XavierMike

If this article is right, we might get a true universal player.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/11313/...ay-Disc-Media/

digitalfreaknyc

Nope. This has already been debunked at AVS. That's why I didn't post it earlier.

At this point, I don't know why anyone would want a Universal player. Not something to get excited about.

TheKobra

If a universal player had all the features of both formats this could be a win win. This would allow you to purchase movies you liked no matter what the format was. I am sure price would be higher then 1k.

Maxflier

Yeah, i agree.
A while back I loved the idea of someday having a combo player, but now i'd rather just see BR die off completely.

digitalfreaknyc

You're assuming that they'll ever be in a quality that lives up to HD DVD at this point. I could care less about either of those two movies but there is already a couple that I would have picked up if they were on HD DVD. however, at the quality they're putting out, I wouldn't want them.
Therefore, a universal player doesn't mean much if they're still putting out a shoddy product.

Let it be for games for all I care. Leave the movie business to people that obviously know and have proven to know what they're doing.

Supermallet

Unfortunately, Sony has put too much money into BD just to let it die completely. I imagine it will be a long time before we see movies like Lawrence of Arabia or Spider-Man in HD-DVD, even if HD-DVD wins. A combo player will allow us access to those discs in the meantime.

kvrdave

And I would guess that BR will sell well enough in Japan to keep the format alive for awhile.

digitalfreaknyc

Why would you guess that? Do the Japanese have lower expectations than us? Do they care less about quality?

GIjon213

I have heard about this at several other places too, I hope it is not false. I mean, I personally would by a player that incorporated this. I plan on a PS3 this fall ( ) and yet I would still like a HD DVD player. By the time this makes it to main stream, all the HD audio streams that are coming out will be available. That would be a nice player....

Link

gimmepilotwings

I know that I would want a Universal player. I would currently relate it to DVD-R and DVD+R. Most, if not all of the DVD players/burners recognize both formats.

The industry will not come to that, for years, if at all. It would be very pleasurable to J6P.

digitalfreaknyc

The difference is that those formats are indistinguishable.

Not the same thing.

Spiky

Where has it been "debunked"? Everyone should want a universal player because there WILL be movies that are only available on one format. At least for years to come. Esp if HDDVD wins, since Sony will be idiots about ever releasing in that format.

Spiky

Another bizarre comment from you, since your stand in the war is not based on quality, but price and timing. We finally have something on the universal front and you have to come in the thread trolling.

The Japanese like trendy electronics. If Sony's marketing campaign does well and BD actually starts working at some point, BD will do well in Japan.

digitalfreaknyc

How exactly am I trolling and how am i NOT about quality?!?! If i weren't about quality, I'd be going WITH BD!

Spiky

Every post in this thread from you was more rhetoric about HD's superiority over BD. But this is a UNIVERSAL thread, where we don't give a shit, we just want options. And not by having 2 machines on the shelf.

Quality? Dude, read your own posts.

digitalfreaknyc

"Dude"...i wanna hear more about this. Where do I not care about quality? Stop picking a fight.

awmurray

I, for one, don't want to see a universal player.

I don't want to go through the extra expense just so Sony can show how big their balls are (eventually).

I've always wanted one format to die completely (and quickly). At first I hoped it would be HD DVD because BD was techically superior, but now I just hope for Blu-ray to die quickly.

The only downside is Sony being stubborn about releasing to HD DVD. That won't happen if BD dies quickly, though. If not enough players are out there it won't even make sense to stick with BD (even for Sony)... and no, the PS3 doesn't count. Of course, if the quality of the transfers from Sony stays low, that won't even matter. The quicker BD dies, the faster we'll see Sony release on HD DVD.

The risk of a universal player is that it would only be an intermediate step before the demise of one format or the other. Once studios decide to only support one format, you're stuck with movies in the losing format. Eventually it would become harder to find a "universal" player since one format was dominant. Then you're stuck buying a more expensive "universal" player since the dominant-format-only player will obviously be cheaper and more plentiful.

EDIT: When BD disappears, the HD-A1 will be a universal player .

jiggawhat

I'm all for a combo player. Once one actually is manufactured then I'll jump in the fray.

I think it will be great to have a combo player because it will allow people to not be afraid of this format war that is upon us like myself. I would like to see one format win but a combo player will pretty much end it IMO.

Supermallet

I honestly wouldn't mind a universal player myself, provided it also plays DVD+/-R, DivX, DVD-A, and SACD.

Spiky

Ditto. But if a "good" mfgr comes out with a good universal, it erases the issue.

Getting a good universal audio player will cost far more than getting a universal video player. At least once the BD/HDDVD startup gouging slows down. Costs are coming down and this Ricoh announcement may completely negate any real cost difference. There's always marketing hype to artificially raise prices, but I'm not going to complain or assume anything about that before any company even bothers to actually announce a real universal player.

RockStrongo

Ditto....If these formats are gonna be around together, then im all for a combo....thats the second best thing to BD dying off (I say this just because im invested in HD-DVD right now).