HD DVD

[picolas]

so, any of you guys went high blu-hd yet?  opinions?  

i think it's probably best to wait for the hybrid players. though it looks like blu-ray will win (more titles/support) even though hd-dvd is supposedly better.

[Redlum]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind exclusively on Bluray (without ugly coverart): see Mac's post: http://xixax.com/index.php?topic=9800.0#new. The Berg has made his choice.

The fact he's exempt from this new paramount deal makes the whole thing less important than I'd first thought. Although it had been said that something like the Indiana Jones Trilogy would be available on both formats, this release suggests Spielberg doesn't think that will be necessary when the opportunity for Indy comes around next year. I'm predicting Bluray to be declared by the end of the Christmas shopping season.

I don't like Sony's proprietary ownership of the format but I read today that the extra capacity meant that an interactive feature for 'Blades of Glory' (now cancelled on Bluray as a result of the Paramount deal) was unachievable on HD-DVD. That leads me to wonder whether the Bluray exclusivity for CE3K is partly due to the extra space required for seamlessly branching the three cuts of the film without compromising the bit-rate.

[Ravi]

Blu-ray's Pirates of the Caribbean release has framing issues

[Ravi]

New Chinese Involvement Could Trigger HD DVD Price Plunge

[Redlum]

The link below has a series of screen grab comparisons of the Spiderman Standard Definition Discs and the new Bluray releases. Hold your mouse over the image to see the latter.

http://www.mbmg.de/hd-discs/spider-man-trilogy_dvd_vs_bd/01_spider-man3.html

I think the difference is really impressive. From what I hear, the added depth to the image does wonders for the viewing experience...and product placement (a Sony laptop, whould've thunk it).

The site also has some HD-DVD to Bluray comparisons if you're interested. The Bluray often appears more detailed and sharper but I can't tell if this is some kind of enhancement or a better preservation of the film grain.

[modage]

and yet... the film will still suck.

[Ravi]

Is there currently a way to capture frames from HD-DVD or BR discs?  DVD Beaver just takes digital photos of the images.

[Redlum]

and yet... the film will still suck.

Yeah 3 couldn't get much worse, unfortunately. I can't believe how I deluded myself into thinking it was anything but a mess.

Is there currently a way to capture frames from HD-DVD or BR discs?  DVD Beaver just takes digital photos of the images.

You can if you use PowerDVD software in conjunction with a Bluray Rom Drive such as this:


I just ordered one (along with 2001, Close Encounters, and Dog Day Afternoon) so I'll let you know how simple it is.

[mogwai]

[NEON MERCURY]

ha ha!!  no it's not me. but i do get like that when i explain how great lynch is.

[Redlum]

So, getting on to what High-Defintion is like to watch. Beyond just being a prettier picture.

I recently bought The Searchers on Bluray, which I've never seen before. Now obviously this has a prettier picture than most, being shot on Vista Vision and filmed in beautiful scenery but this is not flashy filmaking. Most scenes are long, wide-angle, static takes but the amount of detail available makes everything fascinating. In one of the special features Martin Scorcese talks about VistaVision being the greatest film format that has ever existed and recalls that the first time he saw The Searchers, even the slightest gestures or movements made an impact: "wow, did you just see him move to the left, there". Listening to Bogdanovich's commentary made me realise how much of the film rests on these subtle gestures that are, for the most part, shown without the use of closeups. With the high definition version of the film, you are processing much more information and engaging more with the emotion of the characters.

[MacGuffin]

i think it's probably best to wait for the hybrid players.

I was looking into the LG BH100 combo player. But at a retail price of $1000 and then after reading these reviews...

My site was the first to give this product a full review back in February. I was impressed with LG for being the first to come out with this hybrid product. If your movie collection is primarily Blu-ray then this is a great buy for you. If it's the other way around, then do not buy this product.

The player does not support HDi interactive menu for HD DVDs. You don't get the whole experience when playing those discs on the BH100. The menu only display text, unlike when you play the same disc on a dedicated HD DVD player.

The player also has problem outputting at 1080p. I thought I was able to achieve this at one point but now I am not so sure. The highest it would go is 1080i.

The DVD upconversion is like opening a box of chocolate -- you never know what you're gonna get. Some good, some bad. I tried Finding Nemo on it and it looked really bad.

One more thing, you can't play audio CDs on this $1000+ high-definition player.

None of your HD-DVD disc's special-bonus features can be played on this unit. ONLY THE MOVIE ITSELF! In fact, the title menu will not even appear when playing an HD-DVD disc.

YOU WON'T LEARN THIS THROUGH THE PRODUCT SPECS!

You can buy a regular $250 HD-DVD Player and it will play all of the features just fine, but this $1,000 unit won't! Go figure. Contacted LG, Customer Service Department, who said that they never obtained permission from Toshiba to allow this unit to play the special or bonus features on you HD-DVD disc.

So all you get for your $30 spent on an HD-DVD IS THE MOVIE...YOU FORFEIT THE INTERACTIVE MENU COMPLETELY!

This is an important detail LG fails to mention when advertising the product. An LG representative responded: "...well, we never said it COULD play the special features-interactive menu...why would we want to advertize that?" INDEED, WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO?

IN SHORT, THIS UNIT IS AN OVERPRICED BLU-RAY PLAYER THAT FUNCTIONS AS A "LIMITED" HD-DVD PLAYER.

Not recommended if you want to use the special/bonus features on your HD-DVD. Buying both HD-DVD and Blu Ray players would make more sense!

...I decided it was better to just buy an HD and Blu-Ray separately. After reading some reviews on CNET, HDGuru and Consumer Reports, Toshiba's HD-XA2 was voted the best HD player.


So Amazon had a recent sale, and gave in and bought one-half of the HD war.



Now, I await a sale on a Blu-Ray player (eyeing Panasonic's DMP line which was voted runner-up).

[mogwai]

are you going to re-buy all your owned dvd's on hd-dvd and blu-ray? or will you stop buying dvd's and only buy hd-dvd's and blu-ray's (!) from now on?

[MacGuffin]

are you going to re-buy all your owned dvd's on hd-dvd and blu-ray? or will you stop buying dvd's and only buy hd-dvd's and blu-ray's (!) from now on?

The unit shipped out today, so I see by next week. But from what I've read, the upconversion of regular DVDs is excellent, so I probably won't, or need to, rebuy my DVDs; only ones that have exclusive extras (Batman Begins) or that I really want in HD (Matrix). Same idea from here on out since HD and Blu-Ray discs are twice as expensive, and some (lesser) titles I wouldn't need to own in HD. But I really want to see the Zodiac Director's Cut and Blade Runner in HD.

[Gamblour.]

Ok so this is a dumb question, but if I have a regular dvd player and an HDTV, can I watch non-hd dvds on my tv? I'm about to buy an HDTV from a friend, it's a good deal, but do I need one of those upconverting players?