Seeing Red - will you stock up on the inevitable clearance sales on HD DVDs? (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

With the format war all but settled (just a matter of time for the rest of the studios to fall in line within the year), if you have a HD DVD player, will you stock up on the upcoming clearance sales of HD DVD titles, or eschew them and look forward towards the BD releases?

I think I'll first target the current HD DVD exclusives (that I'm interested in) that have the extras package that I fear that I won't get on the upcoming BD counterpart (or existing counterpart), hoping the costs will be in the $8-$12 average range for the clearance titles, and wouldn't pass up titles that go below that range, either. Heck, I still have LDs and a couple of LD players in the HT setup, so the more the merrier, and the cheaper the better in terms of media pricing for HD DVDs.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Pat,

I didn't get around to jumping into HDD, but I guess I would consider doing what you're thinking if I already own a good size collection of HDD titles (as I suggested in another thread).

BTW, I also still have some LDs that I actually bought off eBay *after* I jumped into DVD in the early goings. My player died along the way though, so my set has been sitting around doing nothing -- and I'm not much inclined to give it a spin anyway at this point. If you lived in the NYC area and were interested, I'd say come by and you can take it off my hands for free...

_Man_

 

[Edwin-S]

This is the reason why I would think twice before buyng any more HD DVDs......no matter how cheap they get. What good are cheap discs if you eventually will not be able to get a player for them.

 

[Chris S]

I'll finally pick up some exclusives that I've been putting off and am afraid might take their sweet time coming out on BD. Other than that I'll more than likely stop and focus more on renting.

The HD players are built pretty well so I'm not too concerned about not being able to play the discs. Heck, if Patrick is still playing LaserDiscs today that should provide some indication as to how long these things can stick around.

 

[Cees Alons]

In fact, those who don't own a HD DVD player yet, might consider picking one up one if a really inexpensive offer happens to arrive.
Unless you're a 100% sure you will never own a HD DVD at all, of course.

I myself are waiting to see if a decent combo-player is announced soon and will most probably buy a Region-A machine then.


Cees

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I own every CED videodisc title that was put out for sale (just missing a few that were pressed but never put out for sale to the public), if HD-DVD becomes a dead format I might try to get one of every title as well- certainly won't take up as much space or weigh as much as my CED collection!

Still can't play either HD format yet as I'm waiting for an affordable and usable dual-format player to come out, so whatever happens I hope that becomes a reality soon.

 

[Jim_K]

I really don't know what I'm going to do about HD DVD titles now.

On one hand it's a bit foolish to continue investing in what appears to be a dead format. On the other hand who knows how long it'll take for Paramount and Universal to start releasing on BD and then even catching up on what's been released to HD.

I've already got pretty much everything I'd like to own that's exclusive to the HD DVD format so I don't think I'll be investing any more money on the current catalog. As for upcoming releases I was planning on blind-buys of American Gangster and Beowulf but I'm no longer comfortable in the longevity of the format so I'll probably rent instead. The only other release I was interested in was Star Trek Season 2 but given the high price I may end up passing unless I can get it dirt cheap.

 

[FrancisP]

The only titles that I would be interested in that are left are warner titles. However I wouldn't touch a warner title on hd if you gave it to me.

 

[Clinton McClure]

If the prices are discounted, I'll pick up the titles I want. I see no reason not to.

 

[DaveF]

If I don't have a VCR yet, I don't know why I'd buy a BetaMax instead of VHS, even if the Beta's dirt cheap.

As a fence-straddler -- not a hardcore collector -- I have zero interest in buying HD DVD. I don't want to buy a format that's clearly on its way out. Just a matter of time for BR to drop in price and have full studio coverage.

 

[David_B_K]

I will pick up a few. One reason I waited so long to get a HD DVD player was that I was not excited by the selection of HDM in either format. The main titles I wanted were The Adventures of Robin Hood and Casablanca, which are not on Blu yet anyway. There are maybe 3-4 titles I'd like to get at a good price.

I still play my laserdisc player that was purchased circa 1996. I also have a cheap backup player in case my main one fails. I hope it doesn't, as the old one will not be able to play DTS or Dolby Digital discs.

 

[Bleddyn Williams]

Going forward, I will continue to pick up Universal & Paramount HD DVD exclusive titles, like next week's Zodiac.

I would normally buy HD DVD when a title is available on both formats, but now of course I have to think twice.

Given Warner's total about-face and their diabolical service on the Warner online store, I've never held them in such low esteem, despite their great library.

 

[Dale MA]

Sounds good to me!

I'll buy into Blu-Ray when a multi-regional player is released in R2, for a reasonable price, hopefully later this year.

Meanwhile I'm more than happy to continue buying releases from Paramount and Universal and will pick-up any titles that I want if I see them at bargain prices.

I can't see my HD DVD player dying in the next ten years or so, and even if it did then I'm pretty sure Toshiba will be making combo players if Blu-Ray wins.

What a great and interesting time to be a movie fan.

 

[Sam Posten]

No. I havent been buying HD DVDs for some time (and very few BDs) and now I probably wont buy any. I'll continue to review Unis HDDVDs as normal but I wont hesitate to buy BDs now.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Yep. Cheap movies are cheap movies.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Fascinating thread.

You know... a few weeks ago when I first hear the rumor that WB was going to go Blu, I started wondering along these same lines. Hmmm... a $50 HD DVD player that does a fantastic job upscaling DVDs... and discounted movies in 1080p from Paramount and Universal? What's not to like?

Of course, I have 100 laserdiscs and a $$$ laserdisc player that just sit there and never get used. Then again. that's because the picture from laserdisc sucks next to DVD and Blu-ray Disc... but a well-mastered 1080p HD DVD can look just fine (even if those studios don't give me lossless sound). Of course, lossless sound is important to me... I won't even buy Blu-ray Discs that don't give me lossless audio. Questions Questions...

I'll probably stay pure blu. But I haven't ruled out a tinge of purple if the price is right. My Marantz receiver does have a few more HDMI ports ready and unused...

 

[TheGreatOz]

Two points to ponder...

1. Every 6 months I watch one or two of my 660+ laserdiscs develop "rot" on the shelves. Granted, I only sample a dozen or so at a time because of work. However, my cool, dry climate-controlled computer clean-room is no match for rotting LD mother material. For those of you who have substantial LD collections (and working players), pull out a sampling and give them a spin. Plus, the belts, pulleys, and friction wheels of the players don't like to sit and harden on the shelf.

2. Before you get all warm and fuzzy with the thought of a "combo" HD/Blu player, the chances of such a device having a long life switching between two lasers is in doubt.

It all scares the heck out of me at this point. Especially considering the advent of the video chip and the no-moving-parts player...just around the proverbial corner.

 

[PaulDA]

Well, I bought two Warner HD DVDs today, so I think it's safe to say I'll jump on any cheap deals available.

I don't think HD DVD players will disappear right away. I might pick up another one as a "backup" but, really, how likely are these things to fail? (I know all about the horror stories, but those who don't have problems usually don't bother to announce that fact--besides, I have a CD player from 1991 that still works, I have another from 1993 and the one I bought in 1987 is still going strong in my cousin's stereo system.) I figure that by the time I can't get a player to play the discs, some new format that outshines both Blu-ray and HD DVD will have come along.

 

[Gabriel.H]

Having a dual format player will be useful even though HD DVD becomes a dead format....so when I see movies that I want at a low enough price like some of those HD DVD/DVD combo discs that cost like 40$ I will definitely invest in those.

 

[Steve_Pannell]

Ditto.