Sony CEO Stringer talks Blu-ray Vs HD-DVD – PS3 still best option
The battle to be the DVD format of choice is still dragging on, with both sides claiming the upper hand. In the run up to the all important holiday season, Sony CEO Howard Stringer has been talking up Blu-ray, and claiming his format will ultimately triumph over rival HD-DVD.
Two weeks ago, Stringer claimed that the format war was in a “stalemate” but has now come fully back onside and declaring once again that Blu-ray is far superior to the HD-DVD Toshiba alternative.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stringer said:
“I think Blu-ray is just a better format. Our partners are with Blu-ray Disc because, first of all, we have greater security, which Fox is particularly good at. Disney thinks it’s a better picture. And the sheer amount of bandwidth on the disc gives directors and beyond all kinds of future opportunity, including director’s cuts and who knows what 3-D capabilities will be down the road.”
“I think that’s why Steven Spielberg held out his own product from going to HD DVD. Ultimately, if you’re passionate about movies, which these DVD collectors are, Blu-ray is the best answer. I think that is true, and we see that in the blogging environment. It isn’t the cheaper format, but it is the better format.”
There’s no doubt that Blu-ray is technically superior to HD-DVD, but price is important, as we’re not just talking collectors and technology enthusiasts here, but normal everyday punters who see DVD players on sale and make a judgement on how costly it is as well as merit.
But it doesn’t seem that price cuts are anywhere close to becoming reality for Blu-ray players, with Stringer insisting that the PS3 is the way to go if you want a cheap Blu-ray player:
“We haven’t announced any price cuts yet, but obviously the PS3 at $399 was a price cut, and that’s also a Blu-ray player. We’re comfortable with the situation at the moment.”
The PS3 really does seem the best option for people looking for a cheap way of playing Blu-ray discs, and that doesn’t look like changing any time soon.
The format war is far from over, but Stringer seems quietly confident of his companies ability to push all the way through to victory. As always, the result lies in the hands of the consumers, and this holiday season could be a key battleground.
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November 22nd, 2007
BluRay is definitely the better format. I know the HD-DVD group are trying to make a big deal out of the online interactive features of HD-DVD but in reality no one gives a rats arse about that.
Last week over 220,000 BluRay players got into peoples homes worldwide just in the PS3.
HD-DVD have only sold around 500,000 players in the last 20 months.
Including the PS3 and standalone players there are now over 6m BluRay players in peoples homes. Whether people are actually watching a lot of films on them is irrelevant because a marketplace that is flooded with BluRay is a market place that isn’t going to buy HD-DVD.
If they need to I’m sure BluRay manufacturers will drop the prices of players to drum up sales like the HD-DVD group are doing but they dont need to do that so why bother? Price drops are an ace in the hole for BluRay while HD-DVD have already played their hand yet are still losing.
November 22nd, 2007
I am a proud owner of the HD a3 Toshiba HdDVD. For the price of $199.00 you cant beat that. The picture is just as good as blu-ray I dont know why Sony has Blu ray so high priced. If Blu ray has more movie title’s right now that does not mean they will when the format war. The Motion picture company’s that back Blu Ray could switch to HDDVD. Remember the DVD company has alot of money. Think about all the DVD sales still. And who owns HDDVD!!! “Think about it “. Sony can get screwed just like the beta days. Beta was better quality then VHS. Who knows both formats could survive.
November 22nd, 2007
When Steven Spielberg HOLDS out his own work from hd-dvd and exclusivly backs bluray..you know your in trouble.
Micheal Bay lashed out at hd-dvd after he was FORCED into exclusivity with the fledgling format.
Hollywood has already spoken. The most powerful conglomorate on the planet, Disney, has already stated that they will stay 100% Blu.
Guys this fanboy crap has to stop, hd-dvd is dead…they are having to push these things at $99 per player now….their losing somewhere between $300-$400 on every hd-dvd player sold.
It’s been over for far to long, Bluray continues to outsell hd-dvd everyweek for a straight year now…can we just stop this bickering and look to Bluray..adopt the format, theres NOTHING wrong with it.
hd-dvd players can sell 100,000 in one week…bluray players (ps3) will sell 200,000 to match it, it’s over..just stop wasting our time, we consumers that WANT high-def dont want to deal with ur childish microsoft fanboy garbage, grow up.
November 22nd, 2007
J Bones said: “I dont know why Sony has Blu ray so high priced.”
It isn’t just Sony, all BluRay companies do. BluRay isn’t owned by Sony as some people seem to think. The BluRay association dont need to sell their players so cheaply to get players in homes. HD-DVD have to sell their players for almost no profit to have any chance at all of people buying them. In fact the $99 players that were sold off a few weeks ago were sold at a loss.
November 22nd, 2007
The market will decide eventually but it will not happen for several more years. Price does in fact matter and many people will either wait this out or go for lower priced alternative because it is cheaper to buy. Most people are not willing to pay $300 more for a marginally better technology
HD DVD has the edge in being at least fully implemented idea. All of the features actually work, whether anybody uses them or not is another matter altogether.
