HD DVD all is NOT lost, for now!

[stratman]

There are quite a number of folks around here who are HD DVD owners that are wanting to milk it for all it's worth, weeeeell there is a bit of good news, there's a bit of a spark left for you die-hard HD DVD faithful:


"Online retailers Amazon.com, DVDEmpire.com, DeepDiscount.com and DVDPlanet.com are among retailers that had been format neutral but will now throw their marketing and merchandising muscle completely behind Blu-ray, even though they will continue to carry HD DVD in anticipation of some lingering demand. More than 1 million pieces of HD DVD hardware are in homes."

"Similarly, DVD Empire also is being accommodating to consumers who have found themselves on the losing end of the stick."

“DVDEmpire.com will now be putting its support behind the Blu-ray format,” said Shannon Nutt, the site’s editorial director. “However, we want those who own HD DVD players to know that for the time being, we will continue to fill orders and provide HD DVD titles for those who wish to buy them.”

"In one of the more innovative Toshiba reactions, Texas electronics store Bjorn’s is allowing people to return HD DVD players they bought in store for credit toward the purchase of a new Blu-ray set-top. Customers must also hand back any free-with-purchase HD DVD titles. Bjorn’s will then independently close-out these discarded products."



"For the rest of this year, Netflix will continue to carry the HD DVD titles it has, while not purchasing new HD DVD titles."

"Blockbuster, which carries HD DVD in about 250 stores and Blu-ray in about 1,700, has no plans to drop HD DVD entirely “so long as there’s demand,” said Karen Raskopf, senior VP."



So enoy while the getting's hot.

 

[patnshan]

I rent HD DVD from BB online and will continue to rent their as long as I can. For me, they have always been better for me than netflix so good riddance to netflix.

Pat

 

[Nomo]

There are quite a number of folks around here who are HD DVD owners that are wanting to milk it for all it's worth, weeeeell there is a bit of good news, there's a bit of a spark left for you die-hard HD DVD faithful:


"Online retailers Amazon.com, DVDEmpire.com, DeepDiscount.com and DVDPlanet.com are among retailers that had been format neutral but will now throw their marketing and merchandising muscle completely behind Blu-ray, even though they will continue to carry HD DVD in anticipation of some lingering demand. More than 1 million pieces of HD DVD hardware are in homes."

"Similarly, DVD Empire also is being accommodating to consumers who have found themselves on the losing end of the stick."

“DVDEmpire.com will now be putting its support behind the Blu-ray format,” said Shannon Nutt, the site’s editorial director. “However, we want those who own HD DVD players to know that for the time being, we will continue to fill orders and provide HD DVD titles for those who wish to buy them.”

"In one of the more innovative Toshiba reactions, Texas electronics store Bjorn’s is allowing people to return HD DVD players they bought in store for credit toward the purchase of a new Blu-ray set-top. Customers must also hand back any free-with-purchase HD DVD titles. Bjorn’s will then independently close-out these discarded products."



"For the rest of this year, Netflix will continue to carry the HD DVD titles it has, while not purchasing new HD DVD titles."

"Blockbuster, which carries HD DVD in about 250 stores and Blu-ray in about 1,700, has no plans to drop HD DVD entirely “so long as there’s demand,” said Karen Raskopf, senior VP."



So enoy while the getting's hot.

Time to pull the plug.
Take the dieing patient off of life support and let him die with dignity. And let his family, Let's call me uncle A2, No real names please, to mourn for a while and move on.

 

[stratman]

Have a heart Nomo, have a heart!

 

[MUDSHARK]

I think I might buy Apollo 13, and Mummy 1 and 2 for my son from Amazon. I wonder if Strat has a player or just enjoys tweaking the Blu-ray folks?

I'm thinking when Blu-Ray gets the finished product down and quality companies start producing them I will buy. I will likely put the HD-DVD player in my son's room to use with his PS3 on his LCD TV. As the prices come down I will pick up some that I think he will like. Mission Impossible or 300 maybe.

 

[stratman]

I think I might buy Apollo 13, and Mummy 1 and 2 for my son from Amazon. I wonder if Strat has a player or just enjoys tweaking the Blu-ray folks?

I'm thinking when Blu-Ray gets the finished product down and quality companies start producing them I will buy. I will likely put the HD-DVD player in my son's room to use with his PS3 on his LCD TV. As the prices come down I will pick up some that I think he will like. Mission Impossible or 300 maybe.

Actually, I don't posses either format, I'm one of the famous fence sitters, I'm still not convinced on Blu-ray's longevity, Christmas, my friend, will have a bigger impact than people can imagine.

