Josh H

Same here, no money (or room for one) until I'm done with grad school.

Dmacsg1

Damn!! Can't we just ALL get along?!?!

Looks like standard dvd's are going to be the main format for a looong time to come!

As for me, I won't even consider getting a new "gee whiz" player until there is a standardized format!

Take care all!!

rexinnih

Here's hoping that there is still time for the two sides to come together. Two formats is suicide.

Duality

This is great news! I hope Sony crashes and burns. Damn them to Hell!

Bye-bye CD mini disc, Beta and Blu-Ray...

boe

I'm glad the PS3 will have BR included. I don't want BR to win nor do I want HD-DVD, I want some convergence so we get the best of both worlds. Anything that gets something in the hands of the public might get the ball rolling. The technology for both camps has been out for 3 years but nothing much in the hands of the public. Hopefully some movies will get released in BR format so at least it will the HD-DVD side in gear as well. Sure if talking for a few months helped to get a unified standard I'd be all for it but posing on both sides for another 3 years would just keep us (the end user) from getting the new technology and keep us investing in lower res DVDs longer - for more double dips!

Unlike those who posted that don't even plan on getting HD-TVs any time soon, I'm on the other side. I DO have an HDTV. I do want the technology higher res dvds to come out soon. I can't believe people here said they were in no rush. Can you imagine if they took forever to release DVDs. Would you still be happy with your lovely VHS collection?

Would you be happy if they just said hey were having a format war over the best wide screen ratio. So we'll just keep talking about it for another few years. In the mean time feel free to buy the full screen version and you are welcome to buy it again in wide screen down the road...

Frankly I'd rather BR win if only one would win because I'd prefer more storage on the disc with fewer layers for better disc integrity. When I buy the next format DVD I don't want HD-DTS or Dolby Digital Plus to be downsampled because they couldn't fit it on the disc - How many DTS DVDs do you have now that are downsampled to fit on the disc?

RocShemp

Though I'm a proponent of BluRay, I'm not going to buy a BluRay player unless it is indeed the decided upon format. I'm just gonna stick with my current run-of-the-mill DVD player until a format (wether it is BluRay or HD-DVD) proves to be dominant.

JayHM

The talks are continuing. Here's the latest:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...5&pageNumber=1

Mike Lowrey

Well, I'm kinda torn on whether or not the debate should be settled. I need a better DVD player (apparently mine doesn't do progressive scan very well), and I don't know if I should go ahead and look for one down the road sometime soon, or wait till the HD disc thing is settled to get a player that is backwards compatible.

sracer

Poor analogy. Besides, read carefully what has been written in this thread. It is NOT that we are in no rush for higher-res DVDs to be released, it is that we want ONE STANDARD. I have an HDTV (widescreen direct view tube... absolutely breathtaking) but I'm not going to jump in to a dual-format arena. That's just dumb. You want to buy two players and films spread across two different formats... good luck to you.

sracer

Although even the best progressive scan player is no replacement for an HD player, a high quality PS player can make a significant difference. My Pioneer DV-578A player will hold me over nicely until a converged HD standard emerges.

I bought mine 5-6 months ago at Best Buy for $100. Not only is it a high quality PS player, it plays every type of disc I've thrown at it (homegrown VCDs, SVCDs, DVD+/-R, WMA, MP3, JPGs, etc.)

boe

I agree that a single format is better and would really like it to happen but the debate has gone on for three years. I wish I could have bought HD DVDs in either format for the past three years. I'd save money having two formats VS. rebuying all my DVDs that I purchased in the past 3 years in one format. Has anyone ones old laser disc self distructed over the past few years? Just because they aren't producing new laser discs means you have to throw out your collection.

Why is it a poor analogy? I have read what is written in the thread. Some people refer to the format war, others only say that they are in no rush - not specifying anything beyond that. Only that their current equipment wouldn't benefit from the HD technology. They might be surprised to find out when they do eventually buy a new TV that they invested in DVDs that would have looked better if they had been BR or HD.

I have a VCR and a DVD player. I can get movies in both formats. I don't care that I can't jam a VHS tape into my DVD player or vice versa. They work seperately without issue.

