Death to HD-DVD

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Nightwyrm

588 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#112873 25-Feb-2008 11:17

Some of the commentary out there is interesting, especially those speculating on whether Sony will allow Microsoft to develop a Blu-Ray player for the Xbox 360 as it will compete against the PS3. Personally, I reckon the Sony movie/tv empire is too big not to let Microsoft in... any chance to increase their revenue through "DVD" sales has got to be a decider.

Re: online distribution vs physical discs? I think a predominate part of the market can't afford the data caps required (esp. in NZ) and I personally like to have the boxed sets and extras that come with the physical product.

Hmm, wonder how long it'll take for a class action lawsuit to be raised in the US.

Post-geek, opinionated mediaphile, and natural born cynic. Jack of all genres, master of none.

JonC

425 posts

Ultimate Geek

#112884 25-Feb-2008 11:40

So do Sony have complete control over the Blu-ray format? Can they decide who can make players? Do they get a cut from players sold?

What about dodgy Chinese companies - surely they must be reverse-engineering the technology to produce cheap knock-offs? This could help to produce region-free players, could it not?

Nightwyrm

588 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#112891 25-Feb-2008 12:00

JonC: So do Sony have complete control over the Blu-ray format? Can they decide who can make players? Do they get a cut from players sold?

What about dodgy Chinese companies - surely they must be reverse-engineering the technology to produce cheap knock-offs? This could help to produce region-free players, could it not?

Although they're one of the founders, it looks like Sony are now only one of 18 members of the Blu-Ray Board of Directors. Even if they didn't want Microsoft to get a foot in the door, I'm sure they'd be easily outvoted (though I'm not sure about Apple

).

It would be interesting to see if the nine founding members have veto authority (e.g. UN Security Council <insert joke here>) or if the power's distributed evenly amongst the board. Any royalties would be split between Sony and Pioneer as the original developers methinks.

Post-geek, opinionated mediaphile, and natural born cynic. Jack of all genres, master of none.

JonC

425 posts

Ultimate Geek

#112896 25-Feb-2008 12:14

Interesting. That link led me on to the main Blu Ray wikipedia page, which answered most of my questions

Regions are also different to DVD regions:
A     Americas; East and Southeast Asia.
B     Africa, Europe, Oceania; Middle East; French territories; Greenland.
C     Central and South Asia; Mongolia, Russia, and PRC China (mainland).

We're in region B.

old3eyes

9120 posts

Uber Geek

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#112903 25-Feb-2008 12:37

JonC: Interesting. That link led me on to the main Blu Ray wikipedia page, which answered most of my questions

Regions are also different to DVD regions:
A     Americas; East and Southeast Asia.
B     Africa, Europe, Oceania; Middle East; French territories; Greenland.
C     Central and South Asia; Mongolia, Russia, and PRC China (mainland).

We're in region B.

True. But I wonder why Hong Kong (China ) is in RA and mainland China is in RC and traditional friends AU and NZ are dumped into RB.

Regards,

Old3eyes

Nightwyrm

588 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#112904 25-Feb-2008 12:40

JonC: Regions are also different to DVD regions:
A     Americas; East and Southeast Asia.
B     Africa, Europe, Oceania; Middle East; French territories; Greenland.
C     Central and South Asia; Mongolia, Russia, and PRC China (mainland).

I do like how Oceania's lumped in with some questionable regions but the inclusion of French Territories is a laugh... The world map of the regions shows both Americas to be Region A except for one little green dot which is Region B (French Guana). Will the Guianese buy Region B in their own country or cross the border into Suriname or Brazil to buy Region A?

Saying that, not all distributors are using the region-coding. According to Blu-Ray Stats, ~66% of current releases are coded for all regions, although this does depend on the releasing studio.

Post-geek, opinionated mediaphile, and natural born cynic. Jack of all genres, master of none.

stuzzo

534 posts

Ultimate Geek

#112906 25-Feb-2008 12:48

I believe the main intellectual property/ patent holders for Blu-ray are Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer and Warner with Sony at about 30%.

Revenues from licensing and royalties of both players and media can be quite significant.

I doubt Sony would or could prevent Microsoft from including a Blu-Ray drive in the 360. It will be interesting to see if they (microsoft) do.

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Nightwyrm

588 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#112907 25-Feb-2008 12:49

old3eyes: True. But I wonder why Hong Kong (China ) is in RA and mainland China is in RC and traditional friends AU and NZ are dumped into RB.

Countries of Blu-Ray manufacturers get placed into Reg A and I guess that includes Hong Kong. This arrangement places these countries in the same region as the U.S., thus ensuring early releases of U.S. content to those markets.

Countries that seem to be more questionable (i.e. home to illegal knock-offs and hackers) tend to end up in Reg C (though this is supposition on my part).

Post-geek, opinionated mediaphile, and natural born cynic. Jack of all genres, master of none.

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