PS3 reviews... looking forward to some hands-on comments... (1 Viewer)

[BrianShort]

Anyone know how I can copy the HD trailers from Apple.com to the PS3? I've tried converting to MPEG-4 and copying over via a jump-drive, but it doesn't seem to recognize that format.

 

[RobertSiegel]

My opinion is that, perhaps it's somewhat even now, but soon we will start seeing a big difference in the titles available. Universal's library is coming out on HD DVD so fast, how long can they go before they run out of "exclusive" hd-dvd titles? On the other hand, you already have Warner and Paramount releasing in blu-ray, and when Fox, Disney, Columbia and MGM (not to mention Lionsgate) start releasing their huge titles (especially Disney), I think the format war is over. You are talking about tens of thousands of movies and tv series and musical programs that will NOT appear on HD DVD. I agree with David, it is definately the smarter way to go. A player at a cheaper price (hd-dvd) does no good when you can't buy the titles of 4 of the major studios.

 

[Ryan-G]

Depends on how you look at it.

I spent just $200 for my add-on HD-DVD Player, and I'm purchasing only new titles so far(With the exception of Serenity). If I purchased them on DVD, and BR wins, they'd still be dead copies to me as I'd end up repurchasing them down the road anyways. So, for me, it's really no major loss after the first $200 down. No matter what the titles I'm buying would be replaced.

 

[Cees Alons]

Yes, that would be bad.
Indeed, as I said before, those studios wanting to be exclusive on BD is the worst thing of it all.
Consumers cannot choose totally freely and the market mechanism is partly muted.

If you look at the price point Fox and Disney are setting for their BD-releases, we may still be very happy the format war exists, because, apparently counting on their exclusiveness, they simply make their releases more expensive and I wonder what the price would have been had there been no competition at all!

However, I wouldn't be surprised if some of it may change in the near future. There are indications that in my part of the world, Europe, regulators are looking into this one-format-exclusiveness and possibly will forbid it.

Also, in practice, Disney may have many blockbusters, but it's really Warner who owns the big chunk of A-movies (and B-movies too, I guess). The vaults of all BD-exclusively supporting studios contain less A-movies together than those of Warner and Paramount together.
That's a hopeful prospect.


Cees

 

[MarekM]

Well Cees, if somebody want to have exclusivity with reason that HIS format (Blu-ray or HD DVD) will win, I don't see it as THE WORST THING......

The price point will change for sure,... and I agree that without competition or exclusivity they could price even higher...

About those regulators.... well Cees, I don't see a SMALL CHANCE that anybody can FORBID SOMETHING on FREE MARKET !!!!

how can somebody FORCE studio if they are producing only blu-ray movies disks to make a hd dvd movie disks, CAN YOU FORCE somebody doing only DVD-AUDIO to make also SACD ??

Marek

 

[Cees Alons]

Marek,

If they can force Microsoft, they can force a studio. They will just hand out big penalties (in money) if they won't comply. It's all about monopolies.
Of course, Warner and Paramount are safe form this as it stands now.


Cees

 

[Edwin-S]

So studio exclusivity on BD is a bad thing, but UNIVERSAL's exclusivity on HD DVD is perfectly all right? At least that is what it looks like you are saying. Either exclusivity is bad or it isn't. People can't have it both ways. Furthermore, it looks like many BD exclusive titles are going to be available on HD DVD in Europe. The same doesn't appear to be the case for UNIVERSAL's HD DVD releases over there. Maybe European governments should step in and force UNIVERSAL to release on BD in order to maintain a fair marketplace.

 

[MarekM]

Cees,

I think you can't compare orange to apples...........

It's quite different situation to compare Microsoft's problem, with Fox,Disney or Sony's ....

to force those studios make also HD DVDs, is like to force Microsoft to put WINDOWS XP to for example Apple or SGI

Marek

 

[Cees Alons]

No of course not! How on earth could you read that in my post?

I explicitly replied to Robert's fear that "tens of thousands of movies and tv series and musical programs that will NOT appear on HD DVD". If I'd replied to someone saying titles would not appear on BD, it would have been pointed to Universal more clearly in your eyes, I suppose.

