Format Wars: Feel the Angst

[jeffsg4mac]

I think you nailed it here. Remember VHS won out over Beta because of low cost players while Beta had a better picture quality. Same for the PC market. Back in the day MAC had the better technology and a GUI. But at the same time you could by an IBM PC clone running DOS for half the price.

I got news for you, they still have better technology and a far superior gui. OS X is rock solid man. And now with the move to intel and software like parallels, I can run both OS X and XP side by side on the same machine and run XP at native speed. Awesome. http://www.parallels.com/en/products/workstation/mac/

And before you think oh it's just emulation of XP, think again. It's not, it's virtualization taking advantage of the technology built into the core duo chip from intel. It runs at very close to native speed, accessing the hardware directly. Very cool indeed. The program is a hypervisor that switches the out the kernel when accessed. No emulation involved at all. How cool is that?

Sorry, I strayed a bit off topic

 

[shokhead]

I waited for the HiRes crap to settle and look where its at now. I'm not in any hurry what so ever. I'm pretty darn happy with DVD for the next few years easy. Ya think they would figure out this stuff isnt mainstream and it sells to select customers so a war is going to do nobody on either side any good,imo of course.

 

[Sheep]

I got news for you, they still have better technology and a far superior gui. OS X is rock solid man. And now with the move to intel and software like parallels, I can run both OS X and XP side by side on the same machine and run XP at native speed. Awesome. http://www.parallels.com/en/products/workstation/mac/

And before you think oh it's just emulation of XP, think again. It's not, it's virtualization taking advantage of the technology built into the core duo chip from intel. It runs at very close to native speed, accessing the hardware directly. Very cool indeed. The program is a hypervisor that switches the out the kernel when accessed. No emulation involved at all. How cool is that?

Sorry, I strayed a bit off topic

Eat right click!

SheepStar (waiting for universal. There, still on topic)

 

[hifiman]

been there done that

I was too young to have been involved in the infamous Betamax fiasco. However, I did get suckered into DCC, DAT, Minidisc, DVD-A, and SACD. The last two were the last straw for me. The only thing I was smart enough not to get mixed up in was DIVX. Enough already! I'm getting tired of throwing good money away. And it's only going to get worse in the future. Technology is rushed to market. Some sticks, some doesn't. I'm done taking one for the team and will no longer be an early adopter. When and if an hi-def DVD format takes hold (and I'm betting it won't) I'm waiting until I'm absolutely certain one has won and will be worth investing in. Of course at the rate things are going I'm betting that by the time the smoke clears the technology will be obsolete as we gear for the next round of the format wars.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I believe it when people say it isn't going to be mainstream...

Except of course for the 4 million PS3s that likely will be sold before years end.

Whether it is dead on accurate or not, PS3 likely will sell out whatever they are able to produce this year - and that DOES put it in J6Ps home. Mainstream, everyday homes, many without HD televisions, but about a 40% expected rate of owners of PS3 using it for video playback. 1.6 million homes... that'll likely be ten times the homes that have either HD-DVD or Blu-ray stand alone players.

 

[10010011]

Thats my point exactly, better technology, better picture quality, better sound quality does not mean it's going to win with consumers.

I got news for you, they still have better technology and a far superior gui. OS X is rock solid man.
Sorry, I strayed a bit off topic

 

[Buckle-meister]

Wasn't DAT used extensively by recording studios?

 

[godfatherofsoul]

I think you nailed it here. Remember VHS won out over Beta because of low cost players while Beta had a better picture quality. Same for the PC market. Back in the day MAC had the better technology and a GUI. But at the same time you could by an IBM PC clone running DOS for half the price.

If I remember correctly, VHS won partly because the adult video industry got behind VHS and Beta slowly faded... It's curious to see which studio got behind which format, but I think I saw somewhere that the adult industry is backing Blu-Ray - could this be a sign?

Cheers!

 

[Geno]

As I've stated before, the superior format doesn't necessarily win - what sells wins. The marketplace always prevails in the end.

 

[Ken]

Format War or Competition?

I have differing and opposing opinions on this subject. This is just one of them. Although I would like to see a single format I am not sure why it is necessary to have one. I think that the VHS/Betamax analogy is a poor one to the HiDef DVD format war in at least one respect. The VHS and Betamax were physically different sizes, you needed a machine with a different transport for each type of tape. However, HD-DVD and Blue Ray use the same trasport, i.e. a tray that holds a 5 inch disc. So it is a lot more likely that one player can play both formats. When the SACD and DVD-A format war started the same arguments were rampant in the industry; now Universal Players that play both formats are common. Yes that means we should wait for a "Really Really Universal Player." Another competing format that is not quite the same as this one but none the less it is a competing format, DTS vs. Dolby Digital. These two formats have competed and coexisted for years together. When you buy a movie do you look to see if it is Dolby Digital or DTS or do you just wait until you get home and then set your player appropriately if at all? Yes I do realize that the HiDef DVD formats exist on different types of discs but the DD/DTS formats are something to think about.

