War: What Is it Good For?
The HD war is currently in full heat. As internet bloggers argue the pro’s and con’s of what some would call a war fueled by greed, I simply sit back and ask myself ‘what are we fighting for’? You can’t help but be reminded of the last contraversial war, VHS vs. Beta. Now we’re back at it, and it’s about to get a whole lot uglier with the release of the PS3 on the horizon and the XBox 360’s add on HD-DVD drive right around the corner. It seems like every debate i’ve read ends up turning into some sort of techno-babble. In the past I would just ignore it. ‘Let the nerds sort it out’ I would say. Well now the war has hit home, and I can no longer stand by and watch innocent men buried face down in their own shit and piss, fighting a meaningless battle for our right to be entertained in 1080i picture perfect quality. It’s time to choose sides. It’s my HD-DVDestiny.
Although it’s definitely too early to call a winner, I must say i’m HEAVILY leaning towards HD-DVD at this point. This isn’t really from a technical stand point. Afterall, i’m sure both formats are steps above the standard DVD. My reasoning is from the viewpoint of the average consumer. Just look at the names. HD-DVD vs. Blue-ray. HD-DVD sounds like the logical step up from DVD. It’s DVD, but with an HD added on! And we all know what HD stands for: High Density. And even my Mom knows what DVD stands for: Digital Video Decoder. It’s simple and logical, and I think this is pretty important when it comes to the average consumer. As for the other guy…what do you get when you mix Blue Blockers with Ray Bans? Blue-Ray. Yes, when I think Blue-Ray, I think sunglasses. So would my Mom. I’m sure this will change once the PS3 hits, but even the techno savvy youth of today seem to be aware of the stigma surrounding the over-priced PS3 and it’s attempt at marketing itself as a cheap Blue-Ray player.
The most important issue at hand is the current titles available between each format. Sure HD-DVD had an unfair head start in the game, but it’s not even close at this point. While the Blue-Ray supporters show off the High Def glory of Underworld 2 and Hitch to their neighbours, HD-DVD owners are enjoying the classics: Goodfellas, Full Metal Jacket, Army Of Darkness, The Thing (this tuesday)…there’s no contest when it comes to selection. Not to mention HD-DVD’s decision to release hybrid combo versions of some of their films. This is where i’m sold. I can currently pick up an HD version of Army of Darkness that will also play on my SD player. A great way to get those people who have yet to jump into the pool to test the water.
So let us know what you think. Are you buying it? Is this war justified? If so, what side are YOU on? This Christmas there’s going to be hell to pay. A civil war, the blues vs. the reds, to determine supreme technological power and ultimate responsibility of the entertainment of millions. GOD HELP US ALL.
“The only tyrant I accept in this high definition format war is the still voice within.” – Gandhi
Comments (16)
Actually I think DVD stands for “Digital Versatile Disc”, believe it or not.
Posted by Sean on October 23rd, 2006This war is fortunately a bit farther removed from me, because outside of North America we generally get technology stuff a little later. I don’t want this. I just want to be left alone, and be able to buy DVDs. I’m with paying the current pricing, to get the current product. And I have a sizeable investment in DVD…
One format has to come out on top eventually. I hope it’s not Sony. With all the copyright bullshit they tried to pull with PS3, I don’t like them at all.
If any of you early adopters (read: geeks) get your hands on a High Density(!) system and watch some classics on it – please review the shit and tell us if it made the movie better. You don’t need to waste any time telling that the picture is cleaner and more detailed etc… Just tell us if it made the movie better. Since there is no new content on the discs, that’s what we should focus when deciding wether or not to buy into this corporate move.
Posted by Henrik on October 23rd, 2006Sean’s right with his definition.
As for the raging war – I’m in the HD-DVD camp but I’m still not sure I’ll be buying into either camp for Christmas. Any word on wether the new players will read the current DVDs? I’m not willing to replace my entire collection simply to be up with the new technology.
To boot, HD tv’s are only now starting to come down in price and I’m still not ready to replace my 4 year old TV (which is still basically new) just to have the cutting edge technology. I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll wait until the dust settles and the prices come down before I jump into the arena but I’m still behind HD-DVD.
Posted by Marina on October 23rd, 2006I think HD-DVD currently has hybrid players that will play both… as for Blu-ray, I’m not 100% sure but I don’t think they have any yet.
I think Sony’s definitely got some catching up to do, but never underestimate the power of the PS3! (Or the Sony fanboys.)
Posted by Sean on October 23rd, 2006I tend to disagree. I think Jay is correct with his definition of DVD. Versatile isn’t even a real word, Sean. Look it up.
Posted by Greg on October 23rd, 2006No, it’s Digital Video Decoder. Thanks though.
Posted by Jay C. on October 23rd, 2006DVD 
An optical disk that can store a very large amount of digital data, as text, music, or images.
[Origin: orig. d(igital) v(ideo) d(isk); then d(igital) v(ersatile) d(isk); now an abbreviation only]
Jay is a stupid.
Posted by roy on October 23rd, 2006I’m still pretty sure it’s digital video decoder, but thanks for the suggestions. We’ll just agree to disagree.
Posted by Jay C. on October 23rd, 2006for what its worth, wikipedia cant decide if its Digital Video Disc or Digital Versitile Disc
Posted by Goon on October 23rd, 2006Still waiting anxiously for someone to reply with ‘I think he was joking’. Unless you actually think that i believe that HD stands for High Density as well?
Posted by Jay C. on October 23rd, 2006I want and will eventually buy a ps3.Blu ray has a larger storage and that is gret for games and for movies.
Posted by thesecretsafe on October 23rd, 2006Blue Ray the name comes from the Blue Laser that will read the discs as opposed to red lasers.
I’m inclined to believe the many articles on the subject- the porn industry will decide who wins, just like they did in the BETA/VHS debate of yore. Whatever they pick will become the standard.
Posted by manicpanda on October 24th, 2006At the moment, they’re going with Blu-Ray. As is Sony, Panasonic, LG Electronics, Philips Electronics, Disney and Fox.
Hmmmm. I guess we can just wait.
I dig the Anchorman referance Jay
Posted by Henrik on October 24th, 2006Back when Betamax and VHS were fighting their technology was highly different. Now with HD-DVD and Blu-ray we are much closer. Think about blank DVDs, there are actualy DVD+R and DVD-R. Both can be used to burn a movie or content. But at first; There was a mini-war between those two formats, my Hitachi DVD player cannot playback those DVD+R. Over time I got a PS2, a laptop and new DVD player and they were all capable of doing multi-format.
It’s been pointed out that the technology is there in both ways. They could market players able to read both formats and an other company has pattened a way to combine both Blu-ray and HD-DVD together on one disc.
Posted by PhoenixP3K on October 24th, 2006On the topic of the acronym for DVD – It is is definitely Digital Versatile Disc – It cant be Digtial Video Disc as its not just used for Video, its data as well – hence Versatile.
Anyways I believe HD also stands for High Definition, not High Density??
Posted by clone_tk422 on October 27th, 2006It was a joke.
Posted by Jay C. on October 27th, 2006Leave a Reply