http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAZ3LSuM0UA&mode=related&search=

Good logic by Pioneer.

He mentions studio support which is key.

Vendor support means little. As we see from CES 2007 there are 6 to 7 new HD DVD models coming.

Dual Format player- He mentioned studios supporting two formats and retailers taking too much space for SKUs. Total HD fixes that.

Nothing really new here that we don't already know IMO.

I do like the DNLA features of the Pio unit but it's just too expensive for my blood.

I believe the pressure on Universal by retailers is going to be immense. I believe they will be using Total HD right after New Line jumps aboard...

Really I wonder if Paramount is eyeballing Total HD as a way to reduce their costs. I'd look for Paramount to drop first but it may take a while because I'm sure they're looking to see if Warner can deliver without incurring any "gotchas"

I'm warming up to Total HD. I hate giving up disc art but the costs are exorbitant future proofing the disc isn't a bad idea.

I don't understand how THD can do anything but drive up costs. All along we have heard about how blu-ray discs cost so much more to make and hd-dvd so little. So now they want to force everyone to pay more for a version of the flick they will never be able to play? Pick a format and stick with it. It will save us all money in the long run.

As long as the extra cost for TotalHD that they talk about is very minor I bet Paramont will be the next studio to support it. Maybe a few of the smaller neutral studio might try it out.

I doubt any of the exclusive studios will think about it. Universal has too much invested in HD-DVD, same with Fox, Sony, BVHV on BD. I think one format will have to dominate for any of those studios to switch.

I have no issue whatsoever with the TotalHD discs. In fact, I have a feeling that the monetary savings per pressing on reduced packaging expense and tracking expense for different products is going to be enough to keep the per-unit price approximately the same as a BD or HD DVD.

Figure it this way:

Instead of two replication lines, you only need one.

Instead of two different injection molding lines for two different cases, you now only need one injection molding line.

You realize better economies of scale by manufacturing 2x the number of TruHD disks instead of manufacturing equal amounts of BD and HD DVD.

Being able to use the same SKU for each title allows the studio to more easily track how individual titles are doing without replication of effort.

Greater inventory flexibility based on regional preference for BD over HD DVD or vice versa.

Anyhow, with these economies, I have a feeling WHV could make the TotalHD disks at about the same cost to the consumer as the BD or HD DVD only disks.

How could a more complicated to produce (and possibly crippled) disc format be less expensive? Truly, everyone needs to get behind Blu-Ray and end this stupid war!

Dan

How could a more complicated to produce (and possibly crippled) disc format be less expensive? Truly, everyone needs to get behind Blu-Ray and end this stupid war!

Dan

As I just explained above, you realize economies of scale by producing greater numbers of one product as opposed to two different products.

As an example, drive-up ATMs have braille. Why? Because even though it costs more to make an individual keypad with braille than without, it costs much more to build two different injection molding lines and produce two different keypads.

It's also much easier to build an inventory tracking and filling system for one product line as opposed to two.

Basic economic theory.

Now, sure, it would be much cheaper to just produce one type of disc and disregard the other, but that gives up profits from one side of the house. Neither HD DVD nor BD is going away anytime soon, and Warner can't act as an altruistic person in game theory without some kind of assurance that there'll be no cheaters.

I think you still need two replication lines for TotalHD...in fact, THREE. One for the HD DVD, one for the BD and one to glue them together!

Where you save is only one SKU instead of two. The retailers LOVE this. The actual distribution logistics are much simpler. The order cycle is streamlined and simplified. I don't have to figure out how many HD DVD, how many BD for a given title. Just order how ever many discs you want! Packaging costs drop. Same packaging for all the discs, not red packages and blu packages.

Eric

Right now, Blu can't have a combo disc without Total HD. That could be invaluable on down the line...? Blu could win the format war and stille need Total HD's with DVD content on the flip side. Let's wait and see how it works before we make up our minds. I figur Total HD will be either boom or bust....the inbetweenies seem unlikely.

IIRC combo disc are possible with BD, like you say they could just stick a dvd on the opposite side

How could a more complicated to produce (and possibly crippled) disc format be less expensive? Truly, everyone needs to get behind Blu-Ray and end this stupid war!

