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HD-DVD in the wild (Page 3)
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starman
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Apr 19, 2006, 12:21 PM
 
Well, sorta. I have the T2 Extreme Edition DVD with the HD WMV on it, and I have a TON of HD clips, plus two HD receivers in the house.

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Dark Helmet
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Apr 19, 2006, 12:47 PM
 
Originally Posted by starman
Well, sorta. I have the T2 Extreme Edition DVD with the HD WMV on it, and I have a TON of HD clips, plus two HD receivers in the house.
I am just asking because you see a little overly blown away. Not that it isn't exciting to see a movie in HD but with as many shows and PPV movies that are in HD nowadays it isn't really something brand new.

Yes DVD's look like ass in comparison. I compared my Battlestar DVD's to the HD broadcast and there is a world of difference.

I can't wait to get a blu-ray player with Batman Begins and Battlestar in high def

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driven
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Apr 19, 2006, 02:21 PM
 
Originally Posted by starman
Paramount annouced 3 HD-DVD titles for May 30:

Four Brothers
Tomb Raider
U2: Rattle and Hum
Rattle & Humm? Wow ... I didn't even think they had HD cameras back then.
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Apr 19, 2006, 02:36 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dark Helmet
I am just asking because you see a little overly blown away. Not that it isn't exciting to see a movie in HD but with as many shows and PPV movies that are in HD nowadays it isn't really something brand new.

Yes DVD's look like ass in comparison. I compared my Battlestar DVD's to the HD broadcast and there is a world of difference.

I can't wait to get a blu-ray player with Batman Begins and Battlestar in high def
Yeah but the BSG DVD look like ass even by DVD standards. I got a free DVD with my RCA player back in 1999 that looked worlds better than my 2006 BSG Season 2.0 DVDs. The sad part is the Season 2.0 DVDs are actually better than the Season 1 DVDs.

Anyways, I'm starting to wonder if they are releasing so many titles on HD-DVD at launch that I have zero interest in because people will buy them just to test out their players. I was struck by this thought when it seemed so many of the home theatre geeks were running out and buying Phantom of the Opera because it was one of the few titles they could get their hands on. Not at there's anything inherently wrong with getting Phantom, but how often do you seek home theatre online geeks gleefully bragging about their new Andrew Lloyd Weber titles to the rest of the online geek world?

     
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Apr 19, 2006, 03:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by starman
Anyone who cares about quality still buys CDs.
Oh I care about quality. That's why I still buy CDs. It's rare that I will play the actual CD on it's own player any more, but at least I can control the quality of the rip to my iPod. And I can go back to the source when the next big step in higher quality compression formats comes out.
     
starman
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Apr 19, 2006, 03:18 PM
 
The difference between broadcast HD and HD-DVD/Blu-Ray is that the HD-DVD has much higher bandwidth for audio/video that broadcast can't touch. Sure the pic and audio is impressive on broadcast, but imagine it being BETTER.

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Apr 19, 2006, 04:02 PM
 
I swear they purposely put out crappy titles when they first launch these systems as they know with next to no selection people will buy them either way just to test out the system.

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Apr 19, 2006, 04:39 PM
 
To be fair, "Phantom" IS all about the visuals and music, so it's not a bad disc to show off the technology. Assuming, of course, that it's a good transfer. And the first DVDs weren't exactly must-haves either. Wasn't the first DVD "Twister" or something?
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Apr 19, 2006, 04:44 PM
 
Not that it is the best movie but 5th element always makes a great launch title to show off sound and visuals.

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Apr 19, 2006, 05:03 PM
 
Originally Posted by BrunoBruin
To be fair, "Phantom" IS all about the visuals and music, so it's not a bad disc to show off the technology. Assuming, of course, that it's a good transfer. And the first DVDs weren't exactly must-haves either. Wasn't the first DVD "Twister" or something?
Yeah it was the first, in 1996. I didn't like it either.

I didn't succumb to buying it. I just rented it. Mind you I didn't buy my DVD player until 2 years after Twister was released.

