By Nathan Shrewsbury
Including the Blu-ray disc technology in the Playstation 3 gaming console has been a costly move for Sony। Not only did it whittle their launch to 500,000 units, less than half a percent of the PS2 units currently out there, but it was Blu-ray issue that forced them to delay entirely the European PS3 launch to March 2007.
This move could pay off big for Sony in the long run by insuring the dominance of Blu-ray technology over its competitor, the HDDVD. Sony is one of the primary stake holders in the Blu-ray technology, the other being Philips। Sony began work on the Blue-ray disc after feeling that they got screwed over on their share of the royalties for the DVD.
At that time, warring factions from various tech firms brokered a deal under the guidance of IBM president Lou Gerstner to unite under the DVD standard. Toshiba came out with the better end of the final deal. This time neither company is prepared to make nice. Those of us old enough to remember can think back to the war between VHS and Betamax for the undisputed heavy weight champion of home video. History is about to repeat itself big time and the PS3 could clinch it for Sony and Blu-ray.
Blu-ray and HDDVD each have their advantages in the upcoming struggle. Blu-ray can store more data with a theoretical storage limit of over 3 times that of HDDVD. Blu-ray’s Achilles heel is an expensive protective coating that is required to protect the thin data layer combined with the requirement that existing DVD factories purchase new and expensive equipment. HDDVD will be an easier and less expensive switch over for disc producers. Sony and Toshiba have each lined up an impressive group of companies to create content for their technologies, with some content providers, like Warner Brothers, supporting both formats. HDDVD potentially has a powerful ally in Microsoft.
Microsoft will load a Window CE operating system into HDDVD players, while Blu-ray players will be loaded with a Java based OS. Microsoft is also rumored to be considering a HDDVD version of the Xbox 360. My gut tells me that Microsoft would be a day late and a dollar short with an HDDVD Xbox 360, but in life you can never underestimate Microsoft’s ability to defeat a superior technology through clever marketing. Enter playstation 3.If PS3 can sell as many units worldwide as the PS2, (about 100million) there is no question that Blu-ray will dominate. I do not think that the Microsoft Xbox is in a position to help the HDDVD format the way Playstation 3 could help Blu-ray.
Microsoft has no reason to sacrifice money to support HDDVD the way Sony did for Blu-ray because Microsoft has no stake in the licensing royalties for HDDVD discs themselves. This editor believes that for HDDVD to prevail at this point the PS3 must bomb completely. That eventuality appears highly unlikely to this editor.
Credit : ps3.net
Including the Blu-ray disc technology in the Playstation 3 gaming console has been a costly move for Sony। Not only did it whittle their launch to 500,000 units, less than half a percent of the PS2 units currently out there, but it was Blu-ray issue that forced them to delay entirely the European PS3 launch to March 2007.
This move could pay off big for Sony in the long run by insuring the dominance of Blu-ray technology over its competitor, the HDDVD. Sony is one of the primary stake holders in the Blu-ray technology, the other being Philips। Sony began work on the Blue-ray disc after feeling that they got screwed over on their share of the royalties for the DVD.
At that time, warring factions from various tech firms brokered a deal under the guidance of IBM president Lou Gerstner to unite under the DVD standard. Toshiba came out with the better end of the final deal. This time neither company is prepared to make nice. Those of us old enough to remember can think back to the war between VHS and Betamax for the undisputed heavy weight champion of home video. History is about to repeat itself big time and the PS3 could clinch it for Sony and Blu-ray.
Blu-ray and HDDVD each have their advantages in the upcoming struggle. Blu-ray can store more data with a theoretical storage limit of over 3 times that of HDDVD. Blu-ray’s Achilles heel is an expensive protective coating that is required to protect the thin data layer combined with the requirement that existing DVD factories purchase new and expensive equipment. HDDVD will be an easier and less expensive switch over for disc producers. Sony and Toshiba have each lined up an impressive group of companies to create content for their technologies, with some content providers, like Warner Brothers, supporting both formats. HDDVD potentially has a powerful ally in Microsoft.
Microsoft will load a Window CE operating system into HDDVD players, while Blu-ray players will be loaded with a Java based OS. Microsoft is also rumored to be considering a HDDVD version of the Xbox 360. My gut tells me that Microsoft would be a day late and a dollar short with an HDDVD Xbox 360, but in life you can never underestimate Microsoft’s ability to defeat a superior technology through clever marketing. Enter playstation 3.If PS3 can sell as many units worldwide as the PS2, (about 100million) there is no question that Blu-ray will dominate. I do not think that the Microsoft Xbox is in a position to help the HDDVD format the way Playstation 3 could help Blu-ray.
Microsoft has no reason to sacrifice money to support HDDVD the way Sony did for Blu-ray because Microsoft has no stake in the licensing royalties for HDDVD discs themselves. This editor believes that for HDDVD to prevail at this point the PS3 must bomb completely. That eventuality appears highly unlikely to this editor.
Credit : ps3.net
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