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[fatty]

Most feel that if it isn't down to one format by next year, they will both likely end up niche at best.

I think we're already at that point, unfortunately. Not only because of the two competing formats (which is a huge reason), but because that difference in quality won't be seen by the typical consumer.

I believe someone posted an article a couple pages back predicitng that two formats combined will be bringing in more revenue than DVD by 2010. No freaking way. Look how long it took DVD to overtake VHS.

We're talking about the same consumer where the majority of HDTVs out there aren't even connected properly to receive high definition signals even though they subscribe to HD programming. Yet they still believe it is HD.

And this is the typical joe consumer who is connecting their HD receivers with composite cables. When I was buying a new tv recently, I remember one of the TV salesman (who was trained on this stuff) trying to tell me that it's not possible to receive HD signals through coax cable, because coax won't display above 480i...so how am I supposed to connect my rabbit ears to receive OTA HD then??

 

[kaching]

It's FUD because of the focus on such a non-newsworthy item. Do we need two articles (at least) about Universal feeling pressure the same week? One of which occurred *before* this conference?

Universal has been under pressure since at least CES, and Graffeo has been adamant since he took top spot. Which means that the state today is the exact same as it was months ago. So this is FUD.

If you were a landlord, I'd hate to be your tenant. If I reported a problem 6 months ago and then called again today to tell you that it's still a problem, you'd probably yell at me for wasting your time with this non-newsworthy information that you already know and accuse me of trying to cause trouble, wouldn't you?

The longer this format war continues unresolved the *more* significant any specific reason for the continued standoff becomes. Whether the pressure on a player like Universal increases, decreases or stays the same over an extended period is noteworthy.

But I know FUD when I see it,a nd seeing two articles in the same week about it makes me think it's new anti-HD-DVD meme.

Gosh, multiple articles appearing in the same week of an industry event, some written in anticipation of the event, some written to report on the event. You're right, that never happens. Very shady.

 

[Raistlin]

Onyx, the first article (referenced here, I think, or at engadgethd) didn't have any public evidence at all. It cited only a source in the BD Group. And the second one sounds more like some pro-BD people made noise and a conference and it was somehow turned into news.

I was referring to the conference article ... and also the inteview posted where Graffeo directly stated they were under pressure.

Like I said, it's not the facts, it's the timing and the focus. There's nothing (but sales charts) to suggest Universal is closer to going Blu. I myself speculated that they wouldn't until post-holidays, when the writing on the wall was so clear there would be nothing left to gain in holding out.

Okay ... you still don't get it. Please, just forget it >_<

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

If the articles read "Universal still holds out" as opposed to "Universal faces increading pressure" I might have thought nothing of it.

I can't see why this is difficult to accept. This is a PR war, it's not like the BD side isn't shooting occasioanlly too. We've just seen a lot more from the HD-DVD side becuase they are losing.

Let's see this video and if it's really a big deal, I'll admit the story is newsworthy. If it was a handful of pro-BD people trying to make a public point, then I'll be convinced that this is just smoke.

The reason any of this matters is that what we are calling FUD is, basically, an attempt to distort the truth, and while I very much want BD to win, I also want the truth. The implications of these back-to-back articles is that somehow things are getting harder for Universal, but there's no evidence (beyond sales in a still-niche market) that that's true. The first cites a BD Group source (hardly useful) and the other is an article that says some pro-BD people at a conference asked questions. In both Graffeo was consistet, firm, and still had the same stance he did months ago. How is that news? It's not, it's spin.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

These are articles simply restating that Universal is under pressure ... and the reason they were written was because new 'public' examples of the pressure came up. That is simply not FUD.

Except the first one wasn't public and the second one hardly counts as pressure.


Edit: We must *really* not have much to talk about since it's come down to various pro-Blu people arguing minor shades of FUD during the most press-active HD-DVD spinning period this side of the the PS3 release.

 

[thaivo]

I think we're already at that point, unfortunately. Not only because of the two competing formats (which is a huge reason), but because that difference in quality won't be seen by the typical consumer.

