[Brien]

Hot dang, that's a great deal. I already have the add-on, but I may just get a standalone now!

[Kenneth]

The 'Get 5 Free HD DVDs' promotion/gimmick doesn't do a thing to me. I would love to give HD DVD a try even though I'm happy with Blu-ray, so the HD-A2 offers upto 1080[b]i[/i] resolution?

gee.. the small print is just hard to read.
"1080p capable display required for 1080p output resolution."

The design of the set-top box doesn't look that slick, what's the UI/onscreen menu look like?

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Kenneth 

The 'Get 5 Free HD DVDs' promotion/gimmick doesn't do a thing to me. I would love to give HD DVD a try even though I'm happy with Blu-ray, so the HD-A2 offers upto 1080[b]i[/i] resolution?

gee.. the small print is just hard to read.
"1080p capable display required for 1080p output resolution."

The design of the set-top box doesn't look that slick, what's the UI/onscreen menu look like?

The A2 outputs 1080i. All the same info present in a 1080p signal is also present in a 1080i signal (since the source is only 24 fps anyway). However, whether or not your TV deals with 1080i well is different question.

If you want an HD DVD player that does 1080p, you need the A20, or the XA2.

P.S. The vast majority of TVs out there can't even understand a 1080p input, so if you have one of those and plan on keeping it a while, I wouldn't bother spending extra on a 1080p player.

[Eug]

HD DVD vs. Blu-ray standalone stats in Europe

(Includes UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland. Does not include PS3 or 360 HD DVD)

Blu-ray: 2665
HD DVD: 7432

Conclusion? Standalone Hi-Def player sales are quite low in Europe.

[icruise]

Fascinating. Especially because there have been over 100 times as many PS3s sold as standalone HD-DVD players, and 300 times as many as standalone Blu-ray players (PS3 sales in Europe said to be "nearly 800,000" last month). Do we have any stats about movie purchases in Europe?

[Eug]

Dammit:

Sorry to bust your bubble boys, but to qualify for the instant rebates, the product must be purchased at suggested minimum pricing shown on the invoice, followed by the $100.00 credit shown as a line item. This was made very clear in the note from Toshiba several weeks ago announcing the rebate program.

Dealers are not receiving the entire $100.00 credit back as part of this promotion. Forget about A2's at $199.00. They will be $299.00 after the rebate, A20's are $399.00 after the rebate, and XA2's are $699.00 after rebate. The five free DVD promotion is still in place until July 31st. I am sure that aggressive retailers like Robert at VE will have something in place to provide the best possible deal to his customers, given the parameters of the rebate program.

$299 ain't bad (esp. with the 5 HD DVDs), but it's not outstanding either.

[BrunoBruin]

"Blade Runner" is apparently coming to both formats in October (or at least to HD DVD in October and, one assumes, Blu-ray at some later date). I wonder what the picture quality will be like? There was a lot of optical processing in the movie.

Then again, I had real reservations about "Dune" on HD DVD and was surprised that it looks pretty good. There are some grainy effects-heavy shots but overall it's impressive. If "Blade Runner" looks as good I'll happily upgrade.

Now to decide if I want the "standard" "Matrix" HD DVD set or the "deluxe," since apparently the special features aren't in HD...

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Here is an important question.

Since HDDVD has been cheaper by 50% of more since day one and got a 6 month head start on BR, you can get an add on for your Xbox for under $200 with movies then why is BR outselling it?

Could the only reason be movie selection?

The fathers day discount on the HD-DVD is nice for the consumer and all but I heard from the beginning that Toshiba was selling players are near cost. This extra discount smells a bit of desperation to me.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

The fathers day discount on the HD-DVD is nice for the consumer and all but I heard from the beginning that Toshiba was selling players are near cost. This extra discount smells a bit of desperation to me.

Sony is selling their PS3's for way under cost to push Bluray, and that doesn't smell of desperation to you?

[icruise]

Um, no. Assuming it works, it was a sound business tactic (although one that has the unfortunate side-effect of making the system too expensive for a lot of people). How could a plan that Sony has had since before either format was launched possibly be a result of "desperation?"

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by goMac 

Sony is selling their PS3's for way under cost to push Bluray, and that doesn't smell of desperation to you?

Since all printers pretty much do the same do they fall under it also?
If the PS3 was already getting $100 discounts and came with 5 games that would have you up in arms screaming desperation in a second.

So what is the reason for the discounts then? Toshiba saw how well all the players are selling and they decided they wanted to make less money?
If most people don't want it at $400 I don't see it flying off the shelves at $300.

But if you get it with the $100 you save you can spend it on all the movies HD doesn't have

[exca1ibur]

Sweet. I knew it was a matter of time before someone tried to do this...

John Woo's 'Hard Boiled' to Make HD Debut in First Blu-ray Game/Movie Hybrid

[Eug]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Here is an important question.

Since HDDVD has been cheaper by 50% of more since day one and got a 6 month head start on BR, you can get an add on for your Xbox for under $200 with movies then why is BR outselling it? Could the only reason be movie selection?

Cuz the PS3 is still a powerful weapon in the format war. Three million PS3s with Blu-ray players is nothing to sneeze at. However, it's not the killer weapon that Sony had hoped. Sony failed to launch as early as they'd hoped (as did Toshiba), and Sony failed to get the number of units sold they had wanted. They also have a very low movie software attachment rate. Hence, Sony couldn't deal its killer blow. And with the PS3's continued poor sales numbers, it's unlikely they'll deal that killer blow any time soon.

The fathers day discount on the HD-DVD is nice for the consumer and all but I heard from the beginning that Toshiba was selling players are near cost. This extra discount smells a bit of desperation to me.

You mean like Panasonic slashing their player's price by half?

Anyways, even back in 2005 Toshiba had already indicated to the world that its strategy with HD DVD would be based on price. It seems like Toshiba is just doing exactly what they said 2 years ago that they'd do.

Remember, unlike companies like Pioneer and Panasonic, Toshiba's intent is not to bring home the bacon based on Toshiba-branded hardware sales. They're after the licencing money. Toshiba will make that money off every single HD DVD player sold, and every single disc sold.

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

Sweet. I knew it was a matter of time before someone tried to do this...

John Woo's 'Hard Boiled' to Make HD Debut in First Blu-ray Game/Movie Hybrid

That's kinda cool actually, although I'd rather just have the movie without the game.

Hard Boiled is a great movie BTW.

[Kenneth]

Anyone pre-order or going to get the Pirates of the Caribbean BR-release?

[Oversoul]

Originally Posted by Kenneth 

Anyone pre-order or going to get the Pirates of the Caribbean BR-release?

Pre-ordered at Amazon. Initial reviews from those who got it early at AVS Forum rave about the picture quality. High Def Digest has glowing reviews on both video and audio too.

May 22 is going to be a big Blu-ray day for me: Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man's Chest, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, and Apocolypto!

[icruise]

I have the second Pirates movie preordered on Blu-ray. I can't really justify ordering the first since I have it on DVD already and it's not like I'm going to be watching THAT often. I'll get it eventually, I imagine.

[Kenneth]

That's great. I also read the reviews on High-Def Digest. Although I have netflix, I would definitely like to own the blu-ray releases and leave room for the Closer BR on my queue.

Next week is gonna be huge for Disney in stores and theaters.