[goMac]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Which I guess makes you the pro.

Have you ever even used a online download service for HD?

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by goMac 

Have you ever even used a online download service for HD?

No because the service does not appeal to me with all its downsides which is why and every person I know still sticks to cable/dish rentals and DVD's rent or buy. Which is my whole point.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

No because the service does not appeal to me with all its downsides which is why and every person I know still sticks to cable/dish rentals and DVD's rent or buy. Which is my whole point.

Which I guess makes you the pro.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Which I guess makes you the pro.

Funny how I am not acting like the pro but just re-enforcing the point that because of the limitations is the reason myself and others aren't interested in the service to begin with which is the hardest selling point over megabits per second.

Oh and:
Slashdot | Time-Warner Considers Per-Gigabyte Service Fee, After iTunes

[jokell82]

Maybe not, but you are criticizing other posts on a subject you apparently know nothing about.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Maybe not, but you are criticizing other posts on a subject you apparently know nothing about.

Really? Show me examples.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Really? Show me examples.

Don't have to look too hard:

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Which I guess makes you the pro.

[turtle777]

The next stab at HD DVD:

Netflix picks Blu-ray, good luck renting an HD DVD soon - Engadget

I'm surprised by the speed of HD DVD being pushed out of the market.
While the things unfolding are certainly not a surprise, the speed of it is.

-t

[Dakar the Fourth]

I think it just goes to show how unwanted this format war was.

That and I think its clear a lot of people have said "Hey I'd pick an HD system if there was a winner"

[Oversoul]

I hope this means Netflix will finally stock more copies of popular Blu-ray movies. In the last month or so, I've added 3:10 to Yuma, Sunshine, Good Luck Chuck, and Assassination of Jesse James in Blu-ray to my queue, and they're all at "Long Wait" or "Very Long Wait" availability with no clear sign of ever getting to me.

[jokell82]

Guess I'm neutral now since I recently bought a PS3. Don't have any BD movies, though, and don't plan on getting any anytime soon. Disappointing to hear about Netflix, though. I was thinking about signing up for them again just for HD rentals. But if they're going to exclude Paramount, Universal, and Dreamworks I won't be going back to them.

When is this AppleTV update coming?

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

When is this AppleTV update coming?

"This month"

I think that's code for the 29th.

[Oversoul]

I've been thinking of replacing my Sony BDP-S1 with a PS3 myself. Again, I really don't care for Profile 1.1 or eventually 2.0 features, but downloadable firmware upgrades as well as the PS3's faster load times are nice. I have an Oppo 981 for upconversion, so the PS3's performance in that area isn't a concern. And the slate of upcoming PS3 games for 2008 finally makes the console format pretty enticing. I'll wait to see if the Game Developer's Conference brings anything new from Sony before deciding, since rumors are that Sony's dropping the 80GB for a higher capacity HDD model and possibly introducing the ceramic white PS3 stateside.

[Chongo]

How is the PS3 as a BD player? I won some money in a super bowl pool and it would be easier to tell the wife I am buying a "game console" instead of another HD movie player.

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

How is the PS3 as a BD player? I won some money in a super bowl pool and it would be easier to tell the wife I am buying a "game console" instead of another HD movie player.

I believe the only thing you would be missing would be DTS-MA (you still get the DTS core) but you would need a high end HDMI receiver to make use of it even if the PS3 could pass it through anyway. The picture quality is excellent and you would also be able to playback WMV, MOV and DIVX files in HD off the hard drive.

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Guess I'm neutral now since I recently bought a PS3. Don't have any BD movies, though, and don't plan on getting any anytime soon.

No you are not. If you only own HD DVD movies then you are an HD DVD supporter regardless of whether the PS3 is capable of playing back BD movies. Rentals for either format has very little impact on the format war other than increasing visibility.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

I'm surprised by the speed of HD DVD being pushed out of the market.
While the things unfolding are certainly not a surprise, the speed of it is.

-t

I'm not. I mean there is zero chance in hell of them winning so why drag it out other than pride? Since everyone other than Toshiba/MS have no pride in HD they are axing it from a business perspective.

The day of the announcement I gave it 3 months before HD is off the shelves of most resellers and it looks like that day really is coming as soon as I guessed.

[Oversoul]

Oh, I wouldn't even say MS has faith in HD DVD anymore. MS has dropped the price on the XBox HD DVD add-ons after Amazon held a mini $80 fire sale and there's no interest on their part to include a built-in HD DVD drive to their console. And even still, the HD DVD camp continues to offer 5 free HD DVDs with a purchase. All costs included, the red camp is either giving away these HD DVD players or giving away the movies -- and someone's got to be losing money. Either way, it's not a sustainable business model. Interesting to note that the 5 free HD DVDs promotion ends on February 28, 2008. We'll see what other price cuts and promotions the HD DVD group offers after that, or if they'll just recognize the writing on the wall and make a graceful exit.

