[Buckaroo]

I don't know if this has already been discussed, there are too many pages to go through.

I have heard that you can take HD content (720p, 1080i or 1080p) and record it onto a regular DVD. This can then be played back on a HD DVD player.

Has anyone had any experience with this. I understand that you can only get 20 to 30 minutes on the DVD, which is perfect for home made videos and share with family and friends.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

I don't know if this has already been discussed, there are too many pages to go through.

I have heard that you can take HD content (720p, 1080i or 1080p) and record it onto a regular DVD. This can then be played back on a HD DVD player.

Has anyone had any experience with this. I understand that you can only get 20 to 30 minutes on the DVD, which is perfect for home made videos and share with family and friends.

Yeah, this is built in to DVD Studio Pro actually. I don't know if anyone here has tried it.

[Buckaroo]

Originally Posted by goMac 

Yeah, this is built in to DVD Studio Pro actually. I don't know if anyone here has tried it.

Will it work with DVD Studio Pro 4? I haven't upgraded yet.

Will it work with any of the HD DVD players or only certain Toshiba models.

If this is true, I'll be buying a HD DVD. I think I read that they are reasonably priced.

[Oversoul]

Originally Posted by hyteckit 

Microsoft's market cap is $321.17 Billion
Sony's market cap is $56.60 Billion

So the loss in the PS3 division is 3.35% of Sony's market cap.
The loss in the xbox 360 division is .59% of Microsoft's market cap.

Microsoft can sustain a much greater loss than Sony can. If Microsoft xbox division yearly loss is 3% of its market cap, Microsoft better think about getting rid of the xbox division.

Just to be clear, market capitalization is only a public measure of a company's "value" in terms of its share price times the number of outstanding shares. It's not actual cash reserves or assets that the company has as its disposal to invest or offset loss. Rather, it's merely the public or market's valuation of the company's worth represented by the value of its publicly traded stock, which may rise or fall on any give day. Accordingly, it's hardly a good standard by which to measure how great a loss a company can sustain.

[mrtew]

Originally Posted by Oversoul 

Just to be clear, market capitalization is only a public measure of a company's "value" in terms of its share price times the number of outstanding shares. It's not actual cash reserves or assets that the company has as its disposal to invest or offset loss. Rather, it's merely the public or market's valuation of the company's worth represented by the value of its publicly traded stock, which may rise or fall on any give day. Accordingly, it's hardly a good standard by which to measure how great a loss a company can sustain.

Thank you! Geez! I don't expect a bunch of Mac nerds to necessarily understand corporate finance but the way they post so authoritatively when they spew their total ignorance gets hard to argue with after a while. Very refreshing to hear someone with a clue!

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by smacintush 

Oh I disagree. I and a lot of others enjoy the certain coolness factor of a wall mounted TV.

Not to mention the functionality of a full motion mount. Flat panels are unwieldy and top heavy. being able to pull out/turn the TV for a better view or to get behind it is awesome. I wall mounted mine and I don't regret it one bit.

I'm talking about the actual piece itself though. Wall-mount can increase a rooms aesthetic value by subtraction, but they physically don't add anything themselves.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by voodoo 

Indeed.. a bit more realistic expectations would be:

• The regular price of HD discs falls under €40.

That's kind of silly since they cost 25 - 35 € today.
The price of a regular DVD is in the range of 7, 8 € though. So I'm not even considering HD until the discs are under 10 €.

And I'm not going to spend > 1000 € for the combo of PS3 and TV. 500 € is the absolute maximum I will spend on this combo.

[Eug]

So, is Black Snake Moan blind buy worthy?

The HD DVD is going for $21.49 at Amazon. I would have preferred $19.99, but that's pretty close.

Originally Posted by Oversoul 

Just to be clear, market capitalization is only a public measure of a company's "value" in terms of its share price times the number of outstanding shares. It's not actual cash reserves or assets that the company has as its disposal to invest or offset loss. Rather, it's merely the public or market's valuation of the company's worth represented by the value of its publicly traded stock, which may rise or fall on any give day. Accordingly, it's hardly a good standard by which to measure how great a loss a company can sustain.

