Sony sets Blu-ray rollout date

Japanese company's entertainment division plans to launch first movies in the next-generation DVD format in May.
Photos: Worst-dressed gadgets? Blu-ray and HD DVD players

The story "Sony sets Blu-ray rollout date" published February 28, 2006 at 5:07 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

Content from Reuters expires after 30 days.

[SqlserverCode]

Hitch??

Hitch?
Who the hell wants that?

http://otherthingsnow.blogspot.com/

[SqlserverCode]

Hitch??

Hitch?
Who the hell wants that?

http://otherthingsnow.blogspot.com/

[markdoiron]

Blu-Ray/Std Def DVD Combo Disks?

During this time of transition these disks should be Blu-ray/Std Def DVD combo's. Are they? If not, why not? Sony's been bragging the technology can do it. So do it, already; now's the time!

Or is the word from the DVD pressing factories correct that this is a lot more expensive and complicated than Sony admits to? Which begs the question: What other things does Sony say that are "incorrect"?

mark d.

[grossph]

Combo Disc not the Same Thing

Yes, I bet it is hard to make a disc that plays both on a current DVD player as well as the New Blu-Ray players, but who wants that. As long as my Blu-Ray player will also play my current DVDs then I am ok with that. I don't need to buy a single disc that plays in both, that is not the "definitiion" of transition, it is not the media that needs to handle transition, it is the players.

I am betting we will see blu-ray/HD-DVD players...we still have -r and +r, hasen't seemed to bother the market two much, because all players seem to do a pretty good job recording and playing both. Let just hope they figure a way to do this with the new formats as well.

Philip

[markdoiron]

Blu-Ray/Std Def DVD Combo Disks?

During this time of transition these disks should be Blu-ray/Std Def DVD combo's. Are they? If not, why not? Sony's been bragging the technology can do it. So do it, already; now's the time!

Or is the word from the DVD pressing factories correct that this is a lot more expensive and complicated than Sony admits to? Which begs the question: What other things does Sony say that are "incorrect"?

mark d.

[grossph]

Combo Disc not the Same Thing

Yes, I bet it is hard to make a disc that plays both on a current DVD player as well as the New Blu-Ray players, but who wants that. As long as my Blu-Ray player will also play my current DVDs then I am ok with that. I don't need to buy a single disc that plays in both, that is not the "definitiion" of transition, it is not the media that needs to handle transition, it is the players.

I am betting we will see blu-ray/HD-DVD players...we still have -r and +r, hasen't seemed to bother the market two much, because all players seem to do a pretty good job recording and playing both. Let just hope they figure a way to do this with the new formats as well.

Philip

[startiger]

Betamax

Sorry, but does any one really think that this will catch on? Why pay a couple humdred for a new machine that only plays 15 movies (some of which I already have on DVD.) and has questionalble compatibility wih the hundreds of movies that I have on DVD now?

Sony has a bad history with this kinda stuff. Great idea that are expensive and not may other people use (Typically becaue they forget that the market goes for what is cheaper, readily availabie, and what everyone else has). Look at Batamax, Minidisc, etc.

[samkass]

PS3

The last format Sony introduced is UMD for the PSP, and it's doing way better than most analysts expected. I suspect when the PlayStation3 comes out with Blu-Ray support adoption will skyrocket. True HD video is incredible, and House of Flying Daggers is a great choice for the first movie. By Christmas, there will be hundreds of choices... MUCH faster adoption than DVD, for which I was only able to find a small handful 2 years after introduction.

Leary of Sony

Like Mr. Wontelu, I am leary of proprietary Sony formats too (MiniDisk, MemoryStick as well as the aforementioned BetaMax). But, Sony isn't just being Sony again on this one. Apple, Dell and HP are also in the Blu-Rau Disc Association, so some other big companies are drinking the Kool-Aid.

But, there is only one Blu-Ray device I care about at this time: the PlayStation 3.

[startiger]

Betamax

Sorry, but does any one really think that this will catch on? Why pay a couple humdred for a new machine that only plays 15 movies (some of which I already have on DVD.) and has questionalble compatibility wih the hundreds of movies that I have on DVD now?

Sony has a bad history with this kinda stuff. Great idea that are expensive and not may other people use (Typically becaue they forget that the market goes for what is cheaper, readily availabie, and what everyone else has). Look at Batamax, Minidisc, etc.

[samkass]

PS3

The last format Sony introduced is UMD for the PSP, and it's doing way better than most analysts expected. I suspect when the PlayStation3 comes out with Blu-Ray support adoption will skyrocket. True HD video is incredible, and House of Flying Daggers is a great choice for the first movie. By Christmas, there will be hundreds of choices... MUCH faster adoption than DVD, for which I was only able to find a small handful 2 years after introduction.

