Is the time finally right for you to get bluray and/or hd-dvd?

[DereX888]

Reading all the answers just proves what I said before (and many people disagreed with) :

people in general are NOT interested in HD at all.

Its the broadcasters who are very much interested in HDTV, or actually in a "digital tv delivery" because of possibility to deliver more advertising on more channels, while higher resolution is just a byproduct of going digital, thats all.
Once the analog-to-digital forced change is done, I am sure there will be sleuth of SD digital channels or mediocre higher-res channels (but not really true HD as we understand it here) serving broadcaster's "advertising delivery business" better than old analog ways did.
Sometimes "market" does not "regulate itself", and government regulations are needed.

[ebenton]

Reading all the answers just proves what I said before (and many people disagreed with) :

people in general are NOT interested in HD at all.

Its the broadcasters who are very much interested in HDTV, or actually in a "digital tv delivery" because of possibility to deliver more advertising on more channels, while higher resolution is just a byproduct of going digital, thats all.
Once the analog-to-digital forced change is done, I am sure there will be sleuth of SD digital channels or mediocre higher-res channels (but not really true HD as we understand it here) serving broadcaster's "advertising delivery business" better than old analog ways did.
Sometimes "market" does not "regulate itself", and government regulations are needed.

WTF?

[FulciLives]

I'm getting a PS3 for Christmas and I intend to buy the 5 disc Blu-Ray release of BLADE RUNNER and I'll also probably buy DAWN OF THE DEAD and DAY OF THE DEAD since they are two favorite movies of mine.

Outside of that I will mostly be renting until I'm sure that Blu-Ray is the winner and if not then I'll buy into HD-DVD and only have to worry about re-buying these three titles LOL

I'm almost tempted to buy the 5 disc HD-DVD of BLADE RUNNER now so I have it ... just in case HD-DVD wins.

I should point out that I bought the PS3 for game play but can't help to buy at least a few Blu-Ray movies since it has that capability built-in yet I still think HD-DVD makes "more sense" than Blu-Ray.

Maybe SEGA and TOSHIBA can get together for a new HD-DVD based console

On a more serious note ... I am very interested in an optical disc HDTV format. The only issue to me is that there are two formats and I really can't see both surviving. The only thing that slowed down my adoption of one vs the other was partly price and partly the format war. Even now that I have a PS3 I will not be buying much because of the war. I don't want to buy a bunch of movies in the losing format.

But I think HD-DVD and Blu-Ray look fantastic. I've seen demos of both at BEST BUY and the quality is freakin' insane! Most recently I saw a Sony Blu-Ray kiosk at BEST BUY and the quality was damn amazing. The image is so clear and detailed. Now this was playing on a SONY 46" 1080p capable LCD so I hope it looks "as good" on my 51" 1080i CRT Rear Projection unit. I know it won't look as good as it could but I still expect it to look pretty damn amazing.

I'm really dissappointed at the number of people that claim they don't want an HDTV optical disc format. I just don't get it. I can understand being frustrated about a format war but to say ... with honesty ... that DVD is good enough? No I cannot understand that ... not on a site like this where we are video addicts and hopefully appreciate the quality presentation of movies etc.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[yoda313]

Maybe SEGA and TOSHIBA can get together for a new HD-DVD based console

I think Sega will stay a software company for the foreseeable future. I think once the Dreamcast hit the dustbin of histroy it will take them a long time to go back if they ever will be able to.

As for making a hddvd console I think it won't happen. The closest we could have come was with the Xbox 360 elite version. It was Microsofts chance to come out with a console with INTEGRATED HDDVD support. The fact that they didn't probably means they are still hedging their bets on the format war and kept the drive an option.

What I would have liked was for Microsoft to release a BLURAY addon. That would rock!!!

But as it is I have my eyes set on the 189.00 LITEON internal BLURAY ROM model at newegg. THat is probably the best I'll be able to do. I don't want to buy a ps3 because I don't really see any must buy games for me. My 360 is more than enough. And now that I have 2gb ram in my vista pc and will be using it as a htpc I can cover the biggest games that way sans PS3 exlusives.

