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Wal-Mart Names HD DVD the Winner
digitaltrends.com ^ | April 23rd, 2007 | Rob Enderle

Posted on 04/26/2007 8:22:22 AM PDT by mjp

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To: montag813

Sony’s business model is starting to look as solvent as SCO’s.


21 posted on 04/26/2007 9:44:52 AM PDT by gura
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To: dangerdoc; FreeManWhoCan
That player costs $1200.

You can buy one of each for less. The battle goes on.

But what will a combo player cost in 2010? When I first got a 2X CD-R writer it cost over $600, because it was one of the first that could also read/write CD-RW. Nowadays you can't find a CD burner that can't handle both formats, and they operate at speeds 40X and above and cost less than $100 and many of them can read DVD's too.

22 posted on 04/26/2007 9:46:37 AM PDT by Paleo Conservative
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To: raybbr

Thanks for the ping.


23 posted on 04/26/2007 9:47:42 AM PDT by HarmlessLovableFuzzball
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To: Jake The Goose
Yep, and the Porn industry decided this a year ago. Blu-Ray, although appropriately named and superior quality, was to expensive for them too produce.

According to an article posted her at FR.

24 posted on 04/26/2007 9:49:07 AM PDT by Dead Dog
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To: mjp
HD DVD for the masses, Blu Ray for videophiles.
25 posted on 04/26/2007 9:49:15 AM PDT by HarmlessLovableFuzzball
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To: Dead Dog

You rascal - how did you know what the porn industry decided.

You’re no Dead Dog ....

You’re alive and kicking young man.


26 posted on 04/26/2007 9:51:30 AM PDT by Jake The Goose
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To: Paleo Conservative

Doubtful. Other than one obscure brand there are no players that play both SACD and DVD-Audio. So these high end audio formats stayed mostly in the fringes.


27 posted on 04/26/2007 9:52:24 AM PDT by HarmlessLovableFuzzball
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To: USMCWife6869

If you buy something you don’t need, but you get it on sale, it’s still a deal, right?

:-)


28 posted on 04/26/2007 9:54:00 AM PDT by GraniteStateConservative (...He had committed no crime against America so I did not bring him here...-- Worst.President.Ever.)
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To: FreeManWhoCan
What is the big deal? I read a few months back that LG Electronics would be coming out with a player that plays both. Once that happens this “battle” would be moot.

I guess it depends on how much the LG player costs, and how much the movies in Blu-Ray format cost, versus the HD DVD format.

29 posted on 04/26/2007 10:01:04 AM PDT by SuziQ
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This story is believable because the MSM says that it’s a hoax. It’s also believable because Sony hasn’t yet come up with a winning format.


30 posted on 04/26/2007 10:10:32 AM PDT by webboy45
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To: Wonder Warthog

ridiculous. No Disney movies, or Sony/Columbia, or Fox. Only Universal is on hddvd. Wal-mart never said they won’t sell Blu-ray, just now they’re on the losing bandwagon.

Why do people want the lesser technology to win? Blu-ray offers 20 more gigs and far better bandwidth which is much better for data transfer rates.

To want hddvd to win is crazy. Blu-ray’s got all the advantages. hddvd is still too expensive for the wal-mart types, and so are the TV’s. By the time it’s in the real cheapo market, Blu-ray will be there as well. The only difference is the Blu-ray is slightly more precision-based.


31 posted on 04/26/2007 10:13:50 AM PDT by Tolsti
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To: HarmlessLovableFuzzball

I wouldn’t call my PIONEER player “:obscure” and it plays SACD’s and DVD-A’s. I just bought a couplke Moody Blues sacd’s the other day. Sound great!


32 posted on 04/26/2007 10:14:33 AM PDT by MrLee
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To: Tolsti
"ridiculous. No Disney movies, or Sony/Columbia, or Fox. Only Universal is on hddvd. Wal-mart never said they won’t sell Blu-ray, just now they’re on the losing bandwagon."

Sorry, but you've got it just backwards. Wal-Mart is THE big monkey in this. Once they introduce cheap HD-DVD players, Disney and the rest will be forced to support HD-DVD. Given that the porn industry has already decided, this is the last nail in the coffine of Blu-Ray.

