The Official HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray Thread

**JCD** · **08-28-07, 11:56 AM**

Quote:

SteveB wrote:

I don't have a game system so based on what I've read I assume the PS3 includes a Blu-Ray player? Doesn't seem right to me to include PS3 sales in the sales count for Blu-Ray. I doubt if the PS3 buyers bought it just to watch movies.

I've actually seen several people buy a PS3 primarily as a blu ray player. It's actually cheaper than many players, and has many other functions (e.g., media center) other than a simple game console.

JCD

**Sonnie** · **08-28-07, 02:04 PM**

From what I understand it may be the best Blu-ray player available right now.

**joetama** · **09-01-07, 09:29 AM**

I am ready for this to be over, to be 100% honest....

**Sonnie** · **09-01-07, 10:54 AM**

Quote:

joetama wrote:

I am ready for this to be over, to be 100% honest....

lol... but it's just getting started...

**joetama** · **09-02-07, 04:34 PM**

Quote:

Sonnie wrote:

lol... but it's just getting started...

I know....

**santora** · **09-02-07, 08:15 PM**

I broke down. I admit it. I picked up a PS3 specifically for Blu Ray movie playback this weekend. A special promotion through the Sony Store, a Sony CC that gives you $150 back, free shipping, and 5 blu ray movies (most of which I'm not really interested in). For $350, this was really a steal and I couldn't pass it up.

The big deal breaker for me was that this was pretty much the end of the 1st Gen PS3 unit (60gb). They've got the PS2 hardware inside and in the 80gb and forward, it will be software emulation which can be tricky at best (see Xbox 360 to Xbox). There aren't any PS3 games I want right now, but there will be, so in the end this becomes a win/win for me. But again, only because it was $350.

So I've got my 360 HD DVD player and my PS3 is on the way. I'm format agnostic and I think the hardest thing will be to decide which format to buy films on if they come out on both... I'm thinking HD DVD simply because of the interactivity, but when it matures on Blu ray who knows.

So I've gone agnostic. Yea me! My wife's thrilled.

**gsmollin** · **09-02-07, 10:25 PM**

I was just at Target, looking for the HD DVD and Blu-Ray programming. It consisited of two columns of HD DVD, and four columns of Blu-Ray. The whole display was about three feet wide, and that included a stupid sign that ate up two columns, which was a disclaimer that said you needed a HD DVD or BD player to view the disks! The whole thing was pathetic. I did NOT see the famous end-cap that Sony was touting in the press. I wonder if that was just more BD FUD.

One thing I did notice was that there were empty pockets in the HD DVD, and none in the BD section. That may just mean the HD vendor wasn't making his rounds. I also saw that the "300" HD DVD was a combo, and cost $34.99, and the BD version cost $24.99. That is a HUGE difference in price, and is really bad for the HD camp. The combo disks could be a really great marketing ploy, but the DVD side has to be given away! You cannot expect to charge a premium for this. If the studios won't go for that, then drop the combo disk. The prices for the HD content have to be the same.

Oh, I also saw the marketing slogan I first heard J. Leno quote. It was on the BD sign, it said, "Beyond HD". That , of course, is about HD DVD. BD is Beyond HD DVD, "Beyond HD". OK, duh.

**cholly** · **09-04-07, 09:44 AM**

Add me to the "I dunno" camp. I have a Toshiba HD-A2 and am quite happy with it. For now, if I want a Fox, Sony or Disney DVD, I'll just buy the standard version. The upconverted picture may not look as good as a native high definition picture, but it's still better than unconverted. That being said, I could be moved to buying a Blu-ray Disc player at some time in the future.

**SLAYER** · **09-10-07, 12:47 AM**

Hi folks, i have neither hd or blu,
I voted for BLU-RAY....
why? frankly i dont care for hd they bring nothing new to the table,
and if hd studios choose to stop making sdvd , then that will be the end of them.
i for one will buy a ps3 very soon and blu stand alone Asap.
just my 2 cents.
slayer...

**wbassett** · **09-12-07, 11:59 AM**

Slayer as the owner of a PS3, if you plan on getting one of them there is no reason to get a stand alone BD player, unless you plan on toting the PS3 all over the place. Mine is part of my HT setup and stays there.

