So who is sticking with SD DVD and why and for how long (2 Viewers)

[JohnPhi]

I for one am sitting out the entire format war and will only adopt when there is a clear winner. I am not going to try and say S D is just as good as HD, but I see no faults with it either. With recent awesome upgrades like the Bond sets and the Superman set, I thinkn it is safe to say SD is here for a long time.

All this being said, one day I want to switch over, I just feel no rush. Who else is in this boat.

 

[Dave H]

Once there is one format and there is at least 50% of available content in HD of my liking, I will jump in. In the meantime, I'll sit back and enjoy all of the content to my liking with my new Denon 2930CI DVD player which actually takes SD DVD to a higher level (though admittingly not like real HD DVD).

 

[Daniel-M]

When there is a winner, and it will be the standard for a long time

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I'm sticking with SD for the foreseeable future. I have to have about 500 DVDs by now, and I'm quite happy with them.

In the meantime, I don't have a hi-def TV, nor the desire to jump into a format war. I've seen HDTV before, and it looks fantastic, both for HD material and standard-def DVDs. But regular DVD on a good, standard TV still looks pretty good, and I'm content to stick with it until the prices come way down.

If it ain't broke...

 

[Greg_S_H]

I'm still SD, but I watch less and less of it. I really don't think I'll buy any additional television shows in SD, if they were originally broadcast in HD. In fact, if HD TV discs become more prevalent, that may be enough to make me upgrade. As for movies, I try to watch them on HD cable when I can. When I can't, I will still get the DVD.

I don't like the format war. I don't even really follow which has what and what is outselling what else. I'm hoping that'll be settled before I move up.

 

[Adam_S]

I've scaled back my DVD buying so much that I really only get new dvds for christmas and birthday. so I'll stick with SD for at least two years more since I doubt I'll be able to justify an HD TV and Player (whichever wins out) until then when the money could be usefully paying down principal on college credit card debt and student loans.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I've got an HDTV and don't plan on making the jump for a really long time to either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.

Why? Format war (I picked Beta!), cost and availability.

While I love the look of broadcast TV in HD, I am more than happy with the look of SD-DVDs on my HD screen. And, I'm not even doing any upconverting!

 

[David_P]

I'll stick with SD DVD till the war is over... even then it will take serious drops in the cost of equipment to get me to bite.

A good SD-DVD upscaled on an oppo 971H and shown on a Panny ae900 is pretty darn good... good enough for me, for now.

David

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, I'm sitting tight for now, too. I have a 52" 720p HDTV, and while I love HD programming on the networks, upconverted SD DVDs look pretty amazing on my set.

I read in one of the video magazines that the video resolution increase for someone with my size TV and sitting 11 feet back from it as I do wouldn't be all that remarkable.

So, in a couple of years when I buy a slightly bigger 1080p HDTV and hopefully the format war will have been settled (or at least a universal player has come out), I will get into HD DVDs.

 

[PopBodhi]

When I can buy a 42 inch HDTV for $500 and a clear winner in the format war sells for under $200 you can count me in. Until then, SD-DVD is fine. In fact I still watch some of my old VHS tapes!

 

[ScottHM]

I am.

DVD was out for about 18 months before I made the plunge, and even though I'm moderately tempted to get in on HD, I'm waiting until either BluRay or HD-DVD becomes a defacto standard, or until HDDVD/BluRay combo drives are common and affordable. I'm also not willing to pay a 50% premium for hi-def discs over standard DVDs, so it may be a while before I migrate from the (quite acceptable) DVD format.

---------------

 

[TheBat]

I own a 47 inch widescreen tv set and also oppo 971 upconversion dvd player.

Jacob

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I've had an HD set for 5 years, my new one arrives tomorrow. I have both HD-DVD and BluRay players. I still thoroughly enjoy my over 600 SD dvds.

I no longer purchase newly released big titles like Cars, renting only and waiting for an HD version before purchasing. For films not likely to reach an HD format anytime soon I will still purchase an SD version but if there's a likelihood they'll reach an HD format in the next year or so I'm holding off.

