http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=32000 http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/new...s/New_Line_Details_Transition_to_Blu-ray/1351 It seems New Line and HBO will follow Warner Bros and abandon HD DVD for sexy Blu-ray.
I have heard a LOT of talk in the past 48 hours that Blu-Ray can now be called the winner because of the major defections.
There is a whole part of the industry that is being ignored. I love watching movies on my PC, which has much better sound and image quality then the TV screen. The PC has no idea what either Blue Ray or HD DVDs are, it does know what DVD DL is though. For me Blue Ray and HD DVD are not really relevant.
I do not think you may say that if you saw a HD movie (Whether Blu-Ray or HD-DVD) on a quality TV screen. PC can be pretty close but it isn't quite there. The audio options are severely limited in comparison to a High Def format, though video is pretty close but not quite up to 1080p par unless you have a VERY expensive PC system. Then of course you have the benefit of actually have physical copies of the movies on Blu-Ray/any physical medium. I have never gotten into iTunes or downloading movies because I hate the fact I do not truly own the product in a physical sense, and no... burning your own DVD does not count.
What is the 1080p screen refresh rate? I will have to look up what the refresh rate for a DVI monitor is. But here is one fact an image on a 17 inch TFT is smaller then most TVs these days. One strike against the PC movies.
My set which is 1080p has a refresh rate of 2ms, however that is only thing PC monitors have always been better at. However refresh rates have nothing to do with max resolution potential of a screen, it only effects the lag you get from whatever video source you pick.. you could in theory have a 1080p screen with a huge high refresh rate. It would be laggy as all hell but it would look great..
I work in the electronics industry. The tide is shifting to Blu-Ray. Microsoft is not going to be able to hold it back. It's not going to happen overnight but indications are that all the major players are going to support Blu-Ray.
Do you see any posiblity of a Blu-Ray drive for a PC? Does any one remember the fight between VHS and Beta? Anyone see any similarities?
As an new owner of a PlayStation 3, I can say that Blu-Ray rocks I can also download movies on my computer and share them through Windows Media Player. PS3 picks that up over the network as a media server and I can play them on my TV, no problem. Now if Netflix can get their online movie setup to work with the PS3 browser, I'd be set.
I just injected money in the American economy. I ordered two Blu-ray discs from Amazon.com. The prices are nonsensically low. While Japan was in the same region 2 as France during the DVD era, it is now part of the American region 1 for Blu-ray.
I'm sad that Bluray is doing so well, especially since much of it is bribery. the HD-DVD group is doing normal $200million distribution contracts, where Sony is doing things like $500million contracts. Dirty pool played at its finest there. It's also kind of weak that a very proprietary, DRM/root-kit ridden, less adaptable, and less expandable technology will win the race. Many new motherboards allow full 1080p output, as well as 5.1 or 7.1 digital surround sound. In fact, my computer does full digital HD, and didn't run me more than $800 minus the storage media. Full DVI-D is exactly the same as HDMI, but only transmitting video and no sound. That's why you can buy an HDMI to DVI-D adaptor for something like $10, where something like a VGA to DVI-I adaptor (both essentially the same analog video stream) is $300+. With DVI-D to HDMI you're using the same video standard, but with VGA to DVI-I you're switching standards and outputs. That's what I did for my PC system, actually. I use the DVI-D to HDMI adaptor to run it to my AV receiver, and the optical out to do the same. So essentially my PC acts as a media server, a VCR, a CD player, an up-converting DVD player, and a few other fun things.
I'd actually say I am more pleased Blu-Ray is going to possible win. I was never a fan of HD-DVD from what I read about it. I can't really tell you WHY except some basic info like Lower disk space and combo format with DVD (I hate double sided disks). Sony had it right with a BUNCH of formats but they always lose the 'wars' (Betamax being a big one) and their products are always of a great quality. Frankly they were owed a victory at least once.. :rofl
The lower storage isn't entirely true, since HD-DVD seems to be full scalable to very large capacities. For example, a triple layer disc is in the works allowing for 51GB storage capacities, 1GB higher than Bluray's largest disc. If they can make a quad layer disc, that would probably mean 76GB discs, following the +2gb of storage per layer with each increase in layer allowing 19gb per layer x 4 layers. Plus the HD-DVD standard is unified, so "old" HD-DVD players will be able to play "new" HD-DVDs. With Bluray the "old" version 1.1 player wont be able to play the 1.2 discs without a firmware update, and many players don't have an option for that. And HD-DVD is region free, Bluray has a strict 3 region system. Since I get a lot of weird foreign films, regioning irks me to no end. Also, the hybrid HD-DVD/DVD-Video discs aren't part of the standard, they're a variant. There's also 3xDVD, HD-DVD/CD, and a few others that run along that same style. Glad to provide it! Some more stuff on that same subject that I just remembered. HDMI is full of DRM and other invasive copy right protection systems. Meaning if they so choose you wouldn't be able to play non-DRM discs (foreign films, personal back ups, etc) over it. On the technical side HDMI can only transmit limited 5.1 digital surround sound, since it can only transmit standard audio. In this case that means Dolby products only, no THX or other digital audio standards.
Never been a fan of multi-layer DVD disks. I find that some of the lesser quality disks have skipping when jumping from one layer to another. Region coding has always been annoying for me as well, however in the new Gen Region A includes North America and Japan which is the only country I truly cared about with Region 1/2 so in that case I suppose I am neutral. Also if Blu-Ray does truly 'win' then the firmware issue I am sure will become more mainstream plus the TVs nowadays have firmware too which can be switched over. Personally I had avoided buying any of them until a winner was emerging so it is not like I have a Blu-Ray collection sitting around hoping to survive.. hehe Now to find one of the old 60GB PS3's so I can actually start collecting.
