Apple - Openly supports Blu-ray, has current HD DVD support Dell - Blu-ray exclusively Hitachi - Supports both HP - Supports both LG - Supports both Mitsubishi Electric - Supports both Panasonic - Blu-ray exclusively Philips - Blu-ray exclusively Pioneer - Blu-ray exclusively Samsung - Blu-ray exclusively Sharp - Blu-ray exclusively Sony - Blu-ray exclusively TDK - Blu-ray exlusively Thomson - Supports both Twentieth Century Fox - Blu-ray exclusively Disney - Blu-ray exclusively Warner Bros - Supports both
Half of these vendors have either openly stated they'll support both platforms or have hinted at support for both.
How is this half? What is half of 17? 8.5 right? I see only 7 that support both (Heck, I'm even giving you Apple, but I still think they are Blu-ray exclusive as I think we'll find out in the coming months). 10 exclusive to Blu-ray and 7 that support both. Even at this, this still gives Blu-ray support at 17 with HD DVD support at 7. So, I'm not sure where you were trying to go with this.
I took the liberty of adding Hitachi, LG, and Pioneer that were missing from your list.
I count Disney as a company that's wavering due to the CEO Iger's statement that he thought they'd eventually support both formats.
Samsung seems to have stiffened their resolve for Blu-Ray but they were wavering back in the day as well.
Apple is not going to go exclusive anytime soon. Amir said they voted for iHD over Java and they want to sell Final Cut Studio as the editing and authoring environment for both platforms. Steve Jobs doesn't give a damn about the war he just wants to sell more software.
There is a review of the Samsung Blu-Ray player over at the AVS forums. It looks like it is designed as an actual disc player and takes just 15 seconds to load a disc. The Toshiba HD-DVD player on the other hand is actually a PC with long booting times. This was probably done to save costs and hit the market early.
5 seconds from power on to accepting a disc and 15 seconds to start playing the disc. So about 20 seconds to play a move compared to about a minute and a half to do the same thing on Toshiba's HD-DVD player.
I was reading and saw this (not trying to spread FUD marzetta )
Quote:
Samsung BD-P1000 play only BD and DVD-Video. Can not play:
WMVHD (((((((
.ts (((((((((((
Nothingggggggggggggggggg!!! Only Orginal BD and DVD Video region 1 (us)
No USB! No Ethernet!
I am guessing WMVHD is different from VC-1, correct? So no biggie there, as I would bet that the HD-DVD player only does Original HD-DVD and DVD Video region 1. The the ability to play .ts files isn't that big either. For most people these devices are made to play the next gen disks pressed by studios. My crap DVD player does SVCD/VCD/KVCD/DiVX/etc and I have used that capability once. 99.9% of what I play is pressed DVDs (or DVD-Rs I have made with content I have produced).
The thing I found odd was the lack of ethernet. I though one of the big things with blu-ray and HD-DVD was the interactivity, and internet ability of the players. And for the $500 toshiba player to include ethernet, but not the $1000 Samsung, seems odd (when ethernet is what, a very miniscule cost addon). Not trying to spread FUD, but if the future of the format is to have an internet layer, first gen Samsung buyers would be sol whereas first gen Toshiba buyers have it from the get go, right? Yes I know this statement does sound very FUD-like, but it is an honest question. Or is the whole internet layer going to be like the alternate camera angles we were promised with DVD. A bullet point, but ultimately nothing.
Folks let's dispense with the FUD Card and get to talking about the relevant features or missing features that exist. There's a certain amount of FUD in anything new.
The engame of both formats is high quality HD material. I for one and glad to have both competing formats. Look at Amazon.com and you'll see both HD DVD and Blu-Ray movies for as low as $19.49. Somehow I doubt we'd have $499 players and sub $20 movies if we had one format. I can take the good with the bad. There's a silver lining here and it's not hard to see.
I was reading and saw this (not trying to spread FUD marzetta )
I am guessing WMVHD is different from VC-1, correct? So no biggie there, as I would bet that the HD-DVD player only does Original HD-DVD and DVD Video region 1. The the ability to play .ts files isn't that big either. For most people these devices are made to play the next gen disks pressed by studios. My crap DVD player does SVCD/VCD/KVCD/DiVX/etc and I have used that capability once. 99.9% of what I play is pressed DVDs (or DVD-Rs I have made with content I have produced).
The thing I found odd was the lack of ethernet. I though one of the big things with blu-ray and HD-DVD was the interactivity, and internet ability of the players. And for the $500 toshiba player to include ethernet, but not the $1000 Samsung, seems odd (when ethernet is what, a very miniscule cost addon). Not trying to spread FUD, but if the future of the format is to have an internet layer, first gen Samsung buyers would be sol whereas first gen Toshiba buyers have it from the get go, right? Yes I know this statement does sound very FUD-like, but it is an honest question. Or is the whole internet layer going to be like the alternate camera angles we were promised with DVD. A bullet point, but ultimately nothing.
