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Hardware Microsoft CEO: "We'll Support Blu-ray"
Marcus Yam (Blog) - March 10, 2008 8:42 AM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 65 comment(s) - last by afkrotch.. on Mar 12 at 1:16 AM

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer  (Source: Reuters)

The next companion to the Xbox 360 could be a Blu-ray Disc drive
Steve Ballmer says that Microsoft will be going forward with Blu-ray Disc support

In front of an audience at the MIX08 Internet conference, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer let it be known that the software giant will work with Blu-ray Disc technology now that HD DVD is out of the running. Microsoft was previously one of the exclusive backers of HD DVD.

Ballmer was quoted by the Seattle-PI as saying, “We've already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like, and I think the world moves on. Toshiba has moved on. We've moved on, and we'll support Blu-ray in ways that make sense.”

A report from the Financial Times states that Sony is offering a Blu-ray Disc drive to Microsoft for use in the Xbox 360. FT sources Sony Electronics president Stan Glasgow as saying that Sony and Microsoft are currently in discussions over adopting the Blu-ray Disc format. Not made clear, however, is whether Sony is proposing an add-on drive similar to the one Toshiba built for Xbox 360 HD DVD support, or if it’ll be built-in for an additional model.

Microsoft has denied the validity of the report, with a spokesperson telling Next-Gen, “There are no plans to introduce Blu-ray. ... In response to Stan Glasgow’s statement that Blu-ray is a possibility for Xbox 360, we have made no such announcement. Games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available.”

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smart
By omnicronx on 3/10/08, Rating: 0
RE: smart
By PAPutzback on 3/10/2008 9:08:07 AM , Rating: 4
They didn't toll over. They adjusted their business to the out come of the format decision. That is why they kept costs down on the box and made the HD-DVD an addon and not part of a more expensive complete console.

I see no reason for them to not include the blu-ray player in the next revison of the XBOX and it should be internal.


RE: smart
By omnicronx on 3/10/2008 9:16:30 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I see no reason for them to not include the blu-ray player in the next revision of the XBOX and it should be internal.
Heh if MS chooses to continue to use a Disc medium they will have no choice but to use BD on their next release. From this article it seems to be hinting on a current generation add on player.

And personally I think they did pretty much roll over. I always thought MS wanted to move towards the download based system. I guess they saw the lack of BD as a major weakness, regardless if they wanted recordable media gone. I guess Microsoft just wanted to slow down BD adoption enough to limit PS3 sales. Or Balmer is on crack... yep probably the crack..


RE: smart
By PAPutzback on 3/10/2008 9:24:08 AM , Rating: 1
I don't see them giving up on downloadable content and IP based TV it is our country's weak broadband infrastructure slowing that down. If we had FTTH everywhere and speed of 20Mb plus down at each drop you'd have no problem delivering 1080P content.


RE: smart
By omnicronx on 3/10/08, Rating: 0
RE: smart
By Polynikes on 3/10/2008 9:54:05 AM , Rating: 2
I agree, we don't have the infrastructure for downloading game content to be the primary means of acquisition.


RE: smart
By omnicronx on 3/10/2008 10:16:07 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I agree, we don't have the infrastructure for downloading game content to be the primary means of acquisition.
And I suppose the US had enough electricity to power the nation when Thomas Edison invented the light bulb....

How could you possibly know whats coming 15-20 years from now?
Im making a prediction about the future, not saying that it can be done today, this instant.


RE: smart
By grenableu on 3/10/2008 2:29:20 PM , Rating: 2
20 years sure. But not today.


RE: smart
By afkrotch on 3/12/2008 12:57:56 AM , Rating: 2
There is a difference between "we don't have" and "we won't have".

Also, the light bulb was around 50 years before Thomas Edison "invented" the light bulb. During the time, the US had more than enough electricity to power the nation. Not to mention illuminate the nation with light bulbs before Thomas Edison "invented" it.


