Sony Announces Date for Blu-Ray Roll Out 255
yermoungder writes "Reuters is reporting that 'Sony Pictures on Tuesday said it aims to deliver its new Blu-ray DVD format to U.S. stores on May 23 to coincide with the entry of compatible disc players, a new step in an industry war for control of home movie viewing.'"
Offtopic (Score:2, Funny)
Our FedEx rep just brought us delicious cup cakes from Starbucks.
UPS: I expect an iPod or a PSP.
That is all.
Re:Offtopic (Score:2)
This isn't news! Now, if it had been Krispy Kreme, THAT would be news...
Re:Offtopic (Score:2)
fr (Score:2, Funny)
In more ways than one, it would seem.
I can't wait for quality HD movies on optical disc (Score:3, Insightful)
Great idea! (Score:2)
Personally, I'll opt for whatever format hoses me over the least, and supporting Sony's DRM tendencies is probably one of the last things I'd want to do...
Re:Great idea! (Score:2)
youll get your copy, but to what level you will be able to work with it and just how degraded it will be? who is to say yet?
Re:That's nothing new (Score:2)
That's not true. It took a couple years after DVDs were getting popular, before CSS was cracked. It was a running theme here on /. at the time. And, even at the very beginning, options for DVD-backup were perfectly affordable. Divx 1/2/3 was there from early-on, as were CD-burners.
As for HD content, I'm making perfect practical "backups" right now. So your metric is a
Re:I can't wait for quality HD movies on optical d (Score:2)
Re:I can't wait for quality HD movies on optical d (Score:2)
Apple tried a similar strategy in the 90s. They expected cheap PowerPC based clones based on either the PREP standard or the CHRP standard to become available that would run many different OSes and they expected to have Pink and later Copland available at the same time.
What actually happened was that Apple couldn't deliver the OS, so they killed the PREP/CHRP standard concept and licensed System 7 to some very Mac friendly clone makers.
The str
Re:I can't wait for quality HD movies on optical d (Score:2)
Moreover, Sony doesn't have the best track record for launching new media. Look at Betamax, Mini Disk, UMD. Sony has a history of developing great mediums which are frequently trumped by cheeper and more accessible alternative mediums.
If Sony needs to rely their own hardware solutions to deliver affordable BD players, and affordable hardware can't be delivered by 3rd parties, then this is practically Betamax all over again. Beta was
Re:I can't wait for quality HD movies on optical d (Score:2)
Re:I can't wait for quality HD movies on optical d (Score:2)
Man, I'd be so happy if a PS3 was $300. I'm going to have to belive it'll be closer to $500, though, at least until I see it.
Re:I can't wait for quality HD movies on optical d (Score:2)
Dude, you're talking to the king of won't-buy-a-PS2-until-the-price-drops. I would have waited longer 'cept my dear wife thought it'd make a good xmas gift. After that ( and a previous disaster in which she bought a $300 DVD player ), I've finally taught her that just because I'm completely obsessed with technology, it doesn't follow that I want to blow
Re:I can't wait for quality HD movies on optical d (Score:2)
You really think the PS3 is going to cost $1000? I am highly dubious of your claim.
In other news: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:In other news: (Score:2)
*grumble* Just out of warranty and it dies. Figures. */grumble*
Oh, well. It's as good an excuse as any to finish that HTPC I've been working on.
Sony and proprietary formats (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Sony and proprietary formats (Score:2)
Great, but... (Score:2)
Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DVD? (Score:5, Insightful)
I only see one fundamental benefit between $NEW_DVD_FORMAT and DVD:
1) larger capacity - whether this mean more content or higher resolution.
I see many drawbacks between $NEW_DVD_FORMAT and DVD:
1) more expensive media and released product -- why is a consumer going to pay more for a BluRay movie than a DVD? I bet the movie studios will say "because that will be their only choice"... As to resolution, how many people are willing to pay more *PER MOVIE* for better than current DVD resolution. There has been such a long and successful marketing campaign for DVDs that convinced people that DVD resolution is *GREAT!*. Now someone's going to have to convince people that DVDs suck. Yeah, right...
2) DRM - nobody wants to *PAY EXTRA* for less control. If you want BluRay to succeed, give the players away for $25 - (meaning cheaper than a standalone DVD-ROM drive current cost).
3) format war uncertainties. Nobody wants to make the wrong choice and be stuck with worthless electronics junk.
