Is HD DVD Trying to WIN?

[admin]

I criticized HD DVD recently for issuing these hybrid HD DVD titles, claiming that users didn't want them and they were resulting in the appearance that HD DVD titles cost more than comparable Blu-ray discs. I was met with vigorous applause AND debate on the subject. Generally the points were clear...


Discuss "Is HD DVD Trying to WIN?" here. Read the article.

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Parmount Drops Blu-ray Support. That's HUGE for the HD DVD camp.
So now we have Universal, Paramount, & DreamWorks going exclusively for HD DVD. We have Sony, Lions Gate, and BV/Disney exclusively for Blu-ray. FOX was exclusively blu-ray, but now not releasing anything in either format yet. We have Denon and Sony for Blu-ray. We have Onkyo and Toshiba for HD DVD. This war will continue FOREVER. You might as well buy both formats.

[avaserfi]

Parmount Drops Blu-ray Support. That's HUGE for the HD DVD camp.
So now we have Universal, Paramount, & DreamWorks going exclusively for HD DVD. We have Sony, Lions Gate, and BV/Disney exclusively for Blu-ray. FOX was exclusively blu-ray, but now not releasing anything in either format yet. We have Denon and Sony for Blu-ray. We have Onkyo and Toshiba for HD DVD. This war will continue FOREVER. You might as well buy both formats.

Pretty sure these fall into the rumor category as of now. I have read reports of 50 million bucks going to one company and 100 million to the other to ensure if a new release is put out on BD then it sees a simultaneous HD DVD release with older titles being HD DVD exclusive, but there has been no verification as far as I can find, could you post a link to a source that says this is an absolute?

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Pretty sure these fall into the rumor category as of now. I have read reports of 50 million bucks going to one company and 100 million to the other to ensure if a new release is put out on BD then it sees a simultaneous HD DVD release with older titles being HD DVD exclusive, but there has been no verification as far as I can find, could you post a link to a source that says this is an absolute?

http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/new...archived=False

http://www.viacom.com/NEWS/NewsText.aspx?RID=1042073

[stratman]

We're the losers not the big corporations, this crap-war will now continue (if these stories are true; when it comes to CE I take all rumours and supposed stories with a huge grain of salt, more akin to a block of salt) and we as consumers will still be stuck with two formats and spending double the money on hardware, it's not fair.

[avaserfi]

We're the losers not the big corporations, this crap-war will now continue (if these stories are true; when it comes to CE I take all rumours and supposed stories with a huge grain of salt, more akin to a block of salt) and we as consumers will still be stuck with two formats and spending double the money on hardware, it's not fair.

I agree completely. At first I was all for this format war simply because it was forcing prices on hardware down quiet a bit, but the thought of this war continuing for much longer gets extremely old and will just hurt the whole world of HD video as it completely puts off consumers. If this keeps up Clint will be proven completely right about the failure of both HD formats.

[gmichael]

I wonder if anyone will start putting out dual format disks. BR on one side, HD DVD on the other.

[jcPanny]

If HD-DVD wanted an edge they would release the dual format discs AT THE SAME PRICE POINT as the BluRay version. Like the editorial, I see very little value in the dual format, especially when you can but the regular DVD (onsale for $10) and the HD-DVD for the price of the combo disc.

[Jim Robbins]

Do you guys really think both formats will fail? Or perhaps, universal players will make it so it doesn't matter what kind of disc you put in? I am guessing that this war will be similar to the DVD+R and DVD-R computer feud from a few years back. You can walk into the store, buy both formats of media, and it doesn't even matter. Studios will probably gravitate to one format or the other instead of publishing on both, and it won't matter what kind of disc you buy, because your player will play both, along with the old school DVDs.

It am guessing it won't fall out like SACD and DVD-Audio. I mean, you have to have some really good audio hardware to take advantage of that stuff. You couldn't just walk into Best Buy and get the hardware for those disc formats. You CAN walk into Best Buy and get TVs that show off 1080p, now, as well as players for both sides and even the LG universal player so far. The stuff isn't "cheap" but we have lots of financing deals and sales people to coerce us into the HD era.

If a winner does come, do I even care? No, I'll still have what I bought right now, and it working good at the moment. Will my discs become obsolete? Heck, if my current "format" fails, then I can sell my collection of about 10 discs on ebay to the die hards and get my money back and buy the other format anyway. *laugh*

Just pick one, maybe both, and go buy some hardware and a few movies and enjoy it now! Don't worry about the future... We all know stuff changes with audio and video all the time. Jump in! Enjoy the ride!

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If HD-DVD wanted an edge they would release the dual format discs AT THE SAME PRICE POINT as the BluRay version. Like the editorial, I see very little value in the dual format, especially when you can but the regular DVD (onsale for $10) and the HD-DVD for the price of the combo disc.

Yeah, the dual format (SD/HD) is the reason I prefer blu-ray, although I have both formats.
At first with only Universal exclusively supporting HDDVD, I was pretty sure blu-ray would win. But DreamWorks and Paramount going exclusively HDDVD is a monster! No one knows why FOX stop making blu-ray movies all of the sudden. Could it be because they are also thining of jumping ship?
Bottom line, this format war is NOT going to be over anytime soon like earlier reports say.
For the time being, I will continue to enjoy both Blu-ray and HDDVD. My brother has both XBox 360+HD add-on & Sony PS3. I guess he's enjoying both formats too