HD-DVD v. BluRay

[OB3]

So, the tv is ordered and on its way, should have it by this weekend. Now the next chapter of my techno-experience continues....

hd-dvd vs. bluray.

What do you think will become the norm?
Seems from reading the reviews, hd-dvd has a better chance of prevailing, but what are your opinions ?


thanks all

tl

[jestmaty]

Playstation 3 comes out in about a week and it will have Blu-ray capabilities. There are a lot of parents out there who are considering the Playstation for its dual-role service.

You kill two birds with one stone..... kids get the latest and Mom/Dad get their Hidef DVD player.

Samsung Blu-ray= $1000
Toshiba Hidef player=$500
Playstation 3= $500 for 20gig harddrive, $600 for 60gig...

Man this is getting expensive

[Scoobs]

And Sony invented Betamax didn't they?

Personally I'm waiting this one out. Until the cost comes down and the dust settles I'm quite content to watch upconverted DVDs on my Hi Def tv.

[GreenMachine]

I recently read somewhere (don't ask me where though) about a company looking into making a player that will read both HD-DVD and Blu ray.

I don't have HD anything right now, and by the time I am ready to buy any HD player, hopefully one will be gone or there will a player that reads both.

[humanoid]

Just wait it out until the war is over. IMO, betamax by far had the best quality over VHS. The norm isn't always the best.

[steelblue]

Originally posted by jestmaty
Playstation 3 comes out in about a week and it will have Blu-ray capabilities. There are a lot of parents out there who are considering the Playstation for its dual-role service.

You kill two birds with one stone..... kids get the latest and Mom/Dad get their Hidef DVD player.

Samsung Blu-ray= $1000
Toshiba Hidef player=$500
Playstation 3= $500 for 20gig harddrive, $600 for 60gig...

Man this is getting expensive

HD movies are also going to be expensive. Around $30 from what I read.

[steelblue]

Originally posted by Scoobs
And Sony invented Betamax didn't they?

Personally I'm waiting this one out. Until the cost comes down and the dust settles I'm quite content to watch upconverted DVDs on my Hi Def tv.

Scoobs - Is there a big difference in quality using a upconvert player?

[Scoobs]

Originally posted by humanoid
Just wait it out until the war is over. IMO, betamax by far had the best quality over VHS. The norm isn't always the best.

Exactly the point I was making. And the best quality system isn't necessarily the one that wins in the market.

[Scoobs]

Originally posted by steelblue


Scoobs - Is there a big difference in quality using a upconvert player?

I find that there is when comparing a DVD played through a progressive scan player hooked up to HD vs. an upconverting player hooked up to HD. Obviously neither compares in quality to Blue Ray or HD-DVD hooked up to HD tv. There are many brands of upconverting players out there, I've had good luck with Toshibas. They can be a bit of a pain to set up as you get the best picture from them when you use an HDMI cable. Therefore your HD tv must have at least one HDMI input, or at least a DVI input so you can use an HDMI to DVI cable. With the Toshibas you have to hook them up with both the HDMI and the analog outputs connected to the TV. You then use the analog output to go into the setup menu on the DVD and switch the output to HDMI. As I said, a bit of a pain, but the better picture is worth it.

[samster]

Originally posted by steelblue


Is there a big difference in quality using a upconvert player?

I think the biggest difference comes from using the HDMI cable (pure digital transmission). I think the "upconverting" part isn't that big a deal - if you use HDMI, then either the DVD player upsamples the signal, then sends the result over the cable to the TV, or the DVD player sends the raw signal, which the TV then upsamples to match its native resolution. In fact, if you set the DVD player wrong, you could make things worse. For example, if you have a 720p TV (like me), but set the DVD player to upsample to 1080i, then the TV will have to convert it again, which will probably lead to additional degradation.

If you knew for a fact that the DVD player had a better upsampler than the TV, then maybe, but between a $100-$200 DVD player on which upsampling is an "added feature" and a $1500-$4000 TV which has to handle the sampling task all the time, I know what I'd bet on.

