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How much longer will the format war last? — Page 3

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Originally posted by: Windexed
I'm trying to decide what I should do. I have the Xbox 360 add-on and about 12 HD-DVDs (I also have a blu-ray player). I'm considering buying another stand aloneHD-DVD player for roughly $100, because:

1) I can't stand the Xbox one and it is too damn loud

2) I have $200 invested in HD-DVDs that probably either aren't or won't be worth much

3) Who knows when these particular movies will be out on blu-ray (Could be years).


So should I try to sell the Xbox 360 add-on and a couple movies and get the regular HD-DVD player? Should I just get rid of all of them and wait for them to be on Blu-ray? Any suggestions?


Also, another thing I've been seeing on the web (digitalbits maybe?) that Toshiba is reneging on the 5 free movie thing, which was to be part of my plan.


I bought the 360 add on as well, and I'm going to keep it for now. I can still watch all my HD movies on the player--especially my Trek Remastered set. If they ever do a promotion to trade in the player for a blu-ray deal, I'll do that.
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A celebration is in order! We shall rape the land and pillage the women!

Well, at least it didn't drag on for as long as VHS vs. Beta.
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I sure am happy all you hddvd buyers spent all that money,sure is nice isn't it LOL.

I never spent a cent on hddvd,proud PS3\Bluray owner here.

long live the Blu!

also hope NONE of you Bluray bashers come over to this side now either,we don't want you LOL

I am already reading some of you guys changing your tone and sides,this is very funny.
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Originally posted by: dark_jedi
I sure am happy all you hddvd buyers spent all that money,sure is nice isn't it LOL.

I never spent a cent on hddvd,proud PS3\Bluray owner here.

long live the Blu!

also hope NONE of you Bluray bashers come over to this side now either,we don't want you LOL

I am already reading some of you guys changing your tone and sides,this is very funny.


I still don't like it, it's an incomplete format. But what choice do I have now? None, SOny now has me at thier whim. Terrible situation.
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it is not terrible at all,just stay away from Sony and Bluray,that is what I would do if I was a naysayer.
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Originally posted by: dark_jedi
it is not terrible at all,just stay away from Sony and Bluray,that is what I would do if I was a naysayer.


And that would probably work fine for a few years. At least until they stop making DVDs altogether. Then what are we suppose to do?

Personally, I have no technical problems with Blu-ray. My problem was always that Sony was the biggest backer of it. It's the first format they've introduced that's actually become a standard format. With all the other bullshit they've been pulling lately (rootkit anyone?) I had a really hard time supporting them. I even went as far as to not buy any Sony produced CDs.

But now that the war is over, I'd like to make full use of my HDTV, so I'll be picking up a PS3 in the next few months. Now I can start buying all my movies on Blu-ray and enjoy the hi-def goodness.

As far as the copy protection and other DRM crap, that's not going to last. It never does. People will get around it eventually and we'll all be at square one again.
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"And that would probably work fine for a few years. At least until they stop making DVDs altogether. Then what are we suppose to do?"

make petitions for Toshiba to revive hddvd.
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Now that there is officially a single HD optical format, instead of concentrating on a format war, we can concentrate on the competition between companies vying for your purchase of their Blu-ray/DVD player. Even if you're afraid that Blu-ray is an unfinished format and those 2.0 players still don't seem good enough, and even if you hate Sony with a passion, just wait for another brand and model to come along that does everything you want it to. It it's pretty commonplace for brands to incorporate their own technology into a player or other piece of equipment. Hell, A/V receiver and pre-amp makers come up with new stuff every year to try and one-up the competition. In this coming year with more and more people purchasing HDTVs, and now that the format war has been decided, I don't have any doubt that the competition will drive up the quality of players and eventually drive down the price.

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[Holiday Special Hybrid DVD v2]
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[Backstroke of the West DVD]
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I don't doubt that at all Zion,prices are already coming down on players and the Bluray discs themselves,especially the box sets like Close Encounters,Blade Runner,and Harry Potter,not badly priced at all.
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Originally posted by: dark_jedi
"And that would probably work fine for a few years. At least until they stop making DVDs altogether. Then what are we suppose to do?"

make petitions for Toshiba to revive hddvd.


That would be stupid and futile and you know it.

I also think it's stupid for someone like you to say "the naysayers can stay out of our camp because we don't want you", even if you did have an LOL after it. The naysayers and the average consumer that didn't get involved in the "war" to begin with are the vast majority of consumers. Without them, the format still won't take off. Thankfully, most people don't care which format won, as long as there's only one.

Don't forget that you took just as much risk as the people that bought HD-DVD players. The only difference is that your risk paid off and there's didn't. Why do you think so many people weren't buying players at all? To much risk of being left with a dead format.

