BluRay: How Will You Adopt The Format?

[Rasczak]

Just a quick vote to see how people plan to adopt BluRay - whether they intend to get a PS3, a standalone or wait. Many of us have seen BluRay in action - and the rest have all read the reviews - so we are all aware of the problems BD is suffering from at present:

- Video is cropped from it's original cinema aspect ratio

- Releases use outdated (and surpassed) MPEG2 compression

- Releases suffer from digital artifacts

- DD+ soundtracks have been dropped

- BD50 (dual layer discs) are in limited supply compounding all of the above

- Players are expensive (twice the price of HD DVD)

- Menus are a little sluggish

...and we all know it within the capacity of the format to correct all this and become as good as HD DVD is now. However where do you stand with the problems above? Will you buy now at any price or wait until these are all corrected?

[richard plumb]

I'm buying a PS3 anyway, so most likely I'll buy at least one movie to try out - I'll try and pick the best example available that I'd also consider a good movie.

Then (or before depending on when its out) I'll buy the HDDVD add on for the Xbox 360, and buy serenity on HDDVD

After that I'll be able to make my own mind up on which I prefer, and how the consoles handle HD. I'll read up on how the discs and standalone player are doing to help decide whether I need a standalone player sooner rather than later.

Also, depending on how the formats are doing I will start to buy a few discs. Initially I won't mind what format - just buy the best version - and I'll only buy a few specific titles that I want.

And then just watch the war continue. I will try and avoid heavily investing in software until an outcome starts to become clearer - even if that outcome is both existing together.

[Noggin1980]

They have to fix picture quality, price and make sure it's properly OAR before I would consider buying into blu-ray.

I'm not worried about sluggish menus and the DD+ stuff wouldn't stop me buying.

[JamesL]

I went for thw HD DVD option and wait for BR to improve. I don't think Blu Ray is really aimed at me tho: they are aimed at different markets. BR is the people's format in that it will offer the movie zoomed in to fit your TV so you see no black bars at all. The extra space will be used to great fantastic effect to include games, puzzles and quizes on the disks. BRs should be optimised to work well with the PS3 gamepads. HD DVD though will be the reference format for home cinema buffs. It will be light on extras but high on PQ with lossless audio and releases in their original cinematic aspect ratio. The latter sounds ideal to me. I'll get an eye on BR tho, if it changes to become a home cinema format I'll considering buying!

[shaithis]

Happy with HD-DVD for now while we wait for the dust to settle on this format war.

I may buy PS3 for watching films but will most certainly wait for some proper reviews before deciding as I am pretty sure the PS3 BD playback will be acceptable at best.

[Bajie]

I will be getting PS3 anyway but after reading that may well have to get a standalone HD-DVD player as well!

[Evil Engineer]

I'm buying a PS3 anyway, so most likely I'll buy at least one movie to try out - I'll try and pick the best example available that I'd also consider a good movie.

Then (or before depending on when its out) I'll buy the HDDVD add on for the Xbox 360, and buy serenity on HDDVD

After that I'll be able to make my own mind up on which I prefer, and how the consoles handle HD. I'll read up on how the discs and standalone player are doing to help decide whether I need a standalone player sooner rather than later.

Also, depending on how the formats are doing I will start to buy a few discs. Initially I won't mind what format - just buy the best version - and I'll only buy a few specific titles that I want.

And then just watch the war continue. I will try and avoid heavily investing in software until an outcome starts to become clearer - even if that outcome is both existing together.

Hey. That's my plan, almost down to the letter!

Great minds must think alike. :)

BR is the people's format in that it will offer the movie zoomed in to fit your TV so you see no black bars at all.

How on earth do you work that one out? :confused:

That's not based on the "Training Days" reviews, is it? The review I've read mentions a slight cropping of the edges of the picture. Not a wholesale change of aspect ratio from 2.35:1 to 1.78:1.

If they had done that the outcry from Bluray supporters and the gloating from HD-DVD supporters would have been amazing.

DVDs have been original aspect ratio for years. Everybody is used to it so why would they change it now ?

