HD DVD

[MacGuffin]

So I did a comparison of DVD and HD versions of Transformers, and the difference is, well, clear. The level of clarity is apparent. I'm sure the picture would look even better on a smaller screen (the small picture-in-picture looks damn near perfect), but blown up to 73" the colors are still crisp and some details just pop; a gun's laser sight or computer graphics and effects. The sound continues to overwhelm me; Dolby Digital Plus is amazing. It's not LOUD (it is, how I play it) with layer upon layer of sound on top of each other, but you can hear every distinct sound effect and how they work the speakers; never overpowering the center/dialogue speaker.

[last days of gerry the elephant]

Oh yeah right, you could do PIP with your HD player?

[MacGuffin]

Oh yeah right, you could do PIP with your HD player?

With some running commentaries:

[last days of gerry the elephant]

That is awesome. I never knew about these special features of HD so, I apologize if I appear to be a little behind on the technology.

[Gamblour.]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. And all these fancy things make me reeeeeally want to get an X-Box 360 and the HD drive.

[Ravi]

Select Blu-ray discs $9.99 to $13.99

[socketlevel]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. And all these fancy things make me reeeeeally want to get an X-Box 360 and the HD drive.

get a PS3, cuz blu-ray owns 75-80% of the global market.  HD DVD is limited as well, they're using the max capacity of discs, blu ray pays off in the long run because they have tons of room to expand

[Redlum]

There's is a lot of noise going round about the possibility of some major announcements taking place at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, that could have a drastic effect on the "format war". Christmas is going to be a criticial time anyway with regards to sales so I would recommend seeing how these two points plays out.

[grand theft sparrow]

OK, so I just got a 42" 1080p Westinghouse.  I know, a name better associated with washer/dryers than TVs, but it was a decent price, it's got 4 HDMI inputs and it looks great, so...

I'm looking to get an upconvert 5.1 at a reasonable price.  The idea is that I'll get the upconvert now and then, when I'm in the market for HD/Blu-ray/360/PS3/whatever, I'll get those and plug them straight into the TV.

But I have a couple of questions that I can't seem to find answers for:

1) Do upconvert DVD players upconvert to 1080p or are they all 1080i?  I haven't found anything that says it upconverts to 1080p, only 1080i. 

2) Is finding a 1080p upconvert (if it exists) worth it if I'm just going to end up getting a HD/Blu-ray/360/PS3/whatever in the next year or so?

3) Should I look for a 5.1 system that has an HDMI input so I can get 5.1 sound from cable and the HD/Blu-ray/360/PS3/whatever?  Or will an optical digital audio input suffice?  Because I'm having the hardest time finding one that has an HDMI input in my price range (under $300).  If the optical works just as well or close enough, then I'll just go with that.


Any help will be greatly appreciated.  That's not a promise of monetary or sexual compensation, just, you know... thanks.

[last days of gerry the elephant]

Make sure the receiver actually delivers audio output from the HDMI slot. I got the Yamaha HTR-6050 (which is around your budget, $300) and I found out it doesn't send sound over HDMI, just video. But it's fine, you still have optical output and it's a solid unit for 5.1. I'm not too sure what to recommend, if you plan to get an HD or Blu-Ray player sometime soon, I'd probably suggest you go for it right away. The PS3 up-converts and the new 2.1 update just released yesterday:

The version 2.1 upgrade will bring native support for the video format either stored locally or streamed across the network. It should also bring the anticipated Blu-ray Final Standard Profile support that allows the console to use picture-in-picture commentary and other special features previously reserved only for the newest stand-alone movie players.

[Sunrise]

It really all comes down to what you are willing to spend now vs. how much you will spend in the long run. A couple of your questions were addressed earlier in the thread. I have the Panasonic BD30 Blu-ray player and it is phenomenal. It upconverts my regular dvds to 1080p and the image is great. It's not high definition but it's awefully close. I screened my Children of Men standard dvd late last week and was more than pleased with the picture.

