VU and EA are backing Blu-Ray

[FriskyTanuki]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/01/07/news_6115988.html

The Blu-ray standard got some major support today from two gaming industry bigwigs in one of the most heated battles in technology. Vivendi Universal and Electronic Arts, two of the largest video game publishers in the gaming industry, have joined the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), deciding to favor the Blu-ray disc format over its major rival, the HD-DVD format.

The two formats are competing to be the standard that next-generation DVD players, computers, and gaming consoles will use. Both can hold much more information than today's DVD standard, which has a capacity of about 5GB. In contrast, the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats can hold 25GB and 15GB, respectively, and twice that if the disc is dual-layered.

With a larger capacity on one disc, film companies can produce movies in high definition and game developers can enhance graphics and add other advancements to their titles.

The two camps have been gathering support from various companies spanning Hollywood studios, game publishers, and computer technology developers--other Blu-ray supporters include Dell, MGM, and Disney while HD-DVD, developed by Toshiba, has nabbed Warner Bros., NEC, and Paramount.

The support of VU and EA is a big victory for Blu-ray from a gaming perspective, but it doesn't come as a surprise, as Sony has announced that its next-generation console--most commonly referred to as the PlayStation 3--will use the Blu-ray format. So far, Microsoft and Nintendo have kept mum on their respective plans.

While film studios are split down the middle on their support for the competing formats, game publishers appear to be leaning heavily in favor of the Blu-ray format. With EA and VU's announcement, the remaining dominoes may soon fall quickly.

Now it seems that game companies are getting into the DVD format wars, and these are 2 huge companies that have joined Sony's side.

[RisingZan]

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel blood and white hot rage rush to their face whenever they see EA in the news -regardless of what it's about?

[hiccupleftovers]

I saw this as inevidable (sp) for EA or VU games to back BLue-Ray because if they want to ccreatte games for Sony's PS3 next gen, they were going to have to adopt it. What choice would they have? This is going to be very interesting though to see if the PS3 will truly be backwards compatible. maybe for PS1 but the PS2 mostly uses dvds which run on a different laser and that if their machine will suport those, than it will also technically support the HDDVD which have no need of changing to a different dvd machine since they run on current models also.

[Kaijufan]

Wouldn't EA have to adopt HD DVD also if they want to make games for the Xbox 2? It seems like EA loves having all their games on all the systems, and they cant do that if they only support Sony.

[worx]

Wouldn't EA have to adopt HD DVD also if they want to make games for the Xbox 2? It seems like EA loves having all their games on all the systems, and they cant do that if they only support Sony.

Right - I was thinking this also. It might actually hurt the developers if they have to deal with two different types of media. Although, if Blu-Ray = BetaMax everybody could end up getting screwed.

[Kaijufan]

Wouldn't EA have to adopt HD DVD also if they want to make games for the Xbox 2? It seems like EA loves having all their games on all the systems, and they cant do that if they only support Sony.

Right - I was thinking this also. It might actually hurt the developers if they have to deal with two different types of media. Although, if Blu-Ray = BetaMax everybody could end up getting screwed.
Well, developers do kind of have 2 deal with 2 types of media now because of the Gamecube.

[kraid]

I hope that HD-DVD ends up winning out due to its backwards compatibility with regular DVD movies. I heard Blu Ray discs cannot read current DVD media. Also MS is supposedly backing up HD-DVD. In any case. there better be a clear cut winner before these new media types begin to hit the retail stores.

[FriskyTanuki]

I hope that HD-DVD ends up winning out due to its backwards compatibility with regular DVD movies. I heard Blu Ray discs cannot read current DVD media. Also MS is supposedly backing up HD-DVD. In any case. there better be a clear cut winner before these new media types begin to hit the retail stores.

Blu-Ray players can play DVD's, both can.

[hiccupleftovers]

I hope that HD-DVD ends up winning out due to its backwards compatibility with regular DVD movies. I heard Blu Ray discs cannot read current DVD media. Also MS is supposedly backing up HD-DVD. In any case. there better be a clear cut winner before these new media types begin to hit the retail stores.

