Blu-Ray Vs. HD-DVD

[Popeh]

Personally I feel BLU-RAY will overthrow HD-DVD.

HD-DVD is slightly cheaper to produce therefore the end disk will be cheaper to the consumer - BUT - think outside the box.

With BLU-RAY supporting much larger capacities it open's a massive market for people wanting larger portable storage mediums. BLU-RAY R drives have been out for a decent amount of time and as people become more aware of it's capability it's becoming more popular. As BLU-RAY blooms prices will also drop making it furthermore appealing. In addition to that, BLU-RAY has much greater backing manufacturer wise and film studio wise - not to mention massive support from the PS3!


Then we move onto Movies and games - this is where I think DVD proves it's limitation.
Currently you have films with various extra's, sometimes spanning over several disks with various interactive content and such. There is a lot of new technology being developed to make our whole movie experience more enhanced through various processes. One of these that comes to mind is the new Ambx technology (similar to Philips Ambilight but more immerse) which is currently being coded into a selection of games and soon, films! This will allow the audience from the comfort of their armchair to feel breeze or wind and be completely immersed with surround sound and lighting effects my means of fans, Ambx lighting and such.
Yes, we are currently a decent way off seeing these in every household but it's just a matter of time - for starters this coding couldn't be carried on a DVD.

I realise a lot of this are if's and but's and maybe's - but what in your household right now, that's classed as technology didn't go through that stage.

[Aodh]

I knew my 4 years in University would come in handy for arguing on the internet!

http://www.learnmarketing.net/plc3.gif
Above is a very generic product lifecycle. When DVDs started coming out in 96/97 there was almost no players and markets. One of the first players I got was the Creative Labs DVD drive (1st gen) for my 486. It needed it's own dedicated decoder card which overlayed the image because computers weren't powerful enough to play them at that time. It wasn't until circa 2000 that they really started to grow and become common place, especially with the PS2 offering DVD playback.

DVDs are mature now, there hasn't been any growth or changes with them while the rest of our home theatre systems have grown. Found this image on Wiki:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...eo_res.svg.png
Digital Cable is becoming a standard starting in 2007 in the US (if I'm remembering right, can't find a link off hand but I will update if I do) and most large screen TVs have been required to be "Digital Ready" since April of this year. DVDs aren't close to dead, the adaptation and penetration was huge, just like CDs. But there is an opportunity to 'step up' to match is currently available in terms of consumer home theatre.

Will they replace DVD? Over time, but both technologies are stepping stones to the next level which means huge jump in monitors and audio, which may not happen for another 10 years. For any movie made prior to 2003ish, there's no value in going to HD-DVD, the source is generally too poor quality, DVD is more than good enough. New movies have the opportunity to use the higher quality to offer an experience which matches the HD-Home Theatres commercially available.

[NynJa]

Wheres option 3? DVD is good enough for me at this point still.

There will be a successor at some point. How many people were saying "VHS is fine, sure DVD looks better but..." back in '95.

Up untill like 2003-2004, VHS was a dying, but still perfectly acceptable format. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD arent even out yet...so DVD isnt going to get phazed out for atleast another 10 years.

[Aodh]

Up untill like 2003-2004, VHS was a dying, but still perfectly acceptable format. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD arent even out yet...so DVD isnt going to get phazed out for atleast another 10 years.

Kinda... Like I said, DVDs for most movies are still as good or better quality than their source. Putting them on HD won't improve their quality, so DVD is going to be around for a while. HD screens (LCD/Plasma/LCD Projection) are dropping in price which happens in a mature market. HD DVDs are using existing technology so once the hardware for them is saturated, they'll drop in price even more and way before BD. Blu-Ray is still running a large operating loss and shortage and will for a while. What the future holds? Most likely this:
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/image.../original.jpeg

HD and DVD on the same disc to allow users to have both without having to choose the format or force the upgrade in players/laptop/desktops and everything else we watch DVDs on now. As HD becomes more and more common, the DVD will be dropped off the discs. No it's not going away, DVDs will be around for a long time, but there needs to be an HD option for those who have the capability to view it, otherwise there's no point in getting a HD TV.

