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212.149.228.203
SKK 5995 is Euro 638.
see link
- http://www.dvdirect.net/products_hardware_1.asp?action=2006-03-04_14:03:40_BLU-RAYPlayer (Open in New Window)
Follow Ups:
Its about time. This is definitely good. The only bad part, is that the manufacturers can probably change this with a FW update.
Jack
If so, that means no warranty, no support, no service. Can't apply a firmware update because you might wipe out the region hack.
Not a good thing to be buying this early in the adoption cycle.
for 6 months no arguments, and the next 18 months free of charge, if you can show an original fault.
Your risk is that if the seller go bust, then I doubt you have any claim against the original manufacturer due to the modification. But likely they can repair it for a charge.
I would think that people, who can region hacks, also can do updates for you. But ask.
Now that the hack is done, it will spread to many countries, and later be cheaper. Just like it happened with DVD.
If you buy many USA movies and live in Europe, the savings on movies
will soon pay the hacked player. And some movies you cannot get in Europe yet.
In Sweden Blu ray movies cost about Euro 26, and there is no BOGO and no 5 free movies with player.
So you take your risk and get a benefit. Free choice.
.
.
it is against the AA rules.
Anyway, about 500 million people live in Europe. They can use the warranty.
The High Definition DVD Studio Support Petition Campaign
Welcome to the world of High Definition DVD!
December 10th 2007
Here is why so many feel that HD DVD is the best choice for consumers !
Before we continue, a word about us.
The HD NOW petition effort has helped to coordinate the efforts of thousands of HD DVD supporters world-wide, to contact movie studios and CE manufacturers to adopt the HD DVD format. We speak to the industry and journalists to press the case for over 750,000 HD DVD owners worldwide.
Please join the thousands of other High Def fans who have signed this petition, to help get more movies released on HD DVD! OK, on with the format comparison...
I want more movies on HD DVD!
Email (always remains private):
There has been lots of talk back and forth in the industry and in online forums about which of the new High Def Media (HDM) formats, is truly superior. Lots of misinformation is spread to and fro, with a simplistic focus in many cases. Allow us to simplify this and help clear it up for you - our opinions are shared by various people in the industry.
HD DVD is the official next-gen format approved by the DVD Forum as the successor to the DVD. it offers 6 times the resolution of DVD and is based on a blue laser. It offers next gen encoding of both video and audio using new codecs such as VC1, AVC Mpeg4, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio. Movies are encoded to the discs in progressive (as opposed to interlaced) at the original 24 frames per second.
Bluray is a competing format by Sony which launched after HD DVD, it is also based on a blue laser and is able to use the same codecs (though Bluray players are not required to decode all of them, see below).
The Bluray camp takes great pains to highlight what they consider advantages of the Bluray format, but in truth, Bluray really only has two main advantages over HD DVD: more space on disc, and a higher bandwidth limit for data.
However, HD DVD has a great many advantages over Bluray that are actually more important in the "real world".
Here is a brief listing of these, followed by a short discussion:
1) Both HD DVD and Bluray offer equivalent Picture and Audio Quality
2) HD DVD mandated that all players must decode next-gen audio codecs, TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus - Bluray didn't, and those codecs are hampered on BD releases due to this choice.
3) All HD DVD players meet the "Complete" specification of the format, meaning that ALL studios can use the full array of next-gen features for all releases and know that all users will benefit. On Bluray, players to date cannot perform many of the features "touted" for the format, and studios have had to avoid using them. Also, there may be less incentive for studios to use these features on future releases.
4) All HD DVD players were mandated to include network ports for internet connectivity, bonus content and extra functionality through future updates. Most bluray player models do not include this, because it was never mandated.
5) HD DVD players are "region free", which means you can buy your desired HD DVD releases from any other part of the world that you choose. Bluray has created new "regions" than what DVD used to have.
6) Bluray has more "digital rights management" (DRM) than HD DVD, which can get in the way.
7) Bluray was arguably more based on unproven technology, which can interfere with the user experience.
8) HD DVD players offer all of this for 1/2 to 1/3 the price of Bluray players - truly the consumers choice, and a much more consumer-friendly option than Bluray.
9) HD DVD has about the same number of movie releases as Bluray, despite commentary by the Bluray camp that would seem to say the opposite.
