Thoughts on Blu-Ray vs HDDVD?
 

I'm getting the itch to go with some sort of high def DVD. I've got a good 1080P LCD TV, I've also got a Denon upconverting DVD player. The DVD player is very nice, but I find it lacking. I had planned to wait to see if the dust would settle and there would be a clear winner. But I'm getting impatient.

I want a set top player, not an XBOX, PS3 or MediaPC.

My guess is that I'll likely end up owning both types, unless there is a combo player on the market that is with in the price range of normal people.

I saw a graph yesterday, it showed something like 8 out of 10 studios using Blu-Ray as their their sole media.

Most likely HD DVD will die soon after WB moved exclusively to the Blu camp few days ago. Microsoft were pouring money and supporting HD DVD not because they wanted it to win but because they're on quest to make both formats fail.

Movie downloads FTW ...

time warner went exclusively with blueray....

combo players:
samsung up-5000, out soon, $800
lg bh100, out soon, $1200

The combo players cost more than buying each player separately. :jerkit:

HD DVD took a big blow last week
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssC...44635420080104

Personally, I wouldn't invest large amounts into either format. They both suck, and much better technologies are only a few years away from going mainstream. That said, if BestBuy once again offers Toshiba HDDVD players at $100 with 7 free HD DVD movies, I wouldn't stop ya. Barring that, you might want to hold out.

Netflix has 450 blu-ray titles and 400 hd titles. Don't know if that's a scientific comparison or what. I'm waiting until these HD players come below $200 before doing anything.

I've got an Xbox360 and recently got a HD Drive for it, just figured it would give me something to feed that 1080P LCD until the format war is over if nothing else. We rent everything at Netflix anyways, so I just tell it to send HDDVD if available and forget about it, if it's available in that format we'll get it.

Looks good BTW... I haven't brought it down to the home theater yet but it's only a 1366x768 projector so it would downscale 1080P anyways. Would still look better than DVD though.

Before I say this, yes I read the "no console" clause above:

Unless your getting a combo console you might as well buy the gaming console supporting the format you wish. You never know if a racing game or something you might want to play will come out. Figure it as an investment. Much better ROI on a console, including resale value. Remember when DVD first came out? Those players are like 20 dollars now...

BLu ray, VOD will be popular but sales will still be there. People like to own things, hence CDs

Good point Newb, dont forget that the consoles are upgradeable with software patches (I know the PS3 is i assume the same for HDDVD)

People will give up owning physical media for sake of having cheaper content stored electronically, hence MP3s. Hard media is dead. The future is downloadable content and/or purchasing expiring licenses. IE, pay per view. There is both more margin and less outlay involved in electronic media storage.

ROI infers that that you are indeed investing. A mutual fund is an investment. A dvd player is not.

Ben depends how you look at it. I would make the statement that the money i put down for my systems is worth $X of relaxation.

Its all been a pretty shitty move, the people going blu-ray exclusive. Sony paid 500 Mil for WB's sole support too. I have a HD DVD player, (XBOX 360.) I have a samsung blu ray player too. I like both, but to be honest the HD DVD player looks better, (foregrounds, and backgrounds) and is much, much faster loading up, and doing scene selections. The blu ray just seems like it has the enhanced foregrounds, and thats about it. Just my .02

Here is what MS is after - this deal from yesterday and most likely similar ones coming month after month:

http://kotaku.com/341367/mgm-disney-...-coming-to-xbl

Sony did? I didnt see that anywhere. I remember when they said that about MS and paramount, but again no proof.

As for the quality of the movie ins't it the same source just different media?

I wasn't aware of that deal, but it does reinforce my point. Downloadable content is the future.

I've got over 200 movies on DVD now, so it's safe to say that I enjoy owning. I will continue this trend with the next format. I'm not ready to pull the trigger yet.

The first DVD player I bought was a Panasonic A310, I paid close to $700cnd back in '98 or '99. that hurts a little now. But it was a good machine and lasted a number of years. This is the nature of technology, if you want it NOW it will cost. However, in this case I don't want to invest significant dollars in media if the format is going to die out. Had nearly a 10 year run with DVD, will Blu-Ray last that long? If people invest in the media it will for sure.

It might be , but physical media isnt going anywhere

Do you remember SACD and DVD-A? People spent fortunes on players and media. Where are they now?

Know your history
SACD (Sony) vs DVD-A (Toshiba)
sound familiar? this is the same shit, new wrapper.

Loki, again, I know no other way to tell you that the future is NOT going to include hard media.

Maybe in your experience this is the case. Aren't you an installer of high end audio video equiment? I don't know anyone that invested anything in DVD-A. Granted that's my limited experience. I'm just suggesting that maybe your clients aren't typical.

How many here own anything in DVD-A besides Ben?

I agree with Loki, people want to own ... not subscribe. Hell music for "free" has been around for nearly 10 years, people still buy CDs. Even with the wildly popular iPod, which is basically begging you to download music.

HD DVD is gonna win. why? Compare how many Xboxes have sold VS PS3's? Whos the majority that get HD movies? Console owners.