Blu-ray Wins?

[Nacster]

Apparently Sony had changed their stance on the Blu-ray Technology and were in discussions with Toshiba who were supporting HD-DVD about joining forces to make one standard format in the next generation of DVD technology..Well it seems that Sony got their wish..Sounds like good news for the PS3


http://ps3.ign.com/articles/611/611379p1.html

[JayPatel]

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000207042841/

not true, Toshiba has just extended the capacity of HD-DVD to 45 GB via 3 layers.

[tkl]

I don't think anybody wins except the consumer. Who the heck wants two HD-DVD formats ?

They are combining the best of both technologies.

[shabby]

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000207042841/

not true, Toshiba has just extended the capacity of HD-DVD to 45 GB via 3 layers.

I can see it now, hd-dvd burners come out that burn to 1 layer at 2x then 4x then 8x then 16x. Then they release the dual layer burners, and then they finally release a triple layer burner.

[mahjongmaniac]

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000207042841/

not true, Toshiba has just extended the capacity of HD-DVD to 45 GB via 3 layers.

wow, the #s keep 'ing...

so when's the "10-layer" disc coming?

[Nacster]

Apparently tis true..Now apparenty both Sony and Toshiba r denying reports that the two companies have come to an agreement on a single format..Link provided below

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/611/611512p1.html

[JAC]

http://www.betanews.com/article/Unif...ely/1117126539

Yeah, stupid-ass Sony's headed for another Beta, methinks.

Toshiba is the creator of the HD-DVD disc, which it has touted as the superior of the two formats for its backward compatibility. HD-DVD discs actually have two layers of data that would allow the discs to still play on older players.

Buy a new machine? I don't think so. Go Toshiba!

[porphyra]

Yup, they are headed for sure disaster. All they have to do is take a page from the multichannel audio's story. SACD and DVD-Audio sound familiar. Both have failed miserably, and a large reason being the competing formats and exclusivity of labels releasing material on one or the other. By the time Universal players came out, it was too late and the damage had already been done. What started out as the next CD replacement was a still-born.

Every issue of Sound & Vision magazine laments over the failure of these 2 formats. And the verdict is that if a resoultion is not reached between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, we are going to see a repeat of the multi-channel music story.

[mark_in_2k]

I think that the winner depends on timing. If the Toshiba consortium finalizes the specs and releases it's disc sometime before Xmas, they may have a winner on it's hands. It has the backwards compatibility sorted (although I'm not sure if current DVD players are able to output at 720p/1080i. Is it just a case of whatever the videos resolution is, that's what's displayed on an HDTV??) and would probably be cheaper to purchase movies on HD-DVD.

Sony however would not be ready for the Xmas season as it's planning on rolling out Blu-Ray when the PS3 launches approx. 12 months from now. Toshiba should have a good headstart by that time.

Another factor to consider is the marketing power of these companies. In this case, IMO, Sony has the upper-hand with the "bigger is better" line. Just look at E3; I believe the PS3 came out looking better than the 360 to many people. Pretty amazing when you consider it wasn't even running realtime stuff 90% of the time.

Let's not forgot the HDTV situation. These TV's are only in a tiny fraction of homes in N.America when compared to regular SD TV's. To get the true benefit of either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD many people will have to purchase new HDTV's. Add that cost to the cost of a new blu-ray player (if you go with Sony), the price of movies, and things start getting expensive.

At the end of the day, it's just going to be another wait and see approach to find out who the clear winner is going to be.

[luthair]

I don't think timing or backwards compatibility is going to determine a winner, the only thing that matters is which format will hollywood studios go with.

Edit: Also just because a HD-DVD might be readable by a DVD Player, it doesn't mean that Hollywood will go with the same file format or encryption.

[chdude3]

Yeah, stupid-ass Sony's headed for another Beta, methinks.

I certainly hope so. Bunch of a-holes trying to force YET ANOTHER proprietary format down people's throats. Maybe I'll boycott PS3 in protest.

[Ryan]

I heard that adult movie makers are going with blu-ray. Format war over.

[bmaz]

I certainly hope so. Bunch of a-holes trying to force YET ANOTHER proprietary format down people's throats. Maybe I'll boycott PS3 in protest.

I don't know much about what happened with betamax, but I do know that Sony has backing from over 100 companies, therefore Blu-Ray is not Proprietary, It is a standard. Whether or not it survives is another issue.
I think Blu-Ray wins or at the very least we will have two formats on our hands.

.....Also just because a HD-DVD might be readable by a DVD Player, it doesn't mean that Hollywood will go with the same file format or encryption

Current DVD Players won't read HD-DVD at all, I don't know where you got that from.
Initially HD-DVD had 2 things going for it, Backward Compatability and manufacturing cost versus Blu-Ray bigger capacity.
Now Blu-Ray will also have backward compatability and the cost is now said to be on par with regular DVDs.
Blu-Ray will rule the PC arena for sure despite Microsoft being on the other side.
Blu-Ray has backing from 3 of the biggest companies in the PC industry, HP, Dell and Apple (also backing HD-DVD).
Blu-Ray also has backing from all the major Optical Disks Drive manufacturers from Lite-On, LG, Philips, Pioneer, TDK etc......
Studio support for both formats are about even.
What its really gonna come down to is Price for the readers (players), and Availability (who reaches first to the market).

[chdude3]

therefore Blu-Ray is not Proprietary, It is a standard.

In name only. Developed by Sony, and forced upon everyone else with money and/or strongarm tactics. They were absolute dicks in their discussions with Toshiba; not willing to compromise in the least. I hope the format fails as poorly as Beta did; it would teach them to get along with others, something that can come in useful with business.

[jjboy]

"I think that the winner depends on timing. If the Toshiba consortium finalizes the specs and releases it's disc sometime before Xmas, they may have a winner on it's hands. It has the backwards compatibility sorted (although I'm not sure if current DVD players are able to output at 720p/1080i. Is it just a case of whatever the videos resolution is, that's what's displayed on an HDTV??) and would probably be cheaper to purchase movies on HD-DVD."

I don't think current DVDs can hold enough information to output at 720p or 1080i. Currently mpeg2 dvd's resolution is only 720*480 Thats why new formats are coming up to deal with the problem.