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Toshiba Touts 51GB HD DVD

srizah writes to mention that Toshiba plans to launch a 51 GB HD DVD, with a 1 GB advantage over Sony's Blu-ray disc. From the article: Toshiba has submitted a triple-layer, 51GB HD DVD-ROM disc to the standard's overseer in the hope the technology will be adopted as a standard by the end of the year. If approved, it allow the format to exceed the 50GB storage capacity of rival medium Blu-ray Disc. The HD DVD standard currently defines single- and dual-layer discs capable of holding 15GB and 30GB of data, respectively."

47 of 236 comments (clear)

  1. Fifty one! by plover · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ours goes to 51. Yes, but you see -- that's one more, isn't it? Fifty-one is one more than fifty, that's what makes it so special. It's one more.

    --
    John
    1. Re:Fifty one! by KUHurdler · · Score: 3, Funny

      640K of memory should be enough for anybody.

      --
      Fix Your Own TV - RiddledTV.com Avoid the Landfill
    2. Re:Fifty one! by L7_ · · Score: 4, Funny

      I always think of that hitchiker clip in "Something about Mary" when I hear of these comparisons:

      Hitchiker: You heard of this thing the 8-minute abs?
      Guy: Yeah, sure, 8-minute abs. Yeah, the exercise video.
      Hitchiker: This is going to blow that right out of the water. Listen to this. 7-minute abs. Right.
      Guy: Yes. OK, all right, I see where you're going.
      Hitchiker: You walk into a video store. There's 8-minute abs and 7-minute abs beside it. Which one are you going to pick?
      Guy: I'm... I would go for the seven.
      Hitchiker: Bingo, man, bingo. 7-minute abs. ...

    3. Re:Fifty one! by Annirak · · Score: 2

      That's why I tagged this "pissingcontest"

    4. Re:Fifty one! by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 2, Funny

      And 650k would be sooo much better.

    5. Re:Fifty one! by AftanGustur · · Score: 3, Informative


      According to Wikipedia, Blue Ray is up to 33 GB **PER LAYER** in the labs, that would give 66 Gigabytes for a *two layer* blueray disk.

      And of course, a 3 layer "standard" blueray disk would be about 70GB.

      And then there's reality, it looks like Sony will manage to shoot itself in the leg (head) with it's silly restrictions on content. (No pron).

      --
      echo '[q]sa[ln0=aln80~Psnlbx]16isb572CCB9AE9DB03273snlbxq' |dc
    6. Re:Fifty one! by Wavicle · · Score: 2, Informative
      --
      Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.
      Edward Everett (1794 - 1865)
    7. Re:Fifty one! by jones_supa · · Score: 2, Funny

      I think 641k should be just enough.

    8. Re:Fifty one! by binkzz · · Score: 2, Informative

      They say that's what killed Philip's superior video cassettes - that they didn't allow porn on it.

      --
      'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' II Corinthians 5:7
    9. Re:Fifty one! by Overly+Critical+Guy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Not only that, 100GB and 200GB Blu-ray discs were announced last year.

      Assuming Sony is actually preventing porn from appearing on Blu-ray (the only story we have about it is what some guy said people told him at a convention), porn is freely available on the Internet anyway, and Blu-ray has more studio support (Disney in particular), so I don't see it making a lot of difference.

      --
      "Sufferin' succotash."
    10. Re:Fifty one! by Tanuki64 · · Score: 2, Funny
      640K of memory should be enough for anybody.

      HE never said this. This is an urban myth. I can testify. I was present, when HE did not say it. ;-)
    11. Re:Fifty one! by Tanuki64 · · Score: 4, Informative
      Assuming Sony is actually preventing porn from appearing on Blu-ray ...

      Apparently this is not true. See: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070112-8602 .html
    12. Re:Fifty one! by dubbreak · · Score: 2, Funny
      I love that. My favorite part is when he mentions the possibilty of someone introducing 6 minute abs.

