What is it going to take to win the format war?
Although many of us have our opinions, some believe Blu-ray will win, while others believe HD DVD will prevail, both formats are far from winning despite their current position. This of course assumes it can be won. In the coming month we will know more, but here are some of the things that each side will need to do to win.Blu-ray
- Produce dual layer discs that have more capacity than HD DVD.
- Take advantage of advanced CODECs when there is an opportunity to improve Picture Quality or Audio Quality.
- Add HD extra features and take more advantage of interactive layer.
- Consumer Electronics companies that have announced products to actually bring them to market, including Sony, Pioneer, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Philips, and Sharp.
- Increase the number of PC products available, like Blu-ray equipped Dell and Apple computers.
- All the movies studios that have announced support for Blu-ray to release movies, including their most valuable content. Movies that people are excited to watch in HD.
- Sony needs to release the PS3 on time as a less expensive alternative to a dedicated Blu-ray player.
- Improve mastering and production techniques to make the most out of the space they have.(read improve PQ and AQ)
- Persuade movies studios to switch sides or support both formats.
- All the movies studios that have announced support for HD DVD to release their most valuable content. Movies that people are excited to watch in HD.
- Add HD extra features and take more advantage of interactive layer.
- Release more players(not re-branded players) from brands that People want to buy.
- Continue to force BDA to improve their mastering techniques.
- Release a dual format player.
- Increase the number of PC products available.
- Release Xbox 360 add on drive at a very competitive price. (Many have stated they won't spend more than $200 on this add on.)
- Do a better job at announcing additional support for their format to counteract the BDA's bombardment of announcements.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MikeS @ Sep 8th 2006 12:40PM
As to blu-ray vs. HD-DVD: the biggest factor for me is not VC-1/MPEG2 or 30GB/50GB; it's the price of the player. The Toshiba is still half the price of a Samsung blu-ray player. That's HUGE. If blu-ray's hardware cost was closer to HD-DVD's price and they continue to ramp up high quality BD discs and lower cost players, HD-DVD is in trouble.
PS-3 will not be the saviour for blu-ray. Sony will not have enough players at initial launch which means price speculation will take place and the PS-3 that would be $600 is going to double on ebay. Maybe a few lucky HD Beat listeners will get a PS-3 for $600, maybe. I think profiteers will gobble up the supply and greedily ebay them for big returns on investment.
Steve J @ Sep 8th 2006 1:13PM
I personally want Blu-ray to win for several reasons, but for them to pull it off, I think the following are key:
1) Get all the CE manufacturers supporting Blu-ray to release players. They must be well priced compared to HD-DVD players. For the Americans I believe this means AT OR NEAR (say, within $200) the price of the competing HD-DVD players.
At this stage in the game, I don't think it really matters if Blu-ray players are a bit more expensive. I believe the early adopters will pay the price if...
2) ...studios can prove that with 50Gb disks and better codecs, they can consistently produce movies with PQ/AQ as good as or better than the best HD-DVD movies.
3) As important as point 2, I agree with Ben and say that BDA associated studios need to get their best and most popular movies out there as soon as possible...hopefully using the technology that Blu-ray is capable of.
zombieflanders @ Sep 8th 2006 1:33PM
HD DVD player prices are only going up, if the European players are indication, and they've only managed to produce news for one non-rebadged player from LG. Meanwhile, there will be several players coming from the BDA, one of which is highly likely to at be near $500 (not counting the PS3). BD releases with advanced codecs have been released, and DL releases are headed our way.
"But what about the cheap 360 addon?" you might ask. Yeah, well it's not cheap if you add the cost of the 360 to it, and by all indications it's using a USB connection that isn't HDCP-compliant, going to a 360 that can't decode anything higher than DD and possibly DTS cores.
Dave @ Sep 8th 2006 2:01PM
And what do we see here? :
All of the Blu_ray tasks are already done or scheduled to be done.
And the HD DVD tasks:
"Persuade movies studios to switch sides" - IMPOSSIBLE!
