Blu-Ray Wins?
If there is one thing on the tech scene that pisses me off, it's those silly proprietary format wars that keep raging on for everything. It's seems that companies don't get together to talk about how to solve problems and make formats standard, but rather how to make them as different and incompatible as possible in order to give the end user a bigger headache.
Everybody can recall at least one of the famous format wars that have been going on in the past decades: PPC vs x86, USB vs Firewire, Minidisk (remember that? lol) vs flash, and the ongoing and probably never ending MMC vs SD vs MSPro Duo vs XD. With all that the past has carried concerning formats, is it even surprising that there is a all-out war on the potentially very lucrative successor to DVD? Sure not, but it's still a pain in the ass.
What really bugs me about it though is that this time, Sony's got the big part of the stick. I really don't know why, but it seems like because it's Sony, I'm thinking that they will use their control over the standard to control the planet or something. It seems like Sony is always trying to control every single standard out there but never actually gets a hold on one, like a violent husband that never really got around to actually hitting. Probably just a weird impression on my part.
The tech specs are also something that don't necessarily get my approval. It seems that Sony always are trying to break the limits with what concerns technology in fabrication. Sure, the Blu-Ray is appealing for it's larger capacity, but the costs associated with it isn't exactly sexy, since consumers want HD media NOW, to go with their fancy TVs. I'm no laser expert, but the 0.1 mm protective coating sounds like a little bit fragile... not something that would survive in a BlockBuster environment too long.
Seriously, I'm a bit disappointed of HD-DVD. It look good and strong when it first was announced, but I think that lack of effort on the commercialization part kind of killed the cat for Toshiba. Proof that hanging out with the big guys (Microsoft, HP, Intel) doesn't always mean that you win.
Blame it on the PS3? Sony's very wide network of film and tech industry leaders? Better advertisement? Either way, the cards are now on the table, and Sony wins it all. Comforting victory that compensates for the BETA cassette?
Read, Engadget article on Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD.
Everybody can recall at least one of the famous format wars that have been going on in the past decades: PPC vs x86, USB vs Firewire, Minidisk (remember that? lol) vs flash, and the ongoing and probably never ending MMC vs SD vs MSPro Duo vs XD. With all that the past has carried concerning formats, is it even surprising that there is a all-out war on the potentially very lucrative successor to DVD? Sure not, but it's still a pain in the ass.
What really bugs me about it though is that this time, Sony's got the big part of the stick. I really don't know why, but it seems like because it's Sony, I'm thinking that they will use their control over the standard to control the planet or something. It seems like Sony is always trying to control every single standard out there but never actually gets a hold on one, like a violent husband that never really got around to actually hitting. Probably just a weird impression on my part.
The tech specs are also something that don't necessarily get my approval. It seems that Sony always are trying to break the limits with what concerns technology in fabrication. Sure, the Blu-Ray is appealing for it's larger capacity, but the costs associated with it isn't exactly sexy, since consumers want HD media NOW, to go with their fancy TVs. I'm no laser expert, but the 0.1 mm protective coating sounds like a little bit fragile... not something that would survive in a BlockBuster environment too long.
Seriously, I'm a bit disappointed of HD-DVD. It look good and strong when it first was announced, but I think that lack of effort on the commercialization part kind of killed the cat for Toshiba. Proof that hanging out with the big guys (Microsoft, HP, Intel) doesn't always mean that you win.
Blame it on the PS3? Sony's very wide network of film and tech industry leaders? Better advertisement? Either way, the cards are now on the table, and Sony wins it all. Comforting victory that compensates for the BETA cassette?
Read, Engadget article on Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD.
Total Comments 3
Comments
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I think that anything proprietary, whether it's a media format, operating system, or whatever else, profits only the company that develops this proprietary piece of tech. I agree with you when you say that consumers ultimately lose out when there is a battle between standards, but it's not just about giving the end users "a bigger headache." This is a case of choices being a big disadvantage to the consumer, since the differences between the options presented aren't all that great in the first place.
Perhaps the consumer ought to remember that ultimate power belongs to him: Sometimes the best choice is to simply NOT choose. That, I believe, tends to hurt the avaricious corporate entities who invest heavily into developing their proprietary standards (which were invented purely for their profit, and not to help the end user or improve the consumer's experience) more than anything else. Cut the flow of blood money to their coffers by refusing to adopt any competing technology standards, and you ought to see some semblance of sanity resume.
Good blog entry.
Posted 02-12-08 at 07:12 PM by txtmstrjoe
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A comment on first post? Whoa! I'm gonna be blogging more often here! Thanks for the comment!Posted 02-12-08 at 07:57 PM by max302
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I couldn't agree more... But the consumer as a collective would have exhibit self control, thus suppressing the pervasive must have everything new and shiny mentality.Quote:Perhaps the consumer ought to remember that ultimate power belongs to him: Sometimes the best choice is to simply NOT choose.
BTW nice entry max302
.Posted 02-15-08 at 12:18 PM by MasterKromm