Now that there is only one, I have no doubt that the prices of players, recorders, and media will drop dramatically. Best Buy already has a lot of Blu-ray titles on sale for $20, which is what the average price of a DVD was just a year or so ago.
F Scale score - 3.3333333333333335

You are disciplined but tolerant; a true American.

Pissing off Rob since August 2007.
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if you can't take a friggin joke lordjedi that is fine with me,I really could care less,and to me,I did not take any risk at all,I knew that Sony and PS3 and Bluray would not lose,and you say that the format might still not take off,well we will see won't we?

all you hddvd people will jump on the bandwagon just as soon as the mourning and grieving is over.

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I'm not suggesting the format won't take off. On the contrary, it absolutely will take off now. What I was suggesting is that all the people that were for HD-DVD or weren't for either format are now going to be investing in Blu-ray. Your comment about "stay out of our camp", if taken seriously, would be the worst thing they could do. If they "stayed out of your camp", then the format would die. By having them jump into your camp now (since it's the only "camp" left), the format will do nothing but take off.

Funnily enough, both formats were nearly relegated to the niche format dustbin. If Warner had not gone exclusive, another year would have gone by with no winning format. If that had happened, we'd be stuck with DVD for years to come because no one would be buying into either one. Just look at minidisc, SACD, and plenty of other "superior" formats that failed to take off, even with no other competing formats.

I know you were joking, I just don't think it's a very funny joke.
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You are disciplined but tolerant; a true American.

Pissing off Rob since August 2007.
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Woohoo! Universal has gone Blu! Now we can get Heroes in Blu-ray format! Yay!!!
F Scale score - 3.3333333333333335

You are disciplined but tolerant; a true American.

Pissing off Rob since August 2007.
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Just a little humour that’s, wow I’m sure glad I didn’t I didn’t buy ether format oh, what a palaver its been.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/Evolution3417/StarWarsHD-DVDpisstake1.jpg

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/Evolution3417/StarWarsHD-DVDpisstake2.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w118/Brainstorm3417/saberwalker.gif
Only the originals from the 70mm six-track Dolby stereo Dolby format 42 will sound better on DVD.
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Wow. I feel bad for anyone who bought The Last Starfighter on HD-DVD. If your gonna keep an obsolete player around to watch a portion of your movie collection on, you would at least want those to be some excellent movies...

Hmm, that just isn't right. The Last Starfighter gets a nice HD release, remastered no doubt, and the best proper version of Star Wars available in a non-anamorphic special feature... yeah, I shouldn't have brought this up, just struck me that is all...

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Mark my words ...

Lucas will put out Star Wars in a new, even-more souped up special edition on Blu-Ray. It'll feature Jimmy Smits on Alderaan right before the Death Star blows it up. It will not contain the OOT. And people will still buy that shit sandwich and delight in its piquant after-dinner taste.

Then six months later they will have "suddenly found" a new, pristine print of the OOT and generate an all new HD master from it, and it will be released to the public one year after the latest SE. It will cost three prices compared to the SE. Only the purists like us will buy it. The Great Unwashed will say "we already bought this ... why buy it again." Lucas will say "See, they prefer the SE" while chuckling all the way to the bank.

Edit: Oh, and this will happen right before the format is about to give way to the next generation format.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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In all seriousness, I'm becoming more and more convinced that we will finally see the OOT remastered for the next home video release (even if it's in the worse case scenario ADM described).

Maybe it's just delusions of grandeur (who am I kidding, that's exactly what it is), but that mention of wanting to put 100 hours of documentaries on the next release is making me think that they're going to give the movies the ultimate treatment, finally pull their heads out of the sand, and realize that people on the whole generally enjoy the OT significantly more than the prequels. This will translate to them giving each of the original films a five disc release while the prequels will only get two discs each at the most.

ps: yea, I'm really being delusional, but just let me dream for a moment.
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Originally posted by: Fang Zei
In all seriousness, I'm becoming more and more convinced that we will finally see the OOT remastered for the next home video release (even if it's in the worse case scenario ADM described).

Maybe it's just delusions of grandeur (who am I kidding, that's exactly what it is), but that mention of wanting to put 100 hours of documentaries on the next release is making me think that they're going to give the movies the ultimate treatment, finally pull their heads out of the sand, and realize that people on the whole generally enjoy the OT significantly more than the prequels. This will translate to them giving each of the original films a five disc release while the prequels will only get two discs each at the most.

ps: yea, I'm really being delusional, but just let me dream for a moment.



Assuming that they follow through on their mega-ultimate-super-duper box set. I imagine there is now great temptation to skimp a bit and do a rather standard blu-ray SE of the six films so that it is available for christmas 2008.
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Last Starfighter came out on HD-DVD!? Holy Shit!

