MS responds to HD-DVD retaliation from Blu-Ray camp
by Dan Choi 
{ Sep 30th 2005 at 3:00PM }
Now that
Microsoft and Intel are officially backing HD-DVD over the
Blu-ray high-def format, it looks like the true media war over standard mindshare has finally begun.
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) bounced back yesterday against MS's criticisms against its standard by claiming its
disc capacity would be 50GB at launch, that hybrid discs were being demoed, and that "managed copy" is already part of
the supported AACS protection spec. BDA members
Dell and HP challenged the capacity
claim by pointing out that MS was comparing double-layer HD-DVD discs and single-layer Blu-ray ones. [Thanks
for the link, Thundercizzle.]
Microsoft, meanwhile, struck back, stating that the claims of 50GB Blu-ray discs and hybrid capability are unproven,
that the managed copy support is not mandatory, and that HD-DVD will meet its goals at launch far in advance of
Blu-ray's comparable versions. When will the war end? Probably only when both formats are released and consumers can
see and judge for themselves. Gosh, this situation seems
awfully familiar for some reason….
[via Slashdot]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
OTAM @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Format wars to go along with the console wars.
Oh boy.
recklessgemini @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
allow me to break this thread with something intelligent to say.....
(farts)
recklessgemini @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
damn you OTAM!
b @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Blu-ray backers would be stupid not to prove that soon.
"And if Blu-ray 50GB is truly "many years" away, is it worth waiting for?"
Sony said the PS3 will be available the day it launches with 54 GB (fifty four) discs.
Jason @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Regardless of the format, my dad will still call them CDs. Likewise it doesn't make a bit of difference to us normal folk which format everyone ultimately decides on, as long as it works.
For this reason I don't see people adopting DVD 2.0 (be that Blu-Ray, HD-DVD or otherwise) at the same rate they did DVDs, because although it looks like a DVD, when Joe Ignorant puts it in his DVD player it won't work. Ever notice how PC games rarely ship on DVD, even though the technology has been out for years? That's because compatibility reigns supreme.
For movies, DVDs had the benefit of being easier to handle than VHS tapes, better looking and sounding than VHS tapes, and offered functionality VHS couldn't, like voiceovers and bonus features. But with the proposed DVD 2.0 no features will be added, and the increase in sound and video quality will go completely unnoticed by the typical user on a CRT TV, even if they have a nice stereo system.
Blu-Ray and the like will be a neat feature for PS3 users and videophiles, but that's about it.
Spiza @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
They already have 50GB discs. They only said that they are only making them in a lab. That means they don't have a factory process set up yet, but considering they are months away from actually making any discs, I don't see the problem. The PS3 may be the first blu-ray player to market, and this could delay the ps3 launch. In the end though, I don't see many people wanting to buy either an hd-dvd or blu-ray player for a couple years. Blu-ray would have an edge though since sony is force feeding ps3 owners. That is unless M$ stuffs an hd-dvd drive into xbox360-2.
epobirs @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Sony has a bit of a problem. If PS3 ships with a drive that only supports the manufacturable 50 GB discs, in addition to however many dedicated Blu-ray players with the same limitation, then it won't matter what is produced later. The platform will be limited to what that installed base can support.
It is little surprise that the companies expected to produce chips and write code for the PC support of these platforms are more confident in the one that has demonstrated the ability to actually manufacture the product in mass market quantities.
It is even less surprising that Microsoft didn't want to get the Xbox 360 entangled in this mess, standardizing on DVD and leaving newer formats for possible future extensions that might entice more buyers without altering the base platform.
JPRacer @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
#5 (Jason) "and the increase in sound and video quality will go completely unnoticed by the typical user on a CRT TV".
Don't say CRT TV, say non-HD or SD TV because CRT still produces the best picture quality.
Scott @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
"When will the war end?"
When the porn industry picks a format.
b @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
"9. Posted Sep 30, 2005, 4:56 PM ET by Scott
"When will the war end?"
When the porn industry picks a format."
What makes you so sure? Don't mention that bullshit about VHS and Betamax, EXPLAIN.
