HD DVD format battle

[James]

From Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070406/tc_nm/column_pluggedin_dc_4


Porn could be the key to next-generation DVD war

By Michael Kahn Fri Apr 6, 9:44 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In the battle over next generation DVDs, pornography could prove to be the XXX factor that helps determine a winner.


Thirty years ago, VHS toppled Betamax in part because of the adult film industry, and now some see blue movies playing a key role again as backers of HD-DVD and Blu-ray maneuver to make their formats the standard.
The stakes are high. As prices of high-definition televisions and DVD players fall, backers of the rival -- and incompatible -- formats are looking to tap a home and rental DVD market approaching $25 billion.
Yet so far, neither next-generation format has been able to land a knock-out blow.
James McQuivey, a principal analyst at technology research firm Forrester, said in the VHS-versus-Betamax war, porn provided a significant boost for the winning format.
He also noted the adult entertainment industry has often paved the way with new uses of technology -- such as streaming video on the Internet -- and said porn could help tip the scales in the current DVD format battle.
"If the porn industry wanted to break the logjam of HD-DVD and Blu-ray, it could," McQuivey said. "If they said 'We are going to go with HD-DVD' you would see a few million homes immediately go out and buy HD-DVD players. They have that power."
It is a potential weapon that one side, at least, has ignored. Instead, Blu-ray backer Sony Corp.(6758.T) blocked manufacturers from producing porn DVDs in that format -- a move that some say has pushed adult film studios into the camp of HD-DVD camp led by Toshiba Corp. (6502.T)
Steven Hirsch, founder of Vivid Entertainment Group, said Walt Disney Co. also refuses to use DVD makers -- known as replicators -- that press porn titles.
This makes finding a Blu-ray replicator willing to alienate Sony and Disney almost impossible for porn studios because the format requires costly new equipment and there are only a handful of replicators able to make such DVDs.
That isn't a problem for HD-DVD because that technology is based on previous-generation standards, which makes it far simpler and cheaper for companies to hire replicators to press their DVDs.
Hirsch said that Vivid -- home to adult film stars such as Jenna Jameson, Tera Patrick and Briana Banks -- found a willing manufacturer to press "Debbie Does Dallas ... Again," which the company plans to issue in April.
But the cost and difficulty of doing so for the sequel to the 1978 adult film classic "Debbie Does Dallas" clouds whether more adult films in Blu-ray will follow, said Hirsch, who declined to provide details on who is pressing the movie.
"We have been able to find a replication facility to do our title but it wasn't easy and it has deterred us for the most part from releasing titles on Blu-ray," Hirsch said. "That can be potentially problematic for Blu-ray."
Studios like Vivid say they have been shooting films in high-definition for years to build up a library, but so far the number of titles is only a trickle as the industry weighs the advantages of each format.
HD-DVD machines are cheaper but Blu-ray has backing of a majority of the mainstream studios and an advantage in that the format is compatible with the PlayStation 3, the latest version of Sony's popular series of video game consoles.
The founder of adult studio Digital Playground -- whose films include "Island Fever 3" and "Pirates" -- believes Blu-ray backers are erring in not embracing porn as they fight over billions of dollars in royalties.
"The reason they should want to work with us is that they are in a war with HD-DVD and in a war you would want as many people in your corner," said Joone, the Digital Playground founder who goes by one name.
Joone said in an ideal world Digital Playground would offer films in both formats. Instead, he sees Sony and other Blu-ray backers pushing the adult entertainment industry toward HD-DVD, whose supporters he said have welcomed porn producers.
"In general we need to have one format because it cuts down the confusion in the marketplace for the consumer," Joone said. "HD-DVD has helped us tremendously to get titles out."

[John Stutz]

God bless the porn industry.

After they decide on DVD formats, maybe they can step in and determine how to consistently judge the figure competitions.

[HDPhysiques]

Naturally, HD Physiques is watching this format battle closely, since all the material we shoot is on HDV native 1080i.

