Why Microsoft Won't Have Blu-ray on the Xbox

semiautomatix

semiautomatix

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"Ever since Toshiba stopped production of HD DVD players, many Xbox 360 owners have been wondering when Microsoft will offer some sort of Blu-ray option for the Xbox 360. The answer: Probably never. Microsoft's product manager for the Xbox 360 has told Reuters that Microsoft is not in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association. Why not? The Industry Standard points to HDi, an obscure Microsoft technology that was part of the HD DVD interactivity layer. HDi may be dead on physical media, but it could potentially be applied to other Microsoft HD-compatible technologies such as Xbox Live Arcade and Windows Media Center, and be part of a long-term play to own a big share of the market for HD content delivered over the Internet."
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http://slashdot.org/

Now we all know about XBox Live Video, but combining that with HDi never crossed my mind. Essentially we all assumed it died along with HD DVD.

EDIT: This is more of a general discussion on HDi, not XBox vs PS3, plz.
 
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Who else other than Microsoft is sinking with the HDi/HD-DVD titanic?

Bad move imo.
 
Fudzy said:
Who else other than Microsoft is sinking with the HDi/HD-DVD titanic?

Bad move imo.
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Well, they already have HD movie downloads via XBox Live, why not add value add the HDi can give? HDi can be seperated from the physical media.
 
Sabre said:
OK now inform the rest of us what HDi is .....
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HDi is Microsoft's implementation of the Advanced Content interactivity layer in HD DVD. However, HDi is not inherently limited to being used on optical media. This service is similar to BD-Live.

As such, since HD DVD is no longer viable, HD movies can be downloaded from XBox Live Video. If additional content (for example, picture in picture director comments) is required it is available via HDi.

Now Blu-ray will have a similar product with the exception that the actual movie is on a physical medium, whereas the Microsoft alternative is a video-on-demand download.
 
They will bring out Blu-Ray drives. It is insane for them not to. They will kill the Xbox market if they don't.
 
antowan said:
They will bring out Blu-Ray drives. It is insane for them not to. They will kill the Xbox market if they don't.
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Microsoft says no Blu-ray for Xbox 360

Microsoft, which has stopped making an HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360, would continue to invest in its Xbox Live online service that already lets users rent hundreds of movies, including ones in high-definition.

"We're the only console offering digital distribution of entertainment content," Greenberg said.
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In the US this is making an impact. Hell, in this country Telkom wants to introduce IPTV, a very similar concept.
 
Even with HDi they need buy-in from the major movie houses, right? Or is it a different deal to encode the movie, to whatever format HDi uses, for redistribution via internet?
 
Nod said:
Even with HDi they need buy-in from the major movie houses, right? Or is it a different deal to encode the movie, to whatever format HDi uses, for redistribution via internet?
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They already have a deal for a lot of movies. I would assume, and if the Writer's strike is anything to go by, that Internet distributed media falls outside the realm of traditional optical disc media.
 
Fudzy said:
Do you ever actually own downloaded content? All the stuff on Marketplace seems to be expensive rentals?
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I don't know how it work currently, but at the launch you could purchase SD outright and HD for rental for 4 days. As such, you access the SD movies unconditionally. I would assume that this has/will apply to HD content, as well.
 
I personally would still prefer to actually own the physical media rather than some virtual certificate that says I can play media on my hard-drive.
 
dablakmark8 said:
maybe the rest of the world will benefit but in SA with prices so high on telecoms..its a sad way to go...
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Agreed ... a few hours later, eaten caps or 10% of ones salary gone on a few movies in a month :/

I prefer the BR option tbh.
 
Dolby said:
Agreed ... a few hours later, eaten caps or 10% of ones salary gone on a few movies in a month :/

I prefer the BR option tbh.
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Again, we are not discussing the situation in this country. It is a given that it is a problem and a discussion for another day.

We it is economically feasible (Japan, US, Europe), and in Microsofts largest markets, it is a very practical idea.
 
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