10) Despite Bluray claims of "dominance" over HD DVD, HD DVD software sales have gained on Bluray consistently, and seem set to match it shortly. In fact, for the last 14 weeks, since the start of September, the Nielsen First Alert results have shown HD DVD to be almost 40% of HDM movie sales.
Bluray is not a finished format.
They had some great ideas, many of them borrowed from HD DVD in our view, but could not execute them in time for their official launch last year. So while you may see lots of Bluray ads and promotions "touting" the advanced "interactive capabilities" of the Bluray format, they are totally stillborn in all Bluray players today.
In fact, almost all dedicated Bluray players in homes today will NEVER be able to perform some of the features that Bluray have promised for the format, such as dual-video-stream Picture-in-Picture (PiP) for commentary and special features, nor internet connectivity, etc, because they do not have the needed hardware. Most of these Bluray owners probably do not even know that they have been sort-changed.
In contrast, ALL HD DVD players, from the first, to the last, are ALL capable (and required) to be able to perform dual-stream video decoding, to enact PiP presentations and other special effects. Furthermore, all HD DVD players have Ethernet ports and can be connected to the internet for easy downloading of additional content and live interaction, as well as easy updating of the players to add new features or functionality.
Bluray made some questionable decisions, in our view, when designing the minimum specs.
For instance, HD DVD decided that all HD DVD players must, with no exceptions, be able to decode the next-gen audio codecs from Dolby - Dolby Digital Plus (their next gen "lossy" format), and Dolby TrueHD (their next gen "lossless" format). For this reason, studios can confidently place DD+ or TrueHD soundtracks on their HD DVD releases without the least concern as to whether everyone would be able to enjoy them.
However, Bluray chose to make these two codecs optional on their players, not mandatory. And, possibly as a result of that decision, inadvertently crippled the way those codecs are implemented on the Bluray format. This is because it forced any DD+ or TrueHD releases on Bluray to include a "legacy core" in the older DD format. This not only makes them less efficient on Bluray, but also ruins the experience and defeats the purpose of these new codecs.
For instance, a 1.5 mbps 5.1 channel soundtrack encoded to HD DVD as DD+ is just that, and sounds fantastic. However, a 5.1 soundtrack to Bluray, even if it is called DD+, is really only a 5.1 DD (regular Dolby) soundtrack, limited to 640 K. This is because the additional data beyond 640K can only be used for the DD+ for any additional channels past 5.1. We contend that they crippled the DD+ codec completely on Bluray with this decision.
Similarly, with TrueHD soundtracks on HD DVD, there is no "legacy core" since all players must decode it - however, on Bluray, on again needs to include a regular old DD core for those Bluray players that cannot decode TrueHD, making it inefficient.
Bluray players are much more expensive.
It's tough to understand exactly why, but Bluray players generally cost 2 or 3 times what HD DVD players cost. Here are some of our theories why.
Bluray hardware developers seem to be involved in a lot more work to get new players out that meet the full specifications of the format, because they launched as an unfinished format. Therefore, there may be a lot more costs to recoup. HD DVD, however, had a finished spec, and has focused on creating "reference designs" that can be used by various manufacturers to more cheaply produce HD DVD players.
More manufacturing CE companies were signed on exclusively by Bluray in the beginning, most likely to help give the appearance of dominance. But this decision has seemed to have limited their ability or desire to compete on price, for fear of undercutting other partners. This is perhaps another reason why the Bluray association has been compared to a "cartel" by some industry insiders.
Bluray discs use a different physical structure than DVDs or HD DVD, which places the data right near the surface of the disc. Not only has this complicated the disc replication, by requiring a protective layer, but it complicated the design of the laser "pickup" assembly, by forcing it to have a shorter focus and made it more expensive to manufacture than HD DVD pickup.
Bluray was more based on unproven technology.
It is said by insiders that the same HDi interactive platform used by HD DVD was originally chosen by the members of the Bluray Disc Association (BDA), but that a closed-door meeting by "powers-that-be" reversed that decision, whereupon a derivative of the Java programming language was chosen instead.
