If Hd Dvd Dies, Will You Buy Bd?

[stratman]

For those that haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, will you buy a Bluray player if HD DVD dies off officially? How about you guys that already own HD DVD machines, will you go ahead and buy a Bluray player? Will you wait for Black Friday or will you purchase on onset of breaking news from Toshiba?

 

[allargon]

A lot of us don't hate BD. We just think it's underfeatured (and most of all) overpriced. You can buy almost 3 standalone HD DVD players for the same or less than an obsolescent Bonus View Blu-Ray standalone right now.

(Really, why are they even bothering not adding Ethernet ports to $500 players?)

 

[j_garcia]

They ARE adding ethernet ports to $500 players...according to CES releases the BD-50 will hopefully have a street price right around there (profile 2.0). With the release of profile 1.1 it BD is no longer "underfeatured", and I don't really see a big benefit to PiP commentary/behind the scenes anyway.

The cheapest HD DVD players are cheaper because Toshiba is either taking a loss or making no money at all on them to get them out there, but without significant studio support it doesn't really matter.

 

[Seth=L]

A lot of us don't hate BD. We just think it's underfeatured (and most of all) overpriced. You can buy almost 3 standalone HD DVD players for the same or less than an obsolescent Bonus View Blu-Ray standalone right now.

(Really, why are they even bothering not adding Ethernet ports to $500 players?)

One of the $500 and under players has an Ethernet port, the PS3, the most expandable Blu-ray player available.

 

[Seth=L]

They ARE adding ethernet ports to $500 players...according to CES releases (profile 2.0 players). With the release of profile 1.1 it BD is no longer "underfeatured", and I don't really see a big benefit to PiP commentary/behind the scenes anyway.

The cheapest HD DVD players are cheaper because Toshiba is either taking a loss or making no money at all on them to get them out there, but without significant studio support it doesn't really matter.

I am starting to think they knew they where going to loose their grip a long time ago, and hense the huge blow-out sale at Wal-Mart.

 

[stratman]

They ARE adding ethernet ports to $500 players...according to CES releases (profile 2.0 players). With the release of profile 1.1 it BD is no longer "underfeatured", and I don't really see a big benefit to PiP commentary/behind the scenes anyway.

The cheapest HD DVD players are cheaper because Toshiba is either taking a loss or making no money at all on them to get them out there, but without significant studio support it doesn't really matter.

They're taking a hit, enough so that a couple of marketing research firms (one being Understanding and Solutions, Inc.) are hedging their bet against Toshiba winning and are saying that any support Toshiba has will probably disappear by the end of 2008. For it's part Toshiba is starting a campaign blitz (too little too late) and get this "chopping the HD A3 to $149.00 and the A30 to $199.99 and finally the flagship A35 at $299.99".

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

I think the resident K-mart shoppers should hold off a little longer, because the 'average' price for a HD-dvd player will soon be <$100.

 

[The Dukester]

I bought an A2 for $98 @ Wally world. I had determined to wait this war out another year, but at that price, couldn't say no. Since then, I bought one of the Samsung 5000 duo players b/c I liked HDM and wanted some of the titles BD had. The 5000 has so much potential, but is just not cutting it atm. Firmware has not come out and we are getting way too many different answers from them on when or even if it will. Not too sure I'll keep it beyond my return window of Jan 31. We'll see. If they don't fix it or put in writing when they will, I will return it and buy a stand alone BD later this year. I may wait until BF to buy it and just suffer not having BD for now. BD just seems to have way too many playback issues right now. I know HD DVD had some as well, but seems like not as many and not as long as BD.

I was really pulling for Toshiba and HD DVD. If the prices keep dropping on the players and I can find a new (or even used, if it's low enough) XA2 or even a third gen high end player for HD DVD, I will. I will also keep buying the discs. The biggest thing I would have against the A2 is no 1080p. I don't have a display that I can use it on atm, but will look at a new 1080p pj buy the end of the year, depending on my financial situation (Strat, you are really having a negative influence on my optomism for the economy!) and what I can find.

I'm a little perturbed at the DLP group for not putting out 3 chip players to compete with all the new LCD units coming out. LCD is going to blow right by them if they don't do something. I like DLP better, but won't pay a big up-charge to get it.

 

[D.R. Payne]

Higher prices are not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. When I look at what I have invested in my home theater the movie disc transport is the cheapest part of the whole thing by a very large margin. The last Denon DVD player I bought I paid just over $200 for because I care about quality. Toshiba's HD-DVD players are selling for LESS than a quality DVD player?

The race-to-the-bottom player prices is why Toshiba has been going it alone. It's gotten very difficult to make money on DVD players, so CE manufacturers were attracted to something that would have a margin for them. Yes, prices will go down over time, but companies are used to recouping some R&D costs from the early adopters. Every single person I know with a home theater (dedicated rooms and livingrooms) have a DVD player that costs more than $300 and recievers/pre-amps for $2000 and up. The perception that players must be < $200 seems odd to me.