**SLAYER** · **09-28-07, 11:54 PM**

Hi folks,
Bill, thanks for the advise, will keep in mind, im an avid first peson shooter gamer and have over 50 plus games for my ps2 and rarely use it for dvd viewing simply because my panasonic has more tweaks like zoom , other reason is ps2 wont play adult dvd etc.
so as of right now ps3 will be used 90% gaming 10% blu movie. depending on my experience with it will decide to buy a standalone or not , will see .

slayer..

**wbassett** · **10-02-07, 11:54 AM**

Slayer so far it's played everything I've thrown at it, including DVD-R and +Rs. I haven't had any problems with PS2 games, but after seeing a PS3 game it's really hard to go back to some of the PS2 stuff

**jm4n** · **10-23-07, 12:48 AM**

I am pretty new here, and though I didn't read all of the above posts in great detail (mostly skimmed), I wanted to chime in my personal thoughts on the subject. I'm sure at least some of my opinions have been covered, but I still want to throw them out there.

First, it seems Sony loves to re-invent the wheel - or at least push their variation rather than adopting or cooperating with a current or emerging standard. Betamax, MiniDisc, and MemoryStick are just a couple of examples that spring to mind. Sure in some cases Sony's version may have been technically superior to some extent...

The PS3 definitely helps them get their format out, as does the fact that Sony is also in the content side of this, and will naturally support their own format for content. Though I don't care for some of Sony's products, they have done quite well with the Playstation line, and the PS3 certainly does not disappoint.

As for the technical aspects: I've compared the two somewhat (a neighbor has XBox with HD-DVD add-on drive, and a PS3, with several movies in each format). I can't say definitively without a direct comparison (eg, same movie in both versions) but I don't believe either is superior in quality in any significant way. A quality HD mastering of a recent movie on a 1080i display with decent surround sound is simply amazing no matter which format is used. Especially a good CGI flick, in my opinion...

However, the fact that HD-DVD shares so much (in the down-and-dirty technical details) with the ubiquitous DVD format, especially in manufacturing process, makes it the ideal "next gen" format in my opinion. A Blu-Ray player can play older DVDs and CDs only because extra electronics and mechanical parts are included; if Blu-Ray wins, I see a day where lower-end players no longer support older DVD titles. HD-DVD players read standard DVD discs almost natively by design (this last paragraph is all based on information I've read online - I can't be 100% sure how technically correct I am here).

Having Blockbuster, Disney, etc backing the format certainly helps, but HD-DVD has its backers as well, with only one or two studios releasing in both formats (last I checked anyway). Point being, there is a definite divide, among movie studios, manufacturers, and even consumers - if only as a side effect of their preferred game system. I believe XBox 360 offers HD-DVD only as an optional add-on, making Sony's "infiltration" a bit more complete... some hard-core gamers I know only recently discovered that their PS3 also doubled as an HD movie player, but I also know people who chose the PS3 specifically for this purpose (not much more costly than a stand-alone player; makes more sense to get a gaming system as well).

But the bottom line for consumers is this: until one format or the other "wins", I believe adoption will suffer. I myself won't spend that kind of money on a player and movie collection until I'm sure that in ten years I won't end up with boxes of Beta videocassettes collecting dust. I already have a digital camera that Vista refuses to see (and of course my laptop can read SD and other cards, but not MemoryStick).

I don't know which format will win. I hope it's HD-DVD, but there are too many factors (marketing, position, etc) to sway individual consumers and studios one way or the other; technical specs likely will have very little to do with which format ultimately wins.

Oh, one more thought: having the ability to play HD content from a disc format is not as compelling for some; my cable provider has tons of HD movies and content via video on demand service; plus, a good DVD player in progressive scan mode generally looks pretty good with an anamorphic 16:9 standard DVD - an HD version might look noticeably better, but not enough to justify repurchasing the movie in yet another format.

Just my thoughts. This site keeps emailing me to encourage me to participate, so here I am

Edit: one last note about Sony. I mention above the possibility of future Blu-Ray players dumping support for standard DVD discs, but I should note that Sony does tend to place a lot of effort into backward compatibility with their own products; PS1 and PS2 games play on the PS3, and the controller functionality is mostly unchanged, for example...

**Wayde** · **10-23-07, 08:36 AM**

Hey JM4N – Great observations

I think you hit the nail right on the head with Sony trying to reinvent the wheel. Add SACD to your litany Sony wheel creation efforts. Sony has the audacity to do this over and over in the electronics industry because well… quite frankly they can. It’s a powerhouse company.

