[Eug]

Originally Posted by icruise 

Analogue Sprinkles, Eug doesn't want a PS3, so stop baiting him about it. On the other hand, a lot of people consider them to be good value in that they are both next-gen game systems and HD movies players, and there may be other people reading the thread who might be considering one. So there's nothing wrong with bringing up articles like the one about the IR hack. Just don't mention Eug when you do it, because it always leads to the same thing.

Oh I agree. The hack is useful for many with the PS3. Indeed, it illustrates why Bluetooth alone just isn't sufficient, contrary to what aS always claims.

Furthermore, I agree the PS3 a decent value for those wanting a future proof machine AND a game machine.

However, as you may have guessed, some PS3-zealots don't seem to understand the PS3 isn't for everyone. So as long as he continues to pimp the PS3, I'll be happy to continue unpimp it.

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

I don't care if he wants one or not. I don't get a cut of the sales.

Eug has taken any opportunity to point out the PS3 sucks because it doesn't have IR if anyone ask him (or bait as you put it) or not.

That's bull, and you know it. Cuz I don't actually think the PS3 sucks. I just think it's inappropriate for some people, including me.

Now that the IR thing is solved I was interested in knowing what the new excuse would be. I guess stomping your feet saying "I don't wanna" will have to do

Don't try to mislead people. It's already been pointed out several times that the IR thing is NOT solved. It's a half-assed hack, nothing more. Wires and a sticker are OK for some, but definitely not for others. And if you read the forums when this was being developed, you'd know that it doesn't always work perfectly (although apparently it seems to work better now than it did initially).

Oh and I find it amusing that you're suddenly touting this when you said IR wasn't important in the first place.

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

And speaking off half assed hacks.... I remember a certain someone who dropped $60 to add powerline networking to the xbox 360 which turned out to suck and had to drop another $120 for microsofts rip-off Wifi adapter

More bull.

I have never even tried powerline networking. I paid $20 for wireless solution that didn't require a wireless router. It's wireless RF. It worked fine for gaming, but I found it slow for game demo downloads, so when the WiFi adapter went on sale, I bought one. However, I still use the $20 wireless solution... initially for one of my computers and now for my Toshiba HD DVD player.

I agree though that some might call it half-assed, cuz it only has say 1 Mbps speeds. So, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to people... unlike how you are recommending the half-assed IR adapter for the PS3.

[Dakar the Fourth]

The newer PS2 had built-in IR. My 360 has built-in IR. Hopefully the PS3 will get it one day as well.

[climber]

Originally Posted by aristotles 

Big deal. It still supports the DTS core track at 1.5 MBits/sec.

Sorry, but the DTS core is not the same quality. It is the compressed version of the audio track versus the unaltered (non-compressed) original track. I will take the higher quality version thank you.

I suppose you must be connecting your PS3 directly to the display and using the built in speakers, or your home theater is inexpensive. Then the hi-def audio codecs would be nothing more than another "buzzword". My home theater setup is better than that.

For the last couple of months the Blu-Ray crowd has been suggesting that the best player they had was the PS3. I think in many ways that was correct. But in my opinion that is also the biggest disadvantage to the format. Some have stated they are waiting for cheap profile 2 players. Perhaps that is the key to widespread market adoption, but that is not what prevents me from buying. I could care less about the profiles, I only care about audio and video quality. I want a higher end player that I can incorporate into my home theater setup. Currently no blu-ray player supports decoding all of the audio codecs. (some will bitsteam, but that will not work with my particular preamp). Fortunately that will change this month with the new Denon 3800; and while that player is very expensive ($2,000), the new units from Panasonic, Sony, and Samsung will also have these features for a lot less money.

Now I suppose some may criticize my decision to spend over four times more money on a Denon unit instead of a the mighty PS3. But I do not need or want any of the "features" offered by the PS3. I will not play games on this setup. I have a place for that in a separate room. I also prefer to have a component with a brushed aluminum faceplate instead of shinny plastic. I have had excellent results with my Denon DVD player and it was worth the extra money. Even though it is old and not progressive scan, The output through my Anthem preamp gives me a better DVD picture than any upscaling player.

[Eug]

Meaningless anecdote:

A few friends visiting asked me what Blu-ray player to get. Ironically, I told one to get the PS3, cuz he's a gamer and doesn't have a console yet. However, another had little interest in the PS3, and asked about the various standalones. I told him about the Profiles, and he immediately said he ain't buying any of the 1.0 players.

