I don't see how is this +1 for HD DVD. Until it's taken to the industry we'll see if it's convenient; and remember, sony can still reply with the fact that the blu-ray had that capacity with just a dual-layer disc.
1) It's not a Sony Proprietary format. No offense to Sony fanboys, but have already been screwed over by Beta, MiniDisc, ATRAC, and most recently UMD, I am *done* with Sony's proprietary formats. Experience has proven time and again that superior specs do not a superior format make.
2) I like the idea of HD video taking up less space for the same reason Hollywood likes the idea of it taking up more space: smaller files are easier to convert into portable files or make backups of. I travel a lot and I don't like taking 200 bucks worth of my dvd's with me everytime I go somewhere. Instead of back them up to DVDR's that won't be missed if lost or stolen. If someone ever releases a PMP that's worth a damn and doesn't cost a grand, I'll burn them to Divx instead. Long story short, at this point HD-DVD's are a lot more user friendly to people who use video discs the way I do then BD's are, which is why the studios hate them so much. The ironic thing is that if doing it my way become too difficult or impossible, me and people like me are probably going to turn to the torrents instead. At least my way, the studios still make a profit. If you want to be a BD fanboy then go right ahead, just be aware of what sort of philosophy and business practice (and track record) you're putting your support into.
If you want a good PMP that'll play DivX and XviD files, try the Cowon A2, it's about $290 at NewEgg... and they should be releasing an HD-friendly upgrade, the A3 this month. No real official word on price for that though.
What's the difference between an MS and Sony proprietary format?
And both use the same codecs, whereas HD DVD requires lossless audio, but blu-ray doesn't. That means HD DVD movies are actually bigger, most of the time. Both are very easy to rip, if you have the expensive drives/players.
Also, MiniDisc is still going strong in recording markets (like interviews, etc.).
Its obvious because major companies are abandoning the format like the plague.
Blockbuster video has claimed they are not going to carry any HD DVD disks and will only carry Blu Ray for example.
I think in 10 years we will all look back and recognize that Microsoft's refusal to add an HDDVD drive to the new XBOX360's is what sealed HDDVD's coffin. SONY's Blu Ray drive in the PS3 is part of the reason the PS3 will sell to those looking for an inexpensive BluRay player, and the reason Blu Ray discs are moving decently.
Let that be a lesson. DON'T SUPPORT A FORMAT YOU HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF ACTUALLY SUPPORTING.
@Cash I'm in the same boat,except for the fact i'm worried a burned disc or a HDD rip will not be true 1080p. I mean I still haven't found a way to rip my DVD collection to HDD or burned discs without sacrificing some quality. I just wonder if it's even possible.
Its obvious because major companies are abandoning the format like the plague."
Uh...Paramount JUST went HD-DVD exclusive. Blockbuster's announcement was made prior to that switch. HD-DVD has more movies, they have the cost advantage, and now they have the capacity advantage. Oh, and they just lost their 2:1 software lead. It doesn't sound as though they're losing to me.
HD DVD does not require lossless audio, but they require players to. You could technically get a HD DVD movie that has compressed audio that is not lossless. Blu-ray players do not have to be able to decode lossless audio codecs or raw audio. However, I believe most players do, but I'm not versed enough to know which ones or how many. The 50GB blu-ray discs are large enough to hold raw audio tracks which is the best you're going to get. However, they then waste space by requiring both a raw and nonlossless audio track on the disc.
A lot of people seem to confuse this, but I would think every movie that comes out in both HD DVD and blu-ray that is half way decent would have good audio tracks anymore.
why do people support sony??? they dont care about you!
you realize Paramount / Dreamworks just went HD DVD exclusive. Now its just Sony and Disney left on the BD side. Disney just made some huge deals / cash with Microsoft, a HD DVD backer, on the Xbox Marketplace front, so I'm assuming their bribes from Sony will only last them so long.
BTW, to you foolish sony supporters, Blockbuster is owned by Viacom. That sounds familliar...oh yea, Viacom owns Paramount / Dreamworks.
stop supporting sony, go with the open format. sony is evil.
And MTV / Nickelodeon / BET / Comedy Central / Spike TV / VH1 / CMT / Harmonix / Xfire / GameTrailers...just to drop some names.
Viacom is partners with the HD DVD forum, as well as Microsoft, as you can see on the Xbox Live Marketplace. HD DVD isnt going anywhere fellas. Early electronics manufacturers dont mean squat in the format war. Sharp, Pioneer, and every other initial blu-ray supporter will go HD DVD just like LG and Samsung did.
