Home audio & video: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player?
- 7/25/07 4:31 PM
Already got one
by ninjamynci - 7/25/07 11:07 PM In reply to: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I got a bluray player purely because it's built in to the PS3. Sorry X-Box enthusiasts, but the XBox is just too ugly. I had the PS3 connected by scart initially and then got a HDMI cable and was amazed at the difference in picture quality. I'm not usually that bothered by these things but would definitely recommend the PS3 as a cheap player.
Need huge capacity
by neilc - 7/25/07 11:22 PM In reply to: Already got one by ninjamynciI simply want huge storage capacity for my everyday files. 4 Gb DVDs are toooo small. A 40 Gb disc will let me back-up everything. Well, almost everything. And even greater storage would be even better.
HD DVD player is only part of the HD costs involved
by menehune - 7/25/07 11:20 PM In reply to: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The bottom line is the cost of a player in only a portion of the cost of joining the HD generation:
1) TV
2) HD service fees
3) HD DVD's
4) HD DVD player
5) New modules adapted to HD technology
You're talking about several thousand dollars for a technolgy which is not 100% seen on TV and not 100% covered by DVDs yet and costs more than the standard TV or videos... I'd wait until HD is well entrenched in a few years.
HD-DVD
by silentwind96 - 7/25/07 11:41 PM In reply to: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Well. I got a free HD-DVD add-on for my Xbox 360 at a gaming expo. I have the copy of King Kong as well as the Planet Earth series. They both look amazing.
It is kind of a toss up of who will win the format war. Disney has the contract with Blu-Ray and the porn industry has adopted HD-DVD. If blu-ray wins, i guess i'll wait around for a dual format player.
Blu-Ray for me
by lspaiser - 7/25/07 11:43 PM In reply to: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have been watching the progress of high def DVD players since they came out at Fry's Electronics across the street. That means literally WATCHING. And I think there is no comparison between Toshiba HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.
HD-DVD is about 1/2 way between standard resolution and true 1080P or even 1080I resolution. That is why it is cheaper.
Original price for the Sony Blu-Ray player was a cool $1000. Yesterday I re-checked and it was "$599 - uh no - $499. I told the salesman that was still too much for me but I would buy one when it hit $300. He said come back in three months.
I don't intend to buy any disks. I get my movies from Netflix which offers either format for the same price - in whatever titles exist.
Except maybe for the HD (Blu-Ray) Planet Earth series I would not buy recorded HD disks at all.
Planet Earth! WOW!!!
by JeffAHayes - 7/26/07 12:04 AM In reply to: Blu-Ray for me by lspaiserSeems like half the folks sitting on the HD player fence agree with me that the SOLE PURCHASE they REALLY CARE ENOUGH ABOUT to purchase an HD player for is "Planet Earth." But SERIOUSLY, ANYONE who's seen that show on Discovery HD and likes ANY KIND OF NATURE, WILDLIFE OUR OUTDOOR SCENERY VIDEO would be literally frothing at the mouth to have a copy of THAT in high definition...
Truthfully, when and if I DO get a HD player, I'll likely get THAT and a few more titles worth the HD resolution and watching again (maybe Matrix Trilogy, other fantasy, sci-fi adventures -- things with lots of great special effects video and that I ALSO enjoy watching over and over again). Truthfully, though, there's not MUCH that fits that category... Who has TIME to watch all that pre-recorded content if you also watch live TV?
Jeff
Price Matters NOT ... It is all about QUALITY!!!
by HiDefBob - 7/26/07 12:20 AM In reply to: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I really could care less about the price! I have no intensions of buying an el cheapo machine any way.
It is all about picture & sound quality ... if not why would you ever want to upgrade from standard DVD???
Price Point
by jmarkross - 7/26/07 12:50 AM In reply to: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
DVD machine prices dropped dramatically very fast. I doubt there is a whole lot of advanced, expensive parts that the new machines have. Rather than follow the VCR model of very slow price reductions, and very slow selling of these un-perfected contraptions, I think today's marketers go for broke quickly--almost entirely due to the "China" factor. It's similar to what Henry Ford did with automobiles. Personally...my current TV (Toshiba) and my VCR/DVD machine (Toshiba) work just fine. Only those who look at TV very closely will notice a BIG difference. It reminds me of the early "Stereo Hi-Fi" days. As new electronics advanced an audiophile would be horrified his $400 receiver "only" went as high as 16,500 Hz on the high-end...when for "only" $1400 he could get one that went to 18,000. Only a DOG could possibly hear a difference. Technological perfection sometimes has no relationship to wise buying decisions. One caveat...if you like great toys and have some cash--go for it, it's a fun experience. I bought a Bose 901 system in 1970...for $700 (in 1970 dollars!) when my friends thought I was mad. BUT--in that case...the improvement in sound was dramatic, and still is.
