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[0794]

QUOTE(BasicAir @ Mar 22 2008, 09:40 AM)

This article provides a good lesson on HDi and what it meant for HD DVD and what it could mean for downloadable HD movies. But that's it. Nowhere does the article explain why this is the most important reason why MS wouldn't pursue a Blu-ray addon for the 360. It isn't even implied.

This article should be titled "Microsoft's HDi Could Make Downloadable Movies A Biiger Threat to Blu-ray" and nothing more. What a joke...

exactly what i was thinking.

i read the title, then read the article and then re-read the title and see them as completely opposite and independent of each other.  not a bad way to get someone to read your trash, but there was no implication nor reason why MS won't do blu-ray on the 360 in that article.

and downloadable media content can and will survive together with optical media in the future as they both serve important consumer demands...

[twistedsymphony]

QUOTE(g8crapachino @ Mar 22 2008, 07:28 PM)

...Why do you even care?  Give me one rational reason why the average person who walks into a Wal-mart, or any other store, to buy a Hi-Def movie would have actually cared whether the movie was presented to them using HDi or Java?

That average person doesn't care, nor should they care.

My personal opinions on this are moot at this point because HD-DVD is dead, I was simply playing devils advocate.

The biggest advantage HDi had over BD-J was that it was fully speced out from day 1 while the BD protocol wasn't and has only just recently been finalized. HOWEVER At a developer level I think that BD-J is a much more flexible and powerful tool... BD-J is full on Java while HDi is essentially Javascript + XML, it's like comparing a an application that runs on your PC (BD-J) to a web application (HDi). Sure you can do some cool stuff with Java-Script +XML but when you talk about interactivity on a grand scheme you're quite limited with what you can do when using HDi by comparison.


The impression I get is at their current implementation stages HDi gets the job done and can make discs/downloads as interactive as DVDs and then some, but BD-J is flexible enough that developers could write full fledged applications for Blu-Ray players, and while this hasn't been realized yet the potential is quite there, and that is something consumers MIGHT care about in the future, even if they don't realize it.


For a taste of things to come check out these videos:
Chapter Summary


Alien Scavenger Hunt


Text Commentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huqVUAEbMpk


Quite hilarious that I'm being pegged as Anti-MS here, maybe you guys could go talk to the ones calling me an MS fanboy yesterday and work out which one I really am  

[erexx]

Microsoft's HDi never had a chance against Sony and especially Sun.
No way were they going to give Microsoft an "in" on the primary format for the world wide distribution of IPTV.

Not only is the articles title mis-labeled it misses the point entirely.
MS wont bring BluRay to the 360 becuase it pushes 2 technologies that MS is in competition with.
Java and the PS3 which is not only a game machine but also intrudes on MS business goal to be at the center of home theater.
Because of this it will be very interesting to see what MS does next.

While its true that the BDR "standard" has been changing, this is just a sign of the times.
Firmware is going to be as fluid as software.
Get used to that.

Sun has been working very hard behind the IPTV scenes to position themselves as the primary platform provider for IPTV for a long time.
This is the kind of thing SUN made Java for.
MS wants to be part of IPTV in a big way, they have made no question of that.

Java belongs to Sun and you can bet they don't like doing business with MS since the original release of WindowsXP removed java and placed MS-Java Script in its place...

To me this is the silent battle that started and ended the HD format war.

[mrp04]

QUOTE(jimk72 @ Mar 22 2008, 05:09 PM)

Sorry to say but DL HD content is not yet close to HD video and audio. After the HD DVD format was discontinued we tried to rent a movie on the xbox and the quality is not HD or Bluray quality. Sure most people don't have the equipment that shines with HD video and audio but some of us have invested in a higher end HD experience that DL content cannot provide. I had an upscan converter dvd player before I got my HD DVD player so the picture was not as impressive as the sound difference. HD audio was like going from 2 speakers to 5 back when dolby prologic first came out. Until they hit the same level of quality and you can keep the video you download until you are done then I will not use DL videos.

Like I said before, if you are a gamer you will get the Xbox 360. If you don't do your research or you want a cheap Bluray player you will get a PS3. All these people anticipating the fall of the 360 because HD DVD is gone needs to realize the 360 has won and will continue to win until Sony stops working on Bluray and focuses on the fact there PS3 has hardly any great games.

Sorry, but by the end of this generation, PS3 will have sold more than 360.

