Topic: The War Begins...

[pchin]

Nice!..wow SONY's 2nd gen BD player

Hopefully by the time they release 3rd gen player, it will be much cheaper and in the $400 range

[av_phile1]

BD sales is doing very well in the US while in UK over 80% sales are from HD-DVD.

So the format war is certainly far from over..it wil rage on but hopefully not as long as the classic Betamax vs VHS case. 

Inititially I supported BD but later ended up with HD-DVD.... I just hope I place the right bet   

Well, that's the risk & thrill for being early adopters 

No winner in 2007

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6422896.html

(Vito Mandato, executive consultant to Paramount Home Entertainment) predicts the number of hardware units in homes by the end of 2007 will be at 1.7 million for each format. On the HD DVD side, that includes 1.2 million stand-alone players and 500,000 Xbox 360 add-on drives. For BD, Mandato is counting only 22%, or 1.2 million, of the 5.5 million PS3 units projected to be sold during the year, plus 500,000 stand-alone players, because his analysis suggests that just 22% of PS3 households purchase movies regularly.

[NeilNo]

BD sales is doing very well in the US while in UK over 80% sales are from HD-DVD.

So the format war is certainly far from over..it wil rage on but hopefully not as long as the classic Betamax vs VHS case. 

Inititially I supported BD but later ended up with HD-DVD.... I just hope I place the right bet   

Well, that's the risk & thrill for being early adopters 

Simple reason HD DVD is doing well in UK...

PS3 is not yet release in UK.. Sa March 23 pa. I'm sure BD sales will pick up.. 

[pchin]

Simple reason HD DVD is doing well in UK...

PS3 is not yet release in UK.. Sa March 23 pa. I'm sure BD sales will pick up.. 

It will be interesting to see the market reaction after the release of PS3 in UK

No doubt BD sales figure will soar but will the positive response reflect its US counterpart?

[barrister]

Initially I was a BD advocater due to its technical superiority but now a HD-DVD supporter. The thing that got me into HD-DVD instead was due to the cheaper HD player price (the main factor in my case).

But seeing the current thread (BD outselling HD-DVD with a margin 2 to 1)....I'm tempted to change site as BD offers much better tittles (at least to my taste ), some new movies, e.g. Departed & Happy feet are cheaper than HD-DVD. Also HD-DVD releases some old movies in Combo format (ridiculous), thus price is higher.

Once the BD player price has dropped to a level comparable to the Tosh entry level...the boat will over-turn...I will jump ship immediately! (oops..I meant to be NEUTRAL lang) 

Ang problema, baka pag bumalik ka sa BD, baka makabawi na naman ang HD-DVD.  Paano yun, balik na naman sa HD-DVD?

Just curious: di ba for your purposes, mas bagay ang LG universal player?  Of course, the disadvantage is incomplete HD-DVD features, but doesn't the ability to play both formats outweigh the slight disadvantage? 

[Munskie]

Just curious: di ba for your purposes, mas bagay ang LG universal player?  Of course, the disadvantage is incomplete HD-DVD features, but doesn't the ability to play both formats outweigh the slight disadvantage? 

for the price of the LG combo player which is $1200...you can get a stand alone HD DVD player from Tosh $499  and a $599 PS3...me sukli pa.....

Ang problema, baka pag bumalik ka sa BD, baka makabawi na naman ang HD-DVD.  Paano yun, balik na naman sa HD-DVD?

still possible...as Universal has warmed up with its recent releases.  and low cost players will come into mix too.   But BD group still has advantage in content...thats why I dropped my stance na....and going neutral....very soon.

[barrister]

   Oo nga, ano. 

You guys have too much spare cash to play with.   

[Munskie]

  Oo nga, ano. 

You guys have too much spare cash to play with.   

no spare cash...thats why im selling my SD DVDs......

[pchin]

Ang problema, baka pag bumalik ka sa BD, baka makabawi na naman ang HD-DVD.  Paano yun, balik na naman sa HD-DVD?