Or, everybody could get behind HD DVD and end this stupid war..... ;)

...

I'm warming up to Total HD...



If you're an HD-DVD supporter that makes sense, as it prolongs the possibility of that format lasting several months longers, so you can at least sell your HD-DVD hardware/software on Ebay.

Vendor support means little. As we see from CES 2007 there are 6 to 7 new HD DVD models coming.


I expect that it will be Onkyo with a unique design, and everyone else will be manufacturing the Microsoft/Broadcom reference design.

So, it won't be 6 to 7 unique new models. Anymore than the A1 and the RCA represented unique models.

Same thing for any Chinese BD players. They would be based on the Sigma reference design.

It's too complicated, expensive, and time consuming for no-name CE to develop individual tech. The major CE have been working on things for YEARS, and they still have problems getting them out.

Gary

IIRC combo disc are possible with BD, like you say they could just stick a dvd on the opposite side

I thought initially, the concept of a combo dvd+hddvd was supposed to be two layers on one side with HD15+DVD5. I don't think people liked that, so it became a glue-on thing, which I know for sure the rental places hate, and personally dislike on DVDs (I prefer the disks to have a printed label, it looks better that way, and I know I can put fingerprints on the label side without it showing).

But if this becomes glue-ray, If TotalHD can work, so can gluing a DVD9 onto the otherside of BD, making a DVD9/BD50 glu-ray disk very easy --- as long as DVDD-rot doesn't return and they use perfectly pH-neutral glue that doesn't eat the layers ;)

But if this becomes glue-ray, If TotalHD can work, so can gluing a DVD9 onto the otherside of BD, making a DVD9/BD50 glu-ray disk very easy --- as long as DVDD-rot doesn't return and they use perfectly pH-neutral glue that doesn't eat the layers ;) DVD + BD? That's so CES 2006! :cool: What's more, it is all on one side. However the BDA or replicators didn't want to pursue the matter. And it is not called TotalHD either.

In terms of J6P, the better way to get them to migrate to BD is to price new releases of BDs at US$5 extra or the same as DVD releases. This will spur hardware releases (for both BD players and HDTVs) and in turn spur software releases.


fuad

DVD + BD? That's so CES 2006! :cool: What's more, it is all on one side. However the BDA or replicators didn't want to pursue the matter. And it is not called TotalHD either.

In terms of J6P, the better way to get them to migrate to BD is to price new releases of BDs at US$5 extra or the same as DVD releases. This will spur hardware releases (for both BD players and HDTVs) and in turn spur software releases.


fuad

TotalHD is like Starbucks now selling all their coffee&tea as TotalCaffeine, - they give you a bag of orange pekoe with java beans and a cup of hot water, in the process charge another 50c for it.

Now I know people who drink tea or coffee in the morning but none drink both at the same time, so there's going to be a lot of teabags and javabeans discarded.

In the end all the caffeine junkies end up paying 50c more for each cup to get the same drink they've been drinking. So why does this make sense? :eek:

Or, everybody could get behind HD DVD and end this stupid war..... ;)

No, since we want something that is more future proof and HDDVD isn't it. Blu-ray is the future.

DVD + BD? That's so CES 2006! :cool: What's more, it is all on one side. However the BDA or replicators didn't want to pursue the matter. And it is not called TotalHD either.

In terms of J6P, the better way to get them to migrate to BD is to price new releases of BDs at US$5 extra or the same as DVD releases. This will spur hardware releases (for both BD players and HDTVs) and in turn spur software releases.


fuad

Most Sony BDs are available for 19.99, and most Warner BDs are available for 24.99. Fox is the only company that charges more than that for their BDs.

Or, everybody could get behind HD DVD and end this stupid war..... ;)

Sorry, I prefer lossless audio. One of the main reasons why I invested in HD formats.

Sorry, I prefer lossless audio. One of the main reasons why I invested in HD formats.

Ummm, HD DVD does support lossless codecs. Uncompressed and Lossless are identical except for compression codec and filesize :rolleyes:

Ummm, HD DVD does support lossless codecs. Uncompressed and Lossless are identical except for compression codec and filesize :rolleyes:

Yea, where are the titles? There's only a handful of them. Granted DD+ sounds great, it still doesn't have the transparency of the master track.