Who has been here since the format war, and are you surprised by how heated it got?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by krinkle

Looking back I agree with this so much.

On Blu-ray.com forum, always accurate (and, at times, exclusively cutting-edge) information and services provided, whether readers, for example…

liked it

or not

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by krinkle

I just hope 4K does not turn into another 3D debacle!

Moving forward, Blu-ray faces new challenges…download the program here - https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...m#post10358455

And use the search word….Bluray…. for the ‘Getting [It] There’ panel to see what I mean as to what’s on everyone’s mind and efforts these days.

I view Ultra HD Blu-ray as the last physical media command outpost and perhaps I'm a bit paranoid, but I fear that the ‘UHD Alliance’ will cater to OTT (internet delivery) with regards to all their collaborations, sub-alliance partnering and decision making.

[Falaskan]

I remember hearing people say blu-ray was only winning because people liked the sound of the name better. I don't think the average consumer cared, and yes, maybe the average consumer liked the name better, but obviously blu-ray was the better choice.

[bailey1987]

Paramount swinging to the HD DVD side was the highlight, it all went to sweet shit not long after that. I think that was just a move to clear out inventory to be honest.

Needless to say it was good times none the less, despite loosing I enjoyed it immensely.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

I've been here from the beginning of the Format Wars, and the worst memories were watching Toshiba pay flat-out bribes to studios to get them to go HD-DVD.

Yeah -- anyone else remember Toshiba placing an ad buy on AICN, soon followed by by Mr. Knowles declaring HD-DVD to be the future winner of the format battle?

What made me go HD DVD? The kicker is... that it can play the 9000 or so DVDs I already have, as well as the HD DVDs. That Backwards compatibility feels right. Also - from the demonstrations I've seen, HD DVD looks better than the BLUE RAY discs. I also love that the player has an upconversion that raises the quality of my existing DVD library to 720p and sometimes 1080i. I've already tested it out and DVDs that I watched last time I watched them - look better than they had before. I also have a habit of picking the winning formats. I could be wrong this time, but most of my filmmaker friends, in fact all of them that I have had a conversation regarding this with... have told me... HD DVD is the format to go with.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32838

[the fly]

Fortunately I was smart enough or patient enough to hold out until the format war was over. I knew that one was going to emerge as the winner eventually. As others have stated, I remember Betamax vs VHS along with LaserDisc.

[Packerfan75]

Originally Posted by Falaskan

I remember hearing people say blu-ray was only winning because people liked the sound of the name better. I don't think the average consumer cared, and yes, maybe the average consumer liked the name better, but obviously blu-ray was the better choice.

I thought HD-DVD sounded better. I still think it does. You first hear of bluray and you have to ask what it is but HD-DVD tells the story. For that reason alone I thought it had a good chance to win.

[recS-12]

In my mind, once Disney made it be known they were supporting blu-ray it was all over...Only a matter of time before what happened, happened. Cool to see all these members from 2006 on up.

[KubrickKurasawa]

There was a battle/war?



Glad I missed it! I've only owned Blu-Rays for like maybe 2 years. They're awesome!

[Taygan315]

A former co worker and I would get into back and forth ''debates'' about which format was better and which one would prevail. I was for blu ray, he was for hd dvd.

The ONE title that made me buy a hd dvd player for it's exclusive hd dvd release was Transformers. I tried to live with the dvd version upconverted to 1080p...didn't last,lol. Batman Begins, Carlito's Way, Casino, and Troy were other titles I wanted..but it was Transformers that made me go out and buy a hd dvd player ASAP!!

When Paramount switched to blu exclusively..I knew the writing was on the walls. Warner Bros going exclusive with blu...when they were releasing on both formats...just helped solidify blu ray's eventual dominance.

[Taygan315]

Originally Posted by recS-12

In my mind, once Disney made it be known they were supporting blu-ray it was all over...Only a matter of time before what happened, happened. Cool to see all these members from 2006 on up.

Yeah that's true. Disney being blu was a BIG PLUS for the blu ray format

[Optimus]

It's always fun to look at old HD-DVD unboxing vids and read the comments

[blujacket]

Good times.

[JJ]

Oh, man. I remember this.

I remember being in class when Paramount announced HD-DVD exclusivity right before Transformers and letting out an audible groan. Almost bought an HDDVD player later that day.

2007 was messy.

[DavePS3]

When the PS3 was announced to have HDMI out and an on board bluray player, I figured it was going to win out. I figured every PS3 owner would grab a few blurays. The Xbox360 didn't have either at the beginning although the HDDVD player was an extra piece option.

The arguments were justified I suppose because those who adopted HDDVD early, wanted to stand by their decision as anyone would. It was a ridiculous format war that happened because companies would rather fight than join forces but by doing so, Sony would have lost face agreeing to step down and the same with Toshiba.

As for Beta and VHS... Beta was the better format but because so many companies were licensed for the format, the players/recorders flooded the market compared to Sony-only Betamax. The newer format isn't always better but it can simply become more popular if it is offered at reduced pricing and many more choices in terms of models and manufacturers.