At first we were 100% on the Blu-Ray side, being huge Sony supporters (all of our HD video gear at all levels of our production is Sony technology, except my business partner's Mac). However, after the VC-1 and MPEG-2 formats were adopted for HD-DVD use as well (as opposed to the AVC MPEG-4 they were originally going to use exclusively), I'm now open to delivering some of our content on HD-DVD as well. Also, it appears great strides have been made in perfecting the AVC MPEG-4 codec in the past year.

Obviously the PS3 gives Blu-Ray a lot of support, but porn gives HD-DVD a lot more. Having said that, still the vast majority of Hollywood and Japan support Blu-Ray over HD-DVD. We're keeping a close eye on it. There's plenty of info in tech forums to bore people to tears for decades to come. LOL

[John Stutz]

Truth be told -- for as long as I can still download it for free, I'll still be willing to wath porn in standard def.

[cbdetroit]

Hey James that's interesting because I remember back in the 80s when the debate between VHS & Betamax formats was going on with the majority of consumers & the studios jumped on the VHS Bandwagon.

Then in the 90s the debate was between DVD and Divix, guess who had won that round? ;)

Now were in the 1st decade of the 21st Century as well as the New Millenium & there has been HD-DVD/Blue Ray, HI-DEF DVDs and what not.

But you're right that the Adult Film industry is a leading pioneer in filming/investing & experimenting with new technologies outside of George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic.

So far if I understand this correctly that Columbia, MGM/UA, Tri Star, Screen Gems (which coincidentally are owned by Sony) are on the Blu-Ray Bandwagon but Warner Bros, NBC Universal, Fox are on the HD-DVD Format and Walt Disney/Touchtone is somewhat in between.

Someone Please feel free to let me know because in the future, I may want to invest in some of this new technology (just as long as the prices drop to reasonalble consumer levels), Thanks Peace. :)

[John Stutz]

Joking aside, it's fairly well accepted that a standard PC computer can play back audio better than any $1000 CD player, and it can play back video better than any $1000 DVD/HD DVD/Blue-Ray player. So why even bother waiting for "an HD winner" merely to piece together a mutli-thousand dollar entertainment system that can be beat by any $300 PC from Best Buy?

If you want to get in front of the bandwagon and save a lot of cash, while still leaving your options as wide open as possible, simply plan to build your entertainment center around a PC (or Mac if you insist). Then drop in whichever HD drive you choose in the future. In a year or two, either drive will be purchasable for $50.

Regardless of media, if you want the highest quality picture and sound, make sure you play your HD discs through your PC. Better yet, use the money you save to purchase a shload of storage space and just rip your discs to your hard drive (for backup purposes only mind you) and then you can access them more easily for your ongoing future enjoyment.

I highly recommend Vista's Windows Media Center for all of your media needs.

[HDPhysiques]

Someone Please feel free to let me know because in the future, I may want to invest in some of this new technology (just as long as the prices drop to reasonalble consumer levels), Thanks Peace. :)

LG Electronics already has one nice solution out on the market: http://us.lge.com/products/model/detail/tv|audio|video_digital%20video__BH100.jhtml

No format war to worry about with that one. It's a combo player. (in tight supply right now, though).

[HDPhysiques]

Joking aside, it's fairly well accepted that a standard PC computer can play back audio better than any $1000 CD player, and it can play back video better than any $1000 DVD/HD DVD/Blue-Ray player. So why even bother waiting for "an HD winner" merely to piece together a mutli-thousand dollar entertainment system that can be beat by any $300 PC from Best Buy?

If you want to get in front of the bandwagon and save a lot of cash, while still leaving your options as wide open as possible, simply plan to build your entertainment center around a PC (or Mac if you insist). Then drop in whichever HD drive you choose in the future. In a year or two, either drive will be purchasable for $50.

Regardless of media, if you want the highest quality picture and sound, make sure you play your HD discs through your PC. Better yet, use the money you save to purchase a shload of storage space and just rip your discs to your hard drive (for backup purposes only mind you) and then you can access them more easily for your ongoing future enjoyment.

I highly recommend Vista's Windows Media Center for all of your media needs.

ROFL!!!! Hilarious!