One can even make a case for using component over HDMI - HDMI is so sharp that it can reveal artifacts in the source material, whereas the component cables provide a little "smoothing" (just a little, unless you have bad cables), which could look nicer, depending on your tastes. It's like watching a DVD on your computer monitor - very sharp, so much so that you can see jagged lines that blend smoothly on a "regular" TV.

Having said all that, I think the HDMI feature is a good reason to choose an upsampling player (they seem to go hand-in-hand), though not necessarily a very good reason to upgrade an otherwise satisfactory DVD player. At that point, try the various modes and see what you like, but don't expect a huge difference.

[kevin2057]

I would go with the one that supports 1080p. Look to the future. I think BlueRay is the one. I also would not buy HDTV that did not support 1080p as well.

[samster]

Originally posted by kevin2057
I would go with the one that supports 1080p. Look to the future. I think BlueRay is the one. I also would not buy HDTV that did not support 1080p as well.

When I bought mine in February, it was $1800 for my 56" 720p DLP, or about $2800 for an otherwise comparable 1080p set. I figured I could stare at the screen from 12 inches away to resolve the difference, or I could line the top of the set with hundred dollar bills. In the absence of 1080p sources, it was a no-brainer.

If you think you'll get HD-DVD or Blu-Ray sometime soon, then I would definitely lean towards a 1080p set, but don't lose price rationality. I doubt most people would ever find 720p "unsatisfactory" unless they could put it on split-screen with 1080p with a pristine source (or if they are the type that need to believe the have the latest-and-greatest thing, whatever it might be). If finances were to say you can have a 46" 1080p set or a 56" 720p, I'd definitely choose the latter if you have the space. (Really, it's not even that close - even today, I'd take an upgrade to 61" over 1080p in a snap. That's a difference even an untrained eye can appreciate.)

The VHS / Beta thing is telling - I'm not going to touch either of the new formats with a 10' pole until they settle this (I guess HD-DVD's are backward compatible, so that's something..). The difference between DVD and the new formats just isn't enough to warrant hundreds of dollars for hardware, plus new discs that might become artifacts in a couple years. Would you really think DVD's didn't look good enough if you weren't being told so? I'm game for an improvement (I love broadcast HDTV), but it will happen on MY terms, not on those of companies who'd love to sell me two players and two copies of every movie!

By the time they settle this thing, I might be looking for a new TV (or, at a minimum, the $1000 I saved this time could go a long way towards buying a brand new one then). Some early HDTV adopters are finding out that Blu-Ray won't work at 1080p on their sets because they don't support enough copy protection. Pay a mint for an early release product, and that's the thanks you get!

Get 1080p if you can, but don't break the bank for it. If you're not sure, look for yourself, and don't get sucked into the "comparison test" if you don't want to. Your set just has to please you, not be better than your neighbor's.

[Scoobs]

Quite right about using the proper setting on the upconverting DVD player. I have mine set at 720p as that gives the best picture. The next setting up is 1080i and that would not give as good a picture on a 720p tv.

[OB3]

These are some good replies, thanks everyone.
I ordered a Sony HD 1080p 40'' lcd, so , even though the prices are still high, i want to 'treat' myself to a hd disc player.
I see that on amazon, the titles for blu-ray and hddvd are around 22-26 dollars, not too bad.
I am concerned with my dvd collection being backwards compatable also, and i do not think that blu-ray is for the older dvd's??

From a guy that is currently viewing his primetime shows with 'rabbitt ear' technology, anything will be a giant step forward

[kevin2057]

I have not invested in HDTV yet myself. I have been waiting for prices to come down and the market to settle with more HD programming. I do have a HDTV TV card in my computer and it looks great on my 1600x1200 Samsung 20in LCD monitor.

My 55in 4x3 Toshiba is 7 years old now and still looks great. I have a 30in Toshiba tube that still looks great and is around 14 years old. I would imagine that when I buy a HDTV I want it be able to keep it for 10 plus years. I have not bought any DVD's for last two years knowing DH-DVD or Blueray was just around the corner. There is not much 1080p programming now but will be in few years. SO when I do buy within next year or so I will get something that supports 1080p.

Prices will come down fast. Just look how much DVD burners were just a short time ago. Now they can be had for $50. One day you will get movies on flash cards.