Jumped in the format war myself

[Monrozombi]

I've actually been in it since the Walmart sale of the Toshiba HD-A2 back in November. Mrs. Monro asked me what I wanted for my birthday coming up in about 3 weeks. I said a Blu-Ray player because alot of the movies I want coming out are going to be blu-ray and the other half of the ones I want are in HD-DVD. So i figured she'd laugh and go whatever, well to my surprise she started asking me about the players and what not.

I saw at Best Buy they have the Sammy BD-P1400 on sale for $299 w/ 2 free movies at the store and the 5 free mail in offer. She let me go on and on about it and when I came home from work today lo and behold a new player sitting on the floor waiting for me. She picked up 300 and Superman Returns for me.

Now my Sammy 42" S4253 is only 720p, when we got the tv a year ago, I couldn't swing for the full 1080p. I'm hoping within the next year, hopefully this time next year, be in the market for a full HD set. I'm watching Superman Returns now on BD and it looks spectacular, like i said I know its only 720p but hey, i'm positioning myself for full HD glory. Now my receiver on the other hand is a different story which I will go into in the appropriate forum ( I can hear the difference in the HD/BD in comparison w/ my SD-DVDs)

At this point I don't care who wins this war now that I have invested in both sides, I just want it to end.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Monrozombi

At this point I don't care who wins this war now that I have invested in both sides, I just want it to end.

Don't you find it kind of odd that you've invested in both players and will now be investing in movies from both sides, yet you want the war to end? If you *really* wanted it to end, I'd think you wouldn't invest at all or only invest in one side. Otherwise you send mixed messages to the camps who keep selling discs and players on both sides, and the camps know they can continue to sell to you no matter how much you protest.

That being said, the war is not ending anytime soon. Very simply, Blu-Ray has Java instead of Microsoft's HDi in the specs and AVC instead of VC1 in the authoring tools, so Microsoft will do anything they can to ensure Blu-Ray is not the sole next-gen format. And, while Toshiba does benefit from PS3 sales since they own the plants that make the console's CPU, they benefit far more from the licensing of DVD and of course HD DVD; so Toshiba will likewise try to ensure DVD sticks around by preventing a Blu-Ray win and allowing DVD to live on through the HD DVD combo. Sony has bet the farm on Blu-Ray by putting it into PS3 so they will not go quietly either.

Blu-Ray keeps the Japanese CE manufacturers with higher priced players and endless spec revisions (requiring endless upgrades, of course; the $299 BD player you just bought is incompatible with the BD-Live extras that will be featured on Sony and LionsGate's upcoming BD titles coming out over the next few months) while keeping content providers happy with region coding, BD+, and ROM-Mark. HD DVD keeps the consumers happy with lower priced players, complete spec from the start (your $99 HD-A2 plays everything now and in the future), no region coding, and less DRM. Blu-Ray sells due to content exclusivity and marketing dollars, HD DVD sells due to lower prices and less playback restrictions.

I believe we have moved out of early adopter and into enthusiast stage, and I am seeing most either buying the cheapest thing possible or both formats. With dual formats proliferating today ever stronger than before, I see dual format players becoming the norm in the future. Therefore the battle of who "wins the war" will likely end up decided by the content providers, but not as they originally thought. As instead of the studios deciding for the consumer, the studios will now have to decide for themselves which format will make them the most profit (and here is the key part) with the new mindset that nearly everyone will have access to both formats due to dual format players.

[chlngr1970]

Welcome to the club. It's a great place to be, and a lot of fun will be had. Enjoy your players, whatever format you use. Cause in the end, that is what it is all about.

j

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Don't you find it kind of odd that you've invested in both players and will now be investing in movies from both sides, yet you want the war to end? If you *really* wanted it to end, I'd think you wouldn't invest at all or only invest in one side. Otherwise you send mixed messages to the camps who keep selling discs and players on both sides, and the camps know they can continue to sell to you no matter how much you protest.

That being said, the war is not ending anytime soon. Very simply, Blu-Ray has Java instead of Microsoft's HDi in the specs and AVC instead of VC1 in the authoring tools, so Microsoft will do anything they can to ensure Blu-Ray is not the sole next-gen format. And, while Toshiba does benefit from PS3 sales since they own the plants that make the console's CPU, they benefit far more from the licensing of DVD and of course HD DVD; so Toshiba will likewise try to ensure DVD sticks around by preventing a Blu-Ray win and allowing DVD to live on through the HD DVD combo. Sony has bet the farm on Blu-Ray by putting it into PS3 so they will not go quietly either.

Blu-Ray keeps the Japanese CE manufacturers with higher priced players and endless spec revisions (requiring endless upgrades, of course; the $299 BD player you just bought is incompatible with the BD-Live extras that will be featured on Sony and LionsGate's upcoming BD titles coming out over the next few months) while keeping content providers happy with region coding, BD+, and ROM-Mark. HD DVD keeps the consumers happy with lower priced players, complete spec from the start (your $99 HD-A2 plays everything now and in the future), no region coding, and less DRM. Blu-Ray sells due to content exclusivity and marketing dollars, HD DVD sells due to lower prices and less playback restrictions.

