Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD

[Gooder]

Dual format machines are underway but they are expensive.
The price will drop like most hardware does but this will take time

LG has a dual format machine model BH100, also called "The Super Multi Blue! It will also play standard DVDS! Price is around $1,200.
Samsung has a model underway, The Duo HD player (BD-UP5000). Not sure if this model will play standard DVDS though!

No exact date for when these models are to be released but I would guess halfway through 2008!

Cheers,
Lee

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Play hi-def video-on-demand and avoid the whole hi=def DVD game completely.

You make a very intersting point there Steve. I agree with you that video-on-demand is coming which, if we are correct, leaves a time limited window for these new generation players to achieve market saturation.

The longer the format war continues, the longer Joe Public will hang back and so the window of opportuinity continues to steadily close.

If this situation prevails, what happens to any home video on high-def media? Simple, use your PC to play it on your TV.

[mark hansen]

I was watching a few Disney movies over the holidays and they mentioned available on Blue ray... didn't mentioned HD DVD. Wonder if they are going the Blue Ray way...

[Steve Grisetti]

And did you see this?
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/1 ... technology

Looks like Adobe picked the right format for hi-def DVDs!

[Ken Jarstad]

I was wondering about what I was hearing...... Even though the BD system costs more now, it is a good thing to see this stalemate coming to an end. Now we need volume....... and lower prices.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Interesting point in that NY Times article.

Now that 32Gb cards are here, and possibly higher density cards on the way, why go down the 'silver disc' route whatever the recording format.

Solid state small format cards sound a lot better.

[kodebuster]

As the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD battle continues to rage, I was at a loss at what made sense when I purchased my HD-TV in early 2007.

After reading a few articles one stuck out in my mind on what I thought was a sensible alternative while we all wait for the final vote to be cast. The recommendation was to "NOT DECIDE" on a personal or purchase level at this time, but to persue a viable alternative in the short term.

So, I purchased a decent up-converting DVD player (JVC) that would take standard NTSC and morph it into 1080p (which was the highest format that my HD-TV would support).

I am very impressed with what this player will do with standard commercial DVD content on my HD-TV. The display quality is nothing short of incredable (when compared to the old analog output). Also, NTSC DVD content generated via PE4 for video and slideshows was very, very, very good. Quite honestly, my PE4 generated content and commercial DVD's display and play so well with this setup, I'm in NO rush to move to a pure HD content format.

Now lets put this into perspective, IS IT as great as pure Blu-Ray or HD-DVD for what this brings to the table, absolutely NOT, but I will tell you all that this up-converting technology is damn impressive, and a perfect short term alternative.

Also, the real upside for me was that I was able to take my entire existing DVD library and and play it in HD at a minimal cost point, and with no aggravating downside...

[Ken Jarstad]

I'll second that notion!

[sbfowler]

I like your idea very much, kodebuster. Very good upside, with no downside. I would like to move to hi-def, but wasn't sure what the best route was. Yours looks like a very good approach

Regards,

Steve

[kodebuster]

So, I purchased a decent up-converting DVD player (JVC)

This was a typo, I got so much equipment laying around that I'm losing track of the brand names...

The up-converter I have is made by Samsung (Model # ~ DVD-HD960). It has every conceiveable jack and output plug you could desire (including HDMI).

At the time of purchase, I think I paid around $125 via the web, and worth every penny.

Over the Xmas holiday I did see some DVD up-converters selling for as low $49 bucks (Best Buy & Circuit City).

Again, I can't stress how great NTSC PE4 slideshows play in Hi-Def with this setup (on a 42 inch, Mitsubishi 1080p TV).

The display quality is mind boggling...

[Ken Jarstad]

Just got an advertisement from Tiger-Direct in my in-box. Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD players are on sale for only $129.99 Do you think they are starting to give them away?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3304908&sku=T24-9148&CMP=EMC-TIGEREMAIL&SRCCODE=WEM1543BY

[Bob]

Do you think they are starting to give them away?

If Blu-Ray has won, they might have to ...

[VernonRobinson]

Hey, this in from Reuters:


Toshiba cuts HD player prices in Blu-ray fight

Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer electronics maker Toshiba Corp said on Monday it is slashing prices of its HD DVD format players by between 40 to 50 percent as major Hollywood studios move to embrace Sony Corp's Blu-ray format high definition DVDs.

Toshiba America Consumer Products said it cut prices of its HD DVD players effective January 13 to boost market adoption of its next-generation DVD players by mainstream consumers after what it said was a successful fourth quarter in unit sales.

"While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer," said Toshiba executive Yoshi Uchiyama in a statement.

Toshiba's players will now start as low as $149 going up to $399 for the top-of-range player.

The company said it is also stepping up its marketing drive with major initiatives including joint advertising campaigns with studios and extended pricing strategies. Toshiba said it will continue with on-going promotions including five HD DVD titles for free with any of its HD DVD player.

The battle to dominate the next generation of DVD players appeared to have tipped in Sony's favor earlier this month when the biggest Hollywood studio Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc , said it would exclusively support Blu-ray disc. It had previously supported both next-generation formats.

Analysts saw Warner Bros's move as an end to the next generation DVD war that they say has confused consumers and delayed the development of a multibillion-dollar market.

So far Toshiba has secured agreements with studios including Universal Home Video, Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG.

But Blu-ray has support from News Corp's 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Co and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp . In addition Sony's PlayStation 3 video game system can play Blu-ray movies while Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 works with HD DVD. But Microsoft said at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month that it could consider supporting Blu-ray technology should consumers want it.

[Bobby]

As the originator of the first thread in this section a year ago, I am certainly pleased to see that (I believe) the format wars are finally over. I do believe that HD-DVD will throw in the towel now.

Too bad. The industry lost precious momentum, not to mention almost two years of potential sales, both players and disks. The war or its resolution will not stall the technology after Blu-Ray, and so basically Blu-Ray just lost two years of life.

Yes, I have been doing the upconvert thing all this past year, with excellent results. Obviously the HD stuff is going to look better, but that is only a matter of resolution. The lack of noise, contrast, color, etc. is still good - ditto for the audio. And, of course, what you are showing it on counts. My 42" plasma is only 1080i, but still looks pretty good. And it is only 768 vertical.

So I will be spending some bucks in the future, but not the near future. Now to wait for the price to come down - after all, we have waited all these months anyhow!

Bob

[Steve Grisetti]

Yep. It's BluRay again.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jM1h ... wD8UO5OQ00