Don't worry, I'm on your side. Because the top layer of an HD-DVD is 0.6 mm in as opposed to 0.1 mm there are only so many layers you can add. Three is probably the maximum but they might be able to squeeze in four but at that point the manufacturing process would cost more than Blu-Ray due to the extremely tight tolerances required. Blu-Ray on the other hand has the top layer at just 0.1mm so there is plenty of room for four layers and they are working on squeezing as many as eight in there. But with 25GB vs 15GB per layer there is no contest regardless. Greater capacity is important for recording HDTV as well as data. People who watch TV in HD are going to want to record in HD as well. It's only natural. Who wants to watch a HD program they recorded in SD? I think the studios are starting to see the big picture, looking beyond the extra initial cost (if there is even any at this point) and realizing that a format like Blu-Ray is far more future-proof. CDs did not have enough capacity for many albums, DVDs did not have enough capacity for many movies. It's not going to be any different with HD-DVDs. I think they are finally seeing that it will end up costing less to go with Blu-Ray in the long run.
Let me throw this last grenade.... GREATER STORAGE CAPACITY! BOOM!
Don't worry, I'm on your side. Because the top layer of an HD-DVD is 0.6 mm in as opposed to 0.1 mm there are only so many layers you can add. Three is probably the maximum but they might be able to squeeze in four but at that point the manufacturing process would cost more than Blu-Ray due to the extremely tight tolerances required. Blu-Ray on the other hand has the top layer at just 0.1mm so there is plenty of room for four layers and they are working on squeezing as many as eight in there. But with 25GB vs 15GB per layer there is no contest regardless. Greater capacity is important for recording HDTV as well as data. People who watch TV in HD are going to want to record in HD as well. It's only natural. Who wants to watch a HD program they recorded in SD? I think the studios are starting to see the big picture, looking beyond the extra initial cost (if there is even any at this point) and realizing that a format like Blu-Ray is far more future-proof. CDs did not have enough capacity for many albums, DVDs did not have enough capacity for many movies. It's not going to be any different with HD-DVDs. I think they are finally seeing that it will end up costing less to go with Blu-Ray in the long run.
Let me throw this last grenade.... GREATER STORAGE CAPACITY! BOOM!
Uh-Oh. Here he comes. Back into my bunker...
I seriously doubt the consumer will ever see an 8 layer writable blu-ray disk. I mean, it has taken how long to get a dual layer dvd writable disk, and they cost how much? We will get single layer (and maybe dual layer) writable disks from both camps, so your "greater storage capacity" starts to go down the tubes (20GB vs 25GB....).
I seriously doubt the consumer will ever see an 8 layer writable blu-ray disk. I mean, it has taken how long to get a dual layer dvd writable disk, and they cost how much? We will get single layer (and maybe dual layer) writable disks from both camps, so your "greater storage capacity" starts to go down the tubes (20GB vs 25GB....).
You can already buy dual layer blu-ray discs. You pretty much just outlined the major disadvantage of HD-DVD's similarity to the DVD spec. The difficulties that confronted multilayer DVD will confront multilayer HD-DVD, which will be only 32GB at dual layer where it will likely top out. Blu-ray on the other hand was really designed with an eye to extending the capacity. Dual layer discs were only fractionally over double the cost of single layer discs last I saw. 4 layer discs are definitely planned meaning Blu-Ray will certainly make 100GB. Whether it'll end up making 200GB remains to be seen but they have planned for writable discs up to that capacity.
You could argue HD-DVD is "good enough" for storage until the next generation of optical media but for storage it really does fall somewhat short.
The survey questions sounded loaded to me, and they assumed that HD-DVD would be out with HD movies six months before Blu-Ray. That assumption alone could be wrong if the PS3 gets out early.
Actually, plans for a big HD-DVD rollout went bust recently. I knew that publishing a list of releases was just an empty PR plot by the HD-DVD camp. Anyone can come up with a list of movie to be produced. It's just better to wait until your plans are finalized as this recent development proves.
