These new NUON enabled DVD players - they all look cool and pretty, but I just need to confirm - this works with any normal DVD????

You don't need a NUON enhanced DVD do you?

And what does NUON stand for anyway?

Before this gets moved to hardware, I'll give a quick answer. Nuon players read regular DVDs, as well as nuon format games. From what I've seen, it's a format that never got off the ground (with PSX and PS2, etc around) and isn't a feature specifically worth buying for.

Bedazzled is going to be the first theatrical NUON disc. What this specifically means remains to be seen this early. I'm CONSIDERING upgrading.

I hear Nuon enchanced DVDs are going to be pretty much the same as DVD-ROM special features. If this is going to be the case, then it's defenitely not worth it. I haven't found a DVD-ROM extra I've liked yet.

And the reviews I've seen of the games it plays were all pretty bad... just get a PS2 in addition to your DVD player. I'm not sure I'd recommend a PS2 AS a DVD player though. Wait for X-Box if that's what you want.

~Scheherazade

Saying NUON is a format that never got off the ground is ridiculous! It's way too new to say that about. Comparing it to game machines (psx---give me a break!) is also misleading since it isn't intended as one, it is a chipset that gives extra features to DVD players. Compare a NUON-enhanced DVD player to a standard DVD player and it looks pretty damn good. Check out the Toshiba SD2300, a damn fine DVD player and cost-competitive with non-NUON players.

As far as games, there haven't been many released, but there has been one killer app in Tempest 3000! Check out the reviews:

http://hivebalur.net/txk/t3k.htm
http://jaguar.holyoak.com/nuon/t3krev.html
http://www.classicgaming.com/features/t3k/

I don't own a NUON box, but am seriously considering one as my next DVD player (my Sony S7000 still works great except that it does not pass DTS). Like I said above, if it adds cool features and game compatibility for the same cost as a regular DVD player, what's not to like?!

I think most of the negativity directed at the NUON comes from the hype-fueled gaming press, which compares it to the PS2 as a game machine. Compare them as DVD players and see how they stack up!

Their media-hype labelling Nuon as "Mario Killer" certainly sounded to me like it intended to be the next wave in console gaming.

And it's not comparing it to consoles, it's just asking why you'd buy a whole new DVD player for $400+ that plays games the likes of those seen on an SNES when you could have a PS2 for less?

~Scheherazade

[This message has been edited by Scheherazade (edited January 23, 2001).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Scheherazade
I haven't found a DVD-ROM extra I've liked yet.</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Check out the Timecode disk. That is the best DVD-ROM feature that I have found.

-CM-

Scheherazade, your post is silly. Should I even bother to refute it?

$400+ -- where did you pull that out of?

The Tosh SD2300 is $299 or less, normally priced for a quality DVD player.

You can buy a PS2 if you want a game machine, but it is a poor substitute for a real DVD player.

The SNES remark is absurd. Take a look at Tempest 3000 before you say crap like that.

[This message has been edited by porieux (edited January 24, 2001).]

Yep, take a look at Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar and it looks a lot similar, except the graphics on 3000 are a lot blurrier and they added a few extra bells and whistles.

Look at Tetris and Ballistic next, and Merlin Racing... all graphics that the SNES could easily handle, if not that then a PS1 which isn't exactly cutting edge anymore either.

Yes, I said $400... the Samsung Extiva DVD-N2000 which is the top of the line of the few (read two) Nuons available is $399.99. Even $299.99 is pretty pricey for a DVD player and that should be top of the line, but it's not the case with Nuon.

And yes, I said the PS2 made quite a poor DVD player, but why buy a Nuon when you already have a perfectly good DVD player just for these crummy games? That's my point. If you want those silly extra features (strobing soundless frames? multi-angle thumbnail shots?) then... umm, go for it.

Sure we need more time to tell for sure, but the Nuons aren't exactly making a flashy entrance and there's really nothing they can do yet to make them worth buying in my opinion.

There's no need to get so steamed over it porieux, sheesh... did you buy stock in this thing or something?

~Scheherazade

Duff_Moss: Yes, it will work with any normal DVD. Many of the NUON features, such as smooth scanning and zoom, can be applied to any disc.

