Blu-ray vs. HD DVD (2007)

16768707273233

Comments

  • Reply 1381 of 4650
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Corey View Post


    I have over 400 DVD's and I can tell you that I am NOT replacing with $40 each blue ray disks.



    I have 330+ DVDs myself and there are about a dozen that I plan to upgrade to HD, but they are all movies I am THRILLED to buy again for the pleasure of seeing yummy HD goodness. But nobody is forcing me to buy anything again; it's not in HD DVD's or Blu-ray's specs that old standard-definition discs will suddenly erase themselves and cease operating.



    Besides, I don't expect either format to last long enough for the majority of odd, obscure titles I have to be re-released in HD. (Although marzetta7 will probably swear up and down that Sony is prepping a Blu-ray release of "The Trouble with Angels" right now in an attempt to get me to buy a player.)



    And many discs can be had for $18-20, which is already cheaper than DVDs were when I started buying them. I bet we'll see discs selling for $15 by the end of the year.
  • Reply 1382 of 4650
    mellomello Posts: 555member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post


    It's free. http://handbrake.m0k.org/



    You can encode into a variety of formats from ay DVD source, copy protected or not. I use it for putting movies on my iPod now. There's also an "insant" handbrake for iPod only. With the regular version you can choose apsect ratio, bitrate, etc. Go to this link for info:



    http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/art...y-resolutions/



    You have to set the bitrate and file type and what not to the proper settings. It's not as hard as it sounds. You just have to make sure the encoding is supported by iPod. PM me if you need more info.



    Thanks for the info! I'm just itching to get the iPhone & loading it up with Pulp Fiction &

    Venture Brothers!
  • Reply 1383 of 4650
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    So I have a question for those out there that have a Blu-Ray player and some movies. I picked up my Casino Royale yesterday and was looking at the back and noticed it is marked as all region. Anybody else noticed any all region BD movies? Does this mean there is potentially a region setting for players to set them to all region players as well, similar to now with DVDs?
  • Reply 1384 of 4650
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by marzetta7 View Post


    Sony Report Reveals First Look at Absolute Blu-ray and HD DVD Disc Sales Figures







    Yup, we still have a long way to go, but the future sure looks Blu! 9:2 ratio, talk about getting owned. More weeks like that ahead, and HD DVD will not survive...not that I see them surviving with the likes of Batman Begins, POTC 1 and 2, Cars, and Spidey 1 and 2 releasing on Blu-ray soon, but HD DVD has Children of Men...so good luck with that.



    Wow. Imagine how may smilies you'll use once you actually buy a BR player -- and stop being some creepy technology fanboy.
  • Reply 1385 of 4650
    marzetta7marzetta7 Posts: 1,323member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by britwithgoodteeth View Post


    Wow. Imagine how may smilies you'll use once you actually buy a BR player -- and stop being some creepy technology fanboy.



    Don't hate da playa, hate da game. And the game certainly isn't going your way it seems, otherwise, you wouldn't have to resort to name calling when you don't know the first thing about me.
  • Reply 1386 of 4650
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Trendannoyer View Post


    Hardly the smartest of moves Tosh if your gonna spread your HD-DVD goodness, i can now think of 17 manufacturers who wont be so keen to say "aye"



    If you check out this piece from MacWorld UK (which gives a full list of the companies involved), you'll see that the 17 companies looks like it equates to about 8 manufacturers, none of whom are exactly mainstream.
  • Reply 1387 of 4650
    guarthoguartho Posts: 1,208member
    Are patents like trademarks? Do you have to defend them to keep them?
  • Reply 1388 of 4650
    bitemymacbitemymac Posts: 1,147member
    well... I was right about 20GB PS3 after all............ Sony pulls the plug.



    http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6836



    I guess, with cheaper BD players coming to the market still at higher price than $499, Sony couldn't bare to bleed anymore to sell it's 20GB model as a BD player.
  • Reply 1389 of 4650
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    Or it could just be a case of there was no demand.
  • Reply 1390 of 4650
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. H View Post


    If you check out this piece from MacWorld UK (which gives a full list of the companies involved), you'll see that the 17 companies looks like it equates to about 8 manufacturers, none of whom are exactly mainstream.



    i sort of knew that as i posted... and couldnt think of a better word than manufacturer

    however as most of them are an offspring of the name Tonic (this, Tonic that) one might assume that Tonic are capable of SOME type of manufacturing capabilities (???)

    Its difficult to make judgement when not knowing the ins and outs of the suit

    but i thought Sony did something similarly foolish (although it thought it was protecting its business, as i have no doubt Tosh also thinks) back in the betamax days, which ended up hurting it rather badly in the end (failed mass consumer format)



    so drawing a similarty between the two, I find is interesting... and quite possibly foretelling....??...maybe... one will have to wait and see
  • Reply 1391 of 4650
    glossgloss Posts: 506member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Telomar View Post


    Or it could just be a case of there was no demand.



