Yeah, we're still waiting on that. It was supposed to take off at launch. Then it was supposed to take off with the PS3. Any time now, Blu-Ray. The attach rate on Blu-Ray is pathetic. A PS3 in someone's home doesn't mean a new Blu-Ray fan in someone's home.

KaneRobot

Both aren't worth it because TVs haven't caught up yet. I bet a handful of people who spew their worthless opinions here actually have a TV I would deem acceptable to watch the new formats on. Unless you have a 2006 or later DLP or LCD projection, I wouldn't even bother with it since you probably won't notice a drastic change from DVD. Sure the edges may be smoother but who notices that unless you are 6 inches from the screen? So both formats are worthless unless it looks like it is real life. Why not just all admit you are fanboys which is ok. I'm a fanboy too, a fan of Opie and Anthony. FRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUNKUS.

Eatabullet

FOTL FTW!!!

eddiesdguy

Brian Lam

What I don't get is... why? They both use the same codec (or should), and mastering should be identical since they can start with the same 1080p masters... and Blu-ray's 50GB is 66% more space than HD-DVD's 30GB, so there's no reason why this is so. They should not only be comparable, but Blu-Ray's picture quality has to be superior.

BTW, one HD-DVD technical advantage - it's many times cheaper to press - you can upgrade an existing DVD factory to make HD-DVDs. Blu-Rays require a new factory (new equipment), so HD-DVDs are cheaper to manufacture. Blu-Ray also has annoying "fingerprint" that tracks which factory produces a disc, the disc type, and content type. So a player can't play encrypted movies off of a burned Blu-ray, for example. And factories can't produce more than ordered and sell the extras without people knowing who did it.

There are really two market forces here - porn (not as strong as they once were), and piracy. I'm sure once the DVD factories in Malaysia and elsewhere upgrade, they'll start pressing "3rd shift" HD-DVDs by the ton...

Worf

theflux

... I would call that desperate

OniMirage

- Region free (only HD DVD has this)
- Mandatory Managed Copy (HD DVD's backers are big supporters of this, Blu Ray not so much)
- Less DRM (AACS is optional on HD DVD discs, mandatory on Blu Ray)
- Low price
- Future compatibility (current Blu Ray devices won't be able to play all the features on upcoming discs, such as picture-in-picture and network access to download extra sub-titles/language tracks)

Blu Ray's two big technical advantages are storage space and the super-hard protective coating, but since a 30GB HD DVD already has enough space to hold the extended version of LOTR 3 with lossless audio, how much more space do you need?

David C

That said, I haven't bought a player because they're too expensive and the marginal improvement in video quality isn't worth it.

mathew

Honestly...get a life people.

hoofdpijn

No wonder hd-dvd sales have been slow... doh.

After watching blueray and NORMAL dvd on a massive screen from the recommended distance I could hardly tell any difference.. so i'd be surprised if either format is noticably superior to the other.

If one wins, it won't be for any technical reason..

soul_grind

hypereric

Betamax FTW!!!!!!

d_saum

also, i'm going by how much content is available so the blu-ray obviously wins.

uptonogood

hitmeoverhere

fastmike

FTW. I've seen it said all over the internet. What's sad is I just found out what FTW meant. I thought it meant "F The World," but with the same connotation of "For The Win." I like F The World better.

eddiesdguy

DVD+R sucks ass. DVD-R ftw.

eddiesdguy

fireballx

Dathmar

And personally I'm with bigtimes. I'm holding back for the winner and thus keeping my flame low. Get it over and done with, and not just with stupid PR and lies, get it over with in a way that benefits the majority of the consumera (like that would ever happen, but here's hoping!).

Rex Galore

bigtimes

And if The House That Bill Built is subsidizing it, who cares? It's cheap. They're technically very similar, so no reason to choose one over the other. They have similar groups of heartless corporations behind them, so no reason to choose one over the other.

It literally came down to whoever gave it to me at a low price first, and HD-DVD did it. I once cared about the anti-consumer DRM garbage, which was a HUGE knock against Blu-Ray (HD-DVD, not innocent either), but who cares, now? Both formats look hacked, so all the DRM in the world can't stop it.

Make all the cheap whore jokes you want. HD-DVD served it up cheap, so in my book, they win.

Aaron Martin-Colby

hugs

kracer22

Brian Lam

They're technically (and graphically) superior and have more studios behind them. Plus they have a creative name, not just DVD with an HD stuck on the front. Sony works hard to stay ahead of the game and I hope they're rewarded when the general public catches up with them.

dna

I see the HD-DVD supporter are playing right into the hands of amazon/microsoft ;-)

But I think they (the people who brought all the HD-DVDs) are going to be pissed off when all those HD-DVDs become obsolete after blu-ray takes over - as see in the sales graph.

dnzperson

chueychihuahua

Blu-Ray is backed by Sony. Shitty-format-making, rootkitting Sony.

HD-DVD FTW 4ever.

Mischif

This is capitalism at work, and not in the whole "I love the free market bullshit" sort of way. When you have an entire cultural system that identifies people by and through the purchases they make, we become so oblivious to the entire process that we start becoming fans of 'formats' - the difference between which have no ostensible bearing on our lives other than how we choose to distract ourselves, and even then, not bloody much. While I too would be antsy about investing a few hundred dollars into a piece of tech, only to have it be obsolete a year later, to my mind, becoming a fan of one media-delivery format over another means the sort of misery depicted in a Blade-Runner-esque dystopia isn't actually too far away.

I know that the comments section on the Giz isn't exactly the place for this, but c'mon - enough is fucking enough.

/vague, stupid post-marxist rant over. Blu-Ray ftw.

scrawledinwax

Ikthog

"hey guys, let's all buy the star wars disc this month, okay? that'll show 'em!"
- ballmer

rinwin

quikboy

silvercity

merm

lol, he probably did. blu-ray ftw.
i'll stick with dvd for now, since i don't have an hdtv. once i do, i'll get blu-ray.

UltimateIdiot

Blu-Ray is clearly superior, why don't we all just admit that?

eddiesdguy

zaq2g

tifosiv122

I bet it was fun.

Techguy1138

scraejtp