[DereX888]

...
Outside of that I will mostly be renting until I'm sure that Blu-Ray is the winner and if not then I'll buy into HD-DVD and only have to worry about re-buying these three titles LOL
...
I'm almost tempted to buy the 5 disc HD-DVD of BLADE RUNNER now so I have it ... just in case HD-DVD wins.

Since I already had HD-DVD, I bought everything I wanted available on this format. I'm not even at mere 100 discs as of now anyways, LOL
There are just few titles on BR-DVD that are not available on HD-DVD, but since none of them is any of my "must have" movies, I don't really care. Otherwise I'd buy BR player and the movies (personally I actually got rid of BR player year ago when I got it because I don't want to support the "Microsoft of electronics" - aka S*ny Corporation)
The decision which format 'to support' (by buying it) is actually not a big deal at all, almost all same titles are available on both.
Even if your 'format of choice' will flop in the future, you'd still have your player, and buying second player of the other format is not expensive already (for a normal person with income, that is) and certainly price will drop even more by then.
And in case you will be tempted to replace the titles for the other 'winning' format in the future, all the titles you have now by that time ought to be at discount prices or 'old goodies' bins at walmart

WTF?

Brain required to understand, sorry...



Merry Christmas to all of yous
see you next year

[ebenton]

WTF?

Brain required to understand, sorry...

"OK"

[Epicurus8a]

High def ota and/or cable/sat high def is plenty for me - I'll wait for the format war to end first

Blade Runner - The Final Cut (on DVD) looks great on my 50" LCD. I can only imagine what it looks like in one of the HD formats. I'll wait until the format war is over, though. And as an added benefit the players will be cheaper and better in a year or two.

[FulciLives]

Well I just ordered the 5 disc Blu-Ray release of BLADE RUNNER ... My PS3 is hooked up to a 51" 16x9 WS CRT Rear Projection unit with 1080i resolution.

I can't wait to watch it

BTW I never realized what a beast the PS3 is ... not only is it rather large (at least compared to my black slim PS2) but it is damn heavy to boot.

Been having a lot of fun with "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune"

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[yoda313]

@ fulcilives - is the ps3 as big as a xbox 360?

[FulciLives]

@ fulcilives - is the ps3 as big as a xbox 360?

I never had an XboX nor an XboX 360 but I will tell you that

1.) I was surprised by the size of the PS3 once it was on my table top (big)
2.) The thing weighs a ton of bricks (very heavy)

I also didn't realize it was slot loading until I got it.

I took a break from "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" because I rented "Conan" and I want to finish "Conan" while I have it out on rent (from Blockbuster down the street). At the rate that I am going (peeking ... yes just peeking at an on-line WALKTHROUGH) it appears I'm just over 50% done with "Conan" after only like 2 days.

I like Conan but boy is it ever a GOD OF WAR clone ... which reminds me I still haven't played GOD OF WAR II but the damn thing is still at $39.99 last I checked.

After Conan and Drake's Fortune I might buy OBLIVION GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION next although I still have PS2 RPG's I have yet to finish so maybe I'll go for another action game ... HEAVENLY SWORD looks kewl (I enjoyed the demo).

I am also happy to say that Blu-Ray looks awesome on my TV which is a relief as I was a bit "afraid" of this as my TV is only 1080i but it definitely is a huge perceivable upgrade (to my eye) over standard DVD. So far though the only Blu-Ray content I have seen have been some trailers downloadable through the PlayStation Store. I'm still waiting on BLADE RUNNER and my local Blockbuster had no Blu-Ray (nor HD-DVD) in stock. None. Nada. The store near me simply carries them not.

I guess I need to send back the NetFlix discs I have and put some Blu-Ray titles near the top. I'm itching to see both 2001 and THE SHINING in this format.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
I also have MOTORSTORM which is a racing game that came with the PS3 and I've played it but I suck royally ... can't even qualify the first race LOL

[yoda313]

fyi fulci blockbuster is bluray only so you'll have to stick with netflix if you want to rent hddvd.