    I'm willing to bet it was an availability issue. I don't think I ever saw a 20gb in stores.



    Sony very likely restricted its production intentionally due to the lower profit margins/larger loss compared to the 60gb model. I guess they've finally decided to give up the charade.
  • Reply 1392 of 4650
    kupan787kupan787 Posts: 586member
    With regards to the 20GB PS3, for those that don't read Slashdot, a few comments...



    Quote:

    Although the PS3 sales are hardly strong, I honestly think the 20GB PS3 was more or less vaporware, from a practical stand-point. I swear to the Lord that I have never seen one in any store. Ever.



    I've come across mountains of 60GB PS3's, but never the lesser one. Which makes me curious about this whole "more demand for the better one" thing. How would they even gage something like that, when it's seemingly impossible to find the goddamn things in the first place?



    It's like General Electric making five toasters, selling out of them, and then saying demand was too low to justify building them because you only sold five at retail. What planet am I on?



    Quote:

    That seems a bit unbalanced.



    I've never seen a 20GB PS3 in stores, only the 60GB ones. Even Sony admitted they were going to be shipping 4 60GB PS3s for every 1 20GB PS3. Assuming this was true, then there was obviously demand for the 20GB model, as it actually sold out.



    However, what I suspect is going on is that Sony was losing more money per console on the 20GB model verus the 60GB one, even though it has "more stuff" in it.



    I tend to agree. How can it be said it was not in demand, when it was the only model of the PS3 to constantly sell out? And Sony artificially limited its supply. Seems to me like Sony was just looking for an excuse to get rid of this model as it was costing them too much.
  • Reply 1393 of 4650
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kzelk4 View Post


    Id like to see a comparasin of sales of blu-ray without the PS3 and HD DVD drive on the xbox 360. Although this is pretty much impossible the numbers are probably way closer without the PS3, imo.



    Yet on a poll on avsforum 2/3 of the respondents listed that their Blu-ray player was a PS3. Also, in the B-r forum on avsforum there have been posts by gamers who bought the PS3 only to use as a game machine but who have downloaded movie trailers and have become hooked on using it as a a B-r movie player. What you're suggesting is don't count the most popular Blu-ray player. So yes, without the PS3 numbers would probably be much closer.
  • Reply 1394 of 4650
    The first PS3 I ever saw in a store was a 20GB model and I was sorely tempted, but resisted the impulse buy urge. Having to upgrade my non-HDMI receiver was the the killer. That was the only 20GB I ever saw. I think Sony made a very limited number of that model just so it could have a $499 machine to compete in price with HD-DVD models.



    Anyway, for right now SD-DVDs on an upconverting player is "good-enough" for me.



    On a related note, since we were discussing Happy Feet earlier, I thought the upconverted SD-DVD picture was almost HD quality. Sound was very good, unfortunately the plot was pretty ho-hum.
  • Reply 1395 of 4650
    bitemymacbitemymac Posts: 1,147member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OldCodger73 View Post


    Yet on a poll on avsforum 2/3 of the respondents listed that their Blu-ray player was a PS3. Also, in the B-r forum on avsforum there have been posts by gamers who bought the PS3 only to use as a game machine but who have downloaded movie trailers and have become hooked on using it as a a B-r movie player. What you're suggesting is don't count the most popular Blu-ray player. So yes, without the PS3 numbers would probably be much closer.



    Well....



    The actually #'s from the participants... combining both BR & HD together...



    PS3 (20/60GB): -------529 units ------------28.5%

    BD player: ------------261 units ------------14.1%

    Neutral from BR side:-256 units ------------13.8%

    --------------------------------------------------------- 749 BD participants



    HD players:------------838 units ------------45.2%

    360 add on:------------438 units ------------23.6%

    --------------------------------------------------------- 1104 HD participants



    Both polls had the same opening and closing dates from AVS forum. The % is the combined total of HD & BD participants, however, the units #'s are raw #'s.



    BTW, this mostly reflects on the AV enthusiasts, but not J6P. Also, this is the poll ended sometime in the beginning of the year, so it may not reflect the current status.
  • Reply 1396 of 4650
    marzetta7marzetta7 Posts: 1,323member
    Speaking of BD-J...Here's a Dragon's Lair Review...remember this is yet another exclusive...



    http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/dragonslair.html



    Quote:

    Digital Leisure has created a new 1080p restoration of 'Dragon's Lair' for high-def release, re-formatted at 1.78:1 widescreen and encoded in MPEG-2. It really does look great, and is an obvious upgrade over all previous versions.



