Even more bad news for us guys who chose the HD DVD format............New line cinema is about to announce they're going exlusive Blu-ray. So guys, it was a good war, but it looks like it's coming to an end. "The future is Blu" so they say.

HD DVD was the stronger format. The reason I chose that format is simple. Not only did HD DVD have the capability of double-siding their discs with standard DVD's, but the discs used the same thickness as standard dvd's. Which means that companies producing the discs wouldn't have to re-tool and change out their equipment to produce them, which means it was more cost effective. Blu-ray discs are VERY thin, and required new expensive equipment to produce them.

Not to mention, the HD DVD players are cheaper by a lot. As for the whole picture thing. It's the exact same picture. They BOTH use the exact same encoding now. When they first came out, HD DVD was strongest using the newer codec (which blu-ray was stuck using ancient encoding), but that has now changed, so they both are identical when it comes to picture quality and sound.

As for the people thinking Blu-ray has that fake picture.......it's nothing to do with Blu-ray. You might have seen those displays in Best Buy, Circut City, Sears, etc. that have the Blu-ray movies playing on the new Sony and Samsung TV's. And when you see it, the picture looks like it's being slightly fast forwarded. Well, this ladies and gentlemen is what they call "120hz". It the television, not the blu-ray player. 120hz is supposed to smooth the motion of movies and TV..........but it makes it look extremely fake, makes CG look horrible, and pretty much it looks like you're watching a bad "made for tv" Chuck Norris movie. (hope I don't get roundhouse kicked in the face for saying that). So as long as you turn off that 120hz BS, Blu-ray will look exactly like a regular movie, just in high-definition.

I just bought my parents an HD DVD player for Christmas......so it looks like I'll be exchanging that out for a Blu-ray. Not too bad for me though. I only have 10 HD DVD's and an Xbox HD DVD player. The high end HD DVD player down stairs is the roommates, along with his 40 HD DVD's (so it sucks for him).

Sucks though, was really hoping HD DVD would win out (I like Toshiba as a company more than "take over the world" Sony)

 

Checking out the units I can get through my reward system at work. Check this out...the best of both worlds:



LG Blu-Rayâ„¢/HD DVD Player
Value: 630 AwardperQs® Product#: 40-1383-00

Introducing the first player capable of playing both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. This next generation system delivers crisp, clear images with exceptionally rich sound. Plus, video performance is greatly enhanced with standard DVDs by upconverting their video resolution to 720p, 1080i or 1080p. Features include built-in Dolby Digital® Plus, DTS and DTS-HD decoders, and 5.1-channel audio output. Plays BD-ROM, HD DVD-ROM, HD DVD+DVD hybrid, DVD, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW and DVD-RW formats. Supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4, LPCM, MLP, SMPTE, PNG, JPEG and GIF formats.

 

^^ The LG "Super blu" Blu-ray/HD DVD Player combo is alright, but very expensive. Not to mention, the older models had problems outputting a 1080p signal to some TV's, as well as not supporting the higher-end "uncompressed" audio for audiophiles.

It's going Blu-ray now, so I would look to buy a Blu-ray player. The only studio's left with HD DVD exclusively is Paramount and Universal. And they only have Paramount exclusively for another 11 months. (unless they call it earlier.)

 

According to the HD advertisements, even standard DVDs look 100 times better on HD DVD but I dunno. The upscaling 1080P dvd players are fairly inexpensive but yeah the HD & Blu are still up there. I've been keeping up with both for over a year and read up on all the technical mumbo jumbo on both but just like with the plasma/lcd/dlp tv debate, where it really counts is just looking at them side by side. Honestly, I must be the only one who doesn't see the big deal. I saw a tremendous difference when HD came out and all the dlp/lcd/plasmas look a million times better but I was at a home theater store today and they had both HD & Blu-ray showing on identical Sony LCD full 1080P sets and then one just showing standard DVD. Yes, it looked better but imo not "that much" better justifying the costs. My .02 is to let the "early adopters" pay for all the research and development and in 1 to 2 years not only will we know which format really won out but we'll win by paying much less.

My litmus test is when Blockbuster incorporates half their new releases as one format or the other we know which won out. Right now it's still only a couple of shelve cases devoted to each and it's been that way for some time. Sorry that's of no help to you doo, but I'd go with blu-ray if you're getting it free.

To add to the confusion there are a couple of companies in china right now claiming they are developing lasers that will blow away blu & hd at half the cost but I won't lay any legitimacy to that until more data is available.

 

I was hoping HD DVD would win out too. Having standard DVD on one side of the disc is awesome! Being able to watch a high def movie is great but it'll be a while before many people own more than one high def DVD player and sometimes I like to watch a DVD in my bedroom or office, but there's no way in hell we're buying a high definition (Blu or HD DVD) player for every TV in the house until they start making some "budget" players. Its kinda tough to shell out that kinda money for a blu ray movie and be stuck watching it on one single TV because the players cost too much to own more than one.

I've been pissed at Sony since somebody bought me a minidisc player for Christmas one year because the guy at the Best Buy told them MiniDisc would replace the CD in a few months...

 

you obviously cant read.. thats why i said blu ray burners are 4500.. look.. read... learn... read the rest... learn the rest....

and the ps3 does take the codec files updates.. i get them every 2 or 3 weeks when i log on.. but.. that only comes with the 60g model..

just my .02...

 

Despite his great wealth, Shimpi usually has a realistic take on tech poo-nannies--which could be why he has such great wealth...

http://anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=328

http://anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=329

 

If your english wasn't written like a 3rd grader I wouldn't have a problem reading it. learning it. reading it again. dur....

 

i knew from the start blu ray was ganna win but noone ever belived me. i never daughted blu ray. i am just wating for the burners and blank media to get cheaper.

and blu ray burners are not that much..... lite on burner 400 bucks http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106037

 

Blu-Ray FTW!
PS3


Blu-Ray