I then asked him if he actually would use the extras. He said only sometimes, but there's no way he'd pay for a 1.0 player at this point.

Obviously a few friends' preferences don't mean much in the greater scheme of things, but the claims by some here that the Profiles simply don't matter is just plain wrong.

In my case, I'm OK with getting 1.5 Mbps audio, as long as it is good quality. However, others might not be satisfied with that, and there's nothing wrong with that.

ie. IR support matters.
Profiles matter.
Lossless sound matters.
Lossless sound over HDMI matters.
Etc.

They may not matter to everyone, but they do matter. The PS3 for example is a fine machine, but it certainly ain't for everyone, especially at its price point.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Why Blu-ray will be the next DVD - Engadget HD

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Why Blu-ray will be the next DVD - Engadget HD

From the article - "The majority of our readers that said they owned HD DVD or Blu-ray, siad they were still using Toslink." Sounds more like Sony and Philips need to come up with a new optical standard other than Toslink. ADAT Lightpipe uses the same connectors and cables and can send 8 uncompressed audio channels. I wonder why no one worked on getting the same functionality out of home theater equipment...

[Eug]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

From the article - "The majority of our readers that said they owned HD DVD or Blu-ray, siad they were still using Toslink." Sounds more like Sony and Philips need to come up with a new optical standard other than Toslink. ADAT Lightpipe uses the same connectors and cables and can send 8 uncompressed audio channels. I wonder why no one worked on getting the same functionality out of home theater equipment...

HDMI.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

I still use TOS also as I need a damn amp that supports HDMI. Sucks having to drop another grand for that when my current system kicks ass minus the HDMI.

This is another reason very few people will use the better audio formats.

[Eug]

I was commenting to jokell82 that they don't need to reinvent the wheel. A new Toslink standard would require new receivers anyway, so if people are going to upgrade, they may as well use HDMI (which reduced cable mess too).

P.S. I wonder if wireless HDMI will ever work well enough for the mainstream (including price-wise).

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

I was commenting to jokell82 that they don't need to reinvent the wheel. A new Toslink standard would require new receivers anyway, so if people are going to upgrade, they may as well use HDMI (which reduced cable mess too).

P.S. I wonder if wireless HDMI will ever work well enough for the mainstream (including price-wise).

Ya I know but either way it leaves consumers in a shitty situation. Even now only the higher end or brand new equipment even has HDMI 1.3 so one way or another we need to get new receivers with HDMI.

Even now I keep hearing that HDMI is going the way of DVI for either wireless HDMI or some totally new port.

[climber]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

I still use TOS also as I need a damn amp that supports HDMI. Sucks having to drop another grand for that when my current system kicks ass minus the HDMI.

This is another reason very few people will use the better audio formats.

You can also hook up a Blu-Ray player to your amp with analog audio outputs. At least that is the case with the upcoming players that support those codecs (although some are 5.1 instead of 7.1).

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Geez, what the heck are they doing over there? Never heard of compression?

Kojima: MGS4 too big for 50 GB Blu-ray disc - Joystiq

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Geez, what the heck are they doing over there? Never heard of compression?

Kojima: MGS4 too big for 50 GB Blu-ray disc - Joystiq

Sure, Hideo. I'm sure it's all the features and not, say, artwork, sound and video that's taking up the majority of that room.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Eug 

I was commenting to jokell82 that they don't need to reinvent the wheel. A new Toslink standard would require new receivers anyway, so if people are going to upgrade, they may as well use HDMI (which reduced cable mess too).

P.S. I wonder if wireless HDMI will ever work well enough for the mainstream (including price-wise).

That's true. I was thinking more that they should've done it 10 years ago when ADAT Lightpipe came out.

[ort888]

He's just saying that to get a little buzz. It's a completely ridiculous statement.

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I'm willing to bet that Sony has asked him to talk up things like this whenever possible.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Sure, Hideo. I'm sure it's all the features and not, say, artwork, sound and video that's taking up the majority of that room.

It is stupid if they actually cut the game to fit on 1 disk. I mean another disk would cost them another $2 and they could charge an extra $10 to the consumer.

