Joystiq poll: Which video format will prevail?

I choose DVD. I don't feel like rebuying my entire DVD collection in the next few years. Slightly better audio/video quality doesn't do anything for me. I'd rather see a huge push for better stories, characters, and concepts... if that makes any sense.

Unlike CDs, I dont particularly value dvd / film packaging as much (probably because my vision sense is already being used) so I wouldnt have any problem with the relegation of ALL physical video distribution formats to the recycle bin. *Digital* distribution for films is the way forward, AFAIK, so I chose 'none of the above'. I believe Sir Bill himself also said something about this being the last format war. dont quote me on that though.

- jtatooine,

Just because you're getting a Wii and are jealous at the fact that you're missing out on the whole "next-gen" idea, doesn't mean you have to whine about the glories of the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

In fact, this poll should be 100 miles away from the commenters on this blog due to the fact that everyone here are just going to vote DVD just because it's the closest thing to the Wii.

I chose Blu-Ray. I have held off buying DVDs because of the coming format change, and Blu-Ray has a higher capacity (both max theoretical and per-pound). Both have the SAME annoying-yet-soon-to-be-easily-circumvented copy protection schemes, so Blu-Ray wins on specs by default.

A note on the 'But I don't want to re-purchase all my DVDs again!' argument: You don't have to! Your DVDs will not suddenly stop working when a HD version is released. If you don't want the higher-quality version, don't buy it. For examply, I'd purchase the HD version of 2001 again for the higher quality image. I wouldn't purchase, say, To Kill a Mockingbird again because the jump in quality would be minimal. I wouldn't purchase a cartoon series box set again because it's not worth the extra quality.

I also picked DVD for the same reason as jtatooine. I have a big collection of DVD movies already. I don't have an HD TV or even a TV which can display the full quality of a normal DVD, why would I want BluRay OR HD-DVD especially when I'd have to buy a new player.

Format wars... how boring.

why isn't downloads on there.... its clearly the future

DVDs. Why?

Larger library.
Cheaper.
Way larger penetration rate then both HD-DVD and Blueray combined.
DVD Upscalers.

I picked HD DVD because it

a) Seems to have the momentum right now
b) Has more releases that count (since the biggest release on BD is Little Man)
c) Has better codecs
d) Isn't manufactured by the company that brought me Video8, Beta, MiniDisc, MMCD DVD, SDDS, SAC, ATRAC, UMD and memory stick. Sony loves proprietary, therefore I don't like what they offer, since draconian ideals usually result in the consumer losing.

I think it is about time to have an extensive content on demand system. I am sick of buying stuff over again and again. the technology is out there, this new video service that xbox has is interesting, but I think it is about time for all video all on demand all the time from anywhere at any resolution. Now that would be somwthing to talk about.

Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will fail. Go ask 10 people what they like about DVD compared to VHS. The majority will not list picture quality as the primary benefit. The average consumer cares about convenience - instant-access chapters, no rewinding, and to a lesser extent, extra features.

The only format that will "replace" DVD's will not come on a disc, or any other physical medium, for that matter.

I choose "None of the above" because we'll just shift to downloadable formats and physical media for movies will just cease to exist.

Putting DVD in the poll kind of defeats the purpose...DVD has already "won," the only battle here will be between the two newer formats. In that respect, it's too early to call. HD-DVD is slightly ahead right now but it's a long way from being over. The 360's HD-DVD drive was a pleasant surprise, as outside of HDMI and the DD-only audio, it's a very nice player that performs better than the standalone first gen HD-DVD players.

It's really up to Sony...if they can get PS3s out there, people will buy them and Blu-Ray disc sales will increase. I'm not so sure Sony is capable of that, especially with the "early adopter blues" sure to be hitting as defective consoles start showing up.

If I had to choose, I'd say HD-DVD, but it could very easily be Blu-Ray if Sony stops making mistakes. Obviously many of the major retail stores are in the Blu-Ray camp (check your Sunday Best Buy or Circuit City ads for Blu-Ray stuff. See it? Now, check for HD-DVD stuff. It's either very small or nonexistent). The pressure is on, Sony.

So Blue Ray has a larger capacity. Do you think that 8 hour movies will suddenly be released to take advantage of all this space? Instead of selling individual seasons of TV shows do you think that studios will suddenly start making available the the first 10 years of a television series on one Blue Ray DVD?

No and No.

Studios just want to make money and it isnt in their best interest to give the consumer more for less. Ultimately you'll find all the extra space on Blue Ray DVDs filled with hours of advertisements and movie trailers.

