2007 HD-DVD and/or Blue-Ray Buying Plans
The 2006 HD-DVD - Blue-Ray controversy has generated an extremely active thread and now the one for 2007 has surfaced. Yet, it seems to me from reading through the posts, that most people who express such strong opinions don't even own one of the machines. So, I'm wondering how many people in 2007 are actually going to put their money where their mouth is so to speak.
As for me, now that I've rejoined Netflix, if there is a winner in 2007 I'll most likely buy a player in that format even though upconverted DVDs look pretty darn good
As for me, now that I've rejoined Netflix, if there is a winner in 2007 I'll most likely buy a player in that format even though upconverted DVDs look pretty darn good
Comments
I am beginning to get the itch to get something. I'd sure like to see a clear winner in the format war before taking the plunge, but it's possible I'll break down sooner than that. At this point, player prices and number of titles would have me leaning toward HD-DVD. Since I don't have any interest in gaming consoles, neither Xbox nor PS3 sway me either way.
I just ordered two new reasonably priced HDMI cables (about $25 each, as opposed to the $200 each BS a place like Best Buy would love to sell me) so I'll be ready for the inevitable purchase -- I could break down in as little as a month and it's hard to imagine I'll hold out as long as a year before I get something. I only use HDMI for one component now (my DirecTV HD-DVR) and that's hooked directly from the DVR into my TV, as my current receiver can only switch analog video.
I'll probably get myself a new HDMI-capable receiver soon, even before I've decided on an HD format. I could always punt in the short term and get a new standard DVD player with HDMI output.
I know a lot of people here are big Blu-ray proponents, but I'd be perfectly happy to see HD-DVD win out as the new movie format, leaving Blu-ray for high capacity data storage, and using universal drives on our computers for reading and writing both formats. Since HD-DVD's data capacity is more than adequate for high-def movies, and HD-DVDs are less vulnerable to dust and scratches (that expensive coating Blu-ray needs to make it more durable doesn't fix dust problems, only alleviates the scratching problem a bit), when you add on the ease of updating DVD pressing plants to handle HD-DVD, that makes HD-DVD the one I'm leaning toward as the desired winner of the format wars and the main movie format.
I got the PS3 here, but have yet to get a HDTV. May be I'm hard to please, I'm eyeing for the 1080p model.
What's the PS3 like?
To be honest this format war is not going to be decided by coherent technical discussion but rather by whichever groups best sells their technology to laypersons. That, or hybrid drives will become the norm.
There will be no hybrid drives. Right there you are dealing with two sets of royalties. Ack.
There will be no hybrid drives. Right there you are dealing with two sets of royalties. Ack.
Royalities to the Blu-ray and HD-DVD groups? But isn't that the same as must have previously occured with the -R/RW and +R/RW groups.
Royalities to the Blu-ray and HD-DVD groups? But isn't that the same as must have previously occured with the -R/RW and +R/RW groups.
Not really, because these were both adopted as a standard.
NEC and Broadcom have LSI that allow them to sell the same chip into HD DVD or Blu-ray or Universal product. This is the benefit of "economies of scale" now they can reduce the price and manf in volume.
We just need the optics to catch up now and Ricoh is working on a dual format optical drive. Sony has to be a bit worried about this. They are subsidizing BD50 production for 5 yrs (I'm told) stating that they will guarantee that BD50 doesn't cost more to large studios than HD30. What happens if the battle is protracted and last 5 yrs because of Universal players? Sony could see the studios take advantage of the subsidy and then switch to cheaper HD DVD production in 5 yrs. Who knows.
What's the PS3 like?
The PS3 is alright.. I'm still in the newbie mode.
The PS3 is alright.. I'm still in the newbie mode.
What's the frequency
The 2006 HD-DVD - Blue-Ray controversy has generated an extremely active thread and now the one for 2007 has surfaced. Yet, it seems to me from reading through the posts, that most people who express such strong opinions don't even own one of the machines. So, I'm wondering how many people in 2007 are actually going to put their money where their mouth is so to speak.
As for me, now that I've rejoined Netflix, if there is a winner in 2007 I'll most likely buy a player in that format even though upconverted DVDs look pretty darn good
Having PS3 doesn't automatically make that owner a HiDef Movie enthusiast. It needs to be clearer on the PS3/BR option. Not all PS3 owners would use it as a BD movie player. It's a gaming console afterall, and most purchases of PS3 is solely for gaming.
The thing that still baffles me is---you could buy a PS3 for around $700, but a Blu-Ray disc player will set you back nearly $1,000. Something don't add up here.
The PS3 sells for below cost right now. It's an excellent deal
Having PS3 doesn't automatically make that owner a HiDef Movie enthusiast. It needs to be clearer on the PS3/BR option. Not all PS3 owners would use it as a BD movie player. It's a gaming console afterall, and most purchases of PS3 is solely for gaming.
The title of this thread clearly states HD-DVD and/or Blue-Ray buying plans, which I ASSUMED most people would take to mean for movie viewing not gaming. PS3 was included because it is the least expensive B-R player and gets great reviews on AVSforum as a player.
The people who post on AVSforum are, for the most part, knowledgeable video enthusiasts, while the people here on Appleinsider probably represent a more typical range of video viewers. There's been enough hot air in the two HD format threads to inflate several hot air balloons. What I'm trying to do with this thread is cut through all that and see what AI members are voting for with their money.
What's the frequency
hmm... 480i
BTW.. I noticed that regular DVD playback was awesome on the PS3 compared to the Xbox 360, better control. However, I much prefer the Xbox 360 controller. Anyway, I have the player and software (from NetFlix), but not the hardware (HDTV).
I'm still remaining format neutral until things sort themselves out.