Can you point to any examples where a movie released at 2.35:1 on either DVD or HD-DVD has been released at 1.78:1 on Bluray?

[AgentCool]

BR is the people's format in that it will offer the movie zoomed in to fit your TV so you see no black bars at all.

I didn't realise they were doing this on Blu-Ray. I personally consider that an insult to the director and cinematographer of whatever movies are hacked up in this way. Directors often choose 2.35:1 aspect ratios for artistic reasons, something the BD camp obviously don't understand if they actually go ahead and do this. Imagine watching 'Once Upon a Time in the West' after it had been cropped. It would totally ruin it for me.

They won't be getting any of my money if this is all true.

[Uruloke]

I'll eventually get a PS3 and like richard plumb, I'll be getting a BD that is classed as reference material but also a film I like. Serenity is an excellent choice for reference on HD-DVD. Also, if you want to see an excellent choice of a Single Layer 15GB HD-DVD then look no further than Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Stunning.

[pinkprobegt]

I'm waiting till at least 2nd generation players are released for both formats before even thinking about deciding. Although not as good quality hi-def from Usenet keeps me supplied with hi-def content for now so I'll wait and see what happens.

I was an early adopter of DVD so I'll wait this time...or maybe it's just that whole saving for a deposit on a house that's stopping me this time round ;)

[spikerules]

I find it shocking that only three people here are going to buy a PS3 on launch day and only 4 when the "problems" have been resolved. I guess I shouldn't be shocked with the bias towards HD-DVD ( and rightly so in most cases atm). I assume people will be buying PS3 for the games?

[talas]

ps3..xbox 360..FOR GAMES.

hdvd - bluray..FOR MOVIES....if only sony would understand,thank god microsoft have given people a choice:smashin:

[Wild Weasel]

I've just bought a Xbox 360, so will get a HD DVD add on for that most probably.

I might get a PS3 in a year or two once the bugs have been ironed out, it's cheaper and there are more games for it. Depends how flush I feel at the time.

[Nic Rhodes]

Many of us are interested in PS3 at launch, just will there be an UK discs? No 'player' will have been launched by then.

I am one of the votes for PS3 at launch here but I have HD DVD already, so really I am in the big long list of people wanting HD DVD ;)

[Jeff]

BD are adopting regional coding so you wouldn't be able to play US discs on a UK PS3. I'm also very sceptical about the PS3's ability to play VC1 encoded discs, as far as I know they are using software decoders like the Xbox 360, in which case they won't have had any assistance from Microsoft.

[Rasczak]

Many of us are interested in PS3 at launch, just will there be an UK discs? No 'player' will have been launched by then.
Indeed. Details are hard to come by at present: the BluRay UK release announcement I can find is from Eagle vision who will be releasing "Pat Metheny Group – The Way Up Live" supposedly in October. However this is being released on both HD DVD and BluRay so it could be the former being released in October (at the sametime as the UK Toshiba A1) and the latter will appear at the official Euro launch in March.

I suppose Sony might release a few BluRay titles to co-incide with the PS3 launch - however as they set the date for the Euro launch, and given the limitations on BluRay disc production at present, I should imagine our first batch of titles will appear in March.

[Nic Rhodes]

I'm also very sceptical about the PS3's ability to play VC1 encoded discs, as far as I know they are using software decoders like the Xbox 360, in which case they won't have had any assistance from Microsoft.

Interesting thought, if they can't do VC1 then that is a deal killer for me.

[FOXCLOSE]

ps3..xbox 360..FOR GAMES.

hdvd - bluray..FOR MOVIES....if only sony would understand,thank god microsoft have given people a choice:smashin:

Great, so I don't ever expect to see two disc Xbox 360 games ever or ever see PS3 games bigger than 8.5 GB??? :rolleyes:

Personally, I feel CD, DVD to Blu Ray is a natural progression in the generation of Sony consoles.

[Rasczak]

Great, so I don't ever expect to see two disc Xbox 360 games ever or ever see PS3 games bigger than 4.7 GB???
Dual layer DVD stores upto 8.5GB.

