Community weekly poll: What's your take on the next-generation DVD format wars?
- 3/7/06 3:37 PM
What's your take on the next-generation DVD format wars?
by Marc Bennett - 3/7/06 3:37 PM
What's your take on the next-generation DVD format wars?
Blu-ray all the way (tell us why)
HD-DVD, that's for me! (tell us why)
Too early to tell; I'm waiting it out (tell us why)
Not interested (why not?)
What the heck are you talking about?
Wait for the Broadcom BCM7411D !
by chuckyoufarley - 3/7/06 5:36 PM In reply to: What's your take on the next-generation DVD format wars? by Marc Bennett
Supposedly Broadcom unveiled a chip set that will allow consumer DVD players to view both formats in one player.
Good move Broadcom!
End this Betamax debacle before it evem get rolling.
Plus or Minus
by Panther37 - 3/7/06 7:24 PM In reply to: Wait for the Broadcom BCM7411D ! by chuckyoufarleyKinda like the DVD-R and DVD+R that didn't really happen.
I thought that wasn't possible
by brianmartin - 3/8/06 8:01 AM In reply to: Wait for the Broadcom BCM7411D ! by chuckyoufarleyThis may not be the case anymore, but as of late last year both formats has written into their licensing contracts that no manufacturer could combine both formats in a player. Samsung had intentions of doing exactly that, but realized pretty quickly they couldn't... not because of any technical problems but because neither side would license the technology to do so.
New chip for Bluray and HDTV
by charlie pittsburgh - 3/8/06 10:45 AM In reply to: I thought that wasn't possible by brianmartinIts a disadvantage in my opinion...for Toshiba and HD DVD. Since blue lasers (red laser can't) can read all formats and blu ray is already able to read std dvd. HD DVD is basically the same technology std DVD so they may be able to push the licensing issue on technological merit alone...(remmember all companies already use red laser technology). And if it comes before a court of its peers. juries tend to side with the consumer not the mega billion dollar company.
New chip for Bluray and HDTV
by rf186 - 3/14/06 6:51 AM In reply to: New chip for Bluray and HDTV by charlie pittsburghI've read that only HD-DVD is backwards compatible with std dvd & that the Blu-ray laser couldn't read a std dvd?
HighDev DVD "wars"?
by TR2005b - 3/7/06 5:46 PM In reply to: What's your take on the next-generation DVD format wars? by Marc Bennett
Not so fast, or rather, not so big. There doesn't seem to be enough media content in the higher resolutions to get me excited about this one. Maybe when the content providers catch up to our desires to view higher resolution will I worry about what the format is. Until then, I'll rent scratchy DVD's from mail order and ignnore the Special Features on the second disk.
Most video quality is average, so the higher density would only provide questionable special features space for now.
Call me in two years when I care.
Have to disagree on one technicallity
by chazzy1098 - 3/7/06 9:38 PM In reply to: HighDev DVD "wars"? by TR2005bYou wrote:
> Most video quality is average, so the higher density
> would only provide questionable special features
> space for now.
First, I am in FULL agreement that most video quality these days is only average. However I strongly DISAGREE with your conclusion that higher density would only result in adding more special features.
Fact of the matter is that DVD video quality is poor for the same reason that many MP3's don't sound as good as the original CD.
Please forgive a short technical detour. When a film is very first produced, it's actual resolution is equivelant (sp?) to many megabytes per frame. Multiply that by 24 to 30 frames per second, times the number of seconds in the whole movie, and you get a value that is 10's, even 100's of gigs worth of video data.
The majority of videos stored on DVD are in one or another of the 'lossy' compression formats. Current video/audio compression technology has its roots back in the 'old' days when we were using 24k modems, and 80 Megabytes was a LOT of space. So, to get the absolute maximum compession possible, these programs literally 'threw out' large parts of the information. In theory, the parts that got thrown out were parts that the human ear/eye would never notice. I haven't kept up with the actual compression formats used in the past few years, but their basic function is still the same as those old days.
When movies get pressed to DVD, the amount of data lost is quite high. I'm certain someone will correct me on this, but I think the number is something like 66-75% of the original video data is lost in the current compression formats. And I don't care how good a program is at decoding the data, when you lose that much of the original, you WILL suffer a very noticeable loss in quality. Hence MP3's that are recorded at too low a bit rate sound tinny, and DVD's can look little better than video tape.
