THE FUNNY thing about the Blu-ray vs HD DVD war is that, 1. most people would still rather buy a DVD because many of us are perfectly happy with its quality, and that’s probably gonna be true for a few more years, and 2. pretty soon, it will make more sense for a growing number of people to just download high-definition content to their hard drives or stream it rather than buy a disc.
OK, personally I was rooting for HD DVD but it looks like I might have picked the wrong format after Warner Bros. drove a stake into Toshiba’s heart and decided to go exclusively Blu-ray. Toshiba has responded (well, after first canceling their Consumer Electronics Show press conference) by slashing the prices of its HD DVD players. By the way, as my fellow tech journalists and I have discussed time and again, another major factor that would determine the outcome of this latest format war would be: which one will the porn industry support? And according to this article, the adult film industry is still backing HD DVD. (But shouldn’t a blue movie be on Blu-ray? Heh, just kidding.)
Anyway, now that Apple also wants to corner the movie rental business with iTunes, expect movie downloads to become even more mainstream. (Now, if only Apple could make the iTunes store available in the Philippines and the rest of Asia…)
Check out this Reuters video report on Apple’s movie rental service.
I’m a big believer in watching video online (obviously, since I handle our online video service) and an avid fan of services like Joost. Just imagine how far we’ve come — a few years ago, broadcast-quality online video was a pipe dream.
Oh, and speaking of Apple, for the record, I’m drooling over the MacBook Air, the world’s thinnest notebook. Yes, I love Mikaela my (well, until the office changes its mind, heh) MacBook Pro, but damn, just look at the MacBook Air!
January 18th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Once you go hi def you never go back. The deficiencies of standard become all more apparent on the bigger is better TVs that are becoming more and more the standard.
Hi Def TV signals will become the standard and consumers aren’t going to accept a big budget movie look worse than a 30 min network sitcom.
You got to love some of these HD-DVD fanboys now that they’ve lost - “it really didn’t matter in the first place, I’ll save my money for the next big thing” - blah, blah!
January 18th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Some folks might go for post-dated promises but I don’t.
HD DVD is selling very very well on Amazon after the price-drops (the HD A3 is in the top 10 best selling electrical items Amazon stock, period!).
Looks like the consumer is voting with their feet and thumbing their noses at the studios trying to rig this.
Good for them.
Right now with movie disc sales so tiny the ratio or percentage leads matter little.
HD DVD needs to do what Blu-ray did with the PS3; get millions of potential owners out there to attract later with BOGOs & deals.
My bet is that if HD DVD continue to sell hardware strongly Warner will quietly forget about changing a thing (the rumour is that no contracts were signed to try & avoid an anti-trust action - that could come back & bite Sony hard, $500 mil wasted.)
HD DVD is the full spec well priced deal.
Blu-ray is a mess of profiles and expense.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:47 am
ridiculous format war where the only winners are the manufacturers! do we really need 50gigs for movies? overkill! what do you need those extra space for? the original version, directors cut, commentaries of directors and actors, trailers etc.? totally ridiculous!
January 18th, 2008 at 9:40 am
I agree with you David 100%. That’s exactly my thinking. HD DVD is a lot cheaper, the HDi content is cool, the Dual Combo Format is very useful and makes my purchase a better deal, plus HD DVD currently has better movies in my opinion. And HD DVD with no region locking was a smart move.
I don’t want movie downloads to take over the media format. I prefer physical media much better. I mean, what if I want to bring my movie over to a friend’s place, haul my box over? And what about download times? I just think right now, it’s a cool new idea and can be convenient, but it’s not the right time.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:31 am
I totally agree with VinceP. and add to that
lossless audio another big plus over standard
DVD.