Blu-ray vs. HD DVD (2007) - Page 111

Originally Posted by marzetta7

IMO, it doesn't matter if you are for or against the War in Iraq we care currently engulfed in, but I don't think anyone ought to compare or make analogies of the format war to a real war where men and women in the armed services are sacrificing their lives. IMO, it is just plain wrong and more than a bit messed up. What kinda douche does this?

Bitemymac, if you are attempting to defend what Mr. Enderle is stating here, I can see why facts and logic are lost on you, that's all I have to say. If this isn't your intention, at the very least provide some quantifiable proof as to why you think Bill Hunt says anything in the realm of how poor in taste this article is.

Originally Posted by OldCodger73

While at some point studios may have a SD-DVD phase out strategy, if there's overwhelming consumer rejection of HDM they may not be able to implement it. Given the lackluster support of HD studios for December and BD ones after 4 December, one has to wonder how totally committed studios are to HDM. The Christmas buying season is when many people make impulse purchases and the lack of quality December titles beyond Harry Potter and Blade Runner makes one wonder as to what's going on with the studios. It doesn't seem like they're putting much resources behind HDM.

Originally Posted by bitemymac

You're funny. Your opinions definately reflect why you're so Gong-Ho towards blu-ray, perhaps the reason is because you follow Bill Hunt.

I was actually discrediting both, but I think Bill Hunt is even worse than Mr. Enderle. Mr. Enderle is presenting his personal opinions based on what had happened, but Bill Hunt mostly puts a spin on how things will happen in the future in favor of Blu-Ray. Bill Hunt is the leader of Blu-Ray fanboys, and your leader.

Edited: photo confirmation

BTW, are we talking about same Bill Hunt?

Originally Posted by Kolchak

Confirmation of bitemymac's unparalleled hatred of Blu-ray.

Originally Posted by Kolchak

Confirmation of bitemymac's unparalleled hatred of Blu-ray.

DEC. 3 | The Blu-ray Disc Assn. is touting a new milestone passed over the Black Friday shopping period, noting that player sales since launch reached 2.7 million units through Nov. 24.

Like the HD DVD camps recent claims, the figure encompasses both Blu-ray-capable gaming devices and Blu-ray set-top players.

Through October, there had been 2 million units sold of the Blu-ray-enhanced PlayStation 3. That arguably gives Blu-ray set-tops a 700,000 piece of overall format unit sales. But the picture is muddied somewhat by the likely gangbuster PlayStation 3 sales in November due to the introduction of the relatively cheap $399 PlayStation 3. November console sales will not be available from the NPD Group until mid-December.

Its tough to calculate specific gains for Blu-ray set-tops, as many of the manufacturers have not released sales information on their players to this point.

Still, the 2.7 million sold is a clear achievement over the HD DVD side, which pushed its installment base to 750,000 units following widespread holiday retail sales, notably including $99-priced players at Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Although not as steeply priced-slashed as rival HD DVD, many Blu-ray players also were sale-priced at retail. Several chains were offering Samsung and Sony Blu-ray players at $399, $100 below their $499 list prices.

The BDA last week also trumpeted its continuing lead in Blu-ray software sales, which in the weeks leading up to Black Friday had been outpacing HD DVD titles by a two-to-one ratio. During the Black Friday period, BD titles made up 72.6% of all high-def purchases, with HD DVD totaling 27.4%, according to Nielsen/VideoScan figures cited by BDA.

The fact that BD software remains the sales leader in an environment of heavy HD DVD player discounting is especially heartening to the BDA.

A statement from the group noted, Despite the $99 HD DVD fire sale, Blu-ray movies were flying off the shelves in this crucial holiday shopping period.

According to the BD camp, total BD disc sales in the U.S. since launch topped 4 million units in November, about the same time HD DVD software sales passed just 2.5 million units.

To date in the U.S., 18 of the Top 20 high-def releases are Blu-ray, according to the BD camp.

According to Media Control Gfk International figures cited by BDA, BD movies control 73% of the European market, outselling HD DVD by a three-to-one margin, and BD holds a 95% share of the high-def recorder market in Japan.

Originally Posted by marzetta7

Milestone reached over Black Friday shopping weekend

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 12/3/2007

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6509196.html

Originally Posted by marzetta7

Sounds about right.

Originally Posted by Frank777

Hey Marz, nice to see you back. You were a bit quiet when the Walmart news broke.

You spent a lot of time back in April or so posting about how Walmart wasn't carrying cheap HD-DVD players and that the rumours of inexpensive Chinese-made players hitting North American shores this year were just FUD.

Now that you've been proved totally wrong on both counts, how do you think this will affect the war in early 2008?

Major Australian rental chains Video Ezy and Blockbuster - both of which are owned by the same company, Franchise Entertainment Group - have gone all-out for Blu-ray Disc, they said today. Neither chain - comprising 870 stores in total - will now offer HD DVD rentals.

