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Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive! - Page 23  

post #661 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:08pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is now Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Pioneer doesn't currently make a LD player and hasn't for some time.

Hey Adam I beleive that Pioneer does still offer a DVD/Laserdisc player. At least as far as Pioneers web site goes they are listing an available player.

Pioneer USA - DVD/LD Players

Quote:
Dan you and I rarely agree, but this is one of those times. I know the BDA has been lobbying retailers to drop HD DVD. If they do it's not going to matter if Universal and Paramount continue to release on that format.

I agree it could very well be out of Toshiba's, Universal's and Paramount's hands very soon.
post #662 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:10pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Crawford
When I watched the HD DVD of Casablanca on my properly calibrated setup and then conducted an "A" versus "B" test with the latest SD DVD release of the same film, it wasn't even close.

I'm not trying to sell anybody anything, but as a movie buff, I urge those of you that haven't bought any HDM hardware or software to keep an open mind on such items because one day if you actually make that jump, you will be very impressed by what you're hearing and seeing.

Maybe, but at first we all said the quality "wasn't even close" when it was SD compared to VHS... now it's HD to SD.... the thing is, when is it ever enough? Will we be here in 10 years or less, saying how BD is not even close to 2018's SUPER-BD ?
post #663 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:12pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is now Blu-Ray Exclusive!

I stand corrected. Onecall has them in stock. It would be cheaper to get a used one on ebay. They are almost $900! Good thing I still have my 702 and CLD-99!
post #664 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:23pm

Re: BREAKING NEWS!! Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan_Ohio
Ron,

I think retail will make the decision for Toshiba. Even if Toshiba continues to make players, they need somewhere to sell them. I doubt Best Buy, Walmart and others are going to stock them as the next HD format since Blu-Ray has 70% of the content.

If Universal felt pressure before, then I hate to see what the pressure is now to support Blu-ray. I bet they wish they were with Warner and took a deal. Universal will be the next studio to either go neutral or just switch to Blu-ray. This has nothing to do with which side I support, it is just good business. The studios want to sell movies and make money, no matter what format. To do that, they need a format that distributes mass amounts of discs or they are compensated. Which is probably what happens with PSP movies.

If we follow the betamax war, Paramount will have no choice but to release movies in Blu-ray. I hope they were smart enough to have a hardware sales figure that HD-DVD has to meet each quarter for the contract to stay in place.

At least it took only a couple of years to get to this point. Didn't the betamax/vhs war take 10 years?

Watching Bill Gates last keynote, I noticed all the PCs were Sony VAIOs. Anything to read into that?

If Universal didn't buckle before when they were one of two studios supporting HD DVD, why would they now? After all, their market share just got a whole lot bigger.

Doug
post #665 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:27pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi
Don't count on it, Ron... there are plenty of happy fence sitters like myself still here, supporting SD. While I am pleased that it finally sounds like the format war may indeed be on the road to its conclusion (it was always idiotic to have two competing HD formats) I am in no hurry. I've predicted from the very start of this, a year and a half ago or whenever it was, that the only way any HD format would replace SD is if the companies forced it on the Average Joes and stopped producing regular DVDs. Otherwise, HD will remain a niche item.

I think the biggest boost to HDM will be the switch over to digital TV next year. Its going to force millions of people to go out and buy a new TV. And yes they can buy an SDTV that they can watch an HD broadcast on, but I'm willing to bet that millions of people will go out and buy an HD flat panel TV. Then you will start to see the sales of HD players take off.

Doug
post #666 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:30pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Crawford
Whenever, I read such comments, I really wonder if people that feel that way have actually watch a movie on HDM from beginning to end? If so, was the presentation presented properly both audio and video-wise so you can hear and see the full benefits of HDM?

I have to agree with you here Robert. It makes me wonder if they need to get their eyes checked. HD is such a huge improvement not just in resolution but also in color fidelity, lack of artifacting. The picture can really start to look like projected film rather than a video representation of the film.