[FOXCLOSE]

Dual layer DVD stores upto 8.5GB.

Yeah, sorry my mind slipped! I meant 8.5GB ;)
I’ve modify my original post.

[JohnWH]

Interesting thought, if they can't do VC1 then that is a deal killer for me.

I could be mistaken but I beleive that at this point in time there is no complete standalone VC-1 HW decoder on the market, even the current broadcom chipset used in the tosh player requires an awful lot of support from the processor, so a full SW decoder in the PS3 wouldn't be out of the ordinary.

John.

[Nic Rhodes]

But will it be there?, the chips side have the power but does Sony have the will?

[JohnWH]

To get the BD "sticker" doesn't it require VC-1?

John.

[Nic Rhodes]

I would have thought so but Sony really loves MS at the moment ;)

[dino2021]

ps3..xbox 360..FOR GAMES.

hdvd - bluray..FOR MOVIES....if only sony would understand,thank god microsoft have given people a choice:smashin:

:clap:

[dino2021]

Great, so I don't ever expect to see two disc Xbox 360 games ever or ever see PS3 games bigger than 8.5 GB??? :rolleyes:

Personally, I feel CD, DVD to Blu Ray is a natural progression in the generation of Sony consoles.

I am glad MS doesn't think like you, I will happily swap a DVD if they get to the point it can't fit on a DVD if it means saving me 150 quid.

[jimihifi]

Personally, I feel CD, DVD to Blu Ray is a natural progression in the generation of Sony consoles.

Because thats what Sony would have you believe and is all the choice they are giving you;)

apple, bannana, lawnmower.

[steve0]

I have a HD DVD player and was going to get a PS3 for blueray but after reading the first impressions of blueray might just stay with HD DVD

[FOXCLOSE]

I am glad MS doesn't think like you, I will happily swap a DVD if they get to the point it can't fit on a DVD if it means saving me 150 quid.

I am sure if the Xbox 360 would have being launched now instead of last year it would have had an HD-DVD drive.

And I remember playing Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube, the disc swaps were awful! Especially after you finished the game and played the extra bonus mini games. Jumping from mini game to mini game required lots of getting up and swapping! Truly Awful!
I think I must have avoided some sections of this just because I didn't want to swap the discs!!

I really don't want that from any console in the next generation.

Because thats what Sony would have you believe and is all the choice they are giving you;)


And I wouldn't want it any other way to be honest. Even though the extra space can be used for more HD FMV at first; it can only be a good thing.

BTW: There is a PS2 game called “Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence” that is on 3 DVD discs. I mean the whole package is huge. I kind of see Hideo Kojima as a Peter Jackson for video games.

So extra space is welcome for their creativity in the next generation.

So taking all the above into account. No I don't mind spending an extra 150 GBP on Blu-Ray being on PS3. I wish HD-DVD would have being standard on an Xbox 360 as well.

[JohnWH]

Hey, buy a US PS3 (Sony will be loosing more money on them over there), bring it home, burn it (not env friendly) or stick it in a cuboard and forget about it. There you go, how to help sony maximise their losses :eek:

[Tejstar]

I'll (most likely) buy a UK PS3 at launch, although I still haven't convinced myself that I desperately need one this year. However, BD is not a major factor for me wanting one. If there are good games then I will buy one, the BD playback is a bonus in my eyes.

[richard plumb]

I'll (most likely) buy a UK PS3 at launch, although I still haven't convinced myself that I desperately need one this year. However, BD is not a major factor for me wanting one. If there are good games then I will buy one, the BD playback is a bonus in my eyes.


I'm the same. I usually buy consoles at launch, as I know they'll be worth owning during their lifetimes, so why not enjoy the fuss of the launch.

But there aren't any games that look particularly interesting to me yet. I'm actually considering not buying one at launch - just for the novelty value :)

[Uruloke]

But there aren't any games that look particularly interesting to me yet. I'm actually considering not buying one at launch - just for the novelty value :)
Same here. What might sway me however is Pro Evolution Soccer 6. The PS2/PS3 pad is PERFECT for Pro Evo and if the PS3 version is better than the 360 version, I'll definitely get a PS3. Though I doubt I will get one at launch, perhaps christmas time.