According to FEG Managing Director Paul Uniacke, quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald, that the decision had been made because of what he claimed was the HD DVD camp's slow roll out of the next-gen optical disc format Down Under.


HD DVD, he said, was "missing the boat".

The Herald cited stats from market watcher GfK showing that some 2241 Blu-ray Disc players have been bought by Australians to date. But Aussies have bought only 609 HD DVD machines. The BD figure does not include PlayStation 3 purchases, of which 100,000 have been bought since the console when on sale at the end of March. Some 2461 HD DVD Xbox 360 add-ons have been bought too.

GfK's numbers show sales of 102,000 Blu-ray Discs in Australia but only 18,000 HD DVDs, though that figure doesn't include region-free discs purchased from US and European sellers.

Originally Posted by Fishyesque

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12...ns_go_blu_ray/

Originally Posted by marzetta7

What Bay Really Thinks...

Originally Posted by Cory Bauer

Wow marzetta7, really scraping the bottom of the barrel now aren't ya? As if it wasn't bad enough that you post the same story over the course of a week from three different sources reporting the exact same sales figures, but now you're digging up stuff from August? Just because Bay bought in to the Blu-Ray fanboy sob story, that doesn't make it true.

Originally Posted by Kolchak

I believe what you actually wrote was that there would be no cheap Chinese HD DVD players at Walmart. Which, of course, there aren't, at Walmart or anywhere else. As for the Venturer, it's been pointed out that this is only at Walmart in Canada. Some have claimed that it takes a big company to satisfy Walmart's supplier requirements, which shows how big Venturer is. Except they're not supplying U.S. stores. Walmart Canada is a much smaller organization with much lower sales, serving a population only about 1/10th the size of the American population. That Venturer players or for that matter anything Venturer aren't available here tells me that they can't fulfill the American supplier requirements and that this is likely just favoritism shown to a fellow Canadian company.

Originally Posted by Frank777

Is Blu-Ray really doing so badly that you have to resort to outright lies? I have already posted that it's been confirmed that the Venturer is being carried at both Walmart and Target stores across the U.S.

This information is easily available from Google.

Originally Posted by forbes.com

— Target Corp., the nation's second-largest retailer, will start selling a Sony Blu-ray high-definition DVD player during the critical holiday shopping period and feature the player along with Blu-ray discs in store displays, dealing a potential blow to the rival HD DVD format.

Originally Posted by onlooker

Brick and mortar stores are BR exclusive. Target.com is affiliated with Amazon. If they can make a buck because someone links to Amazon through them and buys one they'll take it, but you'll never see one in a real store. That is a fact. It's not that strange.

Originally Posted by Cory Bauer

Yet another legitimate bogo for Blu-Ray. What's that make, four Bogo's this season for Blu-Ray? HD DVD has yet to have a legitimate BOGO on a week when Blu-Ray didn't have one, and yet again all that's offered is 40% instead of the standard 33% off select HD DVD titles - just a dollar or two less than any other day. Toshiba really needs to step up if they are to hold their ground, as Sony and the Blu-Ray camp are obviously more than happy to buy their marketshare at whatever cost. At least they're still trying to sell players.

Update: Toys R Us is currently selling the xBox 360 HD DVD add-on for $129. With standalone players going for $199 in places, the regular price for the add-on ought to be $99 instead of the $179 it usually sells for.

Perhaps in an attempt to differentiate itself from Blu-ray, HD DVD tech wizards will launch the HD DVD version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with a new feature called community screening. The movie takes advantage of the fact that all HD DVD players are equipped with an Ethernet hookup (unlike Blu-ray, which has players that do not include network connectivity). Community screening is a way to watch a movie simultaneously with your friends while youre each in the comfort of your own homes. Heres how it works:


One of you sends out an invitation to join a viewing of the movie, which then syncs your movie watching experience with your friends that accept the invitation. While watching, you and your friends can exchange chats through the remote, a computer, or cellphone. The catch of this social movie experience is that only the host will be able to play, pause, or otherwise control the movie.

Heres a quote directly from the release site:

Gather your own army of fellow wizards for a live community screening party. Invite other owners of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix HD DVD to simultaneously watch from their own internet-accessed players and text with your remote, PC or cellphone. When you host an invitation-only viewing, you control the film by pausing and playing the feature on everyones machine. You can chat live with your friends as you watch.

So is it a gimmick or a feature? Its hard to say at this point. But the battle between HD DVD is a heated one for sure, and it has only escalated for the holiday season. The HD DVD Promotional Group announced last week that sales of HD DVD players increased significantly because of last weeks Black Friday sales (of which I participated because of Amazons amazing deal, which made HD DVD at least half the price of Blu-ray). Sales over that particular weekend were apparently enough for total HD DVD players sold to come close to 1 million (they were hovering around 750,000 previously).

