They don't need Sony's approval to include a BR drive. They will buy the drives from a manufacturer (maybe even Toshiba), and make a add-on or include it in a new SKU.
But out of spite I don't think we will see a BR drive included soon on the XB360. Only when they see the market turning very sharply to PS3 because of the BR included, will they make a move.
Anyway... does not matter which way you spin it, this whole thing is a win win for Sony. Their decision to ...
"That strategy has proven very successful when it comes to dealing the movie studios and led to a perception of dominance in the marketplace."
So they claim that the XB360 HD-DVD add on sold more than stand-alone BR players? Is this correct - or just a spinning of numbers (like taking add-on sales before BR was released and spinning that months numbers).
Perception of dominance? So in some territories 90% 10% and in general 70% 30% is just perception? W...
MS can not do much about supporting Blu-Ray. You can use BR on your computer - your Windows computer. Some laptops come with BR - on Windows. So if they like it or not, MS will be driving BR sales anyway.
The thing of course is that when they own a proprietary platform like the XB360, then they want to control the hardware that gets plugged in as well... for example - your hard disk, even the protocol to the bluetooth is so closed that you can not choose what you want to add o...
With the release of the PS4 the HVD disk will become standard. The XB720 will most probably then be released with a BR drive.
The next version of Windows after Vista will be released as DD? No? On BR perhaps? Thought so. Or multiple DVD's.
Get real Gates... physical media is the reality now. DD is the future... way into the future. It is like saying you won't buy a car because personal helicopters, hovercraft or planes is the future.
Not too long ago they were touting HD-DVD as essential - now with its demise HD physical media suddenly becomes irrelevant?
Simply put - there is not enough bandwidth to ensure DD for HD content for quite some time. Even the playback devices does not have enough storage for more than a few movies.
Physical media will be with us for a long time still. BR will rule this era until the Super HD is released.
Consider that they are not in the stage where they optimize / polish the code, and that quite recently they announced that they were adding more graphical features - then 30fps going up to 60fps bodes quite well.
And to the kids out here - 30fps and 60fps is not a specific thing they target for. The 30fps would usually mean that at minimum it would be 30fps, but would normally be a bit faster.
Lots of detail, 30fp would be very smooth and impressive. Day one buy...
This guy never ceases to amaze people with his amazingly bluntly wrong analysis.
Wii a failure? Even the most die hard fanboys agree that the Wii is a success. OK, well, maybe Rob Enderle and five other trolls here on the forums... but still... any clown claiming the Wii failed must be from some other planet...
HD-DVD winning? Wow!!! Even the most die hard fans here are licking their wounds - and admit to it. Yet Rob boy sees a victory? Maybe he is the Iraqi Inf...
Ultimate was most probably dropped at the last second due to the Warner announcement. One of those things. Move along. It is not as if it is rocket science to add the HD-DVD drive to the XB360.
The drivers are there, the space is there, the drives are there. Just slot them in, and the firmware have standard support enabled. They could have it ready in a week. Most probably the same for a BR model. And they would have made prototypes for both. The tricky thing would just be to ...
Sony is a hardware manufacturer. They make these things for a living. We don't know what the components cost them. They could be making a profit on the hardware, and will not tell the industry. With the millions in the market, and the economies of scale kicking in, it is only logical that prices will start dropping fast.
They need to make money.
BR is where it is at. Some egg on the face when they release a BR player, but by next year this time it will not even be discussed anymore, and HD-DVD will be forgotten - to only be resurrected by fans 5 years from now when the next nexgen format is being discussed.
And there was none. Not a single way to spin the statistics. Well - maybe one still left...
HD-DVD outsold rest of market in the console add-on category. (And then disregard that all PS3's come with build in BR drive). It is the one category - until MS releases the BR add on for the XB360 where they can pretend to be leading any category.
Software titles - BR Check
Standalone players - BR Check
Total players - BR Check
Drives / Burners in PC'...
He can spend color time as much as he wants. As I stated numerous times before - but then it was when HD-DVD camp claiming "better quality"... it is still true when BR claim "better quality"...
It can not be. Simply because a AVI, MPEG2, MPEG4, etc etc formats - is digital files - and is exactly the same if you put it on tape drive, a CD, a DVD, HD-DVD or BR. It can not give different quality on a different format, because it is the same file. A spreadsheet ...
But maybe we had enough news on that....
Lets put a hold on more of this one until we get the MS BR attachment announcement...
He's baaackkk...
Hi Marty boy(s), howzit down there in that dusty basement? You guys got quite a rap for not generating enough effective negative buzz on BR hey?
So when is MS going to release a BR add on?
Tell me - if MS decides to drop HD-DVD and go BR instead as a add-on for XB360 - would you buy it?
Game content becomes bigger. Small games will be downloads. For the next gen 9GB game downloads will be common, but then, 50GB content for games will then be standard... which will again need physical media.
MS must jump to BR. The technical jump is not a problem. All the drivers and software is there already. It is all about reputation, appearance. They were very vocal about HD-DVD and very very vocal about BR not being a good "value proposition" whatever the hell th...
I have four DVD players. The PS3 beats them all hands down. It is quieter spinning the disk, and the quality is better as well. Heck - all of my DVD players tend to scratch the disks - but not the PS3.
Maybe you should buy a PS3 before making up stuff like this.
Many of these movies that was exclusive XB360 games will actually boost PS3 sales when the movies gets released on BR... because most gamers will buy a PS3 rather than a stand alone BR player. So expect a lot of XB360 owners to buy a PS3 from this year on. Ironic... MS will have to release a BR XB360 to stem the tide...
All online services have temporary problems from time to time. There is not a meltdown. PS3 will benefit from HD-DVD death, and it will most probably overtake the XB360 in 2009. No biggie. Both consoles are doing well. Neither is going to die off. XB360 might get dropped when the XB720 is announced - but the XB owners don't mind. The PS2 is still going strong. Will most probably slow down a lot this year after some major PS3 title releases.
TANOD
MySQL is not a MS product. It is actually doing great. The most installed SQL server is Sqlite, and on most web servers MySQL is offered, or Postgresql.
You must be thinking of MS SQL Server. But it is not doing bad. It is actually not a bad product (although it was developed from Sybase code that they bought) and is doing well in the market.