Sony CEO: Hi-Def Movie War A 'Stalemate'

[Smooth Groove]

Stringer kinda sounds like he's given up on Blu-ray becoming the dominant HD format.  Looks like I'll still be buying HD movies in both formats for quite a long time. 

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/11/09/ap4320841.html?partner=alerts
NEW YORK -

The head of Sony Corp., Howard Stringer, said Thursday that the Blu-ray disc format the company has developed as the successor to the DVD is in a "stalemate" with the competing HD DVD format, chiefly backed by Toshiba Corp. and Microsoft Corp.

"It's a difficult fight," said Stringer, speaking at the 92nd Street Y cultural center in Manhattan.

Toshiba (other-otc: TOSBF.PK - news - people ) has been selling its players for as low as $200 heading into the holiday season, while Blu-ray players cost more than twice as much. The HD DVD camp also scored a significant win in August, when it induced Paramount Pictures to drop most of its support for Blu-ray and put out high-definition movies exclusively on HD DVD.

"We were trying to win on the merits, which we were doing for a while, until Paramount changed sides," Stringer said.

At the same time, he played down the importance of the battle, saying it was mostly a matter of prestige whose format wins out in the end.

"It doesn't mean as much as all that," Stringer said. He added that he believed there was an opportunity of uniting the two camps under one format before he became CEO, and he wishes he could travel back in time to make that happen.

Stringer was more upbeat about the PlayStation 3, the game console that has so far had disappointing sales compared to the rival Nintendo (other-otc: NTDOY.PK - news - people ) Wii.

The CEO said the console is the best-selling console in Europe after a price cut three weeks ago. In the U.S., a recent price cut has doubled sales.

"We are coming back up again," Stringer said. The company aims to sell 10 million PS3s by the end of its fiscal year in March. Nintendo has already sold 13.2 million Wiis.

[Phoenix Dark]

good

[The Fake Shemp]

FORMAT WAR CONTINUES!!!

[TVC15]

Ugh, you know things are bad when the head of Sony is saying this.  Gotta give it to Stringer though, better honesty and integrity than blowing smoke up the asses of the press and investors.  Things not looking so rosy, and he just says something.  I find that an admirable quality in a keepin' it real sense, but I'm not so certain this is a good thing to be saying as a businessman.

[The Fake Shemp]

TVC U DONT UNDERSTAND BLU RAY IS WINNING ALL IT HAS BEEN DOING IS WINNING BLU RAY WILL WIN THIS IS JUST A JOKE [/gaf]

[TVC15]

That being said if blu-ray loses I will kill myself

Blu Ray is my favorite horse based on the hard facts.  Mainly the hard fact that the PS3 owns my TV's one HDMI port, so it gets slightly better sound and picture.

[The Fake Shemp]

Blu Ray won't win because early adopters often forget what crosses over to the mainstream.  People didn't start buying HDTVs until Wal-Mart sold them on the cheap.  And now Wal-Mart will start selling HD-DVD players on the cheap.  Wal-Mart is the indicator for what will sell with the mainstream.

You folks might buy Samsung and Bravia TVs and Blu Ray players, but Joe Schmoe buys what's on sale at Wal-Mart.  And that determines who wins the market.

[Smooth Groove]

That being said if blu-ray loses I will kill myself

Blu Ray is my favorite horse based on the hard facts.  Mainly the hard fact that the PS3 owns my TV's one HDMI port, so it gets slightly better sound and picture.

Just buy a HDMI 360 already, cigarillo.  Some AV mag evaluated the 360's HDMI output and concluded that it had one of the best signals. 

[Phoenix Dark]

Blu Ray won't win because early adopters often forget what crosses over to the mainstream.  People didn't start buying HDTVs until Wal-Mart sold them on the cheap.  And now Wal-Mart will start selling HD-DVD players on the cheap.  Wal-Mart is the indicator for what will sell with the mainstream.