You can already buy dual layer blu-ray discs. You pretty much just outlined the major disadvantage of HD-DVD's similarity to the DVD spec. The difficulties that confronted multilayer DVD will confront multilayer HD-DVD, which will be only 32GB at dual layer where it will likely top out. Blu-ray on the other hand was really designed with an eye to extending the capacity. Dual layer discs were only fractionally over double the cost of single layer discs last I saw. 4 layer discs are definitely planned meaning Blu-Ray will certainly make 100GB. Whether it'll end up making 200GB remains to be seen but they have planned for writable discs up to that capacity.
You hit the nail on the head. While you can compare DVD to HD-DVD in terms of what to expect in recordable media, you cannot do the same with Blu-Ray. TDK already has a 6x 100GB 4-layer recordable Blu-Ray disc.
Do you work at any studios? Because I do. I mentioned over 3 months ago that paramount would drop support for HD-DVD and switch to blu-ray. Warner Bros, and Universal plan to announce the same thing at the time. What you fail to realize is that Sony hasn't released pricing on their media and players, because no matter what (and this is the part you have to understand, they will always offer their media and players cheepier than any HD-DVD solution. They have made it quiet clear to the studios I work with (yes I pick technologies for studios!) That they will do whatever it takes, including taking a huge loss to win this war.
Blu-Ray is in. I'll bet any amount of money, with anyone here.
Quote:
Originally posted by hmurchison
That is flat out wishful thinking. Sounds like the typical Blu-Ray drone, no offense. The studio support for both platforms is equal. We now know that HD-DVD won't ship with a sizable lead in "First to market". Cost issues are still being fleshed out. Both formats seem to be in this copy protection pissing contest that content providers both love. Don't be surprised if neither format takes hold. I could easily see consumer put off by higher prices and lack of copy features.
I think the interesting thing is if we have truly locked down discs what concessions are consumers going to have? Can I replace scratched discs cheaply since there will be no doubt that I haven't recorded the data? How will pricing be affected by such stout copy protection? Consumers need to ask "where do I see the benefits of copy protection"
This isn't a shoe in for either format. The Internet and VoD will be competitive for a delivery mechanism for video. Once cable modems and DSL start jumping to the 20-50Mbps range everything changes. I see a decided lack of focus for both formats that distrubs me. They aren't looking for the darkhorse competitors sitting quietly in the corner.
Do you work at any studios? Because I do. I mentioned over 3 months ago that paramount would drop support for HD-DVD and switch to blu-ray. Warner Bros, and Universal plan to announce the same thing at the time. What you fail to realize is that Sony hasn't released pricing on their media and players, because no matter what (and this is the part you have to understand, they will always offer their media and players cheepier than any HD-DVD solution. They have made it quiet clear to the studios I work with (yes I pick technologies for studios!) That they will do whatever it takes, including taking a huge loss to win this war.
Blu-Ray is in. I'll bet any amount of money, with anyone here.
Yeah, but my dad can beat up your dad. You wanna take this round back?
Somehow, that's how the last post came across. It could have had the most profound assertions ever, but I was lost in it's "nyeah nyeah" playground mentality.
No studio has switched anything. They simply have scaled back their initial launch. Right now both camps have a pissing contest about Copy Protection going on. I'm sure consumers just "love" companies that engage in one upmanship where their fair use rights are concerned.
Personally I'm starting to think that both formats will flop. It's ok that they'll be locked down but once consumers see the expensive discs and know they can't record I think you could see a backlash.
Personally I'm starting to think that both formats will flop. I
My semi-Ludite viewpoint on the matter pretty much agrees. The average consumer, those people who made the DVD format so popular (the Wal-Mart people as someone previously snidely stated), could care less about HD-DVD or Blu-Ray; just plain regular old DVDs are fine with them.
