Site claims LIVE Marketplace is as good as HD-DVD

[Maxx_75]

I personaly think they are full of crap, but that is just me. If you can't tell the difference between a 5 gig 720P movie and a 25 gig 1080P movie you need to get your eyes and/or you gear checked.

Read this joke of an article and discuss.


http://xyhd.tv/2006/12/03/why-xbox-l...eyResultsChart

[Aodh]

Quality very very much depends on the individual encodes and settings. I've seen some very clean downloads of trailers at 720p, but I don't have access in Canada to the Video marketplace yet. It is as good technically and if you're specifically looking? Not even close. If you're 15' back on your couch, you may be hard pressed to casually notice. I don't think it's much of a joke, he shows where it fails clearly with the black levels and microblocking, but it depends on the encode and your gear weither you can see a difference or not.

[Pariah]

No way; the marketplace HD stuff is 720p, very different from the 1080i I get with my HD-DVD add-on. (And with the LCD screen I have, the difference between 1080i and 1080p is academic anyway; the TV de-interlaces everything before displaying it.)

And that's not even taking into account audio quality.

[pcweber111]

Well, it also depends on the testing methods used, so I can certainly see how someone might not see the difference. Of course the correct analysis would be to determine whether your equipment, calibration methods, and bias all play into your final observations, but hey most internet publications don't really seem to subscribe to that level of professionalism anymore.

[dobyblue]

I agree with you Maxx. Complete crap.

[marzetta7]

I agree Maxx. BS...and thus Microsoft shows its true card for its support of HD DVD vs. Blu-ray. Cause confusion for HD physical media, then attempt to dominate online movie HD media distribution.

[Blurry]

I agree Maxx. BS...and thus Microsoft shows its true card for its support of HD DVD vs. Blu-ray. Cause confusion for HD physical media, then attempt to dominate online movie HD media distribution.

I don't really get what you are trying to say. Why shouldn't MS put some stakes in the online HD video download market ? Especially since many people want it. In what way are they causing confusion of HD physical media ? They are also supporting it with their add-on.

I really have trouble complaining when MS is giving me something I want.

[Aodh]

I agree Maxx. BS...and thus Microsoft shows its true card for its support of HD DVD vs. Blu-ray. Cause confusion for HD physical media, then attempt to dominate online movie HD media distribution.

Or it could be to encourage the use of HD content over SD, and stepping stone people up to the next level.

[marzetta7]

I don't really get what you are trying to say. Why shouldn't MS put some stakes in the online HD video download market ? Especially since many people want it. In what way are they causing confusion of HD physical media ? They are also supporting it with their add-on.

I really have trouble complaining when MS is giving me something I want.

In other words, IMO, Microsoft has no real interest in either HD DVD or Blu-ray (other than ensuring that their VC-1 codec is used on both if either take off), but supports HD DVD as to stagnate the adoption of a clear winner (considering that the majority of the industry in CE & IT support Blu-ray) in the physical HD media realm. Then, that way they can persuade consumers to THEIR online HD content and have them not worry about the physical media. This quote from Gates should be somewhat telling of what their strategy is in my opinion...

"For us it's not the physical format. Understand that this is the last physical format there will ever be. Everything's going to be streamed directly or on a hard disk. So, in this way, it's even unclear how much this one counts."

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding from my previous post.

[Blurry]

In other words, IMO, Microsoft has no real interest in either HD DVD or Blu-ray (other than ensuring that their VC-1 codec is used on both if either take off), but supports HD DVD as to stagnate the adoption of a clear winner (considering that the majority of the industry in CE & IT support Blu-ray) in the physical HD media realm. Then, that way they can persuade consumers to THEIR online HD content and have them not worry about the physical media. This quote from Gates should be somewhat telling of what their strategy is in my opinion...

"For us it's not the physical format. Understand that this is the last physical format there will ever be. Everything's going to be streamed directly or on a hard disk. So, in this way, it's even unclear how much this one counts.".

Well, I am sure that MS would love to control the HD download market (which company wouldn't, so of course it is a "goal" - however unlikely). However they are not forcing it down people's throats, they are giving them options.

It is more natural for MS to support HD DVD simply because HD DVD supported VC1 from the get go whereas the Blu-ray camp only did it out of necessity when they were falling behind quality wise - so I certainly do not see this as any devious ploy on MS' part.

[dobyblue]

It is more natural for MS to support HD DVD simply because HD DVD supported VC1 from the get go whereas the Blu-ray camp only did it out of necessity when they were falling behind quality wise - so I certainly do not see this as any devious ploy on MS' part.

It's more likely that HD DVD supported VC-1 because MS told them they'd support HD DVD if they did.
A smart move all around, but I seriously doubt MS cares which format wins now that they've proved VC-1 to be an excellent codec. MS execs have already stated they can easily create an add-on Blu-ray drive if need be.

[Blurry]

A smart move all around, but I seriously doubt MS cares which format wins now that they've proved VC-1 to be an excellent codec. MS execs have already stated they can easily create an add-on Blu-ray drive if need be.

Yeah, I think it is quite possible MS would launch a Blu-ray add-on if they see enough support in the market, or a dual-format add-on.

Actually, I think the only reason why they do not allow games to played on the HD DVD add-on is because MS does not want to standardize games to play on either platform yet. I can't think of any technical limitation which would prevent this, so I think this limitation is based on internal strategy (I also think they could turn it on with a simple firmware update, if they think the time is right).

[dobyblue]

I agree. Microsoft maybe very untrustworthy, but you can never accuse them of not being smart.