[calvino]

I have a beautiful plasma and I was thinking in buying a high definition DVD.
I was going to get the toshiba that was on sale on amazon for $238 with 2 free movies + 5 movies by mail rebate.
Type some titles that I want in HD and I notice that the good movies are in blu-ray

so I say "well I'm going to buy a blu-ray player", the cheapest one is like $450 WTF? is better to buy a PS3 to watch movies.

What is wrong with Sony they have the oppotunity to win this war if they lower their player prices.

now I'm not sure what format should I get

- Toshiba have cheap players, and OK movies

- Blu-ray have great titles but expensive players (I'm about buying a blu-ray because sony has never succeed with any of the format that they realease, like Beta, UMD movies, etc... )


I'm ready to move on to HD and I can't !

[Taittinger]

Sony lost already. They lost when the porn industry adopted HD-DVD.

[calvino]

I did not know that well I only watch porn in my pc
but what about blockbuster they are supporting blu-ray

my local blockbuster have a whole section on blu-ray movies and like 20 HD-DVD titles and they havent add new ones.

[FirstClass]

Where's the option for having both?

[533ogetnom]

Originally Posted by FirstClass

Where's the option for having both?

like betamax and VHS

bluray is win, but they will probably lose

[enwhykiid]

i have a ps3 and a laptop that plays hd dvds so i think i have the best of both worlds

[calvino]

Originally Posted by FirstClass

Where's the option for having both?

well with one you like/use the most ?

[FirstClass]

Originally Posted by calvino

well with one you like/use the most ?

I don't use either, fuck 'em both. I get the feeling that we'll be using both formats till their extinction though, more like DVD+R versus DVD-R than VHS versus Betamax. Combo drives that have both will reign supreme.

[bartman32]

IMHO Blu-ray looks better. Also the movie companies are going to like it more because its harder to pirate them in mass. Meaning that the guys that are doing so have to buy all new equipment rather than a minor upgrade from DVD to HD-DVD. That's why you see more movies on Blu-ray. I think Blu-ray will win but if you don't want to wait to see who wins LG has a unit that plays both.

[obLu]

Blu-ray because I bought a PS3 (turns out that's about all it's good for ...) but honestly I think if I were to buy a dedicated player it'd be hd-dvd just because they've got more movies that I want to watch. Seems like most of the movies I like are Universal Studios so I'm screwed.

I'll probably end up buying the hd-dvd add-on for the Xbox360 so that I can have both.

Having a toddler, it's blu-ray FTW though. Disney/Pixar is blu-ray exclusive.

Neither is ever going to win. When I throw in an upscaled Pirates of the Caribbean SD against the POTC Blu-ray my friends are amazed with the difference. But they all admit they're happy enough with upscaled SD that they're not willing to put money into buying expensive players and having to pay attention to which format has what movie they want to buy.

My opinion is that when there's a sub $300 dual format player, both formats can live in harmony and thrive. Neither one is going to win.

[sinnet112]

So many studios are coming out on both formats you can't really tell which one's better. Blu-ray potentially looks better, but HD-DVD has better extras. Most people also can't tell the difference between HD-DVD and Blu-ray anyway.

[TurboFan]

BluRay, as it's supported by Blockbuster, and it's making a strong showing. It is a little concerning that the porn industry is backing HD-DVD, as they will sell a hell of a lot of disks (However, I don't think I'd want to see most of those girls in HD!).

The BluRay format has some technical advantages, and hopefully Sony's inclusion of partners up front will overcome the arrogance that killed them with other formats (Beta, MD).

The Sammy BD-P1200 is not only a great BluRay player, it's the best regular DVD player I've ever seen. I did an A/B comparison with a very good Pioneer Elite DVD player I have, and there really isn't a comparison. It's not even worth discussing, because the Sammy blew it out of the water in every regard. It's up-sampling to 1080p makes a good DVD look ALMOST as good as a bluray disk. It's scarry. I've been going back and watching some old movies just to see stuff I hadn't seen before. The Top Gun anniversary edition (the re-mastered one, not the shitty first release) is outstanding.