[TETENAL]

Will Toshiba ever make BluRay players?

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by TETENAL 

Will Toshiba ever make BluRay players?

Perhaps but it doesn't really matter as there are better companies out there.

[TETENAL]

It's the only solution for early adopters of HD DVD to switch camps without losing their face.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by aristotles 

No you are not. If you only own HD DVD movies then you are an HD DVD supporter regardless of whether the PS3 is capable of playing back BD movies. Rentals for either format has very little impact on the format war other than increasing visibility.

Thanks for putting me in my place. Whew.

For the record I do have a free copy of the Prestige coming to me on Blu-Ray. Does that make me neutral? Or because I didn't buy it I'm still one of those evil HD DVD supporters?

And you're off your rocker if you think rentals don't ultimately support the studios making money.


Edit - forgot to add, I also don't plan on purchasing any HD DVDs anytime soon. So what side does that put me on in the "war"?

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by TETENAL 

It's the only solution for early adopters of HD DVD to switch camps without losing their face.

How so? I doubt anyone bought into the HD DVD format simply because Toshiba was the major hardware manufacturer.

[Lateralus]

You Blu-ray people are funny.

I'm amazed at the ease with which you pronounce the death of HD DVD even when 1/3 of all HD titles are only available on HD DVD and Warner's catalog will be available on either format until summer.

You're all losing perspective. This thread has been going on long enough and you've become so involved in it that you don't seem to realize how infantile the HD market still is. Do you honestly think these little ups and downs for either format have any real bearing at this early of a stage? Really?

If you want an indication of which format will win, I suggest waiting until HD sales count for something other than beans. Where the war stands a year from now might matter.

As for now, HD DVD is at a disadvantage, agreed. But does being at a disadvantage in a war that is almost completely unknown by the consumer really matter? Especially if you're to believe that HD media will one day rival DVD in title sales...

The journey has just begun people.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

How so? I doubt anyone bought into the HD DVD format simply because Toshiba was the major hardware manufacturer.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

[Chongo]

full article: No Winners in the High-Def DVD War? : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech

The Economist brings us a sobering look at the high-definition DVD market this week, asking whether HD's got another year of nasty fighting ahead of it, and if Blu-ray's impending victory in the high-def war will even amount to anything, anyway.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Lateralus 

As for now, HD DVD is at a disadvantage, agreed. But does being at a disadvantage in a war that is almost completely unknown by the consumer really matter? Especially if you're to believe that HD media will one day rival DVD in title sales...

The journey has just begun people.

Seriously, you really believe HD DVD can still survive ?

The picture you paint is one of a engaged, but fair fight.
To me, it looks like HD DVD took so many beatings, it's fataly wounded.

You talk about consumer choice, but give me one reason why consumers would at some point stop prefering BR over HD ( - right now, the choise is obvious).

And what's more: the reason why HD still sells is because there are a lot of uneducated buyers out there. They are on both sides, BR and HD. But this group will NOT be the deciding factor.

The deciding factors are the studios and the knowledgeable consumers. Both are in favor of BR, and that's hardly gonna change that late in the game.

-t

[icruise]

Originally Posted by Lateralus 

You Blu-ray people are funny.

I'm amazed at the ease with which you pronounce the death of HD DVD even when 1/3 of all HD titles are only available on HD DVD and Warner's catalog will be available on either format until summer.

You're all losing perspective. This thread has been going on long enough and you've become so involved in it that you don't seem to realize how infantile the HD market still is. Do you honestly think these little ups and downs for either format have any real bearing at this early of a stage? Really?

If you want an indication of which format will win, I suggest waiting until HD sales count for something other than beans. Where the war stands a year from now might matter.

As for now, HD DVD is at a disadvantage, agreed. But does being at a disadvantage in a war that is almost completely unknown by the consumer really matter? Especially if you're to believe that HD media will one day rival DVD in title sales...

The journey has just begun people.

Wow. I'm not sure how to respond to that. It takes guts to not only deny that HD-DVD has lost while at the same time accusing BR supporters of being the ones out of touch with reality.

[Don Pickett]

Netflix just picked Blu-Ray.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

full article: No Winners in the High-Def DVD War? : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech

Uhm, yeah, well, his arguments are obviously contradicting each other.

But the bigger issue is that Blu-ray and HD DVD just don't offer enough of a jump over existing technology for many people to care, even if Blu-ray is the "winner." With a good TV and an upscaling DVD player, videos in motion look almost the same whether they're in high-def or from a regular DVD source. Hence: No one cares enough to pony up hundreds of dollars for new equipment for a marginal improvement in quality.

