No one cares?

Judging from the sheer number of comments I got on my last blog entry about Blu-ray, I’m beginning to suspect you don’t care about these next generation DVD formats. If so, why? Or if it’s just because ya’ll find me boring and aren’t reading my blog anymore, that is just fine with me. I can just talk to myself. I find myself very amusing. Ask anyone.

COMMENTS
Brian Huempfner's picture

I'll start you off Geoff. The reason for my ambivalence, is simple. Another Format War. I held off on DVD till Divx died, I hoped for a winner in the SACD, DVD Audio war and guess what, MP3 snuck up on a flank and won that war setting us backwards in audio quality for what I hope is not a very long time.I haven't even bought a high def set yet. Still waiting for a more reasonable cost.I just wish the manufacturers would learn to pool their efforts earlier and come to market with one format. It would be a winner right off of the bat. Competition is good, but if the end result is noone winning, what is the point?

Brandon's picture

For me the format was says it all as well. I will also use SACD and DVD-Audio as an example. I don't remember the exact time frame, but if you waited about a year to buy a high end audio format player you could get a "universal" player. Whether Bluray or HD DVD wins a format war, or if a "universal" solution presents itself, being an early adopter has not been the smart bet for a very long time.

John's picture

Haven't seen either Blu-ray or HDVD, but again, I think we are being pelted with too many formats in too short a time period, with improvements that are noticible, but not astonishing. Take the difference between phonograph records and CDs...HUGE leap, worth re-doing most of your music library for. Now after giving us DVDs, remastered DVDs, "Superbit" DVDs, gold DVDs, etc., making us reach into our wallets again and again, they tell us essentially chuck it all and buy into a brand new format that's the best thing since sliced bacon...for about five years, until probably ANOTHER format will come along rendering this one obsolete. No thanks. I know something new has to come along, and eventually I'll bite, but for now like most others I'll sit on the sidelines and watch the price come down. Also, many people don't yet own TVs good enough to see a huge improvement, so for many people standard DVDs are probably good enough.

Kent's picture

I went to the Toshiba travelling HD-dvd show last week. I was not excited. I was bummed. I thought about it and the reason is Format Wars. I am definitely waiting this one out because of it. Otherwise I would buy a player now (yes before prices come down). Of course poor/disturbing content keeps my interest down as well, but the 2 or 3 really enjoyable movies that come out a year keep me on the internet daily in hope.

Andy's picture

I have kept an eye on the development of the two formats and, like many others, hoped the two camps would get together on a single standard before hardware reached market. But that looks increasingly unlikely. This is shaping up as another Beta/VHS type battle, but this time I -- and I suspect many -- won't be participating.I'm happy enough with current DVD's to not be willing to jump into HD. I've learnt my lesson re being on the bleeding edge, and won't be buying until there is either a clear "winner" or an affordable universal player ... whichever comes first.So... why little response ... I suspect many have similar views. If so they aren't interested enough to get excited because a purchase decision is still at least a year or so away.Personally I believe (hope?) Blu-Ray will win because it is technically superior. But I chose Beta on that basis and look what happened.

Brian's picture

Regarding Andy's comment about a universal player. While that solves the problem of having to buy two players initially, you still have the issue of purchasing software that may some day be obsolete.For instance, if you buy HD-DVDs and Bluray discs along with a universal player, you're set. But what happens in a few years when the HD-DVDs are no longer manufactured and you are in need of a new player. The new players only support Bluray, so all those HD-DVDs you bought are unplayable. This is why I never bought into the audio hi def discs, though I so badly wanted to.I for one will not buy either format until there is a clear winner. No universal player for me!

Brian's picture

Regarding Andy's comment about a universal player. While that solves the problem of having to buy two players initially, you still have the issue of purchasing software that may some day be obsolete.For instance, if you buy HD-DVDs and Bluray discs along with a universal player, you're set. But what happens in a few years when the HD-DVDs are no longer manufactured and you are in need of a new player. The new players only support Bluray, so all those HD-DVDs you bought are unplayable. This is why I never bought into the audio hi def discs, though I so badly wanted to.I for one will not buy either format until there is a clear winner. No universal player for me!

Brian's picture

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to post the same comment twice.

Mark's picture

I actually think the timing is quite good for a new format. I think HDTV's are finally to the level I would consider purchasing one (1080p, good black levels, good pricing) so tying that purchase to a blu-ray player seems right to me. My struggle now is I have been wanting an SACD player for awhile and finally have the funds to get one, but the blu-ray players won't play SACD so I'm stuck. Even if I don't get a player right away I don't mind spending a few bucks on some blu-ray movies so the sales numbers look better to the bean counters. Those of us seeking the best quality have a vested interest in helping the best product win. Maybe $1000 for a player is a bit much but if we each buy a movie or two the studios might take note and better yet sides. Heck, maybe I'll sell my VHS collection that I invested hundreds in on E-Bay and use the $50 to buy the disks with.

Bill Moylan's picture

I am standing on the side but based on personal experiences I want HD-DVD to win. I have an XBOX 360 and Microsoft is on the HD-DVD side. I bought BetaMax for techincal reasons and got burned. I have a SOny VAIO and have a hard time upgrading it because they don't use industry standards for things as simple as Power Supply screw placement. They came out with the memory stick instead of using CompactFlash or SD. When will they stop being greedy at our expense.

X