[Kiemyster]

Originally Posted by FirstClass

I don't use either, fuck 'em both. I get the feeling that we'll be using both formats till their extinction though, more like DVD+R versus DVD-R than VHS versus Betamax. Combo drives that have both will reign supreme.

+1. combo drive FTW!

[TurboFan]

Originally Posted by obLu

Blu-ray because I bought a PS3 (turns out that's about all it's good for ...) but honestly I think if I were to buy a dedicated player it'd be hd-dvd just because they've got more movies that I want to watch. Seems like most of the movies I like are Universal Studios so I'm screwed.

I'll probably end up buying the hd-dvd add-on for the Xbox360 so that I can have both.

Having a toddler, it's blu-ray FTW though. Disney/Pixar is blu-ray exclusive.

Neither is ever going to win. When I throw in an upscaled Pirates of the Caribbean SD against the POTC Blu-ray my friends are amazed with the difference. But they all admit they're happy enough with upscaled SD that they're not willing to put money into buying expensive players and having to pay attention to which format has what movie they want to buy.

My opinion is that when there's a sub $300 dual format player, both formats can live in harmony and thrive. Neither one is going to win.

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

+1. combo drive FTW!

Sub $300 and a heck of a lot better quality than what's out now. The LG is crap, and $$$ more than two good players combined!!! I don't know what's so hard about making a good dual format player for less $$$, other than having to pay dual royalties.

[shockin330i]

Originally Posted by calvino

I have a beautiful plasma and I was thinking in buying a high definition DVD.
I was going to get the toshiba that was on sale on amazon for $238 with 2 free movies + 5 movies by mail rebate.
Type some titles that I want in HD and I notice that the good movies are in blu-ray

so I say "well I'm going to buy a blu-ray player", the cheapest one is like $450 WTF? is better to buy a PS3 to watch movies.

What is wrong with Sony they have the oppotunity to win this war if they lower their player prices.

now I'm not sure what format should I get

- Toshiba have cheap players, and OK movies

- Blu-ray have great titles but expensive players (I'm about buying a blu-ray because sony has never succeed with any of the format that they realease, like Beta, UMD movies, etc... )


I'm ready to move on to HD and I can't !

That $200 player probably didn't have 1080p. It was probably Toshibas 1080i player. And Sony is coming out with a PS3 that's 399 and word is it will come with Spiderman 3.

Originally Posted by Taittinger

Sony lost already. They lost when the porn industry adopted HD-DVD.

Wow, you couldn't be more wrong. Porn is coming out on both Blu and hd-dvd

Originally Posted by calvino

I did not know that well I only watch porn in my pc
but what about blockbuster they are supporting blu-ray

my local blockbuster have a whole section on blu-ray movies and like 20 HD-DVD titles and they havent add new ones.

Most blockbusters only carry blu-ray except a few tester stores.

Call me a blu-ray fan boy if you wish but blu just has so much more to offer. More players, movies, studios etc.

If you really want to know more about blu ray you can check out
http://forum.blu-ray.com/

[bartman32]

Actually as an addition to my earlier post there better be a clear winner and soon. What is likely to happen is downloading High Def Movies is moving closer and closer. Once someone figures out how to reliably and quickly download a high def movie to a regular cable box both HD DVD and Blu-ray are going to be in BIG trouble. Especially if they haven't already solved this format war. Certainly some people like to own movies but my predicition is that if this format war isn't decisively won by that time that new technology could take a HUGE share of the movie business.

Discs win over pay per view today only because of comfort level. But just a bit of marketing and on-demand HD movies will take a LARGE bite out of the blockbusters of the world if this hasn't been decided.

