HD Battle Still Wide Open

[Vandenh]

News from CeBIt is indicating that a lot of hardware manufacturers are planning dual Bluray HD-DVD players to make sure consumers can play any format they want. Reuters has the news story (http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyid=2006-03-09T193442Z_01_L09215134_RTRUKOC_0_US-BLURAY-HDDVD.xml).

Asked if consumers would have to buy their favorite movies again, Blu-ray spokesman Simonis said: "Of course! But it will enrich your life."
Are you ready to enrich their lives?

[Tia]

You know, I felt something was missing in my life and needed some enrichment... now I know what it is. Thank you Simonis, I shall run and get a second mortgage so I can restock my library with BR discs.

[Nite_Moogle]

The only thing these guys want us to enrich are their wallets. DVD is just fine for me.

[TrackZero]

The only thing these guys want us to enrich are their wallets. DVD is just fine for me.

Ditto. Fuck the new formats. What a waste of money/time.

[Vermillion]

That's a rather odd statement. I would "assume" he means you would WANT to buy them again for the richer expereince. Not that you would HAVE to buy them because the players lack backward capability.

Blu ray can lick the tip. The fact that you are price pointing at almost double HD DVD is gonna kill you because the average consumer is just going to see a $499 player next to a $999 player, ask the salesman if they both do HD, and then pick the cheaper one.

[Parsifal]

Can the richness of one's life be measured in resolution?

[Reanimated]

ahahahahahahhahaha, enrich my fucking life?? Wow.

There are two things I could think of that would enrich my life: More golf and less work. Somehow shelling out money for doomed movie formats doens't fall into the enrichment category for me. I'll be just fine with my DVDs and upscaling player, thanks.

[Knite]

I'm not buying my catalog again. No freaking way.
DVDs are fine. I might get some higher def DVDs when that crap gets cheaper... but not for a while. DVDs are pretty enough in 480P on my HDTV.

[Klade]

Since I don't own an HD tv and don't plan on owning one for at least 4 years I see no reason to buy these new formats. If I get one at all it will probably as part of a new computer.

[Citizen Philip]

I hope they die.

In a fire.

Of Blu-ray/HDDvDs.

[Cubfan]

Unless the BR disc can give me a bj, it's not enriching nothin'.

[crashedout]

I sorta agreed until last Sunday, there was a point in the Academy Awards broadcast that they showed some movies clips in HD, they were stunning.. Obviously I would not rebuy everything but if they do transfers like I saw Sunday I would consider it. A combined player would be decent, especially if it can upscale 480p as well.

[Scaryboy]

George Lucas must be fapping himself silly at the prospect of re-releasing the original Star Wars trilogy in another two formats.

[Evil_SPanKY]

lol, open wide, I got something that will surely enrich your life! Well, it'll enrich mine thats for damn sure, what you get out of it is entirely up to you.

[Lord Dongkey]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse but...

Enrich my life?

Fuck you Mr. Corporate ass-hat man.

Fuck you until you die from it.

[UnderHero5]

Yeah... wasting lots of money on a useless new media format is going to enrich our lives.

No.

[askheaves]

Enriching our lives for the cost of enriching uranium

I don't need another copy of Batman.

[Zeal]

They can enrich my dick.

[zangster]

aHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I invite both formats to enrich my ding-dang.

The jump from VHS to DVD was significant for what it could deliver to viewers as far as image quality and bonus material in one small, inexpensive package. I don't know if the jump from DVD to some flavor of HD DVD is all that necessary. Most films won't benefit from the upgrade in technology (do you really need to see Along Came Polly in HD) and since most people don't own an HDTV I really don't think this will be what they decide to make the jump for. I mean, if King of Queens on CBS in HD didn't sell you on a tv that will set you back at least a grand then not much will. The prospect of re-buying all of your movies in a new format?

[askheaves]

The other 3 reasons for the success of the VHS to DVD jump were the form factor (takes up LOTS less space on the shelf, easier to wield), more intelligent rewind and fast forward (not to mention never needing to buy a DVD Rewinder or getting dinged at Blockbuster for 2 bucks) and permanent quality (VHS tapes would degrade over time so that the picture quality was a function of age).

[silv]

F the new formats. They are way too DRM constrained.

If I buy a movie I want to know I can play it on whatever I want. (F the DMCA too)

[Sl1pstream]

I have no life, do they have a reason why I should buy this?

[captainspankypants]

I love how, in this forum at least, "enrich our lives" gets immediately translated to having something to do with your penis. Our value system is great! OK, now I'm off to go enrich my life in the bathroom...

