HD vs Blu-Ray

[mttskates]

Whats up everybody. I just recently purchased as of 2 hours ago bought a Toshiba HD-DVD player because of the extremely low price of 140$. Another selling point for me was that it had 300 and The Bourne Identity movies included in the box. I couldnt pass that up, and I will have to say. The movies (HD-DVD and regular DVD) do look amazing. So, long story short (too late) I was wondering which player does everyone prefer... I know that the announcement of Warner Bros. jumping over to Blu Ray will probably sway some people but some people enjoy going against the grain.

[dave-accampo]

I'm waiting for the dust to settle, personally. I know a lot of people are choosing Blu-Ray, and with the recent news of Warner Brothers and...someone else...New Line..? jumping ship, the tide seems to be shifting toward Blu-Ray.

But that also makes me nervous. I don't like the fact that it's Sony's propriety format. They've been trying to get their "original" format to stick for years (see: Beta vs. VHS), and I'd honestly rather see it go toward HD-DVD just so it ain't Sony.

That said, as a consumer, I'll go with the victor and just be happy to have HD in whatever format wins.

My plan right now is to wait until next fall. Reason? I'm not in a big rush to replace my DVD collection, and there aren't a lot of movies that I NEED to see in High Def. The first batch of High Def movies I'm probably going to want to own are this summer's blockbusters: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, etc. Those will all be on DVD before Xmas, so I'm waiting until then to make my choice of HD formats. :) I'm hoping this gives enough time for someone to win the format war so that I don't have to choose. :D

[esophagus]

I'm waiting for the dust to settle, personally. I know a lot of people are choosing Blu-Ray, and with the recent news of Warner Brothers and...someone else...New Line..? jumping ship, the tide seems to be shifting toward Blu-Ray.

But that also makes me nervous. I don't like the fact that it's Sony's propriety format. They've been trying to get their "original" format to stick for years (see: Beta vs. VHS), and I'd honestly rather see it go toward HD-DVD just so it ain't Sony.

That said, as a consumer, I'll go with the victor and just be happy to have HD in whatever format wins.

My plan right now is to wait until next fall. Reason? I'm not in a big rush to replace my DVD collection, and there aren't a lot of movies that I NEED to see in High Def. The first batch of High Def movies I'm probably going to want to own are this summer's blockbusters: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, etc. Those will all be on DVD before Xmas, so I'm waiting until then to make my choice of HD formats. :) I'm hoping this gives enough time for someone to win the format war so that I don't have to choose. :DThat's basically the boat I'm in. I voted Blu-Ray because it seems, at this point, like they've got this in the bag. I'm sticknig to my plain old DVDs until I've got a solid answer in the future. I don't really mind. I don't buy a whole lot of DVDs anymore anyways.

[grimphoenix]

I voted Blu-Ray. Personally I think it looks better. I do own both formats with my PS3 and HD-DVD atachment for the 360. I bought HD for Serenity, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but since getting those never found anything that I really wanted that wasn't also on Blu-Ray.
That format just feels cleaner...

[humphrey-lee]

I own a PS3... so yeah.

[paper]

Again, PS3.

At the moment though, HD-DVD seems to have more movies that I'd actually want to own. But that will shift. And in the meantime, up-conversion of standard dvds still looks pretty damn good. If you're sitting the proper distance from your monitor, the difference between a regular dvd and a Blu-Ray disc isn't all that significant.

[humphrey-lee]

Again, PS3.

At the moment though, HD-DVD seems to have more movies that I'd actually want to own. But that will shift. And in the meantime, up-conversion of standard dvds still looks pretty damn good. If you're sitting the proper distance from your monitor, the difference between a regular dvd and a Blu-Ray disc isn't all that significant.

Nah, it really is. The line resolution is much improved for a DVD yeah when it gets upscaled yeah, but the color vividness and the reduced blur effects from the HD transfer makes the BD/HD movies look so much better it's quite astounding.

Right now I think there's only five movies out on HD-DVD that I want for my PS3 that I can't get: Serenity and Batman Begins and the Bourne Trilogy, and it looks like with recent developments those will just be a matter of time to get anyways.

[xyzzy]

I don't really have a personal preference, but Blue-ray looks like its going to win the format war, so that would be my choice.

[paper]

Nah, it really is. The line resolution is much improved for a DVD yeah when it gets upscaled yeah, but the color vividness and the reduced blur effects from the HD transfer makes the BD/HD movies look so much better it's quite astounding.

