Speedray,

The mid to hi fi AV space is populated by the older/higher income earners. Just walk down the isle and take a look at the significant majority of SACD/DVD-A titles, how many of these titles are by artists that the average 20 something would know of.

I am in the age bracket you speak of but I earn quite a bit more than the average 20 something. I can therefore justify my upcoming HDTV purchase. The gear you speak of unfortunately is not often purchased by the younger population (it is however the younger audience that tells daddy which TV to buy).

I have to strongly disagree with this comment. We are seeing shorter and shorter runs of movies in theatres. I dont think that its unreasonable to think that we may in the next 10-20 years see simultanous release in theatres and/or home release (on whatever media he are using at that time). As we see cinemas moving towards using digital media for projection, I can actually see better quality at home than in theatres. Its much more difficult to get a crystal clear , high contrast picture on at 200' screen than it is on a 8' screen.

Huh??? If HD broadcasting is sattelite, then how do you explain that I can receive HD signal "over-the-air" by using an "indoor" antenna. HD is currently being broadcasted over the air by broadcasting towers. Cable company also carries HD channels. I am receiving 9 HD channels with my Cox HD cable box.

Back to the topic, yes, I am worried. I already own a fairly big HDTV set (50"). DVD resolution is IMO inadequate on larger displays. Check out these comparison shots.

http://www.geocities.com/sircash13/Gladiator.html
http://www.geocities.com/sircash13/FOTR.html

My next TV upgrade would be to get a 1080p digital projector once the price is under $2000. I hope that HD-DVD will already be released by then. If HD-DVD is available today, I simply would not buy any DVD.

Nope, I don't own and HD-TV either. Standard DVD is fine for me right now.

It does not worry me as I dont think DVD will just fade away. And it won't for a long time! and if it does I don't plan to replace my dvd's with new formats.

I was thinking the extact same thing but you beat me to it.

A high percentage of people finally jumped onto the "DVD Bandwagon" when the players fell under $100 and there was tons of software. I don't see this happening anytime soon with the next format (once they get that figured out).

Let's just say that in 2020, more people will own regular DVDs in their home, than HD DVDs. If you don't think this is true, think back to the past. Before VHS or Betamax, the only format they sold movies to the public was in Super 8 film. Even that was so expensive that they usually sold only clips of, not entire movies. Starting in the 60s, Super 8 movies were found in more homes than any other home movie format, until VHS took over in the 80s. Then VHS had the lead for another 20 yrs. Now it's DVD's turn. So you really shouldn't worry until 2020 or so. By then, there will be plenty of other formats to watch movies in, no doubt. I personally can't wait until movies are transferred onto the new 3D hologram surround sound via personal wrist chip format. I expect this to hit the market sometime around 2050 or so.

CP

I have seen HDTV at a few friends homes and it is beautiful! However, how clear does the picture actually need to be, especially when it's a cartoon, an old movie, an old TV series, or for that matter, even a new film. Everything I have is clear enough and sounds good enough.

Eventually we will all own HDTV as it will be the norm, but even then, I see no need (IMHO) for HDTV DVD as it is just fine the way it is. As long as my current collection will play on the next gen players / recorders then all will be right in my world.

It is only going to be a tragedy when and if, holo-discs start to make DVDs as antiquated as VHS or Beta-max!

With the coming format war, many people (myself included) will take a "wait and see" approach to a new format.

I don't really see replacing my old DVDs for only a slightly higher resolution.

If HD-DVD were five or ten times the resolution it may be a compelling upgrade, but HD is barely TWICE as good as DVD. And of course the source material will marr even the highest res transfer.

So in the event that an HD format wins, it's higher resolution than the current HD standard, and as affordable as DVD, yeah, maybe I'll let my grandchildren buy me one for Christmas in 2027.

Not really, I'm always expecting something better anyway.

The pixel count in an anamorphic DVD is 720 * 480 = 345600 pixels. The format of HD-DVD is not finalized yet. If it is 1080p, the pixel count is 1920 * 1080 = 2073600 pixels. Therefore, the pixel count of 1080p is six times more than that of an anamorphic DVD. If the format is 1080i, the pixel count is half that number.

Ah, yes, three times, not twice. I used to be able to divide 1920 by 720.

And the format of HD-DVD has been finalised. It'll be Toshiba's AOD. It was ratified by the DVD Forum.

I thought that the DVD forum only approved the used of violet laser and dissed blue-ray. The picture resolution is not yet discussed. However, the approved disc can contain only (I think) 20 GB per side. I don't know how much space 1080p take but vague recall a discussion on another site that the approved format can only contain about 2 hours of 1080p on one side.

hoyalawya, that's incorrect.

