No one will question that the high definition format war will be full-tilt this holiday season. However, I must say that in many ways, I'm unimpressed by what I'm hearing coming soon, from either Blu-ray or HD DVD. Still no news of a high-definition recorder here in the U.S.--even though Japan already has an HD DVD recorder from Toshiba, and a selection of Blu-ray Disc recorders (new Sony models were introduced in Japan today).
A year ago, I'd heard whispers of a high-definition recorder conceivably coming in time for the holiday season this year. At this point, I think we'll be lucky to hear about recorders at CES--for next year's holiday season.
So why the delay? For one thing, we're still waiting on the final version of the Advanced Access Content System, the copy protection scheme used by both Blu-ray and HD DVD, and which will govern things like recording and the oft-talked about yet currently non-existant managed copy (which will enable legal copies of movies from disc).
Beyond AACS, the only reason I can see for a delay on developing and marketing high-definition recorders in the U.S. market would be the ongoing format war. In Japan, recorders are pretty much all that's sold. In the U.S., the emphasis has always been on players first, even back with DVD. DVD recorders hit the market well after players--and only in recent years are DVD recorders enjoying a notable surge in growth (and they still represent a paltry market as compared with DVD players--125 million players were sold in 2006, as compared with 16 million recorders, according to research by In-Stat).
So while the format war drags on, and recordable technology comes no closer to U.S. shores, we get news like Toshiba introducing its thrid-generation HD DVD players (yet, the HD-A3, like the HD-A2 before it, still only outputs at 1080i resolution, and still carries a price of $299) and news of Denon planning to ship is Blu-ray BD-ROM Profile 1.1 player, the DVD-3800BDCI (price: $1,199), by mid-December of this year. While that's a boon to the Blu-ray format--it's the only player announced to date to conform to Profile 1.1, the refreshed spec that goes into effect October 31--i can't help but think we in the U.S. are being cheated.
Today comes news from Japan about Sony releasing a new spate of Blu-ray Disc recorders. Four of 'em, in fact. Sigh. At this rate, I guess I'll be finding some other way to record the Beijing Olympics. And by the time high-def recordable discs do become a reality, I suspect many of us who would have wanted them may have settled into using alternative methods of archiving self-made recordings.
We can thank Hollywood and Congress for this mess. They passed th Digital Millenium Copy Protection Act and deny us the ability to copy HD or even audio in order to protect the content providers.
They totally lose sight of the fact that those who copy wholesale and really hurt the industry are not limitied by the act by either being overseas or getting their equipment overseas. Pirated copies of films sometimes hit the streets before legal copies, and the new act does nothing to stop them.
Typically the bureacrats give us a nice sounding title to a law, tout its effects, harm the public without harming the real perps.
All excellent points. All related to a much greater sort of malaise that Americans continue in, allowing big business and politicians to manage things to their own advantage without any challenge. It appears we Americans are gradually becoming used to being pushed around and doing nothing about it. How long will we put up with things like this? Pop in a DVD and recognize the upside-down way things have been over-engineered for profits. We are exposed to FBI warnings and the quoting of obscure International copyright laws that insultingly accuse us of doing something illegal that we would never consider. We're threatened with Jail time and excessive fines as part of our entertainment choice! It is totally wrong for us to be used to, or accepting of these things, as the rest of the world (uncharacteristically) is becoming much more like what Americans used to be! The USA is a nation that is supposedly of, by and for the people! What's going on here?
The rest of the world knows that America and our corporations are ruled by the almighty dollar... that's why Internet access speeds, cellular tech, and digital audio/video technology lag the rest of the world, as well as our privacy protection, where our personal information is a corporate asset and not a personal one. Not to mention the lag in 'reputation' for quality or good will...
I agree it's about the money. Why sell us a player/recorder when they can sell us a player, then a year or so later sell us a player/recorder.