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HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray Battle Over? Warner Switches to Blu-Ray

The "believers" in the payoff rumor have yet to provide a single credible quote from a Blu-ray company exec or insider.

I've yet to hear anything but denials of any negotiations with WB around the time of the switch from Fox executives, Warner executives or blu-ray insiders. The dollar amounts involved in a year of sales for Warner dwarves the alleged 500 million dollar amount.

If anyone wants to know, the blu-ray insiders hang out at blu-ray.com forums. There is an insider sub-forum where each insider has a separate thread for answering questions. These guys are the real deal and their hints have been accurate in the past.
 
Abercrombieboy said:
At the beginning it was better quality, however in 1985 JVC upgraded the specs to VHS HQ and HQ matched Betamax for picture quality.
Click to expand...

The HQ specification was pretty vague. There were many slight changes that HQ could be, and a manufacturer needed only install a few to win an "HQ" label. It really didn't mean much, nor did it match Betamax.

Betamax had a larger scanner drum so the contact path of the helical scanning heads was greater. VHS had a smaller scanner and slower tape speeds. Unless you changed the tape formulation to something with a higher output and completely changing the format like what was done with SuperVHS, you wouldn't get much out of an effort like "HQ".

For the record, the "Beta" standard that keeps getting mentioned as being the version that outlasted Betamax, really had little to do with Betamax except for the cassette shell and the oxide tape inside it. BetaCam was a professional format that was introduced around 1982 and used a completely different recording system than Betamax. Betamax, VHS and U-Matic were all "Color-Under" systems. BetaCam was a component format. (output signals are very similar to the component output from a DVD player.) A betamax tape could be used in a Betacam machine, but an L750 tape would record about 30 minutes of Betacam. I have one of the first Betacam decks, A BVW-40. It cost around $40,000 in the early 1980's. Still makes a great picture.
 
I pray to the God of technology that Blu-Ray wins.

Isn't HD-DVD 3x the quality of DVD and Blu-Ray is 5x the quality of DVD?:confused:
 
Prof. said:
I pray to the God of technology that Blu-Ray wins.

Isn't HD-DVD 3x the quality of DVD and Blu-Ray is 5x the quality of DVD?:confused:
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You can't quantify it like that. If you are looking at only the disk space then Bluray 2 layer is 50GB, HD-DVD 2 layer is 30GB, SD-DVD 2 layer is 8.5 GB. The peak bitrate for bluray is 48Mbps, HD-DVD is 36Mbps, and SD-DVD is under 10Mbps (not sure).

However, with current encoding technology, the movies look pretty much the same. However, I am backing bluray because it has more headroom, it is not controlled by one company like Toshiba and it does not have microsoft's dirty little hands all over it. Also, I am a proud owner of a PS3 :)
 
I know that Apple is supposed to be a big supporter of Blu-ray, but Steve sure doesn't think much of optical drives anymore. When he introduced the MacBook Air, he talked about the optional optical drive for about 30 seconds and then said, we don't think many customers are going to want this anymore. I'm not saying that downloading is a better option because for many, including me, it would not be, however it does seem like Apple will be pushing downloads instead of pushing Blu-ray.
 
Floppies

Abercrombieboy said:
I know that Apple is supposed to be a big supporter of Blu-ray, but Steve sure doesn't think much of optical drives anymore. When he introduced the MacBook Air, he talked about the optional optical drive for about 30 seconds and then said, we don't think many customers are going to want this anymore. I'm not saying that downloading is a better option because for many, including me, it would not be, however it does seem like Apple will be pushing downloads instead of pushing Blu-ray.
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They all said he was crazy for not including floppy drives in the G3 iMacs. He has a pretty keen sense of vision when it comes to technologies, and I do believe that downloads will soon all but replace the need for discs. With PMC (Programmable Metallization Cell) memory on the horizon, Blu-Ray, or any other form of storage will be rendered obsolete.
 
DMann said:
They all said he was crazy for not including floppy drives in the G3 iMacs. He has a pretty keen sense of vision when it comes to technologies, and I do believe that downloads will soon all but replace the need for discs.
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Downloads don't replace discs. What about backups? Discs are a convenient way to keep your backups. Unlike hard drives, they're immune to magnetic fields and resistant to environmental stresses. Personal catalogs of HD media can only be realistically stored on a large RAID. Are you seriously going to bear the expense of duplicating that? Even with redundant disks mechanical or electronic failure can lose data.
 
DMann said:
They all said he was crazy for not including floppy drives in the G3 iMacs. He has a pretty keen sense of vision when it comes to technologies, and I do believe that downloads will soon all but replace the need for discs. With PMC (Programmable Metallization Cell) memory on the horizon, Blu-Ray, or any other form of storage will be rendered obsolete.
Click to expand...

Everyone body did think he was crazy to drop the floppy. I personally think apple stop including the floppy to soon. I think it should of been done a little while after wards since at that time floppies where still fairly widely used.

Now in today world floppies are near dead. My PC tower has one and I plan on having my next PC box having one but then again I it is a 10 buck insurance plan for those very rare times that god forbid I need one. In the past 3.5 year of my PC life I have used the floppy about 7 or 8 times for different reasons.

As for optical drive I believe they have a good 10 years left in them. CDs are still used today in the time of DVDs. CDs are still a huge music media and people will want to rip their cds and put them on their computers. Add in the fact CDs and DVDs are a cheap way to give files to some one else when you can not email them or need a more secure way of transporting them.
 
