10 Reasons Why High Definition DVD Formats Have Already Failed

There are a number of reasons why the new high definition DVD formats have already failed according to Clint DeBoer over at Audioholics.com. Here are 10 reasons HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc will never turn into the dominant formats for digital media viewing.

[clayton]

I have a Samsung HDTV, and I personally do not care about HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. I have hundreds of DVD movies and they look fine.

[kidvideo]

But its a more advanced system because it has Bluray!!!!!

Sorry, this is one more reason that doesn't support or justify buying a PS3. More money, basically same graphics, less exclusive titles and now the much promoted Blu ray isn't likel;y to push sales to the adverage consumer (Walmart) family.

Sony is in Deep deep trouble!!!

[Sexius Maximus]

http://www.joystiq.com/2005...

Nuff said

[mikeeno7]

just one hd format HD-DVD or Blu-Ray then i reckon the launch and the future years would be amazingly successful for the world of HD. But 2 head-to-head, not offering anything substantially different to the other, is a recipe for disaster...

[Joe Schmoe]

I dont know about you but how many times have you heard some one say they were going to buy an HDTV for gaming. Ok now that you are thinking on the same level as me, picture this you buy an hdtv for gaming and your new gaming machine plays high definition disc's so now you can see your favorite movies in the best picture possible on your new HDTV. So now you think people that bought an HDTV for gaming wont slowely start buying new movies in the new format, im not saying they are going to throw away there dvd's, but at 5 bucks more than a dvd its realy not to hard to imagine the new formats slowely weeding out dvd's. It will be the same process as vhs to dvd people will slowely start buying into the new format. Also as an HDTV owner and your average joe I know for a fact that HDTV owners are craving this new media seeing as there is so little HD content out there. Even with having a cable service like time warner and all the chanels I still only have 2 hd HBO's 2 hd showtime's and like Eight hd chanels that do not show anything other than nature programs like jeff corwin and sports. HDTV owners will buy the new media keeping it a float untill others switch over a process that will take between 5 and ten years. And for the people out there that cant tell the difference between High Definition and a DVD get your eyes checked. The new format is here and it will not be going anywhere.

[AuburnTiger]

I totally agree with Joe. I believe as of right now, there is only 3 ways to get HD, satellite, antenna and cable. Plus, there are millions of people who have an HDTV with no HD source. Blu ray or HD DVD will be a much needed format.

[kidvideo]

I use my mom as the gold standard here as the average amaerican household. She went to DVD about 3-4 years ago not at launch in 1997. I believe the next 5 years will be downlaoding more movies, even 1st run movie direct to hard drive, Direct TV or some other source. The problem with your comparison to VHS was the dramatic difference between DVD ad VHS versus he marginal difference on conventiona TV. own two HD tv's. Most of my friends including my gamer friends don't own 1. So when you connect HD DVD or Bluray at home they're not getting the wow factor they got when they replaced the VHS on that same TV with a DVD player. Not to mention the staggering cost. How long will it take for this to reach $75.00 like DVD's players did a couple of years ago?

By that time streaming or downloading movies will be more common place, cheaper and hard media will begin to become a thing of the pass.

[PS360PCROCKS]

Exactly! I have a HDTV and I am wowed by my DVD played in 480p...it looks good enough to me, I don't need 1080P (cant get it with my tv newho) it's just nonsense...480P, 720P and 1080i whats the difference? theirs more lines, can I tell? Uh not really, and I bet a whole lot of others can't either, sure it looks nicer I admit that, but does it look $600-1500 nicer and $30 a movie nicer? Hell no and I am a techno freak, consider the average consumer, your thinking about you, not everyone else, my parents didn't know what a DVD was until like 2002, they could care less about better picture, they still refuse to buy a HDTV until they "Have" to, most people are like that

[Joe Schmoe]

You say your mother is the gold standard and I agree. So take any average american over the age of 45 and this is true with all of them. But that is not the market that wants HD media. Look BD and HD are for the 45 year and lower age market we are the ones that will make the change slowely and make it cheaper inside the next 5 years for the 45 and over group to switch when there current gen breaks. Also while you brought up the subject of downloading and no more phisical media take into account the things that have to happen before this becomes relized. Ok for 1 flash memory or hard drives have to get much larger 2 we have to switch to a faster more effecent internet service so downloading wont take a day to download a 25gig high def movie 3 The internet service has to be cheap enough witch takes time with people being so slow to adopt expensive technology "try and get your mother to get a T1 internet connection" Anyway downloading of movies is not an optoin as of yet but in ten years we might see pricing for larg flash memory drives that can hold 50 or 100 hd movies and T1 connections that run about the same price as cable right now. Give it time people you cant skip steps in technology.

