American Express-Savings
Community weekly poll: Are you planning to buy a high definition DVD player?
- 5/23/07 2:23 PM
Already bought one - Toshiba HD A2
by Millard Fullbore - 5/26/07 10:38 AM In reply to: Are you planning to buy a high definition DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
We've just seen a big price drop, and this machine now costs half the price of the cheapest Blu-Ray. The great majority of the dozens of customer comments I've seen online are raves. That should put a lot more players out there and encourage more movie releases.
I haven't had time yet to spend more than a few minutes with the A2, but it seemed to work just fine, with no glitches, and the little of Planet Earth I had time to watch looked just stunning on our 32" 720p.
If Blu-Ray does end up beating out HD, it certainly won't happen until B-R machines get as cheap as or cheaper than the A2. So while buying this machine now was a bit of a gamble, I figure the odds are tolerable.
I agree with you!
by Cadillac84 - 5/26/07 1:55 PM In reply to: Already bought one - Toshiba HD A2 by Millard FullboreI haven't done it yet, but what appears to be the situation, now that the A2 is released and priced below six hundred, HD-DVD is delivering what it said it would deliver and Blu-Ray is delivering half what it promised and the rest of it will come later. I would have preferred that Blu-Ray came out ahead because of its higher capacity for computer file storage. But, HD-DVD is going to surprise everyone and sooner rather than later (IMO).
I won't bore you with my reasons for saying it, but the people who need to buy the 1920 * 1080 cameras will be buying them soon now that 1080p can be delivered. Some already have it and I've seen some RIPs of stuff done at 720p and it is pretty doggoned amazing! Blu-Ray can't compete in the same "ball-park" because of licensing restrictions and Sony is going to be wearing shoes with the tops cut out as they continue to be treated for shooting-myself-in-the-foot syndrome.
C
One other thought about combo players...
by Millard Fullbore - 5/26/07 2:16 PM In reply to: I agree with you! by Cadillac84...is that right now, anyone who wants to cover both formats can buy the cheapest Blu-Ray AND the cheapest HD for $900 total, $300 less than that $1200 LG combo. Not only do you get both formats cheaper that way, but if one goes on the blink the other may still work.
So it might behoove combo manufacturers to get a move on.
Right; and another thing is ---
by Cadillac84 - 5/26/07 3:37 PM In reply to: One other thought about combo players... by Millard FullboreIf you do that, one of them will play CDs and do DVD-RAM (I think). The LG combo doesn't do somethings -- according to the specs, it does not do interactive menus for HD-DVD but it does for Blu-Ray. Also, it does 24 and 30 fps only for 1080p on HDMI. Since Blu-Ray is not yet 1080p (isn't that right?), I think there is a problem with some TVs not being able to get 1080
Hell, I'm getting my brain wrapped around my eye-teeth. There is something and it is something really strange like it doesn't work right for Blu-Ray with Sony TVs. I remember laughing at the irony of that when my LG salesman was talking to me about it. Maybe they've corrected that by now.
Anyway, the price is too steep for me, and I'm more likely to spring for the Toshiba A2 than anything else out there at the moment.
1080p
by hazydave - 5/29/07 1:08 AM In reply to: Right; and another thing is --- by Cadillac84Both formats support 1080/24p encoding, which is the ideal format for film conversions. Virtually every disc released for either format in NTSC is at 1080/24p, just as they largely have been for DVD.
Then there's the player itself, and what it's capable of delivering to your TV over HDMI (or whatever interface you're using). The first generation HD-DVD players didn't support any 1080p transfers, they "only" supported 1080i. The first generation Blu-Ray player could output at 1080p (in fact, 1080/60p, which is the 1080p format officially supported by most 1080p televisions over the wire).
This is less important than the fuss that's been made, since when you're watching a film, this is probably hidden. Most digital TVs (Plasma, LCD, LCoS, DLP) are inherently progressive, and do some kind of de-interlacing no matter what video you feed them... they simply cannot display an interlaced image. Usually that means the actual display is running at 1080p (for a "full HD" spec TV today).