"To want hddvd to win is crazy. Blu-ray’s got all the advantages. hddvd is still too expensive for the wal-mart types, and so are the TV’s. By the time it’s in the real cheapo market, Blu-ray will be there as well. The only difference is the Blu-ray is slightly more precision-based."

I don't "want" either format to win. This situation in the market has already been done experimentally---VHS vs. Betamax. This is producing EXACTLY the same way. Betamax was "technically superior" and VHS was less expensive. VHS won. (I had bought Betamax originally, so I "do" remember the debacle).

I basically don't CARE which one wins. I own neither at this point, and won't buy until one or the other DOES win, or the market produces a product that will handle both formats.

33 posted on 04/26/2007 10:43:28 AM PDT by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel-NRA)
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To: Wonder Warthog

Actually, VHS and Beta were pretty much the same in price. It was capacity that really won it for VHS.. Something that Blu-ray has the advantage on.

Disney, Fox, and Sony will not go to hddvd. However, Universal will probably go neutral sooner than later.

In case you aren’t keeping track, hddvd is barely hanging on. LG just said they won’t make dual-formats anymore, only Blu-ray. RCA left them. Samsung may or may not make a dual player.

All hddvd really has is porn (everyone downloads it now), Universal, Toshiba, and MS. Almost the entire rest of the electronics industry supports Blu-ray.

The war was decided in January at CES, btw. Cheaper players aren’t going to win this. Blu-ray will quickly match the prices, they have been so far.


34 posted on 04/26/2007 10:47:59 AM PDT by Tolsti
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To: Tolsti
I disagee. The decision by Wal-Mart changes the entire market dynamic. All you say might have been true, "pre-Walmart", but this will be a huge change in market driving forces.

Wal-Mart could buy and sell Disney, Sony, and Fox out of petty cash.

But as I said, I don't CARE which one "wins", as I ain't gonna buy a player until it happens.

35 posted on 04/26/2007 12:21:25 PM PDT by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel-NRA)
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To: Wonder Warthog

Walmart already marketed the RCA hddvd player. It flopped.

Without the studio support and movies, it’s not going to matter much how badly hddvd undercuts BD on price on the players. Eventually, all the prices will be more or less the same. These are chinese no-name manufacturers without any movie support. Wal-mart just can’t carry that.


36 posted on 04/26/2007 12:44:52 PM PDT by Tolsti
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To: Tolsti
"Without the studio support and movies, it’s not going to matter much how badly hddvd undercuts BD on price on the players."

See reply #17 to see why you are wrong. Do you honestly think that Disney can afford to have Wal-mart decide not to carry Disney products?? It ain't the studios who have the "whip hand" in this situation, it's Wal-Mart.

Just looking at market capitalization, Wal-Mart is ~$230 billion, Sony is $64 billion, Disney is $51 billion. And ALL Wal-Marts business is direct to consumers. If necessary, Wal-Mart can just BUY Disney, or more likely, the "movie studio" part of Sony. But it won't be necessary.

37 posted on 04/26/2007 1:02:05 PM PDT by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel-NRA)
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To: Wonder Warthog

Wal-mart just isn’t going to decide the HDTV market. So far, they’ve hardly been the source of hi-def TV’s or content, even though they signed on early with the RCA hddvd player.


38 posted on 04/26/2007 1:09:23 PM PDT by Tolsti
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To: Tolsti
"Wal-mart just isn’t going to decide the HDTV market. So far, they’ve hardly been the source of hi-def TV’s or content, even though they signed on early with the RCA hddvd player."

We're not talking about "the HDTV market". We're talking about subsegment of that market--specifically high-capacity "hard-format" discs, players, and content. And as far as I'm concerned, with their above announcement, they have ALREADY decided THAT segment of the market.

It's all over but the "shouting", of which there will be much, once Sony gets up and dusts the tire tracks off.

But I think this is all pretty much a side issue. The real future of movies is the "Ipod model". You download the movie and play it.

39 posted on 04/26/2007 1:51:44 PM PDT by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel-NRA)
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To: mjp
Blue ray is clearly superior! It offers 1080p while HD offers only 760. It's simple physics. The blue laser's wavelength is far smaller than the red of HD. Still, beta was better.....

Mike

40 posted on 04/26/2007 2:03:01 PM PDT by MichaelP (Gotta be a cracker to know about peckerwoods)
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