HD/Blu-Ray Front Page Poll


Recommended Posts

here in the UK, it costs ?400 for a x360 + hddvd, ?300 for ps3.
The HD-DVD drive isnt bundled with the 360 though, you have to buy that seperate.

The point was to show that sometimes the same arguments apply to both camps and it's just an opinion without any factual data that plays both ways.

I went to check out some DVDs 2 weeks ago and I decided to check out what was on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. The selection for Blu-Ray was at least 3 times a big as as the HD-DVD. I don't see how HD-DVD can win when alot of moives are now in Blu-Ray and not HD-DVD.

Blu-Ray, though only by a tiny bit. Blu-ray, from what I've seen, tends to have slightly better quality at extreme TV sizes - and depending on the set, 1080p vs 1080i native makes a tiny difference.

But at the same price point and 99% of the time indistinguishable quality, I'm pretty indifferent. Although Blu-Ray seems to be winning right now, as HD-DVD isn't established as a data format (we've all seen what BD did for PS3).

The point was to show that sometimes the same arguments apply to both camps and it's just an opinion without any factual data that plays both ways.

I agree entirely, no worries though... :D

PS3 with built-in BD is ALOT cheaper then a equivalent X360 + HD DVD up here in Canada. ;)

Blu-Ray, though only by a tiny bit. Blu-ray, from what I've seen, tends to have slightly better quality at extreme TV sizes - and depending on the set, 1080p vs 1080i native makes a tiny difference.

But at the same price point and 99% of the time indistinguishable quality, I'm pretty indifferent. Although Blu-Ray seems to be winning right now, as HD-DVD isn't established as a data format (we've all seen what BD did for PS3).

Where do people come up with this stuff.

Better how? it comes down to the transfer of movies ultimately, since both can use the SAME codecs and Audio if they want.

There is little to no difference anyone can see with 1080p vs 1080i unless you are pausing every frame, and scrutinizing every pan shot, which 99 percent of people will NEVER DO, if you are then you aren't really watching the movie are you?

I bet in a 1080 vs 720 showdown almost everyone won't be able to concern the difference on a Screen sitting at a relative distance.

1080p is a nice marketing tool to get people to think there 720p TV is already crap.

Wait until next year and they start telling us 1440p is the next big thing.

And just because Sony uses Blu-Ray for games doesn't mean anything other than them not having to pay anyone else the royalty fee for using there technology, it all comes down to money.

It's hard to say which will win. I kind of lean towards the idea that neither will win and a format will come out in the future that will take the pie as HD media king. The consumer only stands to be confused by the current format war, and therefore will probably shy away from both unless they can get their fingers on an affordable player that will play both formats.

I think buying a PS3 and a cheap HD-DVD player is the way to go. Best of both worlds. No matter what anyone says, the PS3 is the best next generation gaming system when it comes to graphics, performance, and reliability. Blu-Ray is a welcomed addition to it for now, even if the format doesn't win in the future. The Wii is a great experience in itself but obviously mature games are far and few between and the graphics suck. The Xbox 360 has inferior hardware and inferior reliability (I sent back 3 because of the ring of death). This is all from someone who has owned the 360, currently owns the Wii, and is going to have a PS3 in a week or so.

It's hard to say which will win. I kind of lean towards the idea that neither will win and a format will come out in the future that will take the pie as HD media king. The consumer only stands to be confused by the current format war, and therefore will probably shy away from both unless they can get their fingers on an affordable player that will play both formats.

I think buying a PS3 and a cheap HD-DVD player is the way to go. Best of both worlds. No matter what anyone says, the PS3 is the best next generation gaming system when it comes to graphics, performance, and reliability. Blu-Ray is a welcomed addition to it for now, even if the format doesn't win in the future. The Wii is a great experience in itself but obviously mature games are far and few between and the graphics suck. The Xbox 360 has inferior hardware and inferior reliability (I sent back 3 because of the ring of death). This is all from someone who has owned the 360, currently owns the Wii, and is going to have a PS3 in a week or so.

