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Rumor · Nov 30, 2006 , 11:39 PM

Beta is going to make a comeback. You just wait and see.

Hawkeye_a · Nov 30, 2006 , 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by Rumor

Beta is going to make a comeback. You just wait and see.

your living in the past man !!! your still stuck on some format from the 80s !!!

Mac Write · Dec 1, 2006 , 12:49 AM

The 360 HD player works with OS X without any drivers needed. Just plug and play according to DL.tv

Oneota · Dec 1, 2006 , 07:21 AM

So on another, but related tangent:

Which regular 'ol DVD player does the best job of upconverting DVD content to HD?

Dakar² · Dec 1, 2006 , 07:38 AM

Originally Posted by Mac Write

The 360 HD player works with OS X without any drivers needed. Just plug and play according to DL.tv

Doesn't play HD-DVDs, though.

jokell82 · Dec 1, 2006 , 08:20 AM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

Doesn't play HD-DVDs, though.

Only because there's no software player in OS X capable of playing them. As soon as Apple updates the DVD Player it will.

Dakar² · Dec 1, 2006 , 08:21 AM

I know.

Eug Wanker · Dec 1, 2006 , 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by jokell82

Only because there's no software player in OS X capable of playing them. As soon as Apple updates the DVD Player it will.

No. The OS will need to be updated. OS X Tiger 10.4.8 doesn't recognize HD DVD discs at all (although it recognizes the drive just fine), presumably because the discs use a newer UDF format.

Leopard should recognize the HD DVD discs just fine though. We'd still need the software though of course.

zerostar · Dec 1, 2006 , 10:35 AM

That will be nice for $200! Rip from HD-DVD and send to your iTV all for less than a stand alone HD-DVD player? I heard the HD-DVD copy protection is broken now? Wonder how long it will take for a ripper to come out?

Lots of questions...

Eug Wanker · Dec 1, 2006 , 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by zerostar

That will be nice for $200! Rip from HD-DVD and send to your iTV all for less than a stand alone HD-DVD player? I heard the HD-DVD copy protection is broken now? Wonder how long it will take for a ripper to come out?

Lots of questions...

HD DVD copy protection is not broken.

However, it can support managed copy.

BrunoBruin · Dec 1, 2006 , 12:34 PM

I know who's winning in my case: HD DVD. I was all about Blu-ray, because of the disc capacity and studio support. But I think Toshiba surprised a lot of people by pricing a player at $499 (now available for about $360 online). Since then, they've done pretty much everything right, and the Blu-ray camp has repeatedly tripped over themselves. Right now pricing and software all point to HD DVD for me. There's only one "must-have" movie for me on Blu-ray - the "Kingdom of Heaven" director's cut. Everything else I want is HD DVD exclusive or available on both formats.

That will probably change once Fox and Disney start cranking out releases (unless they declare support for HD DVD as well), but I agree with those who say this war is going to drag on a while. I'm not inclined to wait for a "victor." In another year, if I feel the need, I should be able to pick up a newly encheapened Blu-ray player or PS3 and I'll just manage with both formats. Maybe we'll have a clearer picture of the universal-player situation.

I'm only waiting for the second-gen Toshiba players to start shipping to see if I want to spring for that or pick up one of the current boxes.

Mind you, you should all consider this a warning. I have a knack for backing the wrong horse in these situations. I had a SelectaVision player back in the day, and laserdisc after that!

Eug · Dec 1, 2006 , 02:09 PM

Microsoft hints at other companies releasing HD DVD players in January

Are other manufacturers shipping HD DVD players yet?

There will be a big ramp up for the holidays, we expect other things in the pipeline at the Consumer Electronics Show, where other manufacturers will most likely be supporting HD DVD players. As Toshiba comes out with its second generation player in December, a half height version like you see in the Xbox accessory, that will be a very good thing for consumers.

- - e r i k - - · Dec 2, 2006 , 03:57 AM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Leopard should recognize the HD DVD discs just fine though. We'd still need the software though of course.

We already have the software. DVD Player can play HD-DVD just fine. It's the copy protection it needs updating for.

Eug Wanker · Dec 2, 2006 , 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

We already have the software. DVD Player can play HD-DVD just fine. It's the copy protection it needs updating for.

And that's huge. If Apple chooses not to support it initially (since they may back Blu-ray first), then we're stuck. Also, DVD Player has no VC-1 support yet, but that will come soon enough.

goMac · Dec 2, 2006 , 01:15 PM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

And that's huge. If Apple chooses not to support it initially (since they may back Blu-ray first), then we're stuck. Also, DVD Player has no VC-1 support yet, but that will come soon enough.

I've heard Apple will support HD-DVD's copy protection from... somebody...

I don't have any dates or OS releases to point to though for support. I would assume eventually in 10.5.

mitchell_pgh · Dec 2, 2006 , 05:02 PM

If Apple is serious about HD, they need Blu-Ray and HD-DVD built into the OS.

I hope to see good HD support in 10.5

Eug Wanker · Dec 2, 2006 , 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

If Apple is serious about HD, they need Blu-Ray and HD-DVD built into the OS.

I hope to see good HD support in 10.5

10.5 should fully support UDF 2.5.

It's just a matter of software and DRM, not OS hardware support.

Dark Helmet · Dec 2, 2006 , 11:38 PM

I saw some Blu-ray titles and I was impressed with how cheap they were compared to what I was expecting.

I picked up both Corpse bride and X3 as they both get praise for the wicked picture.

CB was only $20 US and X3 like $30. That ain't bad as most DVD's were 30+ the first few years.

Now all I need is that PS3 so I can actually watch them

smacintush · Dec 3, 2006 , 01:02 AM

Unfortunately, whichever format is ACTUALLY superior is irrelevant in the "real" world.

HD-DVD has a nice head start.

"HD-DVD" sounds like the next generation of DVD while "Blue Ray" [i] sounds like [i] something else.

HD-DVD players are half the price right now and at least 8 million (360 owners) have the option of only spending $200 to get HD-DVD. The PS3 may be $400 cheaper than a stand alone Blue Ray player but it's still $100 more than an HD-DVD player and I still say that Blue Ray on the PS3 is an "also does" to most people.

Perception is everything.