Format Wars: The Saga Continues

Apparently the format war has gotten a little more interesting. Tom's Hardware had this article:

Over 13,000 signatures have endorsed a "save HD DVD" petition less than three weeks after it was first put online.
The petition opened up after Warner Home Video decided to drop HD DVD support and move to Blu-ray exclusively. Warner released a subsequent statement saying that the consumer has chosen Blu-ray as the victor.
"I'm starting this petition in order to support HD-DVD and hopefully save it, and to show Warner Brothers that the consumer has not 'clearly' chosen Blu-Ray," wrote the petition instigator.
Many feel that there is no hope left for HD DVD and that Blu-ray's early immense lead will carry it through to win the format war. Two weeks ago, Blu-ray outsold HD DVD by six to one.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition was at over 13,500 signatures. Users can view it here.

Just to let you know, I just signed it on Wednesday at 3:50 PM and it was over 20,000 signers.

IHD-DVD ownership

Today I purchased a HD-DVD player. The reasoning was quite basic. I am about to start at a new job, and my wife so kindly allowed me to reward myself with a gadget. So I picked up the Toshiba HD-A20. This is the middle level HD-DVD player, falling between the HD-A2 (which only supports 1080i) and the HD-XA2 (which has better sensing of true color). And the other reason? Well it was on sale for $299 and still had the offer of 5 free HD-DVD's with the purchase.

You may have asked yourself why I decided to go HD over Blu-Ray? As much as I may have wanted to stick it to Sony, as I hate them, it was much more basic than that. First off, it's a 1080P player for under $300. To me that's huge. Second, I do not see a picture quality difference between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Third, well, title wise it's a toss-up. Sure I don't get to watch the Pirates of the Caribbean and a few other exclusive titles...but I can get the Matrix trilogy and the Transformers on it.

I still think that HD will win out as well. Simply because it is the lower cost alternative to Blu-Ray.

In the days ahead I'll post a review. I can say that the upconverting of 300 to 1080p is absolutely stunning and incredible. And I just performed the first firmware update (which to me canot be topped by Blu-Ray) and the display is perfect. It's awesome!

The latest in HD-DVD v.s. Blue Ray Slap Fight

Well, I don't have a dog in the fight; but I sure do have an opinion. Fredzilla likes the HD-DVD and is a Blu-Ray Hater... Actually, more accurately, Fredzilla is a Sony Hater.

So, I was real glad when Sony accidently spilled the beans about the underperfoming Blu-Ray player's slowly failing, weak sales, getting weaker when compared to the HD-DVD drive; which is catching up nicely! Check it out here!!!

HD-DVD vs. Blu Ray Revisted

I'll start off with posting the article:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070822-reasons-financial-and-technical-lurk-behind-paramounts-hd-dvd-coup.html

What's important to note is the several key difference in the technology of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. For instance:
1. HD-DVD has a consistent viewing performance and a base line. Early adopters of Blu-Ray may not have the same viewing experience as newer purchaser.
2. Each Blu-Ray player is different, meaning you cannot make 1 disc that will work the same across all of the players
3. HD-DVD is less expensive to manufacture
4. All HD-DVD players have online capability, which isn't the same for Blu-Ray

I could go on, but it shows a lot of importance. Consistency in the home user experience is a big deal. How pissed would you be if you purchased a Samsung Blu-Ray player and couldn't watch a movie the same as if you purchased a Sony?

While the format war is far from over...I don't think anyone has a significant lead.

Star Trek Coming Too HD-DVD

CBS announced at todays Comic-Con that the Original series of 'Star Trek' will be coming to HD-DVD. The new Star Trek - The Final Frontier as it will be called, will have a ton of extras for the Trekie fan. No release date as of yet, but eye-wittinesses say that the footage is absolutely clean, clear and beautiful.

• Updated Visual and Audio Effects
• Remastered in HD from the original negative
• Interactive Feature: Explore the exterior of the Enterprise in your own shuttle craft , going up close and personal with every inch of the famous ship.
• "Starfleet Access": Interactive pop-up icons throughout each episode offering behind-the-scenes information, trivia and lore; icon topics include: Science, Lifeforms, Technology, Ships and General Trivia
• 8mm behind-the-scenes home movies shot by "extra extraordinaire," Billy Blackburn, with his nostalgic, amusing and poignant look back on the filming of the series.
• Side-by-side comparisons between the original and the updated sequences.
• A look into the recording studio remastering the theme and episode soundtrack
• Documentaries on the remastering process

That's enough to make you want to put on a red jumpsuit and go on a mission with your friends.
Hit the jump to see more. [IGN via G4TV]

Thieves: We Want Blu-Ray

Well, if you go by the thieves, the HD format war is over.

"Seattle police are investigating a burglary at the Northgate Silver Platters store early Sunday where thieves grabbed about 200 Blu-ray discs with a retail value of more than $7,000.

Mike Batt, Silver Platters vice president, said thieves stole almost all of the store's Blu-ray selection."

Apparently the thieves didn't touch any of the HD-DVD discs, choosing to focus on the Blu-Ray items.

That's a hell of an endorsement for Blu-Ray.

Hit the jump for the deetz. [G4TV]

HD-DVD Strikes Back

In an effort to combat the big move that Blockbuster made by going exclusively with Blu-Ray. Toshiba has come up with a unique way of staying ahead of the game. The HD-DVD players have come with built in internet connections, which are now going to be put to good use.

With the release of '300' later this month, users not only will get a fantastic movie. But they will have the ability to change and edit the movie however they see fit. The best part is that users can upload their 'remake' of the movie to Warner Bros. servers, and will be accessible to download with other HD-DVD users.

I can only imagine what ideas people will come up with for this movie.

