HD DVD deathwatch: we're making it official
By Ryan Block 
posted Feb 15th 2008 3:36PM
posted Feb 15th 2008 3:36PM
HD DVD fans, we hate to do this to you, but it's time we called it. HD DVD is now officially on Engadget deathwatch. We haven't put anything important on deathwatch since TiVo in 2005 (which, as you may recall, still stands); but just as then, we have to step back from our personal preferences and investments in media and gear, ignore the rumors and hearsay, and take a close look at where things stand. We don't need Michael Bay to tell us the writing's on the wall.
So far this battle's been decided primarily by two factors: studio support and ubiquity of content. It's clear Sony's camp couldn't even come close to trumping Toshiba in hardware price war that's ensued over the past couple of years. But as it turns out, consumers that just spent thousands on a new HDTV weren't too concerned with a couple hundred dollars between players, and despite whatever users price won HD DVD, the PS3 Blu-ray trojan kept the competition at bay. Meanwhile, most consumers were too smart and too cautious to buy early in a format war. Most have simply waited this thing out, and while Warner's announcement to go exclusively Blu was obviously huge, it was only indicative of a trend -- it didn't set it.
If you look at the timeline, even before Warner announced its intentions to go Blu-ray exclusive HD DVD's studio base was already shrunken from its heyday, leaving it with fewer titles both in number and sales. Warner was just another push in the direction things were already headed -- the numbers already consistently showed Blu was ahead in media and install base, which has only become far more exaggerated in the last couple of months now that Blu amassed some 70% of studio-released titles.
But if you ask us, it's the ubiquity of content that sealed the deal. It wasn't until Blockbuster and later Netflix -- two of the three most widely used disc rental businesses in the US -- went Blu-ray exclusively that we knew HD DVD wasn't long for this world.
So here's the deal, Toshiba. As much as we hate putting any worthy technology on deathwatch, for the sake of the greater good we hope you guys just roll over and cut your losses so we can all move on. But if you really want off this deathwatch, you're not only going to have to retain Paramount (which owns Dreamworks) and Universal, you also need to win at least a few back from Blu (Warner and Disney would be a great start), and get hardware in consumers' hands, even if it means practically giving it away. It's not going to be easy -- hell, we think it's actually pretty hopeless -- but hey, that's why you're on deathwatch, innit?
P.S. -Special for this occasion, we've also brought our Blu-ray vs HD DVD: State of the Division charts up to date and added a few new tables.
A bit anticlimactic since you declared HD a "car-crash-you-can't-stop-looking-at" this morning. =)
Quick someone play Counterstrike so you can "train" on that "murder simulator" and go kill HD_DEAD. Please, make JackASSThompson proud.
I would do it myself but I am a family man and I cannot take the chance that this deadly video game makes me kill my wife and kids.
kayrazy... dudeman, just livin' up to your name?
Hey, at least we now finally have an official statement of position from Engadget. Hopefully we won't have to see any more posts like "ZOMG, nice Blu-ray propaganda, you guyz are so totally up $ony's AZZZZZZ!!!!11!!" from the "give me HD DVD or give me death" extremists.
So what does xbox 360 do? Blue-Ray add on?
Cool. 'They' picked one.
So, wake me up when we can finally rip Blu-Ray movies to our media computers because watching movies on an easily damaged and/or scratch-able medium that takes 3 minutes for the player to boot up and is filled with unskippable advertisements and warnings is not my idea of entertainment, no matter how it's formatted.
@Blackstar
Sony announced at CES that this will be possible. Of course, it is only possible with a Sony player (PS3) to a Sony device (PSP) with a Sony memory format (Memory Stick). Blu-Ray is open and not owned by one group like that evil Toshiba/M$, so you can use players from any manufacturer (small print: to use the format to the full potential, only Sony products can be purchased).
Geez, people, that post was meant to mock Jack Thompson who yet again, is blaming VG for the latest school shooting.
Geez, people, that post was meant to mock Jack Thompson who yet again, is blaming VG for the latest school shooting.
@kayrazy - It wasn't a very good mocking... in fact, it wasn't a good anything...