Blu ray is still mostly unrealized potential and most of the players out there now will not be able to use the content that will be coming out in the near future.
November 22nd, 2007
I feel really bad for people that purchased HDDVD players, they really did not do their research. It’s just not a great format in any way. Let’s not also forget that the HDDVD format only has a storage capacity of 18gb and the blueray has 50gb capacity and they claim that when BluRay evolves it will peak out at 200gb sotrage, so in the computer world BlueRay already won there as well. The problem with HDDVD is it is really still built on the same format as DVD’s and it’s expandability is very limited. BlueRay is built with scalability in mind. I own a media company we we are choosing BlueRay because we know that it will be a great format to archive our large files on. Also, think about that type of storage in the video world, less compression means better looking pictures, but requires more space. Who will ultimately look better? the one with the most storage, BlueRay.
Also, let’s drop the Sony Beta analogy, people are much more tech savvy today then they were when VHS/Beta was introduced, so this really does not hold much water, we understand compression and storage capacities in this day and age.
November 23rd, 2007
ATTENTION ALL PS3 OWNERS: I am calling for a Boycott of the game “The Orange Box”.
The game will run at a pathetic 30 frames per second. Valve team dumped the PS3 development off on an internal EA development team so Valve could focus on the Xbox360 version. Gabe Newell hates the PS3. He’s been killing the Sony console all year in the media. They obviously don’t care about the PS3 and the quality of the product that they give PS3 owners.
I can’t put all the blame on Valve. EA needs to take some of the heat for this as well. They gave us a disgusting excuse for a game in Madden 08. Another 30fps disaster.
All PS3 owners need to unite on this. If we don’t, it will never end. Gabe Newell needs to get hit in the pockets. Boycott “The Orange Box”! Do NOT buy anything that Gabe Newell is a part of. He is cheating his art and he is cheating PS3 owners. Let’s show Gabe Newell, Valve & EA that we do matter. We are the only reason that game companies exist. If we stop buying crap, they will stop making crap.
Don’t give your money to people that don’t care about you! Boycott The Orange Box!
Thanks, Superdynamite
November 23rd, 2007
I agree with Superdynamite in a more general sense. Every so often an entity will go to great effort and risk to research and develop a truely outstanding product or technology. A product can be better than it’s competition by an order of magnitude, and still lose because of consumer ignorance. However I agree that in the internet age we are becoming less swayed by hype, better informed, and more apt to recognise a significant technological breakthrough. I think that given a choice, it would be wise for consumers to always subsidise the superior technology. This clearly would benifit consumers, but it would also give developers a constant push to improve and hopefully reduce the amount of “Junk” on the market.
November 23rd, 2007
it’s worth mentioning Valves, Gabe Newell is ex-Microsoft, so we know where his loyalty lies..
As for HD DVD, it’s vastly inferior.
It’s only 30GB vs Blu-ray 50GB.
It’s limited to 30Mbit/sec bandwidth, Blu-ray is 54Mbit/sec
The last figure is important, as it determines maximum bitrate of your movies, and the sampling rate of audio.
Bottom line, is HD DVD has to make sacrifiices to put movies on disc, cutting back picture/audio or both.
Let’s not also forget the crappy interactive support in HD DVD, whilst they were first to market, it’s a very limited scripting language, and vastly inferior to the Blu-Ray Java that will soon ship on Profile 1.1 players, and be updated in the Playstation 3.
If you know anthing, you would avoid HD DVD like the plague, as it’s doomed technically, and studio support-wise.
November 23rd, 2007
Does anybody else including HD-DVD owners hate the HD-DVD promotion group?
I mean they first said that the ps3 should not be counted as a blu-ray player in hardware sales, which the blu-ray association agreed to despite the fact that the people who own a ps3 and use blu-ray make up the largest amount of blu-ray owners. Then the HD-DVD promotions group decide to show attach rate figures in which they included the ps3 so they showd bd with 0.7 and hd with 3.3, i mean did they actually think they could get away with that? i mean 0.7? do they expect people to believe that many people who have a blu-ray player that’s not a ps3 have no blu-ray movies? it boggles the mind.
November 23rd, 2007
NO I hate the Blu-ray association with all it’s spin and lies, but then that would hardly be supprising coming from a company as corrupt as Sony, By the way guys, do most of you work for the Blu ray association? anyhow HD DVD movies work and look/sound good, they always get just as good reviews in picture and audio quality…sometimes better, there are no issues with the interactive side unlike Blu-ray as the final spec was finished BEFORE release…pirates of the carribean is just one hiccup in a whole string of problems. So JAVA may be more advanced but I have yet to see it. I’m sorry but I would advise anyone with half a brain to go with HD DVD because the product and consumers have been delt with proffesionally and with respect unlike Blu. It’s pretty clear to me HD DVD does what it said it was going to do and it produces the results well. Howard you can abuse the picture with the clear lead in blu-ray players incorparated in the PS3 but who’s selling tons mores standalone dedicated HD players right now…HD DVD. Oh….And if you have not heard, yet Disney just voted on the 51Gb spec for the increased capacity HD DVD through the DVD forum which was coincidentally bypassed by the Blu-ray involved companies at the begginning of the format war and is the reason we are in this mess now!