[drakkarim]

the last dvd's i bought was saving private ryan, years ago, and the lotr trilogy while back. my dvd collection is a whole 6 movies i think. so if they think i'll be enriching anything anytime soon they can kiss my a*s.

[TheFlyingOrc]

It does seem to be a bad place for them to be in...movie collectors don't want to rebuild their collection, while everyone else doesn't buy that many movies to start with...

[gzsfrk]

Are you ready to enrich their lives?

There needs to be a new variation on Godwin's law, except that instead of mentioning Nazis, when you use any such form of business-bull-speak like this, you automatically lose marketshare for the product your hawking.

Of course, that would mean we'd never hear a word from an executive sales rep again.... so WIN-WIN.

[bKangy]

I've never really wished someone would fall down their staircase and break their legs until now.

[ruprect]

I used to be excited about this, but now I just don't care. Don't get me wrong. . . I am a total Hi-Def believer (although Regular TV to HiDef is a bigger leap than DVD to HiDef. . . to my eyes). I can wait 3-5 years for a format war to decide on a standard . . . and maybe by then you won't even need to buy physical media if you have the right hardware.

I'm of the opinion now (and this may be a no-sh*t sherlock thing for some people) the big reason for this push by the industry is to stop piracy. Benefits to the consumer are secondary. . . and I just don't find the improvement of quality that significant when weighed against the higher cost so companies can get piracy under control. I've never had a pirated DVD and even give my friends who do pirate a hard time. . . but really, why punish all the consumers just becuase the industry screwed up their original attempt at digital media?

[Knite]

yes, it is an attempt to get piracy under control.

However, it will fail. It has been proven time and time again, if you make a bomb, someone else will make it bigger. If you make a gun, someone else will make bulletproof armor.

Instead of concentrating on making the format better, they are concentrating on loading it with DRM stuff that's just going to be broken within a couple of months anyway, and pirated, and likely the pirated copies will have less trouble playing than the REAL copies, kind of like PC software can sometimes be now.

[1FSTCAT]

That's a rather odd statement. I would "assume" he means you would WANT to buy them again for the richer expereince. Not that you would HAVE to buy them because the players lack backward capability.

Blu ray can lick the tip. The fact that you are price pointing at almost double HD DVD is gonna kill you because the average consumer is just going to see a $499 player next to a $999 player, ask the salesman if they both do HD, and then pick the cheaper one.

if you're anything like some people I know, you'll save up your $1000 because you think Sony is god.

[Bubby]

Damn.

I just lost 20 IQ points reading the juvenile BS in this thread.

[Sl1pstream]

Our value system is great!

Value Chain!

[mister_slim]

So now HD is bad? I just can't keep up anymore.

[fitbabits]

Value Chain!
Bastard! I was so going to post that! It's been gnawing away at my brain for donkey's and you went and ruined it. I hope you're proud of yourself.

[MasterEvilAce]

DVD's are fine. 8gb ought to be enough for anybody.

[Qoz]

I feel for you people who bought all your movies on DVD.
And you are right - the quality leap is insignificant if you watch it on 30 inch or less HDTV.

I'm pretty excited about HD because I have a HD projector. The artifacts are truly visible when playing DVD's. The HD content I have played (like Lost) look absolutely fantastic! Extremely good quality and just like being at the cinema without all the annoying things. The screen is about 90-100 inch, and regular DVD just doesn't cut it anymore when blown up to this size.
I think the quality difference will be alot more sigificant when LCD screens above 30 inch become mainstream. But thats atleast 1 year away if not 2.

I only have 2-3 DVD's as I'm just beginning to collect favorite movies. For me it is great as I will just wait and buy my catalog on HD.

[Heretic Machine]

I was hating Blu-ray and HD-DVD before it was cool.

[Sl1pstream]

I hope you're proud of yourself.

I even had a party. It involved lots of gigaflops.

[Schnoogs]

I feel for you people who bought all your movies on DVD.
And you are right .

10 years ago when I first started buying DVDs I wasnt too concerned about replacing my whole library.

200 DVDs later I'm like...GULP!!!!

I'll probably replace only those that I love the most...like Star Wars.

[XenonCJ]

I would rather swallow razor blades than fucking re-buy movies I already own. They can suck on my fat black life enriching cock.

[Pumped'Up]

I'm looking forward to hi-def movies....I just really hope that one of the formats, either BR or HDDVD, will die quickly.

PS3 with HDDVD support? Bring it on baby.

[Schnoogs]

They can suck on my fat black life enriching cock.

Yours is black? You might want to get that looked at. ;)