Shock as Gates Shows External HD-DVD Drive for Xbox 360 – Full Report
PS3 launch spoiler bundles expected
Speaking hours ago at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stunned the games industry and announced an external HD-DVD drive for the firm's Xbox 360 console.
A press release on the issue, no doubt being celebrated at SCEI Towers, reads, “Building on Xbox 360 leadership in high-definition experiences, the company announced plans to deliver a new Xbox 360 external HD DVD drive in 2006. The new drive will offer millions of Xbox 360 owners the ability to easily enjoy HD DVD movies and will provide consumers with even more choices for experiencing high-definition content, in either physical or digital form.”
Of course, the news has been seen as Microsoft retrofitting its console having rushed the new Xbox in order to deliver on its promise of acquiring its much talked about first-mover advantage into the new generation of gaming. Pundits on the showfloor at CES speaking to SPOnG immediately drew analogies with Sega's botched Mega CD and 32X add-ons, though this view may be slightly short-sighted.
From what Microsoft announced, the external drive will be for movies only. Bear in mind that most prices for HD-DVD players resides at around the $500 mark - and you have to assume that the Xbox 360 accessory will be considerably cheaper, perhaps offering the cheapest HD-DVD player to consumers should said consumer already own an Xbox 360. If Microsoft can get a bundle together offering the 360 with a HD-DVD player, bring the price of its bundle to below or on par with what stand-alone players cost and relaunch against the PlayStation 3, a compelling home entertainment showdown will ensue.
It is also something of a certainty that Microsoft will use the HD-DVD drive for gaming use at some point in the future, though this has the stigma of splitting its userbase further, seeing a three tier level of Xbox 360 ownership.
Unknown right now is how Microsoft plans to deliver the HD-DVD Xbox 360 signal into your shiny new high-definition TV. It is expected that the device will deliver component output to the external HD-DVD, then HDMI to the TV, not a perfect solution by a long chalk. Of course, the device could offer the HDMI port and then the holy grail of 1080p output. Should this not be the case, Microsoft will likely find itself with something of a white elephant.
Speaking with SPOnG at CES, sources close to Microsoft hinted to us today that those with proof of purchase of an Xbox 360 may be eligible for any discount offered to new adopters picking up the bundle pack, delivering a decent HD-DVD userbase as the movie and games industries brace for the arrival of Blu-Ray and the flagship of the format, the all-singing, all-dancing PlayStation 3.
Further unconfirmed speculation points to Microsoft offering a premium home-entertainment package, with a massively uprated hard drive-equipped 360 shipping alongside a bundle featuring the HD-DVD drive. We must stress that this seems more like showfloor chatter than anything of substance right now.
Of course, it must be pointed out that retrofitting game consoles with additional drives to increase their capabilities has never (with the exception of the HD for PlayStation 2) been a success. The Mega CD, the 32X, the 64DD, the SNES Disc Drive – all have failed.
“Technology has revolutionized how we listen to music, watch TV, play games, communicate, and manage and share personal information,” said Gates to the assembled crowd. “In the years ahead, further exciting innovations will unify the software, hardware and services in people’s lives, offering them even richer, more engaging and deeply connected experiences.”
Gates went on to outline how he sees the coming year as Sony preps its launch, noting that “...demand far exceeded supply. And so we'll actually have shipped a pretty phenomenal number, over 5 million, before anyone else comes into the market. Then Sony will have a year where they're supply constrained most likely, unless the thing is a complete flop. I mean, every videogame that does decent at all is supply-constrained for its first year. And so the first year that both we and they will not be supply constrained will actually be 2007.”
No images of the device have been made available at time of press.
A press release on the issue, no doubt being celebrated at SCEI Towers, reads, “Building on Xbox 360 leadership in high-definition experiences, the company announced plans to deliver a new Xbox 360 external HD DVD drive in 2006. The new drive will offer millions of Xbox 360 owners the ability to easily enjoy HD DVD movies and will provide consumers with even more choices for experiencing high-definition content, in either physical or digital form.”
