Originally Posted By DAR Does anyone have either one of these players? I was just wondering what the difference in quality between the two are? Do you prefer one or the other? I'm skeptical in investing in because if one format fails I don't want to be stuck with an obsolete machine.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut both formats, for all intents and purposes look the same. There are a few feature and size issues that each one has, but for the general buying public, they are the same. Considering that most users in surveys state that they dont watch the extras, trailers or anything else besides the movie on the current DVDs, those extras will not be a strong selling point. I would say that right now is not the time to buy into either of them unless you want to spend money. Noone is certain what will happen. Of course history shows us that Sony tends to lose (Beta, SACD) but they might have gotten it right this time. I will say that neither of them will win unless the public is educated about high-def television. A recent study I read said that 60% of all high tv owners do not know they are NOT watching high-def tv. That means that they lack the equipment and/or knowledge to display a high-def broadcast. Whether it be from Cable, Satellite or over the air. If you cannot sell free hi-def to those people, you will never be able to sell a high-def video disc format. Education of the public will be key in this fight. If you had to invest in something, get yourself a good upscaling DVD player for around $100-%150. I recommend one of the Oppo Plyers. And wait until there is a clear winner in the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD fight.
Originally Posted By christiemarsh88 I agree with everything peeaanut just said. I do want to throw this in, though. If you feel you MUST invest in one or the other right now, I say Blu-Ray's looking a little stronger right now, just because Blockbuster has started carrying Blu-Ray discs rather than HD-DVD. That's a huge customer for the Blu-Ray industry, and is going to influence what machine most consumers buy. They see the Blu-Ray discs at Blockbuster, so that's what they're more familiar with.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss If you like games, the Sony Playstation 3 has built-in Blu-Ray, so even if the format loses, you still have a video game console.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut Also, if you have a X-Box 360, you can get the HD-DVD addon for about $129 now. So either way is a good option.
Originally Posted By TinksBestFriend You will need a 50 inch or larger TV to see a difference in picture quality with High-Def (that is the reason you are spending the money, isn't it?) over a standard DVD using a high quality DVD player with upscaling vs Blu-Ray or HD DVD. The computer industry (Microsoft and Apple) has different opinions.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut also, what really is the point of 1080p when nothing is broadcast in it, and only a small amount of movies/games support it. It is a price raising feature that most people have no use for. Most things are broadcast in 720p/1080i and that is really all you need. But I still stand by my statement, both mediums as a stand alone are worthless at the moment. No reason to spend the money, unless of course you just like spending money.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes I heard about this years and years ago and thought Blue Ray was the way to go. Then I heard Sony was backing Blue Ray and I figured it was the kiss of death (think Beta). I'm happy to say that it looks like I was wrong. If I had to choose, I'd go with Blue Ray over HD-DVD. However, if you can wait, do so.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut also, the number of studios is about even with Disney being behind Blu-Ray that does give it an edge. however, Porn chose HD-DVD and porn decided the VHS/Beta war.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes 'nuut, I never heard that, but if the porn industry is backing HD-DVD, Blue Ray is probably dead.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut well I cant say the entire "adult film" industry is backing HD-DVD. I believe Vivid is going with Blu-Ray.....but they felt the name was more appealing.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy The idea that future media is going to be stored on any sort of disc media is an archaic idea. I don't expect either format to have a very long life with the increasing viability of video on demand and the ability to download entertainment online. Digital music files pretty much killed the CD, and I expect the same to happen for other media formats as well.
Originally Posted By DAR I should add that first I need to buy a high def tv also. But I wanted to purchase all at the same time.
Originally Posted By Ursula Blu-Ray, although my personal feeling is that Mr. and Mrs. America doesn't want to buy Jaws again after buying it on Disk and VHS and Beta and DVD.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut another thing to concider, is that so far both kinds of players do a great job of upconverting, so most of your DVDs are not going to look any better if you buy the hd-dvd or blu-ray version. SO you should really only be concidering it for future disc purchases and not for a repurchase of old vidoes. Jaws is not going to look any better on blu-ray vs a regular DVD. Its about as good as its going to look. However new produced movies are being filmed in a way to take advantage of those future formats.
Originally Posted By smeeeko ^we have a smaller HD television (Aquos) so I don't think you need to have a ginormous 50in tv to enjoy the HD. We are figuring on getting the PS3 with the blue ray. Either way I guess it's win/win because we do play video games now & again, and the fact that you will be able to watch the blue ray discs on it is a plus. Right now we are using the HD hookup cables to our other stuff, but eventually I am guessing we'll need a new HD tuner for the other HD stuff. The tv itself is wonderful in all it's HD vividness. (try watching Finding Nemo in HD it's like.. OMG!) =) I didn't know anyone bought pRon anymore since everything is out there on the internet if you believe stars of "avenue q" =P
Originally Posted By peeaanuut <<^we have a smaller HD television (Aquos) so I don't think you need to have a ginormous 50in tv to enjoy the HD. >> I think it was meant that the differences in the video disc types cant be seen much without a larger TV. I know for certain that a TV broadcast in HD looks much better even on a 19" HDTV that we have in one of the bedrooms.
Originally Posted By jonvn I have a very large HDTV. Regular DVDs look fine on them, without being upconverted. There is little difference in picture quality to justify spending hundreds on a dvd player right now.
Originally Posted By berol I don't even notice the difference between HDTV and regular TV after a couple of minutes (that is, once I forget what I'm looking at and get into the show/dvd).
