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DVD, Blu-ray, HD DVD... sitting on the fence

Falcon1Falcon1 Elite Ranger
in Zocalo v2.0
I've been mulling it over recently this whole Blu-ray v HD DVD and standard dvd formats war. Its exciting seeing what's coming, as in high quality video and bags of space for DTS audio tracks on both new formats. But I have a buyers dilemma. Now I haven't got a massive dvd collection. It has grown slowly over the years (and yes you will remember my post on dvds I want to get) but right now I've put purchases on pause. So here's the question:

Should I stop buying standard dvd releases in favor of HD/Blu-ray?

The reason I'm thinking yes to this is because I just noticed today that Fox have announced the blu-ray edition of Prison Break season 1. The whole package looks great. So is there any point to getting the current dvd release? The blue-ray one seems to offer so much more (but at a higher price of course... for now) The thing that annoys me is the pure capitalism/marketing behind all of this. We buy the dvd when it comes out. Then they release the special edition, we drop greens down for that. Then after that they offer the next greatest version wrapped in a new tech format, and we feel compelled to get it because its supposed to be so much better. So one ends up with multiple versions of the same film on the shelf. Such a waste imo. I suppose the same can be said for VHS. A never ending cycle of renewal and expenditure ;)

So what are the rest of you guys doing? Holding off or not really caring?

I actually haven't got any hardware to really appreciate either HD format right now so any argument is moot until I invest in that category. I think for now though I will just continue to sit of the fence and save my pennies :)
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Comments

  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    I quite like HDTV, but I'm still hoping for a dual-format drive.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I'm sitting on the fence for now, but even when I do come down on one side or another I see no reason for me to replace any of my collection. But then, I'm not overly bothered about seeing every hair on an actor's face
  • Vorlons in my HeadVorlons in my Head The Vorlons told me to.
    I'm not buying anything HD until they either come out with dual format drives or one of the two formats is definitively accepted as the final standard.
  • RedAssAg05RedAssAg05 Ranger
    [quote]I quite like HDTV, but I'm still hoping for a dual-format drive.[/quote]

    Like the Samsung HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player? Or the...was it LG or Toshiba?...combo player?

    expensive, but they play both; and I have it on good authority that unlike the latter, the former can access all of the features of both formats
  • Mr_BesterMr_Bester Earthforce Officer St Louis MO
    Samsungs will work correctly on both formats. LGs has problems with some HDDVD features. Toshiba doesn't make Dual format because they are the ones behind HDDVD, so no BluRay for them....
  • RubberEagleRubberEagle What's a rubber eagle used for, anyway?
    I'm a kinda-early adopter.
    I bought a hd-dvd player in febuary. The reason why i support HD DVD and not bluray is manyfold:
    [LIST]
    [*]DDVD is (currently) 100% codefree
    [*]HDDVD is (theoreticaly) cheaper
    [*]The interactivity features (picture-in-picture playback of 2 videostreams, Internet connectivity, HDi (the HD-DVD equivalent of BD-Java)) have been mandatory since the beginning, and are functional IN EVERY PLAYER since the beginning. Try finding a BluRay player with picture-in-picture, Internet connectivity OR BDJava support that's as cheap as the HD-E1/HD-A2.
    [*]While BluRay looks better on paper, technically the early releases (both movies and players) were not on par with the HD-DVD releases. (overpriced players with less features, 25GB discs with mpeg2 videostreams compared to the 30GB VC1 streams that have been used on almost all HD-DVDs since the beginning (a few asian releases use MPEG2 too)
    [*]I don't like Sony
    [/LIST]
    As for film availability, the code-free reduces the exclusive bluray titles considerably. For example, Terminator 2 is an MGM movie, but is distributed by Studio Canal in france (or Kinowelt in germany), who released it on HD-DVD. Terminator 3 on the other hand is distributed by Columbia Pictures (sony) in (continental) Europe, but by Warner Bros. in the US, who released an HD-DVD there.

