Overposting...sure, why not

I was reading an article on http://gizmodo.com/ which I thought I had to share with the rest of you folks. Its on the HD-DVD demise issue again, but sure is funny and packs in some sound advice....well mostly anyways.

A Consumer's Cheat Sheet to HD DVD's Death and Blu-ray's Victory

HD DVD is dead. Officially. That may mean a whole bunch for the early-adopter tech geek crowd that's been wading in the kiddie pool of technological bickering and backhandedness for years, but what does it mean for the average consumer with only a cursory interest in high-def DVDs?

Here's our cheat sheet Q&A for you to whip out if you ever have to explain the high-def format wars to your parents.

Q: I chose sides early in the HD DVD/Blu-ray shenanigans and unfortunately, made the right decision and supported HD DVD. What do I do now?

A: Try and sell your HD DVD player or Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on as fast as you can. Go list it on craigslist or eBay already. The mainstream hasn't heard about HD DVD's demise just yet, which means you can find some chump to buy your player and movies on the cheap. How soundly you
sleep at night is up to you.

Q: Really? You mean my player is useless? Won't there be any more movies released on HD DVD?

A: A few more releases that are already in the pipeline might trickle out in the next couple months, but just watch as all the studios abandon the format and go exclusively Blu-ray. You're better off
just selling off all your stuff unless you want to keep it around to win our retro Gizmodo tech contest of 2028.

Q: But what if I already have a gigantic HD DVD library?

A: It depends on how gigantic it is. If it's not too big, you can re-buy your library on Blu-ray. If it's huge, you might want to buy a combo player, like the one from LG, in order to ease your transition.
Either way, you're going to be out a bit of money. You might want to just shoot yourself in the face now and be done with it.

Q: I chose sides early in the HD DVD/Blu-ray shenanigans and chose Blu-ray. What do I do now?

A: Besides calling up your grandmother to rub it in her face, there's not much you need to do. Just sit and wait for your favorite movies to come out on Blu-ray.

Q: Right, but how long do I have to wait, exactly, before I can watch Batman Begins on my PlayStation 3?

A: Beats me. Now that Blu-ray is the de-facto format, the studios should be falling over themselves trying to remaster their already released HD DVD movies onto Blu-ray. If we had to guess, it'd
be within the year.

Q: OK, now that the war is "officially over," is it time for me to buy a Blu-ray player?

A: Maybe. It's still relatively early in the technology's lifespan, which means prices for Blu-ray players are still quite high when you compare it to the sub-$100 upscaling DVD players you can find at Wal-Mart. Plus, the BD library is incredibly thin when compared to DVD, so you might not be getting much use out of the player in your day-to-day movie watching. But if you really do want to get into
the HD game (and have an HDTV to back it up), it's finally safe to buy a player.

Q: So you're saying that I'm going to be paying more for these movies on Blu-ray? When will the prices drop to DVD levels?

A: That's tough to say. For example, Superman Returns is only $14.98 for the DVD version but $23.95for the Blu-ray version. It's going to take a few years yet for that 23 to drop to 14. If you had to force us to guess, we're going to say about three years. That's 2011.

Q: I don't buy movies, I rent them. When are Netflix and Blockbuster going to get in gear and stock a bunch of Blu-ray movies?

A: As soon as the major studios start releasing Blu-ray movies in bulk. If you recall the VHS to DVD transition, it took quite a while for VHS tapes to phase out, and this transition will be quite similar.
Again, if you forced us to guess, we'd have to say 2010.

Q: Screw it, I'm convinced. I'm going to go out and buy a player today. Which player should I buy?

A: Unless you're morally opposed to gaming or having a gaming device in your living room, you should go with the PlayStation 3. It's software-upgradeable, plus it's relatively cheap even when compared to standalone Blu-ray players. You even get a gaming system thrown in.

Q: Speaking of gaming, what if I already purchased an Xbox 360 and want to be able to watch Blu-ray movies? Will I have to buy a PS3?

A: Maybe not. Even though Microsoft backed HD DVD and released an HD DVD add-on, they weren't staking their entire console on the format (hence, the add-on). This means that Microsoft has a big minus in their column when comparing the 360 to the PS3 in terms of high-def DVD
playback. It's a hole they're going to want to patch up right away, so don't be surprised if you see a Blu-ray add-on for the 360 some time in the near future.

Q: Can you sum up what I, the average consumer, should do at this point in one sentence?

A: Wait one more year for the Blu-ray format to mature, for more titles to be released, and player prices to drop before jumping in.

Original post at :http://gizmodo.com/358219/a-consumers-cheat-sheet-to-hd-dvds-death-and-blurays-victory/

The End is Nigh

So while thinking of the topic to discuss today, a friend of mine pinged me to say this

This got me thinking all about the debate that had been raging for quite a while about which was the better format, which is better for the consumer....etc..etc. Jump to the present and its clear that it no longer matters which was the better format because ladies and gents,we have a winner. Sure its a more expensive technology and people complain about it being inferior to HD-DVD, but atleast now consumers can invest on a next-gen DVD format player and not lose. I am sure there are lots of people out there who are unhappy, but this will atleast allow a consolidation for the consumers and the manufacturers, and hopefully there should be enough models out there to rival the low costs of the HD-DVD players.

For me, I am a happy camper as is obvious from my excerpt with my friend, and as is he. For a darn good reason too, we both have a PS3, and as we all know that Sony played a huge gamble with selling the PS3 with a built in Blu-Ray player. This alone introduced a lot of homes to, voluntarily or not, this technology, and more often than not, defined their camp of choice. In the end this gambit payed off for us and for Sony, though there sure were a lot more things to attribute to their success, including their midnight deals that shook the HD-DVD camp in irrecoverable ways.

It also means I can expect all my favorite movies in Blu-Ray and watch them happily on my PS3.It means I no longer have to worry about whether or not I will get shafted by giant corporations,well atleast not in the immediate future. Infact I would suggest most people who want a Blu-Ray player to buy the PS3 instead, specially if they have an avid interest in gaming. Its one ofthe only, if not the only player which can be updated to the latest version of Blu-Ray specifications.(I may be using the wrong lingo, so forgive me if thats the case). It serves as an excellent gaming machine, and in the year to come, there are several big name titles, some of which are sure to become classics. It can also surf the web, and hence be used to download movies from the internet(note: I am not suggesting illegal downloads, there are legal means to download movies), and watch them right there on your PS3, or save them for future viewing. You can also set it up as a media center, photo viewer, music player.....etc..etc. Sure the Xbox 360 can do loads of these things too, but so far I dont see a Blu-Ray player in it, and to boot with a high failure rate I would keep miles away from the demonic machine and its red ring of death.

So for those of you who invested in the losing camp, I offer you my condolences. To those on the winning side, I offer my congratulations, and to those who have waited out this battle, now is the time, go witness the next generation of High Def DVD's. To those who are afraid of the high costs of Blu-Ray players, I can offer this example of my friend purchasing the PS3 for a mere 250$, sure he went through a bunch of rebates,but for the eagle eyed bargain hunters, such low prices are there for the taking. If I see any interest, I may post on how he got the deal.

Till next time....Ciao.