The 360 may have had reliability problems but it certainly isn't inferior, sorry.

It's getting quite ridiculous to see people spew bad mis-information about a certain product and then try to justify it by saying, "But I own it so I can't possibly be incorrect or biased toward another product!"

Maybe in your opinion the 360 does not have inferior performance. In most circles that is obviously a heavily debated topic. However, my personal experience with the 360's reliability certainly can't be classified as misinformation. I have a paper trail to back my issues with the system. Regardless of the argument about which has better performance, the 360 is inferior in my mind's eye because I owned one for about 18 months and had to send it back 3 times. While Microsoft replaced the unit, every time involved about 3 weeks that I was without the system. Therefore, about 1/9 of the time that I owned the 360 it wasn't even in my possession because it is in fact so unreliable. This doesn't include the hours that I spent on the phone with Microsoft in order to get them to approve the return. They should have had me on payroll for all of my time. If you believe that the reliability factor in itself doesn't mean that the hardware is inferior, suit yourself. Just wait until yours bricks and post back a response at that juncture. Thinking that yours won't? Rest assured... it will.

Edited by Deron Dantzler
Maybe in your opinion the 360 does not have inferior hardware. In most circles that is obviously a heavily debated topic. However, my personal experience with the 360's reliability certainly can't be classified as misinformation. I have a paper trail to back my issues with the system. Regardless of the argument about which has better hardware, the 360 is inferior in my mind's eye because I owned one for about 18 months and had to send it back 3 times. While Microsoft replaced the unit, every time involved about 3 weeks that I was without the system. Therefore, about 1/9 of the time that I owned the 360 it wasn't even in my possession because it is in fact so unreliable. This doesn't include the hours that I spent on the phone with Microsoft in order to get them to approve the return. They should have had me on payroll for all of my time. If you believe that the reliability factor in itself doesn't make it inferior, suit yourself. Just wait until yours bricks and post back a response at that juncture. Thinking that yours won't? Rest assured... it will.

I don't think the x360 hardware is inferior, just build quality. think thats what you're trying to say too?

I don't think the x360 hardware is inferior, just build quality. think thats what you're trying to say too?

Absolutely, and who is interested in buying a device only to be able to use it when it's not being so problematic? Also, how long did you guys own your PS2 or Xbox before this generation? I have never owned a PSone or PS2. I owned an Xbox for about 5 years when I bought my Xbox 360. The 3 year warranty that Microsoft backs the Xbox 360 with (since they extended the 1 year warranty, inherently admitting that it's a poor build) still will not cover early adopters when their machines brick following the extended warranty period before the release of the next generation of gaming systems.

What's Interesting is that I keep seeing Microsoft Vs. Sony in any Forum topic that discusses HD DVD vs Blu. For some reason, everyone is forgetting about Universal.

I can understand that argument from the point of who's providing the hardware.

Universal in my opinion is just as big of an opponent for Sony as Microsoft is. Sony Pictures/Studios and Universal are both competing in the same market together; not only the Movie and Cinema industry, but also song artists. They've also been around for a long period of time, so nobody should underestimate them.

Also, in my opinion, I think Microsoft did a very wise thing not to include the HD DVD player built-into the console regardless of what many of you say; they're not trying to shuv a media format down people's throats just like sony is - they're selling a gaming console, and if Blu ends up winning the war, all they have to do is release an external Blu ray drive - it would still be OPTIONAL, plus they have the Xbox live video market place, just in case.

my only reason for hoping that HD DVD wins is that I've always hated Sony's philosophy, and this time there's no difference at all.

in what im starting to see around here. Blu-ray. I've noticed that Disney and Sony pictures and a few other movie studios are releasing more popular titles in blu-ray (I've noticed that Disney is releasing theirs in bluray like High School Musical) also if im not mistaken the Simpson's movie in blueray & Dvd only?

idk. i feel like Bluray's going to win since PS3 sales are starting to rise also after that price reduction.

