FUD War Article

[cnowels]

Nice article over at DVDFile about the dangerous Microsoft FUD going on against Blu-ray right now......

http://www.dvdfile.com/index.php?opt...k=view&id=6629

[Danger Duck]

What the entire Microsoft team needs is a sick Stone Cold Stunner. Full with middle fingers and a nice beer shower over their motionless bodies to give them the respect the deserve.
/rant.

[Marquoz]

Very well written with excellent arguments against the nonsense. Definately a great article!

[owa]

Wow, an article not predicting doom and gloom for blu-ray. That's nice for a change.

The object of the strategy is to cause sufficient fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the minds of potential consumers that they delay purchases of rivals’ products until the FUD-monger can deliver something that’s competitive. I wrote on many occasions that I believed Microsoft’s staunch support of HD DVD was a form of FUD. By supporting a format war, it delayed many fearful mainstream consumers from purchasing high definition disc players, affording Microsoft the time to continue to develop its own home theater solution: downloads.

Glad someone else sees this.

Digital Playground is expected to add BD-Live features to its releases later this year.

Thought that was kind of funny. I wonder what kind of uses they'll find for it.

So, is Blu-ray Disc a safe investment? Yes.

Don’t be distracted or deceived by FUD. Blu-ray Disc is the finest delivery system for high definition content available today and for the foreseeable future.

Hurray for the good guys.

All indications are that the Blu-ray Disc format is entering a dramatic growth stage that will rival or exceed that of DVD when it was introduced eleven years ago (DVD celebrated its eleventh birthday on March 26th). There will always be a market segment that prefers convenience to quality, and there will always be those who crave something for nothing, but neither of those groups will stall the growth and success of the finest product ever to have been offered to home theater enthusiasts and to film fans. If you haven’t joined the transition to high definition on disc yet, plan your Blu-ray Disc purchase now. But if you’re among the 30% who care strongly about supplements, I’d advise either waiting for Profile 2.0 dedicated players to be introduced or investing in a PS3, which will support Profile 2.0 with a firmware upgrade.

Here’s hoping I don’t have to spend the rest of the year reporting on another format war.

Hope he's right and I like his last comment. Seems he's getting as annoyed as we are at all the FUD still being spread.

[pbparham]

newb question here... please don't laugh at me to hard.... what is FUD? I think I can guess the F part...

edit: Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt? Boy is that disappointing...

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Originally Posted by pbparham

newb question here... please don't laugh at me to hard.... what is FUD? I think I can guess the F part...

Fear, Uncertanty and Doubt.

[owa]

Originally Posted by pbparham

edit: Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt? Boy is that disappointing...

Disappointed at what it means?

[JJ]

I used to think it meant ****ed Up Data.

[/expletive]

[pbparham]

Originally Posted by owa

Disappointed at what it means?

Yes. When you imagine that F standing for something else, it makes the flame wars much more enjoyable.

"Take you FUD and go stick it...", "I've got your FUD right here...", so forth and so on.

[Dalese]

Originally Posted by pbparham

newb question here... please don't laugh at me to hard.... what is FUD? I think I can guess the F part...

edit: Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt? Boy is that disappointing...

Be glad you're a newb now. While some are still spouting FUD, the intensity has dropped dramatically since HD-DVD threw in the towel.

While Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt may be the "official" meaning of FUD, when the HD-DVD faithful spouted it during the last year and a half I felt it also meant "F***ed Up Discussion"

[CassilineKnight]

Bluray may be the best way to experience HD but does the average person really care?

I mean if MS goes balls to the wall with this Digital Download stuff and makes it work, affordable, and easy to work with then why would someone care about Bluray given the really high prices and the current conditions of our economy (at least here in the US).

[Wing Nut Jay]

Originally Posted by CassilineKnight

Bluray may be the best way to experience HD but does the average person really care?

I mean if MS goes balls to the wall with this Digital Download stuff and makes it work, affordable, and easy to work with then why would someone care about Bluray given the really high prices and the current conditions of our economy (at least here in the US).

Right now, the answer is no. The average person doesn't care, but that doesn't mean that the average joe is going to go digital download either.

Even if MS can make dds easy and affordable, that's only part of the dd equation. First; you must have a computer with which you actively download content. Second, you must have a fast broadband connection (reportedly 43% of people on the internet are still using dial-up). Third, you must have a lot of memory as dds of movies can be very large files - and the better the pq, the bigger the file. Not to mention that dds that are supposedly in "HD" are in 720p at best.

