So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

I believe they will be destroyed. They could have held a fire sale but didn't. I believe those in control want us to convert to Blu-Ray as quickly as possible to reduce the desire to hang on to HD-DVD. There have been some sales but not as many as I expected and wanted. Perhaps Amazon and some others will hang on but I expect them to dump their inventory also.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Welcome aboard, Scott!

I don't want to come off like a jerk but I think your post would be suited for the HD section (and either way, you'll probably want to give that section a read since you're interested in HD).

Here's a link to the HD section: HT Software - High Definition - Home Theater Forum

Enjoy!

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Welcome to the forum, Scott.

There may still be a fire sale at a few places, because the "official" day when HD DVD will no longer be produced, even by Warner, is May 31st.

Exactly. I enjoy my current HD DVD library as much as I will like my growing BD collection.

My first DVD player (Toshiba) is still playing fine, even if I had a new one in my HT until recently, and I see no reason why my HD DVD players (Toshiba) wouldn't go on playing those HD DVDs and SDVDs for a long time as well.

(Next purchase might be a combo player, hopefully, or else a European BD player so my scarce R2 DVDs can be played in my HT too.)

Currently, I find myself buying several HD DVD titles at prices (e.g. The Pianist $9.95) at Amazon that are a steal whatever way you look at it.
In fact, I'm buying a few more titles than I would have done if the format wasn't going away, because this looks like a "last chance".


Cees

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

I was just thinking about this. In Canada, Universal has already gone into "fire sale" mentality, with some titles (Hot Fuzz, Balls of Fury) selling at $8.99 and up. Warner is taking a somewhat more measured approach, with some combo titles dropped down to $19.99, but I suspect this may change after the 31st. Paramount/Dreamworks titles are fairly solidly at $14.99, with more recent releases (into the Wild, Beowulf) in the mid $20s. I don't honestly believe that prices are going to drop significantly until after May 31st, but I still intend to enjoy my relatively small library of HD titles for years to come, as well as my DVD collection upscaled.

CORRECTION: It's actually Alliance Atlantis who has gone into fire sale mode, with the other studios (Universal, Paramount/DreamWorks and Warner) taking more of a half-price approach. Alliance Atlantis was actually both BD and HD, but depending on the studio they distribute in Canada. FTR, AA distributes New Line, Focus Features/Rogue Pictures, Miramax, Weinstein Co., Dimension and some other independents that aren't coming to mind right now.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Hi Scott! I can't get rid of most of my HDs cause they are screeners and technically belong to universal, but I'm doing my best to forget I have them and get the HD deck out of my rack as soon as possible to make room for other HDMI sources since I am kinda tight on inputs and havent had good luck with switches =) The sooner the better IMO...

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Scott Hall? Hey, yo?

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

When the review is done, those titles belong to you.. And when you put an X amount of hours to each review (meaning it´s hard work), they should.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Like financial records, you have to keep them in your possession for seven years in case Universal audits you?

Otherwise, why not give them away? Or put them in the trash? Or ship them, postage-due, to Universal?

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Well, I thought I was pretty much finished buying HD DVDs (though I have no plans to sell the ones I have) but yesterday I wandered into a Best Buy (needed some blank storage media and they were having a sale) and I expected all the HD DVDs to be gone (as they apparently are in the US). However, I stumbled on a stack in an overflow rack and emerged with six titles: Eastern Promises (7.99$--it was 39.99$ at Future Shop last week), MI I and II, Ray, King Kong and Pride and Prejudice. Total cost--75$ (give or take a few pennies). Two weeks ago, those same titles were all at retail of 25$ or more EACH. Will keep looking for more bargains (with combos like Eastern Promises at ONE THIRD of the in-store retail for SD DVD, I'd have bought it even if I didn't own an HD DVD player).

I also, in another store, picked up American Gangsters for 19.99$. Not a rock bottom price, but still cheaper than the in-store SD DVD version. I know it doesn't have the "extended cut" in HD, but I don't mind. At the 39.99$ it was selling for a few weeks ago, I would not have bothered.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Welcome to the forum, and if you can get a HD-DVD player I say get it for various reasons.
One, to at least have HD material even though it's discontinued, 1080 is 1080.
Two, hopefully you'll get some of the HD-DVDs cheaper until their all gone.
Three, for the scaling capabilities of standard DVDs. I tell you one thing if you go through the forum and you'll noticed that the highly rated Upscaling players like Oppo and Zenith are being sold or moved over because of Toshiba's abilities to scale standard videos to 1080i or 1080p.
Four, at some point down the road the player would become vintage and overall a good player to have.
All the above for about 75.00 or slightly more depending on what you get and where you get it from.
I have a post in regards to my purchase and I simply love it.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

What I learned from HTF is that "elitist bastard" is a badge of honor . [correction] I need to learn to spell elitist [/correction]

Oddly, I've bought more HD DVD since the format died than when it was alive thanks to the 2 fer $10 at Hollywood video.

I'm keeping mine (until it or I dies I suppose) because it's a good upconverting player if anything and I don't think that standard DVD is going anywhere for a long time.

Cheers.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Erm which discs are they re-releasing with brand new feature sets?

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Em, I think you must be misinformed there. The incompatibilities are all of the nature of new features which don't work on old players, although the movies will work. If there were anything else, we would have heard about it here.

There are people here who like to keep up with that kind of thing, & you can bet there would be "cross-compatibility" threads all over this area.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Pure FUD. There´s nothing wrong with the films (discs).

Only issue is, that if there are some Blu-ray-releases with profile 1.1/2.0 EXTRAS included, these won´t work in some of the older "profile 1.0"-only Blu-ray players (where you can´t use firmware update to upgrade them to 1.1/2.0 like with PS3).

