I agree that the differences are going to be more dramatic on a larger screen. Still, I have a 36" direct-view CRT HDTV, meaning the 16x9 portion of my screen is around 33" (incrementally smaller than his), and I can very clearly see the difference.

Do you get the extras on HDTV? Inserts?

I'm in no way doubting that a properly broadcast HD signal is better than the best DVD presentation. (I'm not suggesting that you or anyone accused me of saying that... I just wanted to get that "on the record". :D )

BTW, glad to see someone else with a direct-view CRT HDTV. I thought that I was the only one. :lol:

No.

I'm definitely buying less DVDs due to HDTV, specifically the new High Def DVR from the cable provider. Since I always have several High def TV shows (e.g. 24, CSI, Alias) queued up, along with some HD movies recorded off of HD-HBO, HD-Starz, and HDnet Movies, I always have plenty to watch. My DVD purchases are relegated to the must haves (Raging Bull SE this week), and I also rent smaller independant or foreign films through Netflix.

Some of you seem quite defensive about the question........

Theres a good reason for that. People have other things to spend money on other than jumping onto every new video format that hits the streets. Truth is, HD should have been a programming reality at the time DVD came out if not for the FCC, the government, big business. Then we wouldn't be changing again, we'd have gotten to point 2 from point 1 without having a 7-10 year stopover at 1a.

I'm not seeing it... who are you talking about?

I felt the same way the last 2-3 years but if they released anything in HD, back before dvd was released, who was going to watch it? HDTVs were not launched yet, at least not at any affordable prices. Dvd was needed for the masses to get away from VHS using current tv standards.

As for PQ difference, it is in fact much easier to see the difference as your screen gets larger. HD-VHS looks maybe 15-20% percent better on my 30 inch TV, which upconverts standard dvd to 1050i. On my 50 inch RPTV, the same HD tape looks 100% better than it's dvd equivalent.

Sorry to inform you, but you need to get a better HDTV. My first one, a 27"
sony had slightly better but not super noticeble better than DVD image with good HDTV transfers but I scrapped that after 6 months and bought the top of the line 34" XBR 16:9 model with the super fine dot pitch CRT screen and the good HDTV transfers BLOW AWAY my best DVDs and well they should DVDs have only 1/6 the pixels as 1080i HDTV. Thats why I have slowed way down on DVD, they are inferior to recent HDTV transfers as shoen on a really good set without a doubt.

Yes, this is and will continue to be a growing trend. I have a feeling, with technology advancing incredibly quickly, every 3-5 years we are going to see companies launch a new and improved home format -- or at least try it. Not sure if the public will keeping buying into something new every few years. I mean there's already talk of HDV (I believe that's the name). They have been doing this milking with video game consoles for years and surely it will happen for home video movies.

I also agree it shouldn't have taken this long for HD-DVD. I mean standard DVD should have come out much sooner than it did. For how many years did VHS and laser disc own the market? Much too long!

I am not talking about TV shows, I am talking about renting and buying movies on DVD that you can get on HDTV service with BETTER quality. I find myself just waiting for HBO-HD and Showtime-HD broadcasts which look better than buying or even renting.

I post this reply all the time in the audio lists. "Happy" and "satified" are not the highest levels of enjoyment. There is absolutely thrilled, exicted as hell, goosebump inducing, "dreaming I died and went to heaven", and the "better than I even dreamed was possible" levels too! Dont ever settle for "happy". There is so much more higher levels of enjoyment possible than just "happy" or "satisfied"! Just think, if everyone was "happy" with everything and didnt crave more there would be no progress and even DVD would not exist because many were "happy" with VHS and Laserdisc.

A lot of my viewing is TV on DVD, but I do see what you're saying.
Would I rather watch, say, LotR in HD or DVD? Well, obviously the picture on HDTV would be incredible.
But DVD still offers a lot that HDTV can't.....

portability;
time-shifting [unless you have a DVR];
unedited/director's cuts [unedited, depending on the channel; DC, doubtful];
extra features [I highly doubt any of the extras on the LotR dvd's would be shown on any network.

That's not to say those things *can't* be offered by HDTV, they just aren't currently.
And, again, it comes down to content--I'd rather watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV on DVD than what's currently on HBO HD: currently Carnivale and Inside the NFL. Content is king. Now, if you like what HBO or SHO on HD is playing, then that's excellent.

