Home audio & video forum: Poll: In your opinion, do you think HD DVD has a chance?

I agree with the posters that say upconverting plain dvd's is good enough. And if someone does give you a blue-ray disk, use your ps3.

...Microsoft does not fail. This could probably be likened to the JVC VHS, Sony Betamax war, but we do not live in that time anymore. The fact of the matter is that both formats are just interim stops to the inevitable: On Demand Media. Innovators like Apple are peddling it now to early adopters, so it is my feeling that Sony will probably be putting out little post it notepads that say "Never say never again" within eighteen to twenty-four months, as the internet will be loaded with portals to download an HD movie for under five dollars, but there will still be sales of Blue Ray and HD-DVD sets for, say seventy-five dollars or less, for those still wary of the evil internet.

It depends on the studios that closed out the hd dvd format if thet decide to stasrt to produce the discs again life will go on .
the public can also come into play all the people that purchased these machines have to put up a stink to get the format going into production again.
Toshiba is doing the right thing by dropping eqiupment prices I think it's too early to declare a winner.
The us is only half the story what's happening overseas is it also going the blu ray way?

That's what I hate about SONY -- things like uncircumventable region codes. The idea that I could change my DVD player three or four times and suddenly be unable to use it because it was permanently frozen on Region [X] boggles my mind!

Over the last year I've been checking what movies are available on HD and Blue Ray. It seems most HD DVD selections are Blue Ray. I haven't bought an HD player yet. I'm like a lot of others waiting to see what format wins. Until there is a decisive winner I won't buy. When the dust settles you will see an big increase in players and HD fomatted DVDs.

Peace....Dave

I have no intention of buying either format due to the requirement of HDMI ... and will never buy Blu-Ray because it is backed by Sony

As much as the Fed are trying to stop it, we are heading into a recession of 2 years if the Republicans win the elections or 3 to 4 years if Hillary wins. That means we will have a long period of time with little or no disposable cash and people (at least I am) will either stick to regular CDs for a while or buy HD-DVD given their price reduction. It will be much more economical to buy HD-DVD hardware and media than Blue-Ray, so unless Blue-Ray significantly cut their prices, good old Green God savings will prevail. Now Why Cant We All Just Get Alone and have some Chinese electronic produce a machine that will read both HD-DVD and Blue-Ray??? Meantime looks like Ill just keep using my HD-PVR from FiOS TV. I got burned BIG TIME with Laser Disks before DVDs came out. Anyone old enough to know what they were?

still quite happy with my current system, most of it i bought back in 98. The tv still looks great and wont get any better with any hi def video equipment. And theres more to consider than just the purchase price of the the player. Like the cost of changing out all my other accessories, since everything i have is connected to each other and goes through my stereo system including my computer. Every time I pass a hd tv in a dept store I've yet to be impressed enough to think "oh I've got to have that".

I bought the Samsung BD-UP5000 which plays both very well, thank you!

But I don't think the price of dual-format players has to drop quite that low. Hundred dollar players of either format will sell robustly if there is any confidence in the longevity of the format. Dual-format players less than two hundred (perhaps in the $175 range) should sell well enough.

You are correct that at $800, they will not sell beyond the "enthusiast." And even in that niche, the only reason to buy a dual-format instead of buying one of each, would be to cut down on cable clutter.

This was all supposed to have taken place before last Christmas. I'd say the HD-DVD player folks failed their marketing classes!

BARACK OBAMA OR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH???


BAD CHOICE OF PHRASES!

But maybe NOT as a standalone player. A PC based R\RW would solve a slew of backup problems. I'm not sure 15G would do... But if multiple disks could be spanned... This would be a great media for long term drive backup.

I agree, the format wars are a pain... Beta WAS superior to VHS by far. As a musician and audio/video hobbyist-technician, it will be in our best interest over the long hall to embrace Blue ray. They both have Pro's & Con's, but technically and visually, the formats are indistinguishable. Sony's technology and r&d has always been one of the best at pioneering video technology. My hopes is they ALL learn from their mistakes and work together on a format for the future that everyone can benefit from. Unfortunately, that will never happen as long as "money" and "power" rule their desires...

This is Beta with another name. No chance of it making it now!

Yeah, it looks bad for HD DVD right now but nothing is set. Remember, consumers have loyalty to the formats, studios don't. Warner, Fox, and Disney could choose at anytime to go HD DVD. It's really not out of the realm of possibility.

Paramount is locked into contract to HD DVD throughout the year and Universal is fervent on it's backing of HD DVD because they truly believe it to be the better format. So it's easy to see that those 2 will keep HD DVD above water for the year. HD DVD player prices will continue to go down and Toshiba is spending alot on advertising (including the Super Bowl), so they're not giving up.

I own both formats and I still see HD DVD as the superior format. The interactive features are better, the players firmware upgrades are better(some early Blu players don't even work with new discs) and some of the discs on both formats are better on HD DVD as Blu-Ray is know to be more difficult to develop for. It's also a better upconverting player for regular dvd's, of which I've seen with my own eyes.

In the end Blu-Ray may continue on and win and I've settled that in my mind. The ultimate solution though is for companies to keep making dual format players and make them more affordable. Then whatever happens, adopters of either side have a good solution.

I was asked if HD DVD will survive the summer and I absolutely believe it will. I wouldn't be suprised at all if we were here again next year asking the same question.