1984,
Sweet post dude. I've been enjoying going through that thread. I'm interesested in seeing screenshots of the Blu-ray movies that they are to get on the 15th.
As far as the post you caught onto kupan787, I saw it too. We'll just have to wait and see for sure what components it might be missing on release on the 25th as I'm sure there will be reviews everywhere, giving us the pros and cons.
I'm not sure how Blu-ray or HD DVD attempt to fully utilize any type of internet connection. I've heard certain possibilities, but nothing concrete as of yet.
I'm not sure how Blu-ray or HD DVD attempt to fully utilize any type of internet connection. I've heard certain possibilities, but nothing concrete as of yet.
Ya, if it ends up just being for "firmware updates" then no biggie, as I coudl just order a CD if it is needed. But if they plan to do cool interactive features with disks, or games, or whatever, then yippie! I just have this feeling that it is going to have just been another bullet point feature of the next gen format, kind of like camera angles were for current DVDs.
Reading through that whole thread, a lot of people seem to be saying to wait for the Pioneer or Sony player, as they will support HDMI 1.3, and something about some video chipset. I wont even pretend to understand it all, but the gist of what I was getting was that the Sony and Pioneer players will be better and are worth the wait if you can. I dunno, I am still somewhat on the fence. I will be purchasing around Christmas time (or maybe January), so I will weigh my options then. If I go blu-ray, it will be via PS3 (unless there is a standalone for $400 or less). Hopefully by that point HD-DVD will have a few players to choose from, and will have all the gen1 issues worked out. It will most likely come down to which side has more movies I would purchase. As of today, it is HD-DVD (4 to 1), but I know that 6 months from now that could very easily change (especially with the way studios have lined up).
Does that result in a picture quality advantage? I hear the Toshiba Qosmio plays a disc much faster as well. If that's an issue with customers (which I doubt it will be) then there are ways around it.
Um, no. Why would it? It has a user friendliness advantage. Having a player that can actually start playing a disc in a normal amount of time is important. No one wants to wait almost two minutes. The average consumer expects a certain level of functionality. No one likes going back to dial-up after using broadband for years.
Glad those discs are starting up fast. Evidently the quality of the initial releases isn't holding up.
The Fifth Element and House of Flying Daggers both are getting panned on AVS. Man how did Toshiba come out of nowhere and ace the BDA like this? Execution.
Glad those discs are starting up fast. Evidently the quality of the initial releases isn't holding up.
The Fifth Element and House of Flying Daggers both are getting panned on AVS. Man how did Toshiba come out of nowhere and ace the BDA like this? Execution.
Pfffffffft! I'm sure the Fifth Element looks just great. The same with House of Flying Daggers, no matter what Amir from Microshaft says. I've heard Terminator looks amazing as well. It is also nice to know there will be close to 200 releases by the end of the year on Blu-ray, so if you don't like those two, you have 198 others to choose from as compared to the 80 or so releases that will be coming out on HD DVD.
Besides, the player hasn't actually been released yet and already you are jumping on the HD DVD acing Blu-ray mantra. Not suprising, as desperation and negativity from the HD DVD fanboys (especially those fanboys that are present over at AVS, yourself included) is nothing new. I'll wait for more objective analysis than some from a Microsoft employee who clearly has an agenda.
Ya got somthin there Murch, yeah, yeah, right on your nose there...from munching on Amir's red eye all this time. Try to clean it off next time you post will ya there buddy, cause your stinkin up the place with his same crap.
still want to go with the above statement Marzetta7?
Quote:
you have 198 others to choose from as compared to the 80 or so releases that will be coming out on HD DVD.
Marzetta7 you rarely get anything right. This is another blatant gaffe by you. There are already almost 40 titles I haven't counted but by years end there will be well over a hundred HD DVD releases.
Quote:
Besides, the player hasn't actually been released yet
so...those are phantom Samsung Blu-Ray players in peoples home then right? All those people over at AVS don't really have Blu-Ray players then. I must be losing my mind
Ok for those that want "real" info here's the scoop thus far.
The Sammy BD player works well. Boots up faster than HD DVD and looks like it has a solid build. I've read that it's more sluggish when accessing front panel buttons there's a delay which doesn't exist on the HD DVD players. Those who've nabbed a player have checked out the upscaling and results are varied. I'm thinking the upscaling may be inferior to the Toshiba unit.
