If your format of choice loses, how upset will you be (1 Viewer)

[JohnPhi]

I have chosen to sit out the war due to the knowledge that investing in one could mean a waste of money. I am wondering what some of you will do if your format of choice loses? How upset will you be? Will you jump on board the other without question?

 

[Greg.K]

If Blu-ray died I'd still have a PS3 that will play games.

I'd get an HD-DVD player eventually, maybe sooner than eventually if Universal continues to hold out.

 

[Rob Young]

I don't see how anyone can say that if the format they buy "loses" it would be a waste of money. You will have a player that plays whatever movies released in that format.

I am format neutral but started out as hd-dvd only and only became neutral because I was given a PS3 as a gift. I have over 70 HD-DVDs and if HD dvd died tomorrow I wouldn't think I wasted my money or whatever. I'd still have a great upconveritng player and 70 discs I could watch as well as access to the other 100 or so that can be ordered.

I also don't think 500 bucks for the player is a big expense but I realize it may be for others.

 

[Alon Goldberg]

I don't think either format will lose, they will eventually co-exist just as DVD-Audio and SACD co-exist, just as MP3 and WMA co-exist, etc.

It's just a matter of time before combo players come down in price. Personally I'm waiting out the format war, but I'd still happily recommend either the HD-A2 or PS3 to my friends.

 

[Britton]

I won't be too upset. I bought a HD DVD player just to enjoy HD titles noq at what I felt was a reasonable price. HD DVD's strong start forced BR to step up their game, so even if it dies, it will have done some good.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I figure I'll be buying a BD player in order to get Casino Royale and the Spider-Movies within a few months, so I imagine by the time one format wins and one loses (if such a time arrives), I could be a happily assimilated dual-format guy, as opposed to an HD-DVD owner who bought a BD player out of weakness. But right now, I figure on being a little chagrined in BD finishes off HD-DVD: Put the higher capacity aside (because multi-disc sets aren't a terribly difficult sell), and it will have taken BD a year to get to where HD-DVD started, with $500 players, internet connectivity, and nifty interactive features on the disc. I'll probably also mildly resent any movies that Warner hasn't put out on HD-DVD because they couldn't release a BD version with BD-J features equivalent to the iHD ones on HD-DVD yet.

I also take a little issue with "the knowledge that investing in one could mean a waste of money." Even if 2007 were to be the last year that HD-DVD (or BD) movies are produced, it's not like my player is likely to stop working soon after, and the value I've gotten out of watching HD movies since August is certainly well above zero. Even if Toshiba/Universal/Weinstein throw in the towel, I'll have no regrets just based upon the value I've already gotten out of the $500 I spent last year.

 

[Wayne W]

I'd be broke from buying up all the clearance HD DVD titles I want. Other than that I'd be enjoying my 360 Add-on (Best $200 I've spent in recent years) with all the titles I own. I would get a BR player when the price was right and continue to enjoy the world of HD movies!

 

[JohnPhi]

Well what i meant by waste of money is this, eventually whatever device you have to play HD DVD or blu ray will die, therefore, you will have to replace those disks on the other format. Granted that could be along time for some or never. Hell I still have a dvd player from 1999 that still works.

 

[ppltd]

Every format dies sooner or later. As far as these players go, I will enjoy them until I can not any longer, and move on to the next new technology.

As far as a quick end to either BD or HD, I doubt it. There is way too much company investment on both sides of the house, and it looks like the raw disk sales numbers, based on Sony's last report, don't make much of an argument for either side to change their position.

 

[Austan]

If media sales dramatically shifts to one format, IMHO I do not think they can co-exist.

 

[Mike.B]

If HD DVD loses, then I'll be out of this generation. No Blu Ray for me - I refuse to support Sony in any way right now.

 

[Paul_Dunlop]

I just bought into HD DVD for a number of reasons

1. price point was right - Tosh HDA2 for $500 CDN shipped, all in
2. Upconversion of my existing SD DVD's (about 200)
3. I will be renting, not buying discs, so my exposure to one format is limited


I will be enjoying this format for as long as possible - if I need to get a Blu Ray player next year, for about $300, I will be OK with that

 

[Jim_K]

I don't think my format will lose but if it did and all studios supported the other then I'd just jump to the other.

Not the end of the world.

If they both die and HD downloads take over I'll find something else to do with my money.

 

[Brent T]

I got my HD-DVD player for $200 bucks and if HD loses I will only be upset if my HD-DVD player quits working. It will still play my current discs so I wont care.

If BD wins, it just means I gotta spend 5-600 for a new dvd player, while I wont be thrilled, such is life. I believe both products are good products so my feelings wont be hurt.

 

[Ryan-G]

I'm already writing off my HD-DVD player. I consider it a fair investment, it's interesting, but I've slowed way down on my movie purchases until this fool war gets settled. No catalog titles for me(Ok, Serenity, guilty pleasure).

No big thing, I bought it knowing it a was long shot.

 

[Yumbo]

Ask LD owners.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Not necessarily. At some point in the not too distant future, "managed copy" may be available. If you make a copy of your HD DVD, then whatever media center or hard drive it is stored on will be used to play the movie and the disc shouldn't even be needed (so it shouldn't matter if your standard disc player kicks it and they aren't making new ones).

Of course, the whole "managed copy" thing is still a bit of a grey area right now. We don't know for sure if one copy will be free with additional copies costing something, or will some studios charge while others don't, and what would the charge be ($1, $5, $10, more?), or if some studios will not allow it at all, etc... But the point is that there may be some options available to keep using the data you bought on the disc even after the original hardware (HD DVD player) isn't in the picture anymore.

There will probably be a better picture of what this option will provide once AACS is finalized and computers/media centers start becoming available that offer this feature. We know that all WB HD DVDs already have info on them for the managed copy to be done (it was found when someone was looking through the files on HD DVDs), so we know that this should be an option for at least all WB HD DVDs in the near future.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I'm format neutral in that I own an HDA2 and a PS3, but I am definitely rooting for HDDVD in the "war". If HDDVD dies out I still have one of the best upconverting players available at any price. I would never have indulged myself to the tune of $499 for an upconverting player that did not also play HDDVD so it's a real bonus for me.

 

[Chris S]

I'm neutral as well. If BluRay loses then I'll still have a PS3 gaming system which, being a gamer, isn't a bad thing. If HD-DVD loses then I'll still enjoy lots of titles in glorious HD while others wait for them to arrive on BluRay. Either way I don't see a downside.



Agree completely.

 

[Edwin-S]

Not very upset. I fully expect HD DVD to calf. So far, every format that I first bought into during a format war has been the loser. I do not expect the outcome to be any different for HD DVD.

Anyway, there is always the possibility that HD DVD could win. People buy on price, not specs. A lot of people think BD is going to be the winner because it has the majority of studio support. I do not think that is necessarily the case. When I bought my Betamax all the films were on Beta only. VHS showed up and started selling at a lower price point and before you knew it VHS releases had rapidly caught up to Beta. A few years later Beta as a video rental format was dead. As far as I'm concerned software always follows hardware. If HD DVD hits an affordable price point before BD and the masses start buying HD DVD players in droves then software is going to go where the majority of players are situated.

Still, if HD DVD loses then c'est la vie. By that time, prices on BD hardware and software will be that much lower and transitioning to that format will be much easier.