Blu_Ray vs HD-DVD or Wait? (1 Viewer)

[Scott Shanks]

I voted to wait because of the DVI/HDMI situation. My set only has component inputs. I will wait until that set dies first before getting into either.

 

[Brett_B]

George,

I am not trying to argue with you, even though it is quite obvious that you are. I have NEVER said that I wanted DIVX to "win". So PLEASE show me that that is what I was inferring. The reason that I waited (since I have to S-P-E-L-L it out for you) is that "IF" DIVX had won (studios exclusively releasing to that format) what good would a DVD player be at this time.

So, if say HD-DVD is the winner and ALL studios support that format, and no one supports Blu-Ray, what good would be a Blu-Ray machine? and vice-versa.

Again, I am done discussing this with you since you think I have an alternate motive (which I do not). I am not going to buy something that no one supports. If you want to, that is up to you, and you alone.

I am not a wealthy person that can go out and buy both players and more at the drop of a hat like you, so yeah, I wait on the sidelines so I can buy a product which allows me to take part in my favorite hobby - watching movies.

 

[george kaplan]

I think you need to read my posts more carefully, rather than just getting upset and defensive when I disagree with you about your DIVX analogy.

I am sitting this out too. I am not a wealthy person, and I am not going to buy both players at the drop of a hat. I too am waiting on the sidelines to see who wins this format war, because, unlike divx vs. dvd, this one actually is a format war and I see no compelling reason to fight against one or the other, like there clearly was with DIVX.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Where is the BUY BOTH option???

The HD-DVD-ROM drive from Toshiba is expected to retail $300 at launch. (Presumably the price will drop quickly in the following months) Assuming Blu-Ray drives are available for a similar price, $600 does not sound like too much to pay in order to have access to ALL hd releases from ALL studios.

 

[Brett_B]

Where did I say that I was fighting for either one?

AGAIN, please carefully read my comments before accusing me of something that I CLEARLY did not say.

 

[Peter Overduin]

I have a 'Musicworx' (my local HT retailer) credit card that gives me 12 months no interest no payments...I'll buy the first format that has both hardware and software

 

[george kaplan]

Brett,

We keep going around, so this will be my last shot.

Look at your original post. You said

You clearly stated something that clearly implied something else. Please do not continue to say that I am accusing you of something you NEVER implied, when you implied in your very first post!

 

[Robert Crawford]

I hope we've got that cleared up.






Crawdaddy

 

[Brett_B]

George,

I apologize for the mass confusion, but when I typed, "even though I was going to go with the eventual winner (didn't want to do the pay-per-view).", I was hoping people would understand that "eventual winner" meant DVD. That is why I put the comment of "didn't want to do the pay-per-view" in parenthesis to make it clear that was my point (DVD as the eventual winner - because DVD did in fact eventually win the battle).

Next time I will S-P-E-L-L-I-T-O-U-T


As a side note, believe it or not, I do understand the difference. The way I was comparing the 2 battles (I know one was a business model, and the other is format) was that some studios supported DIVX only, some supported DVD only, some supported both, and there were some (at the beginning) that were playing the wait and see.

I am waiting to see what the studios do, because I am a movie lover first and foremost. Technology comes in a very distant second.

 

[Sean Aaron]

My bog-standard widescreen CRT set is PAL with nearly 700 lines of resolution, so 720p doesn't impress. The only way I'm going to consider HD is if the content is 1080p and connectivity is via DVI and all hardware is not only compatible, but affordable and one standard is on the table with no region-coding BS. I figure 2010 is an optimistic time-table for this to be remotely true.

Right now I'm planning on keeping my hardware until it dies and upgrading to an LCD or Plasma screen that will handle some form of digital TV, but don't really care if it's HD-ready as long as it has DVI/VGA in so I can use it as a computer monitor to play MAME in my lounge.

 

[JeremyErwin]

I though PAL had 576 visible scan lines. (NTSC uses 525 lines, but only 480 are visible. Thus, 480i..)

 

[george kaplan]

Sorry if I got a little hot under the collar. To this day, the thought of DIVX still makes my blood boil!

 

[Michael Osadciw]

Back to the original question:

I plan to purchase a Blu-Ray player. I am fully supporting that format so I will purchase that machine should I have to choose.

Of course, I really wish that the time is taken to sort out everything for one standard based on a QUALITY product - not something rushed. While I can't wait for HD on disc, I have enough patience to wait for a far SUPERIOR format.

Blu-Ray has always headed in that direction.

HD-DVD has not, thus is leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

Mike
-Give me 1080p and lossless audio. (preferably DTS-HD, as long as it doesn't add it's own sonic signature).

