Topic: Major Nelson's podcast on HD DVD vs. Blu-ray (Read 237 times)

Xbox-Scene · « **on:** July 17, 2006, 10:17:00 AM »

Major Nelson's podcast on HD DVD vs. Blu-ray
Posted by XanTium | July 17 12:17 EST

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Quote

For the second time this year, Xbox Live's Larry Hyrb a.k.a. Major Nelson has a high definition expert, actually two, appear on his podcast to extol the virtues of HD DVD. The two experts appearing this week include Amir M., who many of you are already familiar with due to his frequent posts on AVSForum, and Kevin Collins, both work on Microsoft's efforts promoting iHD, VC-1 and HD DVD.

If you're familiar with Microsoft's stated reasoning for supporting HD DVD instead of remaining neutral or supporting Blu-ray there won't be a lot of new info here, but probably enough to make a listen worthwhile. Be warned that if you're a Blu-ray fanboy this isn't exactly the equal-time special, if you're expecting the Blu-ray side of things to be presented you'll need to look elsewhere. However being biased towards the HD DVD side (not mentioning reported issues with HD DVD players and promoting recent firmware upgrades as a benefit and not a side effect of rushing to launch for example) doesn't mean they aren't telling the truth. Their main points are clear, 30GB dual-layer HD DVD over 25GB single-layer Blu-ray, VC-1 HD DVD releases over MPEG-2 Blu-ray releases and already available iHD-enhanced titles over potentially limited BD-J support in current players.
Kevin is especially proud of HD DVD's interactive features and mandatory player requirement of persistent storage, which he believes will result in more studios supporting added functionality such as bookmarking, content downloads etc. on HD DVD as opposed to Blu-ray. They also touch on the subjects of compromise and studio support, they don't expect a compromise, or for either format to go away in the next few years, and that more movie studios will support HD DVD as time goes on. They also think that despite being outnumbered by number of studios, HD DVD will still have many quality titles available from the studios already supporting the format. Amir minimized the differences in transfer rate in the specifications and their potential effect on gaming, and the Xbox 360 vs. Playstation 3 debate.

Read More: hdbeat.com
Download the MP3 Podcast: majornelson.com

iPwn · « **Reply #1 on:** July 17, 2006, 10:21:00 AM »

Sounds good. Thats alot of storage on 1 single disk, how fast does it take to write all of tha data to the disk though?

downlowfunk · « **Reply #2 on:** July 17, 2006, 11:21:00 AM »

"30GB dual-layer HD DVD over 25GB single-layer Blu-ray"

Over??? Hmm. is the major in bed with somebody. I do believe so. The major can take his whack boots and march over the cliff along with the rest of the American millitary brass.

theblujuggalo · « **Reply #3 on:** July 17, 2006, 11:21:00 AM »

longstory short
part 1 explains how hd-dvd pwnz bluray
lolz

zX_Storm · « **Reply #4 on:** July 17, 2006, 11:48:00 AM »

LoL! I don't see why they compared dual-layer HD-DVD over single-layer BR. Of course it's bigger, DUH! Single layer HD-DVD 15GB though. What freakin idiot would compare that? They've gotten BR layers up to 200GB! Don't mess with crap you don't understand Nelson. Of course he's gonna talk up hype with crap about HD-DVD, because M$ supports it. And every person out there that supports HD-DVD (or BR) without knowing facts is just plain stupid. Do your own research, I wouldn't go by the BS crap this guy says. The features that HD-DVD DO look cool, and I'm not pro Java-supported BR, but I am an avid computer storage fan, and single-layer 25GB BR is much better than single-layer 15GB HD-DVD, not to mention dual-layer 50GB vs dual-layer 30GB? Ya, your stats got owned Nelson. This is a horrible form of viral marketing. M$ can do better than this.

Hoescout · « **Reply #5 on:** July 17, 2006, 12:48:00 PM »

Now that PS3 launch is close M§ punks get shaky knees that its gonna smoke their crap and start to compare ps3 with their own console themselves alot to explain why getting ps3 over 360 "sucks"..

I'm no sony fanboy, I never had a ps2 but I bet Major Nelson and his x360 redneck-crew know blueray is better than hddvd but they couldnt use it for their console cause it comes from their #1 competitor sony so its unimaginable for em to use this technology. Well its np, if br gonna become best storage device u can go and buy a 360 premium for 200 bucks cause noone will want it.

DaddyO21 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 17, 2006, 01:08:00 PM »

HD-DVD sounds better , so i will buy that.

infamous_Q · « **Reply #7 on:** July 17, 2006, 01:50:00 PM »

wow...so many haters lol. the blurb on the front page of XS even told u this was ALL about hd-dvd's pros, nothing about blue ray.

on other points....
- HD-dvd has also claimed it can run 3 layers (thats 45gb, which is close enough to dual BL to be compettative)
- the difference in capacity is probably (from my thinking...) due to the fact that HD-DVD currently uses the same layer depths (.6 mm (i think its mm)) as regular dvd's, where as BL uses something like 1.4 or 1.6, allowing more storage (thats what i think at least...)
- seriously doubt they got 200gb on a single BL LAYER (im skeptical, but show me the proof and i wont argue)
- and you should all know by now that this media war won't be settled on technical aspects, considering they're both up to par for HD content, it'll be based on support from studios and buyers. BL is more expensive than HD-DVD, the question is will the average consumer buy into BL because of what it offers for more, or will they buy into HD-DVD for what it offers at a less costly price?

side note...MS did a good job staying out of this, they can go either way with an external player (for BL or HD-dvd), sure it won't look the "greatest" but it'll be handy for when this little war is decided. Think about it, if HD-DVD wins, ps3 is screwed, and hard.

law56ker · « **Reply #8 on:** July 17, 2006, 01:52:00 PM »

"both work on MS's efforts promoting iHD, VC-1 and HD DVD."

