I have heard conflicting reports about when HD-DVD players are going to be available on the market. I am also concerned whether or not the movie studios are REALLY going to dump all their old DVD titles and re-release them as HD-DVD movies, to take advantage of the new technology.

And what about all those people who have snatched up DVD players? Do you think they're just going to run out and replace all their DVD movies with HD-DVD ones?

Lots of confusion and not many answers! :

I think I read somewhere that 2005 is earliest date we could see it.
I think studios will slowly re-release titles. Im sure a HD-DVD player will cost atleast 2 grand at its release..which means it will be atleast 2 or so years til its actually affordale to the average joe like me.
Not to mention youll only get the full effect with a HD TV and I can tell ya right now...I wont have a HD TV in 2005.
I say the regular DVD format will still see its regular releases til atleast 2008 or so...but thats just my guess.
Regular DVDs will be compatible with HD DVD which means I highly doubt I personally will replace my exsisting catalog..

Wow, I read in one magazine that new HD-DVD players would be out this Christmas.

Whatever the case, I do agree with you that it will take some time for them to replace the old DVD players. I think most people are in love with their current DVD movies...see no need to replace them.

HDTV players should be backwards compatable, meaning you won't have to replace all your DVD's, only the ones that you want.

If you read some of the recent articles regarding HD-VHS Im almost positive alot of them say HD DVD is still a long way off...I could be wrong though.

Right now Im too damn lazy to look for a link..if I find something I will post it here..

The technology necessary to support HD-DVD is just about ready. There are still some issues to be worked out, but nothing that can't be overcome. However, Hollywood is a completely different story. There are two things I can see standing in the way of HD-DVD right now.

First, Hollywood is still very paranoid about potential digital copying of HD material. That is one of the reasons that there is not much support fo D-VHS, and what support there is for that format is based on assurances that the digital bitstream of a recorded program can't be copied. I suppose if these assurances prove out, it could bode well for HD-DVD, since the same technology could be used there.

Second, Hollywood is now very enamored of DVD, considering it a goose-that-lays-golden-eggs of sorts, and they want to milk it for all its worth before the next big format comes along.

With all that said, I suspect that HD-DVD players (and, hopefully recorders as well) will be available some time within the next three or four years, but who can say for sure? One thing that is pretty much a given is that the new format will be backward compatible with existing DVD software. Any attempt by manufacturers to do otherwise would be a very bad move.

Judging by the almost total lack of enthusiasm of D-VHS, it'll probably be a massive failure. Which worries me, kind of. If it is a failure, I wonder if manufacturers will see that as a reason to delay HD-DVD. Or will they see that HD-DVD would be success since it's not a tape based system? The sooner the better for HD-DVD, as far as I'm concerned...as long as they don't alienate 95% of current HDTV owners with elaborate copy protection schemes. Right now there are so many hurdles to jump through just to watch HD programming of any kind, it's no wonder that a lot of standard resolution TVs are still being sold today.

I don't look forward to replacing my collection but with a dramatic increase in quality I know I'd end up replacing more than I had planned. I think people are overlooking the biggest problem once HD-DVD is released

Ahh. But Jim, you may have hit on something here. Maybe those titles are just waiting for the new HD DVD format in the first place. Maybe they have never been intended to be released on DVD at all. The BTTF conspiracy grows.

Which is????

Triple click on the black bar in Jim's post.

Actually, I think people like Spielberg and Lucas are waiting for the technology to reach new heights before they release their films. When HD-DVD gets here, I think we'll see those films finally released and remastered.

Can't wait!

would be nice!