As for the 5th element, that's definitely one of the last on my list. I've seen it, and clips of it, waaaaayyy too many timesnow
     
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Apr 19, 2006, 05:18 PM
 
Originally Posted by starman
With King Kong coming to HD-DVD in 2 weeks
Thanks for the warning.
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Apr 19, 2006, 06:52 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dark Helmet
Not that it is the best movie but 5th element always makes a great launch title to show off sound and visuals.
"Fifth Element" will be on Blu-ray May 23. It's a Sony movie so don't expect to see it on HD DVD soon. :wink:

Looking ahead, I would bet we'll start seeing same-day releases of HD and standard-def DVDs later this year. So the big 2006 summer movies should be available along with the standard DVD. Hmm, Fox is in the Blu-ray camp so "X-Men: The Last Stand" will be Blu-ray... I don't suppose there's a chance this stupid format war will be over by Christmas.
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Apr 19, 2006, 11:56 PM
 
Hopefully by the time HD-DVD players are below $400, I'll be able to get Star Trek: First Contact and GalaxyQuest in HD. ALIEN and ALIENS are good runners up. Serenity's already on HD-DVD, but I'm hoping for a better transfer. I'd also like to see Firefly re-released for HD.

Other movies I'd like in HD would be the IMAX movies.
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Apr 20, 2006, 12:04 AM
 
Originally Posted by olePigeon
Hopefully by the time HD-DVD players are below $400, I'll be able to get Star Trek: First Contact and GalaxyQuest in HD. ALIEN and ALIENS are good runners up. Serenity's already on HD-DVD, but I'm hoping for a better transfer. I'd also like to see Firefly re-released for HD.

Other movies I'd like in HD would be the IMAX movies.
How long are you willing to wait to save $100?

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Apr 20, 2006, 07:11 AM
 
HD-DVD for Xbox 360 to be discussed at E3.

PS3 with Blu-ray announced at 600 Euros , then retracted.
     
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Apr 20, 2006, 08:27 AM
 
Originally Posted by Eug Wanker
PS3 with Blu-ray announced at 600 Euros , then retracted.
Where did you hear that?

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Apr 20, 2006, 08:45 AM
 
Back to the case discussion. These things fit fine in my Benno racks from Ikea. If you are going to mixt hem in with dvd's the dvds obscure the HD DVD cases because the hd cases are a bit smaller in all dimensions. But they stand next to eachother fine. The hd cases stand up a lot easier than dvd used to as well.
     
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Apr 20, 2006, 09:26 AM
 
I'm sorry to break it, but if the porn industry is going with HD-DVD, well... there's your winner.
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starman
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Apr 20, 2006, 09:27 AM
 
Originally Posted by himself
I'm sorry to break it, but if the porn industry is going with HD-DVD, well... there's your winner.
As ridiculous as it sounds, you're right. Sony's against adult titles, and that was Beta's downfall.

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Apr 20, 2006, 09:33 AM
 
Originally Posted by Landos Mustache
Where did you hear that?
Original article: SCE France boss indicates 500 - 600 Euro pricing for PS3

Sony Computer Entertainment France president George Fornay has revealed that the PlayStation 3 will be sold for between 500 and 600 Euro when it launches in November, in the clearest indication yet of Sony's pricing strategy.

Speaking to radio station Europe 1 in an interview which has now been widely circulated online, Fornay said that the console would be available for "around 500 Euro", with his expectation being that it will be priced between 499 and 599 Euro.

Arguing in favour of this price point, Fornay said that the inclusion of Blu-Ray and HD functionality justifies the expense of the console, and that compared to other devices offering similar media functionality, the PS3 will be relatively cheap.



Sony retraction: Fornay's comments are not an indication of PS3 pricing - Sony

The SCE France boss' discussion of the pricing on French radio station Europe 1 was focused on the fact that the PS3 would be priced very competitively compared to other Bluray products if it were to emerge at $500, but that this price point is well above the range of other game console products, according to Sharples.

"Mr Fornay explained that, with BD and HD functionality, PS3 at this price would be cheap for such functionality, but that current video games machines were significantly below this price," Sharples told GamesIndustry.biz.

"At no time did he suggest or indicate a specific price point or price range for PS3, and any reports that he did so are incorrect.

"He summarised by saying that PS3 would be expensive when one looked at the current price of a video games machine, at far below 500 Euros, but extremely good value when looking at the BD and HD technology inside," he concluded.



Originally Posted by himself
I'm sorry to break it, but if the porn industry is going with HD-DVD, well... there's your winner.
They're going with both.
     
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Apr 20, 2006, 09:38 AM
 
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himself
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Apr 20, 2006, 09:39 AM
 
Originally Posted by Eug Wanker
They're going with both.
In that case... we've got one helluva war on our hands!

I'm gonna chill with a bucket of popcorn and watch the back-and-forth.

edit: Personally, I'd like to see BR take the crown, because the idea of a Microsoft video codec getting the slightest chance of gaining a foothold makes me shudder (not to mention BR's technical superiority).