      Hitchhiker: You heard of this thing, the 8-Minute Abs?
      Ted Stroehmann: Yeah, sure, 8-Minute Abs. Yeah, the excercise video.
      Hitchhiker: Yeah, this is going to blow that right out of the water. Listen to this: 7... Minute... Abs.
      Ted Stroehmann: Right. Yes. OK, alright. I see where you're going.
      Hitchhiker: Think about it. You walk into a video store, you see 8-Minute Abs sittin' there, there's 7-Minute Abs right beside it. Which one are you gonna pick, man?
      Ted Stroehmann: I would go for the 7.
      Hitchhiker: Bingo, man, bingo. 7-Minute Abs. And we guarantee just as good a workout as the 8-minute folk.
      Ted Stroehmann: You guarantee it? That's -- how do you do that?
      Hitchhiker: If you're not happy with the first 7 minutes, we're gonna send you the extra minute free. You see? That's it. That's our motto. That's where we're comin' from. That's from "A" to "B".
      Ted Stroehmann: That's right. That's -- that's good. That's good. Unless, of course, somebody comes up with 6-Minute Abs. Then you're in trouble, huh?
      [Hitchhiker convulses]
      Hitchhiker: No! No, no, not 6! I said 7. Nobody's comin' up with 6. Who works out in 6 minutes? You won't even get your heart goin, not even a mouse on a wheel.
      Ted Stroehmann: That -- good point.
      Hitchhiker: 7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 doors. 7, man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin' on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office.
      Ted Stroehmann: Why?
      Hitchhiker: 'Cause you're fuckin' fired!
      --
      "If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
  2. 200 GB blu-ray by Naksu · · Score: 5, Informative

    TDK actually has made six-layer 200 GB blu-ray disks, way back in 2006 :) http://www.tdk.com/procommon/press/article.asp?sit e=con&recid=127

    1. Re:200 GB blu-ray by Karganeth · · Score: 3, Funny

      Nonsense! A company who distributed a rootkit and lost a different format war in the past could never create a technology superior to HD-DVD. Besides, a blogger posted something about Sony not licensing his pr0n movie so, obviously, Blu-ray is bound to fail.

  3. Priceless... by andrewd18 · · Score: 5, Funny

    R&D: Billions of dollars.
    Marketing: More billions of dollars.

    Squeezing that extra GB out of your next-gen DVD to claim your format is "better": Priceless.

    1. Re:Priceless... by Ucklak · · Score: 3, Interesting
      I am so f*king tired of that no-skip crap. That is worse than VHS.
      With VHS,
      • Fast forward through ads
      • Reset Counter
      • Rewind to 0:00 after tape is over


      I rip and reauthor my kids DVDs (good backup plan too - I've had a DVD break once) to avoid that non-skip crap. It's fantastic to pop a DVD in and have the show just start.

      There is one Kid G-rated DVD I have that has that seedy, loud music commercial about how illegal copying is bad. Sorry studio guys. That crap is scary to a kid. Why the hell do you force a viewing on a G-Rated DVD???????

      Some of that non-skip you can fast forward through, some you fast forward the chapters.
      Apparently there are DVD players on the market that actually skip this. Anyone know what they are?

      I am not on the bandwagon for this BD vs HD war. I doubt I will get on it as it is very anti-consumer from my point of view. The entire HDCP over HDMI crap penalizes consumers if they make a mistake. There are still TVs that have HDMI issues and that's a lot of change to lose to have a non-compliant piece of equipment that will show crappy SD content.

      In the good ole VCR days, you unpacked the thing, screwed the cable in the back of the device, screwed the other end in your 300ohm connector (or if you had a cable ready TV, right into the thing) , tuned to channel 3 OR 4 on your TV (and that was the worst decision if you could call it that) and you're good to go.

      Now, you have to buy not-so-expensive-anymore HDMI cables and pray it works.
      Then you may have to set on the monitor and the output device the resolution settings.
      If your HDMI is flaky or doesn't work, then your $40 DVD on your $800 DVD player is downscaled (not yet but the day will come).

