Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruined
Don't you find it kind of odd that you've invested in both players and will now be investing in movies from both sides, yet you want the war to end? If you *really* wanted it to end, I'd think you wouldn't invest at all or only invest in one side. Otherwise you send mixed messages to the camps who keep selling discs and players on both sides, and the camps know they can continue to sell to you no matter how much you protest. 
That being said, the war is not ending anytime soon. Very simply, Blu-Ray has Java instead of Microsoft's HDi in the specs and AVC instead of VC1 in the authoring tools, so Microsoft will do anything they can to ensure Blu-Ray is not the sole next-gen format. And, while Toshiba does benefit from PS3 sales since they own the plants that make the console's CPU, they benefit far more from the licensing of DVD and of course HD DVD; so Toshiba will likewise try to ensure DVD sticks around by preventing a Blu-Ray win and allowing DVD to live on through the HD DVD combo. Sony has bet the farm on Blu-Ray by putting it into PS3 so they will not go quietly either.
Blu-Ray keeps the Japanese CE manufacturers with higher priced players and endless spec revisions (requiring endless upgrades, of course; the $299 BD player you just bought is incompatible with the BD-Live extras that will be featured on Sony and LionsGate's upcoming BD titles coming out over the next few months) while keeping content providers happy with region coding, BD+, and ROM-Mark. HD DVD keeps the consumers happy with lower priced players, complete spec from the start (your $99 HD-A2 plays everything now and in the future), no region coding, and less DRM. Blu-Ray sells due to content exclusivity and marketing dollars, HD DVD sells due to lower prices and less playback restrictions.
I believe we have moved out of early adopter and into enthusiast stage, and I am seeing most either buying the cheapest thing possible or both formats. With dual formats proliferating today ever stronger than before, I see dual format players becoming the norm in the future. Therefore the battle of who "wins the war" will likely end up decided by the content providers, but not as they originally thought. As instead of the studios deciding for the consumer, the studios will now have to decide for themselves which format will make them the most profit (and here is the key part) with the new mindset that nearly everyone will have access to both formats due to dual format players. |
Yes I want the war to end, why? Because its stupid to have a format war going on. I consider myself an average/above average consumer due to my lingerings here at the 'File. Joe Blow customer that I walk by every time in Best Buy isn't going to jump into this war because there isn't enough information getting out to the general public. All they see are high priced dvds (18 for Big Lebowski in HD compared to 7.50 for SD DVD, which one would they pick?) and high priced players. Now if people did research they would educate themselves on these new technologies, will they? probably not.
I would really like to see these studios sick back down and hammer out a solution to this. They can't be making money on pumping out discs in BD/HD and not getting the return on Sd. yes the format is still young and they will lose money but are they really thinking down the road? Will the studios want to engage in another war in 10 years when the next generation of dvd is released? It has to be taxing on the studios and manufacturers to constantly pump up their selected formats instead of selling the disc itself.
I bought both players so that I could enjoy all my favorite movies in HD/BD because thats what I wanted as a consumer. You're right, if people staunchly opposed one side over another this would be over. But until someone either raises the white flag and surrenders or something within the format itself takes a big shit, this war will continue. So why not enjoy both sides of it.
Like I said above, even though my tv is only 720p, I cannot see any noticable difference in Superman Returns on BD & Transformers on HD, maybe if i looked really hard or know what to look for then maybe. But like I said, people who frequent these forums are not going to make such a difference that someone will go "ok, we give up, we'll adopt this format". Joe Blow consumer wont' make a difference either, not until someone starts selling the players for a reasonable price.
Having BD & HD discs at a reasonable price is one thing but it doesn't mean squat if you don't have a player to play them on. Thats why I liked Toshiba putting the A2 on sale for 100 bucks, it got their players into more peoples homes, in return they'll be more inclined to by HD discs right now over BD. Thats why I've waited this long, I waited for a decent player to get into a reasonable price range so that I can get all my fave movies on BD, I shouldnt have to suffer as a film watcher because these studios decided to have this war, in the end the consumer suffers.
Sorry for my ramblings but I have yet to let my opinions on this "war" be heard here at the forum so I'm glad I got it in the open.
I'm dual format because I choose to be and because I don't feel I should need to suffer not seeing my favorite movies in hi-def because the studios couldn't agree on which color laser to put into their players.