HD movies formats...and then there were 3!

[Simo]

Well it seems the blue ray v HD DVD format war wasnt a big enough mess so enter format number 3.

Next month, New Medium Enterprises' 1080p set-top players, which use the HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) format, will go on sale on Amazon.com and in stores such as Radio Shack and Costco for around $150--about half the cost of the least-expensive 1080p HD DVD player, and perhaps a fourth the cost of the least-expensive Blu-ray player. The movies that work in them are similarly inexpensive.
"Expect a small premium over DVD [discs], and a big discount over Blu-ray and HD DVD," says Jim Cardwell, an advisor to the company and former president of Warner Home Video.

http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,136977/printable.html

There is more in the article but this is turning into an even greater mess and the first HD format may be completely skipped by the mainstream until a unified format comes out in the next format.

 

[Danish]

The HD war is never going to end until they actually start releasing movies that are worth watching in bloody HD...


I mean, what precise benefit to I get seeing about 40 different ghey ass Will Smith and Adam Sandler romantic comedies in HD as opposed to DVD??

Until they start releasing the big ones like LOTR, Star Wars and similiar such movies no one is going to give a rats.

Oh, and this new player will no doubt bomb out in a matter of months.

 

[perverse]

http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,136977/printable.html There is more in the article but this is turning into an even greater mess and the first HD format may be completely skipped by the mainstream until a unified format comes out in the next format.

that would be quite bizarre - but it's starting to look that way isn't it? at this stage HD video is still restricted to those that are willing to outlay a lot of money with no guarentee of future compatibility - i.e idiots and the wealthy... and i honestly cannot see it changing anytime soon.

 

[Simo]

that would be quite bizarre - but it's starting to look that way isn't it? at this stage HD video is still restricted to those that are willing to outlay a lot of money with no guarentee of future compatibility - i.e idiots and the wealthy... and i honestly cannot see it changing anytime soon.

Yeah its crazy. With the runaway success of DVD you would think that they could have agreed with some sort of unified format and all share in what would become the massive spoils.

I was gonna say 'oh well not my money being wasted' but I guess we will probably pay for it in the end with higher prices to cover the cost on other products.

 

[Simo]

Oh, and this new player will no doubt bomb out in a matter of months.

Possibly but when the prices start to drop down to the $150 they say, its getting close to people buying in as they dont really loose if it bombs.

But its to late and Toashiba are almost there with HD DVD.

Id love to know who thought this was feasable and then what they based it on.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

With the right compression (H.264) it's quite possible to fit a movie onto a normal DVD in HD, although the players would need to be modified to support the formats. I have 720p versions of the first two Bourne flicks which are under 4GB each, 8GB will allow 1080i for most movies.