"Blu-ray Disc" vs. "HD DVD": Neither Is Winning

[Dr Mordrid]

http://www.tvpredictions.com/ibmhd102207.htm

BM to Develop Wireless HDTV Chip

Company will join effort with MediaTek
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (October 22, 2007) -- IBM and MediaTek today said they are developing ultra fast chipsets that will wirelessly send a HDTV movie from a PC to a TV.

The companies said one device will be able to transfer high-def content to another with the same speed as a viewer flipping a remote control.

The technology, which will also work with hand-held devices, is designed to allow consumers to use PC-TV set-tops without installing wires and reorganizing furniture.

In today's announcement, the companies did not say when the chipset technology would be available in retail products.

IBM and MediaTek, a wireless semiconductor company, said they will use the highest frequency portion of the radio spectrum and digital chipsets to create the wireless products.

They said a viewer could send a 10 gigabyte file in five seconds with the new technology compared to 10 minutes using today's Wi-Fi technology.

When offered, the new technology could break the current logjam for high-def content online. Today's HD files are too large for current wireless technologies, sometimes requiring viewers to spend hours to download a single movie.

[Jerry Jones]

Yes, I posted that link a few posts ago.

It's absolutely a significant announcement.

It's going to change everything inside of two years, but the last statement is not accurate.

The current and newest Wi-Fi standard -- 802.11n and not 802.11.g -- supports a reasonably fast transfer of data.

http://80211n.com/80211n-speed.html

* With an 802.11n client and router you will find a wireless experience that outpaces all previous wireless technologies. It has real world throughput that clocks in at 160 Mbps or faster—seven times faster than older 802.11g networks.
* At 300 feet, 802.11g performance plummets to 1 Mbps. 802.11n networks operate at up to 70 Mbps—70 times faster than 802.11g.
* The key to this speed is MIMO (multiple input/multiple output) which uses multiple antennas to send and receive digital data in multiple simultaneous radio streams, thus multiplying total performance.
* The bottom line: with 802.11n, you can share data, photos and music among multiple devices in the home faster and at greater distances than ever before.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Jerry Jones]

There's a good 802.11n Wi-Fi article here:

http://www.macworld.com/2007/01/features/80211n/index.php

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Dr Mordrid]

Also (and take this on faith):

Walmart is preparing to offer an HD DVD deck for <$200 USD, to go on sale for the holiday season.

This goes with their recently added $50 multiformat DVD recorder.

But if they were acting in the interest of the consumer the companies involved in the 'war' would agree to disagree and support the production of HD_Multi decks.

[Jerry Jones]

I'm skeptical that a sub-$200 price point is going to save either high definition format.

Perhaps a sub-$100 price point would guarantee that people who have a clue about the difference between HD and SD would be willing to upgrade within six months.

But I just don't see anything happening until then and the two sides are dug in for the long haul with asking prices that are just crazy.

Every sales figure on high definition discs just makes it clear that this stuff isn't moving at all.

The general public simply doesn't care.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Hulk]

Just for comparison's sake does anyone have an statistics on the progress of DVD? I mean from first introduction how long did it take to surpass VHS rentals and purchases?

And Jerry you still haven't laid our your list of Apple gear? And how those downloads look on your family room TV? Surely you're not using a "dead as disco" optical disc player anywhere in your home right?

[Tjalfe]

I asked the same in post #79

[Jerry Jones]

And Jerry you still haven't laid our your list of Apple gear?

All of my observations are of the APPLE gear owned by other family members.

One of my family members has the following APPLE models:

1. Mac mini http://www.apple.com/macmini/
2. Macbook http://www.apple.com/macbook/macbook.html
3. Airport Extreme http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/

I've experimented with all of these and I have successfully networked my notebook PC... a Gateway 7426gx... to this APPLE wireless network.

Let me tell you, Mark, it's great.

This is -- FOR ME -- the KEY to why I'm switching to the Mac: EASE OF NETWORKING.

