Newsgroup: it.hobby.home-cinema.titoli-dvd
Titolo: Non avendo un 40 pollici...

In the DVD War Over High Definition, Most Buyers Are Sitting It Out 
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/business/31dvd.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin
By ERIC A. TAUB
Published: December 31, 2007
What if nobody wins the high-definition DVD format wars? That increasingly
looks to be the situation for the next-generation DVD technology, which is
available to consumers in two incompatible formats.
 
A little more than 18 months after their introduction, the two systems —
Blu-ray, developed by Sony, and HD DVD, from Toshiba — have sold around one
million stand-alone players combined. Both sides promote their
technologies, their movie studio allies and the growing list of movies
available in the new formats.
Yet neither has a clear advantage, either in terms of technology, number of
movies or, increasingly, the price of the equipment. According to data from
Adams Media Research, 578,000 HD DVD and 370,000 Blu-ray machines will be
sold by the end of this year.
The winner of the format wars could be determined by which company has the
most content, in the same way the VHS-Betamax VCR war was decided. But both
formats offer about 400 movies. Studios allied with the Blu-ray camp
include Columbia, Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, Miramax, New Line and Sony.
In the HD DVD camp are DreamWorks, Paramount, Universal, the Weinstein
Company, and several smaller TV and motion picture companies. Warner
Brothers releases movies for both systems.
In November, Howard Stringer, the Sony chairman, publicly acknowledged that
the formats were in a stalemate, and predicted that neither side would fold.
High-definition DVDs of both formats provide superior picture and sound
quality compared with standard DVDs.
They also offer advanced interactive features like multiple camera angles,
games, picture-in-picture commentaries and, in the case of HD DVD, a
connection to the Internet to download more content.
But the visual and audio differences depend on the size of the TV screen
used to display them.
“You start to enjoy the benefits of high-definition DVD at 40 inches and
above,” said Chris Fawcett, vice president for product marketing at Sony
Electronics’ home video group.
Only high-definition sets can display high-definition DVD images. And only
the highest-resolution displays, the so-called 1080p HDTVs, for progressive
scan, can show the images at their best. As a result, the potential
customer base is limited. With a lower-resolution 720p set, “you are not as
likely to see a dramatic a difference” between standard and high-definition
DVDs, according to Andy Parsons, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association.
The two camps are victims of their own earlier success with DVD. The
standard DVDs offered a quantum leap in quality from the picture and sound
of VHS videotape, and for many that was more than adequate.
In addition, DVD players that can convert images to near high-definition
quality can be found for under $100, hundreds less than a true
high-definition DVD player, further reducing the urgency to upgrade to one
of the new formats.
“Today, an HDTV owner hooks up a standard DVD and it looks good,” said Ken
Graffeo, executive vice president of HD Strategic Marketing at Universal,
and co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group. “Unless they experience
the new format, they won’t understand it.”
Not many consumers are interested in even taking a look. According to
research by NPD Group, only 11 percent of HDTV set owners strongly intend
to buy a Blu-ray or HD DVD player by next spring. Almost three-quarters of
those HDTV owners surveyed said that standard DVD was good enough for them.
“This may emerge as a premium, luxury item, not a successor to DVD,” said
Ross Rubin, director for industry analysis at NPD.
[...cut...]
As prices drop, high-definition DVD drives will find their way into other
devices. Mr. Graffeo predicts that by the end of next year, 5 million
notebook computers will be sold with HD DVD drives.
Sony says that 3.4 million Blu-ray disc drives are also in PlayStation 3
machines, giving it a numerical advantage. But the rival camp points out
that gamers are not buying the PS3 to watch movies, and in any case,
300,000 HD DVD add-on drives will have been purchased to use with the Xbox
360 game console from Microsoft.
The 400 movies available in each format are a fraction of the 90,000 movies
and TV programs that the video rental company Netflix offers. Increasingly,
high-definition DVDs are being issued simultaneously with the standard
definition DVD release.
[...cut...]

 Company, and several smaller TV and motion picture companies.
Gia' cosi' come e' scritto mi sembra che in questo campo(fondamentale 
tral'altro)  il vantaggio sia ben chiaro (leviamo pero' New Line dalla lista 
da quel che si e' capito finora supportera' entrambi i formati, non solo 
Bd).
Se poi  specifichiamo che con "Dreamworks" si intende Dreamworks Animation 
(e non Dreamworks in toto) e che le esclusive Paramount non comprendono 
assolutamente i film girati da Spielberg, mi sembra che il vantaggio risulti 
ancora piu' evidentemente.
Chiaramente il "per ora" e' d'obbligo.

 Questo non e' vero e appunto:
Sě, hai ragione (AFAIK), ma il senso dell'articolo č che nessuno dei due
campi pare avere un vantaggio sufficiente a "vincere la guerra" e far
ritirare l'altro, ovvero entrambi i formati potrebbero restare sul mercato.
Il che, unito al fatto che i vantaggi dell'alta definizione si apprezzano
in pratica solo salendo con i pollici, spiegherebbe una certa ritrosia dei
consumatori all'acquisto dei nuovi formati.


 campi pare avere un vantaggio sufficiente a "vincere la guerra" 
Ovviamente quell'articolo è stato scritto prima dell'annuncio della Warner
di passare al BR ;D

 di passare al BR ;D
cioè, per la precisione, passare all'esclusiva BR. 
Ma anche se il BR vincerà la guerra dei formati, resta l'altra
considerazione: perché un consumatore che NON ha un 40 pollici dovrebbe
spendere di più per comprare gli stessi film che trova anche su DVD
standard?

standard?
Perche' magari in futuro si comprera' un 50" e non dovrà ricomprare il
disco :)
-- 
Ignazio GSS© * More than 100 HiRes images in my home page  
http://www.ipuddu.it

 disco :)
Eh, chi può prevedere il futuro. ;)
Chissà in futuro quale formato sostituirà il BR!
Anzi, ci sarà ancora bisogno dei supporti in futuro? 
Già ora un film si può acquistare e scaricare come file.

Già ora un film si può acquistare e scaricare come file.
Con le linee telefoniche italiane HD ti saluto, per un bel po' di
annetti, mi sa :)