"So, wake me up when we can finally rip Blu-Ray movies to our media computers."
Wake up! Pretty much every Blu-Ray has been cracked and appears on the intertubes somewhere.
AACS allows for managed copy, the ability to (legally) do what you're asking. It was never used on HD-DVD, nor has it yet been used on Blu-Ray, but there's a couple of Fox titles coming with the ability. They call it something like dual copy.
Anywho, hopefully THIS deathwatch actually ends in the death of a format. Engadget's deathwatch track record ain't so hot considering the TiVo thing. :-)
-Pie
@ EatingPie
The ripped flicks seen on the intertubes done by 13 year old Chinese kids making subtitled .mkv's is not what I am looking for. My time is worth more than hours downloading and even more hours converting them to something I can use and hoping all the while nothing is wrong with it. I should be able to buy what I want and watch it on what I want.
Ripping my discs to a file size and type that's useful to me (to skip unwanted ads and keep the original as a back up) is not a problem for me. Converting 16 flavors of audio and video codecs and container files is. And until the price of Blu-Ray computer drives drops to the level of current DVD counterparts, I'll be in the corner catching some z's.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
So this is the final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, final, FINAL nail in the coffin?
ha.. i'll bet you didn't use an iPhone to type that!
This is the coffin falling out of the hearse (horribly spelled I know, sorry I don't use this word in my everyday volcabulary), and into a river that for some reason has sharks in it. The body of HD-DVD is then slowly eaten by sharks while on fire.
@ phanbuoy
I bet you DID use an iPhone to type yours! I know that most people don't bother capitalizing the "p" on iPhone when the normally type, but when you are typing on the iPhone it capitalizes it for you.
Totally not related to this story at all I know, but on a side note at least I don't have to worry about going out and buying a Blu Ray player now!
Seriously, this has gone on for way too long.
Toshiba: Hey guys, wanna buy a HD-DVD?
People ignore him.
Toshiba: $200?
People keep ignoring him.
Toshiba: $100?
People still keep ignoring him.
Toshiba: Okay, I'll give you some free stuff too!
People STILL keep ignoring him.
Toshiba: Guys? GUYS? GUYS!!
Man: Dude, ju...just go home.
Toshiba: But I can win! I've got all that stuff tha-
Man: Seriously. Go home.
Camera ascends. Rain starts falling. Toshiba looks down at the floor and starts walking away from his gang of used-to-be friends. Sad piano music plays.
Fade to black.
This is blasphemy; this is madness!
@mike long,
nah you should still worry. Will your brand new 1.1 spec BD player be upgradeable to 2.0? Will the manufacturer bother to upgrade it?
See, still stuff to sit and stew over.
Actually, Curtis, you spelled hearse right. :D
@ Billy Fiul
THIS IS BLU-RAAAAYY!!!! :)
Love that movie and scene.
MikeLong:
Dude. I _hate_ Apple and even I capitalize iPhone, iPod, iTouch, etc... correctly. That's the name of the product.
And while I'm off topic on mac products...anyone else find the biography 'iCon' rather ironic whenever you see it? I just always think 'Yes Steve Jobs...yes you do con people.'
Madness? THIS IS DEATHWATCH!!!
@rollins
Hurry foar spileng rite!
@urza
More like "iRonic" know what I'm sayin'?
You actually spelled hearse correctly, Curtis. But then you went and spelled vocabulary incorrectly. If hadn't apologized for your spelling you would have been just fine...
I own the 360 HD-DVD drive so I'm not thrilled that Blu-ray has basically won - BUT - I am extremely happy that "the war" is basically over and people can now feel comfortable buying an HD movie player without any real risk.
There should have only been one format to begin with. Duh.
I agree, I hate that I have to buy 300 and all my superman movies in Blue ray now, but atleast this is over!!! I pray Xbox make a blue ray player now.
kryptonian00, nobody forces you to ditch your HD DVD drive. 300 on HD DVD is still superior to the Blu -ray version, until Warner decides to make a BD profile 1.1 version of the movie. And even then, why buy it a second time if you already have the HD DVD and the hardware to play it ?
