Sony Blu-Ray Gets 'General Dislike' Among Web Posters
12-10-06 | 08:39 PM
#26
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From: NYC
Originally Posted by The Cow
err? who has standalone players that are all 1k+?
Player is a one time shot for the common man, and those prices will inevitably drop on both sides.
A difference in disc price would make a big dent. Other than that, it's still titles.
Player is a one time shot for the common man, and those prices will inevitably drop on both sides.
A difference in disc price would make a big dent. Other than that, it's still titles.
They may be SELLING below that...but there aren't any with a SRP of below that.
12-10-06 | 08:48 PM
#27
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Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema
Well, they're doing pretty good so far, outselling in software. So you're saying HD DVD will never gain any more companies for software or hardware?
12-10-06 | 08:50 PM
#28
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Well, honestly, as a consumer I don't really care what the SRP is. I care what it costs me. Actually, having a high SRP could spur purchasing, if the selling price is low enough ("this is *how* much off?!? Wow, I better get one.").
I'm impressed with HDDVD, but I am worried about the content mix; I could see it shifting very quickly to favor BD. I would definitely be interested in some Fox or Disney pictures, and probably even some Sony. Like someone else said, I think a lot of the anti-BD buzz is actually anti-Sony; they didn't handle the PS3 launch well, and there's a lot of folks who are tired of Sony being the 800 lb. gorilla in the gaming world, so that's probably bleeding over to some of its other big pushes.
Popularity of those titles is very important, if Fox or Disney sees their big titles selling like crap on BD compared to competitors on HD, that will help HD look more attractive to them.
On a side note, I skimmed through a mag at WalMart the other day, Game Informer I think it was, and it had an interview with some bigwig from Sony, about the PS3 and BD and other things. One question was about formats, saying Sony doesn't have a good track record with formats it supports, and HD/BD could turn into a Beta/VHS type thing. The questioner mentioned minidisk, and the Sony guy said "Well, Minidisc is still the world's most popular digital recording media format" or something like that. There were definitely a few eyebrow raising quotes in the article.
I'm impressed with HDDVD, but I am worried about the content mix; I could see it shifting very quickly to favor BD. I would definitely be interested in some Fox or Disney pictures, and probably even some Sony. Like someone else said, I think a lot of the anti-BD buzz is actually anti-Sony; they didn't handle the PS3 launch well, and there's a lot of folks who are tired of Sony being the 800 lb. gorilla in the gaming world, so that's probably bleeding over to some of its other big pushes.
Popularity of those titles is very important, if Fox or Disney sees their big titles selling like crap on BD compared to competitors on HD, that will help HD look more attractive to them.
On a side note, I skimmed through a mag at WalMart the other day, Game Informer I think it was, and it had an interview with some bigwig from Sony, about the PS3 and BD and other things. One question was about formats, saying Sony doesn't have a good track record with formats it supports, and HD/BD could turn into a Beta/VHS type thing. The questioner mentioned minidisk, and the Sony guy said "Well, Minidisc is still the world's most popular digital recording media format" or something like that. There were definitely a few eyebrow raising quotes in the article.
12-10-06 | 08:52 PM
#29
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From: Grazing in a field somewhere...
Originally Posted by digitalfreaknyc
Err....BD does. No stand-alone players below 1k right now.
They may be SELLING below that...but there aren't any with a SRP of below that.
They may be SELLING below that...but there aren't any with a SRP of below that.
12-10-06 | 09:03 PM
#30
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From: Mastic, NY
Originally Posted by The Cow
It could, but probably not so much a deciding factor.
The consumer prices are about the same on the discs. The BD players cost more now, but are coming down. Prices all around will most likely drop as more adapt.
Title selection is the biggest factor in my book. (I do have a PS3 now, but I would get and HD-DVD player also if the title selection warrants it for me.)
The consumer prices are about the same on the discs. The BD players cost more now, but are coming down. Prices all around will most likely drop as more adapt.
Title selection is the biggest factor in my book. (I do have a PS3 now, but I would get and HD-DVD player also if the title selection warrants it for me.)
12-10-06 | 09:08 PM
#31
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From: Grazing in a field somewhere...
Originally Posted by wewantflair
Come on, man, seriously now. I own just about everything (PS3, A1, X-BOX 360 w/ HD Add-on) and if title selection is your biggest factor, then you wouldn't own PS3 at all right now. BD selection pales compared to HD DVD in just about every genre, and games for the PS3 are pitiful compared to the 360. If you've convinced yourself that title selection is the reason you bought your PS3, that's fine, but it just isn't accurate, at least for the moment.
