Oh, I noticed an error in my previous post. That quote was from the Product Manager of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co (Panasonic) and not Samsung. Sorry.

I was taught (I'm American) that there are 7 (N. America, S. America, Asia, Europe, Antactica, Africa and Australia). My wife is German and she was taught that there are only 5 (America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia). This is what I meant with "Not all will be happy, no matter how you say it".

Wow!!! The HD War is over and now we're flaming over Geography!! ;-)

That "Asian Man" was the Manager of Samsung his quote was the basis of Richard's Headline, so I still say the shoe fits. This kind of reminds me of the argument "How many Continents are there?"

I say there are 7. How bout you?

Well, most Asians consider Russia to be ab Asian Country and Engadget was going by a Quote from Samsung Group Manager of Product Technology Yuki Kusumi:

"In order to give our users access to the extremely popular, high-quality DivX format, we have introduced the first DivX-Certified Blu-ray Disc Player for Europe and Russia. The timely launch of this strategic product is a direct response to the strong demand for DivX playback among consumers. We are very confident this product will be very popular in the European and Russian markets."

Like I said, any way you put it not everyone will be happy with it, so just let it go already ;-)

Russia spans both Europe and Asia. Many across the world consider Russia to be part of part of Europe, many consider it to be part of Asia and many prefer the Combination known as "Eurasia". Since this Board is read all around the World, you may as well separate them because either way you call it, not everyone's gonna be happy with it ;-)

So, the war is over now and Blu-Ray is the High Definition Optical Disk for the future. I now ask the simple question: Where does it go from here? The way I see it several things have to happen in order for Blu-Ray to truly take off:

1. The Profile 2.0 Spec is done and now the Manufacturers need to start releasing Players at a reasonable price.

2. Speaking of prices; Panasonic, Philips, Pioeneer, Samsung, Kenwood, Denon and all othe Manufacturers aren't going to want the consumers watching their BR Disks on a PS3, so thy need to take their "Spitit of Competition" to the next level and get the prices well below the price of a PS3!! The PS3 is a multitalent (BR Player, Game Console and Media Center) whereas the Players are, well, just players. So, there is absolutely no excuse for them being more expensive.

3. Paramount and Universal will need to start releasing Blu-Ray real soon. I expect announcements from them real soon regarding this.

4. The prices of the Movies need to come down to be just slightly more than DVD. I live in Europe where DVDs generally get released at 18-22 Euros and the Blu-Rays go for 28-35 Euros. I think that most consumers will be willing to pay slightly more for the High Definition, but the difference in Prices need to come down. I consider approx. 4 Euros more for HD is ok.


I am very passionate about High Definition and I hope that Blu-Ray really takes off now, but these things NEED to happen in order for that to occur.

A small Note to the HD-DVD Supporters:

I really tortured myself in December as my 10 year old TV died on us. We wanted to get a large flat HDTV and that's where the pain started (Choosing an affordable TV). We ended up getting a 47 inch Philips Full HD LCD and are quite satisfied with it, however standard TV Stations looked crappy on our cheapo SAT Receiver (HD is just now taking off here in Germany). So, I got a HD SAT Receiver which also upconverts over the HDMI. I then wanted to get a gaming Console to enjoy on my new Box and that was huge pain!! XB360 here and PS3 there. What was a buyer to do. I, like many others, ended with the PS3 because it was cheaper than the 360 and had built-in BR. I kept my purchasing from BR Films to a minimum because I wasn't certain whether BR would go the distance or not.

Now, I feel comfortable about making Purchases. I truly hope that most of the HD-DVD Supporters will someday go blu so they can enjoy the best possible PQ/AQ available. I mean at the end of the day we all have the same passion for High Definition!! Isn't that what it should be about? Had BR lost the battle, I would purchase a BR Player next week, because it's all about the Movies!!

Either way, I truly wish all People who supported HD-DVD best wishes for the future!! I hope you all are able to enjoy all HD Films available, cos that's what it's all about!!

Thanks for listening

Scooby