I believe someone posted an article a couple pages back predicitng that two formats combined will be bringing in more revenue than DVD by 2010. No freaking way. Look how long it took DVD to overtake VHS.

We're talking about the same consumer where the majority of HDTVs out there aren't even connected properly to receive high definition signals even though they subscribe to HD programming. Yet they still believe it is HD.

And this is the typical joe consumer who is connecting their HD receivers with composite cables. When I was buying a new tv recently, I remember one of the TV salesman (who was trained on this stuff) trying to tell me that it's not possible to receive HD signals through coax cable, because coax won't display above 480i...so how am I supposed to connect my rabbit ears to receive OTA HD then??

Stop making so much sense dammit.. BD supporters don't want sense, they just want HD-DVD to die. :lol

I've agreed with every single one of your points btw.

 

[fatty]

HD-DVD prices are the ones that are low...

on the BD side, prices seem to be lowering themselves relative to the PS3.

So the options are kinda shitty TBH; cheap, less compatible HD player.

Expensive, but much more compatible player... that also doubles as a game machine!

I don't see how its a tough decision to make on this forum of all places.

True, HD-DVD player prices are lower, but that's because they are trying to compete with the PS3. (HD-DVD recently announced that they were selling more than blu-ray but of course they weren't taking the PS3 into consideration).

Myself, I have a blu-ray player, but only because I have a PS3. If given the choice I would of excluded the blu-ray if possible. I know I'm going out on a limb but I think this is the case for a lot of people. I just don't see these two formats being much more than niche, especially at this stage in the game. Yeah, we should have just one, but it should of been that way from the get-go and I blame both Toshiba and Sony.

I don't really know if that's true. DVD prices dropped dramatically even after DiVX was dead. Really, these things are not that expensive to make, once the basic R and D and retooling costs are paid for.

I haven't looked back at statistics of each but I'm pretty sure the rate of price drops is much faster now than it was back with DVD, but I could be wrong.

 

[Petrarca]

Stop making so much sense dammit.. BD supporters don't want sense, they just want HD-DVD to die. :lol

I've agreed with every single one of your points btw.

This format war is the one that doesn't make any sense

The only thing that makes sense is that for HD-DVD to cease to exist.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

I haven't looked back at statistics of each but I'm pretty sure the rate of price drops is much faster now than it was back with DVD, but I could be wrong.

You'd be wrong. It's at about the same pace. The format war is probably why the HD-DVD player is cheaper than the Blu-Ray and why it started lower, but the drops have been at about the same pace.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Stop making so much sense dammit.. BD supporters don't want sense, they just want HD-DVD to die. :lol

So much sense... and yet I heard basically the same arguments about DVD (plus others, like how people wouldn't want movies that could be scratched).

Once the price comes down, even marginal perceived value will drive new content sales in the new format. What's going on now is like the Presidential Primaries for which format gets to take that role once prices do get that low.

 

[thaivo]

So much sense... and yet I heard basically the same arguments about DVD (plus others, like how people wouldn't want movies that could be scratched).

Once the price comes down, even marginal perceived value will drive new content sales in the new format. What's going on now is like the Presidential Primaries for which format gets to take that role once prices do get that low.

I agree with you guys, and I even agree that BD at this point looks to be the front-runner. What I disagree with is for BD supporters to downplay the reasons why us HD-DVD supporters enjoy our systems.

However, to say that no content is available (as some have asserted in their posts) and that it will not continue to be available for quite some time is absurd. Both formats have their advantages. HD-DVD simply has more of the advantages that I like. Especially, exclusivity of the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is a movie I love beyond measure and repeatedly watch. In HD, it's beyond beautiful.

Am I saying that such personal preferences are applicable to the greater majority? No, as seen by the fact that BD media is outselling HD-DVD. However, from what I have seen and those that I have spoken to, HD-DVD is supported by a significant number of very informed individuals. On the whole HD-DVD supporters are more informed than BD supporters, who spew out wild claims about HD-DVD that are not true.

 

[Petrarca]

Found this on one of the forums

 

[fatty]

So much sense... and yet I heard basically the same arguments about DVD (plus others, like how people wouldn't want movies that could be scratched).