Read more after the jump. [Yahoo news via Crunchgear]

HD-DVD Finished By 2007?

Peter Ha of Crunchgear got a chance to have a sit down with Ken Lowe of Sigma Designs. And some interesting information was discussed about the HD format war. His feeling is that HD-DVD is against the ropes and might be knocked out by the end of this year by Blu-Ray.

So who is Ken Lowe? Why should we care about what he has to say? If you're interested in the HD format war, you might want to listen.

Find out after the jump. [Crunchgear]

Blu-Ray Wins: Oh, wait....

When BlockBuster made their announcement that all of their brick and mortar stores would be going to Blu-Ray exclusively, the thought was that HD-DVD was finished.

Customers were canceling their orders for HD-DVD players left and right, thinking that the war was over. Not so fast!!!

Ken Graffeo, Executive Vice President of High Definition Strategic Marketing for Universal, brushed off the idea that this was the end of HD-DVD. Ken stated that rentals only make up less than 1% of the revenue that HD-DVD generates, and that BlockBuster's on-line stores still continue to rent HD-DVD. He also stated that with the on-line content and interactive features gives HD-DVD an advantage over Blu-Ray.

I still believe that price of the players and format will determine who will truly win this war.

Check out the rest after the jump. [Trusted Reviews via Crunchgear]

Blockbuster's Blu-ray Endorsement Having Major Impact on HD DVD Player Sales

It looks like the decision for BlockBuster to only carry Blu-Ray DVD's have had a bigger impact than it seems.

The kicker? It's all because of BlockBuster!

With the announcement of the major video suppliers decision, the sales for HD-DVD players have taken a big hit. A tipster at an unnamed retailer tells us they've had more HD-DVD player orders canceled over the last few days than they've seen over the entire life cycle. The kicker? All of them were canceled because of the Blockbuster announcement.

The new HD-DVD player sales are now nonexistent, with the Blu-Ray player being the only thing moving now.

Blockbluster Bravely Backs Blu-ray

Looks like Blu-ray is beginning to honestly win the format war. Now Blockbuster is choosing sides and the company seems to favor Blu-ray over HD DVD.

Blockbuster just announced it would begin carrying more high-def discs in 1700 stores by mid-July. According to reports, Blockbuster is saying that Blu-ray is “significantly outpacing HD DVD rentals”, which could possibly lead to the pulling of HD DVDs off its shelves. For now though, Blockbuster online rental subscribers can still get their fix of both Blu-ray and HD DVD.

HD-DVD seriously needs to pull out some big guns!!!

Of course all of this war stuff could hit a snag if the market turns to downloaded media. Which really is the future of movies.

Read the article after the jump. [Yahoo! News]

Blu-ray Discs Starting To Rot

This does not bode well for the Blu-ray camp, but maybe it’s just an isolated incident. Or is it? Looks like a few other AVS Forum members are reporting the same blotchiness on their discs. Most of the members reporting issues are PS3 users and the discs have now become coasters. Has anyone else suffered from this problem?

Read the comments here. [AVS Forum]

Apple To Support HD DVD?

Could Apple be throwing its support behind both Blu-ray and HD DVD? We already know that Apple is a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, but according to a WWDC attendee’s post on the Mac Rumors forum, Leopard’s DVD player now has HD DVD settings in the preferences menu.

Hit the jump for more details. [Mac Rumors]

Toshiba to Cram HD DVD Into All Notebooks by 2008

In a major move for the HD-DVD camp, Toshiba has announced that starting next year all of there laptops will come with HD-DVD standard. While this may not be as big of a competitive advantage as Blu-ray in every PS3, it will definitely help out the HD DVD camp with its install base numbers. That is as long as they're smart enough to eat some of the increased costs.

Now if only we could pick a format and end this video war before the industry goes completely digital anyways.

Some Intel Santa Rosa Chips To Have Seperate HD Decoder

Multitaskers rejoice!!!

Intel is going to start using seperate decoders for HD DVD and Blu-ray playback in certain versions of their Santa Rosa chips. Now your little graphics card won't have put up with your love of High-Def on its own.

That means no more computer slow down when you're watching Planet Earth on Blu-ray (or HD DVD) and checking out Porn at the same time.

That's a win for me, and a win for you-thanks Intel.

Microsoft: we will never support Blu-Ray...Don't ask again!

I knew that Microsoft was fully behind the HD DVD format, but resent rumors had surfaced that the company may embrace Blu-ray, especially if it feels HD DVD isn’t catching on.

Not so my friends!!!

Microsoft:

"We’re fully committed to HD-DVD and have absolutely no plans to support other optical formats…. Current reports indicating that Microsoft has a back-up plan which includes Blu-ray support are incorrect."

So there you have it, no Blu-Ray for you.
At least from Microsoft.

Read the entire article after the jump.

Wal-Mart joins the High Definition war

It looks like the HD-DVD and the BluRay war is going to really heat up. The uber super store Wal-Mart is getting into the mix, which could turn the tide tremendously. Wal-Mart is teaming up with a over seas group to produce a low priced HD-DVD that will be on the shelves this year.

"The first batches of these blue-laser HD DVD players are to land sometime in 2007, with complete fulfillment of the order [from Fuh Yuan] in 2008. The deal could be worth up to $300 million US, which translates to $150 per player. If so, by the time Christmas 2007 rolls around, Wal-Mart could be selling these for less than $200 retail, although some speculate that the initial manufacturer suggested retail pricing might be in the ballpark of $299. Currently the cheapest high-definition player is a Toshiba HD DVD with an MSRP of $399." By comparison Blu-Ray players, manufactured in Japan, are not expected to drop below $1000 until next year. The International Herald Tribune writes about the risk Toshiba is taking by bringing in Chinese manufacturers to trump Sony in the format war.

This should be interesting!!!