Blu-Ray players can play DVD's, both can.


Blu-Ray players do not have backwards compatability with the current DVDs out on the market because they run on a totally different laser, ahem the blue laser while regular DVD I believe only run on the red laser.. On the other hand, HD DVD players are backwards compatable with the current DVDs out on the market and the HD DVD itself can be played on this generation DVD players. This info. is courtesy of CES and also an article from Gamespot.

[Kaijufan]

I hope that HD-DVD ends up winning out due to its backwards compatibility with regular DVD movies. I heard Blu Ray discs cannot read current DVD media. Also MS is supposedly backing up HD-DVD. In any case. there better be a clear cut winner before these new media types begin to hit the retail stores.

Blu-Ray players can play DVD's, both can.


Blu-Ray players do not have backwards compatability with the current DVDs out on the market because they run on a totally different laser, ahem the blue laser while regular DVD I believe only run on the red laser.. On the other hand, HD DVD players are backwards compatable with the current DVDs out on the market and the HD DVD itself can be played on this generation DVD players. This info. is courtesy of CES and also an article from Gamespot.
Do you have a link to that article. I would like to read it.

[hiccupleftovers]

I hope that HD-DVD ends up winning out due to its backwards compatibility with regular DVD movies. I heard Blu Ray discs cannot read current DVD media. Also MS is supposedly backing up HD-DVD. In any case. there better be a clear cut winner before these new media types begin to hit the retail stores.

Blu-Ray players can play DVD's, both can.


Blu-Ray players do not have backwards compatability with the current DVDs out on the market because they run on a totally different laser, ahem the blue laser while regular DVD I believe only run on the red laser.. On the other hand, HD DVD players are backwards compatable with the current DVDs out on the market and the HD DVD itself can be played on this generation DVD players. This info. is courtesy of CES and also an article from Gamespot.
Do you have a link to that article. I would like to read it.

I think on my other computer I have a link but not on my current one. The other one is in the shop too. It was a pretty interesting article. I think it came out about the same time that the redesigned smaller PS2 chip came out when they just started speculating about the PStwo. Try doing a seach for it on the website. Sorry I can't help more.

[orangemage]

I hope that HD-DVD ends up winning out due to its backwards compatibility with regular DVD movies. I heard Blu Ray discs cannot read current DVD media. Also MS is supposedly backing up HD-DVD. In any case. there better be a clear cut winner before these new media types begin to hit the retail stores.

Blu-Ray players can play DVD's, both can.


Blu-Ray players do not have backwards compatability with the current DVDs out on the market because they run on a totally different laser, ahem the blue laser while regular DVD I believe only run on the red laser.. On the other hand, HD DVD players are backwards compatable with the current DVDs out on the market and the HD DVD itself can be played on this generation DVD players. This info. is courtesy of CES and also an article from Gamespot.

that won't be true for long

Philips to demo Blue-ray disc drive compatible with CDs and DVDs (http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050103_114655.html)

[FriskyTanuki]

I hope that HD-DVD ends up winning out due to its backwards compatibility with regular DVD movies. I heard Blu Ray discs cannot read current DVD media. Also MS is supposedly backing up HD-DVD. In any case. there better be a clear cut winner before these new media types begin to hit the retail stores.

Blu-Ray players can play DVD's, both can.


Blu-Ray players do not have backwards compatability with the current DVDs out on the market because they run on a totally different laser, ahem the blue laser while regular DVD I believe only run on the red laser.. On the other hand, HD DVD players are backwards compatable with the current DVDs out on the market and the HD DVD itself can be played on this generation DVD players. This info. is courtesy of CES and also an article from Gamespot.

that won't be true for long

Philips to demo Blue-ray disc drive compatible with CDs and DVDs (http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050103_114655.html)

For a price, the Blu-Ray players can add the second laser for DVD playback. For the most part, any serious maker of these players will be sure to add it in.