But ya, I think he is just talking **** to create hype.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Sony Plans 100+ New Blu-ray Titles For 2008 | High-Def Digest


And sometimes I have to wonder if GoMac works at Toshiba:

"Well, without having the question asked, Mr. Nishida did answer in so many words that no Blu-ray player was imminent. He basically said that Toshiba would combat Blu-ray by selling upconverting DVD players that would cost less than Blu-ray players and be just as good. The exact quote: "And we're going to improve this [upconverting feature] even more, so that consumers won't be able to tell the difference from HD DVD images." That so? Well, what was the point of the war in the first place then? Jeez, Louise."

When will Toshiba put out a Blu-ray player? | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Are they serious? Rather than just coming out with a Blu-ray player they rather convince everyone that an up-converting player will look just as good as HD-DVD? I don't know what is going through their minds.

[mrtew]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Meaningless anecdote: A few friends visiting asked me what Blu-ray player to get. Ironically, I told one to get the PS3, cuz he's a gamer and doesn't have a console yet. However, another had little interest in the PS3, and asked about the various standalones. I told him about the Profiles, and he immediately said he ain't buying any of the 1.0 players. I then asked him if he actually would use the extras. He said only sometimes, but there's no way he'd pay for a 1.0 player at this point. The PS3 for example is a fine machine, but it certainly ain't for everyone, especially at its price point.

Maybe if you'd said that the PS3 is the cheapest and best Blu-ray player on the market and Sony loses money on every one sold and it had a free videogame console included and is upgradable to all known future standards they'd have been more interested. I'm sure you talked 'a few friends' of yours out of a great machine because you liked HD-DVD better.

Originally Posted by Eug 

I DON'T WANT A PS3 I DON'T WANT A PS3 I DON'T WANT A PS3 I DON'T WANT A PS3 I DON'T WANT A PS3 I DON'T WANT A PS3 I DON'T WANT A PS3 I DON'T WANT A PS3 I DON'T WANT A PS3.

You protest too much. I think you actually do want one but can't admit it. Any normal person that didn't want one would have maybe said so once on page 3 and never thought about it or mentioned it again. You are a closet PS3 fan-boy and just haven't come out yet. We can all tell and that's why we tease you about it and that's why you freak out and stamp your feet and push your caps lock key and repeat it on every page. You're trying to convince yourself. Nobody else cares at all what you are or want or buy. We just love seeing you deny your feelings.

[Montezuma58]

Originally Posted by climber 

You can also hook up a Blu-Ray player to your amp with analog audio outputs. At least that is the case with the upcoming players that support those codecs (although some are 5.1 instead of 7.1).

That's why I'm holding out for the Panasonic BD50(or maybe the newer Sony with analog outs if I wait that long). It will probably be a little bit more than other players but that beats the $700 or so I'd have to spend to replace my receiver.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

You protest too much. I think you actually do want one but can't admit it. Any normal person that didn't want one would have maybe said so once on page 3 and never thought about it or mentioned it again. You are a closet PS3 fan-boy and just haven't come out yet. We can all tell and that's why we tease you about it and that's why you freak out and stamp your feet and push your caps lock key and repeat it on every page. You're trying to convince yourself. Nobody else cares at all what you are or want or buy. We just love seeing you deny your feelings.

Snap

Kinda like how I said I didn't want a HD-DVD ad on for my xbox back when it came out and never really mentioned it again.

And..
Toshiba CEO: HD DVD didn't stand a chance after Warner left - Engadget HD

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

the PS3 is the cheapest ... Blu-ray player on the market

No it's not.

[voodoo]

I never bought a DVD player. I have more than 200 DVDs though. I doubt I'll buy a BD player. I'll wait until a Mac with BD is released. By then there will be better selection too.

I hope more old TV series will be released in HD on BD. I mean.. Miami Vice in HD? Oh yes.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

No it's not.

Cheapest and only 2.0 spec ready player.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

Maybe if you'd said that the PS3 is the cheapest and best Blu-ray player on the market and Sony loses money on every one sold and it had a free videogame console included and is upgradable to all known future standards they'd have been more interested. I'm sure you talked 'a few friends' of yours out of a great machine because you liked HD-DVD better.

Here we go again. Pimp the PS3 much?

BTW, it's not the cheapest Blu-ray player, and not necessarily the best player either. It's probably the best value, esp. if you want a console, but nonetheless your statements are incorrect.

P.S. I guess you didn't even read my post. Cliff notes:

1) I told the first guy to buy a PS3.
2) The 2nd guy said right from the start that he wasn't interested in a PS3.

I didn't try to convince #2 that he wanted a PS3 like you guys do on every page in this thread. It's unfortunate that hurts your sensibilities.