This is from Reuters and i quote
"Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360 also currently works only with HD DVD. However, Microsoft said in January it could consider supporting Blu-ray technology at consumers' behest."
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN1559110620080215?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
Keeping my finger crossed
I for one welcome our new high definition disc overlords...
I damn near bought sony's 200 disc blu-ray + hard drive player this morning but didn't want to jump the gun. I'm not quite ready to invest 3k in "the winner" until HD disappears from the market completely.
Anthony: Good thing you didn't! There is more to it that just HD-DVD and Bluray. Within Bluray, theres 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, etc...You wanna make sure you'll get a bluray player that'll last. The only one I KNOW will last is the PS3 because of how open to firmware updates it is. I don't know of any other players that would let you upgrade to profile 1.1. Keep that in mind!
Not having to pick between two formats is good. Everything else? I guess we'll find out once the winner doesn't have to worry about the competition.
Yeah, I wonder what'll happen to price and content once Sony isn't willing to take a multi-billions-of-dollars loss on the Blu devision.
Yeah, they're willing to pay for exclusivity contracts and take big hits on hardware NOW, but how about in 5 years? in 2?
Either way, I'll keep my HD-DVDs. Since most of the companies aren't abandoning HD-DVD, they're just no longer exclusive, I'll see what really happens.
And I'll also keep watching my TiVo, thank you very much.
Sorry, Brad:
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSL1627196120080216
It makes me sad the consumer friendly version failed and the consumer hostile one wins.
BTW, the HD-DVD drive for the 360 isnt a complete fail, you can use it with an EeePC!
BTW, you can still use the HD DVD drive for the 360... with a 360.
That's what I do, and it still works.
Sad to see the less customer-unfriendly format lose this one, but anyway it's not like the outcome has really been decided by us consumers. So long HD DVD, I still prefer your red boxes to the blue ones, but I guess I'll get used to them.
That, and my PS3 is waaaaay less noisy than my 360.
"consumer friendly", that sounds as cheesy as people saying "it's for the children." Whatever. The ones dictating all the DRM are the content owners, aka - the studios. Fox and Disney are the two most paranoid studios that don't want people pirating their content. Blu-ray offered them a better guarantee than HD-DVD. Let's face it, it's all about money, our money. Toshiba hasn't been financing HD-DVD fans' ride for nothing. They want that royalty money that would eventually come in.
However, things would've change rapidly once Fox, New Line, and Disney were to come along. Region coding would've been on the next batches the next morning.
People like to spew venom about Sony being the bad guy, but ignore that all HD-DVD players in the market have been Toshiba's. You don't have a problem with that? That's what we call a monopoly.
Anyway, at the end of the day is all about the mighty dollar. People on the Blu-ray side bought more movies and players, and that's all that matters. The HD-DVD camp, and supporters, had the chance to turn the tide numerous times, and they failed. Own up to the fact that your format of choice didn't survive. It's that so hard to accept?
I'd be wondering what reason BD has for lowering their prices if they are trying to buy out everyone to become a monopoly?
The fact that HD-DVDs are region free and easier to back-up is a good thing.
People go over this in every thread HD vs BR is mentioned, about 8 different companies make BR players.
And there are quite a few gas stations I drive past every day, and their prices are all set pretty close because they aren't really competing against each other.
The 8 or so player makers will be talking to each other or at least wanting to make as much money as they each can. It's not until you get a very cheap company that really low balls the price that you see it change. And I wouldn't be surprised if they had some controls over which companies can make players, so the unheard of company can't put together a bare-bones player for $200.
HD Consumer friendly??? It was backed by the biggest consumer non friendly company ever MICROSUCK! Forget about the sony rootkit thing, the Microsuck windoze DRM, monopolistic bully is even worse. Take the lesser of the 2 evils GO BLUE RAY! At least Sony is more Open Source Friendly. Let's see Microscuck SUPPORT Linux on the XBOX, not gonna happen. GET A PS3!
Well, I for one Hope that Paramount re-releases Star-Trek on Blu-Ray. Well, for that matter, I hope that all the movies released on HD-DVD are released on Blu as to not to have two large pieces of hardware taking up precious rack space in the closet.
You can still buy a dual-format player, if rack space is such an issue in your closet.
But seriously, can someone explain to me why rack space is such an issue here ? I come from Europe, where I LIVED in a closet, and was perfectly happy to have VHS, DVD and LD players in my rack even then (it was long before the advent of High Definition).
what is the point now for dual-mode?
@ Franssu
Not so much self space, but wires and connections. Why have 2 when you only need 1 connect from a player to your TV.
@ Tom
There are 400 HD-DVD releases in USA circulation and many of them will never get Blu-Ray replacements.
@tom
I know I'd go for a dual format player because I completely intend to make the most of the hddvd closeouts soon to come (or going on currently eg. amazon). I would have liked hddvd to win but heck, can't pass on a good deal.
@Mr. B: Never get BD replacements?
Like what? What studio would be so stupid to say "Oh, we released 'Transformers' on HD-DVD, so there's no reason to release it on BD."
Are you mad? The files on both formats are essentially the same. All of the work is done, they just need to drop the movies in a BD filesystem and come up with a few spiffy graphics for the menus.
So, if you can make a blanket statement like that, then I'm going to say this:
There are 400 HD-DVD releases in USA circulation and ALL of them will get Blu-Ray replacements.
@Mr. B
There's only 232 exclusive HD-DVD titles. Warner indicated at least some of their long awaited exclusive titles (they have 20 or so) are coming to blu-ray. The ones that won't make it? Troy won't make it (which doesnt matter since the DC exists and is better). There is doubt as to whether Casablanca, Forbidden Planet, Excalibur, Grand Prix, Mutiny on the Bounty or Adventures of Robin Hood will reach blu-ray.
Will there be free HD-DVD's given out at the funeral?
Whoa, wait. That's a good idea. Engadget should have mock funeral for the format, like Rick Rubin used to do for hip hop slang words. Have it at some cemetery and make it an Engadget meet-up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin#American_Recordings_years
I bet Sony would underwrite any expenses. How about it Ryan?
YEAH BABYY!! YEAAAHH!!
@Josh
Yes, they do have laser beams. That is how the body of HD-DVD catches on fire.
Time for it to be over already!
These sharks in the river....Do they have fricken' laser beams attached to their heads?
Since it is all over the internets that Walmart is going Blu, shouldn't that be considered too?
No violence please
I think that HD DVD might become successful as a cheap archiving format instead of a Video Disc Media Format. But Blue Ray is the reigning champion as the HD media provider!! And soon 250GB Blue Rays will be out there, just enough for a feature length 4k Movie!!
Long live the revolution!
-John
HD DVD barely has the infrastructure for recordable media in consumer electronic devices, while Blu Ray has had recordable media since inception.
Blu Ray was already winning the storage format in terms of high capacity data. It wasn't even a contest. But now that they have won the movie storage format as well, HD DVD is going to need to pull up a chair with DIVX (Circuit City) and Beta Max in the retirement home.
Epic fail.
Jebus....that reply was meant for Curtis, iono how it jumped way down here...
Um, someone needs to pass the memo to retailers of movie/TV show HD-DVDs because they still want to charge $26 for an HD-DVD release or a cool $100 for a TV season (say wha???) Seriously, I bet on the wrong side of the format war (I picked a cheap $120 Toshiba HD-DVD over Black Friday) so I've decided to stick around for a while and buy some HD-DVDs I want, but so far, everything is too damn expensive. Who the hell wants to pay over $9.99 for an HD-DVD movie? Not me. The format war death hasn't arrived for pricing of this stuff.
Agreed. Let retailes make it official and begin the fire sales already, gimme BSG season 1 for 45$, kthxbai.
wow you guys are going out on a limb with that prediction! lol
And by "not worry" I mean, not be worried that Blu Ray won't win this stupid war.
