Sony kills another proprietary format. RIP ATRAC.  

Does this mean no more SDDS in theaters...?

Wow, this should have been done to begin with ("embrace a more open platform"). I'm not that against Sony, but I do know that their products using only their formats wasn't the wisest thing to do. They thought they would make money from it, but in the end I think it alienated their products from becoming main stream.

We can't really bash Sony for this, since this is the type of move that many wish Apple would make.

I realy like SDDS

I like pisghetti yaaaaaaay

Luckily it doesn't seem like Sony can kill the Pro Duo memory cards. My (Sony) camera uses those and since the PSP also uses them it's pretty much a guarantee they'll be around for awhile. However my next camera isn't going to be a Sony so I don't have to put up with their bizarre choice of storage format.

The Thing Sony never accounts for is that their direct competitors don't want to pay them to be able to play.

Hence why ATRAC never got any traction and why many of the third party Blu-Ray player makers are going neutral because they don't want to be tied to Sony come hell or high water.

It is somewhat easier for a CE manufacturer to pay a third party like Microsoft that isn't directly competing with them, but would you give a guy money so that he can buy flowers to give to the girl you're both after?

I don't see what this has to do with HD DVD, Blu-ray or HDTVs is general for that matter.

I am sure there are forums on AVS where you can post this and be relevant.

I do not see the relationship either. In this format war, HD-DVD is the proprietary format as it came after Blu-ray and is supported by fewer companies.

~Josh

After Blu-Ray, yet first to the market? How does that work?

My understanding always was that the DVD Forum was working on the "next gen" format until a few companies decided they didn't like some of the choices and started their Blu-Ray thingy.

It is a lot more complex than that.

Blu-ray has been around since 2003 in Japan as a recordable format.

"Coming after" (either in terms of market or development) has nothing to do with whether a format is proprietary or not. If you take a broad enough view, *both* formats are proprietary.

HD DVD was launched a few months before Blu-Ray.

One is a data storage format, the other one is a movie format.

Personally I care more about the movie format right now than the data storage format, and the DVD Forum had probably little to none to do with the data storage format.

There are even older technologies still deployed today, like tape drives, yet we have left VHS behind despite it still being THE thing to use for large backups in the IT world.

Wow, you really need to do some research.

Let's see yours then because so far the only set of dates I've seen has come from Maxpower...

If we are talking the movie format, HD DVD released the first movies on 4/18/2006. Blu Ray released the first movies on 6/20/06 (according to wikipedia).

I believe these are the dates that inspired "anniversary" parties/sales as well.

Well it's about time Sony killed ATRAC. Sony's MP3 walkmen are extremely well built but have always been hobbled by stupid sonicstage.

Blu-ray started as a data storage format in about 2002, released by Panasonic and Sony in 2003. BDF formed. Blu-ray becomes official in 2004. Released in the US as a ROM format in 2006.

HD DVD started as AOD in 2003, submitted to the DVD Forum in 2004, failed, resubmitted, failed - rules changed, resubmitted, passed y/e 2004. Supposed to be released in early 2005, missed, holiday '05 missed, early '06 delayed until April.

They gave up selling SDDS in theater several years ago. The systems in the field proved unreliable and where constantly breaking down. All the systems currently in the field were proving too expensive to maintain. So they gave up selling and only support what is currently out in theaters.

Off topic as it's not about HD. Closed.