Sure, they probably release some title along the way with new 1.1/2.0 extras, but the "original" version works just fine in every player.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

As a neutral movie addict, my collection consists of about equal numbers of each format, and there is no way I will buy those titles again because the BD has taken over. I own the Toshiba A35 and Panasonic BD30 which will last me for a long time.
I am NOT a gamer, and my feeling it that the gamers and the heavy advertising by the Blu-ray Association turned the tide. Note that the replicators have stated that they would have preferred HD-DVD because it used existing equipment. The new equipment will cost a huge amount and will be coming on line SLOWLY - they say probably not until the end of the year of beginning of 2009. Also, from the same goup, the yield is not anywhere near what the DVD and HD-DVD lines accomplished. I realize that the Blu-ray fanboys were always griping about the size (sounds somewhat sexual, doesn't it?) when they are frequently producing two disc sets! What happened to all the space?
At any rate, my Toshiba actually plays my DVDs uncomverted slightly better than the Panasonic, and contrary to what I thought until I experimented, the sound is better. By the way I am a musician and hear real instruments daily.
There certainly is no reason to throw out the movies you own now as long as you have a player - and that player will play your DVDs, CDs and other formats depending on what you copy to CD and DVD.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Paul, we´re kind of past this "fanboy-this-fanboy-that" phase.

And yes, there are cases when "size does matter".

I would say that you don´t *have to* sell anything, it´s 100% up to you, but if you want to get at least some of that money "back" from HD DVD (both software/hardware), you probably have to sell them more "sooner" than "later". No new hardware/software is coming afer this summer..

But of course, you don´t *have to* sell anything, if the player is still working etc. And we all know that many HD DVD-titles are in great quality.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

I'm enjoying the "fire sales" going on right now. Picked up Hot Fuzz for $8.99 on Monday and Pan's Labyrinth last night for $7.99. Unfortunately, not being DTS capable yet, I have to manually switch my player to PCM on the optical out every time I watch Pan's, but it sounds SO good.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

You mean "DTS-HD" capable (meaning "Pan's Labyrinth")? I´m sure you get out the DTS "core" from the "DTS-HD master"-track, which is quite healthy 1.5Mbps on its own...

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Where are you guys getting cheap HD-DVDs. I"ve been all over the stores, Circuit City, J&R, Walmart, and I can't find any that would say ok I'll pick it up.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

I got mine used at Hollywood Video (2 fer $20) and I imagine they've never rented the pristine condition they're in. My Movie Gallery has this as well. However, they come in regular DVD cases and not in the red HD cases. I've bought replacement cases off of Ebay.

My Walmart had some titles marked down but they were $17, so nevermind. I've not checked BB or CC but I hear that they're shipping them back to Toshiba. The CC half off sale turned out to be on MSRP and not sale prices so it was a bust (if your CC hadn't sent them back that is).

There's always the internet....

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

No, I mean DTS capable. My receiver is rather archaic.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Considering that both formats had at least half of their players made up by video game products (360 add-on for HD DVD, PS3 for BD), I think Paul's comments are pretty valid. I've heard the argument that "HD DVD was for film lovers, PS3 was for gamers", but it doesn't make sense. After all, the biggest films on HD DVD ("Transformers" and "300") were not aimed at film lovers but were most definitely aimed at gamers. Unless I'm missing something, no one made a video game out of "The Departed". Added on top of that was the fact that the PS3 was one of, if not the, best Blu-ray players, and the fact that many early Blu-ray adopters bought it for that reason.
I don't know where you're getting this information. Sony the corporate entity has been profitable year after year. Yes, Sony Computer Entertainment lost money for a couple years, but then again, the same thing happened with the PS2, and it ended up selling 100m units in 8 years, and still sells well today. Not only that, the PS3 has already started down the same path, and both analysts and large game companies like EA have publicly stated that they're impressed with the gains SCE and the PS3 have made, and that it will end up beating the 360.
How do you "hope to be a productive member" with these comments?

Your first statement is not only untrue, but disingenuous as well. Sony wasn't "losing" on the gaming front in anything but a PR war. It's consistently at or near the top of both the theatrical and home movie market, so that's out too. And Sony's player/consumer electronic division brings in so much revenue, that it not only balances out any divisions in the red, it generates hundreds of millions (and sometimes billions) in profit. As for the payoffs (assuming they exist), not only is Toshiba/MSFT guilty of the exact same thing (see also: Paramount, Dreamworks), but it also appears they lost more money on the deals for no effect. Not to mention, it pissed off their potential partners and was spread between one or two companies rather than a association made up (not coincidentally) by the entire major consumer electronics world minus Toshiba.

And the second comment? I'm not surprised you couldn't dig up a link, because such a thing doesn't exist. Not only did no one make the "100 discs" claim (the closest I could find was Fox mentioned 1 or 2 of their titles), but the newer discs run on the older players. They may require a firmware update (as did quite a few HD DVD titles), but the movie and most features play just fine.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

I'd sure like to see a link to back that statement up.

As it stands now the PS3 will have to out sell the 360 for the next 8 months by greater margins than it has in the last two just to just make up for the sales delta it experienced in December 07.

I'm certain that if Sony keeps the PS3 in production long enough it will eventually out sell the 360 but by then Microsoft will probably have moved onto its next console.

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Here you go - EA predicts PS3 will outsell Xbox 360 in 2008 - Joystiq

Re: So what happens now? HD-DVD ponderings

Gamasutra reporting on Sony's results financial year 2006 (includes 1Q2007) (April last year).


We should be expecting the results of FY 2007 soon.


Cees