Doug
post #667 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:32pm

Re: BREAKING NEWS!! Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Edwin-S
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick_S
I mentioned iTunes because it is representative phylisophical change in consumers attitudes. A larger and larger portion of the consumer market likes downloading. That’s why Apple is now in the top three of music retailers in the country. Regardless of the mentions from other forum members that “I still buy CDs” the reality is that fewer and fewer people do because they don't care if their music comes on physical media.

The same will happen with film but as I wrote it will take some time. By the way, don’t assume that the appliance that you use to download films will be a PC.

Well, there are a lot musical illiterates who think someone else's art is just background Q music to be played while they are trying to sweat off the Christmas turkey. Music has been so commoditized that a large proportion of people don't have a clue as to the proper way of listening to it. Why would people care about good quality sounding music when it is little more than background noise?

Fewer and fewer don't care if their music comes on physical media? That statement should really be fewer and fewer people care whether their music sounds good. That is why they are downloading, cheap, over-compressed copies. It's just noise to counterpoint the activities in their lives. Ugh!!

Very good point. But as someone else mentioned, I can certainly see downloads one day replace rentals (and some part of media sales), but not completely replace media sales.

FWIW, I've been using an iPod for nearly 3 years now, but I refuse to buy anything off iTunes. I still buy CDs, if I want to buy music, and I even bought an SACD recently (and finally bought a Denon uni-player a year ago). Of course, I admit to being far from the typical consumer, which I think is actually a good thing. Heck, I even listen to music that's already 300-plus-yo and counting, LOL.

_Man_
post #668 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:32pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

One thing is for certain and the movie industry is no different that the music industry. Innovation is the driving factor in both businesses as there is allway the drive to come out with the next big thing. I suspect the next upgrade from HD will be ether 4k video or ultra high definition video (7680 X 4320). Now the question is do we need more than 4k video for home use? It does not matter if its a physical media or 4k downloads, at that resolution consumers would have the same video quality as theatrical 35mm film in there homes. And on a screen alot smaller than comercial theaters most would arouge that 4k video is where it will most likely stagnate.

They only other video format I might see happening after that revolves around a true 3D monitor that will creat a true 3D image in a emply space. I will not require the viewer to wear 3D glasses and would most likely require a minimum of 4k video and would need data rates alot higher than HD offers now. At least if it was to actually produce life like 3D images that truely look life like. But there will be a time where enough is enough and there is no need to go any further. The human eye can only see so much and there is no need to go beyond that.

Personally I might see myself upgrading to 4k video in the future but after that I see no reason to go beyond 4k. For one thing I do not see the 30" - 70" display actually pushing the limits of 4k video. The other reason I personally will not go beyond 4k video as by the time it hits the market and is at the end of its life cycle my eye site will not be that great, I will be to old to notice any difference anyway. And I doubt there would be any difference that would be detectable by the human eye. At that point I feel it will be a matter of dispalys improving to the point where they can produce a truely life like image and where consumers can watch 4k video on demand.
post #669 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:34pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi
Admittedly, no - but I've seen displays in stores, and frankly it looks overdone in some cases (I don't really need or want to see razor burn or pock marks in Adam Sandler's skin in ClICK). Even in real life things aren't as easily noticeable. I'll be 46 this year and although I've always enjoyed 20-20 vision, my eyes are not as keen as they once were lately, anyway. I've also read observations from many who either do own HDM or have seen others', and they say it's not that much of a leap, at least depending on the specific title in question. Then somebody usually starts with an array of special wirings and gadgets and settings required to "get the full benefit".. but hey, I just wanna enjoy a movie...

I realize that I am venturing into exclusively "pro-HD territory" in this section of the forum, but I have read up to 15 pages (so far) to see what members are feeling and thinking. By the way, I do agree with you, Robert, that it's nobody's fault but their own that they rolled the dice and chose HD-DVD and now are left holding the bag.

The displays in stores are almost never properly calibrated. In fact they are almost always far too bright, over saturated and pushed to the blue side so that the TV will stand out from the others. Honestly a store with it's florescent lights over head is a really bad place to make a judgment about a TV.