[Enkidu]

Blu-ray is being used as a gaming medium and will therefore sell much much more then HD-DVD could ever hope too in the next few years. All of that just pushes the manufacturing costs down.

HD-DVD, on the otherhand, will see hardly any use in the upcoming years... Like people have said the difference, even on a 1080p big screen TV the differences are minimal. There's simply no reason right now or even a few years from now for companies to commit to making HD-DVD's.

[SephYuyX]

I still watch and buy VHS.

[Ksandra]

I still watch and buy VHS.

qft. I think too people forget that those of the VHS generation may not like new technology.

My sister and I bought my parents a DVD/VCR player a few years ago. They've watched the DVDs we've gotten them once each, and still buy everything in VHS since they have a hard time figuring out the DVD player.

Ususally generations like to stick to the technologies when they get older, so VHS is still a used product until those generations are no longer around.

[Janice]

VHS all the way. Who cares about picture quality. If I were to get anything hi-def, then I would have to wear my glasses to watch it. And I don't think there is a movie on earth worth it to make me lie down with my glasses on.

Why do you care how crisp and clear a movie is? It will be over in 2 hours. Unless you like to call up your friends and talk for hours and hours how crisp and clear the 2 hour movie was that you will never watch again.

[NynJa]

since this degraded into a VHS convo....

VHS needs rewinding. Thats all I need to say.

[Janice]

And the fact that the new mediums don't really offer anything new that DVD's did over VHS, how many people in America will truly care about getting the new one?

DVD made sense to replace VHS for a number of reasons.
- better quality picture and sound
- takes up less physical space
- cheaper to make
- not having to rewind or fast forward


What do the new formats offer over DVD's?
- better quality picture and sound
- more storage space (but 99% of movies don't need any more room)

Maybe I'd like a new format to store all the pron on my computer onto a couple of discs, but for everyday use from most people, why do we need any new format? Most people aren't going to get them just for better looking movies. They would want something more practical.

edit: oh and you actually have to wait til people actually start to buy HD-TVs which won't be for a long time either.

[Lawls]

I can't wait for 50 hours of extra features instead of 4, and shitty games I can play with my remote!

[Mysterio]

Microsoft needs to move up the release date of Halo 4, in order to rain on Sony's incoming parade.

Or this fight won't even go 6 rounds let alone 12.

[Aodh]

edit: oh and you actually have to wait til people actually start to buy HD-TVs which won't be for a long time either.

http://www.displaysearch.com/press/?id=362

Upcoming DisplaySearch Conference to Assess Regional HDTV Market Outlook: North America Had Highest HDTV Penetration in Q1'05 at 26%

Means 1 in 4 households have an HDTV. (Que the Poltergeist music) "They're here~"

You're right in that (for the most part) DVD is good enough, except it's 1/4 of the possible screen resolution of a 1080p HD Screen. People do need to have an HD option, but they are going a little overboard on the technology to provide it. HD uses (for the most part) existing technologies to provide extra space to encode the movies. HDs are dropping fast in price and will continue to as hardware and content is released. I would hope to see a transition along the lines of a single HD-DVD and DVD release at the same price as a normal DVD. So to the consumer, you go to the store and buy a DVD which happens to have SD and HD versions on it.

Edit: Newer Article. NPD is one of the top research firms in north america, so the information is very accurate.
http://www.displaysearch.com/press/index.html?id=933

[Not Kuno]

Ok I'm going to be completely serious here.

Those really long TVs piss me the fuck off and I do not plan on ever getting one.

[Aodh]

To see the difference in quality between DVD and HD DVD:
The Fellowship of the Ring

Mouse over to see the HD version, or click to see both enlarged. Only leads me to ask "Where in the hell did he get them! ;.;". If you have a HD TV, this is why it may be worthwhile to upgrade. And LoTR will be BD and HD-DVD releases as far as I've heard.

[SephYuyX]

So HD is DVD thats shrunk just a bit and has its contrast and brightness slightly adjusted? Amazing.

Im ready to buy a $1k HDTV and a $200+ player for that, brb, going to best buy.

[Ksandra]

So HD is DVD thats shrunk just a bit and has its contrast and brightness slightly adjusted? Amazing.

Im ready to buy a $1k HDTV and a $200+ player for that, brb, going to best buy.

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