So Blu Ray is dead ... WRONG... Read this

[rhegedus]

Blu-ray media currently only is one layer there is where the arguing is coming from-HD_DVD is currently using two layers.The argument is that HD-DVD is better looking because BD is limited currently to only the first layer therefore HD has at least a 4GB advantage.

Blu Ray disc of Kingdom of Heaven is 43Gb dual layer....

[shelbyGT]

Yeah, BD50 is being used...

[FulciLives]

Who in their right mind would want to watch that movie?

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[rhegedus]

Is it missing a cameo from William Shatner?

How about Black Hawk Down - 42Gb dual layer.

Oh, and purveyors of porn will find Japanese starlet Youming Uehara's films on Blu-Ray......

[FulciLives]

Is it missing a cameo from William Shatner?

How about Black Hawk Down - 42Gb dual layer.

Oh, and purveyors of porn will find Japanese starlet Youming Uehara's films on Blu-Ray......

Only Japanese porn worth it's salt is Hentai and Bukaki.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[rhegedus]

[shelbyGT]

While BR can hold more that's great... but honestly, as I stated, King Kong was on HD-DVD and it's over a 3 hour movie... it looked great. Obviously both formats can handle long and extensive movies. I really don't care which one wins, or if they both stick around. I'll buy into both I guess. I'm definitely not a fan of either format, honestly, but I want my HD movies so I have to do something!

[shelbyGT]

Is it missing a cameo from William Shatner?

How about Black Hawk Down - 42Gb dual layer.

Oh, and purveyors of porn will find Japanese starlet Youming Uehara's films on Blu-Ray......

Only Japanese porn worth it's salt is Hentai and Bukaki.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

Kingdom of Heaven is a pretty crappy movie. I watched it for 1 hour and had to turn it off. And Japanese porn is DEFINITELY not for me... no thanks!

[rhegedus]

Debbie Does Dallas ... Again: First Blu-Ray Porn

Amidst all of the debate whether porn won't or will be allowed on Blu-Ray, I am happy to announce that the first scheduled Blu-Ray pornographic film will be Debbie Does Dallas ... Again. This announcement just brings warmth to my heart because a lot of us grew up on the classic, Debbie Does Dallas and it is only appropriate to see the re-release of this smash hit in glorious 1080p on Blu-Ray. Vivid Entertainment announced that the flick will be simultaneously released on Blu-Ray and HD DVD on March 28.......

To re cap:

More titles on BR than HDDVD, more sales of BR than HDDVD, better choise of players on BR than HDDVD and now porn on BR.

Weren't these the reasons why HDDVD fans said HDDVD would win?

[FulciLives]

Debbie Does Dallas ... Again: First Blu-Ray Porn

Amidst all of the debate whether porn won't or will be allowed on Blu-Ray, I am happy to announce that the first scheduled Blu-Ray pornographic film will be Debbie Does Dallas ... Again. This announcement just brings warmth to my heart because a lot of us grew up on the classic, Debbie Does Dallas and it is only appropriate to see the re-release of this smash hit in glorious 1080p on Blu-Ray. Vivid Entertainment announced that the flick will be simultaneously released on Blu-Ray and HD DVD on March 28.......

To re cap:

More titles on BR than HDDVD, more sales of BR than HDDVD, better choise of players on BR than HDDVD and now porn on BR.

Weren't these the reasons why HDDVD fans said HDDVD would win?

You are forgetting the number one priority for most ... price.

HD-DVD hardware is way cheaper (almost half) and the HD-DVD discs are cheaper than the Blu-Ray discs.

However if enough people buy a PS3 for games and decide to also buy Blu-Ray movies ... well ... that very well might "turn the tide" on the cost of hardware and who has the hardware etc.

Although Blu-Ray discs are more than HD-DVD discs the price difference is not overly severe so it boils down to more hardware costs than anything else I think.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[shelbyGT]

Debbie Does Dallas ... Again: First Blu-Ray Porn

Amidst all of the debate whether porn won't or will be allowed on Blu-Ray, I am happy to announce that the first scheduled Blu-Ray pornographic film will be Debbie Does Dallas ... Again. This announcement just brings warmth to my heart because a lot of us grew up on the classic, Debbie Does Dallas and it is only appropriate to see the re-release of this smash hit in glorious 1080p on Blu-Ray. Vivid Entertainment announced that the flick will be simultaneously released on Blu-Ray and HD DVD on March 28.......

To re cap:

More titles on BR than HDDVD, more sales of BR than HDDVD, better choise of players on BR than HDDVD and now porn on BR.

Weren't these the reasons why HDDVD fans said HDDVD would win?

I hate fanboys, and you sure are beginning to look and sound like one.

[rhegedus]

I hate fanboys, and you sure are beginning to look and sound like one.

Boo ******* hoo!

