In Reply to: why would anyone root for HD-DVD at the expense of Blu-Ray.... posted by oscar on June 7, 2007 at 07:14:34:
You are too biased to make a fair comparison between the two formats. Every negative about Blu-ray you seem to make an excuse for and every positive for HD DVD you 'expect' Blu-Ray to have something similar in the future (more excuses).
More space is only an advantage if it's being used and if it's being used appropriately. As someone has already stated, disc space has not been an issue for HD DVD but if it makes you feel any better a 51 GB tri-layer disc was announced a few months ago for HD DVD. Some Blu-ray discs are 50 GB but most are not. There is no proof that Blu-ray is a "technically superior format". In fact, initially the majority of Blu-ray releases were by far inferior. Because of that, there are far more bad quality Blu-ray titles than HD DVD titles on the market. Currently it depends on the mastering of the disc, neither is better than the other. BTW, the Sony BETA format was technically superior to the VHS format but it didn't make any difference did it.
Both formats can use the same codecs (MPEG-2, VC-1, MPEG-4). Both formats also have 1080p/24 on their disc. For audio, Blu-ray uses Dolby Digital and HD DVD user Dolby Digital Plus (downconvertable to Dolby Digital). Both formats can use uncompressed linear PCM, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. How many of the vast majority of consumers, who just want to relax and watch a movie with a really good picture, do you think even care about any difference in the audio or for that matter can even tell the difference. I'm guessing that it's not really an issue for about 99.5% of them including myself.
The fact that HD DVD players are substantially cheaper is a huge advantage when talking about the general public. Toshiba has several more even cheaper models coming out. HD DVD is only supported exclusively by Universal but it is also supported by Warner, Paramount, New Line and the adult entertainment industry. I personally would not mind seeing Sony fail. They are an arrogant company with extremely poor product support and customer service and they have no respect for their customers. Maybe they'll just give up on Blu-ray like they did with SACD.
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Follow Ups
- You should ask the same question about Blu-ray. - mdavis 21:13:51 06/07/07 (6)
- The codecs are the same for both, Blu-Ray still has the storage/bandwidth advantages. - oscar 21:53:22 06/07/07 (5)
- Barring perceived software/hardware issues it boils down to the cost of the players & availability of desirable films. - Audiophilander 00:34:56 06/13/07 (4)
- Must..... resist......I couldn't hold out after I found out about the dual format player. - oscar 05:49:07 06/13/07 (3)
- Oscar, I don't see high definition as becoming a niche market long term. - Audiophilander 10:24:35 06/13/07 (2)
- DRM isn't that big an issue for me but it is for the major studios. - oscar 11:18:40 06/13/07 (1)
- What's more of an issue for the major studios is market share. - Audiophilander 13:39:36 06/14/07 (0)