[Rich86]

I had already made the leap to high def TV (and am enjoying it thoroughly - I hate watching standard TV now) but was one of those who decided that I would wait out the competition between the competing high def disc formats before entering that world.
But my wife decided she had heard enough on the subject - and Santa brought me a Toshiba HD-A30. So now I will buy future movies in HD-DVD - and not buy movies which are not available in that format at all. Those titles will be relegated to strictly standard dvd rentals to be used on my tv and/or computer. Hopefully more studios will realize the trap they are putting their customers in - and release in both formats. Naturally Sony will never buy into that philosophy - which says a lot about what happens to customers when the hardware designer/manufacturer is also the movie studio - so I expect Sony/Columbia/Disney titles will remain strictly standard dvd rentals for me for a very long time.

[yoda313]

@ rich86 - so you mean you'll only rent the dvds of the ones that aren't in hddvd format? That would be a way to go. However even new dvds are pretty cheap now. Also if you have a decent upconverting dvd player buying the standard def dvd is still worthwhile even if it isn't available in hddvd.

But I can understand sticking to buying hddvds only and waiting for the switchover.

Have fun with hddvd. I am and I am just starting to enjoy bluray on my pc rom player

[Rich86]

Yes - I do have a good Sony upconverting dvd player - and I understand the Toshiba HD-A30 does a good job upconverting also - and have enjoyed my anamorphic/standard dvd's very much on my system. However, it is my intent to direct whatever actual purchases I make from now on to HD-DVD releases, and relegate other movies I am interested in to standard dvd rentals.

[striker9]

Can someone explain why one or the other has to "win"? The disks are the same size, why can't the players just play both formats? In the old beta vs VHS war you had to choose one or the other because the tapes were different sizes. My current DVD player plays DVD-Video, DVD+-R(W), (S)VCD, Picture CD, DIVX\XVID, etc. etc. Why don't the new players just add Blu-ray and HD-DVD both to this line-up and get on with it?

[paulw]

This story doesn't help things.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-01-04-warner-brothers-blu-ray_N.htm

[Conquest10]

Why don't the new players just add Blu-ray and HD-DVD both to this line-up and get on with it?

Because of greedy companies.

[Rich86]

This story doesn't help things.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-01-04-warner-brothers-blu-ray_N.htm

unless you are Sony, of course . . . .
I hope no one thinks those of us who end up with HD-DVD bricks are going to run right out to buy a BlueRay player.
If my new HD-DVD player becomes just another upconverting player - I'm going to just rent standard def dvd's and process/watch on my computer and 1080p TV.

[SCDVD]

I'm afraid the studios are going to be attracted to BluRay because of its supposedly better copy protection structure. You can bet the BluRay backers are pushing that issue very loud and clear to the studios. As consumers, we look at each format in a relatively straightforward and simplistic way. Not so with the studios; they are looking for any angle that maximizes their interests. Copy protection capability has got to be high on that list.

[FulciLives]

This story doesn't help things.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-01-04-warner-brothers-blu-ray_N.htm

WOW ...

I'd say this is major news !!!

Tis a shame because to me the HD-DVD format always made "more sense" than the Blu-Ray format but I have to admit that I just got a Sony PS3 this Christmas 2007 season and although I bought it as a gaming console first it is nice to know that it can also play Blu-Ray movie discs.

As for the PS3 capabilities ... on a goof ... I used the built-in web browser to go to a PORN website and download one of those crappy ass 320x240 MPEG clips and then played it back and OMG it looked utterly amazing considering the source and the fact that my TV is a 51" 16x9 HDTV. In other words the PS3 upscaling ability is simply amazing!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Still waiting on my 5 disc Blu-Ray BLADERUNNER set that I bought on-line but my Blu-Ray of "300" just came in today from NetFlix so I guess I'll be watching that soon

[yoda313]

It's too bad warner bros isjmping to bluray.

However I'm not rebuying The Matrix on BLuary anytime soon. I do have the xbox addon so I can rip them should I ever need to. I have a bluray player in my pc now so I can do whatever I want.

The best thing is as long as the movies can be ripped I can buy in either format and essentially be future proofed. I can simply rip them once a protection has been broken. THen I can save them to an external drive for future high def retrieval. This would be of course a short term solution to whichever side wins out.

If hddvd ddoes die a slow death I will hang on to the seven or so movies I have and hold off on rebuying them. Since I will still be able to play them as long as my hddvd drive functions I won't have an issue for the short term.