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

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Here's what the real temptation will be:

Just take a look at what happened with the '04 box set. It had (at the time) the highest single day sales in the history of dvd. I don't think it's a stretch to say that the vast majority of those people never so much as bothered to pop disc 4 into their player, to say nothing of the audio commentaries. People that have enough time to listen to and watch all of that are labeled as, well, people with too much time on their hands. Most people are too busy adding 5 more titles to their 600+ collection to bother with taking several days to watch bonus material. They just wanted it so they could finally have the movies on everyone's favorite format.

LFL could just as easily pull the same shit with the next release. They could pad it out with documentaries that they know no one except we on these forums will watch. Then they could intentionally neglect the OOT once again.

Hey, whatya say we plan on this: As soon as the next release is even announced, if it doesn't have more or less exactly what we want (a 1080p24 transfer of the OOT with at least a couple of audio options), we immediately start the new petition.

good idea? yes? no?

Oh, and zombie, I don't know how it's even entering into your head that LFL would do the next release this year. I'm surprised enough that they're finding room after Indy IV and Force Unleashed to wedge in The Clone Wars. There's no way in hell we're seeing the next release until the end of next year at the earliest. I also don't see it happening until after the much-rumored 3D re-release. If the JoBlo rumor of a Spring '09 date for the 3D ends up being true, I would say it's a pretty safe bet we're seeing the blu-ray in fall of '09, which would - of course - also be perfect timing for the live action show.
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Originally posted by: Fang Zei

good idea? yes? no?

Oh, and zombie, I don't know how it's even entering into your head that LFL would do the next release this year. I'm surprised enough that they're finding room after Indy IV and Force Unleashed to wedge in The Clone Wars. There's no way in hell we're seeing the next release until the end of next year at the earliest. I also don't see it happening until after the much-rumored 3D re-release. If the JoBlo rumor of a Spring '09 date for the 3D ends up being true, I would say it's a pretty safe bet we're seeing the blu-ray in fall of '09, which would - of course - also be perfect timing for the live action show.


The HD film masters are already made and ready to go. There are already a ton of extras made and ready to go from the 2004 release and the prequel DVDs. A half decent Blu Ray Saga boxset could be put together within the space of one month. Trust me, its extremely easy for them to do it, which is why I say there is some reason to suspect they will.
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bill gates and microsoft killed HD dvd by not backing toshiba, all bill would have had to do was have had the xbox 360 gaming systems games on HD-DVD disc.

bill gates wants online downloading of movies in HD via xbox live yeah those low quality encodes in 720 p are just as good as 1080 p, yeah right.

i would not been all that suprised if in a year or two the 360 comes out in an upgraded version whose games are on blu ray, like sony.

having dvd games that have to be split up on four or five discs is rediculous when they can fit on a single disc.

there are rumors that final fantasy XIII which comes out in christmas 2008 is so massive it will take three dual layer blu ray discs to play on the ps3.

“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.

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Originally posted by: skyjedi2005
bill gates and microsoft killed HD dvd by not backing toshiba, all bill would have had to do was have had the xbox 360 gaming systems games on HD-DVD disc.

bill gates wants online downloading of movies in HD via xbox live yeah those low quality encodes in 720 p are just as good as 1080 p, yeah right.

i would not been all that suprised if in a year or two the 360 comes out in an upgraded version whose games are on blu ray, like sony.

having dvd games that have to be split up on four or five discs is rediculous when they can fit on a single disc.

there are rumors that final fantasy XIII which comes out in christmas 2008 is so massive it will take three dual layer blu ray discs to play on the ps3.


Ask the average consumer if they can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. They can't. That's why industry analysts say it's just as good. That really has nothing to do with Xbox Live though.

As far as MS putting a Blu-ray drive on the Xbox, don't bet on it. Instead, they're more likely to go with downloading the game right to the Xbox hard drive with Xbox Live. It would be similar to the way Steam works. A new games coming out, you preorder it and the moment it goes RTM, it starts downloading from their servers. Once it's available at retail, it unlocks and you play. No more messing with media, no more having to go to the store. That's how I see it working anyway, don't know if they'll really go that route or not.

Finally, market forces killed HD-DVD. Not Bill Gates, not Microsoft. That's just silly conspiracy talk. Microsoft is not all powerful.

I have yet to see a game that comes on DVD that doesn't fit on a single, dual layer DVD. Then again, I don't buy a lot of physical media games. The last 3 or 4 games I've bought have all been through Steam. If a game, like Final Fantasy, requires 3 dual layer blu ray discs, it's more than likely because of all the HD video content that they're putting into the game. The game part itself probably doesn't take up that much space. Final Fantasy games are well known for including lots of fmv cut scenes that sometimes run for several minutes. That's not a game in my mind, that's freaking movie that you interact with.
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Originally posted by: lordjediMicrosoft is not all powerful.

Well, it should be!

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape