Bob51 Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Now that the dust is settling its worth speculating on MS's motives - and the following is speculation as I have no inside knowledge. MS never gave full support to Toshiba with HD-DVD. Why? - I reckon they wanted the war to continue as long as possible and gave just enough support to keep the fire going, but not enough support that would cause HD-DVD to win. I think this strategy was driven by two objectives : 1. Primary - MS did not want either disc format to succeed because they want people downloading HD content via the internet and playing it on PC based media centres running Windows software. They have long sought to integrate PCs and TVs to extend their revenue source. 2. Secondary - To blunt the appeal of PS3. Sony had a lot riding on the BD - PS3 complementary combination - ie BD driving sales of PS3 and vice versa. Create market confusion and lessen the appeal of BD and you also slow PS3 to the benefit of 360. The first was the most important as Windows and related software drives most of MS's profit. Thus they had more to gain by neither format succeeding than their games division would make if HD-DVD won and BD meant nothing for PS3. My guess is MS will be in no hurry to add BD to 360 and will only do so if it becomes a marketing necessity. In this context it is revealing that in January, the first month since the Warner's decision, PS3 outsold 360 for the first time in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rane Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 The more you think about it the more perfect it sounds. I do believe there were other reasons that Microsoft went HD-DVD, but this really does explain a lot - namely the lackluster support. If MS really did back HDDVD with the intention of it winning then SURELY they wouldve played a larger role in advertising it. They didnn't. That alone pushes me to believe that all along they were using it to stall and improve their online marketplace. It all fits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkmaj Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 i think if Microsoft wanted to win (ie. hd dvd to win) they would of, no doubt, all movie studios have a deal with them for live, even the BDA ones. On another point the reason it seems PS3 outsold 360 in Jan in the US and the UK and in AUS is supply issues of the xbox, bigger than expected nov/dec means they didnt have stock, and still dont, eb games only have arcade packs (new name for core), microsoft said supply wont get ahead of demand till mid march... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAVX Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 1. Primary - MS did not want either disc format to succeed because they want people downloading HD content via the internet and playing it on PC based media centres running Windows software. They have long sought to integrate PCs and TVs to extend their revenue source. The only problem I have with down loads is the possibility that they will be pay per view. Want to watch the movie again? Pay per view. Want to demo you favourite part to your friends? Pay Per View. Open the wrong file? PAY PER VIEW! Given the treatment given to the HD Packaged Media formats, this just might become reality... Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franin Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Another thing mark downloads have been known to have errors once watching.When it comes to downloads it's not always 100%. Imagine sitting down having a movie night and through out the film it pixelates,pauses, lip sysc errors etc etc. I still prefer discs and always will because I take care of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fawlty99 Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I think MS initially went for the HDDVD add-on purely for cost effectiveness. They were selling a games console and positioned itself accordingly. An add-on BD player would have been even more costly than the HDDVD add-on. Also I imagine it means that a 360 is not restricted to HDDVD because surely MS could design a BD player for the 360. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAVX Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Another thing mark downloads have been known to have errors once watching.When it comes to downloads it's not always 100%. Imagine sitting down having a movie night and through out the film it pixelates,pauses, lip sysc errors etc etc. I still prefer discs and always will because I take care of them. Agreed totally, and your still goning to slugged that fee regardless... Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulw2 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Actaully the folks with the Xbox 360 have the best of both worlds. A cheap HD DVD adon and I see from reports a cheap Blu-ray adon. Just plug in the required drive and play the format of your choice.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myrantz Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I just hate it when Michael Bay was actually right!!! Arrgh!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arecsa Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Here's an interesting article on the format war, linky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boric Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Here's an interesting article on the format war, linky Quite interesting. I don't agree with all of it, but it is nice to see another angle published on the negative impact Microsoft had on HD DVD. I did get very tired of HD DVD 'supporters' continuously raising concerns over Sony's involvement in the BDA all the while thinking Microsoft's HD DVD involvement was a good thing. Microsoft's never been consumer friendly, and yet HD DVD was the consumer friendly format? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scummonk Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 (edited) Here's an interesting article on the format war, linky Interesting article, showing that even through the evolution of the HD Formats they worked together breifly (i.e VC-1 Video Encoding) There is some element of bias towards the end of the article, but another perspective. Have heard various statements and articles on the format war. HDi/WINCE is the major thing that Microsoft gave together with the VC-1 Video Encoding.These are technologies and without this we would have HD in some form. Hopefully the Blu Ray Spec 2.0 improves the feel and look of Blu Ray further. Looking back on the whole thing, it has been great journey. I known both HD-DVD and Blu Ray with both have there pro's and con's. In the end its about the movies, tv shows and documentaries that you get to see in HD Edited February 22, 2008 by scummonk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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