HDTV Magazine: Is HD DVD or BD more consumer friendly?

[Ruined]

http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/articles/2007/11/which_is_more_consumer_friendly_hd_dvd_or_blu-ray.php

Awesome read.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's an "awesome" read, but a good read for those needing a quick review.

 

[Arwin]

It's an awesome read if you're already convinced HD DVD is the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

LOL

I don't have any experience with HD DVD, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the quality of my PS3's B-r playback thus far. The difference between B-r and DVD is astounding, and I imagine it's much the same for HD DVD.

At this point I would be more than a bit disappointed if B-r died off, but I'm sure HD DVD player owners would feel the same if HD DVD died. The best solution at this point (for those that have already purchased a player anyway) is for both formats to flourish, and dual-format players to become mainstream. Until then, you've either got to pick a side or sit on the sidelines. I highly doubt anyone is going to buy a player of each type and keep 2 libraries.

 

[AlphaWolf]

It's not really 2 libraries its just 2 players that you need. The media is sort of universal, I wouldn't see any reason to buy a blu-ray version of a movie you already own on HD DVD.

The article sums up most of the salient points for the HD DVD camp. No advantage that really matters to an end user for BR. Lower price being the swing.

For me the media price needs to be lower and the library needs to be much larger before I'd consider moving to either format, for most movies I just don't see a reason to pay more for a minor visual increase and for the few movies that I would care to own in HD don't warrant an investment in a CE device.

 

[Arwin]

For me the media price needs to be lower and the library needs to be much larger before I'd consider moving to either format

Here in my little country there is no price difference between DVD and BluRay for new films already now. I think it may become like that soon (for new films anyway) everywhere, because really the difference in production cost between the two (or three) is already almost completely insignificant versus the intellectual property cost.

 

[quest55720]

Price was the biggest factor in my decision to got HD-DVD. I got 2 hd-dvd players for the price of 1 blu ray player. I am very open to being neutral at this point. I am hoping some time next year blu ray will have a player in the 199 dollar range that supports I think it is 2.0 or what ever the newest spec is. I was hoping the prices for universal players would be reasonable in the near future but I don't see it.

 

[Zaphod]

Here in my little country there is no price difference between DVD and BluRay for new films already now. I think it may become like that soon (for new films anyway) everywhere, because really the difference in production cost between the two (or three) is already almost completely insignificant versus the intellectual property cost.

Huh? Not that I know exactly what the replication costs are, but I have never seen anyone argue that HD DVD would be cheaper for the consumer in the short-to-interim term. The competitive situation makes that assumption quite unrealistic.

With razor thin or negative margins as well as loss leading promotions, the argument is that the cheaper to ramp to capacity format (everything points to that being HD DVD) should be attractive for the studios. For them, the diluted intellectual property costs on each disk is very close to nill.

 

[Arwin]

Huh? Not that I know exactly what the replication costs are, but I have never seen anyone argue that HD DVD would be cheaper for the consumer in the short-to-interim term. The competitive situation makes that assumption quite unrealistic.

With razor thin or negative margins as well as loss leading promotions, the argument is that the cheaper to ramp to capacity format (everything points to that being HD DVD) should be attractive for the studios. For them, the diluted intellectual property costs on each disk is very close to nill.

I'm just saying that it already doesn't currently matter in my country whether or not I buy Harry Potter 5 on DVD, HD DVD or BluRay, even though DVD is probably the cheapest to produce. As production costs of each of the disc format probably varies from $0.10 to $1 (and gets smaller as time progresses), on a price of $20 the actual cost of a disc doesn't seem to matter to me that much, and considering how they are pricing their discs in Europe, it doesn't also seem to matter too much to them at this point either.

Very likely, with HD media still having some ways to go before they catch up with the volume of DVDs, as the sales of HD media go up, the costs will also go down, and so they probably consider even a dollar less of profit on a HD media disc version at this point fairly irrelevant.

The costs of producing a HD media master disc at this point probably weigh more on them in that regard, and that is probably partly why currently they'll still be selective with which discs to invest disc production costs into.

Just IMHO, though. But it makes sense?

 

[Zaphod]

Well, with ~1.7 billion DVDs sold this year in the US alone, a dime here and a dime there is cash that'll add up somewhere. It just won't (and shouldn't be expected to) affect consumer preferences. An Euro or two difference in RRP for brand new hot releases is probably reflective of the actual cost difference. However, the sheer volume of DVD sales will give the older format much longer legs and drive prices down as time goes on. That won't happen for either of the HD formats for a while.

That being said, I don't think actual costs have been touted as a winning argument for HD DVD either as far as studios go (unless by uninformed fanboys). With the volumes we're talking about here and replicators looking for margins, the reported BR25 == HD30 doesn't sound too far fetched. Neither is significantly cheaper than the other from the perspective of an independent publisher at this point in time.

Again, the promise of HD DVD is the ability to quickly and cost efficiently ramp to mainstream capacity (should it ever come to that). Depending on how things turn out, that's a competitive advantage that may or may not come into play, not an absolute one.

To sum up:
-The theoretical price/production capacity advantage for HD DVD probably wont affect pricing on the consumer level.
-The theoretical price/production capacity advantage for HD DVD might affect decisions in this 'war' on the corporate level.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Here in my little country there is no price difference between DVD and BluRay for new films already now. I think it may become like that soon (for new films anyway) everywhere, because really the difference in production cost between the two (or three) is already almost completely insignificant versus the intellectual property cost.

Well here in Canada new releases on BD and HD DVD cost pretty much 50% more than the same new releases on DVD. ($20 vs $30). Cost of manufacturing really isn't that much of an issue until we're talking about the bargain bin.

 

[Spaceman-Spiff]

Eventually, dual-format players will win.

On the PC side, the LG dual player is a good value: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26553
I probably will get one after christmas.

 

[BRiT]

Agreed that dual-format players will win, now if only they'd be more available.

I'm holding off on ordering the Blu-Ray Burner GGW-H20L until its in stock stateside. Maybe by then it will drop in price (from $400 US + Overseas shipping costs from the UK).