[MoonDust]

My movies look good and i see no reason to buy a HD DVD or Blue Ray player, seriously there is no big difference. I'll wait and see before buying something those things are huge anyways.

[joemutt]

You said there is no real big difference, but everyone I heard that acually bought one, says it is amazing. It is your opinion to say you dont want one, but can you really say there isnt a difference when you havent seen one yet?

I cant say either way, I havent seen a bluray player or a HD-dvd player.

[The Real Deal]

I saw a huge difference at best buy. They had a Hd dvd player playing a movie on a hd tv. It looked much better than a regular dvd on a hd tv. If you have ever watched a made for hd show....like your local news or those imax movies made for hd. Thats how hd dvd looked. I was impressed. But you have to keep in mind 1080 i and 1080 p is not a noticable difference. The guy at best buy showed me both. I couldn't tell which looked better using the hd dvd. They both looked fantastic. See for yourself. Go to your local Best buy and ask them. 1080 p is only good for sports because of the fast action. But even then we are talking about a very very minute visable difference. See for yourself. Oh, and hd dvd will win. Same quality with a lower price for the player and the movies. Price always wins over in this day and age.

[AuburnTiger]

He more than likely showed you the difference between 720p and 1080i due to the fact that initial hd dvd’s cannot produce 1080p, yet.

http://reviews.cnet.com/452...

[The Real Deal]

No..he showed me the difference between 1080i and 1080p Television sets using the hd dvd player. There was no difference. He also stated that the difference between p and i is the lines shown per second. So for sporting events with fast action its a tad more stable. But not a noticeable diffeence to the eye. They both looked sharp and impressive. But you explain that to the average consumer and when you tell them it looks the same but this one cost way less. You go figure which one will sell the most. Being the best available doesn't mean being the most successful...

[AuburnTiger]

Wow, all you have to do is click the link from 7.3. The info's right there.

[MoonDust]

sorry.

[Sphinx]

...wrote this article was quite smart... very smart...I'm going to sit backand wait until there is a big enough bandwagon to hop on.

[kingboy]

lol the real buyers and gadget freaks don`t even post here..if u jumped onto another site with fully working class people u might change opinion cuz they`r already rocking HD tv

[THAMMER1]

I am what you consider to working class. I chose to go with an HD projector. Not a projection TV an actual projector that displays on my wall in my den. I like HD DVD more for the price but I will wait for a winner of the two before I make a purchase. I was considering getting the HD DVD drive add on for my 360 but it just dose not seem smart to do so right now. If blue ray takes off I will get a BR player. No way on the PS3, buying that dose not seem to smart either.

[Droidbro]

ooh look at me im a banker and i make bank and i have a den with a projector, an HD projector.

no one cares how rich you are

[CardboardGun]

have to agree with schmoe here.

[pRo loGic II]

lol the real buyers and gadget freaks don`t even post here..if u jumped onto another site with fully working class people u might change opinion cuz they`r already rocking HD tv
----------------------------- ------------------- Fock!, did you read the story? The bulk of Million apon Millions of consumers are not gadget freaks. Just because you visit site's where tech people gather does'nt mean they speak for a group that's 10 times their size.

[pRo loGic II]

Microsoft knew this it's what they do for a living they learn quik and know things.

[Marriot VP]

I purchased a Samsung HDTV LCD when the 360 launched for GAMING. And with DVD's the resolution looks nothing short of incredible. The 360 upscales the resolution because it runs the DVD through component cables. I really have no desire to buy HD-DVD or blu-ray because of this. And every 360/HDTV owner knows this. The same will go with PS3 owners who just play DVDs.

I'm not saying both formats will fail. I'm just saying that which ever format has the cheapest stand alone players years from now will win. Think of how DVD succeeded, and how few use a PS2 or xbox for DVDs.

That's one of the reasons I think forcing a format on gaming consumers is dead wrong.

[Joe Schmoe]

Are you telling me that A guy that owns a ps3 is going to keep buying dvd instead of spending a couple bucks more on the bd version? I dont think so. Im not saying hes going to throw out his DVD collection but he will slowly start buying the bd version. And before you say he wont spend the 25 dollars a bd. Its not 25 dollars at your home town wallyworld I picked uo my first BD the fifth element for 19.99

[pRo loGic II]

People will always compare quaity then go for the product that has simular strenths as the top of the line divice, then go for whats cheaper.

[96impala]

The xbox 360 games look great in hidef, and if you want to talk about movie play back then i gotta tell you, progressive scan dvd players, dvd, and hi def tv's go hand in hand it looks great. hd dvd or blue ray i mean is it really necessary?

