HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray, and other matters....

Posted this on one of the CNET format-war forums and thought I may as well post it here too.
Feel free to disagree.....

HD-DVD is simply the better format because...
1. Most Blu-Ray releases only feature DVD-quality Dolby Digital, whereas Dolby Digital Plus and TrueHD are the norm on HD-DVD.
2. Too many Blu-Ray titles released with inferior out-dated MPEG2 compression, even to this day. Sure this isn't a big deal when the source material isn't up to scratch, but when it is, VC-1 will simply give you less compression at the same bit-rate. No debate.
3. Blu-Ray is Region-coded... HD-DVD isn't.
4. Blu-Ray is too damn expensive for non die-hards. HD-DVD is much more accessible, with players around half the price, and the X-Box drive at US$200.
5. HD-DVD has a better name!! It's DVD...but HD, get it? Blu-Ray needs explaining. (and what's with Blu-Ray's marketing...."Beyond High Definition"???)
6. It seems HD-DVD is the first to make a triple layer disc ࿓ Gigabytes). Blu-Ray is yet to get there. So Blu-Ray's capacity advantage has been squandered.
7. HD-DVD is more often superior in the extras department. Eg Mission Impossible III.
8. Once again.... HD-DVD is cheaper!! When you consider that Blu-Ray isn't superior in ONE SINGLE ASPECT, it seems ridiculous that you should be paying more for it !

When the war started, I was totally impartial - I was just happy to see HD coming to the masses. In time, I've really turned against Blu-Ray.
Having said all this, I actually think BOTH fomats will survive and coexist, a little like what's happened with DVD-A and SACD. The Warner hybrid discs, support from Windows Vista / Mac OSX Leopard, and dual-format players like the one LG has announced, will help ensure this.

So why do people keep comparing this war to the VHS/Beta battle ?? That was in the eighties, in a climate where only one could survive. It's a different planet now - far more complex, with a lot more to keep both formats alive. It'd much more realistic to compare it to SACD vs DVD-A, or DVD-R vs DVD+R, all of which are still around.

Immediate sales results will still depend on release of "killer aps". A-List titles like Lord of the Rings, Matrix, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Bond, etc will have a HUGE impact on sales of either format. So this is what we need to see more of !

One last thing to get off my chest - 1080p is NOT better than 1080i if it's 60p ࿜ frames a second). I challenge anyone to compare the two and conclude otherwise. What IS better is 1080p at 24 frames a second. 1080p24 will give you cleaner motion, as it runs at the same frame-rate as the original film. Simple as that.

Cheers.

E_H,

This is everything that HD-DVD folks have been saying all along neatly wrapped up in one package. You are quite right regarding your comments "killer releases." I find some of the comments on other forums amusing in regard to some very faulty and invalid anaylsis of trend lines on sites such as the DvdWars. One blip toward the blue and some of the fanboys [I really HATE that word] go ballistic, usually immmediatly declaring victory over HD-DVD. It's really getting very tedious. I agree that both formats will probably continue to co-exist for a long time and over that time, trend lines will rise and fall according to what software is being offered at the moment. When Disney releases their BD material in a few months the blue line will go off the chart when the Star Trek stuff comes out later on, the HD line will spike. And then, of course, there is Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings...

Thats another thing, how can people justify paying more money for bluray when a movie is released on the same day in both formats. If the same movie is released on the same day wouldn't it make common sense to get the cheaper one especially since it has better picture quality, the HD sound formats you mentioned like Dolby TrueHD, more extras and better interactive features?

I don't get this whole format war, it shouldn't even exist but now we're at a point where a lot of consumers have invested into either HD DVD or bluray by purchasing a player and movies so theres no looking back now. I also agree that both formats are going to be around for a while. I doubt very much there will be a clear winner in the near future if at all. Both formats may co-exist until the next best thing comes out.

I'm getting to a point where a don't care if theres no winner. As long as HD DVD is around I'm a happy man and I will keep supporting HD DVD.

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[Post edited by Falcon01 on Feb 10, 2007 - CST 11:15 AM]

Quote:
"1080p is NOT better than 1080i if it's 60p &#4060 frames a second). I challenge anyone to compare the two and conclude otherwise. What IS better is 1080p at 24 frames a second. 1080p24 will give you cleaner motion, as it runs at the same frame-rate as the original film. Simple as that."

1080p/60 has twice as many frames as 1080i/60, if the original is 60 frames then 1080p/60 will look better and have smoother pans. 1080p/24 is great unless your TV only does 60, if that is the case then your TV will do a 3/2 pull down and slow moving pans will have a jurky motion to them. If your TV can multisync to 72 or 96 frames then you will get a 3/3 or 4/4 pull down and everything will look better.