No it doesn't, but it does give an indication of the perceived health of the company.

In any case, Sony and Microsoft are vastly different companies. Sony has its hands in just about everything, but it seems of late the power of its brand is diminishing. ie. They're having a much harder time these days charging more for their products. And I'd say it's about time. People are starting to realize that most of their products are no better than the competition, so they've had to drop prices to compensate.

I think there may have been an element of this Sony brand premium in the PS3's pricing, but I think more of this was just due to poor choices by the gaming division in its design (everything is in it except the kitchen sink... and IR), and Sony had no choice but to try to recoup some of the hardware costs by pricing the PS3 sky high.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

Will it work with DVD Studio Pro 4? I haven't upgraded yet.

DVD SP 4 is the latest version actually.

Will it work with any of the HD DVD players or only certain Toshiba models.

It's supposed to work with all HD DVD players. Some have been tested over at AVS. Just as importantly, it should work in all recent Macs, in DVD Player.app.

If this is true, I'll be buying a HD DVD. I think I read that they are reasonably priced.

Right now the Toshiba HD-A3 is $180. It dropped below that during the holidays.

[goMac]

AppleInsider | Report claims "major" Apple TV update in the pipeline

Huzzah!

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

So, is Black Snake Moan blind buy worthy?

It is pretty slow and bla and not really something you need in high def unless you might like looking at christiana richi's sharp nipples.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by TETENAL 

That's kind of silly since they cost 25 - 35 € today.
The price of a regular DVD is in the range of 7, 8 € though. So I'm not even considering HD until the discs are under 10 €.

And I'm not going to spend > 1000 € for the combo of PS3 and TV. 500 € is the absolute maximum I will spend on this combo.

In five years, you'll get a €80 Medion Blu-Ray player at ALDI. And it will be pretty decent.

[TETENAL]

I don't buy electronics at ALDI. And I actually want the PS3. I'm pretty sure it breaks the 200 € barrier within the next 3 to 4 years.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by goMac 

AppleInsider | Report claims "major" Apple TV update in the pipeline

Huzzah!

This thread has nothing to do with AppleTV so stick to the subject.

On that note though Apple needs a major update to the thing though as the current version stinks and nobody wants it.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by Oversoul 

Just to be clear, market capitalization is only a public measure of a company's "value" in terms of its share price times the number of outstanding shares. It's not actual cash reserves or assets that the company has as its disposal to invest or offset loss. Rather, it's merely the public or market's valuation of the company's worth represented by the value of its publicly traded stock, which may rise or fall on any give day. Accordingly, it's hardly a good standard by which to measure how great a loss a company can sustain.

I know what market capitalization is. It's not just a public measure or opinion of a company's value in terms of its share prices. It's how much money is invested in company. It's a monetary measure, not an opinion poll. The more money invested in a company, the more money the company has to spend and invest in projects.

A startup company that has $100k in revenue and $10k in asset, suddenly goes public and now has a market cap of $100 million. Guess what? The company can now invest and sustain a loss much greater than its $100k revenue and $10k asset it originally had. They have $100 million in investments and can spend most of the $100 million of the investment.

Sheesh, some people need to learn more about stocks and what the purpose of stocks are. The purpose of stocks is to build up capital.

Know what the meaning of the word "capital" in accounting and finances?

Go look it up, I'll wait.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

It is pretty slow and bla and not really something you need in high def unless you might like looking at christiana richi's sharp nipples.

Hmmm... Do they look noticeably better than upscaled nipples?

[goMac]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

This thread has nothing to do with AppleTV so stick to the subject.

You might as well close the thread then... The high def wars are kind of over, making this thread pointless as far as the topic goes.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by goMac 

You might as well close the thread then... The high def wars are kind of over, making this thread pointless as far as the topic goes.

So it should be locked and you can start a Apple TV one?