Just curious: di ba for your purposes, mas bagay ang LG universal player?  Of course, the disadvantage is incomplete HD-DVD features, but doesn't the ability to play both formats outweigh the slight disadvantage? 

Sorry bro, problema ko is I can't understand Tagalog eh    I can guess you're asking why don't I buy a universal player so that I can enjoy both HD formats?

for the price of the LG combo player which is $1200...you can get a stand alone HD DVD player from Tosh $499  and a $599 PS3...me sukli pa.....

Ah...Munskie has mentioned what I wanted to say na  Actually, I got my Tosh HD-A2 at $400 including shipping but I believe now it's around $380. I'm considering & may decide on PS3 if the price will go down a bit more....

no spare cash...thats why im selling my SD DVDs......

Yeah, same here 

[barrister]

Sorry bro, problema ko is I can't understand Tagalog eh    

So sorry, sir pchin.  I'll keep that in mind.

I can guess you're asking why don't I buy a universal player so that I can enjoy both HD formats?

Yes, that's right.  I was also asking that if you go back to BD and HD-DVD suddenly picks up again, would you again go back to HD-DVD?



=======================================================


Thanks for the quick replies, sirs pchin and Munskie.  It's the first time I realized that the LG is not a viable option at this time due to the price difference.

[pchin]

So sorry, sir pchin.  I'll keep that in mind. Yes, that's right.  I was also asking that if you go back to BD and HD-DVD suddenly picks up again, would you again go back to HD-DVD?

No worry barrister.  Ah now I know your question.

Assuming if I decide to pick up BD in the future (PS3 is a possibility), then I would become NEUTRAL (i.e. I don't take site on either format) as oppose to joining the DARK force (to be blunt, it means jump ship or switch camp). 

Since I own both BD & HD-DVD players, I simply enjoy the best movies available that both sides can offer. Should either one wins the format war, I will buy the prevailing format & keep the rest in my HD library (which I still can enjoy watching). There's no need to double dip. 

[barrister]

That's good to hear.

I'm one of the many admirers of Pchin's Comfort Zone and those stunning screen shots, and from what I see, your TV really does need high def sources because I'm guessing that standard DVD will look awful on it.

[Mouldingo]

February Disc Sales: Blu-ray Continues to Outsell HD DVD; 'Departed' Offers Head-to-Head Sales Comparison


February again saw Blu-ray disc sales outnumber HD DVD by a wide margin, but a performance comparison of the month's top-selling disc may be the bigger story.

For the second month in a row, Blu-ray disc sales exceeded those of HD DVD by 2:1, with trade magazine Video Business today citing industry sources as saying a total of 250,000 Blu-ray movies were sold in February, versus an estimated 125,000 HD DVD movies in the same timeframe.
 
Perhaps more interesting, though, are the per-format sales for the month's top selling disc on both formats, Warner's 'The Departed.' Again according to numbers published by Video Business, in its first week of release, 'The Departed' sold 20,000 units on Blu-ray versus 13,000 on HD DVD.

These numbers would appear to contradict the widely-floated theory that Blu-ray's sales ascension is a direct result of the larger number of Blu-ray discs released since the first of the year (by our count, there were 55 Blu-ray releases in first eight weeks of the year, compared to 23 HD DVD releases in the same period).

While 20,000 vs 13,000 isn't a 2:1 margin, it does seem to suggest that Blu-ray's lead can be attributed to more than just that format's fatter release slate.

To be fair, 'The Departed' isn't the perfect apples-to-apples case study, as the HD DVD edition of the disc is an HD DVD/Standrd-Def DVD combo, making it five dollars more expensive than its Blu-ray counterpart.

Sony VP Rich Marty told Video Business that he expected the gap between Blu-ray and HD DVD to further widen in March, helped by next week's release of the highly anticipated 'Casino Royale,' which (like all Sony titles) will be released on Blu-ray only.

Universal VP Ken Graffeo cautioned against drawing long-term conclusions based on recent sales data, saying "You can’t look at the last two months as a trend or as what the consumer wants to do in this format... It’s really an artificial, short time period."