4) lack of a problem - from a consumer standpoint, what exactly is wrong with DVDs? Seems like everyone loves them. What problem does BluRay solve? Oh, my freedom problem... yeah right
5) the next dvd jon - it's just a matter of time until any protection in these new formats is broken. Consumers will not stand for constant changes in fundamental technology formats as a primary strategy to enforce DRM.
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
2) DRM - nobody wants to *PAY EXTRA* for less control. If you want BluRay to succeed, give the players away for $25 - (meaning cheaper than a standalone DVD-ROM drive current cost).
A common misconception on Slashdot is that Joe Consumer understands the issues with DRM and even more importantly, cares.
While I am unlikely to buy the new format for this reason, nobody else in my family would care one whit about DRM.
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:5, Interesting)
And a very simple way to make the point and make Joe Consumer care is simply to say to him, "Don't you hate having to sit through all that junk at the beginning of the DVD before you can watch the movie?" That usually gets them thinking. Then drop a hint about how things like the broadcast flag can prevent them from fast-forwarding through commercials, if they're allowed to even record a show to begin with. And Congress keeps passing more laws that give "the suits" more control over what we're allowed to do in our own living room.
That gets their attention. DRM isn't about previnting piracy, its about exerting control after the sale. You won't be able to do it even if it is legal.
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
So if this HDCP/DRM goes a
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
Why the "next" dvd jon? I'd be willing to bet that the original dvd jon takes aim at blu-ray DRM sooner or later. (hopefully sooner) But whether or not he is the one that cracks it, like you said, it's only a matter of time.
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
Uhh, 98% of people don't give a shit about DRM. It doesn't affect them at all. They don't know that you can burn your own DVDs and remove the advertisements, button ignore "features", etc. They just pop in their $3.99 rental from Blockbuster and watch the movie and return it 30 days later because there are no more "late fees".
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
Take my brother. He didn't know about DRM until a Beastie Boys album thrust it upon him.
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
Probably not too much longer after that. A few months later, it was discovered that one of the critical algorithms had a weakness that made DVD encryption crackable in what was esentially a 2^17 brute-force search space.
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
The same reason for customers to upgrade to either DVD-A or SACD. Because it's shinier!
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
Every time HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, or a new DRM format is mentioned, someone brings this up. Yeah, you're right, it is just a matter of time - but there's a couple of things to remember:
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
Nope. [springerlink.com] (I'm on campus, so I hope people off campus can still download the PDF)
Long story short, algorithm can be implemented in chip with less then 10,000 gates. The 'master' secret key that generates all key pairs can be obtained by breaking 40 key pairs. This means, after breaking 40 key pairs, you can start generating your own signitures (or decrypt all other existing signitures).
What's wrong with DVD? Nothing... yet! (Score:2)
In another discussion about DVDs vs $next_gen_dvds one poster nailed this on the head I think. Right now you're right, consumers have really bought into DVDs and are happy enough with them that there is no compelling reason to upgrade, which means the studios must fabricate a reason.
That reason? Well one possibility is those stupid non-skippable, non-fast-forward previews/trailers/commercials/FBI scoldings at the start of
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
Re:Pay more for less control? What's wrong with DV (Score:2)
Right... Next-gen DVDs don't have an infinitely more advanced menu system, or a scratch-resistant coating. They aren't going to have longer life-spans thanks to being based off of Sony's extremely advanced MO technology.
Yeah, that'll be difficult. They'll have to have a DVD playing on a TV,
You kids... (Score:2)
My 8" IBM floppy drive still works fine. I've got to warm up the soldering iron from time to time... but it still works fine. Give me one reason why I should upgrade?
77 track of 360 RPM goodness, baby!
HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - together (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - together (Score:2)
No, but there have been rumors about how such a universal player would be difficult (due to incompatible lenses/lasers), expensive (due to having to license both formats), and maybe just plain illegal (licensing again). This format war will be with us for a while.
Re:HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - together (Score:2)
Right, and then they tried to merge the formats, and they became very similiar, and then the deal died.
They both use the same laser. They both support a standard DVD layer along with their HD layer. They both use the same optics.
The big difference is the media construction. BluRay has a thinner bottom layer with a proprietary coating, allowing higher densities. HD-DVD uses the same plastic as D
Re:HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - together (Score:2)
Re:HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - together (Score:2)
Re:HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - together (Score:2)
I suspect what's going to happen is that eventually you'll be able to get far-Eastern off-brand devices that will play HD-DVD, Blu-Ray and CDVD (name may be incorrect; the Chinese next-gen DVD standard). And everyone will be using CDVD, because it'll be the only standard that actually lets you get things done.
