Zen Internet Support Forum

Blockbuster by me just started having both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. I have a high def TV but don't have sky, and I want to watch some high def stuff. Which player is best to buy?

I think this battle is going to be the same as VHS/Betamax.

Which is best probably won't come into it, but it will boil down to who has the most marketing muscle. 

(I was one of the ones to go for quality and bought Betamax )

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Martyn

I agree with that, but BlueRay seems to be heavily supported & backed by a number of hollywood film studios. These studios (I think theres atleast x8 of them so far) have committed themselves to making all there future movie releases in the blueray formatt.

**NOTE:- A hacker in the USA recently broken a multi million $ encryption system used by the major movie studios on retail DVD disks, this was done by completely side stepping the entire encyption methodology. This meant that movie DVD's could be copied or ripped off. However, the studios have now changed their system in a counter response so that the side step cannot be used, & the encyption system has also been changed & strengthened.

**YES! just like VHS verses BetaMax I think the battle between BlueRay & HDDVD will take some time to work itself out.

Ivan

Based on history, HDDVD would be the way to go.

Betamax was Sony's baby and they are supporting Blueray

 

Martyn 

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Martyn

I haven't decided which format to go for yet.

I know that Blu-Ray can hold more data but I like the idea of HD DVD because the HD DVD player will be backwards compatible with current DVD's (I think)

The best thing to happen would be for a player that can play both formats like the current state of the DVD market where most players can play both the + and the - formats.

If this doesn't happen then we might end up with one format dominating the market whilst the other one dies out like what happened with the Betamax format.
 

Review-wise, HDDVD seems to have the edge at the moment, due to lazy encoding for BluRay from what I've read.

There are dual-format players, but they're VERY expensive.

ta,

Phil.
 

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Phil Long
Technical Support Manager - Zen Internet Ltd.

If you're willing to pay £25 per disc as it appears to be right now I'm sure money can't be that tight when considering HD

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David Nelson
Team Leader
Business Support Unit
Zen Internet

Hi,

My hunch is that the real shake down between both formatts (BlueRay verses HDDVD) wont really happen until after the big digital switch over in 2010. I think soon after the switch over & once HD has become adopted as a major broadcasting standard for the likes of the BBC channels. i.e. once high definition is the norm, such as when the nightly 6pm or 10pm news is in HD then the formatts will shake out.

**Thats a dangerous assumption to make just because Sony got it wrong in the past with BetaMax doesnt neccessarily mean the same will happen again. History doesnt always repeat itself, just like lightening doesnt always strike twice in the same place.

Ivan

I was reading that one reason betamax failed was because sony wouldn’t let porn companies use that format. And apparently something similar is happening with blu-ray, whereby companies like Vivid aren’t able to find replication companies willing to work with their discs, whereas HD DVD are embracing porn… ROFL.

 

Also, despite most movie companies (not porn ones) having signed up to blu-ray, universal has sided with HD DVD and of course Microsoft also supports HD DVD. I’ve already got an XBOX 360 so wouldn’t want the PS3, and now MS sell an HD DVD player attachment for the XBOX which retails for as little as £120 I think I’ll buy that and see how it goes.

Hello Des,

[quote:- I was reading that one reason betamax failed was because sony wouldn’t let porn companies use that format. And apparently something similar is happening with blu-ray, whereby companies like Vivid aren’t able to find replication companies willing to work with their discs, whereas HD DVD are embracing porn… ROFL.]

Actually I didnt know that about BetaMax & porn but it doesnt suprise me in the least though!!

**Although, righly or wrongly these days its the porn industry that are the fastest adopters of new technology, look at the internet for example. My guess is that companies like Private, & Vivid are so wealthy I wouldnt be at all suprised if they were to bring out there own formats or players or both.

**Its totally obvious that HD porn is going to be the next BIG wave, enough said.

I still say it remains VERY unclear as to which formatt will win out hands down between BluRay & HDDVD.

Ivan

What I'd like to know basically is I have a number of DVD's that has superceded the VHS collection which one of these formats will be backward compatible with my current collection of DVD's.

 

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Do you really care what my actual home system and network is I am sure yours will be bigger, better and faster.

According to Sony, Toshiba et al, players for both formats will be backward compatible.

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Martyn

Frankly, I'm still unsure that the big advantage of one system has over the other, can anyone enlighten me without blinding me with science or technobabble? HDDVD verses BlueRay?

Ivan

cyteck:

can anyone enlighten me without blinding me with science or technobabble? HDDVD verses BlueRay?

Any good? http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/415 

 

I found these 2 comments interesting:

"We still don’t know which format will be DVD’s successor. All we know is that still a fierce fight between the two standard, but on the storage size Blu-Ray has a better advantage over HD-DVD, while on the cost side HD-DVD is the winner, as HD DVD discs are cheaper to manufacture."

 

"In terms of compatibility, both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players will be capable of playing CDs and DVDs, but it won’t be possible to read a Blu-Ray disc on a HD-DVD player and vice-versa (it is technically possible to create a player that can read both formats, but it will probably cost almost twice, as it will need two separated circuits inside the unit, one for each technology)"

Hello CurlyWhirly Thanks for the link, Yes! very helpful & informative.

Ivan