Leary of Sony

Like Mr. Wontelu, I am leary of proprietary Sony formats too (MiniDisk, MemoryStick as well as the aforementioned BetaMax). But, Sony isn't just being Sony again on this one. Apple, Dell and HP are also in the Blu-Rau Disc Association, so some other big companies are drinking the Kool-Aid.

But, there is only one Blu-Ray device I care about at this time: the PlayStation 3.

[shadowself]

Walkman, PS2

For every failure (and there have been quite a few) of Sony there has been a success. You can mention Betamax. I can mention Walkman and PS2. This can go on and on virtually forever.

Futher...
"Sorry, but does any one really think that this will catch on? Why pay a couple humdred for a new machine that only plays 15 movies (some of which I already have on DVD.) and has questionalble compatibility wih the hundreds of movies that I have on DVD now?"

The issue is that to do 1080p60 you can't do that (with reasonable compression) on a DVD, even dual layer. The industry is slowly moving to that format. It will take a few more years, but it will come. There are 720p and 1080i TVs/monitors (depending on how you define TV) now. 1080p/60 units are just starting to show up this year. If you've ever seen a true 1080p/60 system showing the full frame rate and resolution side by side with a standard DVD (even scaled up to a HDTV set) then you will easily see the difference.

Sure there are only a few HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disk movies right now. There were only a few DVD movies when it was first on the market years ago.

As far as the compatibility with current DVDs goes, every major announcement I have read in the past year has stated that the HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disk players will also read single and dual layer DVDs. So you will be able to use the new players with both the new disks (either HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disk) and your complete DVD library.

[markdoiron]

Practical DVD vs High Def DVD

"And fewer still own the 1080p TVs big enough (50 inches or larger) to let you really start to see the difference between a DVD and a high-def disc--be it HD-DVD or Blu-ray."

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6446304-1.html?tag=cnetfd.dl

More and more comments like the above make me think that the market for either high def DVD format is limited to those who spent their money already and are somewhat prejudiced to jusitify their expenditure, and those with really large living rooms (or egos!).

mark d.

[shadowself]

Walkman, PS2

For every failure (and there have been quite a few) of Sony there has been a success. You can mention Betamax. I can mention Walkman and PS2. This can go on and on virtually forever.

Futher...
"Sorry, but does any one really think that this will catch on? Why pay a couple humdred for a new machine that only plays 15 movies (some of which I already have on DVD.) and has questionalble compatibility wih the hundreds of movies that I have on DVD now?"

The issue is that to do 1080p60 you can't do that (with reasonable compression) on a DVD, even dual layer. The industry is slowly moving to that format. It will take a few more years, but it will come. There are 720p and 1080i TVs/monitors (depending on how you define TV) now. 1080p/60 units are just starting to show up this year. If you've ever seen a true 1080p/60 system showing the full frame rate and resolution side by side with a standard DVD (even scaled up to a HDTV set) then you will easily see the difference.

Sure there are only a few HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disk movies right now. There were only a few DVD movies when it was first on the market years ago.

As far as the compatibility with current DVDs goes, every major announcement I have read in the past year has stated that the HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disk players will also read single and dual layer DVDs. So you will be able to use the new players with both the new disks (either HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disk) and your complete DVD library.

[markdoiron]

Practical DVD vs High Def DVD

"And fewer still own the 1080p TVs big enough (50 inches or larger) to let you really start to see the difference between a DVD and a high-def disc--be it HD-DVD or Blu-ray."

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6446304-1.html?tag=cnetfd.dl

More and more comments like the above make me think that the market for either high def DVD format is limited to those who spent their money already and are somewhat prejudiced to jusitify their expenditure, and those with really large living rooms (or egos!).

mark d.

[ejryder3]

Not a fan of Sony

I'm not a fan of Sony. I'm planning on sitting back and waiting for the new standard, whichever it is, to win. Then I might consider switching. But until the HD TV's come down further, I can't afford the HDTV, the outrageously priced player and to replace my 500+ DVD colleciton...

[paulsecic]

dbstalk.com

Go there & say you can't afford a HDTV and they'll laugh at you. I can't afford HDTV & don't care about it.

[ejryder3]

Not a fan of Sony

I'm not a fan of Sony. I'm planning on sitting back and waiting for the new standard, whichever it is, to win. Then I might consider switching. But until the HD TV's come down further, I can't afford the HDTV, the outrageously priced player and to replace my 500+ DVD colleciton...