[James]

hey HD,
thank you for the contribution! I am watching this very closely also. For whatever its worth. I am a pretty hardcore gamer. I have purchased a XBOX 360 but have not the PS3 and it is a very interesting battle between the PS3 and Microsoft XBOX. (and of course i try and draw comparisons to the current webcam wars that are happening in our little world)

But when I first got into this industry, I was such a *Sony Soldier*. My brother is also a lead animator at Sony for the new Sont Spiderman movie. But Sony has really fallen off the wagon with the PS3 and Blu ray. (And I am basing my opinion on this article.)

People NEED one format and the adult industry will dictate the format. Sony is being just plain greedy, IMO. Why wont they make tools available for us to create Blu Ray??? Oh well, like every other consumer with a widescreen tv (and a HD lover on my DirectTV!!!) I will let the other guys slug it out...

[James]

Joking aside, it's fairly well accepted that a standard PC computer can play back audio better than any $1000 CD player, and it can play back video better than any $1000 DVD/HD DVD/Blue-Ray player. So why even bother waiting for "an HD winner" merely to piece together a mutli-thousand dollar entertainment system that can be beat by any $300 PC from Best Buy?

If you want to get in front of the bandwagon and save a lot of cash, while still leaving your options as wide open as possible, simply plan to build your entertainment center around a PC (or Mac if you insist). Then drop in whichever HD drive you choose in the future. In a year or two, either drive will be purchasable for $50.

Regardless of media, if you want the highest quality picture and sound, make sure you play your HD discs through your PC. Better yet, use the money you save to purchase a shload of storage space and just rip your discs to your hard drive (for backup purposes only mind you) and then you can access them more easily for your ongoing future enjoyment.

I highly recommend Vista's Windows Media Center for all of your media needs.

Well, I dont have windows vista (im in no rush) but i do love being able to network my tv-tivo-xbox into my home network. But I dont think the trend is to be as geeky as i am..

[James]

Hey James that's interesting because I remember back in the 80s when the debate between VHS & Betamax formats was going on with the majority of consumers & the studios jumped on the VHS Bandwagon.

Then in the 90s the debate was between DVD and Divix, guess who had won that round? ;)

Now were in the 1st decade of the 21st Century as well as the New Millenium & there has been HD-DVD/Blue Ray, HI-DEF DVDs and what not.

But you're right that the Adult Film industry is a leading pioneer in filming/investing & experimenting with new technologies outside of George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic.

So far if I understand this correctly that Columbia, MGM/UA, Tri Star, Screen Gems (which coincidentally are owned by Sony) are on the Blu-Ray Bandwagon but Warner Bros, NBC Universal, Fox are on the HD-DVD Format and Walt Disney/Touchtone is somewhat in between.

Someone Please feel free to let me know because in the future, I may want to invest in some of this new technology (just as long as the prices drop to reasonalble consumer levels), Thanks Peace. :)

well, correct me if im wrong but i think the article is suggesting blue-ray=betamax and hd DVD=VHS.

btw, if anyone cares i am spending my spare time converting my old VHS tapes (family home vids and favorite porn) onto DVD. I am now shooting all my home movies on my sony cybershot. It shoots MPEGs and I store all family home movies on my hard drive with a back up..

[John Stutz]

ROFL!!!! Hilarious!Just out of curiosity, what do you think is inside these super-expensive high end audio/video components? Magic dust perhaps? Oh wait, maybe there are little 4th dimensional particles that make music sound better? Or could it be supercharged electrons?

Actually, what you'll find in there are electonic components and CPUs that are designed to synthesize digital numbers into audio and video, encoded in the latest standards, which change weekly. But you won't find any of the latest processors, nor any of the best audio/video technologies. You'll find older/cheaper/slower processors with embedded software that was written once, perhaps a year or so prior to your component shipping.

Whereas, in your desktop, you'll find processors that run 5, 10, 50, 100 times faster, with leading edge audio and video hardware, and software that is updated on a monthly or weekly basis, as necessary. These components deal with the ever changing world of digital entertainment and are very adept at doing so. Paired with a set of incredible digital speakers, or not, the computer knows damn well how process and send data to your output device. And it's got more power to do it by orders of magnitude than most any a/v component.

