Blockbuster goes Blu-ray, HD DVD=beta?,

06-21-07: Fatparrot
Don't forget that Sony's Play Station 3 will play Blu-ray, so there a huge market penetration due to the sale of these machines.

And Xbox does HD DVD. But on the worldwide market, you're absolutely correct: Playstation has by far the dominant market share.

Microsoft is accustomed to setting standards, but in the case of gaming, Playstation has far more market penetration.

Having recently acquired a Toshiba A2, I wonder if I bet on the wrong horse given the disparity in studio support for the two formats, but at $249, I guess I can afford to for now. If I "lose", I still have a really good upconverting DVD player and a very decent CD player, and current Blu-ray players don't do CD.

For now, Sony is sitting in the catbird seat based on movie studio support, but the high price of Blu-ray players is blunting the theoretical advantage.

Never the less, with the introduction of the sony s300 at 500 dollars starting price (only to go down) also is rumored to play cd's.

the best buy near my house just got ours in yesterday and i wasnt set up yet so i havent had a chance to check it out but as far as i know its very good quality

On matters of the Toshiba... my guess for right now is they are trying to get a payday. they are probably hoping to beat the blu ray and then possibly make a lot of money if they win due to "trust" because they have been making them the longest helping them to sell the most.

Another rumor is there is going to be a "wal-mart" brand blu ray player. then again there is a reason it is a rumor so it may not be true.

Honestly, i am pulling for blu ray because there is still room for expansion as far as the possibilities because of the memory of the discs themselves.

Playstation 3 is the only Playstation that can be a Blu-ray player. Wii is outselling PS3 right now by 4 to 1. Xbox 360 is the Xbox that you can add an external HD-DVD player to.

Research firm Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) revealed that there are 1.5 million Blu-ray players in the U.S., compared to only 300,000 HD DVD players. But while the HD DVD hardware base is a nearly equal split of set-top boxes and Xbox 360 HD DVD players, the Blu-ray camp is divided up into 1.4 million PlayStation 3 systems and 100,000 set-top boxes.

Blu-ray Disc Beating HD DVD...Thanks to the PS3

Actually Blockbuster will carry HD-DVDs for online rentals. Walmart coming out in December with 199 players for HD-DVD from China and not selling any blu ray devices is the true KO and Blu-Ray will likely be the Beta.

Netflix will probably get more business from this actually over time, since their marketing is more straightforward and untainted by backroom palm greasing.

Also, most folks with PS3 dont watch Blu-Ray DVDs; The device itself requires the use of a bluetooth game controller, incompatible with the infrared home theater master controls. You can buy another remote for 25 dollars however.

Fundamentally the Blu ray disc is a bit of technologic problem because it requires much more processing and hard drive space to function than an HD-DVD player; thats why they really havent been able to roll out all of those purported added features on the blu ray discs. When the do, current blu ray machines will be obsolete; and amazingly, may not even play the upcoming changes in blu ray disc technology. Lots of infighting too. Just too much basis cost to deliver the product.

HD-DVD is straightforward and elivers the goods, with out all of the false Hullaboo about a "Blu Ray victory is ineveitable" and other marketing drivel. Cart came out way efore the horse. Chinese HD-DVD players will detrmine the market, the 720P displays will disappear, and HD-DVD players will be defacto Walmart type products, delivering outstanding pic and audio performance for under 200 dollars. First format with players under 200 dollars wins; most folks won't pay 500 or more for a DVD player. The value isnt perceived as being there, as Standard DVDs really are still quite nice.