      So really in review, this HD thing is sill untested.
      --
      if you steal from one source, that is plagiarism, if you steal from many, well, that's just research.
  4. the winnar is pr0n by User+956 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Toshiba plans to launch a 51 GB HD DVD, with a 1 GB advantage over Sony's Blu-ray disc.

    This will clearly make it victorious over blu-ray. The fact that the porn industry has chosen HD-DVD will have nothing to do with it.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
    1. Re:the winnar is pr0n by phlegm · · Score: 4, Informative

      Why does everybody keep saying this. It is not true. Just because a blogger says something does not make it fact. This was all over Digg and thoroughly debunked in the comments there. But people still believe it. Many producers including Vivid (The biggest) are exclusively blu-ray.

      --
      tabooki.com
    2. Re:the winnar is pr0n by Babbster · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Okay, here's the problem with what you say about Vivid being "Blu-ray exclusive": They still haven't released a disc. On the other hand, Wicked has already released an HD DVD movie and Digital Playground (which was also supposedly going the Blu-ray route) has 5 on the way. The entire basis for Vivid being "Blu-ray exclusive" is a statement from the boss over there that they were leaning toward Blu-ray because the PS3 would have it and they expected that community to be open to buying Blu-ray porn. Of course, that statement was made before a single PS3 had been sold and before Microsoft hit the market with their HD DVD add-on. In short, it was a speculative statement as opposed to a true commitment.

      Right at this second, I don't care either way since I don't have either player yet (though I'm leaning towards HD DVD based on the price factor and the fact that there is more content available on HD DVD right now). However, when people claim superiority of one format over the other on anything besides the technical merits, it should be based on facts as opposed to statements of intent.

  5. Re:Finally? by The+Slaughter · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Since I already bought a PS3 and it came with a Blu-Ray as an extra (and pretty soon 1 million others will be in the same boat), I'd just prefer if Blu-Ray wins. Come on, we all know it's a superior standard. God the blu-ray discs look awesome as well.

  6. Not a big deal... by NineNine · · Score: 4, Insightful

    None of these high capactiy DVD formats are going to get any traction at all for at least the next few years. DVD has just recently become ubiquitous, and I'm willing to bet that nobody is buying these new players yet (except for the ones in the XBox 360 and the PS3). The TV technology (plasma and LCD) is still unbelievably crappy and overpriced, so there's no real reason for these new formats yet.

    1. Re:Not a big deal... by HappySqurriel · · Score: 2, Informative
      rm999 said this, and I believe it is quite valid for your argument: Your argument has been repeated ad nauseam for a long time now, but the inflection point has hit where it is no longer even remotely valid. My blockbuster already rents out about 40 HD movies. As I recall, DVD players became mainstream within a year of this occurring (about 8 years ago).

      Just a point

      " June 21, 2003

      "DVD rentals outpaced videocassette rentals last week for the first time, the Video Software Dealers Association reported."

      Link

      " December 19, 2006

      "For the first time, DVD players were found in more U.S. households compared to VCR players, according to new research."

      Link

      " January 4, 2002

      "The BVA also reports sales over the last 12 months in Britain of a record total of 122 million videos - more than 30% of which were in the DVD format."

      Link

      DVD was finalized in September 1996, and DVD players began to be produced in early 1997 and the DVD format only (really) started taking off in 1999/2000; remember that DVD was considered one of the fastest adopted formats because everyone could gain the benefits without needing a new TV and there was only one format.