Re:HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - together (Score:2)
The name is EVD, and it's dead at this point... There's been talk about it since shortly after DVDs came out, and nothing materialized, except a lawsuit by On2 for breach of contract (or something similar).
Lacking DRM would be nice, but for it to be useful, you have to be able to buy/rent content in that format... Same goes for SVCDs, w
Re:HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - together (Score:2)
How about the combo players that supported LaserDisc/DVD? How about the combo players for SA-CD/DVD-Audio?
It's not going to be the same kind of format war as VHS vs Betamax, but it'll still be a format war.
Re:HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - together (Score:2)
They're in all the major electronics retailers.
As far as laserdisc/dvd players, why?
Will this affect the PlayStation 3? (Score:2)
--- SER
Dual-layer DVD price drop anyone? (Score:2)
So does this mean that 8.5GB Dual Layer DVDs [google.com] will finally be coming down in price on May 23rd as well?
thieving moneygrubbers, killing off analog ports (Score:5, Insightful)
it may be YOUR intellectual property, but it's MY credit card.
if you hook an HDMI switch box up backwards, (Score:2)
DVD's will be around for some time yet.... (Score:2)
It will be a long time before DVD is dethroned as the dominate form of video media. It will probably take
as long (if not longer) as it took for DVD to kill of VHS. Longer because DVD had the advantage of being
backward compatible with VHS, DVD's would play on all TV's that VHS could. (In some cases a video modulator
was r
Re:DVD's will be around for some time yet.... (Score:2)
And this really is the point since studies have shown that most people can't tell the different between an HD and STD television broadcast to begin with.
Rooting for HD-DVD (Score:2)
It's got managed copy required, not optional for movie companies. You are guaranteed to be able to make a copy to play around your house, stream etc. With the RIAA now saying listening to your CD's on your iPod is a violation of copyright, this is an important thing. This will also mean a consistent experience for folks buying disks.
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/mi crosoft-hd-dvd.ars [arstechnica.com]
Also important, while DRM in general t
Re:Rooting for HD-DVD (Score:2)
But said copy is not necessarily free of charge, restrictiions on use, or of the same quality as the original. From the article you linked'
Jordi Ribas, director of technical strategy for the Windows Digital Media Division, told me that while the feature is mandatory, the studios will have the option of charging for it.
IOW its mandatory that they allow you to buy another copy.
Re:"Managed copy" is still DRM. (Score:2)
This is only sort of true...
XVid, while great for moving TV around the internet, has serious issues with black levels that photographers/cinematographers/anyone who spends a great deal of time looking at images find absolutely disgusting.
So yes, the video is technically 720p and encoded out to DVD-R, but the resulting image has noticeable problems. Most people won't see thi
Re:"Managed copy" is still DRM. (Score:2)
On the other hand, if you look at scenes involving a lot of shadow or a very shallow colour spectrum, you start to see a lot of unnecessary noises in the blacks.
Of course, the fact that you don't notice this is not suprising.. most people don't. But as I said, those who do are well looking forward to 45GB H.264 movies.
HD DVD vs Blu-Ray Drama (Score:2, Interesting)
Specifically to this post, I'm just amazed over the last six months to what extent (in my own hea
In related news (Score:3, Funny)
Putting my feet up (Score:3, Insightful)
Heck, at the prices they're offered now, I might buy a few DVD players in case they decide to discontinue them for something with extra copy protection crap I never asked for. At least I'll be able to play plain-old music CDs, MP3 CDs and DVDs and the DVD movies I bought.
Re:Putting my feet up (Score:2)
Yup. "Return of the King" [imdb.com] sure sucked. It'd really, really suck in HD on a 42" widescreen in my living room. uh-huh...
On the other hand ( um, yea, that was sarcasm up there ), I'll be waiting this out with you. I don't have enough money to waste on this crap. There is a PS3 in my future, but it's not this year, even if Sony does get it out before summer. Right now, this stuff is strictly for people looking for something to do with their ext
First movie titles... (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh yeah... sign my up for that! Well... two out of four ain't bad but Sony needs the console version of the "killer game" like XBox's Halo. Something everyone's been waiting for in HD. And "50 First Dates" ain't even close.
Re:First movie titles... (Score:2)
what do you think the killer title is? (Score:2)
Sony's right, it's the visual titles that are most likely to be the "killer app". I dunno about Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, but still.