You folks might buy Samsung and Bravia TVs and Blu Ray players, but Joe Schmoe buys what's on sale at Wal-Mart.  And that determines who wins the market.

Pretty much. Blu Ray prices will fall eventually, but it'll be too late. As the PS3 proved in the gaming market, there's only so much the average person will spend on his entertainment before reaching the glass ceiling.

i feel like trolling the blu ray thread on GAF

[The Fake Shemp]

Sony really fucked itself too with the PlayStation 3.

It made it one of the most affordable Blu Ray players, but screwed over anyone who licensed the tech because a consumer is far more likely to just invest in a PS3 than a stand alone player.  The hardware business model won't be profitable for years if Blu Ray wins the format war.  If I was a manufacturer, this would definitely be a concern.

So after Sony screws over manufacturers of stand alone players for its products by including the tech in its console, it then screws over gamers in the same motion because of the cost of including such tech in the PS3.  You got to wonder if a Blu Ray-less PS3 with an affordable price tag and a stand alone Blu Ray player would've served Sony much better than it's all-in-one gamble with the PS3.

[Smooth Groove]

You got to wonder if a Blu Ray-less PS3 with an affordable price tag and a stand alone Blu Ray player would've served Sony much better than it's all-in-one gamble with the PS3.

Of course, it would.  Because of the high cost of a Blu-ray drive, Sony wasn't able to include a better GPU or more ram than the 360, despite coming out a year later.  I doubt many people predicted that 1 extra year wouldn't allow Sony to make a console that's capable of significantly better graphics than a 360. 

[Mr. Gundam]

http://www.jr.com/JRSectionView.process?Section_Path=/Promos/Movie03/

Tekkonkinkreet for $15.99! Rescue Me season 3 for $29.99! Volver for $15.99! Black Book for $15.99! Lives of Others for $15.99! Weeds season one for $15.99! Weeds season two for $19.99!

Too bad I already own them all. 

[DJ_Tet]

That being said if blu-ray loses I will kill myself

Blu Ray is my favorite horse based on the hard facts.  Mainly the hard fact that the PS3 owns my TV's one HDMI port, so it gets slightly better sound and picture.

Just buy a HDMI 360 already, cigarillo.  Some AV mag evaluated the 360's HDMI output and concluded that it had one of the best signals. 

How will buying an HDMI 360 give his TV an extra HDMI port?


edit:  TVC, you should buy some sort of hdmi switch, it's an all digital signal so I'm sure they would be cheap and work fine.

[Phoenix Dark]

You got to wonder if a Blu Ray-less PS3 with an affordable price tag and a stand alone Blu Ray player would've served Sony much better than it's all-in-one gamble with the PS3.

Of course, it would.  Because of the high cost of a Blu-ray drive, Sony wasn't able to include a better GPU or more ram than the 360, despite coming out a year later.  I doubt many people predicted that 1 extra year wouldn't allow Sony to make a console that's capable of significantly better graphics than a 360. 

bububbu once developers unlock the cell's powah

[bud]

good

please explain to me how this is ''good''

[Bloodwake]

This is why I'm buying an HD-DVD player.

First of all, they are cheap as fuck now.

Second of all, Blu-Ray's victory in the format war is no longer a given like it was in May, mainly due to the Paramount deal. After that deal, the fact that HD-DVD is cheaper was much, much more significant.

[Kyle]

Sony should have accepted Toshiba's Offer in 2005. but they wanted the format war.

[Smooth Groove]

http://www.jr.com/JRSectionView.process?Section_Path=/Promos/Movie03/

Tekkonkinkreet for $15.99! Rescue Me season 3 for $29.99! Volver for $15.99! Black Book for $15.99! Lives of Others for $15.99! Weeds season one for $15.99! Weeds season two for $19.99!

Too bad I already own them all. 

Thanksgiving is just around the corner though.  I ain't biting till then. 

[ToxicAdam]

When DVD's finally came down to 200 dollars they flew off of the shelves. They were THE thing to buy that Christmas (1998/99).

