HD DVD finished

[videopoo]

This just announced by Sonic Solution. Too bad - HD DVD was a great, easy to use format. Now we get to pay AACS Licenses Woo Hoo!!

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/30/sonics-scenarist-now-blu-ray-digital-distribution-format-only/

[Noahtuck]

Ummmmm....

Just because sonic is going with bluray authoring only does not mean HDDVD is finished

Sonic Solutions has announced it will no longer sell the HD DVD version of its Scenarist professional authoring software

I don't use sonic crap software anyway's

[MOVIEGEEK]

I better sell my HD DVD player then.
BTW:the HD DVD spec is final and there's no reason to update,whereas the BD 2.0 spec will not work with older players(except the PS3).

[videopoo]

Sonic makes the only (working anyway) authoring tool. So unless someone comes up with a new professional tool to allows content owners to release their content. I own a system and with news like this hitting the airwaves, its going to be hard to sell my services. Bad day for me!

[disturbed1]

That's a huge blow to HD DVD. If you already have the Scenarist version for HD DVD authoring, then all is well and good. But for any new authoring houses waiting or looking to take the plunge to High Def format, their only choice is now Blu Ray.

Ulead and Nero don't count as Professional authoring applications. They're great for home made stuff, not so much for commercial products.

The good news is that HD DVD spec is set in stone, so the software will always produce compatible material. Much in the same way that Spruce Up and DVD Maestro are able to produce stunningly compliant DVD-VIDEO to this day.

[jman98]

Given that many people simply, ahem, acquired "demo" copies of Scenarist any way, I don't think this decision means a lot. In terms of something a consumer could actually afford to purchase as opposed to stealing, Ulead's DVD MovieFactory Plus 6 with the HD DVD add on can create HD DVDs that Toshiba's HD DVD players will play. The only downside is that the HD DVD it produces will be MPEG-2 and AC3 or LPCM audio. This is fine for HD TV captures though. Sonic apparently allowed you to use the full spectrum of audio and video options for the format.

[videopoo]

Given that many people simply, ahem, acquired "demo" copies of Scenarist any way, I don't think this decision means a lot

Consumers don't buy discs done on cracked software so I would say this has a huge impact.

[disturbed1]

Given that many people simply, ahem, acquired "demo" copies of Scenarist any way, I don't think this decision means a lot

Consumers don't buy discs done on cracked software so I would say this has a huge impact.

Anyone who has a demo version most likely (hopefully) isn't selling commercially produced content. Though I have heard reports of entire corporations using pirated Windows OS copies. Maybe if you purchase all 6 episodes of Star Wars authored on one HD DVD from Ebay, and it shipped from Hong Kong....... but that's another subject.

[SatStorm]

Outside USA, demo versions of software and O.S. are used very frequently (with all the limitations of course). You do a format once a month in your PC and you have a full functional trial of any software for about a month, without do something illegal.

But the case here is that HD DVD declared "dead" and some software houses abandon it. I was waiting for much more to happen, but for a "dead" format, not so many things happens.
Seems that nobody really cares about this "format war" after all. We are all trapped because of our enthusiasm in something with really very limited interest. For now at least.

Yes, the future is HD, that's for sure. But as many pointed here and elsewhere, that doesn't mean the future is HDDVD/BD also. The marketing tries to combine them, not the future.

[videobread]

I just picked up a HD-A3. It was only $100. I figure it's a good upscaling DVD player. I have no plans on buying Blu-ray or HD-DVD movies. I think the format war was all imagined.

[disturbed1]

I just picked up a HD-A3. It was only $100. I figure it's a good upscaling DVD player. I have no plans on buying Blu-ray or HD-DVD movies. I think the format war was all imagined.

I've got the HD-A2, it's a nice upscaling player as well . We got Transformers on DVD and HD DVD. Yes the HD DVD looks better, but the upscaled DVD looks great as well. I can see the difference, but not anyone else. Perhaps it's the 1080i limitation of both the player and our screen.

When I purchased the Toshiba, if there was a Blu-Ray player for $99 instead, I would have purchased it.

HD is the future, it just isn't present

Right now, it's a hobbiest format for myself. Much like VCD of latter days. It interesting to put 1000kbit avc content on a DVD-R and have comparable quality to 6000kbit mpeg2.

[myoung08]

Yes the HD DVD looks better, but the upscaled DVD looks great as well. I can see the difference, but not anyone else. Perhaps it's the 1080i limitation of both the player and our screen.

It's definately a limitation of your screen. HD DVD and Blu-ray are 6 times the resolution of DVD! I have a 7' wide projector setup driven by a Sony VPH-1292Q, a commercial-grade CRT projector capable of fully resolving 1080p. I also have a lowly Toshiba HD-A1 hooked up to it. However, between the HD-A1 and the 1292Q I have a video scaler that converts film-based 1080i @ 60Hz from the HD-A1 into 1080p @ 48Hz. So not only am I getting full 1080p from the original source (1080p can be FULLY reconstructed from the 1080i source if it's film-based 24fps), I'm also getting a 48Hz refresh rate, a multiple of 24fps, so there's no frame judder like there would be on the majority of HDTVs out there running at 60Hz. So I'm getting a better HD image from a lowly first generation HD DVD player than most people are getting from their HD players. The whole "HD DVDs are resolution crippled in only having 1080i" argument is bogus. A good modern 1080p display would be able to convert that 1080i image to 1080p through inverse telecine. In my case, because my projector is 12 years old, I needed a video scaler to do the conversion.