 

[AaronMan]

I still think, and this is only my opinion, HD discs are not the dramatic leap that going from VHS to DVD was. Going from nothing to something is huge. Going from something to a bit better, is not so huge. HD discs do indeed look awesome, there's no question about it, but I think many people are currently satisfied with current standard DVDs. On a plain old TV, they look great. For the next generation DVDs to take off, the soccer moms and average joes of the world that want their pan and scan Steven Seagal movies need to pull the trigger on either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. They have to feel that they need it.

A few things could make people change though. Obviously, either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray needs to win and become the dominant format. The other thing is, the industry might force us to change. I remember walking into a record store in the mid-80s and all the sudden, there were no more vinyl records--only CDs! Yesterday they were there, the next they weren't. It was like they switched their entire inventory literally overnight.

If the format war goes on long enough, then the formats will be treated like Laserdisc: a hardcore niche market. Or it will be an oddity like the confusing DVD-Audio/DTS-Audio/Super-CD mess where nobody even cares.

Honestly, although I think Blu-Ray is superior technically, I think HD-DVD has an advantage simply because of its name. The average person will think of HD-DVD simply as an upgrade. Blu-Ray sounds very alien and unfamiliar. And it seems like Sony always loses these wars.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I'm sticking with SD until I can get my own house. I'm renting right now and there's really no point in upgrading until I can upgrade the entire home theatre.

 

[Andrew Radke]

I'm quite happy with my standard DVDs and have no interest in switching formats, basically because of all the reasons above. There is no clear cut winner in the format war. Secondly, I've spent the past 5 years accumulating almost 500 DVDs in my collection. Hell, I'm still weeding out my VHS collection by replacing them with DVDs. I own a 52" HD set and am perfectly content with what I have. The only thing that could force me to change up is (as Aaron stated) the industry forces us to. But I can't see that happening for a very, very long time. In truth, I've never viewed content on either an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player. I'm sure the quality of presentation is magnificent, but it still won't be enough for me to adopt a new format. Not at this present time, nor in the forseeable future.

 

[BernieV]

I think I'll sit this round out. If my current HTS holds up another five years, I'll be ready for XD and holographic recording, or whatever the next big thing turns out to be. Have you seen that DTV commercial where the blonde waitress steps on the guy's throat and asks him if he's going to watch her in glorious 1080p HD? Sometimes I feel like that guy on the floor with everyone demanding that I upgrade to HD. Sorry, think I'll pass.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Since you asked ........ I'm done with DVD.

I've been loving DVD since March of 1997, but the last few years I've been itching for pre-recorded High Definition and really cut back on DVD purchases.

Last year (and earlier this year) there were several DVDs that came out that I wanted but decided not to get because I couldn't justify the purchase for myself knowing that a version would likely soon be available in High Definition. So as soon as the HD DVD player became available this April, I jumped.

To be fair, I'm not "completely done" with DVD. It is still a decent quality format, and if there is something special released that I don't think is likely to come out in High Definition anytime soon I'd still pick it up. Plus, I still have a large collection of DVDs that probably won't be replaced by an HD DVD or BD for years and years.

And besides, I could be dead or blind a year from now. HD is here now, I've waited long enough already, I'm IN!

 

[JohnMor]

I am sitting HD out indefinitely. Good things come to those who wait, and I am more than happy with SD dvds for now. I understand those that jump on the new technology, but I've found that by waiting I get both the hardware and software MUCH cheaper than early adopters, and at better quality as well. I'm good for now.

 

[DanielKellmii]

I have a high-def TV and an upconverting DVD player. The picture quality is great. Not like high def, but still very good. I have no problem waiting. As posted earlier, this isn't like the difference between VHS and a progressive scan DVD player. This is just a guess, but I think that somebody is in a workshop somewhere developing a universal player for under $500 with thoughts of "I'm gonna be RICH!!" Or, we will just end up with two $100 DVD players.