PreGameLobby - For those who are without HD-DVD right now...

Jon Liu · 09-25-2006, 10:45 PM

This review of Tokyo Drift is exactly why I am now a huge supporter of HD-DVD.

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/fasta...okyodrift.html

If you read the HD Bonus Content portion... this is EXACTLY the stuff I am talking about!!!

OMG... I cannot wait for my copy to arrive!!!

SpOoNmAn · 09-25-2006, 10:51 PM

Ive been trying to stay out of the war, but bluray could mimic that correct?

Are you supporting HD DVD because that movie is only available on that format? or because it can do things Bluray cannot?

I ask seriously, like I said, Ive been purposely staying away from this mess. I understand the basics as far as storage and codecs but thats all.

Im only getting the HD add on for 360 because its coded in me to support them

Jon Liu · 09-26-2006, 07:57 AM

I support HD-DVD because overall their selection for movies is ultimately better suited for my liking. True, Sony has a lot more backers, and I may not be able to say that for too long but, it's also other stuff. Blu-Ray may be able to do similar stuff with their Blu-Java or whatever they call it but, at the moment they haven't even really implemented anything yet. As for doing things that Blu-Ray cannot... I've said before that Blu-Ray has a lot of potential but, they're just not there by any respect. HD-DVD is satisfying my need for high definition content entirely! I also support HD-DVD because their players are cheaper in price. They have the second generation Toshiba players coming out HD-A2 and HD-XA2 which are going to be $500 and $1000 respectively. $1000?!? you say? Well think of it this way, it improves upon everything that HD-XA1 did in almost every aspect and also think about this, Blu-Ray Second Gen Players start from $1000 and go up to like $1700 dollars for a player. So ultimately the Toshibas will still be "cheaper."

Storage is kind of a null point if Blu-Ray still feels the need to use MPEG-2 which still takes up quite a bit more space than VC-1. I also really like the fact that HD-DVD players are required to be able to decode Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS. The only one in question I think is DTS-HD.

I think the HD-DVD Add-on will be an incredible stop-gap for those who are on the fence and want to dip their feet in, and I think that there were will be a good amount of new HD-DVD supporters because of it.

WormholeXtreme · 09-26-2006, 09:15 AM

There are no Blu-Ray G2 players. They are all generation 1.

Jon Liu · 09-26-2006, 10:02 AM

thanks for the clarification Worm! I just called them G2 since they were not released during the same time period as the Samsung...

CamDawg · 09-26-2006, 10:51 AM

I picked up an HD-DVD player because of what you get for the price. $400 for one that offers the same picture quality as a $1000 Bluray one was an easy choice for me.

Jon Liu · 09-26-2006, 12:53 PM

Camdawg, at this point in time.. (may change drastically but, for now) HD-DVD still offers a better picture overall than Blu-Ray. So you are paying a lot less for an even better picture right now! There are a couple titles out there such as RV, Eight Below, Training Day, Goodnight and Good Luck that are on par with HD-DVD but, the rest fall pretty far from that mark.

Crankbait · 09-27-2006, 08:31 AM

It is true about the current Blu-Ray video quality, a quick look at reviews posted on dvdtalk shows they have a way to go with Blu-Ray.

NPYYZ · 10-06-2006, 05:29 AM

I'm not going to make the HD DVD or blue-ray purchase. My DVD collection is rather large and they all look fantastic in 480p on my 55" Mits. No way am I going to re-invest tons of money just to possibly improve an already fantastic looking picture. Seems like a big waste of cash to me.

MadBryan · 10-06-2006, 06:01 AM

The tone of your post seems like you don't think HD-DVD looks much better than what you have. As long as it looks fantastic to you thats pretty much all that matter. You seem to be of the same mind set as Big Brad about repurchasing your whole collection. Its two hundo guys. with KING KONG. Its not alot of money. Whatever you guys do. Do not demo one at your house. It will ruin your enjoyment of SD alittle

Jon Liu · 10-06-2006, 07:21 AM

what bryan said!

NPYYZ, if you're happy with what you got, that is ALLLLLLLLLLL that matters. Seriously. Don't let any of us tell you otherwise.

I personally was never really happy with DVD video quality so the HD-DVDs have filled that void for me perfectly!