[FOXCLOSE]

Though I doubt I will get one at launch, perhaps christmas time.

The chances are that if you can't get one a launch, you probably won't for Xmas.

[Uruloke]

It's out november isn't it?

[Evil Engineer]

November 17th.

Day off work, me thinks. :)

[richard plumb]

It's out november isn't it?

Yes, but it'll be insanely popular. If you don't get one at launch you probably won't get one until into the new year. I think it was March before Xbox 360s were readily available, so you may be waiting until Easter.

[gixxerman]

I could care less either way, right now.

I'm done with getting ridicoulsly gouged as an early adopter but then maybe that's a function of age too, nowadays these things range from seeming so much less 'essential' to being plain 'silly' to being as 'dumb as an ad-man's wet-dream'.

I'll wait until both HD DVD & Blu-ray are selling at a far more sane price point than either will be at for a while yet.

When you can pick up an XBox 360 or a PS3 for under £150 I might consider either (but then who wants to pay £35-50 for games that are basically warmed over retreads with shed loads of 'soon to be a tedious annoyance' FMV.......it's not like I ever saw anyone fully exploit dual layer DVD as it is!).

I'm perfectly happy to wait until the stand-alone players are at the level mid-market quality DVD players are now (around the £150-£200 mark).

Right now I'm far more interested in DivxHD than either of those formats to be honest.

As for my HD stuff now?
I got a 10 meter component & sound cable running perfectly between my PC and TV.

Like I said, I could care less. :grin:

PS the poll doesn't cater for folks like me (and I bet I'm far from alone in my attitude to this).

[nwgarratt]

I will only buy into HD once one format has won or both fomats are thriving and I get a dual format player. Then, I just get the films on whatever format they are released on.

[Nic Rhodes]

I will only buy into HD once one format has won or both fomats are thriving and I get a dual format player. Then, I just get the films on whatever format they are released on.

But for standard audio you are quite happy buying into:

MD
CD
LP
DAB / FM AM radio

and possibly other things in the past like cassettes?

don't you think you will also get HD from more than one source?

[nwgarratt]

But for standard audio you are quite happy buying into:

MD
CD
LP
DAB / FM AM radio

and possibly other things in the past like cassettes?

don't you think you will also get HD from more than one source?

No. I don't even have a HD display yet. I will/if I get a player. It will do either format (the winner) or both.

I am not interested in anything like Sky HD. Standard Freeview is fine for TV.

[Nic Rhodes]

Fine, it is interesting with SD you have 4 DVD players though :) to add to the LD, VCRs and free view boxes.

I actually think in a few years time people will be more than happy to buy several different formats, just like they do with SD now. Not counting HCPC, I am on my sixth HD box, with plans for a seventh....then BD hits ;)

[nwgarratt]

That page needs updating a bit. I actually have five DVD player plus three computers that play DVD's.

For me, I can't afford HD, and and TV doesn't need to be HD for what I watch.

I only watch films on a projector and will need a HD one if I upgraded.

[Nic Rhodes]

so will YOU be saying the same thing in 2 years time? Only 5 ;)

[Ian_S]

Why out of curiosity is not having DD+ and having uncompressed PCM considered a problem? My ears are pretty sure it would actually be a benefit! :smashin:

[Rasczak]

Have to admit I do find some of these results quite surprising. The two-thirds uptake for HD DVD was fairly obvious given the popularity of that format. However, out of the rest, just over 5% of people polled said they were planning to buy into US BluRay discs - the rest all opting for Region B (UK/Europe). BluRay is rumoured to be 'soft launching' (http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=34699) in the Europe around about March next year (products announced in January normally apear several months later). So we can probably assume a few titles between November (PS3 launch) and then. But, realistically, that probably means less than 100 titles before Xmas 08. By contrast the US market will probably have four times as many discs on offer. I guess people are optimistically hoping for a multi-region hack despite the layered protection... Otherwise it's going to be a long old wait for something decent to watch :rolleyes:

Furthermore the poll does seem to indicate BluRay has been abandoned by early adopters: less than 10% of those polled are planning to buy a standalone player the rest looking at the PS3. That doesn't bode too well although I'm sure as player prices fall more will consider a standalone. I'm also sure there are many optimistically hoping the PS3 will be reference :rolleyes: and thse will probably defect to standalones in due course.