I just don't see that kind of movement or excitement now with HD-DVD, and wonder if we will ever see it.

[Mupepe]

When DVD's finally came down to 200 dollars they flew off of the shelves. They were THE thing to buy that Christmas (1998/99).

I just don't see that kind of movement or excitement now with HD-DVD, and wonder if we will ever see it.

not until hd dvd players can be used on 90 percent of the markets tvs out of the box.

[Bloodwake]

When DVD's finally came down to 200 dollars they flew off of the shelves. They were THE thing to buy that Christmas (1998/99).

I just don't see that kind of movement or excitement now with HD-DVD, and wonder if we will ever see it.

I'm buying one. So add +1 to this holiday season.

[Mupepe]

i love my hd dvd's    i've already chosen my side.

[Gay Boy]

Relying on a console will be blu-rays downfall. Video games aren't mainstream enough compared to the home-video market.

PS2 sold what, 35-40 million in America? Standalone dvd players in America are 133 million.

The PS3 audience can never, and will never compare to that. Blu-ray standalone system sales are completely horrible, not saying HD-DVD's are great.

But HD-DVD players sales over last weekends sales was equal to total blu-ray standalone player sales since the players came out. That is not a good thing at all. If Blu-Ray can't break away from PS3 it will fall apart.

In the end video games are a niche market compared to dvd players and can never carry it on it's back.

[MCD]

You want HD-DVD/Blu-Ray to win?

kill DVD.

have fun!



 

[Gay Boy]

You want HD-DVD/Blu-Ray to win?

kill DVD.

have fun!



 

Comparing either to DVD at this point is a joke. Big movies can sell 5-8 million copies in a DAY upon release in America.

[Kyle]

Relying on a console will be blu-rays downfall. Video games aren't mainstream enough compared to the home-video market.

PS2 sold what, 35-40 million in America? Standalone dvd players in America are 133 million.

The PS3 audience can never, and will never compare to that. Blu-ray standalone system sales are completely horrible, not saying HD-DVD's are great.

But HD-DVD players sales over last weekends sales was equal to total blu-ray standalone player sales since the players came out. That is not a good thing at all. If Blu-Ray can't break away from PS3 it will fall apart.

In the end video games are a niche market compared to dvd players and can never carry it on it's back.

remember, HD-DVD add-on for the 360, sold more than Blu-ray standalones 'combined' as of last month. LOL

[bud]

from the gaf thread:



1 Spider-Man 3 BD 100.00
2. Spider-Man: The High Definition Trilogy BD 71.95
3. Transformers HD 31.42
4. Meet the Robinsons BD 8.82
5. 300 BD 6.56
6. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer BD 5.03
7. License to Wed BD 4.24
8. The Shining BD 4.11
9. Mr. Brooks BD 4.03
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey BD 3.88

the $99 deal was in effect for 2 days and apparently spidey 3 sold like 130k

[TVC15]

I am guessing if the stalemate does stay in place until the end of next year, the market will go to hybrid players.  It will be a similar situation to the much-referenced DVD+ DVD- thing, although I am expecting the split to be more prominent at a corporate level.  Due to licensing software and what now, Sony and MS and the like will still be getting studios to sign exclusive deals and what not, but the home market will be ruled by hybrids, and everyone will have multicolored cased libraries.

[bud]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12008067&postcount=23



wow

[CajoleJuice]

[cubicle47b]

Hybrid players would be nice.  I'm extremely happy with my HD-A1 for now.  It might be slow to boot (it's a linux box) but the picture and audio quality is remarkable.

[Kyle]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12008067&postcount=23
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)

wow

I watched the movie on HD-DVD, and I have to agree with highdefdigest.com review.. 5/5 PQ!

[CajoleJuice]

It's nice to see 2001 10th on that list, btw.

[Gay Boy]

It's nice to see 2001 10th on that list, btw.

