It would seem that Blu-Ray and HD-DVD blow
I was browsing around on the Free Software Foundation’s website a while ago, and I came across this article. Have you guys seen any other articles like this out there on the net?
I can’t really say I had a tremendous amount of interest in either of these formats to begin with, but now it’s hit an all-time low thanks to this. Like most emerging technologies, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I wouldn’t be able to afford either of them. Hell, I can barely afford plain DVDs as it is! I must say though, I am quite curious to see what’s gonna become of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Unless they lighten up on all this restriction bull (not holding my breath), all I can do is simply sit back and watch the "format wars" from the sidelines. Seriously, this is like video Nazism. <_<;;
What do you guys think about all this? =o
Rob says:
I don’t care about Hd or Blu ray too much because I don’t ownan HDTV, or either player >:3!
November 7th, 2007 at 2:08 am
Carlo says:
Eh I’m not really angry about this. Sure some things are annoying like old HDTVs not being able to play the formats but that’s what you get for being an early adopter. If you buy early there’s always a chance that what you bought will become obsolete when a new technology/standard comes out. That’s how it’s always been. Heck when my family bought our first DVD player we had to buy an RCA to RF adaptor since our TVs weren’t compatible. And I’m sure they’re going to eventually release an HDMI to Component adaptor that’s HDCP compatible. As for HDCP compliant video cards, you can find those for sub-$50 almost anywhere online.
As for price, DVD was also very expensive when it came out. It took a few years for the discs and players to drop down in price. New technology is always expensive and will take almost a good half-decade to fall down to average consumer prices. I know they say this in the article, but come on, if they acknowledge it why do they list it as a negative? It’s as if they’re acting like they don’t know anything about economics.
As for that shit about being able to fit a high definition movie on a DVD. So what if you can? As the HD-DVD and Blu-ray standards mature, you’ll be able to fit so much more on the discs, eventually being able to fit three or more movies on one disc. This generation of discs is about the amount of data you can fit on the disc not what goes on it. Yeah I’m sure a DVD could hold five movies each in twelve different languages in surround sound along with a ton of special features for each movie.
And the point about the public not being ready for these new formats is stupid too. It’s obviously not ready for the big time since not even a majority of the population have HDTVs hence no reason to even buy a high-def player. But as 2009 rolls around and analog cable gets phased out for digital cable, you’ll see an increase in sales of HDTVs making more of a market for Blu-ray and HD-DVD because people will want content to play on their TVs after seeing high-def TV shows.
The only thing that remotely bothers me is the DRM. But what the hell doesn’t come with DRM these days. CDs and online music, video games of console and PC flavors, videos for online stores. Practically every digital medium out there has DRM. Sure there are a few online stores out there that are getting rid of DRM like Apple and Amazon. I just hope this trend continues to physical media too but I highly doubt that will happen anytime soon. Companies want to please their consumers, but they want to also protect their content from being ripped off. Hopefully they figure out a way to accomplish both in the near future. Also I’m sure someone out there is going to crack the DRM on the discs anyway, letting it evetually be played and burned to anyone’s liking.
And sorry if this sounded like a rant, but websites like this piss me off. Boycott Blu-Ray! Go DVD! Boycott IE! Go Firefox! Boycott Microsoft! Linux FOREVER! All they do is just point out the faults of the product and then list what positives they’re promoting has. Of course what you’re promoting is going to sound better with all the freakin’ spin you’re putting on it. If all that you say is true, then why hasn’t that product failed yet? If anything, these websites just make me want to use the products they’re boycotting anyway. Except for IE, it just sucks. Though I still use IE as my backup browser. Anyway I’m done. =P
November 7th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Rob says:
Son, Carlo, long enough response? :O
But yeah, I agree with you on most of those points. Not many people have HDTVs, not many have players fro such media. It doesn’t matter too much either way. DRM sucks, but it’s been there for years, and we’re getting around it.
November 7th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Carlo says:
When I get into a topic, I really get into a topic x3
Also here’s a funny side note on the format war:
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/11/07/format-war-gets-more-warlike/
Okay probably more scary and “WTF is going on” than funny, but you get my drift.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:03 am