November 23rd, 2007
It’s been over for a while..: “Guys this fanboy crap has to stop, hd-dvd is dead”
Ironic. This fanboy crap has to stop…but, as soon as you say that, a fanboy comment comes out of your mouth. Very mature.
Lewis: “HD-DVD have to sell their players for almost no profit to have any chance at all of people buying them”
Then you must think bluray is dead. After all, the leading bluray player, the PS3, is being sold at massive losses. You make more, making a little, than by losing a lot.
November 23rd, 2007
What’s the matter can’t find any examples of the blu-ray association using spins and lies? try coming up with some examples to support ur argument next time Mr Migs. As for ur comments about Stringer I think you’ll rember about a week ago he said the war is in a stalemate, one of the only bits of honesty i’ve seen in this format war. Oh and an pro-HD-DVD rant like ur’s would not be complete without a shout of “sony are corrupt” but i’m guessing u have no problem with Microsoft (who by the way are screwing with Toshiba as the only reason they backed HD-DVD was to prolong the format war, which benefits there downloads and 360) or Toshiba. By the way it was Toshiba who started this mess of a format war, blu-ray was set to become the next format(which is good because it is technically better than hd-dvd) when Toshiba got greedy and decided to split of from the blu-ray group(not Sony blu-ray is part of a group of companies all with stakes in blu-ray like Panasonic). One last point when/if u reply to this i would like to know how you feel about what the HD-DVD promotion group did which was explained in my last post. Oh and Matt u really shouldn’t point out the ps3 is being sold at a massive loss seeing as HD-DVD players are being sold by just as big a loss.
November 23rd, 2007
The future is blu, The spin and lies are everywhere if you chose to achknowledge them, and you abviuosly base your opinion on them, All I can say is give me some proof on what you say because I don’t believe you, It’s widley known about Sonys underhand tactics and you are wrong about Toshiba messing up the format war.
November 23rd, 2007
The future is blu, The spin and lies are everywhere if you chose to achknowledge them, and you obviuosly base your opinion on them, All I can say is give me some proof on what you say because I don’t believe you, It’s widley known about Sonys underhand tactics and you are wrong about Toshiba messing up the format war.
November 23rd, 2007
I’ve already given u proof about how the HD-DVD promotion group used mis-leading figures by telling the blu-ray associations they shouldn’t use ps3 in their statistics which they agreed to and then hd-dvd promotions used the ps3 in their figures of attach rates, which is very wrong and misleading the consumer, i can’t spell it out clearer.
Still u don’t use facts at all, i’ve seen confidence from Sony, Panasonic, Buena Vista and others with stakes in blu-ray but no spin and lies. Just saying their is spin and lies doesn’t make it true. Use some facts “you are wrong about Toshiba messing up the format war” wow, what a persuasive argument. Still u have not commented on HD-DVD using these misleading figures.
November 24th, 2007
It’s funny when blu-ray fanbois step in and assume we “didn’t do our research”. Well guys we did. The movies I wanted were on HD-DVD first (matrix, fast and furious), the specs were already finalized, and we wanted a player-only system, NOT a game machine. Most of all, I wanted it to be affordable. Do you understand that? AFFORDABLE. If blu-ray were the one at $99.00, make no mistake, I would consider it. But it isn’t, so there.
Not everyone can afford $399.00. Do you guys even HAVE families to consider? Fact is, I can buy 2 HD-DVD players for the price of 1 PS3.
Are you telling us we should pay twice as much for the same thing? Do these blu-ray fanbois also work at Amway? (Quixtar) cuz they do the same thing to brainwash people. Price IS important, and ultimately that WILL determine the outcome. More standalone players in homes = more potential to sell more movies and that’s a fact, no matter what color it is.
HD-DVD, the picture is EXACTLY the same as blu-ray. The sound is EXACTLY the same. Please don’t force your fanboism on us. I’m a father and price IS a big factor to us. We HD-DVD owners don’t go round dissing people with PS3 because they bought it.
November 28th, 2007
You all forget one important point coming from a wise man. I am sure everyone has paid the top dollars for there technology & we are sick of getting sucked in to pay more. You all get deceived by prettier picture Blue-ray or HD-DVD. The question you have to ask yourself is, when will you be satisfied with picture & sound. I don’t have Blue-ray or HD-DVD, I am happy enough with DVD & computer video files using TV Out. I will let all those suckers go out & pay the top dollar, while i watch the same thing being happy enough because i have drawn the line with picture & sound. Now when everything is nice & cheap like how DVD’S are now, than i spend $50au for a payer. If Microsoft or Sony think i am going to pay $5000AU for a better tv, cables, a new player & a new library of films than they are joking. I would consider a new TV middle of next year because i think they be a good price. I have spent too many thousands of dollars to start all over again, to watch the same thing with a different paint.