I believe we have moved out of early adopter and into enthusiast stage, and I am seeing most either buying the cheapest thing possible or both formats. With dual formats proliferating today ever stronger than before, I see dual format players becoming the norm in the future. Therefore the battle of who "wins the war" will likely end up decided by the content providers, but not as they originally thought. As instead of the studios deciding for the consumer, the studios will now have to decide for themselves which format will make them the most profit (and here is the key part) with the new mindset that nearly everyone will have access to both formats due to dual format players.

Yes I want the war to end, why? Because its stupid to have a format war going on. I consider myself an average/above average consumer due to my lingerings here at the 'File. Joe Blow customer that I walk by every time in Best Buy isn't going to jump into this war because there isn't enough information getting out to the general public. All they see are high priced dvds (18 for Big Lebowski in HD compared to 7.50 for SD DVD, which one would they pick?) and high priced players. Now if people did research they would educate themselves on these new technologies, will they? probably not.

I would really like to see these studios sick back down and hammer out a solution to this. They can't be making money on pumping out discs in BD/HD and not getting the return on Sd. yes the format is still young and they will lose money but are they really thinking down the road? Will the studios want to engage in another war in 10 years when the next generation of dvd is released? It has to be taxing on the studios and manufacturers to constantly pump up their selected formats instead of selling the disc itself.

I bought both players so that I could enjoy all my favorite movies in HD/BD because thats what I wanted as a consumer. You're right, if people staunchly opposed one side over another this would be over. But until someone either raises the white flag and surrenders or something within the format itself takes a big shit, this war will continue. So why not enjoy both sides of it.

Like I said above, even though my tv is only 720p, I cannot see any noticable difference in Superman Returns on BD & Transformers on HD, maybe if i looked really hard or know what to look for then maybe. But like I said, people who frequent these forums are not going to make such a difference that someone will go "ok, we give up, we'll adopt this format". Joe Blow consumer wont' make a difference either, not until someone starts selling the players for a reasonable price.

Having BD & HD discs at a reasonable price is one thing but it doesn't mean squat if you don't have a player to play them on. Thats why I liked Toshiba putting the A2 on sale for 100 bucks, it got their players into more peoples homes, in return they'll be more inclined to by HD discs right now over BD. Thats why I've waited this long, I waited for a decent player to get into a reasonable price range so that I can get all my fave movies on BD, I shouldnt have to suffer as a film watcher because these studios decided to have this war, in the end the consumer suffers.

Sorry for my ramblings but I have yet to let my opinions on this "war" be heard here at the forum so I'm glad I got it in the open.

I'm dual format because I choose to be and because I don't feel I should need to suffer not seeing my favorite movies in hi-def because the studios couldn't agree on which color laser to put into their players.

[Ruined]

I can understand your rationale and just to clarify I wasn't criticizing you, many have taken the same route. I'm just pointing out that your actions help defeat your want for the war to end.

There is no clean cut way to end this war aside from dual format players and/or dual format discs IMO.

[Iguana Man]

Monro’s wife is about to "pop". Monro wants movies in HD because wife cant put out. God bless them both but...Wife gets BR because she's delirious from about to pop syndrome, GAH!!!

HD DVD goes down the tank, case closed. BR wins.

[Monrozombi]

I know you weren't criticizing and I know that going dual format sounds like defeating the purpose of wanting to war end. But I don't know of anyone here that wants this going on for longer then it has to

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Monro’s wife is about to "pop". Monro wants movies in HD because wife cant put out. God bless them both but...Wife gets BR because she's delirious from about to pop syndrome, GAH!!!

HD DVD goes down the tank, case closed. BR wins.

so what you're saying is

I'm pro HD-DVD
Mrs. Monro is pro Blu Ray disc?

and I am single handidly going to bring down HD?????? all because my spawn will be born with the mark that will lead mankind into the next generation of greatness?

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Monrozombi

so what you're saying is

I'm pro HD-DVD
Mrs. Monro is pro Blu Ray disc?

and I am single handidly going to bring down HD?????? all because my spawn will be born with the mark that will lead mankind into the next generation of greatness?

Tom wrote that, I simply posted it. I would have written something far more nice.

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Tom wrote that, I simply posted it. I would have written something far more nice.

wait, now you're blaming Tom????? Come on you know Tom loves Mrs. Monro more then you do and would never say such a thing

[ganthc]

Congrats on the entry into HD, Monro! I think you'll enjoy the experience, especially if you have an hdmi receiver that can take advantage of the new audio codecs available on blu-ray and hd-dvd. You really notice the difference in upgrade from old dvd to high def in the audio department if you have the right equipment. As far as picture quality, I have to say that s-dvd looks blurry and not as crisp. I remember I used to think that LOTR was reference quality, but now it looks less than perfect when compared to an HD title. I've fully embraced movies on HD now.

