HD-DVD Looking to Utilize the Internet

Like everything else in the industry, HD-DVD is looking to utilize the internet.

In a story from The Hollywood Reporter, the next generation format is looking to "take advantage of its players' built-in Internet connections."

Freedom, Vol. 1, which comes out today will be the first HD-DVD disc to take advantage of this internet option. "Buyers who connect their HD-DVD player to a broadband Internet line will be able to download a high-definition trailer for another movie, change menu styles and download additional subtitles."

Things get turned up a notch with the HD-DVD release of 300. It "will allow users to re-edit the movie, selecting and ordering the scenes as they see fit, and upload their edit to a server hosted by the studio, Warner Bros. The edit will be accessible to other users, who can download it to their players and see the movie in its new form."

Blu-ray will not have this feature as the units that play those discs can't connect to the internet.

Kevin Rollins, "Microsoft Corp.'s director of HD DVD evangelism," didn't put much stock into Blockbuster's recent decision to put more Blu-ray discs into their stores. He claims that there's "stronger momentum now because owners of Sony's PlayStation 3 game console are buying Blu-ray movies because there aren't enough games out for the device. The focus of buyers will switch back to games when more become available, he said."

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Jcurtis
I have multiple devices connected to my LAN. I agree, I don't think the PC should hold a monopoly, I just simply think that company's need to be more honest to the customers willing to pony up the cash for a relatively expensive piece of hardware. There is to much spin coming from HD-DVD's camp its ridiculous. How does a device that connects to the Internet maintain a place in the "dedicated player" category? It doesn't. I'm all for them giving the consumers the most features for our money, but to blatantly exclude a competitors statistics because its blu-ray player does more than your HD-DVD player is a bit childish. If they are so worried about this "PS3" stat, why didn't Micro$oft put its HD-DVD IN its XBOX 360? They said they didn't want to include the HD-DVD inside the 360 because they wanted the customer to choose if they wanted one. Thats nice! It looks like the customer's did choose, just not the option micro$oft was wanting. Now they lie to get us to purchase one. They should have just forced it on us like Sony did and they would be leading the "war"! Just count every Blu-ray players and HD-DVD player, it doesn't matter if its built into your refrigerator or PS3, I don't care if its used for viewing hi def movies out of the end of a garden hose, JUST COUNT EM ALL! I'm curious what they are going to say in response to PS3 sales, that will inevitably be boosted by the $100 price cut. I find this whole thing amusing, to say the least that a video game will more than likely determine the outcome of HD-DVD Vs Blu-Ray Battle Royal!
5 years agoby @jcurtis Flag
PenguinDreams
Well it is true that Blu-Ray is winning the sales, mostly in part of the PS3, the overall quality and user interface still goes to HD-DVD. True it may be rendered obsolete and that will be ashame. The picture quality is better than Blu-Ray and the production costs are lower. To bad that clever marketing may be the deciding factor over quality.
I like the fact that HD-DVD players can connect to the internet. I don't think the only appliance that will ever connect to the internet will be the PC. Pretty soon even your refrigerator will be able to connect to the internet and that's not a joke. Almost every appliance will connect to the home LAN and then to the internet. That's fine if you just want to use your PC, but I for one am a forward thinker and I don't think the PC has a monopoly on the internet.
5 years agoby @penguindreams Flag
Jcurtis
It seems to me that HD-DVD is doing all it can just to stay in the headlines. Why do I need a DVD player that can connect to the internet? I have a pc and so does anybody else that has the internet. Why didn't they include the trailers on the disc to begin with? Oh wait I have the answer, not enough disc storage. If I want to re-edit a movie I will use my "pc" not a DVD player. I want a format doing what it can to stay relevant, not giving me something to do while it's being rendered obsolete. How about more studio support. These announcements are about as pointless as a eject button on the remote, you still have to get up to put another disc in! What's with the "spin" HD-DVD is doing to the number of DVD players? They are only counting dedicated Players. How is a player that connects to the internet "dedicated" strictly to DVD, but PS3 is not considered one. That sounds like a double standard. Even when they spin the numbers they still can't get the facts right. Somebody needs to Get HD-DVD camps head out of the clouds and slap them back to reality on the way down. Total numbers are more staggering when you count total players, something like 1.5m blu-ray to HD-DVD's 150,000. Also if I do recall, The PS2 was one of the driving factors of the success of the DVD in general. Any body that has the audacity to say that people are only paying $600 for a game console, and are only using the Blu-ray player for movies until more games are released, is very naive. That was one of the biggest selling points and reasons people purchased 1.5+ million of them.
5 years agoby @jcurtis Flag