Microsoft Again Kiboshes X360 Blu-ray Rumors

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Microsoft has denied rumors that Taiwan-based hardware manufacturer Lite-On is supplying a Blu-ray drive for use in a future Xbox 360 hardware revision, TechRadar reports.

The rumors were initially sparked by reports from DigiTimes, which, citing industry sources, claimed that Lite-On was supplying Microsoft with Blu-ray drives for the Xbox 360. Microsoft quickly responded to the speculation, issuing a statement that denied the claims.

"Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360," a company spokesperson said. "As we have stated, games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster game available.

"For our customers who want a premium movie experience we offer the largest library of on-demand HD content available and the ability to play back DVDs in high definition," the representative added.

The software giant has repeatedly dismissed rumors of Blu-ray functionality following the HD DVD format's defeat, with heavyweight HD DVD supporters pulling out and Microsoft itself axing the HD DVD player add-on for its Xbox 360.

From The Chatty
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    April 2, 2008 1:07 PM

    They probably decided it was better to make a deal with Netflix than to pay Sony royalties.

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      April 2, 2008 1:09 PM

      [deleted]

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        April 2, 2008 1:14 PM

        they probably do now.

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        April 2, 2008 1:24 PM

        obviously, a lot of people did....which is how it won over HD DVD. All my future movie purchases will be hi-def format over standard DVD whenever possible.

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          April 2, 2008 1:43 PM

          I'd say it wasn't that a lot of people bought BR but that even fewer people bought HDDVD and, even more so, HDDVD looked doomed after two major studios pulled support of the format, switching to BR exclusivity.

          I have a BR/HDDVD combo drive in my HTPC as well as a PS3 but I don't plan on buying any more than the handful of high-def titles that I have already as I do not think BR adds enough to most films to justify the 1.5x or more price increase over DVDs. For live action drama where it's all about the writing/acting/direction, upscaled DVD is perfectly good enough until the prices of films come down.

          (The odd thing where the visuals are a really big deal, like Pixar films, I will get on BR, of course.)

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          April 2, 2008 1:51 PM

          Neither HD disc format was selling a huge amount of numbers. What tipped the scale for BR was the fact that with PS3s out there, the POTENTIAL audience was much greater. Nevermind the fact that people who actually HAD HD-DVD devices were buying on average 4 movies versus 1 BR movie per player.

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        April 2, 2008 1:28 PM

        Compared to DVD overall Blu Ray sales are less than the DVD sales for one hit movie the last time I looked.

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          April 2, 2008 3:48 PM

          Blu-ray sales are beginning to effect DVD sales now though.

          According to an analysis of Nielsen VideoScan First Alert numbers conducted by Home Media Magazine, Disney's Blu-ray chart-topper 'No Country for Old Men' drew 9.8 percent of its total unit sales from Blu-ray during its first five days in stores.
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          Faring even better was Fox's 'Hitman,' which saw 12.6 percent of total customers taking home the Blu-ray version during its first five days.


          http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Industry_Forecasts/Industry_Trends/Disc_Sales/Report:_Blu-ray_Disc_Sales_Impacting_DVD_/1602

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            April 2, 2008 8:01 PM

            Still less than 10%. Seriously, it's going to be years before BR outsells DVD in any meaningful way. Once HD channels and HDTVs are the norm then we'll see the big turnover.

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              April 2, 2008 11:40 PM

              12% is pretty good though, I'd have guessed alot less. Though, that's during the first five days the title was available, giving enthusiasts with blue-ray players a bit of an advantage. DVD-sales will probably pick up during time.

              Anyway, it's still early - the HD-format war has just ended - and if PS3s and Blue-Ray players goes down in price, that market could quickly get a steady foothold. It doesn't need to outsell DVD at all for that - nothing probably will in a long while anyway.

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            April 3, 2008 1:06 AM

            I was in Blockbuster the other day and the vast majority of the Blu-Ray movies were available. The only title I wanted (Planet Earth) always seems to be out though. I've been in there like 5 times recently (renting PS2 games) and have only been able to rent disks 3 and 4

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        April 2, 2008 1:33 PM

        blu-ray is a big deal because games developers love the fact that you can stick so much onto one disc.

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          April 2, 2008 1:51 PM

          Then why do they make you install to the HDD?

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            April 2, 2008 2:07 PM

            Because if we streamed from blu-ray, load times would never end.

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        April 2, 2008 1:36 PM

        Yes apparently.

        http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3if32b8f1fa30457d7f93590b04608f673

        But if people are expecting DVD level sales overnight, you expect too much.

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        April 2, 2008 2:34 PM

        blu ray just recently passed 6million movies sales total. That is not much considering how long its been out.

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          April 3, 2008 7:39 AM

          Its a lot considering that it took DVD years after its debut to sell that many discs. Blu-Ray is far outpacing DVD if you look at it from initial debut of the technology to sales.

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        April 2, 2008 3:05 PM

        chicken and the egg? more people will buy Bluray movies if they have an affordable player. X360's HD output seems to be made a big deal of, so I'm guessing a decent portion of X360s are attached to HDTVs.

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      April 2, 2008 1:44 PM

      They should do both IMO. BR isn't going to go anywhere for a while and this is just an excuse for people who are unsure to pick a PS3 instead of a 360.

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      April 3, 2008 8:25 AM

      Not to put the breaks on your Troll train, but Panasonic actually has more patents/royalties on Blu-ray than Sony does.

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