I like that the format is moving forward into HD but I have no intention of dumping my nearly 1000 DVD collection anytime soon, even in a perfect situation. I see HD DVD being successful but being a niche market, ala Laserdisc, HD-VHS and the Mini-Disc. The monumental improvements that occured going from VHS to DVD (extras, multiple audio tracks, disc space, improved picture and audio, player compatibility with CD, media size convenience, instant and precise read access) do not take a similar jump going from DVD to either HD DVD format, except of course for picture and audio quality, which are marked but not remotely as great a jump as VHS to DVD and IMO not nearly enough to cause the masses to even think seriously about upgrading, at least in the short term. The format war also hurts since one has to basically lose for the format to have any chance of unifying and catching fire. And that could take a very long time unfortunately.

I do not collect discs I collect films!

So, with this in mind and considering the fact that there are exactly 3 HD titles on the market that I have some interest in the answer should be obvious.

Ciao,
Pro-B

Bravo, I feel like this as well, I agree with you 100%!

I own over 2000 dvds. I like the idea of a new format but it is so stupid that only certain studios support certain formats. I will never invest in a new format until it is supported by all studios. As of right now, HD-DVD will never get Disney titles or 20th Century Fox titles. That means no Star Wars, James Bond, or the Alien movies on HD-DVD . Disney also includes The Pirates Of The Caribbean movies plus all the animated hits. Blu-Ray will never get any Universal Pictures titles like Jaws & E.T. It would benefit me more to invest in Blu-Ray because more of my favorite movies are released thru the studios that support it. But I have no plans on doing so anytime soon. I will definitely not invest until there is a clear cut winner in this format war either. I will only replace my favorites on the winning format. Till then I say to standard dvds! I still love them!

It's not that I dont believe in it, it's that, like others I am waiting a while before putting hard cash into either format.. the beauty of one standard format has been lost.

Plus as others said, as of yet I dont have a HDTV.

It just seemed to me everyone was moving on very quickly, and forgetting about the DVD jems being released.

I will not use a single Dollar on either HD-DVD or BluRay ...until I know which format will win.

Heck, both formats might even be surpassed by a whole different and better format before we know it. As of now both HD-DVD & BluRay will be a niche product just like LaserDisc was.

Nope. For the money I'd have to spend on new hardware I could buy several hundred of the titles that are on my wants list for DVD.

As above, I buy films and TV series - not pieces of hardware or discs.

There are very few films out on HD/BR that I want - lots of the titles I have are obscure/rare that only got released because of the mass market of DVD anyway.

There's no way I'm going to buy an HD display - there's not enough HD broadcast here in the Uk to justify it and the subscriptions are terribly expensive for the little you get.

I'm even less interested into buying into HD/BR players - you could spend a lot of money (player and the start of a collection) on something that turns out to be a turkey if the other format wins through. Having two mutually exclusive formats with studios picking sides isn't viable anyway.

I've said this before - HD/BR will never be the next DVD when your average viewer goes to the store and says "I want hi definition" and the salesbot says "Will that be HD or Blu-Ray?" and points out that whichever one you pick, it won't play half the films in the movie stores!

There are plenty of reasons to stick with DVD, and just as many not to go over to HD/BR.

To me, HD/BR is a rich kid's toy at the moment. Great for people with a big budget or those who want the very highest quality on a select few films...

I'm happy with my 2000 or so DVD's and as long as the HD format players are backwards compatable, I'll continue to be happy with my current collection. I'm not investing or upgrading until a single platform is decided so I continue to buy as usual.

*sigh...Why is it that everyone thinks that those of us who have an HD/BD player all of the sudden are dumping $1000's of dollars of DVDs and giving up completely? Hell since I have gotten my HD player, my purchases of SD DVDs still out number my HD purchases. Sure if a movie comes out and there is an HD version Ill get it (Superman Returns for example) but that doesn't mean I'm done buying regular DVDs or getting rid of all my DVDs (I began selling off alot of my DVDs before anyways because well, I just bought a number of DVDs just because of the collector mentality that I tend to get into and I needed to free up space).