Once the price comes down, even marginal perceived value will drive new content sales in the new format. What's going on now is like the Presidential Primaries for which format gets to take that role once prices do get that low.

Come on now, the argument for DVDs being scratched doesn't even apply. CDs had already been out for a while and those were being changed much more frequently than movies. Also the jump from VHS to DVD was from analog to digital, from tapes that would lose their quality the more they were played to DVDs which wouldn't have the degradation problem. From fast forwarding to simply skipping ahead and no more 'be kind please rewind'. The arguments are nothing alike.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Thaivo--

No argument there. Given the content *today* and prices *today* HD-DVD is a very attractive package. One major reason I want to see Universal capitulate is so I can get my hands on those catlog releases! I don't think they're sellers to the mass market, but *I* would buy them.

However, I don't want to buy media that I'll need to keep a seperate player indefinitely in order to play, though I certainly can see where some people wouldn't mind.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Come on now, the argument for DVDs being scratched doesn't even apply. CDs had already been out for a while and those were being changed much more frequently than movies. Also the jump from VHS to DVD was from analog to digital, from tapes that would lose their quality the more they were played to DVDs which wouldn't have the degradation problem. From fast forwarding to simply skipping ahead and no more 'be kind please rewind'. The arguments are nothing alike.

Some variations, but the same major themes:

1) People won't rebuy old movies
2) It costs more
3) The difference in quality is hadly noticible to Joe Six Pack
4) New VHS mastering makes some releases look just as good (seriously)

The scratch argument came about due to the number of family movies people have, and how durable tapes are for kids to use.

Random access/no rewind was certainly a strength-- but would you spend $400+ dollars on a player for that?

Again, these are the arguments made at the time-- hindsight shows us that DVD won out (eventually) anyway-- once prices hit bottom and enough time passed to cycle everybody into owning one.

I was there, on the internet (USENET mainly, this is before the heyday of blogs and message boards) and it's uncanny how similar the arguments are.

In 5 years, when just about everyone has HDTV, nobody will bat an eye at comments about DVDs looking worse than HD. It'll be an accepted norm that DVDs are inferior. You'll still see them, since they'll play on HD players and some material will never get upgraded becuase the source is also SD-- but there will be a time when people don't buy SD new releases for their HD TV unless that's all that's available.

 

[thaivo]

Here is a clarification about the recent FUD on Universal's wavering support of HD-DVD

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showpost.php?p=3196248&postcount=19

I think what drsiebling posted at blu-ray.com is so far off base that it is almost laughable. I wish he would be willing to post these comments here in a neutral forum where all who attended could discuss these events and tell what they saw/heard.

Originally Posted by drsiebling Today at EMA, Zohn got up in front of a room full of attendees and went on a tirade about how much better HD DVD is than BD. I ended up challenging him on his assertation that BD doesn't support Next-gen audio formats. It was getting a bit heated when Bill Hunt spoke up and basically shut Zohn down. Then the two of them argued for about 10 minutes. I wish you all could have been there...

There was no argument, there was no "tirade". There was a discussion where we were stalling for time. There were two people with two very different opinions who supported two formats. It lasted 2-3 minutes, and both of them were shut down so we could move on. I too wish you all could have been there to see what a non-issue this was. I also wish you could have been there when people were asked which format they preferred as a prelude to this. It was pretty much a 50/50 split between the two formats.

Originally Posted by drsiebling

Well, I just left this particular panel. One thing is for certain: Ken Griffeo is wavering a bit on his support of HD DVD. He even went so far as to mention the daily pressure he is under from GE to go neutral. It's only a matter of time.

I can't believe that ANYONE that was at this would consider Ken to be wavering. Is he under daily pressure to go neutral? Yes! just read the Digitalbits, and HTF! Everyday people are asking (some screaming) for Universal to go neutral. Is he under daily pressure from GE? He never said that. He said he ultimately reports to GE (and I'm sure he and other Universal executives have had to justify their stance to GE), but this is taken way out of context by drsiebling. When the video posts (give Ron a chance to get home and catch his breath) you all can judge for yourself. The general point is no one from either side is wavering yet!

