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The first two Pirates movies hit Blu-ray on May 22 to coincide with the third movie's theatrical release
House of Mouse leader says HD DVD and Blu-ray format war is a matter of perception

Disney, Fox, Lionsgate and Sony Pictures exclusively supports the Blu-ray Disc format for the delivery of high-definition movies. In a recent quarter’s end conference call with the Walt Disney Company, company president and CEO Bob Iger reiterated his company’s stance behind the Blu-ray format.

When Iger was asked if he could consider supporting HD DVD should that format prove to be more successful than Blu-ray, he replied, “We made our bed with Blu-ray because we believed more in that format for a variety of reasons; some technical in nature, some due to the fact that it simply had broader support from a variety of industries, notably the motion picture studios but also what I’ll call the consumer electronics and the tech industry.”

“What we are seeing lately is that sales of Blu-ray discs are outpacing HD discs by at least two to one,” Iger continued. “As more quality Blu-ray product comes on the market, which is going to happen, notably with Pirates on May 22, we actually believe that the difference or the advantage of Blu-ray is only going to widen.”

Iger acknowledges that both formats are still in their infancy, with HD DVD and Blu-ray both recently hitting the one million unit mark, and lays part of the blame on the consumer uncertainty generated from the apparent format war. “What we are also seeing is that the adoption of the platform right now is being held back a bit by a perception among consumers, really, that there is a format war; and that the hardware or the players are too expensive,” Iger said, adding that he expects that the price of players to drop by the Christmas season.

“We also believe that if Blu-ray continues to outpace HD DVD the retailers are ultimately going to weigh in, because they only have a limited amount of shelf space, and they are going to have to choose a format in order to manage their own shelf space. Once that happens, the advantage is going to go even more in Blu-ray’s direction,” states the Disney CEO. “The best thing that could happen is for the format war to end, which will be very pro-consumer, particularly as hardware comes down.”

Iger points out that the format war is something that doesn’t apply to all consumer markets. For example, Blu-ray Disc holds an overwhelming command in Japan. “If you look across the globe, the only place there is really a format war is in the United States,” said Iger “In other markets where next-gen DVD is starting to penetrate, Blu-ray is winning, and substantially; so much so there isn’t even a perceived format war.”


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:(
By Mithan on 5/14/2007 7:42:37 AM , Rating: 2
I get the feeling Blu-Ray is going to win this one in the end, though obviously there are a lot of plays left in the battle. Still, I can't get over the feeling that HD-DVD is just more consumer friendly and would be a better option for consumers overall, even if Blu-Ray has a few technical advantages.




RE: :(
By BZDTemp on 5/14/2007 7:59:30 AM , Rating: 1
Just for the bigger storage possibility anyone with a computer should be hoping for Blue Ray!

After all what is preferred a cheap optical medium for backup one holding 30 GB or one holding 50 GB?

As for movies I'm not really that interested. Sure I have a PS3, and a 360, but I do prefer to see movies in the Cinema even though ticket prices here in Denmark are pretty steep with almost $15 per seat in the evenings.

PS. Sony send me a Blue Ray disc with the latest 007 movie and I must say those which claim HD is a gimmick have not seen a movie in 1920*1080.


RE: :(
By phusg on 5/14/2007 10:29:37 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
After all what is preferred a cheap optical medium for backup one holding 30 GB or one holding 50 GB?

And which is preferred if the 30GB one costs 50 cents per disc and the 50B one 100 cents?


RE: :(
By GI2K on 5/14/2007 12:23:48 PM , Rating: 3
Well I think would rather pay 100 cents for a single 50GB than 100 cents for 60GB on 2 disks...

Besides get your facts straight a 25GB BD-R disks costs 11$ a 15 GB costs 10$... which one do you prefer?...


RE: :(
By JeffDM on 5/15/2007 9:38:59 AM , Rating: 2
If you don't think there is a cost to changing out discs, then you are missing a key point, that generally requires user intervention unless you buy an expensive media changer.

As such, as a hypothetical circumstance, I'd often rather a single 1x speed BRD than use two 4x HD-DVD discs because I don't want to change discs any more than I have to, and risk accidentally losing one disc in a pair as well, if both discs are required. Also, if you have 35GB to send or store, HDDVD would require one double layer and one single layer disc, or three single layer discs, whereas one single layer BRD would handle it.

As yet, there is almost no cost difference in the discs that I have seen so far, so there is practically no extra cost to the extra 10GB.


RE: :(
By FITCamaro on 5/14/2007 11:42:03 AM , Rating: 4
If you honestly think Blu-ray will be cheaper than HD-DVD in price per disc, you're delusional.

When has any Sony format ever been even as expensive as the competition. Look at their memory stick Pro Duo format. It's twice as expensive as competing formats.

I like the size of Blu-ray but I know since its from Sony, with no competition they'll charge whatever they want for it and it won't be cheap.


RE: :(
By GI2K on 5/14/07, Rating: 0
RE: :(
By SiliconAddict on 5/14/2007 9:47:35 PM , Rating: 2
Oj joy. the PS3 justification all over again. Get a clue. More expensive is more expensive. Hell I'd rather have a 30 cent coaster then a 100 cent one.


RE: :(
By Axbattler on 5/14/2007 12:49:34 PM , Rating: 1
I'd say that it -is- fair that they charge more per disc. After all you are getting more capacity. Now perhaps things will change later on, for now, per GB, you do the math:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...

I've also compared the price in the UK. Same brand, same place, different format, the BD-R came out about 9p cheaper per GB. I am actually quite surprised considering how much I've heard about HD-DVD being cheaper than BD long before they came about.