AVOID The Fifth Element. Clearly it's poorly encoded from the Master. Sadly House of Flying Daggers isn't getting rave initial reviews. Could it be the player or the disc we'll know but HD Digest says that 50 First Dates looks much better so I'm thinking it's the encode process that's suffered on HOFD and TFE
Is the Sammy unit worth 2x the Toshiba HD DVD. I don't think so. It lacks support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD. It has no ethernet port and the menus are a bit sluggish as well. However it's the only Blu-Ray player in town and if you have to have it you'll likely enjoy it very much.
Is the Sammy unit worth 2x the Toshiba HD DVD. I don't think so. It lacks support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD. It has no ethernet port and the menus are a bit sluggish as well.
But it's not like you can select one or the other based on price. Customers will have to go with the format that has the movies they want.
Arguments about relative cost simply don't apply if the movies you want are on the more expensive format. Whomever brings me "Lord of the Rings" or "X-Men" is getting my money. If it's Blu-ray, I will have to pony up the extra cash. It's that simple.
Everybody has a movie or movies that will be the tipping point. And nobody is going to stand there in their local Best Buy and say "Gosh, 'X-Men' is on Blu-ray, but the Toshiba player is half the price, so I guess I'll buy that and watch 'Phantom of the Opera' instead." It's more likely that they won't buy EITHER player.
I don't think that they will compare to the Toshiba unit, which takes 10 seconds to stop after you press the stop button on the remote.
Based on the reviews of the two units, I would buy the blu-ray unit and never buy the toshiba unit - just based on ergonomics alone. Nothing as unusable as the HD-DVD player will ever enter my house.
still want to go with the above statement Marzetta7?
Sure do. Like I said, I'm sure it still looks great, and from the review, he said it does too.
"However, make no mistake, this is a good-looking picture if you're not too critical. I bet the average consumer who saw this disc up and running at their local Best Buy would probably think it was darn swell."
"Still, complaints aside, 'The Fifth Element' does look very good, and this is hardly a bad transfer. It just is not the best that Blu-ray has to offer."
"One final note. Unlike Toshiba's first-generation HD DVD players, the Samsung BD-P1000 is capable of outputting full 1080p (at 30 fps only) via its HDMI output."
So when I hear statements like this from you...
"Evidently the quality of the initial releases isn't holding up."
that appear to generally categorize the entire Blu-ray release, I will call you on it. Yeah, thanks for the "real" info.
Quote:
so...those are phantom Samsung Blu-Ray players in peoples home then right? All those people over at AVS don't really have Blu-Ray players then. I must be losing my mind
Indeed, you are a little sick in the head. The official release is on the 20th, next Tuesday, that is my point. I'll wait to receive a full review from multiple sources before I start to criticize a product, I guess the same can't be said for you when 3 or 4 players accidently get sold and talked about on a certain forum, and then you suddenly declare the BDA getting aced...so much for objectivity there fanboy.
Quote:
Ok for those that want "real" info here's the scoop thus far.
The Sammy BD player works well. Boots up faster than HD DVD and looks like it has a solid build. I've read that it's more sluggish when accessing front panel buttons there's a delay which doesn't exist on the HD DVD players. Those who've nabbed a player have checked out the upscaling and results are varied. I'm thinking the upscaling may be inferior to the Toshiba unit.
In other words, "I'm thinking the upscaling may be inferior to the Toshiba unit since I disregard anything that was positive in regards to the Samsung unit seeing how the results are varied." Where did you hear about the supposed delay with the front panel buttons? AVS perhaps? From the same guy who gave us the number of units sold from Toshiba? Whatever man.
Quote:
AVOID The Fifth Element. Clearly it's poorly encoded from the Master. Sadly House of Flying Daggers isn't getting rave initial reviews. Could it be the player or the disc we'll know but HD Digest says that 50 First Dates looks much better so I'm thinking it's the encode process that's suffered on HOFD and TFE
Is the Sammy unit worth 2x the Toshiba HD DVD. I don't think so. It lacks support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD. It has no ethernet port and the menus are a bit sluggish as well. However it's the only Blu-Ray player in town and if you have to have it you'll likely enjoy it very much.
Actually, I would encourage people to EMBRACE the Fifth Element and decide for themselves, not listen to you trying to inject Microsoft and Toshiba propaganda into their brain. I say, have consumers purchase it and decide for themselves, either that or go to Best Buy or some other electronics store and take a look.
Moreover, how is it "clearly poorly encoded from the Master" when HD Digest itself said, "Still, complaints aside, 'The Fifth Element' does look very good, and this is hardly a bad transfer. It just is not the best that Blu-ray has to offer." Hmm? Answer, looks like someone is giving his version of objectivity again. Thanks, but no thanks.
Furthermore, where did you get that the menus are a bit sluggish? Was this from the varied opinions on AVS again, with your inherent disregard of any possible positives in that respect? Most likely, I would gather. Audio? Read the review again, it stated that the Fifth Element sounded great...