      Now, I'll explain again my objections with saying that now is the time to adopt HD:
      • No rentable content: in Canada (currently) both Blockbuster and Rogers Video have no plans to begin renting out HD movies (in any format) in the near future; the answer I have been able to get from them is that they "will start carying small quantities of certain titles in both formats sometime in 2007."
      • Expensive broadcast content: locally I have to spend $600 on a HD-Digital Cable box in order to be able to receive HD-TV and that only includes 6 basic channels; they sell HD-Channel packages so your cable bill will go up by $10-$20 per month for HD-TV.
      • Expensive equipment: $1000 to $2000 for a TV and $500 to $1000 for a HD-Player may not sound like a lot of money, but it is more than I can justify when I know I have a $1150 rent payment at the end of the month.
      • No Content: Currently there are almost 100 HD-DVD or Blu-Ray movies, there are thousands of DVD movies, even if I could rent every HD-Movie there is not enough content at the moment to make any purchase reasonable.

      Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think that the vast majority of people are going to be looking to upgrade their entertainment centers at this point in time because it is too expensive, with too little benefit. In 2009 we will be looking at a different situation (likely dual format players for $200 and 30inch LCD HDTVs for $500) but today, unless you want to waste your money, you should wait for the prices to come down and the quantity of content to increase before you buy in.
  7. Can someone help me out? by bherman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Ok, I'm a tad confused

    1 Layer = 15 gig
    2 Layers = 30 gig (makes sense, 15 x 2)
    3 Layers = 51 gig....wtf? 15 x 3 = 45

    --
    Error: Sig not found.
    1. Re:Can someone help me out? by InsaneGeek · · Score: 3, Informative

      1 layer = 17 not 15
      2 layers = 34
      3 layers = 51

    2. Re:Can someone help me out? by this+great+guy · · Score: 4, Informative

      1 layer = 15 GB
      2 layers = 30 GB = 2 x 15 GB/layer
      3 layers = 51 GB = 3 x 17 GB/layer

      For 3-layer HD-DVDs, Toshiba decided to use 17 GB layers instead of 15 for the sole purpose of obtaining the upper hand in capacity over the competing 50 GB Blu-ray discs. I agree that this is a bit laughable :)

    3. Re:Can someone help me out? by hattig · · Score: 5, Informative

      You've got to +5 Informative by giving incorrect information.

      HD-DVD is 15GB per layer, in the current shipping product.

      1 layer = 15GB
      2 layers = 30GB

      In this product the capacity per layer has been increased to 17GB.

      3 layers = 51GB

      Theoretically that will also make 17GB and 34GB HD-DVDs a possibility. However there is a wee slight issue. Current HD-DVD players may not be able to read these new 17GB layers, and quite possibly may not manage 3 layers either. The first may be fixable in the firmware, but the laser is very much hardware - although the laser power might be firmware controllable, and hence make it possible to read with firmware tweaks.

      BluRay is 25GB per layer. However in a similar vein 33GB/layer BluRay discs have been done (200GB capacity in 6 layers), but some current players may read them, AFAIK. However if a firmware update would work then 66GB dual-layer BluRay discs are a possibility.

      OTOH Hitachi apparently showcased a 25GB x 4 layer BluRay disc recently however: "Hitachi demonstrated reading from a 100 GB Blu Ray disc, comprising four layers of data. It is probably in reaction to the upcoming adoption of triple layer HD-DVD. The good news is that this technology seems close at hand: the device used to read is very close to the LG GBW-H10N that we tested. A firmware modification was all it took to allow all four layers to be read."

  8. They are making it more and more complicated by javilon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Will current HD-DVD players be able to read three layers disks? If that is not the case, they are adding to the DRM nightmare.

    Now you have to check that:

    - You are using the right disk with the right recorder BlueRay/HD-DVD
    - You are using the right variety of disk that you recorder can read (triple layer won't work on old players).
    - You have everything hooked using HDCP cabling.
    - All of your hardware supports DRM (if it doesn't your content will be downgraded and you will be worst off than you would with a dvd player).

    And off course, the way things are going, in no time your new shiny expensive hardware will be rendered obsolete by a new iteration of the technology and/or the Digital Restrictions Management schema imposed by the studios.

    You have to be masochistic to refuse the easy route to High Definition, a DVI connector, P2P and a BFHD (Big F*****g Hard Drive).

