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70.248.48.2
... the Toshiba HD-A20. It looks like I'll be tossing my hat in with HD-DVD for the time being. And BTW, feel free to send your congratulations and condolences below. ;0)
In spite of this spur of the moment decision to bypass Blu-ray altogether and get on board the HD-DVD express in that elusive effort to reach 1080P nirvana, I'm still not "officially" aligned with either camp for the long haul. My wife & I would've preferred purchasing a reasonably priced, next-generation dual format player, but providing a decent selection to choose from is taking waaaay too long. Between lack of a reliable multi-format 1080P player entering the market and limited Blu-ray titles of interest we were finally worn down by the latest Best Buy weekend discount.
I reached for the plastic and no one from SONY was there to stop me!
As I've mentioned before, the only dog I have in this hunt is that I'd like to see both formats continue indefinitely. Maybe we'll end up with dual inventories for awhile (to the brick & mortar's chagrin) or perhaps the format with more Kibbles and GBs of space (Blu-ray) will end up being the premium line that includes more & better extras, documentaries, galleries, commentaries, etc., while HD offers the same titles in equal quality, but with fewer add-on extras, for less money or on a cheaply produced 2nd disc. I suspect that this holiday season much blood will be spilled on the HD battleground, and cheap imported players will be the WMD of choice that both camps will employ. Ah yes, we live in interesting times. :O)
Hai (Jo tau),
AuPh
Follow Ups:
A brave decision to make an investment in HD-DVD but at least the discs will be good for the indefinite future. Hmmmmm maybe we can set up an exchange program but I might have to start buying HD-DVDs again to make it worthwhile for you.
Have you started to take a look at 1080p projectors yet ? I'm avoiding the subject because it would be very painful to the wallet.
> > > "A brave decision to make an investment in HD-DVD but at least the discs will be good for the indefinite future." < < <
More of a cost conscious decision since disc mastering quality to 1080P doesn't appear to be that much of an issue. Of course one consideration is the fact that the better Blu-ray players are more expensive, but it really comes down to available titles of interest.
> > > "Have you started to take a look at 1080p projectors yet? I'm avoiding the subject because it would be very painful to the wallet." < < <
Nope, we have the Samsung 40" LCD set (link below) for 1080P HD and our DLP projector (Mitsubishi XD460U) was purchased in 2006 so we'll wait awhile. We can upconvert to 1080I (all region) for 16:9 and watch 4:3 programs & movies in both 480P (NTSC) and 576P (PAL) with the DLP projector over either Oppo player. My wife & I have collected in the neighborhood of 1000 movies and videos in standard definition, so we'll continue to be patient on the HD front before saying "there goes the neighborhood". ;0)
Technically I guess we are in the early adopter camp, but I still have a wait & see attitude with all that can change and since an affordable multi-format player that (hopefully) region-hacks European & Asian fare will eventually make this red/blue war a moot point. Heck, over the next year manufacturers will probably have all or most of the judder, hand-shake, slow-load and motion artifact problems resolved, so I can afford to be patient ...or rather prefer to "afford" AND be patient in the acquisition of future generation hardware. :o)
Cheers,
AuPh
;-)
.
How well it compares to 1080p-native FP I have yet to see and I'm half-afraid to find out. I was perfectly content with DVD 480p until I started to view HD broadcast on regular basis. Same thing might happen with 720p if I ever watched 1080p on a regular basis.
Heck, you have some alleged serious movie reviewers who are resisting the move from 720p to 1080p; probably because they already have a decent FP they want to maximize the use of. Even going so far to suggest very little difference between 1080i and 1080p... (Don't ask for sources, it ain't worth the effort).
and won't disappear for another year. And then I'll start to think about priorities:
(1) New car or:
(2) New HDMI Pre/pro, new 1080p display(s), new subwoofer(s), new Blu-ray player(s), new tubed monoblocks.....
(3) None of the above and an attack of common sense.
And now we have the part of Denon-DVD3800 lust to worry about....