But I wouldn't expect you to take my word for it. After all, what the hell would I know about computers having only engineered software for the last 20 years. Perhaps an authoratative web site (http://www.extrememhz.com/htpcguide-p1.shtml) might be able to provide better justification. If that still isn't enough for you, come over to my house and see what you're missing in action. My Denon receiver and $2000 speakers now sit in the corner collecting dust, in favor of an entirely PC-based system that can run circles around that old technology.

[John Stutz]

Well, I dont have windows vista (im in no rush) but i do love being able to network my tv-tivo-xbox into my home network. But I dont think the trend is to be as geeky as i am..No need to rush out and get Vista. (By the way, it's half price if you purchase the OEM version). You can also get a media center with XP, and there are a number of vendors on the market shipping a compatible media center with video cards, or selling independent media center software that works [almost] as well as media center.

Knowing how technically competent you are, James, I'm positive you'd instantly fall in love with a single media center. Everything is simple to access. No input selectors, one remote (and keyboard if you like), one device, wireless connectivity, it's a completely different experience. I'd wager that the whole of a/v gets integrated into a PC device within the next decade. Sure there will still be people clinging to amps, receivers, tuners, cable boxes, etc. But these are the same folks who find it impossible to part with their vinyl collection. The majority of consumers will undoubtedly see the advantages of the PC device instantly. Especially computer proficient individuals such as yourself.

My dad, who still struggles with the concept of selecting the proper input (as does anyone over 50 years old) saw my system and immediately wanted to know how to convert. The price is much lower, the quality is much higher, and the convenience is instantaneously compelling, as you've tasted with your tv-tivo-xbox setup.

Now, if I could only figure out what to do with the 1.5 terabyte storage cluster I've set up at home? Hmmmmm. That's way too much porn, even for me!

[HDPhysiques]

Just out of curiosity, what do you think is inside these super-expensive high end audio/video components? Magic dust perhaps? Oh wait, maybe there are little 4th dimensional particles that make music sound better? Or could it be supercharged electrons?


John, I apologize if you took offense to my post. I seriously thought you were joking. But I can assure you, there's no magic dust in a high-end consumer electronics products that creates better performance in them than what's in a $300 PC. While things in the future may be PC centered... we are a long ways from that realization. In my business, I see that "Home Theater PC's" or Vista/home automation PC's simply cannot yet handle the integrated home concept. I see them fail on a daily basis. Sure, they are fine for low-quality (MP3/I-tunes) music management, or DVD storage, etc... but they still suffer from the same problems any windows based product does... they are susceptible to crashing, conflicts, etc... and generally just do not communicate well with other A/V products and systems. They do not have quality build construction to isolate noise, and accurately and faithfully reproduce media content.

Companies like Lutron and Crestron provide ways for your home automation system to still function in the event of damaged components, processor failure, power outages, etc.... meanhile, a PC-based home system freezes or goes down and you can't even turn on your lights.

And as far as comparing the "performance" of a $300 PC to a Blu-Ray / 1080p Plasma or LCD setup...... that is really not accurate. (Besides the fact there are no $300 computers with HD-DVD/BluRay drives in the first place..... standalone drives still fetching as much as $550-$1000). High end A/V components do indeed offer construction features that isolate/balance digital signals, prevent or reduce interference, syncronize digital clocks, reduce vibration, (just a short list of examples) things that DO make a visual or audible difference in picture and/or audio quality.

If you disagree, then go find a reputable A/V System Integrator (not a 16 year old kid at best buy), and ask to see a demonstration with, say, the new Pioneer Elite Blu-Ray player paired with their 50" PRO-FHD1 1080p plasma, teamed with Classe' or Mark Levinson Components, with say, B&W or Martin Logan speakers, and Richard Gray RGPC1200C Power Isolation unit. Then go ahead and set up your $300 best buy PC with Blu-Ray/HD-DVD (if there WERE such a thing), and using whatever amplification you wish, see if you can replicate the experience you got with the A/V components with the $300 PC. Something tells me (besides my 15 years of experience) that it ain't gonna be happening. That's like me telling you that my cousin's $300 P&S camera from Best Buy can do just as well as your Nikon D-SLR. Not gonna happen. LOL

If a $300 computer could match other A/V components simply because "it's digital", audio companies would've been out of business by 1985. But instead, many of those companies are still making millions of dollars because there are many more steps other than the zero's and ones on a disc that take place both in the production and playback of digital audio and video. Optical laser accuracy, error correction filters, quality of the D/A and A/D converters, etc... (i.e. - do you really think a $50 drive in a computer can match the sonic accuracy of a 24-bit Burr-brown D/A converter?)


