Apple to choose blu-ray over hddvd

[gauranga]

Warner Bros to back Blu-ray DVD format exclusively
Fri Jan 4, 2008 3:45pm EST

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc's (TWX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Warner Bros studio on Friday said it would exclusively release high-definition DVDs in Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Blu-ray format, dealing a big blow to Toshiba Corp's (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) rival HD DVD technology.

Warner Bros, Hollywood's biggest seller of DVDs, representing about 18 to 20 percent of sales in the United States, was one of the few studios that backed both formats.

All sides of the format war had agreed it was confusing to consumers and a stumbling block for a potential multibillion-dollar industry.

Total DVD unit sales fell 4.5 percent in 2007, the first major year-over-year decline since the disc format debuted in 1997, according to Adams Media Research. Sales fell 4.8 percent to $15.7 billion.

"The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers," Warner Bros Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Meyer said in a statement.

News Corp's (NWSa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Co (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), and Lionsgate (LGF.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are among studios backing the Blu-ray format. Viacom Inc's (VIAb.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Paramount studios and General Electric's (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) NBC Universal release movies in HD DVD format.

Warner said it would continue releasing in the HD DVD format until the end of May, although those releases would follow the standard DVD and Blu-ray releases.

(Reporting by Kenneth Li in New York and Bob Tourtellotte and Peter Henderson in Los Angeles; Editing by Brian Moss)


too bad I was for hd dvd . . .

 

[Mattlike]

Warner Bros to back Blu-ray DVD format exclusively
Fri Jan 4, 2008 3:45pm EST

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc's (TWX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Warner Bros studio on Friday said it would exclusively release high-definition DVDs in Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Blu-ray format, dealing a big blow to Toshiba Corp's (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) rival HD DVD technology.

Warner Bros, Hollywood's biggest seller of DVDs, representing about 18 to 20 percent of sales in the United States, was one of the few studios that backed both formats.

All sides of the format war had agreed it was confusing to consumers and a stumbling block for a potential multibillion-dollar industry.

Total DVD unit sales fell 4.5 percent in 2007, the first major year-over-year decline since the disc format debuted in 1997, according to Adams Media Research. Sales fell 4.8 percent to $15.7 billion.

"The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers," Warner Bros Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Meyer said in a statement.

News Corp's (NWSa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Co (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), and Lionsgate (LGF.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are among studios backing the Blu-ray format. Viacom Inc's (VIAb.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Paramount studios and General Electric's (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) NBC Universal release movies in HD DVD format.

Warner said it would continue releasing in the HD DVD format until the end of May, although those releases would follow the standard DVD and Blu-ray releases.

(Reporting by Kenneth Li in New York and Bob Tourtellotte and Peter Henderson in Los Angeles; Editing by Brian Moss)


to bad I was for hd dvd.

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=562524&postcount=12

 

[pooterqb]

blue-ray mac tv??? rumor

I was in a store today and i was going to buy a mac tv. the guy very quietly (under his breath) "your not going to buy one today" i said seriously i want one. he than said no and mentioned the San Fran show monday. It took me a few seconds until it clicked. Something about the mac tv will be announced. he said it's been 9 months since anything mac tv related has been updated, discussed or replaced. it is time i guess. Just fyi from my day today.

the rumor is new hd/blu ray

 

[hotdog182]

i welcome the blu ray mac, as i have the HD DVDdrive for my 360. so yeah. Bring on blu ray mac pro. Buy that and plug direct into my TV. and i am laughing =]

 

[gomez1018]

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...t_to_abandon_hd_dvd_in_return_to_blu_ray.html

This just in, but just a rumor for now, but still if it is true huge blow to hd dvd.

 

[rman]

If you look at the end of the article you see the following:

Update: According to Bloomberg, Paramount has denied the report by the Financial Times.

 

[gauranga]

I just watched the DVD studio 4 overview at apple.com and they talk about outputting to hd dvd.

Anyone using DVD studio 4?

is this true only hd dvd?

thanks

 

[rman]

I don't believe it mean the same as HD DVD and blu-ray. It maybe more of the formats chooses of SD DVD and HD DVD. Which I believe is a standard DVD and a high def DVD.

That is the option under DVD standard in DVD Studio Pro 4.

 

[PowerBookG4]

well they say HD-DVD but in the options when burning it asks you for a blue laser, which is blu-ray.

 

[rman]

I forgot about the window with the laser option. Since I did not have a project im progress, I just looked at the preferences. Apple maybe ready when the prices for blu-ray burners come down.

 

[nirvana]

I found this interesting

"CES The format wars have taken another turn this afternoon as Microsoft announced its Xbox 360 console might feature Blu-ray in the near future.

Albert Penello, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware said the console still supports HD DVD, but would gain a Blu-ray add-on if HD DVD fails as a next-generation format."

