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.
Quote:
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.
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.
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.
I think Blu-Ray B1G1 deal will continue through out the year. This is only effective strategy Blu-Ray has since the hardware prices are pretty much locked in the $350+ range.
Also, as expected, Toshiba will also have it's own promtions/bundles with lower hardware prices in the range of $150 with free software bundles like the current Amazon deals with 10 free HDM with $199 HD-DVD player. On the week of the black friday, Amazon did offer HD-A3 as low as $157 with 3 instant HDM picks + 2 free HDM's in the box + 5 free HDM MIR.
Perhaps the offers may get even more competitive soon. All in all, it's really a great holdiays for HDM fans.
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 DVD?s New Feature: Watching Movies Together But Not In the Same Place
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 you?re each in the comfort of your own homes. Here?s 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.
Here?s 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 everyone?s machine. You can chat live with your friends as you watch.?
So is it a gimmick or a feature? It?s 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 week?s Black Friday sales (of which I participated because of Amazon?s 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., Sony?s 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 Amazon?s 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).
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 DVD?s New Feature: Watching Movies Together But Not In the Same Place
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.
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...
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
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.
],...looks like someone needs to scrape the bottom of the barrel of hooked on phonics...it worked for 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.
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.
I missed that press release. Apple has how many movie studio's on board?
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...
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.
Quote:
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.
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
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
No worries man. I shared it basically to spur on discussion. I like debate. I've even been known to post HD DVD news as well. So sometimes I agree wholeheartedly with the material I post, and sometimes I don't. Obviously, I didn't say either way on this one, and in all honesty, I think Mr. Bay on the surface appears conflicted, but knows like many that Blu-ray is the better format as well as tech. I say this because when he made his initial comments about the Paramount move (about how he thought it was short sighted and not smart), he shortly rescinded thereafter. And now we have this statement from him. All in all, I hope he and other directors can put the pressure back on Paramount to do what is right for the consumer...and that is go with the format that the consumers are choosing in mass (relatively speaking) with Blu-ray.
Show me ONE link you've posted in this thread that references HD-DVD in a positive light.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marzetta7
...that Blu-ray is the better format
The only thing that really distinguishes Blu-Ray from HD-DVD as a format is the draconian DRM it implements. And that is only better for studios, not the average consumer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marzetta7
as well as tech.
Technically, it has the potential for much larger storage (100GB?) But that's not much of a benefit given that movies are generally settled into the 2-3 hour time frame. Collectors also seem to like multiple disc sets, which further help to drive down the cost of blank discs for consumers.
Sony's Beta was also the better technical format and lost that war.
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.
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank777
The only thing that really distinguishes Blu-Ray from HD-DVD as a format is the draconian DRM it implements. And that is only better for studios, not the average consumer.
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.
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.
Point taken. I should have worded that differently.
Quote:
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.
Doesn't BR have an additional level of encryption (over MMC) that locks the content stream?
No one's going to be inconvenienced now. But in 5 years, when terabyte-level drives are standard and you want to rip your 1200-disc HDM collection to your Apple Home Server, will you be able to download the latest version of HandBrake and go for it?
I'll bet Sony will not-so-politely tell you to re-buy all those movies again.
HD-DVD is not perfect in this scenario either, but I think they are the lesser of the two evils.
No worries man. I shared it basically to spur on discussion. I like debate. I've even been known to post HD DVD news as well. So sometimes I agree wholeheartedly with the material I post, and sometimes I don't. Obviously, I didn't say either way on this one, and in all honesty, I think Mr. Bay on the surface appears conflicted, but knows like many that Blu-ray is the better format as well as tech. I say this because when he made his initial comments about the Paramount move (about how he thought it was short sighted and not smart), he shortly rescinded thereafter. And now we have this statement from him. All in all, I hope he and other directors can put the pressure back on Paramount to do what is right for the consumer...and that is go with the format that the consumers are choosing in mass (relatively speaking) with Blu-ray.
Again, everything Bay thinks he knows about the two competing formats, he learned while sitting at a table with a couple of Blu-Ray fanboys. Superior format? They're two different wrappers for the same end-product; neither format has a leg up over the other that actually results in a superior film viewing. And again, consumers aren't choosing Blu-Ray; it's coming built-in to a larger multimedia system that would have sold millions of units regardless. When the Blu-Ray userbase is no longer 94 percent PS3 owners, then you can talk about consumers choosing it; until then, it's just the UMD of the PS3.
And I agree, it is short-sighted for a studio to be format-exclusive.
Comments
"Item arriving in 2 to 6 weeks, order now..."
— 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.
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.
Ok, that makes sense.
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.
I think Blu-Ray B1G1 deal will continue through out the year. This is only effective strategy Blu-Ray has since the hardware prices are pretty much locked in the $350+ range.