Then again, I also have reservations about Sony having nearly total control over both the media and the content it contains. We can't have it all, I suppose. The lesser of two evils...
( Last edited by himself; Apr 20, 2006 at 09:50 AM. )
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starman
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Apr 20, 2006, 09:39 AM
 
Originally Posted by Eug Wanker
They're going with both.
The difference is that the Blu-Ray adult titles will be in JAPAN, just like there are no UMD adult titles in the US, but there are in Japan.

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Apr 20, 2006, 09:50 AM
 
Exactly, it is old news and not even true so I don't see what the point of posting it was.

It was a misinterpretation of him saying that since blu-ray drives are $1500 the PS3 could be 600 Euro and still be a good deal.

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Eug Wanker
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Apr 20, 2006, 11:42 AM
 
Originally Posted by Dark Helmet
Exactly, it is old news and not even true so I don't see what the point of posting it was.

It was a misinterpretation of him saying that since blu-ray drives are $1500 the PS3 could be 600 Euro and still be a good deal.
Dunno from either of those articles, cuz Sony seems to be intentionally vague even in the retraction.

600 Euros is probably too high. I was originally guessing something like 399 Euros (or US$399) for a base model, which still could be true, but I have to wonder if it could be as high as 499 Euros (or US$499). Perhaps it will be $399 for the base and $499 for a higher end bundle. That would be reasonable if it's true the lower end model includes the hard drive, but still, that's a fair bit of scratch, if the higher end model is the required geek model (eg. Includes Blu-ray remote and stuff).

Sony Execs usually don't give hints about pricing being kinda expensive unless they're expecting pricing to be kinda expensive.

Actually, I agree it would still be a reasonable deal even at 599 Euros (or US$599), but only if the Blu-ray player doesn't suck. The DVD player in the PS2 kinda sucked, just like the DVD player in the Xbox and the Xbox 360 sucks.
     
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Apr 20, 2006, 11:47 AM
 
Originally Posted by Eug Wanker
Actually, I agree it would still be a reasonable deal even at 599 Euros (or US$599), but only if the Blu-ray player doesn't suck. The DVD player in the PS2 kinda sucked, just like the DVD player in the Xbox and the Xbox 360 sucks.
Ya it sucks but only to the small major nerd department we fall under. There was a poll for the 360 asking people what they thought of the player and 90% said it was awesome.

The audio/video club like us fall under a small percentage that look for every small prob. To be fair the 360 player isn't bad it is just a bit green in darker areas.

The PS2 player was also more than fine at its time as next to nobody had it hooked up to a high def TV and DVD's were much more expensive at the time. The later PS2's were even progressive scan.

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Apr 20, 2006, 02:07 PM
 

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Eug Wanker
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Apr 20, 2006, 03:01 PM
 
I wonder if Microsoft can release an HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 for under US$200. That would help HD-DVD's cause.

I do think Blu-ray still has the advantage, but then again it's Sony. Even though Sony has helped create some extremely popular formats like CD, it is also responsible for many formats that are unpopular in North America: betamax, MD, UMD, Memory Stick. Some were just unpopular, but some were utter failures.

I don't think that the case for Blu-ray, but ya never know.

I look forward to E3... just a few weeks away.
     
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Apr 20, 2006, 03:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by himself
b]edit:[/b] Personally, I'd like to see BR take the crown, because the idea of a Microsoft video codec getting the slightest chance of gaining a foothold makes me shudder (not to mention BR's technical superiority).
Both Bluray and HD-DVD support Microsoft's VC1 codec and H.264. As for the menu language, Bluray is using Java, meaning I don't really care either way.
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Apr 20, 2006, 03:41 PM
 
HD DVD has already won, they sold out of 6 million players in like 3 days. Even xboxen dont sell out that fast. Ebays are going fro like 2k each. Its crazy. BluRay couldnt win with a gigli free movies with it.
     
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Apr 20, 2006, 04:00 PM
 
Originally Posted by kaze0
HD DVD has already won, they sold out of 6 million players in like 3 days.
Where in the name of Christ did you get 6 million? 2 days ago they said they shipped 10,000 players total. SHIPPED not sold 10,000.

10,000 is also an extremely low number for a new product.

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Dark Helmet
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Apr 20, 2006, 04:04 PM
 
Originally Posted by Eug Wanker
I do think Blu-ray still has the advantage, but then again it's Sony. Even though Sony has helped create some extremely popular formats like CD, it is also responsible for many formats that are unpopular in North America: betamax, MD, UMD, Memory Stick. Some were just unpopular, but some were utter failures.

