having second thoughts about going with a HD DVD player over Blu Ray

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  • polkatese
    polkatese Posts: 6,767
    edited January 2008
    oh, ****. Another DVD-Audio fate bestowed on my HD-DVD collections?
    I am sorry, I have no opinion on the matter. I am sure you do. So, don't mind me, I just want to talk audio and pie.
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  • McLoki
    McLoki Posts: 5,231
    edited January 2008
    I don't regret purchasing my HD-DVD player as I only paid about $130 for it and it is a killer upconverting player.

    I am glad I have not invested alot of money in HD-DVD movies at this point though. The player was a great purchase for me. The media is what will become obsolete - as long as I have SD dvd's though I will be happy I have the player. When the player dies in a year or two and I have to purchase another one, it is the HD-DVD movies I will not be able to play......
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  • sbpolk
    sbpolk Posts: 644
    edited January 2008
    My $98 A2 isn't going anywhere anytime soon! I too had an XA2, and snapped up an A2 at the walmart sale. I ran them side by side, and while the A2 has some limitations, in my setup using the analogues at the time the XA2 has limitations too... I couldn't get 7.1 surround from it and I need it in my theater setup. And it was $400 more expensive!

    So I sold the XA2. Now that I have an Integra 9.8 pre/pro coming (and have been using a Pio Elite 94TXH) I can get all the HBR audio codecs via HDMI bitstream, I kind a wished I had the XA2 still... until yesterday!

    Funny thing too, I picked up a Panny BD30 yesterday at BB (amazon price match of $399 AND I got 5 free instant blu-rays and 5 mail in). I already have a PS3, but now I can get DTS-HD MA! Mr.&Mrs. Smith is PHENOMINAL! ;) So is Hairspray in 7.1 DTS-MA!

    When I picked that up, I saw 4 people buy Sony S300s, one buy a Samsung 1400, and I picked up the panny. This in Boise, folks, not the most technically savvy place on earth!

    I have about 15 HD_DVDs, including my all time faves of the Matrix trilogy and Bourne Trilogys. I am not going to dump them, and I am not going to dump my Toshiba either. It upconverts beautifully, and most of my HD-DVDs are Red exclusives. I am still waiting on 10 free HD-DVD's by mail.

    From now on, I will buy dual releases on Blu-Ray, but it won't keep me from buying HDDVD exclusives on HDDVD.
    "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." George Orwell
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  • bdaley6509
    bdaley6509 Posts: 1,167
    edited January 2008
    Don't tell people you watched 'Hairspray'. Instead, say.."I heard 'Hairspray' sounds Phenominal".
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  • millerman 3732
    millerman 3732 Posts: 1,488
    edited January 2008
    Don't be ashamed of liking Hairspray, one the most fun movies I've seen in a while, and Shootem Up of course.
    Casey
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited January 2008
    Hairspray was ok. i give it a 2.2 out of 5 stars.. some good music, some slightly fun parts.. not very funny. the John Waters cameo is the best part of it almost.

    John Waters older version of Hairspray is actually better I thought.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
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  • zx_toth
    zx_toth Posts: 417
    edited January 2008
    I just read that news clip last night about Warner Pictures dumping HD-DVD and saying "We look forward to working with them on OTHER projects". The next day (today) I had planned to go into to my nearest electronics specialty shop and order a Samsung Dual Format Player (BD/HDDVD) ... that was close! Needless to say I dumped that idea and will be seeing what 3rd Gen Blu ray players are coming out.

    I believe in Canada the Samsung Dual Format Player hasnt been released yet (late Jan release) and would be running between 899-999$, so that would have been a unforunate chunk of change half wasted.

    Obviously the HDDVD camp is not going to curl up and die but having a major studio permanently giving up on HD DVD is as close to a death blow as any, considering what a large studio Warner Pictures is.

    Zsolt
    My Home Theater Rig
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited January 2008
    6t04mz8.jpg
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  • BIZILL
    BIZILL Posts: 5,432
    edited January 2008
    i still prefer hd dvd over blu-ray by a factor of 2. ...but, if this is the beginning of the end, then i say R.I.P. either way, hd dvd is/was better. but i always said content would be the deciding factor. had toshiba or microsoft decided to bribe more than just paramount, then the above pic could easily have been blu-ray's memorial. in the U.S., that is. i'm still hoping toshiba/microsoft can pull out a hat trick.

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    bobman1235 wrote:
    I have no facts to back that up, but I never let facts get in the way of my arguments.
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  • mrbigbluelight
    mrbigbluelight Posts: 9,878
    edited January 2008
    sbpolk wrote: »

    When I picked that up, I saw 4 people buy Sony S300s, one buy a Samsung 1400, and I picked up the panny. This in Boise, folks, not the most technically savvy place on earth!

    No, but it is close the the most technically savvy place on earth, Idaho Falls.

    Sitting here staring at our PS3, revelling in my remarkable foresight ..... and
    luck.
    Sal Palooza
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  • sbpolk
    sbpolk Posts: 644
    edited January 2008
    mrbigbluelight wrote: »
    No, but it is close the the most technically savvy place on earth, Idaho Falls.

    Sitting here staring at our PS3, revelling in my remarkable foresight ..... and
    luck.

