I would love to see a splash screen appearing on the tv saying “It’s the other side up, Einstein” while an animation of an old lady slapping a guy silly whenever one inserts the disc the wrong way.

Here’s an essay I wrote on the subject.

16,

You would still require a dual playback mechanism of some kind. Depending upon component cost and application area, you could have top-and-bottom read mechanisms which would require proper disk orientation prior to insertion.

BTW no need to do that “this side up” thing. Remember the way the 4.7gb limit was first avoided in DVD? Dual sided discs. Those disc have widescreen version on one side & full screen on the other. Others have the movie on one & the extras on the other.

Those dual discs have a ring decal stating which side was widescreen and which one fullscreen. The same thing can be done with this new dual format discs. The flip side is that no more artwork on the discs themselves. An careful with those fingers

I agree. There are quite a few people doing already, but it won’t become big until there’s a user friendly version of the setup.

That will happen, but the time is not yet ripe. We’re getting there fast, though. Broadband VOD (video on demand) coupled with honking big hard drives will dominate the living room, synching with personal media players for when the user isn’t home. Soon removable singe-file media will only be a niche market. (Then again, single-file sales are a major factor in retail, so disks may stay viable for a long time. Wal-Mart can’t sell you what it can’t package.)

10,

Actually, there will be a diffrent technology per side, each with multiple layers of the representative format. The player would have to have a “this side up” sign on the tray with a fixed mechanism above and below or a swivel dual-side dual-format mechanism as was used in the late-generation DVD/LaserDisc players. (I still have my Pioneer DVL-91.

And I’m sorry for this because the grip gets tighter around you. The more dependant on wired distribution you are, the more control they have over you.

Nowdays I can go to Blockbuster and rent a movie. And if I really like it, later I can go and buy it from them at discount prices. But you see, this plastic disc has payed royalties only once, when was bought by blockbuster. The wired IP model of content distribution will charge you whenever you see a movie, or listen to a song. It’s a moneytising heaven for mpaa/riaa companies. Plain simple as this.

Sounds like the will be using two different layers, one layer for one format and another for the other. I wonder which layer LG Electronics DVD players that can play formats will default too or will it just get confused.

good on Warner Bros for a dual-format disk. I have more enthusiasm for it than the dual-format players, which will no doubt be premium priced for at least a year, as they soak the early adopters and try to pay for the double-load of HD hardware.

and Total HD as a hardship for retailers? just another advantage for on-line sellers like Amazon who don’t need a third rack.

Exactly… store your stuff on huge hard drives instead. A 750 GB Seagate could store roughly 25-50 HD DVDs or 15-30 Blu-ray discs. Not only does the hard drives take less space, but I believe it might be cheaper per GB.