Most of my work acquaintances don't use their computers very often, let alone download. Downloads are usually limited to people who are pretty hip with the old PC or Mac. While this may be a fairly large group, it's not all inclusive of people who watch movies at home.

No, right now, the average joe is still plenty happy with the old DVD. In the latest issue of Widescreen Review, the Editor's Couch section addresses the end of the format war, pointing out that the DVD is Blu-ray's new adversary. He points out that "mainstream consumers aren't exactly dissatisfied with current DVD performance." And that price drops for both Blu-ray players and movies - as well as education - is what it will take for Blu-ray to supplant the DVD. I agree whole heartedly.

Besides, dds didn't exactly kill the CD market, I don't think it will kill the Blu-ray market either. There are those of us who still want something tangible for our money (just call me a curmudgeon), a file on my computer just doesn't cut it for me.

[Musashi]

Dan Ramer gets it. He always has.

[Mobe1969]

Amen to that....

"The best experience, huh. Video at 6.8 Mbps in the 720p format… right. "

[whippersnapper]

Originally Posted by Wing Nut Jay

Right now, the answer is no. The average person doesn't care, but that doesn't mean that the average joe is going to go digital download either.

Even if MS can make dds easy and affordable, that's only part of the dd equation. First; you must have a computer with which you actively download content. Second, you must have a fast broadband connection (reportedly 43% of people on the internet are still using dial-up). Third, you must have a lot of memory as dds of movies can be very large files - and the better the pq, the bigger the file. Not to mention that dds that are supposedly in "HD" are in 720p at best.

Most of my work acquaintances don't use their computers very often, let alone download. Downloads are usually limited to people who are pretty hip with the old PC or Mac. While this may be a fairly large group, it's not all inclusive of people who watch movies at home.

No, right now, the average joe is still plenty happy with the old DVD. In the latest issue of Widescreen Review, the Editor's Couch section addresses the end of the format war, pointing out that the DVD is Blu-ray's new adversary. He points out that "mainstream consumers aren't exactly dissatisfied with current DVD performance." And that price drops for both Blu-ray players and movies - as well as education - is what it will take for Blu-ray to supplant the DVD. I agree whole heartedly.

Besides, dds didn't exactly kill the CD market, I don't think it will kill the Blu-ray market either. There are those of us who still want something tangible for our money (just call me a curmudgeon), a file on my computer just doesn't cut it for me.

In the latest issue of Widescreen Review, the Editor's Couch section addresses the end of the format war, pointing out that the DVD is Blu-ray's new adversary.

Is this the same Widescreen Review that now has Amir as a contributing columnist? Amir is of course the former high priest of Microsoft's FUD campaign. Before HD-DVD was "good enough" and now that has morphed into DVD is good enough.

Pretty pathetic if you ask me.

[UKTruBlu]

one of the most informative and beautifully written articles, this should be posted world wide to let the Blu reign supreme!!!

[Wing Nut Jay]

Originally Posted by whippersnapper

Is this the same Widescreen Review that now has Amir as a contributing columnist? Amir is of course the former high priest of Microsoft's FUD campaign. Before HD-DVD was "good enough" and now that has morphed into DVD is good enough.

Pretty pathetic if you ask me.

I can't comment on the hiring practices of magazines. If Widescreen Review hired a FUD monger, that's their problem. The article's theme wasn't that "DVD is good enough"; no the article clearly states that Blu-ray is the way to go for home video; and it suggests some possible strategies needed for Blu-ray to supplant DVD as the format of choice. Clearly, the article is not spreading FUD.

[Rabidhunter]

This article was well written. Three cheers to the author of that. There has been too much FUD floating around. This is a breath of fresh air. I can't believe how crazy Microsoft is, the FUD-mongers. Oh well, they'll run themselves into the ground pushing downloadables. People want the real deal and they want quality. Studios and directors want to show their artistry in quality. Quality is something that downloads cannot provide.

[TheTenth]

the downlodable movies thing will only lead to more piracy, the people actually using download use Emule or other to get free movies/Tv eps ... It will be good news for them that HD movies will get to them for free!!!

Microcrap don't think like we do, they only want domination and people not to think or have a choice anymore, so they'll sell under quality items (like they always did) for the max IF users don't care to get information.

[MatrixS2000]

Another very good piece by Dan Ramer.