Software sales are so poor for both formats it isn't all that impressive in the pure numbers sense.

[drohne]

Just buy a HDMI 360 already, cigarillo.  Some AV mag evaluated the 360's HDMI output and concluded that it had one of the best signals. 

really? eurogamer just did a bunch of hdmi captures for a new ps3 vs 360 comparison, and the 360 shots show the same inaccurate gamma as i see on my tv through component

[Phoenix Dark]

When DVD's finally came down to 200 dollars they flew off of the shelves. They were THE thing to buy that Christmas (1998/99).

I just don't see that kind of movement or excitement now with HD-DVD, and wonder if we will ever see it.

The reason that won't happen is because of HDTV prices; the HDTV penetration rate in this country is still pretty damn low, and won't increase until we start seeing larger price cuts. Average people don't have thousands of dollars to waste on entertainment

[Gay Boy]

When DVD's finally came down to 200 dollars they flew off of the shelves. They were THE thing to buy that Christmas (1998/99).

I just don't see that kind of movement or excitement now with HD-DVD, and wonder if we will ever see it.

The reason that won't happen is because of HDTV prices; the HDTV penetration rate in this country is still pretty damn low, and won't increase until we start seeing larger price cuts. Average people don't have thousands of dollars to waste on entertainment

Since when are all hdtv's "thousands" of dollars? You can get 26-30 inch ones for around 500.

 I am suprised HDTV penetration is low, I havent been to a single house in the past 2-3 years outside of my grandparents where there wasnt a HDTV...

[Phoenix Dark]

When DVD's finally came down to 200 dollars they flew off of the shelves. They were THE thing to buy that Christmas (1998/99).

I just don't see that kind of movement or excitement now with HD-DVD, and wonder if we will ever see it.

The reason that won't happen is because of HDTV prices; the HDTV penetration rate in this country is still pretty damn low, and won't increase until we start seeing larger price cuts. Average people don't have thousands of dollars to waste on entertainment

Since when are all hdtv's "thousands" of dollars? You can get 26-30 inch ones for around 500.

 I am suprised HDTV penetration is low, I havent been to a single house in the past 2-3 years outside of my grandparents where there wasnt a HDTV...

I didn't say they were thousands of dollars. The prices are still too high for the average consumer. Also the average consumer has no idea WHAT HD IS. I've seen reports that suggest the market won't reach any significant rise until early 2009.

[Smooth Groove]

Just buy a HDMI 360 already, cigarillo.  Some AV mag evaluated the 360's HDMI output and concluded that it had one of the best signals. 

really? eurogamer just did a bunch of hdmi captures for a new ps3 vs 360 comparison, and the 360 shots show the same inaccurate gamma as i see on my tv through component

I think they only did tests with movies so any gamma problems in games wouldn't have been noticed.  Can you elaborate on the 360's inaccurate gamma?  Is it not possible that the eurogamer tv wasn't properly calibrated after they switched to a HDMI 360? 

I upgraded to a HDMI and noticed that the picture instantly looked much better.  Everything was crisper through HDMI  and colors also became more solid.  The main advantage that the 360 has over the PS3 is that the 360 can set everything to display in 1080p. 

[Synbios459]

When DVD's finally came down to 200 dollars they flew off of the shelves. They were THE thing to buy that Christmas (1998/99).

I just don't see that kind of movement or excitement now with HD-DVD, and wonder if we will ever see it.

The reason that won't happen is because of HDTV prices; the HDTV penetration rate in this country is still pretty damn low, and won't increase until we start seeing larger price cuts. Average people don't have thousands of dollars to waste on entertainment

Since when are all hdtv's "thousands" of dollars? You can get 26-30 inch ones for around 500.

 I am suprised HDTV penetration is low, I havent been to a single house in the past 2-3 years outside of my grandparents where there wasnt a HDTV...

Considering you get $60 haircuts and live in upscale places and have never seen a barber, I think you're the last person here to talk about what "the average person" wants.

