Blu-Ray Support

[Webslinger]

Blu-ray burners are available.
And it is possible to rip/burn a bluray movie onto a single layer BD-R.

We haven't seen BD+ yet. One point to consider is how much protection are we, as consumers, going to be dealing with if we want to exercise our fair rights.

Size doesn't always matter; it's the quality that matters, right? (since we've been talking about porn, recently )

Err, I mean codecs matter.

Blu-ray does have a size advantage. Still, some of the earlier releases did not impress.

 

[RedFox 1]

I don't think Sony has ever won even one of these format wars. They should quit while they are ahead, they make a good TV. Its just a matter of time before HD RW Drives are available. :agree:

 

[skourip]

Well, I do think the success of the format has a huge role in support being added to AnyDVD HD. You may disagree but I hardly think I pulled the thread off-topic. It does appear as Webslinger and Androo79 have written that that Blu-Ray has relaxed their stance.

As for your doubt that this will have any impact you may or may not be correct. One of the reasons VHS won over Betamax was porn. Now this doesn't necessarily mean porn will decide which format wins but it still might have an impact. It's said that VHS beat Betamax because VHS was more open and Betamax was Sony's little pet that they had control of. Well, their initial reaction to porn on Blu-Ray was a bad move on their part. If you want your format to be embraced by as many people as possible then you don't restrict a large source of media releases from using said format!

Anyway, my point in even bringing this up was that if Blu-Ray is very very stupid and doesn't think about the big picture they will ruin themselves. And, why spend the time on finding a way to get around the protections if it's a lame duck to begin with. Of course, it appears from press releases that they are planning on working on it.

Feel free to completely disregard my statements.

Well DrinkLyeAndDie why would I disregard your statements? I never argued that BR have made the best decisions regarding their format. I do agree that in general restricting the content is unacceptable and will hurt the format. It is also true that support of the format from slysoft could have a positive effect for BR, as a matter of fact I feel that it will be a much bigger factor than porn releases. The VHS VS bettamax story took place during vastly different times. The internet wasn’t the primary source for porn back then. One of the reasons its so big now is the internet and the ease with which people can access it with the primary weight being on volume rather than quality(http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/12/10/porn.business/). I seriously doubt there will be a lot of people who would like to have their porn collection on BR or HD-DVD. I tend to agree with Steve Duplessie that porn will not drive the format. Now on to the region encoding I also agree that its a bad idea. However it was there with DVD and it did not hurt the format at all. Companies like slysoft made sure we could get around it. Hopefully they will again!! Now as to the winner of the war I have already made my prediction. Despite all the talk there are more important factors which will decide the success or failure of the two formats. One simple example is product placement which I mentioned before and is vastly more important than either porn or slysofts support. Also when one looks at the comparison of the two formats its pretty clear :
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6463_7-6462511-2.html?tag=nav
As I said lets hope that HD-DVD lasts long enough to keep up the pressure for both pricing and quality. Latest sales data look pretty bad for HD-DVD(35% HD-DVD, 65 blu ray).

 

[Wizatron]

The point is this.

Blu-ray burners are available.
And it is possible to rip/burn a bluray movie onto a single layer BD-R.

Although many will hate this, I have already purchased a BluRay burner for my PC and so far have been very happy with it. From a PC perspective, it is better from a data storage capacity of 50GB rather than 30GB. Also, I have tons of PS2 games, so going to the PS3 was a no brainer. I now have a BluRay player for half the cost and still can play may PS2/PS3 games. For me, this was a win - win situation. Please do not take this as, I am a Sony lover, I am not. But, I also have to say that I am not a big Microsoft lover either. Either way, the two formats are out there and we are in the middle. Since both Sony and Microsoft will not abandon their formats (or at least no time soon), it is going to be those who support both formats that will win. There is a great amount of $$$ to be made this way.

 

[thevoiceover]

my opinion

so going to the PS3 was a no brainer.

I also have both formats and for the titles that are released on both platforms, I prefer the HD-DVD format. My TV is 1080p and both the players I have are playing at 1080p - this means I can pretty much judge the formats with a "unbiased" opinion. I just think the detail is better on HD-DVD over the Bluray, then again - they both are way better than standard DVD's..

Are you running Linux on your PS3? This to me is a must and being you can compile the Kernel with NTFS support, it is pretty easy to backup Bluray to your external drives.. I also have a UDF filesystem added to my kernel, this means HD-DVD USB drive support!! Pretty cool that a machine like this can do it all! I can also say I don't consider myself a Sony fan either, but I have a few of there TV's, PS2, PS3, PSP and a couple of there monitors - what does this make me? I guess I do support them.. Well either way none of there formats seem to survive the wars (even though I thought betamax was a great format) they made me pretty angry with not supporting the MD format well and then UMD movies have gone really nowhere. What does this mean for Bluray? I have not a clue, I do see the amount of movies released though on Bluray (not stating quality) and the numbers alone seem to be favoring Sony.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

I am not saying Blu Ray is crappy, I just think it is inferior. In the end, it's all about content.

