HD DVD rumblings

[stratman]

In light of the news by Netflix and Blu-ray, I've been lurking around to see what I can find.
Gizmodo did an interview with Samsung's Dong Soo Jun (Exec VP and GM of Samsung's Digital AV Division):


Interview: "Samsung Says There's Life After Hollywood for HD DVD
We scored a sitdown with DongSoo Jun, Executive VP and General Manager of Samsung's Digital AV Division. Translation: He's Samsung's main man on Blu-ray and HD DVD. We asked him the big question: "Is HD DVD dead ?" His answer might surprise you.

On the Hollywood front, he believes that the Warner announcement was a tipping point. In short, Blu-ray will win. But! HD DVD doesn't have to slink into a grave next to Betamax yet. It will become the chosen format for "private" (that is, personal) content because the format—ahem, Toshiba and Microsoft—has a stronghold in the PC drive market. He expects Toshiba to really concentrate on the PC HD DVD market since it's deader than disco if it loses there.

The format war ends. The "divide" begins. And it'll be even bigger, in a sense.

Upswing: Samsung's going to be keep pumping out dual-format players, so that people can easily watch the personal stuff and the Hollywood stuff on the same deck. "Most people...don't care about what format is most popular," says Jun.

He also thinks:
$299 is the magic price for Blu-ray players—watch around June/July
• 1,000 titles is the magic content number (Blu-ray is around 500 now)
• Digital distribution will kill standard-def physical media, not HD—people delete recorded SD content; they want to keep "high quality" content through Blu-ray."


There were also rumors that MS will be jumping ship, that was FALSE, MS said the following:

Albert Pennello, marketing manager for X BOX hardware:

"Toshiba will decide when HD DVD is dead"
"MS is totally commited to HD DVD"
"MS has no plans for building anything Blu-ray"
"Microsoft is not thinking about it"
"It is fairly defenitive, Microsoft is not thinking about it"
"It's over when Toshiba says they're not doing HD DVD any longer"


Either they know something most of the world doesn't or MS is just crazy.

 

[MUDSHARK]

Digital distribution for the masses? I just don't buy that. Microsoft must view both formats as just a short sojourn on the way to downloaded HD. I can see that for the hardcore but not for the masses.

Interesting post, though.

 

[Thunder18]

What would really be funny is if Sony went ahead and developed a Blu-Ray player for the Xbox360.

 

[EJ1]

What would really be funny is if Sony went ahead and developed a Blu-Ray player for the Xbox360.

Haha, I'd buy it.

 

[Jack Hammer]

What would really be funny is if Sony went ahead and developed a Blu-Ray player for the Xbox360.

LMAO!!!

Jack

 

[Audioholics]

Digital distribution will kill standard-def physical media, not HD

Eh? What's that? Sounds familiar...

 

[Johnd]

"Toshiba will decide when HD DVD is dead"
"MS is totally commited to HD DVD"
"MS has no plans for building anything Blu-ray"
"Microsoft is not thinking about it"
"It is fairly defenitive, Microsoft is not thinking about it"
"It's over when Toshiba says they're not doing HD DVD any longer"

There's more truth to that than you know strat.

Either they know something most of the world doesn't or MS is just crazy.

I don't know about MS, but just because HD never took a strong foothold here...(it seems only the A2 has gotten recognition, not from the editors, but from the members), doesn't mean it fails to get recognition. I'm about to buy the A35...color me crazy. I've seen it firsthand, and there are already over 500 titles to choose from. I've seen the light, and I don't need any more of a sales pitch.

There are some real die hard HD fans at other sites, and perhaps we can't stop "the war", but at the very least we see this as an incredible opportunity. We also know that BD's days are limited as well. Funny thing is, in these pissing matches (not directed at you strat) I never hear the BD fan club mentioning that fact. Never. Hmmmm...

 

[stratman]

The only fear I have when I think HD DVD is: LaserDisc, Betamax, MiniDisc, 8-Track, floppy disks, DeLorean, Edsel. I understand if you made the investment already, but to keep feeding a "dead" format? I also understand the points about there being enough software and longevity of hardware, but .............?

 

[Johnd]

The only fear I have when I think HD DVD is: LaserDisc, Betamax, MiniDisc, 8-Track, floppy disks, DeLorean, Edsel. I understand if you made the investment already, but to keep feeding a "dead" format? I also understand the points about there being enough software and longevity of hardware, but .............?

C'mon strat. I thought we killed that term in the other thread. "Investment?[/I" Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit.

It's not that I've already made the "investment,", I've made a purchase on the A3, and will most probably get the A35 for about $200 (with seven more free movies).

It's not feeding a dead format, it's utilizing a fully alive format to it's potential. Those 500+ HD movies will be around for another year...maybe more. And I'll get my pickins at rock bottom prices.

$12.00 HD dvd's, $200 top of the line player with 7 movies, analog out for DD+ and True, and 1080p and phenomenal upconversion. What's to think about? Are you going to throw out all your sd movies? I think not. Those of us with pj's seem to have a differerent angle with movies than the masses it seems. Simply put: appreciative of incredibly high picture quality...on a dime.

 

[stratman]

Sorry, I meant investment as in time and effort, not monetarily I have a small SD DVD collection approximately 100 discs, eventually I will migrate to BD, then I will most likely replace my entire collection. So for me it would have been an investment 100 discs @ $25.00.......then to start all over again! In your case John it's fine, you really didn't blow any significant amount of money and yes you're in a "throw away" position, but don't invest too much in software because eventually you'll have to make a jump.