GoatMother · 10-06-2006, 10:02 AM

I plan on doing both. As I've seen excellent material on both HD-DVD and blu-ray. I will not however pay $400-500 for a stand alone on either format. PS3 and probably the HD-DVD add-on for me.

Does kind of suck that you have to have two formats to get the best of everything, then again it's just like buying game consoles.

BiffCo · 10-06-2006, 11:59 AM

For what it's worth, I still play games and watch movies on a 32" 4:3 HD set (with a 16:9 mode), so at this point I don't think I'd see a huge leap in picture quality over DVD like you guys do with bigger displays. WHen I eventually get my SXRD one of these days, I'm sure my tune will change.

But I still stand by not replacing every DVD in my collection. I have around 400, so financially it's just not possible. Just give me Back to the Future and LOTR and I'll be set.

-Brad

GoatMother · 10-06-2006, 01:12 PM

Good point. When I do go HD movies. I'm not replacing, but simply adding on to my collection and renting HD from then on out if possible. Of course there may be a few titles that I replace as well.

CamDawg · 10-06-2006, 09:50 PM

I'm with you guys. The only movies that I plan to replace with HD-DVD are LOTR and any of the Star Wars if they are ever released on HD_DVD. Then again, I only own about 20 DVDs.

I did purchase Happy Gilmore on HD-DVD even though I already own the DVD, but that was because I found the HD-DVD on Amazon for 8.00 (used).

NPYYZ · 10-07-2006, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M.C.

Good point. When I do go HD movies. I'm not replacing, but simply adding on to my collection and renting HD from then on out if possible. Of course there may be a few titles that I replace as well.

This sounds like a good idea, just continuing the collection in HD. I just get angry sometimes at how you go out and spend thousands of dollars on a sate of the art Home Theater System and a library of movies, and then just a few years later the whole deal is obsolete.

It's pretty much that way with all technology, and it just pisses me off sometimes. I went through this with the music I listen to, first it was vinyl, then cassette, then CD's now MP3 players, nuts. Being a musician it's the same way with musical instruments. You buy the best on the market and one year later something better is out. Don't even get me started on PC's, they change so fast it makes my head hurt.

The wife and I were talking the other day; the house we now own is over 100years old, next year we want to go with a new house, no older then 10 years tops. We were watching a Home theater show on the discovery HD channel the other day and were we very impressed at the home theater room we could have constructed for $15,000.00 to $25,000.00. So when we get the new home we are considering going that extra mile and doing it up with a professional installation that will most likely include HD-DVD.

But 3 to 5 years from now what will it be? I'd like to actually be able to retire when I hit 60 but if I have to keep upgrading every 3 years that won't be happening. When will good be good enough?

So once I see HD-DVD will all my regular DVD's look like crap? It couldn't be as bad as going from HDTV to Standard Def TV , could it?

NPYYZ · 10-07-2006, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadBryan

The tone of your post seems like you don't think HD-DVD looks much better than what you have. As long as it looks fantastic to you thats pretty much all that matter. You seem to be of the same mind set as Big Brad about repurchasing your whole collection. Its two hundo guys. with KING KONG. Its not alot of money. Whatever you guys do. Do not demo one at your house. It will ruin your enjoyment of SD alittle

Actually I've never seen HD-DVD.

WormholeXtreme · 10-07-2006, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M.C.

Good point. When I do go HD movies. I'm not replacing, but simply adding on to my collection and renting HD from then on out if possible. Of course there may be a few titles that I replace as well.

That's what I had planned on doing, but instead I have 51 discs right now with 29 on preorder. The picture is so good with HD DVDs that I will never buy an SD DVD again and I really can't stand watching them anymore. The difference is that big. And the sound is just amazing. I didn't realize about the sound until I tried watching Xmen 3 the other day. It did look descent for an upconvert, but it just doesn't come close to whats possible with HD DVD. The whole time during the movie I kept thinking that it didn't sound right. Both tracks are 6.1 Then I realized that this is just how all DVDs sound. The HD DVDs sound noticeable better with just DD plus and can truly sound amazing with TrueHD. So whenever people decide to jump in with HD DVD, I think you will find it will be well worth the investment.

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