HiDef DVD News VII - News Only : AND WE MEAN IT: NEWS ONLY - Page 9

LOL. Why dont you just come out and say it b2b. The article writer is in Microsoft's backpocket. He must be sleeping with Bill Gates to say something like that.

I guess the analysts haven't been reading the generally woeful reviews of Microsoft's Zune. Take this one, for instance, which summary reads as follows:

It is surprising and disappointing that Microsoft was not able to release a better thought out product. Sure, it is a first generation product, but Microsoft has the luxury of being able to study the evolution, successes and issues with Apple's iPod, and to also copy the best ideas of the various sundry other iPod competitors.

Instead, they release a single model unit (almost all other music player manufacturers have a model range with a series of different capacities available) that is woefully too small for the one function it may be better at than the iPod - playing video, and which also has too short a battery life, but in a form factor larger (and more crudely manufactured) than the comparable iPod, which is a compact elegant work of art.

A poorly thought out user interface, buggy PC program and lack of content available for purchase all detract further from this unit.

Today, there is no reason at all to choose a Zune over an iPod, and many reasons to prefer the iPod. Although many industry commentators seem to be excusing their present disappointment with the Zune by predicting it will get better in the future, the reality today is that the Zune is simply not nearly as good as Apple's iPod, and a company with the size and resource of Microsoft should be panned not praised for such an amateurish product.

Not recommended.
According to news reports three months ago:

Microsoft on Thursday handed out performance bonuses of restricted stock worth nearly $1 billion to roughly 900 senior executives. That comes out to an average of over $1M/executive! Seems like more-than-fair compensation even if HD-DVD does fail in spite of MSFT's best efforts!

Here goes the Blu-ray mantra all over again:

"wait until (insert excuse here)"

How is a Zune review even remotely related to this forum?

Well there is the XBox Game ad right in the middle of the article..


Plus if he hates PS3 so bad why is he developing games for it ???

The "anonymous friend" again... Funny how Mr. Anonymous is so universally a PS3 basher..

b2b

I would be interested in which companies meet your standard for creating open-source strategies around Operating Systems and tools to build applications.

Most reviews have also noted that the titles we see today pale in comparison to what we're likely to see once developers have gained some experience with the system. Clearly the PS3 has far more to work with: far higher disc capacity, six-access controllers, mandatory hard drive, phenomenal graphics hardware, open platform. I'm confident by the time production catches up to demand the quality of titles will improve to the point that there will be a clear difference in system capability versus the Xbox 360.

never mind...

b2b

Touché

It's all about focus and execution. Can anyone tell me why the $249 Wii can launch to great reviews (and have my wife telling me she's interested in it) and why the most expensive game console ever (that was delayed a year) can't?

Who's interest does it serve to make excuses for Sony on this? and is anyone buying the line about this is the console for Sony for the next 10 years as well? I see too much BS and not enough delivery out of Sony.

The original post discussed an analyst's viewpoint on Microsoft. The Zune review is directly related to that opinion.

Go buy the wife the Wii, don't worry about. I you're that impatient, I suggest not to plant flowers, try to grow your own vegetables or buy a PS3 anytime real soon.

b2b

Are you claiming there are no great reviews for the PS3? There are many, many. And those which aren't "great reviews" are usually pointing out easily corrected items, such as UI issues, lack of polish around network features, no inclusion of HDMI cables, or (current) lack of must-have titles (beyond RFoM). None of these issues are fundamental to the design of the player. I haven't seen a single review which suggests the PS3 will be unable to live up to its promise. Every "negative" review I've seen is only negative in the context of its current price, its current lineup of titles, or the current difficulty with obtaining one.

Last I heard the PS3 was delayed from Spring to November (not a year). There are great reviews for the PS3 (perhaps you've missed them. Correction, unless you only read the ones that are posted here), as there are for the Wii. Price alone never propped up a review score.

Ultimately, it is what one believes in. I can see no reason why the PS3 will not carry us through for the next 10 years. It has a next generation drive, among other things

I love a good conspiracy theory.



Ok, so now we can push that timeline back to:

"Well.......wait until people learn how to makes games on the PS3".

It's amazing. Well, in the meantime, while you're waiting, we're playing high-quality Xbox 360 games.

Well, I'll have you know that I do plant flowers and grow my own vegetables. I'm hoping to get one more tomato out of the garden as a matter of fact.

I just don't have a lot of tolerance for all of the excuses. It reminds me too much of the party line on BD. "In the future it will be so much better." Really? Can I get that in writing? I guess I trust my tomatoes more than vendor promises.

It took world class HW engineering to put together all the HW pieces of the PS3 and it's going to take world class SW engineering like what is seen in the current CGI of movies to show what the PS3 can do. You will start to see results in a reasonable length of time or not. In any case you don't have to buy one unless those things happen and in the worst case you will end up getting what can be done on the Xbox or the Wii.

Buy and wait or wait and see. The options are really pretty simple...

b2b

But Sony is releasing a subsidized player- the PS3. It's not a standalone, but I thought that part of "the sell" to the studios was that the PS3 would be Bluray's Trojan Horse?