[DereX888]

It's too bad warner bros isjmping to bluray.

WHY?

All of them jump-ship all the time... they may get 'better deal' from someone else and jump back to HD-DVD again, you never know
Never take money-ridden greedy corporation's decisions too seriously.
For a lousy dollar more they'd change their mind and do everything completely opposite in a heartbeat, without any hesitation (actually so do many people too...)

You have your player already, don't you? And its not like HD-DVDs discs and players will disappear overnight even if BR-DVDs "wins"
Get rid of the VCR and make space in your tower for another format's hd player if you really need to (It's not like they cost a fortune anyways)
For us, consumers, it is completely irrelevant which format "wins". Both provide us with the same quality picture and sound, the differences between the formats are virtually transparent/invisible to the users, so who cares which one "wins"?
More important to us is when one of them will "win" (sooner the better), because the longer this "format war" lasts, the longer their prices are higher than they should be, the title selections are scarce, and most importantly - more changes to both format might or will happen, and after another 2 or 3 years of this duel both formats will be in their Nth generation and most likely completely or partially incompatible with their first versions I suspect (specially that both in their current versions were cracked already), kinda like what happened to the first buyers of high-def TV sets
Neither Toshiba nor Sony guarantees any long-lasting support for their formats in their *current* versions, and thats the sad fact.
DVD Forum at least had set certain set of technical specs and guidelines that have to be followed for DVD-Videos, while HD-DVD and BR-DVD are more like work in progress...

[yoda313]

@ derex - yes one thing I do think would be good if hddvd dies is all of the movies will be slashed and firesaled in a hurry!!! Just think you could get them for the less than the price of a dvd!!! And simply rip them to the harddrive and you can burn them to bluray once bluray burners get cheaper

THere is a brightside to it. And like you said I will still be able to play mine even if hddvd goes extinct...

[AlecWest]

Notice which category has the highest single percentage of votes in this poll. That's where my vote went. My son manages a Suncoast video store in SW Washington and tells me they're paring back on their HD titles because no one is buying them. And locally, the cable company offers the same number of HD channels that they offered at the same time last year.

I think there's more going on here than just a BluRay/HDDVD format war. My neighbor (no computer) asked me to list his HDTV for sale on Craigslist. He's a bit tired of watching the overwheming majority of SDTV programs on an HDTV ... and having to see the black bars on the sides of his screen because that programming remains 4:3 programming.

Even in this forum, while only 28% fell into the SDTV category, this is a forum of videophiles. I think that percentage would be much higher if a poll was taken among the majority of non-videophile consumers.

Perhaps I'm a throwback member of the Flat Earth Society (grin). But I remain unconvinced that HDTV itself is winning the hearts, minds, and dollars of the majority consumer. To them, arguing over a "medium" format is premature at best until the majority TV format preference becomes HD.

[Marvingj]

When was it never not about the MONEY.......................

[edDV]

Perhaps I'm a throwback member of the Flat Earth Society (grin). But I remain unconvinced that HDTV itself is winning the hearts, minds, and dollars of the majority consumer. To them, arguing over a "medium" format is premature at best until the majority TV format preference becomes HD.

I think there are three overlapping trends.

The various governments are creating a Y2K type urgency by forcing a change to over the air digital television transmission. The reason for this is primarily to reallocate RF spectrum to wireless and emergency services and second to raise revenue from licensing fees. HD is provisioned because it is possible but over half of the approved broadcast formats are SD and HD transmission is optional, not a requirement.

Projection, plasma and LCD technologies make possible large flat displays. Consumers love these large flat displays and don't really care about high definition unless they find quality lacking with standard def sources on these large screens. Most buy medium size screens (30-42") or sit three meters back so don't see the priority for high def. Most are impressed with the quality of SD DVD on these flat screens.

There are a minority of consumers that seek high definition as a goal and for them (us here?) program providers and displays are chosen with high definition in mind. It is this segement that buys the cable/sat HD services, HD/BD DVD players and large 1080p displays. In time these technologies will move into the mainstream as prices come down. A significant portion of this segment is motivated by higher definition gaming consoles rather than movies or broadcast.