It was a whim, and I was going to resell it. After looking at what they are going for on eBay now, I decided it was better to keep it and sell off my PS2, profit wise.
I'm not sold on either format.
12-10-06 | 09:19 PM
#32
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I love my HD-DVD add on for my 360, but I'd love it even more if Disney, and Lions Gate started to make HD-DVD movies. Mainly for the POTC and Saw movies, but I did just watch POTC
MC DVD on my HDtv, and I have to say, it had an insane picture quality to it. So really, I don't even know if I would upgrade if POTC would come out in HD DVD.
MC DVD on my HDtv, and I have to say, it had an insane picture quality to it. So really, I don't even know if I would upgrade if POTC would come out in HD DVD.
12-10-06 | 09:20 PM
#33
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BD is stuck in that chicken and egg thing. They have potential to have much better titles with their stronger studio support, but those studios seem really iffy about putting those titles on BD because of the small user base. Evenutally studios like Fox and Disney have to step up if they want to push more people to buy BD players.
IMO Warner is carrying both formats right now. Universal and Paramount have had very few must have titles, but Warner has really brought a wide range of good titles from their catalog. Warner is the main reason I own an HD DVD player.
IMO Warner is carrying both formats right now. Universal and Paramount have had very few must have titles, but Warner has really brought a wide range of good titles from their catalog. Warner is the main reason I own an HD DVD player.
12-10-06 | 09:22 PM
#34
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Originally Posted by Nevi
How is that? If LG and Disney go dual-format support then they'll only prolong the format war further. You'd then have Sony and Fox versus Universal, essentially.
But I do understand where you're coming from. Having one format with complete studio support will be huge. But, that's not going to happen any time soon. Dual-format is much more likely, and people seem to be be choosing the HD DVD versions when given the option. Plus BD has had more support from the start, and it hasn't seemed to give them as big as an edge as they had hoped. But then again, who really can tell how this will all turn out?
12-11-06 | 05:28 AM
#36
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From: On the penis chair
Originally Posted by Wick
Death to Blu-Ray.
Seriously, I think Blu-Ray still can gain a lot of market if Sony plays it right. Whats right and whats wrong, I think you people know better than me.
12-11-06 | 07:20 AM
#37
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Originally Posted by Nevi
As it stands now Blu-ray will end up with the majority of movies available.
Blu-ray's exclusives include Sony, Disney, Fox, MGM, and Lionsgate. This is against HD DVD's exclusives of just Universal and The Weinstein Company. Yes there are some smaller studios supporting both formats but these are the majors. My personal view is that either dual format players will help to ensure both formats surviving longterm or Universal will eventually cave and support Blu-ray. I'm happy to support both formats right now and not wait to see what does or does not happen in the future.
Blu-ray's exclusives include Sony, Disney, Fox, MGM, and Lionsgate. This is against HD DVD's exclusives of just Universal and The Weinstein Company. Yes there are some smaller studios supporting both formats but these are the majors. My personal view is that either dual format players will help to ensure both formats surviving longterm or Universal will eventually cave and support Blu-ray. I'm happy to support both formats right now and not wait to see what does or does not happen in the future.
12-11-06 | 07:27 AM
#38
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From: Kingston, TN
Originally Posted by king slug
I love my HD-DVD add on for my 360, but I'd love it even more if Disney, and Lions Gate started to make HD-DVD movies. Mainly for the POTC and Saw movies, but I did just watch POTCMC DVD on my HDtv, and I have to say, it had an insane picture quality to it. So really, I don't even know if I would upgrade if POTC would come out in HD DVD.
MC DVD on my HDtv, and I have to say, it had an insane picture quality to it. So really, I don't even know if I would upgrade if POTC would come out in HD DVD.
12-11-06 | 08:18 AM
#39
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From: Greenville, South Cackalack
Originally Posted by Wick
Death to Blu-Ray.
12-11-06 | 08:52 AM
#41
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Originally Posted by digitalfreaknyc
Err....BD does. No stand-alone players below 1k right now.
They may be SELLING below that...but there aren't any with a SRP of below that.
They may be SELLING below that...but there aren't any with a SRP of below that.
That being said, stand-alone BD players are expensive, and in stores (Best Buy, Circuit City) are $999 or more.
12-11-06 | 09:09 AM
#42
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Agreed, Bus. Right now Best Buy is selling the Samsung for a whopping low price of $799. Aside from the PS3, the BD players are still more expensive on the whole than the HD players. And if you're taking the PS3 into account, you'll have to take the 360 drive into account, which lowers the average on HD players by a lot.