Drive a clunker for a while.:-)
Jack
Also talking about 6-7 months worth of car payments I won't need to making about this time next year.... The other trick is to avoid "new car itch" syndrome.
I have a Sony PS3 now working with a sharp DLP Z21000 projector at 1080p for blu-ray (and it upscales everything to 1080p so even tv shows such as Alias have an extra zing). But I decided to enjoy HD DVD as well and just ordered an XBOX 360 Elite ($480 from Amazon). Given the discounts on the PS3 you can nearly buy both the XBOX and PS3 for the price of a decent HD DVD (or blu-ray) player alone.
Will the stand alone unit be better than the "gaming console"? At 1080p output my bet is that you won't be able to tell the difference.
And compare this to the $1100 price tag for the only universal player out there.
Between the 2 catalogs (HD-DVD and Blu-ray) there are a reasonable amount of movies to purchase (or re-purchase) and both are good gaming consoles for that diversion as well. Maybe we shouldn't worry about "winning" or "losing" the format war and just spend a bit more and get both?
I'm still awaiting my freebies:
The Chronicles of Riddick (should I have picked Seabiscuit instead?)
Casablanca
Sky Captain
The Rundown
U-571
Believe it or not, I've only skimmed through Casablanca and never watched any of the others.
Blu-Ray looks good too, but for the here and now, I think HD DVD actually delivers more in terms of bonus features and general next-gen goodness, and I find the movie selection more to my liking.
...a Samsung DLP-type 67" RPTV. I LOVE the way movies look on it; that system is worth every penny I spent on it.
I have and have seen others of the HDs you mention--'Serenity' is gorgous, and 'Forbidden...' looked quite good. In fact, I have yet to see an HD DVD I wasn't satisfied with, and I have about 40.
I'm more opinionated about the formats--I consider $ony to be the consumer-electronics version of the monopolistic-bully Micro$oft, and I've sworn off $ony after 3 copies of an expensive 23" computer monitor died within a few months, the last beyond warranty.
Enjoy your hi-def system; I sure love mine.
-------------------------------------------------------
Tin-eared audiofool and very parttime fotografer.
http://community.webshots.com/user/jeffreybehr
I think this is your cup of tea (= rock concert in hi def!), you can pick it up Tuesday!
- http://www.amazon.com/Yes-Live-Montreux-2003-DVD/dp/B000QCS2U2/ref=sr_1_3/104-5350203-5446314?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1185138886&sr=8-3 (Open in New Window)
:o)
.
... in anticipation of buying a multi-format player later on. What I have is:
Serenity, Pitch Black, Enter The Dragon & Road Warrior
Now I'm thinking about which titles to buy next if I can still get in on that 5 free promotion and then after that Forbidden Planet & The Thing.
Cheers,
AuPh
Its one of my favorite HD DVDs. You may wish to consider Chronicles of Riddick, since you're getting Pitch Black. Not the greatest of movies, but the picture is stunning. Forbidden Planet is really good too.
I've heard the 5 disc promotion is rather slow, so you may not wish to order your favorites on it.
Jack
My wife and I are negotiating this week which HD titles from the "one column A, one column B, so solly, no takey two" to go with and while the selection is a bit limited, there are good titles in each. My wife is leaning towards Apollo 13 as we have The Chronicles of Riddick on standard DVD, but CoR was one of my choices as well. BTW, I'm chomping at the bit to get Forbidden Planet & The Thing. This is going to be fun! :o)
Cheers,
AuPh
Besides being a fine nature documentary, it's jaw-droppingly beautiful as well, with hour after hour of seemingly impossible shots. BBC's "Galapagos" in HD is due soon too.
:0)
We shall be among the throngs of Xmas shoppers hopping on the HDDVD bandwagon to go with our 1080p LCD. I too swear off Sony as 2nd gen CD and 2nd gen DVD players were utter expensive (for me) howl at the moon dogs.
Things are looking great
And they're only getting better
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