Graffeo went on to suggest that Blu-ray numbers are getting a boost from two-for-one specials offered by some retailers, pointing out Amazon's Blu-ray sale, offering 50% off select Blu-ray discs.

[pchin]

I'm one of the many admirers of Pchin's Comfort Zone and those stunning screen shots, and from what I see, your TV really does need high def sources because I'm guessing that standard DVD will look awful on it.

Tnx barrister  Using an upscale DVD player to match my HD display at 720p resolution, I'd say regular DVDs perform quite well tho we certainly can't compare to PQ of HD movies. However, the problem arise when we get accustomed to watching HD quality, hence looking at regular DVDs... the tendency for our eyes to seach for imperfection is unavoidable, thus spoiling the watching experience at times.

[Mouldingo]

No worry barrister.  Ah now I know your question.

Assuming if I decide to pick up BD in the future (PS3 is a possibility), then I would become NEUTRAL (i.e. I don't take site on either format) as oppose to joining the DARK force (to be blunt, it means jump ship or switch camp). 

Since I own both BD & HD-DVD players, I simply enjoy the best movies available that both sides can offer. Should either one wins the format war, I will buy the prevailing format & keep the rest in my HD library (which I still can enjoy watching). There's no need to double dip. 

Amazon's HD sales eversince the 50% discount started. Mmmm...very tempting indeed.  And there seems to be more neutral HD-DVD owners (buying BD after buying HD DVD), than BD owners jumping ship.

[Mouldingo]

for the price of the LG combo player which is $1200...you can get a stand alone HD DVD player from Tosh $499  and a $599 PS3...me sukli pa.....

still possible...as Universal has warmed up with its recent releases.  and low cost players will come into mix too.   But BD group still has advantage in content...thats why I dropped my stance na....and going neutral....very soon.

The LG does not fully support HD DVD features also. Unless they did so after threatened by the DVD group. People are still complaining that Universal is not releasing the big gun titles.

[pchin]

Amazon's HD sales eversince the 50% discount started. Mmmm...very tempting indeed.  And there seems to be more neutral HD-DVD owners (buying BD after buying HD DVD), than BD owners jumping ship.

Whoa very impressive sales figure! No doubt after the release of PS3 in all the Euro countries (imagine so many of them) on March 23...BD sales will shoot up like sky rocket!!  After that what will happen to us HD-DVD suporter?

People are still complaining that Universal is not releasing the big gun titles.

Probably by then only Universal will release all its BIG gun tittles to turn the table around but hopefully it's not too late... 
 

[krazy]

Whoa very impressive sales figure! No doubt after the release of PS3 in all the Euro countries (imagine so many of them) on March 23...BD sales will shoot up like sky rocket!!  After that what will happen to us HD-DVD suporter?
Probably by then only Universal will release all its BIG gun tittles to turn the table around but hopefully it's not too late... 

By then the BD studios would be bringing out the big gun titles like the Star Wars series (which I always say will be one of the, if not THE title that will make people switch/go format neutral ) and i'm sure Fox has something up thier sleeve as 2007 is the 30th anniversary of the release of Episode 4 Seeing how BD has more studio support, it would be hard for Universal to turn things around all by themselves

[pchin]

Yeah right...BD has BIGGER guns! 

[Kratos]

Hmmm, with PS3's release in Europe and here in Middle East next week and BD sales continue to outnumber HD DVD, i reckon the war will be over soon. I didnt imagine that my jump to HD could be sooner than i thought.

[juneaki]

February Disc Sales: Blu-ray Continues to Outsell HD DVD; 'Departed' Offers Head-to-Head Sales Comparison


February again saw Blu-ray disc sales outnumber HD DVD by a wide margin, but a performance comparison of the month's top-selling disc may be the bigger story.

For the second month in a row, Blu-ray disc sales exceeded those of HD DVD by 2:1, with trade magazine Video Business today citing industry sources as saying a total of 250,000 Blu-ray movies were sold in February, versus an estimated 125,000 HD DVD movies in the same timeframe.
 