I don't know about your professional life, but I currently work at a local state university where we have the typical Windows PC network.

Formerly, I worked for a city government municipal department where we had the typical PC network.

Before that, I worked for a local television station where we had the typical Windows PC network in our newsroom.

So -- you see, Mark -- I have about twenty years of work experience in organizations where the network was a function of Windows-based PCs.

My opinion:

Almost every Windows-based PC issue in the workplace can be traced to problems with networking.

In my tests of the APPLE gear here, I'm finding that APPLE's built-in networking is...

1. EASY
2. CLEAN
3. FUNCTIONAL

So -- FOR ME -- the key strength of APPLE is the networking.

On the Windows platform, networking is a disaster and it is the reason why organizations have to spend so much money on IT personnel.

So as I contemplate the digital future, APPLE's networking and file management technology just stand out because I intend to build my home entertainment and any future enterprises around such a network.

Yes, I've borrowed the Macbook and worked with it.

Yes, I've borrowed the mini and worked with it.

Yes, I've networked my PC to the wireless network made possible by the Airport Extreme.

The great thing about the APPLE Airport Extreme home network device (router) is that it operates using the brand new 802.11n Wi-Fi explained by APPLE here:

http://www.apple.com/wireless/80211/

Mark, I was skeptical before I gave these products a pretty thorough test.

I have built and purchased numerous Windows-based PCs and I've always preferred them... until this latest Microsoft VISTA tragedy.

Now that I have tested these Macintosh products, I have come to the conclusion that Microsoft has actually done me a favor because my mind would have never been open to the possibilities of the APPLE platform had Microsoft not screwed up so badly with VISTA.

I believe APPLE is truly the new low-cost alternative because when I calculate cost, I try to look at more than purchase price; I look at *total* cost of ownership.

The APPLE products are easy-to-use and are designed for the new digital future, which is hard disks and wireless digital networking and file-based HD content distribution.

Someday... somehow... someway... you will realize that "Blu-ray Disc" and "HD DVD" are as dead as disco.



Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Jerry Jones]

P.S. My next computer purchase will be soon and -- yes -- I will be purchasing a Macintosh. I'm just waiting for FRIDAY... the big day! That's when APPLE's brand new operating system update... version 10.5... also known as "Leopard" will be available for purchase.

See: http://www.apple.com/macosx/

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Jerry Jones]

Mark Fleischmann explains "Why Next-Gen Formats Have an Uphill Battle" in this piece:

http://news.digitaltrends.com/talkback217.html

DVD is not as bad as VHS was. The picture-quality differential between VHS and DVD was huge. You could see it on an HDTV, an SDTV, or an analog TV. Of any size. With one eye shut and dirty eyeglasses. In contrast, the performance gap between standard-definition DVD and the two high-def formats is not as great. DVD doesn’t have nearly as much resolution as BD and HD DVD, of course, and this becomes obvious on the largest screens, but it’s not as painful to watch as VHS. A DVD player that upconverts to HD, or even one that outputs 480p with really good video processing, can produce quite a convincing picture. You could probably tell your neighbors it’s HD and fool two out of three of them.

Funny how so many brilliant online writers are beginning to accept the distinct possibility that "Blu-ray Disc" and "HD DVD" are as dead as disco.



Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Hulk]

Jerry,

Interesting. My networking experiences with Windows has always been plug it in and I'm networked. Or enter the password for wireless on an encrypted network. I guess I'm missing something but it's never been an issue for me. I am not networking 30 computers but every network I've needed to set up has been painless.

Also keep in mind that all of the so called expert posts are really just opinions based on nothing but the author's feelings. Who are these guys? One minute they're hawking speakers or something and the next they're experts on all things HD. Give me a break.

I put more faith in reviews of actual hardware and software. Your opinion or mine or the people in this forum often have more experience with these video related subject than these "experts" you are so fond of quoting. It's pretty easy to Google an opinion you like by some unknown expert. It means nothing.

