HD-DVD and Blue Ray proven to be sh*t

[ThirdMarioBro]

IGN basically said everything I've been trying to say for fu*king eons. Next Gen DVD is BULLSH*T

Originally Posted by IGN Gear

Next-Gen DVD Copy-Protection Debacle
Hollywood screws 3 million HDTV owners, sucks in general.
by Gerry Block

February 24, 2006 - In perhaps the greatest disservice to the general consumer market yet perpetrated by players in the electronic entertainment industry, it has been revealed that next-generation DVD technologies (HD-DVD and Blu-ray) will only function with monitors and HDTVs with HDMI or DVI connections.

What does that mean to you? If you purchased an HDTV more than a couple of years ago, chances are you are using Component Video (the red, green, and blue plugs) to connect HD sources to your TV. Component Video is an analog transmission, which means that it can't work with the absurdly stringent AACS copy-protection Hollywood has insisted be integrated into the new formats. Thus, no HDMI input on your TV, no hi-def DVD for you. If you don't have a compatible TV, you'll either receive a massively downgraded sub-720p resolution version of the content, or what the studios are suggesting, a warning screen followed by nothing.

Who's to blame for screwing some 3,000,000+ HDTV owners in America that were good consumers and early adopters who purchased TVs without HDMI? A group put together by the major movie studios called Advanced Access Content System (AACS). AACS was responsible for the Reuters report last week that speculated that Sony would miss its spring launch date for the PS3, due to the fact that the AACS had still not finalized the technicalities of the protocol. After a good six months of deliberation since version AACS v.0.9 was put into testing, and only 2 or 3 months away from the supposed release of the first HD-DVD and Blu-ray players, AACS has finally made the baby step of offering provisional licensing to the likes of Sony, Toshiba, and the other early manufactures of hi-def DVD solutions.

Even if you've got an HDTV with HDMI or DVI inputs, it's unlikely your TV has more than one. Just about every HD source these days is best in HDMI, so what are you going to do when both your cable box and next-gen DVD player/PS3 need the same plug? HDMI switchers or enabled receivers are not cheap, or even easy to find. In addition, it would appear that every component involved in the transmission of an HD-DVD/Blu-ray signal must make use of Intel's HDCP technology. This extra level of protection works with the AACS protocols on a hardware level.

Why is this bad? Say you decided to be future proof and purchase a high-end AV receiver with HDMI connections and up-scaling capabilities. Seemed like a good idea last week, but not anymore. Unless it supports HDCP, and it doesn't, because no manufacturers have made HDCP models yet, you won't be routing your HD-DVD or Blu-ray player through it.

Perhaps you're a progressive type and decided to make your media center PC centric. You're screwed too. Even if you purchased a high-end ATI or Nvidia graphics card advertised as HDCP compatible, that all it is: compatible, not compliant. HDCP chips must be bios flashed at the factory, and though these new "compatible" cards have space for a TI HDCP chip, none have them yet. In addition, every link in the chain must be HDCP ready, and only a very few PC monitors have adopted the standard. Get ready to buy both a new high-end graphics card and a new monitor if you want hi-def DVD for your PC.

It gets even worse. At the same time the AACS story came to light, it was discovered that the first wave of next-gen DVD players will not support the "managed copy" option that so many proponents of the new technologies have been hyping. Now that it is apparent Hollywood is willing to absolutely screw more than three million early-adopting consumers (who are probably also some of the best DVD-buyers) is it wrong to be skeptical that the "managed copy" features aren't quite going to be as fully-fledged as we all have hoped, if and when they actually appear? Expect massive downgrades in resolution to be the major movie studio's requirement for any content they allow to escape from the closed AACS-HDCP loop.

This is a dark day for the entire consumer electronics industry. Huge manufacturers like Sony and Toshiba have allowed Hollywood executives to punish consumers for the studios' inability to protect their own content in the wild. Despite the fact that the relationship between movie piracy and the floundering movie theater receipts of recent years has not been proven to be direct, Hollywood is applying an iron fist in their aim to control the next generation of the home-theater experience. You know those previews on DVDs that you can't skip through? That's only the beginning of the ways Hollywood wants to control your entertainment experience.

Consumers shouldn't take this lying down. The difference between HD-DVD and Blu-ray quality and normal DVD isn't huge, especially in light of the rather nice results produced by up-scaling DVD players available today from Oppo, Sony, and others. Should we allow movie studios to force their biggest fans, the early adopters of HDTV and related accessories, to buy entirely new entertainment systems? Is the upgrade even worth it?

Next-gen DVD is looking pretty questionable at this point. Not only do we have a format war to deal with, we've got Hollywood's accounting departments in charge of deciding the minutia of how we're able to enjoy the content we pay for. No copy protection scheme yet developed has been able to stand up to the genius of the hacking collective, and it's unlikely that even AACS and HDCP will last for long. Just long enough, perhaps, to strangle what remains of the traditional disc-based content distribution model and open the door for ubiquitous digital content and on-demand distribution.

Now, they claim that companies like Sony and Toshiba have let Hollywood dictate the next gen format to them? Wrong. Sony dictated the format themself. Sony is a Hollywood studio, thus they are the main company screwing this up. Refraining from the typical "Go to hell Sony" rant, I say this.