Nobody else cares at all what you are or want or buy.

For someone who claims he doesn't care what we buy, you seem to pimp the PS3 very, very hard.

[mrtew]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

Maybe if you'd said that the PS3 is the cheapest and best Blu-ray player on the market ...

Originally Posted by Eug 

BTW, it's not the cheapest Blu-ray player, and not necessarily the best player either. It's probably the best value, esp. if you want a console, but nonetheless your statements are incorrect.

When I said cheapest and best I meant cheapest AND best. Unless you can name a cheaper AND better one. Sorry for not pimping you properly enough that you couldn't argue back. Geez. You're statements are incorrect. Everyone's incorrect but me. I can out-argue a whole thread of people trying to discuss HD players by constantly interrupting and saying that I don't like them and won't buy them and they're not good enough and too expensive and that they're pimps. Why don't you give it a rest for a few pages. People are going to look at this thread and see that somewhere on every page someone is saying that they don't want a PS3 and they have no interest in a console player and think that there's something wrong with it and not realize that it's just one or two freaks that can't stop posing the same thing. That's why people keep asking what's your problem with it and re-asserting that it's the best, not because we care if you buy one dude.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

When I said cheapest and best I meant cheapest AND best. Unless you can name a cheaper AND better one. Sorry for not pimping you properly enough that you couldn't argue back. Geez. You're statements are incorrect. Everyone's incorrect but me. I can out-argue a whole thread of people trying to discuss HD players by constantly interrupting and saying that I don't like them and won't buy them and they're not good enough and too expensive and that they're pimps. Why don't you give it a rest for a few pages. People are going to look at this thread and see that somewhere on every page someone is saying that they don't want a PS3 and they have no interest in a console player and think that there's something wrong with it and not realize that it's just one or two freaks that can't stop posing the same thing. That's why people keep asking what's your problem with it and re-asserting that it's the best, not because we care if you buy one dude.

And yet another push-the-PS3 post.

I guess it must really frustrate you that not everyone lusts after your PS3.

[mrtew]

Originally Posted by Eug 

And yet another push-the-PS3 post.

I guess it must really frustrate you that not everyone lusts after your PS3.

Not at all. I don't even lust after it. I like watching a movie on it every now and then though.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

Not at all. I don't even lust after it. I like watching a movie on it every now and then though.

You protest too much. I think you actually do lust over it night and day but can't admit it.

You are a closet PS3 fetishist and just haven't come out yet. We can all tell and that's why we tease you about it and that's why you freak out and stamp your feet. You're trying to convince yourself. Nobody else cares at all what you are or want or buy. We just love seeing you deny your feelings.

[mrtew]

I bet you have one.

[Eug]

Pricing since the death of HD DVD





P.S. They got the manufacturer for the 1400 wrong.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

I can see why HD owners have resentment towards the PS3. They spent MORE on the XBox than the PS3 costs to watch HD movies and now the format is dead. Plus they also have to come to accept the main reason BR did a well as it did was because of the PS3 and it is also going to pick up huge this year.

HD owners now have to keep an old discontinued player for a few select movie titles. No lending a movie to a friend, no watching them on their laptops or computers in the future.

Essentially HD-dvd libraries might as well be laser disks as you always need to keep a old player around as long as you want to watch your investment of movies. The only advantage is they are a bit smaller.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

I can see why HD owners have resentment towards the PS3. They spent MORE on the XBox than the PS3 costs to watch HD movies and now the format is dead. Plus they also have to come to accept the main reason BR did a well as it did was because of the PS3 and it is also going to pick up huge this year.

HD owners now have to keep an old discontinued player for a few select movie titles. No lending a movie to a friend, no watching them on their laptops or computers in the future.

Essentially HD-dvd libraries might as well be laser disks as you always need to keep a old player around as long as you want to watch your investment of movies. The only advantage is they are a bit smaller.

I don't own an xbox 360.

I hate lending DVD to friends cause they end up being lost or damaged. That includes CDs too. I had a friend who return my CDs that were all warp because he was stupid enough to leave my CDs in his car under the California sun.

I don't really watch DVDs on my laptop. I can easily get a Blu-ray/HDDVD hybrid drive for my HTPC.

[hyteckit]

Take that back. The only DVDs I've watch on my laptop are pornos.

[ort888]

AppleInsider | Apple well shy of movie rental goals

Apple falls way short of projected movie rental goals.