"This disc produces one heck of an involving and enveloping soundfield, with full use of all channels for more than just the odd effect or music cue here or there. The sense of space and imaging to the mix is often quite stunning."
"If just this one disc is any indication, I can safely say after having reviewed a couple of dozen HD DVD titles that Blu-ray is certainly capable of delivering a soundtrack as good as any I've heard on the rival format."
So please, stop the incessant whining. And please spare us the price jargon,...we are in an early adoption market, start getting a clue. Blu-ray players are priced just like CD and DVD players were historically on launch. You don't like the price, don't buy one, or just wait for the PS3 which is sure to bury HD DVD entirely at $499 and $599. And finally, if you are already not sold on the Samsung only after some opinions on some forums, then look into the Philips, the Pioneer, the Sony, and the Sharp players that will be here soon, but I'm sure you'll probably have the same type of response as we've seen thus far.
What was with the whole "dispensing with the FUD card" thing again? Yeah, yeah, more of the same from you.
But it's not like you can select one or the other based on price. Customers will have to go with the format that has the movies they want.
Within reason. Although HD DVD has half the studios I read a blurb that stated these studios they do have enjoy a disproportionate amount of hit moves. The combination of Warner, Paramount, Universal and New Line have created a rather larger group of popular movies.
Let's be honest while Blu-Ray gets to add a couple of notches with MGM and Lion's Gate truth is neither studio has really been a huge factor in recent years. MGM's value is basically their back catalog of stuff. If Disney comes aboard next year (and they should) I view that as more important than getting MGM or LSG.
Quote:
just based on ergonomics alone. Nothing as unusable as the HD-DVD player will ever enter my house.
But you laud the Playstation 3 as some sort of monumental achievement We'll see. Frankly at twice the price and %80 of the features the Sammy player falls short of expectations IMO.
Sure do. Like I said, I'm sure it still looks great, and from the review, he said it does too.
And to balance things out, since you pulled out all the positive quotes, here are some of the negative ones (for those that didn't or wont read that article). Only posting this in fairness so people get the whole picture. The thing is, when the next gen is supposed to be all about superior visuals, and this review felt he was watching an upconveted DVD, I think you have an issue. And as he said, its not a player issue, but rather this one disk. I am sure as more reviews come out for other titles, things will look brighter.
Quote:
Unfortunately, as you'll find out later on down in the video section, this one didn't quite meet my expectations. So I apologize upfront that what may be the first Blu-ray disc review you read won't be an unequivocal, four-star rave.
Quote:
because quite simply 'The Fifth Element' is just not the best HD I've seen, either compared to HD DVD or even-over-the air HD broadcasts.
Quote:
However, I felt there were some deficiencies inherent in the source material itself that keep this one from hitting a homer, or even a solid triple. Though not as noticeable perhaps on the standard DVD releases (even the Superbit), 'The Fifth Element' looks oddly soft in HD, with a lack of detail and three-dimensionality that ranks it as not-quite-demo material in the high-def sweepstakes.
Quote:
This transfer is just not that sharp, at least compared to the best HD I've seen. The print is also a bit dirty in spots, which really surprised me. This all gives the image a flatter look that I'm used to on HD -- what I expected would be eye-poppingly three-dimensional throughout just plain isn't. Oftentimes, I felt like I was watching a standard DVD upconverted to 1080i -- good, but kinda fake-looking.
Oh so those slow buttons are suddenly going to speed up when the "Official" launch date hits. Ohh gotcha..thanks for the heads up. 8)
The sluggish buttons come from more than one person. The slow menus come from more than one person. Calling Robert's accuracy into question is silly you can neither prove nor disprove his statement.
Regarding TFE. Did I link to my own personal site or a 3rd party site that I have no affiliation with. Just because the results don't jive with your RDF doesn't mean they are false.
Yawn. It's always "wait for this ..wait for that" I've clearly stated the issues with the Sammy that I expect some will get fixed. You continue to make excuses and denigrate legit reviews because they don't fit in your rose tinted world.
I linked to the article in its entirety. Some people will not listen to reason.
Over the months I've remained steadfast in my support of HD DVD. Unlike some of the BD supporters on this site I'm not being childish about this. I WILL own a BD player but I will not put up with the blatant misinformation that flies around. I prefer that my own errors be called out so that I don't make them again.
Blu-Ray is going to be a good platform. However my main sticking issue is that it's too expensive and overengineered. Toshiba has the same quality and more features for half the price. Sometimes you can be superior on paper yet that doesn't translate into a better movie experience in all cases.
