# Wow, so blu-ray won. What happened? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736 "2008-01-08T14:54:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/61 "2008-02-11T22:21:19Z")
[QUOTE=fusoya] hey, a reason I keep hearing for why the Gamecube failed is cuz it didn’t include the ability to play DVDs. [/QUOTE] That wasn’t really a big factor. The Xbox played DVDs, and it only had slightly more market share than the Gamecube did. The Gamecube didn’t really fail, for that matter. It had the smallest market share last generation, but Nintendo made money on hardware and software from day 1 (unlike the XBox, which was a giant money pit, or the PS2, which was sold at a loss for a while) and turned a tidy profit. Having a built-in DVD player was absolutely a huge advantage for the PS2 when it launched, but the system was so dominant by the time the Gamecube launched that a DVD player in the 'Cube wouldn’t have made any difference. Being a cheap Blu-Ray player has certainly helped the PS3, but certainly not to the same degree. PS3 sales are fairly unremarkable. Frankly, I still don’t expect Blu-Ray to be anything more than the new Laserdisc. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/62 "2008-02-11T22:47:13Z")
[QUOTE=fusoya] Always seemed like a stupid excuse to me, especially since the PS2’s built-in DVD player was horrible. [/QUOTE] This is part of the reason I’m not excited about buying a PS3. The PS2’s DVD player was a great marketing checkbox, but I had to use one for a while as a DVD player, and it’s terrible. I like being able to rewind/fast forward more than 4x…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/63 "2008-02-12T00:41:37Z")
Blu-Ray, Sony finally did it! They did it! They finally got their proprietary medium to be industry standard! Just in time for On-Demand to make physical media obsolete. Yay! Go Sony! ---
**Author:** ![MJinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@MJinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJinks)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/64 "2008-02-12T01:17:26Z")
I’m one of those who only bought a PS3 (well, buying this week) for the Blu-Ray player. It was that or an Xbox 360 with the HD-DVD player. The reviews I read led me to believe the Xbox player was loud and intrusive while the PS3 player was quite and fairly high quality. TBH, I’ve struggled to find many games that I actually want to play. I can’t wait to watch [Planet Earth](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Earth-Complete-BBC-Blu-ray/dp/B000SKNIWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1202778899&sr=1-1) in all its HD glory. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/65 "2008-02-12T01:44:27Z")
[QUOTE=MJinks] I can’t wait to watch [Planet Earth](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Earth-Complete-BBC-Blu-ray/dp/B000SKNIWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1202778899&sr=1-1) in all its HD glory. [/QUOTE] It’s awesome. I’m glad Blu Ray is winning, I gambled a while back and bought one, I don’t have to buy one of those damn combo players. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/66 "2008-02-12T10:46:29Z")
[QUOTE=shy guy] That wasn’t really a big factor. The Xbox played DVDs, and it only had slightly more market share than the Gamecube did. The Gamecube didn’t really fail, for that matter. It had the smallest market share last generation, but Nintendo made money on hardware and software from day 1 (unlike the XBox, which was a giant money pit, or the PS2, which was sold at a loss for a while) and turned a tidy profit. [/QUOTE] I believe for a long time the Cube was in second place worldwide, certainly until the third parties pulled support (not going to do a cite, its hard to get the information 4-5 years later). Its a matter of perception, the Xbox was a success in US and the UK, the Cube more so in Europe, and the Xbox was (and still is) a disaster in Japan (if thats not largest gaming market in world, its certainly the second). But yet, Nintendo made money off everything sold… > [@](#): > > Having a built-in DVD player was absolutely a huge advantage for the PS2 when it launched, but the system was so dominant by the time the Gamecube launched that a DVD player in the 'Cube wouldn’t have made any difference. Sony’s hype machine at the time was a tiger… Few people remember the claims made at the time that the “emotion engine” could render a human hair realistically in realtime, but thats what they were claiming. People held back from buying a Dreamcast (a nice machine with some good games). Some people will still argue that the PS2 is faster than the Cube (it isn’t) and even the Xbox (certainly not). But I think the PS2 pretty much made the DVD format mainstream at the time. Its similar to the