alex

Actually, even if this hack is local, it could be bad for Sony. I'm assuming at some point they're going to be selling those spots to advertisers. If you could replace the ads at with anything, then someeone spent some money for something you're never going to see. It would make advertises think twice about placing ads in Sony Home.

There's a funadamental difference between Sony and Microsoft.

Sony announces games way way in advance. Some major games or functions they mentioned a year or two ago, are still pending or coming out next year.

Microsoft tends to announce what's coming out within the year, and tends to keep mum or barely show what's coming out beyond a year.

What do we know that is coming from Sony in 2009? What do we know is coming from Microsoft in 2009? From Sony, I know a whole lot more. I'm still not even entirely sure what's coming from Microsoft in 2008, beyond maybe 3 titles.

First of all, how do you get over 1300 diggs, but only 13 comments?

Anyway....

I still leary about this. Why would Microsoft put a blu-ray drive into the 360, when that part would cost more than a DVD drive? and when they already offer an online movie service?

We already know the external HD DVD drive didn't exactly set the world on fire.

And we know they could never put games on a blu-ray disc, because it would create incompatibility with the 10 or so million units already out there.

So, the only real benefit to such an option would be so that you could play blu-ray movies on your 360, of which, I don't believe Microsoft has any current vested interest.

Don't get me wrong, it would be an interesting idea, but I'm not sure I'd be interested in paying more for such a feature. Give me a stand alone blu-ray player any day.

It just creates so many weird issues. Microsoft would have to support BD Java, which puts them in competition with themselves. And I wonder if the sound capability of the 360 supports everything in the Blu-ray specification.

My biggest complaint about the PS3 as a blu-ray player is that the console only receives bluetooth (instead of supporting IR), which means it will not work with my current universal remote.

Why they build all this capability into the PS3 and not include an IR input is beyond me. Also, I'm not crazy about the design, if I were to simply use it as a movie player, and place it into my entertainment rack. It looks more like a toy.

If I were to ever get a blu-ray player, I think I could easily hold out until a decent, affordable stand alone unit is available that supports the 2.0 specification.

Are you thinking of the recent NPD report? Stand alone Blu-Ray players sales have declined since January by 40%

http://tinyurl.com/5kvdml

Rumors circulated about HD DVD's demise in January, and by February, it officially ceased to exist. At the time, it was thought that HD DVD and Blu-Ray confused the market. One HD DVD was out the way, it was assumed people would start buying Blu-Ray players.

NPD is saying that people are fine with DVD and have issue with the cost of stand alone Blu-Ray players, as the reason why more people haven't adopted the format since HD DVD's departure.

As far as a built-in in Blu-Ray player in the 360, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense right now. Why introduce a slower more expensive part, for the purpose of playing Blu-Ray movies when you don't have to do that? Microsoft offers movies over Live. If anything, it would more likely be an external option, if it were ever offered.

Yeah, I agree, looking at the map you should be able to determine what you have/haven't completed, so I guess this just gives you a way of being more thorough. But really a USB drive or memory stick to get the data to the website? Does that mean another PC is involved? Why not directly off the PS3's hard drive via PSN?

As far as useful additions, how about bring back classic crash mode instead of car bowling?

I was thinking the same thing. Spend $400-500, and save only $10 when ordering from Sony directly. So they're discounting full retail a few dollars. If shipping charges are involved, there go any savings.

You would be better off waiting for any deals or bundles from retail.

I'm not sure I follow your point regarding "electronic music" and MP3.

The music industry was caught off guard by technology. And it wasn't just MP3 alone. It was also peer to peer networking. Digital music players. The internet. And if you recall, just before all of this happened, the industry had raised prices on consumer music citing the increased cost of marketing music (ie, videos). All were factors.

And I'm not sure I follow what you're saying about DRM. One of the major reasons for the introduction of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs was for the inclusion of better DRM technology, to protect the movie studios from what happened with the music industry. DVD had limited protection that was the cracked early on. And although DVD represent significant value to movie studios, it's also a source of a problem they would like corrected. One of the reasons why some studios have been slow to embrace digital distriubtion is because of DRM concerns. They don't want high defition versions of their product copied.

Digital distribution has already started. You can go to any number of websites, and watch content. Hulu for example offers TV -and- movies. ABC has high def content after their shows appear on TV. If you're a Netflix subscriber, you can choose to watch certain movies digitally, streamed to your computer. Apple offers movies and TV. Microsoft does the same with their Xbox 360. Sony is planning to offer digital content via their PS3. To me, I really don't care what format the content is in. BUT, if you feel the need to equate an MP3 like format for movies and TV, then it would be DIVX.

I think physical formats should worry. Digital is the future. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen. Digital has changed music. It's changed photography. It'll change movies.

I rarely watch SNL anymore, other than maybe short snipets they have online. As far as music, it was my least favorite portion of the show outside of the opening monologue

While I'm sure it's technically possible to do, right now I think it would be too costly to sell as an add-on, unless someone wants to subsidize the cost for the end user. Chances are, those involved would want to sell such an option at a level that is profitable. If you look at other external blu-ray drives on the market, they're somewhat costly. If it's too costly, you risk losing consumer interest. And it would have to be priced less than a 360 console.

A consideration has to be made that you're selling to a limited base, and of that base, only a small percentage would even be interested in an add-on.

The other odd thing here, is that Blu-Ray-- someone correct me if I'm wrong, uses JAVA technology, which is competitor to Microsoft's technologies. I can't see Microsoft going there, unless there was an overwhelming need to do so.

My feeling is that in the short term, Microsoft does nothing. I'm sure the option has at least been discussed and it never hurts to explore further or maybe even go as far as a trial. But I think pricing will be the initial hurdle, and that technology will another hurdle. Microsoft can afford to wait and see, looking at how the market evolves and how their own content on demand system evolves.