Has the format "war" been finally decided?
Seems that they are slowly releasing a few films.
Any point in upgrading all over again?
A bit fed up with getting the SE, etc versions only to now be faced with it all again.
Or will this die a death?
Well there should eventually be players that play both, but for the meantime I think Blu-Ray will be the winner. The support for it, plus the fact it`ll be standard on the new PS3`s (out November) I can just see it being more widely bought. Plus it has a cooler name.
DVD is mostly good enough quality already, and I can`t imagine double dipping on films I already have. Even so I`d obviously buy one of the newer formats for new films if I had a player of either type. So for example, if Mission Impossible 3 came out in December, and I had a Blu-Ray and a DVD player, I`d probably buy it for the Blu-Ray player (depending on cost).
Giggity giggity!
I hate to contradict my esteemed colleague, but I`ve been listening to various undercurrents (not least Bill Hunt over at the Digital Bits) and currently Blu-Ray is falling behind.
While everybody agrees that Blu-Ray is on paper the better technology, HD-DVD is at the moment running rings around it. The latest firmware fixes on the currently available players have sorted out most if not all the bugs apparent, and have implemented full DolbyHD audio which was unsupported in the first machines. The initial Blu-Ray machines have yet to be fully debugged, the pricepoint for the PSP3 apparently looks like it will be a purchase for dedicated gamers only, and Sony have yet to be able to make a full 30Gb disc on their production line.
Unless Blu-Ray properly addresses the problems the format is experiencing, HD-DVD looks like it may romp home.
I think Sony missed a beat by not advertising their format with "Blu-Ray For Hollywood!"
Aythangew.
J Mark Oates
Of the modern filmmaking techniques/cliches,
I find my intelligence insulted far more
by martial arts wire work stunts than
any amount of CGI.
From my earlier post back on the 28th April 2006, taken from digitalbits.
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Currently, it`s impossible to enjoy TrueHD on the HD-A1, because the HD-A1 only supports 2-channel decoding of TrueHD. The best you`re going to get out of the HD-A1, via any connection, is stereo audio converted to either LPCM (via HDMI or analog outputs) or DTS (via the Toslink and coax digital outputs), neither of which is going to be full TrueHD resolution.
Finally, there`s DTS-HD (which should roughly equate to the quality of Dolby TrueHD, although there`s no software available yet and few official specs yet either). This will again be converted to either LPCM or DTS by the HD-A1, depending on which output you use with your receiver, and again this will not be full resolution either.
So the basic problem with all of these audio formats, is that there`s currently no hardware available - either HD-DVD players or surround sound receivers - that supports them all fully yet.
This will change starting later this year, when players and receivers fully compatible with Plus, TrueHD and DTS-HD are released, equipped with specific HDMI 1.3 connections. Current HDMI connections don`t actually allow for the full-bandwidth capabilities of True HD and DTS-HD (and Toslink and either digital or analog coax connections don`t have the bandwidth to allow them period).
So to experience full-resolution, multi-channel audio via Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD, you`ll eventually NEED to upgrade to new hardware equipped with HDMI 1.3 - both your player AND your receiver.
Even if you do buy an HD-DVD player now, you`ll STILL have to buy another player later on if you want the full audio capability!
Sony, recognizing all of these audio incompatibilities and the potential for confusion, is not even including Dolby Digital-Plus, Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD on their early Blu-ray Disc software. Instead, they`re simply encoding the audio on their initial Blu-ray titles in high-resolution LPCM 5.1, until such a time as the hardware catches up.
So you`re not going to have the full HD experience without replacing your sound system, and player.
floyd
Sheeesh. Gonna stick with what I have now, forever.
Okay, well I was basing my knowledge on `in theory` rather than fact, so its good to know that information Mark. One of the good things with Blu-Ray and it`s integration with the new PS3, is that multiple language versions of the same game can be released at the same time, on the same disk, due to the large capacity. Means gamers won`t have to wait a few months for it to be released over here.
How far off are Blu-Ray AND HD-DVD players, and don`t they use different lasers anyway?
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you`ll STILL have to buy another player later on if you want the full audio capability!To be honest I`m not that bothered about the audio. I`ve got a 5.1 surround setup, and a Yamaha Sound Projector on my other DVD, and they are plenty good enough.
Giggity giggity!
Quote:
multiple language versions of the same game can be released at the same time, on the same disk, due to the large capacity. Means gamers won`t have to wait a few months for it to be released over here.
Blu-Ray`s storage capacity isn`t going to change the length of time localisation takes to programme, so that arguement is as flawed as a soluble submarine. :B
If anything, that would mean Asian gamers having to wait until all localisation is complete. Once they get wind of that, there`ll be riots on the streets of Tokyo...
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This item was edited on Friday, 1st September 2006, 16:48
I`m not that clued up on it, but from what I understand BD has a number of problems at the moment. One of the main issues affecting the format was that the playing layer was very close to the surface of the disc, which made it susceptible to scratching. That`s now (apparently) been sorted by the introduction of a new hard coating. I also read that they are having problems with the software, because they used Java for the menus etc. I also read that they can`t get the dual-layer 50GB discs to work, just the standard 25GB. When you also take into consideration that the first batch of discs will use MPEG2 instead of the superior VC1 or AVC codecs, BD looks crap.
It also costs a lot more to produce than HD, as you need new facilities. With HD you can basically convert an existing DVD plant over to HD (and vice versa) with the minimum of fuss. Of course, HD releases are using the VC1 codec for video at the moment as well. Typical Sony and their greedy desire to make more money through proprietary formats. What happened to Beta? ATRACK? UMD?
At the moment HD seems like the clear winner, as it`s region free (unlike BD), cheaper and actually out there. However, things could change as BD production ramps up and becomes cheaper. There`s no reason to write off BD yet, as all formats have teething problems (DVD wasn`t exactly amazing when it first came out). For example, Fox has just announced a new range of titles that will use the more advanced video codecs.
I still wouldn`t touch either of them at the moment though. The DVD market still alive and well, and I think these formats are premature. They seem to be driven by the desire to introduce DRM (amongst other things), rather than a genuine desire to offer consumers superior quality. DVD did so well because you just bought an add-on box for your TV. How many people do you know that can afford to run out and buy a new £1000+ TV just to accommodate either HD or BD? I don`t know many, and I know even fewer people who care about the increase in resolution etc. It`s not the huge leap from VHS to DVD. Most people I know bought their players from a supermarket for less than £30, and those are the people who made DVD such a huge success. I can`t see HD or BD having the same impact because it`s more cost-prohibitive...
Well Blu-ray has three regions, but I read an interview with a Toshiba engineer who said there were no current plans for HD to adopt region coding. F***ing cake and eat it comes to mind (yet again).