Do you use your console for movie playback?

[Carl B]

Yes but i think that in itself is telling. To me it says that, ultimately, they prefer a stand alone device to a console, for whatever reason. Even though, as console owners, it was conevnient (or cheap) at one point, the optimal configuration for them ended up being a stand alone movie player. I wish i could account for all these ideas but the poll would have goten too confusing...

I don't disagree, but would I be wrong in thinking at least part of the purpose of this poll is to see how attractive a feature built-in video playback is to the consumer? So assuming hardcore prices at the start of the life, I don't think it's wrong to account for hardcore adopters loking to that included functionality as part of their purchase choice, though it might become less of a factor as time goes on.

Don't get me wrong, I like the poll and I think it's very unbiased in the way the questions are presented. (In fact I'm going to give it five stars to kick off the stars)

It's just trends can be as important an indicator as freeze-frame stats. I guarantee you if this poll was done one year after PS3's launch with regard to blu-ray, the numbers would be vastly different.

 

[expletive]

I don't disagree, but would I be wrong in thinking at least part of the purpose of this poll is to see how attractive a feature built-in video playback is to the consumer? So assuming hardcore prices at the start of the life, I don't think it's wrong to account for hardcore adopters loking to that included functionality as part of their purchase choice, though it might become less of a factor as time goes on.

Don't get me wrong, I like the poll and I think it's very unbiased in the way the questions are presented. (In fact I'm going to give it five stars to kick off the stars)

It's just trends can be as important an indicator as freeze-frame stats. I guarantee you if this poll was done one year after PS3's launch with regard to blu-ray, the numbers would be vastly different.

Yeah its tough to get a read on trends from a poll like this. I figured we could only really get (just from the raw numbers and not any commentary) where the market 'ended up' now that we;ve got full-on mainstream adoption of DVD. It will be more difficult to decipher 'how we got here' from the questions but i'm not sure there is a single-question poll that can decipher that.

I think the discussion had been brought up enough times in various threads on whether or not consoles can drive an optical disc format or are they just 'along for the ride'. I was hoping that some insight on how people (mind you, these are people that are reading and responding to polls in the console section of a technology forum) are watching DVDs given all the choices that they have.

Did dvd take off because the console gave them a cheaper price of admission or did DVD only reach this point becuase the 'optimal' configuration became affordable? As the poll goes on maybe we can at least have a basis for discussion, becuase i think previous threads on the topic assume way too much.

 

[thatdude90210]

I have an xbox360, the fans & the dvd drive in it are too loud for a DVD player. Just by having fans make it too loud (my Oppo is dead quiet).

 

[bobthebub]

my 2p,

I owned one of the early budget Samsung DVD players prior to getting a PS2 at launch, in some respects the PS2 was an improvement but on PAL PS2's connecting via RGB Scart gave a green picture which stuffed it for me, I later bought 2 midrange Sony DVD players (1st lasted a year, 2nd 2 years before the transports broke) and I have actually started using the PS2 again (actually most of my DVD watching is on a PC)

To sum up though, if it is not crippled in some stupid way I will use PS3 as a BD player (I reckon the lack of DACS will mean very little difference in the output quality of various BD players), but I would reckon on getting a standalone player when they get cheap almost solely cos I expect them to be quieter.

 

[speng]

I didn't buy a DVD player until they came way down (under $150). I used my PS2 and still do. It's good enough to enjoy what I'm watching until I get an HDTV and other A/V equipment.

I'll be doing the same with PS3.

Speng.

 

[Carl B]

Did dvd take off because the console gave them a cheaper price of admission or did DVD only reach this point becuase the 'optimal' configuration became affordable? As the poll goes on maybe we can at least have a basis for discussion, becuase i think previous threads on the topic assume way too much.

I agree with your thinking, I don't think PS2 is responsible for DVDs success as some like to attest; rather I think it would have gotten to be as big as it is regardless. I do think it provided a nice boost there when it launched though, simply because those willing to spend money on a launch console like that suddenly find themselves with a DVD player as well, and are likely to spend some money on those.

As far as the poll, I also agree that because it is indeed a console forum on a technology site, the numbers are probably actually skewed even more towards 'exclusive console playback' than they are in the real world of mainstream PS2/Xbox owners (though I would have no way of knowing for sure). I mean ~41% as it stands now use the console primarily. *I* use the console, and I would never have expected to see these kinds of numbers.

But for Blu-ray however, I think PS3's inclusion of it has been absolutely vital. Not even because I have any opinion on whether or not it'll prove to be a popular player of the format in the end, but simply because I think the assurance of a 'guaranteed' install base was of use in getting some of the hold-out Hollywood studios onboard. If nothing else, the experiment for them will resemble the UMD situation at present, and at best having resulted in deciding to get behind the winning format (which is likely at this point, in part due to that very same support they've given).

It's hard to say how large a role PS3 may have played in nudging those studios - maybe not large at all - but it must have at least factored into their thinking.

 

[expletive]

One thing id like to somehow decipher is, on average, how much more software does the stand-alone player owner buy than the multi-function (console) owner.

For instance, lets say that Sony sells 1 million PS3s in the first year, and of all those people, they sell 3 million BR movies during the first year of ownership. Now some of those PS3 owners bought 6 movies, some bought none, some bought 3, 4, 2,etc, but the average is 3 per owner, in the first year they own the console.

Now take the stand alone owner, this guy bought a device to JUST play HD mvoies. Hes pumped up, got his HDTV and 7.1 all ready to go. This guy buys 12 movies in the first year.

So the what i'm wondering is that since your console 'installed base' is made up of (based on this poll so far lets be generous and say 50%) half of people that wont use the thing for movies. That said are they really an 'installed user'? Not really, which is why i just threw up an average attach rate of 3 per PS3.

All that said, heres the question i have:

How many console 'installed users' are the equivalent of a stand-alone 'installed-user'? Is it 3:1, 5:1, 2:1? Not sure how we could ever arrive at a number but again maybe the poll gives some help on it.

 

[Dural]

I currently use my 360 for dvd playback on my projector. I had a Hitachi progressive scan dvd player that I used before the 360 and also have a HTPC hooked up to the projector with DVI. I use the 360 as it is a hell of a lot more convenient (I haven't gotten around to hooking an IR receiver to the PC) and I like to go to the dashboard and play some Live Arcade games after I get done watching a movie. The 360 also plays back dvd quite well, not many cheapo dvd players can change layers without a hitch like the 360.

 

[eDoshin]

I am really looking foward to PS3 as much for watching HD movies as I am for its game capabilities. That was not the case for PS2 .. DVD playback was a bonus because I already had a standalone player and DVDs had already been readily available. There are a lot of HDTV owners with expensive televsions watching PBS in Hi-Def. Its funny .. the BR lineup looks a lot like the UMD lineup. I wonder if I will end up with a DVD, UMD and BR version of Kung Fu Hustle.