One of the reasons Sony keeps re-inventing is it’s not only a consumer electronics manufacturer - it’s also a content provider. It’s big in movies but positively HUGE in the music recording industry.

I like your analysis of the HD DVD tech specs making it easier to do DVD. It’s why BD has a higher cost.

Personally, I don’t think either format is going to “take off” like DVD. The last gasp of the shiny disc is upon us and its life is being shortened by the format war.

I look into my crystal ball and I see people in the future speaking fondly of the old HD DVD and Blu-ray formats the way some today look back at Laserdisc.

History shows the general public prefers scalability over quality in media. That’s why the lowly 128bit MP3 kicked the snot out of both SACD and DVD-Audio as the acoustic format of choice.

In the near future we’ll download HD movies from the phone/cable/ISP companies. They’ll be encoded in highly compressed formats that will inevitably sacrifice some of what we’re enjoying now. Sure, it’ll be HD video and multi-channel sound. But anyone with a decent entertainment system and memory will long for that old concept of the disc player.

**bhorstkotte** · **10-23-07, 09:53 AM**

I've been on the sidelines waiting for one format to take the lead, but haven't seen any kind of significant edge to date. If the Xbox 360 prices keep falling, I might jump in there with the HD DVD add on, since I'm tempted by Gears of War and Halo 3, and I'd get an HD player for not much more, and its reportedly a pretty good HD DVD player implementation. As far as who wins the format war, if anyone - it might well be decided by which one gets cracked first.

I think for an awful lot of consumers though, they can't tell the difference between a well mastered DVD and an HD - so might be happy to stay with a good (and cheap) DVD player (with lots of titles) and a big plasma/LCD.

**tonyvdb** · **10-23-07, 01:24 PM**

I like the name "Blu-Ray"....thats what made up my mind.
Seriously, Im sitting on the fence on this issue until the price comes down. Spending $450 on a player is just outrageous in my opinion. I do think Blu-Ray has a slight advantage due to the backing of the larger portion of the movie and television industry.

**Rex** · **10-27-07, 10:19 AM**

I'm afraid that with Blockbuster only stocking Blu-Ray, we are watching the final battles of this particular war. The problem with these competing formats (and this is not the first), is that the consumer loses. I also note the price difference between a conventional 480i/p DVD and either of the competing formats. Can you see the fence where I'm sitting? There are many people sitting here. Until something happens, I think we're just beating a dead horse with this one.

**digitalfife** · **10-27-07, 11:37 AM**

On my last outing among HMV and Virgin Mega store it seems that BD V HD disc stocked seems to be at about 5 to 1 in favour of BD.

At our local Asda (Wallmart) there seem to be very little HD on display but plenty of BD.

At least here in my part of Scotland BD seems to be winning. Not bothered realy as I have both formats. Although for some reason I do have more BD software. Possibly due to the choice of titles I have bought.

**bobgpsr** · **10-27-07, 12:04 PM**

Quote:

Rex wrote:

Until something happens, I think we're just beating a dead horse with this one.

Since we are posting pictures:

Interesting times. The contest is really getting going now!

**Rex** · **10-27-07, 12:17 PM**

Quote:

bobgpsr wrote:

Interesting times. The contest is really getting going now!

These numbers make it look close. I recall reading somewhere that the porno industry has opted for HD-DVD, but I wonder it that matters?

As we move into the Christmas selling season, we may see the trend clarified.

**Rex** · **10-27-07, 12:49 PM**

Here in South Florida, Blockbuster seems to have the lion's share of the business.

**toecheese** · **10-27-07, 02:37 PM**

This an old-and sensitive topic for me as I got into an online scuffle about this BR versus HDDVD.

As an engineer, I hate both formats. Most technologies that are to be released (at least in the software world) are based on standards. If they aren't- they end up being forced to (witness Microsoft and ODF).

If this industry had any morals, they'd have come up with a high-def format and released it publicly so that anyone could make a player.

For example- look at 802.11- that's Wifi- you can buy any wifi card and it'll work with any wifi hub. Products which don't write to a standard stagnate and die.

For both Toshiba/Microsoft and Sony/Coalition of the willing to pick a 'side' means that half will lose.

Sony upsets me with Memory-Stick- a u

View Poll Results: Who will win the format war: HD-DVD or Blu-ray?
HD-DVD	25	31.25%
Blu-ray	33	41.25%
Both will survive.	10	12.50%
I don't know.	12	15.00%
Voters: 80. You may not vote on this poll

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