I don't think that the case for Blu-ray, but ya never know.

I look forward to E3... just a few weeks away.
I thought phillips created the CD. Sony might have made it popular though.

Anywho, MD is still huge in Japan. Memory stick is doing fine in both the east and west. UMD might not be selling for movies but it is for games. Betamax was used by broadcasters for a long time after consumers stopped touching it.

There have been other formats that have done worse like HD-VHS (who's idea was that?), laserdisk and DAT. Although I hear DAT is still used in studio's but consumers never touched it.

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Apr 20, 2006, 04:33 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dark Helmet
Exactly, it is old news and not even true so I don't see what the point of posting it was.

It was a misinterpretation of him saying that since blu-ray drives are $1500 the PS3 could be 600 Euro and still be a good deal.
Spend about 2 weeks in a microeconomics class and you'll find that this doesn't mean it will sell.

You're probably assuming that the average sales conversation will go like this...

Salesmen: The PS3 is a great deal. For only $600 you can get a $1500 Bluray player!
Customer: Great! I'll take two!

In reality it will probably go more like this:

Salesmen: The PS3 is a great deal. For only $600 you can get a $1500 Bluray player!
Customer: Wow. $600 is still expensive. I don't feel like spending that much. Do you have any other game consoles that just have DVD? I think I'll wait on Bluray until the price comes down...

Another example is if I offered to sell you a decked out $15,000 G5 tower for $10,000. It's a great deal, but it still doesn't mean you can afford it. You'd probably rather buy a cheaper G5 without the bells and whistles that you don't need. The only people who would be interested in my deal would be people interested in buying a $10,000 G5.

In the same way neither Bluray or HD-DVD have the right price point to really sell. Because Sony is tying the PS3 to Bluray, I think the PS3 will have the same fate. The PS3 will only be interesting to those who have $500 to spend on the console alone, or those who have $500 to spend on a hi def player, which won't be much of the market. The PS3 will be cheap compared to other HD players, but the HD player audience isn't that big anyway. Compared to DVD players or game consoles with DVD (which is the far bigger market), the PS3 is highway robbery.
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Apr 20, 2006, 04:48 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dark Helmet
I thought phillips created the CD. Sony might have made it popular though.

Anywho, MD is still huge in Japan. Memory stick is doing fine in both the east and west. UMD might not be selling for movies but it is for games. Betamax was used by broadcasters for a long time after consumers stopped touching it.

There have been other formats that have done worse like HD-VHS (who's idea was that?), laserdisk and DAT. Although I hear DAT is still used in studio's but consumers never touched it.
By your argument then laserdisc and DAT are relative successes too. DAT is used professionally, and laserdisc did very well in Asia. However, that doesn't change the fact that both were still failures in North America in the consumer market, just like UMD, MD, and Betamax. BTW, saying that UMD is relatively successful for games is like saying that memory modules for the PS2 are doing well. It's just not relevant to the argument.

P.S. CD is Sony and Philips. Here's an article from 1998 by one of the lead Philips engineers:

The Compact Disc Story

P.P.S. D-VHS is JVC and friends. Yeah, it was just stupid. After DVD, any tape based format had zero chance of success in the home theatre market, even if it did do HD.
     
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Apr 20, 2006, 05:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by goMac
Spend about 2 weeks in a microeconomics class and you'll find that this doesn't mean it will sell.
I guess your 2 week course is what made you such a pro.

Anywho, try this sales argument:

Salesman:
"The Xbox 360 is $400 but it doesn't play HD-DVD's, that's extra"

Customer:
"Fine, I'll take 1 just like the other 6 million other people that have taken one"

For the PS3:

Customer:
"Hi I would like the PS3 the follow up to the best selling game console of all time with the largest game library in the world. I hear it also has a hard drive, wireless, a $1500 Blu-ray player built in and the best CPU for any game system."

salesman:
"it is $600"

Customer:
"Damn that is high but what alternative is there with those features? I'll take it but my little brother can't afford one right now so he either has to mow lawns or wait till christmas".

Salesman:
"Fine, buy Sony sold out of the first 1 million units in the first week. Check ebay for $1200."

If you are willing to place a bet on the sales being any different let me know.

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Apr 20, 2006, 05:13 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dark Helmet
I guess your 2 week course is what made you such a pro.

