Gates MS "Neutral" in HDTV Disk wars

[Blu-Ray Buckeye]

Originally Posted by u_nick

If they really didnt see our hi def media as a threat to their cute little 'download' system, they'd just drop HDDVD support and be done with it.

C'Mon Bill, why not let us have our Blu-ray? Everyone will be downloading in the future anyway, so why not let us dummies waste our money on our Blu-ray format that will fail anyway?

Exactly my point. If blu-ray is a non-threat then why did they.... you can fill it all in.

[PaulGo]

The reason Microsoft is now playing nice with Blu-ray and shafting Toshiba is Microsoft doesn't care about either of them. They are afraid of alienating the movie studios who are now siding with Blu-ray. All they want is the digital transmission contracts.

[PLASMA-1080P-FULLHD]

ZUNE? what the hell is that? sounds like the next HD-DEAD player to me

[webmaster@michaelbay]

Originally Posted by I DO BLU

http://www.tvpredictions.com/gates010908.htm

And Bay was right....

[Thegide]

I know I don't represent the majority of consumers, but I've got to say my piece. There is no way that downloads are ever going to replace physical media.

I'm a prime candidate for having all of this downloadable crap given my social bracket. I'm exactly the group that all of these manufacturers market their tech toys to - iPods, cell phones, gaming systems, etc.

Even though I could afford this crap, I have no interest in most of it.

- I haven't subscribed to cable, digital cable, or satellite in the 8 years I've been responsible for my own bills. To this day, I find 99% of broadcasts to be garbage.

- I don't own a cell phone, though that's personal preference. My girlfriend, who usually has the latest and greatest, has barely used it as an MP3 player, even after I bought her a miniSD card and loaded it with some of her favorite stuff.

- I don't own an iPod, though I have wanted one - because I feel they are overpriced for what you get and to be honest, I still probably wouldn't use it much after the first month (I lose interest in things that require constant recharging) I was given a portable MP3 player which collected dust after the first week, but it was a piece of crap! In the car, I listen to CDs. I might in the future consider satellite radio for specialty programming.

- I listen to the majority of music on my home PC via MP3. 80% of it is downloaded, the other 20% I ripped from my own optical media. Ok got me there. But I didn't pay for it - I wouldn't have bothered if I had to.

- I stopped downloading movies back in university. Even with free downloads a fraction of the size of downloadable HD movies, I still couldn't be bothered with the effort of searching and waiting for things to come, especially when the quality was piss poor in compared to just buying the DVD. If I really want it, I go to the store and buy it, much as I still do with music. Packaging art, etc appeals to me.

- I own both a PS2 and PS3. I never had any interest in getting a mod chip, because I wasn't willing to hack open my PS2 and risk breaking it, so finding and downloading pirated PS2 software did not appeal to me - I wouldn't be able to share my games with friends (most of whom don't even know what a mod chip is) and I would lack the packaging, manual etc.

- On the PS3, I can guarantee you I will continue playing Blu-ray movies. My ISP would support me getting max a movie or two a month via DD before hitting my download cap, and that's assuming I wasn't using my internet for anything else. And how am I supposed to store all this crap? I doubt I will download any full size games from PSN. Paying an extra $20 for the disc seems worth it to keep my hard drive from filling up. It's not like 50 terabyte drives are available yet... What happens if/when that drive dies? I'd have to have a house fire to lose the equivalent of all my physical media. Another big no.

So, to sum it up, if it requires downloading, I don't bother. The advantages of physical media far outweigh any perceived convenience benefits of downloaded.

[gandley]

its always nice to buy a movie as a gift.
Takes the sheen off it if you just hand over a code so they can access a stored download.

[SpikesBluBlooded]

Originally Posted by Thegide

What happens if/when that drive dies? I'd have to have a house fire to lose the equivalent of all my physical media.

That pretty much sums it up for me...

[PeteS]

Michael Bay was right about Microsoft.

1. Microsoft lost when they couldn't get HDi on every HiDef player.
2. Microsoft lost when H.264 became the preferred codec.
3. Microsoft lost when they couldn't muddy the waters by keeping HD-DVD alive to perpetuate confusion in the HiDef market.

[buckshot]

I imagine hd dvd and m$'s relationship like sinatra and some random girl. m$ just got out of bed and is leaving money on the nightstand. hd dvd is asking why ''why are you leaving me.''

m$ lights a cigarette, puts the money on the nightstand, points at hd, winks, and says ''it was good toots.'' and walks out of the room. hd dvd cries softly into her pillow.

mind you. m$ is nowhere near as cool as ol' blue eyes. but that's how I see it.

[ClaytonMG]

I am actually worried about Microsoft figuring out a way to force us to download movies. It seems entirely possible and that worries me. If they actually did do that, then they'd be saying "Downloading is the prefered choice" just because it's the only choice... Even though no one I know (and no one on here) wants downloadable movies.

[Blu-Ray Buckeye]

Originally Posted by ClaytonMG

I am actually worried about Microsoft figuring out a way to force us to download movies. It seems entirely possible and that worries me. If they actually did do that, then they'd be saying "Downloading is the prefered choice" just because it's the only choice... Even though no one I know (and no one on here) wants downloadable movies.

It won't happen. The studios control the content and they don't want to give monopoly power to a company like M$. They want control voer their content, which they largely have now. Also Apple has gained a lot of momentum and has a lot more power than they used to... they have the best downlaod model for any medium at the moment with iTunes, so I'm sure they'll have a say in the video downloading "wars".

[PossumPete]

I don't know... M$ bought Paramount off with a mere $150M. Who says Pmount won't drop Blu again for downloads when M$ says jump.

[Blu-Ray Buckeye]

Originally Posted by PossumPete

I don't know... M$ bought Paramount off with a mere $150M. Who says Pmount won't drop Blu again for downloads when M$ says jump.

That's still a far, far cry from controlling everything and being able to force people to download.

[owa]

Originally Posted by gandley

its always nice to buy a movie as a gift.
Takes the sheen off it if you just hand over a code so they can access a stored download.

Ha! Good point.

[Manco]

"The convenience of not using media — we've seen that in music. iPod, Zune, your phone — that's how you are going to carry your music...That will happen for video too."

I can't wait to watch my HiDef movies on my 1x1 cell phone screen.
How 'bout you guys!

[crystal_sun]

Microsoft has invested in a lot of companies...buying them and the MAJORITY failed.

[Manco]

Originally Posted by Blu-Ray Buckeye

It won't happen. The studios control the content and they don't want to give monopoly power to a company like M$. They want control voer their content, which they largely have now. Also Apple has gained a lot of momentum and has a lot more power than they used to... they have the best downlaod model for any medium at the moment with iTunes, so I'm sure they'll have a say in the video downloading "wars".

....and the CE's are not going to just sit around and watch profits on hardware players just disappear. Not likely. Physical media will be around forever and new a creative uses for it will be found. Wait until holographic and 3D come into play and Ultra-HDM movies swell into the Terabyte range. Now your talking about the average consumer trying the download TETRABYTES of data. No matter what FIOS and DOCSIS come up with now to support GB downloads....it will be trumped by TB downloads less than a decade later. Which will again require new cabling technologies and completely rewiring yet again.

[Ispoke]

Originally Posted by Manco

I can't wait to watch my HiDef movies on my 1x1 cell phone screen.
How 'bout you guys!

Yeh and just think of the audio quality....... Awsome