But the battle is far from over. The Blu-ray Disc Association had good news of its own claiming that Blu-ray is outselling HD DVD discs in Europe at a ratio of over three to one. But in the U.S., Sonys Playstation 3 is the main reason Blu-ray has seen any success. According to Adams Media Research, 94 percent of Blu-ray players purchased in the U.S. are simply a byproduct of gamers buying the Playstation 3 (which just had a recent price cut).

The dust may need to settle after the holidays before we know which next generation DVD has taken the lead

*Update* It looks like Amazons deal is back (for now, at least): Toshiba HD DVD player with 10 HD DVDs for somewhere between $170 and $250 (interestingly, the pricing seems to change based on which computer/browser I am using).

Originally Posted by bitemymac

Cheaper HD-DVD players and more interactive features. Not sure if anyone chats during a movie, but you can do that with HD-DVD if you want to. I guess this would be a fun feature for kids with lightening fast texting fingers.

HD DVDs New Feature: Watching Movies Together But Not In the Same Place

http://www.techconsumer.com/2007/12/...he-same-place/

Originally Posted by Frank777

This has FaceBook written all over it....Is that a good or bad thing?

Originally Posted by Cory Bauer

Wow marzetta7, really scraping the bottom of the barrel now aren't ya? As if it wasn't bad enough that you post the same story over the course of a week from three different sources reporting the exact same sales figures, but now you're digging up stuff from August? Just because Bay bought in to the Blu-Ray fanboy sob story, that doesn't make it true.

What you don't understand is corporate politics. Microsoft wants both formats to fail so they can be heroes and make the world move to digital downloads. That is the dirty secret no one is talking about. That is why Microsoft is handing out $100 million dollar checks to studios just embrace the HD DVD and not the leading, and superior Blu Ray. They want confusion in the market until they perfect the digital downloads. Time will tell and you will see the truth.

Bay

Originally Posted by marzetta7

],...looks like someone needs to scrape the bottom of the barrel of hooked on phonics...it worked for Frank777!

Originally Posted by Frank777

Blu-Rayers have a 'unique' sense of humour. I guess there aren't a lot of good comedies on the format.


I still don't get the Microsoftian FUD that Blu-Ray proponents keep throwing around.

I personally dislike Redmond's products, but I understand their opposition to BR is rooted in the fact that Sony's PS3 is the standard bearer for the Blu-Ray format. And Redmond hates the PS3 with a passion.

This has little or nothing to do with the next-gen war over digital downloads.
The standard bearer for that war is Apple.

Apple TV 2.0 is expected in early 2008 and that device that will fight with HD-DVD and the PS3 for space under the household TV with regards to next-gen movie rentals.

Originally Posted by onlooker

I missed that press release. Apple has how many movie studio's on board?

Originally Posted by onlooker

I missed that press release. Apple has how many movie studio's on board?

Originally Posted by marzetta7

Wow Cory Bauer,...looks like someone needs to scrape the bottom of the barrel of hooked on phonics...it worked for Frank777!

Did you even click on the link there Cory Bauer? Or were you just itching to try and refute this link, that you posted prematurely and ended up making an a-- off yourself?

Go click on it, you'll find that the comment I posted was a link to a Blu-ray.com thread that was created by the web admin of Michaelbay.com, discussing Michael Bay's comment from today, that is December, 4th 2007. Not August. Here is the link directly for the clicking challenged...

http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum...read.php?t=595

Originally Posted by marzetta7

Now, I realize this if far from "truth" but I was simply sharing it with you all (moreover, I never once claimed it as fact, simply sharing Bay's opinion)...then you proceeded with a premature attempt at discrediting me with the post. When ya goin' da learn bohy? So anyways, take it all in now, and try not to hurt yourself.

Originally Posted by Cory Bauer

My apologies; I was looking at webmaster's join date and thought it was the post date. I read the quote from Bay in the post below his. At any rate, this past summer Bay spoke about being at a dinner party and sitting with a couple of Blu-Ray fanboys; that's where he got everything he thinks he knows about these formats.


If you don't agree with it, then why post it? That goes for all of the articles, press releases, and statistics you link to. Guess it doesn't matter to you if the information is factual or not so long as the link gets passed around and lots of people read it

Originally Posted by marzetta7

I've even been known to post HD DVD news as well.

Originally Posted by marzetta7

...that Blu-ray is the better format

Originally Posted by marzetta7

as well as tech.

Originally Posted by Kolchak

Fine, I was wrong. Unlike some people on this board *cough*bite*cough*, I can admit that when I am. But be careful when slinging around accusations of lies.

Originally Posted by Kolchak

Oh, please. Both formats plan to support mandatory managed copy. I haven't heard of a single person who has been inconvenienced by Blu-ray's "draconian DRM," except maybe some pirates. You're arguing for a solution in search of a problem.