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

[JeremyErwin]

yes, if you have a fixed pixel display, it will upscale. If you have an progressive display, it will deinterlace. However, some algorithms are more accurate than others. Some algorithms are implemented poorly, and some are implemented so that rounding errors are minimized.

 

[JohnPhi]

I appreciate all the responses as I was very curious if I was alone in holding out. I truly believe the format war, if not ended soon could kill off both formats or at least keep them niche only

Last night my son and I watched Superman Retuns and I thought, wow, and this is a SD DVD

 

[Jon Martin]

To throw another possibility out there, is there anyone who believes that both HD and Blu Ray won't catch on?

I know there are a lot of early adopters here who are already into one format, but, like laserdisc, it could just end up being a niche item, and not become the standard.

I have yet to see anyone I know get a player. I'm not in the market yet, and I had a laserdisc player for years.

Unless the players drop in price substantially, I can't see how either player will really catch on. $500 for an HD player vs $30 for a SD player is quite a difference, not to mention nextgen discs costing $10 more.

 

[JeremyErwin]

$30 for a DVD player?

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

$500 for an HD DVD player really isn't that bad, that's how much a progressive scan SD player cost back in 97/98. IF I were to get into this format right now I would get both formats HD and BR (btw why do people abbreviate Blue-Ray 'BD'?), but of course i'm fantasizing by that notion.

 

[JeremyErwin]

BD = Bluray Disk. It's the official abbreviation.

 

[MarkHastings]

Yup. My local Shop Rite has the Daewoo Progressive Scan DVD player for $28.99

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Ah, okay, they just dropped the 'R'.

 

[JeremyErwin]

Yes. Likewise, it's not Washington, DTCLBIA, but simply Washington, DC.

 

[JeremyErwin]

Oh, I've heard about that one. The Oppo 971 Killer.

 

[Joel Vardy]

Very satisfied with SD for now. With over 2000 DVD's in my collection it would be prohibitive to replace a significant portion of it (as if there were that many titles available yet). Additionally, my HDTV does not have a HDMI port (it is a 3rd gen Mitsubishi RPTV -- WS55805) so upscaling is not in the cards either. I will have to wait till I upgrade both my monitor and DVD player before HD will be possible. Meanwhile, my HD viewing will be limited to live and Tivo views of existing satellite programming. As others have noted, the difference is not altogether 'compelling' with the better SD transfers out there. Having grown in the high tech world of modern software/hardware and being in the biz, I'm content to ride this one out (perhaps never making the switch) until more rational minds prevail with a resolution of the format wars and a lower price point for the incremental value that I see out there.

Joel

 

[Richard_Gregory]

Me; I can't afford to buy a new TV, that will have to wait until the one I have now finally dies. The choice of broadcast HD is quite limited here in the UK and the expensive subscriptions don't actually buy you all that much. Also, I won't ever buy into either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray while there's a choice of either, with some studios going HD-DVD and other studios sticking with Blu-Ray. Also, at the moment, the range of software is very small and most of the titles I have are obscure/rarities that only made it to disc because DVD is a mass market product. Whilst the HD/Blu-Ray catalogue is (understandably) mainly composed of relatively recent films that are known big sellers.

I would, however, be happy to switch when I finally get a new TV (by this time, large flat panels will be even cheaper and better); but more importantly, when there's one format for HD (I don't care which). This will ensure a larger catalogue too.

In that scenario, my large collection of discs would still be useable (on the new hi-def player which would be an excellent quality SD player).

The move would be a "natural" one - just buying new films in HD. Maybe I;d double dip on some things, but much of my collection is either TV (most made in SD anyway), or very old films which probably wouldn;t look any better anyway. That's because the studios were too cheap to restore them properly, so HD would just show up the low quality of the original better!

Many things released onto SD DVD now do not look as good as they could, given proper restoration and utilising SD to the fullest.

No reason to assume stuff would be any better treated for an HD/BR release!

A trip to the movie store must not involve thinking about what films will or will not play on the player at home. This is surefire death where the average customer is concerned.

 

[Jon Martin]

Why didn't they go with BR? Everytime I see BD, it takes me a bit to remember. BR would work better.

 

[Carlo_M]

To answer the original post, I will stay with DVD until one of a few things happens:

1. Either one format (BD or HD-DVD) wins or high quality universal players are available at similar prices to dedicated machines.

2. The new advanced audio codecs are supported on standard players (TrueHD, etc.).

3. If no affordable high-quality uni players are available, one format garners full studio support.

4. Bugs are worked out. I'm not keen on this 30-40 second startup times, slow menus, disc incompatibilities, etc.

I am actually in a position to upgrade both my HDTV and my disc player, I'm just waiting for the above things to shake out: I'm thinking it will be late 2007 before all of my criteria are met.

One thing could throw a wrench in my plans: if the PS3 is a good BD player. I plan to buy one in early 2007, but I have low hopes for it based on how the PS2 played DVDs. But if it turns out to be a decent BD player, I may have to accelerate my new TV timetable to take advantage of its BD capabilities accordingly.

 

[Ethan Riley]

My theory is that the "format wars" will go on for so many years, that by the time they're over, there'll be ANOTHER format available that blows them BOTH out of the water. As such, I'll probably skip over BOTH Blu-ray and HD, forever!!

 

[Frank@N]

Given that many of us have vast DVD collections and have just picked up fancy new HD sets, what DVD upconverting players should we get?

How about this one?

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/index.html

1080p!!!

 

[Sami Kallio]

Hmmm, with the XA1 $399.99 at OneCall right now, shipping included, versus 243.49 (shipped to TX) for an upconverted player? I think I would spend the extra $156.50 and have the ability to watch HD-DVD's as well as upconverted SD-DVD's (like with the Oppo). I am not sure how much the A1's and D1's plus the RCA go for but should be getting close to the Oppo in terms of price.

I can understand getting a sub-$100 player instead of a HD player, but why spend $250 for SD player?

 

[JeremyErwin]

It's a wager. If you believe that the increased cost of a player, and increased costs of discs are justified by the improvements in picture quality, buy the hd-dvd player. However, if you believe that hd-dvd will remain a marginal format, and the majority of new, interesting releases will continue to be released on DVD only, then, by all means, buy a top-line dvd player-- which the Oppo is reputed to be..

I could mention that the Oppo 981 plays SACDs and DVD-Audio, but, of course, those high definition audio discs have already failed, in a way that hd-dvd has not. And, since the HD-A1 is reported to have really quite nice redbook audio, the problem seems to be well balanced indeed.

For me, it boils down to two things. Multichannel inputs, and price. I already have a DVD-Audio player. I already have an SACD player. So it would be paying $400 for the privilege of playing premium priced video discs... And of course it would involve disconnecting and reconnecting inputs. or finding a switch that works with my harmony, without coloring the signal.

 

[Frank@N]

I'm looking at the 981 because $250 is absolutely the most I'd pay for a video player.

It also upconverts to 1080p for my Sony 40v2500 and should operate much faster than an A1/A2.

If I'm not mistaken, the Toshiba players only output 1080i.

 

[Sami Kallio]

Does it matter since it is practically same thing as 1080p, especially if you're talking about upconverting SD-DVD.