Forum - View topicNEWS: Funimation Thinking Blu-Ray While Geneon Waits
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hikaru004
 Posts: 2306 |
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But time is ticking for the TV set upgrade anyways at least in my area. So the inevitable player upgrade isn't too far behind imo.
At least I know now to concentrate on Blu-ray. 
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MokonaModoki
 Posts: 437 Location: Austin, Texas |
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I did the math. That was sort of my point. It's been @ $200 for an Xbox 360 owner to get HD-DVD. About $300 to get a standalone player. Minimum entry to get Blu-ray is still $500. And for the PS3 that $500 is after a $100 price cut that only occurred last week (and that occurred because Sony hasn't been able to sell the things). In my extraordinarily limited personal experience (I'm old and have no friends), I know precisely 3 people besides myself with the current ability to play high-definition format discs and they are all using the Xbox 360 player. I'm not trying to be anti-PS3 here. I don't really care, and I may even buy one now that they've dropped to a more palatable price point. The fact remains that it seems very silly for any content publisher other than Sony to marry themselves exclusively to Blu-ray for their HD format at this point in time, especially if that decision is based on the (non-) market penetration of one manufacturer's game console. My point was that independent content publishers who are not stuck in one of the existing consortiums of either format should publish both formats. |
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varmintx
 Posts: 1211 Location: Covington, KY |
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Isn't there enough misinformation about the HD disc formats from the recent forum thread?
Anybody with a good HD set should read this. HIGH-DEF MARKET SHARE - BRD VS HD-DVD SOFTWARE SALES (7/8/07 - Nielsen/VideoScan): Week Ending 7/8 Blu-ray Disc: 66 HD-DVD: 34 Year to Date Blu-ray Disc: 67 HD-DVD: 33 Since Inception Blu-ray Disc: 60 HD-DVD: 40 Movie titles only (videogame titles not included) - Includes HD-DVD/DVD Combo Format |
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darkhunter
 Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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[quote="MokonaModoki"]
Yeah, I was refering to xbox owner having to pay like 600 dollars total for an Next Gen console + HD setup. Most of my friends who owned xbox360 are not gonna shell out 200 dollar for the add-on. I might pick up the xbox for Blue Dragon (3 dvd9 disc) and Lost Oddessey, but I doubt i'll buy the add-on since it look tacky as hell and I rather get a drive for my HTPC instead. As for standalone, I'm sure by next year, an HDDVD stand alone will be around 200 and Blu-Ray player droping to 300. Last edited by darkhunter on Mon Jul 16, 2007 3:23 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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testorschoice
Posts: 468 |
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Independent content publishers have to publish to formats without losing money. For one reason or another, Funimation looked at the several hundred thousand HD DVD players vs the 1.5 million Blu-ray players, punched the numbers, calculated it won't lose money on Blu-ray releases, but decided that the current HD DVD market is not worth the risk. It's the classic chicken-and-egg situation, but Funimation--because it is an independent publisher--can't afford to risk publishing in two new formats without some assurance of eventual payback. It's not just authoring to high-definition that's more expensive than the current paid-for DVD workflows, but authoring to two mutually incompatible formats with two related but eventually separate and proprietary workflows. Maybe Funimation will jump into HD DVD when the market has grown, but we can't blame it from jumping into one format first when other publishers haven't jumped into either format yet. It's roughy the same reason why some independent game publishers have decided not to release titles for the current PlayStation 3 game market. The Playstation 3 may be the best-selling high-definition disc player in the world, but it's also the lowest-selling next-generation console in North America. |
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britannicamoore
 Posts: 2618 Location: Out. |
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Someone needs to tell Funi not to do something based on the PS3. Sure its sold and some people have one- but due to its price a lot of people don't.
They should just stick to the dvds they have now and wait until 5 years or so later when the PS3 is at a more affortable price for everyone. Or theres just a lot of used machines since a lot of their sole PS only titles have been jumping ship to other systems.
