Paramount is said to be about to switch to Bluray according to CrunchGear, the final fatal blow in Microsoft’s and Toshiba’s effort to establish HD DVD as the Next Generation DVD standard.
HD DVD had been in trouble leading up to this weeks CES conference after Warner Bros decided to switch to Bluray exclusively January 4.
In the longer term the battle may well end up being irrelevant as online video continues to surge, both in a stream format, by purchase, and by rental. Apple is expected to confirm next week at the MacWorld Expo a set of deals with Hollywood studios that will see movies being available for rent on iTunes. I’ll be live at the Macworld Keynote January 15 for TechCrunch to cover the announcement.
I don’t think it is over yet. Not with the squillions of notebooks that Toshie sells annually.
However, as for the “pr0n will save HD-DVD” argument, who watches pr0n in HD? Is it really necessary? Where is the breathtaking cinematography that benefits from the format
Either way, I am going to wait for things to run a little longer before jumping in.
Blu Ray might have won but it will lose once higher capacity, cheaper technology arrives. Plus, DVDs will rule for at least 3 more years in US, and 5 years elsewhere. So Sony has won nothing and wasted a lot of money doing so.
if anything, HD is probably a little too detailed for pr0n…
after all, who needs to see every razor burn and stubble….
The interesting question is whether or not Warner knew about the clause in Paramount’s contract, and if they unilaterally thru in with Blu-Ray to force Paramount’s hand and effectively end the war.
“Crunch” is right in that digital is coming on strong and both formats stood to lose if they kept sitting in the corner and bickering.
Not to mention that the delay has apparently affected DVD sales as well as high-def sales.
See: http://www.iSights.org/2008/01.....yhd-d.html
really looking forward to your Macworld coverage.Yes sicko i agree very DETAILED !!!
For me, the best way to enjoy HD quality dvd is on a PS3. Even when online video wins, you’ll still be left with a great game console. So this is great for Sony on two fronts. Now we just need some better PS3 games.
For more than a year this battle has not been between Sony and Toshiba. Rather it has been a battle of Sony versus Microsoft.
While Toshiba has a lot of sentimental attachment to HD-DVD, in reality it will just switch over to Blu-ray and get on with selling Blu-ray HD devices.
On the other hand, Microsoft has been bank rolling the HD-DVD effort because its proprietary codec is at the heart of HD-DVD. Locking people into the use of Microsoft’s VC-1 codec is the reason that Microsoft (via Toshiba as its proxy) has been splashing around more than a hundred million dollars buying studios and pressing the flesh of PR and the media.
Locking people into the use of the VC-1 codec makes it more difficult for non-Windows platforms to compete against Microsoft (both on PCs as well as mobile devices). The secondary reason is that the failure of Blu-ray would also have been a major blow to Sony’s efforts with the PS3 - that of course ties in with Microsoft’s desire to control our home entertainment systems.
In former times, Microsoft used to win virtually ever battle. It still wins some, but it now loses more than it wins. Little by little it is losing its ability to tax global consumers with excessively high prices for its software.
Paramount is not going Blu, as they restated today.
I don’t believe HD DVD is going anywhere for some years yet. I believe it to be more mature and advanced than Blu-Ray.
I’m still pre-ordering HD DVDs and did so today!
I do not think physical DVDs will become obsolete, at least not anytime soon. I happen to enjoy having a physical collection of something. Internet TV will replace physical DVDs? Internet TV is nothing more than having a bigger collection of “on-demand”. Whoop-dee-doo.
57 - talking out of your a$$.
New Line and HBO just followed suit:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.c.....409b401b2e
HDDVD is dead indeed. Poor Microsoft - they built it into the Xbox360. Not that consumer cared mind you. I don’t know one 360 player who’ll give a crap. But, it does put a kink in MS Plan To Dominate The Living Room v10.2
Everyone is talking about future formats, high tech dvrs, online movies, playstations, xbox, minidisc, mat. Blu-ray should win because it is more future proof today than HDdvd. In my area HD dvd players are cheaper however if you want a 1080p player for your 1080p tv they are close to the same price. I bought a Blu-ray player for under $300 before Christmas. It plays regular dvd just fine and yes there is a resume feature. Who cares if there is region coding or no ethernet connection. As long as it plays a high def movie at the max resolution I am happy. And if anybody thinks HD tv and movies are not worth it they are stupid. As for as online videos goes they need to find a way to watch hd videos on your hd tv and be able to store them as well as back them up when the “tech box” breaks. I don’t want to watch on a computer monitor. I do love my dvr but the problem is your stuck at the one tv. If I want to watch a recording in another room I can’t without a hassle. I still want a hard copy of cd’s and movies because in the future when the machine breaks you will lose everything if it is 0’s and 1’s.