Engadget HD Podcast 039 - 1.24.2007
by Trent Wolbe 
posted Jan 24th 2007 at 12:30PM
On this special edition of the Engadget HD podcast (yeah we know they're all special at this point) we interview Kevin Collins from Microsoft who is the head HD DVD cheerleader. We ask him a few questions about where HD DVD is today and where they are going. The podcast is available now and the transcript will follow once Get the podcast
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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh
Producer: Trent Wolbe
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
WallyB @ Jan 24th 2007 12:57PM
Wow - I'm dying to listen to this one & hear Ben Blu-Ray Drawbaugh go toe-to-toe with an HD-DVD booster...
picaso @ Jan 24th 2007 2:25PM
Wow, Ben. The only thing missing was you pistol-whipping this poor guy. You should work for 60 minutes. Good job.
Ben @ Jan 24th 2007 4:37PM
Thanks, but 60 minutes isn't in HD!
Rishard @ Jan 24th 2007 2:51PM
Can you say HD-DVD as opposed to HDVD? I wanted to punch you every single time I heard you say that!
Ben @ Jan 24th 2007 4:37PM
Hmm, I never noticed I said it wrong, I will make a point to say it right.
cckrobinson @ Jan 24th 2007 3:31PM
Good Interview. I'd be curious to hear what Kevin has to say about the state of HD-DVD a year from now. It would have been nice to hear his take on why the title count is almost the same, yet HD-DVD has been around roughly twice as long as Blu-ray. I've been impressed at how well HD-DVD has done up to this point, but I'm afraid that once the big Blu-ray machine gets rolling in 2007 HD-DVD will be on the outside looking in.
Aaron Rodriguez @ Jan 24th 2007 4:17PM
Overall very good except you are completly wrong about using AVSForum poll data as acutal numbers. AVSForum isnt a good representation of the general public at all.... Im an AVSForum member and we are much more interested in this stuff than joe sixpack. A FAR FAR greater percentage of people at AVSForum would use the ps3 for bluray playback vs the general public. My guestimate is 25% max ps3's are use for movie playback.
Juan @ Jan 24th 2007 4:25PM
He says there are no Universal titles with Dolby TrueHD. That is not true.
"End of Days" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" have Dolby TrueHD.
Ben @ Jan 24th 2007 4:36PM
I figured as much, I should have researched the title names in advanced and then I would have been prepared.
impressme @ Jan 24th 2007 5:16PM
If you were a Blu-ray supporter, it really would be a no-brainer to get a PS3 as your player for the price point alone. The bonus would be the ability to run a linux O/S and play games. But why you would support Blu-ray in the first place and use the PS3 for games? You got me.
Spend around the same amount of $ for an Xbox 360 with HD-DVD add-on and your in a far better place.
In the end, both formats will have a far shorter life than standard DVD anyway. Doesn't everyone know that downloadable HD content is the way of the future?
Big Sam @ Jan 25th 2007 9:50AM
Good interview, but I wish you had asked him about the limitations of playing HD content in Windows. One possible reason that muslix64 cracked AACS was that he could not play the disc on his PC.
muslix64: "when I disable my HD monitor, I can watch the movie, on my old VGA screen, but, what is the point of having a HD monitor and not being able to watch a HD movie on it."
Peter Gutmann: "muslix64 was so upset at not being able to play his legitimately-purchased movies on his legitimately-purchased monitor attached to his legitimately-purchased player that he broke the AACS protection just to be able to see his own movies..."
Big Sam @ Jan 25th 2007 9:51AM
To be fair, this is more of a HDCP issue than a Windows issue. But its still an issue.
Larry @ Jan 25th 2007 10:36AM
Although I would say your questions were fair I believe there was a bit too much debate and not enough interview. There is a subtle difference in technique that comes across.
I too am curious about the high def dvd format numbers, but are we getting other high def numbers? We know that LCDs were the biggest seller this holiday season, but we have the hard numbers on how many HDTVs sold last year?
I think that 20% number for PS3 owners wanting to use it for a Blu-Ray player is kinda high. Do we have any idea how many PS3 owners even have a HDTV? AVS forum is a great place, but it hardly represents the average consumer.
dslate @ Jan 25th 2007 3:43PM
I am so glad I read the description and user comments on this podcast so know NOT to download it.
Rename the podcast "The HD Format Wars by a Blu-Ray Fan-Boy" and be done with it. I can't remember the last podcast that was actually informative and not just a Blu-Ray debate.
Maybe for a podcast to be called "Special Edition" it should be format war free.
Mark @ Jan 28th 2007 3:22AM
Maybe I didn't understand this right (correct me if wrong) but when Ben asked about a response from the HD format camps to Muslix64's AACS bypass efforts, Kevin indicated that the software keys were renewable and thus known violating player keys could easily be revoked.
It isn't that hard for hackers to get a vendor's software media player to be keyless, or in some cases at least function without being key authentication dependant. If an HD software player gets taken off the key security radar (no key to detect, esp. if player is kept from 'phone(ing) home') but it still can function as a decrypter tool, the cat is still out of the bag.
If for AACS to remain secure all software or device environments must also be AS secure (which of course they are not), wouldn't that be confirmation that the device or player software would be the weakest link in the AACS implementation strategy?
Thanks.