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

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by the fly

Fortunately I was smart enough or patient enough to hold out until the format war was over...

Little known or remembered as to exactly why/how the true mechanism of action was for ending the format war, posted in ~ spring of 2010….

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well, think of it this way, if it makes you feel any better, a certain studio in Burbank continued to sit on the fence (Blu and Red) and continued playing both sides in order to milk every cent out of the format war situation that they could.

When they started to get word that the retailers were lining up to make ‘the decision for them’ i.e. Blu-ray exclusivity, they then essentially ended the format war by going tru Blu…..at the same time arrogantly sticking it to the top dogs at Toshiba with jet fuel costs over the Pacific, not to mention the needless added carbon footprint to the environment.

[Clark Kent]

I still have fond memories when word started leaking out in the equities market that Warner had decided to drop HD DVD and go with Blu-ray. HD DVD was inferior tech getting a heavy promotional push from Microsoft, since they didn't want Sony to have a huge leg-up on their new Xbox platform.

[AKORIS]

I read the title thread and thought this was about Betamax and VHS!!

[Kirsty_Mc]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

I read the title thread and thought this was about Betamax and VHS!!

Indeed... However the superior format won this time. I remember the format war well... The furore over 4K is somewhat reminiscent. Sort of nostalgic in a way .

One of my fondest memories was the constant drip onto the market of all the Paramount Blu-Rays that were supposedly destroyed .

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Race Bannon

I believe that war was VERY damaging to the adoption of blu-ray, and helped extend the lifespan of DVD for untold years.

I agree, then after Blu-ray won in 2008 you had so many of the pro-HD DVD people (which included some in tech media publications) proclaiming Blu-ray would be dead in a few years as downloading and streaming would completely take over. As much BS as this was, I do think some people bought into it and shyed away from adopting Blu-ray. I think if Blu-ray launched on its own, DVD would have a smaller market share to some extent.

The HD DVD fanboy crowd was a lot more fanatical than the Blu-ray fanboy crowd in my opinion. It was almost like a sub-cult going on for a while after the remaining studios dumped the format and they refused to go to Blu-ray no matter what.

[HeavyHitter]

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.

I never really got into the 'war' aspect though, I just wanted the best all-round package and supported whichever release I saw fit. I was simply a fiend for high-def media, having bought loads of DVHS movies prior to the disc-based HD formats.

I joined BRDC once the dust had settled because there were just as many BD zealots on here as there were HD DVD fanatics at AVS, with the HTF providing a nice middle ground. But now, this is the only place to be for BD discussion.

That was sort of how I got into the formats. I was hungry for HD media and when HD DVD came out at a reasonable price with some good movies, I jumped on it. However, when I got the PS3 and the Blu-ray selection widened...I began realizing the true benefits the format had over HD DVD. I soon became a strong Blu-ray proponent and cheered aloud in excitement when I read Warner was dumping HD DVD as I knew it was over then and there. I remember it happened during my Christmas vacation in 2007 and reading the article at my desk at home.

I do have to disagree a little about HTF. While it was more of a middle ground, there were some obvious bias with the moderators for HD DVD. Then I heard they were given free HD DVD players by Toshiba. lol

[Geoff D]

Well, it was more balanced than AVS at any rate.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Well, it was more balanced than AVS at any rate.

Yes, AVS was terrible! It's funny how dead their software forum is now.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

It was almost like a sub-cult going on for a while after the remaining studios dumped the format and they refused to go to Blu-ray no matter what.

Very true but there were/are many that switched and have been avid BD supporters. The late Kosty (Daniel Kostyshak) switched from a Red flag to a Blu flag and waved it like few have. Man, I still miss that guy!!

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Yes, AVS was terrible! It's funny how dead their software forum is now.

It really fell off a cliff

[reanimator]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Yes, AVS was terrible! It's funny how dead their software forum is now.

Is that why nobody posts on the AVS blu ray section?

I ignored the format war until a winner was declared, then I jumped in head first. The masochist in me wants to start digging through all the old posts to see how the carnage played out.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Yes, AVS was terrible! It's funny how dead their software forum is now.

Most software forums that I used to frequent are dead. It's BRDC or bust!

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by reanimator

Is that why nobody posts on the AVS blu ray section?

I ignored the format war until a winner was declared, then I jumped in head first. The masochist in me wants to start digging through all the old posts to see how the carnage played out.

They pushed a ton of us out to where all the people who made content left

[onyxbfly]

I was here from the beginning and over at AVS although I didn't have anything to say.

I enjoy both formats and there are still some movies on HD that are not available on blu.

Some movies have superior transfers on HD. For example Gladiator. Gladiator looked great in HD and they had to do two diff transfers to get it right on Blu.

[Clark Kent]

Overly hostile moderation at AVS drove out many Blu-ray posters from their software section. I think a lot of the Blu-ray sites active during the format wars have suffered traffic declines in recent years. Hi-Def Digest also isn't as popular these days.

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by onyxbfly

I was here from the beginning and over at AVS although I didn't have anything to say.

I enjoy both formats and there are still some movies on HD that are not available on blu.

Some movies have superior transfers on HD. For example Gladiator. Gladiator looked great in HD and they had to do two diff transfers to get it right on Blu.

Wot? Gladiator came out on bd only, and the fault lay at Universal's door

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by blujacket

Good times.

Given…http://www.tomsguide.com/us/CES-2008...,news-253.html and the Warner announcement,

The most *courageous* spin control by any studio or consumer electronics senior executive (Jodi) I’ve ever heard…

CES 2008: Toshiba's response to Warner ditching HD-DVD - YouTube

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Most software forums that I used to frequent are dead. It's BRDC or bust!

I’m informed by others that it is a new era , as apparently this article was even posted on their Home page….http://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-net...hed-cloud.html

[AudioWarrior]

I lost, but not too badly! Thank god I only bought like two movies, The Departed and Return of the Dragon. Other wise $200 dollars down the drain!

One year later I pawned my HD-DVD blu-ray player for $20 bucks

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I’m informed by others that it is a new era , as apparently this article was even posted on their Home page….http://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-net...hed-cloud.html