Microsoft Corp is not in talks to include Sony Corp's Blu-ray high-definition DVD technology in its Xbox 360 video game console, an executive said on Wednesday.
The comments by Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, poured cold water on recent speculation that Microsoft could support Blu-ray after Toshiba Corp, backer of the rival HD DVD format, gave up when key movie studios and retailers abandoned the technology.
"Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience," Greenberg told Reuters in an interview.
Microsoft, which has stopped making an HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360, would continue to invest in its Xbox Live online service that already lets users rent hundreds of movies, including ones in high-definition.
"We're the only console offering digital distribution of entertainment content," Greenberg said.
News Source: Reuters
The comments by Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, poured cold water on recent speculation that Microsoft could support Blu-ray after Toshiba Corp, backer of the rival HD DVD format, gave up when key movie studios and retailers abandoned the technology.
"Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience," Greenberg told Reuters in an interview.
Microsoft, which has stopped making an HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360, would continue to invest in its Xbox Live online service that already lets users rent hundreds of movies, including ones in high-definition.
"We're the only console offering digital distribution of entertainment content," Greenberg said.
News Source: Reuters
That depends on which side of the debate you look at.
If you look at that decision from an HD-DVD -vs- Blu-Ray standpoint, then yes it was the correct decision. The PS3 has won the Hi-Def format war.
However if you look at it from a PS3 -vs- Xbox 360 standpoint, the decision to include Blu-Ray was not a very good one as the 360 is clearly winning the Next-Gen war because the PS3 was so overpriced for a games console. (fyi: the Wii isn't next-gen, only it's control method is).
That depends on which side of the debate you look at.
If you look at that decision from an HD-DVD -vs- Blu-Ray standpoint, then yes it was the correct decision. The PS3 has won the Hi-Def format war.
However if you look at it from a PS3 -vs- Xbox 360 standpoint, the decision to include Blu-Ray was not a very good one as the 360 is clearly winning the Next-Gen war because the PS3 was so overpriced for a games console. (fyi: the Wii isn't next-gen, only it's control method is).
...and now it's not, why bring up the past? Both systems are great and are selling well.
That depends on which side of the debate you look at.
If you look at that decision from an HD-DVD -vs- Blu-Ray standpoint, then yes it was the correct decision. The PS3 has won the Hi-Def format war.
However if you look at it from a PS3 -vs- Xbox 360 standpoint, the decision to include Blu-Ray was not a very good one as the 360 is clearly winning the Next-Gen war because the PS3 was so overpriced for a games console. (fyi: the Wii isn't next-gen, only it's control method is).
First of all, I wish people would stop saying the PS3 won the format war for BDA. It's an incorrect "fanboi" statement. It didn't win it. The PS3 didn't even come CLOSE to "winning" it for BDA. The "war" was "fixed". It was decided by backroom deals between executives, and don't let anything else make you think otherwise.
All things considered, HD-DVD should have won, they were out a year before and were *feature complete* with specs that it's taken damn near 2 years for BDA to match out on the market. But first to market doesn't mean much anymore. They had cheaper production costs, less restrictive DRM, better consumer friendliness, and a very good consumer product that BDA is still trying to live up to in the feature set. The *only* things that BD had over HD-DVD was the following: disc size, internal bandwidth, and more restrictive DRM. (Please, don't tell me "disc coating" is a factor. If you'd read up on the disc's manufacturing process you'd realize the coating was *required* because of the surface being so close to the other layers, unlike HD-DVD, which didn't "need" it, but it would have been a nice perk.) Everything else was the same or better on HD-DVD. Two of those features 99.9% of the consumer market would give a rat's ass about. (I'll leave it up to you to figure out which two.) The picture and sound was the same (when identical bitrates, source material, and codecs were used you couldn't tell the difference between either format). If anything, HD-DVD had one-up on BDA for a LONG time.
The game was tilted against HD-DVD once the BDA released their product, because one the backers of the format from it's inception was... you guessed it: Sony. And Sony owns one of the big Studios that provides the content. Talk about stacking the deck!
What DID win it was the Studio support. Consumers had NO say in the matter in the end, it had everything to do with Studios and protecting their bottom line (read: who could give better DRM so they could continue gouging people). If a studio exec said they went to Blu-Ray because the consumer demanded it, they're flat out talking out of the sides of their mouths... What they really should be saying is "We went Blu-Ray because we wanted to make more money."
then on top of it people need to pay for faster services, High speed isn't good enough, Nitro speed should do the job.
At best they can get samsung or LG to build another add-on bluray player.
Though yesterday I saw a samsung bluray player on sale for 370 Euros ($555) from the regular price of 440 Euros ($660). At those high prices I won't be touching bluray anytime soon.
they should however totally do a BD addon like they did with the HDDVD drive.
But I suspect two things, MS will refuse out of pride, and MS is working on the next version of the xbox and will proable use blue ray while saving face that the decision to include blue-ray at the core was based on it being the winner of the format war.
I do feel if HD-DVD standard was finalized when MS wanted to launch, it would of been built in.
I agree with you.. if I was in the market for a Blu-ray player I would definetly invest the extra $100 and get the PS3
Last edited by chisss on 13 Mar 2008 - 17:10
I agree with you.. if I was in the market for a Blu-ray player I would definetly invest the extra $100 and get the PS3
yep at walmart the blue-ray player is 380 and the ps3 is 399
I agree with you.. if I was in the market for a Blu-ray player I would definetly invest the extra $100 and get the PS3
because Sony is selling the PS3 at a loss, while the other compaines want a profit from the player
I agree with you.. if I was in the market for a Blu-ray player I would definetly invest the extra $100 and get the PS3
because Sony is selling the PS3 at a loss, while the other compaines want a profit from the player
Not anymore, the 40gb model is breaking even or very close to it according to most analysts. Blue-ray drives have greatly come down in cost since the PS3 1st launched.
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