Blu-ray Disc (BD) Still Losing Ground To HD DVD?

[Jerry Jones]

Internet discussions on Sony's Blu-ray show a general dislike for the high-definition format that's a key component in the company's overall strategy for grabbing a big share of the high-definition consumer electronics market, a research firm says.

EETimes: http://tinyurl.com/y5p4ky

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Apulo]

Sounded quite biased, that article. Esp. the bit where they claim a lot of users resent the PS3 having bluray, forcing it on them, or where they say Sony lost with Betamax so it will lose again in this format war, which is of course a rubbish argument.

They forget Bluray isn't a Sony exclusive but a consortium of companies, just like HDDVD.

It really sounded more like Sony bashing than anything else. Makes me want to know who paid for the Cymphony 'research' in the first place

Sony's been having bad press with the PS3 delays and the notebook battery recall, so it's an easy target right now.

I doubt any format will win, just like with DVD-R and +R they will coexist and hopefully we'll see dual format players sooner rather than later.

[Dr Mordrid]

It really sounded more like Sony bashing than anything else. Makes me want to know who paid for the Cymphony 'research' in the first place

Go to Cymfony's site for your answers;

http://blog.cymfony.com/2006/12/a_blue_christma.html#more

Disclosure: Jon Fortt at Business 2.0 blogged about the report, expressing concern about who was behind it. The answer: nobody. We did this as an independent research project, none of the companies involved in either format paid for it, had any input to it, or even were aware we were doing it. None of the lead companies for either format are clients of Cymfony.

All Cymfony does is search threads for content and opinions therein. All else is up to the posters, and in my readings their numbers are quite reflective of what's on the 'net in general; people are distrusting anything Sony is spearheading, and for good reason. Sony has been in many fiascos over the years;

1. DVCAM - an incompatible DV tape format with little advantage other than to Sony's bankroll.

2. Betamax - superior in image quality, but the tapes couldn't record as long as consumers needed.

3. an out of spec IEEE-1394 implementation that drove those posting aid to help forums NUTS, me included, for years

4. faulty CCD's not only in their cameras and camcorders but most everyone else's. BIG bada-boom.

5. "Zippo" batteries - metal filings inside batteries, again sold to almost everyone ??

6. the CD protection from hell

7. on-screen "green globs" in their A2000, XBR1, XBR2 and God knows what other TV's use their light engine.

etc. etc.

and now we hear that LCD's in Sony cameras made from Sept. '03 to Jan. '05 are faulty; they fail in warm or humid conditions. Cameras affected: DSC-F88, DSC-M1, DSC-T1, DSC-T11, DSC-T3, DSC-T33, DSC-U40, and DSC-U50.

Pardon the world if by now it's had it with Sony's penchant for self-inflicted disaster.

[Apulo]

Sounds like you're bashing Sony too. Every big company has big screwups over time, not just Sony.

Just because there's a lot of bad press now for this company it doesn't mean Bluray is going to fail. They picked their moment to do this research at a time Sony is under critisism for reasons already mentioned. And then conclude that Bluray is not doing well and instead HDDVD is the future format winner?

Pardon me for being extremely sceptical about such forms of "research". Philips is also a Bluray company, so why not do the same research over but now about Philips and then see what conclusions you can draw.

Let's see where this is by the end of next year, when the bad press has blown over, and PS3's are very available so those sour fanboys who missed out or can't get enough money from their parents to afford it have stopped whining all over the net.

I'll wager the formats will still be at level, and Bluray will be doing just as well or as poor as HDDVD. Sony's reputation may have been tarnished but not as much as you would think, considering sales in Europe and Japan, I think Sony's not all that bothered by the bad press they're getting right now. Sony's flat TVs sold marvelously, also in the USA...

PS: Microsoft is behind the attack on Linux via SCO. They paid SCO to do this. But only very recently did this become know; before, they denied it vehemently. Just because Cymphony now claims they did it independantly (right, and where's the profit in that?) doens't mean they actuelly did

[Dr Mordrid]

Cymfony didn't have to do anything but report the feelings of those burned by Sony.

Sasq might want to chime in here about Sony's longtime reputation in Japan itself. It ain't pretty, enough so that the current flaps look to be the rest of the world just catching up.

[Apulo]

Again, where does one make the leap "bad press Sony" to "Bluray fails"?

I'm format neutral, and neither pro or contra Sony. I've been burned by just about every major brand so I choose based on product not brand.

So I'm sceptical about how the future of Bluray is coupled to the future of Sony in that report. It's a very unscientific report and especially, conclusion.

[Fluff]

Blu ray is a higher capacity format. Why don't they just use a better compression algorithm than Mpeg-2 they haven't sold many discs or players. So what is the problem in changing now.

[Dr Mordrid]

BR is tied to Sony because they're the major player.

The BR and HD DVD specs allow for VC-1 or H.264/AVC, both of which are far more efficient than MPEG-2. Just habit, I guess.

IMO as long as either insists on SPDC they'll have a tough sell, especially after the first few horror stories are reported on the news.

SPDC lets them remotely disable "your" deck if they suspect a DRM violation, and you just KNOW errors will be made.

[Apulo]

True, the first Blurays were MPEG2, but the newer ones are VC-1 or H264, and from the reviews I've read the picture quality was identical to HDDVD, so for just the movie, I don't think the higher capacity of Bluray is a must.

For the special editions with loads of extras and for TV seasons and the like, Bluray might be a good deal, instead of having to press 2 discs HDDVD you can make do with one Bluray and it's more userfriendly that way too.

As for the SPDC, I couldn't agree more, however, is Joe Public smart enough to recognise the danger? Both formats are betting they can get away with it. Me, I'm hoping for another DVD-Jon to stand up

[wkulecz]

As for the SPDC, I couldn't agree more, however, is Joe Public smart enough to recognise the danger? Both formats are betting they can get away with it. Me, I'm hoping for another DVD-Jon to stand up

With current laws, another DVD-Jon will end up in the slammer.

We'd better hope the public wises up and soon. DRM is just an inconvience, I forsee a distopia where the GPS in your car nav system directly deducts the speeding fine from your paycheck everytime you exceed the speed limit, and when you are broke the car shuts down.

IF people continue to give up Freedom for bogus promises of safety and security we'll soon long for the good old days of Kings and Czars. The electronic chains will be much harder to break.

Me, I don't buy anything with DRM. W2K still meets my needs. Since XP was accepted by the masses, Vista shows the obvious next step. Linux is pretty darn good for everything except video editing.

--wally