And I even singled out Warner and Paramount later, in the same post.

(The part about the prices of Disney and Fox was directed at those studios indeed of course!)


Cees

 

[Edwin-S]

I read it like that because you stated "those studios wanting to be exclusive on BD is the worst thing of it all. There was nary a mention of UNIVERSAL's policy of exclusivity on HD DVD. Mentioning one sides policy as bad while ignoring the other sides identical policy leads one to believe that a person may be "pulling" for the success of a particular format. IF BD only studios gave up exclusivity while UNIVERSAL did not then HD DVD gains a decided advantage in the marketplace.

In your case, it is somewhat moot because many BD exclusive titles are going to be available on HD DVD. Owners of early gen HD DVD players will be able to access those films through importation. The same cannot be said for BD owners who want to purchase UNIVERSAL titles so the question has to be asked. Whose exclusivity policy is really the worst? I would say that it is UNIVERSAL because many BD titles are not going to be exclusive since those titles will be available to HD DVD owners through importation.

I agree that exclusivity is bad in regards to pricing, as you pointed out with your examples of FOX and DISNEY. Those two studios do appear to be trying to capitalize on their BD exclusivity by charging ridiculous prices. However, I feel that is bad judgement on their part. After all, there is still a format war going on. Potential customers will just gravitate to the competing format if prices are set too high. I'm concerned that this is going to be exactly what occurs if DISNEY and FOX management don't get a dose of reality. In a one format world a studio can get away with high prices for a limited period, but I don't think the same can be said for a two format world.

Anyway, I personally think that exclusivity to a format has more to do with copy protection than anything else. I think a lot of studios don't want to release on HD DVD because their perception is that HD DVD has weaker copy protection than BD.

Personally, I think that all of these studios should release on both formats. If people are happy with a lower capacity and lower bit throughput format then HD DVD will win. Conversely, by removing exclusivity from the BD camp we would then see if that camp was actually serious about wiping out HD DVD, because it would force them to actually compete with competitively priced products rather than relying on some artificial distortion of the marketplace.

 

[Cees Alons]

And here we can fully agree!


Cees

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Pardon me for being obtuse, but I don't really see what the complaint here is (or what a discussion of software exclusivity is doing in the PS3 review thread in the Hardware area, but that's another story).

As a disc producer (hypothetically), if my financial analyst tells me that the market will only support one High Definition disc format, the sensible thing to do is to choose one and stick to it, and try to make sure that it's the one that survives. (Actually, the sensible thing would have been to make sure that there was only one in the first place, but that point is past now.) If I have money invested in one of the two, it only makes sense to support that one.

Talk of "forcing" companies to support both formats makes no sense to me. Should MCA-Universal have been "forced" to release its movies on RCA's CED videodiscs, as well as the LaserDiscs developed in MCA's labs? Should RCA-Columbia have been "forced" to release on LD? In the event, consumers chose between the two systems, partly based on the title availability, and RCA's bad business condition did the rest. CED died, and virtually the whole catalogue came to LD in fairly short order. Why is "title selection" not a legitimate point of difference for the consumer to use when choosing between two formats?

Start punishing studios for exclusivity, and what's next? Should Pioneer, Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung be punished because only Toshiba makes HD-DVD players? After all, you don't have nearly as much choice of manufacturers and models for HD-DVD as for Blu-Ray, and isn't that the fault of all the companies that don't make HD-DVD players, instead of the one company which does (and the one studio which releases only HD-DVDs)?

 

[Lew Crippen]

In the end, it is what the EC decides to consider monopolistic practices. If only releasing on one platform is considered to be restraint of trade, then indeed the EC could force studios to either produce disks on both platforms (or none at all).

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Hey Cees,

I thought you wanted us to stop debating the format war in this thread?



But since the discussion has continued with mod-approval allow me to chime in with my own synopsis.