I have a blu-ray player and love it! BUT I was thinking the other evening, all the cable and satellite providers are advertising their HD channels. I started thinking, the more the general public HEARS, "Get us! We have more HD channels!", the more people are going to start thinking HD. I'll bet that in time because of all the "NEW and COMING HD Channels" the more comfortable they'll get in buying HD movies and players. The end result may be that in time HD may become more dominant. Just my 2 cents.

I had the HD DVD add on drive for the 360 and it was nice and booted up quick. My occupation as a Home Theater Installer really shows me what the public is buying and it certainly not HD DVD. I would say that for the last six months, I have installed 5-7 Blu-ray players a week. I have done 1 HD-DVD player in the same amount of time. I'm also against the combo format discs. Why do I have to pay $5 more for a SD version I will never watch? The amount of movies is better on Blu or at least that I want to get. I bought maybe 5 HD DVD discs in about the 8 months I had HD DVD. Since I sold it and got the PS3, I have collected over 30 Blu-ray movies in the last 3 months. Just my 2 cents.

Actually, that's why I bought the blu-ray. The guys that sold me my hd-tv and bose sound system told me almost exactly what you just said. They've sold a lot more blu-ray players than hd. Not to mention that the number of manufacturers making blu-ray players is about 5 times those of hd. I just had that thought the other evening and was kind of just wondering out loud.

I had the HD DVD add on drive for the 360 and it was nice and booted up quick. My occupation as a Home Theater Installer really shows me what the public is buying and it certainly not HD DVD. I would say that for the last six months, I have installed 5-7 Blu-ray players a week. I have done 1 HD-DVD player in the same amount of time. I'm also against the combo format discs. Why do I have to pay $5 more for a SD version I will never watch? The amount of movies is better on Blu or at least that I want to get. I bought maybe 5 HD DVD discs in about the 8 months I had HD DVD. Since I sold it and got the PS3, I have collected over 30 Blu-ray movies in the last 3 months. Just my 2 cents.

the whole "extra $5 for Combo disc" thing isnt always the case. It may be the case at Best Buy, for example, but online you wont typically find that. To this day, I still have yet to pay more than $20 for an HD DVD.

Even so, at Best Buy, Bourne Ultimatum (Combo) is $29.99 and Shrek 3 (Non-combo) is $29.99.

Actually, that's why I bought the blu-ray. The guys that sold me my hd-tv and bose sound system told me almost exactly what you just said. They've sold a lot more blu-ray players than hd. Not to mention that the number of manufacturers making blu-ray players is about 5 times those of hd. I just had that thought the other evening and was kind of just wondering out loud.

NOT including PS3, the number of Blu-ray players sold is well under the number of HD DVD players sold. Of course, i dont know that these guys were refering to. They may or may not have been including the PS3.

Actually, that's why I bought the blu-ray. The guys that sold me my hd-tv and bose sound system told me almost exactly what you just said. They've sold a lot more blu-ray players than hd. Not to mention that the number of manufacturers making blu-ray players is about 5 times those of hd. I just had that thought the other evening and was kind of just wondering out loud.

