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Stopping DVD purchases or upgrading dvd library to High Def. (1 Viewer)

Ryan Peddle

Second Unit
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Nov 28, 1999
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473
And now that I think about it, I think the worst problem it will have is if the J6Ps out there get confused start buying the new discs and they won't work in their normal dvd player, and don't even start to tell me that won't happen.
 

Marc Colella

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That'll probably happen, but it's up to the studio's to ensure that it doesn't happen that often.

They somehow better make it apparent on the case/cover that the discs are only playable on Hi-Def players.
That leaves me to wonder if we'll see a different type of package for these HD-DVDs (much like some SACD and DVD-A cases are different).

Maybe thinpacks will be the HD-DVD standard?
That's another reason to move to HD-DVD ;)
 

WillardK

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Mar 25, 2003
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318


Well... that's what you'll find on VOD now at regular rental rate or less (and I'm sure that some Trekkie somewhere has rigged their cable and tivo to work with voice command... yeesh).

Of course massive on-line catologues WILL happen. That's too obvious. It's a question of time. Extras are available NOW for some titles and there's no reason we won't see alternate audio for commentary and the like.

I'd bet that even cult and B-Z films will someday have independent VOD libraries. Again, I'm not holding my breath but it's just a matter of time. Even if it takes numerous trial and error pricing schemes, it will happen. I've used it for a few freebie shorts and enjoyed it. However, with it's current state of non-OAR and mostly mainstream films, I rarely even check the schedule.

As for worries about home recording or having your own copy for personal use, I'd point to the current headlines concerning the sharing and recording of downloaded movies.

Glenn: I curse the fools who laugh at my Betamax! They LAUGH!!!
 

Jason Harbaugh

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Not at all. DVD's currently don't take advantage of what HD displays have to offer. HD-DVD/Blu-ray does/will. There won't be any new display format that will be made for consumers for a long long time. HD is what all broadcast and media is moving towards. Not something beyond that. HD is the new standard replacing one created 50 years ago. The most we will probably see is 1080p becoming the norm in new sets but that is something that HD-DVD/Blu-ray can easily adapt to or support right out of the gate.

D-VHS was already the niche HD format in my opinion. I know plenty of people here, including myself, never jumped onboard because we knew that an optical HD format was just around the corner. Hell I have two HD displays and still didn't want to invest in D-VHS because I knew it was just a niche product but it still managed to be moderately successful and even had day and date new releases with DVD. But it was never going to be the mass produced standard for HD prerecorded media. That is going to be one of the two optical HD formats. Some may still call it a niche format, but no more than HDTV's are now and those are just growing in popularity by the day.
 

Ryan Peddle

Second Unit
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Nov 28, 1999
Messages
473


That is true. NTSC was created a long time ago and has never changed at all in the last 50 odd years. So Hi Def is the revolutionary technology, but HD-DVD is not, and ther inlies the problem.
 

Joseph Bolus

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A lot of people (and I'm one of them) feel as though conventional anamorphic 16:9 DVD has already broken out of the shackles of the NTSC format.

When I view a 480p anamorphic DVD I've already progressed (pun intended) far beyond what conventional NTSC is capable of.

That's both the strength and weakness of the current DVD format: It has one foot in the old 4:3 NTSC technology, personified by the player's ability to do anamorphic downconversion for legacy sets, and one foot in the 16:9 EDTV world with 480p output of 16:9 enhanced DVDs. It doesn't support either world perfectly, but it does do a "good enough" job to satisfy at least 90% of the users of the format.

That's a lot for HD-DVD and/or Blu-Ray to overcome.
 

Michael Elliott

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So, if I replace my 1500 titles on HD-DVD, I shouldn't worry about another upgrade for at least 50 years? "HD" will certainly be the last upgrade in our lifetime?

I can't help but think there will be something better after HD. The HD might be better than what current DVDs can offer but the way tech moves things could change.

Also, is anyone else worried that with HD more and more films will be matted to 1.78 no matter what the OAR is? Again, I haven't followed this too closely but I recall hearing some 2.35:1 movies were shown 1.78 on some HD station.
 

KylePete

Stunt Coordinator
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Dec 30, 2003
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91
After reading this thread, I would assume that HDTV sales are really hurting because most people can't tell the difference from an SDTV. Let's face it, if people couldn't tell the difference between SD and HD, HDTV's wouldn't be selling like they are.

