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View Full Version : Xbox Executive Says Blu-ray Reminds Him of Betamax


Jeremy Charette
04-21-2006, 08:30 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060420-6641.html' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060420-6641.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Chris Lewis, Microsoft's regional vice president for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and the head of the company's Xbox gaming business in Europe, was interviewed recently by the German site Spiegel Online. He discussed how Microsoft was doing with the Xbox 360, and what might lie ahead in the future. When the question of the PS3's Blu-ray capability came up, however, Lewis was more direct: "Blu-ray right now reminds us of another technology from Sony: Betamax. A bit like VHS—we think that HD DVD is the format that consumers, film studios and publishers will embrace. As you're mentioning the cost of Blu-ray—we think it's about giving consumers choice, we think it's about not necessarily asking them to pay over the odds for a technology that, at the moment, is unproven." Those of us who remember the VHS versus Beta battles remember that ultimately the choice came down to two issues: the storage capacity of the tape and the number of available titles. Ironically, Blu-ray already has an advantage in the former category and if it is adopted by more manufacturers it could wind up with the edge in the latter as well. However, the outcome is by no means certain, and it seems a bit early to be relegating one format to "Betamax" status. Lewis pointed out that Microsoft was working on an HD DVD add-on for the 360 that would, despite the lack of an HDMI interface in the 360, be able to watch any copy-protected HD DVD movies: "All I can say to you is—there are interesting developments in the pipeline. We will make sure that the HD DVD-peripheral device will meet all the requirements for consumers to enjoy high-definition DVD playback.""</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/chris_lewis_img2.jpg" /><br /><br />Let's get down to the nitty gritty: rumors. The latest buzz says that Microsoft will display the external HD-DVD drive for the 360 at E3, it will be released in September, it will retail for $100-150 USD, and it *may* have a built-in HDMI output port. I have to agree with Lewis regarding Blu-Ray. HD-DVD is coming to the market faster and cheaper than Blu-Ray. In addition, HD-DVD discs can be double sided, with a DVD version of a movie on one side, and an HD-DVD version on the other, allowing consumers to just flip a disc when they upgrade to an HD-DVD player down the road. I think Sony and the PS3 are going to be too late to the party to make a splash.

Damion Chaplin
04-22-2006, 12:11 AM
Those of us who remember the VHS versus Beta battles remember that ultimately the choice came down to two issues: the storage capacity of the tape and the number of available titles.

First of all, boy does that statement make me feel old!

Secondly, the real reason Betamax never took off was that Sony insisted that anyone who wanted to release their movie on Beta needed to pay licensing fees to Sony. VHS had no such limiter. So even though Beta was a superior format it was the licensing fees that eventually led to no one releasing their movies on it... So yes, it was a matter of the number of titles available, but it goes deeper than that...

Felix Torres
04-22-2006, 01:23 AM
It wasn't a superior format in the eyes of the market, which picked a different winner.

Sony lost their first-mover advantage because they refused to license beta to anybody until VHS had the lead and by then only Sanyo was willing to pay Sony's terms.
They did the same thing with minidisc and Memory stick.
(But not UMD or Blu-Ray/BD-ROM, so they seem to have learned something....) 8)

And, don't forget the recording-time issue; the vhs cartridge was bigger and bulkier because it started out with enough tape for a two hour movie or two full two episodes; Beta started out at 105 minutes.
Those 15 minutes were a big part of the difference; Sony made longer tapes but by then it was too late.