It's only inferior in terms of usability, though, and that could change if the group behind it decided to implement less restrictive standards; a move like that would pretty much bury HD-DVD in a matter of weeks. In pretty much every techical way Blu-Ray outstrips HD-DVD considerably; and it's definately the ideal format for computer use (even ignoring the fact there don't seem to be any HD-DVD burners or media available, anyway).

 

[guile]

It's only inferior in terms of usability, though, and that could change if the group behind it decided to implement less restrictive standards; a move like that would pretty much bury HD-DVD in a matter of weeks. In pretty much every techical way Blu-Ray outstrips HD-DVD considerably; and it's definately the ideal format for computer use (even ignoring the fact there don't seem to be any HD-DVD burners or media available, anyway).

Usability?? C'mon now. Is that the ONLY way it is inferior to HD-DVD? I don't think so. There are positives and negatives on BOTH sides but HD-DVD is just better imo. Does that mean I wouldn't support Blu Ray? No. I have a BD drive and like some of the stuff I have for it. This whole thing about "Space" being the advantage is a bunch of bs. If they chose to use a more efficient codec (ie, avc), they wouldn't need 40+ gig files for movies like Click and Black Hawk Down.

So tell me exactly how Blu-Ray outstrips HD-DVD in pretty much every technical way again? Oh, let's see, it's about PC users. First off, I don't think ANY optical disc is a viable storage solution, period! Yes, Blu Ray has the drives out (and well ahead of HD-DVD with their measly 1x that hasn't even showed up yet), but for now, this is cutting edge stuff that most people don't even know exists. That will be for the forseeable future imo.

By the time either format starts penetrating mass market, 2 tb hard drives will be affordable and the norm. I wouldn't trust a 10 gig disc to hold my data let alone a 30 (or worse, 50) gig disc. Btw, I hate Blu Ray so much that I am counting the minutes for an anydvd-hd update that supports it

g

 

[Charlie]

There don't seem to be any HD-DVD burners or media available, anyway).

Yes there is

Usability?? C'mon now. Is that the ONLY way it is inferior to HD-DVD? I don't think so. There are positives and negatives on BOTH sides but HD-DVD is just better imo. Does that mean I wouldn't support Blu Ray? No. I have a BD drive and like some of the stuff I have for it. This whole thing about "Space" being the advantage is a bunch of bs. If they chose to use a more efficient codec (ie, avc), they wouldn't need 40+ gig files for movies like Click and Black Hawk Down.

So tell me exactly how Blu-Ray outstrips HD-DVD in pretty much every technical way again? Oh, let's see, it's about PC users. First off, I don't think ANY optical disc is a viable storage solution, period! Yes, Blu Ray has the drives out (and well ahead of HD-DVD with their measly 1x that hasn't even showed up yet), but for now, this is cutting edge stuff that most people don't even know exists. That will be for the forseeable future imo.

By the time either format starts penetrating mass market, 2 tb hard drives will be affordable and the norm. I wouldn't trust a 10 gig disc to hold my data let alone a 30 (or worse, 50) gig disc. Btw, I hate Blu Ray so much that I am counting the minutes for an anydvd-hd update that supports it

g

Well put on that, I just don't understand the rush to decrypt it? There really isn't a need just yet well I think.

Don't get me wrong yes it is better picture quality but you can't go by hardware and media for saying this one is better than the other. Just my honest opinion and thoughts.

 

[James]

Usability?? C'mon now. Is that the ONLY way it is inferior to HD-DVD? I don't think so. There are positives and negatives on BOTH sides but HD-DVD is just better imo. Does that mean I wouldn't support Blu Ray? No. I have a BD drive and like some of the stuff I have for it. This whole thing about "Space" being the advantage is a bunch of bs. If they chose to use a more efficient codec (ie, avc), they wouldn't need 40+ gig files for movies like Click and Black Hawk Down.

Not to mention that they "forgot" to make lossless audio codecs mandatory, so they waste gigabytes with multichannel pcm sound. :doh:
Or they "forgot" to make a secondary video decoder mandatory, so they waste half of the disc with a "video commentary" version. :doh:
They didn't make advanced menus mandatory, so we don't have cool xml scripting and nice menus like HD DVD has.
I cannot comment on the physical format (reliability?) and use for data storage, but the Blu-ray "Video" format sucks.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

This whole thing about "Space" being the advantage is a bunch of bs. If they chose to use a more efficient codec (ie, avc), they wouldn't need 40+ gig files for movies like Click and Black Hawk Down.

Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray standards include all the same codecs... yeah, it was probably a mistake for those putting out Blu-Ray movies to use MPEG-2 instead of AVC or VC-1, but as I understand it the newer Blu-Ray releases are starting to use these codecs.

I wasn't really referring to mere storage capacity when I said Blu-Ray was superior (though it does obviously have more, which is a benefit in the computer area). I'm no engineer, so I can't get into great specifics without basically repeating the reports I've read elsewhere, but from everything I have read about both formats, Blu-Ray is certainly the superior format from a pure technical standpoint putting aside all the video standards, region coding and other garbage that's included in the equation for films on Blu-Ray. I won't argue that, counting all those things, it is a better option to have films on HD-DVD (unless the Blu-Ray group decides to change those standards, etc. appropriately), and to leave Blu-Ray for computer use.