current claims about the Wii selling in quantity, but not the games. The theory was that people were buying PS2s because it was a cheap DVD player, and they only bought the games later… > [@](#): > > Being a cheap Blu-Ray player has certainly helped the PS3, but certainly not to the same degree. PS3 sales are fairly unremarkable. Frankly, I still don’t expect Blu-Ray to be anything more than the new Laserdisc. Recent visits to the game shops in the UK, I’ve noticed the PS3 selling quite well now. There was three people standing in the queue to buy one last Saturday. Not sure if there’s a game out which is selling it though… But yes, the Blue Ray has definitely sold the PS3, the same way the DVD sold the PS2. I do wonder what the difference would have been with the Xbox 360 if they’d put in a HD DVD in there… Probably not, the price would have made the sales suffer. Personally my view is that both formats are likely to fail… I’m a gadget person, I have a LCD TV, and have no wish for a High Definition player. Not with 500 dvds and upscaling. The technology isn’t that much of a jump to justify the shift… ---
**Author:** ![casieispretty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@casieispretty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casieispretty)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/67 "2008-02-12T13:53:29Z")
You can expect the major movie companies to fight tooth and nail against instant downloads of their movies for ownership. These companies have seen huge profits from the sale of DVD’s as a collectible item for the consumer and they are not about to let that go away. People aren’t willing to pay as much for a copy of a movie on their entertainment system as they are for a physical representation of that very same thing. As such, there is more money to be made selling the discs. You can expect to see these Blu-ray discs (Yeah, HD-DVD is dead) for at least the next 10 years. After that, who knows. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/68 "2008-02-12T14:38:31Z")
I’m starting to wonder if those here who claim that BluRay isn’t any better than upscaled DVD have actually watched a PROPERLY set-up 1080p movie. The difference between 1080p and DVD (and even between 1080p and 720/1080i that you get on HD cable) is mindblowing. The first time I saw a properly-presented 1080p BluRay movie (Oceans 13, believe it or not) I swore I’d never watch regular DVD again…im not gonna throw out my 500+ collection, but from now on its BluRay for everything new! ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/69 "2008-02-12T15:07:47Z")
[QUOTE=fusoya] I’m starting to wonder if those here who claim that BluRay isn’t any better than upscaled DVD have actually watched a PROPERLY set-up 1080p movie. The difference between 1080p and DVD (and even between 1080p and 720/1080i that you get on HD cable) is mindblowing. The first time I saw a properly-presented 1080p BluRay movie (Oceans 13, believe it or not) I swore I’d never watch regular DVD again…im not gonna throw out my 500+ collection, but from now on its BluRay for everything new! [/QUOTE] I have to agree with this. However, the smaller the TV, the more difficult it is to perceive the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/70 "2008-02-12T16:18:41Z")
The turning point for me was that the PS3 added DivX/XviD compatibility. Using TVersity as a media server means I can keep movies on my hard drive until I watch them, and never mind burning them to DVD for later viewing. As soon as they add .mkv compatibility, I’ll be in heaven… ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/71 "2008-02-12T17:57:18Z")
[Best Buy to pimp for Blu-Ray.](http://hardware.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=303944) > [@](#): > > “Consumers have told us that they want us to help lead the way. We’ve listened to our customers, and we are responding. Best Buy will recommend Blu-ray as the preferred format,” said Brian Dunn, Best Buy’s president and chief operating officer. “Our decision to shine a spotlight on Blu-ray Disc players and other Blu-ray products is a strong signal to our customers that we believe Blu-ray is the right format choice for them.” ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/72 "2008-02-15T19:50:59Z")