Sounds like herd behaviour to me :/

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Disabling open on hover, great! That was so stupid! They need to do a fix, where if a network share is disconnected, it doesn't hang when opening "This PC" for 20 seconds.
    • Microsoft releases major feature updates for stock Windows 11 apps by Taras Buria In addition to releasing new Windows 11 preview builds, Microsoft announced that inbox Windows apps now have dedicated release notes in the official documentation. At long last, users have access to all the release notes for each app, with changes listed in chronological order. Microsoft used to announce feature updates for stock apps with each build. Now, with Windows Insider release notes hosted on the Microsoft Learn website, each app has a dedicated space for its changelog, which is very useful for those who want to track new features and improvements. Alongside that, Microsoft dropped massive feature updates for six stock apps: Clock, Media Player, Calculator, Voice Recorder, Photos, and Paint. Each app packs quite a lot of changes and new capabilities, so here are the release notes. Here are quick notes so that you can jump to the app you are interested in the most: Calculator Camera Clock Media Player Paint Photos Sound Recorder Here is what is new for the Calculator in version 11.2605.9.0: More accurate square-root results — Fixed rare cases where a calculation that should equal zero (like sqrt(2.25) - 1.5) returned a tiny leftover value instead. Readable text in High Contrast themes — Settings text now shows the correct colors in the High Contrast Aquatic and Desert themes. Fixed layout for right-to-left languages — For languages like Arabic and Hebrew, the graph, number pad, equation fields, and scroll buttons now appear correctly oriented. Reliable launch after upgrading — Fixed an issue where upgrading from much older versions could leave outdated settings that stopped the app from opening. Here is what is new for the Camera app (version 2026.2605.7.0): Zoom slider works on more cameras — The zoom slider now works on the latest cameras, respects your system zoom settings, and updates instantly when you change those settings. Full range of zoom levels — Fixed an issue where the zoom slider only showed three steps on some devices that zoom in finer increments. Front camera works on more devices — Resolved a problem that blocked the front-facing camera on certain wide-angle devices. More video resolution choices — You can now pick video resolutions that were previously hidden; the app shows a heads-up warning instead of removing them. QR links you can still use — When a scanned QR code points to something with no matching app, the link is now copied to your clipboard (with a notification) while still offering a Store search. Smarter default settings — When you haven't set a preference, the app now follows your system settings by default. The Clock app has a massive changelog with the following improvements in version 11.2605.9.0: Timers keep counting after they hit zero — When a timer runs out, it now keeps counting up (for example, -00:27:31) so you can see how far past the time you've gone. You can turn off the daily goal — Focus Sessions now include an "Off" option so you can skip setting a daily goal entirely. New 15-minute snooze option — Alarms now offer a 15-minute snooze interval. Run up to 3 countdowns at once — The Countdown Widget now supports three simultaneous countdowns, up from two. Timer Widget notifications now appear — Fixed an issue where the "timer finished" notification didn't show when the timer was started from the widget. Less clutter in Focus Sessions — Tasks you've already completed no longer show up in the Focus Session task list. More accurate focus progress — Fixed a rounding issue that could show your daily focus progress as a minute short (for example, 49 minutes instead of 50). Smoother World Clock comparisons — The World Clock compare page now loads dates as you scroll, so it feels more responsive. Up-to-date World Clock locations — Refreshed country and city names to match their current names. Correct sun and moon icons during midnight sun — Fixed an icon that wrongly showed a moon during all-day daylight in polar regions. Fixed back-button behavior in clock comparisons — Pressing back once now takes you back as expected, instead of jumping the date to 1926. Corrected the Newfoundland time zone — Newfoundland now uses the right time zone (St. John's). Disabled alarms stay looking disabled — Editing a turned-off alarm no longer makes it appear turned on. Cleaner timer cards — The expand button is now turned off on timer cards that have no time set, preventing actions that wouldn't do anything. Clearer theme setting — Updated the wording to "Choose your preferred app theme." Smoother Settings links — The "About" links in Settings no longer trigger an unexpected "switch apps" prompt. Fixed spacing in Spotify settings — Corrected uneven spacing in the Spotify settings card. Better focus visibility in High Contrast — The focus highlight in World Clock is now clearly visible in the High Contrast Aquatic and Desert themes. No more double announcements — Screen readers no longer read the timer value twice. Countdown names read correctly — Screen readers now properly announce the name of each countdown. Keyboard focus stays put — Focus no longer disappears after you press the Timer Reset button. Clearer