    --


    When his defense asked, "Which computer has Jon Johansen trespassed upon?" the answer was: "His own."
  9. Amazing! by oGMo · · Score: 3, Informative

    Someone's competitor plans to launch a product with a 2% advantage over the product you can already get, mere years after something with a 100% advantage was demonstrated, and within only 8 months of something with 200% advantage!

    --

    Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

  10. Re:Finally? by nonsequitor · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I doubt that. Toshiba has made a 3 layer HD DVD disc. The current Blu Ray discs are only 2 layers. From what I heard Toshiba has designed discs of both formats at 10 Layers, considering that you get more data per layer of a Blu Ray disc it will still be bigger. Plus they have already made a 6 layer Blu Ray disc with a capacity of 200 GB. And we all know 51 is much less than 200. If it were an apples to apples comparison, it may have been a nail in Blu Ray's coffin. However, when you compare the largest Blu Ray disc produced, to the largest HD DVD disc produced, Blu Ray still has a clear advantage in capacity.

  11. The spec can't be changed now by Wesley+Felter · · Score: 5, Informative

    (This article appears to be a dupe, so I might as well repost my comment from last time.)

    The HD-DVD spec was finalized a while ago. HD-DVD players can only read two layers, therefore no movie can ever have more than two layers. All this talk about more layers is just PR wanking.

    1. Re:The spec can't be changed now by eclectro · · Score: 2, Insightful

      HD-DVD players can only read two layers, therefore no movie can ever have more than two layers.

      I suspect that future players will be backwards compatible with the new format.

      --
      Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
    2. Re:The spec can't be changed now by tlhIngan · · Score: 2, Insightful
      The HD-DVD spec was finalized a while ago. HD-DVD players can only read two layers, therefore no movie can ever have more than two layers. All this talk about more layers is just PR wanking.


      Technically, no.

      Think about it for a moment. Look at all the HD-DVDs on the market, and HD-DVD players. They're missing something. Something that has annoyed the world over (not so much North America, but the rest of the world). Blu-Ray has it alright (they've simplified it - somewhat, but it's still present).

      The "feature" that's missing in HD-DVD? Region coding. Yes, HD-DVDs are region-free. HD-DVD players have region numbers alright - that's for the DVD playback. HD-DVDs, nope. HD-DVD flippers, yes, for the DVD side. Now how in the world is the content industry going to accept that a major "next-gen" format will allow someone in Europe to get a high-quality movie that's probably just playing in theatres?

      The other thing is well, HD-DVD supports managed copy, which I don't think is quite standardized yet (managed copies is a DRM way of letting you take your HD-DVD, copy it to your hard drive to play on your laptop, or move it to an iPod to play, or other thing).

      Anyhow, it's not like more layers can't be put into the spec - I believe there is future capability for 4 layer HD-DVDs. 2 layers was put into the spec because it's trivial to produce using existing DVD processes (HD-DVD's main strength is how one can recycle existing DVD plants to make HD-DVDs - basically very little is needed to upgrade it from DVD-only to DVD-and-HD-DVD. Hence all the DVD/HD-DVD flippers out there - it's no biggie to the production line).
    3. Re:The spec can't be changed now by Hamoohead · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm old enough to remember the capacity wars between Beta/VHS. The first Beta (B-I) was 90 minutes on an L750 tape and the first VHS (SP) was 120 minutes on a T120. Not to be outdone, Sony created B-II which doubled the recording time to 180 minutes. The problem was B-II was incompatible with the first gen machines. Sony's "solution" was to eliminated B-I (except for playback via a switch on the back of the deck) on all B-II decks. JVC (VHS) followed suit with LP (240 minutes) and the same incompatibility with first gen VHS decks (although LP decks retained SP recording capability).

