[Posted Nov 5th 2006 4:49AM]

I�m not surprised at all. Money is tight these days. I just find it funny what Blu-ray wants you to shell out to get movies with picture quality just marginally higher than a good DVD transfer unconverted on an HDTV gives. To a lot of people, that�ll be sufficient for many years to come. This is why both formats really have to drop their prices if they want to win. HDDVD is ahead of Blu-ray in that respect. They not only have to beat each other but also convince the masses that they need it over DVD. All this chanting about specifications isn�t going to do it.

Has anyone here even considered that if the masses could be wowed over with a pretty picture that HDTV adoption would be well ahead of where it is today? The move (picture quality) from analog standard def television shows to digital high definition shows is astronomical in comparison to the move from up-converted DVD to high definition discs. It�s only been recently that adoption has surge� and guess what, it�s because of dropping HDTV prices. Coincidence?

If Blu-ray truly wants to have a chance, they need to come down (in prices) where HDDVD is, then they might have a chance. Storage capacity and studio support doesn�t decide who will win. It�s all that we seem to talk about but it�s not what will ultimately decide who wins.

Storage capacity: we already know that a feature film in HD can be stored on a 30GB disc. Do we need 50GB? No. Would it be better? Yes. Some of you would probably pay the high premium to have a long feature film on one Blu-ray instead of 2 HDDVD discs� that�s fine, but most out there would not, especially with that price premium. When you consider just how many (long) movies would require more than 30GB (or in HDDVD�s case, multiple discs) it just doesn�t make sense to go with Blu-ray with that price premium.

This would only make sense if you were planning to put movies beyond 1080p onto these discs. And since that�s probably a decade or more away, Blu-ray just isn�t economical.

Studio Support: this is not set in stone. We�re already seeing some shifting here with some studios planning to release for both. It�s a business; they�re going to go where the customers are regardless of what was vocalized in the beginning.

Blu-ray supporters put way too much stock in these two areas. The trump card is price�


Andy:

That is just creepy.

Dave:

Please try to be a little more accurate. I currently only see players from Toshiba and RCA for HDDVD and from Samsung and Philips for Blu-ray. The Panasonic (supposed to release mid-Nov) really isn�t something to be boosting about with a price tag of $1300.


I�m also not sure how good more players (or more manufacturers for that matter) will be (from either sides) if it doesn�t lower prices as well. By the end of the year, Blu-ray is suppose to have players from twice as many manufactures as HDDVD but unless prices for them take a significant drop, it won�t do much to help Blu-ray. The point of competition is lower prices and I�ve yet to see that from either formats.