Netflix Drops HD-DVD In Favor Of Blu-Ray >

	2008/02/11 10:52:03: Posted by DM
	It looks like the HD-DVD Blu-Ray war is just about over. Another blow was struck today when Netflix, one of the biggest online movie rental houses, announced it is dropping HD-DVD in favor of Blu-Ray for its HD rental format. Oh boy. >Link
	Labeled With  hddvd bluray Comments [20]  | Rate this article: -- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  | Avg. rating of 8.5

well another one, either way most companies knows Blu Ray is the winner... so little by little you will see that companies are droping hd dvd, its like finally they decided, but still risky, i say drop it already, because Warner Bros is the totally answer !

Tell us something we dont know. It's pretty much a forgone conclusion that Blu-Rya will win. The better question is how long will it take for Blu-Ray to gain Mass adoption?????

thats true !!!

But some corp, like paramount and dreamworks, probably will take time since there is a little chance HD DVD could do somthing big but, the question is, what do they have to do beat Blu Ray, beside droping price...?

Pimpdaddy,

You said it in a virtually perfect way.

If this were a football game the score would be 35-14, in favor of Blu-ray, but it is only the end of the first quarter. There are still three more quarters of time to run out before the game (format war) is officially over and mass adoption takes place.



The bottom line is, until Universal Pictures, Dreamworks, Paramount, Nickelodean, and MTV decide to stop supporting HD-DVD, then it will be IMPOSSIBLE for a "format winner," to officially be determined in the same way that the DVD format was the "Official Winner."



Netflix is making a VERY COSTLY mistake, though, for the following reasons:

Consider that the most popular high-definition movie on any format is Transformers, on HD-DVD.

Consider that this years most popular movie is going to be Iron Man, from Paramount, which will be released in high-definition ONLY on HD-DVD. That will be costly to Netflix, because Blockbuster Video and others still rent high-definition movies through the mail, which means the competitors of Netflix will get all of that business.



HD-DVD is currently travelling down the inevitable, slowly but surely, path to a loss, though. Very similar to what has happened to the Playstation 3.

There are only three strategies that can help HD-DVD:

(1) Make it so Hybrid discs become MANDATORY, so that HD-DVD and standard DVD are on the same disc.

(2) Try to keep this "format war," going until the next system from either Nintendo or Microsoft is released, and then make it so HD-DVD is included in that system, perhaps "with" Blu-ray, as well. This will inevitably result in an HD-DVD victory, due to the fact that a format "tie" results in an HD-DVD win, since HD-DVD is less expensive to produce.

(3) Rumors are now starting to circulate on the Internet that Microsoft will buy one of the major movies studies such as Time Warner or Fox. This seems like the only way the HD-DVD can make up for the loss of recent support.

The question is, is Microsoft willing to take financial risks like this, especially when they don't really care which format wins. Microsoft supposedly wants the "On-Demand" service to become the ultimate winner, which it eventually will.



Remember, the fact that Blu-ray discs have "extra features" in only 480i resolution really is sad. For $35 you get low-res special features. I'd rather pay $5 for an On-Demand movie in high-definition, and have access to a much larger selection of movies from ALL of the movie studios.

I just moved 3 more bluray movies into my netflix queue.

links to the rumours?

These are not rumors..I got the email direct from netflix. Now, if they could only increase their quantities. The HD-DVD's are always available it seems. Most the Blu's in my queue have long waits and keep getting skipped.

KROGANATO IS FUNNY AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

I LOVE HIS DUMB PHILOSOPHY !!!!!!!!!

Hey Kroganato, what happen you supporting HD DVD instead of ON-DEMAND against BLU Ray !!!!

lol

microsoft buy time warner or fox, good luck with that fantasy krogan.

think blue ray is in a strong position, pretty strong on at that

In other news....Buy has announced it will officially promote Blu-ray as the HD format of the future. Starting in early March the store will showcase Blu hardware and software on its shelves and website, and switch from its current neutral stance, to recommending Blu-ray to any customers that ask.

That should say "Best Buy"

Krogan doesn't know anything he just graduate from kindergarden, so just keep that in mind....