Of course, the news has been seen as Microsoft retrofitting its console having rushed the new Xbox in order to deliver on its promise of acquiring its much talked about first-mover advantage into the new generation of gaming. Pundits on the showfloor at CES speaking to SPOnG immediately drew analogies with Sega's botched Mega CD and 32X add-ons, though this view may be slightly short-sighted.
From what Microsoft announced, the external drive will be for movies only. Bear in mind that most prices for HD-DVD players resides at around the $500 mark - and you have to assume that the Xbox 360 accessory will be considerably cheaper, perhaps offering the cheapest HD-DVD player to consumers should said consumer already own an Xbox 360. If Microsoft can get a bundle together offering the 360 with a HD-DVD player, bring the price of its bundle to below or on par with what stand-alone players cost and relaunch against the PlayStation 3, a compelling home entertainment showdown will ensue.
It is also something of a certainty that Microsoft will use the HD-DVD drive for gaming use at some point in the future, though this has the stigma of splitting its userbase further, seeing a three tier level of Xbox 360 ownership.
Unknown right now is how Microsoft plans to deliver the HD-DVD Xbox 360 signal into your shiny new high-definition TV. It is expected that the device will deliver component output to the external HD-DVD, then HDMI to the TV, not a perfect solution by a long chalk. Of course, the device could offer the HDMI port and then the holy grail of 1080p output. Should this not be the case, Microsoft will likely find itself with something of a white elephant.
Speaking with SPOnG at CES, sources close to Microsoft hinted to us today that those with proof of purchase of an Xbox 360 may be eligible for any discount offered to new adopters picking up the bundle pack, delivering a decent HD-DVD userbase as the movie and games industries brace for the arrival of Blu-Ray and the flagship of the format, the all-singing, all-dancing PlayStation 3.
Further unconfirmed speculation points to Microsoft offering a premium home-entertainment package, with a massively uprated hard drive-equipped 360 shipping alongside a bundle featuring the HD-DVD drive. We must stress that this seems more like showfloor chatter than anything of substance right now.
Of course, it must be pointed out that retrofitting game consoles with additional drives to increase their capabilities has never (with the exception of the HD for PlayStation 2) been a success. The Mega CD, the 32X, the 64DD, the SNES Disc Drive – all have failed.
“Technology has revolutionized how we listen to music, watch TV, play games, communicate, and manage and share personal information,” said Gates to the assembled crowd. “In the years ahead, further exciting innovations will unify the software, hardware and services in people’s lives, offering them even richer, more engaging and deeply connected experiences.”
Gates went on to outline how he sees the coming year as Sony preps its launch, noting that “...demand far exceeded supply. And so we'll actually have shipped a pretty phenomenal number, over 5 million, before anyone else comes into the market. Then Sony will have a year where they're supply constrained most likely, unless the thing is a complete flop. I mean, every videogame that does decent at all is supply-constrained for its first year. And so the first year that both we and they will not be supply constrained will actually be 2007.”
No images of the device have been made available at time of press.
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Showing the 20 most recent comments. Read all 37.
crs117 5 Jan 2006 17:38
18/37
Most of you guys are missing the point here.
First and foremost the hd-dvd drive that will be added to the xbox360 will have to interface with the xbox 360 hardware so unless the huge propietary AV digital connector can transfer data in both directions the HD-dvd drive will have to connect via the usb connections. It is very likely that the AV connector allows for 2 way communication, either way the cpu for the x360 will serve as the data encoder.
So why is this important...well because you have to have a decent set of hardware in order to decode HD signals. This means that HD-dvd drives will likely be as expensive as purchasing the x360 plus the add on drive. I mean if all you are adding is an optical drive (laser, lens, spin motor and door motor, plus enclosure and data connector) you can have a fairly cheap add on. Why would anybody want to add on to x360...well for the sole purpose of watching HD-dvd's on their x360 without having to pay over $400 for a seperate player that only plays hd-dvd's. Not a bad deal in my book.