[shockin330i]

Originally Posted by bartman32

Actually as an addition to my earlier post there better be a clear winner and soon. What is likely to happen is downloading High Def Movies is moving closer and closer. Once someone figures out how to reliably and quickly download a high def movie to a regular cable box both HD DVD and Blu-ray are going to be in BIG trouble. Especially if they haven't already solved this format war. Certainly some people like to own movies but my predicition is that if this format war isn't decisively won by that time that new technology could take a HUGE share of the movie business.

Discs win over pay per view today only because of comfort level. But just a bit of marketing and on-demand HD movies will take a LARGE bite out of the blockbusters of the world if this hasn't been decided.

Actually the only reason there is a format war is because MS wants neither one of them to win so that Movie DLs can take off. This is why MS keeps pumping money into hd-dvd.

Correct me if I'm wrong but MS owns the rights to the new codec that will be used to download movies.

This fourth quarter will be the deciding factor. WB already hinted they would choose one format depending on sales this Christmas.

[calvino]

Originally Posted by bartman32

Once someone figures out how to reliably and quickly download a high def movie to a regular cable box both HD DVD and Blu-ray are going to be in BIG trouble..

comcast allready offers VOD in HD you can order the movies in HD for like $4.99 the regular version is $2.99 also they have HBO, showtime,Starz in HD on demand

so I don't think they are going to have any trouble.

I will buy a HD-DVD since is cheaper, but the movies that I like are in blu-ray. and the movies that I like in HD-DVD are also in blu-ray.

I think if Sony comes with more affortable players they will win this war. the disk are more advanced that the hd-dvd offering the double amount of space. if a blu-ray player comes out for $290 or so I will buy it, but $450 for the cheapest player is ridiculous.

HD-DVD have players for $230.

[shockin330i]

Originally Posted by calvino

comcast allready offers VOD in HD you can order the movies in HD for like $4.99 the regular version is $2.99 also they have HBO, showtime,Starz in HD on demand

so I don't think they are going to have any trouble.

I will buy a HD-DVD since is cheaper, but the movies that I like are in blu-ray. and the movies that I like in HD-DVD are also in blu-ray.

I think if Sony comes with more affortable players they will win this war. the disk are more advanced that the hd-dvd offering the double amount of space. if a blu-ray player comes out for $290 or so I will buy it, but $450 for the cheapest player is ridiculous.

HD-DVD have players for $230.

Again, its only 1080i..

[Taittinger]

Originally Posted by shockin330i

Wow, you couldn't be more wrong. Porn is coming out on both Blu and hd-dvd

I will defer to your greater knowledge in this area.

[hotrod2448]

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-13817_7...5.html?tag=nav

from link:

"HD alternatives
With Apple TV, Xbox Live, Vudu, video-on-demand, and pay-per-view outlets already offering high-def movies, why worry about physical media at all? Let's just skip the next optical disc format and jump straight to the next phase of home video: downloadable HD movies."

I'm in this group.

[tintivilus]

Originally Posted by bartman32

IMHO Blu-ray looks better.

That's like saying "My mp3s sound better on CF than SD". There are plenty of extras different between the two, but when it comes to the actual *movie* you can put the exact same data on an HD-DVD or BD. The only differences in quality between HD-DVD <foo> and BD <foo> are decisions made in mastering.

Originally Posted by shockin330i

Correct me if I'm wrong but MS owns the rights to the new codec that will be used to download movies.

If you're talking about VC-1 (aka Windows Media 9) then that codec is also part of both HD-DVD and BD specs (every HD-DVD and BD player is required to support VC-1). Personally I was hoping for a long time that WMV-9 would die a painful death in favor of good ol' MPEG4 H.264, but now that WMV-9 has been standardized into VC-1 there's a much lower risk of Microsoft winding up with a stranglehold on the industry.

In any event, I'm also guessing that the format differences will become a DVD+/-R thing when everyone just gets multi-format players, unless we skip over plastic disks entirely.