Launching BluRay, HD-DVD, DTS, SACD and DVD-Audio

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4-earredwonder

2K Club - QQ Super Nova
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Joined
Jan 9, 2013
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Refusing to repair $2,000 DVD-Audio players that wouldn't play DVD-Audio disks (I had an SD-9200) ... throwing fortune after fortune into HD-DVD until it was dead and decayed ... declining product quality in various business units ... hardly a surprise. I won't miss them.

Although failing to repair your Toshiba SD~9200 was inexcusable, if you recall at the time the HD~DVD format was considered somewhat superior to the original SONY Blu~ray launch by numerous audio/video publications. I fell for the hype, as well, with over 80+ HD~DVDs in my collection.

For 'nostalgia' purposes, I should reactivate the player by plugging it directly into my new OLED TV and see how it stacks up against my OPPO. A further recollection was the clincher when some of those later HD~DVD releases wouldn't play in the Toshiba player as they required a 'firmware' update which Toshiba failed to deliver so of those HD~DVDs in my collection, some of them just wouldn't play without that firmware update!
 
For 'nostalgia' purposes, I should reactivate the player by plugging it directly into my new OLED TV and see how it stacks up against my OPPO. A further recollection was the clincher when some of those later HD~DVD releases wouldn't play in the Toshiba player as they required a 'firmware' update which Toshiba failed to deliver so of those HD~DVDs in my collection, some of them just wouldn't play without that firmware update!

I wonder if it was really a firmware issue or due to the fact that HD-DVD seems to have been REALLY prone to disc rot. The two-sided ones with normal DVD on one side seem to be the worst.
 
If you recall at the time the HD~DVD format was considered somewhat superior to the original SONY Blu~ray launch by numerous audio/video publications.

Actually Blu-Ray was considered the superior format at the time both formats were introduced at CES.
The argument for HD-DVD was that it was more compatible with the DVD Video format.

That pitch didn't carry the day. :)
 
Actually Blu-Ray was considered the superior format at the time both formats were introduced at CES.
The argument for HD-DVD was that it was more compatible with the DVD Video format.

That pitch didn't carry the day. :)

Huh, Brian....supposedly the SONY BD specs weren't fully fleshed out when it was initially introduced. As a voracious video nut [as well as an audio one] I was reading all the pros and cons of both formats. And if you also recall, 3D wasn't even a pipe dream at the time and was not part of the initial HD~DVD or BD~V specs.

Oh well, SONY did win out in the end and now we're into 4K [with 8K looming in the mix] and this time around, 3D got the AXE. IMO, 3D in 4K would've been the cat's meow [and the bee's knees] but, apparently, an apathetic public has spoken and 3D has been eradicated from the 'new' format ALTOGETHER.....until it's miraculous resurrection when 8K is introduced.

Everything old IS new AGAIN!
 
Oh well, SONY did win out in the end and now we're into 4K [with 8K looming in the mix] and this time around, 3D got the AXE.

Yes, despite the higher duplication costs and complexity, Blu Ray did win out. In part because of its future capabilities and upside.
After the battle subsided, the folks I interviewed for High Fidelity Review (movie industry, video player makers, etc.) were happy it went that way as they ended up with the more capable format, despite its higher costs.
 
Yes, despite the higher duplication costs and complexity, Blu Ray did win out. In part because of its future capabilities and upside.
After the battle subsided, the folks I interviewed for High Fidelity Review (movie industry, video player makers, etc.) were happy it went that way as they ended up with the more capable format, despite its higher costs.

Yep, Bri and a reminder that when Dark Side of the Moon was slated to be a DVD~A release, SONY offered BIG BUCKS to CAPITOL/EMI to have it released on SACD and in my mind's eye single~handedly spelled DOOM for the DVD~A format.

MONEY TALKS......BULLSH*T WALKS....some things just NEVER change.:yikes
 
Yep, Bri and a reminder that when Dark Side of the Moon was slated to be a DVD~A release, SONY offered BIG BUCKS to CAPITOL/EMI to have it released on SACD and in my mind's eye single~handedly spelled DOOM for the DVD~A format.

Everybody offered big money for Dark Side of the Moon - DTS, DVD-A and SACD proponents.
It would be a signature release, regardless of format.
 
I used to be an early adopter of everything - and went "full in" on both BluRay and HD-DVD. At the very beginning, HD-DVD was much better than BluRay as Sony rushed BluRay into the marketplace to try and stop HD-DVD from getting a foothold. If you recall, the early BluRay players had a lot of features unavailable as there were different levels of player as the year(s) went on. The very first BluRay players are pretty much useless today.

In the end, I am glad one format won and became standard, and I don't think HD-DVD looked any better than today's BluRay, but I still to this day say that the interactive menu's on the HD-DVD discs blew away the BluRay menu structure.

I still, as I have said many times in this forum, fall back to the excellent "Eagles Farewell Tour I" HD-DVD and the fluid playing of the concert while the menu scrolls below allowing access to the song timeline. That's one of the best active disc menu systems I have ever seen.

But today it's BluRay and that's cool, as formats are winding down anyway. Toshiba will just be another memory soon like so many of the original electronic companies of the past. It's the way of the world sadly.
 
Everybody offered big money for Dark Side of the Moon - DTS, DVD-A and SACD proponents.
It would be a signature release, regardless of format.

I had NO idea that DTS Entertainment was included in that 'bidding' war. All I know is at the time I was NOT invested in SACD and was rooting for DVD~A.....and we all know the outcome........but, ironically, shortly thereafter, SONY abandoned the SACD format altogether.
 
I used to be an early adopter of everything - and went "full in" on both BluRay and HD-DVD. At the very beginning, HD-DVD was much better than BluRay as Sony rushed BluRay into the marketplace to try and stop HD-DVD from getting a foothold. If you recall, the early BluRay players had a lot of features unavailable as there were different levels of player as the year(s) went on. The very first BluRay players are pretty much useless today.

In the end, I am glad one format won and became standard, and I don't think HD-DVD looked any better than today's BluRay, but I still to this day say that the interactive menu's on the HD-DVD discs blew away the BluRay menu structure.

I still, as I have said many times in this forum, fall back to the excellent "Eagles Farewell Tour I" HD-DVD and the fluid playing of the concert while the menu scrolls below allowing access to the song timeline. That's one of the best active disc menu systems I have ever seen.

But today it's BluRay and that's cool, as formats are winding down anyway. Toshiba will just be another memory soon like so many of the original electronic companies of the past. It's the way of the world sadly.

Interesting historial perspective, Jon.......you and I have a lot in common as I also tried out VHS, Beta, Hi~8, Laserdisc, et alia.

And the real kicker: Today, Sony has announced a $300 UHD 4K player that plays almost ALL formats (excluding of course HD~DVD/Laserdisc). Back in the day, you needed separate players to play DVD~A/SACD/DVD, et alia and those early devices didn't come cheaply. I recall the first CD player I purchased from Crazy Eddie's had a list price of $1K and had absolutely NO stereo separation (I think it was a Toshiba and had a flimsy Lego~like build quality).
 
I had NO idea that DTS Entertainment was included in that 'bidding' war. All I know is at the time I was NOT invested in SACD and was rooting for DVD~A.....and we all know the outcome........but, ironically, shortly thereafter, SONY abandoned the SACD format altogether.

Proponents of all three formats subsidized early releases of their formats to prime the pump and get titles to market.

David DelGrosso of DTS Entertainment was the most public and direct about his work in that arena. Sony (SACD) and Dolby (DVD-A) were less public about their subsidies but everyone in the industry knew about them.
That included the efforts by each camp to release Dark Side of the Moon in Surround with their technology.

But that isn't really new. Subsidies to launch new music and video formats is a long standing practice in the industry.
For example, in the Quad days (1970's era), JVC provided funding for CD-4 releases. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that CBS did the same for labels doing SQ production work.

It's part of the cost of launching a new system.
 
Actually Blu-Ray was considered the superior format at the time both formats were introduced at CES.
The argument for HD-DVD was that it was more compatible with the DVD Video format.

That pitch didn't carry the day. :)

Blu-ray was always considered better simply due to the available space that exceeded HD dvd-as far as playback, there was no difference.
 
Blu-ray was always considered better simply due to the available space that exceeded HD dvd

The computer industry and movie industry both were attracted to a number of features - current and future - in the BluRay format that led them to prefer BluRay vs HD-DVD.
 
The computer industry and movie industry both were attracted to a number of features - current and future - in the BluRay format that led them to prefer BluRay vs HD-DVD.

And those same powers that be want to nix 3D when we FINALLY have the technology in OLED to extremely effectively show off the medium. It just ain't fair, Brian.....but then in life, WHAT IS?

BTW, I heard today that Toshiba was heavily invested in some of Japan's nuclear power plants:nuke and we know the outcome of THAT situation. http://www.forbes.com/sites/rodadam...ear-plant-construction-business/#3be03b047b0a
 
The computer industry and movie industry both were attracted to a number of features - current and future - in the BluRay format that led them to prefer BluRay vs HD-DVD.

I thought Microsoft was pushing HD-DVD and Apple STILL makes using Blu-ray difficult.
 
Blu-ray was always considered better simply due to the available space that exceeded HD dvd-as far as playback, there was no difference.

I'm pretty sure that more bits per second can be streamed off a Blu-ray than an HD-DVD. Though when there was a format war, there really were quite a few discs with exactly the same bits in both formats. Of course, that meant the Blu-ray was arguably crippled.
 
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