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immortalkon
Posts: 7 |
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I read something similar in one of those home theatre magazines as well, the fact that Blu-Ray DVD's were outselling HD-DVD's. He (can't remember the name of the person or magazine right now) basically predicted Blu-Ray was going to be the victor. This was reinforced with the video game consoles as well (PS3 Vs 360). The fact that Sony included a Blu-Ray player in their system whereas Microsoft made it an optional peripheral, indicated a lack in confidence from the HD-DVD camp to win this war. This was the first time I heard this argument, and to a pointe, seems logical. In terms of video games, my friends in the industry all say the same thing, X360 is currently better beacuse the programming language is easier, but the PS3 potential is greater if they can standardize it somewhat instead of converting the X360 language into the PS3 which doesn't always translate properly. They're eventually going to start making PS3 games strictly with the PS3 language instead of converting it from another platform (this explanation is basically lamens terms because I'm not much of a techie, and they're conversation just got way beyond me). Point is, PS3 games will be getting better. Keep in mind though that XBOX has now released the "Elite" (aka black X360) which now supposed can display all images in 1080p and uses HDMI instead of just component cables. A true HD resolution combination to compete with the PS3. I also heard rumors from a clerk at Toy's R Us that another X360 is being released with more minor tweaks, but I haven't researched any further into it than just what he said, so things might change in the format war down the road. He believes it has something to do with the release of Halo 3, guess we'll wait and see. I myself have an X360 without the HD player, but I do plan on buying a PS3 later down the road since it's come down in price, and I'm a sucker for new toys. 
That being said, regardless of the format war (although I'm slightly leaning towards the Blu-ray camp right now), if anime is to be released in HD, and since it'll be more expensive than regular DVD's anyways, I hope they actually go for the full HD quality and aim for the 1080p resolution. The downside is that you'll need to make sure your TV can support it, have sometype of HD player, and will definitely have to use HDMI connectors, etc... which all = more $$$  The price we pay for entertainment.
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AnalogNub
 Posts: 4 Location: New Jersey |
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Before I start, can I ask you guys please stay on topic. We're talking about anime not the Atari. I was going to respond to what you guys are saying on the "console war" but I'll keep that to myself. I'll save it for neogaf or the 1up forums. Anyways, Believe me or not, I am a owner of a 1080p HDTV and PS3. I'm pretty sure if you own a normal TV you will NOT notice the difference but that all changes when you have a HDTV. Now I don't know if my PS3 is doing this (with the Upscale and all) but the video quality on DVD's looks OK on my TV but you when you watch a Blu-Ray (or even HD-DVD) movie it takes it up a notch. To put it simply, Video Quality/DVD=OK - Blu-Ray=Awesome. But here is something else I noticed that no one else is talking about. The Subtitles on DVDs are UGLY! Watching Haruhi with subtitles turn on is almost too tough to watch. It gets in the way of everything. It almost makes me want to just download the fansubs. I hate to sound like PR person but blu ray changes that. The text is nice crisp nothing like DVD's ugly yellow blocky text. Its as good as fandub text. Another thing that I pray that US anime company do is put the whole shows on one or two blu ray discs. My room is not a library, I do not have space for these anime shows that take up to 7 different DVD cases. I've seen pictures of some anime fan's collections and it is ridiculous. Blu-Ray, I think, can change all this and Just to be fair though, this can apply to HD-DVD as well. I imagin its the same. I just want to add that I did not write this up from information I got the net. I have a HDTV and use Blu Ray so I know first hand how it is. As a fan of anime I've been dying to see it in HD, the last anime I saw in HD was Howls Moving Castle and Darker than Black, so the fact that Funimation is going to release anime on Blu-Ray make me a happy person. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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Oh, if only that was the case. But it seems that they are just trying to get rid of the 60 gig versions before their 80 gig version comes out, which will then be the only version being produced. So once the 60 gigs are gone, it will still probably cost $600 for a PS3. |
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darkhunter
Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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PS3 at 500 dollar is here to stay? So far, it's just a speculation and if the 60GB model is flying off the shelf, I don't see why they would stop making 'em. |
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Shinotaku14
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 233 Location: Greenville or Rock Hill, SC |
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I for one welcome our Blu-Ray overlords.