alarm toggle for screen readers — Tidied up how the alarm on/off switch is announced. The Media Player app received plenty of changes as well (version 11.2605.14.0): Custom captions — You can now personalize how closed captions appear, with caption styling tied to your Windows caption settings, plus a quick link to open those settings directly. "Indexing" banner in the play queue — When your media library is still being scanned, a banner now explains why some items may not appear yet. Fixed the look of selected items — Corrected a layout glitch with selected items in lists. Fewer playback failures — Improved how the app recognizes supported file types, so more files play without issues. Playlists need a name — You can no longer accidentally save a playlist with a blank name. Cleaner look for empty playlists — Improved how a playlist appears when it has no items yet. More stable play queue edits — Fixed a crash that could happen when changing the play queue while the app was switching between sessions. Clearer "missing codec" message — Improved the dialog that appears when a file needs a codec you don't have, with clearer guidance on what to do. A big update is also available for Paint in version 11.2605.61.0: Adjustable eraser transparency — You can now control how transparent the eraser is. Cleaner stamp brush strokes — Fixed visible color shifts and artifacts when using stamp-style brushes. JPEG photos save in place — Opening a rotated JPEG and pressing Save now overwrites the original instead of unexpectedly prompting "Save As." No more crash on bad image files — Opening a damaged or invalid image, from within the app, by double click, or commandline, now shows a clear error message instead of closing the app. Classic selection behavior restored — The selection outline now hides while you move, resize, or rotate a selection, just like in classic Paint. Tidier AI image panel — Fixed missing spacing at the bottom of the AI image generation panel for a cleaner layout. Visible button hover in light theme — Toolbar split buttons now show a clear hover highlight in the light theme. Snappier toolbar — Streamlined how the ribbon lays out, giving a small speed boost at startup. Fewer background crashes — Fixed a crash that could happen while background tasks were finishing up. Stable app shutdown — Prevented rare crashes when closing the app. Fixed layer removal glitch — Deleting the active layer no longer leaves the layers list in an inconsistent state. Here is what is new in the Photos app (version 2026.11060.2004.0): AI watermarking — AI-generated or edited images can now carry a visible Copilot watermark. You choose Never, Always, or Ask Every Time in Settings, with a confirmation when saving. The watermarking is off by default in settings. Better viewing of small images and pixel art — Tiny images (like 16×16 pixel art) now zoom in far more to fill the screen and stay crisp instead of looking blurry. Select scanned text with the keyboard — When text is detected in an image, you can now navigate and select it using the arrow keys, Shift+Arrow, Home/End, and Ctrl+A, with a clear focus highlight. Fixed a crash in text recognition — Resolved a crash that could close Photos while detecting text in images; the app now recovers gracefully. Easier keyboard navigation — Tabbing through the navigation bar no longer stops on hidden controls, so it takes a single Tab to move past it instead of three. And finally, here is the Sound Recorder (version 11.2605.1.0): Waveform shows with Bluetooth mics — The live waveform now displays correctly when you record using a Bluetooth audio device. No more stray scrollbar — A non-working horizontal scrollbar no longer appears at the bottom of the waveform unless you've zoomed in. Mark button ready right away — The Mark button no longer looks grayed out until you hover over it after opening the app. Markers hidden for WAV files — Markers are now turned off for WAV recordings, since that format can't store them — so they're no longer lost silently. Smoother deleting — Quickly pressing Delete and Enter to remove several recordings in a row no longer triggers a "file doesn't exist" error. Fixed a memory issue — Resolved a memory leak that occurred each time a recording started. You can find all these changelogs in the official documentation here.
    • again, an article about Microsoft Edge and ridicules hater's comments
    • From this very same article: "For organizations that prefer a “more deliberate pace”, the Extended Stable channel remains an option."
    • Or every other browser, because they all behave the same, at least the mainstream ones. Firefox does exactly the same: background updates, restart to install them. Haters gotta hate, I guess.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Very Popular
      AndrewSteel earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • Veteran
      Taliseian went up a rank
      Veteran
    • One Month Later
      Clizby earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      Timaximus earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Timaximus earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      508
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      170
    3. 3
      +Edouard
      162
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      85
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      78
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!