The Format War

[BatMatt]

it sure is

 

[RedIsNotBlue]

yes and it's cheaper to produce. Sorry you didn't dig Balboa, I was on the edge of my seat for that fight.

Well the final fight was fun to watch. But everything else was just too dull. It was how Rocky needed to end though.

 

[Avalanche]

That's one freaking packed boxset!!

I like The Matrix.

But not that much.

 

[BatMatt]

Picked up my 3d Blu-Ray movie today, Rocky Balboa. Probably my last BD for awhile as I am only buying my more favorite films on the new format right now.

 

[Zenien]

Blu-ray is now outselling HD DVD by 4.3:1 ratio

That's 2 straight weeks where Blu-ray has outsold HD DVD by 4:1 ratio.

 

[SpiderFan17]

Blu-ray is now outselling HD DVD by 4.3:1 ratio

That's 2 straight weeks where Blu-ray has outsold HD DVD by 4:1 ratio.

Excellent.

Now all they need to do is continue that for a few years and it'll actually MEAN something. Sorry Zen, I know you really want to micromanage and microanalyze this format war, but it's not happening. Blu-ray is not going to be the new standard within the year, and frankly I'd be suprised if it was next year. Simply because its a niche format. Blu-ray and HD-DVD combined have sold less discs in total than the number of dvd's that printed (random game choice) Crackdown. That's a niche. It doesn't matter if one week Blu-ray outsold HD-DVD by 12:1 or 50:1, unless the numbers mean something in REAL terms, you're hyped about something that a small percentage of people care about. Consider this: More people listen to an obscure jazz station on satellite radio (pick either service) than who own either format. Casino Royale and Rocky Balboa sold a bunch. Fantastic. How many million more dvd's were sold though? Oh jeez, Blu-ray is being outsold by CONVENTIONAL DVD by a high ratio too.

Just putting it in perspective for you. I'm a neutral supporter, and frankly its bugging the hell out of me how happy people are to post sales data and who is "winning". On that note, is there a general HD-DVD/Blu ray thread on this forum, or is it just this one filled with people posting everything blu-ray related, and a select few posting about anything hitting hd-dvd? Because, frankly, reading and contributing to this thread is getting quite pointless, when I can just stay over at avs or high def digest where things are a little bit more balanced and informative than every 3rd post being "Look blu-ray sold a bunch" without hard data to prove that blu-ray is anything more than what it is right now.

 

[L.A.]

Microsoft isn’t so anti-Sony that it wouldn’t offer up an Xbox 360 Blu-ray solution if the format beats out HD DVD.



Xbox UK boss Neil Thompson told BBC News, “Whatever format wins it is highly likely we will offer a solution.”

Microsoft enjoys downplaying the PlayStation 3’s Blu-ray movie playback ability, often saying that Sony is forcing consumers to adopt a pricey feature that they don’t necessarily want.

"The only debate is if you want to watch Blu-ray movies and pay the extra money for that feature. We prefer to offer the consumer choice,” he added.

 

[Avalanche]

Statistics are generally a useful method of analysis. Blu-Ray was behind HD-DVD. By quite some way. It caught up, and now it has taken over, and apparently is increasing its 'lead'.

Things may change, but for now, Blu-Ray is winning the next-gen war. It's that simple. Quite why you're lambasting Z for posting weekly sales figures I really don't know.

And Blu-Ray / HD-DVD will most likely become the new standard in a few years. It's taking a while to catch on, but HD is taking off, and so will the formats that follow it. Personally, I'm not ready to commit, but the time will come.

 

[imdaly]

Blu-ray is now outselling HD DVD by 4.3:1 ratio

That's 2 straight weeks where Blu-ray has outsold HD DVD by 4:1 ratio.

And all it took was 3 weeks of no new HD DVDs and "Casino Royale" on Blu-ray.

What's going to be interesting is starting NEXT week, when HD DVD ramps up it's release schedule again.