Comments
- Apple
- Dell
- HP
- Mitsubishi Electric
- Panasonic
- Philips
- Samsung
- Sharp
- Sony
- TDK
- Thomson
- Twentieth Century Fox
- Disney
- Warner Bros
Half of these vendors have either openly stated they'll support both platforms or have hinted at support for both.Originally posted by hmurchison
Blu-Ray Board of Directors
Apple - Openly supports Blu-ray, has current HD DVD support
Dell - Blu-ray exclusively
Hitachi - Supports both
HP - Supports both
LG - Supports both
Mitsubishi Electric - Supports both
Panasonic - Blu-ray exclusively
Philips - Blu-ray exclusively
Pioneer - Blu-ray exclusively
Samsung - Blu-ray exclusively
Sharp - Blu-ray exclusively
Sony - Blu-ray exclusively
TDK - Blu-ray exlusively
Thomson - Supports both
Twentieth Century Fox - Blu-ray exclusively
Disney - Blu-ray exclusively
Warner Bros - Supports both
Half of these vendors have either openly stated they'll support both platforms or have hinted at support for both.
How is this half? What is half of 17? 8.5 right? I see only 7 that support both (Heck, I'm even giving you Apple, but I still think they are Blu-ray exclusive as I think we'll find out in the coming months). 10 exclusive to Blu-ray and 7 that support both. Even at this, this still gives Blu-ray support at 17 with HD DVD support at 7. So, I'm not sure where you were trying to go with this.
I took the liberty of adding Hitachi, LG, and Pioneer that were missing from your list.
Samsung seems to have stiffened their resolve for Blu-Ray but they were wavering back in the day as well.
Apple is not going to go exclusive anytime soon. Amir said they voted for iHD over Java and they want to sell Final Cut Studio as the editing and authoring environment for both platforms. Steve Jobs doesn't give a damn about the war he just wants to sell more software.
Originally posted by 1984
There is a review of the Samsung Blu-Ray player over at the AVS forums. It looks like it is designed as an actual disc player and takes just 15 seconds to load a disc. The Toshiba HD-DVD player on the other hand is actually a PC with long booting times. This was probably done to save costs and hit the market early.
LINK
Lots of images on the second page!
EDIT: Specific times
5 seconds from power on to accepting a disc and 15 seconds to start playing the disc. So about 20 seconds to play a move compared to about a minute and a half to do the same thing on Toshiba's HD-DVD player.
I was reading and saw this (not trying to spread FUD marzetta
Samsung BD-P1000 play only BD and DVD-Video. Can not play:
WMVHD (((((((
.ts (((((((((((
Nothingggggggggggggggggg!!! Only Orginal BD and DVD Video region 1 (us)
No USB! No Ethernet!
I am guessing WMVHD is different from VC-1, correct? So no biggie there, as I would bet that the HD-DVD player only does Original HD-DVD and DVD Video region 1. The the ability to play .ts files isn't that big either. For most people these devices are made to play the next gen disks pressed by studios. My crap DVD player does SVCD/VCD/KVCD/DiVX/etc and I have used that capability once. 99.9% of what I play is pressed DVDs (or DVD-Rs I have made with content I have produced).
The thing I found odd was the lack of ethernet. I though one of the big things with blu-ray and HD-DVD was the interactivity, and internet ability of the players. And for the $500 toshiba player to include ethernet, but not the $1000 Samsung, seems odd (when ethernet is what, a very miniscule cost addon). Not trying to spread FUD, but if the future of the format is to have an internet layer, first gen Samsung buyers would be sol whereas first gen Toshiba buyers have it from the get go, right? Yes I know this statement does sound very FUD-like, but it is an honest question. Or is the whole internet layer going to be like the alternate camera angles we were promised with DVD. A bullet point, but ultimately nothing.
The engame of both formats is high quality HD material. I for one and glad to have both competing formats. Look at Amazon.com and you'll see both HD DVD and Blu-Ray movies for as low as $19.49. Somehow I doubt we'd have $499 players and sub $20 movies if we had one format. I can take the good with the bad. There's a silver lining here and it's not hard to see.
Originally posted by kupan787
I was reading and saw this (not trying to spread FUD marzetta
I am guessing WMVHD is different from VC-1, correct? So no biggie there, as I would bet that the HD-DVD player only does Original HD-DVD and DVD Video region 1. The the ability to play .ts files isn't that big either. For most people these devices are made to play the next gen disks pressed by studios. My crap DVD player does SVCD/VCD/KVCD/DiVX/etc and I have used that capability once. 99.9% of what I play is pressed DVDs (or DVD-Rs I have made with content I have produced).
The thing I found odd was the lack of ethernet. I though one of the big things with blu-ray and HD-DVD was the interactivity, and internet ability of the players. And for the $500 toshiba player to include ethernet, but not the $1000 Samsung, seems odd (when ethernet is what, a very miniscule cost addon). Not trying to spread FUD, but if the future of the format is to have an internet layer, first gen Samsung buyers would be sol whereas first gen Toshiba buyers have it from the get go, right? Yes I know this statement does sound very FUD-like, but it is an honest question. Or is the whole internet layer going to be like the alternate camera angles we were promised with DVD. A bullet point, but ultimately nothing.