    Comparing the picture quality on this disc to its standard-def predecessor (which was marred by noticeable dirt and dropouts), this Blu-ray edition is definitely cleaner, with all of the major blemishes gone. Contrast is also superior -- there is more of a difference between the deepest blacks and whitest whites, which gives more depth to the image. But best of all are colors -- never have they looked this rich and striking. The reds are now vivid -- not the flat, muted oranges of the DVD. Purples, greens and blues also excel, and just about every sequence is impressive. The only really distracting quality to the transfer is grain. Yes, it's appropriate given the age of the material, but the sharpness of high-definition exacerbates it somewhat. But it's hardly fatal. At last, Don Bluth has been done proud -- the animation his team created in 'Dragon's Lair' has a great retro quality, but also feels strangely timeless. This Blu-ray gets it right.



    ...First up is a Video Commentary, which Digital Leisure is touting as the first "true" picture-in-picture feature authored in BD-Java on a commercial Blu-ray disc. I don't know if there is any trickery going on behind the scenes to make it work, but it played flawlessly on my PlayStation 3. Bluth, Goldman and Dyer appear together in a little PIP box in the top right corner, narrating the complete 19-minute game as a stand-alone short film (no interruptions for gameplay, etc.) Generally, it's a nice chat on how the animation was combined with the limited technologies of the time. I personally would like to have heard more from Bluth, but given the film's short length, this one's still an entertaining enough listen.



    So there you have it, you got PIP with Blu-ray...now, it didn't take that long did it? So now what will the HD DVD proponents come up with as to what benefits HD DVD offers over Blu-ray seeing how the "more interactive features" argument appears to be going out the window as well? Hmm, I look forward to some people's thoughts...
  • Reply 1397 of 4650
    glossgloss Posts: 506member
    Quote:

    Here's a Dragon's Lair Review...remember this is yet another exclusive...



    Please don't celebrate Dragon's Lair as an exclusive. It's been on every platform known to man, and it just sounds desperate.



    Glad to hear PIP works though.
  • Reply 1398 of 4650
    bitemymacbitemymac Posts: 1,147member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gloss View Post


    Please don't celebrate Dragon's Lair as an exclusive. It's been on every platform known to man, and it just sounds desperate.



    Glad to hear PIP works though.



    Well.... it states that PIP worked with 19min of game playing.... How about when playing the movie?.... Does the PIP narration work during movie playback?



    It's nice to see such features are being implemented now with BD, but you'd want to make sure it's implemented on the right stuff... now only on the java games.
  • Reply 1399 of 4650
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Korean Newswire on Samsung Universal player





    Quote:

    Seoul, Apr 13 (Korea Newswire)--\t Samsung Electronics Co., LTD., a leader in consumer electronics and digital media technologies, and the first company to introduce a Blu-ray disc player will introduce a dual format High-Definition (HD) optical disc player in time for the holidays.



    Samsung?s Duo HD player (BD-UP5000) will fully support both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats and their interactive technologies, HDi and BD-Java. With the Duo HD consumers can enjoy additional studio content such as trailers, director?s comments, more elaborate interactive menus and behind the scene footage. The new Duo HD joins Samsung?s next generation DVD line-up which includes Samsung?s second generation Blu-ray player available at retail this month. Together, these two models offer the consumer a strong line of High-Definition players to match Samsung?s award winning, and best selling, line of HDTVs.



    "We welcome Samsung's Duo HD player as another solution in the marketplace that will help reduce consumer confusion and buyer hesitancy towards HD media," said Ron Sanders, President of Warner Home Video. "This is an innovative product that can move us closer to mainstream consumer adoption of HD technologies."



    ?We are very pleased to announce the upcoming release of our Duo HD player. Consumers are hungry for more HD content but are currently confused about competing formats. Samsung?s Duo HD player will allow consumers access to every HD movie title available regardless of the authoring format. Samsung is committed to making life simpler through technology and will market next generation DVD products which will satisfy the consumer and market requirement. This is a big win for the consumer.



    As a member of the DVD Forum and contributor to the DVD Industry, we recognize that both HD-DVD and BD formats have merits. As such, we have decided to market a dual format player. Samsung is flexible to market a stand-alone HD-DVD player whenever consumers demand it. Our main concern is not technology but consumer choice? said Dongsoo Jun, Executive Vice President of the Digital AV Division at Samsung Electronics.



    The Thlot Plickens
  • Reply 1400 of 4650
    marzetta7marzetta7 Posts: 1,323member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    Korean Newswire on Samsung Universal player



    The Thlot Plickens



    Yeah, I read this elsewhere. yeah Samsung is really doing consumers a favor here...I mean, this ought to make consumer confusion in regards to HD media about as clear as mud. Because the DVD+/DVD- charade certainly is clear to most now.



    In my opinion, sometimes too much choice, causes to much confusion. Here's hoping there is a winner in all this very soon.
Sign In or Register to comment.