"Release more players" - from who? Only NEC remains in HD DVD companys list :)
"Release Xbox 360 add on drive" - but as M$ sayed not in Asia (this is a big continent!)
Ron White @ Sep 8th 2006 2:18PM
With HD-DVD debuting second gen Q1 2007 and MS tweaking VC-1 codec @ 10mbs and pricing remaing half of the Betaray MPEG2 fiasco players ...It's over fan boys get over it :)
Ian @ Sep 8th 2006 3:05PM
There are no winners,only loosers. I am not that is not that technically savy, but it seems that both sides will loose market share and consumer faith as certain titles and features will not be available to all consumer. Which was the case with VHS(after BETA died)and with DVD. Which I guess makes us the biggest loosers.
hmurchison @ Sep 8th 2006 3:10PM
zombie are you EVERY correct?
Note that the Euro price for Samsung unit is 1400 Euros. In North America we don't have VAT(Value Added Tax). The price will be the same which is cheaper than the BD players. And I don't know what BD player you're dreaming about. Perhaps the Liteon but we'll see.
The Xbox add on my not be cheap by Microsoft isn't forcing it down my throat as a condition of the game console purchase.
xjonx @ Sep 8th 2006 3:56PM
The silver bullet that is missing from both lists that will win the day for themselves and kill the compotision is... 100% SUPPORT FOR THE OTHER FORMAT. Consumers don't want and don't care about what format is used for content delivery, any more that a driver going down the freeway cares what brand of concrete was used to make the road. As long as he gets there safely with a smooth ride, what difference does it make. The road for optical HD content devilery only needs to look as far as SACD and DVD-A to know that under the current situation, BOTH ARE ON THE ROAD TO NOWHERE.
DaveH @ Sep 8th 2006 4:19PM
Its clear the only path to victory is more fanboys.
zombieflanders @ Sep 8th 2006 4:59PM
#7: Correct EVERY time? Sure, if you say so ;).
Even if we take into account VAT and whatnot, the 2G HD DVD player (if it is indeed coming) looks like it'll be ~$1000, which is what most of the announced BD players will be. There will also be the PS3 at $500-$600, if you count it as a player. Of course, a lot of folks don't count it when it's a positive for Sony, but magically consider it one when it's a negative.
That still doesn't change the fact that Toshiba has made little, if any, progress in getting CE manufacturers on it's side. Price will only be a factor as long as the hardware is significantly cheaper, and it doesn't look like that advantage will last forever (or indeed, past early 2007). At best, the prices will equalize, but they're still going up against well-known CE brands like Sony, Pioneer, and Panasonic with less-known brands like NEC and Sanyo. Even Toshiba doesn't have near the name recoginition either of those three do.
The1 @ Sep 8th 2006 5:17PM
Again, who ever Wal-Mart supports will win.
Mike P @ Sep 8th 2006 7:51PM
It's chicken and egg all over again. The real secret to winning the format war is getting product into the consumers hands. This is what sony is trying to do from the player side (Chicken).
HD-DVD can do the same thing from the software side. Instead of putting the HDDVD disc's in a seperate location and have them include a standard DVD transfer.. Studios need to incorporate the flip-disc DVD/HD-DVD into their mainstream releases.. the ones that are $13.00 when they first come out at walmarts and are sold by the thousands at every store.
Clear labeling + a HD-DVD promotional trailer on the standard DVD side will help. In the end if a Consumer has spent the next year buying DVD's that have an HD side, then I promise you they will buy the HD-DVD player when it's time to purchase a new DVD player to go with that new $800 walmart HD TV.
Joseph R @ Sep 9th 2006 1:33AM
And don't forget about CHINA! There was news recently that the previously pursued (various) Chinese HD-disc formats are now being abandoned - and that Chinese manufacturers are really leaning towards adopting the HD DVD format, and develop a special mainland-use player based on the HD DVD technology.
If this happens soon (2007), it will be very easy for Toshiba/Wal-Mart/others to have these same Chinese manufacturers licensed to produce lower-priced regular HD DVD players - for entire world markets.