Upconverting quality depends on three things: (1) the quality of the dvd transfer (general rule is that newer films/dvds will upconvert better than older ones, etc.); the player; and your television. Most of the well-reviewed HD-DVD or Blu-ray players will upconvert your dvds to 1080p just as well if not better than stand alone upconvert players. But there are some good ones out there (see Oppo's line and check out the reviews of Oppo's player on CNET). If you have a really good television it will also upconvert but your standard def. dvd player will likely only have a component output and not hdmi. My thought in going with the Blu-ray player was that I was going to switch over to high definition eventually so I didn't want to buy an upconvert player now and a high-def player in a few months. It's almost like buying a dvd and then they come out with a special edition later. Except this time the special edition is already available. I'm rolling the dice with the Blu-ray player a little bit but if it happens to lose the "format war", the hd dvd players will be quite cheap and my Blu-ray player will always be able to play my BR discs and standard dvds. My hunch, however, is that Blu-ray will be the choice format for high def in the future.

As far as the audio/receivers portion of your question, I'll have to defer to the audio experts on the board.

Hope this helped a little.

[Ravi]

1) Do upconvert DVD players upconvert to 1080p or are they all 1080i?  I haven't found anything that says it upconverts to 1080p, only 1080i.

Some convert to 1080p, some only convert to 1080i.  You'll have to look at the specs.  The Oppo 980H (which I own) upconverts to 1080p and has an HDMI output.

2) Is finding a 1080p upconvert (if it exists) worth it if I'm just going to end up getting a HD/Blu-ray/360/PS3/whatever in the next year or so?

Its up to you.  I recently got an HDTV but have no plans to buy an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player so I got the Oppo.  You can still use your old DVD player until you buy an HD media player.  I don't know if the PS3 or 360 or any of the HD or BR players can do region-free, if that is important to you.  Maybe the video game systems have a hack for it.

[MacGuffin]

1) Do upconvert DVD players upconvert to 1080p or are they all 1080i?  I haven't found anything that says it upconverts to 1080p, only 1080i. 

In this week's Best Buy ad, they have a Sony upconversion (model #DVPNS77H/B) to 1080p on sale for $79.99. Don't know how good it works, but just saying they do exist.

2) Is finding a 1080p upconvert (if it exists) worth it if I'm just going to end up getting a HD/Blu-ray/360/PS3/whatever in the next year or so?

I don't know what your budget is, but I say go the HD or Blu-Ray route, even if it means holding off a bit; save that upconversion money until you can accumulate more cash. Manufacturers are slashing the prices on units. Just this week, Sony dropped the price of their Blu-Ray BDPS300 to $300. Toshiba has done the same with some of theirs.

3) Should I look for a 5.1 system that has an HDMI input so I can get 5.1 sound from cable and the HD/Blu-ray/360/PS3/whatever?  Or will an optical digital audio input suffice?  Because I'm having the hardest time finding one that has an HDMI input in my price range (under $300).  If the optical works just as well or close enough, then I'll just go with that.

If you can find a receiver in the price range, then get the one with true HDMI output because that will factor in better in the long run. Otherwise, I'm using an optical cable with my Yamaha HTR-5860 and the sound is excellent in 5.1 and 7.1. Make sure you have a great set of speakers too.

[Ravi]

Studio support for each format in the US (please add to or correct as needed):

Blu-Ray
Buena Vista
Disney
Fox
Lionsgate
New Line Cinema*
Sony
Warner Bros*

HD-DVD
Image Entertainment
New Line Cinema*
Paramount
Rhino
Universal
Warner Bros*
Weinstein Company

*denotes studios that support both formats

[Redlum]

This looks like it could be the real deal. If so, it would finally mean the end of the format war:

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN0432340820080104

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Time Warner's Warner Bros studio plans to announce it will release next generation DVDs on Sony Corp's Blu-ray format exclusively, two sources familiar with the plans said on Friday, dealing a big blow to Toshiba Corp'sHD DVD format.

Warner Bros, Hollywood's biggest seller of DVDs representing about 18 to 20 percent of sales in the United States, had been one of the few studios that backed both formats.

News Corp's 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Co, and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp are among studios backing the Blu-ray format. Viacom Inc's Paramount studios and General Electric Co's NBC Universal, owned by General Electric Co and France's Vivendi, release movies in HD DVD format.

An announcement is expected shortly, the sources said.

(Reporting by Kenneth Li in New York and Bob Tourtellotte in Los Angeles, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

...I assume they checked their sources.

CONFIRMED: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN0432340820080104