Anywho, try this sales argument:

Salesman:
"The Xbox 360 is $400 but it doesn't play HD-DVD's, that's extra"

Customer:
"Fine, I'll take 1 just like the other 6 million other people that have taken one"

For the PS3:

Customer:
"Hi I would like the PS3 the follow up to the best selling game console of all time with the largest game library in the world. I hear it also has a hard drive, wireless, a $1500 Blu-ray player built in and the best CPU for any game system."

salesman:
"it is $600"

Customer:
"Damn that is high but what alternative is there with those features? I'll take it but my little brother can't afford one right now so he either has to mow lawns or wait till christmas".

Salesman:
"Fine, buy Sony sold out of the first 1 million units in the first week. Check ebay for $1200."

If you are willing to place a bet on the sales being any different let me know.
Let's trying something like this...

Salesmen: Check this out! I've got a Quad Core 2.5 ghz G5 with 16 gigs of RAM and a terrabyte of hard drive space total with a 30 inch cinema display! It's only $10,000!

Customer: I can't really afford that... That's not really in my budget...

Salesmen: But you have to buy it! On apple.com these things sell for $15,000! It's made by the same company that makes the highly successful iMac!

Customer: ...Do you have any computers in my pricerange? I don't exactly need 16 gigs of RAM...
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Apr 20, 2006, 05:15 PM
 
At US$600 the initial run would sell out. However, sales wouldn't be as robust after the initial geek fest IMO.

P.S. Not quite on topic... The Best Buy I went to yesterday said families were lining up on Xbox 360 release day and were buying 1 unit per person... so a family of three would buy three. Then they would keep one and auction off the rest.. right in front of the store. They got well over CAD$1000 profit per unit in 2 minutes of bids.
     
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Apr 20, 2006, 05:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by Eug Wanker
At US$600 the initial run would sell out. However, sales won't be as robust after the initial geek fest IMO.

P.S. Not quite on topic... The Best Buy I went to yesterday said families were lining up on Xbox 360 release day and were buying 1 unit per person... and then keeping one and auctioning off the rest.. right in front of the store. They got well over CAD$1000 profit per unit in 2 minutes of bids.
Well they did say the same thing about the 360 and 6 million units and 7 months later they are still very hard to find in stores. This is even with the Hype around the PS3. Heck even you folded Eug.

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goMac
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Apr 20, 2006, 05:23 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dark Helmet
This is even with the Hype around the PS3.
....you know that feeling you get when you're watching a car sliding out of control? It's like you just have to watch because you have to know how it will end.
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Eug Wanker
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Apr 20, 2006, 05:36 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dark Helmet
Well they did say the same thing about the 360 and 6 million units and 7 months later they are still very hard to find in stores. This is even with the Hype around the PS3. Heck even you folded Eug.
Yup. My excuse though is I got lots of gift certificates for electronics stores on my birthday.

However, a $600 PS3 is 50% more costly than a $400 Xbox 360. I make good money but even then it made me think twice. The PS3's pushed-back date was the final straw.

I wonder how many of those people out there with one of those 6 mil Xbox 360s are going to buy a PS3. Probably a fair number, but I betcha most won't.

Don't get me wrong... I do think the PS3 should do well in North America... as long as they price it right (and it doesn't suck).
     
ort888
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Apr 20, 2006, 05:51 PM
 
I hate this stupid format war. I want hi-def movies and I want them now.

It's probably going to be one or two years before this format war is over.

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angelmb
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Apr 21, 2006, 01:29 PM
 
I read this @ imdb.com today…

Consumer electronics writers have begun to weigh in on the new HD DVD players distributed by Toshiba this week, and most are unimpressed. Several cite an intolerably long boot-up period, a confusing menu system, and incompatible sound. But nearly all express disappointment in the picture. On smaller sets, the writers agree, the difference between HD DVD and a conventional DVD is virtually undetectable. "Bottom line is that HD DVD is great, but will you notice?" asks Ben Drawbaugh on HDBeat.com. Writing in the Los Angeles Times David Colker remarked that on larger screens he could detect a subtle difference. He added: "I tested my perceptions by switching between the two formats. I asked a colleague to close his eyes while I chose a version, then had him open them and guess: DVD or HD DVD? He got it right only about 75% of the time. So, yes, it's better. But don't expect the dramatic leap in quality that came with the transition from VHS to DVDs in the 1990s."

How can they say such thing and people here telling how much better it is?

