the first place.

Also, image quality is a lot easier to detect than sound. America's ears are horribly trained: people listen to music more on headphones and in horrible acoustics, such as cars or cheap clubs. There's little to no point to multi channel audio, and the average consumer can't tell the difference between 16 bit 44 KHZ and 24 bit 48khz. So SACD/DVDA sadly could have NEVER been mainstream, simply because acoustics and hi fi IS not mainstream

Think of how many people own a $2000 flat panel, HDTV via their cable/dish, and have at least a 360 or a PS2, I'd be willing to say more than half of them DO not have a home theatre system, much less a receiver and components. That's why Blu-Ray can push through, because the consumer does want image quality, otherwise HD would not be the main push of stores, ad firms, tech companies, etc.

The corporations are being nice. It'd be a simple as making DVD rental only [much like VHS, where a new release two years ago was $80 because all you could buy was rental use copies] and releasing new films to Blu-Ray only in retail. The people who can't afford HD will have to settle for renting and preowned discs, and the people who can afford HD will finally have the big push to do it when they can't even buy a movie.

blurayforever143

You have no proof of that. A new format does not always succeed the old one. Look at laserdisc. Yet both hi-def formats look as though they will make it, but DVD still has one major thing over hi-def: it will work on all but the oldest TVs. That isn't going away anytime soon, and that's what electronitc & entertainment companies have to overcome in order to succeed DVD. That's what the article was commenting on.

Lord_The_Night_Knight

Kevyn

xAngelGabrielx

If that was true why is it Blu-Ray discs cost more when buying blanks?

datafox

NoMorePuppies

Hardly any movies are on either. people put out EVERY movie on DVD, but I haven't seen many HD DVD or Blu-Ray movies out. The first 2 Pirates of the Caribbean movies, etc, all re-releases of major films, have come out on Blu-Ray. And even HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players include backwards compatability for DVDs.

Yet the companies offering them continue to make it sound like people have a wide choice of either, and I have yet to see an actual standalone player. I didn't buy the extra Xbox hardware so I can't watch HD-DVDs anyways. AND DO NEXT GENERATION FORMATS HAVE TO HAVE LONGER NAMES AND HAVE A - IN BETWEEN TWO WORDS?!?!?! It's annoying to type out the proper name.

Now, am I the only one who sees a LOT of Noise when my PS3 plays Blu Ray? it's extremely obvious in 300 but I noticed it at times in other movies. We all know Blu Ray is the superior format. It can fit at least 2 DVDs worth and more onto a single lightweight CD, and is supposed to be better quality.

Codexx

1. It was cheaper to manufacture.
2. It was a more stable long-term format (rare is the DVD player that chews up and spits out the guts of what once was a DVD).
3. It takes up a lot less space on the shelf, both in stores and in the home.

Neither HD format is cheaper to manufacture than DVD, neither improves upon the long-term stability, and neither has any major decrease in physical size. The only real benefit that both offer is increased storage capacity, but it's offset by _increased_ manufacturing costs which will never be able to get below contemporary DVD manu costs.

Purple Dave

Balance_In_Life

Balance_In_Life

"HD-DVD. HD-DVD is cheaper to manufacture and doesn't require a royalty fee. "

Actually, no. HD DVD is a proprietary format of the DVD Forum.

[en.wikipedia.org]

Hell, even the DVD standard is a proprietary format!

WhoreofSpamylon

tetrahedron

Money well flushed.

Also, Disney is setting up HD displays in 18 malls in various parts of the country to heighten awareness of Blu-Ray. It's called the "Magical Blu-Ray Tour" and will obviously feature movies that every snot nosed kid and CG enthusiast ("Cars" in glorious HD, sign me up) will want to get their hands on.

This news is officially garbage.

By this time next year we'll be laughing about how Toshiba spent $150 million to be slowly tortured rather than admit defeat gracefully.

