So when is the DVD war supposed to happen?

[brokentusk16 0]

I know that there is going to be a conflict between Blu Ray and HD DVD players. Has there been any word on when it's all going to take place?

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

By the oak tree after school @ 4 o'clock

[dubq 0]

I thought Blu-Ray already got shot down by everyone who wasn't Sony?

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I thought Blu-Ray already got shot down by everyone who wasn't Sony?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That's what I thought too.

[spman 0]

Both are just going to end up being a non-factor in long term. It's just not as big a jump in terms of quality over the DVDs as the DVDs were over VHS tapes. People aren't going to go out and buy all new expensive state of the art equipment just to watch an HD-DVD where only the geekist of sound and picture geeks will be able to tell the differences in the subtle nuances between the two.

[razazteca 0]

It won't matter until the high end recordable players are released.

[Eclipse 0]

I really don't understand the whole format war. Does this mean that everyone with a DVD player WILL have to upgrade to get either a BluRay or HD DVD player? That would really suck if the DVD format is gone, and EVERYONE will have to get a HD DVD or BluRay player. Hell, those players BETTER be backwards compatible with DVD.

[sfaJack 0]

I won't "upgrade" if there's no backwards compatibility. The DVD format is perfectly fine and there is really no need to "improve" it.

 

Besides, I've spent too much money on DVD's and equipment over the last few years. My bank account will enjoy the break.

[AndrewTS 0]

I thought Blu-Ray already got shot down by everyone who wasn't Sony?

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That's what I thought too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Not at all.

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/artic...t_id=1001000457

 

Fox joins Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (with MGM) on the Blu-ray side, which touts greater capacity and widespread support on the consumer electronics side. Blu-ray also will be the platform for Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3.

 

Toshiba's HD DVD is supported by Warner Home Video (with New Line and HBO), Paramount Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

 

HD DVD has been in development since 2000, when then-Warner Home Video president Warren Lieberfarb, the father of DVD, learned Sony was quietly working on a high-definition successor to DVD and asked Toshiba to intercede. The resulting HD DVD format is based more closely on current DVD standards for which Toshiba and Warner, among others, have copyrights and patents.

 

.....

 

Fox, however, was swayed not so much by Blu-ray's higher capacity but by the format's promise of better copy protection. At the just-concluded Video Software Dealers Assn. convention, Fox executive vp of sales Simon Swart estimated piracy takes an annual bite of up to $5 billion out of domestic home video revenues, or 20% of the total. -- a figure that's been steadily rising these last few years.

 

So right now, we have a new-gen DVD cold war brewing. The PS3 could be a big factor in it, since the PS2 helped usher DVDs into the mainstream faster.

 

BTW, both Blu-Ray and HD DVD players will play DVDs.

[dubq 0]

This format bullshit is all very ghey. Seriously. DVD's just became popular within the last five years or so, as if we need a new format already.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

This format bullshit is all very ghey. Seriously. DVD's just became popular within the last five years or so, as if we need a new format already.

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If you don't have a High Definition TV, this whole format war doesn't even concern you to start with since you'll need a Hi Def TV with either DVI or probably HDMI (because it has HDCP contebt protection which keeps the HD content from being played over anything other than HDMI port, plugging the analog HD hole which would allow people to record HD programs using the HD Analog component (red/blue/green) ports..in short its good for Hollywood, sucks for the consumer, blah blah blah).

 

As an owner of a HD TV, I would love to see HD Quality movies. Current DVD quality is a measly 480p, while Im sitting here watching ESPN NFL at 720p. However..Im not ready to put out $1,000 bucks for a HD-DVD/Blu Ray player even though I just spent $1,000 for a Hi Def TV and $600 for a Hi Def Directv Tivo (which as a sad side note will be a $600 doorstop soon with Directv abandoning Tivo and switching to MPEG-4 which the box can't decode), but I can record 2 HD programs at once which will be awesome for as long as its not a doorstop..

 

And while one could buy a PS3 for $500 and get a Blu-Ray Player, one would have to be stupid to buy a first generation Sony Console with a first generation media format (at 1x speed nonethe less, meaning wow, you have 50 GB of data and it takes 6 years to access it! whoohoo!")

 

I'm waiting for those 1 TB (Thats a terabyte, or 1,000 GB) holographic discs that are supposedly 2-3 years from market..thats where its at!

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

Sony won't get as lucky this time. The PS2 came out at the right moment, when the DVD market was just beginning to kick into full gear.

 

At that point, it was a fairly good deal..gaming console, and DVD player. The switch between DVD and the next-gen format won't be as huge as it was between VHS and DVD.

[SuperJerk 0]

So right now, we have a new-gen DVD cold war brewing. The PS3 could be a big factor in it, since the PS2 helped usher DVDs into the mainstream faster.

 

And inversely, DVD was responsible for ushering most first generation PS2s into the repair shop.

 

 

This whole thing reminds me of how everytime for the last 5 years I've gone to buy a new TV the salesperson tries to tell me that FCC has mandated that all broadcasting must be HD (which to my knowledge is a boldface lie) and I might as well get a jump on the new trend by getting an HD unit. That is, of course, until I actually did try to by an HD unti and I couldn't get a saelsman to give me the time of day because they were all too busy chasing after the customer who only LOOKED like he wanted to by something...the bastards.

 

And for the record, 480i in anamorphic widescreen still looks pretty damn good.

[Guest darealdeal21]

damn i didnt know anything about this

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

So right now, we have a new-gen DVD cold war brewing. The PS3 could be a big factor in it, since the PS2 helped usher DVDs into the mainstream faster.

 

And inversely, DVD was responsible for ushering most first generation PS2s into the repair shop.

 

 

This whole thing reminds me of how everytime for the last 5 years I've gone to buy a new TV the salesperson tries to tell me that FCC has mandated that all broadcasting must be HD (which to my knowledge is a boldface lie) and I might as well get a jump on the new trend by getting an HD unit. That is, of course, until I actually did try to by an HD unti and I couldn't get a saelsman to give me the time of day because they were all too busy chasing after the customer who only LOOKED like he wanted to by something...the bastards.

 

And for the record, 480i in anamorphic widescreen still looks pretty damn good.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

2009 - All over the air broadcasts must be digital. This only means anything to you if you use an antenna to get analog local networks. If thats you, and you don't upgrade to either a new tv with a digital tuner or a cable/satellite company that provides you with your locals, you will wake up January 1, 2009 without any local channels. Unless of course Congress pushes back the date again (it was pushed back from 2006 to 2009) which is possible.

 

Digital =/= Hi Def, but Hi Def = Digital.

 

Digital can also be Enhanced Definition (like some early model plasma sets) which is..oooh..480P max.

 

Digital can be just plain 480i, which is now commonly refered to as Standard Definition. The picture is clearer, and not snowy if you are out of range (you just get macroblocking if the signal breaks up).

 

Theres also 720p, 1080i and some LCDs now support 1080p.

 

Of course, there isn't anything to force channels like TBS/FX/Comedy Central to start broadcasting in Digital or even Hi-Def, and they'll probably still be in some form of analog 5-10 years from now. Cable/Sat companies just don't have the bandwith to shove 500 digital high definition channels to all their users, especially satellite.