« Underestimating privacy | Main | Got chipmunks? »
January 08, 2008
MS on video
MS on video: Any large company is made up of many smaller groups, but here's a bellwether from the Microsoft hardware group: "Microsoft has been pushing HD DVD over Blu-ray as the format for high-definition video, but HD DVD suffered a significant setback last week when Warner Bros. said it would drop support for the format in favor of Blu-ray. Monday during an interview at CES in Las Vegas, Bell said Microsoft is taking a more agnostic view on how to serve up HD video. He said that it's up to consumers to make a choice between the two formats, not vendors. 'We'll let the market decide how they're most interested in consuming entertainment,' he said." I don't know how this reconciles with the software group's deal to require Olympics fans to install new software before being able to view videos, but I do know that consumer costs are a real cost, and you'll gain a wider audience by reducing barriers to viewing.
Posted by JohnDowdell at January 8, 2008 08:52 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://weblogs.macromedia.com/mtadmin/mt-tb.cgi/9205
Comments
Your comments about Microsoft "require(ing) fans to install new software" seems a big disengenous. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? Would you have said the same thing about Flash 10 years ago? Oh right...Microsoft distributed Flash for you so most people had it.
[jd sez: Yes, consumer viewing costs were a factor in site decisions made with Flash ten years ago. You can't zero out those audience costs by saying "everyone has to start somewhere", or by attempting to call others "disingenuous".]
Regarding the HD/Blue-Ray thing...Microsoft has said for a long time that they'll support both formats as the market demands. They clearly prefer HDDVD (for what reason? I'm not sure...) but they have always said they'd support both.
Posted by: Bill at January 8, 2008 09:30 AM