MaulerX · « **Reply #9 on:** July 17, 2006, 01:54:00 PM »

QUOTE(Hoescout @ Jul 17 2006, 02:55 PM)

Now that PS3 launch is close M§ punks get shaky knees that its gonna smoke their crap and start to compare ps3 with their own console themselves alot to explain why getting ps3 over 360 "sucks"..

I'm no sony fanboy, I never had a ps2 but I bet Major Nelson and his x360 redneck-crew know blueray is better than hddvd but they couldnt use it for their console cause it comes from their #1 competitor sony so its unimaginable for em to use this technology. Well its np, if br gonna become best storage device u can go and buy a 360 premium for 200 bucks cause noone will want it.

What's up with the racist remark? And in case you have not noticed, store displays that have side by side HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray so far have shown that HD-DVD looks better. Right now the codecs that HD-DVD use
are better than those of Blu-Ray and thats a fact.

Hoescout · « **Reply #10 on:** July 17, 2006, 02:12:00 PM »

QUOTE(MaulerX @ Jul 17 2006, 10:01 PM)

What's up with the racist remark? And in case you have not noticed, store displays that have side by side HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray so far have shown that HD-DVD looks better. Right now the codecs that HD-DVD use
are better than those of Blu-Ray and thats a fact.

Lol codecs ... come on man is that all you got? codecs can be used same on both players u poor m§ fanboy kid.

Dont defend 360 only cause u paid mass money for it and it isnt the newest stuff out on the market. Hf upgrading to a hdmi output too. My remark wasnt racist at all, read it as often untill you understand it how it supposes to be..

jcposner · « **Reply #11 on:** July 17, 2006, 02:29:00 PM »

Theoretically is it possible to get 720p or 1080i out of the dvd on the xbox 360 with a software upgrade (ie MS releases an update)? Or is the dvd player itself limited to 480p output? Any insights appreciated. Thanks

Zylyx · « **Reply #12 on:** July 17, 2006, 02:33:00 PM »

This is pathetic. It'd almost be non-news except that the Major is apparently acting like a PR flack in this particular case. You'd expect a MS employee to say nothing good about the competition on the record, and that's exactly what we have here. If you listen to JUST him (or by proxy to JUST MS's message), however, then you're stupid. You have to use your head to try to put ALL the pieces together, and that requires listening to Sony's message too.

I own an X-Box AND a PS2, before I go any further. Both get equal use. I'm no fanboy--no, wait, I take that back, I'm an INDUSTRY fanboy. I've been collecting (and not selling) every system I could get over the years, so no accusations of me being strictly pro-Sony.

..but still, MS has botched the HD-DVD thing entirely. Refusing to let it be used with games spells VERY badly for second or third generation games on the 360 once they convincingly hit the limits of what the 9GB dual-layer DVD can store. This is one thing the PS3 DOES get right-- if the PS3 survives that long, they'll have a permanent convincing advantage. I'll say this much.. HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray is completely tied to the PS3 vs 360 war at this point. If the PS3 bones it, HD-DVD is set to win. If the PS3 succeeds, Blu-Ray will be hurled forward into the limelight with the PS3.

Basically, the 360 only has one chance to win, and that's to crush the PS3 before it can really get moving.. or, by the same token, to let the PS3 crush itself if Sony mismanages it (a real possibility, I conclude-- Sony isn't all that in-tune with its customers and hasn't been for a good long while.)

MaulerX · « **Reply #13 on:** July 17, 2006, 03:40:00 PM »

QUOTE(Hoescout @ Jul 17 2006, 04:19 PM)

Lol codecs ... come on man is that all you got? codecs can be used same on both players u poor m§ fanboy kid.

Dont defend 360 only cause u paid mass money for it and it isnt the newest stuff out on the market. Hf upgrading to a hdmi output too. My remark wasnt racist at all, read it as often untill you understand it how it supposes to be..

What an idiot. My post was about HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray. I SAID NOTHING about the 360 YOU RACIST MORON.

thax · « **Reply #14 on:** July 17, 2006, 03:50:00 PM »

QUOTE(Zylyx @ Jul 17 2006, 09:40 PM)

..but still, MS has botched the HD-DVD thing entirely. Refusing to let it be used with games spells VERY badly for second or third generation games on the 360 once they convincingly hit the limits of what the 9GB dual-layer DVD can store.

I don't agree with you here, I think that games should not be released on HD-DVD on the x360.

Games consoles are all about dealing with constraints, the amount of processor, GPU, bandwidth, I/O and storage are all limited. DVD capacity isn't the primary limiting constraint when it comes to 2nd and 3rd generation games; developers will be spending more time and effort solving more complex problems dealing with GPU, CPU (multi-threadded processing) and internal bandwith issues.

The big storage hogs on the last generation like full motion video are being replaced with dynamically generated cut scenes. This allows for an more immersive experiance while greatly reducing storage requirements. This also allows game demo downloads to be reasonably sized (Less than 1 gig) and still contain all game content. The game demos on xbox live definately drive game sales which is very appealing to publishers. Game demo downloads that are larger than 5 gigabytes just are not feasible with the storage capacity of the x360 and the typical amount of bandwidth a home user has.

Author Topic: Major Nelson's podcast on HD DVD vs. Blu-ray (Read 237 times)