Sony is okay. At least they have the wherewithal to finish this thing and get high definition optical out the door. Toshiba is not really good in the consumer/ prosumer AV space.
At least now I know for sure how to prepare for HD optical media, that is, to prepare for upgrading to Blu-Ray in the next few years.
I think that is the most important thing about all of this. The war is pretty much over. Everyone knows where it's going now. At least there isn't that lingering doubt of investing money into a losing market. I feel sorry for all the people that had no idea about the war and were talked into it by the salesmen.... and went with HD-DVD. I was over at my friend's dad's house the other day (a few days after warner announced blu-ray) and I saw his collection of HD-DVDs. I didn't have the heart to tell him what had happened. He wouldn't understand.
I think that is the most important thing about all of this. The war is pretty much over. Everyone knows where it's going now. At least there isn't that lingering doubt of investing money into a losing market. I feel sorry for all the people that had no idea about the war and were talked into it by the salesmen.... and went with HD-DVD. I was over at my friend's dad's house the other day (a few days after warner announced blu-ray) and I saw his collection of HD-DVDs. I didn't have the heart to tell him what had happened. He wouldn't understand.
He'll find out soon enough.
I imagine that this will encourage more people to get off the log they were sitting on, and go buy a machine.
PS3 sales have also picked up a good deal. One reason is the new, cheaper, player. The other is that more games have come out.
PS3 sales are now almost 1 million a month. That's about double what they were last year. MS made a BIG mistake not making HD-DVD standard on the 360. As both MS and Sony are promoting their machines as a media hub, you would have thought that it would have been a no brainer. But, I suppose MS was strictly thinking in terms of bucks, and the need to be cheaper than the PS3. That has worked, but now it looks as though it was a long term failure. With MS saying that they would offer BD as an accessory if customer demand is there, it could be the last holdout that will be going down. But without making something other than DVD standard, no major game makers would afford to come out with a bunch of games with all that content on multiple disks. The problem is that on the PS3, it's smooth, as it's all on one. On the 360, one would have to constantly switch disks. From the older CD game days, consumers had proven resistant to that.
Unless they could copy the disks to the HDD. I don't know if they can do that though. Perhaps for the scenery and other content?
Yah I gotta be honest, I love my ps3. I was so full of Sony hatred that I didn't even want to get one at first. But it looks so amazing on my 1080p plasma... everything from movies to games.
I don't think copying to the harddrive on the 360 is a viable option, as the harddrive is only so big. Some of these games are pushing 20gb. I suppose you could do external storage but that would almost be the same concept as having another drive. /shrug. As you said m$ screwed themselves by not making a standard drive. I think it has something to do with them taking such a hit on the previous xbox for so many years.
In the long run I'm happy with my choice and I've really fallen in love with Blu-ray.
Wow, Paramount now is about to jump ship too. Looking at the graph it's hard to imagine HD-DVD can continue to hold ground any longer. First Warner, and if Paramount announces they will abandon, so long.
I bought a 42" HDTV (my first high-def television) and it came with a steep discount on a Blu-Ray DVD player as buying bait. Pretty stoked about that and rather happy Blu-Ray looks like it will continue its domination further.
I do feel for those who bought into HD-DVD, like I almost did previously because of the lower prices. But you have to go with what has been shaken out and come out on top from the HD DVD format battlegrounds.
Comments
At least now I know for sure how to prepare for HD optical media, that is, to prepare for upgrading to Blu-Ray in the next few years.
I think that is the most important thing about all of this. The war is pretty much over. Everyone knows where it's going now. At least there isn't that lingering doubt of investing money into a losing market. I feel sorry for all the people that had no idea about the war and were talked into it by the salesmen.... and went with HD-DVD. I was over at my friend's dad's house the other day (a few days after warner announced blu-ray) and I saw his collection of HD-DVDs. I didn't have the heart to tell him what had happened. He wouldn't understand.
He'll find out soon enough.
I imagine that this will encourage more people to get off the log they were sitting on, and go buy a machine.
PS3 sales have also picked up a good deal. One reason is the new, cheaper, player. The other is that more games have come out.
PS3 sales are now almost 1 million a month. That's about double what they were last year. MS made a BIG mistake not making HD-DVD standard on the 360. As both MS and Sony are promoting their machines as a media hub, you would have thought that it would have been a no brainer. But, I suppose MS was strictly thinking in terms of bucks, and the need to be cheaper than the PS3. That has worked, but now it looks as though it was a long term failure. With MS saying that they would offer BD as an accessory if customer demand is there, it could be the last holdout that will be going down. But without making something other than DVD standard, no major game makers would afford to come out with a bunch of games with all that content on multiple disks. The problem is that on the PS3, it's smooth, as it's all on one. On the 360, one would have to constantly switch disks. From the older CD game days, consumers had proven resistant to that.
Unless they could copy the disks to the HDD. I don't know if they can do that though. Perhaps for the scenery and other content?
I don't think copying to the harddrive on the 360 is a viable option, as the harddrive is only so big. Some of these games are pushing 20gb. I suppose you could do external storage but that would almost be the same concept as having another drive. /shrug. As you said m$ screwed themselves by not making a standard drive. I think it has something to do with them taking such a hit on the previous xbox for so many years.
In the long run I'm happy with my choice and I've really fallen in love with Blu-ray.
I bought a 42" HDTV (my first high-def television) and it came with a steep discount on a Blu-Ray DVD player as buying bait. Pretty stoked about that and rather happy Blu-Ray looks like it will continue its domination further.
I do feel for those who bought into HD-DVD, like I almost did previously because of the lower prices. But you have to go with what has been shaken out and come out on top from the HD DVD format battlegrounds.