Also, as expected, Toshiba will also have it's own promtions/bundles with lower hardware prices in the range of $150 with free software bundles like the current Amazon deals with 10 free HDM with $199 HD-DVD player. On the week of the black friday, Amazon did offer HD-A3 as low as $157 with 3 instant HDM picks + 2 free HDM's in the box + 5 free HDM MIR.
Perhaps the offers may get even more competitive soon. All in all, it's really a great holdiays for HDM fans.
HD DVD?s New Feature: Watching Movies Together But Not In the Same Place
http://www.techconsumer.com/2007/12/...he-same-place/
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 you?re each in the comfort of your own homes. Here?s 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.
Here?s 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 everyone?s machine. You can chat live with your friends as you watch.?
So is it a gimmick or a feature? It?s 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 week?s Black Friday sales (of which I participated because of Amazon?s 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., Sony?s 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 Amazon?s 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).
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 DVD?s New Feature: Watching Movies Together But Not In the Same Place
http://www.techconsumer.com/2007/12/...he-same-place/
This has FaceBook written all over it....Is that a good or bad thing?
This has FaceBook written all over it....Is that a good or bad thing?
Haha... I guess that really depends... LOL
Just like HDM option. It's only good for those who is able to have and enjoy them.
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.
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
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
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.
],...looks like someone needs to scrape the bottom of the barrel of hooked on phonics...it worked for 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.
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.
I missed that press release. Apple has how many movie studio's on board?
I missed that press release. Apple has how many movie studio's on board?
I think your can safely exclude Sony from the studio wish list.
I missed that press release. Apple has how many movie studio's on board?
This is AppleInsider's Future Hardware forum. If you're looking for press releases, you're on the wrong board.
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
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.
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.
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
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
No worries man. I shared it basically to spur on discussion. I like debate. I've even been known to post HD DVD news as well. So sometimes I agree wholeheartedly with the material I post, and sometimes I don't. Obviously, I didn't say either way on this one, and in all honesty, I think Mr. Bay on the surface appears conflicted, but knows like many that Blu-ray is the better format as well as tech. I say this because when he made his initial comments about the Paramount move (about how he thought it was short sighted and not smart), he shortly rescinded thereafter. And now we have this statement from him. All in all, I hope he and other directors can put the pressure back on Paramount to do what is right for the consumer...and that is go with the format that the consumers are choosing in mass (relatively speaking) with Blu-ray.
I've even been known to post HD DVD news as well.
Ok, that requires a call out.
Show me ONE link you've posted in this thread that references HD-DVD in a positive light.
...that Blu-ray is the better format
The only thing that really distinguishes Blu-Ray from HD-DVD as a format is the draconian DRM it implements. And that is only better for studios, not the average consumer.
as well as tech.
Technically, it has the potential for much larger storage (100GB?) But that's not much of a benefit given that movies are generally settled into the 2-3 hour time frame. Collectors also seem to like multiple disc sets, which further help to drive down the cost of blank discs for consumers.
Sony's Beta was also the better technical format and lost that war.
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.
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.
The only thing that really distinguishes Blu-Ray from HD-DVD as a format is the draconian DRM it implements. And that is only better for studios, not the average consumer.
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.
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.
Point taken. I should have worded that differently.
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.
Doesn't BR have an additional level of encryption (over MMC) that locks the content stream?
No one's going to be inconvenienced now. But in 5 years, when terabyte-level drives are standard and you want to rip your 1200-disc HDM collection to your Apple Home Server, will you be able to download the latest version of HandBrake and go for it?
I'll bet Sony will not-so-politely tell you to re-buy all those movies again.
HD-DVD is not perfect in this scenario either, but I think they are the lesser of the two evils.
No worries man. I shared it basically to spur on discussion. I like debate. I've even been known to post HD DVD news as well. So sometimes I agree wholeheartedly with the material I post, and sometimes I don't. Obviously, I didn't say either way on this one, and in all honesty, I think Mr. Bay on the surface appears conflicted, but knows like many that Blu-ray is the better format as well as tech. I say this because when he made his initial comments about the Paramount move (about how he thought it was short sighted and not smart), he shortly rescinded thereafter. And now we have this statement from him. All in all, I hope he and other directors can put the pressure back on Paramount to do what is right for the consumer...and that is go with the format that the consumers are choosing in mass (relatively speaking) with Blu-ray.
Again, everything Bay thinks he knows about the two competing formats, he learned while sitting at a table with a couple of Blu-Ray fanboys. Superior format? They're two different wrappers for the same end-product; neither format has a leg up over the other that actually results in a superior film viewing. And again, consumers aren't choosing Blu-Ray; it's coming built-in to a larger multimedia system that would have sold millions of units regardless. When the Blu-Ray userbase is no longer 94 percent PS3 owners, then you can talk about consumers choosing it; until then, it's just the UMD of the PS3.
And I agree, it is short-sighted for a studio to be format-exclusive.