As for the authoring software, Sonic's consumer level authoring software is complete garbage. In addition, what individual looking to release content on their own can afford Scenarist anyway? A HD DVD/3x DVD version of DVD-lab is what HD DVD needs. I've already contacted Mediachance and they aren't confident that HD DVD will make it so they don't have any plans to release a HD DVD/3x DVD version of DVD-lab. That's the real shame. Forget Sonic. If Toshiba wanted to help HD DVD they would purchase Mediachance and release freeware HD DVD authoring sofware for the consumer/prosumer crowd. It would be a drop in the bucket for them. At the very least, though could subsidize the development, just like they've been subsidizing the cost of the players and paying off studios.

I don't know if any of you have messed around with 3x DVD (HD DVDs authored to DVD) but it's a very cool format. It plays in all HD DVD players because 3x DVD is an official spec of HD DVD. While it can only hold about 40 minutes of footage per DVD layer, that still works out well for short films and recording TV shows. Plus, recordable DVDs are what, $0.20 USD now? That's dirt cheap! Blu-ray and HD DVD recordables are still around $15 USD each I believe.

Whatever happens with the format war, I'd just like to see an affordable format that's viable to independents that wish to author and release content on their own. I think HD DVD has more promise in that venture so I'm still pulling for HD DVD. If they can't get a good turn-around in sales after their Superbowl ad then it really doesn't look good for them. If Paramount or Universal switch to Blu-ray or even go neutral, then HD DVD will pretty much be dead if they don't win another major studio back.

[Ai Haibara]

Saw this update to BetaNews' article on it:

11:30 am ET January 31, 2007 - Sonic Solutions this morning clarified its position regarding its apparent switch from HD DVD to Blu-ray, telling BetaNews that initial reports that the company abandoned HD DVD altogether were not quite accurate.

Sonic spokesperson Chris Taylor said that the decision is only specific to its professional authoring suite. Other divisions, such as its Roxio consumer arm and ATG licensing group would remain format neutral. Even within the professional division, HD DVD would still live on through its CineVision authoring application.

"The decision has been in the works for a while and based on the pro authoring sales opportunity, the needs of the majority of our customers, and the opportunities we see in emerging markets," Taylor said in an e-mail interview. He confirmed that support would still be offered for the portion of the HD DVD hardware that is being discontinued, although said details of the exchange program mentioned in the original story are yet to be finalized.

[jamiemark]

Someone told me yesterday that Warner Home Video is going Blu-Ray, can anyone confirm this?

[disturbed1]

Someone told me yesterday that Warner Home Video is going Blu-Ray, can anyone confirm this?

http://www.google.com/search?q=warner+chooses+blu+ray&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=com.u...ient=firefox-a

The controversy is over Paramount and Universal. The rumor mill had fun with those 2 production companies. Universal will (as of the writing ) continue to support HD DVD until at leas 2009.

[yoda313]

Speaking of Universal does this mean a high def roll out of Back to the Future and Jurassic Park are unlikely? I mean if they figure hddvd is history are they just waiting to make the switch to bluray before they release either film franchise? (I hesitate to call Jurassic Park a trilogy since there really isn't a "true" story thread through all three like Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, Matrix, etc....).

Thoughts?

[disturbed1]

It would be nice. I think Universal will have to look at costrofit ratio when it comes to releasing on both formats. For a block buster like Back to the Future, to me, it would be a no brainer to release on all formats. Much in the way game devs do. There's guitar Hero 3 for PS2, PS3, Wii, and Xbox360. I'd place a bet that it's much more time consuming, and resource eating to release a game on multi platforms than it is to release a movie on multi platforms.

I'm hoping HD DVD sticks around. Only because I have an HD DVD player, and have absolutely no plans to every buy anything Blu Ray until a final spec is actually written out, and those players cost $200 or less. Until then, it isn't exactly rocket science to get Blu Ray "only" movies in HD DVD format You can buy HD DVD's over seas, plenty of Blu Ray ripping guides out there, and there is HD DVD authoring software. An exact menu replication would be a pain in the ass, but getting the main movie on an HD DVD isn't difficult.

The Toshiba players run Linux, it's only a matter of time until it's hacked, and we'll be able to telnet in across ethernet and pipe MKV's to the player.

[Scooter_NJ]

I would imagine the only thing holding up ANY Universal or Paramount release would be :

Market Demand
The wishes of the producers..i.e. Speilberg.

An HD transfer is an HD transfer. So even if they did a transfer of say, BBTF, they would simply re-author in the event they join the ranks of BD.