On topic:
Warner's remaining HD DVD support will include a three week delay? - Engadget HD

[goMac]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

So it should be locked and you can start a Apple TV one?

Well, I'm just saying, Black Snack Moan, the economics of the PS3, upscaling DVD players, and other things aren't technically on topic either. In fact, there are a lot of posts here from many other people that have nothing to do with whether Bluray or HD-DVD is winning.

If you don't want a thread were people can openly talk about a number of high def video topics that's fine. I'm sure the mods can arrange your own thread for you where you can just make post after post about how awesome Sony is and no one else can talk about any other products.

[Eug]

Amazon HD DVD minisale

To my surprise, that additional 10% off deal is still active. It was supposed to end Dec. 31, 2007. I picked up:

Digital Video Essentials
Stardust
Black Snake Moan
Coming To America

Those off-topic HD nipples had better be good.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Those off-topic HD nipples had better be good.

What's better than hidef nipples is real life nipples right in front of your face.

[ort888]

Not to be a pooper, but Stardust isn't very impressive in HD either.

Half of it is filmed in this cheap soft-focus soap opera look. It keeps jumping back and forth between somewhat sharp and blurry. I don't think it's the transfer either. I'm pretty sure the movie just wasn't shot well.

Fun movie though.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Stardust

I'm dead serious that you had better return that movie right the **** now!

I watched it last week and it is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. Seriously it isn't worth watching for free but I will give you a copy on DVD if you really want it.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Those off-topic HD nipples had better be good.

Well if this blows your skirt up you'll enjoy the movie:

[Eug]

Originally Posted by ort888 

Not to be a pooper, but Stardust isn't very impressive in HD either.

Half of it is filmed in this cheap soft-focus soap opera look. It keeps jumping back and forth between somewhat sharp and blurry. I don't think it's the transfer either. I'm pretty sure the movie just wasn't shot well.

Fun movie though.

That's OK. I liked the movie and so did my GF, so this will be a gift for her. (We don't have it on DVD.)

And Coming to America (which isn't supposed to be reference quality video either) is the gift to me.

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

I'm dead serious that you had better return that movie right the **** now!

I watched it last week and it is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. Seriously it isn't worth watching for free but I will give you a copy on DVD if you really want it.

Heh. I know I'm taking a chance on this given its mediocre reviews, but that's OK. If I really hate it I'll just sell it or something. I'm just curious to see it, and my local shop doesn't have it for rental on HD DVD. Plus, I'm told that the transfer is very good so I figure I may as well see it in hi-def.

And thx for the pix.

EDIT:

I see you're talking about Stardust. I thought you were talking about Black Snake Moan.

I kinda liked Stardust. Some of the scenes were stupid (esp. several with Robert De Niro, but overall I liked it. More importantly though, the GF liked it, and this is for her.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

I kinda liked Stardust. Some of the scenes were stupid (esp. several with Robert De Niro, but overall I liked it. More importantly though, the GF liked it, and this is for her.

Oh gosh me and my sister were so bored throughout the whole thing I kept wanting to shut it off calling it "lord of the rings for pussies" but if you guys got a kick out of it thats cool.

Black snake is ok and you'll probably like it. I know my dad got it just because of the nipple factor. Yarg.

[Oversoul]

Originally Posted by hyteckit 

I know what market capitalization is. It's not just a public measure or opinion of a company's value in terms of its share prices. It's how much money is invested in company. It's a monetary measure, not an opinion poll. The more money invested in a company, the more money the company has to spend and invest in projects.

A startup company that has $100k in revenue and $10k in asset, suddenly goes public and now has a market cap of $100 million. Guess what? The company can now invest and sustain a loss much greater than its $100k revenue and $10k asset it originally had. They have $100 million in investments and can spend most of the $100 million of the investment.

Sheesh, some people need to learn more about stocks and what the purpose of stocks are. The purpose of stocks is to build up capital.

Know what the meaning of the word "capital" in accounting and finances?