It probably 'shouldn't' have taken this long for HDDVD, but there has to be a market. HDTV has only gotten really 'mainstream' recently, and I don't envision a company shifting to HDDVD six months after they got everyone onto DVD. Plus, the DVD cash cow isn't quite milked yet.

Video game consoles are not quite the same thing--for one thing, games have changed [and possibly 'improved'] light years from generation to generation. Combat on the Atari 2600 is nowhere near the same thing as Killzone on PS2 or Halo on Xbox. And the consoles, in some cases, are still supported--the PS2 has backwards compatibility with the PS1, for instance. A lot of people, with regard to dvd/hddvd, will say, "But I already have T2 on dvd", and that will be 'good enough' for them for a while. And you might see some consumer backlash, "I just bought an HDTV/DVD player, now you want me to upgrade again?"
I know I switch between HDTV and HDDVD in this post; I realize they are not the same thing, but thats where my thoughts took me.

Happy vs. more: There's a business speaker, Jeff Gitomer, I believe, who wrote a customer service/business book called "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless: Customer Loyalty is Priceless" basically saying like you did, satisfaction is the bare minimum a customer should expect. If I'm a 'satisfied' customer, nothing's going to stop me from jumping ship to the next format or next publisher or next console or whatever. Not quite the same thing as in this context, but interesting thoughts nonetheless.

HDTV is not a home video format. It is a broadcast standard. It is NOT likely to change for a very long time, much longer than the life of a TV set. There is no reason to not go out and get a HDTV set NOW. They are not really expensive when you consider the number of hours you get out of thems and how long they last. and if you are a DVD fan and have already spent thousands on DVD its a no brainer, DVDs look much better on a 16x9 progressive scanned HDTV screen even at 480P format.

READ the original question!
 

READ the original question! A lot of the replies in this thread are from people without HDTV sets and services. YOU DONT COUNT. What I was asking is if the people WITH HDTV sets and services are slowing down on DVDs due to inferior picture quality to HDTV broadcasts now being shown.

And regarding HD-DVD, seems to me the only people who are saying they will wait it out are the ones without HDTVs or with poor HDTVs where HD looks the same as DVD. Not fair to comment if you dont even have HDTV. of course HD-DVD early adopters will be rapid HDTV fans, which is basically anyone with an HDTV.

:)

So basically you asked a question you knew the answer to, or knew the answer you wanted?

* I have HDTV [a 2k+ 60" WS TV] and HDTV service.
* I see potential.
* If I had to give up HDTV service, or my DVD player/collection/rental services right now, I'd send the cable box back in a minute.
I am slowing down on DVD purchases--not rentals--but not due to 'inferior picture quality' as compared to HDTV.

The purpose of a discussion board is to get discussion. Sometimes those discussions range a bit, without being totally 'offtopic'. If you just wanted 'yes/no' answers, do a poll and don't allow responses.

You derailed this thread with that absurd statement:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=404074

Are you determined to derail your own thread too? Not everyone has $1000 to blow on a TV set. That alone is one reason for some people to not go out a get a HDTV set NOW.


Based on your last couple of posts, I'm not even sure what you wanted from this thread. Did you expect everyone to come in and say "Yes... my DVD collection sucks. Long live HDTV!" ???

In answer to your thread's question: No, I am not losing interest in DVDs in the slightest. In fact, I purchased waaaay more titles in the past 12 months than I ever expected.

(And I own an HDTV, so my answer 'counts'.)

Ah, but do you have HDTV service?
And if you do, what channels do you get?.....ooh, those are the wrong ones, but thanks for playing.

:lol: Yep, I have service (via Comcast). Watching Alias in HD at the moment, actually. ;)


I love HD. I think HD-DVD is going to be fantastic. But I'm not jumping in for a good year or two after product launch. Why?

1. Price. These machines will start out nuts and then drop in price. By waiting a year or two, retail prices will likely be about 1/4 what they start at.

2. Format war. There are two competing formats out there. I'd be a fool to dump $1000 (or whatever) on a machine and some titles without waiting a bit to see how things shake out.

