CNET Editor wishes HD-DVD to Surrender by September

[cyclo]

Interesting item on CNET... Perhaps not wanting another repeat of the SACD/DVD-A debacle... CNET editor predicts, more like wishes, that HD-DVD would just bow out, for the sake of the survival of HD format itself.

Check out item #4: Seven tech predictions for '07

[Setitie]

Well at least my HD-A2 upconverts normal DVD movies, so it's not a COMPLETE loss.

[james99]

Since Sony is to blame for the format war, let the games begin.

This may be a war but it's between 2 third world countries.

Sales figures that Sony is boasting about are for the off-season. Plus the PS3 could be benefitting from the UMD-effect.

It's comical Sony will make movies for the UMD but not HD DVD.

[eightninesuited]

How is Sony to blame for the format war when Blu-ray was in development before HD DVD was?

[JohnnyG]

Originally Posted by eightninesuited

How is Sony to blame for the format war when Blu-ray was in development before HD DVD was?

That much is true, but it was developed outside of the DVD Forum and was originally an MPEG2-only recording system with no support for ROM discs. When the DVD Forum began to explore an HD sucessor to DVD, Sony et al tried to shove Blu-ray down their throat and refused to "explore" any kind of alternative of any sort. Since not all the members of the Forum had intellectual property interest in the Blu-ray format, they said "FU" and went on to develop HD DVD. There was *supposed* to be a format shoot-out of sorts, but the Blu-ray camp refused to participate.

One thing's for sure...today's Blu-ray is what it is because of HD DVD. Half the features that ended up in the standard weren't being considered until they were being considered for HD DVD. That includes AVC and VC-1 support, among many others.

[JohnnyG]

Anybody who thinks Blu-ray is "winning" is a gambler. The only Blu-ray capable playback device that's selling is the PS3. What do you think all the other Blu-ray player manufacturers think of this? Panasonic in particular can't be terribly pleased with the situation, can they?

I still predict that Blu-ray movie sales will gradually start to slide as more PS3 games are released. You can't watch a movie if you're playing a game, and you can't play a game if you're watching a movie.

[Cyclism]

It's more comical to make statements that Sony is solely to blame for the format war. There are a lot of people and companies to blame for this.

If anything, both sides of the format war are to blame for not coming to a non-exclusive format similar to the agreement that was reached for the introduction of the DVD. And we all know how well that turned out for EVERYONE. Resolving this format war stands to make the same benefits again.

BTW, David Carnoy who wrote the original CNET article referenced in Post #1, wrote a follow-up article explaining his "prediction" that HD-DVD will surrender to Blu-Ray:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6690707-1.html

[thecooldude]

Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits said all this on Thursday and added more on Friday.

I as well am sick of this war and simply want it to end. Since Blu-ray is in the lead by a long shot it makes sense to hope that HD-DVD will bow out soon and end this ridiculous war.

Bill Hunt says it best on The Digital Bits. Check it out.

[diogen]

Originally Posted by thecooldude

Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits said all this on Thursday and added more on Friday.

From his Friday's notes:

" A surprising number of retailers and industry insiders expressed relief that we had finally said what they WANTED to say..."

I hope he was properly paid for his "analysis".

I'm sick of this war, too.
I'm even more sick of those "analysts" pretending to have discovered "the writing on the wall".

Diogen.

[wprager]

Yes, this guy (Carnoy) doesn't understand the difference (or lack thereof) between a 1080i and 1080p output. The source material is the same in both cases -- it is stored as interlaced fields. If the display's native resolution is 768 (which it is for the vast majority of sets already sold) then it gets down-rezzed anyway, so who cares; use 720p to better match input to the display's capabilities. If you've got one of the newer 1080p sets (with true 1080 native resolution) then a 1080i signal simply gets de-interlaced by the set; if you send it 1080p, then it skips the de-interlacing. A $4-5K set is likely to have as good a de-interlacing chipset as a $1K player; and maybe even better. About the only problem that could happen (blame Murphy) is that R&D didn't fully test 1080p, and without the delay introduced by the de-interlacer the audio will lage the video ever so slightly (nah, that wouldn't happen, would it?)

I honestly don't know what would happen if you had a CRT-based display capable of displaying 1080 scan lines. If it doesn't support 1080p then it's a moot point. Otherwise, the question is whether it would would de-interlace a 1080i signal prior to diplsaying it or keep it interlaced? My guess is it would de-interlace it, but I really don't know. In either case, how many CRT-based 1080p displays are out there, anyway?

[Marco23]

Interesting enough I'm using a CRT at 1080i and watched a movie which would display in this resolution, however I too have not seen a wow factor but I did notice that there is a difference between dvd and blu ray. Now honestly my tv is probably cabable of upto 1280x760 lines of res, so I'm not seeing the full benefit of 1920x1080 + HDMI @ 1080p with all these i'm sure my blu ray ps3 player will give me the wow factor. (I hope anyway)

So my question am I not seeing 1080i on my set at all with the PS3? ANd am I understanding this correctly that I will not see a difference between 1080i and 1080p unless my hdmi connection changes from component and a new tv with higher true HD resolution as stated above?

[Nanuuk]

My son has a PS3 attached to my TV. We have purchased 4 BD and all I can say is that I am very, very impressed with the technology. i look forward to more titles and hope the price drops.