Klippie wrote:These two big companies are doing more harm than good because most people will be sitting on the fence waiting to see what format comes out on top but if no one is buying HD players its going to go on for a long time, Betamax / VHS anyone.
100% agreed (not to forget Video 2000 back then
)
The new disc formats also have improved "content protection":
Each disc contains a "black list" of "evil" devices (e.g. that have been hacked to disregard the protection). When you insert a disc, the player updates its internal list. And if it finds itself on the list, or the beamer/monitor it is connected to, its disables the HD output. This can even happen after years when you insert a new disc with an updated list.
Nice feature, isn't it?
In the end, the user pays it all:
- Hybrid players (for both formats) are more expensive to develop and produce, plus they are more complex and error-prone.
- Movie companies release movies in both formats - smaller numbers, higher initial cost.
- Marketing cost of HD-DVD vs. BluRay campaign.
I decided many years ago not to support an industry that annoys its paying customers:
I have no TV, no DVD, no HD-DVD, no BluRay. Instead, I have 3 cinemas within 10 minutes from my home (and friends with DVD players
).
At the beginning of HD-DVD vs. BluRay I tried to understand the technology behind the formats (video/audio formats and encryption). It was too complex for me, so I decided it was useless knowledge anyway that will be obsolete in a few years...
Even the player manufacturers and disc authors have problems with the complexity, there are still compatibility issues and firmware bugs. And then, even before the products have matured, they move on to the next generation and leave you alone with the mess...
So now I'm just watching the "race" with interest, but I don't mind who wins (if anybody wins at all...)
Am I too negative? Maybe because this is my posting # 666 in this forum