Actually, what you'll find in there are electonic components and CPUs that are designed to synthesize digital numbers into audio and video, encoded in the latest standards, which change weekly. But you won't find any of the latest processors, nor any of the best audio/video technologies. You'll find older/cheaper/slower processors with embedded software that was written once, perhaps a year or so prior to your component shipping.


Of course.... why would they waste money putting in needless processing power? It would be a total waste of money to put a Quad Core chip into a DVD player, for instance. You go with whatever speed of processor you need to get the job done. But processor speed has little to nothing to do with audio and video quality.


Whereas, in your desktop, you'll find processors that run 5, 10, 50, 100 times faster, with leading edge audio and video hardware, and software that is updated on a monthly or weekly basis, as necessary.


Leading edge hardware? I have yet to see computer drive match the build quality of a Meridian CD player, or a Theta DVD player. And again, processor speed doesn't mean anything here. Other than the fact the faster procs could potentially add more noise and heat. Neither of which are desirable.


Paired with a set of incredible digital speakers, or not, the computer knows damn well how process and send data to your output device. And it's got more power to do it by orders of magnitude than most any a/v component.


The only digital speakers that would be welcome in my home would be Genelec or Meridian. Unless you have some info on some others I'd like to check out.


But I wouldn't expect you to take my word for it. After all, what the hell would I know about computers having only engineered software for the last 20 years.


I'm sure you know a lot about computers. I can certainly respect that. But I'm also sure, based on your posts, that you don't appreciate quality audio or video. Saying that a $300 Best Buy computer could do what separate A/V components could do, particularly high-end ones like the current Blu-Ray and HD-DVD selections out there, at this point in time, is wildly inaccurate. (so much so, that I indeed thought you were joking in your earlier post - so again, I apologize for the "ROFL Hilarious", I didn't mean to be disrespectful regarding your knowledge or opinion).


Perhaps an authoratative web site (http://www.extrememhz.com/htpcguide-p1.shtml) might be able to provide better justification. If that still isn't enough for you, come over to my house and see what you're missing in action.

The website isn't justification at all. (I already see a flaw in their argument for optical digital cables vs. digital coax, for instance). For every "pro Home Theater PC" website, there are probably 100 websites or forums that would point out the flaws of current PC convergence. (current being the key word). I don't argue with you that we probably are heading to a point in the future where the computer controls everything in the home and provides all of our home entertainment, but to say that the CURRENT products in the marketplace (even the nice media centers by Sony and others) are superior to A/V separates is simply not correct. So therefore I wouldn't be all that thrilled to come to your house and check out "what I'm missing". You on the other hand, would be missing a killer experience with my Classe' amps and processor, Magnepan speakers, and Audioquest interconnects, and the 52" 1080p Mitsubishi HDTV.


My Denon receiver and $2000 speakers now sit in the corner collecting dust, in favor of an entirely PC-based system that can run circles around that old technology.

How many times did your Denon receiver give you the "blue screen of death" - core memory dumps, etc....? lol If it's really collecting dust, I'm sure you can ebay it to someone who really does care about quality audio and video. ;)

[Tre]

Well, I dont have windows vista (im in no rush)

DO NOT DO IT.

I had to pick up a new PC recently and it had Vista pre-installed. Thinking it was no big deal, I was like, 'yeah, whatever - I'll take it' and when I got it home...worst mistake I've made in over a year.

If you're used to XP, Vista is like swimming in molasses. Nothing is where it should be and every function or file access requires more clicks than it used to, which is the part that really pisses me off.

The creator of Vista should be beheaded. It's that bad.