Also, why would they still be releasing Superbit titles? You'd think they would have stopped marketing such discs if people weren't buying "better quality".

And make no mistake about it, the movie industry wants to push a stronger encryption format for their product. Broadband internet connections are becoming commonplace, and soon it won't be a big deal to download a DVD image from the net. DVD's encryption has already been broken, and Hollywood wants to avoid what happened to the music industry.

DVD sales will peak this year (via numerous surveys and reports). Hollywood is looking for their next cash cow to keep up the profit.

And don't underestimate marketing power. A couple years ago, I never even knew Laserdisc had ever existed. Same with SACD and DVD-Audio. It's all up to marketing.
 

Barry Hebert

Agent
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If HD-DVD or Blu-Ray were available tomorrow, from where do think the initial releases would come? They would come from high-definition transfers done over the last several years. Many of which suffer from digital artifacts such as edge enhancement, or are otherwise lacking in quality that could be achieved today. While these initial HD releases will undoubtably look better than their DVD counterparts, they will NOT look as good as transfers done several years from now. Do you really think studios, be they small or large, would NOT try to pass off SOME up-converted standard definition transfers as HD? Do we all not remember the abundance of non-anamorphic LaserDisc ported transfers from the early days of DVD.

If HD-DVD/Blu-Ray were available tomorrow, it would still take several years for the format to see its ultimate audio/video quality. The studios will expect us to double/triple dip as they always have. Do really think there won't be SuperBit Blu-Ray somewhere down the road? If you don't want to pay under $20.00 for a DVD today, do you really want to pay over $20.00 for an HD-DVD tomorrow. Especially when you can expect the improved remastered HD-DVD will be offered soon after.

Over the years, I or friends have owned CED video discs, LaserDiscs, Beta, SVHS, and a number of defunct computer and video game systems. When the hardware for these systems inevitably dies, it is impossible or impractical to replace it. What is the software worth then? There is NO guaranty that HD-DVD or Blu-Ray will not join the long list of once promising products. Remember, at one time, all of these were going to be the NEXT BIG THING!

I own a lot of DVDs. More than I ever owned in all those other formats combined. I was able to do this because DVD is so successful and relatively affordable. Will HD-DVD or Blu-Ray allow that to happen again? I'm not counting on it. Personally, I would not dream of dumping my DVD collection today, for what MIGHT be available tomorrow. One BIG advantage of standard CDs and DVDs are that both formats are SO successful that playback equipment for these formats will remain available and affordable for the remainder of my lifetime.

I'm enjoying what I have right now. I'll worry about the future when it gets here.

--Barry
 

Dan Hitchman

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As of current A/V news and insider leaks, both blue laser formats have the potential for 8 channel discrete, high resolution PCM (Blu-Ray: uncompressed, HD-DVD: MLP compressed) and 1080p video via at least MPEG-4/AVC High Profile...

I think my DVD buying days are getting quite numbered.
 

Brent M

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My DVD buying days will be numbered when there's a one clear winner of a format in place(either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, not both), when players are reasonably priced and when major titles are available(Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Spider-Man, The Terminator, Die Hard, Batman, etc). Until then, my DVD buying habits will continue unaltered and I will enjoy my purchases instead of worrying about what MIGHT be available in the future.
 

Michel_Hafner

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Feb 28, 2002
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Yes, I have stopped buying DVDs of Hollywood films mastered
from HD. I see no point in buying them now and then again
on HD DVD. The HD I see on public TV blows the DVDs away.
That's the quality and better I want for the films in my
library. If I must see a current film I go to the cinema or I can rent the DVD. Buying it I'm not intersted any more.
The format is too compromised and not optimised for people
like me with a big screen. I have enough old DVDs and HD
on TV to keep me busy till HD DVD arrives. The only DVDs
I buy are marginal films unlikely to appear on HD for a
long time.
 

Chris Wagner

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Jun 10, 1999
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64
I agree completely with Michel.

I believe in quality over quantity.
I'd rather have my most prized movies in hi-rez, than 1500 mediocre movies which i could rent or perhaps catch on an HD channel.

Hi-rez will happen sooner than later, and the difference will be substantial, as long as you have the hardware.

Nearly every DVD released in the past couple of years is a down-converted, compressed version of a hi-rez transfer the studio already has.
They just need a proper format to put them on.