Read for yourself at the New York Times website.

incredibilistic

TheIrishNinja

The whole point of DRM is for creators to protect their IPs without piss-ant bootleggers ripping them off. It's easy for us lounge chair marketing execs and wannabe corporate gurus to make snap judgments about how content should be "shared" and remain unprotected, but if you're feeding your family meant protecting an intellectual property (movie, song, etc) from people who want to do nothing more than rip it off - getting all the benefits but doing none of the work - you'd think differently about DRM too.

From some the other posts I've been reading about this issue it appears that people favor HD-DVD because of the lack of DRM or at least the region-free encoding on the discs.

And can someone please explain why HD-DVDs cost $5 to $10 more than Blu-Ray considering that it's supposed to be so much cheaper to make these discs. Oh yeah, that's right, they're packing in a standard DVD and the HD-DVD together. Just in case I want to watch "300" in my car. Great. Thanks. Having two copies of the same movie on a dying format (that could be redundant) is just want I needed. Thanks Toshiba.

But I digress, this decision, as so many others have already eloquently phrased, is completely stupid and shameful. I know companies are "in it to win it" but how the f*** to you drop support for a format that's selling out its competitor by 2:1? And have the second largest retailer in the country, Target, state that they will ONLY sell Blu-Ray players during Q4? Add in Blockbuster and BJ's Wholesale club supporting Blu-Ray over HD-DVD and the decision to back the competitor gets dumb and dumberer by the second.

Thanks Paramount. You just set the hi-def DVD war back another 6 months. What will really suck is when Blu-Ray does eventually win. Toshiba is out $150 million to hang onto the cliff's edge just a little while longer.

incredibilistic

@blurayforever143: Get out of here fanboy.

I also think the 3rd Spiderman sucked. Reasons: [www.newyorker.com]

deviantCharles

THEDIRECTOR

I completely agree with you. I loved the first two, but I have no clue how Raimi let that third pile of shit into theaters. Terrible movie.

BTW, Nice icon...can't wait for the movie. I'm pretty satisfied with their casting.

Fennrisulfr

temporaryscars

Gagamus

Paramount...you suck....

Frickin dammit man....

Things were finally beginning to settle...

WTF?

JUST GIVE ME MY TRANSFORMERS ON BLU-RAY AND THATS IT WITH ME AND PARAMOUNT...

TheApprentice

If HD DVD combo formatted disk were the same or close to the price of SD only disk and the hardware was around $200.00 they would win immediately. HD DVD is well on its way to having really, really cheap players on the market. Maybe Paramount knows something we don't.

gwolf

Fusionboxer

Sony does not own the Blu-ray format. Why do people think that???

They are just the major supporter of it.....and took the biggest risk of all the manufacturers.

sainraja

I won't be buying their movies, that's for sure.

sainraja

The Blu ray camp has been putting out some really half assed transfers. They are getting better but half of whats on the shelves doesn't really deserve to be called Hi Def. A combo format would suite me fine, but the Blu ray camp won't compromise.

Given neither of these formats will ever be legally used to copy anything but your tax records, how exactly does capacity figure into which is the best format for movies?

gwolf

PlaidNinja

HobbaHobba

Chika chika yeah!

HobbaHobba

Egads. Is that how annoying the Xbox fans are when a 3rd party game is announced as PS3 exclusive? I think... I think I'm beginning to understand. :(

Toasticus

I am an early adopter. No one has stopped supporting the DVD format yet. No one has forced me to purchase the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray equivalent. (Although I see no disadvantage in buying HD-DVD/DVD combo discs.) In fact, up until four years ago, I did not own a single DVD. I still purchased VHS. And you know what? What I own on DVD and what I own on VHS rarely overlap one another. I don't purchase movies I already own on different formats unless there's a substantial incentive to. (Superior film transfers, supplemental video, interactivity, etc.) No one is telling you to stop using your DVD player. Even when the format is abandoned you can still treasure the films you own. :)

Now as for Paramount going HD-DVD exclusive not being a big deal...

What about 40 years worth of Star Trek material?

I am excited by the prospect of being able to watch all of the Star Trek films in HD as I do not own any of them on DVD.

