I've still got my Sony Beta. It's the best format, you know.
Folks who don't get burned by choosing wrong will be burned when they find their High Definition display doesn't have the necessary decryption software to display true high definition. The image will be downgraded to prevent piracy.
How the mass market will vote:
[_] HD-DVD
[_] BR
[*] None of the above
Early adopters, lacking up-to-date HDMI inputs on their
displays, are apt to get screwed, as the analog YPbPr
"HD" output from these "HD" players is reportedly degraded
from full HD.
> The results have been lackluster.
And Sony, being late and continuing to slip, may well
decide to cancel the intro. If Wal-Mart, seeing dour
results so far on HD-DVD, elects to not stock BR,
Sony may have to cancel.
The present offerings are expensive videophile products
that disrespect the videophile. And videophile was never
more than a niche market anyway.
Blu-ray is a much cooler name than HD-DVD. It's like 'Viper' versus 'Elantra'. If you asked people who knew nothing about the technology which they would prefer, they would all want Blu-ray because it sounds better.
Cool. The next format is more brand new movies from the video rental store that skip right out of the package. Even VHS tapes could be rented a couple of times before they were poor quality. I hope the next format is digital files shared on the internerd.
They both suck and both have crazy DRM stuff.
I think I'll just stick with regular DVDs for the time being...
Samsung is making one unit that will play both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. I saw Underworld Evolution on Blu-ray. Looks great except the thing costs $40...
The new souped-up DVD formats, which allow for crisper images, mind-numbing audio and added room for bonus features like extra movie scenes or director commentary....
Alright, now here is my problem. I have a very high-quality DVD player, connected to a top-of-the-line TV and sound system (think of the mother of surround system/home-theater thingimajigs). ALright. Thus I have very crips sound (where one can hear everything from the footfall of an ant to the second coming), perfect HD picture, etc etc. The DVDs I have (like everyone elses) also have Director commentary, extra movie scenes, deleted scenes, etc etc etc (I believe nowadays very few DVDs lack such features, with some actually having more extra features than the actual length of the movie).
Question: Why then should I invest between 400-900 bucks on HD-DVD/Blu-Ray? Apart, obviously, from the need to 'awe my enemies and impress my friends' or any other tagline from the ad section of 1980s comic books? Why should I buy the next-gen DVD formats when what I currently have apparently gives me what these new things are promising?
Freeper assistance on this please?
I moved from VHS to DVD because of the size of the storage medium, clearly better quaility of picture, and the bonus material found on DVD.
That was a lot of extras for swtiching from one technology to another. I do not see the same advantage for moving from DVD to either of these new technology. I am happy with what I have now, I can affort to wait.
All this and no mention of the differences in how the formats will use content restrictions to kill fair use and possibly make that shiny new HDTV you just bought obsolete.
IIRC, VHS won out over Beta in part because more porn was available on VHS than Beta. Will porn settle this one too?
This may sound silly, but I think all things being equal, Blu-Ray will win because of the cooler sounding name. While I was in college, I worked at a beverage drive-in. One of our products was a cheep wine called Reunite - pronounced Re-u-neat-ee. Folks would drive in and ask for our Red Reunite. I'd ask 'em, "Which one, we have regular and Lambrusco". I bet 49 out of 50 times, they, without knowing a dang diff between the two, would order the Lambrusco. Cooler name.
I'm the type of tightwad, low-spending consumer that the market hates. I have a $99 TV that I use to play DVD's, and that's all I'm ever gonna buy to play DVD's. Unless I hit the lottery.
May (as is usually the case) the inferior system win!
I don't think that is enough to cause PC's to install it instead of HD-DVD.
ping