I see HD-DVD and Blu-Ray as something equipment makers and media providers are trying to ram down the throat of consumers. With prices of players under $100 and media providers unable to keep a high artificial price on DVDs, a $25 new release initially sells for around $20 but wait a month or two and it's in the $10-15 range, one can see why.
The average consumer, those people who made the DVD format so popular (the Wal-Mart people as someone previously snidely stated), could care less about HD-DVD or Blu-Ray; just plain regular old DVDs are fine with them.
It doesn't matter if they care or not. They will get a blu-ray disk player when they buy thier PS3, because they care ALOT about the PS3.
I'm torn on this issue. Accepting HD-DVD and Bluray is like making a Faustian bargain (quality at the expense of fair use).
On the other hand if the formats become a niche like DVD-A and SACD, when will we as consumers see a mass market high def format to mate with our HDTVs?
It doesn't matter if they care or not. They will get a blu-ray disk player when they buy thier PS3, because they care ALOT about the PS3.
Most gamers never bother to hook up their consols via the best possible interconnects. They are content enough gaming and watching DVDs over composite video cabling. While some might be interested in better looking DVDs, most will never get everything set up so that it makes a difference.
For these consumers, movies that play on 99% of players will be the appealing choice. A suprising number of people couldn't tell the difference in quality anyway.
"What? You mean these movies only play on the xbox? Where are the DVDs at?"
Most gamers never bother to hook up their consols via the best possible interconnects. They are content enough gaming and watching DVDs over composite video cabling. While some might be interested in better looking DVDs, most will never get everything set up so that it makes a difference.
For these consumers, movies that play on 99% of players will be the appealing choice. A suprising number of people couldn't tell the difference in quality anyway.
"What? You mean these movies only play on the xbox? Where are the DVDs at?"
But after the players are everywhere, people will not turn down a chance at buying the whole Simpsons catalog on a single disk.
Once the players are out there, the content will follow. The hard part of a format war is selling the players, and Sony has that covered.
The average consumer, those people who made the DVD format so popular (the Wal-Mart people as someone previously snidely stated), could care less about HD-DVD or Blu-Ray; just plain regular old DVDs are fine with them.
They will when Wal-Mart starts selling them then. As always, it's up to the early adopters to pick a format and support it. I think most will choose a $400 Sony that can play both movies and games over a $1000 Toshiba that only plays movies. It looks like both will be coming out early next year.
The longer this format war takes to unfold... the more I'm starting to think that perhaps neither side will win.
How is this possible?
Neither DVD-A or SACD turned into the redbook audio successor. Through a combination of circumstances, it looks like both will be leap-frogged by some other distribution medium.
It doesn't seem like the industry is focusing on consumer desires. Consumers mostly want cheap players and media. Even the storage capacity of today's DVDs are more than adequate for the average joe's needs. All those Joes really want are cheap new players that can play existing discs as well as ones with a better A/V compression standard.
Instead the industry is caught up on gargantuan capacity and DRM. Increased capacity is desirable... but it should take a second seat to other criteria. Otherwise, we'll have another DVD-A/SACD situation on our hands.
They are so caught up right now on DRM and revocable this and that. I can easily see consumers saying "thanks..but no thanks" and sticking with DVD which looks fine up to 50" screens.
You'll likely see HD-DVD and Blu-Ray expensive and the media will be expensive. What will the content providers excuse be for this? For years they've crowed that the media prices had to be inflated because of piracy. Now that they'll have a locked down format will consumers see a benefit in low cost HD media? I doubt it..for all the "Billions" the content providers claim to lose every year they will likely enjoy the profits of the SuperDRM discs.
It doesn't seem like the industry is focusing on consumer desires. Consumers mostly want cheap players and media. Even the storage capacity of today's DVDs are more than adequate for the average joe's needs. All those Joes really want are cheap new players that can play existing discs as well as ones with a better A/V compression standard.
