Widescreen DVD after HD-DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Travis_W]

I just want to say that I'm perfectly happy with current DVD. In fact I'm against HD-DVD because once we see how good it looks then we'll have to rebuy our entire collections because DVD won't equal to it. I'm wondering will widescreen still be available on DVD after most of the enthusiasts move to HD-DVD? I consider myself to be an enthusiast but it's going to take something spectacular for me to invest in HD-DVD. The current studio mentallity is that only the enthusiasts care for widescreen adn once HD-DVD comes along they may drop this option alltogether. For example widescreen VHS tapes are few and far between after DVD hit it big because the studios figured the ones who cared for it wer on the bandwagon. I want to stay with DVD for as long as I can but only if the films I love are in their OAR.

 

[Marc_Sulinski]

I would think that they would continue to produce widescreen DVD, especially in the beginning of HD-DVD because I think the HD-DVD format may be one that takes a while to catch on.

Also, just because a better format comes along, doesn't mean that the previous format is no longer usable. You can still watch all of your old DVDs. There are many memebers of this forum that maintain laserdisc collections.

 

[Aaron_Brez]

For example widescreen VHS tapes are few and far between after DVD hit it big because the studios figured the ones who cared for it wer on the bandwagon.

Widescreen VHS tapes were few and far between *before* DVD hit. I noticed no perceptible difference in the variety of titles available on VHS when DVD came out.

I will, however, admit that I stopped being a consumer in that market as soon as DVD arrived, even though I didn't have a machine. (When things are vaporware, buying a "lesser" version to tide you over makes sense.) So my analysis of the widescreen VHS market post-DVD could be off.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

In fact I'm against HD-DVD because once we see how good it looks then we'll have to rebuy our entire collections because DVD won't equal to it.

You're in the wrong hobby, mate

The purpose of the studio home entertainment divisions is to persuade you to buy as many versions of the same movie as possible.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Based on my prior experiences with various formats and the.. "mentality" of consumers, especially in North America, I would say that the shift to "fullscreen" would be inevitable but not complete. There will still be widescreen but I remember all too well when DVD first came out and we early adopters were onboard with the format. All titles were available in widescreen, and most of them were widescreen only.

 

[Travis_W]

Thanks for the insight guys. It's not that I'm against HD-DVD I just cringe at having to replace my collection. But from what I hear the machines will be backwards-compatible.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Since HDTV is by nature 1.78:1, I'd assume that widescreen would stick around because J6P doesn't want black-bars on the side of his tv.

 

[Karl F]

Widescreen VHS tapes were few and far between *before* DVD hit. I noticed no perceptible difference in the variety of titles available on VHS when DVD came out.

As a video store owner for 6 years and an inventory coordinator in another store before that (meaning that I'm STILL dealing with VHS, probably more than most people here), I'll jump in and say, yeah, there's actually a big ol' difference between then and now as far as VHS tapes being available in WS. There were lots of movies that were being released in both formats; many of those came out P&S only at rental price, and then were released in both formats when the title dropped to sellthrough pricing. That NEVER happens anymore.

--K

 

[Jason_Els]

A video store owner who actually knows something about their product?!?!

My God man, PLEASE move your store next door to me! The house is for sale and it's only $585,000. There's not a lot of parking but there's a pretty white picket fence.

At all the video stores in my town all I get are a bunch of teens manning the counter who have no concept of widescreen vs. fullscreen except to warn people who rent them. Though I only rent OAR I get the same thing over and over, "You know this has those bars, right?" Don't even think about asking for genres. If it doesn't blow-up or have crude humor they know nothing.

There is one video store owner to whom I told my OAR-only policy and she did offer some hope, "Yeah, I've been thinking about getting a widescreen version of each movie, more people are asking for it." I was shocked but it's a start. Sad to say, I think it's because I live in a rather affluent community far from any movie theater other than the drive-in. There must be quite a few people with hometheaters. I've heard stories from local electronics people that my town is full of really nice home theaters but other than my own , I haven't seen any of them. I just hope it's enough to pressure the local video stores to act.