If you own a HDTV already, you're fu*ked. Current HDTV's will degrade the HD-DVD picture to sub 720p, which means it will look even less good than what current DVD looks. It's as I said all along. Next-Gen DVD is a joke. It always has been. They have another format war going on between the two potential Next-Gen DVD formats, and it's just another huge excuse to screw the consumer out of more money to re-buy the stuff they already have for no reason, when their TV's already wouldn't show the "extre quality in picture". Now it's just official.

Somtimes I wonder if they do this stuff on purpose to try to "encourage" people to want to go to digital distribution as an alternitive. Then nobody is allowed to ever own a physical copy of anything again, period. I'm happy with current DVD's. The quality is great, they're rat ass cheap now, they last forever, the resolution is fine, sound isn't going to get any better until human evolve better hearing, and thanks to the REDICULIOUSLY plummeting production costs, just about anything can be released to market. High Blue-Ray costs will keep only the biggest productions on disc. Fu*k that. I want every crappy TV show, every music special, every concert, every docunmentary, every everything released. Thanks to bottomed out prices, DVD can deliver that at HDTV picture quality.

I'm willing to bet that the 200,000,000 DVD player owners out there will agree with me. Fu*k HD-DVD.

[Duke]

Originally Posted by ThirdMarioBro

I'm willing to bet that the 200,000,000 DVD player owners out there will agree with me. Fu*k HD-DVD.

Well if I had an unlimited supply of money, I totally be for HD-DVD but since I'm poor I love DVDs just the way they are.

[Mecha Cow]

I don't think DVD's are in need of an upgrade any time soon anyway.

[Peanut]

The whole thing is just f*cking ridiculous. DVD does everything anyone can ask for. How much f*cking better can a picture get? You can only take it so far until it just becomes ridiculous to even TRY and make it better. Who are these three fat ass f*ckers out there who keep going "Oh, geez. We need a clearer picture. I can't see Cpt. Kirk's upper right, third in, twenty-fith to the center eyebrow hair properly!" So completely stupid. There's no need for it at all. Like I've said before, how many people who have just begun to transfer their VHS collections over to DVD in the last couple years, are going to straight up drop it and embrace a new format? Did I hear zero? STUPID!

[Spitfire]

Even if they make HD-DVD this won't stop people from buying regular DVDs as well. So they can make whatever they want. If we don't buy it then they will lose money and realize that was a huge mistake.

[Turtledude2k3]

I totally agree with all of you. Like others, I also love DVD and not ready to switch to the HD-DVD yet. I mean it's stupid. This is like Microsft wanted to release the 360 early than it's supposed to... Sometimes releaseing things early is not a good thing.. Many don't have the money.. DVD hasnt' been out that long.. VHS has been around fora really long time.. Maybe in 10 years I'll swtich.. for now, dvd is fine..

[ThirdMarioBro]

The Market is trying to teach consumers to be happy upgrading their video collections like they upgrade other electronics earlier than anyone should have to. I think this time people are going to ignore it entirely. Hell, how many people do you know who have larger than a 36" screen? How many would actually bother to see the difference on anything bigger? Millions of people aren't even used to DVD yet, and now they're being told to switch. It won't happen. Not this time. You can smell it in the air. The HD-DVD launch I think already took place and nobody gives a sh*t. Now, I'm sure when Blu-Ray-Day hits, SOny will trumpt it more, but still, nobody outside those dumbass $1,000,000 Home theatre fu*kers who bought Laser Discs will care. The rest of the market is just going to buy the Summer DVD releases.

I'm not abandoning DVD so they can force me to buy a DVI encrypted TV for $3000 more than my current one costs just so they can phase out current video inputs alltogether for complete control of my home theatre. Fu*k them.

[Jed]

Can some explain this in a more concise way than that article, it's giving me a headache trying to read it with all those acronyms.

I was going to buy a huge high def TV this summer and plan to keep it for YEARS, so pretty much I should just hold out on buying one?

[Gremlin]

I think this might lead to something like the SACD/DVD-audio vs CD that is pretty much a lost war for both so called next-gen formats. HD-audio meant that you'd have to buy a new stereo that could handle the higher frequnencies (that the human ear can't hear anyway so why bother?).

I think more people will buy a HDTV than a HD-audio set and by that making room for a next-gen format in video. on the other hand, many receivers sold today handle HD-audio but we don't see anybody rush out to buy a SACD-player for that, more like going waaay down the quality scale to MP3s and such.

I think it's just going to be two formats for rich people who have trouble spending their money on something better. I think streaming/downloadable video will be the "next-gen format" that the general public will go for, and that way we're goint to get hd-video way cheaper anyways

[Turtledude2k3]

Originally Posted by Gremlin

I think this might lead to something like the SACD/DVD-audio vs CD that is pretty much a lost war for both so called next-gen formats. HD-audio meant that you'd have to buy a new stereo that could handle the higher frequnencies (that the human ear can't hear anyway so why bother?).

I think more people will buy a HDTV than a HD-audio set and by that making room for a next-gen format in video. on the other hand, many receivers sold today handle HD-audio but we don't see anybody rush out to buy a SACD-player for that, more like going waaay down the quality scale to MP3s and such.

I think it's just going to be two formats for rich people who have trouble spending their money on something better. I think streaming/downloadable video will be the "next-gen format" that the general public will go for, and that way we're goint to get hd-video way cheaper anyways

very excellent reply.

I work but I can't afford something expensive like that. it would take years for an average worker to gain enough to buy something so expensive. we have to pay bills, etc so it's hard to buy all we want.. some have the money some don't.