[goMac]

Originally Posted by Eug 

LOTR will be on both formats.

Eventually.

My point was it's not like Bluray has a monopoly on big titles. It's silly to assume all the big titles are Bluray only.

[Eug]

Interesting. I thought triple-layer HD DVD was almost dead, but apparently not.

TL51 (triple-layer 51 GB) HD DVD has now been under study by the DVD Forum. This never happened with TL45.

So far, this is the only information that is available. We have no information as to whether or not increased bandwidth is being discussed, or if current machines (with a firmware upgrade) could possibly support it.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Interesting. I thought triple-layer HD DVD was almost dead, but apparently not.

TL51 (triple-layer 51 GB) HD DVD has now been under study by the DVD Forum. This never happened with TL45.

So far, this is the only information that is available. We have no information as to whether or not increased bandwidth is being discussed, or if current machines (with a firmware upgrade) could possibly support it.

Cool, if you're lucky it will come out along with G5 PowerBooks.

[goMac]

See, I'm not as crazy as you would think.

[SOLIDAge]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

You know all this talk of PIP and content is meaningless the second universal Studio's stops being stubborn and publishes on BR and Disney and Sony remain exclusive to BR.

Seriously.

Except Disney is probably going to publish movies in both in the coming months.

In an interesting turn, Disney seems to be considering to release HD video titles on the HD DVD format, changing its original plans to only support the rival Blu-ray format.

According to an article published by Variety.com, Bob Iger, Disney's CEO, dropped a hint that Disney may end up playing both sides in the high-definition DVD format war, during the firm's annual meeting with shareholders. In response to a shareholder question, Iger said company continues to back Sony's Blu-Ray format, but added, "We probably will publish in both formats."

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News...x?NewsId=16554

[mitchell_pgh]

I'm just waiting for one of the formats to implode. I don't have either HD-DVD or Blu-ray, but I would be more inclined to go with Blu-ray for some reason.

I'm starting to not like Sony, but many novice users see them as "good" quality. Nothing special, but usually not junk.

I think once drive prices become ubiquitous, HD-DVD is going to be a bit of a hard sell with the IT people.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by SOLIDAge 

Except Disney is probably going to publish movies in both in the coming months.

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News...x?NewsId=16554

Looks like I won't have to miss any Pirates or Pixar when I get my HD-DVD player.

[Eug]

Les Annees Laser (print mag) is reporting in their April issue that Samsung will release a universal player in July 2007.

Samsung BD-UP5000

Blu-ray and HD DVD support
HDi support on HD DVD <-- The LG player doesn't support HDi.
BD-J support on Blu-ray
1080p24 output capability on Blu-ray
HDMI 1.3, with support of all the advanced audio codecs

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Les Annees Laser (print mag) is reporting in their April issue that Samsung will release a universal player in July 2007.

Samsung BD-UP5000

Blu-ray and HD DVD support
HDi support on HD DVD <-- The LG player doesn't support HDi.
BD-J support on Blu-ray
1080p24 output capability on Blu-ray
HDMI 1.3, with support of all the advanced audio codecs

That might be the player for me. My one regret with going with a Samsung tv was that Samsung was in the Bluray camp. Looks like that's not longer the case. I hope it's not $$$ like the LG player is, but likely it will be just as expensive. I don't care much about the HDMI 1.3 (My tv is a 1.2 set anyway, and 1.3 is only a must have on a audio receiver), but HDi support is very important to me. The Blu-ray is more of a bonus really. On Bluray/HD-DVD dual releases I'd probably still go for the HD-DVD release. It would be better to go with HD-DVD disks for if I ever got a second player/drive.

As for the Samsung brand being important, I like having matching gear, one source for support, and most importantly, one remote.

[Eug]

Well, Samsung's first Blu-ray player was buggy, although I do think they fixed most of the problems after a few months. I just hope the Samsung universal player turns out not to be vapourware, and is a good product at a reasonable price. The LG at $1200 for crippled functionality certainly doesn't impress.

P.S. I use a Logitech Harmony universal remote for all my equipment, from various brands.

[Brien]

Originally Posted by SOLIDAge 

Except Disney is probably going to publish movies in both in the coming months.



Disney Open to HD DVD

That article is nearly a year old, though.

[icruise]

Yeah, I didn't notice that -- just saw the "March" dateline and even then thought about commenting that it was slightly old news . I can't say I put a lot of stock in that.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Eug 

P.S. I use a Logitech Harmony universal remote for all my equipment, from various brands.

Yeah... speaking of really expensive things...

I haven't honestly been impressed by the Harmonies (a friend has two). The LCD is nice, but aside from that, they're kinda more of a pain to navigate. Meantime I actually happy with the remote that came with my TV.

[Eug]

The remote cost me about US$85.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

"Universal at one time was going to release up towards 90% of their '07 HD DVD titles on the hybrid discs - one side standard DVD and one side HD DVD. For some unknown reason however, the studio has discontinued current hybrid discs and re-spec'd future disc for HD DVD only. "

Damn. I remember how dual disks was supposed to be a big plus and selling point for HD-DVD. Guess not.

Universal giving up on hybrid HD DVDs? - Engadget HD

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Eug 

The remote cost me about US$85.

Really? My friend has the color lcd one's, which I guess are more expensive.

Regardless, I'm happy with my remote. The LCD screen is just extra I don't need.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by goMac 

Really? My friend has the color lcd one's, which I guess are more expensive.

That is the one I have and it was a whooping $140.

[BrunoBruin]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES