Most people do not know what SACD or DVD-A are. However, most people (those that watch football and the Super Bowl anyway) have heard of HDTV and might have heard how better it is than regular TV. Suppose that Best Buy places DVD and HD-DVD new releases side-by-side during the release week (when HD-DVD is available) and HD-DVD is only $10-15 more than DVD, tell me that you won't think twice before taking the DVD to the cashier counter. However, I do not think that price will be that low since Hollywood has every incentive to keep titles' resolution as low as possible.

What I am looking forward to is the ability to record and archive HD movies (in OAR) from HBO HD and Showtime HD. When such archiving is economically feasible (through a hack or whatsoever), I will be able to retire many titles in my DVD collection.

I am a firm believer in the law of diminishing returns, particularly when it comes to technology. Each new format produces a smaller "payoff" from the previous benchmark, so the overall improvement curve gets smaller and smaller.

Let's not deny the fact that HD-DVD will present a considerable advantage in disc space to the existing DVD format. Granted, improvements in video and sound quality may or may not even be noticeable to the average mass market consumer. However, I think the extra space will afford lots of advantages in studios providing more extras, and if we're lucky we might some day see an entire Alien Quad box set on one disc instead of nine.

We should only expect that studios will harness the full advantages of extra disc space by making marginal improvements in video/sound quality and adding even more extras. It would be stupid for studios NOT to re-release all of their titles because it's still a great profit mechanism. Will this require us to completely repurchase our collections? Depends on what kind of collector you are.

But let's not deny the other fact as well - HD-DVD is still a long way off from becoming a market standard. Sure, HD-DVDs may make their debut in late 2005, but the Joneses don't determine its market acceptance. Market standards are defined by the "average" consumer, and while I won't even attempt to provide a definition, I know it certainly is NOT someone who can immediately delve into purchasing all of the necessary components (the HDTV tv, receiver/sound system, HD-DVD player, HDTV service, etc.) to fully realize the format's potential. HD-DVD's success and popularity, IMO anyway, depends on when the mainstream audience makes all of the necessary hardware changes first. Furthermore, it's quite possible that HD-DVD's initial high cost will not offset the sharp price drops in the existing DVD format, making the latter even more popular and in-demand than it is now.

And in short, my answer is, HD-DVD is certainly not "around the corner" in that regard. Wait until the format proves itself first before you think about committing yourself to the "next greatest thing." Speculating about future technology is exciting but not really practical; we shouldn't automatically assume it's going to replace standard DVDs, it's just too many of us share that natural hope (or fear) that it will.

The extra disc space for HD discs will be taken up by the audio and video. In fact, with AOD (the HD-DVD standard) there will be LESS room for extras than with current DVD (provided the extras are HD as well).

Blu-Ray offers a bit more space (about 7Gb more for a single layered disc, and 14 for a dual) than HD-DVD, and I hope it wins the format war, because it is a superiour format in just about every way.

"How many people do you know - outside of this forum - that really care about anything other than the fact they do not have to rewind it a DVD. "

No one.

In fact the only time I have ever heard anyone comment on anything DVD related it was in reference to the sound and NOT the picture.

CF

Does the thought of something better "worry" me?

No.

Does the thought of something better "make me happy"?

Damn right it does.


I find the question itself to be strange. Better = well, better. It's in the very definition of the word. You can still play your existing DVDs until you're old and gray. But why would anyone worry/not want something "better"?

Because some people think that a better format will devalue their current collection/render it obsolete/eat their children.

One might go as far as to say it's related to little d**k syndrome. Some people can't deal with other people having better "equipment" than they do. Others might respond by saying some people want the best equipment to compensate for their own equipment. lol

I say who cares just gimme! Blu-ray, AOD, whatever. I've been watching a lot of HD lately and DVD's low resolution becomes more and more apparent once you get used to HD.

Side rant: HBO is getting on my nerves with the whole zooming in 2:35:1 movies to fit the 16x9 screen thing. It seriously degrades the image quality unless the transfer was made that way but it's obvious a lot of them on HBO were definitely NOT made that way. /end side rant

Nah, I think VHS wearing out and looking alot crappier than DVD is why DVD has taken over. HD DVD doesn't offer anything new to make me want to switch over. If you like old shows, then the regular DVD format will be even better to have them on than HD DVD, because HD DVD will show every piece of dirt, scratch or other impurities so much, you will actually hate the format. To me regular DVD is what I will stay with until I die. Hopefully at least another 40 yrs

CP