[MJA]

stupid Toshiba their major mistake not flooding the market with cheap HD-DVD burners and media

[lordsmurf]

You do a format once a month in your PC and you have a full functional trial of any software for about a month,

These days, they use virtual machines. I neither do it nor condone it for piracy purposes, but virtualization is very useful for testing unstable or potentially malicious software. It does require that you have a powerful system, dual-core or quad-core, with at least 2-4GB of RAM and plenty of hard disk space, otherwise you'll have a poor VM experience. It's almost a sandbox of sorts.

I've not tested this, and it may be wrong, but...
The hardware abstraction layer can likely have the virtual BIOS set to an asynchronous clock (not tied to the true BIOS clock state of the host machine), and it will run in use-time only, when a save state is used instead of a shutdown or reset. So a 30-day trial would really be valid for 30 days (24 hours x 30) of use, rather than a few hours you can spare over a 30-day period. Not sure if that goes against any licenses, but I've never seen anything that addresses it.

Use of an optical drive in a virtual machine, of course, is currently not possible (as far as I'm aware). This refers to RECORDING, not reading.

All this aside, the HD version of Scenarist being discontinued is a blow to the format.

[disturbed1]

Use of an optical drive in a virtual machine, of course, is currently not possible (as far as I'm aware). This refers to RECORDING, not reading.

All this aside, the HD version of Scenarist being discontinued is a blow to the format.

It's getting better
None the less, it's a trivial process of outputting and image file to a shared folder or to a NAS/Local FTP.

[yoda313]

An exact menu replication would be a pain in the ass, but getting the main movie on an HD DVD isn't difficult.

Actually that isn't that much of an issue with hddvd - much of the beauty of the format is the instant access feature. Now how you would be able to incorporate that into a rip I have no idea.

BUT my point being that some hddvds I have don't even have a real menu that I can tell, the movie just starts. I'm thinking of the Matrix trilogy that I have.

By the way you forgot to mention you can also get Guitar Hero 3 on the PC now so that's one more "console" that was rolled out (I know its not a console but the "platform").

[RabidDog]

Surely you also use hd-dvd to archive your existing dvd's. I mean theres no bar on putting standard resolution on a hi-def format. And if you converted these std res stuff to a compatible codec, like vc1 you could fit shed loads on there maybe 20 to 30. Nice idea. hmmm. But where are the hd dvd burners?
Have to agree tho, HD-dvd is now the minority format.

[Mariot]

I can assure you from what I know, that people in the industry already did abandoned the HD DVD in favor of BD.
You may like it or not. All that "clarifying position" from Sonic is just to prevent some panic between consumers, the fact is - industry is not going to make HD-DVD's any more beginning of March08.

The HD-DVD didn't offered strong enough content protection and as soon as recordable HD DVD-R would spread people would just copy the movies like they do with DVD.

BD aims for far stronger protection, in fact they toy with the idea to allow the BDMV to be used solely for the duplicated media and allow BDAV for the rest of us stupid schmucks using recordables thus preventing playback of any copied discs. (This will probably not happened, but sure studios applaud to this idea)

Who cares about shiny discs anyway? Discs are so 1990....

[Epicurus8a]

Who cares about shiny discs anyway? Discs are so 1990....

[ofbarea]

Use of an optical drive in a virtual machine, of course, is currently not possible (as far as I'm aware). This refers to RECORDING, not reading.

It is possible. I use IMGBurn to write stuff to a burner in a MAC from an virtual machine created with latest Parallels 3.x build.

I will test burning a DVD from a W2K virtual machine, running in MS virtual PC from my Vista x64 host.

[Epicurus8a]

HD DVD Format on Death Watch
Author: THOMAS K. ARNOLD and ERIK GRUENWEDEL
tarnold@questex.com
Posted: February 14, 2008

The format war has turned into a format death watch.

Toshiba is widely expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format sometime in the coming weeks, reliable industry sources say...

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news/html/breaking_article.cfm?sec_id=2&&article_ID=12100

[Mariot]

Ummmmm....

Just because sonic is going with bluray authoring only does not mean HDDVD is finished

Face the music. I don't like Sony any more than you do, but HD DVD is done. Who will continue to make players if nobody is buying them? The retailers are already start sending the overstock back because even after discount - people are not buying.

[bbanderic]

Ummmmm....

Just because sonic is going with bluray authoring only does not mean HDDVD is finished

Face the music. I don't like Sony any more than you do, but HD DVD is done. Who will continue to make players if nobody is buying them? The retailers are already start sending the overstock back because even after discount - people are not buying.

Agreed, HD-DVD is DEAD, anyone who thinks otherwise is in some SERIOUS denial.

Blu-ray is supported by all but two studios and make no mistake, both Paramount and Universal will switch to Blu-ray as well. Both Blockbuster and Netflix support Blu-ray exclusively along with retailers Best Buy and Target. Blu-ray leads by a large margin in both hardware and software sales despite the higher hardware prices. How much more proof do people need to realize it's all over for HD-DVD? All that's left now is the faze-out period.

Edit: And now Walmart goes Blue-ray exclusive as well:

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9873029-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

[cal_tony]

Their's dead and their's dead and buried.
If I don't get my 5 free HD-DVD disks,
then I guess it's dead and buried for sure.

Tony