http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/ Engadget Comments for HDBeat Interview: Andy Parsons of the BDA & Pioneer's Senior VP http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/
Also... if the first Blu-Ray drive came out 3 years ago how come we don't have dual layer discs yet? Isn't 3 years a long time to make those discs work?

They underestimate the power that Microsoft has in this whole thing... if the HD-DVD add on for the 360 isn't too expensive I can easily see people opting to go that route instead of the PS3... there are a couple million people who already have a 360 and it isn't so bad to spend an extra 200 bucks today on the drive... it will be alot harder for people to justify spending the 600 bucks on the PS3 in one shot.

Oh yeah... and about the disney movies... they are ANIMATED cartoons... at least most of them are... they will not benefit the same way the newer action/cool special effects movies will... I would never repurchase a Disney movie on either format... Pixar maybe but not a disney movie... and the last time I checked Disney hasn't put out crap worth buying lately anyway.]]>Aug 8th 2006 11:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/Aug 8th 2006 11:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/Aug 8th 2006 11:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/Aug 8th 2006 11:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/Aug 8th 2006 12:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/
Do you work for a movie studio? Do you really want the extra protection of BD+? That is what the studios want... any format that can provide better protection for their property... that is why there are more studios in the Blu-Ray camp right now. That is the only "tech" that the studios care about with these new formats. If you can't see that then you are just ignorant... if they were concerned about real technology they would question Blu-Ray and the fact that they still don't have reliable dual layer discs... and the fact that they are using an ancient codec on these discs right now. You don't need more space for movies... there is plenty of space on an HD-DVD so why pay all the extra cost? WHY PAY THE EXTRA COST?

Oh and about the Disney movies not looking better... if you think people will run out and get an HD disc player to watch Bambi in HD your nuts... there are plenty of old movies that benefit from the higher resolution but you can make the solid black lines and solid fill colors of the disney animated movies as high-def as you want and they still are not going to look any better. HD discs are here so we can see the quality that the studios put into these movies... you just can't get that on standard DVD right now.

Don't be such a fanboy... wake up and realize what Blu-Ray is all about and why so many studios are on that side. They want there property protected... it has nothing to do with brining better content to the consumer... SO WHY PAY TWICE AS MUCH FOR THAT EXTRA PROTECTION FOR THE STUDIO.]]>Aug 8th 2006 1:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/Aug 8th 2006 1:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/
If this means excluding the cheap Chinese no-name knockoff manufacturers that sell DVD players for $25 at Wal*Mart, then so be it. Only certify hardware that can actually play H.264 content without choking up. That means banning the use of the current Broadcomm chip that is used in both the Samsung Blu-Ray player AND the Toshiba HD-DVD unit.

As it stands, neither platforms should have launched until Q4 of this year. For this, we can blame Toshiba for rushing the launch in its pathetic attempt to make HD-DVD a success.

So to the BDA, please take note. I do not wish to give a penny to Microsoft in royalties (as in VC-1) but I also do not want to spend my money on Blu-Ray titles encoded in the obsolete MPEG2 codec. Give me high bit-rate H.264 titles. And that right there is how you can defeat the HD-DVD platform. That and getting Sony to stop releasing their "also-ran" titles ("Ultra Violet") instead of releasing their big titles like "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2" that consumers actually want.]]>Aug 8th 2006 2:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/
I believe the albatross in this mess is Sony, one of the reasons I support HD DVD. They're pretty good at stirring up the hype machine to sell their products. When has Sony ever delivered on their promises?