As far as jumping in - that is fine I'm not encouraging everyone to cash in their CDs or get mortgages but if you recall when DVD players first came out - If eveyone said hey - there are only 10 DVDs on the market - I'm not getting a DVD player - the technology might not have survived.

In case no one has guessed the studios will make out like bandits on our DVD double dipping. We can wait another 3 years and then have them release two format and wait for the standard to happen or we can just say F it and have them release both formats now. There are many of us who will double dip to get the higher res, the better audio, more features. And yes one standard will emerge but the format war isn't much different than your current DVDs vs BR and HD. You won't have to throw away your current DVDs just because there is a new standard.

Let us just say they released them today and three years from now there is one that wins as the new standard. I don't want to say it is HD or BR say I'll refer to it as X. In three years if you had 400 DVD titles and a year ago you double dipped and got those same 400 titles in a high definition format, would you throw away the 400 high definition titles because X was the one that won the format war? I would guess you would keep you Y DVD player and buy an X DVD player so you could play the other format. Your Y DVDs would still be high definition, there is no need to double dip and buy them again where as the standard DVDs would be lower resolution and you mgiht want to double dip.

Lets say you got that Y player for $500. That is the same as buying about 25 DVDs. So which is a better deal? Rebuying the 400 standard DVDs because it took 6 years to set a standard or just buying that additional piece of equipment and getting the instant satisfaction of High Res movies with great sound NOW?

Egon's Ghost

I won't be happy if HDDVD wins over Blu-Ray, as Blu-Ray sounds like a clear winner in quality. HDDVD, from what I've read, doesn't seem like enough of a jump over standard DVD. Maybe I'm wrong. It seems to me like all parties involved are jumping into this WAY too prematurely; DVD has plenty of life left. I think PS3 being Blu-Ray exclusive should be a step in the right direction. Of course, only time will tell. At any rate, I only watch DVDs at this point on my laptop, so whatthefuckever.

darkhawk

I could care less who wins. I just won't buy until there is one.

There can only be one!

sracer

It is a poor analogy because there was only one DVD format. So VHS -> DVD is different than DVD -> HD because there are 2 HD formats. Technically, there were initial 2 standards... DVD and DIVX. And what happened? DV discs were very, very slow to grow until DIVX fizzled. Once it did, DVD acceptance skyrocketed.

Calling that double-dipping is frankly.... inappropriate. If one wants to expand the definition of double-dipping, then DD is not new. We've been DD'ing since the days of Beta.

Since I don't look at this as "double dipping" and "repurchasing the entire collection" I don't share the same sense of "urgency" in the release of ANY HD format. (even though I DO have the equipment to take advantage of it.)

raven56706

i guess you dont plan on turning your tv on for awhile either

Josh H

Everything will be available in SD for quite a while. The date for full switch over keeps getting pushed back.

I imagine we'll see a period where most everything is available in both starting in the next few years, and lasting quite a while.

Networks especially aren't going to alienate people without HDTV's and lose advertising viewership.

Josh H

I think the HD-DVD people are making a big mistake here. The Playstation 3 will put a blu-ray player in millions of homes, it will be tough for them to compete with that.

dadaluholla

Ummm as long as you're not watching everything via an antenna then you should be fine. I'm not buying a HD TV for a LONG time either.

***** HD.

Qui Gon Jim

At this point it is impossible to conjecture which will be of higher quality since thereis no software yet available both formats are theoretical. Sony Playstation fanboys aside, it is imossible to pick a winner yet.

Personally, I'm pulling for whichever format can deliver the discs at the lowest price.

Premise

Well at least according to this article from DigitalBits:

I'm going to go out in a limb right now and post something that some of you may consider a bit controversial. But I think the writing is on the wall. I think the format war is over before it's even begun, and the Toshiba/HD-DVD camp is toast.

Why? You know how many PlayStation 2 systems Sony's sold since that unit's launch? 87 million. Let me repeat that. 87 million. 1.5 million were sold in the PS2's first month of availability alone.

Now, let me follow this up by noting that Microsoft's newly announced Xbox 360 system is going to run on existing DVD media, but will not support HD-DVD format discs.