Zohn continued to spew complete disinformation about his support of HD DVD. He went so far as to say this:

"At my company we are neutral - - we support formats. However, the reason we favor HD DVD..."

Uh... someone needs to look up the definition of "neutral".

I don't really see a problem with this...As I understand it, format neutral has pretty much come to mean having both formats...even if you disagree with that definition, it's not like he was trying to hide anything. It was said as one sentence...

Originally Posted by drsiebling

There will be a full video of this even posted on HTF in the next few days. I think you'll all enjoy Bill Hunt jumping down Griffeo's throat for a solid 30 minutes. Griffeo even made an early exit from the panel... I think the pressure got to him.

This statement does a HUGE disservice to both Bill and Ken. While it was obvious that Bill had strong opinions that were the opposite of Ken's, he didn't jump down Ken's throat. He was respectful of Ken while still making his points. Ken also responded to all of Bill's comments. Neither really gave any ground, and each gave as good as he got. Drsiebling didn't even have the decency to spell Ken's name correctly (Graffeo) as he insulted him. The panel was scheduled to last from 1:30 to 2:30. Before it started I was told that Ken had to leave at 2:30 to catch his flight. He actually stayed until almost 2:45 trying to answer additional questions. The remaining three members of the panel agreed to stay even longer and continue the discussion (since it had already run over). I think it took a lot of guts for Ken to come before our group and face what were going to be hard questions from a crowd that included diehard fan boys like drsiebling.

 

[The Main Event]

^^^

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7104138&postcount=6600

 

[thaivo]

^^^

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7104138&postcount=6600

Oops..

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

For your amusement, a post from June 98 (about a year into the life of DVD, same age as these new formats)

At semi-random-- I didn't dig for some of the other counter-arguments to DVD (like picture quality) but they were out there. This guy values video quality, so he credits DVD appropriately.

I greatly fear DVD is neither fish nor fowl - it lacks critical features
that are uncompromisingly demanded by the mass market while incorporating
other features that actively turn off the videophile market.

Defects for the mass market:

Physical ruggedness
All CD-like technologies have to be treated much like the old vinyl
records did - with considerable care. The rental market in particular
needs this. It also cuts into some secondary revenue streams -
rewind fees for example.

Ability to record copyrighted material
Laws or no, people want to record copyrighted material. This
is an important factor in the purchase decision. Lack of recordability
is one of the primary reasons LD never made it beyond the videophile
market. Don't believe me? Do the words 'DAT Tape' ring a bell?

Ability to record *several hours* of material
Right now it looks like to me it won't be able to record
more than quite short amounts of even current broadcast material,
_if and when_ cheap recorders become available.

Short technological horizion
With HDTV poised for launch, buying into a _NEW_ technology that faces
technological obsolecence before it even achieves 'critical mass' for
the current television technology seems a recipie for disaster.
Eight track tape anyone?

Defects for the videophile market:

Artifacting
'But you can't see them from typical viewing distances' doesn't
cut ice with the videophile market. It doesn't *MATTER* if you
can't see it. This is the market that debates whether or not
you can hear phase inversion in audio, complains that
16 bit digital sound is not 'good enough' and is unhappy with
anything displayed on a screen with less resolution than a
RGB monitor (16 x 9, of course).

Regional Lockouts
Videophiles are not at all happy with having to purchase multiple
players just to work around regional lockouts. When they are laying
out well over $1,000 for a high end player they _resent_ having to
do it more than once. (Yes - there are _some_ players that can
be hacked around the lockouts. I'll give you good odds they won't
last. Not unless lockouts go away altogether.)

Macrovision.
'nuff said. You will never convince most videophiles that something
with macrovision on it is better than something without it.

There *ARE* significant pluses:

For the mass market:

Better video quality than VHS.
For most people, DVD represents a big jump. They _have never seen_
even LDs. The 'ooooh' effect is considerable.

CD quality sound.
Same thing.

For the videophile market:

Anamorphic mapping
The chance of getting nearly *every* movie 16x9 leaves many
drooling with lust.