Seriously though, Sony needs to win one for once. They're due for a positive outcome to a business decision. I mean, Beta SHOULD have won that format war as it was a vastly better format than VHS, just as the Blu-ray is a better format (although not by as wide a margin) than HD-DVD. |
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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I would say that the jump from DVD to the high definition formats is closer to the difference between VHS and Super VHS, as opposed to VHS and DVD. I remember saying how amazing the SVHS quality was, and even enjoyed the benifits from a Super Beta for years before then compared to the awful VHS (especially 6 hour mode) quality.
The insane DVD takeover benefited from size (won over many of us LD fans) as well as quality and was competitive price (won over the rest of us LD fans). Blu-Ray and HDDVD do cost more than standard definition DVD and is easier to compare with the Laser Disc Market in the 80s and 90s.
I actually am leaning towards the Blu-ray camp due to studio support, although my HD-DVD can play the high definition audio codecs through my receiver, which my PS3 can't. I believe that they are only a couple high def discs that are encoded at 1080i with the rest being 1080p. I believe that the issue of going from HDMI to DVI is minimal, and actually use DVI to HDMI for my computer with no problems. I believe component can go up to 1080i, but am not sure since all of my devices besides my LD player and PC are now HDMI. I'm a bit surprised at the neutral stance from Geneon since I believe they are still related to Pioneer who is a big Blu-ray supporter. They also supported Sony's UMD, although this might have contributed to their caution. Sony will hopefully release the Bebop Movie, Memories, Metropolis, and Tokyo Godfathers. I believe Steam Boy and Advent Children are slated for release on Blu-Ray. Ghibli is being released by Disney in the States who are exclusive Blu-Ray. I eblieve Howl's Moving Castle is playing on Showtime HD tomorrow! Anchor Bay has Noein, Tactics, Karas, Tokko, Perfect Blue, Ninja Scroll, and Macross Plus in the States and recently announced that they were going Blu-Ray as well. It's looking really bad for HD-DVD and anime companies. I love my HD-DVD player almost as much as I love my PS3. I feel as though HD-DVD will be around until Universal goes format neutral. I don't think either format will or even intend to replace DVD. I think this is a market that will be at least as successful as Laser disc for those of us that are home theater geeks. For those who are curious the PS3 ranks amongst the best Blu-Ray players in quality. The only disadvantages are it's awkward shape, Bluetooth remote, power consumption, and fan noise. IT scores remarkably in the audio and video categories, and now is able to upscale standard definition DVDs. |
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varmintx
Posts: 1211 Location: Covington, KY |
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HitokiriShadow
Posts: 6251 |
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60 gig version is going bye-bye. Read this thread for more on the price drop, the 60 gig version going out of production and why they are doing it. |
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Randall Miyashiro
Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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I'm still running audio via toslink for the PS3 so I will not get better audio until I get a new receiver since the optical can't carry more than 2 channel PCM. My HD-DVD player has the 6 cable solution which my Elite receiver can accept for 5.1 LPCM. I am intending on upgrading my receiver with the new Pioneer Elite coming out next month. Even though the value of receiver based decoding for Dolby True and DTS HDMA is questionable I would like to have a receiver with it and HDMI 1.3 anyways. For those interested in a PS3 I would highly recommend the 60GB for $500 over the newer more expensive $600 model. Not only are you paying $100 for 20GB but it also doesn't play PS1 and 2 games natively like the 60GB version does. I here it does a decent job emulating older games, but not nearly as compatible as the 60GB machine. With a release date and preorders popping up for Tekkon Kinkreet BluRay online one can say that Columbia/Sony has begun to release their Blu-Ray titles as well. I hope to see them release the Bebop movie and Steamboy soon. |
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