Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD

Michael S writes sent in a good story which sumarizes the current status of the battle between Blu-Ray & HD-DVD. There still isn't really a clear victor... or is there? I for one can't wait for this crap to get settled out so we can just enjoy having huge discs.

Comments

Why people don't RTFA

[frovingslosh]

From the article: ... it will take a while till they become largely accessible - probably towards the end of 2005, but most likely in 2006 -....

So it's probably this, but on the other hand it's most likely something else? My faith in anything the article might say was lost.

PS3

[M.C. Hampster]

I wouldn't underestimate the influence of the PS3 on the format wars. The fact Sony is (obviously) using their own Blu-Ray format for their next generation console could mean an early victory for their format.

Re:PS3

[incom]

Yes, because sony has a history of being victorious in format wars, like their succesful betamax beating vhs, minidisc beating cdr, atrac or whatever beating mp3, memory stick beating SD and CF, and so on.

Crap to get settled?

[adiposity]

The degree to which you enjoy having "truly huge discs" will depend on which standard gets adopted. The formats aren't equivalent and have substantial differences in price and excellence. This is nothing like the DVD+/DVD- R/RW wars; the formats are too dissimilar.

The preference of one format over the other could have ramifications similar to those of Betamax/VHS. Personally, I'm not excited bout HD-DVD's 2.5 hour limit on high-def video. Blu-ray has a 4.5 hour limit? Now we're talking. Even LOTR:ROTK will fit on that.

I'm sick of standards that just *barely* satisfy the need for new formats. HD-DVD is an evolutionary upgrade of DVDs to allow a majority of films to fit in high-def. Blu-ray is a revolutionary change which may cost more initially, but provides much more headroom and has plans for even larger disc capacity. It also will provide an immediate benefit for long films or extensive data storage over HD-DVD.

I can't wait for this crap to get settled...in favor of Blu-ray. I'm sure not going to be excited about it when I am sticking in the second HD-DVD for a > 2.5 hour hdef film because "HD-DVD" sounds more like "DVD" than "Blu-ray". So, world, take your time if you must; just choose the right format it the end.

Bottom line: if you have to do a major upgrade of media and players, do it right! Don't upgrade the minimum amount required, but plan for the future.

I'll be almost as happy if dual-format drives take over like DVD+/-, but it would still probably mean most movies came out on HD-DVD.

-Dan

Re:I'm sticking with 5 1/4 inch floppies

[Curtman]

Funny.. Seriously though I'd be happy if some of this new space went to more redundancy if it meant the discs would be more reliable than DVD/CD media is. I'd sacrifice some space for better chances to read it later. If part of whatever standard wins allowed for the data to be stored twice on the media, readers could check the other track if one was damaged.

Blu-Ray

[Fahrvergnuugen]

Well, considering that Sony, Apple & the Porn Industry are all behind Blu-Ray, I'd say we have a pretty good idea of who is going to win this one...

Re:Still no word from the pr0n industry

[lovswr]

Are you being sarcastic? The pr0n industry has been at the forefront (no pun inteneded) of home video tech since the VCR. As much as this counrty tries to present itself as Puritanical downhome homebodies; money talks & bs walks. The guy that sits across from me at work, & a good friend (they both used to work for the clearinghouse companies) have told me that the #1 state for pr0n video on demand rentals is good ole puritanical Utah. Basically, pr0n users will lead the way, & the asses, literally will follow.* So the choice of format by the pr0n industry is very important to both camps. *My apologies to Mr. Brown & EnVogue.