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Officially format neutral today

post #1 of 28
11/24/07 at 10:30am
Thread Starter 
Just ordered the Sony BDP-S300 with 10 (!) free movies, 5 of which will come with the machine! Read a lot of sites and see that as long as the firmware is up to date, it's a very decent machine. Adding this to the Toshiba HD A2 I bought at the beginning of the month.
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post #2 of 28
11/24/07 at 2:01pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

Congratulations, Stephen.
You're one of the free now.


Cees
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post #3 of 28
11/24/07 at 2:34pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

Ditto...bought the HDA1 last October 2006; bought the Sharp BD player today...got 3 free HD movies with the A1 and looking forward to my 5 free BD movies with the Sharp!
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post #4 of 28
11/24/07 at 2:46pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

So, congrats to you too, Peter.

(I myself am waiting for the Samsung combo player, assuming it will be there in Jan 2008 and specs and price are about right).


Cees
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post #5 of 28
11/24/07 at 5:49pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

Welcome to the club. I hope others join us. It's great to not be a format fanboy hoping your format will end up winning. It's all about the movies and both formats bring me the great quality and much pleasure.
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post #6 of 28
11/24/07 at 8:00pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shane Martin
It's all about the movies...

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post #7 of 28
11/25/07 at 1:01am

Re: Officially format neutral today

I like those Panasonic players-got such good reviews-but still way more than I wish to pay *sigh*
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post #8 of 28
11/25/07 at 1:53am

Re: Officially format neutral today

It's a great feeling to be neutral.

You'll be very happy with Blu-ray.

Welcome to the club!
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post #9 of 28
11/25/07 at 3:46am

Re: Officially format neutral today

As one of the original HTF members of the Format Neutral Club, I welcome you.






Crawdaddy
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post #10 of 28
11/25/07 at 5:59am
Thread Starter 

Re: Officially format neutral today

Wow! I've been a member of this forum for almost 9 years, and I think this is the first time Ron, Cees, and Robert have every all chimed in on a thread I started. I am honored!
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post #11 of 28
11/28/07 at 6:13am
Thread Starter 

Re: Officially format neutral today

Yee-Haw! Christmas comes early to my house today! My Sony BDP-S300 is on the UPS truck for delivery (along with a 1TB WD MyBook from Newegg!).
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post #12 of 28
11/29/07 at 11:46pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

I am offically format neutral today as well! Im a proud owner of the HD-A35 and I picked up a Samsung BR-1400 for $200 from my boss. His loss my gain!!

Now I need to pick up so good Blu-ray titles!!
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post #13 of 28
11/30/07 at 3:29am

Re: Officially format neutral today

Congrats, Bill!


Cees
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post #14 of 28
11/30/07 at 6:18am

Re: Officially format neutral today

I'm jealous. Seriously though, I plan to join the "neutral zone" sometime next year. I was originally waiting for a dual format player but the deals on HD DVD players were too good to let pass. I survived being DVD-A only for about a year before adding SACD, so I think I can survive this wait as well. But congrats to those who are already there.
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post #15 of 28
12/2/07 at 8:50pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

May I join the club? I already had the A2 and just picked up the new Panasonic BD-30. It is a great feeling not having to worry about a title being available in one format or the other.

Mark
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post #16 of 28
12/3/07 at 8:42am

Re: Officially format neutral today

Of course!
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post #17 of 28
12/3/07 at 10:33am

Re: Officially format neutral today

Count me in as well.... I've got both the Toshiba HD-A3 and the Sony BDP-S300. Over the past two weeks I've accumulated 20 movies already!

12 Monkeys (HD-DVD)
300 (HD-DVD)
2001: A Space Odyssey (Blu-Ray)
The Bourne Identity (HD-DVD)
The Bourne Supremacy (HD-DVD)
Casablanca (HD-DVD)
A Christmas Story (Blu-Ray)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Blu-Ray)
Die Hard Collection (Blu-Ray)
The Fifth Element (Blu-Ray)
The Fountain (Blu-Ray)
House of Flying Daggers (Blu-Ray)
The Ultimate Matrix Collection (HD-DVD)
Spider-Man 3 (Blu-Ray)
Total Recall (Blu-Ray)

I've gotta stop.... but damn, it's like a drug.
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post #18 of 28
12/3/07 at 2:46pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

I have been format neutral from the beginning and yes it is a nice feeling being able to buy what you want. I just got my mom to go with the Sony BDP-S300 to go along with her new 40 inch plasma. She doesn't know anything about it except that she loves it. I am also working on my sister to get the HD DVD player for their XBox 360.