Mr.Bay, although I didn't think Transformers was all that(B-, in my book) I WOULD rather have it on Blu-ray instead of DVD, now, as soon as possible. Don't have the heart to even watch it on the DVD I bought. Ebay, here I come cuz I know SOMEBODY is still stuck in the past, technology wise, that would love this move for, uhh, $10. ;)
Maybe if Tosh decides to reach into their deep pockets and buy back support, either dual-format or exclusive, they might actually win, or, best for everyone, there will be two formats, probably the best thing now that so much money has been spent on these things.
Great. As for the TiVo deathwatch, I don't know that issuing a death watch 3 years ago counts anymore, sorry Engadget.
Hey, I'm putting a deathwatch out for the Xbox360, it could take about 5 years, but guess what, eventually they are going to stop making it.
I'm also going to put a deathwatch on humans, sure it may be a few millennia from now, but surely we all have to die out eventually.
Engadget et. al., you guys are idiots. Grow the hell up. Who cares about your lame predictions. Do you remember this sage article:
http://www.engadget.com/2005/02/08/tivo-deathwatch/
My bet you are one of those morons who actually bought HD-DVD. Hahaaaaahaaaa it's obsolete man. Money down the drain! You are the fool of the neighbourhood!
read the third sentence of this article again please.
like ipriest and wicked sez; RT freakin' A
Oh well.. my HD-DVD collection is only 30 or so strong..
And like others have said, I can still watch them on my 360..
Problem is that eventually I might want to replace my absolute faves on Blu-Ray since I'll have a blu-ray player in my living room and bedroom and Office eventually and it's nice to be able to watch movies anywhere I want.
Hmmmm.. good thing I'm rich!
I think Engadget is being a little more prudent with their death watch prediction this time.
HD DVD has always been the inferior format, we all knew that ... and we all know that it's going to die. So just deal with it.
HD DVD, the look and sound of six feet under :)
It's only a flesh wound!!
Guess noones seems to realize how much Sony spent in paying off these companies to drop their rival. Why else would Netflix and Bestbuy stop renting the format? People still have HD DVD players. Therefore renting the format only makes you money. Same goes with Walmart. The only reason to stop carrying a product that people will buy because they have the hardware to utilize it is if the competition pays you to remove it. Seems funny that when Microsoft bundled something and supposedly killed their rivals format everyone stated how evil they were. Even the EU forced them to remove said product. Why is it that Sony can do the same and get away with it?
it was about three dollars per company. that's all hddead was worth.
so, i'll writcha a check if you'll stop whining! three dollars!
Sony didn't have to pay anyone off (no proof they paid anyone), Toshiba did (there is proof).
You don't have to pay people to side with a winner, but you do need to pay them to go with the losing side. To anyone with a brain it was clear that PS3 would put bluRay over the top and once they were over the top you can expect more and more defections. Fanboys might no see it that way, but that is the way it is.
Once it starts rolling it is only going to pick up speed. Toshiba themselves will announce within weeks. They have probably stopped production and are desperately trying to find anyone to take the stock off their hands before they announce even they are throwing in the towel.
ok, you have some good questions. but, i grow weary of listening to everyone talk smack about lawsuits and monopolies. why? because--blu ray and hddvd were competing fairly to become the dvd "replacement." why? dvd sales were falling, flat, loosing to downloads (like the cd market).
so, they essentially made a "niche" market.
the niche market is what killed hddvd.
why?
simple.
Only people with bucks picked up HDTV's. (that had 1080p output). Price for early adopters is not a big deal.
if you look at the sales chart. Hd sales are just the tip of the home entertainment iceburg. underneath the surface is the fat a$$ of DVD sales. Where corporations want to be (only with high def media).
and corporations sat back and watched as a niche group fought it out. and guess what? PS3 owners prevailed week after week for a year. Studios caught on and everyone jumped off the Hddvd band wagon. why? because they decided who was gonna replace DVD. that's Blu. yep. simple. so, give it a couple of years and dvd will go away (just like vhs). eventually blu will too. but, High definition is awesome. and you can't sue a group of companies for doing what it told you 3-4 years ago they were gonna do. that's really, really mentally ill.