AND WHEN -THAT- HAPPENS, you can kiss the overpriced, proprietary Blu-ray format goodbye! Blu-ray would then only survive as a game format, or computer data storage medium; but for HD movies, Blu-ray would lose out to the cheaper, mass-produced HD DVD players made in China.
Just like the VHS/Beta wars, which Sony lost because it failed to license their video format early enough to attract many other manufacturers, or produce lower-priced machines.
It's just a matter of time, but once China decides to support HD DVD, it's over for Blu-ray!!
James @ Sep 9th 2006 4:50AM
zombieflanders,
Lite-on is making a HD-DVD player.
If HD-DVD wants to win, they need to get all those Chinese DVD manufacturers to start cranking out their version of the players. Flood the damn market!
GhostDoggy @ Sep 9th 2006 6:11AM
Whichever produces the most p0rn titles will get my vote. And considering what a 1080P-capable HD DVD will cost, the player price is no longer an advantage for one over the other.
Ron White @ Sep 9th 2006 2:20PM
"considering what a 1080P-capable HD DVD will cost, the player price is no longer an advantage for one over the other."
That higher price is for EUROlAND and will be still half the SONY " the one and only " Betaray player :)
Xyzzy @ Sep 9th 2006 3:35PM
#15 -- all HD-DVDs are already encoded in 1080p... And the next gen players, expected to be released soon, will output 1080p. So what's the problem?
zombieflanders @ Sep 10th 2006 9:48AM
#16: When €1000 is equal to $2000, then we've got bigger problems than a format war. But since the Sony is coming out at $1000, your math is just a teensy bit...off. And since the Pioneer, Panasonic, and PS3 (alliteration!) are all due out here before the EX1, it looks like Sony's player won't be the "one and only".
And I'm digging Beta-ray. Beta Ray Bill is very well regarded amongst comic fans, so that's a get for the BDA.
Ron White @ Sep 10th 2006 1:33PM
"When €1000 is equal to $2000, " yes that translation is correct but who said that they will keep that price in the more competitive NA market ? We will see more expensive Betaray units from Pan and Sony " the one and only " above the Samsung $1k price ...
Betaray has less 25GB single layer than HD-DVD 30 Gb ( far better name for the Walmart crowd :) ) . Then combine that with the dinasouric MPEG2 codec the greedy Betaray uses and we have an unmitigated diasater...
Bring it on fan boy...
zombieflanders @ Sep 10th 2006 11:23PM
Looks like someone hasn't been following the news. VC-1 Blu-ray discs are already available (and every Warner BD from now on will be VC-1), H264 discs are on their way, and at least one DL feature ("Kingdom of Heaven: DC") has been announced.
As for those Walmart buyers, HD DVD is already being confused with upconverting players. Blu-ray is different enough to grab the eyes and ears.
Ron White @ Sep 11th 2006 9:18AM
"every Warner BD from now on will be VC-1"
too little too late for those people who bought the crappy macro blocking MPEG2 versions ...
what are they gonna do rerelease them in superior VC-1 and give trade in coupons NOT :)
"As for those Walmart buyers, HD DVD is already being confused with upconverting players. Blu-ray is different enough to grab the eyes and ears."
Not at those Betaray prices :)
zombieflanders @ Sep 11th 2006 12:00PM
Time from HD DVD to Blu-ray: 2 months
Time from Betamax to VHS: 1 year
Time for VHS to become dominant: 9 years
Also, HD DVD was the first to come out, with less studio and hardware support, and just to make you feel good, better quality at launch. Coincidentally, that's exactly what Betamax had going for it.
Personally, I think calling this race after less than 6 months on the market is presumptuous at the least. Most likely: neither will "win", until the next thing comes along. But enjoy your name-calling and ignorance of the facts, if it makes you feel good.
"too little too late for those people who bought the crappy macro blocking MPEG2 versions"
Yes, I'm sure people lost sleep over all 4 titles.