For those of you thinking that Sony is any better a position obviously have no idea how bad things are looking from sony's end. Sony is banking their machine on the success of blu-ray media much like they did with ps2, the only problem is that BD-rom is not a defined standard like dvd was when ps2 launched. I would be suprised if sony was able to luanch before thanksgiving and even then have very limited available for sale not to mention the cost. If you think the selection of games for x360 is bad (it really had one of the better set of launch titles in recent console releases), wait to see sony's launch of tech demos and half butt attempts of first gen games.
I will also say that MS owns the market in online gaming. live gold is worth every penny ($4 a month) and it is smooth as silk not just for games, but for online community and downloads. Its pretty pimp when you are playing DOA 4 online and a friend signs on (which lets you nkow) and you send him a game invite and in 30 seconds you can fight and talk with him like he was in the room when he is really a couple of hundred miles away. x360 and live is allowing for old college gaming even though my friends all live in different places now. I seriously doubt that PS3 will have anything near the coolness of live when it launches.
Christian
First and foremost the hd-dvd drive that will be added to the xbox360 will have to interface with the xbox 360 hardware so unless the huge propietary AV digital connector can transfer data in both directions the HD-dvd drive will have to connect via the usb connections. It is very likely that the AV connector allows for 2 way communication, either way the cpu for the x360 will serve as the data encoder.
So why is this important...well because you have to have a decent set of hardware in order to decode HD signals. This means that HD-dvd drives will likely be as expensive as purchasing the x360 plus the add on drive. I mean if all you are adding is an optical drive (laser, lens, spin motor and door motor, plus enclosure and data connector) you can have a fairly cheap add on. Why would anybody want to add on to x360...well for the sole purpose of watching HD-dvd's on their x360 without having to pay over $400 for a seperate player that only plays hd-dvd's. Not a bad deal in my book.
For those of you thinking that Sony is any better a position obviously have no idea how bad things are looking from sony's end. Sony is banking their machine on the success of blu-ray media much like they did with ps2, the only problem is that BD-rom is not a defined standard like dvd was when ps2 launched. I would be suprised if sony was able to luanch before thanksgiving and even then have very limited available for sale not to mention the cost. If you think the selection of games for x360 is bad (it really had one of the better set of launch titles in recent console releases), wait to see sony's launch of tech demos and half butt attempts of first gen games.
I will also say that MS owns the market in online gaming. live gold is worth every penny ($4 a month) and it is smooth as silk not just for games, but for online community and downloads. Its pretty pimp when you are playing DOA 4 online and a friend signs on (which lets you nkow) and you send him a game invite and in 30 seconds you can fight and talk with him like he was in the room when he is really a couple of hundred miles away. x360 and live is allowing for old college gaming even though my friends all live in different places now. I seriously doubt that PS3 will have anything near the coolness of live when it launches.
Christian
MarvinMar 5 Jan 2006 18:26
19/37
OK, As for Nintendo making mistakes...You got me there. They are still king of Handhelds though.
Nintindo broadband adapter supports 1 game I believe (Phantasy Star Online) It's only other use is alowing the hack/mod comunity to play backups/emulators and rip games. Not the best addon to release.
I can play DVDs on my xbox, but I dont because I have a NICE dvd player.
I do watch xvid/divx/avi/iso and all other media formats on my xbox..because it is the only device in my living room I CAN watch them on.
HDDVD may be cheaper as an addon for Xbox360..for now. But one day standalone HDDVD players will be $150, and much fuller equiped with extras and you will buy that anyways.
I am still not convinced either format will take off because of all the draconian DRM built in not to mention this crap about not working on my existing HDTV because I dont have HDMI. Stuff like that will ensure neither format takes off.
