I know there are probably a ton of threads about this. But I can’t remember any specifics from them, so searching on “DVD” or “HD DVD” isn’t going to get my anyplace. So I’ll ask and hope for some good advice, and perhaps links to older threads.
Looking at the family Christmat gift this year. One of the items up for contention is a High Definition DVD player. Of course the question is, which format? HD-DVD or Blue-Ray? I thought I had hear or read that HD-DVD was edging ahead, but I seem to see more Blue-Ray movies available at Best-Buy. Any Dopers have any info on which format?
And once we’ve narrowed it down to a format, any suggestions on specific players? I’d like to stick in the $350-$500 range. I know that’s near the low end of what you can get, but I’m not looking for the very best, just a nice player for everyday needs.
Thanks in advance.
I’d get a combo player, but that may not be within your price range.
I believe that there are still some studios that publish movies in only HD-DVD or only BD, so it would probably come down to which format has the movies you want. Make a list of your desired HD movies and which studio publishes them, then look at the table on this page:
Personally, I wouldn’t support either format. The DRM is too restrictive.
Unless you really understand what you are getting into, you might think twice - it might be like buying someone volume “A” of an encyclopedia. There’s a real good chance that they will have to upgrade their video system to actually use the player in HD.
Honestly, if your concern is still over which format route to take, then I offer that it is still too early to call. Studios are committing to one format or the other, and while combo/hybrid units that play HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats are available, they aren’t going for less than $1,000. I don’t know what a “nice player for everyday needs” is though … that’s a bit like saying “a nice car for everyday needs”. What are your needs?
I’d imagine even after the holidays it’ll be hard to find a hybrid for less than $750. Judging from your post, it’s reasonable to assume you aren’t looking to spend that much. If you invest now, you’re going to get burned sooner or later when the movie you want isn’t available for the format you invested in. Believe me, I’d love to get a new player myself more than anybody, I tend to be an early adopter of everything, but I am not going to spend a dime in the format war until hybrid prices come down below $500 or, less likely, a unified format becomes the standard. I encourage others to do the same unless they really want to suffer the aggravation of half the stuff they’d like to buy not being compatible with their investment.
I own both kinds of players. The Toshiba HD-A30 for HD-DVDs is nice, but it does a lousy job of upconverting standard DVDs. If you go with HD-DVD, King Kong, Transformers, and the Matrix trilogy all have great transfers.
The Panasonic DMP-BD30K, which is just got this weekend, is a great Blu-ray player. IIRC, it’s the only player out right now that is compliant with the version 1.1 standard of Blu-ray discs, while all others are version 1.0. If you go with Blu-ray, check out Pirates of the Caribbean (1 and 2) - great transfer. I’ve also read that Black Hawk Down looks good - I plan on getting that within the next few days.
I bought a Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player a few months ago, but only because I found a good enough deal that if I didn’t like it, I could sell it on eBay for little or no loss. Which is exactly what I ended up doing. It turned out to be very sluggish - slow to start up, slow to respond to button input, etc. I suspect many of the current generation low-end players have the same issue.
This player also came with a huge warning to update the firmware through the Internet before use. Seems like a sure sign of an immature product to me… I think I’ll wait another year before I try another HD-DVD (or Blu-ray) player.
Ahhh…while I can’t speak for High Definition DVD specifically, I know that the HD that I watch on my TV is spectacular. Much better that SD, although not as noticable if you’re not watching something that was shot for HD, but rather was converted to HD. I think most TV shows are that way.
Amazon is selling the Toshiba A3 for less than $180. This player will only output 780p/1080i, so it really depends on the TV you are using.
The Toshiba A30, which does output 1080p is now $279.
On my 1080p TV, a pretty good one, the Blu-ray player that I have outputs a spectacular image. I have no doubt that HD-DVD is just as good, but it really depends on the disc and how well the studio performed the transfer. I do have a few Blu-ray titles that look no better than the DVD of the same titles.
Right now Direct TV only puts out 1080i as the highest quality. So my 1080p television isn’t using it’s highest available quality. But then as noted by Fritz, not all High Definition DVD players put out a 1080p signal either.
Thanks for all the input. Looks like I’ll be putting this off until next year when things have hopefully become clearer.