Microsoft's Xbox could consider Blu-ray support

At CES, Xbox group marketing manager says consumer preference will likely hold sway in next-generation format decision.

The story "Microsoft's Xbox could consider Blu-ray support" published January 8, 2008 at 6:16 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[SpiritWater]

Poor HD DVD :-(

It is too bad we didn't see a compromise between the two formats and more hybrid players, but the market is speaking. I'd hate to be on the HD DVD front. They put up a good fight.

Now with Blu-ray winning out we should see device prices fall as more system move due to consumer confidence in the format.


Break the Wedge!
www.breakthewedge.com

[Hoodgrown_Magazine]

Why?

"It is too bad we didn't see a compromise between the two formats and more hybrid players, but the market is speaking."


Yes. Who would want to support TWO ADDITIONAL formats? What would be the purpose in that?

[McPlot]

No, you won't see cheaper Blu-Ray players

This is SONY we are talking about. While Blu-Ray has the edge at the moment, HD DVD did when Universal said it was going HD DVD only, a few months back. I do not want Sony to the the only company with HD disc. If it wasn't for HD DVD, Blu-Ray movies would be $40+ each. Sony's plan on Blu-Ray players still put them at $400 plus. Without HD DVD, Sony would RAISE prices not drop them. Look at thier little UMD disc for the PSP. $30 for T2! A movie that came out over 20 years ago, and they want $30 for it on their little screen?
\
Betamax, UMD, Laserdisc, minidisc. All over priced, and all Sony.

There has to be an good alternitive to Sony's Blu-Ray, or we all LOSE the HD disc wars.

[maverick_nick]

HD DVD & BLU-RAY FAIL!

I'm not a supporter of either platform. I do however wish that we could declare a winner soon and get on with things. However, I think that this will become less of an issue a few years from now. Especially considering that memory is getting cheaper and smaller and data transfer speeds are increasing; I think that we'll be using less DVD-type media and more portable memory devices.

If I could wirelessly download a movie onto my portable device (like a phone with a terabyte of disk space) in a matter of seconds and then play it anywhere (have it transferred to my home server, for example), I'd be happy. I mean who wants to have a huge stack of discs. I already have more discs than I do space for them. I think that Bill Gates has the right idea when he said that HD DVD/BLU-RAY is the last media format we'll see.

I've got so many discs in so many places that I can't find something when I'm looking for it, or it takes forever. Now if I could just do a search for a movie I want to watch an have it popup on my screen instantly - that's awesome. Plus I don't have to worry about scratches and darn drives that eventually can't read a disc properly. Let's face it; the DVD era is coming to an end. I wish that I could say the same about DRM.

[spm82]

Discs Not Going Anywhere

You're losing sight of the mainstream if you really think that in only a few years disc-based media will not be used, for several reasons. First of all, while I will admit that things like flash memory are getting cheaper, they're not anywhere near the price they would need to be to match the optical formats (Blu-Ray upwards of 50GB for DL). You also have DRM to think of, which is a layer of protection content owners get much more easily with packaged discs vs portable media files, and they are not likely to loosen that grip voluntarily.
Data transfer speeds are increasingly however slowly, but not at these levels you're suggesting to quickly move a 25-50GB file between devices (1TB phone storage???) on the fly.
Lastly, there are still quite a few people out there with physical CD collections because they actually feel better having the physical media their music originally came on, yet another reason I don't see the entertainment industry taking steps towards abandoning discs even in the next 10 years.

[Teddy72]

It's about the Games, not Movies dummies!!!

Ultimately, the winning platform will be becuaseof the games and gameplay not movies...and privepoint. So far, XBox 360 is kickin PS3's a** and I do not expect that to change. - A new Xbox gamer former PS2 chump who waited forever for Sony to be nice to its customers.

[jrm125]

Blu Ray pummels HD DVD in sales this week

http://www.tvpredictions.com/hddiscsales011708.htm

Home Media Magazine reports that Blu-ray last week captured 85 percent of high-def disc sales compared to HD DVD's 15 percent.