AfterDawn: News

Blu-ray backers launch new website

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment are backing a new Web site aimed at steering high-definition consumers toward Blu-ray Disc.

While the name, Hollywood in Hi-Def, suggests that it would include information about both competing high definition disc formats, even a cursory examination clearly reveals a slant in favor of Blu-ray. Headlines reading "Yahoo!Tech Comments "Is Blu-ray Preparing a Death Blow for HD-DVD?"" and "Crave Comments Pie Charts Indicate Blu-ray Victory over HD DVD Assured" are featured prominently on the site's front page, with the page featuring just about as many blue elements as they could use without everything blending together.



Scott Hettrick, former editor-in-chief of Video Business magazine and current editor of Hollywood in Hi-Def, will reportedly have access to executives that otherwise might not comment.

According to Hettrick, “A lot of the companies that are supporting Blu-ray got together and decided to do something different and more credible than a promotional web site.”

Source: Video Business


Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 12 Jul 2007 7:19

• Previous article

• Legal watchdogs compare Google to Asian organized crime

• Next article

• LCD prices on the rise

• 11 comments

• hughjars

  Well blah blah blah on the expected PR propaganda BS.
  It's no more than than what we've come to expect from the BD side.
  
  It's just another heavily linked outlet & mechanism for the usual grand-standing, overblown & huge claims despite tiddly sales numbers.
  
  But considering other news too it's interesting that Disney have leapt on-board with the Microsoft XBox HD downloading service then, eh?
  
  Of course it's a different market but nevertheless d/l'ing is set to be a major piece of the pie and it's surprise such a supposedly important Blu-ray backer has gone with a rival on this.

  12.7.2007 07:32 #1

• xboxsuc

  Blu ray desivers to win and well. face it blu ray is the next gen formatte. we all now that HD DVD and Blu ray both produce high definition picture but blu ray can store more 20GB more. To be honest i dont now why you would need so much space for a movie but as far as gaming goes gamers will be living in lactury knowing that adventurly one hube 50 GB game will come out and will take like over 200 hours to clock and dont forgate in HD. And if you own a playstation 3.

  12.7.2007 19:10 #2

• kyo28

  At first I thought HD-DVD would be the clear winner due to lower production costs ... but as time progresses I can see more and more advantages of switching to BR. I think it's too early to call a winner but the PS3 might be one of the deciding factors in this battle.

  13.7.2007 07:15 #3

• hughjars

  Blu-ray is a DRM infested horror aimed at giving 'the industry' the kinds of profit margins they had when SD DVD first started (look it up it's a stated aim) and taking control away from the consumer.
  
  You'd have to be the most blinkered fanboy to dismiss all of that and welcome it.
  
  Blu-ray 'deserves' to fall flat on it's face as fast as it possibly can.
  
  The sooner it retreats into being just another failed proporietary format for PS3 (which, like UMD for PSP will still be a viable market for it numbering in the millions) and the couple of stand-alones out there & PC drives the better.
  
  .....and people with present kit (PS3 included) will never see anything more than 50gb discs; HD DVD have now formally suibmitted the 51gb disc to the DVD Forum for certification.
  
  If the biggest size really is your concern then you're going to be wanting HD DVD, right?

  13.7.2007 07:17 #4

• eatsushi

  Originally posted by hughjars: .....and people with present kit (PS3 included) will never see anything more than 50gb discs; HD DVD have now formally suibmitted the 51gb disc to the DVD Forum for certification.
  
  If the biggest size really is your concern then you're going to be wanting HD DVD, right?What I want from Toshiba is an unequivocal yes or no to the question: Will the current 1st and 2nd gen players be able to play the 51Gig TL discs?
  
  HD DVD insider amirm at avsforums doesn't think so.
  
  http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthrea...ig#post10982076
  
  Quote:TL-51 does present an opportunity here. One could put the HD PiP on the third layer and the SD PiP on the first two. So to the extent current players can only play the first two layers, nothing is lost for the average consumer. And enthusiast could buy newer players which would handle the extras if they really cared.
  

