That is, quite possibly, the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

They really only could have delayed it about five months anyway, because the PS3 had to be released in late 2006.

Well thats the point. The PS3 was built the right way, in the sense that it was hardware and processor power are up to 2.0 spec and the upgrades to later profiles was only a matter of software implementation.

But Sony probably needed other CE support to show consumers that Blu Ray wasn't some "gamer niche" so it pushed the other CE companies to release 1.0 players.

But thats my purely my speculation.

Would those saying that both format needs to exist be sad had Blu-Ray gone the way of the wind?

I think this is a rhetorical question. :)

When you hear competition is good, IMO it is typically meant as "Blu-Ray would have shit on everyone had HD DVD not been there to keep them in check." However, HD DVD apparently was perfect out of the gate, so it didn't need to be kept in check. At least that's the impression I get.

I'm in the camp that competition was good -- I'm very glad there was a format war, and adopters of both formats were better for it -- but I didn't think it was sustainable in the long term.

Yes, both formats have proven their worth. Neither is perfect, but nor has either one demonstrated definitive superiority over the other. Both have their place, just as the video game market has long supported multiple consoles, each with their own exclusive titles.

Blu-ray and HD DVD are home theater products. With players priced at $300 and $150 respectively, there is no good reason why a home theater hobbyist shouldn't own both formats. This has never been a hobby for penny-pinchers, and those prices are extremely reasonable. Anyone who believes that a combined $450 is too expensive for access to a large (and growing) library of genuine High Definition content is in the wrong hobby.

Probably.

Probably.


Eventually, HDM will supplant DVD as the dominant medium for movies (I can't imagine DVD still being the dominant medium 50 years from now). Not necessarily in the form of HD DVD or Blu-ray, but some form of HDM will takeover DVD sometime in the future. When? That remains to be seen. Most likely not in the next 5 years though.

The individual(s) you speak of has never announced that once the war is over BR will immediately become the next mass format. If such a statement exists I would like you to provide it here.

The individual disagrees with what you continuously claim -- that duality was the only structure HD should have adopted and that now when it seems that it all comes to an end the future is incredibly bleak. It is the persistent notion of negativity and the sense that the public is and will be indifferent to any mass adoption process which you promote that is closer to an agenda. On the opposite end there is nothing but enthusiasm about the future of HD.

The war, or competitive duality, would have never sustained a productive competition indefinitely. Hence, all recent developments.

Pro-B

If HD DVD would have won this early, I'd be complaining about Blu-ray titles being delayed, and the slowdown of the HD sector because only one format existed.

Hope that clarifies my position, at least for my posts.

HD DVD certainly was not perfect, and I'm not saying it was.

I suppose you'd have to poll HD format users to find out if more Blu-ray hardware and software was problematic than HD DVD hardware and software. But that's up to you. Would be interesting though, and I might start a poll which asks if Blu-ray and HD DVD users have experienced hardware and/or software issues.

I don't think Blu-Ray has had too many hardware problems, but obviously the Java junk constantly keeping Samsung and LG owners from watching discs is unacceptable. For that reason alone I will never buy a Samsung or LG BD player.

On the HD DVD side, combos of course have been the worst thing about the format IMO. There's also the aforementioned 1080p issue with the A20/A30/A35 players. I would have been a much bigger supporter of the format if combos had never existed. As it is, against my better judgment I've still bought some in the past few months.

I thought so to, but I didn't think they could both co-exist comfortably until dual-format players became the reasonably priced standard...which I figured would take another year or two.

I'm curious, do you actually have to be an actual owner of the BLU-RAY format to be a mod in this forum ????