[Mrjinglesusa]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

I can see why HD owners have resentment towards the PS3. They spent MORE on the XBox than the PS3 costs to watch HD movies and now the format is dead. Plus they also have to come to accept the main reason BR did a well as it did was because of the PS3 and it is also going to pick up huge this year.

HD owners now have to keep an old discontinued player for a few select movie titles. No lending a movie to a friend, no watching them on their laptops or computers in the future.

Essentially HD-dvd libraries might as well be laser disks as you always need to keep a old player around as long as you want to watch your investment of movies. The only advantage is they are a bit smaller.

I'm an HD-DVD owner (in fact, I have 3 HD-DVD players) and I don't resent the PS3 (in fact, I own a PS3). I love movies and I love high-definition content. So, like many enthusiasts I chose not to limit myself to the whims of studios and decided to support both formats so I could get ANY movie I wanted in hi-def. That hasn't changed, although now I am limited to Blu-ray purchases from here on out.

[Eug]

So, I was going to wait to get the complete Bourne Trilogy on Blu-ray around Xmas or whatever, but it just went on sale for $26.96 ($29.95 - 10%) at Amazon.com on HD DVD. At that price I couldn't pass it up.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Pricing since the death of HD DVD

So Blu-Ray got more expensive after it won?

[Chongo]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

So Blu-Ray got more expensive after it won?

The price of BD discs have at Fry's Electronics. The average price went from $19.99 to $22.99.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Probably trying to capitalize on the possible direct post-war boom. Watch them go back down in 6 months,

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Probably trying to capitalize on the possible direct post-war boom. Watch them go back down in 6 months,

The pricing on the BD 1.0 players will definitely drop in 6 months, since that's when the new 1.1/2.0 players are to be released. The question though is what the pricing will be on those 1.1/2.0 players. I will note that Sony has listed the MSRP for the BDP-S350 at $399, which suggests that actual street pricing for their new BD 1.1/2.0 player in the summer may be similar to pricing of 1.0 players now, which is in the $300+ range.

[Eug]

What Are the Lessons of the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Battle? A Freakonomics Quorum - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog

Nothing groundbreaking there. However, some of it may be of interest to some of you, considering it's a bunch of comments from people who actually know a little bit of business economic theory.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

PS3 Fanboy

Sony offers Blu-ray trade-in deal for HD DVD owners, in Switzerland - Engadget

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

So Blu-Ray got more expensive after it won?

Pricing does tend to go up after the holiday buying season. Look at historical data. It's also possible that Americans are now feeling the effects of inflation caused by the week US dollar. Apparently the price of everything from food to clothing has been going up recently in the US.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by aristotles 

Pricing does tend to go up after the holiday buying season. Look at historical data. It's also possible that Americans are now feeling the effects of inflation caused by the week US dollar. Apparently the price of everything from food to clothing has been going up recently in the US.

Lies. It's all a Sony conspiracy.

[Eug]

This was in the Microsoft developers newsletter today. I think they're a little late...

Heroes Happen at the TechNet Quiz - Win an Xbox 360 with HD DVD Player Pack

Take the TechNet Quiz now for your chance to win:
. An Xbox 360
. An Xbox 360 HD DVD Player
. A copy of Season 1 of Heroes HDDVD
. A copy of Superman Returns Xbox 360 Game
Take the quiz around launch technologies and you could be a Hero too!
No purchase necessary. Content ends April 11, 2008. Please read the rules and regulations for complete contest details.

[jokell82]

I really didn't see this happening here in the US:
Dealzmodo: Circuit City Trading In HD DVD for Blu-Ray Players, Says Employee

Not a bad deal if you bought at Circuit City.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

I really didn't see this happening here in the US:
Dealzmodo: Circuit City Trading In HD DVD for Blu-Ray Players, Says Employee

Not a bad deal if you bought at Circuit City.

Interesting, although it doesn't really help many people if it doesn't apply to movies as well.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Interesting, although it doesn't really help many people if it doesn't apply to movies as well.

No, but it helps more than getting nothing.

I can actually take my HD-D2 back since I bought it at Costco, but then I'd have a mess of movies with nothing to watch them on.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

I can actually take my HD-D2 back since I bought it at Costco, but then I'd have a mess of movies with nothing to watch them on.

That's exactly what I was getting at.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Toshiba CEO: HD DVD didn't stand a chance after Warner left - Engadget HD