Kain-Xavier

yeah, i got the HD DVD dual thing for hot fuzz, watched it on my hd dvd player, looked fantastic, watched the dvd side on my dad's hdmi dvd upscaler thing...

not even close. it was kinda bugging me, actually.

and to the people who say "oh, i'll just wait around until there's a winner"

you guys are probably the reason there isn't one yet,and probably the reason sales are so bad.

cuase no one wants to take a side and actually help a format, they'd just let others do that for them.

too bad the others are waiting, too

presto117

madman83

Why does Kotaku link to the Blu-Ray site for this story? So they can get the Blu-Ray spin? Plenty of neutral sites like highdefdigest had the story, and even Reuters had a thing on it.

KaneRobot

oh, yeah. Paramount pictures. pft. who cares about them?

who watches their movies?

oh, yeah. the people that watched Shrek, mission ipossible, and Transformers.

and Marvel. they seem to care about Paramount enough to let them do a lot of their movies.

and yes, ur opinion of blu ray being better than hd dvd at Everything is pure fact.

not.

presto117

yeah, i was expecting a lot out of hot fuzz when i walked into the theater, and i walked out amazed out how much better it was than my expectations.

presto117

My point is DVD is a format that IS on its way out, but like VHS it'll be awhile (a long while) till we see a complete disappearance of the old format. Blu-ray/HD-DVD "Overcoming" DVD sale in an inevitability. IMPO comments like that are like saying, 'Rotary phones are the BIG THING to overcome'.

dadeisvenm

paramount switching > blockbuster supporting Bluray

I wish the br would win though, since i consider it the superior technology.

TheHun

As a side note for anyone reading this who also plays PS2 games on their PS3, remember to keep the game's progressive scan turned off once you are using the graphics smoother: although this seems counter-intuitive, the graphics smoother appears to force progressive scan anyway (so there's no need to switch it on from within-game), and if you ever turn progressive scan "on" in the game it immediately terminates all graphics smoothing. Who knows why, but apparently the smoother requires an interlaced signal, and then spits out a smoothed, progressive version.

Mischaraka

SixLbs

Mischaraka

Also that list you linked to has shit to do with retail stores. I don't think Ford or Exxon will sell you many HD-DVD players either.

Mongoosekun

Actually, it's normally upscale communities with a larger adoption of HDTVs that 'ban' Wal*marts. Numbers alone don't tell the entire story. I didn't know Newport Beach was 'back woods' for example. ;)

Mongoosekun

Snukadaman_

Some of you may thing us blu-ray fans are a bunch of blind, idiotic losers, but trust me, we love home theatre, high definition, and want everyone to have the best possible experience. HD-DVD isn't capable of matching Blu-Ray in any field, from home theatre to recording. With new cheaper players, more available home recorders, and even a camcorder coming out, it's only getting started for Blu.

blurayforever143

"I would just like to say I'm disappointed in the decision to support HD-DVD exclusively. You guys just alienated myself and 1.5 million plus Playstation 3 owner. Not a good buisness choice."

I own all of the systems, but like being able to use the PS3 for Blu-Ray (since there aren't many good games out) Oh well, there goes getting Transformers in high definition. That sucks.

Hamsnibit

When did I claim VHS just went away? If this was to my last comment, you should look at the post I was responding to, and the link it provided, as you clearly didn't get the point of my post, or even what I actually wrote.

Lord_The_Night_Knight

[money.cnn.com]

Spartan1308™

I am just happy that there are more great movies coming out that I can enjoy in HD with my HD-DVD player. If that ever changes, it will be an extra reason to justify the purchase of a PS3.

Now as for HD movies, I completely agree that owning an HD-DVD player or a Blu-Ray player is pointless if you don't own an HDTV. However, I think they are becoming more and more affordable for the average joe. This format war is only further helping matters.

Before my current TV, I had a 30+ year-old TV given to me by a friend of the family. It only supported RF through coax and had mono sound. Two years ago, my family wanted to buy me a new TV. After doing a lot of research, I found that the cost of buying a 25" TV that supported composite video was only 100 - 200 dollars shy of a decent HDTV. So I chipped in, and I don't regret it at all.