[hiccupleftovers]

I hope that HD-DVD ends up winning out due to its backwards compatibility with regular DVD movies. I heard Blu Ray discs cannot read current DVD media. Also MS is supposedly backing up HD-DVD. In any case. there better be a clear cut winner before these new media types begin to hit the retail stores.

Blu-Ray players can play DVD's, both can.


Blu-Ray players do not have backwards compatability with the current DVDs out on the market because they run on a totally different laser, ahem the blue laser while regular DVD I believe only run on the red laser.. On the other hand, HD DVD players are backwards compatable with the current DVDs out on the market and the HD DVD itself can be played on this generation DVD players. This info. is courtesy of CES and also an article from Gamespot.

that won't be true for long

Philips to demo Blue-ray disc drive compatible with CDs and DVDs (http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050103_114655.html)

For a price, the Blu-Ray players can add the second laser for DVD playback. For the most part, any serious maker of these players will be sure to add it in.

If they do that than it truly doesn't matter if Sony wins the next DVD wars. It'll be able to play either Blu-ray or HD DVD and if this does happen, which it most likely will, than HD DVD will most likely be the Beta of the next DVD wars.

[whiteboy]

i doubt EA will mind porting games from one format to the other as long as there is money to be made. In fact, I'll bet that EA was paid to state that they would back Blu- ray.

And HD-DVD will won IMO. Sony's prefered format is usually less convenient and more money. Also if 2 lasers are required for "backwards compatibility" then i''m sure many companies will try to save the production costs.

[Sk]

I hope that HD-DVD ends up winning out due to its backwards compatibility with regular DVD movies. I heard Blu Ray discs cannot read current DVD media. Also MS is supposedly backing up HD-DVD. In any case. there better be a clear cut winner before these new media types begin to hit the retail stores.

Blu-Ray players can play DVD's, both can.


Blu-Ray players do not have backwards compatability with the current DVDs out on the market because they run on a totally different laser, ahem the blue laser while regular DVD I believe only run on the red laser.. On the other hand, HD DVD players are backwards compatable with the current DVDs out on the market and the HD DVD itself can be played on this generation DVD players. This info. is courtesy of CES and also an article from Gamespot.

that won't be true for long

Philips to demo Blue-ray disc drive compatible with CDs and DVDs (http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050103_114655.html)

For a price, the Blu-Ray players can add the second laser for DVD playback. For the most part, any serious maker of these players will be sure to add it in.

If they do that than it truly doesn't matter if Sony wins the next DVD wars. It'll be able to play either Blu-ray or HD DVD and if this does happen, which it most likely will, than HD DVD will most likely be the Beta of the next DVD wars.
It could be the other way around if currrent DVD players can use HD-DVDs then it opens up a huge market for that kind of media. While blue ray would be fighting for a spot. Also if blue ray players can play HD-DVDs (since some models can play DVDs, and I'm sure they'll have a high end up to date reader for DVDs in them.) whats the point in buying a blue ray disk? If they don't become a hit I'm sure they'll be priced a little higher than HD-DVDs (mainly from the fact that HD-DVDs would have a larger user base.)

The only thing Blue ray disks have going for them is their larger storgage size and scratch proof disks.

[XboxMaster]

Damn. I know I've been deep in the video game scene for only a year or two, but has the video game market always been this damn competitive like it has lately? Maybe it's all the talk about the new consoles...

[Alpha2]

I recall reading specifically on Gamespot about how the BlueRay disk medium is compatable with DVD format making Bacwards compatability possible. I also remember a while back people saying DVD players wouldnt be compatable with CDs because of the laser, that didnt last either did it? So I'm not too worried about it.

Also I could swear M$ was talking about going with the HDDVD format... but then again they havent seemed to commit to anything relating to the nextbox yet so maybe tht was just another red herring.

lastly just because EA and who ever joind some board on Bluray dosent mean they wouldnt use HDDVD too if it meant making money.

