Forget about hybrid HD-DVD/Blu-ray players! How about a hybrid disc?
Just when we all agreed to disagree about the supposed "format war" allegedly happening right now, we get this news. Even though the new formats won't "take over" for a few more years, this news eradicates that idea and shows us that HD-DVD and Blu-ray are just long-lost twins. You see, Warner Brothers has developed a single disc with the ability to play both Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats -- not a hybrid disc player, but a hybrid disc. It's called the Total HD disc and will be announced formally on Tuesday at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show).Berry Meyer, chairman and chief executive of Warner Brothers had this to say about the two current formats: "The next best thing is to recognize that there will be two formats and to make that not a negative for the consumer. We felt that the most significant constituency for us to satisfy was the consumer first, and the retailer second. The retailer wants to sell hardware and doesn't want to be forced into stocking two formats for everything. This is ideal for them."
This is completely true. What do you guys think? Could this Total HD disc be the new way to go, combining awesome with even more awesome to create something so awesomely convenient that our wallets would explode in an orgasm of currency, which we shall dub a currencygasm? This is brought on by the saving of money that would have been used to get players for both individual formats, etc. Talk to your wallet about currencygasm today.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kayura @ Jan 8th 2007 10:29AM
You guys JUST found out about this? Wall Street Journal reported on this two weeks ago. HP and LG will be releasing the first two Hybrid players way before this hits the market.
josh @ Jan 8th 2007 10:45AM
I hope both formats die. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are both formats the consumer never asked for. They exist purely to get more copy protection into your life than was possible with DVD and to make it harder to pirate video.
Get an upscaling DVD player and your quality is not far off of what you get with these new HD formats.
The extra quality gained certainly doesn't justify all of the price hikes in media, hardware, and even software that will come from it. Vista's DRM as a result of these formats is a nightmare that will raise hardware prices across the entire computer industry, due to the exessive jumps devs have to perform to be compliant.
HD is good for the studios and the few people that will profit from owning the distribution channels. But for the consumer these HD formats bring little while costing us in more ways than one.
I hope they all fall flat on their face.
ndoerr @ Jan 8th 2007 11:11AM
I just want to make sure, since the above comments seem to be about the current formats and the hybrid players -- this is about a single disc that can simultaneously support and playback both of these "next-gen" formats. Not the hybrid players. A universal "next-gen" disc. Just clarifying.
Ben @ Jan 8th 2007 11:16AM
Give it a rest on the whole nobody needs HD DVD or Blu Ray. I wish that they would unify so as to not confuse consumers but to go out and say that there is no need for an HD format for movies is just plain stupid. If you don’t want HD movies, fine. That’s your choice. Stop trying to be the voice for everyone else though. I enjoy Blu Ray. The quality is fantastic and presents a picture that is not possible with dvd or unconverted dvd. While this may not appeal to you, I find a great deal of value in it.
I think that you will find as more and more people buy HDTVs, more people are going to become interested in these HD movie players. Too often people only consider the current conditions without ever giving thought to the future. Before anyone talks about digital distribution, please remember that is only one option. As much as I enjoy the convenience of being able to download something, I personally enjoy collecting movies and games. I don’t think I am alone in this either. DVD proved that people enjoy owning the actual movie. I believe that HD DVD and Blu Ray will continue this trend. This is just my opinion though, I wouldn’t think of pushing it out there as fact. That’s just not a very good habit to get into.
mike @ Jan 8th 2007 11:20AM
I prefer to have a dual format player as this does not rely on the studio putting out the hybrid disc, whihc they will drag their feet over
alienclay @ Jan 8th 2007 11:24AM
this tech might elongate the format war (if it becomes wide spread) but in the end may end up being just fine for BD overall as there are far more electronic companys making BD players vs hd-dvd players, not to mention the fact that with the ps3 there are more BD players out there in the last 50 days or so than hd-dvd had what, 5 months to build?
Mojo Yugen @ Jan 8th 2007 11:48AM
So lets sum this up.
More layers = more expensive.
More layers = more prone to failure
More layers = less capacity for each format(?)
This is a good idea why?
josh @ Jan 8th 2007 11:51AM
"If you don’t want HD movies, fine. That’s your choice."