This Bluray Java, or BD-J, programming language was then developed and implemented into various platforms being developed for Bluray players by various manufacturers. Unfortunately, all has not appeared to have gone smoothly, as it appears that the "virtual machines" (VM) created for these various hardware platforms have not always performed or acted consistently with the same BD-J code.
An example of where this has gone wrong is the "Liar's Dice" game on Pirates of the Caribbean on Bluray, which would crash or hang for several minutes on some Bluray players. Other Bluray titles have taken a very long time to load or navigate on various Bluray players. Some of this is likely down to problems with the code, and some of this has been due to the players just not having enough processing power to properly run the BD-J platform that was apparently chosen late in the day.
Another example would be the BD-Plus copy protection system chosen by Bluray for their releases. Most titles released to the format did not have this protection, because it was not ready yet. But when it became ready, and the first titles with BD-Plus were released by Fox, there were various reported problems with players that refused to play these new titles, or took a severely long time to load them.
Bluray is not a completed format yet, and this continues to affect the end-user consumers.
Unless a player converts PAL> NTSC it's useless to us movie fans in USA just Region free.
Hate the format war - longing for a one box solution for BD, HD-DVD, DVD, that converts PAL> NTSC. When that occurs, *then* I'll get excited.
so you could buy such a TV in Europe.
Or find a dual standard TV in USA.
Picture and Sound quality are all that matter to me. And the format with the best storage capacity and bandwidth has the highest potential of maximizing PQ/SQ within the constraints of the current consumer HD media.
Every other HD DVD advantage is short-term. the dubious benefits of PIP, IME, internet access will eventually work their way to Blu-ray. Economies of scale will eventually take away HD DVD's cost advantage. You need to look at the picture a year or two from now.
HD DVD's only plus from the consumer point of view is Blu-ray's BD+ DRM technonology and region coding. OTOH, these are some of the reasons Fox and Disney will continue to be Blu-ray exclusive.
So sales of HD DVD players is only 750,000 worldwide?
This is very low compared to Toshibas target of 2-3 million.
Blu Ray players including PS3 are growing by more than 400,000 pr week. So only two weeks of Blu Ray match 1 year total of HD DVD?
Blu Ray world total of players is more than than 7,5 million now. So 10 times more !
Manufacturing cost of drives goes down a lot with quantity, so Blu Ray players have dropped a lot in price recently. They are not 2 or 3 times higher in price.
Today in USA you can buy the new Samsung BD-P1400 with 1080p for USD 280 at amazon. The Toshiba HD-A30 with 1080p cost USD 233 at amazon. So you only save USD 47 or 17% by going HD DVD. But is the saving worth the risk?
You should also know that your HD DVD player will be the new Betamax, if Toshiba stop production in 2009. So do you accept that risk? Only Toshiba and a China company make these cheap HD DVD players.
The biggest manufacturers like Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Pioneer, Philips, Sharp and SONY sell Blu Ray players.
170 manufacturers of players, drives, discs, and computers are united on selling Blu Ray products. How many sell HD DVD?
The picture quality is the same, the mains difference is that the Blu ray disk is bigger and faster.
When did a smaller and slower format win?
On HD DVD a long movie goes on 2 discs, on Blue Ray it goes on 1 disc.
On HD DVD the speed and size limits also limits the quality of sound, if the movie is complex or long. The new better sound formats like Dolby true HD and dts HD Master Audio use more disc space and speed.
So when picture and sound both need the space and speed, sound quality is reduced by the studio engineers, simply to make the movie fit into the smaller HD DVD disc.
Do you want your HD sound experience reduced in quality?
I can go on, but with the BIG lie about 2 to 3 times higher price of Blu ray players dated 10th December 2007, this HD DVD petition have lost totally.
I assume this petition is paid by MS.
HD players. $99 for Toshiba, $274 for Sony.
asap.
a Wal-mart Black friday sale a few weeks back. The last price I saw at Wal-Mart was $298.
The fact that HD DVD is region fee is enough for me to back this format over BluRay.
In theory BluRay should be the better format, but when it's backers are so intent on treating it's customers with such contempt I believe we should return the compliment.
Best Regards,
Chris redmond.
.
nt
Best Regards,
Chris redmond.
:o)
We...who dream of a single DVD player in the system...can but dream for nonce.
.
Dream on. Stupid studios.
Someone will sell these to us. They must.
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