Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD

***Veridian3*** · Feb 18, 2008, 09:20 AM

It seems that the format "war" is pretty much over and Blu-Ray has been victorious. Did the right format win?

Discuss...

ChaosMinionX · Feb 18, 2008, 09:33 AM

HD-DVD was dead when it came out.

It offered nothing over Blu-ray, and despite early reviews Blu ray had about not supporting various codecs, the support was later added. And PS3 played a big role in killing HD-DVD even if you dont want to admit it, it put more players in the publics eye, and although it was a gamble for Sony, it paid off.

Glad I didnt buy a dual format combo drive

Son_of_Thunder · Feb 18, 2008, 10:06 AM

I'm sad that HD-DVD didn't win. It was far less expensive to buy both players and movies, yet still offered HD quality.

Sayonara HD-DVD, enjoy cuddling with beta and laserdisc.

thunderclap · Feb 18, 2008, 02:38 PM

I don't think downloadable content will replace optical media anytime soon except for rental purposes. With the amount of drive space required for a 1080p HD movie it just isn't practical. And what about special features? How are they going to incorporate that? If digital download does take off for actually purchasing films it won't be for another 5-10 years.

OmegaRED · Feb 18, 2008, 08:18 PM

LOL@Downloadable content...many ISP's have monthly caps the size of just one Blu-ray movie

Do people have any idea how much bandwidth would be required to download movies at an acceptable speed? Unless you're fine waiting a few days for a download to finish it isn't practical.

I like Blu-Ray, it sounds cooler and it has more storage space which means higher bitrate and quality. Other than that I'm just glad the war is over.

Necrosis · Feb 18, 2008, 08:29 PM

I need not bother say anything.

MooN*FiRE · Feb 19, 2008, 03:07 AM

Just to use blu-ray in my system I have to upgrade to core 2 duo 3.0+ GHz :/.

Zelig · Feb 19, 2008, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MooN*FiRE

Just to use blu-ray in my system I have to upgrade to core 2 duo 3.0+ GHz :/.

Or a video card with proper acceleration. With my 2.8 GHz Athlon 64/8800 GTS G92, I can play Blu-ray discs with about 15% cpu usage.

mike2h · Feb 19, 2008, 04:11 AM

while i went with bd cause i thought it was obviously(to me) going to come out on top, i a mglad its over & would have been almost as happy had hd -dvd won. just wanted one of them to win - sooner than later.

CDsDontBurn · Feb 19, 2008, 06:04 AM

i will vote when the option of "who cares who won, i'm just glad it's over" option is made available

.

now that it's clear that BR won, when i get the chance, i will go out and buy me a standalone BR player....yes, a standalone, not a ps3.

Judas · Feb 19, 2008, 07:01 AM

why?

get the LG drive.... it's cheaper then a stand alone BR player... ontop of that.... you can watch any HD-DVD movies that may come on special..... brilliant peice of technology that i'm glad someone had the balls to produce finally.....

Cannyone · Feb 19, 2008, 08:17 AM

I was in favor of HD-DVD, primarily because I have a grudge against Sony.

But for the time being I'm more than happy with regular old DVDs and an upscaling DVD player. I can rent movies for $1 a night. And I can continue to use XP (not even interested in a stand alone) Though I do have an upscaling player in the living room it's connected to a 720p TV. My computer on the other hand has a 24" display that is native 1920x1200.

Maybe by the time 5 1/4" Blu-Ray drives are down to around $200 the format will be closer to a "solid standard". As it stands any of you that wants to buy a Stand Alone Blu-Ray player is wasting their money. None of the current players, besides the PS3, is compatible with the 2.0 standard. And just a flash upgrade won't hack it! You're going to have to buy a new unit.

I'm not buying into Blu-Ray any time soon. 1. I don't really trust Sony. 2. Blu-Ray is too expensive for my tastes. 3. DVD is ubiquitous atm, so I don't see Blu-Ray replacing it. 4. I would prefer to download an "HD rental" that way I don't have the expense of running to the store. Xbox Live does this just fine.

