So who is sticking with SD DVD and why and for how long (1 Viewer)

[Matthew Brown]

I have such a backlog of DVD's to watch now I can't see spending money on another player, especially with the two formats being available.

My only concern is that HD TV's are being marked down for the holidays and some DVD's are practically being given away. I hope this isn't the writing on the wall that retailers are going to force consumers to choose soon.

I was a very early adopter of DVD and still have my Sony S-3000! It's not my main player anymore but it's still a solid player. My standard DVD's will not disappear because the new formats are available. I jumped on the DVD bandwagon so quickly because I figured almost all movies would be released eventually and I would be able to see the ones that didn't have a good presentation on LD. The DVD's were also cheaper than LD's.

Unless I had money to burn which I don't, I don't see upgrading anytime soon.

Matt

 

[Gary Seven]

I don't see the point in continuing purchasing SD, especially movies. TV shows, particularly older ones, may not see the light of HD distribution if they have already been released in SD, as the market may not be strong to warrant the double dip, so I am currently buying these (the ones that interest me). I guess we'll see what happens in regards to TV re-releases.

That said, I do not like to buy first generation equipment as I like to see the technology advance a bit and stabilize. So I found the solution to my particular dilemma by spending 200 dollars on a HD-DVD add-on to the Xbox 360. I will also purchase a PS3 when more readily available for Blu-Ray. This is less costly while giving me great flexiblity in gaming and other applications. That will also enable me to purchase the HD versions so I won't have to repurchase the same title later on. When the tech stabilizes, I will purchase a higher end player, with the software already there to play it on.

 

[Yumbo]

DVD was not a jump over VHS (PAL) for me.
I was used to laserdisc.
I waited to get into DVD.
But with HD over DVD, couldn't wait!
I have it, and don't wanna go back.
It is night and day, like putting on glasses.

Be careful when you try it on a properly set up system.

Priceless. Unless it's Blu Ray, lol.

 

[Matt_H]

Poor college Student here. I'll wait until good HDTVs are in my price range and the format wars are long over. I'm happy with SD DVD right now and I'm still waiting for some stuff to get released on it nevermind HD.

 

[Todd H]

I'm like a lot of you...I'm waiting until there's a winner or a dual-format player becomes available. To me, DVDs look darn good on my Sony A2000 LCOS set through an upscaling DVD player. And I refuse to be a foot soldier in this idiotic format war.

 

[brap]

Considering the number of standard TVs, SD DVD is not dying anytime soon. HD-DVD and blu-ray will be a niche product for many more years to come. There is a voice for these products in this forum, but we are the niche market. Otherwise, we would not be here. We had LD when the rest of the world happily were watching VHS and will still watch SD DVD. The mass market really does not care.

 

[Yumbo]

um,

the rest of the world had LD as standard over VHS, much like VCD was until recently.

guess it's relative to each part of the world.

been to Singapore? Plasmas are VERY common.

 

[Wayne_j]

I'm waiting until either the format war is over or an affordable dual player is available.

I might also consider if prices for each formats players drop to $150 or so enableing me to get both.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I was raised on the tried and true addage of "be happy with what you have", SD DVD is still a very acceptable way to view films at home, it isn't like the jump from VHS to DVD, VHS is simply unwatchable but that isn't the case with SD DVD.

I'm sticking with SD DVD for now for the following reasons...

1. Monitor restrictions. My projector is only capable of 480p, although it can do other resolutions and look spectacular doing them.

2. Price. HD DVD and BR are too expensive for me right now.

3. Stamina. I want to make sure the format I choose will hang in there a good while, i.e., i'm waiting for the format war to resolve itself.

4. Titles. As great as the titles coming out are i'm waiting til there are lots more.

Projected time of my upgrade is about 2 years from now.

 

[MielR]

I will also be sticking with SD-DVD for now. So far, there haven't been any blu-ray or hd-dvd titles of interest to me, and the few demos I've seen of blu-ray and hd-dvd have not impressed me.

When the dust from the format war settles, the kinks are worked out of the players/software and some interesting titles are released.....we'll see.

 

[Ira Siegel]

For this poll, put me in the SD camp. Like most of you, I can wait until after the format wars are over. I have an HDTV, and my SD DVDs look just fine on it.

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

I made the HDTV jump this year with a Samsung 5087 and am very happy with my upconverting Oppo 971 (the King King EE looks amazing), though I still need to get my set calibrated. I have to admit that I am just a bit tempted to get the $200 HD-DVD add-on to my Xbox 360, however.

 

[Ron68]

I only started buying DVDs four years ago and I'm perfectly happy with them. It was the extras and the picture quality that got me interested in them but I waited until the price of players dropped below $100. If I do decide to make the jump to HD-DVD or Blue-ray, it will be when the prices are at a comparable level. I have a limited budget and I try to find the best deals in order to stretch my money. I'm not interested in downloading movies because I am a collector, I like having things that sit on my shelves, which I can watch when and wherever I want.

 

[Frank@N]

I highly recommend HDTVs...but not necessarily buying HD discs.

My new Sony 1080p HDTV ($1999) does an amazing job with quality 480p DVD video.

Domino (2005) blew my doors off. Superman Returns (2006) was fairly good too.

Most HD discs are based on video transfers that are also available on DVD, making various video formats similar in appearance.

I watch Comcast HD too and it's good, but I have no trouble switching to DVD.

Later, I might get an HDMI-based 1080p upconvert player, but why spend a lot when I'm getting such good performance now?