 

[rman]

Sounds like someone is hedging their bets.

 

[Joe Diver]

The format war is over...BluRay has won. But for how long really? The move to downloadable will make the format irrelevant, and as flash memory increases capacity at reduced cost, solid state devices will become the norm. I can see a day when I walk into Walmart, up to a small Kiosk, and get any movie I want loaded onto my USB Flash Stick on my keychain....take it home and stick it in my TV. Done. (USB, firewire, who knows; concept is the point)

 

[PowerBookG4]

Thanks for the heads up PBG4.

any time MHC

 

[osxx]

The format war is over...BluRay has won. But for how long really? The move to downloadable will make the format irrelevant, and as flash memory increases capacity at reduced cost, solid state devices will become the norm. I can see a day when I walk into Walmart, up to a small Kiosk, and get any movie I want loaded onto my USB Flash Stick on my keychain....take it home and stick it in my TV. Done. (USB, firewire, who knows; concept is the point)

it would be nice but i think if it were that easy sd would have been done
that way long ago.

 

[naftalim]

Well, I just bought a Sharp Blu Ray player a few days ago and its awesome. I think we're still in the period where you will need several devices to cover all the angles.

So, I might get Tivo HD when it comes to Canada for the ability to transfer content back and forth to my Mac. No other appliance/service offers that right now. (I had the Tivo Series 2DT for a while and really liked it but its not HD.)

I can see getting an Apple TV once the rental downloads start and is available in Canada.

I can see burning BluRay DVDs once the burners are at a more affordable price.

I will have my providers HD PVR for now for the HD and PVR capabilities.

Will there be a service/appliance that does all of the above one day? If Apple did a Tivo like Device, then yes.

 

[Blaq]

So, I might get Tivo HD when it comes to Canada

If you're interested in HD TiVo for Canada, you have two choices:

1) Wait a year or more for TiVo to come out with an HD model featuring component input, which would work like your current Series2 (connect it to a cable/satellite box), except in HD. This is clearly planned, for two reasons: TiVo is not limiting itself to CableCard; they're already creating CableCard-less models for foreign countries (currently off-the-air only, and incompatible with the North American HD system), and TiVoHD has traces on the board for HD AV inputs and IR Blaster. Currently, encoder chips able to do realtime 1080p encoding are expensive, but this bleeding-edge technology will rapidly drop in price; Slingbox and Gefen are already announcing HD recorders that use external inputs. TiVo will follow suit once economically feasible, which will allow them to address the sizeable US satellite, and Canadian cable & satellite, markets.

2) If you don't want to wait, buy a Series3 or TiVoHD from the US, and you can simultaneously record two off-the-air digital channels. In downtown Toronto, my bedroom HDTV receives a dozen networks for free, with a $40 Silver Sensor indoor antenna by the window. HD TiVos have an antenna input, and can record any HD Canadian & US channels available to you. (Check RemoteCentral for your location.)

Downsides for other people (not you, see below) to not waiting for a proper Canadian HD TiVo:

• Currently no guide data for Canadian HD channels. Not much of a problem:
  • Most shows on Canadian TV are American shows; just record them from a US channel.
  • For Canada-only shows:
    • You lose advanced TiVo features like Wishlists and auto-scheduling.
    • You must record those shows manually. They'll appear as "Ch. 8 Mon 1/28 8:00 PM" instead of "Corner Gas - Knit Wit of the Month"
• Only HD off-the-air networks.
  • No specialty channels, no movie channels.
  • You can't fall back on analog cable for channels unavailable as OTA HD: your lineup is determined by the nearest US ZIP code (for US HD listings), which obviously doesn't include your own city's cable lineup.

In your case, these problems don't need to apply. Since you already own a Series2, you could use that to record (in SD) all local/specialty/digital/movie channels unavailable to an HD TiVo, with full guide data and smart TiVo functionality; then seamlessly watch those recordings on your HD TiVo via the Multi-Room Viewing function, giving you the best of both worlds.

I will have my providers HD PVR for now for the HD and PVR capabilities.

If you subscribe to Bell Expressvu, their DVR is reasonably close to TiVo (although users bitterly complain about missed recordings due to the low-quality listings Bell uses.)

If, like me, you're a Rogers customer outside the Maritimes, you have my condoleances. Our Rogers DVR is possibly the most primitive in North America.

 

[Joe Diver]

it would be nice but i think if it were that easy sd would have been done
that way long ago.

Just wait a little longer for prices on SSD's to drop.....

 

[Oistrakh]

Blu-ray videos are outselling Hd-dvd videos 3:1

 

[Actingrude]

With a softwear update provided by toast, I have watched sevral blu-ray dvd's, I dont know if that is any help though