    Basically, if you don't have an HD-ready TV, and don't desperately need one, stay with DVD for now, until next year, when the first real Multi-format players come out (the current LG Multiblue player only plays the video on HD-DVD discs, but doesn't support menu and oder HDi thingies).
    If you really need to own Prison break [i]now[/i], try looking for bargain prices. For Example, [url]www.mediadis.com[/url] currently has the [url=http://www.mediadis.com/products/search.asp?kw=prison%20break]French Prison Break S1 DVD set for 35€ [/url]
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    [QUOTE=RedAssAg05;165466]Like the Samsung HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player? Or the...was it LG or Toshiba?...combo player?[/QUOTE]

    I said drive, not player. :)
  • RedAssAg05RedAssAg05 Ranger
    Ah, tut mir leid...HTPC user, I see. Fair enough:)
  • PSI-KILLERPSI-KILLER Needs help
    I have heard the winner will be obvious after new years.
  • RedAssAg05RedAssAg05 Ranger
    I hope so...I'm getting antsy for high-definition movie watching! And I don't want to buy too many more standard DVDs...I try to resist, but it's so hard at times (depending on the movie/tv series/porno--scratch that last)!
  • Falcon1Falcon1 Elite Ranger
    I'm waiting until 1080p lcds drop in price. I'd rather save for one of those than get a cheaper 1080i. Then I'll decide on a combo player, which by then should also be suitably reduced. I think it will be worth making the effort for a full HD experience. Hell if I was loaded I'd have a proper cinema room in the house with big comfy leather chairs with built in cooler fridges. Maybe some day :)

    Right now I kinda like HDDVD because of its backwards compatibility. I hate the idea of having to get rid of my current Pioneer dvd player just because Sony shoves blu-ray hardware down our throats. I love my player, its nice and slim and has got a very clean design on the front. The whole format thing is very similar to the DVD +/- war. Dual format drives did come out eventually but it sure did take ages. Hope it doesn't take as long with dvd players.

    So the decision then is to halt dvd purchases except for special circumstances such as a B5 dvd release or a stupidly cheap mis-price somewhere ;)
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    I prefer HD-DVD for two reasons: Firstly, no region coding (although there's provision for it). Secondly, provision is made for copies to be made (e.g. copying the data to the hard drive of a HTPC), which blu-ray explicitly prevents.
  • Mr_BesterMr_Bester Earthforce Officer St Louis MO
    Biggles,
    Bluray has managed copy and
    Falcon1,
    any bluray player will play dvds and some will upconvert dvds.

    Neither HD-DVD or BluRay have their managed copy setup yet. You can "Illegally" copy both right now. Soon that won't be the case until BD+ is cracked.

    I prefer BluRay because of higher possible bitrates and better possible encodes. I haven't seen an HD-DVD who's quality meets the pirates movies in PQ, But any Warner products will be exactly equal in quality because they encode for the lowest(30gb) common denominator. I also got my BluRay player for $400US when HD_DVD players were going for $300-400. So price wasn't that big a deal for me at the time.

    Unfortunately, Neither format has enough movies on them for me to be very excited. I only have 6 BRs and 5 more when the HP movies are released. When the movies I want to see start popping up, I'll be happier and would even go neutral. I don't hate HD-DVD, (or sony), but I hate Microsoft(who wants the format war to extend and kill HD on Disc so their download service will be the winner).

    Dug
  • Falcon1Falcon1 Elite Ranger
    Isn't there a lengthy delay as well when blu-ray disks are put in a player? Something about it checking to make sure its "legal". I've heard that it can last for well over a minute. That would annoy me no end. Bad enough having to sit through all the FBI crap on current dvds.
  • Mr_BesterMr_Bester Earthforce Officer St Louis MO
    I put a disk in my PS3 and it starts playing almost immediately. I know early HD-DVD players had problems, but I think that was fixed with firmware. I am unaware of any players that take a long time to start.
    Dug
  • Falcon1Falcon1 Elite Ranger
    Hmm I'll have to ask a friend as he told me about it, think it was from an article on the Register.co.uk
  • Falcon1Falcon1 Elite Ranger
    Ah and he just walked past and said it was limited to first gen blu-ray players. So probably didn't effect the PS3 by the time it came out.
  • PSI-KILLERPSI-KILLER Needs help
    It is best to get both sides in the HD battle. Look at AVS forums and then look and Blu-Ray Forums you will see who is nuts and not nuts

    Looik at the companies backing each technology,
    It is obvious who will win, first OP look

    [url]http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=747[/url]
  • Capt.MontoyaCapt.Montoya Ranger
    Like Falcon1, until I get a 1080p flat screen (LCD seems the best choice, but maybe OLED will be the best choice by then), I won't buy a higher-definition DVD player... and maybe by then one format will win, or dual-format players will be cheap and widespread.