As a side note my sister, who lives in Vermont, drives 30 miles to a rental store in Montpelier for some great titles. It's the only video store I've ever seen that has Salo (under lock and key) for rent. In fact they have the entire Criterion library along with a few no-region Apex players you can rent. Yes you have put down a security deposit on some of the titles (like the oop Criterions) but it's just astounding the variety of foreign and unusual titles on DVD and VHS (and even LD!) they have. Here I live in a town the same size as Montpelier and we have 2 video stores, none of which remotely seem devoted to good film. It's rather sad.

Sorry to hijack the thread but it shows what one good video store can do for a community. They bother to educate the customers, know their products, and keep track of what each customer likes so they can make recommendations.

More power to you!

 

[Marc_Sulinski]

You realize that when the new HD-DVD players start coming out that your current DVD player will still work, right? Even if the new players are not backwards-compatible, you can still use your current player and still buy a new regular DVD player also.

Due to the massive success of DVDs, I think that it will be a long time before you can't buy a DVD player.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

I just want to say that I'm perfectly happy with current DVD. In fact I'm against HD-DVD because once we see how good it looks then we'll have to rebuy our entire collections because DVD won't equal to it. I'm wondering will widescreen still be available on DVD after most of the enthusiasts move to HD-DVD? I consider myself to be an enthusiast but it's going to take something spectacular for me to invest in HD-DVD.

Well, what you can do is start to buy *new* titles on HD-DVD while you keep your existing WS DVD collection.

Win Win. Who cares if SD-DVD says WS or goes PS at that point...all your new purchases can be WS HD-DVD.

BTW, the *real* problem is that both SD and HD DVD may be prone to "16x9 P/S" of 2.35:1 materail so the masses won't see "black bars" on their *widescreen* TVs.

-dave

 

[Craig W]

When HD-DVD hits, I only plan on rebuying my favorites in my current collection and will purchase new titles on HD-DVD.

I have realized I have too many titles on the shelf that just sit there to justify rebuying them.

 

[Charlie Essmeier]

In fact I'm against HD-DVD because once we see how good it looks then we'll have to rebuy our entire collections because DVD won't equal to it.

You should have thought about that before you bought into DVD in the first place. DVD was never intended to be anything other than a temporary bridge between laserdisc and HD, and I'd have been happy if they'd just skipped it and introduced HD laserdiscs. DVD hasn't been good enough since HDTV debuted in 1998.

I finally broke down and bought a DVD player last fall, but I've only purchased some two dozen discs. There's no point in investing too heavily in a stopgap format.

But I'd buy HD-DVD tomorrow.

Charlie

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Charlie,

While I share your passion for optical-HD software, your dismissal of DVD:

DVD was never intended to be anything other than a
temporary bridge between laserdisc and HD, and I'd have been happy if
they'd just skipped it and introduced HD laserdiscs. DVD hasn't been
good enough since HDTV debuted in 1998.

leaves an untold story. Have you seen a well-mastered DVD, properly upscaled, projected via a hi-def projector on a 100" screen? It's shockingly close to the appearance of *real* 35mm film (from a distance of 1.5+ screen-widths away). Yes, true HD surpasses it in fine image detail and color depth. But without direct comparison, the DVD image more than satisfies.

NO LASERDISC (hi-vision aside) EVER ACCOMPLISHED THIS.

And I've seen it all...laserdiscs processed via $20K Faroudja 1080P upconverters projected from stacked $60K Runco CRT projectors.

A properly mastered DVD looks an order of magnitude *better* than laserdisc on a revealing projection system ... and the improvement is more dramatic than the improvement going from SD-DVD to HD!

Pretending that DVD offered the videophile no advantage over laserdisc software is silly. The improvement with DVD is so real that I can hardly bring myself to watch any of my OOP 2.35:1 LDs because they look so "video" by comparison. I'd rather wait for a 16x9 DVD to do them justic.

All that being said, naturally I'll be ready and willing to purchase films in full 1920 x 1080 24p on HD-DVD when available!