For DVD, the "killer title" was "The Matrix". I think BluRay will have to wait for a new must-have title to come out ot be the BluRay killer title, no rerelease will have enough punch (even LOTR).
To other poster
Control is what it's all about (Score:2)
To quote a tagline [imdb.com]:
Whoever wins, we lose.
So when is HD-DVD launching? (Score:2)
Who gets there first is part of the battle. Not the entire battle, but it can be significant if played right.
And how soon after HD-DVD launch will something like XBox feature HD-DVD players built-in and/or as add-on options? How about packaged PCs from Dell, Gateway2000, and/or Apple? What side is Apple on, anyway? (we KNOW what side Microsoft is on, but Vista is still a long ways away
What is it called (Score:2)
Is the player called "The PS3"? If so, then they should be able to sell a lot of them. Otherwise, it will be a mere trickle.
Porn! (Score:2)
Re:Porn! (Score:2)
I know I wouldn't want to, but between what shows up in my spam filters and what you stumble across by simply misspelling a TLD in your browser I'm sure there'd be plenty of sickos who would love to see every sweaty pour, etc. in glorious high definition.
Uh, More resolution! (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm not following that line of thinking... This is
The obvious reason to upgrade is to get substantially more pixels, 1080i, 720p, and I would assume 1080p at some point in the future. It seems like this would be pretty clear, I'm not sure why people keep asking why the new formats would be better.
Of course if you do not own a high-definition television of a reasonably good size then you probably don't need to upgrade, atleast not for a while until these type of discs become the norm. But if you are the owner of a standard-def television you should be aware of the resolution limitation and not have to ask why other people are interested in higher resolutions.
Those of us using DLP/Plasma/LCD television that are capable of 1080i/720p/1080p and that are of reasonably large size fully understand the need for a higher quality format to become standard. For us, the DVD looks awful in comparison to what we see on our HD television channels and our Xbox360's, or the output from our PC's. And we are clearly interested in being able to purchase a movie with twice as much data in it, to more accurately represent what you would see from film at the theater.
I will be curious to see how many of the hi-def dvds that are released are actually resampled from the film or original source as is required. Obviously sony is doing this for their initial releases, but I'm sure many movies will be converted to the new format in their 480p form.
Re:Uh, More resolution! (Score:2)
Of course if you do not own a high-definition television of a reasonably good size then you probably don't need to upgrade, atleast not for a while until these type of discs become the norm. But if you are the owner of a standard-def television you should be aware of the resolution limitation and not have to ask why other people are interested in higher resolutions.
Please add 'less compression' into the mix. One DVD just seems to have too little capacity to easily fit a movie without compression artefac
Re:Uh, More resolution! (Score:2)
You are spot on about the resolution but at what cost? $20-$30 a disc is IMHO TOO HIGH to modivate Joe Average Consumer to take the leap. Not to mention the cost of the player itself. I'm gonna join the others and sit on the fence with my beverage of choice and watch this whole thing play out before diving in.
First, this isn't really true. When DVD's first came out they were that expensive and the players were as well. There was a clear difference in quality between DVD and VHS and the consumers who saw
HD DVD unnecessary? (Score:2)
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:2)
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:3, Insightful)
i wear glasses, and as they don't make it with 0.0001 accuracy, they make it with 0.25 accuracy. therefor my picture is always a bit fuzzy. i can't see one damn thing wrong with any of the current dvd-s that i use, and i certainly wont see the extra pixels that bluray ads.
and every monkey in the sony office knows that bluray discs in some kind of ripped format will be out sooner than you can say "you can't pirate thi
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:2)
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:3, Interesting)
Wish I could remember that site which had the mouseover comparisons of the two formats.
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:2, Informative)
I also have a projector that shoots onto about a 96" screen. Here the DVD resultion is lacking and I am pretty excited about HD DVD's. Though I'm not as excited about having to run a new cable through my ceiling due to the stupid HDMI requirement. If HDMI is the only sticking point I'll probably bow and give in. If they have stupid DRM crap that only lets you
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:3, Informative)
More acurately: provided you have large screen equipment or sit rather unusually close to your tv.
Wish I could remember that site which had the mouseover comparisons of the two formats.