It is stable for a brand-new OS, but I wish I'd never encountered it.

[Tre]

btw, if anyone cares i am spending my spare time converting my old VHS tapes (family home vids and favorite porn) onto DVD.

Funniest. Sentence. Ever.

[Tre]

**** - fooling around with you guys, I just ate a black jellybean and now my mouth is ruined!!

[BigD]

DO NOT DO IT.

I had to pick up a new PC recently and it had Vista pre-installed. Thinking it was no big deal, I was like, 'yeah, whatever - I'll take it' and when I got it home...worst mistake I've made in over a year.

If you're used to XP, Vista is like swimming in molasses. Nothing is where it should be and every function or file access requires more clicks than it used to, which is the part that really pisses me off.

The creator of Vista should be beheaded. It's that bad.

It is stable for a brand-new OS, but I wish I'd never encountered it.

My next laptop is gonna be a Mac. I am SOOO sick and tired of Windows crashes, BSOD, IE crashing, etc. I lose tons of time trying to fix all this, have reformatted twice in the last 5 weeks, etc. Tired of Windows problems. As smart as these people are it CAN be fixed. They just don't want to.

[John Stutz]

PCs, in my experience, stopped blue screening in the late 90s. If assembled with reputable drivers, they're as solid as anything out there. My [former] company drives hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue (no joke) through a few dozen windows 2003 boxes that are under the constant strain of up to 50,000 simultaneous users... 0 blue screens in 4 years. I've operated more than 200 servers and desktop machines in the last decade.. 0 blue screens. Odds of a blue screen on a pc that is used for a single application are next to 0.00% So we can rule out instability.

I purchased two standard desktop computers recently that sit on each side of me right now. They are totally silent except for the faint noise of a hard drive now and again. If I had the interest, I could make those silent too. In a cabinet, they wouldn't be heard at all. So we can rule out noise.

Generally speaking, any computer, even a $300 one, is capable of playing back a/v without an HD optical drive. As you'll note in my original post, I said to build the system now and wait to install the DVD drives later when prices are more reasonable. In the meantime, one can still enjoy fine output from this device from many sources of input.

I do believe most people these days have no problem plugging just about any type of a/v source into the back or front panel of their computer. Certainly, any home entertainment system based on a computer will have these inputs.

No, I am not an audio/video-phile. I can't differentialte between the 98th and 99th percentile of quality. For those individuals, there will never be a substitution to $10,000 vaccuum tube-based system. But for the general public, and even the technologically advanced, most will find pc based systems to be cheaper, easier, and better in all respects.

I hearken back to the days when digital first started replacing film. There were all sorts of articles proposed about quality between the two, and the meta-physics between film versus digital. All the while, if you just stepped back and looked at the pictures, it was painfully obvious that digital surpases film in just about every conceivable way. Nowadays, even the mathematics behind the technology is in favor of the digital.

Today, I can piece together an entertainment system with a very sharp 47-inch 1080p LCD panel, a basic computer (with licensed software) and a set of great speakers for less than a high-end receiver. You can analyze the signal-to-noise ratios until you're blue in the face. But when you just step back and look at the result, it's painfully obvious that this [infant] technology surpasses the old in just about every conceivable way.

[John Stutz]

**** - fooling around with you guys, I just ate a black jellybean and now my mouth is ruined!!Ain't that the worst. It's expecially bad when you're expecting grape.

[BigD]

John, I still have the BSOD and have researched other forums and it is still widespread. My roommate gets them and almost all my friends get them at times. I have been to the Compaq site numerous times and have all the latest drivers. Don't know what else to do. IE7 crashes quite frequently, but I do not have that problem with Netscape!

