Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD

[Bobby]

Thanks for the info Steve.

Another salvo shot. I have been a Netflix user, and a happy one, since just about day one. I think it is a great service and I do appreciate their efforts to keep up with technology - their excellent website and Instant Viewing for example.

I think this shot is more powerful in its way than Warner's.

Now to shop for a Blu-Ray player and PC writer.

Bob

[Ken Jarstad]

My local Costco has a stack of Toshiba HD-DVD players posted at $129.99. Last fall they couldn't keep them in stock at the $199.99 price. The Blu-Ray players are still listed at around $450.

[VernonRobinson]

Blu-Ray has won. Continuation of the trend from last year. Besides Blu-Ray sounds a lot sexier. Right Steve? Take a look at the Reuters article.

Best Buy to recommend Blu-ray format

Reuters
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc , the largest U.S. consumer electronics chain, said on Monday it will recommend that consumers choose Sony Corp's Blu-ray high-definition video format.

The decision gives Sony yet another victory in the battle with Toshiba Corp's HD DVD to be the high-definition DVD format of choice.

Earlier on Monday, online video rental company Netflix Inc said it would exclusively stock Blu-ray DVDs after some of the world's biggest movie studios decided in favor of that format.

Best Buy said it believes consumers will benefit from the choice of one HD DVD format.

"Because we believe that Blu-ray is fast emerging as that single format, we have decided to focus on Blu-ray products," Brian Dunn, Best Buy's president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Best Buy will prominently feature Blu-ray hardware and software beginning in March, but will also carry an assortment of HD DVD products for customers who want those, Best Buy said.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

I agree. Seems like finally there is a winner.

Though I am sorely tempted I will wait until the Blu-ray player prices drop. They are still too high to make me want to adopt the format.

[Bobby]

..wait until the Blu-ray player prices drop...

Me too. But unfortunately the buy-in for me from a video production standpoint is that I need to have a player not only for me, but for my intended audience - my two daughters and their families. And then the Blu-Ray writer drive for the PC.

The PC writer drive is $400-600 these days at buy.com or newegg, and the players are still around $500.

And don't forget the HD camcorder. If I wait for the HV30, that will be about $1,000.

So I am looking at about $1,000 + 3x$500 + $500, or about $3,000 to get me into high def video production. A bit steep right now...

Bob

[Steve Grisetti]

I'm with you, Bob.

By Christmas of 2009, this stuff will be selling for less than half the price! I'll wait it out.

[Jayell]

By Christmas of 2009, this stuff will be selling for less than half the price! I'll wait it out.

And just when it becomes affordable, we'll move on to the next format

[Doreen L.]

The death of HD DVD continues with Walmart throwing in the towel.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/15/wal-mart-to-officially-discontinue-hd-dvd-sales-by-june/

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

With this trend accelerating I would have thought that now was a good time for the blu-ray camp to deal a killer blow regarding pricing.

Hey, but then I am only a consumer (waiting patiently in the wings - like a lot of others - for prices to get real) not a marketeer.

[hpharley90]

Feb 16 2008
R.I.P. HD DVD: Toshiba reportedly ends the war
Matthew Elliott Post a comment

We have a winner.
Well, that's it. Toshiba appears to be pulling the plug on HD DVD. Toshiba has not commented publicly, but a report on Japan's NHK says Toshiba has made the decision to withdraw from next generation high-definition DVD production.

This news certainly doesn't come as surprise to anyone remotely following HD DVD's format war with rival Blu-ray. HD DVD had suffered a string of defections, with Warner, Netflix, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart all recently pledging their alliance to Blu-ray.

The NHK report says existing HD DVD products will remain in the market for a while, but Toshiba will stop further development of HD DVD. The report also estimates that Toshiba will take a hit to the tune of "hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars" and will close factories in northern Japan.

Elsewhere this weekend, Sony and its Blu-ray buddies are going to make like VHS and party like it's 1989.

[Bobby]

This is even more firm - says Toshiba has halted production.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,14257 ... =nl_dnxnws

Bob

[Don Whitten]

oopppss..started anew posting stating that Toshiba is calling it quits. At least now we can concentrate on Blu Ray. I have really been holding off on this whole HD stuff. Now if only the camcorder manufactures can agree on one format for HD. Or am I dreaming on that one.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Yet another report of a nail in the coffin.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7252506.stm

....but there is a sting in the tail

"If there's only one format, consumers don't have to worry about incompatibility."

Yet while Mr Shimizu predicts sales of Blu-ray player and discs will now take off, other analysts say the format battle is meaningless.

They say this is because a growing number of consumers are already turning their backs on DVD players to download their movies via the internet instead, or from their satellite or cable television provider.

Adding that electronics companies are wrong to assume that viewers want ever better picture quality, they point to the failure of high fidelity music formats Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio in the face of the explosion in the popularity of music downloads.

While typical digital music formats such as MP3 have reduced sound quality compared with even standard CDs, their convenience has more than won over consumers.

The future of high definition DVD players may very well be Blu-ray, but whether they can make a dent in the face of the growing march of computer downloads is quite another story.

[Bob]

Just to wrap things up, here's Toshiba's official press release (feb 19) announcing that they are discontinuing the HD DVD business. http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2008_02/pr1903.htm

[Bobby]

Re: downloads

I think it's going to be quite a while before downloading takes over. If nothing else, it's a question of storage. If a Blu-Ray DVD can hold 50GB, how many hard drives to you need to store a library? People commonly have 100 or so DVDs, and that would require 5TB of data. Not to mention the time wasted and inconvenience of doing the downloading. True movie-on-demand to your TV will win over downloading.

I do not think the audio analogy holds. Audio is still a stereo world since we have only two ears! Oh, it might be nice to hear <insert your favorite artist here> in 7.1, but that only works in a large room with the proper speakers including a 10" subwoofer. If you take it on the road, you only have two ears to plug your earbuds into, you're still stuck with stereo. Hence the .mp3 formats are adequate and can easily be downloaded.

Bob