The idea that this technology will be embraced in the next decade is rather optimistic, to say the least. Look at the history of HD. Sony demonstrated the technology in the 1980's. The US adopted an alternative digital standard in the early 1990's with conversion mandated to be complete by 2001. We are now in 2005, and we don't even have a frickin' recording format, let alone standardized broadcast! Sometime next year, the first recording formats will emerge, with a lot of blood on the floor (pick sides: Sony or Toshiba) and the studios will continue to push DVD's. Why? Because well over 70% of studio revenue comes from DVD sales. Movie box office accounts for less than a third of the cash they get from movies, and if you think the studios are moving away from DVD, think again! they like money.
LOL. The p0rn industry will take advantage of this technology? Yeah, right. In fact, they are avoiding hi def like the plague. Most of the 'stars' they employ have terrible skin and zits, which can be covered by theater make-up for SD broadcast quality recordings. But in HD, these people look like cr*p and HD viewers are quietly throwing up in the wastebaskets at the mere thought of sticking anything into these creatures, let along a much-revered part of their own anatomy. HD is anathema to the industry, and the longer they can stick with SD, and let you happy consumers live with your imaginations and fantasies, the happier they will be. High definition production values are difficult to achieve for professional movie makers: for these guys, they just don't want or need to go there.
Interesting stuff, but everybody seems to be ignoring the 800 pound gorilla. Microsoft has been quietly distributing WMV-HD format product through Artisan for about a year and a half. If you have watched Terminator 2 WMV-HD on a 120-inch high definition projector, then you will have some idea what I am talking about.
Last year, the Taiwanese DVD player manufacturers paid about $1,500,000,000 in royalties to the organization which licences DVD formats, and they are getting out from under with FVD, a high definition format based around WMV-HD. The first players are going on sale priced at $171 and the price includes 10, yes, count 'em 10, HD movie titles. This product is going to be sold throughout China and Taiwan, and I would guess that the studios will be converting their movies to this format pretty quick smart, because the DVD market in China is rife with pirating.
Meanwhile, anybody with a fast PC can play WMV-HD, and Hollywood is not going to ignore the massive number of PC's running Windows Media Player. So I think Microsoft is just standing in the wings, watching Toshiba and Sony slug it out, and if Microsoft want this market, they have the money and the product to take it when the time is right.
have been watching the HD market evoution for a while now. The first HD players were supposed to emerge in 2003, and here we are: still nothing but air. Seems that the delay has really opened up an opportunity for Microsoft, and their FVD format which is about to be released in China and Taiwan ($170 for a player, wiich includes 10 movie titles) looks like it might be a winner. MS have also got the DRM side down, through experimentation with WMV-HD in the PC realm, and it is likely the new XBox will support the WMV-HD format, which means a lot more people will have a high def player based around MS technology than Toshiba or Sony.
The reality is that DVD's will be with us for a long time. The studios cannot ignore that existing market, and if you have a good DVD player, like with Faroudja or Silicon Optix chips, you can pull a picture that is very close to HD I have done side-by-side comparisons with some of the titles that have come out with both DVD and WMV-HD disks on a 120 inch screen, and the DVD (Faroudja-processed) actually has more detail than the WMV-HD.
MS have thrown Toshiba a bone by saying they will support the HD-DVD format in the XBox at some stage, but I think the real player in formats and DRM will be MS.
Meanwhile, it is a race between the improvement in DVD players, and HD. All the media is out there for DVD, and better players, with projection systems, make a lot more sense than being an early adopter of any HD format.
LOL. Enjoyed your comments. have a couple of my own.
The best reason for using a Windows-like GUI or any Windows structure is that it makes the transition to a linux environment very much easier for the average Windows user.
Your suggestion that developers should continually ask if the Windows paradigm is apropriate is well taken.
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The idea that this technology will be embraced in the next decade is rather optimistic, to say the least. Look at the history of HD. Sony demonstrated the technology in the 1980's. The US adopted an alternative digital standard in the early 1990's with conversion mandated to be complete by 2001. We are now in 2005, and we don't even have a frickin' recording format, let alone standardized broadcast! Sometime next year, the first recording formats will emerge, with a lot of blood on the floor (pick sides: Sony or Toshiba) and the studios will continue to push DVD's. Why? Because well over 70% of studio revenue comes from DVD sales. Movie box office accounts for less than a third of the cash they get from movies, and if you think the studios are moving away from DVD, think again! they like money.
LOL. The p0rn industry will take advantage of this technology? Yeah, right. In fact, they are avoiding hi def like the plague. Most of the 'stars' they employ have terrible skin and zits, which can be covered by theater make-up for SD broadcast quality recordings. But in HD, these people look like cr*p and HD viewers are quietly throwing up in the wastebaskets at the mere thought of sticking anything into these creatures, let along a much-revered part of their own anatomy. HD is anathema to the industry, and the longer they can stick with SD, and let you happy consumers live with your imaginations and fantasies, the happier they will be. High definition production values are difficult to achieve for professional movie makers: for these guys, they just don't want or need to go there.
Interesting stuff, but everybody seems to be ignoring the 800 pound gorilla. Microsoft has been quietly distributing WMV-HD format product through Artisan for about a year and a half. If you have watched Terminator 2 WMV-HD on a 120-inch high definition projector, then you will have some idea what I am talking about.
Last year, the Taiwanese DVD player manufacturers paid about $1,500,000,000 in royalties to the organization which licences DVD formats, and they are getting out from under with FVD, a high definition format based around WMV-HD. The first players are going on sale priced at $171 and the price includes 10, yes, count 'em 10, HD movie titles. This product is going to be sold throughout China and Taiwan, and I would guess that the studios will be converting their movies to this format pretty quick smart, because the DVD market in China is rife with pirating.
Meanwhile, anybody with a fast PC can play WMV-HD, and Hollywood is not going to ignore the massive number of PC's running Windows Media Player. So I think Microsoft is just standing in the wings, watching Toshiba and Sony slug it out, and if Microsoft want this market, they have the money and the product to take it when the time is right.
have been watching the HD market evoution for a while now. The first HD players were supposed to emerge in 2003, and here we are: still nothing but air. Seems that the delay has really opened up an opportunity for Microsoft, and their FVD format which is about to be released in China and Taiwan ($170 for a player, wiich includes 10 movie titles) looks like it might be a winner. MS have also got the DRM side down, through experimentation with WMV-HD in the PC realm, and it is likely the new XBox will support the WMV-HD format, which means a lot more people will have a high def player based around MS technology than Toshiba or Sony.
The reality is that DVD's will be with us for a long time. The studios cannot ignore that existing market, and if you have a good DVD player, like with Faroudja or Silicon Optix chips, you can pull a picture that is very close to HD I have done side-by-side comparisons with some of the titles that have come out with both DVD and WMV-HD disks on a 120 inch screen, and the DVD (Faroudja-processed) actually has more detail than the WMV-HD.
MS have thrown Toshiba a bone by saying they will support the HD-DVD format in the XBox at some stage, but I think the real player in formats and DRM will be MS.
Meanwhile, it is a race between the improvement in DVD players, and HD. All the media is out there for DVD, and better players, with projection systems, make a lot more sense than being an early adopter of any HD format.
Somerset Maugham, one of the great authors of the 20th century, said on his deathbed:
"The only great regrets I have are the things I did not do."
LOL. Enjoyed your comments. have a couple of my own.
The best reason for using a Windows-like GUI or any Windows structure is that it makes the transition to a linux environment very much easier for the average Windows user.
Your suggestion that developers should continually ask if the Windows paradigm is apropriate is well taken.