RE: smart
By asdf23fvas324rf on 3/10/2008 11:38:08 AM , Rating: 2
which is why steam is failing faster than a bacon and steak energy bar. oh wait.......

what the person your agreeing with is talking about delivering hd movies/television over the internet, not games, which, despite what you may think is much more feasiable than hd video streams. now sure, not everybody has that capability, but fact is enough people have the capabilities to download games, and as many programs, even on the 360, has proven, the infrastructure is enough in place to make it a viable option.


RE: smart
By Spuke on 3/10/2008 1:29:54 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
even on the 360, has proven, the infrastructure is enough in place to make it a viable option.
How many people use this feature?


RE: smart
By PrezWeezy on 3/10/2008 2:09:19 PM , Rating: 1
I use it all the time when I don't feel like going to the movie store. Usually late at night and I just want to watch a movie but I'm bored with the ones I have. Just like I use on demand. I do wish I could pay 4 times as much and have the option of storing it on my media center PC and keep the license forever though.


RE: smart
By Spuke on 3/10/2008 4:11:16 PM , Rating: 2
I was hoping for some kind of statistic stating how many people are using these features. That would determine if there is a market, currently, for HD downloads.


RE: smart
By Oregonian2 on 3/10/2008 9:30:25 PM , Rating: 2
That would be a good number to know.

What we do know is that only a small minority of people used the HD DVD drives. I don't recall what Microsoft's current total sales numbers for XBOX 360's are, but I recall that it's a lot more than the 0.3 Million or so HD drive options that were sold.


RE: smart
By danrien on 3/10/2008 6:28:57 PM , Rating: 2
By 2010 (a guesstimate on the date the new consoles start rolling out), I'm pretty certain that that type of infrastructure will be in place due to the requirements of digital tv in every household and the emerging competition between cable and FiOS, ISPs and related companies will simply need to improve the infrastructure here in america and likewise increase broadband speed.


RE: smart
By afkrotch on 3/12/2008 1:04:25 AM , Rating: 2
Thinking someone's never had to go through the process of updating an infrastructure.

I'd say by 2010, all majority cities and few minor cities will be capable. 2020, all cities greater with 50,000 or more ppl living in them will be able to use it. 2030, all cities, towns, villages, guy living in a cave in the middle of a forest, with a radioactive powered mind controlled PDA on 802.11N (Draft 522976) can get Super Ultra HD (at 5400p), but not regular HD.


RE: smart
By retrospooty on 3/10/08, Rating: 0
RE: smart
By sxr7171 on 3/11/2008 5:11:39 PM , Rating: 2
Download, download, download, that's all anyone says these days. When you have 50Mbps pipes running into your house then we'll talk. Even to get an overly compressed 10GB file (as opposed to a proper 30GB Blu-Ray) it would theoretically still take almost 30 minutes to get to your house even with a 50Mbps connection and you get comparably lower quality due to the much increased compression factor. A real HD movie compressed at Blu-Ray disc rates would take 1.5 hours with that 50Mbps pipe. With a good for today's standard 10Mbps pipe it would take almost 8 hours to get a full Blu-Ray quality movie over and that would only be increased by any web surfing, bit-torrenting or whatever you have going on.

Then think about how much storage space you would need to keep those movies around. A stupid 360 20GB hard drive has about 12Gb free so it would store one movie and a few demos...maybe.

Silver disks will be with us for a while. Get used to the idea.


RE: smart
By afkrotch on 3/12/2008 1:12:03 AM , Rating: 2
Use to live in Japan where 100 meg was fairly standard (only costs $30 for it too, with VOIP) and few areas had gig. S.Korea was pretty much the same.

The problem with the US, is the sheer size of it. Hard to implement high speed broadband to all locations. Would probably be easier to simply condense the nation into 4 states and create a new infrastructure there than to upgrade/install a new infrastructure into what we have now.