Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

[The Chef]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

I just got the HD A1 player from Sears for $158 plus tax. Not sure what I think about it yet and if I'll be keeping it. Great PQ but it's really slow and the response of the remote is pretty spotty. Also have the bummer of not being able to get the 5 free HD DVDs b/c the box wasn't included so I don't have a UPC for the rebate.

Not noticing any difference b/w the A1 via HDMI vs. the 360 add on via component. Playing on a Vizio 32 inch.

Yeah the A1 was known to be rather slow, if memory serves HDMI is really only necessary for 1080P televisions, otherwise component will do for any other tv out there and I dont see much of a difference either. I have my A2 hooked through HDMI and my PS3 through component and cant tell the difference in picture quality.

[The Chef]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

Just wanted to get you guys thoughts on this:

I was considering buying a blu ray player (PS3) primarily because of the Fox and Disney exclusives. Before I did that I wanted to see how the Pixar DVD's will look if I played them on my 360 HD DVD player and I swear the Incredibles looked HD quality. I tried Spiderman 2 and noticed the same thing. Is there really that much difference between true HD and upcomverted HS in your opinion?

Very much so,, check out the SD vs HD versions of Crank, Kingdom of Heaven, Pirates of the Caribbean, Open Season, The Prestige etc. You will definently see a difference in picture quality between an upconvert and actual HD.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

I just got the HD A1 player from Sears for $158 plus tax. Not sure what I think about it yet and if I'll be keeping it. Great PQ but it's really slow and the response of the remote is pretty spotty. Also have the bummer of not being able to get the 5 free HD DVDs b/c the box wasn't included so I don't have a UPC for the rebate.

Not noticing any difference b/w the A1 via HDMI vs. the 360 add on via component. Playing on a Vizio 32 inch.

While the A1 is a great player, its first generation player. Loading takes the longest on the A1, but I have read that with the firmware updates it has improved. I have an A2 and the load times are long, but nowhere near the A1. With each passing generation of the hardware the load times will improve. I have the A2 hooked up via HDMI, but my tv upconverts HDMI and Component signals to 1080p so the picture looks good. Even upconverting SD-DVD's look great in the A2 player.

I had a second generation DVD player when it first released and the load times sucked. Its a part of the deal with new technologies. Plus, the HD-DVD players A series have a processor chip in them that loads up as if a PC was loading up so it take a bit of time.

That is a good deal for an A1 at $150, I think that you can still get the A2 for $300 if you have the extra dollars to spend.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

Just wanted to get you guys thoughts on this:

I was considering buying a blu ray player (PS3) primarily because of the Fox and Disney exclusives. Before I did that I wanted to see how the Pixar DVD's will look if I played them on my 360 HD DVD player and I swear the Incredibles looked HD quality. I tried Spiderman 2 and noticed the same thing. Is there really that much difference between true HD and upcomverted HS in your opinion?

There is a big difference between SD-DVD and HD-DVD/BD.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

While the A1 is a great player, its first generation player. Loading takes the longest on the A1, but I have read that with the firmware updates it has improved. I have an A2 and the load times are long, but nowhere near the A1. With each passing generation of the hardware the load times will improve. I have the A2 hooked up via HDMI, but my tv upconverts HDMI and Component signals to 1080p so the picture looks good. Even upconverting SD-DVD's look great in the A2 player.

I had a second generation DVD player when it first released and the load times sucked. Its a part of the deal with new technologies. Plus, the HD-DVD players A series have a processor chip in them that loads up as if a PC was loading up so it take a bit of time.

That is a good deal for an A1 at $150, I think that you can still get the A2 for $300 if you have the extra dollars to spend.

Thanks for the info. I remember reading the reviews that it's slow to get started but I had no idea it was THAT slow. I've decided that I'm returning it though. The nails in the coffin being how picky it is. It froze up multiple times on almost brand new HD DVDs. It makes having Blockbuster online almost worthless if it can't consistently play used HD DVDs.

[neovsmatrix]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

Thanks for the info. I remember reading the reviews that it's slow to get started but I had no idea it was THAT slow. I've decided that I'm returning it though. The nails in the coffin being how picky it is. It froze up multiple times on almost brand new HD DVDs. It makes having Blockbuster online almost worthless if it can't consistently play used HD DVDs.

I never had a problem with my HD-A1, fortunately.

[RockyTop1]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

Bad news for HD DVD

Blockbuster to rent Blu-Ray only

[WTF]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

OUCH... that's a blow and a half.

[thmst30]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

Well this "war" is slowly but surely coming to a conclusion. Blu Ray would have to completely collapse to lose, and I don't see that happening.

[RockyTop1]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

After reading the article, it's not really that big of a deal. It's only like 1,400 stores. That wont really be that big of a dent. Apparently 250 stores right now are renting both BD and HD's and they're going to keep renting both, which I don't really get.

[Stormyhog]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

After reading the article, it's not really that big of a deal. It's only like 1,400 stores. That wont really be that big of a dent. Apparently 250 stores right now are renting both BD and HD's and they're going to keep renting both, which I don't really get.

They will be expanding to more stores in the future and I wouldn't be surprised if other high profile stores follow suit. The only reason HD-DVD has cut prices on their players is that they want to sell what they have and what they have coming in the future as soon as possible to get as much money before the format dies off, the writing is surely on the wall and for consumers that is important and makes the transition from dvd to Blu-Ray that much easier when they decide to do so.

[SportsTop]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

They will be expanding to more stores in the future and I wouldn't be surprised if other high profile stores follow suit. The only reason HD-DVD has cut prices on their players is that they want to sell what they have and what they have coming in the future as soon as possible to get as much money before the format dies off, the writing is surely on the wall and for consumers that is important and makes the transition from dvd to Blu-Ray that much easier when they decide to do so.

You're drawing this conclusion from Blockbuster's decision? I rarely go into an actual Blockbuster store anymore with their new on-line rental option (which will still offer the HD-DVD format). In fact, I thought that was the general direction the movie renting public was moving anyway.

I still think it's a bit premature to say the writing is on the wall.

[SLAYER]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

You're drawing this conclusion from Blockbuster's decision? I rarely go into an actual Blockbuster store anymore with their new on-line rental option (which will still offer the HD-DVD format). In fact, I thought that was the general direction the movie renting public was moving anyway.

I still think it's a bit premature to say the writing is on the wall.

Exactly. Netflix has B&M Blockbuster on its heels. This is important news, but not a very big deal.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

People still rent from brick and mortar stores?

This is definitely news, but not a death blow by any means. Doesn't Blockbuster have connections with Fox anyway?

[SportsTop]

Re: Official Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Thread

Exactly. Netflix has B&M Blockbuster on its heels. This is important news, but not a very big deal.

It's funny to see just how much Blockbuster is offering people to come over to their on-line movie renting option. I half expected them to pay a month of my mortgage on top of everything else. You can tell that they are in panic mode.

People still rent from brick and mortar stores?

This is definitely news, but not a death blow by any means. Doesn't Blockbuster have connections with Fox anyway?

It's definitely a ghost town in Blockbuster stores as compared to a couple of years ago. I only go in there to use my free game rental coupon they send me once a month. From what I've seen their current customer base either A) Can't afford a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player or B) Have no friggin' clue of what either one is.

In fact, the more I think about it, this might be more of a cost cutting move by Blockbuster because they may have assessed that their current customer base is more likely to own a PS3 over an XBox 360 with the HD-DVD add-on (although more people probably own a 360). And again, their customer base is dwindling and this may just target the younger video game renting generation in stores.