The industry never stagnates. I doesn't want to... it can't so there will forever be new formats, ideas, technology... if you wait for the technology to stop and settle, you'll never buy anything.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Following is an excerpt from a press release and is the reason I have supported Blu-ray only for all these years:

Tokyo Japan, February 19, 2002: Nine leading companies today announced that they have jointly established the basic specifications for a next generation large capacity optical disc video recording format called “Blu–ray Disc”. The Blu–ray Disc enables the recording, rewriting and play back of up to 27 gigabytes (GB) of data on a single sided single layer 12cm CD/DVD size disc using a 405nm blue–violet laser. The companies that established the basic specifications for the Blu–ray Disc are: Hitachi Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Pioneer Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, and Thomson Multimedia.

At the time of the announcement some of us had D-VHS D-Theater but most of us knew that at some point an optical disc would replace tape. It seemed like a very long wait till Blu-ray hardware and disc were made available.

[RickWJ324]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Yeah -- anyone else remember Toshiba placing an ad buy on AICN, soon followed by by Mr. Knowles declaring HD-DVD to be the future winner of the format battle?

What made me go HD DVD? The kicker is... that it can play the 9000 or so DVDs I already have, as well as the HD DVDs. That Backwards compatibility feels right. Also - from the demonstrations I've seen, HD DVD looks better than the BLUE RAY discs. I also love that the player has an upconversion that raises the quality of my existing DVD library to 720p and sometimes 1080i. I've already tested it out and DVDs that I watched last time I watched them - look better than they had before. I also have a habit of picking the winning formats. I could be wrong this time, but most of my filmmaker friends, in fact all of them that I have had a conversation regarding this with... have told me... HD DVD is the format to go with.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32838

That story is awesome!!
I bought into HD-DVD first thinking it would probably win out in the end. I wasn't one to bicker over it though, as I'm someone with a love for technology period. I chose HD-DVD at the time I did because the price was right and the studios backing it appealed to me more (although I am also a huge Disney nut). I backed it..it lost...I bought into blu. I love my blu-rays!! I still have the hd-dvd discs (a lot of them were purchased after the war was over and could be found for a buck or two each). I've long-since ditched the hd-dvd players and converted the discs over to blu-rays (bd-r's... at least the ones that have yet to see official blu releases).

I hope we never see another format war like that again though. If we ever did I would definitely (most likely..haha) sit on the sidelines a bit longer before picking one over the other.

[sonicyogurt]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I bought into HD DVD first because I liked the selection of movies better and it seemed to have been born fully formed, unlike BD with its piecemeal rollout (additional profiles), early reliance on MPEG-2 etc. But as the BD range expanded and it became clear that HD DVD was struggling with its 30 GB limit (although given how efficient the video codecs have become it wouldn't be a massive problem today) I bought a PS3 and never looked back.

This just about 100% sums up my feelings back then as well.

[prerich]

Initially bought a HD-DVD player for my PC. It worked flawlessly with the HD-DVD's that I had purchased and I was satisfied. I was an avid Red supporter because Blu-ray had put it's stock on a game machine. I then purchased a standalone HD-DVD player for $75 bucks for the bedroom. Was still an avid Red supporter...Then, BD came out for PC!!!! I said, OK - lets test drive, had more hiccups with BD, but more and more content came out. I worked through the BD problems and then I turned Purple....I didn't care who won because I was set and stable with both formats. I became a firm BD supporter when studios began to crossover and my favorite animated films were now on BD.

I'm not surprised how heated it got. However what I hated most were the PS3 fans acting like the only real BD player was a PS3. I was so happy when the OPPO came out, and when the LG dual player outscored the PS3 along with the Pioneer Elites! Arguing with gamers on why an audiophile would want something other than a PS3 was brutal (more brutal than the war itself). I think I quieted quite a few of them when they saw that I could do the same things they could (and more) on my PC (I could game if I wanted to, but I wasn't an avid gamer). That was my worst memory of the war...the PS3 worship.

[bruceames]

As far as the message boards were concerned, the format war was the best of times. There was so much excitement back then and people were so emotionally involved.

It was also very exciting because of the HD discs that were just coming out with some amazing content. I felt like a kid in a candy store with all the sales they were having on movies and players.

I supported HD DVD back then but I didn't really have much expectations that they would win. I knew they were definitely the underdog, but I liked the format better for the content and because most of my forum friends were HD DVD supporters as well.

My best memories are when I bought an HD DVD on launch day and saw the amazing quality at home for the first time. Also I enjoyed it very much when Paramount went HD DVD exclusive and saw many Blu-ray fans go into hiding.

My worst memory was when Warner went Blu-ray exclusive. But after I recovered from the shock (since it was unexpected happening only 4 months after Paramount went HD DVD exclusive), I bought a Blu-ray player a few weeks later and went purple. I have absolutely no regrets since it was so much fun and I still enjoy my HD DVD collection.