And dont get me started on all these PSP movies coming out for $20 that can only be played on 1 device...STUPID, yet all the studios are releasing stuff for it. (Yes it is better than the GBA movies that came out, but the GBA and DS own the handheld market..and that is not changing)
Nintindo broadband adapter supports 1 game I believe (Phantasy Star Online) It's only other use is alowing the hack/mod comunity to play backups/emulators and rip games. Not the best addon to release.
I can play DVDs on my xbox, but I dont because I have a NICE dvd player.
I do watch xvid/divx/avi/iso and all other media formats on my xbox..because it is the only device in my living room I CAN watch them on.
HDDVD may be cheaper as an addon for Xbox360..for now. But one day standalone HDDVD players will be $150, and much fuller equiped with extras and you will buy that anyways.
I am still not convinced either format will take off because of all the draconian DRM built in not to mention this crap about not working on my existing HDTV because I dont have HDMI. Stuff like that will ensure neither format takes off.
And dont get me started on all these PSP movies coming out for $20 that can only be played on 1 device...STUPID, yet all the studios are releasing stuff for it. (Yes it is better than the GBA movies that came out, but the GBA and DS own the handheld market..and that is not changing)
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Joji 5 Jan 2006 18:58
20/37
In reply to CRS11 whatever your name is, We all acknowledge MS online efforts, but their efforts are built on an area the Dreamcast broke ground on first for consoles, and since MS had a Windows finger in the Dreamcast pie. it seems they built on that with Xbox and made Live based on previous DC/PC online functions.
Indeed all companies make mistakes, Nintendo Sega etc. I do feel that this HD-DVD one is a hugely bad one for MS. I'm sure it would be nice to play 30GB movies/tv series early, but I feel that both new DVD formats are just gonna drive prices up so high again that no one will bother to buy them.
I can remember that feeling of seeing a DVD player in the window of Dixon's etc knowing I couldn't afford it. I hate that feeling but I don't feel a HDDVD add on 'just to watch fooking movies' is gonna tempt me, when 360 is already expensive enough. MS could be trying to sell 360 on the movie angle like Sony did. However I don't think this will tempt many, don't forget that many people have already built up a huge collection of DVD movies and tv series. I don't see them ditching them just to upgrade players. Only hardcore movie fans will invest in HD-DVD early, not really gamers.
Personally I don't think the market is ready for HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, give it another few years maybe and come back. These two format are gonna divide both the gaming and the film market. Higher prices are annoying and in some regards developers can have too much space for a game these days.
If I still get a 360, I'll have too skip the HD-DVD add-on, 360 already has enough accessories, thanks.
Indeed all companies make mistakes, Nintendo Sega etc. I do feel that this HD-DVD one is a hugely bad one for MS. I'm sure it would be nice to play 30GB movies/tv series early, but I feel that both new DVD formats are just gonna drive prices up so high again that no one will bother to buy them.
I can remember that feeling of seeing a DVD player in the window of Dixon's etc knowing I couldn't afford it. I hate that feeling but I don't feel a HDDVD add on 'just to watch fooking movies' is gonna tempt me, when 360 is already expensive enough. MS could be trying to sell 360 on the movie angle like Sony did. However I don't think this will tempt many, don't forget that many people have already built up a huge collection of DVD movies and tv series. I don't see them ditching them just to upgrade players. Only hardcore movie fans will invest in HD-DVD early, not really gamers.
Personally I don't think the market is ready for HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, give it another few years maybe and come back. These two format are gonna divide both the gaming and the film market. Higher prices are annoying and in some regards developers can have too much space for a game these days.
If I still get a 360, I'll have too skip the HD-DVD add-on, 360 already has enough accessories, thanks.
crs117 5 Jan 2006 20:19
21/37
The name is Christian but my sn is crs117...