Falcon, if there's a tie (both formats survive via dual format players), then HD DVD would probably get the lion's share of replications, for obvious reasons. Actually it might be a good thing, because letting the studios make the decision behind the scenes would show which format is ultimately preferred by them as a whole

Bruce

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[Post edited by BruceAmes on Feb 10, 2007 - CST 3:09 PM]

Bruce, this is my feeling as well. Plus the better and easier to write for interactive capabiliites built into EVERY HD DVD player (Son't is trying to match them, but the capabilities will most likely only work on new machines and the PS3 - and whatever they build will be based on Java which is just so much more of an inferior standard to use for a network transparent protocol, the iHD standrad used by HD DVD is designed to operate efficiently over the web enabling all kinds of interactive capabilities and is better suited to be incorporated into future downloadable media).

Level the playing field and the studios will choose what brings the most value to the consumer. If in the end that turns out to be either format, it is still good since it is being chosen for the right reason.

Whatever happens, I just don't want Blu-ray to win exclusively and give Sony all that control (BD licensing, player control via PS3 and standalones, content control via Sony Pictures and censorship control as already shown with porn) And the consumer will pay for that, too (not to mention BD's higher cost as a format and the [inevitable costs of] incompatability with the DVD format) That's why I will never touch a Blu-ray movie until either a tie or an HD DVD win is in the bag (well, if HD DVD wins, I'll never need touch a Blu-ray movie. :-))

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[Post edited by BruceAmes on Feb 10, 2007 - CST 4:17 PM]

I know I've said I won't engage in debates about HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray, because it's as sensitive a topic as abortion and gun control, and you're not really going to change anyone's mind. Plus, I don't WANT to change anyone's mind. Only speak my own. But I do have a question. Why is it that everyone talks exclusively about HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray and 1080i vs. 1080p (or 720p, for that matter), and no one brings the quality of monitor into the discussion? The picture varies significantly according to the type of television or computer screen you're viewing the film on. What type of monitors do you fellows have, and how happy are you with the resolution you've been getting? And do you have both players, so that you've been watching both Blu-ray and HD-DVD? That's another reason I haven't been vocal on the boards. I only have Blu-ray, not HD-DVD, so I can only compare to standard discs. I've watched sample HD-DVDs at the local Circuit City, but that's it. What about you guys? Tell me about the comparison. I'm really interested.

I agree that both formats will probably survive, and that VHS vs. Beta is probably an unfair comparison. A better one is Macs vs. PCs. And you know what? That competition turned out to be good for consumers of BOTH products. I'm hoping that the competition between HD-DVD and Blu-ray will lead to some great drops in price and even greater innovation. We're already seeing it in the combo players and combo discs.

As an HD-DVD supporter, what's worrying to me is the continued larger studio support (for USA released titles) of Blu-ray. More new releases are being advertised as "available Tuesday on DVD and Blu-ray".... (only Universal can advertise as "available Tuesday on DVD and HD-DVD").

The larger studio support means more awareness of a slow-growing gap between the number of each format's past top catalog releases [Blu-ray now slowly leading over HD-DVD], along with the occasional new releases (where Blu-ray is clearly more dominant here in '07). Of course, Blu-ray isn't helping itself by releasing catalog titles with barely any of the Special Edition extras that are available on the same in standard DVD (or even HD-DVD).

But with NEW releases, Blu-ray has some heavyweights coming up... the CASINO ROYALE Bond film in March, the Disney "triple play" in May/June of Pixar's CARS, and both PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN movies. And Sony might go for a "home run" this summer, as around the release of the upcoming SPIDERMAN 3 they could bring both of the first two Spiderman movies out on Blu-ray. These were major hits, and for myself, I'm happy with owning both in Superbit DVD editions ($10 each last summer at Best Buy).

And on and on. I'm encouraged that Universal is supporting HD-DVD with many upcoming releases, and that Warner announced last year an '07 release of the classic BLADE RUNNER (WoW! that film will just look stunning on HD-DVD for sure!). And Paramount, Weinstein, and more music discs will be released in HD-DVD (but also Blu-ray). Let's hope the HD-DVD players continue their sales growth worldwide. I'm not worried yet...

-Love Hendrix!

Hendrix have you seen Blade Runner on DVD? The picture quality was BRUTAL and the sound wasn't even really in digital. My Yamaha receiver didn't know what to do with the sound. On the case I believe it says Dolby Digital but it didn't say 5.1 or anything like. I could be wrong though.

Anyway Blade Runner is one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. If it came out on HD DVD that would be fantastic BUT it needs some serious remastering first.