It's the Blu-Ray that can hold two hours of 1080p on a side (single layer). AOD is 1080i.

Is that all? Since I'm interested in much more space, rather than picture quality, I think I'll pass on this format. Call me when a disc can squeeze my entire DVD collection on 1 side...Or when it can hold about 10,000 gigs per side.

You may be correct on the quality, but to me the experience is better. No matter how good my equipment/space gets, for me going out to the movies is going out, watching DVDs at home is sitting around at home watching TV (good TV, but TV nonetheless).

it seems the only thing that HD-DVD will offer over DVD is better audio and video. i can live without that. i buy DVDs primarily for the movies and extras.

Doesn't worry me in the slightest....the DVD format offers everything that i can want from it...whether it reaches that for other people is a different matter but for me..it's more than adequate.

Yeah it looks like the industry may have shot itself in the foot by creating such great quality in the regular DVD format. The fact that the picture looks great, audio sounds awesome, and all fits onto a disc the same size as a CD means regular DVDs will rule the market for a very long time. I doubt mainstream America will ever make HD DVD the standard. It will most likely go the same route as laserdisc...Great for ultra geeks, but mom and pop America will be more than happy with their regular DVDs for the next 20+ yrs to come.

The speed in which DVD becomes obsolete will depend on several factors:

A) the price point of the new format has to be roughly equivalent to current DVD prices

B) basic players for the new format need to fall to the sub $100 range

C) when the transition to digital television is complete and analog television sets are no longer manufactured

D) general public deems picture quality of new format to be discernably better than DVD

I doubt that day will ever come, since mostly all HDTV sets today also play regular NTSC DVDs, I believe that unlike current NTSC only sets (which will stop being produced when we go to all HDTV), HDTVs will play both signals for many yrs to come...Probably through the next 40+ yrs. At least long enough to last through the rest of my life.

hey coco check this thread out http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=347275 i started it the other day ...its right up your alley

thorn

I'm not worried at all. Like was stated before, the difference between DVD and HD isn't as noticeable as the difference between DVD and VHS. My DVDs look fine as far as I'm concerned. The HD-DVD market will be a niche market much the same as laserdisc. It will probably catch on for a smaller market, but I don't see it replacing DVD for many years to come.

Re: Saturation of DVD releases. There are still many, many more films that have yet to appear on DVD (that did get released on VHS), so there is still plenty of "room" for DVD releases to grow.

Re:Quality of the DVD format. With the exception of newly released films (last 5-10 yrs), the limiting factor of the overall quality of DVDs has been the original film/TV show elements. Poor DVD encoding/authoring should not be blamed on "limits" of the DVD standard.

I guarantee that there will be Highlander-like releases on HD-DVD as well. Just by examining the bitrates of a DVD disc during playback (if your player has that capability), you will see that there is plenty of bitrate space "available" to devote to the encoded film.

Is it possible to eek out even higher quality HD-DVD discs of older films/shows? Sure... but will the difference be noticeable to the naked eye?

Re:Quality of the DVD Released Material. Aside from the technical merits of the DVD format itself, the material: commentaries, documentaries, scrapbooks, audio clips, etc. are more extensive for newer films than ever before. However, in some (many?) cases, bonus material that was originally released on LaserDisc has NOT made it to DVD. For various reasons such as copyrights and other legalities, this material for older films hasn't made it to DVD.

It would be dangerous to assume that all of the bonus material currently available on DVD will see its way to HD-DVD. I suspect that most of it will, especially big studio releases, but for niche and obscure films, there is some uncertainty.

As for older films, I think that more material will fall through the cracks and NOT be transferred. To bulk up HD-DVD releases of older films, expect to see commentaries by Sarah Karloff's grandkids, or the grand-nephew of the Key Grip on Saturday Night Fever.

Re: "Fear" of "the-next-biggest-thing". My reason for collecting DVDs is simple: To have a personal digital archive of the films and TV shows that have personal significance to me. With few exceptions (those discs too cheap to pass up) this has been the case. I certainly can't justify having the TV movie "Gargoyles" (with Cornel Wilde) on any kind of artistic merit.

I am closing in on "completing" my person digital archive... just a few more TV shows (currently not on disc), and a few more films (again, not on disc) and my DVD collection will be complete. Will I be adding more? Sure! There are about 2-3 films a year that I will probably add.

DVDs are durable enough to withstand repeated playback (unlike VHS) and has sufficient quality to continue to be a pleasant viewing experience... all this to say, no, I'm not worried.

Can you say SVHS?

HD-DVD is in no sense of the word a sure thing to be big.

I think it probably will. But SVHS is a good example of why it might not.