Format war may be almost over?

[Jack Zhang]

LG has announced a Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo PC drive and a possible HD-DVD/Blu-ray combo player:

Article (Japanese)

[Harrison Murchison]

$1200 is too expensive. You could snap up a nice PS3 and Xbox/HD DVD bundle for less. I'm interested in the drive inside though and how Hitachi got the lens assembly for all working.

[Boyd Ostroff]

This guy is not impressed...

http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...gvisit=y&npu=y

While the LG player seems like a good idea on the surface I think it will prove about as popular as snow shoes in Florida. My two primary problems with this device are its price tag ($1,200, or about 10 times the cost of a standard DVD player) and its inability to take advantage of the special features on HD-DVD discs.

[Rush Hamden]

Originally Posted by Harrison Murchison

$1200 is too expensive. You could snap up a nice PS3 and Xbox/HD DVD bundle for less.

Now you're talking, Harrison! That's my kinda DVD player combo. : )

[Paulo Teixeira]

Another complaint article.
http://rss.engadgethd.com/2007/01/09...lu-ray-player/

[Jack Zhang]

Ok, so it seems the war is still strong...

[Harrison Murchison]

I'm not faulting LG. I think they'll get things together. What's exciting is that the drive that supports both HD DVD and Blu-ray media is going to be available on it's own as well.

Hopefully we'll have a few drives like this by years end. Part of me wants to build a kick ass HTPC system with over a TB of storage and having a single drive that supports both discs would make it a lot easier.

[Paulo Teixeira]

Just hook up an external HD-DVD drive to this and add extra storage and you’re all set.
http://chinese.engadgethd.com/2007/0...lu-ray-burner/
It would have been a killer setup if it offered an extra bay for an internal HD-DVD player.

[Paulo Teixeira]

To be fair, I’m going to throw in a positive article.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070111/cgth036.html?.v=82

[George Ellis]

I just ran across this one at a tech site. HD-DVD is the winner. While CES is running, the porn industry has a conference. They are choosing HD-DVD. Discussion is in the article linked.

TGDaily article on it

[Bill Ravens]

Interesting!! Guess that decides it. Now, if ICANN just finalizes the .XXX internet address, things will be really decided.

[Peter Ferling]

Studio adoption is a very significant indicator, and if HD-DVD win's because it's cheaper, well that fits the bottom-line margins for a great many companies (like all of them :)

We know that LG and others will be releasing multiformat players to solve the headache of end users having to choose one player over the other. But these players do not address the front-end issues of studios having to own two complete editing systems to meet a dual market that has a single purpose.

I really don't care whom wins. I just want one. However, this whole issue of 'physical' disk delivery is changing. I don't know who will win this format war, but I can understand that the next format war to come along won't involve a physical disk and player.

[Rob Lohman]

Moderator note:

I combined the two threads about this format "war". They where just a couple
of lines apart in the same forum, please don't create a new topic for something
that's already being talked about!

Second I changed the title. Nothing is official until one (or both) of the parties
throw their towel in the ring. Up until that point it's all speculation and looking
at market numbers.

Please refrain from stating something is the case when it's obviously not true.

We can say that the format war is heating up and 2007 will no doubt be an
interesting year for both formats!

[Paulo Teixeira]

Originally Posted by George Ellis

TGDaily article on it

"but HD DVD is easier to produce, cheaper to produce and there are more HD DVD players in homes than there are Blu-ray players, for example in the Xbox 360."

They mentioned the XBOX360 but they should have also mentioned the HD-DVD add-on. Saying it the way they did can get your average non-gamer to believe that the XBOX360 has a HD-DVD drive built in. Also they completely left out the Play Station 3 which sold over 1,000,000 units in the US alone. I’m sure most people can agree that Blu-Ray wouldn’t have stood a chance if Sony hasn’t included Blu-Ray but Sony was smart.

The adult industries are just one of the deciding factors on the outcome of this war. The fact that Panasonic, Sony and Hitachi will release Blu-Ray camcorders in the coming months is an even bigger deciding factor. We already have camcorders whose discs are compatible with Blu-Ray players from Sony and Panasonic and JVC said the Everio GZ-HD7 will have some compatibility with Blu-Ray.

This war is far from over.

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

A couple of points to add:
First, the articles quoted both are spurious at best. The BD consortium has not at all commented (nor has the HD DVD consortium) on the adult industry, in either a positive nor negative fashion.
Second, the timing of these articles, both tied to the same video company, seems very suspicious given the fact that the HD DVD manufacturers are at a significant disadvantage and the adult industry trade show started the same day that these articles came out.
Third, these articles put the BD consortium at a serious disadvantage. The BEST they could do is to come out and say that they do not have any intent of limiting content. Does anyone expect the BD consortium to come out and say "We support the adult content industry?" That isn't going to happen.

HD DVD cannot play on XBoxes without an addon box; there are over 1 million Playstations with BD already installed. Only one major studio is supporting HD DVD exclusively, and only one other major studio supporting HD DVD at all.
The entire subject smells bad at all levels, and while it's a serious consideration, it would be most important to clarify the source of the information, as to the best of my knowledge (and having spoken with a few AVN companies this week at CES) that several adult companies have already released titles on BD, and moreover, the BD consortium hasn't said anything one way or another.
It would be exceptionally difficult for BD to limit content. Yes, BD is more expensive to burn, but not more expensive for blank media, nor more expensive for packaging, nor more expensive for distribution, storage, nor authoring, and those are the salient points.
What I personally believe is that a fairly small studio is tweaked that they cannot afford to have BD burned, but can afford to have HD DVD burned, and that has turned into a statement of "The industry is no longer supporting BD." Until I hear a statement from the BD consortium or one of their members, I'm not buying the story of anyone being limited, nor of an industry ignoring BD. FWIW, I was given a copy of the first adult film on BD. That's the only comment I'll make about the DVD. The point is, BD *is* being used by the adult industry, because there are already DVDs in the format that people can buy.

Both formats are viable; players for both formats are selling, and there are now 3 dual format players coming online (too bad that CD's are a casualty of one of them). I suspect that they'll both be with us for a while. Additionally, there are companies who have now announced dual format DVDs with both BD and HD DVD content on them. I don't believe this is going to be like the Beta vs VHS wars that some of us witnessed 20 years ago.

To avoid this thread being locked down, please avoid discussing the subject in any but the most professional, adult terms? Please remember that inappropriate material or discussion is not permitted on DVInfo.net.