Will There Be Another Blu/hddvd Hw?

[Guest David Tran]

well...hddvd is dead as dead can be. Samsung and LG have decided to pull the plug on dual format players. Maybe incentives from Sony.

comments

David

[darthhasbro]

well...hddvd is dead as dead can be. Samsung and LG have decided to pull the plug on dual format players. Maybe incentives from Sony.

comments

David

I would say Sony wouldn't have to offer incentives for this to happen, as you say, HD DVD is dead, so why keep making players to play a dead format

I'd say it's just an independent business decision based on the market, Joe Public only sees Blu Ray in the shops now, both media and players, what's he going to do with a dual format player?

[Chesty]

I would say Sony wouldn't have to offer incentives for this to happen, as you say, HD DVD is dead, so why keep making players to play a dead format

I'd say it's just an independent business decision based on the market, Joe Public only sees Blu Ray in the shops now, both media and players, what's he going to do with a dual format player?

Exactly. This is hardly surprising. Why produce hardware for a dead format?

[peterjcat]

It's a bit too glib to say that it's a dead format and therefore not worth supporting. If HD DVD had gathered a substantially larger support base before they stopped producing software then there would be value in continuing to support the format in a secondary kind of way, especially if it's not that much more expensive to throw in HD DVD compatibility.

LG especially seemed to think that there were enough HD DVD owners to make this a valuable proposition, and I guess they were disappointed at how few people were buying their combos. (Although maybe they would have seen a different result if they had finalised their product sooner.)

As a former HD DVD fan I thought the combos were a great idea, and I just ordered a second LG BH200 from the US in what now look like runout sales. I kind of like being able to move away from Toshiba after they folded so quickly and can't seem to send out redemption titles. But I guess there weren't enough people like me to justify the combo business case.

[darthhasbro]

It's a bit too glib to say that it's a dead format and therefore not worth supporting. If HD DVD had gathered a substantially larger support base before they stopped producing software then there would be value in continuing to support the format in a secondary kind of way, especially if it's not that much more expensive to throw in HD DVD compatibility.

LG especially seemed to think that there were enough HD DVD owners to make this a valuable proposition, and I guess they were disappointed at how few people were buying their combos. (Although maybe they would have seen a different result if they had finalised their product sooner.)

As a former HD DVD fan I thought the combos were a great idea, and I just ordered a second LG BH200 from the US in what now look like runout sales. I kind of like being able to move away from Toshiba after they folded so quickly and can't seem to send out redemption titles. But I guess there weren't enough people like me to justify the combo business case.

Maybe LG should have had a look at the price, their RRP is horribly expensive, even when HD DVD players were full price

No analog audio outs either, no firmware upgrades online and less HD audio support than PS3

No wonder nobody was buying and they are discontinued

Here's a CNET review

http://reviews.cnet.com/video-players-and-...7-32595250.html

[Chesty]

It's a bit too glib to say that it's a dead format and therefore not worth supporting. If HD DVD had gathered a substantially larger support base before they stopped producing software then there would be value in continuing to support the format in a secondary kind of way, especially if it's not that much more expensive to throw in HD DVD compatibility.

LG especially seemed to think that there were enough HD DVD owners to make this a valuable proposition, and I guess they were disappointed at how few people were buying their combos. (Although maybe they would have seen a different result if they had finalised their product sooner.)

As a former HD DVD fan I thought the combos were a great idea, and I just ordered a second LG BH200 from the US in what now look like runout sales. I kind of like being able to move away from Toshiba after they folded so quickly and can't seem to send out redemption titles. But I guess there weren't enough people like me to justify the combo business case.

I say again the format is DEAD!!

Why on earth would a company wish to suport a format that the studios are no longer supporting?

The combo player was a good idea 12 months ago but is now outdated and no longer needed, hence the decision.

I own a HD DVD player and titles but also understand that its now an obsolete format.

[peterjcat]

Maybe LG should have had a look at the price, their RRP is horribly expensive, even when HD DVD players were full price

No analog audio outs either, no firmware upgrades online and less HD audio support than PS3

No wonder nobody was buying and they are discontinued

Here's a CNET review

http://reviews.cnet.com/video-players-and-...7-32595250.html

That's an old review and all of the problems mentioned have been fixed by firmware. The player now bitstreams all audio codecs (which the PS3 doesn't, if you care about that sort of thing) and internally decodes everything except DTS-HD MA. You can now upgrade firmware over the Internet. You're right about the analog outs, doesn't bother me as I use HDMI but it would have been a useful inclusion. It's Profile 1.1 and may turn out to 2.0, who knows, is now SD region free and switches easily between BD regions.

Of course, it's only been a decent player for a couple of months, it was a basket case before then and got a deservedly bad reputation from the early reviews. They certainly missed the boat but maybe not by much. The RRP was way too high, especially when the player had so many problems, but mine cost less than a local PS3 even including freight and a stepdown transformer.

