Today marks the absolute pending :giggle: death of HDDVD. A few hours ago AOL Time Warner announced that they will exclusively back Blu-ray Disc. This will leave the only HDDVD exclusive studios will be Viacom and Universal.

Full Press Release:
http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1700383,00.html

Well that's advancement for you. That's the way of the 45 and LP, 8-track, cassette, CD, video tape, video disc and now the DVD. Everything gets smaller, faster and better. The only bad thing about it is the price goes up each time. You would think that the smaller the item is the lower the price would be!:-)

Well that's advancement for you. That's the way of the 45 and LP, 8-track, cassette, CD, video tape, video disc and now the DVD. Everything gets smaller, faster and better. The only bad thing about it is the price goes up each time. You would think that the smaller the item is the lower the price would be!:-)


I don't really follow formats, especially beyond CDs. What is the price of each format? Or how much do they increase from the old to the new(er)? Also, you probably can't just look at the format itself, unless you are just talking about blank discs. At least for discs with content, you have to remember that the newer ones can store more content. So it might cost a bit more, but you are also paying for more stuff. Like extra DVD features and higher quality picture for HD-DVD/Blu-Ray over DVD.

I'm happy for Sony and Blu-Ray. Sure, they had failed media formats in the past. But they got the guts to try again. I like to see that in people and in a company.

I'm just going to wait until Blu-Ray becomes the standard and then MAYBE buy a player. Only once the burners are cheap enough though ;) I can't stand paying $40 for a movie!

The HD-DVD Consortium cancelled their CES 2008 party after this announcement. The reason stated was that they needed to re-evaluate their position after this disappointing move on the part of Warner Bros. If MS doesn't go through with their rumoured announcement of an HD-DVD drive being built into the next Xbox 360 (circulating as "The Ultimate"), I think HD-DVD may have a bit of a setback on their hands.

To kick salt in the wound, key players like Samsung have dropped the price of their Blu-ray machines to HD-DVD levels. Samsung silently announced the drop of one of their players to around $499 (available for $269 if you look hard for a BD-P1400) from over $1000 just a year ago. The new machine should also prove to be more robust an faster as was the change from the BD-P1000 to the BD-P1200. We'll have to see at CES next week if Samsung announces anymore pricepoint players.

I don't think either format has really won the war as of yet. I just think the war has just begun as companies, like WB, start to finally draw lines in the sand and actually pick a side.

I have over 50 Blu-ray Discs and have never paid over $25 (I paid $35 each for the Die Hard and Ocean's Collections)


I think it is great news that HDDVD is pulling out of CES that is a major blow. The very concept that Microsoft never integrated the HDDVD in to the very first 360 makes me lose respect for the format and even for the console. This is a next gen war, it takes next gen weapons. They should have learned from the PS2 (helping DVDs and all).

I wouldn't announce HD DVD's death just yet. Things have a way of lingering around after their purported death. Just ask W.C. Fields: "The rumour of my demise has been greatly exaggerated." :D

The very concept that Microsoft never integrated the HDDVD in to the very first 360 makes me lose respect for the format and even for the console. This is a next gen war, it takes next gen weapons. They should have learned from the PS2 (helping DVDs and all).

Microsoft would have had to delay the 360 then. HD DVD was nowhere near ready for mass market consumption at the end of 2005. The console would have been in even shorter supply at the time and boosted the bill of materials for the console even higher. It just wasn't feasible.

The 360 would likely have been a financial bomb if they launched alongside Wii and PS3.

Microsoft would have had to delay the 360 then. HD DVD was nowhere near ready for mass market consumption at the end of 2005. The console would have been in even shorter supply at the time and boosted the bill of materials for the console even higher. It just wasn't feasible.

The 360 would likely have been a financial bomb if they launched alongside Wii and PS3.
If MS had waited a few months, they could have had an internal hd dvd player ready and the format war may have been completely different today.

If MS had waited a few months, they could have had an internal hd dvd player ready and the format war may have been completely different today.


And if MS had done that then the 360 would have just cost more and not many people would be buying it, just like with the PS3. I'm not going to buy a PS3 anytime soon because of it's price, and I would have never bought a 360 if it had cost the same. And I'm sure many people don't want to pay for HD or Blu-Ray if they don't even have an HDTV.

We are done here: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/hd-dvds-fall-like-dominoes/?ref=technology

Looks grim for the HD DVD. It's funny but no mention of the VMD has been brought up anywhere at all. I wonder why.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versatile_Multilayer_Disc

Yupp I know all about VMD, while I wouldn't personally back it, it does have a place in the market.

Not everyone has home theaters but most would like to have that sharper image. This is where the VMD would do well.

Because the HDDVD is such a bastard child, it ends up not being the best or even the cheapest, leaving it in a puddle of it's own excrement.

Bluray for enthusiasts and VMD for an average consumer.

On 1/4/08 HDDVD was hospitalized and not allowed to go to CES because Warner Bros had solely backed Blu-ray Disc.

On 2/16/08:Toshiba Corp is planning to stop production of equipment compatible with the HD DVD format for high-definition video, allowing the competing Blu-Ray camp a free run, public broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday. Toshiba is expected to suffer losses amounting to tens of billions of yen (hundreds of millions of dollars) to scrap production of HD DVD players and...

Read on: http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSL1627196120080216



Umm so yea :)

LOL with Retell. Boy, you just can't wait for the HD DVD to keel over and croak. LOL. What, you betting short on it in the market? ;) :D

Yeah, I would say that when one of the parents of HD DVD pulls the plug, you are basically in extremis. :( Shit happens.

Also there was...

The nation's top retailer will phase out its HD DVD support by early summer.


That's the official word this morning from Wal-Mart, first announced on the company's gadget blog, CheckOut.com (http://checkoutblog.com/entries/2008/2/15/wal_mart_chooses_a_hi_def_platform.aspx).

According to Wal-Mart execs, the company will begin emphasizing Blu-ray in both brick-and-mortar stores and online over the next thirty days, with plans to completely phase out HD DVD movie and hardware sales by June 2008. The company will continue to sell DVDs and standard-definition hardware.


http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Wal-Mart/High-Def_Retailing/Wal-Mart_to_Go_Blu-ray_Exclusive/1469

So yeah...HD DVD is done for now I think...good thing I waited and didn't buy the HDDVD add on for my 360 lol.

Aww, but you did waste money on a 360 :(

Aww, but you did waste money on a 360 :(

harhar >.>

Newp. Not me. I'm not a gamer, my friend. :D I made a choice years ago. Get good at games or good at computers. I'm still working on the getting good at computers shit. LOL.

Dude I totally PWN at F@H!... On my PS3 :D

LOL. Good for you. With your Blu-ray too. :D