http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/ Engadget HD Comments for HD DVD supporters talk Q4 '06 and beyond http://www.engadgethd.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadgethd.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
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I've had a chance to have both players in my home theater and bottomline is HD-DVD looks better than Blu-Ray. Im not a fanboy of either format but until Blu-Ray stops using MPEG-2 and switches over to VC-1 or any other type of supported MPEG-4 format then the joe sixpack consumer will decide this format war because not only is HD-DVD cheaper but it also looks better.

Love the site and the podcast but if you guys want to be Blu-Ray bias then atleast get someone on the show that can give another side of the format war arguement]]>Aug 8th 2006 9:58AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/Do you even listen to the podcast Matt has been in the HD-DVD camp from day one. He's constantly posting articles that are favorable to HD-DVD.]]>Aug 8th 2006 10:27AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
Earlier in the post the XBOX 360 add-on is mentioned but conveniently “IGNORED” in the eleventh-hour editorial and figures.

There are currently over 5 million XBOX 360s sold. So if only 20% buy the add-on, that’s 1 million HD-DVD players. I'm fairly certain the HD-DVD folks are "talking" about and considering that? [For any wise guys, I know that this of course assumes that they make as many add-ons]

In addition, it’s pretty safe to say that after spending $500/600 on the PS3, any money left is going to games and a controller. Where anyone purchasing the 360 add-on is buying it to view movies so guess what… they are also buying movies!!!

Readers beware the “Blu-ray” propaganda…

p.s. I am NOT a HD-DVD “Fanboy” and hope to buy a PS3 someday, so I look forward to watching good quality Blu-ray movies.
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There's no bias necessary to see that HD DVD is going to have a very uphill battle in terms of installed base. If you want to guess at tie ratio you can, but at this point it is no more than a guess.
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In addition, I have yet to here one reasonable argument why Blu-ray is better. In past post, Ben's argument came down to brand loyalty and studio support.

Brand loyalty aside (this a matter of personal preference and not worth debating); if all Blu-ray has left is the "good will" and devotion of Hollywood studios… they “may” be in trouble… maybe?
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I dont mind giving facts why one format will win over the other but when you admit that HD-DVD has better PQ but then try to justify blu-ray anyways I call that being bias]]>Aug 8th 2006 10:47AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/Aug 8th 2006 10:57AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
If you're a gamer, and your TV is high def (which many people upgraded to after the 360 release), why not buy a couple of Blu-ray movies for your shiny new PS3?

And while Blu-ray may not be getting the raves in pq that HD DVD is (yet), it still looks a heck of a lot better than standard DVD. Why spend the money for an upgrade when its already built into your PS3.

Plus, you'll have a few non-HD people who will get PS3s and check out Blu-ray movies for the extra features. Think about it: If Pirates 2 comes out in a DVD and Blu-ray version, and the BD has more bonus features, some people will buy it for the extra features rather than the increased picture quality. Sure, that won't win the war for them, but the studios don't care why people buy the software, as long as they do.

Simple fact is, Blu-ray will have a larger installed base than HD DVD, and if even half of that installed base has an HDTV, HD DVD has a tough fight. ]]>Aug 8th 2006 10:58AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
And in regards to the codecs, that's already in the pipeline. Warner has already started work on VC-1 encodes for Blu-ray, and reportedly Fox's announcement of Blu-ray titles last month was made when they got their hands on the production AVC tools.]]>Aug 8th 2006 11:03AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
And if you want to quote attachment rates, how about using current figures like the 60% attachment rate for "XBOX 360" Live?]]>Aug 8th 2006 11:03AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
KC- Personally, studio support is just as important as PQ for me. I got Toshiba's HD-A1, and have about 10 movies for it, but 8 of those are Warner/Paramount. Just looking at the Blu-ray shelf at Best Buy, there are at least another 8-10 Blu-ray movies I'd love to own.

I'd rather have a player that plays all of my favorite movies in high-def, than a player that only plays about half of them, even if picture quality is slightly better (and after this year, I think they'll be tied).

Sad fact is, they're both good formats. I just want one to win over the other soon so Lucas can start triple-dipping me on high def Star Wars!]]>Aug 8th 2006 11:07AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
I'm comparing it to the previous generation xbox attach rate because xbox live was an add on that launch after the xbox launched. with the 360, it has been firmly integrated since launch. As someone who is a gamer and Xbox Live subscriber, I know that even though it was very good and actually made games better, it still didn't surpass 10% attach rate on Xbox, because it was an add-on. To think that an attachment that will in no way affect gaming will do better numbers, is a very optimistic prediction.]]>Aug 8th 2006 11:15AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
Also, I agree that Blu-ray will have the advantage with the installed base of Blu-ray players from the PS3 but you can not ignore the fact that the add-on "could" potentitally close this gap significantly. Especially if the price is right.

And again, to my earlier point. After purchasing a PS3, extra controller and a few games; how many people will have money left to buy a movie or two. And, if you did have the extra $30+ bucks, as a gamer, wouldnt you use that money to buy additional peripherals such as the PS2 memory card adapter?]]>Aug 8th 2006 11:33AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
Lets not forget one thing that the numbers don't include... the PS3 will be MUCH BIGGER IN JAPAN than the US... so more than half of those MILLIONS of PS3's they are counting as the install base of Blu-Ray players will be in Japan where they could probably care less about our American movie scene. The 360 is really a US thing and isn't that popular in Japan at all... so those millions of 360's are mostly in the US and the UK, etc... Japan is a different movie market all together... isn't that what Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are all about MOVIES!?!]]>Aug 8th 2006 11:43AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/Aug 8th 2006 11:53AMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/Aug 8th 2006 1:11PMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
millions of PSP's were sold, yet UMD's failed. PS3 is not going to decide this war. Picture quality and price will, and so far that advantage goes to HD DVD. ]]>Aug 8th 2006 1:13PMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
When you consider the site as a whole, I think they do a pretty good job in bring us HD news with rational opinions.]]>Aug 8th 2006 1:31PMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/
You are 1/2 right. Picture quality isn't going to make much different in the long run because the two formats are already relatively close. The quality difference between a cheap progressive scan DVD player and a decent player is night and day. I'll bet you that Walmart sells a heck of a lot more $20 Cyberhome players than it does $70 Panasonics. Do the people buying the Cyberhome care about quality? The early adopters want the best PQ available, but the majority of the people money talks.

Price will have a big impact initially, but Toshiba can't afford to subsidize it's player for ever. As more CE manufactures put their hats into the ring the price of Blu-ray will come down.

The PS3 will sell some movies, but it won't push Blu-ray over the edge. My first player will probably be the HD-DVD Xbox 360 drive assuming it's supported on my HTPC. Do I think Blu-ray will win in the end - yes. Do I think HD-DVD is a better value now - certainly. ]]>Aug 8th 2006 1:45PMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/Aug 8th 2006 5:08PMhttp://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/08/hd-dvd-supporters-talk-q4-06-and-beyond/or 3, DVHS and record + ps3+ xbox 360hddvd.
Wii-xbox360 and ps3
all these can be had for the price of 1 stand alone blueray player
However I do not think either console will give the dedicated performance and quality and features of a dedicated HD player.
just dont blow $1000-$2000 on a first gen blue ray player and 25GB Mpeg3-4 blueray disks. get everything else. and hdmi/component switcher]]>Aug 9th 2006 11:37AM