Maybe I'm missing something...
1) Cheap players: Well new technology will always be more expensive relative to the older technology. I don't think $399 for a PS3 to play Blu-Ray movies will break the bank. If it does, wait a year.
2) Media: Whose to say the media is going to be outrageously priced? It most definitely will be more expensive than current DVD but that is a given, again because it is a new technology. The media I'm guessing won't be that much more than what a DVD will cost.
3) Play existing discs as well as ones with a better A/V compression standard: Blu-Ray as well as HD-DVD players will play existing discs just as well as current DVD players and both will play movies with a better A/V compression standard (h.264, etc.).
So, how is the industry not focusing on consumer's desires? What am I missing when all the criteria you just mentioned all the Joe blows want will be available in the successor of DVD?...I think it has something to do with this sentence if you want the truth:
It doesn't seem like the industry is focusing on consumer desires.
Desires like what? Like illegal copying of motion pictures desires? Well, even current DVDs aren't to be copied legally, so what is all the griping about with the possible successor to DVD in the way they protect their media? Because it makes is harder for you guys to rip? Boo hoo, dude. Cry on someone else's shoulder, because that's isn't likely going to change now or in the future. And all this pandering about how your future Blu-Ray or HD-DVD players will become obsolete when hackers hack it is just plain FUD. I say before you knock it, lets get some more facts about the protection scheme for future HD players.
Furthermore, in my opinion, one of these two will most certainly win, and I think the one with more storage capacity and the ability to keep the data integrity on that medium sound will be the victor (ahem...Durabis...ahem). Not to mention, I think the format with the greater capacity to push its product into homes (ahem...Playstation 3...ahem) and onto shelves of stores through numerous companies (do you really want me to do another ahem? Ok, ahem...Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Apple, Dell, HP, and the other 140+ companies...ahem) will prevail as well. Yeah, you know who's going to win...ya hear that? That's the sound of inevitability...that's the sound of HD-DVD's death.
Take heart, I'm only starting to lean towards the "neither will win" side of the fence. The longer these two formats are stalled, the more I start to lean.
Consider: If they'd gone the divx on DVD route, we'd already have our next gen video players.
Not that I'm a diehard divx proponent. Rather, there are many simple and cheap solutions that the industry could have gone with. Instead, we're stuck with a pissing contest over storage capacity. And I'm pretty convinced that DRM tinkering is the primary reason why we're all still limited to 480i.
Something like divx on DVD could have been realized by now. DVD-A, SACD, or various other lossless-codecs-on-CD could also have been realized by now. Its with a bit of historical perspective that I grow increasingly skepticism over the next-gen HD media wars.
Comments
Let me throw this last grenade.... GREATER STORAGE CAPACITY! BOOM!
Uh-Oh. Here he comes. Back into my bunker...
Originally posted by 1984
Don't worry, I'm on your side. Because the top layer of an HD-DVD is 0.6 mm in as opposed to 0.1 mm there are only so many layers you can add. Three is probably the maximum but they might be able to squeeze in four but at that point the manufacturing process would cost more than Blu-Ray due to the extremely tight tolerances required. Blu-Ray on the other hand has the top layer at just 0.1mm so there is plenty of room for four layers and they are working on squeezing as many as eight in there. But with 25GB vs 15GB per layer there is no contest regardless. Greater capacity is important for recording HDTV as well as data. People who watch TV in HD are going to want to record in HD as well. It's only natural. Who wants to watch a HD program they recorded in SD? I think the studios are starting to see the big picture, looking beyond the extra initial cost (if there is even any at this point) and realizing that a format like Blu-Ray is far more future-proof. CDs did not have enough capacity for many albums, DVDs did not have enough capacity for many movies. It's not going to be any different with HD-DVDs. I think they are finally seeing that it will end up costing less to go with Blu-Ray in the long run.