HD DVD is not a proprietary format of Microsoft, nor does Microsoft have anything to do with it's design or implementation other then releasing an HD DVD external drive for their 360 as a BD drive is pretty much out of the question considering the obvious. Although Gates has shown a preference for one format over the other personally, as of this moment both types of drives work equally well in PC's running Windows, although that's not saying much seeing how neither function very well to begin with at the moment. While some of the codecs HD DVD uses can be traced back to Microsoft, the same could be said of BD as MS has helped develope several of the codecs that are found in current HiDef applications. That all being said, why would you even bring MS up? I wasn't even talking about proprietary formats in general, rather specifically speaking of Sony formats exclusively.
I am aware that *some* people still use MiniDiscs, just like *some* studios and stations still use Beta. No one would argue with the assertion that the majority of the market has long since moved on from both however, as digital tape and solid state memory equiped devices are smaller, have larger capacities, and are much more flexible then their predecessors. "Still going strong" doesn't mean much if it's only taking place in a select niche market. I prefer to listen to Sinatra on the original bakelite records my grandpa left me, that doesn't mean the format is still going strong. As a format, HD DVD is much more open and flexible then BD, which was my original point, and is why I support it over the other.
@Cash Blu-ray is not completely owned by sony. There is a blu-ray association similar to the DVD forum. Yes, sony came up with the physical portion of it just like Toshiba came up with physical media for HD DVD, but the software side is all governed by a board which includes Sony along with several other companies.
Blu-ray also still has Fox and Lionsgate supporting it exclusively along with warner and new line supporting both formats. All the paramount switch did was level the field of exclusivity, thus screwing consumers by extending the format war when it was nearing its end. Now a consumer like me will wait on both formats to see who wins since both formats are pretty good. Still prefer Blu-ray for size though, but then of course there is the story I'm commenting on negating that.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
+1 for HD-DVD
Hopefully this will convince all the kids that HD-DVD isn't small ..
Just long enough until Blu-Ray comes out to top with with the *hey mine is bigger than yours*.
I don't see how is this +1 for HD DVD. Until it's taken to the industry we'll see if it's convenient; and remember, sony can still reply with the fact that the blu-ray had that capacity with just a dual-layer disc.
@ark_v2--dual-layer Blu-Ray is usually only 45GB max due to manufacturing issues (pooling).
I prefer HD-DVD for two reasons:
1) It's not a Sony Proprietary format. No offense to Sony fanboys, but have already been screwed over by Beta, MiniDisc, ATRAC, and most recently UMD, I am *done* with Sony's proprietary formats. Experience has proven time and again that superior specs do not a superior format make.
2) I like the idea of HD video taking up less space for the same reason Hollywood likes the idea of it taking up more space: smaller files are easier to convert into portable files or make backups of. I travel a lot and I don't like taking 200 bucks worth of my dvd's with me everytime I go somewhere. Instead of back them up to DVDR's that won't be missed if lost or stolen. If someone ever releases a PMP that's worth a damn and doesn't cost a grand, I'll burn them to Divx instead. Long story short, at this point HD-DVD's are a lot more user friendly to people who use video discs the way I do then BD's are, which is why the studios hate them so much. The ironic thing is that if doing it my way become too difficult or impossible, me and people like me are probably going to turn to the torrents instead. At least my way, the studios still make a profit. If you want to be a BD fanboy then go right ahead, just be aware of what sort of philosophy and business practice (and track record) you're putting your support into.
If you want a good PMP that'll play DivX and XviD files, try the Cowon A2, it's about $290 at NewEgg... and they should be releasing an HD-friendly upgrade, the A3 this month. No real official word on price for that though.
Dave, thats not really true. Both hellboy and ghost rider shipped on full 50 gig discs.
Cash, Blu ray is not a proprietary format and did you actually use your formats and what happened to UMD's? My PSP still plays its games just fine.
@Cash
What's the difference between an MS and Sony proprietary format?
And both use the same codecs, whereas HD DVD requires lossless audio, but blu-ray doesn't. That means HD DVD movies are actually bigger, most of the time. Both are very easy to rip, if you have the expensive drives/players.
Also, MiniDisc is still going strong in recording markets (like interviews, etc.).
Your arguments make no sense.
HD DVD is going to LOSE THE FORMAT WAR.
Its obvious because major companies are abandoning the format like the plague.
Blockbuster video has claimed they are not going to carry any HD DVD disks and will only carry Blu Ray for example.
