HD DVD and Blu Ray

[Elven6]

Hey, before these 2 formats hit selves BRA said their discs would cost about $5-10US more then a HD DVD due to manufacturing costs (News was also reported on dc emu mind you), and HD DVD said theirs would be cheap since producers could use the same equipment they use for producing DVD's with some modifications. So why is it that places like Future Shop, Best Buy, etc are pricing them the same?

Ex, Dog Day Afternoon costs about $25.00Cdn on both formats, their are more like this aswell.

[Darksaviour69]

the manufacturers (and resellers) are are lowering their profit margin so that Blu Ray is competitive with HD DVD. having said that, I have seen some places selling Blu Ray movies at a higher price

[Elven6]

So theirs some sort of conspiracy going on?

[quzar]

"there's"

IMO HD-DVD is the winner because almost all the releases I've seen so far have HD-DVD on one side of the disc and DVD on the other, which is great for the person who wants to future-proof their video collection or want to share their movies with friends and stuff.

Last summer I was working at CompUSA and the Blu-ray discs (BRAND NEW at the time) were kept in the back and were being sold at iirc 60$ a pop.

[Darksaviour69]

not a conspiracy, its just business.

also, Quzar: numbers seems to suggest that blu ray are selling better in the last 2 months (in the US), also blu ray has a hell of a lot more support from the movie industry.

[Elven6]

not a conspiracy, its just business.

also, Quzar: numbers seems to suggest that blu ray are selling better in the last 2 months (in the US), also blu ray has a hell of a lot more support from the movie industry.

Well Sony has a share in most of the companys that are supporting Blu Ray so they are pretty much forced too.

[quzar]

not a conspiracy, its just business.

also, Quzar: numbers seems to suggest that blu ray are selling better in the last 2 months (in the US), also blu ray has a hell of a lot more support from the movie industry.

When I said HD was winning in my opinion, I was, I guess, a little vague. What I meant to say was something like: "HD is the stronger format in my opinion" or "I would prefer that HD come out on top".

This is the second time you cite the movie industry supporting blu ray, but, regardless of the fact that more movie studios back blu ray, there are more movies availible on HD-DVD. Not only that but soon, more releases from those studios will be on HD-DVD (with as I mentioned the flip side being standard DVD). With much higher availibility, lower prices (for both player and media), and high compatibility (pop one of those double sided discs into an your old dvd player, so you don't have to worry about not being able to watch the movie on anything but an HD player). I don't see HD-DVD as being far behind at all. People use PS3 as if it were a breaking point, but with only a million consoles (shipped?) worldwide, that doesn't seem to be the dealbreaker the ps2 was for the DVD. Also considering that the X360 HD-DVD drive has sold 100k units in the US alone (and that they can pretty much only be used to watch HD-DVD movies), in the console arena, the gap isn't that great.

edit: elven made the same point i forgot to =P many of the "studios" that support blu-ray are literally just different arms of sony. Another point I forgot to make was about the nonsense with the upgrade to a new BR standard that all BR discs after july of this year will require (to do anything but just watch the movie). Amongst other things, it requires a second processor, and 256mb of storage. Not only that, but a 3rd revision is already in the works that would require 1gb of storage and internet connectivity. The fact that no (or almost no) BR player out now will be able to be fully functional with discs released in a few months, points towards imminent faliure.

[Darksaviour69]

I guess you missed this (http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=56079&highlight=blu-ray)news post


According to US trade magazine Video Business, Blu-Ray has outsold HD-DVD in North America for the second month running.

The magazine's figures put Blu-Ray at an approximate 250,000 sales for February, with HD-DVD lagging behind on 125,000.

Oscar winner The Departed was released simultaneously for both formats on February 13th. DailyTech reports that the film had one of the highest first-week sales totals for either format, selling over 20,000 units on Blu-ray and 13,000 on HD DVD.
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[quzar]

Wait for a few months when players become incompatible with the special features on new movies, while you can still pop an HD-DVD into any 'ol dvd player (even your BR player) and we'll see how it's going ;)

[Elven6]

Wait for a few months when players become incompatible with the special features on new movies, while you can still pop an HD-DVD into any 'ol dvd player (even your BR player) and we'll see how it's going ;)

What are you talking about? Btw how many HD DVDs do you buy in a week? I just started buying em last week, just got one in my collection....for now!

[Darksaviour69]

HD- DVD hold both normal dvd version that can played in a normal dvd player, and also a HD version of the film, on either side of the disc

do all HD-DVDs have this?

also I thought I read that blu-ray players can't play normal DVD as it would need another different laser (and therefore more cost)

[quzar]

I don't own any. Then again I only own a few dozen dvds (mostly TV shows). What I was talking about was how there are two different types of hybrid HD-DVDs that can be played in standard DVD players, while there is no such thing in BRs. The second bit was about how there is a major revision to the BR menu formatting that makes newer BRs only able to play the movie itself on older players (as opposed to having all those magical java driven extras that BR is so highly esteemed for).

@DS: It's not a requirement for HD-DVDs, but I have yet to see any in local electronics stores that are not one of the type types of hybrid (different layers or different sides). As for Blu-ray, you're right, it's not mandatory for them to be able to play standard DVDs, but iirc since most cost in the 500+$ range, they throw in the DVD playing for good measure.

edit: I said most are in the 500$+ range, while in fact there is NO blu-ray player cheaper than the 20gig ps3 (500$).

[Elven6]

Not all HD DVD's have the double side, if they have it then the front of the box tells you. But the thing is those Hybrid Discs don't have cover art or w/e. And Blu Ray is copying that idea, I belive JVC is heading those operations atm.

[quzar]

Not all HD DVD's have the double side, if they have it then the front of the box tells you. But the thing is those Hybrid Discs don't have cover art or w/e. And Blu Ray is copying that idea, I belive JVC is heading those operations atm.

There are actually already prototypes for discs that have all three formats on them. Also, the dual sided method of hybrid HD-DVD/DVD isn't the only way. The other way is to use either dual, or triple layered HD-DVDs, then have some of the layers be standard DVD and others be HD-DVD.

[SSaxdude]

I believe the only reason why Blu-Ray is outselling HD DVD at the moment is because of the wave of PS3 owners buying Blu-Ray movies. With that being said, neither format is a great upgrade from DVD and I don't see why we can't use WMV HD or high def Xvid on DVD9s instead.

[Elven6]

Lets all go out and buy some HD DVD movies!

[Seth Kier]

I posted something inappropriate here and am now banned.