Right now I think there's only five movies out on HD-DVD that I want for my PS3 that I can't get: Serenity and Batman Begins and the Bourne Trilogy, and it looks like with recent developments those will just be a matter of time to get anyways.

My TV maxes out at 1080i, so until I get a 1080p monitor, the awe factor of the improved video quality is not quite there yet. It looks better, sure, but I'm not immediately prepared to choose a 25 to 30 dollar Blu ray disc over a 15 to 20 dollar standard dvd. Netflix is set to send me the Blu Ray version where available (annoyingly long wait for those though).

[humphrey-lee]

My TV maxes out at 1080i, so until I get a 1080p monitor, the awe factor of the improved video quality is not quite there yet. It looks better, sure, but I'm not immediately prepared to choose a 25 to 30 dollar Blu ray disc over a 15 to 20 dollar standard dvd. Netflix is set to send me the Blu Ray version where available (annoyingly long wait for those though).

Mine "tops" at 1080i too, but I think the difference is hugely noticeable, but honestly the type of TV you have might not resolute the HD as well as it should. Some monitors just translate the disc info differently. And, also, on like 90% of all HDTVs it's a must that you run settings so that you're running the movie/video game/whatever in 720p over 1080i. 720p actually has the larger amount of lines. My TV is one of the few odd ducks though. For some reason it integrates the black lines from a 1080i signal better than most and looks better than a 720p setting. And, again, the color brightness runs better too. None of this is ever supposed to happen, but it's just the nature of my set I guess. *shrugs*

[comhcinc]

But that also makes me nervous. I don't like the fact that it's Sony's propriety format. They've been trying to get their "original" format to stick for years (see: Beta vs. VHS), and I'd honestly rather see it go toward HD-DVD just so it ain't Sony.


have no fear my friend. sony doesn't own blu-ray, not by themselves. many companies own a part of blu-ray. the board of directors include Apple Inc.
Dell Inc. Hewlett-Packard Company Hitachi, Ltd. LG Electronics Mitsubishi Electric Panasonic (Matsushita Electric) Pioneer Corporation Royal Philips Electronics Samsung Electronics Sharp Corporation Sony Corporation Sun Microsystems TDK Corporation Thomson SA Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group / Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Warner Home Video Inc.

sony doesn't control blu-ray.

i'd pick blu-ray based off the technology involved. blu-ray disc can hold more infomation. a korean company thinks that they will be able to put a terrabite on one blu-ray disc in just five years

[masherscf]

I bought a HD-DVD drive with my XBOX 360 Christmas before last because it was least expensive way to get HD discs on my HD TV at the time. I would have already purchased a PS3 as a Blue-ray player if I hadn't destroyed $350 worth of camera equipment this Christmas. Suffice it so say, I plan to buy the PS3 within four months.

[paper]

a korean company thinks that they will be able to put a terrabite on one blu-ray disc in just five years

That's a long time to burn just one disk.

*is pummeled with rotten produce*

[dave-accampo]

That's a long time to burn just one disk.

We so need the emoticon equivalent of the "rimshot" around here...

[shaundaniels]

as of know I would go with blue ray because of the ps3. The Ps3, which I do not own is a blue ray player on it's own. From what I hear 360 you have to buy something else to play hdvdvds. If I'm wrong let me know but Microsoft has enough of my money.

[shaundaniels]

I'm still bitter that most consoles come with 1 controller.

[mikegraham6]

didn't the recent CES prove that HD-DVD is a dying format? either way, i own a PS3 so i go with Blu-ray, the name's cooler too...

[paper]

I even prefer the color blue to red. HD-DVD never had a chance.

[comhcinc]

you know if i knew nothing about the two formats and had to chose based off name alone.

then yep it's blu-ray

[cenquist]

Just found this thread....we all know who won this battle. So the question is, now that Blu-Ray is the winner what do you do? Start your Blu-Ray collection or keep buying DVDs since the players support them? Of course top notch films you will splurge the extra money on the Blu-Ray disc for the better quality? And how long are we thinking it will take before DVDs become like the VHS?

[paper]

I don't buy a lot of movies these days because I rent from Netflix. But when I do buy a movie, I get it on Blu-Ray. Most of the "videos" I purchase are TV shows, so it will be interesting to see what happens when the fall rolls around and seasons come out on dvd. Some will be on blu-ray, like Pushing Dasies, Mad Men, and Lost. But will I shun an Office dvd set if a blu ray isn't available? No way. But I'm gonna be annoyed that it's SD.