Doug
post #670 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:35pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

As I've said in past posts (now lost in this humongous thread) the limiting factor now for most people is their hardware.

My 2001 Panny 47" RP-HDTV made my PS3 (via component) look perhaps 15%-25% better than DVD (depending on how good the DVD was).

When I bought my 2007 Sony KDS-60A3000, it truly looks I'd say almost as big a jump as DVD was to VHS (assuming you had an HDTV to view that difference as well). We here in HTF are a minority in owning good, current HD. The good news is that manufacturers are releasing pretty good 1080p displays, and since most of America hasn't bought an HDTV, when they do choose to buy between now and the next 3-5 years, they will be getting displays that will accentuate the strengths of HDM.
post #671 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:43pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is now Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon Conway
2.0 is only important if you want to participate in online features. 1.1 is satisfactory to me and many consumers out there. I'd be curious to know a statistical breakdown of those who would use online features.

I have a feeling that 2.0 will become more and more important as they find new uses for it. I'm not willing to spend anymore money on a blu-ray player that is not a finished spec. Honestly I find it disturbing that over 2 years into this thing, and I still can't buy a blu-ray player that I can be sure will work with all the features of blu-ray. There is STILL not a finished player on the market! That's just shameful.

Doug
post #672 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:50pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

I dont care about web features either.
post #673 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:51pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi
Maybe, but at first we all said the quality "wasn't even close" when it was SD compared to VHS... now it's HD to SD.... the thing is, when is it ever enough? Will we be here in 10 years or less, saying how BD is not even close to 2018's SUPER-BD ?

It's possible that in 8 to 10 years there will be 4k HDTVs. HDTV at the moment is more or less 1k (1920 x 1080), digital theaters right now are 2k (2048x1080) and 4k (4096x2160). But HD broadcasts will continue to be 1k for the foreseeable future.

Doug
post #674 of 1635
1/7/08 at 2:55pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Moritz
One thing is for certain and the movie industry is no different that the music industry. Innovation is the driving factor in both businesses as there is allway the drive to come out with the next big thing. I suspect the next upgrade from HD will be ether 4k video or ultra high definition video (7680 X 4320). Now the question is do we need more than 4k video for home use? It does not matter if its a physical media or 4k downloads, at that resolution consumers would have the same video quality as theatrical 35mm film in there homes. And on a screen alot smaller than comercial theaters most would arouge that 4k video is where it will most likely stagnate.

They only other video format I might see happening after that revolves around a true 3D monitor that will creat a true 3D image in a emply space. I will not require the viewer to wear 3D glasses and would most likely require a minimum of 4k video and would need data rates alot higher than HD offers now. At least if it was to actually produce life like 3D images that truely look life like. But there will be a time where enough is enough and there is no need to go any further. The human eye can only see so much and there is no need to go beyond that.

Personally I might see myself upgrading to 4k video in the future but after that I see no reason to go beyond 4k. For one thing I do not see the 30" - 70" display actually pushing the limits of 4k video. The other reason I personally will not go beyond 4k video as by the time it hits the market and is at the end of its life cycle my eye site will not be that great, I will be to old to notice any difference anyway. And I doubt there would be any difference that would be detectable by the human eye. At that point I feel it will be a matter of dispalys improving to the point where they can produce a truely life like image and where consumers can watch 4k video on demand.

I really only see the need for 4k if you have a screen that is around 10 feet wide. I'm not sure that the increased resolution would be taken advantage of or even be visible on a screen much smaller than that.

Doug
post #675 of 1635
1/7/08 at 3:25pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

I don't know about 10' wide, but certainly 4K doesn't make too much of a difference if you're not in the front-projector screen size (i.e. 80" diagonal screen and larger). I have a 60" Sony SXRD 1080p set and I highly that going above 1920x1080 would be noticeable from my viewing distance.

