Looks As If Blu Ray Will Win

[Wes Tausend]

Originally Posted by Wes Tausend

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It's my opinion that Toshiba gave up because there already is a winner ...and it isn't Blu-Ray. Of course there is a lot of hype and banner waving right now; that's marketing.

My thought is that standard DVD is going to be the norm for a long, long time ...that it has already won. Toshiba quit because it's a losing proposition to try to advance high definition video of any kind. Standard DVD is just a little too good.

I suggest that HD video will go the way of HD audio. How many of us have HD audio players or have even heard of them?

I believe one of the main reasons both HD formats have been promoted is that it is too easy to copy the contents of standard CD and DVD. And that is why there is such desperation to ween the public away from them. But I predict that it won't work. Most people will continue to buy standard DVD until there is some kind of underhanded move, if ever, to kill the manufacture of new standard players. Kill the goose that is presently laying a lot of golden eggs for the movie industry. Won't happen IMHO.


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You guys make some really good arguments about the rise of HD video. I still think that BluRay will not replace standard DVD video the way that DVD has replaced VHS which is what I should have said. In that respect, std DVD wins. I hope they do co-exist and encourage more and more HD programming.

Sony will probably continue promoting the BluRay format but I think they are still losing money over it, at this point anyway. The reason that Toshiba got out.

My 51" 1080i HDTV looks only slightly better on pure HD than it does on 480i DVD or quality 480i digital channels. DVD recordings of 480 digital programming look pretty good also, with little loss, except they are 4:3 aspect. And some dvd S-video copies of PBS HD rival boughten DVDs and are widescreen. The jump up from DVD to HD is a small one to me, and probably many others, in a cost-benefit ratio.

I had forgotten about it but I accidently noted that SACD is available on my Sony DVD jukebox last night. We don't use it that often but the wife wanted to watch "Planet of the Apes" again, since she caught only part of it on TV.

I don't think I've got a SACD music disc to try and I should get one. There was another competing format just called "DVD-Audio" that nothing I have will play unless one of my computers would. I don't think I'd be able to hear the difference. Too many years of locomotive cab noise, I'm afraid.

Ronbo is probably right about bandwidth issues but I would guess that many FM stations won't do it until forced. Our local Off-Air Fox TV station is still a digital holdout here. That was particularily disappointing during NFL HD broadcasts since Fox bid into it this year. But at least their NTSC station is UHF which seems to carry slightly more detail than local VHF, if that makes sense. I hope Fox doesn't fold up locally, over upgrade investment. I live in a relatively small market area.

The rest of the Off-Air HD network channels are not entirely reliable in that they "pixel out" once in a while and take the audio with them. My wife won't willingly watch them because of this, choosing NTSC versions instead. I'm not sure where the problem is. I'm using a multi-element exterior antenna and get an excellent reading on signal strength. Might be my cheap digital tuner but I have seen the same problem across local HD brought in by the cable to the bedroom set which has its own ATSC tuner. But then the bedroom TV is a cheap appliance too.


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