I love DVD's, I love Blu-ray and HD DVD, heck I love my Atari carts, but the more I think about it, and the direction Apple is going with improving the :apple:TV downloads and the MBA, and have yet to actually support Blu-ray, the physical media may be going away.

Physical media is definitely not as "green", has less DRM, and what do you do when no one wants the movie? It's not like you can just hit erase.

I'm cleaning out my old DVD's that I don't really watch or got the high-def ones, taking them for trade in - but what about titles that don't have any resell value? I guess donate them to the resale shop. But I guess most will end up in land fills if people get them and don't want to bother taking them back...
 
bigwig said:
Downloads don't replace discs. What about backups? Discs are a convenient way to keep your backups.
Click to expand...

Depends on how much data. I use four DVD-RAMs for the critical data, but I don't even try to back-up my music, movies, or pictures to optical because it would take a score of even DVD-HD-RAM discs.


Personal catalogs of HD media can only be realistically stored on a large RAID. Are you seriously going to bear the expense of duplicating that? Even with redundant disks mechanical or electronic failure can lose data.
Click to expand...

One way to define RAID is as a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Discs. HDDs continue to rise in capacity and drop in price as does the hardware and software necessary to power them.

1TB HDDs are now available for under $300. Effective and capable external NAS enclosures are available for the same. And there are now enclosures that support hot-swappable HDDs, so you can pull a drive and store it off-site if you really want to be extra safe.
 
I have to say congratulations to these privileged few who have access to fast and affordable broadband service with no download caps.

I have no faith in downloads beyond music at 256kbps. I say this not only because I have relatively slow ADSL that I pay quite a bit for but because I see NetZero dialup ads on American stations. I believe companies like NetZero still have a market not only because it is cheaper than broadband but because broadband is simply not available yet in a lot of areas in the continental US.

Downloads at 720p did not catch on through Xbox live so I don't see how they will catch on with rentals through the Apple TV.

I love Apple products in general but I'm thinking that the Apple TV will remain a small niche product.
 
Just a reminder on the downloaded Movies from Apple/iTunes.

They are 720i (or p)
Blu-Ray Movies 1080p

The Term HD with movie downloads is kind of a misnomer as it is the min requirement for Hi-Def TV but its not anywhere near the maximum that Hi-Def can be.

Mostly for download sizes. But also mom and pop that are now just looking at getting a DTV will most likely buy a 720 without being told by the sales associates at WorstBuys.

If you have under a 40" TV most people won't notice much. If you are running a projector or a TV over 40" you will be more likely to notice the difference. At 100" I can tell :)
 
i heard the pornography market has a huge roll but I don't watch the stuff and do not what studio they work for.

What has the pornography industry gone for? And why isn't that included in the pie chart?
 
tkjazzer said:
i heard the pornography market has a huge roll but I don't watch the stuff and do not what studio they work for.

What has the pornography industry gone for? And why isn't that included in the pie chart?
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Most of those companies are smaller and very nimble compared to more mainstream entertainment companies. They will jump on the winner (pun not intended) as that is where the cash will be. I thought I had read something here a couple of them, had already announced HD.

i'd also bet that a big percentage of the revenue in this industry is coming via downloads and the web. The physical media is probably becoming less important to their business models.
 
Shua said:
They are 720i (or p)
Click to expand...
There is no 720i.
Very few places offer 1080p downloads. I think Microsoft did
in it's once operating WMVHD store.

Size and minimum bitrate are the biggest concerns. With 2x the pixels of 720p you kinda need 2x the bitrate which can lead the 2x the file size. If people think 3-6 gig is big now, wait till they have to download a file that could be 12 gig.
 
In the week following the Warner announcement 92.53% of HD Media player units sold were Blu-ray in the US.
hdmarketsdjan081st2weeks.jpg

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa149.html#npd

http://digitalbits.com/#npdfollow

Adding in PS3 and 360 HD DVD add-ons would not improve matters for the HD DVD side.

I'm not going to be able to give my HD-A2 at this rate.
 
bigbossbmb said:
Toshiba had a deal involving Warner and Fox both coming to HDVD. Fox backed out at the last minute and that drove Warner lean towards Blu.
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Oh give me a break. Fox was Blu-ray all along. They are the ONLY reason Blu-ray developed BD+ digital rights management and the primary reason region coding was introduced (as all of their titles are region coded, other studio being Disney).

This is the same company that quit releasing Blu-ray discs after AACS was cracked, and wouldn't start releasing new titles until BD+ was introduced.

Every single thing Fox has asked for from the BDA, they've received. Not to mention, Fox has invested millions of dollars into Blu-ray marketing.
 
blu ray i feel issuperior due to its ability to produce 1080p and its resistance to scraches and what not
 
<Pedantic mode on>

A lot of the posts here are a sad reflection on the present state of the education system.

Perhaps before we clamor (in the UK and Canada amongst others, clamour) for HD, we need to teach people the basics of how to read and write.

<Pedantic mode off>

Sorry about this.
 
veeco3110 said:
blu ray i feel issuperior due to its ability to produce 1080p and its resistance to scraches and what not
Click to expand...

Bandwidth, disc space and studio support are BluRays only advantages.

Well that and the fact that it is winning the HDM war.
 
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