Hell, I even still use my RF TV to play games on my older consoles. (My HDTV supports RF but it looks like shit. Composite isn't much better to be honest.) You get free anti-aliasing with a crappy old TV. :p

Kain-Xavier

That won't work. There are reports the reasons some studios are dropping hybrid discs are that they're expensive and hardly anyone buys them. Given the pricing and the low HD-DVD sales that has to be some kind of understatement.

It looks like a few studios will cash out with HD-DVD then possibly kill their support when HD sales pick up later. I predict a lot of people will be very happy when that happens.

Mongoosekun

TheIrishNinja

I guess you missed the last thread this was flamed around. ^^

@im_different:

Blu-ray board members, which is why I speculated they wanted the Nick movies for HD-DVD in said thread. Also Disney is supposedly gearing up for more catalog releases.

It's time to start up a pool on when this deal goes under. Universal's contract may expire at the end of this year, so wait and see I guess.

@Spartan1308:

Target is one of the largest retailers in the US. In some regions they're nearly the exclusive discount store due to some locales "banning" Wal*mart.

Like it matters to Paramount either way. They figure the payout is worth more than any possible sells over the contract period. This might be the case, but they'll miss a lot of sales this holiday season.

Mongoosekun

maxi

Konchu

Darth Vader would so own Superman. He would force choke him, while saber slashing him with a saber using a krypton crystal!

w00t!

EnigmaNemesis

gimmepbr

[www.aintitcool.com]

"Rob Moore [President Worldwide Marketing, Distribution and Home Entertainment for Paramount Pictures] responded that on the films that Steven directs, he wants the titles to be available in both formats - so those will be cross-platform titles. However, the rest of Dreamworks, Viacom/Paramount's world... those will be HD DVD exclusive for the next few years at least."

Irish.Exile

Consolcwby

If you take into consideration the size and the impact of the studios, it's still 5:2. Smaller studios haven't done much for either formats. Heck, the list can be bigger for HD-DVD if you take into consideration some Euro studios.

Even with that, thanks to extra manufacturer support and the PS3, BD has been leading for some time.

MS will have the last laugh, while cosmetically supporting HD-DVD.

SG79

So by being co-developers and supplying the DRM as well as marketing for HD-DVD, they "dont care"?

Major Nelson seems to have his PR hard-on in tact with this announcement.

Just sayin'!

EnigmaNemesis

dadeisvenm

I just watched Hot Fuzz over the weekend though, and man, that movie is brilliant. Amazing. The ending, with the whole town! Man. Loved it from start to finish.

Toasticus

Psychotext

badasscat

[gizmodo.com]

More around 10 eachish

DeadPlasmaCell

On the next shelf over sat about a dozen copies of 300 on Blu-ray. Of course, that could just mean that my local Best Buy stocked way more Blu-ray than HD DVD, but the surprise factor is still there.

Frankly, a few months ago I was under impression that the format was dying. It didn't bother me because I already had a number of movies on HD-DVD and felt I got my money's worth, but it's certainly nice to see this resurgence. Who knows what the future may hold?

Toasticus

yeah, but that's still Paramout and Universal that's backing HD.

honestly, the Universal exclusive thing was the thing that swayed me to buy my hd dvd add on for my 360.

Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead are two of my favorite movies, and they're both universal, and both HD exclusives.

and this paramount announcement just makes me happier.

presto117

SPider-Man 3. did you not see spider-man 3?

i LOVED the first two films, but i was kinda emberassed being in the theater during the third one.

but at least venom looked cool.

presto117

can't wait to buy Transformers on HD, AND paramount is making the new "Iron Man" movie.

and if you haven't seen the leaked footage of iron man from comic-con, they're gonna put out the footage in HD, just so you can get a preview of what i'll be buying next year =)

cause the footage they showed for Iron Man was phenomonal.

and i'm not attacking blu ray, nothing against blu ray.

now i'm flame free =)

presto117

At this pace, by the time the war ends, download services like AppleTV and XBL might be mainstream. So essentially MS will have the last laugh having "invested" in backing up HD-DVD.

