Hd-dvd? (1 Viewer)

[paul watkins]

heres the deal.i have been buying dvds for about 2 years now,i have about 200.

i recently bought an HDTV....NOW i have been watching shows in HD on cable and i'm thinking this is way better than anything i have on dvd!also i recently went to a local tv dealer and he had a HD-VCR playin.wow!



so heres a question am i going to be kicking myself in a year or two for spending a small fortune on the format we have now,and probably spending more money buying my favorites all over again in HD-DVD?

i'm sure this has been pondered here before but i had to ask.

 

[Carl Johnson]

No. While there has been some discussion about a format for HD-DVD that hasn't even been settled yet. It will take at least a couple of years before the format is released and even longer before the selection of titles available is a fraction of what's currently available on DVD. After five years there are plenty of titles that have yet to be released on DVD. Why would you kick yourself for buying a title like the long awaited Back to the Future in 2002 when it probably won't make it to HD-DVD for another 5+ years?

 

[Kyle McKnight]

Please try running a search. You will find many, many threads on this subject.

 

[Christopher a]

he had a HD-VCR playin.wow!

I can't wait for HD-DVD myself. But why wait? D-VHS has really dropped in price. You should be able to pick up one for around $700.00.

Chris

 

[Neil Joseph]

In Peter Staddon's recent chat, he indicated 2004-2005 at the earliest for HD-DVD. My philosophy on the subject is to enjoy the format now without going totally overboard. I have been collecting since I got my player in June 1997 and to this day, I only have 85 DVD's in my collection.

 

[Sean Laughter]

Possibly the "safest" things to buy on DVD right now are certain television shows, because I highly doubt some of them will benefit too terribly much from a hi-def transfer (and being 4:3 anyway). Anyway, I'm not gonna deprive myself of movies just because Blu-Ray hasn't landed yet

 

[David Brent]

Does DVD offer the best possible presentation for most TV programmes?

Shows like CSI are being filmed in High-Definition widescreen so no doubt current DVD releases will eventually be superceded on future HD tape and disc formats.

However, DVDs offer (at least) broadcast quality versions of older, "conventional" 4x3 series, so am I right in thinking that, compression artefacts aside, these shows aren't likely to look any better on an HD format?

David

 

[Jay Sylvester]

If those older shows were shot on film, they could potentially have new hi-def masters produced from the original film elements--if the newly created masters aren't hi-def already that is. I think any smart studio is doing all of their masters in HD nowadays.

I tend to think any 4:3 programs shot on film would look better pillarboxed in HD than on standard 480i DVD because of the increased resolution. However, I think it's reasonable to assume that since most older programming is 4:3, it won't be a priority when HD-DVD first hits the market.

My belief is that HD-DVD will be an enthusiast's product for at least several years due to the relative lack of HD-capable sets in American homes, with DVD catering to the majority of consumers for a long time to come. All the 4:3 TVs being sold today--including the HD-capable sets--as well as all the DVD players will be in use for decades. It's doubtful that the average consumer will see enough of an improvement over DVD when watching HD on a 32" set for them to invest in the new deck.

Now that DVD is affordably recordable, it's the new VHS. For better or for worse.

 

[David Brent]

Jay,

Wise words, I reckon.

Despite the obvious advantages to us cinephiles of HD I'd guess the average consumer won't see much benefit.

The only way I can see it taking off is if HD DVD recorders come along quickly enough to become the norm for home recording, also allowing people to "upgrade" to HD releases of material.

As for producing new HD masters of TV material shot on film - having seen the poor state that mainstream features like Star Wars get into I reckon its unlikely that the original film elements for a lot of these shows exist in a decent condition, if at all.

I now feel pretty confident I can buy DVDs of most shows knowing that, as long as they've been compressed properly, they're not going to ever look much better.

David

 

[Jeff Bamberger]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I for one do not think D-VHS has legs. It looks and sounds great, but it is still tape, which will run over heads and move through the machine, which will degrade from day 1. Instead of fuzzy pictures, audio dropouts, etc, you'll get pixelization and audio drop outs.

As Master Yoda might say, "Purchase D-VHS, I will not".

But it does look and sound good and being a part time home theater salesperson, I have no problem selling it. Of course I do make my personal feelings known about the format.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Regarding Mr. Staddon's comments about HD-DVD, he did preface his remarks by noting they were purely conjecture (informed conjecture, albeit).

Conventional wisdom has suggested all year long that high-def DVD is at least three to six years away from reaching the market. But it could very well be sooner. The studios would love it: They haven't milked the population completely dry of its DVD-intended funds, and they could sell all this stuff again to the enthusiasts in high def.

While my colleague and buddy Neil expresses words of wisdom, I say if your budget allows buy all the DVDs your little hearts desire. My collection is closing in on the 500 mark, yet another colleague/buddy of mine, Robert A. Fowkes, has something like 5,000-6,000. Crawdaddy's library is also in the thousands. And our co-leader, Captain Ron himself, has something like 4,000 discs.

Life is short.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If future HD-DVD players can play regular DVDs, then just let your collection keep growing until HD-DVD is just around the corner.

 

[Jay Sylvester]

I don't think the issue is compatibility with current software on future HD-DVD decks that's causing people to wonder about their DVD purchases. For me, it's not that big of a deal to keep an extra deck in my rack. The issue of whether to buy or not comes down to how quickly you'll feel compelled to upgrade your DVD version to the HD-DVD version. If HD-DVD is years away, as I suspect it is, I have no problem continuing my regular purchasing patterns. However, if I knew that it was definitely arriving by next Christmas, I might be a bit more selective.

I personally plan on buying every movie I want until HD-DVD comes out, gradually selling off my DVDs as the HD versions become available.

The studios would love it: They haven't milked the population completely dry of its DVD-intended funds, and they could sell all this stuff again to the enthusiasts in high def.

All the more reason for studios to delay the content as long as possible. Enthusiasts will continue to buy DVDs until HD-DVD hits the market right along with J6P. Releasing HD-DVD too early only means that they sell enthusiasts one copy instead of two. Only after they've saturated the DVD market will they be forthcoming with HD-DVD releases, letting the enthusiasts buy again. It makes sense financially. I think it's unlikely that the average consumer will replace their DVD with a better version.

It'll be the hardware manufacturers that end up leading this revolution. They'll push to get the new gear out, and we enthusiasts will start pressuring the studios for content.

 

[Christopher a]

As Master Yoda might say, "Purchase D-VHS, I will not".

Let's not stick words in Master Yoda's mouth. We have no idea how he would feel about D-VHS
On another note, everyone is telling me that D-VHS will be obsolete once HD-DVD arrives. I think the exact opposite. Wouldn't our dvd collection be obsolete. I mean, my D-VHS tapes will still stand up to the quality of HD-DVD, not my old dvd's. Sure, they will stop selling the machines as well as the tapes. But that doesn't mean I will have to repurchase all of the movies I bought on D-VHS.

 

[Carl Johnson]

ditto. Not so long ago when Phantom Menace was released as a VHS exclusive the popular opinion over at theforce.net was that Yoda's patience would have him first in line to buy a cassette.