  13.7.2007 08:06 #5

• hughjars

  Yeah, there's the possibile compromise that the DVD Forum might approve; 17gb layers with gen 1 players only able to read the first 2 layers of the triple layer discs.
  
  But that's the whole point of DVD Forum approval, backwards compatability has to be there otherwise you can't use the name or logos (which is why the LG dual format player can't use them - it cannot meet the specs and perform all the functions necessary).
  
  But gen 1 players means the small numbers who bought HD A1.
  I seriously doubt anyone is going to worry unduely about a relative handful who will still benefit (due to the 17gb larger layer sizes) from the newer tech.
  
  The HD A2 and onward are a gen 2 players.
  
  You might find the specs of the original HD DVD drive (which was an NEC HR1100A) interesting, it mentions the max bit-rate transfer speed as 36.55Mbps, it clearly describes HD DVD read speeds of more tha X1 and specifically mentiones the older 45gb triple layer design.
  
  http://www.cloetens.be/custom/home/hd_dvd.pdf

  13.7.2007 08:21 #6

• eatsushi

  I know about the specs of the NEC - it mentions 45Gig TL but 51Gigs TL or 17Gigs per layer is a different animal altogether. My main source of concern now is will my XA2 be able to play the 51Gig TL discs. From what amirm is saying it seems I'll need to buy a (still unreleased) 3rd gen player with a new drive to be able to play the 51 Gig discs. Toshiba has not said anything one way or the other.
  
  The other point is do the studios even need the extra disc space and will they even use the extra layer. The excellent video and audio quality of current releases show that 30 Gigs is usually more than enough. Heck King Kong at 187 minutes is still one of the best-looking releases out there.

  13.7.2007 08:45 #7

• anubis66

  what about bluray and its 100gb and 200gb disks? if size really mattered the disc with hte biggest layer is better. where is all this drm in bluray and how does it adversely effect me?

  13.7.2007 09:33 #8

• eatsushi

  Originally posted by anubis66: what about bluray and its 100gb and 200gb disks? if size really mattered the disc with hte biggest layer is better. The 100Gig and 200Gig discs cannot be read by any of the current BluRay drives.
  
  Originally posted by anubis66: where is all this drm in bluray and how does it adversely effect me? Google BD+ and you'll see.
  
  How will it affect you? If you don't care about backups and have no intention of hacking your drive or player then it won't affect you one single bit.
  
  The other question about TL51 discs is this: When they do approve the TL51 spec will they start coming out with DL34 releases? If they do come out with DL34's will my player be able to read these without a hitch?

  13.7.2007 10:39 #9

• anubis66

  Originally posted by eatsushi: Originally posted by anubis66: what about bluray and its 100gb and 200gb disks? if size really mattered the disc with hte biggest layer is better. The 100Gig and 200Gig discs cannot be read by any of the current BluRay drives.either way, bluray wins the size. if a new player needs to be made for hddvd TL's, and for bluray's TL and QL, then bluray still wins.
  
  
  Originally posted by eatsushi: Originally posted by anubis66: where is all this drm in bluray and how does it adversely effect me? Google BD+ and you'll see.
  
  How will it affect you? If you don't care about backups and have no intention of hacking your drive or player then it won't affect you one single bit.
  
  The other question about TL51 discs is this: When they do approve the TL51 spec will they start coming out with DL34 releases? If they do come out with DL34's will my player be able to read these without a hitch?
  i dont have intentions for back ups, i keep my discs in tip-top shape. and hacking my ps3 is asking for trouble since i want to play online, not to mention there are no hacks. plus, in any event, drm is always circumventable, and rather fun to do so.
  

  But they all do sort of the same thing, and that is rearrange what you thought was real, and they remind you of the beauty of very simple things. You forget, because you're so busy going from a to z, that there's 24 letters in between... You turn on... tune in... and you drop out...
  
  
  
  PS3 Username: Anubis66

  13.7.2007 17:02 #10

• borhan9

  Basically thrust forward and then the other counters. What else is new.

  17.7.2007 02:43 #11