[Gay Boy]

When DVD's finally came down to 200 dollars they flew off of the shelves. They were THE thing to buy that Christmas (1998/99).

I just don't see that kind of movement or excitement now with HD-DVD, and wonder if we will ever see it.

The reason that won't happen is because of HDTV prices; the HDTV penetration rate in this country is still pretty damn low, and won't increase until we start seeing larger price cuts. Average people don't have thousands of dollars to waste on entertainment

Since when are all hdtv's "thousands" of dollars? You can get 26-30 inch ones for around 500.

 I am suprised HDTV penetration is low, I havent been to a single house in the past 2-3 years outside of my grandparents where there wasnt a HDTV...

Considering you get $60 haircuts and live in upscale places and have never seen a barber, I think you're the last person here to talk about what "the average person" wants.

A everyday neighborhood subdivision is "upscale"? 

[Ichirou]

For once, I agree with Synbios.  Gay Boy lives in a bubble.

[Synbios459]

When DVD's finally came down to 200 dollars they flew off of the shelves. They were THE thing to buy that Christmas (1998/99).

I just don't see that kind of movement or excitement now with HD-DVD, and wonder if we will ever see it.

The reason that won't happen is because of HDTV prices; the HDTV penetration rate in this country is still pretty damn low, and won't increase until we start seeing larger price cuts. Average people don't have thousands of dollars to waste on entertainment

Since when are all hdtv's "thousands" of dollars? You can get 26-30 inch ones for around 500.

 I am suprised HDTV penetration is low, I havent been to a single house in the past 2-3 years outside of my grandparents where there wasnt a HDTV...

Considering you get $60 haircuts and live in upscale places and have never seen a barber, I think you're the last person here to talk about what "the average person" wants.

A everyday neighborhood subdivision is "upscale"? 

Well you told us you've always lived in upscale places.

[CajoleJuice]

Yea, Synbios actually laid down some TRUTH.

[Gay Boy]

I've said I lived in neighborhoods with no black people! Why does that = upscale.

[Smooth Groove]

I've said I lived in neighborhoods with no black people! Why does that = upscale.

A neighborhood with no black people is upscaled by Synbios' standards. 

[CajoleJuice]

$60 haircuts

[Phoenix Dark]

when i met cheebs he was kinda boughie...

me: hey, you rode your bike?
cheebs: yea. look at these elbow pads - i paid $90
me: ok...
cheebs: hold on, someone's calling me. i bought an iphone, but i needed 2 others for all my pants pockets

[drohne]

I think they only did tests with movies so any gamma problems in games wouldn't have been noticed.  Can you elaborate on the 360's inaccurate gamma?  Is it not possible that the eurogamer tv wasn't properly calibrated after they switched to a HDMI 360?

it's a basic problem with the 360's video output, it affects dvd movies, and i don't see why it wouldn't affect hd-dvd movies as well. andrewfee on gaf measured the 360's gamma at 2.6, whereas ps3 and every other hdmi device he's got measured at the standard 2.2. basically this is why 360 games are overly dark, with abrupt transitions from dark to light. you can really see it in these eurogamer vf5 shots, which a gafer turned into a mouseover gallery: http://ezbugs.x10hosting.com/360vsPS3/VF5/

in these cases you may not mind the 360's look -- you may even prefer the 360's look -- but it's inaccurate, and in dark games it makes everything unnaturally difficult to see. the unlit dungeons in oblivion are probably the best example. you can fix it if your tv has a 'gamma correction' setting, but this may create its own problems. on my bravia the gamma correction is a very blunt tool with only three steps, and it seems to affect the color temperature

[MrAngryFace]

Contrast is also a bitch on certain HDTVs, like Samsung for example. That DNie or whatever makes colors a little TOO rich and the result are overly dark games. I had to adjust quite a few things for PS3 VF5, and same for the 360 version of VF5. Trouble is I hate doing that because its really the most offensive title when it comes to contrast.