Blu-ray wins, Profile 2 players emerge

Tuesday, Feb. 26 2008 | Author: Mel

The format war is over.

As I’ve always told my friends, Blu-ray is going to win and I am quite glad that I actually got it right (imagine the ridicule I would’ve received from them had HD-DVD won). With just one format in the High-Def playground, the Blu-ray group can now refocus its attention to making the format as good as it can get.

The reason I say this is because Blu-ray is not yet a fully mature format. There are still some features in the final Blu-ray specs that are not yet fully implemented. And some of these features are actually not supported by first generation players. Blu-ray Profile 2 — internet connectivity and storage for downloadable content. So far, only the Playstation 3 has been compatible with Profile 2.

Sony has recently released a couple of models that are now Profile 2 compatible. I hope that this is a sign that other manufacturers in the Blu-ray consortium will release their own Profile 2 compatible players and that this would result in a significant price drop.

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4 Responses for "Blu-ray wins, Profile 2 players emerge"

Blu-ray wins, Profile 2 players emerge

February 26th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
1

[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAs I’ve always told my friends, Blu-ray is going to win and I am quite glad that I actually got it right (imagine the ridicule I would’ve received from them had HD-DVD won). With just one format in the High-Def playground, the Blu-ray … [...]
David Webb

March 3rd, 2008 at 5:58 pm
2

“As I’ve always told my friends, Blu-ray is going to win and I am quite glad that I actually got it right …”

Why is that, exactly? Is it the the ridiculously high cost - four-times as much as HD-DVD? Maybe it’s the lack of a fully developed feature standard, or all of the draconian DRM tacked on (one streaming on-disc, another from the player, and another through on-line updates.)

“The reason I say this is because Blu-ray is not yet a fully mature format. There are still some features in the final Blu-ray specs that are not yet fully implemented.”

Well, that’s a shame - at these prices I would have thought I would be buying at a premium. At least with HD-DVD, the standards where set, and studios were required to support ALL of them, not just the ones they thought was adequent.

” And some of these features are actually not supported by first generation players.”

But, that’s exactly what Blu-ray is, isn’t it? Only providing what’s adequent to make the sale? I’m not sure how Sony can explain this to their customers other than with a single finger!? But, then again, with ALL that extra space on Blu-ray, I’m sure they’ll be plenty of space for Bonus Features - like Spider Man 3 … There Where None! In fact, Blu-ray titles had the least Bonus Feadtures than HD-DVD or even standard DVD!

The only reason Blu-ray “won” was because they bought-off all the studios, set NO standard for quality or production, and installed DRM that completely undermines the consumer and boarders on illegal. Even The Times (the most serious Newspaper in the world) could see this:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3405959.ece

Well, enjoy your $200.00 HD player… No, wait, that’s $1,300.00, isn’t it?

Free Market Capitalism Strikes Again!
Mel

March 3rd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
3

I have the nagging feeling that you have placed your bet on HD-DVD and that you’ve already bought a lot of HD-DVD discs and an HD-DVD player.

There is no reason to get crabby just because you supported a losing format. I don’t understand why some people take these “wars” so personally. I’ve seen it in Bluray vs HD-DVD and I’m still seeing it in Xbox360 vs PS3 (just for the record, I’m betting on the PS3). No reason to get all worked up on a post that, for all intents and purposes, even highlighted Bluray’s shortcomings.

Getting all riled up at this point is just sour graping and the accusation that the Bluray consortium “bought” the studios is hearsay. Blu-ray won, that’s the long and short of it. No amount of bluray bashing can change that fact. If you want to continue supporting HD-DVD then that’s your call — you’ll have a lot of fun collecting them now because the discs and players are all on a firesale. My geek suggestion? Buy more than two players because when your HD-DVD player conks out, you won’t get any tech support for it.

As for me, my money is better served avoiding an expensive coaster and paperweight.
Dave

March 5th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
4

Just like in other area’s the best doesn’t always win.

Blue ray only has 2 advantages 1 More space and deep pockets! It would have been nice to have merged the formats instead of just adopting one.

Use the Blu-ray media but use all of the HD-DVD standards for programming. Don’t forget there are many aspects to a “format” not just the media. But Sony was determined to make there “format” suceed this time after loosing the Beta vs. VHS (beta was technically better but VHS had more capacity). So I guess Sony learned that to the average consumer bigger is better.