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Hi-Def Media Lovefest: The war is over and we can all go home.

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S

Suikoguy

I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
Onix said:
They have been making their transition plans since then. I would expect them to release PR with some BD release dates this week.
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And that, would be the day when things really are over. Or at least in my mind, things are over.

twinturbo2 said:
Well, yeah, Fox News is owned by News Corp, which owns 20th Century Fox, which got on the Blu-Ray bandwagon... coming up, Sean Hannity sez that if you buy HD-DVD, you're a terrorist! :lol
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:lol :lol :lol
 
I

Ignatz Mouse

Banned
FightyF said:
Next...the console race.

Help build a one console future an adopt the current #1 Next Generation HD Videogame Console, the Microsoft Xbox 360 Home Entertainment System(TM).

This message brought to you by the JeffyB Fan Club
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If they make it as open a format as DVD or Blu-ray, I am 1000% for this.

If they use the current model where the format-holder can reject releases, I'm 1000% against it.
 
X

Xater

Member
shidoshi said:
The encode, possibly. But unless they're ready to put out completely bare-bones releases, all of the menus, extras, etc. are going to have to go through some amount of tweaking (if not a full recoding).
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That's what I meant by "author the disc". I guess pretty much all of their HD-DVD titles are VC-1 so no problem there. Extras are also encoded already so all they had to do is a disc with a Java based menu. Some more effort would be required for PiP discs but it's not like that's the majority.
 
M

mollipen

Member
Onix said:
They have been making their transition plans since then. I would expect them to release PR with some BD release dates this week.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's why I said that I was just making statements on the situation assuming it was a short notice as it sounded. I have no doubt that since the Warner switch, Universal and Paramount have been planning their eventual move to Blu-ray, but some are saying the Wal-mart announcement took Toshiba by surprise and may have pushed up their decision.

That said, I still say that if Toshiba indeed plans to completely pull HD-DVD from shelves by some point in March, that seems a bit soon to make some sides completely happy. We know Warner Bros has planned HD-DVD titles until June, and I haven't been keeping up with the red side, but I'd have to assume that Paramount and Universal had stuff planned until at least that point. Are those titles even going to have shelf space to be sold on when they hit, or do they just completely dump any and all planned HD-DVD releases?
 
Xisiqomelir

Xisiqomelir

Member
shidoshi said:
But if Toshiba is really going to totally pull any remnant of HD-DVD from stores in the very near future, that gives Universal, Paramount, and Dreamworks absolutely no time to plan for a smooth transition to the other side.
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They'll have to deal I guess. I don't think Toshiba's in the position to subsidize their switchover.

Plus, man... you think HD-DVD fanboys are annoying now? They're going to completely go nuts and turn into suicide bombers if indeed HD-DVD completely disappears in a few weeks.
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I don't know why you think this is a negative :D
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Onix said:
That is not entirely correct.


Regardless, the monoprice cables should be fine for normal-length runs ... at least for the bandwidth being used by current devices.
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6 feet rule. A cheap 6 foot cable works the same as an expensive 6 foot cable. After that you want good quality to avoid "sparkle." I have a cheap 15 foot cable however, that works perfectly well, with no sparkle at all. It was less than $20.


Soon however, AV elitists are going to start eating away at the idea that cheap works just as well. They cannot live in a world where filthy poors enjoy the same AV connection as they do. They will continue to attack Monster cables of course, but a year or two from now, the monoprice scoffing and dismissal will begin.
 
K

Kittonwy

Banned
shidoshi said:
The encode, possibly. But unless they're ready to put out completely bare-bones releases, all of the menus, extras, etc. are going to have to go through some amount of tweaking (if not a full recoding).

As a Blu-ray supported, the day that HD-DVD no longer exists period is the day that 100% of effort can be put into pushing and supporting Blu-ray, so I like the idea of that. But if Toshiba is really going to totally pull any remnant of HD-DVD from stores in the very near future, that gives Universal, Paramount, and Dreamworks absolutely no time to plan for a smooth transition to the other side.

Plus, man... you think HD-DVD fanboys are annoying now? They're going to completely go nuts and turn into suicide bombers if indeed HD-DVD completely disappears in a few weeks.
Click to expand...

It will be GLORIOUS hurhurhur.
Indifferent2.gif
 
R

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
shidoshi said:
Yeah, that's why I said that I was just making statements on the situation assuming it was a short notice as it sounded. I have no doubt that since the Warner switch, Universal and Paramount have been planning their eventual move to Blu-ray, but some are saying the Wal-mart announcement took Toshiba by surprise and may have pushed up their decision.
Click to expand...