ET3D · Feb 19, 2008, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

i will vote when the option of "who cares who won, i'm just glad it's over" option is made available

.

Yes, me too.

I also admire Sony for its well laid plan. PS3 helped Blu-ray win, which in turn will help the PS3.

Asmoday · Feb 19, 2008, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

i will vote when the option of "who cares who won, i'm just glad it's over" option is made available

.

There, anything to please you Cd's..

No seriously I find it to be a valid point, so the option is added...

Judas · Feb 19, 2008, 02:30 PM

can i get a vote reset then?

dipstick · Feb 19, 2008, 03:04 PM

I can't say I really cared who would win but since all I can play is DB (ps3) I'm kinda glad it came out on top

Judas · Feb 19, 2008, 03:43 PM

did hd-dvd suddenly break..

now i can't play my HD-DVD using the same version of PowerDVD that i've been using all the time.... on the same movies..... full screen @ 2560x1600.... when i enter full screen it just goes to the 1920x1080 within a massive black bordered area.... wtf

mike2h · Feb 19, 2008, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ET3D

Yes, me too.

I also admire Sony for its well laid plan. PS3 helped Blu-ray win, which in turn will help the PS3.

while im not a big fan of sony, you do got to give them kudos for that.

MooN*FiRE · Feb 19, 2008, 10:28 PM

The main reason I wanted blu-ray to win is cause it seemed at the time you could put more on them. 25 GB's a/side is alot of space for backup. Instead of those 4.7 GB disc for saving info etc you have a 25 Gig disc to play with. The only bad thing about blu-ray and hdddvd in the first place is the slow burn speed. 4-6x isn't good at all. Now that there is one champ maybe leaps and bounds in burning speed will get better, 18x burning would be nice.

**Mousey** · Feb 19, 2008, 10:38 PM

Quite frankly i don't really care about "High Definition" because it offers nothing appealing to me as a consumer. If i want "High Definition" i'll fire up CoD4 with max settings :/
The massive premium you have to pay to get the extra content doesn't seem justified to me and as such i don't think it's worth it.
But that's just my opinion.

mike2h · Feb 19, 2008, 11:17 PM

mousey what does watching hd movies have to do with gaming? hd isnt about extra content, it is about getting better visual & sound quality, period.
while i understand hd has no importance to lots of people, if you are going to have a negative(or pos) opinion about it at least make sure that your opinion has relevance to the subject.
not picking on you only mousey, just seen quite a few peeps around here express opinions on hd based on things that have little to no bearing on hd itself.
bty, i have little to no use for 'extra content' either. the little i have seen is pretty much what you get on the dvd releases. i believe this is changing tho. i think anybody that puts a premium on extra content should maybe get a life.

jmo.

Zardon · Feb 19, 2008, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mousey

Quite frankly i don't really care about "High Definition" because it offers nothing appealing to me as a consumer. If i want "High Definition" i'll fire up CoD4 with max settings :/
The massive premium you have to pay to get the extra content doesn't seem justified to me and as such i don't think it's worth it.
But that's just my opinion.

Have you ever seen a bluray or HDDVD at 1080p running on a 52 inch screen? I think you might change your mind. Although I don't even think your statement really makes sense. I think you are confusing Anti Aliasing and Filtering with screen/movie resolution (1920x1080px for 1080p) etc.

I couldn't even watch a DVD now the quality is so rubbish. Funny thing is even when I was buying DVD's I always thought they were pretty rubbish, I was waiting for HD for a long long time.

I have always been very discerning regarding quality however, guess thats why I started Driver Heaven so I could explore the inner geek.......

TenKen · Feb 19, 2008, 11:22 PM

I would say downloaded content if you just want the movie or whatever content, but if you the extras or just to own a physical copy then I would say Blu-ray will be the way to go. Hopefully when they do release to blu-ray, they put extras that make it worth while than just junk and also they give the consumer an option go interactive or just plain menu.