[Sk]

Damn. I know I've been deep in the video game scene for only a year or two, but has the video game market always been this damn competitive like it has lately? Maybe it's all the talk about the new consoles...
Oh snap this is nothing...SNES vs. Genesis in some respects was way worse. Hardcore sega lovers (when sega was a good company with great games and not crap) and Hardcore Nintendo lovers (when Nintendo was considered evil and controling) fought it out all the time. Now that was video game competition that will never be seen again. Add ons and all sorts of upgrades (chips in video game cartridges that gave them 3D looks or increased frame rates) were made. All sorts of crazy things were going on.

[epobirs]

I recall reading specifically on Gamespot about how the BlueRay disk medium is compatable with DVD format making Bacwards compatability possible. I also remember a while back people saying DVD players wouldnt be compatable with CDs because of the laser, that didnt last either did it? So I'm not too worried about it.

Also I could swear M$ was talking about going with the HDDVD format... but then again they havent seemed to commit to anything relating to the nextbox yet so maybe tht was just another red herring.

lastly just because EA and who ever joind some board on Bluray dosent mean they wouldnt use HDDVD too if it meant making money.

What Microsoft announced was that support for the HD-DVD format would be included in future versions of Windows. Note that this is format support. Playback of video is a separate issue. Whether Blu-Ray support will also be native depends largely on Sony and how much effort they make to get MS interested. Also, since Longhorn is quite a ways off still, much of the format war could settled by then and make it a moot issue.

People forget what really happened in the Beta/VHS competition. It wasn't any big movie studio that made the difference. It was the same companies who'll likely decide the winner again:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5518574.html?tag=zdfd.newsfeed

[Snake2715]

Disney Supports Blu Ray!?!


That makes it Kiddie!!!!

Everyone should disown it!!!

[epobirs]

Damn. I know I've been deep in the video game scene for only a year or two, but has the video game market always been this damn competitive like it has lately? Maybe it's all the talk about the new consoles...

You should see some of the sniping that went on in ads during the Atari-Mattel-Coleco era. As long as there has been more than one system worth mentioning on the market there has been competition. The target demographic is perfect for this kind of marketing since they can easily invest much of their self-esteem in making the right choices in luxury goods consumption. The so-called adults who get really worked up about operating systems tend to be some of the most childish people around.

[greendj27]

I recall reading specifically on Gamespot about how the BlueRay disk medium is compatable with DVD format making Bacwards compatability possible. I also remember a while back people saying DVD players wouldnt be compatable with CDs because of the laser, that didnt last either did it? So I'm not too worried about it.

Also I could swear M$ was talking about going with the HDDVD format... but then again they havent seemed to commit to anything relating to the nextbox yet so maybe tht was just another red herring.

lastly just because EA and who ever joind some board on Bluray dosent mean they wouldnt use HDDVD too if it meant making money.

What Microsoft announced was that support for the HD-DVD format would be included in future versions of Windows. Note that this is format support. Playback of video is a separate issue. Whether Blu-Ray support will also be native depends largely on Sony and how much effort they make to get MS interested. Also, since Longhorn is quite a ways off still, much of the format war could settled by then and make it a moot issue.

People forget what really happened in the Beta/VHS competition. It wasn't any big movie studio that made the difference. It was the same companies who'll likely decide the winner again:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5518574.html?tag=zdfd.newsfeed

A form of Beta is still used by production companies and tv stations. It was superior to VHS.

[epobirs]

I recall reading specifically on Gamespot about how the BlueRay disk medium is compatable with DVD format making Bacwards compatability possible. I also remember a while back people saying DVD players wouldnt be compatable with CDs because of the laser, that didnt last either did it? So I'm not too worried about it.

Also I could swear M$ was talking about going with the HDDVD format... but then again they havent seemed to commit to anything relating to the nextbox yet so maybe tht was just another red herring.

lastly just because EA and who ever joind some board on Bluray dosent mean they wouldnt use HDDVD too if it meant making money.

What Microsoft announced was that support for the HD-DVD format would be included in future versions of Windows. Note that this is format support. Playback of video is a separate issue. Whether Blu-Ray support will also be native depends largely on Sony and how much effort they make to get MS interested. Also, since Longhorn is quite a ways off still, much of the format war could settled by then and make it a moot issue.