Let me throw this last grenade.... GREATER STORAGE CAPACITY! BOOM!
Uh-Oh. Here he comes. Back into my bunker...
I seriously doubt the consumer will ever see an 8 layer writable blu-ray disk. I mean, it has taken how long to get a dual layer dvd writable disk, and they cost how much? We will get single layer (and maybe dual layer) writable disks from both camps, so your "greater storage capacity" starts to go down the tubes (20GB vs 25GB....).
Originally posted by kupan787
I seriously doubt the consumer will ever see an 8 layer writable blu-ray disk. I mean, it has taken how long to get a dual layer dvd writable disk, and they cost how much? We will get single layer (and maybe dual layer) writable disks from both camps, so your "greater storage capacity" starts to go down the tubes (20GB vs 25GB....).
You can already buy dual layer blu-ray discs. You pretty much just outlined the major disadvantage of HD-DVD's similarity to the DVD spec. The difficulties that confronted multilayer DVD will confront multilayer HD-DVD, which will be only 32GB at dual layer where it will likely top out. Blu-ray on the other hand was really designed with an eye to extending the capacity. Dual layer discs were only fractionally over double the cost of single layer discs last I saw. 4 layer discs are definitely planned meaning Blu-Ray will certainly make 100GB. Whether it'll end up making 200GB remains to be seen but they have planned for writable discs up to that capacity.
You could argue HD-DVD is "good enough" for storage until the next generation of optical media but for storage it really does fall somewhat short.
http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/08/16/hddvd/index.php
Originally posted by OldCodger73
An interesting what's in a name article.
http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/08/16/hddvd/index.php
The survey questions sounded loaded to me, and they assumed that HD-DVD would be out with HD movies six months before Blu-Ray. That assumption alone could be wrong if the PS3 gets out early.
Originally posted by Telomar
You can already buy dual layer blu-ray discs. You pretty much just outlined the major disadvantage of HD-DVD's similarity to the DVD spec. The difficulties that confronted multilayer DVD will confront multilayer HD-DVD, which will be only 32GB at dual layer where it will likely top out. Blu-ray on the other hand was really designed with an eye to extending the capacity. Dual layer discs were only fractionally over double the cost of single layer discs last I saw. 4 layer discs are definitely planned meaning Blu-Ray will certainly make 100GB. Whether it'll end up making 200GB remains to be seen but they have planned for writable discs up to that capacity.
You hit the nail on the head. While you can compare DVD to HD-DVD in terms of what to expect in recordable media, you cannot do the same with Blu-Ray. TDK already has a 6x 100GB 4-layer recordable Blu-Ray disc.
Blu-Ray is in. I'll bet any amount of money, with anyone here.
Originally posted by hmurchison
That is flat out wishful thinking. Sounds like the typical Blu-Ray drone, no offense. The studio support for both platforms is equal. We now know that HD-DVD won't ship with a sizable lead in "First to market". Cost issues are still being fleshed out. Both formats seem to be in this copy protection pissing contest that content providers both love. Don't be surprised if neither format takes hold. I could easily see consumer put off by higher prices and lack of copy features.
I think the interesting thing is if we have truly locked down discs what concessions are consumers going to have? Can I replace scratched discs cheaply since there will be no doubt that I haven't recorded the data? How will pricing be affected by such stout copy protection? Consumers need to ask "where do I see the benefits of copy protection"
This isn't a shoe in for either format. The Internet and VoD will be competitive for a delivery mechanism for video. Once cable modems and DSL start jumping to the 20-50Mbps range everything changes. I see a decided lack of focus for both formats that distrubs me. They aren't looking for the darkhorse competitors sitting quietly in the corner.