Anyway what i am trying to say here is that its not a win lose situation for MS as the device will not be used for games...only movies. PS3 requires that you purchase a BD-rom drive when for games DVD's are totally sufficient (sp) (if you cannot fit a game on a single DVD for this gen then your game is ridiculous).
Everybody is bashing MS saying oh they screwed all the early adopters when the add on is simply to turn a $400 gaming machine into a hd-dvd player for a nominal price (likely around $100-$150) which will still be less then the cost for the ps3. Not only that but its optional.
Any early adopters for the x360 are in large part early adopters to HD displays and Broadband internet. This means that while it may not affect you, many folks would love to have a movie to show off in its Hd glory. So this goes right in line. Not only that but many of us are using our x360 as media clients for content currently on our computers and it would be nice to be able to have one centerpiece component from which much of our media in our den's or rooms can come from and that could well be the x360.
Also you obviously have not seen XBL (xbox live) implemented in the x360. It is a far cry from xbox live on the xbox and a very far cry from any online implmentation on any console previously (dreamcast or not). Once you get into XBL on the 360 you will wonder how the world in gaming out on so easily before it.
Christian
Anyway what i am trying to say here is that its not a win lose situation for MS as the device will not be used for games...only movies. PS3 requires that you purchase a BD-rom drive when for games DVD's are totally sufficient (sp) (if you cannot fit a game on a single DVD for this gen then your game is ridiculous).
Everybody is bashing MS saying oh they screwed all the early adopters when the add on is simply to turn a $400 gaming machine into a hd-dvd player for a nominal price (likely around $100-$150) which will still be less then the cost for the ps3. Not only that but its optional.
Any early adopters for the x360 are in large part early adopters to HD displays and Broadband internet. This means that while it may not affect you, many folks would love to have a movie to show off in its Hd glory. So this goes right in line. Not only that but many of us are using our x360 as media clients for content currently on our computers and it would be nice to be able to have one centerpiece component from which much of our media in our den's or rooms can come from and that could well be the x360.
Also you obviously have not seen XBL (xbox live) implemented in the x360. It is a far cry from xbox live on the xbox and a very far cry from any online implmentation on any console previously (dreamcast or not). Once you get into XBL on the 360 you will wonder how the world in gaming out on so easily before it.
Christian
jordanlund 5 Jan 2006 22:24
22/37
It really bothers me when I see journalists saying the Sega CD/Mega CD was a failure. It was the single most successful system add-on in the history of gaming.
There were over 200 titles released for it. How many titles support the PS2 hard drive? 2? Maybe? How many support the network card? You start to get my drift.
The Sega CD/Mega CD was a huge success.
There were over 200 titles released for it. How many titles support the PS2 hard drive? 2? Maybe? How many support the network card? You start to get my drift.
The Sega CD/Mega CD was a huge success.
SPInGSPOnG 5 Jan 2006 22:58
23/37
jordanlund wrote:
Sega CD/Mega CD was ... the single most successful system add-on in the history of gaming.
There were over 200 titles released for it.
There were over 200 titles released for it.
That's nearly one title for each hardware unit they sold.
SegaCD was the most successful example in a field where spectacular unsuccessfulness is spectacularly common.
It sold poorly. You can tell yourself (and us) otherwise... But you are creatively misinterpretting the facts.
ohms 6 Jan 2006 01:10
24/37
crs117 wrote:
PS3 requires that you purchase a BD-rom drive when for games DVD's are totally sufficient.
Tell that to Squaresoft. :P
When PS2 launched, all the games, I mean ALL the first gen and even second gen titles, were on CDs, but gradually, more and more began to make use of the extra space of DVDs (DVD5s), for hi-quality intro's, etc. Now some games even come on DVD9s.
Most likely all early PS3 games will be on DVDs, but as all the PS consoles have had 6/7 year lifespans, eventually down the line most games will start to use Blu Ray (Hi-Def cutscenes will take up much space no doubt too).
jordanlund 6 Jan 2006 01:11
25/37
From 1991 to 1995 Sega sold 6 million Sega CD/Mega CD units. That is NOT a failure.