"Brilliant" online writers. I wrote a few books and did a few DVD tutorials and I can assure I'm not brilliant. I've also published a fair share of video/audio reviews and tech pieces. It means no more and certainly no less than your brilliant quotees.

I have infinitely more respect for Doc or Brian or a number of others here as I have witnessed their smarts over the years right here on this board.

Good luck with your Apple purchase. I'll be putting my leftover money from NOT buy Apple hardware and software towards a Porche Caymen that I hope to be putting in the third garage bay in the next year or so.

I simply cannot wait for your review of the Apple system in a year.

[Jerry Jones]

My networking experiences with Windows has always been plug it in and I'm networked. Or enter the password for wireless on an encrypted network. I guess I'm missing something but it's never been an issue for me. I am not networking 30 computers.

Precisely, you aren't networking thirty or more computers.

In my workplaces, my computer is literally one of hundreds of computers networked by bloated and -- in a case dating back several years ago -- incompetent IT staff.

I suspect some staffers in some organizations might not be needed at all if it weren't for the networking problems and costs that one can attribute to computers using the Microsoft Windows operating system.

The built-in networking capability of the Mac is designed for greater simplicity and it fosters collaboration instead of ever-increasing IT personnel costs.

It is my opinion that productivity within organizations can be substantially higher if the network is comprised of Apple Macintosh computers and I also believe the IT costs could be substantially lower.

I'll be putting my theories to the test in the future as increasing numbers of stunningly brilliant online writers realize that "HD DVD" and "Blu-ray Disc" are as dead as disco.



Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Jerry Jones]

Multiple Mainstream Media Reviews Of Apple "Leopard" Now Hitting The Web!

USA TODAY:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2007-10-24-leopard_N.htm

Leopard is one cool cat.

WALL STREET JOURNAL:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119326655774870521.html?mod=technology_main_promo_left&apl=y&r=460752

I've been testing Leopard, and while it is an evolutionary, not a revolutionary, release, I believe it builds on Apple's quality advantage over Windows. In my view, Leopard is better and faster than Vista, with a set of new features that make Macs even easier to use.

NEW YORK TIMES:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/technology/circuits/25pogue.html?_r=3&ref=technology&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

To the amazement of many Windows refugees, Mac OS X requires no serial number and no “activation”; it’s not copy-protected. It doesn’t clutter the desktop with crippled bits of free-trial software from other companies. There are no nagging balloons or come-ons.

Leopard does well with backward compatibility, too. Thanks to modest minimum requirements (512 megabytes of memory, 867 megahertz), Apple says Leopard runs on three-year-old Macs and even six-year-old machines that were high-end at the time.

Leopard is powerful, polished and carefully conceived. Happy surprises, and very few disappointments, lie around every corner. This Leopard has more than 300 new spots — and most of them are bright ones.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Jerry Jones]

Oh, one little thing many people who work in large networks can try with a Microsoft Windows XP machine is click START > CONTROL PANEL > ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS > EVENT VIEWER > SYSTEM.

You can do the same thing on a Microsoft VISTA system.

While the work computer I use now displays an absolutely clean SYSTEM LOG, I have often noticed that -- on poorly administered Windows networks -- an amazing number of error messages that tell all kinds of tales about the hardware and software issues that often go unresolved for months without the poor employee even realizing it.

So the employee often runs into performance issues that don't get resolved.

It's amazing to listen to the excuses that some network administrators will give you for those error messages.

They'll say things like "Oh, ignore that; it doesn't mean anything."

Truth is... they don't have a clue and they don't know how to fix it.

It makes me giggle sometimes to hear their explanations for these issues.

What's worse... they struggle to accept the fact that "HD DVD" and "Blu-ray Disc" are as dead as disco.



Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Brian Ellis]

Hey, guys, I'll let you into a secret: VHS is as dead as disco!!!