Go look it up, I'll wait.

I'm sorry, but your use of market capitalization is still an inaccurate measure. I agree with you that it is a monetary measure in that market capitalization is dependent on that company's stock valuation, but this valuation is still fickle to the investing public's and institutions' opinion on the worth of that company.

And yes, the issuance of stocks is commonly used to generate capital through investment, but you seem to confuse the distinction between capital raised through a public stock offering and the stock's subsequent valuation on the open market.

A company may make public offering to the public to generate capital and expand. But outside of its initial offering and occasional rights issue, it does not happen very often or at all. That $100M you mention may be the amount raised through the public offering, but after those shares in the company are sold to investors the stock is outstanding until purchased back. That stock is subsequently held or traded by investors on the open market and may fall or rise, thereby affecting that company's market capitalization, but these transactions are not further investments in the company but merely the transfer of share or ownership in that company. The stock remains outstanding and the company does not see the gains or losses from those trades of stock apart from the perceived rise or fall in that company's "value." But a company remains obviously concerned about their stock price because, as Eug pointed out, the price of the company's share (and thus, market cap) is an indication of the health or strength of the company, among other reasons.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by Oversoul 

But a company remains obviously concerned about their stock price because, as Eug pointed out, the price of the company's share (and thus, market cap) is an indication of the health or strength of the company, among other reasons.

So you are saying the market cap is an indicator for the health and strength of a company?

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending January 6th, 2007 - Engadget HD

[Oversoul]

Originally Posted by hyteckit 

So you are saying the market cap is an indicator for the health and strength of a company?

It may be an indication of the health and strength of a company, but it's hardly an accurate measure of how much loss a company can sustain. And it's definitely poor economic understanding to think that a company can directly utilize their market capitalization to offset a loss of one division in the way you're suggesting.

[exca1ibur]

Germany's Constantin Film AG drops HD DVD, goes Blu-ray only - Engadget HD

[TETENAL]

Oh no! No Downfall on HD DVD will definitely be the death knell for this format.

[Oversoul]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Stardust

Fun flick. Not the best movie from 2007 by a long shot, but it brings back the feel of fantasy-lite like that in The Princess Bride. My gf and I enjoyed it, and its one of the few HD DVD titles we wish were available to us in Blu-ray.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by Oversoul 

It may be an indication of the health and strength of a company, but it's hardly an accurate measure of how much loss a company can sustain. And it's definitely poor economic understanding to think that a company can directly utilize their market capitalization to offset a loss of one division in the way you're suggesting.

You tell me then, what's the better indicator than Market cap and P/E ratio when it comes to a company's overall health and strength?

Market capitalization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Market capitalization represents the public consensus on the value of a company's equity. A corporation, including all of its assets, may be freely bought and sold through purchases and sales of stock, which will determine the price of the company's shares. Its market capitalization is this share price multiplied by the number of shares in issue, providing a total value for the company's shares and thus for the company as a whole.

Market cap indicates the market value of a company. Market value is the valuation of a company's assets and liabilities.

Know what's an asset?

Asset - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The future benefit that involves a capacity, singly or in combination with other assets, in the case of profit oriented enterprises, to contribute directly or indirectly to future net cash flows, and, in the case of not-for-profit organizations, to provide services

The Market cap indicates Microsoft's assets are worth much more than Sony's. Depending on the liquidity of the assets, Microsoft can convert its assets help with cash flow. Because of Microsoft's assets is worth much more than Sony's, Microsoft can sustain much greater loss than Sony can when it needs to converts its assets to help with any cash flow problem.

[Oversoul]

Please don't tell me wikipedia is your source of knowledge on economics.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by Oversoul 

Please don't tell me wikipedia is your source of knowledge on economics.

No, it's my economics degree.

[exca1ibur]

From Blu-ray HD-DVD, to downloads, to TV cabinets, to Apple TV, to Christina's nips, to Economics 101. Gotta love this thread.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

PS3 is now selling at cost:
PS3 production costs cut by half - PS3 Fanboy

[Oversoul]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

PS3 is now selling at cost:
PS3 production costs cut by half - PS3 Fanboy

Good. Maybe now hyteckit can stop worrying about Sony going out of business and we can all get back on topic.