1984,
Sweet post dude. I've been enjoying going through that thread. I'm interesested in seeing screenshots of the Blu-ray movies that they are to get on the 15th.
As far as the post you caught onto kupan787, I saw it too. We'll just have to wait and see for sure what components it might be missing on release on the 25th as I'm sure there will be reviews everywhere, giving us the pros and cons.
I'm not sure how Blu-ray or HD DVD attempt to fully utilize any type of internet connection. I've heard certain possibilities, but nothing concrete as of yet.
Originally posted by marzetta7
I'm not sure how Blu-ray or HD DVD attempt to fully utilize any type of internet connection. I've heard certain possibilities, but nothing concrete as of yet.
Ya, if it ends up just being for "firmware updates" then no biggie, as I coudl just order a CD if it is needed. But if they plan to do cool interactive features with disks, or games, or whatever, then yippie! I just have this feeling that it is going to have just been another bullet point feature of the next gen format, kind of like camera angles were for current DVDs.
Reading through that whole thread, a lot of people seem to be saying to wait for the Pioneer or Sony player, as they will support HDMI 1.3, and something about some video chipset. I wont even pretend to understand it all, but the gist of what I was getting was that the Sony and Pioneer players will be better and are worth the wait if you can. I dunno, I am still somewhat on the fence. I will be purchasing around Christmas time (or maybe January), so I will weigh my options then. If I go blu-ray, it will be via PS3 (unless there is a standalone for $400 or less). Hopefully by that point HD-DVD will have a few players to choose from, and will have all the gen1 issues worked out. It will most likely come down to which side has more movies I would purchase. As of today, it is HD-DVD (4 to 1), but I know that 6 months from now that could very easily change (especially with the way studios have lined up).
No movies yet but he's testing DVDs and upscaling. Woohoo let's get this battle started.
Magnificent! Compared to war all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance. God help me, I do love it so
Originally posted by hmurchison
Does that result in a picture quality advantage? I hear the Toshiba Qosmio plays a disc much faster as well. If that's an issue with customers (which I doubt it will be) then there are ways around it.
Um, no. Why would it? It has a user friendliness advantage. Having a player that can actually start playing a disc in a normal amount of time is important. No one wants to wait almost two minutes. The average consumer expects a certain level of functionality. No one likes going back to dial-up after using broadband for years.
The Fifth Element and House of Flying Daggers both are getting panned on AVS. Man how did Toshiba come out of nowhere and ace the BDA like this? Execution.
Originally posted by hmurchison
Glad those discs are starting up fast. Evidently the quality of the initial releases isn't holding up.
The Fifth Element and House of Flying Daggers both are getting panned on AVS. Man how did Toshiba come out of nowhere and ace the BDA like this? Execution.
Pfffffffft! I'm sure the Fifth Element looks just great. The same with House of Flying Daggers, no matter what Amir from Microshaft says. I've heard Terminator looks amazing as well. It is also nice to know there will be close to 200 releases by the end of the year on Blu-ray, so if you don't like those two, you have 198 others to choose from as compared to the 80 or so releases that will be coming out on HD DVD.
Besides, the player hasn't actually been released yet and already you are jumping on the HD DVD acing Blu-ray mantra. Not suprising, as desperation and negativity from the HD DVD fanboys (especially those fanboys that are present over at AVS, yourself included) is nothing new. I'll wait for more objective analysis than some from a Microsoft employee who clearly has an agenda.
Ya got somthin there Murch, yeah, yeah, right on your nose there...from munching on Amir's red eye all this time. Try to clean it off next time you post will ya there buddy, cause your stinkin up the place with his same crap.
Pfffffffft! I'm sure the Fifth Element looks just great...no matter what Amir from Microshaft says
High Def Digest Review of The Fifth Element
still want to go with the above statement Marzetta7?
you have 198 others to choose from as compared to the 80 or so releases that will be coming out on HD DVD.
Marzetta7 you rarely get anything right. This is another blatant gaffe by you. There are already almost 40 titles I haven't counted but by years end there will be well over a hundred HD DVD releases.
Besides, the player hasn't actually been released yet
so...those are phantom Samsung Blu-Ray players in peoples home then right? All those people over at AVS don't really have Blu-Ray players then. I must be losing my mind
Ok for those that want "real" info here's the scoop thus far.
The Sammy BD player works well. Boots up faster than HD DVD and looks like it has a solid build. I've read that it's more sluggish when accessing front panel buttons there's a delay which doesn't exist on the HD DVD players. Those who've nabbed a player have checked out the upscaling and results are varied. I'm thinking the upscaling may be inferior to the Toshiba unit.
