@lobot: Seriously?

It helped big time before because that was the only way to watch porn at home at the time. Now you got what? DVDs, Video tapes, then there's also THE INTERNET. I don't see how it's gonna help AT ALL.

Besides, there are porn on both formats.

bryaaaant

So which format is the porn industry adopting? I think they were part of the reason why the last big format war (VHS vs. Beta) won out, I couldn't see why they wouldn't be a big part in this one.

lobot

That is one ugly mug.

"I've been called ugly, pug ugly, fugly, pug fugly, but never ugly ugly"

dead_red_eyes

BTW, I like the new Denon player that plays whatever you stick into it. There's no reason why a player shouldn't play anything that physically resembles a CD: DVD, SACD, BD, HD DVD... it shouldn't matter. If it is a shiny round little disc, you should be able to stick it into your spinning platter machine and have the content spill out of its holes in the back. All players should be format agnostic and accomodate anything that meets the *physical* spec, and the fact that they're not makes no sense.

frigg

@ruggels: If people didn't debate stupid things because there are always more important issues in the world to discuss, no one would ever say anything.

frigg

I am kind of angainst the comments about how DVD is kicking HD's butt. It is like compairing lemons to limes. DVD is old tech that doesnt do HD (yes, I know it will work as a HDDVD but wont hold as much data)and it will take a while to transition to HD. Let's compair video cds to dvds next. who the F wants to watch that poor quality BS? Well, the people that dont have or cant afford DVDs I guess. Going to go through the same stuff with DVD to HD.

Serpent2

@ruggels:

Though I do love how utterly easy it is to whip up geeks into a fervor over the most menial of topics. OMG Blu-Ray or Hd, PS3 or 360, these are the crucial battles of our time, not hunger or AIDS.
So utterly pointless, such a waste of energy and time

How dare you mock the most important topic ever to be discussed at Gizmodo since the iPod versus Creative Rio discussions!

Thank you, ruggels, for saying that. Why everyone gets so worked up over these formats is beyond me. Sure, it is interesting reading, but ultimately it doesn't matter ... Because I just invented a format that is going to replace both of them! Bwah-ha-ha-ha!

Monty

Until "they" figure out that all the customer wants is "HDTV done EASY" then both formats are 100% FAIL.

Unfortunately, 85% of the "FAIL" is from where the customer buys his Cable/SAT signal from.

If I were a HDTV manufacturer I would be so far up Cable/SAT companies butts with "freebies" and "incentives" that you would only see my shoes.

axiomatic

It's not a stalemate. HD DVD and Blu-ray are both getting their asses handed to them by DVD and that's not likely to change for a few years yet. Most consumers just don't care and don't see what's so bad about the SD content they've been enjoying for decades.
By the time HD really becomes the norm, HD DVD and Blu-ray will both be distant memories.

wjousts

@sonicwind:
I agree. I mean Joe Consumer will have $99 HD DVD in hand and playing his movies, why would be then buy a dual player? Even if he wants another player for this house he'll buy another HD DVD. I question the validity of dual formats surviving, but I could be totally wrong.

BostonPimpDaddy

I agree there are far more important things to worry abou,t and I'm part of the "I'll wait till it's over" camp when it comes to Hi-Def DVDs. I did just want to state for the record though, @Ruggles, that there is a big difference between DVD+R & DVD-R. DVD+R doesn't play in most standard DVD players even if it's burned exactly the same way as a DVD-R. So, that at least is more than just hype.

rsquared

With all the new $99 HD DVD players just purchased and to be purchased of the next few months, I think there may be a significant change in the ratio of purchased media, which could be followed by more studios adopting HD DVD simply to get more sales.

sonicwind

who cares, honestly. anyone with a modicum of sense will recall the DVD+R vs DVD-R debacle. It's not even a stalemate because it's all just manufactured hype designed to cajole idiots into bickering about trite standards. What a farce.

Though I do love how utterly easy it is to whip up geeks into a fervor over the most menial of topics. OMG Blu-Ray or Hd, PS3 or 360, these are the crucial battles of our time, not hunger or AIDS.

So utterly pointless, such a waste of energy and time.

ruggels

"Stalemate" doesn't recoup R&D and marketing. If Sir Howard is saying that the format war is "a matter of prestige" that "doesn't mean as much as all that" then one of two things is true:

(a) He's stupid because he thinks that b-grade spin will make several years of Sony's woes disappear;

-or-

(b) He's stupid because he doesn't realize what's at stake - a fuckton of royalties

omg-ponies

It isn't important because dual format players will be 200-300 long before this 'war' is won. So then people won't have to care, which is how it should have been done in the first place.

The real story is that in trying to win this stupid war they killed a real moneymaker, the PlayStation. Next year playing only Blu-Ray disks will be a liability.

Then 1 year later everyone will be downloading anyway.

stwf