Rest in Peace HD-DVD

I thought it worth throwing up an adapted version of the HD-DVD v Blu-Ray photo taken in Woolworths St Helier after the news that HD-DVD is finally dead.

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HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray

I haven’t gone high-def yet - I brought a beautiful television about three years ago for several hundred pounds and have no intention of getting rid of it until it dies.

Plus I watch most of my programmes on demand, either through Sky+, through one of the increasing number of web based streaming services or through DVDs ripped to my iPod.

So, as you can tell, I’m used to watching things in a lower quality in my own time - so the prospect of a better picture doesn’t jump out as a desperate need.

But one day, when the players are around £50 and I need a new TV I will get myself a Hi-Def DVD player.

By then I think Blu-Ray would have well and truly won out - after all most of the disks I see in shops are Blu-Ray, most of the big studios are Blu-Ray and I prefer to blue boxes to the purpley ones of HD-DVD.

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The Queen in High Def

Why the hell would anyone want to see the Queen in High Definition? I mean the first thing I do on Christmas day is look in the Radio Times to make sure I can avoid The Queens Bloody Speech.

This year SKY will be broadcasting the Queens Speech on SKY Movies HD2 (which means I can avoid it as I don’t have HD or Sky Movies) as well as the UK Television Premier of Casino Royale.

In a campaign that will be dubbed (or at least is labeled on the press release) On Her Majesty’s HD Service, the High Def channel will air the mainstays of an ITV Christmas - her Maj and his Bondyness.

The Sky press release says “Sky HD captures every detail, facial expression and movement, offering images that are much more life like with four times the picture detail of standard definition.”

Queen Elizabeth is 81 for crying out loud - I don’t want to see her “every detail” and I’m certainly no interested in her “facial expression” and I can’t imagine anyone actually wants to see her movements.

Thats why I don’t really get the appeal of High Def outside of say sport and wildlife programmes - for everything else normal def does the job just fine. In fact more often than not I watch shows through my computer (streamed to the TV) which is a LOT lower quality than standard Def TV.

I do have a bit of respect for Her Maj, after all she’s had to put up with a lot of crap from her kids - but I do hope she’s the last Monach we have - we’re a modern 21st Century Democracy (despite the efforts of the Labour Party) and I think its time we had an elected head of state.

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