redford

http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/07/tech...dgets.fortune/

This article ticked me off a bit...especially the part where he says that HD-DVD looked "just as colorful and sharp" as Blu-ray. How about MORE colorful and MORE sharp, Mr. Lewis?!

Then he goes on to make Blu-ray his pick between the two formats...unless he was just picking on POTENTIAL, I find it hard to believe that anyone could look at these two players and their titles in their CURRENT state and even say Blu-ray was equal to HD-DVD, let alone pick Blu-ray as the superior format.

Augustes

I think that it is still way too early to be setting up camp with either side. I do think that Blu-Ray has the bigger potential, and will probably win due to the support it has. But who is to say at the moment. Both formats are still in their infancy. To be honest though so far i have not been particularly impressed with HD. Who decides which films to release on these formats, as the films that have been released so far are uninspired, and they offer nothing that truly justifies anyone going out and spending huge amounts of money on a hi-def TV, player and the movies themselves. A year from now i think everyone will have a better perspective and the real war will begin.

Nero

As I've seen from being a long time fan of the Baltimore Orioles, having all the potential in the world means absolutely nothing until it actually turns into something. I'm not going to foot the bill for season tickets just because this new pitcher has the "potential" to get them to the playoffs, despite his 3-15 record and 5.61 ERA the previous year.

Nimbus

Well i agree with you about the fact that a new format has to prove its potential before people will start backing it significantly. But i don't think that HD has done anything to really push the envelope either for the consumer. Its one of the problems i have with the X-Box 360 and the soon to arrive PS3. Its all fine and dandy giving us something thats prettier....but what else have you got? For me the biggest step from VHS to DVD was always the scene selection and the fact that you no longer needed lengthy rewinds and fast forwards. The new format is the same deal in slightly nicer packaging. Of course when high definition TV's come down to a more reasonable price and the players likewise, i will buy a player....just as i will buy the PS3. But whereas when i bought my first DVD player i had no qualms or doubts in my mind that i was taking a progressive step forwards...with next gen consoles and next gen movie players my mind is not as clear.

Also just to note that i believe that the PS3 will only have any competition really from the Wii (just watch how many people with 360's sell them later this year jumping ship), and that will be primarily due to the price difference and the fact that Nintendo have actually looked at creating something outside the box. Once the PS3 sells....lets see where HD will stand.

redford

Again...i simply do not get this PS3 "having an effect on HD DVD" logic.

Augustes

Here's one way it could have an effect:
I think it's pretty safe to say that a decent percentage of the PS3 early adopters will be people that already have High-Def TVs. Can we agree on that much at least? These people may or may not be interested in High Def movies, but they are willing to spend big bucks on the PS3 for whatever goofy reason. Now, all sony has to do is include a free Bluray movie with the PS3 (similar to what they did with the initial shipments of the PSP) and assuming the movie they include is an A+ title (like spiderman 2 with the PSP) and actually has a decent transfer, they have a good chance of making all those previously Bluray indifferent people into Bluray supporters.

Nero

Nope. You lost me right there. I don't even think 50% of them will.

Nimbus

The fact that Sony will be putting Blu-ray players into every home that buys a PS3 i believe will be substantial. Just look at how many homes have PS2's already. The PS2 was released way after the advent of the DVD player so the addition of a DVD player to most households was not that big a deal. By the time the PS3 is released Blu-rays will still only be found in a small number of homes. This will change all that. I think the way you are looking at it fits better to the X-Box 360. Trying to sell a seperate unit on top of the console itself will mean that you are limiting the number of people who will actually buy into it. There will be many people i expect that own 360's who will not buy the additonal HD player simply because they are gamers and have no interest in movies. By combining the Blu-ray with the console Sony has assurred themselves a wide market to sell movies to straight off the bat. Its one of the reasons i think that HD will have a hard fight ahead of them. Sony is bundling an already familiar brand (Playstation) with a new technology they want people to buy into. Most backers (Microsoft being the exception) don't have this luxury. And whereas Microsoft should have bundled the 360 with a HD player, they are instead selling it as a seperate. I am sure their marketing team would agree that if you can get a player into someones home you are half way there.

redford

^^^
I don't have the energy to go into why this probably won't be the case. It's already been debated ad nauseum on this (and every other) site. I'd check out those threads.

Bottom line: Most PS3 buyers don't give a shit about BD.

Augustes

And anyone who gives a damn about movies isn't going to use a video game console as the primary player of movies, especially when the predecessor wasn't exactly known for its quality in that arena. I sure as hell know I wouldn't. If I pay 600 bucks for something, it better yield some damn good quality stuff. HD DVD does that, and the PS3 probably will not, assuming it follows in the footsteps of PS2. Yet, HD DVD is 100 bucks less, perhaps even more than $100 less come October.