There is one place in the industry that I haven't seen anybody turn to yet, Blockbuster. They buy a lot of movies. When DIVX was trying to compete with DVD I was saying that whatever Blockbuster adopts will be the standard format and I say it again. Only this time I am not sure if they will choose one or just get whatever fromat the movie is released in and everyone has a Universal Player. The bottom line is that we have to wait to be on the safe side but I never like buying anything first generation.

I will save my opposing opinions for a different post.

 

[Geno]

Audiozealot:
You made a good point on the eventuality of a truly universal player. That sounds like a likely outcome of the Blueray/HDDVD war. On the other hand, the larger marketplace may not care about the differences and completely ignore the whole mess. Look at the response to SACD & DVD-A - those few of us who pay attention to these formats are eager consumers, but the world in general is clueless.

 

[shokhead]

Audiozealot:
You made a good point on the eventuality of a truly universal player. That sounds like a likely outcome of the Blueray/HDDVD war. On the other hand, the larger marketplace may not care about the differences and completely ignore the whole mess. Look at the response to SACD & DVD-A - those few of us who pay attention to these formats are eager consumers, but the world in general is clueless.

Thats right. These formats are for us,not reg joe that walks into a b&m. They just want a couple of cds and dvds and be on there way. They are not going to look on the back to see if its DTS,widescreen,dualdisc or whatever. Thats where the salesperson will sell them the lastest and greatest format.

 

[b_panther_g]

NO Universal Player for You!

Sorry to say, but I don’t think there will be a universal player any time soon. Why? Because Sony won’t let anyone make a universal player. (At least not in the foreseeable future).

As far as I know, everyone who is making a Blu-Ray player had to sign an agreement with Sony. That agreement forbids them from also making HD-DVD players. In other words…

No universal players!

So, IMHO, the best bet is on…Microsoft and Apple.

Yeah, that’s right – Bill and Steve. (We’re on a 1st name basis you know )

Go ahead, laugh if you want. But I’m right. Here’s why…

Tech specs aside, I don’t think the average BB or CC customer (you know the people who outnumber philes by about 10,000:1) will be able to see any real difference between either format. So this battle will just go back and forth and back and forth until…

People start ordering/downloading movies.

In the not too distant future...Studios will lose millions fighting this battle. Microsoft and Apple will approach them and say…

“Hey guys. We’ve got a great system all setup for you. You can just host the movie with iTunes Hollywood or Xbox Live Movies. We’ve already got millions of people using are systems.

You can stick all the DRM you want in the movie. Just let people download the movie and make 1 copy for their player.

Why waste zillions fighting?

Join us…

We have the solution…

Join us…

Why resist? Resistance is futile…

Join us…”​

And the studios will follow. Apple will market it well. Microsoft will beat everyone else into submission. And in a few years people will say…

“Blu-who? HD-what?”

The End.

 

[fredejo]

then again there's always china. there are a bunch of companies there that make illegal replicas of normal everyday products (knockoffs). i dont see why one wouldnt make a universal player & sell it on the black market w/ all the other stuff they already sell. u see that stuff on the discovery channel all the time. maybe not, but who knows. i would buy one

 

[ironlung]

Beware

then again there's always china. there are a bunch of companies there that make illegal replicas of normal everyday products (knockoffs). i dont see why one wouldnt make a universal player & sell it on the black market w/ all the other stuff they already sell. u see that stuff on the discovery channel all the time. maybe not, but who knows. i would buy one

Rosie warned Klinger that the heat is on and there is big trouble in little Chicago. Be careful what you purchase there. Deff avoid the polaroids!!!

 

[fredejo]

i try not to purchase anything from there, but these days everything is made there...

 

[Audioholics]

Wasn't DAT used extensively by recording studios?

Yes, when the machines weren't broken or in for repair... And you prayed before you hit 'Play' that the machine wouldn't eat the tapes since the error correction was almost useless. Panasonic made decent recorders/players, but everyone I know jumped to digital hard drives as soon as they came online...

 

[Audioholics]

whatever Blockbuster adopts will be the standard format

This would be correct except that BB has proven time and time again to be a market follower, not a leader.