I don't want to think they have attached the HD-DVD to standard TV sets since that would be just moronic…

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goMac
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Apr 21, 2006, 01:39 PM
 
Originally Posted by angelmb
I read this @ imdb.com today…
Hence what I've been saying about the price being too high for the benefit. It's not like all consumers are going to go out and upgrade to anything with Blu-ray or HD-DVD for any cost. I don't think they'll go mass market until the players hit under $250 or $200 (Yes, this means I still think the PS3 will be too expensive to catch on outside the geek market). There just isn't enough of a difference to justify the cost over non-HD products.
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Apr 21, 2006, 01:46 PM
 
Hey guys. I don't know how people can say HD DVD discs are only marginally better than DVD. The color is just so much more amazing. It's easier to see shadow detail, detail in the whites, saturation looks better. Maybe my dvd player wasnt up to par, but flipping back and forth between the dvd and hd dvd of serenity is just friggen mindblowing. The CG scenes really show the difference as it looks like there was no effort to make them match the look and feel of the filmed shots. The CG looks almost 3d, it's truly amazing, and the dvd comes nowhere close to that look.
     
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Apr 21, 2006, 01:56 PM
 
It's not the disc but the codec used responsible for image quality. You can put the same video on a DVD as you can with HDDVD and Bluray but not as much video playback time.
     
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Apr 21, 2006, 02:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by Eug Wanker
However, a $600 PS3 is 50% more costly than a $400 Xbox 360.
Considering it comes with wireless internet which costs more for the xbox the gap is even smaller. Also the Xbox does not play HD DVD or blu-ray. So it is damn worth it.

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ort888
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Apr 21, 2006, 02:02 PM
 
I saw one in action at Best Buy yesterday. It looked good. Nothing to go crazy over, but definitely much better.

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Dark Helmet
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Apr 21, 2006, 02:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by kaze0
Hey guys. I don't know how people can say HD DVD discs are only marginally better than DVD.
Anyone who would say that is a moron.

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Ken_F2
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Apr 21, 2006, 02:08 PM
 
Hey guys. I don't know how people can say HD DVD discs are only marginally better than DVD. The color is just so much more amazing. It's easier to see shadow detail, detail in the whites, saturation looks better. Maybe my dvd player wasnt up to par, but flipping back and forth between the dvd and hd dvd of serenity is just friggen mindblowing. The CG scenes really show the difference as it looks like there was no effort to make them match the look and feel of the filmed shots. The CG looks almost 3d, it's truly amazing, and the dvd comes nowhere close to that look.
The differences can be pretty substantial, but this depends in good part on your display. Remember back when DVD came out, many said they couldn't see much of an improvement over VHS on their 20" TVs. On my 55" HDTV, the differences between HD-DVD and DVD are very significant. If you just have a 27" or 30" HDTV, like that reviewer for the LA Times, I'm sure the differences will still be noticeable, but they won't be mindblowing.

One nice thing about the HD-DVD format's debut is that something like 29 of the first 30 titles coming are on dual-layer 30 gigabyte disks. The first title to use a single-layer 15 gigabyte disk is Happy Gilmore (June 13), which is a 90 minute movie. Some people feared that studios would try to pinch pennies and use 15Gb disks instead, thereby sacrificing quality. These fears were evidently unfounded. In fact, at 30Gb dual-layer, HD-DVD disks have more capacity than 95+% of Blu-ray titles to ship in 2006 (and maybe 2007?), which are announced for single-layer 25Gb disks.

Here's the encoding/authoring info on the first three HD-DVD titles:

Last Samurai:
VC-1: 1080P, 18 Mbps avg, 24 Mbps peak
Dolby Digital-Plus: English 5.1, 640 Kbps

Phantom:
VC-1: 1080P, 15 Mbps avg, 21 Mbps peak
Dolby True HD: English 5.1, 1.6 Mbps average and 3 Mbps peak
Dolby Digital-Plus: English 5.1, 640 Kbps

Serenity:
VC-1: 1080p, 16 Mbps avg, 24 Mbps peak
Dolby Digital Plus: English 5.1, 1.5 Mbps
For an official release schedule, see this thread. Note this doesn't include another dozen or so HD-DVD titles listed in Best Buy's system, but which don't have official dates yet. For example, here are some of the dates in BB's computer:
Batman Begins - 5/2
Troy - 5/16
Shawshank Redemption - 5/16
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 5/16
Matrix - 4/25
Constantine - 5/12
Dukes of Hazzard - 5/9
( Last edited by Ken_F2; Apr 21, 2006 at 02:20 PM. )
     
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Apr 21, 2006, 02:12 PM
 
mmmm imagine all that Chocolate in Wonka's factory at 1080p
     
 
 
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