Oh, that and the fact that Toshiba has just announced that on April 1 (no it's not an April Fool's Joke), it will cut the prices of it's HD-A2, HD-A20, and HD-XA2 by $100, $100, and $200 respectively. That means:

HD-A2 = $399.99 (1080i)
HD-A20 = $499.99 (1080p)
HD-XA2 = $799.99 (1080p)

and they'll be even cheaper on Amazon, without a doubt!

 

[Zenien]

You're just lucky I didn't bother to post the Casino Royal numbers, news reports, Blu Ray players sales and such, man you'd be spinning till you puked then.

 

[RedIsNotBlue]

Just got my new 1080p HDTV delivered the other day and I love it. I need to get a sound system going because the tvs speakers just aint cuttin it. Now I just need for the prices to get a little more reasonable so I can get me a blu-ray player. I might just go ahead and get a PS3.

 

[imdaly]

Just as long as you don't try to make that ridiculous "100,000 copies of CR sold" claim.

 

[zanos]

And all it took was 3 weeks of no new HD DVDs and "Casino Royale" on Blu-ray.

What's going to be interesting is starting NEXT week, when HD DVD ramps up it's release schedule again.

Oh, that and the fact that Toshiba has just announced that on April 1 (no it's not an April Fool's Joke), it will cut the prices of it's HD-A2, HD-A20, and HD-XA2 by $100, $100, and $200 respectively. That means:

HD-A2 = $399.99 (1080i)
HD-A20 = $499.99 (1080p)
HD-XA2 = $799.99 (1080p)

and they'll be even cheaper on Amazon, without a doubt!

Still why would anyone pay that when they can simply go out and buy a ps3 with a blu ray player already installed for the same price?

 

[RedIsNotBlue]

Well PS3's don't upconvert standard dvds do they?

 

[BatMatt]

Well PS3's don't upconvert standard dvds do they?

no, but down the line they will

 

[RedIsNotBlue]

Hmmm through a downloadable upgrade or is it gonna cost even more money? Haha. I really need to get a player because watching digital cable on my hdtv isn't so great.

 

[BatMatt]

Hmmm through a downloadable upgrade or is it gonna cost even more money? Haha. I really need to get a player because watching digital cable on my hdtv isn't so great.

no, it shouldn't cost anything

 

[Zenien]

It'll probably just be a firmware update: free.

 

[Dark_Lord]

The Xbox 360 HD-DVD player has been released here in Greece but there are no movies yet.
But now that the PS3 has been released, many video stores also brought Casino Royale in BD for purchase and rent...

I was talking to my brother and he told me he was thinking about bying a PS3...I havent thought about it cause a) We have a 360 and b) PS3 goes for 660euros here...but if he's paying ...

I'm going to wait until the end of July (July 28th is my birthday) and I'll get a PS3 then (if my brother hasnt gotten one by that time).

Sorry for going off topic btw...I just wanted to point out that even though the 360 HD-DVD player's been released for a while here, there are no HD-DVD movies. But there are BD movies (only Casino Royale for now but still) and the PS3 has just been released.

Anyway...you think I should get one? and is there ANY chance it might be cheaper when I get it (August)?

 

[Havok83]

The Xbox 360 HD-DVD player has been released here in Greece but there are no movies yet.
But now that the PS3 has been released, many video stores also brought Casino Royale in BD for purchase and rent...

I was talking to my brother and he told me he was thinking about bying a PS3...I havent thought about it cause a) We have a 360 and b) PS3 goes for 660euros here...but if he's paying ...

I'm going to wait until the end of July (July 28th is my birthday) and I'll get a PS3 then (if my brother hasnt gotten one by that time).

Sorry for going off topic btw...I just wanted to point out that even though the 360 HD-DVD player's been released for a while here, there are no HD-DVD movies. But there are BD movies (only Casino Royale for now but still) and the PS3 has just been released.

Anyway...you think I should get one? and is there ANY chance it might be cheaper when I get it (August)?

theres a better shot of the PS3 being cheaper here in the US in August but thats not gonna happen. The price isnt going to go down for you after only about 5 months

 

[Avalanche]

Anyway...you think I should get one? and is there ANY chance it might be cheaper when I get it (August)?

