http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/ Engadget HD Comments for China Blue HD players revealed, second stage of the format war is officially on http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/
So, if I can get The Dark Knight on CBHD for $7 or on BD for $24, these formats aren't in competition because the prices are different? Is BD more 1080p-ish than CBHD?

If Warner really wanted to ramp up sales, they'd revive HD DVD support. I can't tell you how many people I know that bought discs just so their preferred format would 'win'. In a BD only world, things can get pretty boring. Just take a look at the comment count on EngadgetHD for further evidence... ]]>Apr 24th 2009 10:22AMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/Apr 24th 2009 10:43AMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/Apr 24th 2009 11:05AMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/
My god, let's keep around multiple competing formats to stop a repeat of that madness!!!!

[And now we end our post from bizzaro world and return to planet Earth.] ]]>Apr 24th 2009 11:52AMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/May 13th 2009 2:27PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/Apr 24th 2009 12:13PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/
Why?

HD-DVD had similar licensing fees to Blu-ray: same codecs, same licensing. Reviving HD-DVD would not change this one iota.

An interesting side note though (regarding hardware)...

Near the end of the format war, Toshiba was going to cut the hardware licensing fees for China in order to get cheap (sub-$99.00) players into the US/JP markets. HD-DVD was already a huge loss for them with their own players. The logic: low prices, more market penetration, win format war, make money back with licensing. But when this planned licensing cut hit the wires, I read several tech/financial blogs wondering how the heck Toshiba planned to succeed financially if they nixed the *only* part of the equation that meant money for them: future licensing for Chinese-made players. Of course, they lost the format war before any of this came to pass, so that question will never be answered.

But don't get this wrong. China still wanted their own format -- *disk* prices being the key here -- and was going forward regardless.

-Pie]]>Apr 24th 2009 8:55PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/Apr 24th 2009 10:27AMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/Apr 24th 2009 10:39AMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/
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You got it, Bub!]]>May 13th 2009 2:32PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/Apr 24th 2009 6:44PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/
On Piracy. Piracy was one of the main reasons this format was developed!

Unlike Internet piracy, in China, pirates actually *sell* discs on the street, and the Chinese people buy them because they are so incredibly cheap and so easy to get. The goal here is to have a legitimate format that is also very cheap -- like $5.00 or something -- so people will buy legal copies of movies instead of relying on the pirates. That is why Warner has said they'll back this format. Better to make *some* money than *no* money at all!

Also, it's supposed to be China only, so it won't compete with Blu-ray anywhere else.

-Pie]]>Apr 24th 2009 8:34PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/Apr 24th 2009 9:42PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2009/04/24/china-blue-hd-players-revealed-second-stage-of-the-format-war-i/Apr 30th 2009 4:07AM