AVOID The Fifth Element. Clearly it's poorly encoded from the Master. Sadly House of Flying Daggers isn't getting rave initial reviews. Could it be the player or the disc we'll know but HD Digest says that 50 First Dates looks much better so I'm thinking it's the encode process that's suffered on HOFD and TFE
Is the Sammy unit worth 2x the Toshiba HD DVD. I don't think so. It lacks support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD. It has no ethernet port and the menus are a bit sluggish as well. However it's the only Blu-Ray player in town and if you have to have it you'll likely enjoy it very much.
Originally posted by hmurchison
Is the Sammy unit worth 2x the Toshiba HD DVD. I don't think so. It lacks support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD. It has no ethernet port and the menus are a bit sluggish as well.
But it's not like you can select one or the other based on price. Customers will have to go with the format that has the movies they want.
Arguments about relative cost simply don't apply if the movies you want are on the more expensive format. Whomever brings me "Lord of the Rings" or "X-Men" is getting my money. If it's Blu-ray, I will have to pony up the extra cash. It's that simple.
Everybody has a movie or movies that will be the tipping point. And nobody is going to stand there in their local Best Buy and say "Gosh, 'X-Men' is on Blu-ray, but the Toshiba player is half the price, so I guess I'll buy that and watch 'Phantom of the Opera' instead." It's more likely that they won't buy EITHER player.
Originally posted by hmurchison
and the menus are a bit sluggish as well.
I don't think that they will compare to the Toshiba unit, which takes 10 seconds to stop after you press the stop button on the remote.
Based on the reviews of the two units, I would buy the blu-ray unit and never buy the toshiba unit - just based on ergonomics alone. Nothing as unusable as the HD-DVD player will ever enter my house.
Originally posted by hmurchison
High Def Digest Review of The Fifth Element
still want to go with the above statement Marzetta7?
Sure do. Like I said, I'm sure it still looks great, and from the review, he said it does too.
"However, make no mistake, this is a good-looking picture if you're not too critical. I bet the average consumer who saw this disc up and running at their local Best Buy would probably think it was darn swell."
"Still, complaints aside, 'The Fifth Element' does look very good, and this is hardly a bad transfer. It just is not the best that Blu-ray has to offer."
"One final note. Unlike Toshiba's first-generation HD DVD players, the Samsung BD-P1000 is capable of outputting full 1080p (at 30 fps only) via its HDMI output."
So when I hear statements like this from you...
"Evidently the quality of the initial releases isn't holding up."
that appear to generally categorize the entire Blu-ray release, I will call you on it. Yeah, thanks for the "real" info.
so...those are phantom Samsung Blu-Ray players in peoples home then right? All those people over at AVS don't really have Blu-Ray players then. I must be losing my mind
Indeed, you are a little sick in the head. The official release is on the 20th, next Tuesday, that is my point. I'll wait to receive a full review from multiple sources before I start to criticize a product, I guess the same can't be said for you when 3 or 4 players accidently get sold and talked about on a certain forum, and then you suddenly declare the BDA getting aced...so much for objectivity there fanboy.
Ok for those that want "real" info here's the scoop thus far.
The Sammy BD player works well. Boots up faster than HD DVD and looks like it has a solid build. I've read that it's more sluggish when accessing front panel buttons there's a delay which doesn't exist on the HD DVD players. Those who've nabbed a player have checked out the upscaling and results are varied. I'm thinking the upscaling may be inferior to the Toshiba unit.
In other words, "I'm thinking the upscaling may be inferior to the Toshiba unit since I disregard anything that was positive in regards to the Samsung unit seeing how the results are varied." Where did you hear about the supposed delay with the front panel buttons? AVS perhaps? From the same guy who gave us the number of units sold from Toshiba? Whatever man.
AVOID The Fifth Element. Clearly it's poorly encoded from the Master. Sadly House of Flying Daggers isn't getting rave initial reviews. Could it be the player or the disc we'll know but HD Digest says that 50 First Dates looks much better so I'm thinking it's the encode process that's suffered on HOFD and TFE
Is the Sammy unit worth 2x the Toshiba HD DVD. I don't think so. It lacks support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD. It has no ethernet port and the menus are a bit sluggish as well. However it's the only Blu-Ray player in town and if you have to have it you'll likely enjoy it very much.
Actually, I would encourage people to EMBRACE the Fifth Element and decide for themselves, not listen to you trying to inject Microsoft and Toshiba propaganda into their brain. I say, have consumers purchase it and decide for themselves, either that or go to Best Buy or some other electronics store and take a look.
Moreover, how is it "clearly poorly encoded from the Master" when HD Digest itself said, "Still, complaints aside, 'The Fifth Element' does look very good, and this is hardly a bad transfer. It just is not the best that Blu-ray has to offer." Hmm? Answer, looks like someone is giving his version of objectivity again. Thanks, but no thanks.