All of this is about what we expected, based on rumors as to what Sony and Microsoft were planning for their systems. But it's a very bad omen for the HD-DVD camp. Sony, within a few months of the time they expect to launch movies on their Blu-ray Disc format, is going to have several million machines on the market capable of playing them. Tens of millions by the end of the first year. And each of those machines is going to be more than capable of driving high-end HD displays. What is the HD-DVD camp going to have in that timeframe? Not even a fraction of that number of dedicated players.

Sony has the two biggest PC manufacturers in the world, Dell and HP, on their side, along with Apple, Hitachi, LG, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Pioneer, Royal Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Thompson. Plus they've 20th Century Fox, Disney, Sony Pictures (Columbia TriStar) and now MGM in their camp... AND they've got the PS3 on the way.

Toshiba has Microsoft in their camp, sort of. On the hardware front, they have NEC, Sanyo and Memory-Tech. And in Hollywood, they've got Warner, New Line, Paramount and Universal.

Think about that. If I'm a high-end, home theater-phile, early adopter type, am I going to be jonesing to get my hands on a Sanyo or Toshiba HD-DVD player, or a Sony or Pioneer Blu-ray Disc player (or a PS3)? Are you kidding me?

This thing is over. It's done. Toshiba and Warner Bros. just haven't figured it out yet.

There's word today that Toshiba is reluctant to back down from support of its 0.6 mm data layer format for fear of angering its supporters in the DVD camp, some of which have already been gearing up to replicate discs based on 0.6 mm. Here's my take: Get the hell over it, folks.

Reuters is now reporting that the presidents of both Toshiba and Sony are going to meet to try to break the stalemate in the format unification talks. That's a very good thing, but Toshiba had better open their eyes and realize that a unified format based on the 0.1 mm Blu-ray Disc structure is probably the BEST thing that can happen for them. Because I'm telling you right now, if Toshiba backs away completely and this format war DOES happen, Toshiba's going to lose big. By working with Sony now, and making a few concessions to unite these two formats, Toshiba is going to be in a much better position a couple of years from now than they would be if they try to go it alone with HD-DVD.

But that's just my two cents.

DthRdrX

Agreed. Toshiba-Warner group is in a pickle. As it stands Microsoft's exclusion of their technology in the new x-box is real bad.

Sony's stratagy to win on all fronts has obviously always been the PS3. Lower unit Price(300-500 rumored) x higher volume will equal more potential BR capable users in the market. They are going to make money on the software, most of which will be offered Sony owns thanks to the MGM deal.

Toshiba has promised a sub 1000 dollar player. Obviously only niche collectors and die-hards will be picking the first real HD players up from either camp for a while. Considering most of these consumers are backing BR instead who does Toshiba think will buy their equipment? Within a year Sony will probably have Blue Ray in over a million homes.

boe

You are of course entitled to your opinion but I feel it is double dipping. When a DVD is released after a couple of years in Wide Screen or better transfer or better sound track and I decide to buy it again, I consider buying the new one to replace my old one double dipping. If I buy a DVD now, I do so only because I know it will be a while before an HD version was available. If I knew that an HD version was going to be released within 6 months or even a year, I would stop buying ALL DVDs. The longer the studios keep the HD versions from being released, the more chance you will buy something now you will buy again down the road. - This is just my opinion though.

Living Dead

I am also in the camp with those who will be waiting to see which one is more dominant. I agree with the person who said this is too expensive a hobby to take a guess and roll the dice, and end up with an unsupported machine in my house after much investment.

Iron_Giant

I will buy whichever format wins, but will wait for years to see which one wins.

I hope they have fun time wasting their money, I won't waste mine.

milo bloom

Your analogy still seems flawed. When DVD was taking off, was everybody complaining about having to rebuy all their movies on the new format? No, I seem to recall half the threads on any forum were "where is title-x on dvd?" (with half of those being Star Wars of course...). Nobody complained about double dipping, because it's a new format. When you buy a title on DVD you previously only had on VHS, that's an upgrade. When you buy a title on DVD you already have on DVD because now it includes extra footage of the actors at a rave, that's double dipping. Hidef DVDs (whoever wins) will be a new format.


The PS3 thing is a good point. I had already planned on buying one regardless of who won the movie format war, I think Sony has got a really edge here.