While its likely things were pushed up ... I'm just saying Para/Uni was aware that Toshiba was planning to kill it off.

If they've been dragging their feet, that's their problem.

That said, I still say that if Toshiba indeed plans to completely pull HD-DVD from shelves by some point in March, that seems a bit soon to make some sides completely happy. We know Warner Bros has planned HD-DVD titles until June, and I haven't been keeping up with the red side, but I'd have to assume that Paramount and Universal had stuff planned until at least that point. Are those titles even going to have shelf space to be sold on when they hit, or do they just completely dump any and all planned HD-DVD releases?
Click to expand...

That's what I'm waiting to hear.
 
R

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
Stinkles said:
6 feet rule. A cheap 6 foot cable works the same as an expensive 6 foot cable. After that you want good quality to avoid "sparkle." I have a cheap 15 foot cable however, that works perfectly well, with no sparkle at all. It was less than $20.
Click to expand...

With current devices ... I agree.

Its possible that future devices utilizing more bandwidth could have problems with certain cables however.


Soon however, AV elitists are going to start eating away at the idea that cheap works just as well. They cannot live in a world where filthy poors enjoy the same AV connection as they do. They will continue to attack Monster cables of course, but a year or two from now, the monoprice scoffing and dismissal will begin.
Click to expand...

That's why you need to research this shit :p
 
A

avaya

Member
In the personal story segment tonight...

Reuters said:
"Sony's Mr Blu-ray finally gets to forget Betamax"

By Kiyoshi Takenaka

TOKYO (Reuters) - For Sony Corp's head of video businesses, Kiyoshi Nishitani, Blu-ray's impending victory over Toshiba Corp's HD DVD format is something he has been working at for more than two decades.

Nishitani, a 35-year company veteran, helped develop Sony's Betamax video tape system but the technology lost out in the 1980s to the competing VHS format, supported by JVC and Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd.

This time around, however, Nishitani, 57, and other company executives have made certain Sony joined hands with Matsushita and many other global electronics makers.

They also tied up the majority of Hollywood film studios, laying siege to Toshiba's HD DVD camp, whose short list of supporters include Microsoft Corp.

The reward for his employer may include the salvation of its loss-making PlayStation 3 game console, although it may now face a battle for supremacy with other Blu-ray backers including Matsushita.

Toshiba said on Monday no decision had been make on HD DVD, but a company source told Reuters on Saturday that the company was in the final stage of planning its exit.

On a personal level, winning the format battle is music to Nishitani's ears since it means he will be able to enjoy his collection of movies for years to come.

Nishitani, who counts watching movies as one of his favorite pastimes along with playing golf, has a wide collection of titles -- on Blu-ray discs, naturally.

Besides Sony's public image, also at stake is the fate of its loss-making PlayStation 3 game console business, which competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii.

Sony has packed its cutting-edge technology such as a Blu-ray player and the Cell microchip, dubbed "supercomputer on a chip," in the PS3, driving up manufacturing costs.

If Toshiba's retreat spurs demand for Sony's Blu-ray players and recorders, it would help lower costs of Blu-ray components that go into the PS3 through economies of scale, improving profitability of its game console business.

Analysts said, however, it is too early for Nishitani, who majored in physical electronics at Tokyo Institute of Technology, to pop a champagne cork as the company faces formidable rivals and low-cost competitors within its own Blu-ray group.

"Yes, this is a positive development. Flat TVs and Blu-ray products would be the two hottest items in the holiday season this year," Shinko Securities analyst Hideki Watanabe said.

"But Sony trails Matsushita in the business of selling key Blu-ray parts, and Funai will likely be supplying Blu-ray players to other makers for as low as about $150 a piece towards the year end, squeezing Sony's profitability."

Funai Electric Co Ltd, known for its low-cost manufacturing, started making Blu-ray players late last year for clients under their own brand names.

(Editing by Lincoln Feast)

http://www.reuters.com/article/ente...18?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true
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R

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
Elios83 said:
BDA says Toshiba and Microsoft are welcome to join them :lol :lol :lol

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/18/bda-sez-toshiba-and-microsoft-are-more-than-welcome-to-go-blu/
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It'll be curious to see if having MS joining would extend to allowing HDi to be part of the BD spec?

