AP: Blockbuster to favor Blu-Ray HD Disc (could this be the tilt in the format war?)

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BLOCKBUSTER_BLU_RAY?SITE=KYB66&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Blockbuster Inc. will rent high-definition DVDs only in the Blu-ray format in 1,450 stores when it expands its high-def offerings next month, dealing a major blow to the rival HD DVD format.

The move, being announced Monday, could be the first step in resolving a format war that has kept confused consumers from rushing to buy new DVD players until they can determine which format will dominate the market.

Blockbuster has been renting both Blu-ray and HD DVD titles in 250 stores since late last year and found that consumers were choosing Blu-ray titles more than 70 percent of the time.

"The consumers are sending us a message. I can't ignore what I'm seeing," Matthew Smith, senior vice president of merchandising at Blockbuster, told The Associated Press.

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BLOCKBUSTER_BLU_RAY?SITE=KYB66&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

would kill Blu-Ray.

BluRay does have a greater capacity, however, there are some reports of the substrate 'rotting':

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=857067

I am actually a PS3 user but I have not yet seen a Blu-Ray movie on it. (I've been considering Letters from Iwo Jima as my first test case.) Tepid or not, there's a lot more people with PS3's, which all have Blu-Ray capability, than HD-DVD playing hardware.

I am no expert on this rotting business.

I think its a great system. I just figured more people would buy the addon to the 360 than would purchase a PS3. I was apparently wrong.

Sony's made a lot of missteps but that, at least, it had a firm grasp on... and only just now, it seems to have gained some concrete results at the industry level.

I can't afford to adopt a new platform every 5 years, particularly since the technology is there to distribute media free media. We should be able to download crap electronically and not forced to be subject to the industry's lack of imagination or simple greed by forcing physical media on us.

screw this high def crap.I'm not switching again.
Besides, I really don't think the silent and classic era films I collect are going to show much difference in that format.
I think this mainly affects those who collect modern effects extravaganzas

I'm tired of being forced into buying crap I can't afford or don't want.

http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/BluRay-discs-developing-BluRot__.html

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=857067&page=1&pp=30

Shades of Laser Discs!!!! I'm still not convinced. I'll stick with plain old DVDs for now.

pic upthread

pornography on the Blu-Ray platform

Sony says “no” to porn on Blu-Ray, the Porn industry gets behind HD-DVD! http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=9131

They later came out refuting it - so either, it wasn't true, or they backpedaled.

Sony Sez: Porn OK! All Contrary Stories are Bogus! http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=9422

Sony refuses to license porn, and it will kill Blu-Ray just like it killed BetaMax... (which really should be considered one of the worst marketing decisions ever, up there with Apple refusing to license the OS for boxes, although that seems to be working out for Apple right now)

apparently they have redacted, backpedaled, or some such.

I guess I just don't pay enough attention to porn. :)

It's the first big hook landed after a long series of body blows. People tell me HD-DVD is far from finished; this may be so but, it's a tilt in what started out as a 50-50 even match.

So Blue-Ray DVD's won't play on my DVD player if it's not formatted for Blue-Ray? Do I need different DVD players depending on the DVD???

What about regular DVD's (Non HD, non Blue-Ray)? Do I theoretically need 3 DVD players? Or do they make players that play all formats?

:shrug:

- Neither Blu-Ray nor HD-DVD encoding can be played on regular DVD players.

- However, I was told today by my girlfriend that many HD-DVD's also have regular DVD encoding, meaning you can play the HD-DVD disc on a regular player - but it'll only look as good as a regular DVD that way.

- Regular DVD's will play on all Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players that I know of.

- Therefore, you theoretically "need" 2 DVD players and can dump the old one... but let's be real, most people aren't going to do that. That's why there's a format war.

- There are no players that play all formats to speak of. If you find one it'll be prohibitively expensive.

- Blu-Ray can hold a larger amount of data, but HD-DVD is already overkill for most tasks (at this time) and is cheaper to produce.

- And regardless, you need a TV capable of displaying 720p (progressive) resolution to get the most out of the new DVD formats. I got a 27" LCD to go with my Playstation 3; I had the money for it. The results are phenomenal. But the cost is not exactly light, and far outstrips the cost of a PS3, HD-DVD player, etc, by themselves.

HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, and original DVD, but it is rather expensive, and I've heard that reliability is poor.

However, in general:

The difference is capacity - the higher the capacity, the more high resolution content that can be stored.

Single Layer DVD - 4.7 GigaBytes (GB)
Dual-Layer DVD - 9.4 GB
Single Layer HD-DVD - 15 GB
Dual-Layer HD-DVD - 30 GB
Single Layer Blu-Ray - 25 GB
Dual-Layer Blu-Ray - 50 GB

Blu-Ray discs will only play on a Blu-Ray player. It will have a Blu-Ray logo on the front. In addition, Blu-Ray discs can be played on the Playstation3.

HD-DVD Discs will only play on a HD-DVD player. It will have a HD-DVD logo on the front. There is an addon for the XBox360 which will allow it to play HD-DVD.

i'll just stop going to blockbuster

id rather just sit in my backyard and watch the grass grow than rent half of these crappy movies anyway

Re-frikkin-diculous! No thanks...

it often doesn't participate in corporate promotions, etc.

I haven't stepped foot inside a Blockbuster since I used to work at one 10 years ago.

I rent standard DVDs from Hollywood Video. But If I want to buy one, I go for the HD DVD. If the movie is only on Blu-ray, I rent it on standard DVD. My HD DVD player does a great job of upscaling my standard DVDs.

:toast:

If the industry goes to another platform I'll save alot of money because I'm not following this time.