SO, my point is that when there is more available space on a disk, then compression programs will not need to throw out so much of the video information. And the more original data that is kept, then the better the quality of the picture on your screen. So, while there will probably still be a second disk thats just filled with oodles of special features, it should also be true that the first disk will be filled with more video data, and thus (in theory) have vastly superior video quality than the 'only average' we see on current DVD's.
Hope this helps clarify.
Ima Sloetyper
High Resolution vs. screen size
by jwschull - 3/8/06 4:53 AM In reply to: Have to disagree on one technicallity by chazzy1098A 1080P @ 60 fps would probably look only marginally better (if preceivable at all) than a 720p @ 30 fps on my Sony 60". It would be different if we were blowing it up to a 120" screen or more. But who does that? Who has a room that large to make a screen that size viable? NOT many people.
Movie makers NEED the 100's of Meg of video to get high resolution on a Theatrical screen. But the typical 60" wide screen a consumer would have does NOT require that much resolution to look great. Unless of course you are viewing it with a magnifing glass.
Blu-Ray & Playstation 3
by monogatari82 - 3/7/06 5:46 PM In reply to: What's your take on the next-generation DVD format wars? by Marc Bennett
Because PS3 will blow the XBox360 out of the water in terms of graphics and game selection, and because PS3 uses Blu-Ray technology, it should be obvious that Blu-Ray Disc will win over the battle for next generation media discs. Price matters of course, but like all things, prices will come down as they are mass produced by China.
BluRay will rule
by JoseNova - 3/7/06 6:41 PM In reply to: Blu-Ray & Playstation 3 by monogatari82PS3 supports BluRay and thats it end of discussion.
Re: Blu-Ray & Playstation 3
by joshastri - 3/8/06 4:20 PM In reply to: Blu-Ray & Playstation 3 by monogatari82When the first DVD format wars occurred, it was the Playstation 2 which really settled it. The same also looks set with the Playstation 3 doing the same. Don't forget, the reason that this war is happening now is that more space is required to fit higher quality movies and more data for computers. HD-DVD is just a stop gap. The consumer will definitely want more. It would be like buying one car with lower specs and another model fully optioned to maintain the status quo.
The Xbox 360 thus far, appears to be a rushed job. It has already been found to have teething problems and there has been a shortage of production models available. On paper, the Playstation 3 appears the more superior model. I am sure that Sony Executives will revamp it even more once they disect the Xbox 360. By the time it comes out, they will also have a good number of games and movies ready for it to impress the public with their marketing. Sony is not a company to do things by half measures. If you want to set an industry standard, you have to take the time to do it properly. Microsoft appears to have rushed its effort to make the Christmas sales. It is unfortunate, as the machine itself is not that bad. History, however, has seen that Bill Gates strength has always been on the sale of software - not hardware. His aquisitions of software houses over the years, will see him make even more profits again. I do hope that the Xbox will compete in its own right, at any rate, as competition is what has given consumers better products and innovations.
Blu-Ray & Playstation 3
by rf186 - 3/14/06 7:03 AM In reply to: Blu-Ray & Playstation 3 by monogatari82Graphically the 2 systems are going to be about the same, from the spec's that have been relaesed there's no reason to expect a noticeable difference in the quality of the graphics between the 2 systems. I didn't buy a 360 for other reasons.
Problem #1,000,024
by otokichi - 3/7/06 5:48 PM In reply to: What's your take on the next-generation DVD format wars? by Marc Bennett
The local property tax rate is chasing the "housing as investment" craze, threatening to send long time residents into the streets as the "genteel homeless." The TV folk are trying to push Digital in spite of the 4 figure prices of these not-quite-next-generation "brag panels" as analog TV shuts down. Certain national politicians see nothing wrong with upping the red ink lake that the economy is drowning in. Golden parachute CEOs continue to find new ways to outsource jobs and toss former workers into the street. H5N1 is coming, such that the next generation of kids will ask "what's fried chicken?" Glaciers and bodies of ice are melting at accelerated rates, making places like Bangladesh or certain Pacific islands the next "lost city of Atlantis." The Middle East: No honor, no exit, no security. So...that makes the Great High Density DVD Format Wars a subatomic concern.
(NT) I fully agree but there are other forums for this
by bknowledge - 3/8/06 7:03 AM In reply to: Problem #1,000,024 by otokichi
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