[paulsecic]

dbstalk.com

Go there & say you can't afford a HDTV and they'll laugh at you. I can't afford HDTV & don't care about it.

[Earl Benser]

Settle the format war first - then beg for my dollars

As long as Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are still fighting it out, me and
my dollars will stay with conventional DVD's.

I would like to see Blu-Ray win, not because it's a Sony idea, but
because it's the bigger disk. That will become important later
when Blu-Ray burners become economically feasible. Actually,
the Sony presence in the Blu-Ray camp is a strong negative;
Sony just isn't a reputable company any more.

And until one side or the other wins, product announcements
are irrelevant. Even then, prices are going to have to be damn
attractive to beat conventional DVD's

[Earl Benser]

Settle the format war first - then beg for my dollars

As long as Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are still fighting it out, me and
my dollars will stay with conventional DVD's.

I would like to see Blu-Ray win, not because it's a Sony idea, but
because it's the bigger disk. That will become important later
when Blu-Ray burners become economically feasible. Actually,
the Sony presence in the Blu-Ray camp is a strong negative;
Sony just isn't a reputable company any more.

And until one side or the other wins, product announcements
are irrelevant. Even then, prices are going to have to be damn
attractive to beat conventional DVD's

[Jonathan]

Does anyone know if you need to activate the player?

Over the past couple years one of the biggest rumors has been the blu-ray will require a phone line or net connection to ?activate? the player. Basically it calls home to mama and generates a hash for the player to play movies.
This is a make or break ?feature? for me. I do not do product activation. Not in my app software, not in my OS, and sure as hell not in my home theatre system. I don?t care if I can see the hair follicles in Tom Cruise?s head because of the resolution. I don?t do it. Both BR and HD-DVD can both go to hell for all I care if this is the future of high def home video. I consider myself a movie collector at over 600 disks now. I?ve been supporting this format since ?97 and frankly the entire industry can collapse for all I care if this is how we are going to be treated. I won?t even get into HDCP which is another rant entirely. If they pull this crap I expect to see the format bomb, its as simple as that.

[tryoneon]

AMEN

EOM

[Don Key]

No phone line required

The PS3 will be the biggest selling blu-ray unit out this year and doesn't have a phone jack on it.

[Jonathan]

Does anyone know if you need to activate the player?

Over the past couple years one of the biggest rumors has been the blu-ray will require a phone line or net connection to ?activate? the player. Basically it calls home to mama and generates a hash for the player to play movies.
This is a make or break ?feature? for me. I do not do product activation. Not in my app software, not in my OS, and sure as hell not in my home theatre system. I don?t care if I can see the hair follicles in Tom Cruise?s head because of the resolution. I don?t do it. Both BR and HD-DVD can both go to hell for all I care if this is the future of high def home video. I consider myself a movie collector at over 600 disks now. I?ve been supporting this format since ?97 and frankly the entire industry can collapse for all I care if this is how we are going to be treated. I won?t even get into HDCP which is another rant entirely. If they pull this crap I expect to see the format bomb, its as simple as that.

[tryoneon]

AMEN

EOM

[Don Key]

No phone line required

The PS3 will be the biggest selling blu-ray unit out this year and doesn't have a phone jack on it.

[fred dunn]

Sure, Buy a new expensive player for 8 titles...

Good strategy.

[fred dunn]

Sure, Buy a new expensive player for 8 titles...

Good strategy.

[heystoopid]

Turkey

It be a turkey, that is unlikely to fly that high!

As for SONY, let the curse of the hidden windows rootkit of '05, remain to haunt them in this century and infect any of it's co-partners as well, for this product appears to offer minimal fair user rights!

One can live in the hope, that if PS# & Bluray fail market expectations, SONY follows them as well to the grave!

Oh well, how far do turkeys really fly, before the crash down to earth?

[heystoopid]

Turkey

It be a turkey, that is unlikely to fly that high!

As for SONY, let the curse of the hidden windows rootkit of '05, remain to haunt them in this century and infect any of it's co-partners as well, for this product appears to offer minimal fair user rights!

One can live in the hope, that if PS# & Bluray fail market expectations, SONY follows them as well to the grave!

Oh well, how far do turkeys really fly, before the crash down to earth?

[Stan Johnson]

Don't buy Sony --- remember the ROOTKIT

Never forget that Sony has proven that they only care about money and not the comsumer. Sony is a corporation without a thought for the consumers well being.

[Stan Johnson]

Don't buy Sony --- remember the ROOTKIT

Never forget that Sony has proven that they only care about money and not the comsumer. Sony is a corporation without a thought for the consumers well being.