Engadget HD Podcast 037 - 12.13.2006
By Trent Wolbe 
posted Dec 13th 2006 11:00AM
posted Dec 13th 2006 11:00AM
Wow has it been a long time since we did a Podcast, we know we are sorry, there is nothing else to say about it, but we make more excuses during the show anyway. On this Get the podcast
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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh
Guest: Dave ZatzProducer: Trent Wolbe
Program03:35 - Dave Zatz's take on Xbox Live Marketplace
15:13 - Black Friday leads to record sales of HDTVs
19:17 - 1080p charted: Viewing distance to screen size
24:19 - Panasonic's TH-103PF9UK 103-inch plasma now shipping
25:23 - All three Lord of the Rings films airing in HD on TNT
27:16 - NCAA Football Bowl games in HD
36:20 - Toshiba HD-A2 on store shelves now
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uh is posted?? I just get a 'Page Not Found' error
Me 2. What up guys?
It's a virtual podcast, so just imagine we're talking about something. ;) Seriously, I've let the powers that be know and it's being looked at. We apologize and hopefully this will be corrected shortly!
All fixed, thanks for your patience guys!
Ben,
I really enjoy the show and have been listening since you and Warren had your first netcast argument. I too found the long-standing arguments in favor of blu-ray persuasive and resisted any suggestions that HD DVD might succeed, but the facts aren't stacking up in favor of an outright win for blu-ray.
Evidence?
Take a look at www.thedvdwars.com, where you will see that the 4th highest selling HD DVD title outsells the top blu-ray title on Amazon.
There are likely to me far more HD DVD players sold this holiday season: http://tomshardware.co.uk/2006/11/29/enderle_on_christmas_trends/
I also happen to be one of those people who prefers to wait until the bugs are worked out and a second generation product is released before buying. Like it or not, the Toshiba HD-A2 is a second gen player. This is a painful admission for me to have to make (as someone who has been planning for several years to buy a blu-ray player), but...last Saturday morning I walked out of my local Best Buy with an HD DVD player in hand. At this point I can't see HD DVD going away. At best, there will be a stalemate.
The show really need a pro hd-dvd guy to balance the pro bluray bias from ben... matt was pretty good about balancing ben. Dave seemed to not have too much of an opinion on the subject (atleast compared to ben). Ben might have a hd-dvd player but we all know where his loyalties lie and it comes out in his rants.
I think the formats are equivalent for the vast majority of consumers and I think both formats will coexist. Sorry I can't be the pro HD-DVD guy you're looking for. ;)
For what it's worth, I think HD-DVD is the better value as a >$200 add-on for 360 or a stand-alone player at 50% the cost of a Blu-ray player. Seems like a no-brainer to me if you can live without certain Blu-ray only content.
The loudest part of my Xbox 360 is the DVD drive. Of course my cable DVR is so insanely noisy that I probably don't notice the 360's fans.
Ben always glosses over the most important question which is how much are you willing to spend on the next gen player? When the Xbox360 add on can be had for under $200.00 with the right coupons it really becomes hard to justify brand loyalty.
Also the biggest impulse buy for the Xbox360 Video Marketplace would have to be TV shows. If you missed last night show or your local station bumps the HD coverage for a night it can be a great reason to pick out a show. I do agree that the market places really needs an option to start the download from work and come home to it already downloaded option.
Larry,
For savy internet users price is important, for most Videophiles and home theater enthusitas it isn't as importnat. I mean some of these guys have been paying 1k for Pioneer Elite DVD players the past few years. For big money HT people it depends on what their Vendor is selling them.
Sure in the long run price is very important, but I don't think either format will be more popular than DVD till it costs about the same price as DVD.
The question is which format can wait that long? Sure Toshiba claims to be making money on their players but do you believe them? No doubt BDA players turn a profit, they can hang out and wait
Those same videophiles picked Beta over VHS and a few years later Laserdisk over VHS. We all know which format ruled the roost for 20 years. While BluRay players maybe making a profit they are going to be loosing out on the volume. How long until Toshiba comes out with a $250.00 dollar player? They already have a stealth 200.00 player in the Xbox360 drive.
It would interesting to see the attachment numbers for HDDVD and how much money Toshiba gets per disc. Their manufacturing cost will only go down not go up so the money they loose now establishing the market could be made up quickly.
Beta beat VHS for other reasons, not because videophiles choose it.
Don't get me wrong I can see a scenario where HD DVD wins and the first step to that is when either Pioneer, Sharp, Samsung, Mitsubishi, Panasonic or dare I say Sony starts making a HD DVD player.
I don't see any way for them to win as long as they are the only company making stand alone player.
Ben, if we are stuck with you trying to convince yourself that blu-ray will win on every podcast could you save it to last so those of us that don't want to stick around for the pep rally can leave early. Thanks.
I like the show, but have to echo these sentiments on the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD argument. I really believe that content should be king, and that this "format war", which neither side is winning, will do nothing but delay the transition of the average viewer to High-Def. This does none of us any good. I have to say that I'm partial to HD-DVD because it comes in at the lowest price point, which is far more important to the mass market. I'm sorry Ben, you need to give your Blu-Rayphilia a rest. It comes off as strange, inexplicable, and vaguely fetishistic. It's contrary to all of our interest in a speedy transition to an all High-Def marketplace. In the interest of disclosure, I own neither. I was tempted by the XBox add-on, but I can't imagine listening to my XBox roar while trying to watch a movie.
Ben, you said on the podcast that you won't worry about HD-DVD winning the war until hardware manufacturers start leaving (or at least supporting) for HD-DVD.
Personally, I think when HD-DVD players reach $249 on store shelves then the Blu-Ray-only studios (Sony excepted, of course) will start supporting both formats. I'd say $249 is the "what the heck" price for mid-level consumers to make the jump.
Content is king. So far the only disc out there that I'me jealous of Blu-Ray of is Talladega Nights. In 12 months, you can add SpiderMan3 to that list, but I'm happy as a 360 HD-DVD owner.
After this last podcast I think I'm removing it from my itunes.
The HD-DVD Blu-Ray discussion really turned me off. When HD-DVD is currently succeeding and kicking Blu-Rays butt in sales, and your predicting its going to fail and has no chance just smacks of stupidity.
Also HD-DVD is backed by the DVD Forum, not just Toshiba. Please educate yourself before you go announcing BS to the world.
This show will be unbearable without Matt. Ben has an irrational inclination to pledge allegiance to one technology over another which borders on idiocy. He also has a tendency to “wait to talk” as opposed to a listening to what Matt has to say. Matt serves as a levelheaded counter point to Ben’s “fanboy” fueled nonsense. I also found Matt to be the most technical savvy of the two hosts. Sorry Ben but you seem like you know just enough to keep up with the conversation (and often not). Matt was the perfect co-host for Ben as he allowed Ben to fervently express his opinion but then would calmly and slyly undermine it with a well thought out response. I’m not sure that another co-host will be as tolerable to Ben as Matt. So, I've enjoyed the program up to this point and I thank you both for all your hard work but this listener is tuning out.