Blue-Ray is definately my pick. Why? There are more Blue-Ray players in homes as we speak than an other format(because of the PS3). PS2 helped DVD take off. Xbox gave consumers a choice with the HD-DVD and there are no HD-DVD players in homes yet.

If you were a movie company which of the two would you create movies for as of today; knowing that EVERY PS3 will have a Blue-Ray player built in? In all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if neither of the two really win.

How many HD-DVD players have been sold currently?

Last weekend there were about 88.000 blu-ray players sold.
By christmas, 400.000 bluray players will have sold, if not many, many more.

Now, which platform would you as a content provider choose? The one with 500.000 potential consumers, or the other one...

I choose you pikachu!

The PC side will choose BD simply because each disc has 20gb more storage, they have been prototyping 200gb 8 layer discs - BD50 is the spec. used for video BD, but, BD-ROM as a storage medium can scale up to whatever.

Once BD burners come down in price, it will be hard to ignore the PC side of things.. btw, there aren even any HD-DVD burners for sale yet.

Willie,

What are you talking about saying that no one has an HD-DVD player at home. I have definitely seen people with them. I'm not sure if you are serious or just being facetious.

To #15

I totally agree with your logic.

"Instead of selling individual seasons of TV shows do you think that studios will suddenly start making available the the first 10 years of a television series on one Blue Ray DVD?" You are right but what about just one season on a single disc, that´d be great too.
P.S: Can someone please explain to me how this whole upscaling thing works.
maybe im just stupid but how can you make non hd content hd?

13. HD content is still HD content. You wont suddently be able to
provide a whole season of content on a 50GB blu ray disc if its in
HD. If you kept the original dvd aspect of it 480p then yes. You
could have a whole season on one disc. It kind of defeats the purpose
of having a "HD" player then doesnt it????

There are a few HD-DVD players in homes PEN15Shaft. What are the actual sales of HD-DVD movies and players? The point I was trying to make, there will be more Blue-Ray players in homes by the end of this week than HD-DVD players. Read post #15.

To some extent, I think there are caps on downloadable content based on current bandwidth restrictions. I think content will grow in size such that we'll need a much more robust series of tubes before we're able to totally rely on downloads.

Besides, there's a certain level of enjoyment from owning a physical copy; they'll always be a market for physical media.

With that said, I think that neither Blu-Ray or HD-DVD will carry the day. They're already close to making the 1 TB holographic media disc. Sure, they're a bit expensive, but smaller storage capacity discs using the same technology will be much cheaper, while still dwarfing what either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray can offer. Those two are incremental compared to the size jump we'll see soon enough.

blu ray.

they have the most studio support.

fox are backing bluray = star wars will be out on blu ray. :)

The number of BD or HD-DVD players in people's homes is completely irrelevant. People will still need a compelling reason to spend the extra money on a BD movie as compared to one on DVD.

The only reason DVD did so well alongside the PS2 is because consumers were ready for a much more convenient medium on which to enjoy their movies. Sure, the quality aspect is what drew the early adopters, but they are not the ones who drive the market. The average consumer drives the market, and many of them haven't even ventured into the HDTV world yet.

Sony is making the mistake (again) of thinking that they, as a company, can force the market into using their format. You really think that they - and some of the people commenting here - would have learned by now.

There is NO REASON for the average consumer to have ANY interest in HD-DVD or BD.

DVD will win because the new formats are solutions to problems no one cares about. Neither of the new formats are more convienant, cheaper, or more durable. For most people the picture on DVD is already pretty good on any TV, the new format may be an improvemant but not as massive an improvement as the switch from VHS.

Bluray or HD-DVD which ever prevails will become the next laserdisk. craved by the hardcore movie nuts while the masses stick to DVD's.

I'm with #15. I don't know which format will prevail, but based on sheer sales - BD has HD DVD covered.

DVD has some more years left on it, plus the media is used in more places than just home entertainment. How many of the car owners with DVD players in their cars are going to replace those DVD players with a $1000 blu-ray or HD-DVD player anytime soon? And on top of that replace those SD monitors with $1000 HD monitors so their kids can get Sponge Bob in High Def. I haven't been buying a lot of movies lately on DVD, but I have been buying a lot of TV show box sets on DVD.

You know who decided this? The Porn Industry. BetaMax was better than VHS but Porn picked VHS. and guess who porn picked? BLURAY!

