Tosh to stop HD DVD Development

[old.user4556]

*shrugs*. Maybe I'm getting old, but I think HD in general has a whiff of The Emperor's New Clothes about it. I've been buying BD versions of the occasional new movie where I think the type of film justifies it, but most of the time I look at a £25+ BD release and then look at the usual "5 for £30" DVD deals in Zavvi or wherever and just pick up a bunch of normal DVDs. I certainly can't imagine replacing my extensive DVD collection the way I did with VHS. Maybe now there's one format there'll be more price competition and I'll warm to the format, but in the meantime I could care less. (And before you ask, my eyes are awesomely lasered and I have a full 1080p Bravia telly).

Oh c'mon Gaff, BD on a 1080p Bravia (my dad has one) is leaps and bounds over standard def DVD - imo it's as big an improvement as DVD was over VHS.

However, I do agree - I've not bought a single BD since I got my PS3 at Christmas because it's all mostly old films and they are £20-£25 a piece. Until they get down to half that price with all new content, I don't think i'll be purchasing any either.

Good news though! IT'S OFFICIAL! - BBC NEWS | Business | Toshiba drops out of HD DVD war

So now there's one disc format, we can now expect BD to go full steam ahead.

 

[soze]

I only buy blu ray films when they are new films and i do not own the dvd. Currently most new Blu Rays are £17.99 a new dvd between £9.99 and £12.99 I do not buy all films on blu ray SuperBad for example i got on DVD as i could not see how it would benifit from HD.

Play.com and HMV both have £17.99 blu rays and have some older films in a 3 for 2 offer.

 

[MYstIC G]

my eyes are awesomely lasered

Welcome to the club!

Not sure I'm so happy about HD DVD being dropped this early. The format war could have been good for consumers and driven down prices a lot more if it had been a proper fight.

Taking all bets on the announcement of the 360's Blu-Ray drive?

 

[old.user4556]

It makes sense that they will, as it could hurt 360 sales. Although, MS will probably be pushing downloadable content.

 

[soze]

Welcome to the club!

Not sure I'm so happy about HD DVD being dropped this early. The format war could have been good for consumers and driven down prices a lot more if it had been a proper fight.

Taking all bets on the announcement of the 360's Blu-Ray drive?

This may force prices down as now places like tesco who were waiting for a winner will start selling blu rays so as you can get one from more high street shops the price will start to drop.

 

[DaGaffer]

Oh c'mon Gaff, BD on a 1080p Bravia (my dad has one) is leaps and bounds over standard def DVD - imo it's as big an improvement as DVD was over VHS.

It's better, no doubt, but really only in certain contexts; is my enjoyment of say, Ashes to Ashes (to pick something from the BBC's HD output) improved if I watch it in HD? Not really. Whereas, something like Transformers is obviously improved. I really can't see me buying all my movies in TV shows in BD unless the price is the same or less than DVD, not least because I only have one BD player and it will be quite a while before my PCs and laptop play BD. The switch from VHS to DVD was as much about the format itself (for me) as the improvement in picture quality; DVD didn't wear out and was compact, VHS was neither. So BD doesn't have as many advantages over DVD to make the price worth paying automatically.

I just think there are still some big barriers to entry for HD in the minds of most consumers, and the format war was only one of those barriers; the "hard" barriers (cost, requirement for an HD TV set) are still there, and there are "soft" barriers too (perceived benefit, confusion about "definitions" of HD) that need to be addressed before alll the HD proponents can start patting themselves on the back.

 

[old.user4556]

Just thinking about downloadable content.....

Even on a 100 mbit fiber connection, it's gonna take a good 30-60 minutes to download a film that's akin to blu-ray quality (based on a 20 GB file size), or 6 hours on my 8 megabit broadband. I think we're still quite far from regular, easy access, quick HD downloads.

 

[old.user4556]

I just think there are still some big barriers to entry for HD in the minds of most consumers, and the format war was only one of those barriers; the "hard" barriers (cost, requirement for an HD TV set) are still there, and there are "soft" barriers too (perceived benefit, confusion about "definitions" of HD) that need to be addressed before alll the HD proponents can start patting themselves on the back.

Agreed, my father's colleague was astounded at "high definition" when she bought her new TV, not feeding it with any HD source.

 

[Stimpy]

Plus even when we have the speed to DL 20GB files in an hour I'm not sure ISP's are going to be to eager to see that kind of usage by people - not without hiking the price up alot.

 

[old.user4556]

Just read this speculative rumour on avforums:

For those hoping for a 'quick' Xbox 360 BD addon drive, there's a potentially big hurdle for Microsoft and Sun to get over, which is that the last time MS had access to Java source code they ended up in court over it and MS lost. I might be wrong, but I doubt Sun will just hand over the source code to MS and let them code BD player software on the 360. I would expect Sun to want to provide the BD-J virtual machine code pre-done, and that may take a while, if indeed MS are interested. Of course they may have been working on it in the background, but I would be surprised.

 

[Ch3tan]

It makes sense that they will, as it could hurt 360 sales. Although, MS will probably be pushing downloadable content.

I'm sure I read in the metro that a few more studios (paramount and warner I believe) had just signed up to provide content via xbox marketplace.

 

[old.user4556]

But not exclusively surely?

 

[Ch3tan]

I'm too lazy to google and check. I think it shows MS had not hedged their bets with HD-DVD though, their real aim has probably always been selling content via marketplace.

They are building up quite a library of titles to offer.

 

[old.user4556]

Yeah I read snippets that MS are pushing this marketplace; but i seriously doubt it will be exclusive.

A quick Google confirms the metro article - Paramount links with Xbox Live Marketplace in UK, News at CNET.co.uk

 

[DaGaffer]

But not exclusively surely?

Extremely unlikely. Fact is, you're going to be able to get HD movies and TV on pretty much any STB/Console with HDMI and a hard-drive. Which service you choose will come down to pricing, which UI you prefer and maybe value added services like export to portable devices; you'll get the hardware and service guys at one end; MS, Sony, Apple, and the telco/tv platform guys at the other; Sky, BT, Virgin etc. It will be all pretty commoditised and will all come down to marketing and alliances in the end, but BluRay will have a life for quite a while everywhere except places like Singapore because networks are still way too fragile for the hardware people's aspirations.

 

[old.user4556]

Just to add on this note:

Format War: First Paramount Blu-ray Titles Spotted on Amazon

...which means

<chinese boy accent> "YOU CALL HIM DOCTOR JONES, DOLL" </chinese boy accent>

... on blu-ray

 

[Ch3tan]

The d/l service is awful in my opinion. It costs to much for a rental which expires too quickly from the moment you start watching it.

If I just want to see a movie once in HD, I am more likely to use blockbusters. Less hassle and more cost effective.

MS could have been on to a real winner as the first provider barring the on demand stuff from virgin and sky, all they had to do was be competitive with the pricing.

 

[Yaka]

the cost is not only the issue, some peeps cant get a pciture to display coz of a issue with hdmi

 

[old.user4556]

Paramount have officially moved over to blu-ray

AV zombie » Document » Paramount to boldy go back to Blu

 

[old.user4556]

..and Universal.

AV zombie » Document » Universal quick to announce Blu-ray support