SG79

javajoe96

lololololol

Fennrisulfr

sliptape

HD-DVD can be produced by an existing DVD replication facility for minimal upgrade cost. It is a compelling reason why HD-DVD might be around for a while. Toshiba notebook computers are now coming with an HD-DVD ROM drive built-in.

I think that most studios might be rethinking whether they will scale back the number of titles available in either format. Quite frankly, when looking at the development costs and content costs, most studios are probably losing their shirts on both formats right now. DVD's will continue to be the method of choice for the majority of us probably for at least two more years. The PS3 won't cut it as a videophile's Blu-Ray player, simply because it has the name PLAYSTATION 3. Most people might buy one or the other stand-alone players when they are in the $200.00 range, but I think right now that most are happy with their DVD selection, their DVD availability, their DVD performance, and their DVD price.

bornonce

Agreed. *golf clap*

Snukadaman_

Unlike the consoles, the last-gen for movie watching has a lot of life left.

Atilla_the_Nun

Personally, I just think gamers are vindictive pricks. Microsoft was essentially flying way too high considering their fail-fate and basically just took their medicine and admitted their problem and said they were going to change it. That was a good day for people who owned the 360. They got some extra protection and will probably be seeing their 360s come back with the new parts now.

Sony on the other hand has not yet had a moment where they have to essentially get knocked down a few pegs for their bullshit.They seem to be saying how all their problems were planned out, and that the lack of interest in their system is just perceived and not real.

Clearly something is wrong from last generation or they'd still be sold out in retail like the Wii.

deviantCharles

zupahwez0e

ca$h

The 360s do have a high fail rate, but Microsoft did pretty much what the customers wanted an extended the warranties and they have now fixed the 360s with the new heatsink and chipset. It seems to me they listen a bit better.

Class Action lawsuits, where a design flaw can be proven in court would do that to ya!

EnigmaNemesis

KaneRobot

I dont understand why people support the Blu Ray over the HD DVD. I am anti Sony, but that has nothing to do with my argument.

ROFL!

EnigmaNemesis

Oyn

[blogs.guardian.co.uk]

Or said something like this:

[www.penny-arcade.com]

I never felt like I was treated great by Microsoft, but I've never been disappointed by them. I knew what I was getting, and I got what I paid for. I never really felt like I was being forced into getting something I didn't really want like putting the blu ray in the PS3. By making the HDDVD an attachment MS essentially allowed us to make a choice even if they had internalized the HD DVD thing the HDDVD format would be in a completely different position now.

The 360s do have a high fail rate, but Microsoft did pretty much what the customers wanted an extended the warranties and they have now fixed the 360s with the new heatsink and chipset. It seems to me they listen a bit better.

deviantCharles

Gospel X

Blu-ray discs don't scratch, I can't tell you how many times I've had an HD DVD freak out and shut down my player so that I have to hard reset it. Never once have I had a Blu-ray disc skip or freak out like that. Don't get me started on Netflix HD DVD rentals, I have rarely had them work because the discs can't take any abuse. If HD DVD added that protective layer I'd be much happier.

Blu-ray menus are snappier and generally (not always) feel nicer then their HD DVD counterparts If you could turn of the damned noise by default when you move the cursor I'd be much happier with HD DVD.

The next two are player issues.

The interface at least on the PS3 is way more appealing and user friendly. When I want to scan through a movie it scans smoothly wearas on my Toshiba and Xbox add-on it skips and isn't smooth at all and I usually miss what I'm looking for. When the first DVD drives came out they had this issue and most have fixed it. I don't get why toshiba and MS haven't figure out how to scan through discs smoothly.

Not so much on the Add-on but on the Toshiba A2 it takes forever for the disc drive to open and then load the disc. I have to stand there with disc in hand waiting to put it in. It gets very annoying after awhile. Hopefully Toshiba will fix these player issues with their next generation.

Picture wise and sound wise virtually the same. Either format wins I win with HD quality movies. But if I had my choice, I'd go Blu.

