Quote:
Originally Posted by hobnail
My memory was that HD-DVD was the better format. At least according to the journalists. One interesting thing about BD is that according to the spec a BD player must be able to run Java programs that are on the disc. In the early days the best reference platform for BD was the Playstation, for testing the Java stuff. But apparently very few BD discs include any Java.
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Early on, HD-DVD was noticeably better because Sony specified the same MPEG2 codec as DVDs whereas TOSHIBA adopted the far superior HD-focused VC9 CODEC and matching editing and disk mastering software. After Sony bought their way into domination, the MPEG LA group developed the H.264 codec which was much better than MPEG2 and almost as good as VC9 but WB and the rest of the HD-DVD studios demanded VC9 support because it had more mature tools. And because JAVA was a CPU hog, requiring more expensive player hardware. (Plus a security danger. The same happened with ePub 3 Javascript. No reader vendor wanted anything to do with Javascript support in their ebook readers.)
And yes, early on, the PS3 was the preferred BD payer, especially in Japan. One "minor" issue: people buying it as a vdeo player didn't bother buying games. And Sony was losing hundreds per console for the first year plus. (Whole different can of worms. Let's just say bilions were lost, heads rolled.)
And then, by the time BD got its act together, streaming HD rentals, subscriptions, and sales started to take off.
As a result, Sony's promises of $50 BD list prices never materialized and sales have never approached DVD volumes. The whole thing turned out to be a pyrrhic victory; they killed HD-DVD but the price was high and the return never reached the promised heights.
As of this week BD prospects took another hit as streaming got a big boost:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/b...s-at-home.html
Warner and Disney are reportedly doing the same, moving to early digital releases, some expensive rentals, other reasonable sales. All before the BD release.