I suppose it would be possible to use BD-J for protection (for those studios that want it) along with HDi for UI implementation. The problem would be whether currently released players would be upgradable to support HDi. If not, I don't think it will happen. If it is possible, we might see it.
 
R

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
avaya said:
In the personal story segment tonight...
Click to expand...

That's a bit of an odd editorial.

While obviously Sony will receive plenty of competition in terms of marginal item sales (both components and actual players) ... it seems to completely forget to mention that Sony does receive a cut of the licensing pie in terms of players and discs.

From Sony's perspective, BD is a multi-level revenue source (and they are also vertically integrated with music and movie studios).

* components OEM (margin)
* players (margin)
* device licensing (IP)
* disc licensing (IP)
* Sony-owned music and video studios (margin)
 
X

Xater

Member
Onix said:
Can you post any important text ... I'm getting blocked at work.
Click to expand...

"We have received a tip from a trusted source (who wishes not to be named) in the UK games industry that Microsoft distributors have been told by MS to try and dump stock of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD attachment into the trade channels at the low price of £49.95 plus VAT. This provides a huge indication that MS is planning to drop the drive all together due to a lack of sales in the UK region and who knows where else."
 
A

avaya

Member
Onix said:
That's a bit of an odd editorial.

While obviously Sony will receive plenty of competition in terms of marginal item sales (both components and actual players) ... it seems to completely forget to mention that Sony does receive a cut of the licensing pie in terms of players and discs.

From Sony's perspective, BD is a multi-level revenue source (and they are also vertically integrated with music and movie studios).

* components OEM (margin)
* players (margin)
* device licensing (IP)
* disc licensing (IP)
* Sony-owned music and video studios (margin)
Click to expand...

Yeah he's fixated on component margin. Apart from the diodes themselves which Nichia and Sony make exclusively it seems as though Matsushita is going to beat them out, as usual, to biggest marketshare in the component space, OPUs especially last I heard. The only extra margin Sony has over Matsushita is SPE and Sony-BMG/Sony Music Japan. The HDD+Blu-ray STB recorder fight is going to be intense, when they reach Europe I'm buying Day 1.
 
R

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
Xater said:
"We have received a tip from a trusted source (who wishes not to be named) in the UK games industry that Microsoft distributors have been told by MS to try and dump stock of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD attachment into the trade channels at the low price of £49.95 plus VAT. This provides a huge indication that MS is planning to drop the drive all together due to a lack of sales in the UK region and who knows where else."
Click to expand...

Sounds like a fire-sale. I just wonder if whatever isn't sold will be pulled in March?
 
R

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
avaya said:
Yeah he's fixated on component margin. Apart from the diodes themselves which Nichia and Sony make exclusively it seems as though Matsushita is going to beat them out, as usual, to biggest marketshare in the component space, OPUs especially last I heard. The only extra margin Sony has over Matsushita is SPE and Sony-BMG/Sony Music Japan. The HDD+Blu-ray STB recorder fight is going to be intense, when they reach Europe I'm buying Day 1.
Click to expand...

My point was that Sony and the other initial BDA board members obviously expected this when eliciting Matsushita's support ... something that appears completely lost on the writer.
 
A

avaya

Member
Onix said:
My point was that Sony and the other initial BDA board members obviously expected this when eliciting Matsushita's support ... something that appears completely lost on the writer.
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Yep but I think he was focusing on Nishitani's position in the company, he has to make sure Sony stay close to Matsushita and don't get left behind, I'm pretty they won't.
 
B

border

Member
AstroLad said:
Is it just me or has TWiT been really boring the past few weeks?
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TWIT has sucked since like, November. The Audible ads get more intrusive every week, and now they spend a bunch of time just talking about dumb random bullshit and internet memes. If there's no news they just need to make shorter episodes, rather than stretch things out to 90 minutes with a bunch of small talk.

The only reason I listen to it now is for the news. Not for the personalities or for their interesting interpretation of said news. I hope they can get back on track.
 
R

Remy

Member
twinturbo2 said:
Has Jared, Butcher of Song sung yet?
151014_64.jpg
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Unfortunately, last I checked with Jared*, he was big into the Xbox and Halo and the like, so I don't know if he was on the Blu side of things. Still...

(*Yes, I know Jared. He does exist.)
 
P

Pristine_Condition

Member
Second said:
Yeah, the BDA is huge.

Sony/Phillips are the inventors though.
Click to expand...