 

[The Dukester]

Every single person I know with a home theater (dedicated rooms and livingrooms) have a DVD player that costs more than $300 and recievers/pre-amps for $2000 and up. The perception that players must be < $200 seems odd to me.

You obviously don't know me.

All kidding aside, receivers, amps, preamps and speakers are uints that don't require anything other than power after you buy them, unless you want to include wiring. To me, when you buy a DVD player, you also have to consider you will keep putting money into it by buying or renting discs. The high price of the player coupled with the high prices of the discs are what kept me out of the war up until the $98 WW players.

 

[Nomo]

I'll probably sit tight for a while wth my A2. probably at least till summer, regardless of the future of HD-DVD.
But yes, considering the improvement in PQ of the HD formats. I'll most likely be buying a stand alone BD player. When the prices drop under $200.

 

[j_garcia]

I figured Blu would win, but I picked up my A2 because it was cheap also. The number of movies I want to purchase is fairly slim, but for the price it is a good upscaling player. The only problem is, my Oppo is just as good at upscaling if not a bit better and it does SACD and DVD-A also... I do plan on purchasing a stand alone BD player here in the near future, probably the BD-50.

 

[spacedteddybear]

I'm personally gonna do the opposite. BD still has a ways to go before it becomes a complete format. I know there are some tech fanboys out there who must have the " in style" technology who'll dump their HD players and media for cheap. Hopefully, it'll be an XA2, mainly for the upconversion quality of the player.

 

[GlocksRock]

I'm personally gonna do the opposite. BD still has a ways to go before it becomes a complete format. I know there are some tech fanboys out there who must have the " in style" technology who'll dump their HD players and media for cheap. Hopefully, it'll be an XA2, mainly for the upconversion quality of the player.

It will be a completed format when profile 2.0 is ready... and it is. The first disc that supports this will be out Jan. 22 (Saw IV) so I would expect Sony to release a firmware update for the PS3 that will make it 2.0 compliant sometime before next Tues. They were already demonstrating this with a PS3 at the CES show, so it's only a matter of time before the new blu ray players start shipping with 2.0. I think now most people are just waiting for the prices of stand alone blu ray players to come down to a level where they are willing to purchase them.

 

[patnshan]

I am not jumping into blu ray until a capable (read: can play and take advantage of ALL BD's!) non-Sony machine is available for $250 or less.
Until then, I can wait and watch SD DVD's and HD DVD's. I planned to wait anyway until Toshiba hit my magic price point. Until BDP's do, I am out.

Pat

 

[BMXTRIX]

The reality is that most people that are aware of the format war have already picked a side and only a certain few are incredible fanboys with their head in the sand.

Some are serious Sony haters claiming that Sony makes no good products at all.

Others just have invested a ton into HD DVD and refuse to think that they will have to dish out even more to continue to get the movies they want.

At the end of the day, the PS3 is the best current player on the market, as it was a year+ ago when it was released. It'll hit profile 2.0 specifications, and you can get a universal IR remote interface for it that allows 100% integration with any universal remote.

So, maybe the price is higher than the subsidized HD DVD players, but there's a reason those HD DVD players are being subsidized... and a reason why no other major CE manufacturer has ever made a stand alone HD DVD player.

So, I think that regardless of what some die hards will say - the real answer for most people is 'Yes' - whether they want it to be or not.

 

[mike c]

where do I download sony ps3 firmware to be burned on a disc, I have no intention of using LAN or network thingies to upgrade firmware. up to now, I don't even know if my 60gb ps3 has wifi built in or is only wifi compatible.

 

[j_garcia]

60G has wifi built in. Once connected, updates are automatically pushed to you. If an update is available, it is actually required for you to be able to log in, though you do not normally need to log in unless you want to do something online.

System Software Update Page.

 

[frostbyte]

I was hoping Blu Ray would win and have been waiting for a clear winner for well over 8 years now. I finally think it's clear enough to put some money int a player. I believe that with the PS3's constant upgrading ability that it's the winner for me despite a few features I would like changed. For the money, I can handle a little "engine" noise. I'll just sign up for Netflix again and rent their blu ray selections and buy the good ones like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings type movies as they come out.

The format war has to end so the average person will join in.

As far as features from the movie go, I just want a better picture. Who cares about online features and all the stuff I've seen on the comercials that HD DVD can do. It's all about the video and audio content for me. Who's is better and will have room to continue to upgrade as new stuff comes out. HD DVD seems to have much tighter limits even with todays films such as Transformers.

So this has helped me make the plunge! If I buy this month, I can still get the 5 free Blu-Ray titles with my purchase!

 

[j_garcia]

Re:"engine noise" My A2 is no quieter than the PS3.