[John Stutz]

John, I still have the BSOD and have researched other forums and it is still widespread. My roommate gets them and almost all my friends get them at times. I have been to the Compaq site numerous times and have all the latest drivers. Don't know what else to do. IE7 crashes quite frequently, but I do not have that problem with Netscape!Here's the thing... NEVER, and I mean NEVER EVER EVER use a preinstalled version of any operating system on any computer. Not a PC, Mac, or Unix. The first thing you do when you get a new computer is whack the hard drive down at the partition layer and reinstall a clean version of the OS, with proper partitioning (3 logical drives). Then update to the latest drivers and try your darndest to avoid getting a virus when surfing all the porn sites. I know those e-mail attachments are awful tempting too, but practice safe computing and your computer will stay healthy. At this point, the odds of a blue screen go down to near zero. Btw, Microsoft reports that about 80% of all blue screens are a result of faulty video drivers. The other 20% likely come from other drivers. If you can choose an Intel board, and either use onboard video (suitable for many applications) or a popular graphics card, you'll free yourself of blue screens. My parents, who are among the most careless computer users around, both use each of their computers non-stop and have never seen a blue screen in the 10 years they've been on a Windows box going all the way back to Windows 95.

[BigD]

Here's the thing... NEVER, and I mean NEVER EVER EVER use a preinstalled version of any operating system on any computer. Not a PC, Mac, or Unix. The first thing you do when you get a new computer is whack the hard drive down at the partition layer and reinstall a clean version of the OS, with proper partitioning (3 logical drives). Then update to the latest drivers and try your darndest to avoid getting a virus when surfing all the porn sites. I know those e-mail attachments are awful tempting too, but practice safe computing and your computer will stay healthy. At this point, the odds of a blue screen go down to near zero. Btw, Microsoft reports that about 80% of all blue screens are a result of faulty video drivers. The other 20% likely come from other drivers. If you can choose an Intel board, and either use onboard video (suitable for many applications) or a popular graphics card, you'll free yourself of blue screens. My parents, who are among the most careless computer users around, both use each of their computers non-stop and have never seen a blue screen in the 10 years they've been on a Windows box going all the way back to Windows 95.

Well, don't think I can install a new graphics card into my laptop. or I would. My ex girlfriend is an educated computer geek and she can't even get rid of her BSOD. I have installed video driver updates, touch pad updates, which one report said was a problem, and eventually after this last reformat, the BSOD will begin again. THAT is what I don't understand, after a reformat, I will go for several weeks without one, then all of a sudden I am getting them again.

[BigD]

Here's the thing... NEVER, and I mean NEVER EVER EVER use a preinstalled version of any operating system on any computer. Not a PC, Mac, or Unix. The first thing you do when you get a new computer is whack the hard drive down at the partition layer and reinstall a clean version of the OS, with proper partitioning (3 logical drives). Then update to the latest drivers and try your darndest to avoid getting a virus when surfing all the porn sites. I know those e-mail attachments are awful tempting too, but practice safe computing and your computer will stay healthy. At this point, the odds of a blue screen go down to near zero. Btw, Microsoft reports that about 80% of all blue screens are a result of faulty video drivers. The other 20% likely come from other drivers. If you can choose an Intel board, and either use onboard video (suitable for many applications) or a popular graphics card, you'll free yourself of blue screens. My parents, who are among the most careless computer users around, both use each of their computers non-stop and have never seen a blue screen in the 10 years they've been on a Windows box going all the way back to Windows 95.


Another thing, Ken Rockwell, from www.kenrockwell.com, tells me Mac users have no idea what a BSOD is, or other Windows specific problems. Even with preinstalled OS.

[HDPhysiques]

John,

I think you just made my point for me (indirectly, of course). See, I love computers.... work with them all day, everyday. And I too, agree, that operating systems, pre-loaded, and incompatible drivers, etc... are all too often the cause of system crashes, blue screens of death, and so on. I also agree things are better now than 8 years ago, but they are by no means gone. All computer-based Home Entertainment systems are susceptible to the same problems as computers operating in any other environment. Whether it's Vista managing your whole house automation, or XP media center edition organizing your DVD collection, or standalone PC's running, say, a D-Box motion simulator chair, they all crash at one time or another. A company I work closely with now handles many high-end installations, and they always try to talk their customers out of PC-based systems due to all the problems they encounter after installation.

Which is EXACTLY why the "Home Theater PC"/"Convergence PC", whatever you wanna call it, is so far off from being ready for primetime, whether it's running Vista, XP WMC edition, or other.