[The Real Deal]

I agree. And no its not necessary. But just like you see the difference in games made for HD. You will be impressed the same way with movies made for HD. Its a big difference but not necessary.

[Siesser]

I was in Best Buy today, and they have a display showing a split screen of the same footage displayed on standard DVD resolution, and Blu-Ray's higher definition. The result is a glaring difference. Especially on a bigger screen. Our HDTV in the basement is a 62". When playing DVDs, they of course look good, but you, or at least I, can pick out little things; occasional graininess, a washing out of blacks, etc. The DVD looks beautiful, but you can tell that it's not the same thing as watching hi-def tv. The display at Best Buy showed me that I could watch movies at the best resolution (yes, ours supports 1080p). So, I figure, why not? I already want a PS3. I'm probably going to get myself a 30" or so CRT-HDTV for my room (at that size, there's not too much of a difference in resolution and what-not), and will have a system that can play hi-def movies if I chose. If I don't want to buy a hi-def movie, I . . . don't HAVE to. But I probably will want to, if for no reason to watch it in the basement in all its glory.

I'm always stunned by the amount of anger that you see coming from people against either of these formats. We are not being forced to support them. We are not being forced to buy them. You don't ever have to look at them or touch them if you don't want to. And yet, people retaliate against them with this seemingly personal hatred. If you don't want the hi-def movies, and believe standard dvd is fine, then why not just not buy one? Why get angry at other people who decide to support it? Why get angry at someone for selling it to the people that want to support it? Where does this come from?

Same with the system. If you don't want a PS3, don't like the PS3, or think it inferior or too expensive, then why not just not buy one? Why the anger? Why the jeering? Why go out of your way to blast and degrade the people who do want to purchase one? I clearly understand and support not liking something; everyone has opinions. But I've never understood a consumer's desire to attack the competition. There are options out there, and your pay hard-earned money for the one that pleases you. That should be all the statement one needs.

(and this wasn't to imply 360 is such a person; just a culmination of reading the same back and forth ranting every day).

[96impala]

lol i hear that, but what im saying is. Is it necessary at this time. I mean most dont own hd tvs, and when you thought about it, the average house hold runs on budgets people have expenses, children etc. It's my personal beleif that all this hd stuff won't catch on until another 5-10 years, its just not practicle at this point, i mean it hasnt been that long before people began to embrace dvd's.

[AuburnTiger]

I hear ya Kev, I've choosen to buy an HDTV simply because i'm all about the visuals. Of course it's not vital that I own one but it seems that I have an addiction to big TVs with crap loads of inputs. This is just my opinion

[The Real Deal]

Did you also look at hd dvd at best buy running next to the blu ray player? Because I did. And for 500 dollars less and with 60 of the top 100 movies...not movie studios..actual movies in America supported and no difference in visual quality...it seems like hd dvd is the safer bet. Dont you think?

[Siesser]

I can't say that I've seen HD-DVD displayed; I don't think our Best Buy ever had it showing, or at least, not when I was over in the tv section. As far as I know, there shouldn't be any difference between the two formats visually. As I understand it, it's all about capacity, and both have plenty of space to hold an HD movie.

I honestly do wish this format war weren't occuring. But since it is, I'm putting my faith in Blu-Ray, primarily because I'm planning on buying a system that has the ability to play them out of the box. I know without a doubt that I'd have ended up getting an HD player eventually; not necessarily this early, but eventually. Since it's being forced upon me, I might as well look on the bright side. And having the most studios (and not necessarily the top-rated movies) has more of an impact for the average Joe, I'd imagine. You show someone a graphic or list with all the supporters of HD-DVD and all the supporters of Blu-Ray, and that alone will probably sway them. Of course, price is a big issue as well, but one can easily push a PS3 as comparible to the cheapest HD-DVD player, and a gaming machine as well.

[Joe Schmoe]

It is also my beleive that you can compare the PS3 to the hd dvd player. So you cant compare the stand alone BD versus stand alone hd. You have to compare stand alone HD player to the PS3. Any ways it is my belief that anyone that buys a PS3 and has an HDTV or will be upgrading to HDTV will slowly start purchasing there new movies in BD. And I do not know how any of you people say you dont see a sizeable difference between the dvd upconverted and BD or HD are fu<king blind. Picture so clear that it looks like there going to step out of my tv and leave out the front door when the show is over. I dont know its one of two things your eyes need to be checked or you need a new HDTV. Unfortunatly about 7 years ago the early adopters of HDTV got screwed because they didnt get an HDTV tuner with there tv like my uncle who needs to buy one.

[Droidbro]

i think hd is worth it

[Droidbro]

i think hd is worth it

[Droidbro]

oops double post, take that!