Zelig · Feb 20, 2008, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

I couldn't even watch a DVD now the quality is so rubbish. Funny thing is even when I was buying DVD's I always thought they were pretty rubbish, I was waiting for HD for a long long time.

Heh, I get flak from a lot of my friends for holding a similar opinion. Some content doesn't gain much in the HD transition, but a lot of movies are begging for the increased resolution and decreased compression.

I just watched an HD-DVD copy of A Scanner Darkly, great movie, and beautiful in 1080p.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenKen

I would say downloaded content if you just want the movie or whatever content, but if you the extras or just to own a physical copy then I would say Blu-ray will be the way to go. Hopefully when they do release to blu-ray, they put extras that make it worth while than just junk and also they give the consumer an option go interactive or just plain menu.

Like OmegaRED said, full HD content is too large for feasible large-scale download services. You need about a 30mbit connection (and actual download rates to match) for full quality Blu-ray streaming to become realistic. Current premium HD movies offered via download are actually smaller in size than regular DVD movies.

ExitiosuS · Feb 20, 2008, 01:04 AM

Eh, it makes me feel kind of out of the loop, or too poor, to actually get a 52" HD TV. I'm still using a 32" flat-screen and that runs my DVDs just great. Sit back and enjoy the show at little impact to my wallet.

I don't think I would notice too much of an improvement in order to justify the cost.

... Not yet, anyways. When I can afford a 52" screen, I'll probably need to re-educate my opinion... but with what I've got, I'd need to make too many upgrades in order to see what Blu-Ray has to offer --- and I don't even watch the extra content already on DVDs, I practically watch it much the way I watched VHS -- put it in, wait for all the crap to go by, and then hit Play. When the credits start, the TV goes off and I go to bed or do whatever it was I planned to do afterwards. lol

Lowfat · Feb 20, 2008, 01:53 AM

Very disappointed HD-DVD lost its support. As a video disc, it was definitely the better format. Cost for movies and players are considerably cheaper as HD-DVDs could be made in DVD plants with very little hassle compared to Bluray.

Also the fact that all HDDVD menus and features were standardized was very nice.

ChaosMinionX · Feb 20, 2008, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

Have you ever seen a bluray or HDDVD at 1080p running on a 52 inch screen? I think you might change your mind. Although I don't even think your statement really makes sense. I think you are confusing Anti Aliasing and Filtering with screen/movie resolution (1920x1080px for 1080p) etc.

I couldn't even watch a DVD now the quality is so rubbish. Funny thing is even when I was buying DVD's I always thought they were pretty rubbish, I was waiting for HD for a long long time.

I have always been very discerning regarding quality however, guess thats why I started Driver Heaven so I could explore the inner geek.......

I have to agree 100%..... My Aquos 46" with blu-ray/HD channels looks amazing, makes regular TV look terrible and reg DVDs are also terrible in comparison. I would think after you've experienced HD Mousey, you would change your thoughts on the matter in a jiffy

CDsDontBurn · Feb 20, 2008, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asmoday

There, anything to please you Cd's..

No seriously I find it to be a valid point, so the option is added...

thx man! much appreciated

Necrosis · Feb 20, 2008, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zelig

Heh, I get flak from a lot of my friends for holding a similar opinion. Some content doesn't gain much in the HD transition, but a lot of movies are begging for the increased resolution and decreased compression.

For some movies HD really doesn't matter, I have to agree.

I found out another problem with owning HD content. Not only do I value the quality of a movie, but I almost value the quality of video just as much. There has been quite a few releases on Blu-Ray or HD DVD that I like the movie but the IQ wasn't there. I didn't buy those movies just for that reason. Funny thing is this wasn't that big of an issue w/ DVD's. You had the occasional botched job of post processing with video artifacts but now it's easily apparent.

wiskerbizkit · Feb 20, 2008, 08:25 AM

I think the people who really lost here are the consumers. i don't like sony one bit.

