Format War Piece

[JonUrban]

http://www.internetnews.com/storage/article.php/3671091

 

[neil wilkes]

Here we go again.
This all seems very familiar.
My money is on the truth being somewhere between the two, but the unification talks fell apart not because of Microsoft, but because Sony refused to move on the stupid 0.1mm substrate technology, which ramps up replication costs alarmingly and forces the use of a cart arrangement similar to DVD-RAM.
Plus Blu Ray can only be replicated by Sony DADC - and it is expensive, requiring entirely new plant & massive investment. No other replication companies are prepared to do this.
HD DVD is the weaker format technically, but the more robust one.
Look how fragile DVD is and CD with the 0.6mm substrate.
Now think how fragile Blu Ray is going to be.

Blu Ray is double the price player-wise too.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Here we go again.
This all seems very familiar.
My money is on the truth being somewhere between the two, but the unification talks fell apart not because of Microsoft, but because Sony refused to move on the stupid 0.1mm substrate technology, which ramps up replication costs alarmingly and forces the use of a cart arrangement similar to DVD-RAM.
Plus Blu Ray can only be replicated by Sony DADC - and it is expensive, requiring entirely new plant & massive investment. No other replication companies are prepared to do this.
HD DVD is the weaker format technically, but the more robust one.
Look how fragile DVD is and CD with the 0.6mm substrate.
Now think how fragile Blu Ray is going to be.

Blu Ray is double the price player-wise too.

How was it Sony's fault the unification talks fell apart? I don't have any inside information but Toshiba is the only HD DVD player manufacturer thus far and Universal the only exclusive HD DVD studio. With a much larger CE hardware support for Blu-ray, far greater studio support for Blu-ray and the same software prices as HD DVD basically, it seems to me that Toshiba, Microsoft and Universal are the rogues this time. Are Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Fox, Disney, Sony, etc. etc. all causing this format war and should have agreed with Toshiba?

The long term potential for Blu-ray is greater with higher bitrates and greater capacity. I own both and have seen both often enough now and believe there is no reason whatsoever for HD DVD to even exist.

Chris

 

[Manmc]

Here we go again with the ' long term potential' some day/ one day nonsense of BD supporters willing to support an 'eventual' winner if the whole ( pretty small community of interested Hd supporters).

Just why did Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Fox , Disney etc sign up for what was an uproven and and undemonstratable technology high on promises and no better on delivered results ? There's nothing Bd can deliver NOW that Hd-Dvd cant also do . The much touted 200 gb version cant be used to entices J6P nto a whole new Hd world right now.

'Long term potential' ignores the smug marketing platitudes of Bd supporting companies , Drm and Region Coding issues and the fact that Warners and Paramount both support Hd-Dvd also so its just as reasonable to say that that there is no reason for BD to even exist.

Personally , I'm sick of the whole format war. Its stupid . It was avoidable but none of them was mature enough to talk it through and present a unified format. we all have to live with the consequences. There never was much meaningful 'real' difference between them .

Phase hydra , anyone

~M~

 

[JonUrban]

Here we go again with the ' long term potential' some day/ one day nonsense of BD supporters willing to support an 'eventual' winner if the whole ( pretty small community of interested Hd supporters).

Just why did Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Fox , Disney etc sign up for what was an uproven and and undemonstratable technology high on promises and no better on delivered results ? There's nothing Bd can deliver NOW that Hd-Dvd cant also do . The much touted 200 gb version cant be used to entices J6P nto a whole new Hd world right now.

'Long term potential' ignores the smug marketing platitudes of Bd supporting companies , Drm and Region Coding issues and the fact that Warners and Paramount both support Hd-Dvd also so its just as reasonable to say that that there is no reason for BD to even exist.

Personally , I'm sick of the whole format war. Its stupid . It was avoidable but none of them was mature enough to talk it through and present a unified format. we all have to live with the consequences. There never was much meaningful 'real' difference between them .

Phase hydra , anyone

~M~

I agree. I am format neutral, and I just get irritated when I read posts from pro-this side or pro-that side. Truth is, both sides suck with respect to the fact that there are TWO formats. We've seen it time and time again.

I have no problem with people talking up their preference, but I lose my patience when I read posts about how horrible the other format is, or gloating posts about their format when it adds nothing to the discussion.

If all of the companies could get together on CD, and then DVD, why could they not do the same with HiRez audio and High Definition DVD discs?

The entire audio/video market is now going towards downloading, and the "ownership" of pieces of music will be done with downloading, be it to a PC, a DVR, or an Audio/Video server.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

If all of the companies could get together on CD, and then DVD, why could they not do the same with HiRez audio and High Definition DVD discs?

I don't know why we have two formats, but I do understand math and only Toshiba and Universal insisted on HD DVD and are exclusively HD DVD. It is incredibly stupid to have two formats, we know that from history. I don't know how the greater potential of Blu-ray will evolve. Maybe we will see the entire Talking Heads brick on one BD50 with a bunch of extras missing from the 8-disc DVD-A set? Both formats work fine, I can vouch for that, but why choose the one with lesser potential?

Chris

 

[Manmc]

" The entire audio/video market is now going towards downloading, and the "ownership" of pieces of music will be done with downloading, be it to a PC, a DVR, or an Audio/Video server."

Nail on the head. Both formats were effectively DOA since they split an initially niche market into 2 even smaller ones Since they caused the whole mess , I think the studios should support both as it would be unfair ( having forced people to choose their format of choice ) to now leave them in the lurch having invested their hard-earned cash.

Kaleidescape's victory in court will hopefully see more manufacturers getting involved in the Audio/Video server market and 'consumer choice' will push these corporate piddling contests into the garbage where they belong.

In the future I would be more than happy to purchase my HD Porcupine Tree concert direct from the band rather than finance the fatty midrifts of either the movie r music industries.

Speaking of which , time to cheer up and go listen to something good ....

~M~