Source and a good article on Sega CD/Mega CD history here.
http://www.eidolons-inn.net/segabase/SegaBase-SegaCD.html
It's a fraction of the number of Genesis units they sold over the same period of time, but it certainly doesn't qualify as a failure.
Source and a good article on Sega CD/Mega CD history here.
http://www.eidolons-inn.net/segabase/SegaBase-SegaCD.html
It's a fraction of the number of Genesis units they sold over the same period of time, but it certainly doesn't qualify as a failure.
tg0006 6 Jan 2006 03:48
26/37
sorry, your right, but i just dont like microsoft anymore, and that is the exact reason is that if they would have standard hd-dvd, i would get it, but im not because it didnt come with one.
sQuashEd 6 Jan 2006 05:32
27/37
one site answers it all:
www.f**kmicrosoft.com
www.f**kmicrosoft.com
charming_fox 6 Jan 2006 10:14
28/37
I don't understand the point, surely if you wanted a HD DVD drive you'd juts go and buy one for your TV not for that big, ugly, box?
Greg2k 6 Jan 2006 14:27
29/37
HD-DVD doesn't support 1080p. Just nitpicking =P
crs117 6 Jan 2006 15:23
30/37
charming_fox wrote:
I don't understand the point, surely if you wanted a HD DVD drive you'd juts go and buy one for your TV not for that big, ugly, box?
crs117 6 Jan 2006 15:24
31/37
charming_fox wrote:
I don't understand the point, surely if you wanted a HD DVD drive you'd juts go and buy one for your TV not for that big, ugly, box?
Thats actually the beauty of it. Spend between 1-200 to retro fit your current x360 or spend 500 on a standard hd-dvd.
Christian
charming_fox 6 Jan 2006 17:04
32/37
But don't add-ons for consoles tend to be somewhat limited compared to the stand alones? And what if you sell you xbox 360 or lend it to a friend, will you be without a HD-DVD player? or does it work striaght to your telly?
LUPOS 6 Jan 2006 17:11
33/37
charming_fox wrote:
But don't add-ons for consoles tend to be somewhat limited compared to the stand alones?
no, infact the xbox makes a great cd player and it can rip tracks to the drive and work as a media player... and it has a visualization... jaguar cd had a nice visualizer too... and they all ofer the ability to pick a track of a list rather that ... skipp... skip... skip... skip... and the 360 alows for play lsit managment... make it far superior to any cd player... as for dvd... usign it as a dvd is great cause if you are just sittign and watching a movie cause you dont have any friends onlien to play with... it actually pops up the notifies over top of your movie so if you get a message or a freidn invite you wont miss it cause you where using your other dvd player. im sure hd-dvd will be the same
charming_fox wrote:
And what if you sell you xbox 360 or lend it to a friend, will you be without a HD-DVD player? or does it work striaght to your telly?
of course you woudl be without it... but what if you sell your hd-dvd player... wont you then be without an hd-dvd player!? i mean what sort of question is that? if i let me friend borrow my tv... will my xbox still work?!
vault 13 7 Jan 2006 15:47
34/37
I think he was stating that accessories have limited or no use if one wants to sell his system. A more logical conundrum is when your A/V system is all integrated and say your DVD drive stops working or you want to upgrade or sell a piece off. True integration is going to suck a bit. Like DVD players built into tvs. Tell me which one of you would want to buy a piece of crap like that?! Hmm???
Anyways, the whole 360 integration and I could do without and be happy. When I'm watching Schindler's List and Amon is about to go a massacre a few thousand more people, I don't want a notification coming up that BigDikMasta has come online or that new content for Crapeo - Elements of other better Rare games has come out. That totally kills the mood. (No reason why I picked such an awfully horrific movie as my example, just did.) I'm typically not going to drop everything and and start playing Halo 2. I mean I'm not saying it's not nice. I like being able to move around freely through the system without exiting a game and such, but it's not like something I can't live without. I've been playing games offline for 25 years now, sans the last year when I got Live(tm).