That's about the main reason why I'm not sure if 4K is the next logical step. Even when DVD came out in 1997, a few of us had seen HD LDs from Japan and knew there was better on the horizon. I've seen 4K (in my local theater) and while it's obviously better than 1080p, as you say at smaller screen sizes it's a wash.

The best thing they can do for OTA/Cable/Satellite HD, which I agree will stay at 1K, is increase the bandwidth of the signal they're using to eliminate artifacting of various kinds.
post #676 of 1635
1/7/08 at 3:28pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Now the question is do we need more than 4k video for home use? It does not matter if its a physical media or 4k downloads, at that resolution consumers would have the same video quality as theatrical 35mm film in there homes. And on a screen alot smaller than comercial theaters most would arouge that 4k video is where it will most likely stagnate.

I agree agree but you know at some point the industry will most likely push 4k video as the ultimate solution. Even if the average display is to small to take advantage of the increased resolution. We have basically had 4k resolution in todays comercial theaters for 20+ years. But in a home inviroment the screen sizes are way to small to use 4k video. At that point it would be just a matter of braggin rights and owning a format that is the equal of the 35mm masters. Again does the average consumer need it? Maybe not. But again because the average consumer does not need it does not mean it will not be offered. But if I upgraded to 4k video that would be the end of the upgrade chain. In all actuallity my current HD upgrade my be the last major upgrade that I do, its hard to say at this point in time. We shall see what new toys come out in the next 10 - 15 years and go from there.
post #677 of 1635
1/7/08 at 3:31pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is now Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shane Martin
Correct but I think the media all but killed HD DVD. Every article seems to tout "HD DVD Dead". Perception is half the battle.

The BDA's marketing team is the real victor here. That's where HD DVD really "lost" the battle. They had a lead and failed to market their stuff quick enough before the BR freight train got going.
Wow.. they must've hired Bose' marketing team. Pushing an unfinished, by all technical purposes outside of storage and scratch protection, inferior product not up to specs against competing products for a premium to the uninformed general public because the name looks and sounds cooler.



Whoops... sorry. Couldn't resist. Please don't ban me. I really didn't mean it... ;-)
post #678 of 1635
1/7/08 at 3:33pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is now Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryan X
I'm with Chuck. I bought into HD DVD when their final spec player hit the price point I was willing to pay. I'll do the same for BR. But a final spec BD player doesn't even exist at any price.

And let's be honest. Had this gone the other way, you'd see all the same type of posts from the Blu supporters.



I did. My HD DVD player was plugged into an ethernet port on the wall behind my HT. I accessed online features and it sure made firmware updates easy.

Bryan, I have to agree, the firware updates are a pain. Since I have both the PS3 and the Panasonic, I understand the pain to have to burn a disc to do the upgrade the panasonic compared to the PS3 press of a button. But I only had to do that once.

For me other online activity would be a once and awhile use item for movies. Playing games with friends is different than watching a movie with them in a different house. For online information, I use a VAIO laptop and rather surf on that then on the movie.

If HD-DVD would have had Warner go exclusive, I was going to buy an HD-DVD player and likely buy the dual format player and moved the PS3 to another room and it would become just a game machine.
post #679 of 1635
1/7/08 at 3:37pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Crawford
Whenever, I read such comments, I really wonder if people that feel that way have actually watch a movie on HDM from beginning to end?

I agree. I mean good SD DVD is pretty good and all that, but 1080p is just too big improvement to ignore.. With a proper set-up etc, you can´t ignore the difference.

From the quite early on my policy was this: Why spend any more money to SD DVDs, if they´re available on HD. "Sitting in the fence" for e.g. year or so would´ve meant..

a) I would´ve kept buying those SD DVD, even when there are HD-versions available. To me that would´ve been more or less "wasting money" to a product that is somewhat inferior to the other one. (sure, there are those extras, but A/V quality is still 1st priority)

or..

b) Not to buy those SD DVDs at all that are available on HD and miss out many great movies/releases.