I'm not even thinking about $500 players and expensive new disc collections...

 

[CraigF]

I'm in the "perfectly satisfied with SD DVD on a HD display" camp. I am one of those who doesn't like to sit close to the display, so I can't really see a lot of the detail HD gives anyway. Though I have noticed that a few HD transfers I've seen are definitely better than the SD transfers, and it's not just the resolution improvement. I only watch DVD's, no other video content.

I never purchased a single VHS tape because they weren't "good enough" for me. I have purchased thousands of DVD's because they *are* good enough (in general). HD is icing, better than good enough, so there's much less inclination for me to jump right on it because I'm not dissatisfied. It will be an improvement when it's all shaken out, that's for sure, but I look at what most people (not here) have now and I can't help but think "does the public really care?".

I will only duplicate very special "extravaganza" and favorite movies in HD, certainly no intention of a mass replacement of SD ones.

I am not impressed with current HD players. Reminds me of the first DVD players. The manufacturers know nothing yet. Some (big names) never learned SD properly until just recently IMO. This time other people can pay for them to learn, and I will minimise my frustration. Thanks.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I will wait until situations conspire to leave me no other choice. Most of my reasons have been stated, most notably:


Very interesting, this. Could the industry force HD down our throats, yes. They could stop making SD titles and SD players, but would they. Would they forsake 95% of the market, to try and force the remaining 5% to grow? I doubt it. Only time will tell.

One other thing. If the format war persists. Wait long enough and a next generation solution, beyond HD & BR may emerge in 5-10 years. Data Crystals or individual titles on some kind of media akin to memory keys (flash drives), or use your imagination.

 

[Ali B]

I'm not going to get one of the HD formats for at least 6 months because:

1. Availability of titles on each format - I don't care if both exist as formats, I just want to be able to buy all titles on one format or get a combi drive and let the madness continue.

2. Region coding - a major issue for BluRay at the moment and de facto regionalisation via lack of English subs (see Studio Canal's French HD-DVD releases). Living in the UK and having non-mainstream tastes means I want to buy titles wherever they are available. Of course hardware hacks could bypass this as an issue, just as has been done for SD DVD. Of course, this will take time...

I own an HD-TV (Panasonic 42PH9) and if HD-DVD was the only format on the block, then I'd have bought one already. But with the seeming lack of support from studios, I think too many titles that I want in HD would be unavailable to me. If BluRay was the price HD-DVD is at the hardware level, and those pesky region coding issues had gone away, I'd now be the owner of a BluRay player.

Here's hoping that by the time the PS3 has launched over here player prices will have dropped for BluRay, the region coding will have been cracked, combi drives will be suddenly available, or one of the formats has handed in the towel.

 

[Chris Roberts]

So I was reading the review for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and the very first comment is about how the HD version is better than the SD version. This got me thinking that its something us SD folks will need to get used to. Having the HD supporters and maybe the reviews themselves compare and tell us how much better the HD version is. Sort of like a SD vs HD format war among fans except the ultimate winner is already determined. Just thought I'd give fair warning to others planning on waiting to expect a lot of comparison comments in the coming years. And since I imagine they'll all favor HD it won't be an easy wait for us.

 

[Up In Lights]

I've had DVD for exactly 10 years now and don't plan on changing yet. I still remember the confusion between DVD and Divx. My problem in this "war" is with Sony. Proprietary technology is why my DVD Audio collection is larger than my SACD. SACD is superior in many ways, but it just never got the following. Should I run down the list of other audio/video technologies from Sony that never gained mass appeal? DAT anyone??

 

[Sami Kallio]

I am one of those people that think the leap from DVD to HD-DVD is at least as significant as from VHS to DVD. I am not an early adopter, I think I got my first DVD player in 2000, but I had to jump to HD-DVD as the picture is great. Much better than SD-DVD but whether it is greater than VHS->DVD is impossible to say, and depends on who you talk to as there are many factors to consider.

I can honestly say that on my 52" 4:3 TV back in 2000 I noticed more the convenience factor of DVD more than the change in PQ, now I didn't need to rewind the tape. Of course I have changed from those days and I am more demanding customer now in my mid-30's than I was back then. I was not initially impressed on HD-DVD The Last Samurai displayed on 720p display at Fry's. I got one anyways thinking I will return it when I can't notice a huge improvement over SD-DVD in my 1080p display or my 720p projector. Never did return it, the difference between upconverted DVD to HD-DVD on 61" 1080p is incredible. However, after viewing it on my 720p projector around 80" I can understand why people might feel it is not a huge leap in terms of PQ over SD. To me it just means I will have a 1080p projector to fill the now 116" picture in my HT as HD-DVD just is that much better.

Is SD-DVD good enough to watch? Depends on you, just like if mp3 is good enough or not. Depends also on your equipment, just like is the case with mp3. Many say they can't hear a difference between CD and mp3. Many say that's because they haven't heard a good system with both, they are only listening with their mid-fi or portable systems. How many of those who are holding out have seen properly setup, large 1080p screen with both SD-DVD and HD-DVD? I understand if you are holding out because you don't have equipment to take full advantage of HD-DVD/BR but if you have seen one, don't you at least have an itch to upgrade? For me, as I want and can have a large image, HD-DVD (and BR maybe later) was just too good to pass up. Again, YMMV, one thing for me is that I do not collect movies, I mostly rent so I don't have money invested in large DVD collection.