People forget what really happened in the Beta/VHS competition. It wasn't any big movie studio that made the difference. It was the same companies who'll likely decide the winner again:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5518574.html?tag=zdfd.newsfeed

A form of Beta is still used by production companies and tv stations. It was superior to VHS.

I'm familiar with the modern day descendent of Beta but that has absolutely no bearing on the consumer market. The professional market is driven by a completely different set of priorites than the consumer market. Sony made a strong push into ENG equipment in the late 80's and delivering things like Beta SP and digital formats long before it was possible to offer them into the consumer side. When the time came to create a consumer digital digital recorder format even Sony didn't try to foist their Beta products on people because by then it had become too valuable for Beta to be perceived as high-end and allowing the appearance of $1,000 Beta SP cameras would severely impacted the margins for the pro equipment selling for tens of thousands of dollars.

[greendj27]

I recall reading specifically on Gamespot about how the BlueRay disk medium is compatable with DVD format making Bacwards compatability possible. I also remember a while back people saying DVD players wouldnt be compatable with CDs because of the laser, that didnt last either did it? So I'm not too worried about it.

Also I could swear M$ was talking about going with the HDDVD format... but then again they havent seemed to commit to anything relating to the nextbox yet so maybe tht was just another red herring.

lastly just because EA and who ever joind some board on Bluray dosent mean they wouldnt use HDDVD too if it meant making money.

What Microsoft announced was that support for the HD-DVD format would be included in future versions of Windows. Note that this is format support. Playback of video is a separate issue. Whether Blu-Ray support will also be native depends largely on Sony and how much effort they make to get MS interested. Also, since Longhorn is quite a ways off still, much of the format war could settled by then and make it a moot issue.

People forget what really happened in the Beta/VHS competition. It wasn't any big movie studio that made the difference. It was the same companies who'll likely decide the winner again:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5518574.html?tag=zdfd.newsfeed

A form of Beta is still used by production companies and tv stations. It was superior to VHS.

I'm familiar with the modern day descendent of Beta but that has absolutely no bearing on the consumer market. The professional market is driven by a completely different set of priorites than the consumer market. Sony made a strong push into ENG equipment in the late 80's and delivering things like Beta SP and digital formats long before it was possible to offer them into the consumer side. When the time came to create a consumer digital digital recorder format even Sony didn't try to foist their Beta products on people because by then it had become too valuable for Beta to be perceived as high-end and allowing the appearance of $1,000 Beta SP cameras would severely impacted the margins for the pro equipment selling for tens of thousands of dollars.

I agree, I was justmaking the point that the best product doesn't always win.

[epobirs]

A form of Beta is still used by production companies and tv stations. It was superior to VHS.

The version of Beata in use today is far, far removed from what was used in the original Betamax behemoth console in 1975. It really just a brand.

The superiority of Beta is debatable. If all you care about is resolution it had an advantage but the difference was quite small compared to the betwee DVD using the full NTSC resolution and VHS. For a consumer product there was much more to be concerned with than just resolution. In its original form Beta couldn't contain a typical feature film on a single tape. It wasn't on the agenda of Sony to distribute movies for home viewing and Hollywood didn't catch on until after a guy in Kansas made a fortune starting a book club style movie sales system. The studios were so blind then as to the potential they gave him rights to major features from their libraries for about $500 each. Since he was selling them for around $80 each it didn't take long him to be making huge profits after his license, telecine, and packaging costs.

VHS was designed with the idea that a two hour minimum was required to make it fit the market potential. Unlike Sony, they also didn't feel it was their place to tell people what they could and could not distribute on videotape. So the availability of porn solely on VHS was another big incentive for consumer to buy VHS VCRs.

Since TV production such as ENG works in short chunks, rarely long than twenty minutes in a single shot, the capacity issue of Beta wasn't a problem and even a slight difference in resolution was important since this would serve as the source for broadcast. At last one analog copy would occur befor ethe final edit was complete so any advantage was meaningful for that market. For mass produced movies it wasn't as readily noticeable.