Finally it's going to be interesting to see the effect on software sales. As we all know hardware sales are somewhat irrelevant: it's how many movies people buy. It seems quite clear from the poll that US BluRay software sales aren't going to get a significant boast from European early adopters who import. By contrast HD DVD is, and may continue to if the UK HD DVD player comes to market region free.

[Rasczak]

Why out of curiosity is not having DD+ and having uncompressed PCM considered a problem? My ears are pretty sure it would actually be a benefit
Because a sizeable number of the releases don't have uncompressed PCM instead just having Dolby Digital soundtracks only, e.g.

Rumour Has It... (http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/rumorhasit.html)

Terminator 2 (http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/terminator2.html)

The Punisher (http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/punisher.html)

Training Day (http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/trainingday.html)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/kisskissbangbang.html)

[Boink!]

I will only buy into HD once one format has won or both fomats are thriving and I get a dual format player. Then, I just get the films on whatever format they are released on.
So will I, but that is not listed as an option in t he above poll.

[Rasczak]

So will I, but that is not listed as an option in t he above poll.
Yes, sorry about that. The reason for it was simply that I wanted to keep the poll limited to people who think they will probably adopt BluRay in the near future. I appreciate there aren't really many people rushing to get BD given it's fairly poor state at present.

[SAH]

I find it shocking that only three people here are going to buy a PS3 on launch day and only 4 when the "problems" have been resolved. I guess I shouldn't be shocked with the bias towards HD-DVD ( and rightly so in most cases atm). I assume people will be buying PS3 for the games?

I'm guessing PS3/BR and HD-DVD player/disc sales for Christmas 2007 will bear no relation whatsoever to the poll results seen here.

[Rasczak]

I'm guessing PS3/BR and HD-DVD player/disc sales for Christmas 2007 will bear no relation whatsoever to the poll results seen here.
We'll have to wait and see. But it's not unrealistic to consider that the poll might well be indicative of how many people intend to use their console for BD-Video playback.

[RyanK]

I`m happy with my HD-A1 but i will buy a stanalone UK Blu-ray once the initial problems have been resolved. Just hope they use VC1 on ALL UK blu-ray from day one

[adrianwright]

I now have both the Toshiba HD-D1 and the Samsung BDP-1000 and very happy with both.

The BD player was too good to pass up at the price I got it for, and was only marginally more expensive than the HD-D1.

Now I can chose which film I want on whichever format, and from whatever studio. Expensive, yes. Worth it though in my opinion for the Studio coverage.

[RyanK]

I now have both the Toshiba HD-D1 and the Samsung BDP-1000 and very happy with both.

The BD player was too good to pass up at the price I got it for, and was only marginally more expensive than the HD-D1.

Now I can chose which film I want on whichever format, and from whatever studio. Expensive, yes. Worth it though in my opinion for the Studio coverage.

How does the BDP perform?

[adrianwright]

How does the BDP perform?

I am very happy with the BD Player. Only have 3 Discs : Saw, Ultraviolet and xXx.

In its operation, it is a lot smoother than my HD-D1 and boots up a lot faster. Also like the Piano finish, very swish.

I am not very technically minded and usually watch movies for the experience rather than pulling them apart from a Technical standpoint.

In my opinion, both HD-DVD and BD can look very good and very average.

I must admit, Internet Forums can be a scary place to any potential purchaser of AV Equipment, and at first I was very sceptical about buying into BD. My attitude was to suck it and see, after all it is only money :rotfl: .

Do not regret it at all....