i hope the dumbass that thought up the "Haich Dee Dee Vee Dee" brand gets fired now for stupidity.

Thanks for the info, Eric. This was only a matter of time, anyway.

With DVDs it was very simple since the format was such a huge leap forward from VHS and VCDs, with Blu-ray and HD DVD the benefits are minuscule, only relevant if you had already invested in the prerequisite HD TV and 5.1 surround sound system.

Wait wait so we're stuck buying sony's crap from now on???

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

^ No, Blu-ray was created by a consortium. From the FAQ:

Who developed Blu-ray?


The Blu-ray Disc format was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers, with more than 180 member companies from all over the world. The Board of Directors currently consists of:

Apple Computer, Inc.
Dell Inc.
Hewlett Packard Company
Hitachi, Ltd.
LG Electronics Inc.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Pioneer Corporation
Royal Philips Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Sharp Corporation
Sony Corporation
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
TDK Corporation
Thomson Multimedia
Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney Pictures
Warner Bros. Entertainment


When will I be able to buy Blu-ray products?


If you live in the US or Canada you can already find Blu-ray players from Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, Philips and Pioneer available in stores, as well as a growing selection of Blu-ray movies. We also expect to see Blu-ray players from LG and Sharp, as well as a second-generation Blu-ray player from Samsung introduced in the near future. The first Blu-ray hardware and software should also be available in many European countries now.

Aha, ok thanks Dag!!! For some reason I was under the stigma it was proprietary. Weird.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

In a related subject - here's a neat comparison of HD DVD LOTR to a standard DVD:
http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/

^ thats a great link dag. im very impressed.

Looks like when i get an HD tv worth it, i'll need to re by the 3 extended editions.

Wait, wait, wait. Easy now. This isn't the VHS vs. Beta war. This is a different beast altogether. HDDVD is solid, and Blu-Ray has some catching up to do, but it's hype that's making Blu-Ray seem like the winner in this march of tech. Currently, there are only two Blu-Ray players that are worth your money. That's the PS3 and their really high end machine (not sure what the nomenclature is for this machine or machines). HDDVD also has its worthless 720 and 1080i players available for the common market just as Sony does, but their 1080p higher end machines are very affordable. And every HDDVD player has a great price point compared to Blu Ray.

When Sony released its Blu-Ray technology, they put way too much money into developing that blue ray laser and high capacity disc so they didn't spend money on the codec. When released to market, HDDVD had a high-def codec and Sony was using MPEG-2. Yes, MPEG-2. The same shit you have on your standard def DVDs. Ouch! That technology is what? 20 years old? Because of bad press, they had to switch to a better codec, so imagine the spendthrift involved with that! Now, imagine how much less money they had on making their system actually good. So, what's the problem now? Well, aside from the shitty systems available, they also have update problems. You see, all of Toshiba's systems are supposed to have Ethernet capabilities, so updating the firmware is a piece of cake. Sony systems? Nope. You better be prepared to shill out some major doe for that added feature. So, there is a high chance that SOME of the Blu Ray DVDs will NOT play on some Blu Ray DVD players because they're incapable of updating their firmware. Ain't that a bitch? I hope Sony figures this out, but chances are they won't, and even if they do, that's more of a crippling blow to their chances to "corner the market" than you think.

But, if you have a PS3, you're sitting pretty (from my insider news). It's a better purchase than a straight Blu-Ray DVD Player purchase. That's just silly, no?

That aside, HDDVD isn't just Toshiba. It's Microsoft, too. Microsoft created the programming infrastructure called iHD, which I've programmed in, so if you ever step out to Best Buy and purchase yourself a copy of Under Siege, Blazing Saddles or Lethal Weapon in HDDVD format, then you'll be buying my handy work. I've worked on other WB titles, but those are the titles I programmed myself. What are you waiting for, fellow Sifters. Buy my shit! I make NO money off of them!

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Thanks for the insight blankfist - nice to hear from someone intimately involved with this.

I was reading about this earlier, and learned that the Microsoft created HDI vs the Blu-Ray Java based solution for extended features was the crux of the feud.

I don't fully understand the debate, but it sounds like IHD is XML based and pretty open - but does Microsoft own and license the tech? If so, I'm glad that Blu-Ray appears to be winning the battle - I trust Microsoft about as much as Diebold for their dedication to open software standards. (I'll never forgive them for J++)

Good point, Dag. iHD is ECMA based, with the proper use of Zools (XULs), XMU and the what not. Though, the part I was proud of for myself was the the application based JS- building deep JS was fun. But, no one notices that shit. That's why I drink.

^ Good code that works is invisible if its architectural. Visible code is either an in your face GUI or broken.

Such is our pain.

Fuck Blu-Ray. I don't get it. A quick Google search using the very first set of numbers that pop up gives me this:
Blu Ray DVD Player - 400.00
HD DVD Player - 179.00

Now they offer the same definition, so please tell me why Blu Ray is so much cooler. This is the only good thing Blu Ray has to offer.

I get the fact that Blu Ray offers the ability to pack Star Wars Episodes (1-6 plus the originals plus the remakes plus the digitally enhanced originals, plus the digitally enhanced remake of the originals.. you see where i'm going with this..) all onto one disc. Now if you can actually sit there and not have to get up once every 2 hours to piss or smoke or get another beer, then thats fine. But theres no reason why you can change a disc (DVD disc changers piss me off to). Now for software applications, Blu Ray is awesome. But i have yet to see a decent devotion towards that purpose, and merely a drive of Blu Ray DVD players. SO again, someone please enlighten me.

*discard

Discarding this post - discard requested by original submitter eric3579.