Will I get a HD-DVD drive for 360? Depends. Who knows if HD-DVDs will win out. We may be left with very white and green paperweights if Blu-Ray wins. I was going to hold out for a while anyway to see who wins, Microsoft dropping an HD player in a few months won't change my mind.
Anyways, the whole 360 integration and I could do without and be happy. When I'm watching Schindler's List and Amon is about to go a massacre a few thousand more people, I don't want a notification coming up that BigDikMasta has come online or that new content for Crapeo - Elements of other better Rare games has come out. That totally kills the mood. (No reason why I picked such an awfully horrific movie as my example, just did.) I'm typically not going to drop everything and and start playing Halo 2. I mean I'm not saying it's not nice. I like being able to move around freely through the system without exiting a game and such, but it's not like something I can't live without. I've been playing games offline for 25 years now, sans the last year when I got Live(tm).
Will I get a HD-DVD drive for 360? Depends. Who knows if HD-DVDs will win out. We may be left with very white and green paperweights if Blu-Ray wins. I was going to hold out for a while anyway to see who wins, Microsoft dropping an HD player in a few months won't change my mind.
saurian 9 Jan 2006 08:11
35/37
vault 13 wrote:
Will I get a HD-DVD drive for 360? Depends. Who knows if HD-DVDs will win out. We may be left with very white and green paperweights if Blu-Ray wins. I was going to hold out for a while anyway to see who wins, Microsoft dropping an HD player in a few months won't change my mind.
Point is this - no-one knows if HD DVD or Blu Ray will win. Or if they both will lose out to the Optical disc which is being released later this year. It has a much larger capacity. It may be that everyone is happy with what we have at the moment. You can easily fit a film on a DVD.
If BluRay wins then Sony will be OK, but if not, it will cause them Major problems. Microsoft are not committed to any format, so they will just release an addon BluRay option. If Optical wins, they will release this option.
If BluRay does not win, Sony will be in dire straits. They have no options.
thane_jaw 10 Jan 2006 05:09
36/37
If you're talking about the holographic type disc (I can't remember the exact name) surely that's having more development trouble then bluray (all those reports about how bluray couldn't perform outside a lab because it damaged too easy - I know its been fixed now, its just an example of teething problems with new technology)?
Plus there's the need to make things affordable. HD-DVD's main advantage is that it'll cost less to change production plants in china over from dvds. Having a stupidly high-tech disc when there's no real consumer desire sounds like a slightly misguided move from a business point of view. We're just hitting capacity on dvd's and compression techniques are improving all the time(e.g. oblivian for the 360, regually rumoured as having to be more then one disc due to the size, has been confirmed to be shipping on one dvd). Now we're getting two formats with 2-5 times the capacity? do we need 150gig discs? hell my hard drive's has less storage then one dual layer bluray and I'm doing fine.
Plus there's the need to make things affordable. HD-DVD's main advantage is that it'll cost less to change production plants in china over from dvds. Having a stupidly high-tech disc when there's no real consumer desire sounds like a slightly misguided move from a business point of view. We're just hitting capacity on dvd's and compression techniques are improving all the time(e.g. oblivian for the 360, regually rumoured as having to be more then one disc due to the size, has been confirmed to be shipping on one dvd). Now we're getting two formats with 2-5 times the capacity? do we need 150gig discs? hell my hard drive's has less storage then one dual layer bluray and I'm doing fine.
tyrion 10 Jan 2006 09:07
37/37
thane_jaw wrote:
If you're talking about the holographic type disc (I can't remember the exact name) surely that's having more development trouble then bluray
Another point about the upcoming holographic discs is that Sony are helping to develop it. No way it will come out without Blu-Ray getting a fair crack of the whip.