HD War

HD War

Sorry about the lack of link but is the end in sight now seeing as Warner Brothers are going to be Bluray exclusive. What with Bluray out selling HD-DVD already by lots could HD-DVD be the new lazerdisc?

i think both formats (at present, at least) are fighting something of a losing battle.

i don't see any clear cut winner up to now (apart from standard dvd of course)

I'll just wait until they release a player for 30 quid in asda what plays them both it'll not take long

Exactly

I remember my uncle bought a dvd player for upwards of £600 when they first came out and we were like ooooh.. and that was it. It was still a bulky big black thing and all it did was play videos from cd's, the picture was a bit better but the price of a dvd was just daft. He went straight into importing films from the US to get films earlier and slightly cheaper than they were in the UK but it was still only him out of our whole family who seen the fascination.

Until they start offering the formats widely and at a price most people can afford, there is no winner really. Consumers are only ever going to buy into the format that offers the best price at the end of the day.

Once high speed broadband is in place everywhere and Media stations with internet connections are the standard then you wont need a physical format so its a pretty redundant long term battle.

You can buy quite a lot of films as digital downloads already.

aye, i've been using the xbox 360's video marketplace to rent HD movies, reckon thats the way forward.

Paramount in HD DVD blow

Paramount is poised to drop its support of HD DVD after Warner Brothers’ recent backing of Sony’s Blu-ray technology, in a move that will sound the death knell of HD DVD and bring the home entertainment format war to a definitive end.

Paramount and DreamWorks Animation, which makes the Shrek films, came out in support of HD DVD last summer, joining General Electric’s Universal Studios as the main backers of the Toshiba format.

However, Paramount, which is owned by Viacom, is understood to have a clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp that would allow it to switch sides in the event of Warner Bros backing Blu-ray, according to people familiar with the situation.

Paramount is set to have a bumper 2008 with several likely blockbusters, including the latest instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise.

Paramount joining the Blu-ray camp would leave HD DVD likely to suffer the same fate as Sony’s now obsolete Betamax video technology, which lost out to VHS in a similar format war in the 1980s.

Warners decision last week to throw its weight behind Blu-ray saw it join Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as backers of the Sony format.

The Warners move gives Blu-ray about 70 per cent of Hollywood’s output, although the format’s grip on film content will increase further when Paramount comes aboard.

It is unclear whether DreamWorks Animation has the same get-out clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp.

However, Paramount and DreamWorks have a close relationship, with Paramount distributing DreamWorks Animation films. The two companies also signed their HD DVD contracts at the same time. Meanwhile, Universal has declined to comment on its next-generation DVD plans since the Warners move.

Sir Howard Stringer, chief executive of Sony, on Monday held out an olive branch, saying the company would be “open to dialogue” with the HD DVD camp to “grow the market”. The move came as new figures showed that Blu-ray had opened up a decisive lead over the rival home entertainment format.

Sir Howard said: “We are not going to push people around. We’ll talk to anyone ... we have a lot of work to do to grow the market. We’ll be systematic and open to dialogue at all times.”

He added that Sony still had “a lot of work” to do to get Blu-ray “widely accepted” among American consumers.

“With Warner’s support you saw billboards going up in different places and you saw television commercials getting more and more sophisticated and that’s what we’ll continue doing,” said Sir Howard.




http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dc409afa-bd75-11dc-b7e6-0000779fd2 ac.html?nclick_check=1

Hmm... very interesting - defo a big shove for the PS3 and it's blu ray player - could we see the PS3 suddenly start it's fight back against the mighty 360?

I have a PS3 and i recommend it to anyone as it is a better machine but is lacking the titles of the 360. From what I gather, the PS3 actually outperforms stand alot of stand alone Bluray players.

So with better titles coming, a built in Bluray player, no subscription to play and use online I can imagine it doing well 2008

once they release performance enhancing firmwares and unlock more technology from the ps3 itle fly, and if you discount all those shitty ports of 360 games then u can see the ps3 has it good, games like uncharted are amazing

now with paramount going over to blu ray and dreamworks set to follow, we might see transformers in blu ray sometime soon

Aye, I have seen movies and screenies from MGS4 and Gran Turismo and all I can say is, oooooooooooooooh eye candy!

look for somet called afrika for ps3