Future of DVDs etc

-Laser-

-Laser-

-Laser-

Associate
Joined
12 Apr 2003
Posts
2,019
Location
surrey
So Blu Ray is now the format of the future, but for how long? What is going to replace it, another optical format, downloads only, streaming only, or some kind of solid state memory?
 
Build up any good collection then formats get replaced.+ u have special editions from what the cleaners point of view was etc.Had a large vhs +laserdisk collection. 4:3 then widescreen No more.:cool:
 
-Laser- said:
So Blu Ray is now the format of the future, but for how long? What is going to replace it, another optical format, downloads only, streaming only, or some kind of solid state memory?
Click to expand...

imo - downloads will take 5 years plus to get right for HD movies (the broadband cabling needs improving drastically before high speeds are available to all - to allow GB's of data to be d/l quickly enough)

No point in replacing like for like, there is enough storage space for the forceable future (200GB is feasable on BR)

Solid state is getting cheaper, but still vastly too expensive for the amount we are talking about

BR isnt going to sell huge amounts over night, so DVD will be with us for some time to come, it also depends on how quickly (now there is only one HD optical format) all studios get together and release stuff, at the moment its been too bitty and piecemeal
 
I think the future will be DVD-quality downloads from the various online stores with the usual DRM, since BR files are so large and I doubt ISPs will be happy at the bandwidth usage/bill.

It really depends on how quickly BR prices for players/movies come down now that they've won the format war and whether the general public will go for it.
 
Downloads will grow bigger I believe, such as Unbox, you just have to look at MP3's to see the pattern, and of course portable media devices help this along. However, there is the thing about having something physical to show for it that will keep physical formats in, thought for how long.
 
I think DVD will be around for a long time yet, DVD to BR isn't the leap that VHS to DVD was, and BR needs a completely new kind of television with a big enough size to warrant it over DVD.
 
FrankJH said:
Well rumours suggest they paid the fee to Universal/Paramount to be HD-DVD only

Not to mention they have the X360 HD-DVD drive (and no plans for a blu-ray equivelant)
Click to expand...


microsoft far from lost as the fact they didnt force a format on there customers only helped sales of there console.
there common sense aproach not only made them industry leader for there console but also gave them the option to offer the hd format as an option.
Tke for instance if blu ray had failed, sony would have had to scrap the player form there console and change the whole pricing structure of there line.

there are rumors of plans for blu-ray on 360 but at the moment they are just that, rumors. and if they do come to light M$ only end up better off as they will have cashed in on both formats in the end.
Here is a quote i found while trauling the pages of xbox-scene, made by xboxfounder a microsoft source supposidly very reliable.

XBOXFounder said:
On to HD-DVD v Blu-ray. MS opposed Blu-ray because Sony supported it, plain and simple. I was in the room when the decision was made. But they hedged their bets by making the Media player a plug in. They could very quickly have a Blue Ray external plug in just like the HD, if Sony will cooperate."

"Therein lays the rub. MS, one of the worst co's to get info out of to make products compatible, needs Sony to help a competitor do just that - compete with a compatible product that depends on the competitor's intellectual protocol. Sony knows that they cannot justify charging MS a fee that is larger than any other customer. Sony wants to make Blu-Ray ubiquitous so they have shaved down fees as much as possible. So MS must get the same deal as everyone else."

"What would you do now if you were Sony? The same thing MS has done over the years. Make the technology intentionally incompatible, withhold information, withhold support for design input to make it compatible, etc.
Click to expand...

Make of that what you will but if it is true it adds new light to things as a computer based Blu-Ray player would be the best option for many people, at the moment because as Blu-Ray is still young and moving through revisions an updatable player is good future proofing.
 
damian666 said:
microsoft far from lost as the fact they didnt force a format on there customers only helped sales of there console.
there common sense aproach not only made them industry leader for there console but also gave them the option to offer the hd format as an option.
Tke for instance if blu ray had failed, sony would have had to scrap the player form there console and change the whole pricing structure of there line..
Click to expand...

No one was forced to buy a ps3 - they chose to (actually BECAUSE of BR by all accounts)

MS arent industry leaders in consoles - they are well behind the leaders (nintendo) and about to be eclipsed by Sony, apart from the fact even by the released figures (approx 18m) we have no idea how many of those have failed and been replaced , ie accounting for two sales instead of one. Im not saying its anywhere near 1/2 - but it could be 1/3 that are failures considering how bad the 3RRoD problem was

Its a huge IF and it hasnt happened, so no real reason to comment on that


damian666 said:
there are rumors of plans for blu-ray on 360 but at the moment they are just that, rumors. and if they do come to light M$ only end up better off as they will have cashed in on both formats in the end.
Here is a quote i found while trauling the pages of xbox-scene, made by xboxfounder a microsoft source supposidly very reliable..
Click to expand...

All official statements from MS indicate there are no plans at present

And how reliable is the source of the quote????

damian666 said:
Make of that what you will but if it is true it adds new light to things as a computer based Blu-Ray player would be the best option for many people, at the moment because as Blu-Ray is still young and moving through revisions an updatable player is good future proofing.
Click to expand...

Considering the cost of a decent pc capable of playing a BR not to mention a size screen to make it worth while, (with a powerful /new gpu, reasonable cpu, the cost of PowerDvd Ultra) you can get better value and for cheaper from a PS3, which will probably be quieter, gaurenteed to be upto date and less hassle - so why bother with a htpc?

For a second player it MAYBE worth it - even then its dubious, Ive considered it, at the moment PowerDvd (and anything else you care to mention software wise) lets this option down drastically

milkinc13 said:
Holographic Versatile Disc according to Wiki, it can in theory hold 3.9TB, so just a few times larger in capacity than blu-ray
Click to expand...

Interesting reading thank you

What struck me immediately was that the standard was set in June last year and seemingly no drive yet exists - admittedly 8 months isnt a long time but considering the partners involved (Mitsubishi, LiteOn, Fuji, Konica) its very strange indeed

I would suspect that at this time the technology required is too expensive for consumer use (esp as what must be a cheaper device to manufacture, a BR drive, costs in the region of £100's - this must be magnitudes more)

If they can get corporations interested as a backup device it may well get off the ground as a removable media potentially more reliabe than tape, but it would be a tough call to chose this over some type of online backup

For films however (considering most people dont even have tv's big enough to make use of BR/HD-DVD's resolution increase) its completely wasted - imo of course
 
Last edited:
Whats all this MS loose out ****, they made the codec used to encode BD's therefore every BD sold MS get a cut. MS came out on top which ever format won, which is serriously well played by them.
 
by computer based i meant the PS3 , all i was aiming at was that once the b;u-ray format is standerd it adds weight to the ps3 sale value as your not taking a risk on a format. and the ps3 is updatable so a good choice over stand alone blu ray players, sorry for not being clearer
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
Whats all this MS loose out ****, they made the codec used to encode BD's therefore every BD sold MS get a cut. MS came out on top which ever format won, which is serriously well played by them.
Click to expand...

Most Blu-rays are now encoded in h.264, which is not made by microsoft.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
Whats all this MS loose out ****, they made the codec used to encode BD's therefore every BD sold MS get a cut. MS came out on top which ever format won, which is serriously well played by them.
Click to expand...

As Energize said a good percentage of Blu-Rays are MPEG-4 AVC which has nothing to do with Microsoft, quite a few are in VC-1 which is Microsofts and there are still a few that are in MPEG-2.
Didnt Paramount dump VC-1 in favour of MPEG-4 a while back ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom