Newer DVD Formats...

[tgpo]

Newer DVD Formats...

[SLICK RICK]

Too Much Hype, Show Me Real World Results

[yoda313]

Too Much Hype, Show Me Real World Results

Hello,

DITTO!

I don't even have a HDTV yet so it would just be for data storage - I WANT MAX COMPATIBILITY! :P

Kevin

[tekkieman]

Other than more storage capacity, they're really not necessay. We could easily go another 5 years with what we have. Let's get DL reliable (hell, lets get consistent SL media!), before we move on.

[Baldrick]

I Want Them All Now! 720p hd material looks superb on my projector. I don't want any more crappy dvds.

[adam]

Hmm, I disagree. We've got the HD sets now we need a format to actually take advantage of them. Right now the only reliable way to get HD movies is through broadcast, and the pickings are really pretty slim when you think about it. Other then that, we just get HD for sports, network television, and premium channels. I want theatrically released movies in that same level of quality.

Once you see an HD source you'll never want to watch normal DVD again.

[tekkieman]

Once you see an HD source you'll never want to watch normal DVD again.

The same thing was said about VHS/DVD. We survived quite well with VHS for 20 years, we can't survive with DVD for 10?

[yoda313]

Once you see an HD source you'll never want to watch normal DVD again.

The same thing was said about VHS/DVD. We survived quite well with VHS for 20 years, we can't survive with DVD for 10?

Hello,

Actually a 4:3 tv shows off DVD quite well but VHS still looks very good if professionally mastered (not saying I'd give up dvd just that vhs still has its place ).

Kevin

[Capmaster]

Newer, schmewer :P They've been talking about it for years, and we still haven't even seen much in the DVD-R DL arena. First things first

[adam]

Once you see an HD source you'll never want to watch normal DVD again.

The same thing was said about VHS/DVD. We survived quite well with VHS for 20 years, we can't survive with DVD for 10?

For those twenty years there wasn't all that much change in tvs. Now all of the sudden we've got HDTV sets which are capable of playing resolutions more than six times larger, but we've got no formats that can deliver it. Its a shame, and a new hi def format is desperately needed, and wanted.

I don't think you can compare the jump from VHS to DVD, to the jump from DVD to HD. HD is so far beyond both formats that it makes the differences between VHS and DVD seem almost trivial.

Basically...I've seen what HD has to offer and I can't wait. Others may have more self control.

[tekkieman]

Others may have more self control.

...or shallower pockets.

[adam]

BTW: I'm not really talking about recordable media. To me, that's an afterthought. I can back up a DVD to a DVDr now just fine, and that's also enough storage for me for archiving data. What I want is a commercial format that is on par with our hardware. Right now there is a huge discrepancy.

[bazooka]

Wayyyyyyyyyyyy toooooo muchhhhhhh hyyyyyyppppe

[mats.hogberg]

The DVD overtook VHS just a couple of years ago - do we need a new format just yet?

/Mats

[lenti_75]

Once you see an HD source you'll never want to watch normal DVD again.

there is not that much difference....unless you want a 100inch tv, and I doubt it. it's just in our minds.

:P

[mats.hogberg]

Now all of the sudden we've got HDTV sets which are capable of playing resolutions more than six times larger

Well, I thoght a nice 42" Plasma would be nice - until I saw the specs: 852x480 px! Ridiculous! I left that resolution a decade ago! (And we're talking about a kit 10x what my current CRT cost me...)

/Mats

[adam]

lenti if you say that then there is no way you could have ever seen a decent quality HD broadcast. The difference in quality is remarkable. I think the jump to HD is just short of the jump to color in terms of advances in home video. DVDs only have a fraction of the resolution of HD, there is just no comparison. For the first time we actually get to see movies in our homes that are actually displayed in a resolution close to that which it was filmed in.

Mats.hogberg, I don't like Plasmas personally, I think DLP is the way to go right now. I don't really know what that number means. I always thought tv's didn't really have a native resolution, but rather supported more or less lines of resolution. Anyway, the point is that for many years it was the tv that was the bottleneck. Now that tv's support it, its time to make that quantum leap to HD.

[fritzi93]

Since there was no "I'm ignorant on this subject" choice, I chose the next best thing: TGPO option.

[mats.hogberg]

LCD/Plasmas have a native resolution.

/Mats

[mats.hogberg]

800somethingX400something isn't even SVGA forgodssake! For a TV, that might be nice, but not when we're talking about digital displays...

/Mats

[adam]

Well you'd know better then I would, but hey even on my laptop the difference between the HD Terminator 2 and the regular DVD is like night and day. And obviously HD tv sets have alot more to offer then older tube technology. I wonder if you weren't looking at the very low end of the plasma displays too.

The DVD overtook VHS just a couple of years ago - do we need a new format just yet?

If HD-DVD comes out now it will probably take about 10 years to overtake DVDs too. In the meantime, those with HD playback devices can actually test drive them on something other then network tv and sports. I say the sooner the better.

I'm convinced that you guys must have missed the HD broadcast of Lord of the Rings- Fellowship a couple months ago. I think that would have sold you on HD.

[jimmalenko]

Are Pointless. The Current DVDs Are Just Fine.

DVD's fine by me

[NightWing]

DLP also has a native resolution. I think the Samsung is 1280 x 1024 or somthing like that.

The main thing is what ever you got or get. Get it set up correctly. Not just for enjoyment but can stretch the live of the set.

[bazooka]

I am fine with the current wave of dvd's.

I do not need anything else.

[AlecWest]

I am fine with the current wave of dvd's.

I do not need anything else.

Ditto. And, I don't think we're going to see any quick move away from the current scenario. Even if video enthusiasts wanted the technology, it isn't video enthusiasts who drive the market. It's "Joe Sixpack," the common guy on the street.

I just came from doing a little shopping at Walmart and passed by the home electronics section. They had four (count 'em, four) honest to goodness HD sets for sale (small ones, too). The rest were impressive-looking flat screen sets, but using enhanced definition (not HD). That's what Joe Sixpack is buying right now. And if middle-class incomes remain stable or erode, that's what they'll be buying tomorrow ... unless HD takes a dramatic tumble in price. And without HDTV, buying or renting an HD-DVD wouldn't make much sense.

P.S. I heard recently that JVC developed a triple-layer format that can store standard and HD material on the same surface. Their decision to keep the media backward compatible may be wisdom borne out of harsh experience. In the 1970s, JVC was certain that Joe Sixpack wanted quadraphonic stereo in the home. He didn't.

[adam]

Don't judge HD popularity by what's on sale at Walmart. Check cnn.com, there is a really big story on this. Walmart was scared that their sales were going to be down on electronics so they told foreign suppliers to hold all shipments...which in turn hurt the entire market. HD tv sets were the hardest hit. Demand is much greater then supply right now.

I'm curious, have any of you seen HD broadcasts? I can't understand how you guys can't be excited about this.

[AlecWest]

I'm curious, have any of you seen HD broadcasts? I can't understand how you guys can't be excited about this.

Seen, yes. But, I've seen a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, too. If I could afford one, I'd be excited.

[AlecWest]

Check cnn.com, there is a really big story on this. Walmart was scared that their sales were going to be down on electronics so they told foreign suppliers to hold all shipments...which in turn hurt the entire market.

I'm assuming this is the article you mean:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/01/03/news/economy/holiday_surplus/index.htm

However, while Walmart slowed down access to home electronics in general, the first part of that article tells a different story. Excerpt:

"We recently received a 10,000 block unit of digital cameras and digital stereos. One category that we hadn't anticipated seeing such a big surplus in was high-definition TVs. We obtained an unusually large deal of some 2,700 HDTVs."

If demand was high, why did Overstock.com have so many on hand?

[adam]

Maybe we are in different countries. HD sets aren't that expensive in the US. You can get one for under $1000 which isn't too expensive for a tv, especially when you consider how many years of use you get out of it. HD broadcasts cost about an extra $7 a month in my area. I think HD-DVDs are supposed to cost about the same as regular DVDs. They won't cost much more, if any, to produce. (oh, unless Blu-ray becomes the standard).

Besides the price, one of the main things holding back HDTV sets is the fact that there are no HD movies yet to play on them. See where I'm going with this?

I am specifically holding off on an HDTV until HD-DVD comes out. I don't see the point in having one when there is nothing out there to watch on it. Its like having that Rolls Royce Silver Cloud but not having a driver's license.

[adam]

If demand was high, why did Overstock.com have so many on hand?

Overstock.com didn't have many on hand, they are just NOW getting the surplus that the retail stores couldn't sell. Much of the lack of retail sales was blamed on the delays caused by Walmart holding up shipments. They had the customers, they just couldn't get the tv's to them in time.

"The traffic jam caused by Wal-Mart's late shipments delayed our cargo by a couple of weeks," he said. "Some of our retail customers canceled their orders because we couldn't get it to them on time. We're now offloading it to places like Overstock.com and other channels."

My point is just that Walmart intentionally understocked HDTV sets, or rather underestimated the market this year. So that explains why you see so few HD sets in the stores right now, even though they may be selling much more then this would normally imply.