Oh, it's so worth it.

[abefroeman]

Ok, so it only cost me $10 to upgrade to a HD-DVDplayer which came in the mail tonight. (sold the oppo for 120 and bought the A2 for 130) But even if it had been more expensive, it is so worth it.

To be honest, I wasn't blown away by the oppo. The difference between it and using my PS2 to play dvds was minimal, but it did provide convenience over using the PS2 to play movies. The difference between DVD and HD-DVD is night and day. Its so much clearer. But most of you probably knew that.

I just wanted to post because I am officially on the HD bandwagon and loving it.

 

[corey]

Ok, so it only cost me $10 to upgrade to a HD-DVDplayer which came in the mail tonight. (sold the oppo for 120 and bought the A2 for 130) But even if it had been more expensive, it is so worth it.

I just wanted to post because I am officially on the HD bandwagon and loving it.

Yeah, me too. I'm loving my new Toshiba A3 (BB, $200); the HD is great, and it's a very good up-converter of lo-def dvds.

My original idea was to wait for a clear winner in the format battle, but I think it's time to take sides. As far as I know, HD-DVD was the original Hi Def DVD spec, & it's Sony that started this "war".

Also, I've had my HDTV for almost 4 YEARS now, and have gotten pretty tired of waiting for a HD source other than bandwidth limited cable TV.

 

[abefroeman]

Oh yeah. No need to wait for a winner anymore as HD players are so cheap. When used playstation 3's get under $200 I might have to pick one up so that I have one foot in both camps.

 

[j_garcia]

My original idea was to wait for a clear winner in the format battle, but I think it's time to take sides. As far as I know, HD-DVD was the original Hi Def DVD spec, & it's Sony that started this "war".

Blu-ray technically existed first, LONG before HD-DVD.

Oh yeah. No need to wait for a winner anymore as HD players are so cheap. When used playstation 3's get under $200 I might have to pick one up so that I have one foot in both camps.

As I mentioned in another thread, while HD-DVD may be selling a lot of players, for some reason that doesn't seem to be translating into a lot of HD-DVD sales....and that WILL be a problem for the format. I bought my A2 thinking there were a decent number of titles I would be interested in but now that I have it, I haven't really found the need to buy many. Recent big name releases are fairly slim too for some reason.

There was an article on High Def Digest saying that even in Europe where HD-DVD had its largest foothold, Blu-ray is now outselling it there also.

 

[rnatalli]

I'd probably go with HD-DVD simply because the players cost less, but my current projector doesn't go higher than 720p Although I suppose I'd still get a better picture than 400i.

 

[Audioholics]

please, Please, PLEASE... It's "HD DVD".... No hyphen. If we don't get this right people will keep on assuming I'm a Toshiba fan-boy every time I use the generic HD-DVD to refer to all types of high definition DVDs...

And yes, I think it's backwards and theirs should have the hyphen, but that's what it is...

This rant brought to you by Clint.

 

[gus6464]

Blu-ray technically existed first, LONG before HD-DVD.



As I mentioned in another thread, while HD-DVD may be selling a lot of players, for some reason that doesn't seem to be translating into a lot of HD-DVD sales....and that WILL be a problem for the format. I bought my A2 thinking there were a decent number of titles I would be interested in but now that I have it, I haven't really found the need to buy many. Recent big name releases are fairly slim too for some reason.

There was an article on High Def Digest saying that even in Europe where HD-DVD had its largest foothold, Blu-ray is now outselling it there also.

I am in the same boat with my A3. I have yet to buy a movie for it. All I see myself buying before christmas is Bourne Ultimatum and Battlestar Galactica. Whereas on BD there will be a lot more to buy (Pirates, Harry Potter, Superbad, Independence Day, Lost, Blade Runner). I know some of those are hd dvd as well but the BDs are cheaper.

 

[j_garcia]

Blu-ray not BLUE LOL. OK, I'll keep the hyphen out simply because fanbois will flood the forums with hate spam if I don't

Seriously, neither has a true technical advantage and due to that alone, I'm betting on Blu-ray due to stuido support.

Yep, I will be picking up Ultimatum. I liked that one. I too will be picking up the majority of those titles that are coming out on both on BD rather than HD DVD.

 

[Gasman]

Whereas on BD there will be a lot more to buy (Pirates, Harry Potter, Superbad, Independence Day, Lost, Blade Runner). I know some of those are hd dvd as well but the BDs are cheaper.

Yeah, seriously, where?
I would have no qualms on buying a cheaper disc, but I find they are the same price 99% of the time, so I choose HD DVD.

The Harry Potter 1-5 LE set, I got coming on HD DVD for 85.00 shipped.
Blade Runner 5 disc HD DVD set I have coming for 24.95 shipped.

Granted I got in on the Warner deal months ago.

Out of 414 movies from BD
Average Retail Price $36.67
Average US Box Office $64M

Out of 363 HD DVD movies
Average Retail Price $35.12
Average US Box Office $67.1M

 

[gus6464]

Yeah, seriously, where?
I would have no qualms on buying a cheaper disc, but I find they are the same price 99% of the time, so I choose HD DVD.

The Harry Potter 1-5 LE set, I got coming on HD DVD for 85.00 shipped.
Blade Runner 5 disc HD DVD set I have coming for 24.95 shipped.

Granted I got in on the Warner deal months ago.

Out of 414 movies from BD
Average Retail Price $36.67
Average US Box Office $64M

Out of 363 HD DVD movies
Average Retail Price $35.12
Average US Box Office $67.1M

I always get my new releases at Fry's. And the BDs are always 5 bucks cheaper. And that avg retail price for BD is way wrong. I haven't even seen a single BD movie for $35 at a store. All are $29.99 or below. Hell I got the Spider-Man trilogy for $60 when it came out, that $20 per disc.