Video and audio quality
by F_demon - 7/26/07 1:03 AM In reply to: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I am planning on buying an HD (1920x1200) monitor for my pc. I donīt really care which format wins.
It seems that Blu-ray is technically the better format (higher capacity) But it has one thing I absolutely detest about it.
Region Codes...
Blu-ray puts together The Americas and a couple of 'better' developed countries in Asia such as Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Taiwan in region A1.
B2 is Europe, Africa, the middle East and Australia.
The worst deal are the countries in C3. Russia, India and middle and south asia a put together here.
It might seem that it doesnīt really matter, because most big blockbuster movies will get converted to the other regions.
But countries like Hong Kong and Japan make pretty decent movies I want to be able to see.
Right now, only a handfull of these movies are available here, and that will still be the case when blu-ray wins.
But, if this does happen there will be programs that will be able to break it, so I wonīt really have to worry about it.
I Bought Blu-Ray & am Happy with it.
by crazyfoo - 7/26/07 2:21 AM In reply to: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Look fellas,
I'm not supporting Blu-Rsy just because I have one.
Sure, I won't want to have to buy a new one, but you know what? When the first dvd players came out, they all sucked bad, and we paid huge for them.
If HDD wins, I'll happily buy one and just the Blu-Ray.
I just want whats best for us as a consumer.
I don't know about you guys, but it seems in my neck of the woods, I can find Blu-Ray movies more easily and frequently than HDD, and the bigger storage makes sense.
When I watch Casino Royal on Blu-Ray on my Samsung 1080 Peasy LCD, the thing rocks. I was always one of those guys who made fun of the techies. "Oh you can tell the difference" "I'm not wasting my money"
But after watching Blu-Ray movies on 1080P in the basement, and then watching regular SD on the tv in the bedroom, it hurts my eyes!
Anyhoo, I'm not here to get in a virtual bash fest with HDD owners, I mean heck, if HDD wins this thing, then I'll be one myself.
I suppose we all will find out soon enough.
Remember, it's us the consumers that pay the initial price for all this madness. The manufactururs sure dont make it easy.
Regards :))
Gaming - movie format is secondary
by Ledoubleu - 7/26/07 4:08 AM In reply to: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The only factor that really influences my decision is whether it's a PS3 or Xbox 360. I've been waiting for the real price war to start on these 2 systems and it looks like Sony finally got off a round when they announced $100.00 price drop on their machine. Starting to look more attractive for me to upgrade now.
Compatibility then price.
by jwlarson - 7/26/07 4:30 AM In reply to: Poll: Which factor would make you upgrade to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Regardless of the format, they need to be backwards compatible with standard DVD format (I've not read to much, but I'm assuming they are). The last thing I want to do is drop a couple of thousand dollars to replace the hundred plus DVD movies in my library. Once assured of campatibility it boils down to cost. Who will give me the biggest bang for my buck! Why can't a player play both formats? Are they that different?
Blu-Ray can play Dvds...
by vanquished...again - 7/26/07 6:27 AM In reply to: Compatibility then price. by jwlarsonBlu-Ray can play standard DVDs as well now.
In the near future we can expect to see combo HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players.
Like they have drives for computers.
They will be significantly more expensive, and quite pointless since HD-DVD won't be around long enough for it to really matter.
--------
http://www.SanitysDemise.com
DVD PLay is required in all HD DVD players, but not in BluR
by js1013 - 7/26/07 12:58 PM In reply to: Blu-Ray can play Dvds... by vanquished...againNot true, DVD Playback is mandatory in every HD DVD Player, unlike BluRay which hopes to obsolete DVD eventually and leave all those consumers hanging their current DVDS like Christmas ornaments.
HD DVD players have dropped in price, so there's no risk at all in buying one now.
This is not true...
by mini14gb - 11/22/07 6:28 PM In reply to: DVD PLay is required in all HD DVD players, but not in BluR by js1013I have 2 blu-ray players one at work and one at home different models and they bith play common DVD's. I can't think of one current blu-ray player that does not play regular DVD.
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