I got the 360 HD-DVD player last June. I do not regret my decision - I had a good time with it, and have amassed a small "collection" - 3 Matrix films, first 2 Bourne films, V for Vendetta, King Kong (included), and the 5 free films (Dukes of Hazzard, Blazing Saddles, We Were Soldiers, Tomb Raider, Seabiscuit) - 12 films in all, and I might (even now) get Heroes on HD-DVD so I do have a bit of a vested interest.
Given that, I do admit that HD-DVD is on it's deathbed, and a real shame at that because it was the better format for consumers. If Toshiba decides to not roll over and have it's HD-DVD division roll over and die, here's what it _*NEEDS*_ to do:
1) Cut player prices to $30 price points. Yes, that's what I said - make them nearly as cheap if not as cheap as DVD players. Take the upper-end player and make it $50.
2) At the same time get at least 2 major studios to go HD-DVD EXCLUSIVE. I don't care how much money it takes, go to Microsoft if you have to, but get them to go exclusive. Disney is the best one to start with if you can. Announce the price cuts and the conversion at the same time.
3) Go to the retailers and dump money on them to get them to put HD-DVD in the spotlight.
4) Cut movie prices by 50% - no point in spending $30 for a player and $30 for your first movie.
5) Forget (a little bit) about the free movies for the time being - drop a couple in the box or keep doing the 5 free movies by mail and that will be enough. Giving away 30 movies with each player won't solve your problems.
It will cost Toshiba billions of dollars but everyone knows that it will be pennies in the bucket either way. It's like Apple with it's $18 billion in the bank - people are wondering if it will acquire some companies, etc. - if Apple were Toshiba I would be telling Apple to dump that $18 billion on retailers and studios to get it back to life.
Lotta problems with that theory.
A) Studios on Blu are not likely to respond to a payoff by Toshiba, and if they did, it would be for temporary support of the format.
B) Retailers have made their decisions too. Why is Wal-mart discontinuing it? Theres no basis behind this, but probably because Toshiba is using them to clear out stock for a white flag stance. June may very well be the date the majority of stock is predicted to sell out. Again, this is a baseless prediction.
C) Toshiba is the only company making players out there. One of their biggest weaknesses is not having other companies produce players!
D) Toshiba would make /much/ more money in the long run by putting their players on $100 and $150 firesales than they would ever make by taking back a percentage of studios and getting the temporary (at best) support.
Finally, even 1 billion dollars lost equals shareholders suing or CEOs getting fired. A drop in the bucket for a long term investment but when it is basically throwing away money to a fruitless waste of time and effort, it is the fury of the ocean coming down at you.
There is no turning around. This is a free fall.
Hmmm well they should have cut it to $100/player two holiday seasons ago - back when Blu-Ray was about $500 a player and HD-DVD was $300 or so. If that didn't clinch it I don't know what would have.
They should have a list of all the engadget writers and what electronics they use. Becuase you guys clearly try to sway everyone into whatever you feel is the right format/device so on. I mean so many hd dvd bashing articles that are still just rumors and you give them headings that make it seam like toshiba pulled the plug. So that everyone that glances on the website is like, "oh guess its over."
I agree its not looking good but its not over yet. until you like ot a toshiba press release stop posting this stuff.
The largest retailer in america said they're done with Hd-dvd. Sales are 5 to 1. Media player sales...including PS3 - put the numbers at over 10 to 1. What more do you need?
I have a PS3 and 360 + HD DVD player -- I typically only use the HD DVD player to play standard def DVDs and the occasional HD DVD. I've used PS3 for Blu-ray maybe once or twice.
In other words, I'm calling it like I see it, and from where I sit there's no way Toshiba's coming back. They're not dead -- but they're on deathwatch.
Sorry about your investment.
In this war, the atomic bombs have already been dropped (Warner Bros., Best Buy, Wal-Mart). The conflict is over but Toshiba just hasn't shown up at the ship to sign the surrender yet. Holding out at this point is just screwing new consumers.
@ Ryan
"Sorry about your investment."
It may just be my incredible headache (mostly for still being at work), but that came off as the most arrogant, pig headed blu-ray fanboy statement that I have read in the comments in a while.
If I was a doctor, and HD-DVD was my patient, I would be close to calling it. I'd be looking at the clock and then looking back to the stats. Your article was alright, but that right there, that single sentence you said, ugh.
