Opinion

posted on 15 May 2008 19:53

With regard to the idea that the Blu-ray standard will need re-writing to accomodate a Wi-Fi connection between a player and an Internet access router, Kendall Gelner writes: "There is a big problem with the supposition that HDi on DVD may be able to overcome Blu-Ray at this point, and that is the same thing that led Blu-Ray to end the format war to start with - the PS3.

"You mention that BD-Live needs an internet connection, and then go on to say:

"If the Blu-ray player is in the living room and the broadband router is in the den then who wants an orange cable snaking across the huse floors? WiFi would get rid of that clutter of course but it needs a whole new Blu-ray standard, so Ethernet it is."

"Why would Blu-Ray need a new standard?  That's a player option, and WiFi is something that every PS3 shipped (now in the millions) comes with.  There's nothing to stop any other player from using WiFi, and nothing to stop anyone from attaching any of a number of common ethernet to WiFi adaptors that are used for gaming systems today, or an ethernet over power line solution as are sold in Best Buy.

"That alone would doom HDi on DVD, if the concept of trying to backfit the standard onto a handful of DVD players (for not many could accept an upgrade that would handle it) was not simply a non-starter to begin with."

Thank you Kendall for clarifying this.

^{[Chris Mellor.]}