So now your DVD player is sending an image. If the disc is encoded at 1080/24p, the player does a 3:2 pulldown (telecine), which is the standard technique for mapping all of a 24p film into a 60i television image. This then goes to your TV's image processor, which (hopefully) detects that pulldown, and assuming it does, runs an inverse pulldown and fully re-creates the 24p progressive video... which is probably mapped into a 60p refresh anyway. If the video is 1080/60i, it's simply deinterlaced to 1080/60p.
This is the same reason that progressive DVD players look no different than interlaced DVD players on an advanced enough TV. In fact, the first progressive DVD players used interlaced chips, and followed that with a scan converter, to take the interlaced output and deinterlace to 480/60p. Eventually this was integrated on-chip. Of course, if you had a lesser TV (do they make any?) without the full smart upconversion, you would get a better image without the conversions. But otherwise, 1080p transfer is likely to be more a bragging point than anything else... as long as neither format supports native 1080/60p video, anyway.
Right; and another thing is ---
by Cadillac84 - 5/29/07 10:08 AM In reply to: One other thought about combo players... by Millard FullboreIf you do that, one of them will play CDs and do DVD-RAM (I think). The LG combo doesn't do somethings -- according to the specs, it does not do interactive menus for HD-DVD but it does for Blu-Ray. Also, it does 24 and 30 fps only for 1080p on HDMI. Since Blu-Ray is not yet 1080p (isn't that right?), I think there is a problem with some TVs not being able to get 1080
Hell, I'm getting my brain wrapped around my eye-teeth. There is something and it is something really strange like it doesn't work right for Blu-Ray with Sony TVs. I remember laughing at the irony of that when my LG salesman was talking to me about it. Maybe they've corrected that by now.
Anyway, the price is too steep for me, and I'm more likely to spring for the Toshiba A2 than anything else out there at the moment.
Buying into high-definition TV and it accoutrements . . .
by veeteeny - 5/26/07 4:30 PM In reply to: Are you planning to buy a high definition DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I look on high-definition video not as technological gift but as rightful fulfillment of consumers' expectations. We've been getting soaked all the way down the line and will continue to be no doubt.
My plan is not to dump the perfectly good DVD player already have on the trash heap but to satisfy my access to better visual options by way of an A/V receiver with signal enhancing capability. If the signals from the devices I already own can be "boosted" then that will be enough.
I'm crazy about new invention and the enhancement of small pleasure that it often may lend but if the market continues to keep playing the consumer, I won't be buying anything new. I've had enough thrills for a while.
Left to the hands of the manufacturers, there will never be enough to buy. I am already sick of $100 cables and this or that type high-priced player or device to add on. It's rather like buying a house with ten bathrooms when you only have one behind -- or in this case -- one pair of eyes.
Not Yet the Time
by KSGasman - 5/26/07 5:24 PM In reply to: Are you planning to buy a high definition DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Unfortunately, BD is still much more expensive that HD and this, I think, really hurts them. HD is already putting out their second generation players - is BD? No, not that I am aware of. Also, even though BD boasts a larger disk size, they really do not hold that much more due to the slightly inferior CODEC that they use, the MPEG-2. With such brands as OPPO out there, that are dirt cheap and having one myself, I can guarantee you they are as close to HD as you will ever see, I cannot justify spending money for a slightly better (supposedly) performance. They do 1080p just fine and I believe the newest one supports HDMI 1.3. With all of this available for a fraction of the cost of HD or BD, WHY change? BTW I do have an HDTV.
yes gen 2 blurays are out & more very soon.
by givemeaname - 5/26/07 6:59 PM In reply to: Not Yet the Time by KSGasmansamsung bd1200 now
Panasonic DMP-BD10A (mid june)
Sony BD300 coming out in june or july
sony BD500 ""
Elite BDP-94HD ? release date
did not know that - thanks
by KSGasman - 5/27/07 6:07 AM In reply to: yes gen 2 blurays are out & more very soon. by givemeanamedid not know that - thanks
waiting
by raddragn - 5/30/07 6:57 PM In reply to: Are you planning to buy a high definition DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I'm waiting not only for a clear winner in the format struggle, but for the disk recorder (preferably one with a hard drive similar to the ones for DVD)to go with it; hence I'm waiting until the last minute. The large screen TV set I have is only a couple of years old and the picture is just fine as far as I'm concerned at the moment.