[cenquist]

I still buy alot of DVDs. I don't have a Blu-Ray player yet so that would come before I buy any discs for it. I guess more of what I meant to ask was. A dumb comedy comes out and you have a choice of going cheap(dvd) or expensive(blu-ray) what will you buy? And a kick ass action flick comes out will it be the same?

[conorkilpatrick]

Just found this thread....we all know who won this battle. So the question is, now that Blu-Ray is the winner what do you do? Start your Blu-Ray collection or keep buying DVDs since the players support them?

I wait and do nothing until the cost of a Blu-Ray player is at least half of what it is now.

[paper]

I still buy alot of DVDs. I don't have a Blu-Ray player yet so that would come before I buy any discs for it. I guess more of what I meant to ask was. A dumb comedy comes out and you have a choice of going cheap(dvd) or expensive(blu-ray) what will you buy? And a kick ass action flick comes out will it be the same?

To answer this question....

I own Juno on Blu-ray (gorgeous).

9 times out of 10, if the movie is a comedy and is worth owning, for me, it's going to be a visually interesting film. So it's worth it. I'm crazy though. I ordered Sweeney Todd from the UK simply because they don't offer a blu ray of it here.

[paper]

I wait and do nothing until the cost of a Blu-Ray player is at least half of what it is now.

I should mention that my blu ray player is a PS3. If I didn't have the PS3 I probably would be waiting for a more affordable blu ray player. But I really wanted to play Rock Band and I didn't have a 360, so I decided to pay more to get a game console with blu ray functionality.

[hometeam790]

Just found this thread....we all know who won this battle. So the question is, now that Blu-Ray is the winner what do you do? Start your Blu-Ray collection or keep buying DVDs since the players support them? Of course top notch films you will splurge the extra money on the Blu-Ray disc for the better quality? And how long are we thinking it will take before DVDs become like the VHS?

I'll buy a Blu-Ray disc IF, IF I believe it's worth the buy. Like it has to be a visually stunning to be worth buying, or if I loved the movie that much I'll buy it on Blu. Otherwise, it's DVD for me. Since Blu-Ray discs costs generally around 30-35 bucks, it has to be worth it.

I don't think DVD will go the way of VHS for a very very long time. Yeah the stores want to push it, but the costs of a non-PS3 Blu-Ray player and the discs themselves are just way too high right now. And the fact they won't allow China to have access to the tech to produce cheaper players right now hurts it a lot.

It may not even be Blu-Ray that supplants DVD, it could very well be downloads/streaming that do the job. With the AppleTV, VuDu, X-Box Live Marketplace and the new Netflix set top box, it may take over at a much faster rate.

[paper]

It's gonna be downloadable/streaming content. But it's gonna take a while. I like the model being used lately where you buy the physical media and then get the code/extra disc to download a mobile version for your phone/laptop/mp3 player.

[charlie-blix]

It's gonna be downloadable/streaming content. But it's gonna take a while. I like the model being used lately where you buy the physical media and then get the code/extra disc to download a mobile version for your phone/laptop/mp3 player.

I like it but I wish it wasn't an extra disc. It feels kind of silly to have that extra disc in there. I would rather have it be on the same disc (I know space doesn't allow for that right now) or for them to just give me a code and I can download it from a site for free. I'm all for condensed packaging.

Of course I do think its going to go all digital sooner or later. I just hope they figure out all the DRM crap first. Then again who really cares what DRM crap the slap on because there will always be a way around it a day later.

[hometeam790]

I like it but I wish it wasn't an extra disc. It feels kind of silly to have that extra disc in there. I would rather have it be on the same disc (I know space doesn't allow for that right now) or for them to just give me a code and I can download it from a site for free. I'm all for condensed packaging.


I'm with you on that one. It would seem easier to have a code and then just download it. But I guess you'd have to account for those that don't have high speed internet.

I honestly don't mind paying a couple of extra bucks so I can have a legal and quality copy to put on my iPod.

[mikegraham6]

if i can, i usually go with the blu-ray over DVD, why not watch something in HD? Although the one exception i make (regrettably) is Lost. I've found that I lend out my copies of of tv shows (especially lost), so while i would love to watch it in glorious 1080p, i would rather have the dvd and let others enjoy my favorite show

[paper]

Bit it's so glorious.

[xyzzy]

I don't even have an HD TV yet. I'm so behind the times.