2 more converted and just 3 Billion left to go!!!
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post #19 of 28
12/3/07 at 8:58pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

Quote:
Originally Posted by don monteith
2 more converted and just 3 Billion left to go!!!

2,999,999,999 to go as I just got a Panasonic Blu-Ray DMP-BD30K and will have Toshiba HD-A3 by the end of the week.

Just watched Enter the Dragon on Blu-Ray and all I have to say is............

My SD edition is now a beer coaster.
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post #20 of 28
12/4/07 at 4:05pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

I have been format neutral for awhile now as I purchsed my HD-A1 a little over a year ago. And I purchased my Sony BDP-S300 back around August 31st. And have been enjoying both formats ever since. I now purchase every title I can in HD and buy very few SD-DVD.
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post #21 of 28
12/4/07 at 4:35pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

I have only purchased one SD-DVD since I went format neutral at the beginning of the summer (The White Stripes Blackpool Lights), otherwise, all my SD viewing is courtesy of Netflix.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Fisher
Just watched Enter the Dragon on Blu-Ray and all I have to say is............

My SD edition is now a beer coaster.

Who would have ever though that Enter the Dragon could look so good? The first copy I had looked like it was some sort of in-theater bootleg made with 8mm gear or something. I almost fell over when I saw the HD DVD version. Who says that old films can't look great in HD.
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post #22 of 28
12/4/07 at 5:23pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

wait until you see blade runner in digital.

Jacob
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post #23 of 28
12/4/07 at 6:37pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

Every party has a pooper, that’s why you invited me – the party pooper.

It seems like everyone is enjoying the HD party except me. I would like to join in the fun, but at this point I will sit quietly in the corner and watch. I will stay format neutral by not getting either. Here’s why:
  • In my living room I have a 27” RCA that I sit 15’ from. I would like to get a bigger set but I won’t for these reasons.
    • My phone, internet and TV are packaged in one deal. I would cancel the phone and TV, but I can’t get any internet with out them. I know I could in addition get satellite, but I don’t want to increase my monthly bills that much.
    • My service does not provide any HD or any wide screen.
    • I do not want to spend 1-2k on a 16:9 set only to see black bars on each side.
    • I won’t use it for movies because that’s what the theater is for.
    • There are only a few TV shows that I watch anyway. I would just like to be able to see them across the room.
  • I just finished my theater 6 months ago, so I don’t want the cost to replace all the equipment.
    • The projector is 720p so I won’t get the full HD benefit.
    • My DVD player converts to 1080P so the only benefit to getting a HD player will be only for the HD titles.
    • My receiver does not have HDMI inputs, so I will not get any benefit from the enhanced sound.
    • I think that eventually players will play both HD and blue ray so I don’t want to get one now.
    • I can purchase DVDs from blockbuster for $4-$5 each. That is far cheaper than the cost of HD DVDs. Their cost will down eventually.
Considering that 20 years ago I was still watching a black & white TV, I will sit back and enjoy what I have. Maybe stop reading about HD on the HTF. No video gifts under the tree this year. Maybe in the next few years the HD dust will settle, the TV provider will upgrade, and prices will drop some more.

Anyway, I dont want to highjack the thread either so, enjoy your party and don’t mind me sitting quietly in the corner.
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post #24 of 28
12/4/07 at 7:35pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

Hello Dave,

I have both HD players in my HT setup and while my HDTV will accept 1080i it native resolution is only 720p. And even though I am not getting the full 1080p picture I still feel that one can still get enough benafits of HD even at 720p.

Quote:
The projector is 720p so I won’t get the full HD benefit.
While you are correct that you will not get full benafit. You still can get enough of a benafit to see a difference. Especially since you have a projection set up you should see a difference between SD and HD.

Quote:
My receiver does not have HDMI inputs, so I will not get any benefit from the enhanced sound.

Neither does my Yamaha RX-V995 that is over 10 years old. You actually do not need HDMI to take advantage of lossless audio. While you may or may not be able to decode full DTS-HD Master Audio in a HD player. There are HD players that will handle both Dolby True HD and Uncompressed PCM and can send it out via analog audio out. Even with my old Yamaha I notice a big difference. I will be upgrading to a new Denon AVR-3808ci in May 2008.

Quote:
I think that eventually players will play both HD and blue ray so I don’t want to get one now.

There are supposed to be players come out but anything could happen at this point. There is a Samsung player that is supposed to come out in January 08'. But if I remeber correctly the stand alone Samsung Blu-ray did not receive the best marks when it was release. So I am not sure you would really want the dual format Samsung.

Quote:
I can purchase DVDs from blockbuster for $4-$5 each. That is far cheaper than the cost of HD DVDs. Their cost will down eventually.

While SD-DVD' can be had for rock bottom prices now a days. DVD prices have hit rock bottom for the most part and do not make the studios the kind of money they used to. That is why IMHO many of the studios are willing to make HD titles at a loss or close to a loss. That is only because there are not enough consumers purchasing HD software yet. There are deals to be had with HD discs but do not look for them to fall to really low DVD prices anytime soon. The prices will come down a little but not as much as you think they might. Studios want to recoup there profit margin and HD will most likely retain a higher price tag over SD-DVD. Alot of the older titles that are hitting HD are allready selling at very good prices. There are numberous titles at the $19.99 mark even though there are some titles as high as $34.95 to a max of $40 each.


I do not blame you for wanting to have a dual format HD player but there is no guarentee that they will be cheap. I am sure there are many hear that would agree that even with a 720p native projector you would still benafit from HD. And if you where to get an HD player you could allways slowly upgrade your theater as you go. I am going to start upgrading my HT starting in January. I will replace my old 995 with the Denon AVR-3808ci and then I will upgrade my Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray to a Denon DVD-2500BT Blu-ray transport. Then the next move is to get ether a Sony 70" SXRD 1080p HDTV or a 1080p Sony SXRD projector with Stewart Film Screen.

I would honestly say that all you need is to get a Blu-ray player or a dual format HD-DVD/Blu-ray player in begining of 2008. And you allready have all the gear you need to enjoy HD programing. I would seriously consider it over the next few weeks.
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post #25 of 28
12/4/07 at 8:19pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

I will be joining the club any day now. I am over a year into my HT Build and everything I bought was on credit cards.

Well thanks to the credit card miles gift cards I just ordered a A-35 for $30 dollars out of pocket from Amazon and am waiting on my Best Buy cards to purchase a Panny BD-30 for $45.

The kids have had a PS3 that I would hi-jack to watch Blu-ray stuff. But all this plugging and unplugging not to mention it always being where you have to go get it. Putting them both under the tree for me from Santa for the younger kids as they told me to ask Santa for my own player and stop taking thiers.
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post #26 of 28
12/10/07 at 1:21pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

Free at last! Just bought the Samsung BD-P1400. It's right next to my Toshiba A2. Now I can watch Transformers and Pirates in HiDef. What an odd concept. It's Just blows the mind. By the way, what's the name of the idiot who said "The consumers will choose"? I'd like to take whatever he's on that gives him his corporate idealism.
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post #27 of 28
12/23/07 at 7:26pm

Re: Officially format neutral today

I actually have an opportunity to become format neutral in the next couple of days. Dec. 26th in Canada is like Black Friday is in the US.....and one of the stores is selling as a door crasher the Toshiba HD-D3 with 2 movies included for $99 CDN....that's a steal up here and even though I'll always side with Blu as my HD format of choice, this deal may be too good to pass up since it will provide me with the ability to watch stuff like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica in Hi-Def without being bitter about it.
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post #28 of 28
12/28/07 at 4:25am

Re: Officially format neutral today

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen Orr
Just ordered the Sony BDP-S300 with 10 (!) free movies, 5 of which will come with the machine! Read a lot of sites and see that as long as the firmware is up to date, it's a very decent machine. Adding this to the Toshiba HD A2 I bought at the beginning of the month.
Me too! Price and quality talk. Everything else walks.
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