 

[skads_187]

i don't know what to say about this. Renting, fine, I definitely wouldn't purchase any hd-dvd's. It's over. It's not worth spending the money. There is practically no studios that support anymore. Its like buying vhs tapes when dvd came out. Even when they were selling for 1$ at the local video store. I know its not the same exact scenario because of the pq, but still... its dead.

 

[mouettus]

Its like buying vhs tapes when dvd came out. Even when they were selling for 1$ at the local video store. I know its not the same exact scenario because of the pq, but still... its dead.

Agreed. Let go off that monster. They had great betamax deals too when it died.

My local video store still sells VHS 1$ a pop! lol. Somebody wants to adjust tracking before watching Freddy? lol Btw, the best horror movies were in those years imo. Now we got comedy movies to laugh about horror movies (scary movie $ cie.)

Yep. HD-DVD is dead. Rest in peace.

 

[PhillyDan1969]

Ridiculous to compare HD-DVDs to VHS when DVD took over!!! HD-DVD is a hi-def format that rivals Blu-Ray. I have both the PS3 and the HD-A2 and I have found quality movies on both formats!!! If I suddenly see a movie I want for under $15 (such as those for sale at Deep Discount last week at $12 each) on HD-DVD, why should I not buy it??? The player still works, so the movie will play!!! The player won't suddenly stop working when Toshiba turns out the light on at its HD facility!!!

Sure Blu-Ray will most likely release all the HD exclusives months down the line, but I already own it on HD, who cares, I will only grab Blu-Rays I don't already own!!!

I will say this however, it is completely a matter of what you want when it comes to grabbing an HD-DVD player right now. If someone can find a great deal on a player like the A35 and they like the movies available right now on HD-DVD, the by all means grab one and scoop up as many deals on the software that you can find. Or, you can just save your money and look a great Blu-Ray player like the Panny BD50 coming out soon!!!

 

[skads_187]

Ridiculous to compare HD-DVDs to VHS when DVD took over!!! HD-DVD is a hi-def format that rivals Blu-Ray.

Actually what I said was: "I know its not the same exact scenario because of the pq, but still... its dead."

I know it wasn't fair to compare them that way. That was the closest/best example I could find. I mean, I myself am contemplating an A3 if it is really cheap because it can up-convert. However, I think now I am just going to go with an Oppo. But if I did buy the A3, I don't know if I would buy hd-dvds right now. What if the player stops playing in 13 mths? I don't want to invest money on something thats going to disappear. The same way I didn't want to spend more $$ on vhs tapes when I knew dvd was going to take over. I am using the "take over" as an example.

 

[Midcow2]

Betamax is even a bigger bargain

I am not sure if your post was in jest or not, but HD is dead, dead, dead ... What you are seeing is a firesale. There will be not newr eleases, no new development and no support.

I contact Onkyo, who just announce a HD DVD player, DV-HD805 and they have no immediate plans to announce a Blu-Ray version.

If you still have doubts, try buying a Panasonic DMP-BD30 (currently the best Blu Ray player) anywhere? Everyone is SOLD-OUT.

 

[Audioholics]

"...We want those who own HD DVD players to know that for the time being, we will continue to fill orders and provide HD DVD titles for those who wish to buy them."

Translation: Holy cow we've got to MOVE this inventory!

 

[stratman]

I am not sure if your post was in jest or not, but HD is dead, dead, dead ... What you are seeing is a firesale. There will be not newr eleases, no new development and no support.

I contact Onkyo, who just announce a HD DVD player, DV-HD805 and they have no immediate plans to announce a Blu-Ray version.

If you still have doubts, try buying a Panasonic DMP-BD30 (currently the best Blu Ray player) anywhere? Everyone is SOLD-OUT.

There are some folks that don't mind the format is dead, they want to enjoy as much as possible their small investment. We're aware there's no new developments coming. This reminds me of when LD went belly up, lots of folks went ahead and bought extra discs even though DVD was at the cusp of exploding. I'm format neutral, I'll buy a player when the market stabilizes.

 

[PhillyDan1969]

I guess it is all about risk. I still have a nice LD collection and my Pioneer player still works after all these years!!! In fact I still have my first DVD player purchased way back in the first year od DVD (an RCA) that still works and I also have a VCR from the late 80s. I am fairly certain that my Toshiba will be ok, but if I come across a cheap A35 I will probably scoop it up in a heart beat since it has the 5.1 analog connections!!!

 

[stratman]

I'll wait till Black Friday and assess the market, I waited out the "war" what's 9 more months, right? By then the 2.0 units will be out and any bugs would be identified, so my chances of getting burnt with a buggy player are much less. I'll be eyeing Panny and possibly the Sony Sapphires (3&4.)

