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Fate of High-Def DVD up to Microsoft?
BlackMesaResearchFac writes "EE Times is reporting that Microsoft may have chosen a side in the ongoing optical disk war. From the article: 'several industry sources last week told EE Times that Microsoft is muscling into the optical-disk fray by leveraging its operating-system clout to bundle HD-DVD within Vista, the company's next-generation OS. There is also talk that the software giant may be planning to offer cash incentives -- in the form "coupons" -- to system vendors or retailers if they agree to support HD-DVD. Such coupons would provide "credits" or "memos" for each PC that is sold with HD-DVD inside.'"
So what? Microsoft doesn't sell disks, it sells software. Compare this to vendors that sell entertainment content such as films and Microsoft's influence on the space is not significant.
But can't Microsoft dictate terms through choosing to support the reading of data from certain hardware formats only in its software?
Again no. Not if their customers want another format supported. TFA even points out that Microsoft can't control its OEMs behaviour:
Dell Inc., for its part, has no intention of switching its support from Blu-ray, Brian Zucker, a Dell technology strategist who sits on the Blu-Ray DVD committee, told EE Times. "The only reasons we would make a change would be if we saw significant customer demand not to back the format we have been working on," he added.
If Dell wants support for X, its status as the seller of 20% of Microsoft's operating sytems software units gives it enough clout to require Microsoft to provide support.
Or Dell could add its own support.
IANAL but from the article here http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2001/November/01_at_56 9.htm
The settlement reached today accomplishes this by:
* creating the opportunity for independent software vendors to develop products that will be competitive with Microsoft's middleware products on a function-by-function basis;
* giving computer manufacturers the flexibility to contract with competing software developers and place their middleware products on Microsoft's operating system;
* preventing retaliation against computer manufacturers, software developers, and other industry participants who choose to develop or use competing middleware products; and
* ensuring full compliance with the proposed Final Judgment and providing for swift resolution of technical disputes.
Microsoft seems to be in violation of resolution two. They are also prohibited from entering exclusive agreements.
Enjoy,
It's just the normal noises in here.
It's FUBAR, not foobar. FUBAR is an acronym that stands for "F'ed Up Beyond All Recognition". Besides that, it's funnier if you spell it right. (and yes, I intentionally abbreviated the 'F' word.)
Sorry, that was just bugging me.
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
Umm, I don't know where this article gets the idea that microsoft may have chosen a side. Blu-Ray uses Java. Let me spell that out for everyone: cross-platform, not .NET, not media tech. owned by MS. Bill himself is reported to have been shouting about that in Sony's offices.
So, while MS may well want to crush PS3, I think we need to remember that consoles are probably just a way of getting MS and their Media ownership sold to the next generation. What bill cares about is owning the tools that run the content, not having successful individual products like X-Boxes or having the best NG-DVD format.
Well, to this day, when I order dupes of projection reels I get them as Beta SP. Of course, they have to be dubbed from there to VHS in order to be played on any VCR any normal person owns.
Professional adoption != consumer adoption.
Of course, many of the studios have come out in favor of blu-Ray (after some dithering), as well as Sony and Apple. It's completely possible that HD-DVD will become the standard on the desktop but Blu-Ray will become the standard in your TV hutch, putting a knife in livingroom convergence but guarenteeing everybody their own happy little fiefdom and making ripping a thing of the past, except for the specially equipped individual who happens to own a soon-to-be-freakish blue-ray computer drive.
Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
"Neither format takes full use of compression to allow more video content to be stored on an individual disc; if you look at WMV-HD you can fit HD movies on a conventional DVD,"
Consider the processing power required to play back that content. Most of those cheap standalone playback devices don't have even enough power to handle the "very complex" GMC algorithm in XviD, an xbox isn't even powerfull enough to play H264 (unless one doesn't use all the nice features that make it worth encoding to it in the first place).
"the best way to prevent piracy is to sell your product for a price that people are willing to pay"
Why pay if you can get it for free?
They are going to use their dominance in the console market to try to make Blu-Ray the defacto standard.
Sony doesn't hold a monopoly in the console industry. The market is pretty well divided among the XboX, Gamecube, and Playstation. With each generation of console, it's a wide-open opportunity for any participant to take the lead.
The anti-trust law that Microsoft was convicted of breaking was that they leveraged a monopoly in one industry (Computer Operating Systems) to suppress competition in another (Web Browsers). Other posters on this topic are proposing that this is a repeat offense.
Joel Klein-- "In this specific case the evidence is overwhelming that Microsoft was unable to compete on the merits and decided in its own words "to leverage its monopoly" in order to "make people" use their browser."
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
It seems to me that if Sony goes with Blu-Ray and all the PC's out in the wild won't have it, it will be harder to copy their games.
In other news, Pioneeer officially announced their BRD-101A Blu-ray burner today.