      Sony followed with B-III (4h30m) and JVC with EP (SLP on Matsushita made decks - 6 hour). The only company to maintain recording capability for all speeds was JVC. But both formats shared playback incompatibility on previous generation decks with tapes recorded at the higher capacity, slower tape speeds. After three speed VHS decks became commonplace, content providers started releasing long (over 2 hour) movies in the LP (and occasionally) EP/SLP speeds, leaving anyone who still owned an older deck to either buy multi-tape copies, buy a new VCR, or do without. Sony actively dicouraged releases in B-III speed, claiming inferiority of the longer recording times. (Interesting enough, although it had a slightly better S/N ratio, the B-II speed was actually prone to more crosstalk and flagging than B-III, making B-III much better spec-wise.)

      While it makes for good press and scuttlebutt on /. (and I know I am risking flames for this) Betas demise had less to do with pr0n and more to do with JVCs higher initial capacity. Sony's 90 minute capacity was too little for the movie industry. Sony's shortsightedness in assuming people would only use the deck for time-shifting gave JVC the initial edge that Sony was never able to catch up with after the MPAA vs. Sony lawsuit was decided in Sony's favor and the movie industry embraced the VCR.

      The bottom line is, JVC's decision to go with a 120 minute initial capacity and maintain it throughout the life of the format at least gave early adopters the ability to play prerecorded content on their decks. But neither company was averse to breaking the compatibility with current decks to increase capacity. I suspect this will be the case with the future HDDVD/BluRay battle. Future gen decks will be backward compatible with the current standard (including BluRay if Sony is smart about it), and the movie industry will most likely release content only in the initial format reserving future higher capacity releases for a time when the higher capacity players have better market penetration. But early adopters will be out of luck if they want to play the new content on their old first-gen decks.

      --
      "If your parents never had children, chances are you wonât either." -Dick Cavett
  12. 200GB 51GB by Karganeth · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You seem a bit over the top. This is a 51 GB disk, TDK already has a 200GB Blu-Ray disk. Also, if you RTFA you might ahve noticed the words "The snag, of course, is that today's HD DVD players will be incapable of reading the new disc, which is something of a problem for early adopters, who will presumably have to buy new kit." This is NOTHING. Blu-ray is the better technology, and everyone knows it. Nobody wants to admit it because Sony, who created a rootkit, is backing it.

  13. Re:Finally? by phlegm · · Score: 2, Informative

    Just because a blogger says that one producer will also make hddvd disks does not mean there will be no blu-porn.
    Vivid which is the largest producer is exclusively blu-ray. I hate it when people take bloggers for the truth.

    --
    tabooki.com
  14. Behind the curve by Straif · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm not a big fan of Blu-Ray (lack of standards is going to play havoc on first gen adopters) but if this was a fight about capacity HD-DVD would have been dead before it ever began. Capacity is about the only aspect of the next gen formats where there is a clear winner and it is not HD.

    TDK was showcasing 100GB blu-ray discs almost two years ago and has recently shown off 200GB blu-ray discs. The problem is people are slow to adopt the use of next gen optical drives for performing important back ups and at present the excess capacity is next to useless for the movie industry.

    This does help HD-DVD in that the increased capacity does help them match Blu-Rays superiority in the important TV DVD market. Previous to this you could fit an entire high def season on one BR disc but would be forced to use 2 or 3 HD discs. Now they can both meet the single disc hurdle.

    I just hope someone wins this battle quickly and we'll get one standard for both PCs and movies or if not at least drives/players capable of reading both.

    --
    Of course that's just my opinion...... you could be wrong!
  15. Re:The Important Question by sharkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    A REAL slashdotter wouldn't have to ask. A REAL slashdotter would already know.

    --

    --
    "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  16. Re:Finally? by Total_Wimp · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So which version of DVD do I burn for Macs and which do I burn if I want to put my movie ina DVD player?

    Dual format is better than nothing, but I'd rather have a "winner." I know that every one of my VHS tapes is going to work in just about every VCR you can find in a home.

    Of course it's even better if we don't have a fight at all, like with CD, but I guess it's a little late for that at this point?

