Microsoft moves to own DVD format

Dom · May 1, 2003, 07:14 PM

THERE ARE PLENTY of people who think that the MPAA is bad but, as the phrase goes, they ain't seen nuthin' yet. Microsoft had been floating around on the horizon off the California coastline watching Hollywood with interest. Now the Vole has parked a whacking great big battleship just offshore. It has announced its own DVD format and has backing from some insiders.
Artisan Home Entertainment is going to be releasing the first wave of Microsoft's bid to control Hollywood. It has two films lined up for special treatment, the first is "Shadows of Motown" and the second is a new release of "Terminator 2: Judgement Day." Both films come with an extra DVD that is playable on a PC using Media Player 9.

The big selling point is that the Media Player 9 disks are higher resolution. And, wait for the slight of hand, the format is called HD-DVD even though Microsoft is stressing that the resolution is far below "high definition" in the sense of HDTV.

The new format has not been approved by the DVD Forum and may never be. It's not like Microsoft to care if it gets approval anyway. It has spotted a nice fat revenue stream and wants to put up a dam on it so that everyone has to pay the Vole if they want to keep on drinking.

So, give it a four or five years and you'll be able to look back on the era of the MPAA with affection. There's a new player in town and it makes them look very easy going in comparison. The only hope is that Blu-Ray might manage to stop the Vole from slowly taking over yet another part of everyone's lives.

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Source: The Inqirer

Rayder · May 1, 2003, 07:54 PM

It still comes down to the fact that they expect you to throw away all your old DVD hardware and buy all new. It won't matter which new fomat becomes dominant. They just seem to think that consumers have a bottomless pocket-book, don't they?

Catalyst25 · May 1, 2003, 08:32 PM

I would be willing to bet money this is going to be a huge flop. Who watches DVDs on their computers, especially on any regular type of basis? Maybe people watch them once in a while (I'm sure this is a small number of people), maybe a student without a TV and only a computer with a DVD drive, or those with laptops traveling or otherwise bored (gasp) at work (an even smaller number of people).... but this is in no way going to take over.

I'm not sure whose bright idea it was at Microsoft, but it wouldn't take much work to make happen anyways. They try it with a few movies to see what happens, and go from there. There's no way there's enough of a market-base for this product to survive. I can imagine some people trying to pick-up Terminator 2 around the time this comes out seeing both packages (with and without the extra disc) and probably opting for the one WITH the extra disc if it's free or only $1 - $2 extra, but any more than that.... then you're getting outside of curiosity and into "do I want to check this out bad enough to spend the extra money?"

Also, it's not like they're switching formats, or even trying to establish a switch... they're just including an additional DVD with the new content as well. People will buy DVDs like normal to watch on TV like normal. We're talking about a PC-based DVD format here... The market-base for this product is ridiculously small in comparison to the TV DVD format.

A product like this might succeed once the PC and home theater experience is fully integrated.

hendonblue · May 2, 2003, 12:49 AM

Wow, another DVD type to add in the mix. Hopefully by the end we'll just end up with just one. It would be tough juggling a ton of different formats.

May 1, 2003, 07:14 PM	#1
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	Microsoft moves to own DVD format THERE ARE PLENTY of people who think that the MPAA is bad but, as the phrase goes, they ain't seen nuthin' yet. Microsoft had been floating around on the horizon off the California coastline watching Hollywood with interest. Now the Vole has parked a whacking great big battleship just offshore. It has announced its own DVD format and has backing from some insiders. Artisan Home Entertainment is going to be releasing the first wave of Microsoft's bid to control Hollywood. It has two films lined up for special treatment, the first is "Shadows of Motown" and the second is a new release of "Terminator 2: Judgement Day." Both films come with an extra DVD that is playable on a PC using Media Player 9. The big selling point is that the Media Player 9 disks are higher resolution. And, wait for the slight of hand, the format is called HD-DVD even though Microsoft is stressing that the resolution is far below "high definition" in the sense of HDTV. The new format has not been approved by the DVD Forum and may never be. It's not like Microsoft to care if it gets approval anyway. It has spotted a nice fat revenue stream and wants to put up a dam on it so that everyone has to pay the Vole if they want to keep on drinking. So, give it a four or five years and you'll be able to look back on the era of the MPAA with affection. There's a new player in town and it makes them look very easy going in comparison. The only hope is that Blu-Ray might manage to stop the Vole from slowly taking over yet another part of everyone's lives. ------------------------ Source: The Inqirer

May 2, 2003, 12:49 AM	#4
hendonblue DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 12 Rep Power: 0	Wow, another DVD type to add in the mix. Hopefully by the end we'll just end up with just one. It would be tough juggling a ton of different formats. __________________ AMD 1700 MSI KT3 Ultra ATi 8500 256MB PC2700 60gig Maxtor HD

May 1, 2003, 07:54 PM	#2
Rayder Mostly lurking lately.... Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 2,161 Rep Power: 73	It still comes down to the fact that they expect you to throw away all your old DVD hardware and buy all new. It won't matter which new fomat becomes dominant. They just seem to think that consumers have a bottomless pocket-book, don't they?

May 1, 2003, 08:32 PM	#3
Catalyst25 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	I would be willing to bet money this is going to be a huge flop. Who watches DVDs on their computers, especially on any regular type of basis? Maybe people watch them once in a while (I'm sure this is a small number of people), maybe a student without a TV and only a computer with a DVD drive, or those with laptops traveling or otherwise bored (gasp) at work (an even smaller number of people).... but this is in no way going to take over. I'm not sure whose bright idea it was at Microsoft, but it wouldn't take much work to make happen anyways. They try it with a few movies to see what happens, and go from there. There's no way there's enough of a market-base for this product to survive. I can imagine some people trying to pick-up Terminator 2 around the time this comes out seeing both packages (with and without the extra disc) and probably opting for the one WITH the extra disc if it's free or only $1 - $2 extra, but any more than that.... then you're getting outside of curiosity and into "do I want to check this out bad enough to spend the extra money?" Also, it's not like they're switching formats, or even trying to establish a switch... they're just including an additional DVD with the new content as well. People will buy DVDs like normal to watch on TV like normal. We're talking about a PC-based DVD format here... The market-base for this product is ridiculously small in comparison to the TV DVD format. A product like this might succeed once the PC and home theater experience is fully integrated.