So in the end, it was quite easy to take the calculated risk and jump to the HD bandwagon quite early on. Haven´t looked back ever since.

Perhaps my post was a bit confusing (it´s 1.35 AM here), but the point is: Why wait? Get the HD now and you can start building you HD-collection. You don´t have to buy any of those films again that you already have on SD DVD - BUT, you can start buying many of the newer films/releases "straight" on HD.
post #680 of 1635
1/7/08 at 3:44pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is now Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck Anstey
Wow is that off the mark. I (and others I'm sure) would buy a BR player that meets the final 2.0 spec but there are none available now. Theoretically the PS3 will eventually be able to meet it but I'm not quite ready to take that chance. When I went to buy an HDM player, I became an "informed consumer" and went with HD-DVD for price and future compatibility. It is one thing to buy a player for a format that may lose but another to buy a more expensive player that when it wins (or has won), you still lose.
Beautifully spoken. A combination of price/performance ratio that Blu-ray simply wasn't even in the same ballpark for me and my purchase. Video codecs the same, audio codecs the same, and often times even superior on the HD DVD version. Corporate money bought this war for certain. I'm excited to get a Blu-ray player this fall or Christmas, as I've been wanting some Disney titles. And the name sounds cooler, and their packaging and players look cooler, but the implementation has been bordering on tragic. From a distance, it looks like they were scrambling at the beginning for relevance. Sony did a fabulous job, the PS3 might have been the difference maker. Because even with the poor attach rates and incompatible equipment they likely won this thing.
post #681 of 1635
1/7/08 at 3:52pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is now Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan_Ohio
Bryan, I have to agree, the firware updates are a pain. Since I have both the PS3 and the Panasonic, I understand the pain to have to burn a disc to do the upgrade the panasonic compared to the PS3 press of a button. But I only had to do that once.

For me other online activity would be a once and awhile use item for movies. Playing games with friends is different than watching a movie with them in a different house. For online information, I use a VAIO laptop and rather surf on that then on the movie.

Well, I actually do plan to use my new PS3 for occasional online activity, but of the standard web variety, not so much BD-specific. The PS3's web browser works well enough for basic stuff like checking IMDB.com or Rotten Tomatoes or my photo pages on pbase.com. And it's definitely nice to have WiFi built-in as I'd hate to have to run a hard connection for stuff like that -- of course, I could always just stick w/ using a laptop too. I'll probably end up using the photo display capability of the PS3 too -- another nice bonus there...

_Man_
post #682 of 1635
1/7/08 at 3:58pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlo Medina
As I've said in past posts (now lost in this humongous thread) the limiting factor now for most people is their hardware.

My 2001 Panny 47" RP-HDTV made my PS3 (via component) look perhaps 15%-25% better than DVD (depending on how good the DVD was).

When I bought my 2007 Sony KDS-60A3000, it truly looks I'd say almost as big a jump as DVD was to VHS (assuming you had an HDTV to view that difference as well). We here in HTF are a minority in owning good, current HD. The good news is that manufacturers are releasing pretty good 1080p displays, and since most of America hasn't bought an HDTV, when they do choose to buy between now and the next 3-5 years, they will be getting displays that will accentuate the strengths of HDM.

If that's really the case, I can't wait to upgrade my display. I only have the 53" version of the same Panny RPTV, but I finally made the jump w/ the PS3 anyway. And I probably would've jumped into HDD as soon as I upgrade my display -- or at the same time if I had enough HD inputs...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jari K
Perhaps my post was a bit confusing (it´s 1.35 AM here), but the point is: Why wait? Get the HD now and you can start building you HD-collection. You don´t have to buy any of those films again that you already have on SD DVD - BUT, you can start buying many of the newer films/releases "straight" on HD.

So true. That's why I finally jumped a month ago when I decided I waited long enough w/ the Blade Runner release -- no SD set w/out the Work Print cut for me. And I wished I had decided a month sooner so I wouldn't have to repurchase maybe a dozen more titles than otherwise...