There are also some NUON-enhanced DVD movies that are coming out. These will have additional features on the disc that can only be utilized by a NUON DVD player. The movies will still be playable on an ordinary DVD player, but you won't get the NUON enhancements.

Scheherazade: Have you ever actually used an actual NUON-enhanced DVD player? You haven't given a shred of evidence that says so. Everything you said sounds like you read it out of this month's issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (hardly an authority).

As for the prices you keep throwing around, that's just as equally uninformed. Nobody that I know of is selling the Samsung DVD-N2000 for more than $350, and the majority of respectable retailers have it for under $300. Amazon.com is selling the Samsung DVD-N2000 for $279.99 right now.

You should at least do some honest research, and try some of the games and other NUON features first, before you attempt to preach so much disinformation.

The SNES could never achieve the same graphical quality as seen in Tempest 3000, Merlin Racing, FreeFall 3050AD, or Iron Soldier III. The PSX could never handle Tempest 3000 and it might be able to have ports of the other games but it certianly wouldn't look nearly as good since it lacks features like texture filtering, perspective correction, and anti-aliasing. Also all the NUON games are in DVD resolution which is something like 720x480 and the psx can only do 320x240. You also forgot about the VLM which makes the NUON technology worth it by itself. The Virtual Light Machine has over 100 graphical effects that react with cd audio in real-time, 10x better than any winamp plugin. If you really think that T3K is blurry then you owe it to yourself to buy a new TV.

Duff - yes, Nuon players will play any normal DVD - and any "Nuon Enhanced" DVD will work in any standard DVD player - which is why most pro DVD reviewers like the functionality of the chip so much, because it doesn't do nasty things like Divx and all that BS...as for as what Nuon stands for....I think it has the same meaning as "Pentium" (try looking that up in a dictionary ;-) )

If you read past all this video game talk, the player is a souped up player on crack with tons of great features because it has a decent processor inside it...and let me tell you, it kicks the patooties out of "DVD-ROM" content, and that's without even using Nuon enhanced discs!

I own the Samsung N2000 player myself, and I was never a fan of Samsung in the past...but this player is fantastic...far more "gee whiz" features than any other DVD player I have used, including $1000+ players....I paid $300 for it but I think you can get it for $250 now...

Yeah it can play games, but that's not the main point of this thing....it is a DVD player! Compare the features of the Samsung model to any other similarly priced player...then compare them to a player that is double the price, and judge for yourself, nothing said in this forum will do you or it justice

I love the player - and probably around 5 people have bought the same one after seeing mine in person...play with one yourself if you can find it on demo somewhere...

Just think of Nuon like Dolby is to tapes....except Dolby tapes in a non Dolby player don't sound right, and Nuon enhanced DVDs will play as normal http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif

You will like it :-)

A friend of mine has one and I thought it was pretty silly. If I want a DVD player I'll get a DVD player, not a PS2... if I want a gaming system, I'll get a gaming system, not a NUON.

~Scheherazade

Yes, but if you want a DVD player with a ton of cool features for the same price as most other players, you'll get a NUON DVD player. Or you will wish you had in the future...

-Kevin

One of the coolest features of the Toshiba NUON player is the 16-stage zoom with digital filtering. (Yes, I said 16 STAGES!)

For those of you who can't stand that 2.35:1 transfer on your 27" monitor, you can "dial-in" additional vertical resolution with just very slight edge cropping. You can literally make a 2.35:1 transfer "look" more like a 1.85:1 transfer with virtually no artifacting (or any aspect ratio in between.)

For many people, that feature alone is worth "going NUON".


[This message has been edited by Joseph B (edited January 25, 2001).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Yes, but if you want a DVD player with a ton of cool features for the same price as most other players, you'll get a NUON DVD player. Or you will wish you had in the future...</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Now this might be true. I was just hoping people weren't going to run out and buy one hoping to be able to not get a PS2 or something to satisfy their gaming fix.

~Scheherazade

I bought my Toshiba NUON player today, and I love the thing. I have a Dreamcast and as long as I have NFL2K1 and Crazi Taxi, I need no other video games. I will not be buying games or controllers for my DVD player but the features on this thing for watching DVDs is well worth the $$ (much cheaper than a PS2 by the way).

Moving to Hardware Forum

You're right. This feature is a real selling point for me.