    TW

  17. That's a lot of eggs... by suparjerk · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...in one basket. 51 GB on a single CD-sized disc means the data is more physically compact.... which just means you lose more data if the disc gets scratched. 51GB is an improvement from 700 MB, I suppose, but I think cooler things could be being done.

    The data storage technology development seems to be progressing the same way video games were/are for a while. Video games pushed for more violence, more sex, a higher polygon count, neater visuals, blah blah blah. Too many of them are just the same old crappy first-person shooters, with prettier graphics. Hardly anything ground-breaking or new. So now we have a disc that holds more than the last disc.... Whoo.

    I guess it's not really data storage's job to be exciting or entertaining, so comparing with video games might not be the most appropriate thing to do. On the other hand, where are those super-cool hologram storage things I remember hearing about years ago??

    --
    I caught the Mountain Wumpus! He gave me his treasure chest ($100) to let him go free again.
  18. It's about production sizes, not disc sizes by dagamer34 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    It's not about the amount of storage space a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc can hold, as both formats have proven adequate to storing HD movies with amazing quality. No, it's about being able to get those discs into mass production with little increase in costs. That's why that 200GB Blu-Ray disc is pointless if it costs 10 or 20 times more to produce. Blu-Ray lost out earlier last year because while it did HAVE 50GB discs in it's initial spec, it took until late November to use them in movies. HD-DVD has been using dual layer 30GB discs from the start.


    We'll just have to wait and see how long it takes before these discs become reasonable to manufacturer. Until then, I'm sticking to DVD.

  19. Re:hey guys, help me make a decision by phlegm · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You should tag it as FUD since it obviously is. 200 gig is far bigger then 51 gig.

    --
    tabooki.com
  20. Re:No way by Overly+Critical+Guy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Blu-ray can go up to 200GB. With HD-DVD being publicly cracked before Blu-ray, that's pretty much the death knell in my eyes. The movie studios are even more paranoid about DRM than the music industry.

    --
    "Sufferin' succotash."
  21. Re:Finally? by The+PS3+Will+Fail · · Score: 2, Interesting
    What official numbers? The numbers released by Sony?

    And if you know anything about the history of console sales, you would know that the technical merits of the system are not the only factor in what console sells the most.

    Why is it that PS3s are widely available and languishing on store shelves while stores cannot keep the Wii in the stock? I mean, if the battle is so neck to neck as you believe, the PS3 boxes wouldn't be collecting dust - would they? Face it, Sony is a terrible company that practices anti-consumer behavior and they deserve to lose. Why would you even want to support them? They make MS look noble by comparison.

  22. No need to do that anymore by melted · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The war is already won by HD-DVD, for three reasons:
    1. It's cheaper to produce
    2. There's porn on it
    3. Higher capacities don't matter for H.264/VC-1 encoded content

    These map very closely to VHS vs Betamax war:
    1. VHS was cheaper to product
    2. There was porn on it
    3. Higher image quality didn't matter much

    Except #3 is not even about image quality this time around. Image quality is identical between two standards, they use the same codecs at the same bitrates.

  23. Re:Finally? by plover · · Score: 4, Informative

    According to the official numbers released PS3 is only 100,000 units behind the WII for Dec.

    People keep saying this because the PS3s were on-the-shelf available through most of the Christmas season, while Wiis were sold out on the morning of day one and continued to sell out immediately everywhere throughout the season. Nintendo could have easily sold two or three times what they did if they had the products on the shelves. Sony had their products out in the marketplace, which means they sold all they were capable of selling at their current price point.

    There's still a lot of guesstimation, but the Wii is far more popular than the PS3. Not that the PS3 is dying (Sony won't let it) but it's not going to dominate the current console market.

    --
    John
  24. Re:200GB 51GB by Tanuki64 · · Score: 2, Informative

    And here is a definitely redundant post, but I suppose from a certain size one cannot expect that everyone reads every reply.

    Apparently the 'no porn' policy does not exist. See:
    http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070112-8602 .html