Jonas @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Its all about the marketing...the betamax was better than VHS but due to its marketing, VHS won. Just like apple is better that microsoft, but good ol billy gates is a better marketer. Also the 30-50 gigs on hd dvd and blu-ray are so pointless. I mean film industries can hardly fill up the 4 or 5 gigs on the DVD, all they do is add stupid extra features, lik alternate ending, and scenes that were cut out. That dumb stuff i dont wanna see. I mean the quality of HD-DVD and Blu ray are going to be great n all...but do u honestly believe they will use up the 30 or 50 gigs.... nope...they might throwin sum extra features, but they wont give the consumers what they really wan... more movies on 1 disc. heck .. they can fit 2 movies on 1 dvd ...but they wont...and they just add in stupid drectors edition of the same movie.
ill trooper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
I never say 'too much storage' - someone on Slashdot brought up the point that although a movie may not need 50gigs, a season of your favorite program could be sold on ONE disk as opposed to 4 or 6 DVDs, keeping your collection from sprawling as much, and you could jump from episode 2 to episode 14 without having to change disks.
At least until the TV show you're buying is in HD, of course. Then it all starts over.
Jonas @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Yeaa ... i guess it could work for TV shows...but for movies it wont ...plus alot of ppl i spoke too like having that whole collecetion set. but whatever
Theres always room for unicorns @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
you can charge $50 for a 5-HDDVD set but maybe not for 1 HDDVD of 5 movies set. people will measure it as $50/disc vs. $10/disc. and suspect that you may have downgraded the picture to fit.
plus 4 extra disc cost the manufctuers, what, $2? maybe?
the only moves out now that are 5movies to a disc are no name kung fu movies or stuff like that. and who buys those?
b @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
"Its all about the marketing...the betamax was better than VHS
but due to its marketing, VHS won."
Umm, Beta lost to VHS because it lacked the ability to deliver higher storage possibilities, as opposed to VHS, not because of marketing. That's why sony understands the war now.
vaylen @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Jonas, they currently use up the 9 gigs they have on a DVD because the movie is compressed to a 720x480 picture in mpeg-2. If the movie were 1800x1080 and barely compressed it would fill a 50 gig disc quite nicely. I also agree about the TV shows. I could put every episode of The Simpsons in mpeg-4 on one blu-ray disc. That wouldn't suck.
Jonas @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Oh shoot.. i didnt even kno that vaylen. Thanks
fr correcting me..im now interested in actually lookin forward to the blu ray ... But in your opinion vaylen, does intels backing of Blu Ray pose a serious problem for the Blu ray ?
Jonas @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
My bad ... What i meant to ask was ...Does Intels backing of HD DVD cause a serious problem to Blu Ray?
Grey Eminence @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Holographic Storage will obsolete Blu-Ray and
HD-DVD before it can even walk.
b @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
"19. Posted Oct 1, 2005, 1:49 AM ET by Grey Eminence
Holographic Storage will obsolete Blu-Ray and
HD-DVD before it can even walk."
That won't happen anytime soon. Or dare you explain us how will that happen considering blu-ray and HD-DVD are almost out the gates and I don't see any HVDs or holographic material of the sort coming out soon.
atv @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
50gb blue ray disc are already available for sale in Japan. They are pretty expensive though ~$50.
http://www.e-trend.co.jp/shopping/pickup.php?pcd=14111
b @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
"21. Posted Oct 2, 2005, 4:46 AM ET by atv
50gb blue ray disc are already available for sale in Japan. They are pretty expensive though ~$50.
http://www.e-trend.co.jp/shopping/pickup.php?pcd=14111"
Expensive? Well, consider that you get a box of 50 CDs for 10 dollars.
That is 35000 Megabytes, or 34.1796875 Gigabytes for 10 dollars, or 3.41796875 dollars per gigabytes. So basically it costs little more that triple the CDs, but consider how much you can pack in it, AND that is cutting-edge technology. Which means that when it is no longer cutting-edge in a year or two, and it becomes mass produced, specially for PS3 games and HDTV movies, it will cost a lot less. In 5 years it will cost what a DVD or a CD costs today, and take in mind that it can store tons of times more.