I will still pick up a TV box or an off-the-cuff movie release on DVD, but my buying habits have steeply declined over the past year.
 

Jean D

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I have under 150 dvd titles, most of which I dont care if it comes out of hd-dvd cause the dvd versions are good enough. As it is now, I tend not to double dip. Theres only a few titles that I would want the best versions of. But, when hd-dvd becomes affordable for me, if I feel at that time its worth it and there are titles that I must own, I will get them. If I feel that the next big thing is right around the corner I will hold out, or re-assess the situation at that time. it seems to me that the majority of people here think hd-dvd isnt going anywhere, which makes me skeptical. I guess I wont know how I really feel about it until I see it, and experiance it first hand. Much like DVD-A. the only reason Id want dvd-a to finnally catch on, is to release more titles, but aside from that, it doesnt matter to me if DVD-A catches on, cause at this stage I'm still impressed by the format.
 

Brent M

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I can't believe how many people here live for tomorrow instead of today. Who cares what format might be dominant 3 or 4 years from now? You may not be around to see it! There's no way I would deprive myself of titles that are available on DVD right now just because they might be offered in HD several years down the road. Hell, I bought a DVD player in 1999 and we're just now getting Star Wars on the format in 2004! I say buy the DVDs you really want and enjoy them, then when something better comes along sell your DVDs off and upgrade to the new format. What's so difficult about that?
 

Jason Harbaugh

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Brent,

I can't speak for everyone, but I'm sure those of us waiting for HD-DVD haven't just stopped watching anything new on DVD. All I've done is stopped buying as many titles as I had been buying before. Now I just rent most movies as before I would buy pretty much anything I was interested in. So I'm still 'living for today' but I'm 'saving for tomorrow'. :)
 

kennethROGERSON

Auditioning
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Apr 15, 2004
Messages
6
Personally, I would prefer if the Studios finished putting out their back catalog first there are titles, which I have been waiting for since the introduction and demise of the VHS, the BETA, the RCA-SELECTAVISION, and the LASER DISC.
Upgrades are fine, but I am more concerned about having a complete Library, that a new technology that offers a slight improvement ion what we already have.
Besides, if another format comes out, I am not going to waste my money on it until there is a clear winner, and even then, I think I will wait.
As far as I am concerned this money making scheme is exactly that.
Looking into the Future, I can see it benefiting home video enthusiasts who would want to make their own movies.
However, I feel it is too soon to introduce another "Revolutionary" studio formatted product so soon without ensuring that some of these other movies, which have not seen the light of day, are restored and released to Us - the purchasers of your entertainment.
And besides personally, I would prefer to be treated differently than as some studio cash cow.
 

Michael St. Clair

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May 3, 1999
Messages
6,001
If it's a classic (pre-HDTV) TV show, don't hold off for the HD release.

They'll probably chop the top and bottom off to please the high-def sixpack crowd. Buy now, get OAR.
 

Paul.S

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Too bad the thread starter has yet to return to an interesting subject, one which has become more of an issue for me in the past year or so as I continue to look critically at issues of free time, budget, hi def DVD arrival and my Amazon Wish List and evaluate the merits of buying the 90+ titles listed there sooner versus later.

Although there’s been a lot of speculation about when hi def DVD may drop, to bring it back to a/the central issue of current buying habits, I have to say Michael’s (post #113) and Chris’ (post #114) perspectives resonate with me.

I also want to point out the chicken vs. the egg problematic of the hi rez audio analogy.
[/size]
Excellent points, Barry.

Other than Marc C. (post #96), Jason (#104) and Kyle (#108), I’m surprised there hasn’t been more D-VHS discussion. It’s another problematic comparison to look to D-VHS as instructive as to how hi def DVD might be received but, be that as it may, I wonder how people feel about that . . .? Sure, it’s tape but, D-VHS does have some things in common with what we can speculate the early hi def DVD landscape might look like: limited studio support/title availability; limited hardware manufacturer support; and more typically in the c.e. universe, dropping prices on machines that were expensive upon introduction . . .

Bottom line for me is that I'm at least considering holding off on more 'expensive' purchases like that it's-about-time-MGM Great Escape SE (as opposed to stuff that's $8.99 at Costco, like the new Footloose) given the arguable imminence of hi def . . .

-p
 

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