LOL

check the gamepro, they got latest news again for BLU RAY !

i just read this

hxxp://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/02/12/rumour-netflix-coming-to-ps3/#comments

netflix on the PS3 would own!!

i know its just a rumor... but a flat monthly fee to stream any movie in netflix's library would rule!

It's not a rumor. They're actively evaluating the demand for Netflix on PS3.

[link removed]nd in extended overtime. The game has been over for weeks. The HD-DVD team just refuses to leave the field.

Netflix is doing everyone a favor and joining the exponentially growing crowd mercifully putting HD-DVD out of it's misery.

hxxps://research.netflix.com/entgmrsflwup0208qnt.htm

and withoutprejudicegamer and ultrabiased electronics scholar and dudeman are doing everyone a favor by posting under the same name. not!

thanks for the slip up regarding netflix and the rumors. next time check what name you are logged in as.

now Walmart is going bluray exclusive. Bye hd-dvd..i hardly knew you.

Response to dudeman:

I just heard that on the news on television, too.

The FACT that the LARGEST retailer in the world has decided to "phase out" the HD-DVD format by June of 2008 means that there is virtually no point for anyone to buy an HD-DVD player.



At this point, it may be an almost foolish decision for people to buy an HD-DVD player. I have to say that I am probably not going to buy any HD-DVD movies from now on, unless they are the Hybrid discs that can also be used on standard DVD players.

If I hadn't already purchased and HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 last year, then I probably wouldn't be interested in buying one now.



Although, I wouldn't be interested in a Blu-ray player either, since the newest models of inexpensive Upconverting DVD players upconvert standard DVD discs all the way to 1920x1080p resolution. The reason I wouldn't be interested in Blu-ray is because all DVD discs use MPEG-2 video compression, just like the overwhelming majority of Blu-ray discs.

That's why upconverted DVD's look virtually identical to Blu-ray discs when they HDTV settings are customized in the proper way. Many people even point out to the example of how Blu-ray discs like "The Last Samurai" actually look WORSE on the Blu-ray format, because there is so much visible Digital Noise in the higher resolution.



The nice thing about HD-DVD was that it had such strict standards: All discs used the newer, VC-1 video compression technology.

Consider that the people who paid $900 for Blu-ray players are SCREWED, because those players were non-upgradable, and the Blu-ray format has been upgraded TWO times since it was originally released. HD-DVD has never needed to be upgraded, because the format standards were so strict from the beginning.



It looks like HD-DVD wasn't able to "survive" until June. The format "war" may still be going on, but the score is 35-7 at halftime now. Unless Toshiba hires Jim Kelly, I think they have zero chance of winning the game.

...and Microsoft needs to be realistic, it is time to release a Blu-ray player for the Xbox 360...or better yet, release a product that plays BOTH Blu-ray AND the HD-DVD format. If Microsoft did that, then they would have the format advantage over Sony, and it would actually keep the HD-DVD format alive--albeit, on life support. But, when a certain number of units were sold, then stores like Wal-Mart would once again decide to carry HD-DVD products.



*

Toshiba needs to be realistic...the ONLY chance that HD-DVD has to survive is if both HD-DVD discs AND standard DVD discs are discontinued/remodeled in favor of the dual-format Hybrid discs. If that could happen, it would AUTOMATICALLY mean that every DVD movie rental store INSTANTLY carries HD-DVD discs, too.

But I doubt that will happen, because Toshiba has been too stupid all along. Not aggressive enough, and very poorly marketed.

Toshiba is already gearing up to start making Blu-Ray players. Smart move if they expect to actually make money this generation.

The Blu-Ray HD Movie Player/PS3 is going to be hard to beat this year. The HDTV generation is finally getting ripe. Sony is in the best position to cash in. The PS3 gaming system helped Blu-Ray win the format war. Now Blu-Ray in the box will be returning the favor in spades.

I predict that those major publications whom said the PS3 was a huge disappointment will be eating crow. They'll be writing articles on what a brilliant plan Sony had all along. Many are already touting that the PS3 is the best and only future-proof Blu-Ray player on the market.

Toshiba OFFICIALLY pulls the plug on hd-dvd. It is officially over folks! Bluray wins!!