Next Gen DVD

[Reality]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051004/ap_on_...generation_dvds

Blu-ray Disc vs HD DVD backed by Toshiba Corp.
You geeks have a choice?

[westkoast]

Ill put aside the technology geek in me for a minute....

The deciding factor is going to be what major electronic companies want to use.  I like to stick with Sony, Toshiba, etc as I always get quality electronic devices from them.

[rickortreat]

To me, the hardware is the same, and it's not necessarilly the best product that wins.  Sony's betamax was better- a superior picture with better resolution.

Why did Sony and betamax loose? everyone else wanted the VHS system and ganged up on poor Sony who kept the patents to betamax.  

It'll be the same deal this time around, the group with the deeper pockets will determine the standard.  The poor consumer who picks the wrong one, may have a machine on their shelf that no-one wants, just like the people with the beta machines who had to go out and get a VHS system so they could rent videos.

[Guest]

Sony is going to be using Blu ray - Playstation 3.  It was supposed to utilize both Blu ray and HD DVD, but since the technologies split Sony chose to stick with Blu ray.  I plan on getting one of the new PS3's so it will be interesting to see if it all that.  Not sure how much more they could pack onto a dvd - even though China developed a technology along the same lines already and is currently selling dvd players for thier own media.  

[oops]

it was me, spursx3 that posted the last post...

[westkoast]

The poor consumer who picks the wrong one, may have a machine on their shelf that no-one wants, just like the people with the beta machines who had to go out and get a VHS system so they could rent videos.

Exactly why I am waiting.  I remember we use to have have Betamax and we still have a whole movie collection on Beta. Then all the sudden it became impossible to rent or buy movies... BAM everyone stopped carrying beta tapes.  I think WHEREHOUSE was the last place to still rent those and even eventually they gave up.

Both technologies have their up and downsides but at the end of the day I am going with whatever the companies I buy from use.   Since ill be getting the ps3 also and will use it as a next generation DVD player looks like im going blu ray.

[WayOutWest]

FYI,

I've spoken with post production people regarding Betamax vs VHS.  Betamax is still being used in the post production industry and they tell me VHS is the superior product in terms of audio/video quality.

I was always under the impression that Betamax had a better picture as well but my buds got into the technical reasons why that was impossible.

[rickortreat]

Since when WOW?  My understanding was that Beta had a much better picture, and that the TV cameras the stations used to use were Sony Betacams.  That much I know to be true, but it's possible that they made improvements to VHS, or added on some back-end electronics to enhance it.

Portable video is allways flawed compared with the studio stuff.  But the signal could be "cleaned up" using a time base corrector.  A nice expensive little toy for the consumer, but a necessity for anyone putting out quality video.