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Ring the bells!!! The HD Format war is OVER!!! Toshiba forfeits
superboyac:
Wow, Sony actually won a format battle! When was the last time that happened?
wraith808:
Profile 1.0 and 1.1 will still be compatible with 2.0 discs, you just wont get the network content
-Josh (February 19, 2008, 05:49 PM)
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Well, I hope so.. .from all I've seen, they still haven't said. But I'm neither holding my breath nor jumping in... I'll wait until it's out then re-evaluate.
Carol Haynes:
I'm not sure how less competition will make prices drop but we'll see how it goes. -justice (February 19, 2008, 09:42 AM)
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Economy of scale, the number of competing manufacturers of BR machines plus increased adoption will push the prices down. Heck you can buy Pioneer DL DVD burners now for under $30 - remember how much DVD-ROM drives were in the early days?
I'll just stay with DVD.
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I feel the same, and lots of people around the internet seem to feel the same too. As far as I can see most people have no need to upgrade as the difference in sound and picture on most home systems is not worth the extra cost. Don't forget most people don't have a HiFi system that can distinguish between DVD quality sound and 128 bit MP3, and not everyone wants a room dominated by 60 inch monster TVs. Mine is a 32 inch CRT beast and to me that seemed ridiculously large when it arrived (and still dominates my main living space) and I have no intention shelling out for a new TV any time soon.
However, like VHS I think we will all be forces to BluRay within 3 years as the studios will stop producing standard DVD product. Try buying anything on VHS now - and VHS decks are getting pretty rare. Also as TVs need to be replaced it will become increasingly rare to have SCART sockets and RF inputs so older VHS and DVD equipment will not be usable with the new TVs (although I suppose some enterprising people will produce breakout box interfaces for a while).
My worry is how long will BluRay machines maintain backward compatibility with standard DVD format. There is no technical reason why that should not be maintained as long as the disc size remains constant but there is going to be money grabbing studio pressure to produce machines that will force people to go out and rebuild their libraries again!
justice:
I heard they said when the audio-cd arrived that prices would drop and they never did (at least in europe), i'm not sure about DVDs. Are they still just as expensive (new release) as when they were introduced? The players will probably become cheaper but usually there's a comon price point for the media itself. That was my perception.
Carol Haynes:
DVDs in the UK are generally reduced by 40%+ on the day of release if you buy online at the right shops. List price is usually £20 but I rarely see new DVDs over £12-£13 on the day of release and within six months they are often at under £8.
Doesn't esp. apply in the high street shops though.
It's stupid though that I can often buy titles earlier and cheaper (even including postage) from the US.
The EU has also made it illegal now for EU sellers to stock US imports of CDs - which is really annoying as most US titles are identical and about 50% of the EU price.
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