 

[dobyblue]

It's not feeding a dead format, it's utilizing a fully alive format to it's potential.

Sorry, HD DVD cannot be described by any stretch of the imagination as being "fully alive"

 

[Johnd]

Sorry, HD DVD cannot be described by any stretch of the imagination as being "fully alive"

Well, that's your opinion. Have you seen an HD A3 on a 106 screen with a Runco lately? Shut your piehole until you have! It's truly an amazing experience. So real, you'd think you're part of the movie...3D! JK db

 

[Johnd]

Sorry, I meant investment as in time and effort, not monetarily I have a small SD DVD collection approximately 100 discs, eventually I will migrate to BD, then I will most likely replace my entire collection. So for me it would have been an investment 100 discs @ $25.00.......then to start all over again! In your case John it's fine, you really didn't blow any significant amount of money and yes you're in a "throw away" position, but don't invest too much in software because eventually you'll have to make a jump.

Why strat?

Everyone was saying that about HDMI. Hell, there's still some self-proclaimed videophiles that don't understand that component passes HD just fine.

Is it the sound then? That's right, my old 5803 doesn't have HDMI...so it's useless. No DD+. No True. Wrong!

Strat, there are still people playing even laserdisks with high pq. Throw away my sd's? Nope. That's that conspicuous consumer attitude.

If one is just starting out buying all new equipment, that's one thing. How many people here got bitten by the HDMI 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.2a, 1.3, 1.3a and 1.3b bug? Or burned because their receiver doesn't handle it?

 

[aberkowitz]

Why strat?

Everyone was saying that about HDMI. Hell, there's still some self-proclaimed videophiles that don't understand that component passes HD just fine.

Is it the sound then? That's right, my old 5803 doesn't have HDMI...so it's useless. No DD+. No True. Wrong!

Strat, there are still people playing even laserdisks with high pq. Throw away my sd's? Nope. That's that conspicuous consumer attitude.

If one is just starting out buying all new equipment, that's one thing. How many people here got bitten by the HDMI 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.2a, 1.3, 1.3a and 1.3b bug? Or burned because their receiver doesn't handle it?

John- I agree with most of what you said, however the big difference here is the lack of content. You can play HD signals through component as well as through HDMI, but what good is an HD DVD player if there are no HD DVDs to play! If the movie studios stop releasing new content, Netflix and blockbuster stop renting, and most stores stop selling the content- what good is it to actually own an HD DVD player?

I think the comparison to Laserdisc is off a bit b/c the vast majority of titles released for LD were really good movies- and in many cases they were special editions that could not be found previously or since (Criterion edition of Spinal Tap for example). Right now on Amazon there are 563 individual titles for sale (including future releases up until May)- allowing for box sets and multiple versions (combo vs. non-combo) I'd say there's probably around 475 or 500 unique titles that exist. Of those 500 the vast majority are generally crap that were released when studios were being non-committal and not releasing anything worthwhile on either format.

An LD lover doesn't want to switch b/c the content that they have, in many cases, is unique to LD. I don't think that will be the case for BD vs. HD.

 

[stratman]

Of all my LDs only one is unique and out of print, it was available once in DVD, but I was too lazy to buy it thinking "it will always be available", wrong. Now my only recourse is still LD, once my player stops working I'll have to pay a service to transfer my LD to DVD.

 

[mouettus]

How dare you say that DeLorean is dead?! It still goes on strong in my heart. BTTF was hell of a movie when I was young. Heck, I'd love to have one of those before a Ferrari! lol

 

[stratman]

How dare you say that DeLorean is dead?! It still goes on strong in my heart. BTTF was hell of a movie when I was young. Heck, I'd love to have one of those before a Ferrari! lol

Why in heaven's name would you want a Volvo powered car instead of a Ferrari? And please don't say looks!

 

[stratman]

John- I agree with most of what you said, however the big difference here is the lack of content. You can play HD signals through component as well as through HDMI, but what good is an HD DVD player if there are no HD DVDs to play! If the movie studios stop releasing new content, Netflix and blockbuster stop renting, and most stores stop selling the content- what good is it to actually own an HD DVD player?

I think the comparison to Laserdisc is off a bit b/c the vast majority of titles released for LD were really good movies- and in many cases they were special editions that could not be found previously or since (Criterion edition of Spinal Tap for example). Right now on Amazon there are 563 individual titles for sale (including future releases up until May)- allowing for box sets and multiple versions (combo vs. non-combo) I'd say there's probably around 475 or 500 unique titles that exist. Of those 500 the vast majority are generally crap that were released when studios were being non-committal and not releasing anything worthwhile on either format.

An LD lover doesn't want to switch b/c the content that they have, in many cases, is unique to LD. I don't think that will be the case for BD vs. HD.

You said it lack of content.

 

[spacedteddybear]

Meh, I bought an XA2 for $300 the other day with a few HD-DVD's thrown in, knowing that it's a losing format. Why? I don't look at it as an HD-DVD player. I consider it a really good SD-DVD player, with damn good upscaling capabilities, that by some weird coincidence also plays HD-DVDs.

BTW, I'm pretty sure that had DMC hadn't gone belly up so soon, after producing so few cars, that there'd be a bunch of tricked out Deloreans on the road.