I'm a fan of neither but automatically take the side of the underdog when propaganda like Editorial: Why "HD DVD" Is Thumping "Blu-ray Disc" is paraded as fact.

[TheUnknownComic]

Yes, but if you want the original Star Trek series (Paramount), you have to buy "HD DVD."

Aside from a few nerds, who is that going to effect?

I don't care for "Star Trek" but I suspect it will create a lot more sales than the "Casino Royale" that you named as a determining factor. Like it or not, there's a universe of Trekkies out there and they'll buy the same episodes everytime a new action figure or something is included.

[FulciLives]

Since both formats are capable of similar quality ... would you rather buy a HD-DVD player for $500 or a Blu-Ray player for $900 - $1,000 ???

The only "monkey wrench" in this hardware cost formula is the Sony PS3 which costs less than a Blu-Ray player yet can play games and Blu-Ray movies.

With that price point I can't see why someone would buy a Blu-Ray only player over a Sony PS3 because even if games aren't your cup of tea ... the price is "right" compared to what else is out there for Blu-Ray playback.

You want to know the real reason VHS won out over Beta? ... A VHS VCR was often times MUCH cheaper than a BETA VCR and in my opinion that one factor ... more than anything else ... is why VHS won.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[rhegedus]

Yes, but if you want the original Star Trek series (Paramount), you have to buy "HD DVD."

Aside from a few nerds, who is that going to effect?

I don't care for "Star Trek" but I suspect it will create a lot more sales than the "Casino Royale" that you named as a determining factor. Like it or not, there's a universe of Trekkies out there and they'll buy the same episodes everytime a new action figure or something is included.

No doubt, but Casino Royale is the 21st Bond film - meaning that 1-20 will also be released on BR.

Now Bondies vs Trekies is a battle all of its own

[rhegedus]

Since both formats are capable of similar quality ... would you rather buy a HD-DVD player for $500 or a Blu-Ray player for $900 - $1,000 ???

The only "monkey wrench" in this hardware cost formula is the Sony PS3 which costs less than a Blu-Ray player yet can play games and Blu-Ray movies.

With that price point I can't see why someone would buy a Blu-Ray only player over a Sony PS3 because even if games aren't your cup of tea ... the price is "right" compared to what else is out there for Blu-Ray playback.

You want to know the real reason VHS won out over Beta? ... A VHS VCR was often times MUCH cheaper than a BETA VCR and in my opinion that one factor ... more than anything else ... is why VHS won.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

I suspect an ulterior motive - by making BR players more expensive than the PS3, anyone wanting a BR player will buy a PS3 even if they don't play games. Sony will beat X360 in sales even though many PS3s will not have a game played on them....

[JustSomeGuy]

You know when beta and vhs debate was hot I made my desicion by calling the video store and asking them which way they were going...

What is Rogers carrying? Or are they renting HD/BR DVDs yet?

[Cornucopia]

NONE of the video stores near me is renting BD/HD_DVD (or SACD/DVD_Audio for that matter!) nor do they have plans to. Unless manufacturers/studios all change their tactics (and maybe even not then), it's going to get stuck as a videophile/fringe format the way it's going.

Scott

[nwo]

Which-ever HD format can be copy to burned media first will win the format war!
and that looks like HD-DVD, and the price too, sony will keep it too high!

[Cornucopia]

I wondered where "The Scream" went to...it was YOU!

Scott

[dwisniski]

Since both formats are capable of similar quality ... would you rather buy a HD-DVD player for $500 or a Blu-Ray player for $900 - $1,000 ???

The only "monkey wrench" in this hardware cost formula is the Sony PS3 which costs less than a Blu-Ray player yet can play games and Blu-Ray movies.

With that price point I can't see why someone would buy a Blu-Ray only player over a Sony PS3 because even if games aren't your cup of tea ... the price is "right" compared to what else is out there for Blu-Ray playback.

You want to know the real reason VHS won out over Beta? ... A VHS VCR was often times MUCH cheaper than a BETA VCR and in my opinion that one factor ... more than anything else ... is why VHS won.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

Actually John, if you know where to look (what's the name of that auction site?) you can pick up a Blu-ray standalone player for under $500 now, I bought the Philips BDP9000 for $500 +shipping, exactly the same price I paid for my HD-DVD player when it came out. I really didn't want to have to buy two players, but each format has titles I want and I didn't want to have to wait for one format to win over the other. I'm lovin HD movies!

[Specialist]

For all of you that have jumped on the bandwagon to celebrate the apparent demise of blu ray. Well think again. This from Tom's Hardware site: Culver City (CA) - According to figures released by Nielsen VideoScan, recent Blu-Ray sales are trouncing HD-DVD by a 2 to 1 margin.

According to PC Magazine, your article is taking the numbers out of context.