Besides that, do you really think that Sony wants to take it up the subsidization kazoo twice? At the same time?

The future has consistently arrived (e.g. BD50). Don't know about "excuses", but some of us are merely imparting upon you and others our own perspectives on the war.

How is this:


falling into Microsoft's back pocket exactly?

So he likes the console and he likes the games? If you're a gamer, the 360 *is* a compelling product with some awesome games. That doesn't mean he's in Microsoft's back pocket any more than you are in Sony's back pocket.

Or maybe we're seeing a media backlash from all of Kutaragi's big mouthing about the PS3.

So a number of BD supporters say we're past the early Mpeg2 problems. Look at Tears of the Sun, it looks great. Ok, but then I look at the reviews of a critical launch title like Talladega Nights, and it doesn't. Maybe I'm being unfare, but it still seems like it's hit or miss with Mpeg2. My impression with reading VC-1 reviews is that if the source was good, or the movie was remastered, the disc looks great. With Mpeg2 it still seems hit or miss. I'll continue reading the reviews...who knows, maybe I'll change my mind, but I haven't seen anything persuasive yet.

1. I get that Sony will never use VC-1, it's politically unacceptable. So how about they champion Mpeg4 and put the work into using a modern codec that has more potential? I can only find one explanation, and AnthonyP hit on it. When your only choice on a prticular title is the DVD in Mpeg2 or the BD in Mpeg2, guess which one is going to look better? I don't want to chear on a company behaving that way.
   
   
   Quote:
2. They should have released a subsidized stand alone Blu-ray player. Once Sony knew that Toshiba was going to do that they should have done that as well since it would help disprove the myth that Blu-ray players cost twice as much to make as HD DVD players. A myth that continues to be believed even today.
   The problem is that there is simply not enogh blue laser supply. If Sony chose to do this they would have had to fall back to a DVD drive on the PS3.....which has been a big part of all the PS3 delays. Toshiba out flanked them on this one and there was nothing Sony could do about it. Sony can't even make enough PS3s without a low cost stand alone player eating into their blue laser supply.
   
   
   Quote:
3. They should not have overestimated the number of PS3 consoles they would be able to make this year. It gave their opponents an opportunity to attack them and made them look bad.
   This I can understand. Forget what the opponents say now, they had to pump up the studios and convince them it was a safe bet to deliver titles on BD. If the studios knew how few PS3s would be available at launch, things might have turned out differently.
   
   
   Quote:
4. They should have included an IR receiver on the PS3 and released a remote for it on day one. Honestly releasing a Bluetooth remote a month after the PS3 makes it look like Sony forgot one of the uses that they were hoping for from PS3 owners. That being the playback of Blu-ray movies.
   Agreed. The remote should have been ready for purchase day one. There's no explicable reason why they could not have a different team put a remote together when this product has been in development for so long.
   
   
   Quote:
5. Sony should have released a knock out movie or two this winter since a surprise announcement of Spiderman would have gotten a lot of publicity. Instead it was Fox who got closest to doing that with X-Men 3.
   

Yes, that brings me back to my concerns about Mpeg2 and Sony's go to market approach. Why do they feel this is good enough? In an odd way I've come to see the format war in a positive light. If we only had Blu-Ray what would the price of BD discs be (answer honetly b2b )? And would we all be looking at The Fifth Element and saying "wow, this is great?" Competition is a good thing, and I think both formats will still be slugging it out all of next year.

That quote was taken right after the 360 was released. If that isn't a royal smacko on the buttocks of Bill Gates in particular and Microsoft in general, I don't know what is.

Even if I was in Sony's back pocket, I wouldn't be as overt as Seth and have the nerve to put that into print in the NYT.

b2b

Maybe he works for Activision, Ubi, or Capcom?

really?

"Wait until BD is released, it'll blow HD-DVD out of the water"... it doesn't happen
"Wait until BD-50 is released, it'll blow HD-DVD out of the water"... doesn't happen either
"Wait until November 17th, Blu-ray will kill HD-DVD".... it doesn't happen either

here I am, with a BD player at home, hooked up, and still waiting for BD to kill and/or blow HD-DVD out of the water.

If that's the only thing left that we're waiting for, then BD is all set, really.

no, the major one thing I'm waiting is the promise of Bluray of performing better than HD-DVD (ie better PQ and AQ, which is so far, at best, is on par with HD-DVD)

Indeed, if that is the only thing we're waiting for from Blu-ray, then it is set. The specs are set in stone, and there is no technical reason why it can't perform better.

For the moment, (ignoring the studio support situation for argument's sake), why do you need Blu-ray to be better than HD-DVD? It costs the same to get into either format, except that the PS3 does more.

there is no technical reason why it can't perform better. It's true. So why it still doesn't perform better?

PS3 better do more than HD-DVD, the price is about US$150 more than HD-DVD player. In Canada, the price difference between the two is about US$250 (ie. about 50% more than standalone HD-DVD player)

don't count on it. there just isn't that much difference between the two systems. in fact, depending upon the technical article of the week, the 360 is the more powerful system. at least john carmack thinks so, and he's a guy who's opinion i value a hell of a lot more than i do yours (no offense)...