Furthermore, where did you get that the menus are a bit sluggish? Was this from the varied opinions on AVS again, with your inherent disregard of any possible positives in that respect? Most likely, I would gather. Audio? Read the review again, it stated that the Fifth Element sounded great...
"This disc produces one heck of an involving and enveloping soundfield, with full use of all channels for more than just the odd effect or music cue here or there. The sense of space and imaging to the mix is often quite stunning."
"If just this one disc is any indication, I can safely say after having reviewed a couple of dozen HD DVD titles that Blu-ray is certainly capable of delivering a soundtrack as good as any I've heard on the rival format."
So please, stop the incessant whining. And please spare us the price jargon,...we are in an early adoption market, start getting a clue. Blu-ray players are priced just like CD and DVD players were historically on launch. You don't like the price, don't buy one, or just wait for the PS3 which is sure to bury HD DVD entirely at $499 and $599. And finally, if you are already not sold on the Samsung only after some opinions on some forums, then look into the Philips, the Pioneer, the Sony, and the Sharp players that will be here soon, but I'm sure you'll probably have the same type of response as we've seen thus far.
What was with the whole "dispensing with the FUD card" thing again? Yeah, yeah, more of the same from you.
But it's not like you can select one or the other based on price. Customers will have to go with the format that has the movies they want.
Within reason. Although HD DVD has half the studios I read a blurb that stated these studios they do have enjoy a disproportionate amount of hit moves. The combination of Warner, Paramount, Universal and New Line have created a rather larger group of popular movies.
Let's be honest while Blu-Ray gets to add a couple of notches with MGM and Lion's Gate truth is neither studio has really been a huge factor in recent years. MGM's value is basically their back catalog of stuff. If Disney comes aboard next year (and they should) I view that as more important than getting MGM or LSG.
just based on ergonomics alone. Nothing as unusable as the HD-DVD player will ever enter my house.
But you laud the Playstation 3 as some sort of monumental achievement
Originally posted by marzetta7
Sure do. Like I said, I'm sure it still looks great, and from the review, he said it does too.
And to balance things out, since you pulled out all the positive quotes, here are some of the negative ones (for those that didn't or wont read that article). Only posting this in fairness so people get the whole picture. The thing is, when the next gen is supposed to be all about superior visuals, and this review felt he was watching an upconveted DVD, I think you have an issue. And as he said, its not a player issue, but rather this one disk. I am sure as more reviews come out for other titles, things will look brighter.
Unfortunately, as you'll find out later on down in the video section, this one didn't quite meet my expectations. So I apologize upfront that what may be the first Blu-ray disc review you read won't be an unequivocal, four-star rave.
because quite simply 'The Fifth Element' is just not the best HD I've seen, either compared to HD DVD or even-over-the air HD broadcasts.
However, I felt there were some deficiencies inherent in the source material itself that keep this one from hitting a homer, or even a solid triple. Though not as noticeable perhaps on the standard DVD releases (even the Superbit), 'The Fifth Element' looks oddly soft in HD, with a lack of detail and three-dimensionality that ranks it as not-quite-demo material in the high-def sweepstakes.
This transfer is just not that sharp, at least compared to the best HD I've seen. The print is also a bit dirty in spots, which really surprised me. This all gives the image a flatter look that I'm used to on HD -- what I expected would be eye-poppingly three-dimensional throughout just plain isn't. Oftentimes, I felt like I was watching a standard DVD upconverted to 1080i -- good, but kinda fake-looking.
Oh so those slow buttons are suddenly going to speed up when the "Official" launch date hits. Ohh gotcha..thanks for the heads up. 8)
The sluggish buttons come from more than one person. The slow menus come from more than one person. Calling Robert's accuracy into question is silly you can neither prove nor disprove his statement.
Regarding TFE. Did I link to my own personal site or a 3rd party site that I have no affiliation with. Just because the results don't jive with your RDF doesn't mean they are false.
Yawn. It's always "wait for this ..wait for that" I've clearly stated the issues with the Sammy that I expect some will get fixed. You continue to make excuses and denigrate legit reviews because they don't fit in your rose tinted world.
I linked to the article in its entirety. Some people will not listen to reason.
Over the months I've remained steadfast in my support of HD DVD. Unlike some of the BD supporters on this site I'm not being childish about this. I WILL own a BD player but I will not put up with the blatant misinformation that flies around. I prefer that my own errors be called out so that I don't make them again.
Blu-Ray is going to be a good platform. However my main sticking issue is that it's too expensive and overengineered. Toshiba has the same quality and more features for half the price. Sometimes you can be superior on paper yet that doesn't translate into a better movie experience in all cases.