[scuba156]

QUOTE(erexx @ Mar 25 2008, 07:54 AM)

MS wont bring BluRay to the 360 becuase it pushes 2 technologies that MS is in competition with.

not entirely true. i would say that they didn't release it due to not enough interest. a very low percentage of households actually have a HDTV to be able to use blu-ray to its fullest, and with the HD-DVD addon selling to less than 5% of console owners, its a big loss. with the license fees they would have to pay to other companies, the price would be higher than the HD-DVD addon originally was. its just not worth the trouble or money

im glad this HD format war is over but im still sick of all this crap going on

QUOTE(mrp04 @ Mar 26 2008, 01:06 PM)

Sorry, but by the end of this generation, PS3 will have sold more than 360.

dont come here posting crap to start a flame war that isnt even what the original topic is about

[erexx]

QUOTE(scuba156 @ Mar 26 2008, 04:16 AM)

not entirely true. i would say that they didn't release it due to not enough interest. a very low percentage of households actually have a HDTV to be able to use blu-ray to its fullest, and with the HD-DVD addon selling to less than 5% of console owners, its a big loss. with the license fees they would have to pay to other companies, the price would be higher than the HD-DVD addon originally was. its just not worth the trouble or money

I agree that those are two additional reasons why.
But HDTV's are more popular than I think you give them credit for.
HD gaming is very popular with this generation of consoles.

The addon as an attachment for 1080p movies is accurate.
720 HDTV's are common and priced well for the average consumer.
Is it possible to buy a new CRT any more and why would you?

Since the 360 is getting close to the end of its product cycle, what will be interesting is MS does with its next console .

[thief]

QUOTE

Java and the PS3 which is not only a game machine but also intrudes on MS business goal to be at the center of home theater.

I disagree. ATM, the XBOX1 is the centre of the home theater because IT's BEEN MADE THAT WAY, by use of a little addon called the m*dchip.

The existing 360 can't even play a DivX without being first connected to XBL. It can't play movies off an external source like a HDD (correct me if I am wrong here). Can you watch TV on it- no. Can you browse the net- no. Can I download a game or movie without DRM locking it to the console so that I can l8tr play it on my PC upstairs (running a paid copy of MS WinXP!!!!)- no.

Only if MS released the same adon as was done with the XBOX1   will the 360 be the centre of the home theater! And only then will I give it credit.

[erexx]

QUOTE(thief @ Mar 27 2008, 02:37 AM)

I disagree. ATM, the XBOX1 is the centre of the home theater because IT's BEEN MADE THAT WAY, by use of a little addon called the m*dchip.

Please don't pretend like this is new information.
I own 3 of them just for XBMC.
Even though they are all chipped, a chip isn't needed to mod one.

To the POINT.
It was not made that way.
That was never the intention.
It was simply the byproduct of introducing a platform that was based on 20 year old technology.
Something that console markers had never done in the past but played very well into the software giants hand.
It also followed a huge lesson learned by Sony with the PS1...
Make it easy to dev for and the games/money will be there... don't and fail like the Sega Saturn.

QUOTE

The existing 360 can't even play a DivX without being first connected to XBL. It can't play movies off an external source like a HDD (correct me if I am wrong here). Can you watch TV on it- no. Can you browse the net- no. Can I download a game or movie without DRM locking it to the console so that I can l8tr play it on my PC upstairs (running a paid copy of MS WinXP!!!!)- no.

No argument there.
Both game machines where delivered exactly as they were intended: As Game Machines, nothing more.
Traditionally the video game market is very tight.
Consoles are the sole distribution method for protected intellectual property.

Microsoft Media Center is MS attempt to be at the center of they believe will be a huge market for this digital fireplace.
IPTV is going to be a huge part of that.
How it evolves into what it is in the next 10 years will define that market.
MS want to get in the door asap... an early bird... in an environment full of vultures.  

QUOTE

Only if MS released the same adon as was done with the XBOX1   will the 360 be the centre of the home theater! And only then will I give it credit.

The PS3 is closer to that home theater goal than the 360 by far, but the 360 was designed, much to its credit, as a game device only.
The Xbox1 is nothing more than a high tech ghetto home theater box.
Where will it be in 10 years?

So why should MS push a competitors technology that they don't support using a device they never intended to be used as a multi media machine?

They only took the risk with HDDVD becuase it pushed HDi
The chance for MS to bring their tech into the burgeoning IPTV market was well worth the risk of the add-on.