More good points are made in the full piece, including the shocking fact that the human eye can distinguish a resolution of about 500 pixels per inch (in typical TV terms). Considering even high-def TVs today offer just about 55 pixels per inch, there's a whole lot more room for better quality TVs and media formats in store for the patient.

So, to me, not very convincing arguments there...

-t

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Lateralus 

You're all losing perspective. This thread has been going on long enough and you've become so involved in it that you don't seem to realize how infantile the HD market still is. Do you honestly think these little ups and downs for either format have any real bearing at this early of a stage? Really?

Little ups and downs? What stage you think we are in here exactly? Do you honestly think HD-DVD will still be on any store shelves by the end of the year? Seriously.

[climber]

It sure seems to me that the HD-DVD sales are just a last effort to clear inventory.

I have yet to purchase either HD format. Lately, I have been waiting for a high quality Blu-Ray player to hit the streets. I have not found one yet. I could care less about profiles. Special features do not interest me. I am however concerned with picture and audio quality. I want lossless audio in all the codecs including DTS. I want and need the decoding done by the player and passed on to my high end pre-amp via HDMI. The first unit that will do that is the Denon 3800. It should ship next month, but at $2,000 dollars. It is hard to justify the price for a first generation Blu-Ray player even from Denon. I also do not need the upscaling capabilities of this player (My pre-amp would do it better).

I have also looked at the Panasonic BD30. It could be a temporary solution until the 50 comes out with the lossless support I need. But the LFE bug has me turned off, even at a reasonable price. The Samsung players have a very bad reputation right now. The Sony unit is not much better except the PS3. But I do not need a game console, and it would look kind of cheap next to my other gear. More importantly it would not work with my IR remote system. That would mean my wife would never be able to put in a disk without my help. I am looking at the high end Pioneer Elite, but even that is a compromise (audio wise) for the price.

So I will wait a bit longer for my stand alone player. I do get my HD fix now with what I can record off Direct TV. I have my DVR hooked up to an Anthem AVM-50 with a matching amp. My speakers are B&W 803's with matching sub, and rears. My display is the Sony 52" XBR LCD.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Don Pickett 

Netflix just picked Blu-Ray.

"Just" ? O'Rly ?

-t

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by climber 

The Samsung players have a very bad reputation right now.

They also had a bad rep 3 years ago when the high end DVD players all had major problems. Since then and my shitty DLP Samsung TV I have never touched them again.

[climber]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

They also had a bad rep 3 years ago when the high end DVD players all had major problems. Since then and my shitty DLP Samsung TV I have never touched them again.

They had "high end" DVD players?

[davidflas]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

"Just" ? O'Rly ?

-t

C'mon do it right!





Back on topic...Go Blu-ray! I love my Sony BDP-S300 no issues at all, just much better picture quality than dvd..

[climber]

Originally Posted by Lateralus 

You Blu-ray people are funny.

I'm amazed at the ease with which you pronounce the death of HD DVD even when 1/3 of all HD titles are only available on HD DVD and Warner's catalog will be available on either format until summer.

You're all losing perspective. This thread has been going on long enough and you've become so involved in it that you don't seem to realize how infantile the HD market still is. Do you honestly think these little ups and downs for either format have any real bearing at this early of a stage? Really?

If you want an indication of which format will win, I suggest waiting until HD sales count for something other than beans. Where the war stands a year from now might matter.

As for now, HD DVD is at a disadvantage, agreed. But does being at a disadvantage in a war that is almost completely unknown by the consumer really matter? Especially if you're to believe that HD media will one day rival DVD in title sales...

The journey has just begun people.

Umm, just wow! You know even the captain of the Titianic eventually understood his ship was going to the bottom of the Atlantic. HD-DVD's ship may yet still be above water, but with every news release, more water pours in. Today the bow just went under. But go ahead and head for the stern if it makes you feel safer.

[ort888]

This Netflix thing is huge and it really sucks. I had a Netflix account just so I could get Hd DVD movies. It's the only reason I signed up.

I have to imagine that there are a lot of people in my boat.

So I guess I need to get a PS3 sooner then later.

I wonder if I should keep my HD DVD player or try and cut my losses on ebay.

Anyone want to buy an HD-A2 with Transformers and Planet Earth?

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by climber 

They had "high end" DVD players?

Well samsung high end. $500 DVD players just not quite that overpriced $2000+ stuff from the other turkeys.

[climber]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Well samsung high end. $500 DVD players just not quite that overpriced $2000+ stuff from the other turkeys.

Heck, My "low end" Denon (DVD 2200) cost more than that. But then I only use it as a transport. I output it as 480i instead of 480p.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by climber 

Heck, My "low end" Denon (DVD 2200) cost more than that. But then I only use it as a transport. I output it as 480i instead of 480p.