IIRC, Matsushita actually owns more Blu-ray patents outright than any single member of the BDA. Sony may own more total, but some of the most substantial Sony patents in the device are those they share with other research partners, like Nichia. Again, this is just me remembering something I read long ago, so take that with a grain of salt.
 
S

Suikoguy

I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
Remy said:
Unfortunately, last I checked with Jared*, he was big into the Xbox and Halo and the like, so I don't know if he was on the Blu side of things. Still...

(*Yes, I know Jared. He does exist.)
Click to expand...

Are you trying to say Nico = Jared? ;)
 
T

twinturbo2

butthurt Heat fan
Remy said:
Unfortunately, last I checked with Jared*, he was big into the Xbox and Halo and the like, so I don't know if he was on the Blu side of things. Still...

(*Yes, I know Jared. He does exist.)
Click to expand...
He'll be getting an Xbox 360 Blu-Ray drive if MS makes one. :D
 
S

speculawyer

Member
mrmyth said:
Makes perfect sense. No product means no returns, no support, no consumer bitching from the idiot who just came out from under his rock and bought a player for 11.99 and expected it to be a relevant product.
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Just say 'HD-DVD is being discontinued. All remaining discs $5!'

Getting $5 is better than paying to have all those discs removed. And what are they gonna do with the discs? Bury them in the desert with ET cartridges? They do have value and people will nab them.
 
D

DarkJediKnight

Member
speculawyer said:
Just say 'HD-DVD is being discontinued. All remaining discs $5!'

Getting $5 is better than paying to have all those discs removed. And what are they gonna do with the discs? Bury them in the desert with ET cartridges? They do have value and people will nab them.
Click to expand...

All the HD DVD discs will go back to Toshiba where they will probably use for drink coasters for the next 10 years.
 
S

Sallokin

Member
Went to Gamestop today to unload my 360 attachment and 5 or 6 movies. The clerk told me they'd only be accepting trade ins on the player until Thursday. I only got like 95 dollars for everything but apparently they're going to start giving less and less as the days go on.
 
S

speculawyer

Member
Sallokin said:
Went to Gamestop today to unload my 360 attachment and 5 or 6 movies. The clerk told me they'd only be accepting trade ins on the player until Thursday. I only got like 95 dollars for everything but apparently they're going to start giving less and less as the days go on.
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Man I gotta start watching eBay for some deals. I want a ton of cheap HD-DVD movies! :D
 
D

Doctor_No

Member
avaya said:
Yeah he's fixated on component margin. Apart from the diodes themselves which Nichia and Sony make exclusively it seems as though Matsushita is going to beat them out, as usual, to biggest marketshare in the component space, OPUs especially last I heard. The only extra margin Sony has over Matsushita is SPE and Sony-BMG/Sony Music Japan. The HDD+Blu-ray STB recorder fight is going to be intense, when they reach Europe I'm buying Day 1.
Click to expand...

From a components perspective, Sigma Designs is going to be one of the main beneficiaries of the Blu-ray victory since they currently supply ~75% of decoders to Blu-ray standalone players. Their stock is suppose to gain significantly as Blu-ray adoption increases.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/59264-sigma-designs-should-jump-on-blu-ray-boost

However, ultimately, Blu-ray adoption won't hit the mass market until $50-100 players and $10-20 movies are common place; which should be in a few years if Blu-ray follows similar trends as DVD. By that time HDTV market penetration should also be much higher as well. Component manufacturers won't be making significant money until Blu-ray sees larger gains in the market place and prices come down. This also fits into the whole digital distribution silliness; which I guess has become a favorite topic of HD-DVD refugees. Its as if digital distribution has become the Count of Monte Cristo to scheme some grand revenge upon Blu-ray. The often overlooked hurdle of digital distribution is that by the time the infrastructure for digital distribution becomes viable Blu-ray players should be priced dramatically lower closer to where DVD players are now. While I'm sure it'll find itself a healthy market, by that time, DD will need to go up against cheap players/media with a lower bit-rate/quality product without a physical manifestation of the product to furnish pride of ownership and long-term transferability.
 
M

mackaveli

Member
OokieSpookie said:
http://www.digitalbits.com/#mytwocents
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was just about to post this

can't believe how fast everything is happening now. Also supposedly Star Trek Season 2 is cancelled and not delayed. No idea how true it is, but supposedly Toshiba was paying for the remaster of Star Trek and was using their AVC encoder and so forth but now with HD-DVD done it will be cancelled on HD-DVD. No idea how true this is.
 
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