12-11-06 | 09:48 AM
#43
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From: Grazing in a field somewhere...
Originally Posted by Suprmallet
Agreed, Bus. Right now Best Buy is selling the Samsung for a whopping low price of $799. Aside from the PS3, the BD players are still more expensive on the whole than the HD players. And if you're taking the PS3 into account, you'll have to take the 360 drive into account, which lowers the average on HD players by a lot.
I still think the available title selection is what is keeping a big chunk of people away from both formats, but that's just me.
12-11-06 | 10:51 AM
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From: Tennessee
Originally Posted by dtcarson
On a side note, I skimmed through a mag at WalMart the other day, Game Informer I think it was, and it had an interview with some bigwig from Sony, about the PS3 and BD and other things. One question was about formats, saying Sony doesn't have a good track record with formats it supports, and HD/BD could turn into a Beta/VHS type thing. The questioner mentioned minidisk, and the Sony guy said "Well, Minidisc is still the world's most popular digital recording media format" or something like that. There were definitely a few eyebrow raising quotes in the article.
Game Informer interviews Phil Harrison, Sony’s president of worldwide studios. Interview conducted at the recent Sony Gamer’s day.
Q. Minidiscs and UMDs have struggled as media formats. Are there concerns about Blu-ray not taking off as a format?
A. Well, first of all, Minidisc is still the number one personal, portable, digital recording format in the world, 15 years after it came out.
Q. But it didn’t have the impact on the general consumer that, say, the cassette tape had.
A. No, because the world is digital now, the world’s not tape. The UMD movie catalog on PSP is over 400 strong. There are a huge number of games for PSP that use UMD and we’ll continue to push that format very strongly. Now, your question about Blu-ray discs actually needs to be clarified. Blu-ray is not a Sony proprietary format and that was clear in Jack’s presentation. We are a partner of a much larger consortium that represents 80 percent of the consumer electronics industry, the world’s largest computer companies, Dell and Apple, and also the consortium includes that vast majority of the major Hollywood studio content. Sony Pictures alone represents more than half the films ever made with MGM and Sony Pictures. So, I don’t believe that there is any debate about Blu-ray discs being the next generation of high-definition movie format for the industry and for the world. But, that is completely incidental to the fact that we need Blu-ray discs as a game format. You can see from the richness and detail that’s going into our games that we absolutely require that storage space.
Q. On a gamer level, some people are talking about how Blu-ray holds more, but DVD is accessible faster.
A. That’s not correct. It’s indistinguishable from DVD. You saw it today that the loading times are not an issue. When you’ve got that much content accessible, the benefits of Blu-ray discs are clear. There is no consumer downside whatsoever.
A. Well, first of all, Minidisc is still the number one personal, portable, digital recording format in the world, 15 years after it came out.
Q. But it didn’t have the impact on the general consumer that, say, the cassette tape had.
A. No, because the world is digital now, the world’s not tape. The UMD movie catalog on PSP is over 400 strong. There are a huge number of games for PSP that use UMD and we’ll continue to push that format very strongly. Now, your question about Blu-ray discs actually needs to be clarified. Blu-ray is not a Sony proprietary format and that was clear in Jack’s presentation. We are a partner of a much larger consortium that represents 80 percent of the consumer electronics industry, the world’s largest computer companies, Dell and Apple, and also the consortium includes that vast majority of the major Hollywood studio content. Sony Pictures alone represents more than half the films ever made with MGM and Sony Pictures. So, I don’t believe that there is any debate about Blu-ray discs being the next generation of high-definition movie format for the industry and for the world. But, that is completely incidental to the fact that we need Blu-ray discs as a game format. You can see from the richness and detail that’s going into our games that we absolutely require that storage space.
Q. On a gamer level, some people are talking about how Blu-ray holds more, but DVD is accessible faster.
A. That’s not correct. It’s indistinguishable from DVD. You saw it today that the loading times are not an issue. When you’ve got that much content accessible, the benefits of Blu-ray discs are clear. There is no consumer downside whatsoever.
Last edited by Commander Dan; 12-11-06 at 11:16 AM.
12-11-06 | 11:10 AM
#45
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Q. But it didn’t have the impact on the general consumer that, say, the cassette tape had.
A. No. because the world is digital now, the world’s not tape.
A. No. because the world is digital now, the world’s not tape.
It must be frustrating interviewing someone and just getting marketingspeak back.
12-11-06 | 11:18 AM
#46
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From: Tennessee
The new study regarding Internet perception is fascinating, and certainly deserves to be given due consideration. But with that said, I think the “war” is far from over.
