Recent Comments:
Sharper Image will continue to hawk crap, only as a brand {Engadget}
Jun 26th 2008 4:31PM First, slander is a form of defamation, not a separate harm. Second, slander is specifically for spoken defamation; libel is written defamation. Third, truth is the ultimate defense to any potential defamation, and opinion is almost always effective, too. Describing Sharper Image products as "crap" is definitely an opinion, and most people would agree it's also a truthful statement.
AT&T's U-verse coming to University of Houston residence hall {Engadget HD}
Mar 13th 2008 11:22AM New dorms like that aren't uncommon in Texas, which kinda sucks because my dorm hall was more like a civil defense bunker with painted concrete block walls and industrial-grade carpeting, and that was just 10 years ago. Hell, the one in that picture is even nicer than my current apartment.
But back to U-verse... I've had it for about a month now and absolutely love it. HD quality could use some work, but compared to what I had before (no HD at all), it's great.
Poll: What Blu-ray player will you be picking up? {Engadget HD}
Feb 20th 2008 12:21PM Same here.
Win an LCD HDTV, Xbox 360, and plenty of Old Spice {Engadget HD}
Feb 5th 2008 4:51PM Hullabaloo!
Win a Philips 42PFL5603D 42-inch 1080p HDTV! {Engadget HD}
Feb 5th 2008 4:13PM I almost clicked "E-mail me when some replies to this comment." That probably would've sucked.
Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending January 6th, 2008 {Engadget HD}
Jan 11th 2008 5:39PM But I posted first, so your personal guarantee is invalid.
Sorry, that's the law.
Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending January 6th, 2008 {Engadget HD}
Jan 11th 2008 3:57PM You can almost guarantee that the BOGO's will stop if HD DVD goes under. That will probably be because the BD allies will be able to sell a lot more Blu-rays and thus lower their price to half what it is today, but it might also be just to gouge customers who now have no other options. Whatever the reason, there will be no incentive to continue doing true BOGO's to increase market share once the format war is over and your market share is at or near 100%.
Think Blu-ray has it easy in 2008? NPD says not so fast {Engadget HD}
Jan 9th 2008 10:28AM I'm not going to buy a Blu-ray player because it's suddenly the only option if that option is still $300 for a quality brand. My $149 360 HD DVD player still works fine, so I'll continue to enjoy that and existing HD DVD's as I wait until (if) Blu-ray gets below $150 as well, which has been my original plan all along. This is something the Blu-ray fanboys have never understood... although HD DVD might not win the format war, it's still a functional product that's mostly identical to Blu-ray in terms of capability; my start-up cost to enjoy this technology was only $150, while Blu-ray's start-up cost remains $300+. If Blu-ray wins, I stick with HD DVD until Blu-ray players are $150 and then I get one of those, for a total cost of $300. If Blu-ray loses and I had started with Blu-ray, I would be out $300 PLUS the cost of an HD DVD player. Movie cost is irrelevant since I only rent from Netflix.
For me at least, this war never had anything to do with which format was technically "better" (since that was essentially a draw) and everything to do with which format would cost me the least in the long run.
HD DVD looks back on 2007 {Engadget}
Jan 7th 2008 6:27PM @ HedonismBot (great name)
You said, "but to say that Microsoft and Toshiba don't have deep pockets is a bit of a stretch. Microsoft's market-cap is almost 325 billion dollars." That's true, but MS and Toshiba haven't actually used their deep pockets from what I've seen, at least not in any definitive way. If you've got a nuclear option can't or won't use it, you basically don't have a nuclear option.
As for Sony buying off Warner, I admit I don't have a source at the moment, but A) it seems like I'd read it somewhere over the weekend and B) it's kind of obvious anyway. People made a big deal about HD DVD being cheaper to produce, an edge it quickly loses when the Blu Ray alliance is subsidizing Blu Ray production by writing checks to the studios so they can cement their market position.
That's what I'd do if I was Blu Ray, anyway. And I'd do the same thing as Warner if they came calling to me and HD DVD couldn't match their offer. Pretty simple, I think.
HD DVD looks back on 2007 {Engadget}
Jan 7th 2008 12:32PM This is probably the most cogent post since this "war" began. To answer your question, the reason is because each of the format creators wants to make a LOT of money. From their perspective, it doesn't make sense for a studio to produce movies in both formats because then their competitor is making money, too... money that they believe would otherwise go to them. But would it? I would argue "no" at the current price points. The demographic purchasing HD DVD is not the same as the demographic purchasing Blu Ray. The latter probably has more disposable income and considers themself an early adopter whereas the former is either an impulse buyer or a more cautious early adopter willing to invest wisely. It's unlikely that if Blu Ray emerges as the sole format, HD DVD users will suddenly flock to Blu Ray... not because they're among the legions of idiots on both sides who treat this as a video game, but simply because they've already invested $200 or so into HD DVD and will not do the same in Blu Ray until BD players are as affordable as HD DVD was. The irony is that if Blu Ray is the sole format, it's unlikely that it will EVER approach HD DVD's affordability, or at least not for several years, perhaps a decade or longer.
In the end, it's all about money, not marketing (as someone claimed). Blu Ray's pockets were deeper, and they were able to buy off more studios than HD DVD (which is a completely fair and valid strategy, don't get me wrong). Therefore, Blu Ray will quickly form a monopoly over HD disc media, and prices are unlikely to fall significantly.