5.1 sound
Goodbye 'stereo'. Again a cause for drooling.

Media stability
The chance to get nearly _every_ movie permanently without
degradation over time, rather than just those ones put to LD.

Special effects
Multiple angles, multiple audio tracks, etc.

DVD is cool. I have debated several times whether to buy into it or not.
And given a choice between a title I really want available ONLY on VHS or
DVD at some point I may yet buy into it (my experience so far has been
that, of the titles I *REALLY* want, they are available on LD+DVD+VHS, or
LD+VHS, or VHS only). For me, the curve right now is VHS < DVD < LD. For
the mass market, I think the curve is not even _that_ favorable due to the
lack of easy recordability: LD < DVD < VHS.

Will it succeed? Maybe. Never underestimate the power of marketing. But I
would say it remains 50:50 right now. It is noticable that _even the
manufacturers_ concede it has not taken off as fast as they hoped - it is
at least a year behind the curve they projected. This is not a death knell
- - but it may be a warning sign of trouble to come.

 

[captive]

Guys, same team, SAME TEAM!


Am i the only one that skips over thaivo's posts?

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Another one from the same search, posted here mainly because it's about Joe Six-Pack, and mirrors the "most people don't even have their HDTVs hooked up properly" concern. Amazing how things cycle.

Actually, what I think we *really* need is a cheap (sub $250) DVD player with
an RF output to get Joe-Sixpack onboard. It was foolish of the early DVD
manufacturers to think that they could capture the Joe-Sixpack market with
players debuting at $450-up and without RF outputs (Joe-Sixpack has an older
TV and doesn't want to hear about "RF modulators" that he has to go all the
way to Radio Shack an hour or more away to buy).

On the bright side, this is why divx will fail miserably with Joe-Sixpack. If
Joe wasn't willing to shell out $400 for a DVD player with no RF output, he
SURE AS HELL isn't going to shell out $500 for a divx player also without RF
output.

A DVD/VCR combo player isn't a bad idea, but it would be hard to trim it down
to a reasonable price from the onset (the cheapest DVD players alone right
now are still running about $300).

Around the time of this article, I bought my DVD player for $400, the cheapest I could find name-brand and in a brick-and-mortar store (I never would buy something like consumer electronics online back then).

 

[Chemo]

Am i the only one that skips over thaivo's posts?

Absolutely not.

 

[thaivo]

Guys, same team, SAME TEAM!


Am i the only one that skips over thaivo's posts?

Yes.

 

[Oni Jazar]

No

 

[rc213]

FUD

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

There are no new arguments. From July 1999:

Either way you look at it DVD will become an intermediate format.
Whether it is D-VHS or HD-DVD, DVD will be replaced. What troubles me
is that how shortly it will be replaced. Once HDTV is established, the
demand for a higher format for movies is inevitable. This could take as
few as ten years. What is the point then to buy movies now when better
versions will be available in a few years on a better format? I feel
buying movies for DVD is pointless and plan to only rent from now on.

Of course now, the coming format is downloadable movies.

This guy did predict the name of a next-gen format, HD-DVD, though.

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

Guys, same team, SAME TEAM!


Am i the only one that skips over thaivo's posts?

Definetly not.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

A fun one, from just-prior to DVD release. Copy protection was a big bugaboo in these posts I've been reading, much like the furvor over BD+

Five years ago, we had expected to exit this century with HDTV, probably
digital, and superior in all respects to NTSC, PAL and SECAM.

Now, we are more likely to exit with broadcast-quality analog video on
the wane, and compressed SDTV in the ascendency. DVD and the other
compromised digital parodies of our analog standards will deliver:
- dramatically poorer temporal resolution
- various other visible compression artifacts
- nasty copy-protection side effects
- questionable compressed digital audio
- significant risk that many features and benefits of LaserDisc will be
lost along with that format
- eventually, substantially higher prices for an inferior product

So, readers, buy all the LDs and tapes you'll need for the next 20 years
real soon. The Brave New World of DVD may turn out to be completely
different from what you have been expecting.