_Man_
post #683 of 1635
1/7/08 at 4:17pm

Re: BREAKING NEWS!! Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by woonkie
can't compare what is happening now to the dvd years. Dvd compared to VHS was a night and day difference that anyone with a tv could enjoy. not everyone has the capabilities to enjoy blu-ray/hddvd, and there is not much of a difference (to the average consumer).

I completely disagree with this statement. When DVD came out I (and most people I knew) could hardly tell the difference. It wasn't until we watched about a dozen DVDs, and then went back to VHS that we saw what an improvement it was. The biggest selling points for me when DVD came out was OAR and supposed durability.

The stores in my area do NOT show FULL high definition on their TV screens (not Best Buy, Circuit City or anyone else). They have signs saying, "Hey look, this is real hi-def!" which is either BS, or there's something seriously wrong with their setup. Everytime I've been there they're showing what looks like 720p high def or (believe or not) this past weekend Best Buy was showing some lousy SD sports broadcast on their HDTVs.

It wasn't until I got home and turned on my new HDTV that for the first time I saw the real difference. IT...BLEW... ME... AWAY!!! My jaw dropped at how stunning the picture was. Even an old movie like The Searchers when compared to my "restored" upconverted DVD blew me away. It almost looked like I could reach into my TV screen and pull out a handful of sand as John Wayne came riding up in the almost 3d looking desert. Out of the 20 or so Blu-rays I have, very, very few were only slightly better than the upconverted DVD, but the majority is a huge difference.

Will everyone replace their entire DVD collection? No. But once they experience true hi-def with their own equipment, then, when given a chance, I doubt most will buy SD.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Crawford
Joe,
The store setups doesn't give such HDM releases justice. When I watched the HD DVD of Casablanca on my properly calibrated setup and then conducted an "A" versus "B" test with the latest SD DVD release of the same film, it wasn't even close. Furthermore, the lossless audio of these newer films are even more pronounced over the typical 5.1 DD or DTS SD DVD sound.

I'm not trying to sell anybody anything, but as a movie buff, I urge those of you that haven't bought any HDM hardware or software to keep an open mind on such items because one day if you actually make that jump, you will be very impressed by what you're hearing and seeing.





Crawdaddy

Impressive indeed. But I would also caution those on the sidelines that HDTV is still being perfected regarding certain issues, so it will only get better.
post #684 of 1635
1/7/08 at 4:19pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas Monce
I think the biggest boost to HDM will be the switch over to digital TV next year. Its going to force millions of people to go out and buy a new TV. And yes they can buy an SDTV that they can watch an HD broadcast on, but I'm willing to bet that millions of people will go out and buy an HD flat panel TV. Then you will start to see the sales of HD players take off.

Doug

I don't think the masses will care as much about switiching over to HDM if they're still given a choice to buy cheaper SDs. I'm sure they'll grow to see and appreciate the difference in HD broadcasts, though.

Quote:
The displays in stores are almost never properly calibrated. In fact they are almost always far too bright, over saturated and pushed to the blue side so that the TV will stand out from the others. Honestly a store with it's florescent lights over head is a really bad place to make a judgment about a TV.

I know, and I've always agreed. I wasn't making a judgment about a TV though; I was making a call on the Blu Ray quality. It already looked way too unrealistically "vivid" to me; you mean it looks even moreso out of the store?
post #685 of 1635
1/7/08 at 4:31pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

You can't get much more vivid than reality. Perhaps the colors are too saturated, which can be changed by most settings. But I doubt we've seen the last of this. They'll figure out another way to milk us. It's a situation of you don't know what you're missing until you have it. Like Dolby TrueHD on my HD-DVD player pumped through my Onkyo receiver. WOW. I thought my Dolby Digital discs sounded good. And they did. Until I heard TrueHD.
post #686 of 1635
1/7/08 at 4:32pm

Re: BREAKING NEWS!! Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by WadeM
It wasn't until I got home and turned on my new HDTV that for the first time I saw the real difference. IT...BLEW... ME... AWAY!!! My jaw dropped at how stunning the picture was. Even an old movie like The Searchers when compared to my "restored" upconverted DVD blew me away. It almost looked like I could reach into my TV screen and pull out a handful of sand as John Wayne came riding up in the almost 3d looking desert.

