bretski

I've always thought of Mr. Grinch as a socialist...

The Bus

I've been playing around with a few ideas. I usually let them sit for a day or so then I come back and hate them immediately. I'm somewhat satisfied with this one so I'm just going to put it up now and let you guys get some feedback. I have to say that bboisvert let me down a path I never returned from.


Alternate Version

Thoughts?

Josh Z

I somehow get a surfing vibe from that one. Is that just me?

I've gotten a couple of other submissions as well. I think I'll put them all up for a vote in this thread.

I should probably spell out that whatever is chosen will need two versions: one to fit at the top of each column and a smaller one that will fit to the left of the blurb on the site's front page and newsletter.

BravesMG

I like the alternate version, I think the red goes well against the yellow background.

Spiky

Fine, so why yell at me? Christ. I didn't say anything biased or anything. Yet you feel it necessary to jump all over it. Fuck me, then!

Josh Z

Who's yelling?

The Bus

Well?

Adam Tyner

For what it's worth, I like it a lot. I don't have an overwhelmingly strong preference for one version over the other.

Josh Z

While I don't dislike your logo, Bus, I guess I had in mind something a little sleeker and "high-tech" for lack of a better description. That said, it's a good logo and could work.

Josh Z

Here's one submission I got by email.



Alternate font color.

Looking for input.

Adam Tyner

It looks kind of plain to my eyes.

bboisvert

Mine too. Although the font (especially in the alternate color) is closer to what I'd like.

What I like about The Bus's banner is the fact that it seems very dynamic -- to be coming 'out of the screen' in a bold way. Plus it uses the blue/yellow color scheme of the site quite well.

If it had a different font for the text, maybe something closer to the 2nd option, I think it would work pretty well.

bunkaroo

Quoted from article (my bolds):

This is one of the most condescending things I've read in a while. Not going to win me over with that. It is not a zero sum game. HD can win without SD "losing".



I must not care about home theater because I enjoy my SD discs.

EDIT: Just finished the article. Wow. It had a VERY negative impact on me.

BD and HD-DVD will likely not be the last attempts at HD discs if they both fail. If Best Buy is scaling back and tells the studios and manufacturers it's because of consumer confusion and the format war, how does that send a message that we don't want HD?

Yes, I want HD. That's why I have HD cable, like scores of people do. This is what shows we want HD, not the support of formats that may be defunct sooner than later.

Yes, Sony's attitude and Blu-Ray's pricing are big negatives. But Toshiba's just as guilty in splintering HD. This article is pretty much a love letter to HD-DVD. I'm not sure why it wasn't titled: "Go Buy HD-DVD Now Or You Don't Love Movies".

Supermallet

I don't think that was Josh's point at all. DVD is a fantastic format, that's why we're all here. But if you had the choice to have all the movies you own in SD, but in HD, with all the extras ported over and better sound, wouldn't you want that? For many years now, HDTV has been the end goal of HT enthusiasts. And since I doubt we'll see mass marketed TVs with resolutions much higher than 1080p for a long time, something like HD or BD would be the end goal of this result. Read this forum. A lot of people here have very high standards for these discs. I, for example, will not be buying the HD version of King Kong because it doesn't include all the extras from the regular DVD. If I didn't care about SD, those extras wouldn't matter.

How much are you paying for that HD cable? Where I live, it's $5 a month for HD. How do you get a company's attention? With money. If a lot of money goes into HD cable, and very little money goes into HD discs, studios will think people want HD cable, not HD discs. Simple as that. Supporting HD as an abstract idea isn't tangible enough for a movie studio. You're either supporting their product or you're not. So go ahead and cry foul, but don't think that getting HD cable is showing support for HD content. It's support for HD cable, which doesn't look nearly as good as the best HD/BD has to offer.

There's no getting around it, Toshiba didn't go with BD because of the money. That should be obvious. But, at the same time, Toshiba had concerns about the BD technology that to date have proven very accurate. I would have been more mad at Toshiba if they had blindly supported BD even if they had reservations. And honestly, the format war is what has pushed the studios and Toshiba to make HD DVD as good as it is. Competition is good. The point of Josh's article is simply that right now, HD is in a more solid state than BD, and people who are really into HT would really dig it. I think you're projecting your insecurities about having to replace your SD collection onto Josh's article.

bunkaroo

Well this isn't the first time I've seen this viewpoint here. Yes, I want HD, and I know it will look better. But, I just can't comprehend the mindset that DVD is all of a sudden inferior and inadequate. My Revenge Of The Sith DVD looks as good today as it did last November. That hasn't changed. Yes, perceptions change, but the fact is DVD still looks great, especially with upconversion on a well calibrated setup. This is why I am in no hurry.