 

[kaching]

If the articles read "Universal still holds out" as opposed to "Universal faces increading pressure" I might have thought nothing of it.

Either reads favorably to BD - "still holds out" implies Universal is just being stubborn, not acknowledging the inevitable.

Headlines are designed to grab attention, oftentimes more sensationalist than the news itself. It's more than a bit of a reach to assume such a common practice is deliberate FUD on BD's behalf in this case.

In both Graffeo was consistet, firm, and still had the same stance he did months ago. How is that news? It's not, it's spin.

It's news because a stalemate continues that most people want to end. It's only not news if you've already decided it's never going to change or don't care about the stalemate in the first place.

 

[mollipen]

Thank you, Ignatz Mouse, for those posts. That just proves that the people who keep saying "neither format will take off" or "people aren't smart enough to use these formats" or whatever other arguments that they're making know absolutely nothing. I'm not about to say that Blu-ray or HD-DVD is the next DVD: one of the two might be, or they might not be. But dooming the entire idea at this point is utterly stupid and short-sighted.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Thanks, I was wondering if people would like them.

Fom more fun, point search groups.google.com to pre-1999 and search for DVD, or just browse alt.video.dvd from that era. There's a ton of stuff just like this.

 

[djkimothy]

Guys, same team, SAME TEAM!


Am i the only one that skips over thaivo's posts?

LOL, he's on mental ignore.

 

[fortified_concept]

Guys, same team, SAME TEAM!


Am i the only one that skips over thaivo's posts?

Nope. I skimmed a couple though and he seems to be using six month old avsforum arguments.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

There are no new arguments. From July 1999:



Of course now, the coming format is downloadable movies.

This guy did predict the name of a next-gen format, HD-DVD, though.

Yea, he is soo breeleeaunt!

 

[Decado]

How compatible are Blu-Ray (including PS3) and HD DVD players with DVDs? Will they play the lot, or do you get some titles that won't play like the earlier DVD years.

 

[fatty]

Some variations, but the same major themes:

1) People won't rebuy old movies
2) It costs more
3) The difference in quality is hadly noticible to Joe Six Pack
4) New VHS mastering makes some releases look just as good (seriously)

The scratch argument came about due to the number of family movies people have, and how durable tapes are for kids to use.

Random access/no rewind was certainly a strength-- but would you spend $400+ dollars on a player for that?

Again, these are the arguments made at the time-- hindsight shows us that DVD won out (eventually) anyway-- once prices hit bottom and enough time passed to cycle everybody into owning one.

I was there, on the internet (USENET mainly, this is before the heyday of blogs and message boards) and it's uncanny how similar the arguments are.

In 5 years, when just about everyone has HDTV, nobody will bat an eye at comments about DVDs looking worse than HD. It'll be an accepted norm that DVDs are inferior. You'll still see them, since they'll play on HD players and some material will never get upgraded becuase the source is also SD-- but there will be a time when people don't buy SD new releases for their HD TV unless that's all that's available.

Let's look back at VHS. Viewed enough times (no matter how much you take care of it) is going to get worse with each viewing. Even your strengh that you point out with VHS' durability regarding family use, I see it as a major weakness. I still have many Disney VHS movies and trying to go back to them is a night and day difference. The colors are now bleeding into each other because that tape is watched over and over and over.

It doesn't matter to me how many post are shown from USENET, or whatever, you're going to have people making predictions both ways. For as many posts that you bring up that show the disadvantages of DVD, there are just as many that are for DVD/LD/BETA/UMD whatever. Only time will tell how it actually pans out. And while I think there will still be a market for HD-DVD/Blu-ray, what I'm saying is I don't think it will be the next DVD.

"Random access/no rewind was certainly a strength-- but would you spend $400+ dollars on a player for that?"

No and I didn't at the time. But we're not talking about that price level but when the player hit the mass market price. And this feature along with the others mentioned made me and many other consumers make that jump. Now the question is when these current HD players hit that $200 price, are the features enough to make the general consumer jump on the bandwagon?

As for the 'connecting HDTVs properly' comment, DVD players forced you to connect your cables a certain way (even by your example). Composite was the bare minimum and that difference was there for Joe Six Pack to compare to the VCR which in all probability was connected with Coax.

