Study: Consumers Prefer HD DVD Over Blu-Ray - Page 2

BrianB · 12-11-2006, 04:13 PM

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Of course, according to the same arguement that's being used for PS2, one could then state that the X-box is still a viable platform. It's got exactly 1 game coming.

Unfortunately, that's not the case at all. The Xbox is dead at retail. Retailers aren't interested. Consumers aren't interested. The PS2 is far from being dead at retail, and will continue to sell well for at least a year - it's not even down to $100 yet. I know developers working on titles for this time next year, with more titles (all be it cheap to develop titles) coming in 2008. Is it going to be the platform for premium new games? Of course not. But to say it's dead is wrong.

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For 20 years, a succeeding console means the preceding console is dead. Development shifts to the succeeding console. Even the original Playstation proved this to be true.

And the major publishers have said this was a mistake - that there was still life & sales to be had with the PSOne after the PS2 was launched and support was dropped too soon. PS1 titles were still being released in the US up until last year by the way.

Brian-W · 12-11-2006, 04:22 PM

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Originally Posted by Ryan-G

I'm looking through that "coming soon" list and I'm not finding a single title that would fall into the AAA list. The vast majority of that coming soon list is filler material and licensced spin off's from other media.

AAA is a subjective opinion - what you derive as filler or licensed spin offs don't equate to a non-AAA title.

But, "coming soon" lists are far from definitive, many publishers/etc. don't announce their titles too early.

ppltd · 12-11-2006, 04:41 PM

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Originally Posted by Ryan-G

Of course, according to the same arguement that's being used for PS2, one could then state that the X-box is still a viable platform. It's got exactly 1 game coming.

Not the same by any stretch of the imagination. MS did not have the installed base for the Xbox that the PS2 has and it more than a year after the release of the 360. For the last year since the release of the Xbox 360, the Xbox maintained a very strong new release schedule, and has only recently seen a decline.

As no one is stating that support for the PS2 will continue forever, it will probably follow the similar path of the Xbox, only it will take a lot longer to fade away. I seriously doubt that Sony will stop production on the PS2 any time soon.

Jeff Adkins · 12-11-2006, 05:29 PM

As someone who doesn't own either format yet, I really don't care that much who wins. Although, if given a choice, I don't know why anyone wouldn't want BD to win just due to the extra disc capacity. All these arguments about higher replication costs and the higher price of the players is a bunch of hogwash to me. Whichever format wins, the players will be down to $200 within 2 years or so and disc replication will be close to the cost of standard DVD. So while BD is more expensive at the moment, this trend won't last if it becomes the adopted standard.

So with costs being equal in a few years, I don't see why anyone would want HD-DVD to prevail. We're less than a year into this and we're already seeing bandwidth constraints. Personally, I would think the 50GB disc would work out better in the long run. But that's just my two cents. I'll be waiting until something further gets decided here.

ppltd · 12-11-2006, 07:47 PM

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Originally Posted by Jeff Adkins

As someone who doesn't own either format yet, I really don't care that much who wins. Although, if given a choice, I don't know why anyone wouldn't want BD to win just due to the extra disc capacity. All these arguments about higher replication costs and the higher price of the players is a bunch of hogwash to me. Whichever format wins, the players will be down to $200 within 2 years or so and disc replication will be close to the cost of standard DVD. So while BD is more expensive at the moment, this trend won't last if it becomes the adopted standard.

So with costs being equal in a few years, I don't see why anyone would want HD-DVD to prevail. We're less than a year into this and we're already seeing bandwidth constraints. Personally, I would think the 50GB disc would work out better in the long run. But that's just my two cents. I'll be waiting until something further gets decided here.

Jeff, as someone who own's both formats, I also do not care who prevails in this war. But I have some issues with some of your conclusions. 1, we have not seen bandwidth issues with HD-DVD, nor limitations in capacity of the disk. Both issues are based on a very minority of releases that are conjecture, not fact.

Currently, the only cost effective player on the market is the Toshiba, although the Samsung is coming down in price pretty quickly. And these formats do not have another two years to get out 200 players. Both formats will be long dead by then if there aren't drastic reductions in price soon.

If this means HD-DVD wins, and we give up a few options BD may have brought us down the line, so be it. I would rather have a very good player that delivers exceptional quality PQ and AQ now, than risk the formats waiting for futures.

