It seems that Blu-Ray has become the local whipping boy in the format wars.
TVPredictions.com has an article talking about how this holiday season may actually be the end of the war and Blu-Ray will lose. Now it has been a long time since anyone predicted Blu-Ray losing this format war but they do make some very good arguments.
It does not look as though there will be any 1.1 compliant Blu-Ray player available in 2007. While it is possible that the PS3 can be upgraded to 1.1 specs via a firmware upgrade, that has not been confirmed by Sony. With this being the case, one must wonder why Disney is going ahead with releasing Cars and
Ratatouie in November with interactive features that no player can play.
and then
the Paramount/Dreamworks announcement and the fact that Warner is not shipping any new hi-def media until next week while continuing to extol the virtues of HDi interactivity on
HD DVD on their website, one can only wonder if a HD-DVD exclusivity announcement will be made by Warner Brothers at CEDIA. If that comes to pass, can Fox and Disney afford to at least go neutral?
Could Blu-Ray possibly have thrown away their best chance of winning this war?
‘The Whip’: Could Warner Bros. Support HD DVD Next?
Last Updated: August 30, 2007
Ruslan
August 30, 2007 at 15:08
I think either format will have to really convinve the consumers of its advantages without all the 1080p fanfare. Extra content is what can make or break a HD movie otherwise there is practically no advantage when compared to an upscaled DVD. IMO only the uncompressed PCM 5.1 sound has a better kick on BR with James Bond being the only movie to really show it off in good visual HD.
I’ve compared 300 on both upscaled DVD @ BR @ 720p & 1080i and seen no dramatic improvements. Sure you can say my HDTV is kak but come one, >R25k for a 1080p is madness and not Sparta!
scotty777
August 30, 2007 at 15:42
isn’t warner bro’s one of the many larg companies supporting blu -ray :/
LazySAGamer
August 30, 2007 at 16:22
Yup, it would be anear fatal blow if WB does decide to go format neutral as then Blu-Ray will cost more and have less studios and features… It would have nothing left worth the money