I think in 10 years we will all look back and recognize that Microsoft's refusal to add an HDDVD drive to the new XBOX360's is what sealed HDDVD's coffin. SONY's Blu Ray drive in the PS3 is part of the reason the PS3 will sell to those looking for an inexpensive BluRay player, and the reason Blu Ray discs are moving decently.
Let that be a lesson. DON'T SUPPORT A FORMAT YOU HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF ACTUALLY SUPPORTING.
@Cash
I'm in the same boat,except for the fact i'm worried a burned disc or a HDD rip will not be true 1080p. I mean I still haven't found a way to rip my DVD collection to HDD or burned discs without sacrificing some quality. I just wonder if it's even possible.
"HD DVD is going to LOSE THE FORMAT WAR.
Its obvious because major companies are abandoning the format like the plague."
Uh...Paramount JUST went HD-DVD exclusive. Blockbuster's announcement was made prior to that switch. HD-DVD has more movies, they have the cost advantage, and now they have the capacity advantage. Oh, and they just lost their 2:1 software lead. It doesn't sound as though they're losing to me.
@Jesse S
HD DVD does not require lossless audio, but they require players to. You could technically get a HD DVD movie that has compressed audio that is not lossless. Blu-ray players do not have to be able to decode lossless audio codecs or raw audio. However, I believe most players do, but I'm not versed enough to know which ones or how many. The 50GB blu-ray discs are large enough to hold raw audio tracks which is the best you're going to get. However, they then waste space by requiring both a raw and nonlossless audio track on the disc.
A lot of people seem to confuse this, but I would think every movie that comes out in both HD DVD and blu-ray that is half way decent would have good audio tracks anymore.
why do people support sony??? they dont care about you!
you realize Paramount / Dreamworks just went HD DVD exclusive. Now its just Sony and Disney left on the BD side. Disney just made some huge deals / cash with Microsoft, a HD DVD backer, on the Xbox Marketplace front, so I'm assuming their bribes from Sony will only last them so long.
BTW, to you foolish sony supporters, Blockbuster is owned by Viacom. That sounds familliar...oh yea, Viacom owns Paramount / Dreamworks.
stop supporting sony, go with the open format. sony is evil.
And MTV / Nickelodeon / BET / Comedy Central / Spike TV / VH1 / CMT / Harmonix / Xfire / GameTrailers...just to drop some names.
Viacom is partners with the HD DVD forum, as well as Microsoft, as you can see on the Xbox Live Marketplace. HD DVD isnt going anywhere fellas. Early electronics manufacturers dont mean squat in the format war. Sharp, Pioneer, and every other initial blu-ray supporter will go HD DVD just like LG and Samsung did.
@Jesse S
HD DVD is not a proprietary format of Microsoft, nor does Microsoft have anything to do with it's design or implementation other then releasing an HD DVD external drive for their 360 as a BD drive is pretty much out of the question considering the obvious. Although Gates has shown a preference for one format over the other personally, as of this moment both types of drives work equally well in PC's running Windows, although that's not saying much seeing how neither function very well to begin with at the moment. While some of the codecs HD DVD uses can be traced back to Microsoft, the same could be said of BD as MS has helped develope several of the codecs that are found in current HiDef applications. That all being said, why would you even bring MS up? I wasn't even talking about proprietary formats in general, rather specifically speaking of Sony formats exclusively.
I am aware that *some* people still use MiniDiscs, just like *some* studios and stations still use Beta. No one would argue with the assertion that the majority of the market has long since moved on from both however, as digital tape and solid state memory equiped devices are smaller, have larger capacities, and are much more flexible then their predecessors. "Still going strong" doesn't mean much if it's only taking place in a select niche market. I prefer to listen to Sinatra on the original bakelite records my grandpa left me, that doesn't mean the format is still going strong. As a format, HD DVD is much more open and flexible then BD, which was my original point, and is why I support it over the other.
@Cash Blu-ray is not completely owned by sony. There is a blu-ray association similar to the DVD forum. Yes, sony came up with the physical portion of it just like Toshiba came up with physical media for HD DVD, but the software side is all governed by a board which includes Sony along with several other companies.
Blu-ray also still has Fox and Lionsgate supporting it exclusively along with warner and new line supporting both formats. All the paramount switch did was level the field of exclusivity, thus screwing consumers by extending the format war when it was nearing its end. Now a consumer like me will wait on both formats to see who wins since both formats are pretty good. Still prefer Blu-ray for size though, but then of course there is the story I'm commenting on negating that.
Blu-ray Discs can support 200GB on 8 layers, theoretically.