That'll be the NEXT gimmick... 3D-DVD. Your new HD "Searchers" won't be able to hold a candle to that.
post #687 of 1635
1/7/08 at 4:43pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is now Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon Conway
2.0 is only important if you want to participate in online features. 1.1 is satisfactory to me and many consumers out there. I'd be curious to know a statistical breakdown of those who would use online features.
Here's my thinking on this:

I'm probably not interested in 95% of online features, if not more. I haven't used any on HD DVD yet. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna buy a player that can't take advantage of them so when that movie I love comes out with that kickass web feature that everyone's raving about, I need to upgrade the hardware for the format I supposedly already bought into to participate in it.

Not gonna happen. I'll wait it out. I was prepared to make do with Pirates of the Caribbean and Live Free or Die Hard on SD; I'll just have to do the same for The Dark Knight.

When a fully featured player comes out, though, I'm there.
post #688 of 1635
1/7/08 at 4:51pm

Re: Warner Brothers is now Blu-ray Exclusive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas Monce
...but I'm willing to bet that millions of people will go out and buy an HD flat panel TV. Then you will start to see the sales of HD players take off.

HD flat panel TVs have been selling extremely well over the last year, but HD-DVD/BD players and movies aren't exactly flying off the shelves. What's the ratio of HDTVs to HDM Players? 1000:1? 10,000:1?

The vast majority of people buying flat panels are watching non-HD cable/satellite and SD DVD. They're more than happy with the quality of their non-HD material since they're impressed with the panels' colour brightness (which looks ridiculous to me), screen viewing size and thinness.

You need to think like a regular joe who doesn't visit home theatre forums looking for the best quality.. To these people, good picture quality is good enough. Very few have the desire to spend more money to upgrade to a format that offers a small increase in picture quality.

Hell, the Wii is the biggest selling console now and it's graphics are no better than the XBOX1 or PS2. The law of diminishing returns really takes affect when someone upgrades from SD DVD to HDM.
post #689 of 1635
1/7/08 at 5:04pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is now Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Gregorich
Scooter-
Pioneer doesn't currently make a LD player and hasn't for some time.



Dan you and I rarely agree, but this is one of those times. I know the BDA has been lobbying retailers to drop HD DVD. If they do it's not going to matter if Universal and Paramount continue to release on that format.
Poineer sells them directly
Pioneer USA - DVD/LD Players
post #690 of 1635
1/7/08 at 5:07pm

Re: Breaking News!! Warner is soon to be Blu-Ray Exclusive!

Quote:
First of all: the format war is not over until HD-DVD officially bows out and all major studios support Blu-Ray. Those of us "in the know" understand that WB's announcement is close to a death knell for HD-DVD, but until their product is off store shelves, there is still going to be the mass consumer confusion/indifference. With Paramount signed on for potentially another 15 months, HD-DVD may not concede until 2009 [or later, if Toshiba really wants to see this through to the end], thus things will still be muddled for consumers for much of 2008.

But what if those store shelves dropped HD DVD regardless of Toshiba, Universal, and Paramount holding on? No more confusion for the best-buy or walmart shopper who only sees blu.

Quote:
Dan you and I rarely agree, but this is one of those times. I know the BDA has been lobbying retailers to drop HD DVD. If they do it's not going to matter if Universal and Paramount continue to release on that format.

Yep.

and it's even easier because it's actually the *retailers* who have been asking the studios to settle on a single format. The BDA doesn't have to pay Walmart or Best-Buy a single cent to get them to drop down to one-format status. The retailers didn't care who won, they just wanted a single winner. In their minds, that's what they got. The retailers, and not Toshiba, Universal, or Paramount, can end this war ASAP. And over the coming weeks/months they will.
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