[Monrozombi]

trust me I'm enjoying my enlistment into this fun war we're having. I don't have an HDMI capable receiver yet and I can a loss of sound w/ the new formats, I have to turn my receiver up. But i've been eyeballing new receivers, the Okyno 605 comes highly recommended, it'll be sometime now to get a new one w/ Monro Jr. on the way

[jriseden]

Have you picked up Dawn of the Dead BD yet???

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by jriseden

Have you picked up Dawn of the Dead BD yet???

hahaha, surprisingly no, You'd think itd have been my first disc. Mrs. Monro wouldn't let me get Lost S3 on blu ray because of holidays and baby stuff but I might be able to swing DOTD 78 by her considering she knows what it means to me to own every version of the film out there.

Its on the list

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by Monrozombi

hahaha, surprisingly no, You'd think itd have been my first disc. Mrs. Monro wouldn't let me get Lost S3 on blu ray because of holidays and baby stuff but I might be able to swing DOTD 78 by her considering she knows what it means to me to own every version of the film out there.

Its on the list

Do you have Dawn of the Dead remake on hd-dvd?

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by ganthc

Do you have Dawn of the Dead remake on hd-dvd?

no, SD for that is good enough for me, don't need to pad Universals pockets w/ more remake purchase money then I already have with this one, maybe if there was a BOGO and that was in there i'd take it for free

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by jriseden

Have you picked up Dawn of the Dead BD yet???

I would actually recommend against the BD Dawn of the Dead - it uses the same overprocessed Divimax DVD master as its source. Looks like someone wrapped cellophane over the screen or something. Lots of artifacting resulting from super-heavy DNR. I'd wait for a rerelease on this one:
http://www.lyris-lite.net/2007/10/st...uray_disa.html

The HD DVD of the 2004 remake looks good, though.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by Ruined

The HD DVD of the 2004 remake looks good, though.

Well of course, its HD DVD

Welcome to the HD fold Monrozombi

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Derb

Well of course, its HD DVD

Does plissken need to post those horribly overprocessed Evil Dead caps again? Regardless of the format, the first Anchor Bay hidef titles were a mess.

Starz Home Entertainment Backs Blu-ray

Sarcasm heaped on due your preference of BD does not make look these Starz/AB BDs look any better.

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by Ruined

I would actually recommend against the BD Dawn of the Dead - it uses the same overprocessed Divimax DVD master as its source. Looks like someone wrapped cellophane over the screen or something. Lots of artifacting resulting from super-heavy DNR. I'd wait for a rerelease on this one:
http://www.lyris-lite.net/2007/10/st...uray_disa.html

The HD DVD of the 2004 remake looks good, though.

Dawn of the Dead is one film i could care less about the transfer for or the format. Even if I didn't own a BD player i'd still buy the film. I know it won't be a perfect transfer basically because it wasn't a film that was made w/ longevity in home video format was concerned.

Never the less i'll buy it and enjoy it quite a lot. Their transfer for the dvd releases in 2004 is the best the film has ever looked. I own every VHS, Laserdisc & DVD of the film ever released in the Western Hemisphere, so I'm assuming, knowing Anchor Bay, they will polish this up again someday, probably next year for the films 30th anniversary and give a better transfer, and yes I'll buy that one too

[Derb]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Does plissken need to post those horribly overprocessed Evil Dead caps again? Regardless of the format, the first Anchor Bay hidef titles were a mess.

Starz Home Entertainment Backs Blu-ray

Sarcasm heaped on due your preference of BD does not make look these Starz/AB BDs look any better.

Aside from some helpful DNR, I thought Starz entry into HD video wasn't that bad, well not as bad as some would have you believe. I've seen worse lookin catalog titles which were released in the 90's. All of Starz releases also include lossless audio. Until you are format neutral, you will always see the glass half empty.

[jriseden]

Monro,

Considering the Dawn bd can be had very easily for 20 dollars or under I think it is definately worth owning. Much like you I am quite fanatical about the Romero Dead series. They might not be the best looking hd discs out there, but I LOVE my Dawn and Day bds to death, and they definately beat the dvds hand down, so when there's no more room in hell, pick up these discs!

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by jriseden

Monro,

Considering the Dawn bd can be had very easily for 20 dollars or under I think it is definately worth owning. Much like you I am quite fanatical about the Romero Dead series. They might not be the best looking hd discs out there, but I LOVE my Dawn and Day bds to death, and they definately beat the dvds hand down, so when there's no more room in hell, pick up these discs!

believe it or not I was in BB last night buying Lost S3 and i picked up DOTD and Mrs. Monro saw that and made me put it back so i'll just have to wait until my birthday in hopes of having it then, if not, no biggie i have 30 some copies of it watch on SD DVD until then

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Monrozombi

so i'll just have to wait until my birthday in hopes of having it then

Wow! You have to wait 8 more days after Christmas! GAHH!! Can you handle it??

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man