The problem now is that they think their HDTV receiver is connected for HDTV when in reality it isn't. They see the signal downconverted to 480i and they're happy with it because it is still nicer than their standard cable tv. Unfortunately this is the case and many people already have HDTVs.

 

[djkimothy]

How compatible are Blu-Ray (including PS3) and HD DVD players with DVDs? Will they play the lot, or do you get some titles that won't play like the earlier DVD years.

I can't speak for HDDVD players, but the PS3 is compatible with all my dvds.

 

[The Bookerman]

Question, When will I be able to buy on Blu Ray Batman Begins. It really pisses me off that one of my FAVORITE movies is only available to HD-DVD when the darn thing was announced for Blu Ray Too.

 

[VanMardigan]

How the hell did I manage to miss the blu on blu battle royale? Damn.

And I'm traveling again tomorrow, so I won't be able to visit until this weekend or monday. Don't get this thread locked ladies!!!

 

[rubso]

Question, When will I be able to buy on Blu Ray Batman Begins. It really pisses me off that one of my FAVORITE movies is only available to HD-DVD when the darn thing was announced for Blu Ray Too.

buy HD-A2 + Batman Begins = Problem Solved.

 

[Chemo]

buy HD-A2 + Batman Begins = Problem Solved.

He doesn't want to buy a piece of hardware that will be useless within 18 months.

 

[Kintaro]

Thank you, Ignatz Mouse, for those posts. That just proves that the people who keep saying "neither format will take off" or "people aren't smart enough to use these formats" or whatever other arguments that they're making know absolutely nothing. I'm not about to say that Blu-ray or HD-DVD is the next DVD: one of the two might be, or they might not be. But dooming the entire idea at this point is utterly stupid and short-sighted.

Indeed. Thanks Ignatz Mouse. I remember those argument clears as day. History repeats itself. At least when it concerns these arguments.

 

[rubso]

How the hell did I manage to miss the blu on blu battle royale? Damn.

And I'm traveling again tomorrow, so I won't be able to visit until this weekend or monday. Don't get this thread locked ladies!!!

k, take care =)

He doesn't want to buy a piece of hardware that will be useless within 18 months.

guys, ebay your HD-DVDs, cuz It's going to be useless within 18 months. :'(

 

[lupin23rd]

LOL rewind fee :lol

Talk about blast from the past.

 

[Gary Whitta]

What are the big HD-DVD exclusive releases planned for the next year? Because I'm definitely getting that feeling that HD-DVD as a format is moribund and I'm hoping that before it finally dies there will be enough releases that I'm interested in to make me feel justified in having bought the 360 add-on. Even though it was only $200 I'm going to feel a bit dumb about owning it just to play King Kong and Children of Men.

I guess at the very least a few years from now it will have its own geeky cache alongside the Laserdisc player and Dreamcast and Vectrex and all the other dead technologies.

 

[Raistlin]

Edit: We must *really* not have much to talk about since it's come down to various pro-Blu people arguing minor shades of FUD during the most press-active HD-DVD spinning period this side of the the PS3 release.

True.


This thread needs some action!

 

[Raistlin]

How compatible are Blu-Ray (including PS3) and HD DVD players with DVDs? Will they play the lot, or do you get some titles that won't play like the earlier DVD years.

Everything should work.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Don't diss the Vectrex!


I don't mean that an HD format is sure to win by those posts-- just that all the very rational reasons we have heard that they might not, those carry absolutely zero weight. We just don't know.

 

[The Main Event]

What are the big HD-DVD exclusive releases planned for the next year?

Compiled HD DVD releases until the end of the year including imports:

http://www.film-talk.com/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=41668&view=findpost&p=386667

Tentative/rumored/2008 HD DVD releases:

http://www.film-talk.com/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=41668&view=findpost&p=390213

 

[Gary Whitta]

Ugh I don't want to sift through that list because a ton of those releases are also on Blu-ray and in almost all cases that's the version I'll get. Is there a shorter list of releases that are only available on HD-DVD?