Wrong. It's not my choice. The HD DRM is going to cause problems and raise costs throughout the entire computer industry, whether you choose to use HD formats or not. Even if you never touch HD with a 10 foot pole... you'll pay more for future software & hardware, because of the insane amount of work developers have to do just to meet up with the security needs and requirements constraints of HD premium video.
Tomppa @ Jan 8th 2007 12:14PM
"Exploding wallet" :D
WorldSpawn @ Jan 8th 2007 12:44PM
This will only be worth it if the other studios accept it and start using it. It would open up a broader market for them to sell their movies so it does make business sense.
I prefer the clarity and crispness of my HD DVD player to my PS3 Blu-Ray right now, but it would be great to be able to play on both if I want.
Roofus @ Jan 8th 2007 2:33PM
No, you don't necessarily need Taledega Nights at 1080p. But at 480p on DVD you aren't getting it in HD either. Upscalling is a paper band-aid and does not equate to true hi-def. And at this moment, not one BR disc has had broadcast flags turned on or any more anti-piracy than DVD.
But you're right. We should can new technology and better video resolution because some teenagers and college students out there want to steal movies off the internet...
Ronnie @ Jan 8th 2007 3:36PM
Josh, well said. You speak, at least, for me. Do we really need "Talladega Nights" at 1080p to truly enjoy it? The anti-piracy schemes being put into place now are horrid.
allmodcons @ Jan 8th 2007 4:31PM
Josh and Ronnie,
And you really are arguing against HD on a PS3 blog?
HDTV, BRD and HD DVD are all vastly superior to DVD and 480P definition. Even with upscaling DVD cannot touch a true HD source. To argue that there is some DRM anti piracy conspiracy is ridiculous, HD clearly looks better than SD and is a legitimate advancement. I assuming you have a PS3, do you really mean to tell me that you would just as happily play it on SD as HD?
ripismoney @ Jan 8th 2007 7:00PM
It seems as though more people favor HD DVD right now, perhaps because of the name. I like blu-ray for expanded capacity -- who doesn't want to back up an entire collection of MP3's (and more) on a single 50 GB disc? If a hybrid disc that has high capacity can be developed affordably, more power to it. It sounds like such a disc would be more expensive, and seems to fill the purpose of a 3rd party compromise between formats. I have mixed feelings -- I just keep hoping blu-ray makes it long enough for production costs on drives and BD-R's to decrease simply for data reasons. As far as movies go, anything that works is fine by me.
SuicideNinja @ Jan 8th 2007 8:29PM
"Get an upscaling DVD player and your quality is not far off of what you get with these new HD formats."
I used to think this, but it is far from true after closer inspection. DVD will be grainy on an HDTV, and upscaling only somewhat reduces the problem.
However, I've noticed that HD isn't always good. Sometimes, people look like cardboard cutouts on a green/blue screened background.
When that's not an issue, the difference isn't really worth all the money that's required to dump into it UNLESS you go HD for gaming. For movies, I don't see much of a future for two formats or a hybrid format. One format may survive, but I imagine it won't be needed for very long.
Zed @ Jan 9th 2007 12:02PM
These disks are just what the doctor ordered. Now every movie will be on Blu-ray. Wasen't Warner one of the studio's that was leaning mor toward HD-DVD off the start. BD movies will take off because it's next to impossible to find anything but an HD T.V. these days and I'm sure it will only get harder in the bext couple of years. It's been said on this thread that 480 disks upconverted on HD sets= fuzzy picture.
Why are major cable brodcasters spending millions on equipment? Becase upcoverting looks as good as HD? I think not. Having a hybrid disk allows the company's to get their movies to everyone and have their own numbers war on which people prefer more. And if I'm not mistaken about 4 or 5 years back, there was a rush to upgrade your DVD to a progressive scan, you know 480i to 480p. which by the way was actullay a tiny difference (not like 480 to 1080, huge difference).
So why this time around whould you spend money on 1080i when you can have 1080p right of the start?
Tim @ Jan 11th 2007 5:28PM
Having spent the last decade and a half in the electronics retail industry (home theatre primarily, but I also managed a Music/Video store), I can tell you that the transition to HD is unavoidable. Get used to this, it is happening with or without you. I had customers tell me they would never buy a DVD player because it was never going to go anywhere, the same with CD's. Now you can't even buy a casstte tape and VHS is almost impossible to find. I haven't seen any new releases in a long time (at least here in Canada). I have to commend Warner Bros. for taking such a consumer friendly stance.