    Or maybe even [url=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070910-do-we-really-need-another-hd-format-hd-vmd-to-challenge-hd-dvd-blu-ray.html]a third HD format[/url] will win? Or maybe tri-format players!
    :rolleyes:

    Really, at this point I no longer care if the "best" format wins, as long as one is the winner.
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    Yeah.

    Frankly, HD-DVD seems better for video because of it's lack of annoying stuff. Blu-ray seems better for data, because of it's vastly larger size. I suspect neither will win as they will both be superseded by a new tech before they finish beating each other to death.
  • Rogue TraderRogue Trader Somebody stop him...
    Get a really good upconverting DVD player and wait the 5 or so years before the true HD standard comes out. My 360 does a fantastic job of upconverting and I have no urge to purchase a new format while the market is split. The only reason DVDs took off was because of the DVD Forum. Until the HD version of that comes along I am saving my money.
  • Space GhostSpace Ghost Elite Ranger
    I predict the end of all "physical" media in the not-so-distant future anyway (i.e. everything will be available for download through a DVR). Going to the video store is SO last decade. ;)
  • SeafroggysSeafroggys Ranger
    The jump between DVD to HD-DVD/Blu-Ray is much much less then VHS to DVD, thus I'm in no hurry to upgrade. DVDs were already on the market for 4 years before I got my first player, and high def DVDs have been on the market for barely 2? I don't see myself upgrading for several more years, probably won't this decade.
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    An interesting, but relevant, aside: BBC R&D recently did some research into HDTV resolutions. They found that, in the average living room with an average TV size of 42", any resolution higher than 720p is pointless because the pixels are below the angular resolution of the human eye. Once you get to about 50" (or sit closer than 1m away from your TV) higher resolutions become relevant.
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    I saw this while out hunting computer components the other day, and at a rather surprising 45800 yen.

    [url]http://buffalo.jp/products/new/2007/000547.html[/url]

    No idea if it's actually any good, but it's a start.
  • sleepy_shadowsleepy_shadow Ranger
    When I finally make my choice, I'll pick the one which is least restricted, even if it's inferior in speed or capacity.
  • Falcon1Falcon1 Elite Ranger
    I was in town on saturday and popped into a store (John Lewis for us UK based ppl) to have a look at the latest tv gear. In a "special" cinema room they had two 50" tv's rigged up (along with other expensive cinema gear). One was a Samsung 52" lcd hooked up to a blue ray dvd player and the other was the Pioneer Kuro 50" plasma hooked up to a hd dvd player. The Pioneer simply blew me away!!! The quality was amazing, really amazing. Where as the Samsung looked rather pixely and was rather disappointing. I was sold right away on the Kuro until the price tag of £2,800 struck me down with savage cruelty. Darn it! They also had the 42" Kuro which still looked darn amazing in the shadow of the 50" and its price tag was more "sensible" being just £1800. :cough: I still had to curse under my breath. Had a quick froogle today and the cheapest I can find the 42" for is £1495. Sadly I think I shall have to wait for a price drop. Or commit some crime for financial reward... or maybe treat myself after getting my new job! Hmm think thats a bit overkill really ;)

    But if people are going to splash out I'd recommend looking at the Pioneer plasma range. And here's a review of the 40" model:

    [url]http://www.trustedreviews.com/tvs/review/2007/10/13/Pioneer-KURO-PDP-428XD-42in-Plasma-TV/p1[/url]

    Looks like I may look away from lcd in favor of plasma now.
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    I think think Plasma is not particularly the best of the hardware. It offers vibrant color and good blacks, but it just doesn't have the lifespan and reliability to justify that level of cost. And with LCD panels getting bigger, cheaper, and better every cycle...
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    I'm getting an LCD in Febuary, i hope! then i'll get an HD-DVD.
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    If my Black Friday hunt is successful, I'll be coming back a with a 46" Sharp Aquos and a pile of DVDs to watch on it :p
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