Personally, as long as the one choice the consumer had was the better choice, then I have no problem with exclusivity. BD marries the best of the two original competing formats into one, so that's why I prefer it as the winning outcome. Early on HD DVD had greater physical-structure limitations (bandwidth and storage) and so advanced audio and video compression codecs were conceived as a way to maximize the bit-space more efficiently. BD, on the other hand, had 1.5 time sthe bandwidth of HD DVD and the potenial for 20 additional gigs of space. But the BD format was MPEG2-only and only had provision for flat LPCM for lossless high-res audio, which more or less leveled any other-wise advantage of the added space/bandwidth of Blu-ray.

But Sony wanted WB's support bad. Very bad. WB made it clear that they weren't going to support a format that didn't incorporate modern compression advances even if it possessed a superior physical-structure with more data space and thru-put.

So then Sony bent to the demands of Warner in order to win their favor to co-support BD. They took the advantages of HD DVD... the advanced codecs... and incorporated them too so that any studio could use them (BTW, HD DVD supports MPEG2 as well). However, HD DVD didn't adapt in-kind because it's limitations were physical, and sadly the 45 gig 3-layer prototype was never put forth and ratified by the DVD group for approval for HD DVD.

So the result of the competing two formats was that BD became the "unified" format incorporating the best advantages of each format into one. For a time it was hoped that Sony and Toshiba could reach a political/financial agreement to officiate this integration but Toshiba wouldn't accept any physical disc structure other than their own more limited-platform to save on short-term replication costs and maintain sole royalty ownership.

The best solution for the consumer, in my opinion, is the unified format that incorporates the advantages of both camps. That would be much preferred than having a "choice" between two competing formats. The format-war has had additional benefits in pushing Sony in particular to "get it" about how demanding the HT enthusiast community is regarding pristine picture and sound presentation in terms of their HD transfers and BD title presentations. But over the next few months, now that other studios have committed to making BD a success and to mastering it properly (Fox, Disney, WB) the benefits of the "format war" will begin to wane and the best thing for the consumer will be for the war to end quickly so that the industry won't give up on HD media all together given the typically slow adoption rate consumers show when format-wars are looming overhead. Exclusivity by more studios in favor of one format over another is a good way to help expidite the format war to a quicker end, so IMO it can actually be a good thing.

All my opinion. Naturally.

 

[Cees Alons]

Again: no we didn't continue that discussion, so this repetition of yours about your ideas of the "better choice" is indeed out of line.


Cees

 

[DaViD Boulet]

The nuances of the differences in debating about the merits of exlusivity by you and others versus the way I've expressed my own thoughts on that very topic seem to be lost on me.

Signing off.

 

[BrettB]

My head hurts.

I'll be glad when this shit is over.

 

[Dave Mack]

Well, I took the plunge.....


I signed up for the amazon raffle type offer for the 20gb PS3 and tonite I logged on and I was eligible!

".. Congratulations! You got the deal!

You have been assigned one of a limited number of claim codes that entitles you to purchase this item. Your claim code has also been emailed to you for your reference. The next steps are adding the item to your cart and checking out.

Read the following carefully:

Step 1 Remember that you only have until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time today (Tuesday, December 19) to check out.
Step 2 Click the Add to Shopping Cart button below.
Note: You must add the item to your cart from this page; otherwise, you will not be able to place your order.
Step 3 Proceed to checkout. You will not need to enter your claim code; it has been automatically applied.
Note: When you proceed to checkout, do not use 1-Click™ ordering. If you do so, you will not be directed to your Place Order page as you check out, and you will be unable to place our order.
Step 4 Check out before this offer expires at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time today (Tuesday, December 19)...."


Supposedly the odds were 1 in twenty so I rationalized that if I beat the odds that was fate's way of telling me to go for it.
$499, no tax, paid $8.98 for two day shipping so my total is $508 shipped.
Not too shabby. Now, to break the news to the war council.... Mini-Mack is on the way so I have been watching my dough....
Will be interesting to see if it comes with the Freebie talladega. No big loss if not.

Anyone else who signed up, go to amazon and check to see if you're eligible!

dave

 

[Cees Alons]

Congrats, waiting for your comments ... but I'm not going to repeat my remarks in reply to this same message you posted in the other thread!

Understand your joy..


Cees

 

[Dave Mack]

sorry for the double, Cees! I will have it thursday!
I figure for the price I can't go wrong.