Originally posted by webmail
Do you work at any studios? Because I do. I mentioned over 3 months ago that paramount would drop support for HD-DVD and switch to blu-ray. Warner Bros, and Universal plan to announce the same thing at the time. What you fail to realize is that Sony hasn't released pricing on their media and players, because no matter what (and this is the part you have to understand, they will always offer their media and players cheepier than any HD-DVD solution. They have made it quiet clear to the studios I work with (yes I pick technologies for studios!) That they will do whatever it takes, including taking a huge loss to win this war.
Blu-Ray is in. I'll bet any amount of money, with anyone here.
Yeah, but my dad can beat up your dad. You wanna take this round back?
Somehow, that's how the last post came across. It could have had the most profound assertions ever, but I was lost in it's "nyeah nyeah" playground mentality.
No studio has switched anything. They simply have scaled back their initial launch. Right now both camps have a pissing contest about Copy Protection going on. I'm sure consumers just "love" companies that engage in one upmanship where their fair use rights are concerned.
Personally I'm starting to think that both formats will flop. It's ok that they'll be locked down but once consumers see the expensive discs and know they can't record I think you could see a backlash.
Originally posted by hmurchison
Personally I'm starting to think that both formats will flop. I
My semi-Ludite viewpoint on the matter pretty much agrees. The average consumer, those people who made the DVD format so popular (the Wal-Mart people as someone previously snidely stated), could care less about HD-DVD or Blu-Ray; just plain regular old DVDs are fine with them.
I see HD-DVD and Blu-Ray as something equipment makers and media providers are trying to ram down the throat of consumers. With prices of players under $100 and media providers unable to keep a high artificial price on DVDs, a $25 new release initially sells for around $20 but wait a month or two and it's in the $10-15 range, one can see why.
Originally posted by OldCodger73
The average consumer, those people who made the DVD format so popular (the Wal-Mart people as someone previously snidely stated), could care less about HD-DVD or Blu-Ray; just plain regular old DVDs are fine with them.
It doesn't matter if they care or not. They will get a blu-ray disk player when they buy thier PS3, because they care ALOT about the PS3.
On the other hand if the formats become a niche like DVD-A and SACD, when will we as consumers see a mass market high def format to mate with our HDTVs?
Originally posted by e1618978
It doesn't matter if they care or not. They will get a blu-ray disk player when they buy thier PS3, because they care ALOT about the PS3.
Most gamers never bother to hook up their consols via the best possible interconnects. They are content enough gaming and watching DVDs over composite video cabling. While some might be interested in better looking DVDs, most will never get everything set up so that it makes a difference.
For these consumers, movies that play on 99% of players will be the appealing choice. A suprising number of people couldn't tell the difference in quality anyway.
"What? You mean these movies only play on the xbox? Where are the DVDs at?"
Originally posted by dfiler
Most gamers never bother to hook up their consols via the best possible interconnects. They are content enough gaming and watching DVDs over composite video cabling. While some might be interested in better looking DVDs, most will never get everything set up so that it makes a difference.
For these consumers, movies that play on 99% of players will be the appealing choice. A suprising number of people couldn't tell the difference in quality anyway.
"What? You mean these movies only play on the xbox? Where are the DVDs at?"
But after the players are everywhere, people will not turn down a chance at buying the whole Simpsons catalog on a single disk.
Once the players are out there, the content will follow. The hard part of a format war is selling the players, and Sony has that covered.
Originally posted by OldCodger73
The average consumer, those people who made the DVD format so popular (the Wal-Mart people as someone previously snidely stated), could care less about HD-DVD or Blu-Ray; just plain regular old DVDs are fine with them.
They will when Wal-Mart starts selling them then. As always, it's up to the early adopters to pick a format and support it. I think most will choose a $400 Sony that can play both movies and games over a $1000 Toshiba that only plays movies. It looks like both will be coming out early next year.
How is this possible?
Neither DVD-A or SACD turned into the redbook audio successor. Through a combination of circumstances, it looks like both will be leap-frogged by some other distribution medium.