I will continue to support both formats (minus Sony product, which has a long way to go to prove itself to me), as long as these content providers produce a quality release I feel is worth purchasing, and continue to upgrade my hardware as it becomes available without the fear of one of the formats going by the wayside. I currently have a Tosh XA2 on order to replace my XA1, and will probably replace my Samsung with a Pioneer.

But it is understandable why people want one side to win over the other, as many of us have financial investments in these products. I just don't buy into the bandwidth and disk capacity arguments. While they could add some added benefit to the content, when these formats actually become mainstream, they will not be deciding factors for most consumers, and for those consumers that care, price will be a minor issue.

Currently, it seems in the hardware area only Toshiba has seen the light. With their new models they will now have both a low end (A2) unit available, with limitations normally found on consumer products, and a high end entry (XA2) with all the bells and whistles for the Videophiles to buy. When Pioneer releases a consumer grade BD player, I will now that both formats are being taken seriously by the manufacturers.

In the meantime, I will enjoy both formats as long as they continue to produce quality content.

Cees Alons · 12-11-2006, 08:45 PM

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I don't know why anyone wouldn't want BD to win just due to the extra disc capacity.

Well, there's the more aggressive (to say it kindly) copy protection schemes you get "for free" with BD. And, currently, the price. And the suspicious fact that many studios who are backing BD don't want to release on HD DVD (yet).

I'm not weighing the advantages against the disadvantages here, just pointing out that there are disadvantages as well.

Cees

MarekM · 12-12-2006, 05:42 AM

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Originally Posted by Cees Alons

Well, there's the more aggressive (to say it kindly) copy protection schemes you get "for free" with BD. And, currently, the price. And the suspicious fact that many studios who are backing BD don't want to release on HD DVD (yet).

I'm not weighing the advantages against the disadvantages here, just pointing out that there are disadvantages as well.

Cees

- more space
- stronger copy protection
- higher bitrate
- NEWER technology....
- you can play 2 lossless tracks

- more studios backing BD
- etc...

I am sure there will be some PRO and some CON answares

Marek

Marko Berg · 12-12-2006, 07:35 AM

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you can play 2 lossless tracks

Get back to me when the first such disc is released. In other words, theoretical capabilities mean nothing if there is no or little support for a feature. Isolated audio tracks and multi-angle are seldom used on standard definition DVD, and I predict there will be even less support for multiple lossless tracks on HD formats, for a good reason.

Jeff Adkins · 12-12-2006, 04:51 PM

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But I have some issues with some of your conclusions. 1, we have not seen bandwidth issues with HD-DVD, nor limitations in capacity of the disk. Both issues are based on a very minority of releases that are conjecture, not fact.

I just remember reading something about they didn't have enough room to include the lossless track on King Kong due to space limitations. Whether or not the lossless track is necessary is a whole different debate, but the fact that there isn't room for it does disturb me a bit.

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Currently, the only cost effective player on the market is the Toshiba, although the Samsung is coming down in price pretty quickly. And these formats do not have another two years to get out 200 players.

My whole point about the cost is, that if BD were the prevailing format, players would be cheap in 2 years and the cost advantage of HD-DVD will be moot. I just think to sacrifice disc capacity for the sake of a temporary price advantage on the hardware is bad in the long run. CD players were $1000 when they first hit the market and just as with almost all electronics, the prices have come down 20-fold. If there's any reason to fight against BD, the cost of the hardware isn't one of them.

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Well, there's the more aggressive (to say it kindly) copy protection schemes you get "for free" with BD.

I've seen mention of this but I'm not familiar with the specifics. You do make a great point. That is definitely one advantage to HD-DVD.

Having said all that, either format has the capability to produce beautiful images and awesome sound. I will be happy either way, I'm sure. I guess all other things being equal, I'd prefer the extra capacity.

ppltd · 12-12-2006, 07:41 PM

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Originally Posted by Jeff Adkins

I just remember reading something about they didn't have enough room to include the lossless track on King Kong due to space limitations. Whether or not the lossless track is necessary is a whole different debate, but the fact that there isn't room for it does disturb me a bit.

Probably in a post in a forum. Univeral, for what ever their reasoning, only releases with Dolby Digital +. Even disks that there would not even be discussions on space have been void of an HD audio track. If, as a studio, they felt it was important, and there really was a lack of space, they could have released a two disk set. With the costs of pressing a disk somewhere in the pennys, there would have been little financial impact to them.
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