Also, I don't know why so many people who aren't early adopters have to get so defensive. You don't want to buy one right now, we get it. Its cool. Hell, it's more than understandable because many of the reasons why people dont adopt are very valid as I struggled with them myself. But why do people make comments that aren't true? Like it or not these formats are here for the long haul. Even if they don't succeed as SD did in the home movie format, a company like Sony for example has their entire company banked on it with the PS3, plus as far as storage goes for computer and data, its much greater capacity will keep it here for good. I just see it as the next evolution not a replacement. Fact is, technology will always change, and it isn't personal or a slight, its just the way it is.

Personally, I hope to own a PS3 some time in the near future. I will set my netflix account up to send BR discs when they are available for a movie I want to see. If that movie looks great, I will buy that BR disc. Otherwise, I will continue to buy DVD's that I want. I probably will only buy definitive movies on BR, i.e. LotR, Star Wars, etc... (I say this fully knowing that some titles will not be released on BR)

What he said.

I'm not giving up on DVD just yet. I still have a ways to go until I get a HDTV, not to mention each HD format still has their share of glitches.

Good. Gives me more time to catch up with technology.

Hopefully they'll release a dual player that plays both HDDVD and BR. But before then or until there's a winner, then I'll stick to SDVD.
Personally I don't care what format wins, just want a standard one where there is a good supply of movies.

This is the exact reason I jumped into HD DVD. I am interested in the content and could care less about formats. However, because I love films I want them to look as much like the original film as possible. I have no problem buying HD DVD, Blu-ray or DVD but if the HD format has a major upgrade in quality I will want that version.

I agree.

Some members seem to think us early adopters are out there walking around like the zombies from Night of the Living Dead. But rather than trying to eat your brains, we're after your dvd collection.

My dvds are staying put. I still buy dvds. I just bought the Bond sets and will get POTC2 next week. So I think all the formats can co-exist now.

I'm not giving up on DVD. I've got over a thousand, and the only ones I'll probably replace with an HD format (after the war is over) are a few 'favorite' films. I've seen HD, and while it does look good, I'm perfectly happy with how standard DVD looks, too. I'm not going to rebuy everything on the planet or start the collection over. Because, I don't collect DVDs, I collect films. When a format wins out, and I decide to jump into HD, I'll probably buy new releases as HD, and continue to buy (if they're still available) films not on HD on regular DVD. I'm not going to sit and wait for years for a possible release, like I have with some films already.

Until someone wins the format war, I'm not going to invest any money in HD. I will be doing all of my buying in SDVD for several more years.

i have about 150 dvds/box sets. it's tiny compared to a lot of you, but it is to me. i've invested a lot of money into my collection, and i don't have any plans to swith to hd/br anytime soon.

it's mostly for financial reasons, as i can't afford an hdtv, player, and the more expensive discs right now. i've had to cut back on dvd titles and only buy ones i really want (like "superman returns"). like someone said earlier, i've been realizing that new titles are quickly being included in the "2 for" or "3 for" specials.

i'll wait until i move out of my apartment and into a townhome or house first before buying a big hdtv....then i'll worry about buying a player and new titles once the format war is over.

but with that said, i probably won't be selling my collection unless i'm double dipping on the "newer" format.

this is exactly how i feel. i just dont care about any of this HD quality crap. i'm perfectly happy with my normal dvd collection and my standard 27 inch TV.

oh well, to each his/her own...

same here

You couldn't be more wrong if your name was Wrongie McWrongenstein.

And so, most of your points collapse under this incorrect assumption.

no HDTV = no sale.

And since it's unlikely I'll get an HDTV until at least 2008 or 2009, I'll be sticking with standard DVDs for the foreseeable future.

I use to think that no way I would be switching to HD dvds but than I saw the picture quality that HD-DVD produced and was just amazed! Now anything new I buy is HD-DVD and pretty much done with SD.

But I will say that my SD collection is staying put.

It's the two separate formats that's the real ball and chain weighing them down. Both are backwards compatible with SD-DVD, so there's no need to abandon your old collection. The lack of title availability argument is moot too since eventually everything will make its way to HD and you can hang on to your old SD-DVD copy until then. If there was one standard format, I'd probably make the switch right now (or, well, at least when the players dropped under $400 and I could afford one). I'd make that switch even without owning a HDTV; all things being equal, I might as well buy the HD version of a particular film for the eventual day when I do own a HDTV. But there's no way I'm touching it until there's a single standard HD format. And if something doesn't give in the next couple years, I'll bet they both fail to surpass DVD as the supreme home video format and something else that's even better will eventually emerge to get the job done instead (i.e. Maxell's Holographic Discs).