I also will not stand for Sony's practice of strong-arming the industry to their format by holding their own movies hostage (Buy our format, otherwise you'll never get our movies! Mwahahaha!). If Microsoft is a big evil monopoly, then why isn't Sony considered one too?]]>Aug 8th 2006 2:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/
Toshiba's only hope of winning was to launch early and come in cheap which is what they have done. In hindsight, Blu-ray should have gone for more of a full featured release. They could have launched with a bang in Q4 with approximately ~60 titles, 4 to 5 players and 50GB disks. The buzz would have been huge, and they could have sent a message to the public that they aren't worried about HD-DVD . Now they have to play catch up with soiled pants. Consumer's don't like product delays, but it gives you extra time to market the product and create buzz. You can't really blame Samsung for trying to make a few bucks early, but for the good of the format they should have waited.]]>Aug 8th 2006 3:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/Aug 8th 2006 3:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/
I believe that I will remain on the sidelines. Standard DVD is good enough until all you bottomless pocket consumers get done flushing your cash. I have a huge investment in DVD content, another sizeable investment in VHS tapes, and now see another train headed this way.

I refused to pay for duplicate content before and I never will in the future. As soon as those studios wake up and realize when I make a copy, it never would have been a sale for them ever, maybe we can move forward. ]]>Aug 8th 2006 4:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/
While I do feel that Andy's comments brushed over a few important issues (like the problem with Sony's substandard HD transfers and lackluster MPEG2 encoding) as soon as WB starts releasing VC1 on BD (very soon) the playing field of Picture quality between the two camps... for WB titles... will be leveled.

Hopefully WB's good use of BD using VC1 for 25gig limited discs will compell Sony to move off their MPEG2 stance for bit-limited single-layer discs (at least).

I do believe that a year from now the advantages of Blu-ray will finally be production reality and make most of today's debates moot. But Andy seemed to gloss over the fact that it's relaly the early-adoptor who is technically savvy and discriminates quality to get a format off the ground. Right now, those consumers are either waiting or have been enjoying HD DVD. Blu-ray has a lot of respect to earn in their eyes before they'll buy in. The "content is king" consumers that form the bulk of an established-format's base won't even be on the radar for at least two years.]]>Aug 8th 2006 5:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/
If you don't agree with me about Sony being more evil then MS, then you just need go do some reading.]]>Aug 8th 2006 5:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/
That quote from the interview speaks volumns. The BDA doesn't care about quality one bit. All they care about is the number of titles available. Are they paying the studios to put out that crap?]]>Aug 8th 2006 5:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/But why is Warner Bros. sticking to VC-1 instead of moving up to H.264? Did they get a royalty payment break from Microsoft originating back to the settlement that closed AOL's $10 billion lawsuit against Microsoft for illegally using its monopoly power to destroy Netscape?

Seriously, dump VC-1 and move to H.264. Otherwise, the Blu-Ray titles will look exactly like their HD-DVD counterparts, instead of better. Maybe that's another motive on WB's part; cutting production costs by creating a single VC-1 master to use with both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Although the MPEG2 HD masters were already created for HD cable and satellite transmissions.

Regardless, I do expect both format camps to expect the early adopters to "double-dip" and "triple-dip" on the titles... Blu-Ray with moving up from MPEG2 to either VC-1 or H.264, and HD-DVD moving to match Blu-Ray by also moving up to H.264. Of course, HD-DVD will have two restrictions facing them in their quest in moving up to H.264: 1. being Microsoft and their threatened abandonment of support if VC-1 were dropped, and 2. the possible loss of support from the cheap "knock-off" brands using underpowered decoder chips that might have trouble decoding H.264.]]>Aug 8th 2006 6:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/Aug 8th 2006 8:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/
While listening to this podcast I could just image Ben spoon feeding Andy. It's like Ben would set him up and then Andy would "attempt" to knock it out of the park.

Relax Ben I'm just giving you a hard time because I'm a HD-DVD fanboy.]]>Aug 10th 2006 2:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/08/hdbeat-interview-andy-parsons-of-the-bda-and-pioneers-senior-vp/are you serious??
When i want to buy a new product, i dont go "hmm, which of these 2 brands are most evil.."
ROFL!
You've got issues dude!]]>Aug 10th 2006 10:10PM