LOL -- Every time I get ready to buy, I find out something
by Cadillac84 - 6/14/07 7:44 AM In reply to: Are you planning to buy a high definition DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Every time I get ready to buy, I find out something that makes me need to wait. Today, I was reading about the Toshiba HD-A2 which can be had for $250 and I thought, "Gee, I'm not really dying to have one, but for that amount, I might take a flyer on it." Then I saw that there was a Toshiba HD-A20 for about a hundred and a half more. And then there's always the HD-XA2; what is THAT? (I asked myself.)
So, I did more reading and checking and decided that if I were going to buy one, it would NOT be the HD-A2 but, rather, one of the other two. But I'm not in for that much moolah quite yet, so here I go on hold again.
But, the battle is heating up. The fan-boys on both sides are going wild with nasty comments whenever one side reports good news. That's too bad. Toshiba says HD-DVD is outselling Blu-Ray if you make allowance for PS3. The fan-boys say PS3 is a Blu-Ray player and you can't make allowance for it. Fact is, you need to make SOME allowance for it, but certainly not 100%.
Anyway, here I am on hold (again!). LOL Really, it's not a bad place to be. Regular DVD looks pretty doggoned good on my HDTV. 
new DVD player
by jonathanslattery - 6/19/07 6:37 AM In reply to: Are you planning to buy a high definition DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi,
There is a new dvd player by LG that supports both the panasonic and sony standards of blu ray and hd DVD. it is very expensive at the moment at over $1000 without any surround sound. a better option might be to get an internal PC drive for much less and connect your PC to the HD tv
www.findmp3.ie/sitemap.xml
Right, but . . . .
by Cadillac84 - 6/19/07 7:45 AM In reply to: new DVD player by jonathanslatteryYou'll have to do more than that!
When you get the Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player in your computer, you will also need a video card with DVI output or a mainboard or video card with HDMI out. Of course, if you want to watch them on your computer, that's OK; you won't need the extra stuff for that. But most will want to send to the big screen TV.
If you attempt to play your hi-def disc through VGA or S-Video, you will be very disappointed at having spent the money only to have the same quality you had before.
I'm not saying your idea is not the best option, but it requires more than just a drive.
Also, while waiting to decide, why not wait until affordable drives are available for your computer which will also RECORD!
Right now, we are playing "chicken and egg." The technology is out there. The gear could be available but the manufacturers ....
Well, I shouldn't say what the mfrs are doing because I don't really know. But, imagine this and then figure out your own theory. It won't matter who's right; someone has to "get off the dime."
Manufacturers have offered players at high prices because it's new technology and they have spent a bunch on development. They don't think sales will be very high for a while because there is not, by comparison, much content to be had. So they need to get some money back to help with the startup cost until volumes increase. The same manufacturers could offer disc drives for computers but they know people will buy them and then get pissed because they didn't understand they'd need more hardware to get the hi-def content to the screen (TV, that is). They could offer drives that would also record, but the blank media is so expensive, who's going to buy it?
Besides, people don't want to buy every damned movie in the world on hi-def disc. They want to rent it from Blockbuster or Movie Gallery or NetFlix. But, Movie Gallery isn't moving on getting hi-def for rental because nobody has the players.
People aren't buying the players because they're too expensive and there is no clear standard and the local rental outfit doesn't have anything to rent. So, if I buy a player, I get to watch two or three movies and then I sit there and wait! Ugh!
This thing just goes around in a circle until somebody makes a move.
Anybody could make the move and the merry-go-round would stop. Blockbuster has announced it is going with Blu-Ray. That could help. The adult video industry is forced to use HD-DVD and don't underestimate the impact of that market segment! It doesn't cost them 2 million dollars and take three years to produce a movie! They can't use Blu-Ray because of Sony licensing restrictions. Will one of the two start the avalanche?
It's OK with me if both standards survive. The world is a different place than it was when we were pitting Beta against VHS. Players cost about the same as they do now, but in 1970 dollars! By comparison, today's players are reasonably priced and we know they're going to be very much less costly very soon.
I think both is fine and I'll probably end up with both stand-alone and computer drives. But, that's just the way I am. But the price has to do something first.
hadn't thought about that, Cadilac84
by someoldguy - 6/19/07 1:30 PM In reply to: Right, but . . . . by Cadillac84The porn industry, for better or worse, may just have the final say on which format survives. It raises the odds in favor of HD-DVD considerably.
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