TheTwizzler

But, I have been saying all along. We wont see a winner format. They will both battle on, and there will not be a resolution of which is better. The only thing I can see happening is that the players will start running both, and maybe then we will see one format being supported over another (which will be HD DVD because it is cheaper to produce).

The only reason anyone is going Sony only is because of their <3 for Sony. Sony is the only company in the world that just puts their logo on anything in any market, and it will sell and make them money.

Justcrim

First of all, that seems to be doing pretty good fro Nintendo.

Second, the comment was that DVD is still the big thing to overcome, which sales show is true.

Lord_The_Night_Knight

Lord_The_Night_Knight

[www.betanews.com]

Where did I hear this line before? Oh yeah Nintendo!

EnigmaNemesis

Kyle81

Player2

leick

MasaMuneCyrus

...this war is stupid...

MehGinla

Lord_The_Night_Knight

At this rate, DVD sales are going to continue to be strong for at least the next 5 years, maybe even more. The upgrade from VHS to DVD was more than substantial it was revolutionary, and still fresh in the minds of the average consumer. Sure, you'll have your diehard, high-end technophiles adopting one format or another, but their chants for conversion to their format are being drowned out by a deafening "meh".

Of course, the movie studios can always fall back on the DVD as a basic alternative. Sony had gone head first into the HD waters. The volatility of the new Format Wars a huge the reason why PS2s are still even in production. The minute Blu-Ray is accepted as the industry standard, PS2 production will end, and I don't think a second before.

StrikerGold

hahahah the lesser of 2 evils..both suck and can care less as long as you support their products

Snukadaman_

Kyle4rmCa

HockeyMac18

DD wont be huge for a LONG LONG time, well huge enough to not have physical copies to buy.

All due to the fact that less than 20% of the world's consumers have broadband internet.

EnigmaNemesis

Pound my tom-tom

kretinite

Spartan1308™

It took 10 years for DVD to overtake VHS and their wasn't a format war keep a standard from being adopted. The same will be true of blu-ray and HD-DVD....AFTER one comes out on top. By then everyone will move to digital distribution.

SAKY

OGHowie

You do realize MSFT is one of the co-developers of HD-DVD. So why would they not care again?

/wink

EnigmaNemesis

I feel that sony respects Its customers more then microsoft.
It's still the lesser of 2 evils/corporations.

SamuelRPGstory

Blu Ray has more substantial studio support. HDDVD has more support because it has various small time studio distributors behind it, but the funny thing is, majority of these so called HDDVD backers are NOT releasing anything on HDDVD. And also from people who like to flaunt list of HDDVD having more supporters, its funny to see that many of those HDDVD supporters have actually gone blu ray, yet no one seems to take them off the list of HDDVD support.

Kyle81

Same argument was used at the same life with VHS vs DVD.

Of course it will sell more. DVD players have been around for over 15 years, and you get them out of cracker jacks boxes now.

EnigmaNemesis

[www.bestbuy.com]

deviantCharles

This format war is helping HD more than hurting. Even those holding out, or saying they prefer downloading HD films, are still showing interest in HD.

My theory is that once players, and HDTVs finally hit meanstream prices, Sony and Toshiba will call a truce, and start with dual players.

Lord_The_Night_Knight

6 of the largest film studio's support blu-ray compared with 2 for HD-DVD

Not to mention Blockbuster are Pro Blu-ray, In the UK Woolworths has cut down there HD DVD section, and i've noticed the HD DVD section in my local HMV has been halfed.

HD DVD may have won this battle, but it will almost certainly lose the war

jip100

This is dangerous for the video industry. Piracy is as easy as can be these days, despite the scare tactics employed. While the thought of free movies is appealing, it's often easier to just pick up a new DVD at Best Buy for $15 and be done with it. At nearly the price of a PS2 game, I'm finding fewer reasons not to just put that $35 towards a 1 TeraByte external hard drive.

crewwolfy

FreddyGlitter

VakeroRokero

Whatever, Disney supports Blu Ray, Blockbuster, and the 2nd largest Store in the world Target does as well. So Blu Ray will still FTW =D

Sailorcancer

curtisawa