I chose HD DVD, because i strongly beleive that most people that are not as aware as us about new technology will go the the "HD" name. Let me explain, you buy a HD TV to watch new HD SHOW recently availible to the public (here in quebec on most channel). Then you buy a "HD" decoder to really get you "HD" quality for you "HD" show on you "HD" tv. Now if you are an average(or even low.. why not) technology custumer, what would be for you the logical next step to watch your movies... that's right: "HD" DVD.

I don't pretend that it would be the best technology availible, but i beleive people will go for the "HD" terms more that the blue ray disc. They will all eventualy make the change since they make it such a big deal on tv now that HD media is the next big thing.

That's my opinion. ;) (althought i would rather want to see blue ray win ;) )

Same here. I think DVD's will win simply because not many people out there are tech-saavy enough to be aware that there's an option now: HD-DVD and BlueRay. The average joe doesn't care much about how much detail he can see in the scarf of the main character in a certain movie. He just wants the movie, period. The ones who have the money will easily shift to the new formats, but I think they won't be successful until the cost for the consumer to get the respective players for each format is something within their budget. For myself? I still use my PS2 for DVD's, and I've got my PC and a stand alone DVD player. Plus I've got two TV's at home, one of them a 13-inch, so give me inexpensive DVD's, I'll buy!

STILL WAITING FOR GOLDEN SUN 3 DAMMIT!

"You know who decided this? The Porn Industry. BetaMax was better than VHS but Porn picked VHS. and guess who porn picked? BLURAY!"

I don't know about that. According to my spam folder, the porn industry picked direct downloads.

I vote none of the above. Holographic memory is on the horizon... or it could be a mirage, and i shall die diving into a pile of sand, thinking it is an oasis.

Its all blu-ray. As of this post, there are MORE Blu-Ray players in homes in the world as there are HD-DVD. Come friday night, multiply it by 5. Blu-Ray has 90% of the movie studios in its pocket. Blu-Ray has 95% of the CE Industry (you know, the guys who actually make the players) in their pocket. They have the advantage in every single way.

Theres also **12** different Blu-Ray burners in total announced/released, quad layer Blu-ray discs with 200 gigs are WORKING and guaranteed to last 20+ years, and guess what, every PS3 sold lets you play them, not to mention the following stand alone companys:

Samsung
Panasonic
Pioneer
Sharp
LG
Sony

And more to be announced.

With HD-DVD, you have the option of the garbage, bug ridden, freezing, out of sync HD-A1 from Toshiba which they made 70k of and STILL cant sell them all, and is also out of production, with the A2 (which DOWNGRADED in specs) delayed till mid december. Thats just awesome, isnt it.

Folks, if you are content with DVD, stick with it. If you are interested in TRUE HD, look no further then Blu-Ray as your medium of choice. HD-DVD should be all but abbandoned come Q1 2007. Make the right choice, BE A MAN!

Even if you took the ps3 and the 360 add on out of the equation, blu ray is still better and would still win the format war.
1. holds more space 30GB vs 50GB
2. has better movie studio support (all of them except universal)
3. Has a lot more manufacturers developing players (see above post)
4. Has alot more manufacturers developing software and computer hardware.


The porno industry will have to effect. They are supporting both formats anyway. vhs and beta and porn was significant before the internet. No longer.

None of the above. Online movie distribution is the way to go. DVD is good enough until movies start to be distributed online through services like iTunes.

"Blue-Ray is definately my pick. Why? There are more Blue-Ray players in homes as we speak than an other format(because of the PS3)."

You mean the machine that hasn't launched yet?

HD-DVD players are half the price of the BR counterparts. PS3 isn't even part of the picture and won't be because they can't produce any. MAYBE some people will buy BR movies, but I don't see it taking off when DVDs are half the price.

"PS2 helped DVD take off. Xbox gave consumers a choice with the HD-DVD and there are no HD-DVD players in homes yet."

DVD already took off and was around for YEARS before the PS2 was even announced. DVD already had a pretty established market, movies were $12 each, and players were only 250 or so. As for the HD-DVD, are you daft on purpose or just naturally? HD-DVD players are in plenty of homes. It's been out longer and is cheaper. The 360 addon simply gives people a choice to add on a not-so-expensive component to their 360s if they choose to do so.

If you want more storage space and speed, then look no further then HVD.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_disk

Come 6-8 years when HD television actually becomes the norm for most Americans and the world then Blue ray will be obsolete. In the meantime there is no reason to get blue ray movies or HD-DVDs, since regular old DVDs are still the choice of the mass market.