(Jack Briggs - I don't understand why you'd want to sacrifice quality because something is ready sooner. Shouldn't we all want the best it can be? HD-DVD is developed to undercut a technology that has obviously been planned out far more than HD-DVD. Apparently there are hundreds of titles in the works for Blu-Ray at this moment too).

BTW: the poll didn't work for me when I clicked on it.

 

[Herb Kane]

I’ve read the vast majority of posts on the forum relating to Blu ray and HD DVD and I don’t think I’ve posted more than once or twice about the entire issue, but I will say this: if I were forced to make a decision right now, I’d probably support HD DVD simply because the vast majority of titles I prefer are going to be released via that format. Whether or not it’s a good enough reason is really neither here nor there.

This may be a silly analogy but if we were to compare these huge mega-corporations to Indian tribes, one quality their Chiefs would have to possess would be to successfully motivate and lead their warriors into battle – so much so, that they would happily follow and fight as hard as they could for their leader.

I can tell you right now, I wouldn’t follow Sony into the restroom – period. Not only am I unimpressed with what the company does with many of their new releases or their catalogue releases, their business and marketing decisions leave as much to be desired as well. I’m just not left with a feeling that they are the company with their finger on the pulse of the industry – a gut feeling, but a feeling nonetheless.

Couple that with the fact there is no way on God’s green earth that WB is going to give up their royalties on the DVD technology (and why would they?) when these things are flying off the shelves.

I’m still not convinced that gaming systems will have much of an effect on software that is, by and large, a home theater product. I’m even less convinced that computer companies will have an effect on what transpires. And even if it did, surely nobody here would be willing to risk their “freedom 55 retirement fund" betting on Apple as a leader given their historical background (and I’ve owned 3 Macs not including my office computer – but that’s all history now…).

Ironically, the determining factor potentially sits in Ron’s first message where it states that retailers such as Wal-Mart may carry only one format exclusively. Propaganda? Perhaps. But it would be enough to end the war and end it quickly.

 

[PeterTHX]

Huh?

You're comparing an 4:3 (native) analog signal, 25fps, 576 lines interlaced, with a PROGRESSIVE 720, 60fps, 16:9 format? I've just doubled your specs and it doesn't impress???

Your set may have 700 lines, but 300 is active at any one time.

HD-DVD and Blu-ray will be 1080i minimum. 1080p will probably be the standard. Native frame rates available (24 for film, 25 or 30 for video).

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

Maybe with Blu-Ray, but not necessarily with HD-DVD.

The reason there has not yet been any official commitment to 1080p from the HD-DVD group is that it would need between 35-60GB (depending on content) to record two hours of 1080p video. On the other hand, pre-recorded 1080p content from studios could be compressed to fit onto HD-DVD.

Besides having about half the storage capacity of Blu-Ray, HD-DVD also has a data transfer rate of only 36Mbps compared to Blu-Ray which is now specified at up to 72Mbps. Because Blu-Ray requires a much lower disc rotation speed than HD-DVD it has the capability of reaching a data transfer rate as high as 432Mbps.

 

[Rob_Walton]

In Britain digital and HD are entirely separate , and even though we have virtually no HD transmissions we have had digital for some time now (not that it's always of the highest quality) and many transmissions are often widescreen . At the moment 720p is envisioned as the standard for HD in Europe - we can only hope it changes !

Perhaps a clearer comparison is 576i 16:9 vs 720p 16:9 - it's a step forward , but hardly a leap .

 

[Rob_Walton]

I think both formats have been demonstrating their technology at 1080i up till this point , though BD has been talking about 1080p as a strong likelyhood . HD-DVD claim that by using VC1 (or MPEG4 HP) they can compress a 2 hour 1080p movie down enough to fit on a single layer HD-DVD . The downside is that the bitrate is far lower than BlueRay are planing to use just to fit on their disc (15gb) , though they claim this doesn't noticably affect quality . We shall see ...

 

[Stan Rozenfeld]

I am generally inclined to wait and see what happens. I have tried my hand at dealing with niche and first generation products and have found it to be expensive and not very satisfying experience.

However, if the reviews are overwhelmingly positive (for hardware and software), and the prices are aggressive, I might be willing to take the plunge sooner rather than later.

One reason why I might change my mind as more information becomes available, is that on my current set up (Denon 2910 DVD player with Samsung DLP TV) I see a lot of room for improvement from DVD playback. There are all kinds of artifacts (including macroblocking) that bother me. So if there was one format, I would be much more inclined to buy sooner.

For now, I'll wait and see what happens by the end of the year.

 

[John Goodwin]

Will we be able to find out if there is a difference in quality if there arent many of the forum's software reviewers who actually buy into either of the two formats,never mind both?
All this may not even matter to any of us non-region 1 people anyway,as we may be borked by some sort of HDCP fixed region rubbish.
Does anyone know if there is going to be anything like this included in the players yet?