3. Quality control. I'd like to get a 2nd or 3rd generation player, so they can iron out the bugs and features.

4. Selection. I have to admit that the initial list of titles seems pretty impressive. But we're still only talking about 20 or so titles that interest me. I'd rather wait until there is more to choose from.


So, I'll definitely be getting into HD-DVD before the Wal-Mart crowd. But I won't be first in line. And in the meantime, I'll continue to purchase and enjoy my DVD collection.

Why the sarcasm. Those are actually valid questions and need to be considered in the context of the original post. Most of the replies here are comparing current DVD with the future formats of HD DVD or Blu-Ray for some reason and have nothing to do with the original question.

A person could own an HDTV and not be feeding it any type of HD signal. Hell I was doing it for years. Now if they do have HD service from OTA, cable or satallite are feeding it a HD signal from channels like DiscoveryHD, HDNET or CBS, NBC and ABC watching things mostly shot on HD video or are they watching HBOHD or HDNET Movies that was converted from film sources. You can't compare something shot with HD video cameras to even the best transferred DVD unless it was also shot on video. But you can compare a film transferred to HD to that same film transferred to DVD and as I said in my original response most times I'd rather watch the DVD for the reasons I've already mentioned.

Many times? Nah. Maybe you're thinking of Showtime. HBO, as far as I've been able to tell, either uses a genuine HD master or 4x3 pillarboxed material. There may be some rare exceptions, but I wouldn't characterize that as standard practice the way it is on Showtime-HD/TMC-HD.

It is a bit of a trade-off, though -- HBO shows an awful lot of HD material, but it's often not at OAR. Showtime keeps almost everything in its intended aspect ratio, but it seems like maybe 2 out of every 5 movies they show are in HD. I'm personally more of a fan of HDNet Movies than HBO. Their programming may be littered with a lot of second and third tier material, but then again, they'll also show movies like Annie Hall, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, My Fair Lady, It's Alive! (maybe that last one's not the best example to use, but hey, I like it)...plus it's always at OAR.

Although having an HD-capable DVR lets me grab whatever movies I want, I only get two HD movie channels through them -- HBO and HDNet Movies (Showtime is available if I want it, but I really don't). The great thing about DVD is I have tens of thousands of possibilities at my fingertips. With HDTV, at least through Charter in my area...not so much.

Take this week, f'r instance. I have two HD movies slated to record on my DVR -- All the Real Girls and Identity. I don't see much of anything else that's even of marginal interest...at least, that I haven't seen already. In that same time period, I'll have watched at least a half dozen DVDs. Heck, I'll have listened to more audio commentaries than watched movies in HD. Even if Charter had twice as many HD channels, I still don't think it would be all that different. There just isn't enough compelling content being distributed right now. (Maybe if I had Voom and if they offered a DVR, but...yeah.)

I am probably impulsive (and well-funded :D) enough to dive into HD-DVD/Blu-Ray as soon as they come out. The sensible part of me knows it's a bad idea -- first-gen technology is invariably buggy and grossly overpriced -- but I'll probably wind up doing it anyway. (Plus, if I do that, I'll wind up buying a new TV too, dumping even more money. Oh well.)

They certainly are valid question, but the sarcasm was directed at the OP's tendency to ask 'leading questions.'
And I agree pretty much across the board with bboisvert's 4 points about HDDVD, and your comparison of the same film in HD versus DVD; I don't recall your reasons to prefer DVD, but mine are probably similar [stated above].
And Adam Tyner is absolutely correct--the viewing possibilities are virtually limitless with DVD, not so much so with HDTV, yet.

I'm losing interest in DVDs but it's due more to TiVo than HDTV. And yes, I have an HD TiVo along with three SD TiVos. I watch as much in SD as I do HD.

I will not be an early adopter of recorded HD whether it be DVD or VHS based. The reason is that the quality increase of HD over DVD is not worth the price increase of HD media over DVDs. DVD over VHS was a significant increase in quality and well worth the price; HD over DVD is not nearly as significant.

what I was asking is if other HDTV viewers like myself were losing interest in DVDs due to the lower picture quality than the HDTV services are providing. I dont see how anyone without HDTV and HDTV services can comment if they dont meet the criteria for the CAUSE of my losing interest. Makes sense to me. How can they be losing interest in DVDs due to HDTV if they dont get HDTV?