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to late it has been since the first console incorperated a cd rom then got more so with the dvd rom.

There are also other things i just picked that.
True, I guess things have gotten to the point that consoles will incorporate more and more with time, branching away from simply gaming. I may be weird, but here's how I see the electronics in my home: I like keeping different "boxes filled with wires" around the house that serve different purposes, that way if one box (i.e. game console) dies then I'll still have other boxes to keep me occupied (i.e. DVD player, computer) while I get some money to buy another box to replace the broken box.


@SuperFly: I looked around Amazon as well, but I must have been looking in the wrong section because it was somewhere way down the list. Still, if it's sold out I assume it is making some impact.

Is this not you?

If you look at it,

Consoles are actually fighting now to be your centralized media device.

They added Hard Drives, not to help you save your games but to sell you content. The XBOX-360 is Media Center PC compatible on purpose.

Consoles are not just for gaming anymore

In fact there are also rumors Microsoft is expanding their new ZUNE store interface to include downloadable less than DVD quality video for your XBOX

In fact the PS3 has a "we spent a lot of time" interface to display your pics as if they are being dropped onto your table.

All three have built in browsers.

The Wii has actually stated they are focusing on the game playing experience and therefore are not totally going to be your centralized device. Of course I would say the same thing if the output I had available is at best 480P.

And there is the killer. The second someone tells me i cant play my media on any compatable player because it isnt the same one i recorded on they lose all credibility to me for being a good product. If this is in fact true blue ray goes the way of mini disk no doubt whatso ever in my mind at all. Now assuming thats true HD-DVD has already won and hte argument is dead.




Activists

Enforcer,

It is not that you can NOT play it on another device it is that you might have to register that content on the new device...

It reads that this is a protection of BD content that Sony burns... But it does not seem to be restricted.

It would seem that there may be a loophole for copyright ownership..

literally they could end up selling you back your own content...

NOT LIKELY but possible...

Again (Conspiracy Theory) type stuff...

The next-gen format war is a hard one for me. I would honestly wait for everything to settle out. For right now, this is what I have, Sony used MPEG2 compression on their first generation of movies and since I know MPEG2, there is bound to be artifacts and compression issues. HD-DVD doesn't have a larger capacity on their discs. Bluray does have larger capacity. HD-DVD used H.264 compression on theirs. They're pretty much on the same level. I may have had issues with Sony before, but Bluray has some really nice features. On the downside, you have DRM. They both have DRM, but sometimes, Sony can go way too far. But I would expect the same attitude for the HD-DVD party. On price, HD-DVD seems to win, but the performance is lacking on players. The Samsung player is faster than the Toshiba player. I don't it's a fair benchmark, I would have to experience more players to see if it's a manufacture flaw. Most of the HD-DVD and Bluray players I've experienced resulted in the same thing. But, among my worthless mutters, I think I'll stand neutral.

Yeah i know you said register but i dont want to do that so to me its it wont let me.

I dont want to have to register all my content on every device i use for anyone.

For me its really that simple. My stuff i use it how i want. Sony or MS no one is going to tell me where i can play my stuff or is going to tell me to register stuff that is none of thier business to even know about.

I'm not trying to be a ass twords you im only giving my opinion on the matter just in case you were taking it that way.

I realise thats not a attitude alot of "i only watch my movies that i buy at my house" consumers when it comes to movies alone that i buy at the store i likely wouldnt care other then the BS fact i even would have to do it in the first place.

Seriously though theory or not if that ends up being true it will kill the format. You can only take things like this so far before the consumer gets fed up and that would defanitly be the last straw for me.

Call me old fashioned, but I'm thinking about getting a N64 simply because of GoldenEye007. Now that game was worth buying the console for. Games drive console sales, but the addition of Blu-Ray or HD-DVD is just another feature. However, developers might like these additions in order to develop games for said system. If more developers like a system better, then better games will come out for that system. But if the console doesn't do well, then no good games will be made, and the extra features won't help in the sale of said console. Aaaaah! Avoid circular thinking!

Anyway, I haven't been into consoles since the N64. Nowadays they keep adding features to the consoles to make them more appealing, and I guess I'm just slow for seeing consoles as purely gaming devices. I may spring for a Wii instead of a 64 if GoldenEye will be available on the Wii download service thingy. I'm not at all into this new hi-def war - I just want it to sort itself out in one way or another so there will be a nice easy standard for me to select. TELL ME WHAT TO BUY, DAMMIT!