I have the HD-A1, so you might I say I have a vested interest in seeing HD-DVD succeed. Indeed, I ultimately bought into HD-DVD due to the good reviews for that format, the lackluster reviews (at the time) for Blu-ray, and price.
I think Sony will fight hard for their format, despite any negativity that may be associated with it. And as long as studios such as Fox and Disney remain exclusive, the format will almost certainly continue to endure. If (and I stress if) Disney or Fox abandon their Blu-ray exclusivity, then the tide may indeed strongly turn in favor of HD-DVD.
Still, HD-DVD has its own issues to overcome. Without more manufacturers on-board producing HD-DVD players, I just don’t see how the format can ultimately survive.
I think HD-DVD will “win round one” for 2006. But when one steps back to look at the “big picture,” I am not sure that means very much. Yes, Sony has a history for failed proprietary formats. But even though they have that history, there are new dynamics in play this time around. So I’m not sure how much Sony’s history is relevant in this particular format war.
I am already considering getting a Blu-ray player in the near future. I will still probably wait a month or two at least, just to see how things pan out for the Christmas Season. Plus, I am hoping to see prices drop a bit. But unless something catastrophic happens with Blu-ray (which I doubt), I will seriously look into investing in a BD player to compliment my HD-A1.
I have the HD-A1, so you might I say I have a vested interest in seeing HD-DVD succeed. Indeed, I ultimately bought into HD-DVD due to the good reviews for that format, the lackluster reviews (at the time) for Blu-ray, and price.
I think Sony will fight hard for their format, despite any negativity that may be associated with it. And as long as studios such as Fox and Disney remain exclusive, the format will almost certainly continue to endure. If (and I stress if) Disney or Fox abandon their Blu-ray exclusivity, then the tide may indeed strongly turn in favor of HD-DVD.
Still, HD-DVD has its own issues to overcome. Without more manufacturers on-board producing HD-DVD players, I just don’t see how the format can ultimately survive.
I think HD-DVD will “win round one” for 2006. But when one steps back to look at the “big picture,” I am not sure that means very much. Yes, Sony has a history for failed proprietary formats. But even though they have that history, there are new dynamics in play this time around. So I’m not sure how much Sony’s history is relevant in this particular format war.
I am already considering getting a Blu-ray player in the near future. I will still probably wait a month or two at least, just to see how things pan out for the Christmas Season. Plus, I am hoping to see prices drop a bit. But unless something catastrophic happens with Blu-ray (which I doubt), I will seriously look into investing in a BD player to compliment my HD-A1.
Last edited by Commander Dan; 12-11-06 at 01:21 PM.
12-11-06 | 01:04 PM
#47
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From: Malvern, PA
Originally Posted by Adam Tyner
Why, if you don't mind my asking?
Since you own the 360 add-on, even if HD DVD keels over in a couple of years, you'll still be able to play the titles you buy indefinitely.
Since you own the 360 add-on, even if HD DVD keels over in a couple of years, you'll still be able to play the titles you buy indefinitely.
12-11-06 | 01:14 PM
#48
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Originally Posted by bboisvert
Nice deflection. *Completely* ignores the actual question. Nice.
It must be frustrating interviewing someone and just getting marketingspeak back.
It must be frustrating interviewing someone and just getting marketingspeak back.
12-11-06 | 10:20 PM
#49
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Yeah, the vibe I got from the article was mostly one of arrogance.
Which is sad, because if this is true:
"Sony Pictures alone represents more than half the films ever made with MGM and Sony Pictures. "
that is a huge selling point.
"You can see from the richness and detail that’s going into our games that we absolutely require that storage space."
Of course, wasn't there one BD PS3 game with like 35 GB of filler, and only 8 GB or so of data, on the disk?
Which is sad, because if this is true:
"Sony Pictures alone represents more than half the films ever made with MGM and Sony Pictures. "
that is a huge selling point.
"You can see from the richness and detail that’s going into our games that we absolutely require that storage space."
Of course, wasn't there one BD PS3 game with like 35 GB of filler, and only 8 GB or so of data, on the disk?
12-11-06 | 10:32 PM
#50
DVD Talk Legend
Sounds like the usual arrogant Sony speak.
Harrison is full of crap by saying the speed difference between Blu-Ray and DVD is indistinguishable. There are a few games that have the option to cache to the HD because the Blu-Ray speeds are slower than DVD.
Harrison is full of crap by saying the speed difference between Blu-Ray and DVD is indistinguishable. There are a few games that have the option to cache to the HD because the Blu-Ray speeds are slower than DVD.