In summary, the governments are forcing an urgency while most consumers are lusting for large flat displays. High definition is a subplot that will develop over time. At the present time TV displays are where the money is being spent.

[tumbar]

Most are impressed with the quality of SD DVD on these flat screens.

Exactly. There is a false sense of urgency. It's 5-10 years out.

JMHO

[Kayembee]

edDV wrote:
> I think there are three overlapping trends.
>
> The various governments are creating a Y2K type urgency by
> forcing a change to over the air digital television transmission.
> The reason for this is primarily to reallocate RF spectrum to
> wireless and emergency services and second to raise revenue from
> licensing fees. HD is provisioned because it is possible but over
> half of the approved broadcast formats are SD and HD transmission
> is optional, not a requirement.
>
> Projection, plasma and LCD technologies make possible large flat
> displays. Consumers love these large flat displays and don't
> really care about high definition unless they find quality
> lacking with standard def sources on these large screens. Most
> buy medium size screens (30-42") or sit three meters back so
> don't see the priority for high def. Most are impressed with the
> quality of SD DVD on these flat screens.
>
> There are a minority of consumers that seek high definition as a
> goal and for them (us here?) program providers and displays are
> chosen with high definition in mind. It is this segement that
> buys the cable/sat HD services, HD/BD DVD players and large 1080p
> displays. In time these technologies will move into the
> mainstream as prices come down. A significant portion of this
> segment is motivated by higher definition gaming consoles rather
> than movies or broadcast.
>
> In summary, the governments are forcing an urgency while most
> consumers are lusting for large flat displays. High definition is
> a subplot that will develop over time. At the present time TV
> displays are where the money is being spent.

Excellent analysis. I agree completely that what most
consumers want is a big screen, not high-def. But as prices fall
the average TV will keep growing, and it will reach the point
where any consumer will see the need for high-def. In the long
run, big screens and high-def go together like bread and butter.

You also didn't mention one big segment of the TV
audience: sports fans. For instance, I'm an NFL (American
professional football) fan. There are 22 players, plus referees,
moving quickly through complex patterns, every play. Plays are SO
much easier to follow in HD than SD, that there's just no
comparison. I think you will find a huge segment of the early
adopters are sports fans. Probably half the TV households in the
world include at least one real sports fanatic.

[edDV]

You also didn't mention one big segment of the TV
audience: sports fans. For instance, I'm an NFL (American
professional football) fan. There are 22 players, plus referees,
moving quickly through complex patterns, every play. Plays are SO
much easier to follow in HD than SD, that there's just no
comparison. I think you will find a huge segment of the early
adopters are sports fans. Probably half the TV households in the
world include at least one real sports fanatic.

I agree. People learn this when they see their friends HD set and then want to have it in HD as well.

This brings up the 720p/59.94 fps vs 1080i/29.97 fps issue. I wish all networks would use 720p for sports.

[DereX888]

[quote="edDV"]

Consumers love these large flat displays and don't really care about high definition unless they find quality lacking with standard def sources on these large screens. Most buy medium size screens (30-42") or sit three meters back so don't see the priority for high def. Most are impressed with the quality of SD DVD on these flat screens.

Thats the main reason for lack of interest in HDTV in general.
Most people don't see difference between good quality digital SDTV and HDTV on a 30'' screen.
And most importantly:
Overwhelming majority of the world's population live their entire life in a spaces the size of one typical american bedroom (and no, I'm not talking Africa here - almost entire Asian and majority of European population live in such tiny places too). Thats why i.e. most of the world had years ago sub-30'' widescreen 16:9 SD tv sets, while they were nowhere to be found in North America ever.

And as you said, high-def is just another additional subject of SDTV going digital. Having two competing home high-def formats during this transitional period, this whole HD-DVD vs BR-DVD "war", not only doesn't add to the general population's interest in any home high-def TV, but it even discourages many people from going high-def at all. "Snafus" like half-baked first generation HDTV sets becoming obsolete even before HDTV television started made another dent too.
Except for most of western televisions going digital soon, nothing else is certain and is just a mess.
Thats why even an anarchist-of-choice like me thinks that the government regulations are needed