Watch as ignorant consumers get a PS3 and try to slot in a DVD to find it doesn't work, they will be pissed.

Anybody watch TV or advertisements? Everything is HD.. Look at the BB commercials. I pledge this and that BS. People talking about HD being simply for technolgy zealots are simply nearsighted. 2007-2008 will have such a bid push for HD. I already know a couple of people who already upgraded their tvs to tlcd HD tv's. Go to any store...Its more and more difficult to purchase a tv thats isnt HD now.

To all people claiming Blu-Ray sells better than HD-DVD:
http://www.thedvdwars.com/index.cfm

And true, Sony will have installed 400-500k Blu-Ray players in homes by the end of the year. While Microsoft will have installed 800k HD-DVD players in the same time. The 360 add-on is selling like crazy, and works quite well thank you very much.

FYI... DVD are already HD. I have been playing 720p DVDs for 3 years now... Now, I am one of the few people that could see a benefit with 1080p as I have a 56" HD TV, but I am not choosing until I see major rental outlets like Blockbuster and Netflix actually start to carry movies on the regular.

Comparatively, very few DVDs now get bought. The market really is all about rentals.

Movies over down-loadable content is the only future for higher HD. BluRay and HD-DVD will both be dead fads in 5 years.

"You mean the machine that hasn't launched yet?"
You mean the 88,000+ PS3/Blu-Ray players in Japenese homes?

I chose Blu-Ray as the next-gen format, becuase it has the most movie studio backing. Thats the way I see it.

Blu-Ray!!!!!!

Penis Envy!
And I love HD, I just see the copy protection being a bitch that I won't bother for a long time.

@Franssu
Really, 800k units of their bastardized HDDVD-addon by christmas? What do you base that on?

The basis of the PS3/BluRay figures (400k US,

Ummmmm Why can't I vote for Bob's??

Anyways, I havent seen HD-DVD Personally, but I've seen Samsung's Blu-ray player. They did a really freaking good job with it. And it plays DVDs just fine (I think, correct me if I'm wrong). Once the price goes down, you'll be able to play all of your favorite old movies and buy shiny new Blu-ray movies when you finally get a 1080p set.

wth... my post got cut off..

Ah well, anyways, where does that 800k (15-20%) total attach-ratio of the MS HD-DVD addon come from?

The BluRay/PS3 figures are beased off of launch DAY figures, not the total expected sales by christmas, but the BARE MINIMUM.

@38 apparently MS had Nooooo problems with laser diodes. weird. so they magically are able to make 800,000 add ons. I have no idea what to say about that.lol

maybe MS bought all the laser diodes so the ps3 would have none to screw up their launch. or maybe that number is more like 8,000 and not 800,000. I dotn believe MS will sell 800,000 add ons in its entire life as a console.

All that technical crap about storage capacity and read speed means absolutley nothing to the average consumer. They'll see Blu-ray and wonder wtf this is, and see hd-dvd something familiar. HD and DVD in one. There's no way blu-ray can compete with that.

I love reading idiotic posts in threads like this. Back BD if you want, but to say that HD-DVD sucks, BD is "true HD," BD is all 50G, it's all FUD and crap.

FACT: All HD-DVDs are 30G (and 45G is ready to go if the studios ever want them, according to inside sources). Almost every BD disk (with the exception of the fantastic "Click" and perhaps a couple others) is only 25G right now.

FACT: HD-DVDs (movies) are outselling BD by an 11-1 ratio (conservative estimates are 3-1). http://www.thedvdwars.com

FACT: Picture quality on HD-DVD has, up to this point, been BETTER than BD. BD is getting better quality releases now, but no independent reviewer has said quality is BETTER

FACT: There are more HD-DVD players in the wild than there are BD players. While PS3 may change that, there's no guarantee that anyone with a PS3 will start buying BD movies. It's a big toss up. It may spur BD to victory, it may not, nobody knows and anyone who says they do is lying.

Nobody knows which will win, but frankly, if you have an HDTV, it's very cool to spend $350 on an HD-DVD player (or $200 if you already have an XBox) and watch movies in HD. Netflix has a huge quantity of movies so you don't even need to pay for the movies.

And as others have said, you can use your current DVD library - the Toshiba player evne upconverts DVDs to 720p, making them look BETTER than most regular DVD players. It was a nobrainer for me, even if the format does fail for some reason.

(my guess is that we'll have dual players next year, but we'll see).

CW

The studio thing is getting old as well. If nobody buys BD, I can guarantee that Fox and Sony will switch to the othe side. It's all about money.