-dave

 

[Mehdy]

This format(HD)will be here quicker than you can blink
your eyes...one of the main reasons is Plasma and other new
widescreen TV sales...tube going to be dead soon with with flat screen prices droping....Having a Hi-Def TV there are
BIG differences....HD-DVD will be tough to beat for a long time but....never say never but I predict it not be PICTURE QUALITY ALONE that will be the difference....Hello? Wake up!
Audio is 50% of the experience here...you know hi def will be 7.1 or 8.1 DD or DTS and that combined with better picture will KICK dvd's ASSSSSSSS.

 

[GerardoHP]

Movies are already being shown in 2.35:1 HD widescreen on HBO (as well as in pan and scan 16X9) so why wouldn't it be done the same way on DVD HD? The widescreen options will all be the same as now, only 16X9 instead of 4X3 and high definition instead of NTSC.

 

[Aaron_Brez]

Movies are already being shown in 2.35:1 HD widescreen on HBO (as well as in pan and scan 16X9) so why wouldn't it be done the same way on DVD HD? The widescreen options will all be the same as now, only 16X9 instead of 4X3 and high definition instead of NTSC.

Which means that we'll get "family movies" as pan/scan/open-matte only releases. Same as now. :frowning:

 

[GarySchrock]

This format(HD)will be here quicker than you can blink

I'd say that's overly optimistic. HD is a pretty insignificant part of the market at this point, and personally I don't see it changing any time soon. Sure, enthusiasts might be moving to it, but the masses aren't.

I know in a forum like this it may be hard to believe this, but most people aren't running HD capable equipment, and a sizeable chunk of those people aren't going to upgrade any time soon, it's just too expensive. Heck, at this point, only a couple of the networks in my area are even broadcasting digital. For most people that haven't seen HDTV, DVD's are already pretty good, there's just not much of an incentive to upgrade to HD.

One reason dvd's caught on as easily it has is because the cost of entry is pretty cheap. These days you can get a dvd player for under $100, and even some pretty good ones are under $200. When you start talking HD, the bar is a lot higher. You're talking expensive tvs, and if you want tv reception, generally an extra box since most of them don't have receivers built in, so you don't even gain the ability to watch hdtv.

And the audio differences driving it? Now that's a real joke. I'd be suprised if the people that have more than 5.1 capability is more than a pretty insignificant number, and I'd also guess a large chunk of those that have 5.1 are HT in a box people. Most of the people I know personally that have dvd don't even have that.

 

[Mehdy]

That would be true( sound quality isnt in a lot of homes) a few years ago, but hometheater has gone MAINSTREAM...CONSUMERS ARE MORE AWARE OF QUALITY AND THE DIFFERENCES involved. Hometheaters are now sold in boxs not in specialty stores..there also is a greater awareness or acceptance of improving TECH especially in computer chips,
ditigal cameras etc....with inovation comes a new wave of
buyers...I asked a stanger the other day this question:
why did you buy a dvd player-his first response better picture quality. With Hidef dvd the ADVANTAGE OVER DVD is the fact that anyperson who sees a HIDEF TV picture will immedately know the quality...you dont have to own the tv in order to be aware of the quality....I was in costo looking at a plamsa when this guy next to me says...the picture is amazing...look the word is spreading...One factor could be the backward compatiablity if the RED format is chosen. No 7.1 will not be in every house...But
do not discount the importance of sound..now even my digitial non-hidef channels are broadcast is DD. You can put your head in a bag when this tidal wave hits...but its coming.....right along with hi-def....and consumers will NOT buy an inferior product when there TV picture looks better, clearer..they will demand or purchase EQUALITY-
THAT MEANS hd-dvd WILL BE THE KING....Hail to the king baby....

 

[MarkHastings]

Win Win. Who cares if SD-DVD says WS or goes PS at that point...all your new purchases can be WS HD-DVD.

As long as future releases are released on both. Imagine if a new movie was released to SD-DVD and NOT HD-DVD, and the SD-DVD was pan and scan.

I realize it probably won't happen, but you never know.