Feb 18, 2008, 09:20 AM	#1
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 5,028 Rep Power: 181	Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD It seems that the format "war" is pretty much over and Blu-Ray has been victorious. Did the right format win? Discuss...

Feb 18, 2008, 09:33 AM	#2
ChaosMinionX USB 3 dot oh Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,911 Rep Power: 47 System Specs	HD-DVD was dead when it came out. It offered nothing over Blu-ray, and despite early reviews Blu ray had about not supporting various codecs, the support was later added. And PS3 played a big role in killing HD-DVD even if you dont want to admit it, it put more players in the publics eye, and although it was a gamble for Sony, it paid off. Glad I didnt buy a dual format combo drive __________________ ::Heatware:: How you can help DriverHeaven by using Digg!

Feb 18, 2008, 10:06 AM	#3
Son_of_Thunder HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 1,441 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I'm sad that HD-DVD didn't win. It was far less expensive to buy both players and movies, yet still offered HD quality. Sayonara HD-DVD, enjoy cuddling with beta and laserdisc. __________________

Feb 18, 2008, 02:38 PM	#4
thunderclap HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 348 Rep Power: 34	I don't think downloadable content will replace optical media anytime soon except for rental purposes. With the amount of drive space required for a 1080p HD movie it just isn't practical. And what about special features? How are they going to incorporate that? If digital download does take off for actually purchasing films it won't be for another 5-10 years. __________________ Marc B. Genrefinity.net - Your source for all things in the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres

Feb 18, 2008, 08:18 PM	#5
OmegaRED Relapsed Gamer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Ottawa , Canada Posts: 5,688 Rep Power: 173 System Specs	LOL@Downloadable content...many ISP's have monthly caps the size of just one Blu-ray movie Do people have any idea how much bandwidth would be required to download movies at an acceptable speed? Unless you're fine waiting a few days for a download to finish it isn't practical. I like Blu-Ray, it sounds cooler and it has more storage space which means higher bitrate and quality. Other than that I'm just glad the war is over. __________________ E Penis Specs: <------------- See System Specs

Feb 18, 2008, 08:29 PM	#6
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I need not bother say anything.

Feb 19, 2008, 03:07 AM	#7
MooN*FiRE Oblivion Wanderer Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Anime Fairlane Posts: 33 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Just to use blu-ray in my system I have to upgrade to core 2 duo 3.0+ GHz :/.

Feb 19, 2008, 04:11 AM	#9
mike2h DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: norcal Posts: 6,483 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	while i went with bd cause i thought it was obviously(to me) going to come out on top, i a mglad its over & would have been almost as happy had hd -dvd won. just wanted one of them to win - sooner than later. __________________

Feb 19, 2008, 06:04 AM	#10
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,790 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	i will vote when the option of "who cares who won, i'm just glad it's over" option is made available . now that it's clear that BR won, when i get the chance, i will go out and buy me a standalone BR player....yes, a standalone, not a ps3. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Feb 19, 2008, 08:17 AM	#12
Cannyone HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Albuquerque NM Posts: 85 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I was in favor of HD-DVD, primarily because I have a grudge against Sony. But for the time being I'm more than happy with regular old DVDs and an upscaling DVD player. I can rent movies for $1 a night. And I can continue to use XP (not even interested in a stand alone) Though I do have an upscaling player in the living room it's connected to a 720p TV. My computer on the other hand has a 24" display that is native 1920x1200. Maybe by the time 5 1/4" Blu-Ray drives are down to around $200 the format will be closer to a "solid standard". As it stands any of you that wants to buy a Stand Alone Blu-Ray player is wasting their money. None of the current players, besides the PS3, is compatible with the 2.0 standard. And just a flash upgrade won't hack it! You're going to have to buy a new unit. I'm not buying into Blu-Ray any time soon. 1. I don't really trust Sony. 2. Blu-Ray is too expensive for my tastes. 3. DVD is ubiquitous atm, so I don't see Blu-Ray replacing it. 4. I would prefer to download an "HD rental" that way I don't have the expense of running to the store. Xbox Live does this just fine. __________________ Eagles may Soar! But Weasels don't have to worry about being sucked into a jet engine...