As for the Memory Stick Pro Duo, it is pricey, especially compared to SD. But here in the UK, it's pretty much on par with the xD format which is a worse format in my opinion (the price of 1GB xD card recently dropped pretty dramatically - just a few months back they costed more than memory stick duos; for 2GB, they are more or less the same).


RE: :(
By BZDTemp on 5/14/2007 1:43:39 PM , Rating: 3
Seems to me they are cheap but even if they cost double I'd much prefer something that can hold 66% more per disc as my time is worth more than a few $.

Anyway it's seems we pretty much agree considering you write "When has any Sony format ever been even as expensive as the competition. " :-) (Sry - could not help it)

You're fears about Sony turning up the price is not really well founded as there are other storage systems for computer use. Right now it looks like Blue Ray could be a really good and cheap solution and in fact help bringing some of the alternatives down in price.

Finally it's not just Sony that is calling the shots about Blue Ray so enough with the bashing all ready.


RE: :(
By animedude on 5/16/2007 3:36:31 AM , Rating: 1
Are you on crack?

The price per disc is determined by the manufacturer and the license fee. As manufacturing technique is becoming mature, the price of Blu-ray will go down like DVD.


RE: :(
By Kurz on 5/14/07, Rating: -1
RE: :(
By zombiexl on 5/14/2007 8:45:31 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
I work at Best-buy and I make sure all my customers know which tech has the best technology. Blu-ray for the win!


If you work at best buy then you should probably back HD-DVD if you want Blu-Ray to win.

I'm only saying that becuase most people I know think most people who work at best buy are complete idiots.



RE: :(
By theapparition on 5/14/2007 9:08:56 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
Blu-ray has anti scratch coating default on all their disks.

They only have that anti-scratch coating because Blu-ray disks were extra prone to scratches. The coating gives them the same protection as HD-DVD disks and DVDs now.

quote:
I work at Best-buy and I make sure all my customers know which tech has the best technology.

You should become a little more informed.:-)

To start off with, I own both component players.
Personally, I think Blu-ray has better future technology. However, I'm not happy on how it was implemented. HD-DVD was an evolution of DVD (and supported by the DVD consortium). Was easier/cheaper to manufacture, and had the infrastructure to distribute immediately.
Initially, I was a big supporter of Blu-ray (way before it even came out) and was impressed by the disk space. But the more I researched into the specs, there were things I didn't like. The final straw for me was Blu-ray's resistance to have mandatory managed copy in their specification (don't know if this has changed).

The real test will come with the cost of players, and movie support. Unless BR can get players to match the sub 299 price of HD players soon, they will be hurting in the long run.


RE: :(
By theapparition on 5/14/2007 9:25:21 AM , Rating: 2
After researching it, Blu-ray does now include mandatory managed copy after HP threatened to leave.


RE: :(
By encryptkeeper on 5/14/2007 9:41:52 AM , Rating: 3
I work at Best-buy and I make sure all my customers know which tech has the best technology.

Ugh. What Best Buy are you from? Hate to tell you this pal, but Best Buy employees are known as being some of the LEAST informed about technology.


RE: :(
By FITCamaro on 5/14/2007 11:38:52 AM , Rating: 3
Well not all of them. I worked at Best Buy in college in the computer department and know plenty about computers. I wouldn't have done well in TVs or car stereos though because I don't know anything about them.

But yes, 95% of Best Buy employees don't know anything but the marketing crap that Best Buy tells them to sell the product.


RE: :(
By Kurz on 5/14/2007 11:50:11 AM , Rating: 2
I know... But, I guess I am the minority of people who worked there.

To tell you the truth... I knew probably more than everyone at my store. I used to work as a Geek Squad Technician.
And I was let go because frankly I put the customers first.
Because alot of times customers would come with simple problems I would fix it for free (I am talking about really simple problems like changing light levels on a laptop).
Management did not like it, I knew more about the technology than anyone else there. Even my manager... (I tested them a couple of times.)

I even ask why the hell are the LCDs not running on native resolution?! Of course they are too cheap to have more than one graphics card on the computer to output at multiple Res.

Sorry I have an Opinion... (Wonders what was so offensive about my post) I really think Blu-ray is the better tech.
It is more expensive however its going to match HD-DVD pretty soon (2 years max).

So what they had to make it anti scratch because the reading surface is so close to the optical surface. They wanted more space so they brought it closer to the surface and they put in an Anti scratch coating. When you compare the two techs they are pretty similar. Both offer an interactivity aspect (Java for Blu-ray,iHD for HDDVD). Besides the Mandatory Copying issue... There is not much difference between the two. With Bluray and HD-dvd cracked... it shouldn't be an issue.


RE: :(
By Flunk on 5/14/2007 3:29:08 PM , Rating: 2
Geek Squad technicians are known to real IT professionals as completely incompetent. They advertise A+... that's laughable, my cat could pass the A+ test.

Even if you are not as ill-informed as your average Best Buy employee there are many people who post on these boards with much better credentials so it would be in your best interest to not mention you work at Best Buy.

Also, use a spell checker.


RE: :(
By zaki on 5/14/2007 3:37:48 PM , Rating: 2
yeah, f the corporate world, i hate it when people try to rip off customers in technical support, thats the reason why i got into comps in the first place.

on the topic: well i cant say im not a blu-ray fan, if anything is going to get my vote its the top of the line, regardless of whether its cheap or not, the corporations behind blu-ray can suck it. they OUGHT to make blu-ray affordable, other wise I wouldnt give a rat's ass about how much the disc can hold.