[Fork it. HD-DVD’s done.](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ib77125d96b22e860b14b889b10defb59?pn=1) > [@](#): > > The format war has turned into a format death watch. > > Toshiba is widely expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format sometime in the coming weeks, reliable industry sources say, after a rash of retail defections that followed Warner Home Video’s announcement in early January that it would support only the rival Blu-ray Disc format after May. > > Officially, no decision has been made, insists Jodi Sally, vp of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products. “Based on its technological advancements, we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, given the value and consistent quality inherent in our player offerings,” she said. > > But she hinted that something’s in the air. “Given the market developments in the past month,” she said, “Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players.” Of course, I have to wonder when [these](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_Versatile_Disc) will start showing up in stores. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/73 "2008-02-15T20:22:34Z")
Add the fact that Wal-mart just announced it’ll go Blu-ray exclusive! So long, HD-DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/74 "2008-02-15T20:35:05Z")
PS3 for the win, as soon as I can kick the kids and their damn Wii off my big screen. Although Super Mario Galaxy is pretty fun too. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/75 "2008-02-15T20:41:10Z")
Yep, I was waiting until I was sure there were death-throes, but the Wal-Mart thing is it. Thank God I didn’t buy the X-Box add-on. Still, I’m not convinced the format as a whole will survive, so I’ll be perfectly content with my upscaler. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/76 "2008-02-15T21:41:00Z")
[QUOTE=Madd Maxx] PS3 for the win, as soon as I can kick the kids and their damn Wii off my big screen. Although Super Mario Galaxy is pretty fun too. [/QUOTE] Just be glad they don’t have the [Chintendo Vii](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wed_bW8iiEw). (Though, I have to admit it looks better than the [PolyStation 3](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a6lxiB1b_I&feature=related).) ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/77 "2008-02-17T15:46:14Z")
NHK is reporting Toshiba is giving up > **[Toshiba to exit HD DVD, end format war-NHK](https://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSL1627196120080216)** > > Toshiba Corp is planning to stop production of equipment compatible with the HD DVD format for high-definition video, allowing the competing Blu-Ray camp a free run, public broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday. Nothing official yet. Blue Ray may not have won, but it looks like HD-DVD has lost. Once Wal-Mart (and Best Buy) decided it was pretty easy to guess the outcome. Brian ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/78 "2008-02-17T17:43:19Z")
[QUOTE=N9IWP] NHK is reporting Toshiba is giving up [http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSL1627196120080216](http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSL1627196120080216) Nothing official yet. Blue Ray may not have won, but it looks like HD-DVD has lost. Once Wal-Mart (and Best Buy) decided it was pretty easy to guess the outcome. Brian [/QUOTE] I must be dense; how can you say Blu-ray hasn’t won but HD-DVD lost. Do you believe Blu-Ray won’t survive either? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/79 "2008-02-17T18:06:38Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] I don’t care what minor upgrades they make to the technology. I’ve spent the last 7 or 8 years building a nice little DVD collection after replacing my VHS tapes, and I’m not going to replace them with the latest new thing. Even if I have to stockpile a few cheap DVD players as they wear out over the next few decades, I’m not getting into Blu-Ray. [/QUOTE] She’s right. Blu-ray may have beat out HD-DVD, but it may still lose to DVD. Just like Laser-disc lost to VHS. If the public doesn’t turn to Blu-Ray _en masse_ (and I am with BBVL here) then it will limp along in the speciality Market until something much bigger and better comes around to wipe both DVD and Blu-Ray off the market. Like the Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) that **Tuckerfan** linked to. I still have movies on VHS. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736/80 "2008-02-17T20:45:31Z")
[QUOTE=Scubaqueen] great og, guys, you’re all talking way over my head. please just 'splain this much to the ignorant (me): can i continue to use my ordinary dvd player until hell freezes over or not? no, i don’t have any of this blue ray stuff nor do i really care about it, as long as i can still get regular old dvds and play them as usual. if this is NOT the case, what is in my future as far as these movies/tv shows are concerned?? [/QUOTE] You can still get 8 track players from thrift stores and ebay and that technology has been obsolete and out of production for almost 30 years. DVD players wil be around until you die and well after. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-so-blu-ray-won-what-happened/432736.md?page=5)