The PS3 won't drop in price until Christmas at the earliest.

 

[Zenien]

HD DVD had its best week in months but was outsold 2:1 (80k vs 40k).

 

[imdaly]

WalMart to sell $199 HD-DVD player in Q4 2007?

April 20, 2007 - In breaking news today, it would appear that mega-retailer WalMart has contracted a Chinese manufacturer to produce millions of low-cost HD-DVD players. Though somewhat obfuscated by translation issues and the breaking nature of the news, the current internet consensus suggests that Taiwan based manufacturer Fuh Yuan, in cooperation with TDK, will produce the blue laser drives for 2-million HD-DVD players. Broadcom will reportedly supply the system-on-a-chip decoder, and China Great Wall will handle final assembly. The deal represents around US $100,000,000, and it is reported that a new manufacturing plant has already been opened to fulfill the order.

Speculation suggests the players will arrive at retail in late 2007 and will be priced between $199-299. At such cost, WalMart's HD-DVD drives will be far below the current low of $399 for Toshiba's HD-A20 player, and will look cheap compared to the lowest priced Blu-ray hardware on the market today ($599).

If the current details of the plan prove to be true, WalMart's support of HD-DVD will have a significant impact on the next-gen DVD format war. The American retailer operates on a high-volume, low-margin business plan of market saturation, which is exactly the approach required to drive one format or the other to preeminence.

Stay tuned for updates and confirmation as the story develops.

Source: Ign

Samsung says Duo HD BD-UP5000 dual-format Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo player on the way

Samsung's been seriously non-committal about whether or not they were going to come out with a dual-format HD-DVD / Blu-ray combo player for a while now (they first said they working on one back in September of '05, only to retract that a few months later), but no more: it's officially happening. They've just announced the Duo HD BD-UP5000, their first player to support both HD disc formats. LG beat 'em to the punch with the BH100, but Samsung is promising that the Duo HD BD-UP5000 will have full support for HD-DVD (including support for HDi), something LG hasn't been able to offer with its player. We're still waiting to hear details about pricing and all that, but they are promising that the combo player will be out "in time for the holidays."

Source: Engadget

100,000 HD DVD CE players sold in the U.S

Los Angeles (CA) – Toshiba today announced that more than 100,000 family-room HD DVD players have been sold within the first year of the technology’s launch.

That number puts HD DVD in the lead over the competing Blu-ray format, if only CE players are considered. Manufacturers of Blu-ray players have not released official sales figures so far, but is generally believed to be lagging HD DVD.

The North American HD DVD Promotional Group said that CE sales do not include sales of Microsoft’s HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360, which is considered to be the best selling HD DVD player currently on the market. A good reason for ignoring the Microsoft HD DVD drive sales figures may have been the fact that this scenario would have forced the group to include the overwhelming sales numbers of the PS3’s Blu-ray drive: According to Nexgenwars.com, Sony has sold about 2.8 million PS3s and Blu-ray drives so far.

The battle between the HD DVD and Blu-ray camps will be heating up throughout the year, as Toshiba has recently launched new entry-level HD DVD players and more and more HD content is making its way into the market. The HD DVD group expects more than 300 HD DVD titles to be available by this summer worldwide. Blu-ray is trailing this number, but can claim the best selling HD title: Casino Royale, which has been included in some PS3 shipments, has shipped more than 100,000 times in the Blu-ray version.

Source: TGDaily

 

[BatMatt]

Chinese Walmart HD DVD players? Yuck, I wouldn't trust it

 

[BatMatt]

News Briefs: Blu-ray Wins, Again
RETAIL -- Sales of Blu-ray HDTV DVDs again beat rival HD DVD in March giving the Sony-backed format a 69-31 percent sales lead in the first three months of 2007, says Nielsen Video Scan. Blu-ray backers say the widening lead is evidence of the format pulling away from its competition; HD DVD supporters say their format will rebound thanks to lower player prices and new title releases in time for the summer.