It technology is more innovative, it's more scratch resistant... etc. One of the reasons HD-DVD has that slight cost advantage is that it's so heavily based on conventional DVDs... too heavily based on them, IMO. I'd rather a completely new format that a modest upgrade and repackaged version of an old one.

First off, I don't think ANY optical disc is a viable storage solution, period!

No, I wouldn't trust most optical discs for long-term backups, but that doesn't invalidate the medium entirely. What I do backup to optical disc (usually DVD-RAM), I also keep on my external WD MyBook Pro 500GB (though this is getting full, so I'm considering getting a second one with a TB capacity). It's still nice having the discs around when I'm in a hurry... they're also more portable than the external drive. And quite frankly, I haven't lost data off a disc yet, so I'm not overly suspicious of them.

Yes, Blu Ray has the drives out (and well ahead of HD-DVD with their measly 1x that hasn't even showed up yet), but for now, this is cutting edge stuff that most people don't even know exists. That will be for the forseeable future imo.

I wouldn't say that'll be a very long forseeable future. Even now, you can buy a Blu-Ray burner for hundreds less than a standalone television player. And if CD and DVD were any indications, these drives will come down in price awfully quickly.

By the time either format starts penetrating mass market, 2 tb hard drives will be affordable and the norm. I wouldn't trust a 10 gig disc to hold my data let alone a 30 (or worse, 50) gig disc. Btw, I hate Blu Ray so much that I am counting the minutes for an anydvd-hd update that supports it

I wouldn't say 2TBs will be the norm that soon. Average users still aren't generally capable of filling up even 500GB.

For better or for worse, at the moment Blu-Ray looks to be quite ahead in terms of movie sales, and it's certainly way ahead in computers. I won't really care one way or the other which one wins, but I really don't see HD-DVD as being better than Blu-Ray in any other way than user friendliness.

 

[Charlie]

Blu-ray to sting HD-DVD

Well it's been a while on the debate of which format so here is some google news on the battle of the hi-def players just released about 4 hours ago.



AMERICA'S porn kings may decide who wins the biggest format stoush as the battle for the next-generation to replace DVDs heats up.

And this is the biggest battle since the Betamax VCR took on its rival VHS in the 1980s.

In January, anyone looking for a winner of the war between the two next-generation discs designed to replace DVD would have picked Blu-ray over the opposing HD-DVD format by a country mile.

The bet looked well-placed: the first two Blu-ray players, Samsung's BD-P1000 and Panasonic's BD10, along with a handful of GB BD movies, were in Australian stores in December.

HD-DVD movies were scarce and a player nowhere in sight.

Software support for Blu-ray is hefty. Every big Hollywood studio except Universal backs Blu-ray, and only a handful of labels are opting to press movies in both formats.

Blu-ray can also count on the hardware support of the world's highest-profile consumer electronics companies including Sony, Panasonic, Apple Computers, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Dell, LG and Hitachi.

The HD-DVD camp includes Toshiba, Microsoft, GE, Kenwood, Canon, Onkyo, Teac, NEC and Mitsubishi.

But the clincher for Blu-ray is Sony's Blu-ray-equipped PS3.

The high-resolution gaming console is due out on March 23 and will be snapped up.

No wonder that last month it looked like a 3-0 to Blu-ray.

But just when it looked like being all over for HD-DVD two things happened.

Both prove why a month is a long time in the ever-shifting and often murky politics of consumer electronics.

The arrival of the HD-E1 -- Toshiba's first HD-DVD player -- in Australia -- in the middle of last month was the first.

The second occurred a week earlier at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, an event at which the adult industry holds a concurrent exhibition.

The whisper coming from LA got louder as the show went on.

Word was the $72 billion-a-year worldwide porn industry would use HD-DVD to maintain its 10 per cent share of an annual market of standard DVDs worth an estimated $30.3 billion.

The official reason was HD-DVD's lower cost of production.

Unofficially, it is Sony's longstanding and praiseworthy policy of disallowing its media to handle pornography.

The upshot is a Lazarus-like revival of HD-DVD.

But the smart money is still on Blu-ray. The format has the software and hardware firepower to see off HD-DVD, notwithstanding the latter's support from the adult industry.

In the long run, HD-DVD will survive only if the opposing camps agree to build dual-format machines.

It's a rerun of the recordable-DVD debacle all over again, when opposing groups publicly refused to build dual-format recorders.

The confused public bought neither.

In the end everyone caved in and nearly all DVD recorders read the -R and +R recorder formats.

Until the format issue is resolved, Toshiba is pressing on with HD-DVD and has finally released its first Australian high-definition player, the $1099 HD-E1.

The HD-E1 was meant to arrive before December, but after a frustrating number of false starts Australia's first HD-DVD player has finally arrived.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21289074-11869,00.html