Nah never take it that way...

By the way... Those who have never seen the two offerings the Samsung BD player is horrible. Given that it is supposed to be the superior player it is making a poor showing.

I would hope the Sony player is better.. The Samsung is actually on putting our a 1080i output...

The Toshiba as stated is DOG SLOW... But at present it actually puts out the better picture.

Go Figure... It is a shame that either of them supports the AACS DRM..

consoles are for gaming just these companys want to make it for more for as i can see it really no reason. Wii is the first console im going to buy since snes however (simply because i can play all the games i grew up on from intelevision,atari,nintendo,super nintendo) which for console are seriously the only ones im interested aside zelda

Anyways people dont buy consoles becuase of the drive it has however once they have the console they say hey my console can play movies which drives sales. Now a console will not determin which format wins it will have a impact so dont count out consoles in that department.

Only way I will own either right now is if someone were to purchase it for me

I can not see me spending my hard earned money on a DRM ridden device.

Bad thing is I have a 118" 720P screen just aching for HD playback other than Dish Network...

damn that big of a tv with that crappy of a resolution? i wouldnt be surprised if you could see each pixle up to 50 feet away

Course if i want to use any hd res it would be 1080p and any devices i get would have to fully support that. From the readin i have done ps3 might support it but yeah the graphics card will defanitly limit its use for gaming.

My Display is about as good as it gets in the $3,500 category.

I have an Optima H78 with a Dark Chip 3 DLP chip and an 8X color wheel.

Although it is only 720P I would put it up against any 1080i projector out there. In fact I would put it up against any other 720P single chip projector with the exception of the H79 from the same company.

You can only see pixels at roughly 3 - 4 feet from the screen.

Only problem I have with next gen players is that they will both have to down convert to 720P.

Running a PC at 1280x720P looks very good and is the reason I have 14-20 people at each one of my lan parties I throw.

Here is a new thought on the console war and Sony's blunder with the Blue ray.



Because Sony included a blueray player in its own console, its direct competitors, I.E. Xbox and Wii, now must deny the blueray as its direct competition to their own product. Microsoft could have released a blueray or hd-dvd addon which would have helped Sony reach its goal and let the market deside which format to chose. Microsoft did not have any real investment in either format. HOWEVER, now that the PS3 (not really Sony) is built with a Blueray player, Microsoft Xbox devision chose to compete by releasing only hd-dvd as an option.


--> sorry really tired. Idea is up, feel free to correct me.

Well said, my friend. And it's the long run that's gonna count in this battle.

Dang, Ches111, I'd be itching for more hi-def content too if I had a monster TV like that. I, on the other hand, still have my 32" tube TV that has survived quite well the past few years. This is part of my decision to get a cheaper console (probably Wii, but I'm not opposed to the 360), because why pay for extra quality if you can't even display it? At the rate my TV is going, it should last another year or two. So in the meantime I could split my money between my car and my computer while there is still so much going on. Ugh I need to get more money. I think that's one of my problems. I could complain about BR or HD-DVD all day, but it's not like I have the funds set aside for either of them for the time being.

Well one thing to consider is that a $500 premium Xbox with a $200 HD-DVD player = $700. That's pretty comparable to a PS3 which has more powerful hardware and a better sales history. Still, the 1 year lead that Xbox 360 has, has really hurt the PS3. Oh, and aren't some Xbox 360 games more than $60? I seem to recall seeing Gears of War for $69.99 at Gamestop...I saved $10 and got the used version. :-P

True about the movies being too expensive though. Doesn't mean it'll stop us ungodly wealthy American's from being morons and buying them. Just look at how much we're willing to spend on the top of the line processor...

Who the fuk spends $1100 on a CPU when they can get a comparable one for 1/8th of that price? I'd understand it if that $1100 CPU wasn't junk (priced at about 1/16th of the cost) in 2 years.


Where did you get 500 for a premium 360? Its 400. So yes, with the HD DVD player, it is equal to a highend PS3. I never debated that.

I know GoW is 69.99 at gamestop. Check amazon. Its 52.99. I even got the collectors edition for 60 bucks from amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-54 [...] videogames

http://www.amazon.com/Gears-Of-War [...] videogames


Actually, Ryan's right. Who does buy the FX and extreme CPUs?

Anyways, back on topic. On thing blu ray could excell at is TV seasons. Just 1 or 2 disks and the whole seasons your's... But 50 gigs is not needed for a movie for sure.