Probably the most telling point is one that is not reflected in the graphic: the "inception-to-date" figures, which tally up all of the sales for each format. Although the graphs seem to indicate a considerable decline on the part of HD DVD in favor of Blu-Ray, this isn't true at all: to date (End of January 2007), 53.3 percent of all next-gen DVDs have been in the HD DVD format, compared to 46.7 percent for Blu-ray. This contrasts quite strongly with reports that the Blu-Ray format is widely outselling HD DVD. Figures from another analyst firm, The NPD Group, which also tracks U.S. retail sales, also seem to support this: sales of hardware players (not movies) from April through December 2006 also give HD DVD a slight edge, 52 percent to 48 percent for Blu-ray.

Also this:

As many have pointed out, Sony has been the principal backer of Blu-ray, and also the designer of the PlayStation3 games console, which uses a Blu-ray drive. With each console, Sony has bundled a copy of the Blu-ray movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, together with a gift certificate for $15 off the purchase of a second Blu-ray movie. Microsoft, on the other hand, also offers an HD DVD drive as a $199 add-on for its Xbox 360, which it has bundled with a copy of the HD DVD movie King Kong. According to Erin Crawford, the general manager of Neilsen VideoScan, the bundling of Talledaga Nights – and, by inference, King Kong – was not included in the Nielsen numbers, as it does not represent a conscious buying choice on the part of the consumer. However, since a consumer must make the choice to buy another disc, the effects of the gift certificate would influence the Neilsen numbers.

The author's conclusion:

In my mind, neither format has reached a critical mass, and until then, the horse race is wide open. What's critical mass? In my mind, probably one of the following conditions: either one format holds an 80 percent market share for three months; or, one format holds a two-thirds market share for six months. For now, though, that hybrid LG player looks awfully enticing.

Link to PC Magazine: http://tinyurl.com/38x7e8

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

[FulciLives]

Since both formats are capable of similar quality ... would you rather buy a HD-DVD player for $500 or a Blu-Ray player for $900 - $1,000 ???

The only "monkey wrench" in this hardware cost formula is the Sony PS3 which costs less than a Blu-Ray player yet can play games and Blu-Ray movies.

With that price point I can't see why someone would buy a Blu-Ray only player over a Sony PS3 because even if games aren't your cup of tea ... the price is "right" compared to what else is out there for Blu-Ray playback.

You want to know the real reason VHS won out over Beta? ... A VHS VCR was often times MUCH cheaper than a BETA VCR and in my opinion that one factor ... more than anything else ... is why VHS won.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

Actually John, if you know where to look (what's the name of that auction site?) you can pick up a Blu-ray standalone player for under $500 now, I bought the Philips BDP9000 for $500 +shipping, exactly the same price I paid for my HD-DVD player when it came out. I really didn't want to have to buy two players, but each format has titles I want and I didn't want to have to wait for one format to win over the other. I'm lovin HD movies!

Not many of use would buy something used like this ... myself included. I looked at BEST BUY and CIRCUIT CITY and both had Blu-Ray players at $799.99 for a Samsung and $999.99 for a Sony. Both also had the Toshiba HD-DVD player at $499.99 so ... while $800 is a new price point I guess for Blu-Ray that is still a good $300.00 more than the Toshiba HD-DVD player. That's a hunk 'o change man!

I noticed that CIRCUIT CITY has the LG BH 100 which is a stand alone player compatible with Blu-Ray and HD-DVD as well as standard DVD Video. It does mention and I quote, "This player is not compatible with iHD features in HD-DVD discs" ... I have no idea what this means or how big a deal it is that it is not supported.

Anyways this combo player is a nice idea but the price is a whopping $1,199.99 and according to CIRCUIT CITY reviewers (put a grain of salt on these comments) most seem displeased with the quality ... especially that of HD-DVD playback. From what I gathered this machine does poorly with HD-DVD discs.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[MozartMan]

Blu-ray Victory Inevitable

[lordsmurf]

That is a propaganda piece, not a trustworthy outlet of information.

[gll99]

I really don't care which format wins, just get on with it so we can move on. This cr@p just adds to the cost. This artificial competition won't result in real long term cost benefits to the consumer. The industry will want to recoup loses caused by the fight. The faster it's resolved the quicker normal market forces will decide pricing structure.

The next issue then is to produce the final version 17 multilayer discs. Don't come out with an 18 layer incompatible disc after I buy my player or there will be h@ll to pay.
As far as the need to back-up an hd/blu disc to another hd/blu disc, just give me an over the counter exchange if my disc is damaged and that will solve that problem for me. That might wake them up to make damage resistant discs if they accepted some of the responsibilty. That doesn't mean I don't eventually want a hd/blu recorder/burner to produce my own hd videos but it would be great to have to be overly concerned about protecting my DVDs.