Is microsoft going to dictate what HD format wins?

[darkworld]

Im considering wether to upgrade my PC or just get a PS3 and put Ubuntu on it.

I just use my PC for general home use, I dont use windows anymore and people at home seem happy on Linux. The PS3 was swinging me because it has a Blu Ray player included. I also play games occassionally. PS3 seems an all round simple space saving solution.

However I didnt know much about HD DVD or blu ray so decided to investigate in case I was about to make an error. I came across this post in another forum.

I dont own a HD DVD player or a Blueray player, but i tell you what i do own, a PC and all of you are forgetting one thing - HD DVD is Microsoft. I dont care what certain company you work for or how many current sales figures you've seen. Once microsoft make the jump and start publishing all there future operating systems on HD DVD all the other microsoft parter companies and microsoft reliant companies would remove the CD/DVD drives and install HD DVD drives instead. All you have to do is look at Window release formats over the years to see what effect it has on the home PC market:
1. Windows 98 goodbye Floppy drive hello CD drive.
2. Windows Vista goodbye standalone CD drive hello DVD drive or CD/DVD combo drive.
3. Windows XXXX goodbye CD/DVD drives hello HD DVD.

Tim, England, UK

What do you think? Will microsoft control which format wins? Or is it possible a drive that reads both formats will be produced?

[Tom Mann]

With the launch of Combo units able to play both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, I don't think this is an issue anymore

[insane_alien]

a drive that reads both has already been produced. you pay through the nose for it though.

i'm not really too bothered which one wins. blu-ray has the greater technical merits though(more space per disc hence better transfer rates) but DVD's are starting to become too small for archiving and i don't really have the need of a tape drive for that.

[LaRoza]

With the launch of Combo units able to play both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, I don't think this is an issue anymore

It will be an issue until it gets sorted out.

It seems, to me and others, that HD will win in the movies and BluRay will win in data, but that is just speculation.

[darkworld]

With the launch of Combo units able to play both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, I don't think this is an issue anymore

Ah! I didnt know that this had occurred. It still maybe an issue for me becuase the PS3 doesnt have a combo unit. Can you give me a link to a combo unit please. I cant find one. Many thanks.

[Sluipvoet]

1) Not MS but, Apple(a BluRaySupporter) was the first to ditch the floppy drive.
2)DVD became standard before Vista was released. It's very likely that the winning format will be desided before Vista+1.
3)At the current rate BluRay is winning(60%in North-America, 75% in Europe, 85% in Japan).
4)Just because MS is the most powerful SoftwarePlayer, doesn't mean that they always have it right. eg. They largly ignored the Internet for some time because they thought it would never catch on.
5)Blu-Ray is a hardware item, and MS is primarly a SoftwareCompany. They have less power on the HardwareMarket.

[Sluipvoet]

Can you give me a link to a combo unit please. I cant find one. Many thanks.

http://nl.lge.com/products/model/det...ggch20nl.jhtml

[popch]

I would think that the number of Windows installation media was rather small as compared to the number of video and game DVDs purchased world wide.

On the other hand, I still remember the time when OS/2 was bought because that was the cheapest way to buy diskettes.

[oldb0y]

What do you think? Will microsoft control which format wins?

Ask Sony
Are you sure there will be a winner, can't the two formats live happily together?

[darkworld]

Maybe they can exist together. After checking the link I found the price
and to my mind that seems to indicate that there wont really be a problem.

http://www.ncixus.com/products/26553...20Electronics/


Thanks to posters, the way forward in now clearer to me.