Feb 19, 2008, 03:04 PM	#16
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	I can't say I really cared who would win but since all I can play is DB (ps3) I'm kinda glad it came out on top

Feb 19, 2008, 10:28 PM	#19
MooN*FiRE Oblivion Wanderer Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Anime Fairlane Posts: 33 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	The main reason I wanted blu-ray to win is cause it seemed at the time you could put more on them. 25 GB's a/side is alot of space for backup. Instead of those 4.7 GB disc for saving info etc you have a 25 Gig disc to play with. The only bad thing about blu-ray and hdddvd in the first place is the slow burn speed. 4-6x isn't good at all. Now that there is one champ maybe leaps and bounds in burning speed will get better, 18x burning would be nice.

Feb 19, 2008, 10:38 PM	#20
Mousey Synth's Long Lost Bro Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Web Design Hell Posts: 7,189 Rep Power: 245 System Specs	Quite frankly i don't really care about "High Definition" because it offers nothing appealing to me as a consumer. If i want "High Definition" i'll fire up CoD4 with max settings :/ The massive premium you have to pay to get the extra content doesn't seem justified to me and as such i don't think it's worth it. But that's just my opinion. __________________

Feb 19, 2008, 11:17 PM	#21
mike2h DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: norcal Posts: 6,483 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	mousey what does watching hd movies have to do with gaming? hd isnt about extra content, it is about getting better visual & sound quality, period. while i understand hd has no importance to lots of people, if you are going to have a negative(or pos) opinion about it at least make sure that your opinion has relevance to the subject. not picking on you only mousey, just seen quite a few peeps around here express opinions on hd based on things that have little to no bearing on hd itself. bty, i have little to no use for 'extra content' either. the little i have seen is pretty much what you get on the dvd releases. i believe this is changing tho. i think anybody that puts a premium on extra content should maybe get a life. jmo. __________________

Feb 19, 2008, 11:22 PM	#23
TenKen HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	I would say downloaded content if you just want the movie or whatever content, but if you the extras or just to own a physical copy then I would say Blu-ray will be the way to go. Hopefully when they do release to blu-ray, they put extras that make it worth while than just junk and also they give the consumer an option go interactive or just plain menu.

Feb 20, 2008, 01:04 AM	#25
ExitiosuS Simian Masterpiece! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, Ont. Canada Posts: 358 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Eh, it makes me feel kind of out of the loop, or too poor, to actually get a 52" HD TV. I'm still using a 32" flat-screen and that runs my DVDs just great. Sit back and enjoy the show at little impact to my wallet. I don't think I would notice too much of an improvement in order to justify the cost. ... Not yet, anyways. When I can afford a 52" screen, I'll probably need to re-educate my opinion... but with what I've got, I'd need to make too many upgrades in order to see what Blu-Ray has to offer --- and I don't even watch the extra content already on DVDs, I practically watch it much the way I watched VHS -- put it in, wait for all the crap to go by, and then hit Play. When the credits start, the TV goes off and I go to bed or do whatever it was I planned to do afterwards. lol

Feb 20, 2008, 01:53 AM	#26
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	Very disappointed HD-DVD lost its support. As a video disc, it was definitely the better format. Cost for movies and players are considerably cheaper as HD-DVDs could be made in DVD plants with very little hassle compared to Bluray. Also the fact that all HDDVD menus and features were standardized was very nice. __________________

Feb 20, 2008, 08:25 AM	#30
wiskerbizkit DH ***** hobo Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Columbia SC Posts: 467 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I think the people who really lost here are the consumers. i don't like sony one bit.