And how stupid is that statement? It's like many people have stated before, just because HD-DVD is dead, doesn't mean that the investment was a bad one, nor that the HD-DVD system will just stop working. He may have all the HD movies that he will want for the next year.
Hell, I'm looking forward to the death and subsequent sales in the next few days, so that while I'm "sorry about my investment", I'll be purchasing several HD-DVD's at the same price as a Blu-Ray, or hell, even a DVD.
The final stake :
Wal-Mart Moving Exclusively Toward Blu-ray Format Movies and Players
Bentonville, Ark., Feb. 15, 2008 - Wal-Mart Stores, U.S. today announces that its 4,000 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores will move forward this year with one hi-definition movie and hardware format: Blu-ray. The change will take place quickly over the next several months whereby the retailer will phase out HD DVD offerings and reorganize shelf space. By June, Wal-Mart stores, Sam's Clubs, www.walmart.com and www.samsclub.com will offer only Blu-ray movies and hardware machines, as well as standard definition movies and DVD players, and up converts.
"We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases," said Gary Severson, senior vice president, Home Entertainment, Wal-Mart, U.S. "With the customers best interest in all we do, we wanted to share our decision and timeline with them as soon as possible, knowing it will help simplify their purchase decision, increase selection, and increase adoption long term. We anticipate enhancing our selection with continued great values in hi-definition Blu-ray products, so our customers can further enhance their entertainment experience at home."
Wal-Mart will continue to sell through remaining HD DVD product, but in less than 30 days customers will see a more predominant move toward Blu-ray in stores, clubs and online. As the nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart thoughtfully reviewed all areas and impact in making its decision, and is excited to move forward with one format and share its future plans with customers.
I looked at the movies I wanted to buy and since HD-DVD had more of them, that is the one I went with. I am willing to pay the money if studios would release their movies on both formats and let the consumer decide which one has the better technology for the price.
I am now an early adopter of HD digital downloads. I have one 12 episode TV series and LOTR trilogy already (I have the DVDs too). I watch it on a 1080p 120" projection screen, so you can tell the difference.
please put BOTH formats on the deathwatch - i just got an appletv - rented a movie last night, watched some old tv episodes (starsky and hutch if you can believe it)
apple will do to blue ray what it did to CDs.
spend your $300 on an apple tv and call it a day until they come up with a replacement for the internet.
I have both an PS3 and Apple TV. In fact, I got an AppleTV before my 56" HDTV, Onkyo 705 A/V receiver, and PS3. Nothing consmer level compares to the audio and video quality of Blu-Ray movies. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray offered the same quality in my mind. Secondly, the rationale for a consumer buying a DVD instead of renting it still holds true for Blu-Ray. I will continue to rent Blu-Ray movies and buy them now that AppleTv Take 2 software is out.
Watching digital downloads is the equivalent of watching a VHS tape vs. hi def media
>> apple will do to blue ray what it did to CDs.
What, try to replace it with DRM infested low-bitrate Apple proprietary files?
AppleTV is overpriced.
movie rentals at $4-5?! Are they insane? Who pays that to rent a DVD? We pay about $1 a movie right now through netflix.
AppleTV is overpriced.
movie rentals at $4-5?! Are they insane? Who pays that to rent a DVD? We pay about $1 a movie right now through netflix.
Ah, the speed of the internet. My family had Beta and we had no idea there was a war or that it was even over back then. All we saw was the diminshing shelf space of Beta tapes and the random news bits from the video rental clerks. There were no websites, RSS feeds, instant messaging or even video magazines that I was aware of. The internet has hastened HD-DVDs demise and if this was 20 years ago, we'd still be witnessing the BD vs. HD-DVD war to this day :D
B
It will come down to studio support, but Sony owns most of those studio's. So Toshiba/HD camp is fighting a losing battle. I dont care who wins, I got both, but for the sake of all those thousands of people who got the HD-dvd, they lose.
In the Past, You could have the greatest PC but without software Your dead in the water.
Laa Laa LAAAAAA!