 

[allargon]

VHS tapes wear out much more quickly than optical media. That's a terrible example. I wouldn't recommend that any casual observer or even someone that didn't invest too heavily (like a $100 player) in HD DVD buy discs, as most of them aren't that great a deal--$10 for the HD DVD vs. $15-20 for a used Blu-Ray on E-bay.

Now, for titles that aren't available on Blu-Ray and possibly won't be in the near future, I say get the HD DVD if you want. My 10 year old VHS player still works. My 80 or so HD DVD's (not all are available on Blu) will continue to work on my 2 players. Moreover, it's not like the equivalent Blu-Ray discs will look (or even sound) better. (Many Warner and Paramount discs sound worse.)

A slightly better example to use would be that of continuing to buy Betmax tapes after it was clear VHS had won. Quite a few people here still buy SACD's and DVD-A's (raises hand) even though those formats are pretty much toast.

 

[rolyasm]

My father-in-law needed a new DVD player and still owns a 720P plasma. He found a Toshiba A3 new for $90, about the same price as a regular DVD player. Some of the local stores are selling hd-dvd for as low as $6-$8 dollars. So now he has a DVD player that will play all of his older DVD's, plus if he wants to spend a few more dollars for a HD DVD, he can do that. I think it was a good investment. In a few years when he upgrades to a 1080P, and Blu-ray has come down, he will upgrade all then.

 

[Johnd]

I wouldn't recommend that any casual observer or even someone that didn't invest too heavily (like a $100 player) in HD DVD buy discs, as most of them aren't that great a deal--$10 for the HD DVD vs. $15-20 for a used Blu-Ray on E-bay.

I agree with your entire post allargon...and even this statement, when qualified.

Firstly, yes, if one is only going to buy 5-10 movies, why get into it, unless you want it for upscaling? And, oh, let's not forget about the seven free movies included (2 in box, 5 by mail) with purchase (through today only).

But that's where it stops. If one buys a number of movies, preferably not repeats, it can be an incredible bargain. I'm scooping up desirable movies left and right for less than $10 per (tax and shipping included). When included with my freebies, I think I'm up to about 40 movies so far, and have only spent $175 on movies...that's $4.50 a piece! That doesn't include the more expensive (@ $7.50 per disc) Planet Earth set, or the additional discs included with the movies (1 w/ Beowulf, 2 w/ HP, 2 w/ Matrix, etc.). I generally buy the movie, so the extra discs are of little importance to me.

I guess my point is (which you already alluded to), this has been an incredible opportunity...and a great ride this past two weeks ), to spend some money on a great player, and get a ton of movies that will avearge $5-$10 per. I don't think I would have bought into it without these firesales. It's the sales that prompted me to go feet first...and I have no regrets. 1080p/24Hz on a 120" screen is well, simply put, amazing. And the huge plus of DD+ and especially True on some of these movies seals the deal.

I have a short list of about another ten movies that I will scoop up at $10-$12 per in case they run out. When they hit $5-$6-$7, I may splurge on some of those flicks that I don't consider to be must haves.

Let the HD sales continue! HD rocks!!!

 

[Davidt1]

Played Bourne Supremacy, Transformers and a SD version of Pirates of the Caribbean with my new A35 today. Incredible picture!!! It even does a better job at upconverting than my Oppo 970HD. It totally destroys the Oppo player. And it is only slightly slower than the 970HD. The Oppo will be used for music duty from now on. Everything is shown through the entry level Optoma HD70 projector using maximum horizontal keystone -- far from optimal viewing condition. The only negative thing is it is noisy, but I only hear it when I am within a few feet from it at night. I like it so much I am looking a backup machine already.

 

[Jacksmyname]

I have the A2 and XA2, which I bought upon their initial release (over a year ago). They've both performed beautifully. My HD-DVD colection now numbers over 80 with some boxed sets.
There's a brand new XA2 scheduled for delivery today, and a brand new A35 scheduled for Monday. I got both at very good prices, so it made sense to buy them for backup players. If I only had a few titles, I wouldn't have bought the new players.
I found a few more titles that were priced at less than $13, so I ordered them, but looks like no more for me.
Why? Because I have all the titles that I want (lots more available, but none that interest me).
I've been looking at the available Blu players, but so far I'm holding off. While I have no problem with the current pricing, I do have a problem with what the players provide at the price. Blu playback is fine, but not enough enthusiam from owners re: SD playback. My XA2 is outstanding for SD's (my A2 is no slouch either). So, if I'm going to spend decent $$ on a Blu player, it has to be AT LEAST as good as my XA2.
BTW, I also still have a VCR in my system.