Ya I am not bonkers enough to pay $1500 for a 480i player or any DVD player actually.

The "high end" samsungs unconverted but they had black and white crush problems that took Samsung 8 months or more to even start to look into fixing.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by ort888 

This Netflix thing is huge and it really sucks. I had a Netflix account just so I could get Hd DVD movies. It's the only reason I signed up.

I have to imagine that there are a lot of people in my boat.
So I guess I need to get a PS3 sooner then later.
I wonder if I should keep my HD DVD player or try and cut my losses on ebay.

Anyone want to buy an HD-A2 with Transformers and Planet Earth?

Oh, don't be such a pessimist. HD DVD is just taking a temporary break, it's gonna trump BR soon. Just ask Lat.

-t

[climber]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Ya I am not bonkers enough to pay $1500 for a 480i player or any DVD player actually.

The guys in the local hi-hi shop think I am nuts for not spending that much money on my interconects. But then I am a kind of a sucker for the aesthetic aspects of stereo stuff. I think I fell in love with the look of the B&W nautilus series speakers before I ever head them. But the extra money on a great set of speakers is definitely not the same thing.

[climber]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Oh, don't be such a pessimist. HD DVD is just taking a temporary break, it's gonna trump BR soon. Just ask Lat.

-t

Anyone remember a movie from the 70's where they found and raised the titanic? (this was before it was found broken in half) by the end of this year that is where Toshiba will be at.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by climber 

Anyone remember a movie from the 70's where they found and raised the titanic? (this was before it was found broken in half) by the end of this year that is where Toshiba will be at.

A relic from the past, displayed in the museum ?

-t

[ort888]

We're Going Blu-ray

Dear Aaron,

You're receiving this email because you have asked to receive high-definition movies in the HD DVD format. As you may have heard, most of the major movie studios have recently decided to release their high-definition movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. In order to provide the best selection of high-definition titles for our members, we have decided to go exclusively with Blu-ray as well.

While we will continue to make our current selection of HD DVD titles available to you for the next several months, we will not be adding additional HD DVD titles or reordering replacements.

Toward the end of February, HD DVDs in your Saved Queue will automatically be changed to standard definition DVDs. Then toward the end of this year, all HD DVDs in your Queue will be changed to standard definition DVDs. Don't worry, we will contact you before this happens.

You can click here to change your format preferences.

We're sorry for any inconvenience. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call us at 1 (888) 638-3549.

-The Netflix Team

[climber]

Looks like you can add Best Buy to the list today. Word is they have announced support for Blu-ray starting in March. They will still will sell HD-DVD, but they will push blu.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by climber 

Looks like you can add Best Buy to the list today. Word is they have announced support for Blu-ray starting in March. They will still will sell HD-DVD, but they will push blu.

How do they push it exactly?

[climber]

Here is part of the press release? I think it means the HD-DVD will be phased out, sooner rather than later. The water is coming up to the bridge now.

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is taking a step forward in addressing consumer confusion about high-definition formats. Beginning in early March, the leading consumer electronics retailer will prominently showcase Blu-ray hardware and software products in its Best Buy retail and online channels in the United States.

“Consumers have told us that they want us to help lead the way. We’ve listened to our customers, and we are responding. Best Buy will recommend Blu-ray as the preferred format,” said Brian Dunn, Best Buy’s president and chief operating officer. “Our decision to shine a spotlight on Blu-ray Disc players and other Blu-ray products is a strong signal to our customers that we believe Blu-ray is the right format choice for them.”

Dunn continued, “Best Buy has always believed that the customer will benefit from a widely-accepted single format that would offer advantages such as product compatibility and expanded content choices. Because we believe that Blu-ray is fast emerging as that single format, we have decided to focus on Blu-ray products.”

“With the explosion of HDTVs, customers are hungry for quality, high definition content. We believe our move to feature Blu-ray should help consumers feel confident in their hi-def content choices,” said Mike Vitelli, Best Buy’s senior vice president, Home Solutions. “Best Buy is excited by the next generation of digital products and we know our customers are too. We are excited about helping customers find the right mix of products and services to make the next generation of high definition entertainment technology come alive for them. We believe that Blu-ray is the right solution for consumers.”

Best Buy currently carries a wide array of Blu-ray hardware and software products. The company noted that it will continue to carry an assortment of HD-DVD products for customers who desire to purchase these products.

[aristotles]

Best Buy also picked Blu-ray today:
Best Buy to Recommend Blu-ray as the Customer's Digital Format Choice: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Lateralus, I can sure you that I am quite firmly planted on solid earth and I have a firm grasp of reality.