Things Sony has left to do:
1. Compete with HD-DVD players in the price catagory.
HD-DVD player - @$500
Blu-Ray -@$1000
You can get the PS3 for $500 or $600
Or you can get the Samsung BDP-1000 for $699.99 from Onecall.com and other retailers.
The Toshiba HD-A2 will be $499.99 and The HD-XA2 will be $999.99, Xbox 360 add-on $199.95.
The HD-A2 will not have 5.1 analog outs, the only way to get Dolby True HD or Dolby Plus will be HDMI or pay the grand for the HD-XA2 and analog outs.
I know that the PS3 is out there (if you can find one) but it is a clunky player at best and has a few annoying problems with blu-ray play back. It is a gaming machine first.
I found one.
Clunky? Other then using the PS3 controller as a remote I find noting about it "clunky". Sony has a Bluetooth PS3 remote controller coming out for the PS3 any day now, so you can mark that flaw off the list. I put in a Blu-Ray or PS3 disk; it loads in 10 seconds or less and plays the movie flawlessly from start to finish. Which is more then I can say for My HD-A1, which is a good player but defines the work "clunky". I tried to watch "The Fast and the furious: Tokyo drift" last night (which is a gorgeous looking movie my the way) but never finished the movies because the player keep dropping audio and locking up, after the forth lock up and rebooting the player I gave up and went to bed. I have only made it threw that movie one time without the HD-A1 locking up or dropping audio.
2. Compete with HD-DVD in picture quality.
Now this is very dependent on the studio and how the disk is mastered because there are some HD-DVDs that are clunkers from what I have read. Yet I am sure that I am in the same boat as many other consumers, in that I am getting as much information as possible before commiting to a format. Since I have not seen either format I am relying on word of mouth and reviews. More othen than not HD-DVD has the better picture.
If you head on over to the AVSforum you will find people that are supporting both formats and have A/B duel format releases.
Mission Imposable III, looks identical to HD DVD, some have said Blu-Ray looks slightly better but the Dolby True HD track on the HD DVD makes up for that.
Superman Returns, Identical transfers from WB. No difference.
Black Hawk Down on Blu-Ray looks freak’n awesome! It's just as good as anything I have seen on HD DVD if not better, and it's MPEG-2 believe it for not.
Tim Burtons Corps Bride is spectacular. I recommend that everyone with a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player buy this movie NOW! It is a stop motion animation movie and this video is pure reference.
3 Sony needs to start treating customers like real customers again and not like people that they have in their pockets.
Agreed
For me it started with the root kit debacle and has continued on with the PS3. Sure you get a lot for your money with the PS3 but I really hate being a pawn in a format war. I am being forced to go with Blu-Ray at a price point that is just beyond what I am willing to pay for a game machine.
If you don’t like it don’t buy it, I don’t see a Sony executive putting a gun to your head. I love my PS3 and it has been a worthwhile investment to me. Currently it is coasting Sony around $800 per system for them to produce, eventually that coast will come down and Sony will lower that price of the system. Fact is the price will come down sooner or later.
Not to mention the fact that none are currently available even if I wanted to spend the money. Plus there is no rumble anymore! Just a cheap Wii knock-off with the sixaxis controller. How can PS3 be backwards compatible with no rumble?!? And no old style controller ports either. Guitar Hero freaks are out of luck. The list goes on but what's the use.
This if for you Guitar Hero freaks out there.
http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product_id=802566
OK, Why doesn't the PS3 controllers not have rumble?
Almost two years ago a company call immersion sued Sony and Microsoft because of a patent infringement. Immersion said Sony and Microsoft stole the rumble technology that immersion invented and panted. Microsoft settled with immersion for $20 million but Sony denied such patent infringements and went to court with immersion. Sony lost and a court ruling forces Sony to pay almost $27 million annually to the technology maker and stop producing duel shock controllers.
Sony was forced to take out the force feedback from there controllers and they came up with the SIXAXIS as a replacement to the duel shock. Sony told the public that the addition of the SIXAXIS meant they could no longer fit duel shock into the small controller but the truth is they don’t have rights to duel shock anymore. Immersion has said they invented a new force feed back technology small enough to fit into the SIXAXSIS controller but that would mean Sony would have to pay more money to immersion and I don’t think that will ever happen.