It doesn't seem like the industry is focusing on consumer desires. Consumers mostly want cheap players and media. Even the storage capacity of today's DVDs are more than adequate for the average joe's needs. All those Joes really want are cheap new players that can play existing discs as well as ones with a better A/V compression standard.
Instead the industry is caught up on gargantuan capacity and DRM. Increased capacity is desirable... but it should take a second seat to other criteria. Otherwise, we'll have another DVD-A/SACD situation on our hands.
They are so caught up right now on DRM and revocable this and that. I can easily see consumers saying "thanks..but no thanks" and sticking with DVD which looks fine up to 50" screens.
You'll likely see HD-DVD and Blu-Ray expensive and the media will be expensive. What will the content providers excuse be for this? For years they've crowed that the media prices had to be inflated because of piracy. Now that they'll have a locked down format will consumers see a benefit in low cost HD media? I doubt it..for all the "Billions" the content providers claim to lose every year they will likely enjoy the profits of the SuperDRM discs.
I'm pretty disgusted with both formats right now.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...4089790&EDATE=
Worlds leading music company, Universal Music Group, to support Blu-Ray...
http://www.blu-raydisc.com/assets/do...0815-13037.pdf
It doesn't seem like the industry is focusing on consumer desires. Consumers mostly want cheap players and media. Even the storage capacity of today's DVDs are more than adequate for the average joe's needs. All those Joes really want are cheap new players that can play existing discs as well as ones with a better A/V compression standard.
Maybe I'm missing something...
1) Cheap players: Well new technology will always be more expensive relative to the older technology. I don't think $399 for a PS3 to play Blu-Ray movies will break the bank. If it does, wait a year.
2) Media: Whose to say the media is going to be outrageously priced? It most definitely will be more expensive than current DVD but that is a given, again because it is a new technology. The media I'm guessing won't be that much more than what a DVD will cost.
3) Play existing discs as well as ones with a better A/V compression standard: Blu-Ray as well as HD-DVD players will play existing discs just as well as current DVD players and both will play movies with a better A/V compression standard (h.264, etc.).
So, how is the industry not focusing on consumer's desires? What am I missing when all the criteria you just mentioned all the Joe blows want will be available in the successor of DVD?...I think it has something to do with this sentence if you want the truth:
It doesn't seem like the industry is focusing on consumer desires.
Desires like what? Like illegal copying of motion pictures desires? Well, even current DVDs aren't to be copied legally, so what is all the griping about with the possible successor to DVD in the way they protect their media? Because it makes is harder for you guys to rip? Boo hoo, dude. Cry on someone else's shoulder, because that's isn't likely going to change now or in the future. And all this pandering about how your future Blu-Ray or HD-DVD players will become obsolete when hackers hack it is just plain FUD. I say before you knock it, lets get some more facts about the protection scheme for future HD players.
Furthermore, in my opinion, one of these two will most certainly win, and I think the one with more storage capacity and the ability to keep the data integrity on that medium sound will be the victor (ahem...Durabis...ahem). Not to mention, I think the format with the greater capacity to push its product into homes (ahem...Playstation 3...ahem) and onto shelves of stores through numerous companies (do you really want me to do another ahem? Ok, ahem...Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Apple, Dell, HP, and the other 140+ companies...ahem) will prevail as well. Yeah, you know who's going to win...ya hear that? That's the sound of inevitability...that's the sound of HD-DVD's death.
Consider: If they'd gone the divx on DVD route, we'd already have our next gen video players.
Not that I'm a diehard divx proponent. Rather, there are many simple and cheap solutions that the industry could have gone with. Instead, we're stuck with a pissing contest over storage capacity. And I'm pretty convinced that DRM tinkering is the primary reason why we're all still limited to 480i.
Something like divx on DVD could have been realized by now. DVD-A, SACD, or various other lossless-codecs-on-CD could also have been realized by now. Its with a bit of historical perspective that I grow increasingly skepticism over the next-gen HD media wars.