[climber]

Originally Posted by Oversoul 

Good. Maybe now hyteckit can stop worrying about Sony going out of business and we can all get back on topic.

More likely just another "Economics" lesson about how it is still theoretically impossible for Sony to turn a profit on the PS3.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

I'm pretty sure Sony is going to make a ton of money this year from the PS3 and BR.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by Oversoul 

Good. Maybe now hyteckit can stop worrying about Sony going out of business and we can all get back on topic.

If PS3 wasn't hurting Sony's cash flow so bad, Sony wouldn't have to sell off one of its asset, the Cell Processor, for $858 million to help Sony with its cash flow.

Microsoft xbox 360 is sold for about $75 above cost, yet the xbox division lost $1.9 billion in 2007.

This is good news for Sony. They might not loss so much money this year.

[climber]

I think it is Microsoft and not Sony that has yet to come up with a profitable game console.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by climber 

I think it is Microsoft and not Sony that has yet to come up with a profitable game console.

The 360 started turning a profit last year.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by goMac 

The 360 started turning a profit last year.

The hardware did, but the Xbox division is still losing money.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

The hardware did, but the Xbox division is still losing money.

How much are they losing?

Can they stand to lose a bit more? Cuz I think they should drop the price on the 360 (and the HD DVD add-on) again.

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by Eug 

How much are they losing?

1.9 billion when their fiscal year ended in June 2007. We won't know the next one till June this year.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

The hardware did, but the Xbox division is still losing money.

Yup. They haven't made a penny from Xbox since the day it came out.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Hands-on with Imagion AG's dynamicHD HD DVD & Blu-ray technology - Engadget

[Weezer]

so close to what should have been:

Sound Advice: Blu-ray wins in format war, but at what cost?

Fox and Warner *this* close to going HD-DVD....

I can't figure out why there are so many blu-ray fanboys. I get it that if you already have a PS3 you'd like blu-ray to win, but what is in it for the standalone crowd? Incomplete spec, expensive players, overbearing DRM? I honestly don't get it. HD-DVD does everything blu-ray can do and more. Aside from the smaller discs, which a larger spec HD-DVD has been approved, HD-DVD seems to be a win/win for consumers. Shrug

[Eug]

Here is my Amazon review of the BSG HD DVD box set:

Battlestar Galactica is a reimagined version of the original series from the 1970, but with a lot more substance and infinitely better acting. It even managed to win the prestigious Peabody award, among many others. I was anxiously awaiting this box set to come out in hi-def, and was very pleased to hear Universal came through for us in 2007.

As expected, the original miniseries (shot on film) as well as some of the episodes (shot on high definition video) are grainy, but that was the directors' and producers' intent. In fact, I've been told that the episodes had additional grain added in post production to enhance this effect. Fortunately, the detail was well preserved on this release. Not only do we get the gritty look with the grain and the documentarian style, we also get fine details that simply are not present on the DVD. On the HD DVD, the image quality is a huge step forward compared to the DVD, not surprisingly.

Unfortunately, there are some technical issues with the authoring of this set. For example on disc two at approximately 55'37" in part 2 of the miniseries, there is a serious synchronization problem between the audio and the video for a short period. This is most obvious in the scene when one character is screaming at the other. This problem is not due to hardware, as it can be replicated on multiple different players, but appears to be due to improper authoring of the disc. Most of the rest of the set is properly synched, and therefore this problem may not be a huge concern for some people, but nonetheless this could be a deal-killer for some others.

This box set had the chance to be THE collectors' archival set for fans of this series, but unfortunately it isn't, because of simple technical issues that should have never been allowed to occur in any title, much less a relatively big TV release like this one.

I give this release 5 stars for content but only 3 stars overall, because of the audio synchronization issue.