Perhaps more interesting, though, are the per-format sales for the month's top selling disc on both formats, Warner's 'The Departed.' Again according to numbers published by Video Business, in its first week of release, 'The Departed' sold 20,000 units on Blu-ray versus 13,000 on HD DVD.

These numbers would appear to contradict the widely-floated theory that Blu-ray's sales ascension is a direct result of the larger number of Blu-ray discs released since the first of the year (by our count, there were 55 Blu-ray releases in first eight weeks of the year, compared to 23 HD DVD releases in the same period).

While 20,000 vs 13,000 isn't a 2:1 margin, it does seem to suggest that Blu-ray's lead can be attributed to more than just that format's fatter release slate.

To be fair, 'The Departed' isn't the perfect apples-to-apples case study, as the HD DVD edition of the disc is an HD DVD/Standrd-Def DVD combo, making it five dollars more expensive than its Blu-ray counterpart.

Sony VP Rich Marty told Video Business that he expected the gap between Blu-ray and HD DVD to further widen in March, helped by next week's release of the highly anticipated 'Casino Royale,' which (like all Sony titles) will be released on Blu-ray only.

Universal VP Ken Graffeo cautioned against drawing long-term conclusions based on recent sales data, saying "You can’t look at the last two months as a trend or as what the consumer wants to do in this format... It’s really an artificial, short time period."

Graffeo went on to suggest that Blu-ray numbers are getting a boost from two-for-one specials offered by some retailers, pointing out Amazon's Blu-ray sale, offering 50% off select Blu-ray discs.

It is so maybe because there are a lot of titles for sale in BD format than HD format. But i think the true measure can be had if there is a comparison on a by title basis. For example, if BD format outsells HD format for a specific movie such as say " The Fugitive".

[juneaki]

Whoa very impressive sales figure! No doubt after the release of PS3 in all the Euro countries (imagine so many of them) on March 23...BD sales will shoot up like sky rocket!!  After that what will happen to us HD-DVD suporter? 

I hope China produce more HD-DVD players so that it can flood RP with Xenon HD-DVD, Orange HD-DVD, Rhong-xin HD-DVD, etc. etc.    Then HD-DVD disc will be sold at a discount, if these happens, HD will win not only in RP but also in Asia.   

[Munskie]

Despite the numerous releases of sales figures...its still early and too small of  a market to make such an end of war prediction.....maybe trendings...but we all know....it shifts.....   just my dos centimos...

[Compaq]

I hope China produce more HD-DVD players so that it can flood RP with Xenon HD-DVD, Orange HD-DVD, Rhong-xin HD-DVD, etc. etc.    Then HD-DVD disc will be sold at a discount, if these happens, HD will win not only in RP but also in Asia.   

You forgot to include studios in your equation Is it possible that the majority of the studios will change their minds and support both formats? Or maybe, in the future, someone will be able to hack BD and convert it to HD-DVD 

My thoughts, trend will be - go neutral. Masakit lang sa bulsa, at least for now.

Cheers!!!
Compaq

[turismo1997]

Does anyone know if the xbox 360's hddvd player upscales ordinary dvd titles?

[john5479]

the xbox360 add-on upscales dvd through vga. it upscales backup dvds through component

[Clondalkin]

Does anyone know if the xbox 360's hddvd player upscales ordinary dvd titles?

It actually does a great job upscaling dvds as far as I can discern.   I am using the D-terminal and component and haven't tested VGA connection yet.

[Clondalkin]

By then the BD studios would be bringing out the big gun titles like the Star Wars series (

.

Lucas would not even blink an eye unless he sees a user base of at least 10M.  Still quite a wait for us Star Wars fans.

[Clondalkin]

But i think the true measure can be had if there is a comparison on a by title basis. 

A more meaningful measure could be had if there were like 5000 titles available. 

[nels76]

may mga Blu Ray and HD DVD titles sa Infomaxx sa Park Square 1.

Price from 1700 to 2200.