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I'm waiting until one format beats out the other. My BF has an HD-DVD player and the quality is amazing, but there aren't many movies out in either format. I just don't see the point...maybe it's a woman thing. I was late adopting DVDs too; I didn't get my first player until 2000.
haha! This is hilarious. I feel like I'm on the other forum I frequent. XBOX 360! NO PS3! Good grief. lol.
I personally couldn't careless until both formats and players come down in price to something acceptable. Yeah Blu-Ray might be the "superior" technology because of the layering methods that are present for it, and blah blah blah. Who cares!
When it really comes down to it, what do people want? Something that works and is AFFORDABLE. I'm not spending no 400 or 500 on a PS3 because it has Blu-Ray technology. I'm not spending what Microsoft wants for the Xbox 360 then buying the HD-DVD add-on. I know I could buy just the player, but I want my video games too.
In the end, it's what the companies want to produce product for. Paramount has already announced that they will not support the Blu-ray format. And Blockbuster has announced they will only support Blu-ray. If it goes on like this. Consumers may be forced to HAVE to buy both formats. It's a great marketing ploy.
First, I don't work for Crutchfield, nor am I trying to steer you that way.
If you look at the Crutchfield catalog or their web site, you will notice that there are a few DVD players that will play both formats. You don't have to buy from them, but you still can look at the prices, specifications, etc.
^ I know LG has at least 1 player that plays both Blu-ray and HD-DVD.
LG has a few of such DVD players. They are coming down on price, too. A Blue-Ray DVD from Sony cost over $900.00 when they brought it to the market over a year ago. The same DVD player costs around $400.00 right now. I suspect that the HD-DVD and Blue Ray war is taking a toll on both companies. However Toshiba was first introducing their HD-DVD format at a low cost, so Sony had to drop the price by at least 60% in order to compete with Toshiba.
Like most of you I decided to wait. I bought a HD LCD TV because my old TV broke, and also a DVD player with video up-converting via HDMI. By using a HDMI cable to connect both units, the up converted signal is quite high. Only Blue Ray or HD-DVD can top the signal boost from a standard DVD player with video up-converting.
LG has a few of such DVD players. They are coming down on price, too. A Blue-Ray DVD from Sony cost over $900.00 when they brought it to the market over a year ago. The same DVD player costs around $400.00 right now. I suspect that the HD-DVD and Blue Ray war is taking a toll on both companies. However Toshiba was first introducing their HD-DVD format at a low cost, so Sony had to drop the price by at least 60% in order to compete with Toshiba.
Like most of you I decided to wait. I bought a HD LCD TV because my old TV broke, and also a DVD player with video up-converting via HDMI. By using a HDMI cable to connect both units, the up converted signal is quite high. Only Blue Ray or HD-DVD can top the signal boost from a standard DVD player with video up-converting.
LG's 1st dual hi-def player cost $1,200 when it was first released. One of my friends bought it! I'm also waiting out the fight and bought the up-converting DVD player as I mentioned a few posts ago. So far, I'm happy with it.
LG's 1st dual hi-def player cost $1,200 when it was first released. One of my friends bought it! I'm also waiting out the fight and bought the up-converting DVD player as I mentioned a few posts ago. So far, I'm happy with it.
Just don't tell your friend that he can get such DVD player for around $800.00 today I usually wait a few years until the price comes down. Technology is moving so fast ahead that what one buys today is obsolete within a few short months, and the price drops like a rock. But sometimes I just can't wait. For example, I just ordered an Epson V700 flatbed scanner for my birthday at the end of the month. All I have to do is to wait until Christmas, but NOOOO...I have to have the scanner now
Yes, video up-converting is a cheap way to send an almost 100% HD signal to the TV.
Just don't tell your friend that he can get such DVD player for around $800.00 today I usually wait a few years until the price comes down. Technology is moving so fast ahead that what one buys today is obsolete within a few short months, and the price drops like a rock. But sometimes I just can't wait. For example, I just ordered an Epson V700 flatbed scanner for my birthday at the end of the month. All I have to do is to wait until Christmas, but NOOOO...I have to have the scanner now
Yes, video up-converting is a cheap way to send an almost 100% HD signal to the TV.
He knows the prices are much lower today and the 2nd gen. combo players have fewer bugs than the one he bought. I read in the Dec. 2007 issue of "HT mag." of a Samsung combo player that is out or will soon be out (I don't remember).
A well-produced DVD, when up-converted to 1080p, looks almost as good as the HD material I get from my antenna. I'm impressed how OPPO can fabricate 1080p from 480p material.
Here's the Samsung BD-UP5000 dual high-definition disc player that supports both Blu-ray (natively) and HD DVD. It retails for $1k, but the street price should be a couple hundred less than that.
As a note, the codecs used to encode video on blu-ray and hd-dvd are nearly identical in picture quality - anyone who says otherwise is not being objective.
The difference between the two formats comes down to size and surface. In both cases, blu-ray does have an advantage.
For the first issue, size, this really comes down to extras. There's plenty of room for 3-4 hours of 1080p-grade video and uncompressed, 7-channel audio on either with no quality loss in either case. But, in cases like transformers, when going with HD-DVD, the studio is sometimes forced to make minor sacrifices to fit the disc. Transformers went with standard (compressed) dolby digital 5.1 instead of uncompressed 7.1 so that they could put in a robust set of 'extras'.
The other difference is the surface - blu-ray has a very advanced scratch-resistant surface. HD is basically just the same surface as dvd's.
Having said that, keep in mind that beta was superior to VHS, and launched first, too. That didn't help it when the VHS players hit price points the general populous would accept first.
I just bought my first HD player, a $98 toshiba from Wal-mart. Even excluding such sales, hd-players are easily available below $200 well before the holiday season starts. Blu-ray is above $300 (usually closer to $400), and shows no signs of rapid drop.
As superior as blu-ray's disc format is (NOT video or audio quality, just disc format), I think HD is going to win because it's priced at a tolerable level.
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I'm also waiting out the fight and bought the up-converting DVD player as I mentioned a few posts ago. So far, I'm happy with it. 
Dual Hi-Def Player