 

[abefroeman]

I am not much for owning dvds or HD DVDs, I prefer the blockbuster/netflix option to buying a dvd. My player came in last night and today I just went and loaded up my queue with all of the HD DVDs that I consider worthy of watching. I looked through every HD DVD blockbuster rents and found only 70 that are worth renting. Hopefully more titles come this way otherwise I may be looking for a PS3 once I get through all the HD DVDs that I like.

 

[gus6464]

I am not much for owning dvds or HD DVDs, I prefer the blockbuster/netflix option to buying a dvd. My player came in last night and today I just went and loaded up my queue with all of the HD DVDs that I consider worthy of watching. I looked through every HD DVD blockbuster rents and found only 70 that are worth renting. Hopefully more titles come this way otherwise I may be looking for a PS3 once I get through all the HD DVDs that I like.

Exactly, it should all be about the movies and honestly the BD camp has a lot more titles that are worth owning.

 

[j_garcia]

I always get my new releases at Fry's. And the BDs are always 5 bucks cheaper. And that avg retail price for BD is way wrong. I haven't even seen a single BD movie for $35 at a store. All are $29.99 or below. Hell I got the Spider-Man trilogy for $60 when it came out, that $20 per disc.

Same here. A quick scan at Fry's last week told me that the average title price was higher for HD DVD than BD, and buying during the sales has my average BD price around $15. As we all know, MSRP and what a title actually sells for aren't always the same thing.

 

[Gasman]

Exactly, it should all be about the movies and honestly the BD camp has a lot more titles that are worth owning.

Clearly a 100% personal opinion.

I find that there are about 10% more titles I like on HD DVD over BD.
Clearly better Box Office Hit movies are on HD DVD, but that is not saying much.

As we all know, MSRP and what a title actually sells for aren't always the same thing.

So you agree with him, but don't agree with him.
As he says this.

And that avg retail price for BD is way wrong. I haven't even seen a single BD movie for $35 at a store. All are $29.99 or below. Hell I got the Spider-Man trilogy for $60 when it came out, that $20 per disc.

For your info, the sources for that average retail price are quite trustworthy.
And using Spiderman trilogy, clearly is not an example other than what you paid, unless you want to compare with a trilogy that is on HD DVD (say, Matrix set)
But anyways, Frys is selling Spiderman now for 70.00 (or rather the last time I checked)

 

[cmusic]

On black Friday I bought a Toshiba HD-A3 and a Samsung BD-P1400. So far I have got six HD DVDs and two Blu-Rays. I live in a rural area with the nearest BB or CC about 75 miles away, so Wal-Mart is my closest store to buy movies from. They have a limited selection but so far they carry more HD DVD movies that I want to own. However I will be doing more buying on-line where I can have a larger selection and I don't have to worry about the format. (I just have to worry about paying my BB credit card off before the six-month no intrest deal I bought them on ends. )

 

[gus6464]

Clearly a 100% personal opinion.

I find that there are about 10% more titles I like on HD DVD over BD.
Clearly better Box Office Hit movies are on HD DVD, but that is not saying much.


So you agree with him, but don't agree with him.
As he says this.



For your info, the sources for that average retail price are quite trustworthy.
And using Spiderman trilogy, clearly is not an example other than what you paid, unless you want to compare with a trilogy that is on HD DVD (say, Matrix set)
But anyways, Frys is selling Spiderman now for 70.00 (or rather the last time I checked)

And yet even though you claim all around the board to be neutral you are obviously HD DVD biased. Just like your post of the upscaling, I have both the PS3 and A3 and to me the PS3 does a way better job of upscaling than the A3. But I guess you are a much better authority on PQ than I am . So movie choices and what your eyes tell you are all subjective, just like ears and listening to all different types of speakers.

 

[Gasman]

Oh I am neutral, for the fact I will buy both. Main reason is that I will NOT go without HD material.
And I have always said my BD player is better than all my HD DVD players (this does not include the inferior PS3, which in no way is the best PQ.. I knew I should have put up some screenshots before I returned it, LOL earlier today)

But I have always said I prefer HD DVD over BD, from day one.
See this post (which I have not updated in quite some time, about 20 movie purchases ago, and 10 rentals and never added the PS3)
See post #1 - http://www.3dgameman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48022

 

[allargon]

Exactly, it should all be about the movies and honestly the BD camp has a lot more titles that are worth owning.

IMHO, it should not be all about the movies. It should also be about the music, the sports and the TV shows, too.

Both camps have their respective strengths and weaknesses. I only own HD-DVD due to price. Both blue and red have good movies and a ton of stinkers.

It's definitely worth it for the picture. The sound (not the surround sound blowing up crap, but the higher fidelity) is worth it, too. I've only got a CHEAP HTTiB in the master. I will add a NICE (not by audioholics standards but still decent) setup in the family room next year.

 

[corey]

Blu-ray technically existed first, LONG before HD-DVD.

Do you have a link or something for this? I'd like to learn more about the origins of the HD format "war". My understanding was that the DVD Mfg consortium picked the HD DVD format for HD-DVD (is this correct usage Clint?). It seems weird that anyone would be the first to come up with an HD format for DVD and think "I know, let's not call it HD DVD, let's make up a name consumers won't recognize."

 

[Tex-amp]

I know some of those are hd dvd as well but the BDs are cheaper.

Most studios have dropped the combo discs which are the more expensive HD DVD discs.