HD DVD

[MacGuffin]

and what BluRay player should i get?

When looking for an HD player, I used CNET as a resource based on their reviews. This is their list of top HD and Blu-Ray players:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4370-9991_7-197-102.html?tag=dir

This Panasonic is regarded as the best value stand-alone player on the market right now.
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Video/Blu-ray-Disc-Players/model.DMP-BD30K_11002_7000000000000005702

That's the one I've been looking at based on the CNET review.

[Redlum]

Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2008_02/pr1903.htm

[MacGuffin]

Paramount seals Blu-ray sweep
Winner of next-gen format war now has all 6 majors
Source: Hollywood Reporter

All six major Hollywood studios are now in the Blu-ray Disc camp, a day after Toshiba has pulled the plug on HD DVD and Blu-ray became effectively the only next-gen game in town.

Paramount Home Entertainment quietly came onboard via a statement sent exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday: "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," the statement reads. "As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly."

No further details were given.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment, in contrast, cast its lot with Blu-ray within hours of Toshiba's announcement Tuesday morning that it was ending the format war by ceasing the development, manufacture and marketing of HD DVD players by the end of March. Universal made a big splash with its announcement, sending media outlets a statement from division president Craig Kornblau in which he said, "While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray."

Janet Murray, director of Georgia Tech's masters and Ph.D. program in digital media, said a single format supported by all six major studios has a much better chance of success than two rival ones that each take only a chunk of Hollywood.

"It's a big victory for the consumer," she said.

Now that the studios are no longer battling each other over which format is best, Murray said, they can focus on generating awareness among consumers of the many benefits of high-definition media. Murray predicts "a standardization of extras" now that everyone's releasing films on a single format rather than two, each with its own set of capabilities. "This will lead to a much richer experience for viewers," she added.

Murray also foresees "much more content and much more breadth of content" now that Blu-ray is the only way to go. "When people have these higher-end screens at home, they take great pleasure in them, and this will push ahead the delivery (of movies) in high-definition," she said.

Ironically, Universal had been exclusive with HD DVD since the format's launch in April 2006, while Paramount had initially supported both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Paramount and DreamWorks switched to HD DVD-only in August, reportedly after receiving a $150 million payment from the format's supporters for "promotional consideration."

Neither studio has announced specific titles earmarked for early Blu-ray release, though both are expected to start with new theatricals coming the same day as the standard DVD, beginning in late spring or early summer.

The four other majors committed to Blu-ray are Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (along with its distributed MGM Home Entertainment label), Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video (including distributed labels New Line Home Entertainment, BBC Video and HBO Video). Mini-major Lionsgate also has been an exclusive Blu-ray backer since the start.

[Sunrise]

and what BluRay player should i get?

When looking for an HD player, I used CNET as a resource based on their reviews. This is their list of top HD and Blu-Ray players:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4370-9991_7-197-102.html?tag=dir

This Panasonic is regarded as the best value stand-alone player on the market right now.
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Video/Blu-ray-Disc-Players/model.DMP-BD30K_11002_7000000000000005702

That's the one I've been looking at based on the CNET review.

Mod...I have the BD30 and it is terrific. As noted, it cannot update itself automatically like the PS3, but I can't imagine the picture quality being any better than this stand alone. Also, the updating process is VERY easy. Two weeks ago I downloaded a firmware update from Panasonic's site onto a cd, simply put the cd into the BD30, and about 3 minutes later the machine was updated from version 1.1 to 1.4. My guess is that even better players will be coming out this summer and fall as all companies will now be focused on blu-ray, but the BD30 is a great and I wouldn't trade it for any other player at the moment. I would read up on the lossless audio issues and make a call on your own to determine if that is a big issue for you. CNET and avsforum site are both great for research and reviews.

[last days of gerry the elephant]

Mod, here's your answer. Some great players coming.

Sony Announces Two New Blu-ray Players

Posted February 26, 2008 07:38 AM by Josh

Sony Sony Electronics has announced two new players to their Blu-ray line, the BDP-S350 and the BDP-S550. When released, both will not only be BonusView (Profile v1.1) players, but will also be BD-Live (Profile v2.0) ready, meaning they can be updated via firmware to full BD-Live compatibility. The BDP-S350 will ship sometime in the Summer for $400, followed in the Fall by the BDP-S550 for $500.

The BDP-S350 will offer 1080p24/60 output via HDMI, an Ethernet port, and decoding of 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD. The player will also be capable of bit streaming Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution, and DTS-HD Master Audio to a capable receiver. Additionally, it will support for the expanded xvYCC color space during playback of AVCHD discs, and compatibility with most BD, DVD, and CD media.

In addition to having all the features of the S350, the BDP-S550 will feature 1GB of persistent storage. Additionally, it will decode DTS-HD High Resolution and DTS-HD Master Audio and feature 7.1 analog outs.

Both players will feature a slim design to match upcoming Sony Home Theater in a Box (HTIB) products.

Source: Blu-ray.com

[MacGuffin]

I swear I was only going to buy Darjeeling, but, damnit, Best Buy has this Open Box Blowout Sale going on, and I found a good deal on the Panasonic BD30K. I was planning to get a Blu-Ray before No Country came out in a couple weeks, and with the TWBB news I just read, I'm glad I got it.

[Sunrise]

You won't be sorry. It's a really good player. Gotta love unintended buys.

[Stefen]

so i got my tax refund and i'm thinking about spending a chunk of that on EITHER

an iPhone

OR

a BluRay player.

Why not use the Bush economic refund on the other item you don't get and have both?

Dumb idea. Everyone needs to put the Bush refunds in the bank and let them collect interest. 

[bigperm]

I swear I was only going to buy Darjeeling, but, damnit, Best Buy has this Open Box Blowout Sale going on, and I found a good deal on the Panasonic BD30K. I was planning to get a Blu-Ray before No Country came out in a couple weeks, and with the TWBB news I just read, I'm glad I got it.

I got a great deal on the same player as well, after a month with it now I think it's great. I've updated the firmware via cd-r with no problems. I'm trying not to geek out and go crazy on the blu purchases, but I've grabbed the few essentials available and quite happy I did.  It upconverts all standard dvd's really well, IMO.

[Gamblour.]

I am taking the plunge, getting a PS3 soon. Yes, with the refund. The mrs ain't happy, but I can't see how you would could want anything else: it upconverts, it's all region, it's blu ray, the Simpsons game. I'm fucking beyond excited.

[MacGuffin]

Blu-ray Price Drop Coming
More bang for your Blu-ray buck in the fall.

Blu-ray prices could be about to drop. That's a good thing for early adopters of the emerging high-definition home video format who are currently shelling out just shy of $30 a pop for newer titles.

Word on the street (via High-Def Digest) is that Warner Bros. could start an industry-wide price-cutting trend when they trim wholesale prices on Blu-ray titles in the fall. That's expected to reduce the sticker price of new releases to under $20. Cheaper catalogue titles would likely be reduced to around $15.

The price cut could be a strategic reduction based on gloomy economic forecasts, but with the latest sales figures showing DVD and Blu-ray sales are holding up just fine in the current environment, it's more likely that the drop is due to increase in production efficiency and a growing distribution network.

Consumers should start seeing Blu-ray disc prices dropping significantly by the holiday season.

That's all fine and good, but if you're looking for a deal sooner than later, check out this hot deal we spotted over at Amazon this morning. They're running a "Buy 2, Get 1 Free Blu-ray Sale," on 109 select titles.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/High-Def_Disc_Marketing/Industry_Trends/Warner/Warner_to_Offer_Discounted_Blu-rays_Beginning_this_Fall/1901

[w/o horse]

I'd like to own one before November and Criterion's first couple of releases, but I'm afraid because I hear contradicting information from tech nerds.

Please help:

1.  No matter what I get I can update the player, correct?  What some people tell me is that Blu Ray players are soon going to incorporate some of the HD DVD player's technologies that the Blu Ray lacks.  As in take some good ideas from the losing team.  If that happens, will I be okay, or a generation behind.

2.  We can speculate on price drops and I've been holding out for $200.  We're at mid 300 now.  It won't drop to $200 by November, but is $200 likely by post-Christmas season?  I could hold out.

3.  Seriously no interest in owning a PS3 as a gaming system.  Zero interest.  If I'm waiting for the price to drop, and the price is dropping, it's not still worth getting a PS3 right?

Thanks.

[MacGuffin]

1.  No matter what I get I can update the player, correct?  What some people tell me is that Blu Ray players are soon going to incorporate some of the HD DVD player's technologies that the Blu Ray lacks.  As in take some good ideas from the losing team.  If that happens, will I be okay, or a generation behind.

Yes. You can check the manufacture's site for firmware updates. If you don't ungrade through the internet, you can call the company to mail you a CD.

2.  We can speculate on price drops and I've been holding out for $200.  We're at mid 300 now.  It won't drop to $200 by November, but is $200 likely by post-Christmas season?  I could hold out.

Hmmmm... Guess it would depend on make and model, and what you're looking for. A $200 unit would seem like a low end player. I would do some research on picture quality before buying a model just because the price is right.

3.  Seriously no interest in owning a PS3 as a gaming system.  Zero interest.  If I'm waiting for the price to drop, and the price is dropping, it's not still worth getting a PS3 right?

I dunno 'bout that. I didn't go for the PS3 because the reviews I read said that it didn't have the best sound quality, and I wanted something that would go well with my 7.1 system.

[john]

So, it might have been a stupid plan, but I found an pretty high end HD-DVD player on Craigslist for $40, and bought it.

I've been seeing how ridiculously cheap HD-DVD's have been selling for now that the hardware is irrelevant... but I figure the technology will be just as worthwhile as Blu-Ray until even Blu becomes obsolete. Plus, there's a lot of titles I can get now that I'd have to wait around for on Blu...

And they're cheap.

Picked up Darkman, Eternal Sunshine, Zodiac, Big Lebowski, Casino, Hot Fuzz, King Kong, and Shaun of the Dead.

Also, this idea began to fester because I was pissed Universal couldn't even be bothered with a Lebowski blu last week.

Obsolete or not... they do make very pretty pictures.

[RegularKarate]

Should we change the title of this thread to Blu-Ray?

Okay, help me out with this, if you can...

A couple weeks ago, I bought a used HDTV... I can't afford top of the line new shit, but I was sick of the dinky standard def that I've had for almost ten years so I picked this up on Craigslist for $200:



It's a couple years old and weighs a ton...  now the difference to me is immediately better because I have been watching such a crummy tv for so long (also, the blacks are much blacker than any flat panel I've ever seen), but it's not 1080p and it's a little older so I was wondering if a blu-ray player is going to make much of a difference over an upconverted DVD.

For example, I have The Office Season 4 dvd and they showed a rerun of a season 4 episode last week which I watched in HD and the difference between that and my non-upconverted dvd player with component out was NOT super noticible.  noticible, but not that much... and I'm wondering if once I get a DVD player that upconverts, is it really going to be that much different to get a blu-ray player?

Obviously, the ideal solution would be to get a new TV AND the player, but that's NOT going to happen so I just need to figure out if it's worth it because:

1: The TV is older and not 1080p
2: I've read most blu-ray players (other than the PS3) are not upgradable to 2.0
3: I don't have a crap load of money and it's pretty much blu-ray or surround sound (anyone recomend a cheap SS set up?)

Thank you all in advance