    Wow, you know where Idaho Falls is? Used to live there....:o
    "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." George Orwell
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  • sdcfan19
    sdcfan19 Posts: 56
    edited January 2008
    After Christmas, I went out and got the HD DVD add on for my 360. I found the picture and sound to be top notch, but the player was VERY loud IMO. After the Warner Bros announcement, I took the HD DVD player back and grabbed an open box PS3 for an extra $120. Most people that follow this are saying that the Warner move all but kills HD DVD. I don't follow that closely, but from what I've read it doesn't look good. Toshiba may have some tricks up their sleeves, but it'll have to be something amazing IMO. I went with the PS3 because they say that once the update comes (moving to 1.3) the PS3 is the most likely to be able to updated. The way I look at it is that even if Blu Ray fails, you still have a good gaming machine. For me it was a little less of a gamble as I knew I was at least getting the system.
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  • MikeC78
    MikeC78 Posts: 2,315
    edited January 2008
    I really don't care either way, just give us more movies damnit! Why the heck do I care, when all I watch are bootlegged copies.:o

    The aggressive approach taken by HD DVD has forced Blu-ray to get off their asses and improve players and stop using antiquated technologies like MPEG-2.

    If HD DVD never existed Blu-ray players would still be overpriced, they wouldn't be using as many advanced codecs, there would be no IME coming on Blu-ray (or other advanced features) and we'd probably have much fewer movie releases.

    Competition is a good thing, and I am glad HD DVD isn't out of the game yet because it's going to force more competition. Universal/Paramount/Dreamworks still have a very strong library to play with. Just glad I own both formats. (When I'm actually home to see them):p
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited January 2008
    mrbigbluelight wrote: »
    No, but it is close the the most technically savvy place on earth, Idaho Falls.

    Since when IF became Ashton, ID? :)
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  • sbpolk
    sbpolk Posts: 644
    edited January 2008
    Holy crap, somebody in Texas knows where ASHTON, Idaho is??! What is this??!
    "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." George Orwell
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited January 2008
    sbpolk wrote: »
    Holy crap, somebody in Texas knows where ASHTON, Idaho is??! What is this??!

    Use to live there in '88-'89. I was a foreign exchange student. Nice place for outdoors (Yellowstone and Grand Tetons) but not so much night life for a 16-17y old... :D
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  • mrbigbluelight
    mrbigbluelight Posts: 9,878
    edited January 2008
    sbpolk wrote: »
    Wow, you know where Idaho Falls is? Used to live there....:o

    Was there for 1 year, courtesy of the U.S. Navy.

    ....out in the middle of the desert (aka "potato fields")

    Go figure !

    :)
    Sal Palooza
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  • jawhog
    jawhog Posts: 444
    edited January 2008
    I also picked up an A2 in November. Couldn't land one at Walmart, but got a NIB resale one off the bay shortly after for $130. I wanted a new HDMI upconverting DVD player anyway so I figured it was worth betting on HD-DVD at that price point. Since then, I couldn't be happier. HDDVD movies look and sound great. I've been using the DTS output and it sound seems a lot livelier that standard dvds/dolby digital. When I A/B'd the upconverting feature to my old DVD player, I'd say the improvement was noticeable but not dramatic, wasn't expecting much anyway.

    Now, that the worst case scenario is unfolding, a part of me says that this was fully expected (although not so soon) so just keep enjoying it and relinquish to second system duty if Bluray player prices come down. The other part of me says, salvage it while you can and get a PS3 now.

    Now that I've seen HD movies at home and next gen sound, I really can't stand the thought of pulling out my old player again. Ugh. What to do.
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited January 2008
    I based my decision to go Blu ray on the following logic:

    - Would, for any reason, 5 out of 7 major movie companies suddenly decide to do a 180 and go back to HD DVD?
    - Movie makers love copyright protection, and so does Sony
    - There will not be 2 on-going video formats, too much money lost when you split a technology
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  • jawhog
    jawhog Posts: 444
    edited January 2008
    Does anyone think bluray hardware come down in price?

    If I ditch my HD-A2 now for $80 and six months from now bluray players are
    $80 cheaper, I'm going to feel like like I should have stuck the original plan.

    My original plan to just ride it out as long as I can still seems fine, but it's like I said above, I just didn't think the beginning of the end would come so fast.
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  • pearsall001
    pearsall001 Posts: 5,244
    edited January 2008
    It looks like Blu-Ray is pulling way out in front on this format war. But, still being skeptical I won't get involved until one or the other is buried 6' down. Hopefully it won't take too long. Anybody got a shovel??
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited January 2008
    Certainly prices will drop. When exactly? Who knows. New technologies are always pricey at first. Remember the first SACD machine--cripes. probably by this time next year the market will be flooded in $185 BR machines, and movies can already be found for $19.99.
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited January 2008
    jawhog wrote: »
    Does anyone think bluray hardware come down in price?

    They will. I won't buy another BR player until the standalones come down to $150 or less, most likely below $100. HD-DVD will survive long enough and PS3 will let me watch the BR movies I want to watch. When the time comes that either format goes under I will get 2 more players for the rest of the stations and that shouldn't cost me too much.
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  • jawhog
    jawhog Posts: 444
    edited January 2008
    Thanks for the insight. I guess my question about prices should have said "anytime soon?" because of course they'll come down. I'll just try to stick to my plan and not think about it. I have 12 hddvd's lined up in my netflix queue. There will probably be more available that I want to watch by the time I make it through all those. I supposedly have 5 free ones coming too. By the time I make it through 20 more hd movies or so maybe prices on bluray players will already be coming down! I'm still sad as I really love the A2. It's a nice machine.
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  • shadowofnight
    shadowofnight Posts: 2,735
    edited January 2008
    Early B. wrote: »
    Don't worry about that.

    My friend just purchased a 65" DLP TV and he's using S-video cables.:eek: He also has an HD-DVD player, but when he popped in the "300" HD-DVD, the picture was exceptional. Frankly, I can't imagine an HDMI cable giving him a better picture.

    Are you sure he didnt use component cables ? S-Video is a single cable and will look like crap compared to component or HDMI on ANY display. You will also be limited to a 480i signal...ask him again how its connected.
    The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club
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