Precisely the sort of nonsense that I refer to by people sitting unusually close to their TVs. Mousing over the difference sitting under 36 inches away from the screen is meaningless. Have someone ELSE do the mouseover while you sit in a chair 8 feet away. Then decide if its worth a $1000
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:2)
I have, on my DVR, a couple of HD versions of some of the DVD movies that I own. The difference is very noticeable. Not quite as big as the difference between standard digital cable and HD digital cable, but pretty close.
I'm not planning on purchasing very many HD versions of DVDs I already own, probably only the movies that I really like. Past that, I'll just purchase all new videos in Blu-Ray or HD-DVD
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:2)
Your DVR comment is rather interesting.
As you SURELY know, a great deal of content on the HD channels is not really HD. In particular, most movie content broadcast in HD is actually still coming from DVD quality sources; after all most movies aren't actually available in HD, even to the netw
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:2)
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:3, Informative)
jpg isn't really losless. How can you compare images being processed and compressed?
Added to that, two different players? (I used WinDVD 6 to capture files from the DVD, and Elecard Mpeg2 player to capture from the HD stream)
There will be more detail with the HD stream, but I think his cute mouseovers don't say much accurate in that way.
Here's the link [cornbread.org].
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:2)
Actually, blu-ray could be useful for non-HD content. For example, you could fit multiple seasons of a TV show on a single disk. I don't expect this to happen, though, because they can charge you more if you buy them separately. But from a technical standpoint, the higher storage of blu-ray is useful.
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:2)
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:2)
Imagine a scenario where someone secretly switches all the DVDs in the store with hybrid HD-DVDs that play just fine in current DVD players, but also have extra crisp content on a HD la
Re:Why do I need a new format? (Score:2)
Re:blu-ray is doomed. (Score:2)
Re:blu-ray is doomed. (Score:2)
Blu-Ray is the New Gay...
Re:blu-ray is doomed. (Score:2)
1) it drops a vowel.
2) it rhymes with gay (bengay was a fluke).
Those Stingray bikes were considered pretty cool back when I was a kid.
Re:blu-ray is doomed. (Score:2)
Ray-ban
Green-bay Packers
Caimen Islands
Day-keeper
Fay Wray
Jay Leno
Mary Kay
Pay Day
Everyone Loves Raymond
Stay Puff
Safeway
Yup. All complete lozers.
Re:yeah, but what about.. (Score:3, Informative)
That is not correct.
and will reject home-made disks which lack the "digital imprimature".
Nope, that's also wrong. Several companies have announced "consumer" Blu-ray authoring software.
Re:yeah, but what about.. (Score:2)
Re:yeah, but what about.. (Score:2)
Re:Not for me unless (Score:2)
Yea, it'll be a few years before I buy one of these as well. To your list I'll add (e) I have the cash to buy a new HD display.
When they talk about "DVD will be around for a while" the
Re:Not for me unless (Score:2)
See, you're already way more early-adopter than I am. I nearly bought a $900 CRT HD display when my last set died, but some relatives gave us a TV as a gift, and I decided to not mind one bit the fact that it's not HD... not having an HD TV will probably save me a bit of money over the next 3 years, I'm
Re:What about PS3? is it Blue? has it Shades? (Score:2)
They also want to use early Blu-Ray adopters to test the hardware, so they can fix any bugs before they ship the PS3 which comes with Blu-Ray installed. Just picture yourself as a guinea pig if you buy one.
That said, I still fail to see any reason to do anything except wait until they actually release the PS3, which will play Blu-Ray anyway.
Re:So uh... who cares, really? (Score:2)
At least that's my plan.
Re:So uh... who cares, really? (Score:2)
Not to mention the fact that this format will be recordable as well, and PC drives are coming from companies like Pioneer (so you'll be able to backup 25/50 GB of data to a single disc).
The sooner this format gets launched the better.
Re:the war for home viewing? (Score:2)
Yet.
Keep in mind most people didn't have TVs that could show DVDs to their fullest potential when DVDs came out. Not saying everyone can now, but the percentage definitely isn't as low.
Re:the war for home viewing? (Score:2)
While that's true, DVD could at least use the full resolution the TV was capable of. VHS couldn't (and can't). VHS resolution was worse than broadcast (assuming good signal, tuning, etc), DVD was better, on the same TV.
That ain't going to be the case for the hi-def formats.
I might buy hybrid discs if there's no significant cost differential, for the same reason I buy widescreen editions even though
Re:Do "ANY" of us presently own a player for Blue- (Score:2)
To translate: "Sony is releasing the movies on May 23rd WHEN THEY WILL ALSO BE releasing compatible disc players."
So... you're on about what, now?