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In Reply to: RE: Public perception could be the biggest impact; HD video got a lot of press with this one. posted by oscar on June 18, 2007 at 15:52:23
-------------"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." -Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982)
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As I stated below, I have no dog in this hunt, but I'd rather purchase a universal player or a cheap HD player and buy the movies I want than purchase the theoretical front-runner technology with more data space that is ALSO 1) more expensive, 2) fraught with QC issues, 3) robustly region locked, and 4) doles out fewer desired titles than the competition.
AuPh
> As I stated below, I have no dog in this hunt, but I'd rather purchase a universal player or a cheap HD player and buy the movies I want than purchase the theoretical front-runner technology with more data space that is ALSO
> 1) more expensive,
for now, but what's $100-200 for an "early adopter" ?
> 2) fraught with QC issues,
Early Blu-Ray releases might have had PQ issue and early firmware issues because the standards are still evolving: but the software releases are hitting their stride with the release of high bit rate AVC encodes with lossless audio tracks on dual layer discs. Arguably exceeding the PQ of anything currently on HD-DVD. In contrast, check out the grumbling about half-baked PQ from current Universal releases. Granted these are older catalog releases but still they probably could have put more TLC into the getting the possible PQ (and they need the PQ to be far better than the DVD versions because of the price premium and doubledipping).
Most of the hardware/firmware issues have been ironed out except for the advanced features which haven't made it into the hardware (e.g. DTS HD MA decoding, the java crap I'm not interested in, etc). If I didn't already have a 720p display, I would have held out until the hardware/firmware was more mature.
> 3) robustly region locked,
I agree with you here but for me that would be concerning UK releases I might be interested in but which likely won't be available for years anyway.
> 4) and doles out fewer desired titles than the competition.
that's a matter of taste. There are very few HD-DVDs on my Gottahave list including "Matrix"; but I'm holding out for the Blu-Ray version later this year. I have "King Kong" and "Serenity" but both could have been better; maybe when they re-release on Blu-ray, I'll get versions with lossless audio and even better PQ (particularly with "Serenity") :o)
Oh yeah, I expect size to matter when/if the "Lord of the Rings" trilogies become available. E.g. it might mean the difference between a single Blu-ray disc or two (2) HD-DVD 30G disks to hold the movies.
Both Pirates movies on BD are 2 disc sets, so the whole space argument is kind of moot. Studios like multidisc sets, even if they can fit things on 1 disc, since they can charge quite a bit more for it.
As for region coding, I have 4 or 5 HD DVDs imported from Europe that aren't available in the US, thanks to no region coding. I expect to get more in the future.
Jack
You are right, POTC does come with 2 discs. I had to re-check since I vaguely recalled playing only one (1) disc to watch the movie. The 2nd disc is bonus material stuff I haven't gotten around to watching. Some people might actually like the idea of watching a movie without interruptions (e.g. flipping over to a 2nd disc).
Yeah, I've noticed some folks buying discs overseas. But is it because Blu-Ray-challenged HD-DVD folks are having to look overseas for movies already available on Blu-Ray in the USA ? :0)
I'm sure there will be examples of Region coding hacking me off but I suspect that's a few years away with HD media.
> > > Some people might actually like the idea of watching a movie without interruptions (e.g. flipping over to a 2nd disc). < < <
I don't really see that happening, despite the blu-boys' rants.
Jack
OTOH "Lord of the Rings" is not out on Blu-Ray (yet.....).
Hmm...haven't see it on HD-DVD yet either. Of course, the use of really low bitrate encodes for longer movies can save space (just ignore the extra motion artifacts....)
... standard Blu-ray has 25 GB available space (50 GB on dual layer) as opposed to HD-DVD's 15 GB (30 GB on dual layer). From a technical standpoint that should make Blu-Ray superior, but when assessing whether the length of a movie might require a second disc that's still up in the air. It wouldn't surprise me if the MPEG-4 AVC codec makes the available space issue a moot point. Note: Currently MPEG-2 is still employed for high definition video releases, but both HD & BR have MPEG-4 codec specification mandated.
Blu-ray is currently more expensive and just as slow loading as HD; that's one reason I'm holding off until the 3rd generation players arrive this fall. By the holiday season I intend to be feeding our 1080P Sammy HD and (hopefully) Blu-ray movies (I've already ordered some HD movies because, subjectively speaking, there are too few Blu-ray titles of interest currently available).
Like you say, the standards are still evolving, which is another reason I've opted for a 3rd generation player. By that time all or most of the bugs will have been worked out, format functions standardized and prices stabilized. Also, it will be much clearer which format has the best promise for movies and I can decide with greater confidence whether to go with an all-format player or buy a cheaper separate. For me, the region lock-out issue isn't a deal breaker, but it's pretty darn close. I like my BBC based programming too much (concerts, dramas, etc.), to be precluded from obtaining the better Brit fare in higher definition when it becomes available.
Finally, quality issues between the two formats appear to be a draw for now even with the GB differences. Quality-wise, the comparisons of films transfered to both HD & BR have varied little in most cases, but who knows what the future will hold. The LoTR Trilogy (Dir. cut) is certainly high on my list of MUST haves in a highest definition format possible, but so is John Carpenter's The Thing, Forbidden Planet, Pitch Black, Starship Troopers, Matrix (the 1st one), Alien & Aliens, The Abyss and all of the Harry Potter films. Some of these are already available on HD and LoTR is supposedly in the pipe, but few if any on Blu-ray, ...but Blu-ray does sport the Durabis scratch-resistant coating! ;0)
Cheers,
AuPh
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