[kingboy]

i`m sorry if Hd is expensive for ur prologic @ss..wasn`t posting to u anyway.

[The Real Deal]

Hd is expensive for most of the population. Thats why only 5 % has em so far. I'm one of the 5 % but I understand I'm one of the few.

[pRo loGic II]

Silly little boy i'm a Architect, what does my personal income have to do with most the family people with budgets. Blu-ray and PS3 are in serious trouble. Beta Max/Neo-Geo, they may pull out and be fine and they may not.

[Droidbro]

yeah but the price will go down and it will become standard

[gerth666]

Im from the uk, iv just started subscribing to sky hd, and i was blown away by the quality of the picture. Live sport is out of this world. I for one will be getting a hi def dvd player.

[The Real Deal]

I went to best buy again today and specifically asked them if the hd dvd displays 1080p. The guy said YES. I told him about on the internet people are saying it doesn't. And that it only plays 1080i. He said that it definately plays 1080p and he said it upscales regular dvd's to 1080i. He then showed me the difference between blu ray and hd dvd playing on the same 1080p TV. There was NO difference at all. They both looked amazing. Sony blew it will blu ray. How are they going to explain the 500 dollar difference to the average Joe if they can't make it make sense to someone like me who has money to blow. lol.... On top of that there are 50 titles for hd dvd right now at best buy. There are 20 for blu ray. And the movies for blu ray were garbage in comparisson to the block busters on Hd dvd.

[AuburnTiger]

The Toshiba HD-A1 is not capable of 1080p
http://reviews.cnet.com/Tos...
The Toshiba HD-XA1 does not support 1080p
http://www.engadget.com/200...
The RCA HDV5000 only supports 720p and 1080i
http://www.circuitcity.com/...
Look man i'm not trying to prove you wrong or anything but maybe I missed the player your talking about. I visited the Best Buy Website all i saw was the HD-A1 and the HD-XA1 models. I've also visited the Curcuit City, CNET and Google.

Look I know Best Buy Associates don't work off comission so I know they wouldn't push a product on anybody. But isn't it possible that the sales person might not have a perfect understanding of the product?

Let me know.

[achira]

toshibas hd-dvd player can only display 1080i. go to a shop with better employers. people like you twist the facts. its always the same with you xbox fanboys.

[The Real Deal]

If indeed the Rep at Best Buy didn't know what he was talking about. I can say this with no doubt. My eyes don't LIE. With my own eyes I saw the hd dvd player playing on a 1080p Television and a blu ray player playing on the SAME tv. They looked exactly the same. There was no difference what so ever. They both looked fantastic. So if it trully is 1080i...it looks the same as 1080p on a 1080p tv. Now thats news. WOW...And yes I know it was a 1080p tv. Now what?

[AuburnTiger]

Well then the only thing I can think of is the movies were not being displayed in 1080p. Personally i've never seen it so I can't really give my opinion on the resolution in question. Who knows, maybe they do look the same.

[Droidbro]

there is absolutely no difference between 1080i and 1080p or 720p for that matter so shutup akira

[joemutt]

I am going to get it all, eventually.

[Droidbro]

thats why theyre stupid to argue about it. all this "new" stuff will become standard in every home with enough time

[kingboy]

Silly little i'm a Architect! the arguement was never that my friend..try putting in facts and not say bullsh*t about ps3 on all post like a kid

[Droidbro]

oooh look at me im an architect im so rich and stupid

no one cares how rich you are

[achira]

the progress goes on !!!!!!!!! noone can stop it. blue-ray will be the standard !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Marriot VP]

a fanboy speaks

[The BS Police]

Yeah Blue-Ray will be the standard... In Japan Only! lol.

[Droidbro]

i think you sucking dikc has become the standard

[mikeeno7]

Ken Katuragi: "4D gaming is upon us all, the power of the cell side is unbeatable, you know it to be true Master Gates."

Bill Gates: "I will never join you."

Ken Katuragi: "I am your biitch! Surrender to the lure of Blu-ray and let your death be painless."

Bill Gates: "You will try."
[a lightsaber battle ensues. With one flimsy, misguided wave, Gates sticks the lightsaber up Ken's @ss, he howls with misery and before him, all the lies and scandals flash within his eyes.]

Ken Katuragi: "is it all over"

Bill Gates: "no, you will suffer a bankruptcy, the burning of a Sony Corp, the failure of blu-ray, a century delays, a crap online service, and rejection from your ultimate Playstation God."

Ken Katuragi: "NNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!"

Bill Gates: " The future is green. It's now. It's Xbox 360. Jump in!!!

[The Real Deal]

wow...thats some funny stuff....lol...thats real...wow....