blu ray or HD DVD

[JamesB]

which format will win. I know the format wars have been going strong and it looks like more are backing blu ray and are offering more content on blu ray disc.

so.....who do you think will come out on top of this

James

[Bartman01]

Possibly neither, at least not beyond a niche market (like Laser-Disk). By the time either 'wins', we will probably have digital distribution models in place. On an 'average' sized set, most people are perfectly happy with DVD quality for now.

As to 'backing' and 'content', Blu-Ray has vocal support - but most studios are releasing on both formats. Some studios, however, are only releasing on one or the other - so you need 2 players (or one expensive not 100% HD compatible player) to see all of the content available.

[Murph]

Wait, thats all I can say. Wait for at least six more months to let things start to shake out. The Porn industry is adopting HD-DVD, so it will probably be the winner.

[Abel]

Originally Posted by Murph

The Porn industry is adopting HD-DVD, so it will probably be the winner.

an interesting fact that i also heard on the radio about the porn industry adopting HD-DVD was the last time that had to choose a format was when they chose VHS over Beta... and we all know how that turned out.

may be a coincidence but you never know.

[Mike G]

Sony was actually making noise about not allowing porn on Blu-Ray .. it'll kill it

[Abel]

plus it is supposedly more expensive for companies to get movies on blu-ray as opposed to hd-dvd...

who knows... i know i have a ton of regualr old skool dvds and if i went to one of the higher formats i dont think id get every new movie on that BR or HD simply because of the cost. maybe only the few movies that I know i really like.

[Night Owl]

I'll wait to see which one wins out before I pick. Twenty-five years ago, my dad was positive Sony's Betamax format would pwn VHS and invested in three machines + camcorder. THAT was money well spent...

[jeffkohn]

I've chosen HD-DVD for now, primarily because the cost of a drive was much cheaper to use with my media PC ($199 for the XBox drive versus $500-700 for a BD drive).

HD has a lot going for it. The titles are cheaper and easier to produce, the format is more mature (BD-J still isn't finished yet), the discs are cheaper to manufacture, and the hardware is cheaper to manufacture. From a consumer viewpoint the players are cheaper and the discs are also typically several dollars cheaper. Meanwhile the first BD players have been not only very expensive but missing functionality that future players will have.

The one thing BD has going for it right now is more exclusive studios. While HD-DVD only has Universal, BD has Sony, Fox, Disney, and a few others. So particularly for new releases, BD has an edge in content (Universal has a huge catalog of older titles, but hasn't put out as many big movies recently compared to some of the others). Warner and a few others are neutral, releasing titles on both formats. What's frustating is that apparently delays in getting BD-J fully working has cause Warner to hold up some big titles from HD-DVD because they want to release on both formats simultaneously.

In the long run I hope HD-DVD wins because IMHO it will be better for the consumer. I can't think of a single time when Sony being in charge of a technology format was a good thing for customers so I'd really hate to see them win. That said, in the short run I'll probably go dual format if a more affordable BD drive comes out for the PC.

I'll concede that the difference in picture quality isn't that great on smaller sets, but for anybody with a recent big-screen HDTV the difference is very noticeable IMHO. I have a hard time watching regular DVD now that I've gotten spoiled by broadcast HDTV and HD-DVD.

Unfortunately I think anybody who decides to "wait it out" will probably have to wait considerably longer than 6 months for there to be a decisive winner.

[jeffkohn]

BTW I'm skeptical porn will have any deciding role this time around. 30 years ago, VHS was the only alternative to movie theaters; but today there's so much porn on the internet that I don't think HD format is going to be much of an issue.

[babybluetx23]

Originally Posted by Abel

an interesting fact that i also heard on the radio about the porn industry adopting HD-DVD was the last time that had to choose a format was when they chose VHS over Beta... and we all know how that turned out.

may be a coincidence but you never know.

I was about to say the same thing. You beat me to it! hehe hubby and I are going to wait for a while. we stopped buying new technology just after it rolls out. we wait a little while till prices drop and until they work out the kinks. looks like this one we will have to wait to see who wins. I have a funny feeling HD-DVD will win for the simple fact that the porn industry adopted HD-DVD over bluray.

[JamesB]

im not buying either any time soon. the players are still way to high cost wise. my current dvd player cost me $29. so Im gonna wait until next year or so when the prices drop some more. I might be able to get a used player (the winner of the format wars) for under $100 once the battle is over.

I am getting a new surround sound home theater system once my rebate comes in for buying my HDTV. not sure which one im gonna get, but i have to get it at sears since the rebate im getting is more like sears in store credit than something I can used anywhere.

James

[babybluetx23]

not only that, but look at the cost of the HD-DVD burners!?!??! I went to go look at them because of the capacity that they hold and got sticker shock! its over 600 bucks! Almost 700

[zeroendless]

BR was strong in the paper but totally screw up both hw and sw wise at early releases. It was a pathetic lost; they could have done so much better. Toshiba at hd-dvd camp done right in the very first place and keep providing better and cheaper hw for consumer. I think the xbox360 hd-dvd add on with less than $200 help the sale for those who already own the 360 console as well as using HTPC. Breaking the DRM scheme on HD and BR, "backup" the hd content to hdd is so much fun that playing them.....LOL

Unfortunately, HD-dvd tittles is horrible, pathetic and a total loser. BR release is about 3:1 at recent schedule. What's the use of the good HW if you don't have the movie?? BR pretty much owes the sw market. Well, good thing my hd-dvd player only costs less than $200, BR is on my next list. Screws the hd-dvd. It's all come down to "It's about the movie"

Winged migration is scheduled to release on BR, that alone justify the purchase…LOL

[zeroendless]

I agree with Jeff, porn industry adopts hd-dvd means no jack these days. My guess is Internet sale on streaming HD and downloading porn is as strong and a growing business compare to hard copy porn media.

[Detonate]

HD-DVD is the win for me because I shoot HD video. You can encode HD content onto a regular DVD-R. So a Dual Layer DVD-R will hold approx. 40 minutes of my 1080(i) home video footage.

Although I haven't actually plunked down the cash for a player yet. Right now I have a Mediacenter PC setup, so it's just as easy to just watch it that way rather than having a disc.

Although this summer I'm going to bite the bullet and get a Toshiba player so I can start renting HD-DVD movies.