HD DVD could hit first and be very inexpensive for consumers

Sean Mota

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Sep 8, 2003
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The Melee Over Movies
By David LaGesse

A dreaded format war is looming over the next generation of DVD players like the ghost of Betamax past. But now it seems this battle might actually benefit high-definition-TV fans long stymied by the lack of decent programming for their eye-popping sets: The competition could force the new disk players to plunge in price faster than any previous home electronics product has


This time, Sony--which lost with Betamax--has the upper hand. Blu-ray recently gained momentum when it won the support of MGM and Warner Bros., meaning five of the six major Hollywood studios endorse Sony's standard. Only three studios are backing HD DVD, and only one of those--Universal--is exclusively committed. "The studios have decided the war is over," says Richard Doherty, a research director at Envisioneering Group, and Blu-ray has won. So HD DVD appears to be on the ropes in the entertainment arena.

Bargain battle. That's where things get juicy for consumers. Toshiba's best hope is to grab the market first, and HD DVD players are expected to go on sale early next year, several months before Blu-ray's. Reports suggest Toshiba might flood the marketplace with cheap players, using Chinese manufacturers to conquer market share before Blu-ray can even get its boat docked. "It will accelerate the flight to the bottom [of prices]," says Ted Schadler, a market analyst at Forrester Research. "That's just crazy for manufacturers."

But it's great for consumers. Cheap labor at Chinese factories drove down the price of DVD players, which now can be found for less than $30. The first HD DVD players will still be expensive, at $1,000. The first Blu-ray player, meanwhile, will be built into Sony's PlayStation 3 game console, due sometime next spring at an unannounced price.

All of the next-generation devices will also play old-style DVD s. "We expect DVD s to be around a long time," says Andy Parsons, a Blu-ray spokesman and Pioneer Electronics executive. DVD s, by the way, emerged after the same adversaries hammered out a last-minute compromise on a compatible format. But talks to unify on a high-def format broke down and don't appear likely to resume. At this point, a single standard would also mean a delay in getting players out, and neither side wants downloadable, high-definition shows and movies available on the Internet first. High-definition programming remains too bulky to download now, but that will change soon, and the disk makers must move quickly, says Forrester's Schadler: "They're grabbing at the tail of a rocket ship."

Source
 
Cost questions dog Blu-ray DVD's lead

Because Sony's Blu-ray disc technology appears to be the front-runner in the nasty fight to determine how the DVDs of the future are produced, movie studios and disc manufacturers are beginning to come to terms with the financial realities of the new format--as well as some troubling uncertainties.

For more than a year now, a bitter public relations war has been waged between supporters of Blu-ray and a rival Toshiba-backed technology known as HD DVD. Both are high-capacity discs that will support the distribution of high-definition versions of movies, with much better picture quality than what's possible with today's technology.

Blu-ray appears to have the lead, with most major movie studios saying they'll release films in the format next year. That's led to new concerns about mass production of DVDs in the new format. Since it represents a major break with past DVD and CD techniques, some worry Blu-ray will be expensive to support--at least in the short term--and could jack up prices for consumers.

Entire Article
 
mrschwarz said:
More like common sense.

Show me verified data that Blu-Ray is anti-consumer and way over priced.

The vast majority of the computer industry also wants Blu-Ray over HD DVD, so that dispells any concerns over this being movie industry driven.

So again I say those ludicrous comments were paranoia, not fact based!

Paradox-SJ Blu-Ray is anticonsumer and way over priced...IF the studios want it...you KNOW its bad for the consumer.
 
charper1 said:
Show me verified data that Blu-Ray is anti-consumer and way over priced.

The vast majority of the computer industry also wants Blu-Ray over HD DVD, so that dispells any concerns over this being movie industry driven.

So again I say those ludicrous comments were paranoia, not fact based!


Because you're ignorant on the subject.

I already pointed out the two biggest anti-consumer pro-studios features of Blu-Ray - which part you can't understand?
 
Repost your quotes and then back them up using officially released specs from a working retail models. From all your post i have read on the subject you mearly point to how SONY is evil and thats why you want Blu-Ray to lose.
 
Sean Mota said:
Because Sony's Blu-ray disc technology appears to be the front-runner in the nasty fight to determine how the DVDs of the future are produced, movie studios and disc manufacturers are beginning to come to terms with the financial realities of the new format--as well as some troubling uncertainties.

For more than a year now, a bitter public relations war has been waged between supporters of Blu-ray and a rival Toshiba-backed technology known as HD DVD. Both are high-capacity discs that will support the distribution of high-definition versions of movies, with much better picture quality than what's possible with today's technology.

Blu-ray appears to have the lead, with most major movie studios saying they'll release films in the format next year. That's led to new concerns about mass production of DVDs in the new format. Since it represents a major break with past DVD and CD techniques, some worry Blu-ray will be expensive to support--at least in the short term--and could jack up prices for consumers.

Entire Article


Don't get caught in PR BSing - Blu-Ray promised a LOT and haven't delivered *anything* from those promises.

I am the last person who would defend Microsoft but in *this* very case our interests are clearly the same as MS' interests; we want our managed copy secured on the level of standards. Pure and simple.
 
and where can i buy a US HD DVD? I am not buying any PR (from you or them) I just want real world user supported comments and evaluations, not hearsay or speculations.
 
T2k said:
I am the last person who would defend Microsoft but in *this* very case our interests are clearly the same as MS' interests; we want our managed copy secured on the level of standards. Pure and simple.

HP has championed two technologies known as iHD and mandatory managed copy. Mandatory managed copy lets users legally copy DVDs and store the digital file on a home network, while iHD provides for new interactive features and is slated to be implemented in Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) new Windows Vista operating system.

On Wednesday Blu-ray said it will incorporate mandatory managed copy but would launch it in spring 2006 with interactive features built on Sun Microsystems Inc.'s (Nasdaq:SUNW - news) Java software.

Blu-ray, HP at odds over high-def DVD launch plan

~Alan
 
charper1 said:
Repost your quotes and then back them up using officially released specs from a working retail models. From all your post i have read on the subject you mearly point to how SONY is evil and thats why you want Blu-Ray to lose.

No, my friend, you claim something so you will do the legwork: show me a document from BDE with mandatory managed copy included in the draft (they don't even have a standard, ROFL).

Contrary HD-DVD has mandatory managed copy from the beginning in its standard.
 
charper1 said:
and where can i buy a US HD DVD? I am not buying any PR (from you or them) I just want real world user supported comments and evaluations, not hearsay or speculations.


You can't buy Blu-Ray in US either.

Nowhere, to be exact - if you'd be familiar with the current state of their standard, you'd know Blu-Ray has very little common with those desk-sized $4K machines being sold in Japan as 'Blu-Ray' recorders.
 

HP asks for Blu-ray change in next-generation DVD battle

Blu-ray expects to reveal launch details in Jan CES;

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