Your average computer user (You, me, James, and many others involved in production of FBB online content are considerably beyond the average computer user) doesn't even understand a lot of the verbiage you stated above. The average person who just wants to enjoy surroundsound and HD picture quality on their new $1500-5000 HDTV does not want to have jack to do with loading operating systems and partitioning hard drives like you mention in your post. That's not Home Entertainment, except for people like you. (and that's not a bad thing, its just what you dig, that's cool). It's much easier to pop in a DVD into their HTIB system, and go. Or, on more sophisticated systems, custom setup and programming by a HTSA member integrator simplifies things enormously, and again, the end user doesn't have to worry about things like system crashes and freezes. Even a $29 Wal-Mart DVD player won't do that, which as you stated, has a far inferior processor to a $300 Best Buy computer. As Doug points out, these $300 computers, even with their superior processors, still crash and freeze often, while separate A/V components and TV's keep right on entertaining.

[Tre]

Your "Ken Rockwell tells me" posts are classic.

[BigD]

Your "Ken Rockwell tells me" posts are classic.

I had written him because of a couple of very long and detailed articles he wrote on Mac vs. PC and I had a couple of questions. Since then I have asked other Mac users who tell me the same things. Sometimes it is wise to ask advice of those with more experience in an area than one has. Besides, his credentials in that area and others far outweigh any of us here.

[BigD]

John,

As Doug points out, these $300 computers, even with their superior processors, still crash and freeze often, while separate A/V components and TV's keep right on entertaining.

Just this a.m. I was working on a friend's profile on MySpace, trying to upload some pics to her background, makes some other changes, etc. In 15 minutes IE7 crashed with the error message 6 times and I had to start all over. I opened up Netscape and finished everything without a hitch. Using it now.

[John Stutz]

Well, I suppose that's all possible, but it's just extrordinarily peculiar to me. I haven't seen a blue screen in years. And my [former] office runs multiple hundreds of PCs with no occurrences of blue screens in years or service. I can't recall a report of a blue screen incident in any professional environment this century!!

As for home PC devices, they really only run one or two pieces of software, which once configured, are incredibly unlikely to crash. I push my desktop machine to the limit on a daily basis and it stays operational for months on end, never crashing or requiring reboots. I can't imagine how a PC entertainment system would crash, seeing as it rarely operates beyond 2% utilization and would rarely ever see new software installed on it. Once a computer is configured and operates solidly, unless you instantiate change on that computer, it should operate identically forever. A PC entertainment system should be one of the least changing environments around.

But hey, if y'all like to do things more expensively, more difficultly, and less productively... more power to ya.

You guys sound an awful lot like my grandmother though.

[John Stutz]

Which is EXACTLY why the "Home Theater PC"/"Convergence PC", whatever you wanna call it, is so far off from being ready for primetime, whether it's running Vista, XP WMC edition, or other.Oh, no doubt about it!! PC home entertainment systems are far from primetime. Leaping to one of these now takes some effort and ingenuity still.

But I do belive it's the way things will be going, and it won't be long before these devices will be readily available and highly reliable. Traditional A/V components (like film cameras) don't have a lot of time left though. Cable companies are coming out with devices that plug into PCI slots. TV's are already harldy more than large PC monitors. TV itself is becoming more integrated with the web. The entertainment content is now entirely integrated with online subscription services. It's all coming together and the PC (Mac or whichever) will be the central device, no longer the a/v receiver. And Blue-Ray/HD DVD... it'll eventually just be a matter of which drive you want to install in your computer, if not both, or one combo drive.

[John Stutz]

Besides, his credentials in that area and others far outweigh any of us here.I severly doubt that.

[BigD]

I severly doubt that.


Well, in his area. If I remember correctly, you are the one who recommended his site when I first saw it. :)

[jasons805]

I got a PS3 so want Blueray to win out; plus it it can store more data.

[The Jackal]

I'am going to wait till the day comes when a fiber line comes directly to your home that runs everything in the way of data, voice, and hologram tv on demand in your living room.
I know I'am talking science fiction, but that would probably be the way it will go in about 5 to 10 years from now.


The Jackal