You can say the format is dead all you like, but that doesn't answer the question. They were making laserdisc players for years after the last laserdisc was pressed. It made sense because a lot more people had laserdisc collections than now have HD DVD collections, not because the format was any more or less dead.

[The D-Train]

I say again the format is DEAD!!

Some think its just resting.

[Kazz]

I say again the format is DEAD!!

Even the most ardent HD DVD supporters, myself included, agree with that statement.

[Chesty]

Even the most ardent HD DVD supporters, myself included, agree with that statement.

Clearly some people cant let go...

[Kazz]

Clearly some people cant let go...

Looks that way.

[Guest Cap'n Jack]

What about PC drives that are still using hd dvd drives?

[peterjcat]

Clearly some people cant let go...

Depends what you mean by "let go" I suppose... if you mean accept that it's very unlikely that anyone will ever make any more HD DVD hardware or software, I think everyone's already there. If you mean accept that all of our software is now worthless and we shouldn't try to find ways to keep playing it, that's a different story!

[darthhasbro]

That's an old review and all of the problems mentioned have been fixed by firmware. The player now bitstreams all audio codecs (which the PS3 doesn't, if you care about that sort of thing) and internally decodes everything except DTS-HD MA. You can now upgrade firmware over the Internet. You're right about the analog outs, doesn't bother me as I use HDMI but it would have been a useful inclusion. It's Profile 1.1 and may turn out to 2.0, who knows, is now SD region free and switches easily between BD regions.

Of course, it's only been a decent player for a couple of months, it was a basket case before then and got a deservedly bad reputation from the early reviews. They certainly missed the boat but maybe not by much. The RRP was way too high, especially when the player had so many problems, but mine cost less than a local PS3 even including freight and a stepdown transformer.

You can say the format is dead all you like, but that doesn't answer the question. They were making laserdisc players for years after the last laserdisc was pressed. It made sense because a lot more people had laserdisc collections than now have HD DVD collections, not because the format was any more or less dead.

Hmmm...the last LD was pressed in 2000 (Sleepy Hollow for trivia buffs) and the last LD player was the Pioneer DVL-919 DVD/LD combo released in...1999!!

There might have been some LD player stock in the channel after that, but they finished making players BEFORE they finished pressing discs...

And LDs were around for 20 years! HD DVD barely made 4 years...purely a commercial decision on LG and Samsungs part as the HD DVD format is dead

[darthhasbro]

Depends what you mean by "let go" I suppose... if you mean accept that it's very unlikely that anyone will ever make any more HD DVD hardware or software, I think everyone's already there. If you mean accept that all of our software is now worthless and we shouldn't try to find ways to keep playing it, that's a different story!

I think anyone with a large HD DVD library has a back up player or two, I know I do!

[peterjcat]

Hmmm...the last LD was pressed in 2000 (Sleepy Hollow for trivia buffs) and the last LD player was the Pioneer DVL-919 DVD/LD combo released in...1999!!

There might have been some LD player stock in the channel after that, but they finished making players BEFORE they finished pressing discs...

And LDs were around for 20 years! HD DVD barely made 4 years...purely a commercial decision on LG and Samsungs part as the HD DVD format is dead

Well, I didn't know LDs had been released so recently! But you can still buy the DVL-919 new, direct from the Pioneer website or from other retailers. I dunno if they've stopped making them but they're certainly still selling them. But whatever. Of course it was a commercial decision by LG and Samsung, but not just because nobody's making any more HD DVDs but, as you say, because in only 4 years not enough people bought enough HD DVDs to make it worthwhile.

LG came out after Toshiba announced the end of HD DVD saying they'd continue to support the market, so I think commercially it was probably a close call. They couldn't make it work, but that doesn't mean it was a foregone conclusion. I'm just glad they managed to make a pretty decent combo player before pulling the plug.

[peterjcat]

I think anyone with a large HD DVD library has a back up player or two, I know I do!

I do too, but my backup player also plays Blu-rays

[darthhasbro]

I do too, but my backup player also plays Blu-rays

With your revelation that the LG player is actually now a decent HD DVD player, I'm almost tempted to look one up myself

But I would like to know where they're still selling DVL-919's new, I wouldn't mind one of those either!

[peterjcat]

With your revelation that the LG player is actually now a decent HD DVD player, I'm almost tempted to look one up myself

But I would like to know where they're still selling DVL-919's new, I wouldn't mind one of those either!

The LG is a decent player, I don't know why more people aren't picking them up instead of spending gazillions on XE1s. (It's not as good as the XE1, no analogue outs, couple of problem discs, menus not as smooth, but then again it's quieter, loads faster, is now cheaper and plays BDs!)

I don't know if you can buy a new DVL-919 here in Australia, but B&H Photo will ship you one from the US. Not cheap, but neither were laserdiscs!