I'm probably paying a little more than that, but less important than the money is the fact that my account shows the cable company I want HD. I'm sure they can sell that info about their userbase to interested parties. And yes I am well aware the disc based HD will be much better than the cable variety.

Frankly, I really don't give a shit if the studios know why they don't have my money. I know why. I have nothing but contempt for those who helped create this format war-studios, hardware manufacturers, etc.




Thanks for the free psychoanalyzation, but you need a little more practice.

Out of my 1000 or so films on DVD, I think I might replace a few hundred if every single title was available in HD. And the money is not an issue for me. I am constantly upgrading to newer versions of DVD's for better A/V quality. Why should that make anyone insecure? Sounds like it would make you insecure.

Of course it seems that HD-DVD is doing better right now-that's not lost on me.

But I am an educated HT consumer, and the patronizing tone of the article just made me more resolute in waiting this out.

wewantflair

Yours is a slightly nastier riff on a very tired old theme: "DVD is good enough for me." That's fine if it is, but at least call a spade a spade. You write that "[you] might replace a few hundred if every single title was available in HD," but that you "[are] constantly upgrading to newer versions of DVD's for better A/V quality."

Which is it? Why upgrade to DVD when you can upgrade to HD?

Regardless, you are reading condescension in Josh's article where there is none, clearly due to your bitterness towards CE companies that have created the HD debacle.

You ask why Revenge of the Sith on DVD is no longer adequate, and the answer should be obvious: once you've seen HD, why would you want to go back? Many people saw the excellent HBO HD presentation of this film, and watching it on DVD simply cannot compare. Why would you settle for less than what you've already seen?

bboisvert

I just don't see this 'patronizing tone' at all in the article.

lizard

Whatever floats your boat, I guess. I disagree with your criticisms of Josh Z's column in every single respect. It is hardly surprising that he was advocating HD discs, they are terrific, format war notwithstanding.

Like many others here, I am enjoying High Def discs now. And I watch my many SD DVDs also, so what's the big deal? I have been eagerly awaiting HD discs for several years now and am very glad they are here, and at a surprisingly affordable price: $400 for a player? $18 per disc? What's not to like?

digitalfreaknyc

You can't have it both ways. After getting used to HD, DVD doesn't "Look great" any more.

Mr. Cinema

And the majority of dvd releases now are coming from high-definition transfers. So some of us here are buying the version that is true to the source rather than a crippled version that can't take advantage of the source material.

digitalfreaknyc

Well, let's be real, I wouldn't call SD-DVD "unwatchable" or "crippled." I'd leave that for some VHS. SD DVD can still be very good but I wouldn't go so far as excellent now. And as someone who owns BD, saying that you want what's "true to the source" is a bit amusing. SD DVD still has extras over that and if HD DVD weren't around, I surely wouldn't be buying into BD. In that respect, I can understand the position of those who aren't ready to jump.

Mr. Cinema

I'm speaking mainly about the resolution. Upconverted dvds do look good, but are no comparison to hd. My remark was referring to taking a full resolution source of 1080p and converting it to 480i, which to me is crippling. Now before I knew of hd, I, like many probably did, thought dvd was the best picture we would or could get. Now it's just not the case anymore.

Now regarding extras, if we start seeing BD50s that don't include all extras from the previous dvd, I'll be the first to bitch about it. I'm one of those rare BD owners who aren't afraid to criticize the laziness of certain studios.

digitalfreaknyc

haven't we already?

bunkaroo

Which is it? Why upgrade to DVD when you can upgrade to HD?[/quote]

Last time I looked DVD wasn't in danger of failing as a format. Both HD formats may not survive. DVD is an established media.

To each his own. I stand by my assessment.

I saw the HBO HD version. Maybe I have shitty cable, but my disc upconverted looked just as good. And yes, my display is calibrated-well calibrated. I did A-B comparisons at the time.

bunkaroo

I will say that my assessment of the article is also because the sentiments in the article mirror many of the statments I've seen in various HD threads here, and there have most certainly been condescending comments made in these threads.

I will bow out of the thread at this point, as I have come to realize my thoughts will eventually be seen as threadcrapping. Most of these threads are HD love fests, which is fine, but there is a healthy amount of fanaticism in them.

Sorry for the disruption.