The Digital Bits interviews Andy Parsons

Excellent read. Thanks for the link.

Nice find, certainly addresses alot of the things we bicker about around here.

It was interesting that he pointed out that when DVD came out the expensive Sony outsold the cheaper Sony player. That was the best rebuttle I have heard to the early HD-DVD launch with cheaper equipment.

The article actually made me move a little more firmly on the BR bandwagon. The HD-DVD price point is tempting and in general I am a Toshiba supporter, but BR is just a stronger platform from all indications.

Nice find. Not solely blu-ray related, but I was surprised by his claim of 4 million to 7 million PS3s shipped by the end of the year. If he's correct and talking about North America, that would seem to point to a launch date considerably earlier than the late-fall rumors that have been going around.

There is a difference in choosing between 2 different priced models of the same kind of player and choosing between 2 different priced models of different types of players. People will have to weigh the advantages of each (HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray) player. If HD-DVD beats BR to market my as many as 3 months, who knows what kind of foot hold it will have established.

As was pointed out in the interview, the player is a one time purchase, but the media is an on going one. I would guess that on top of player price would be media price. HD-DVD has always said they will have cheaper media because of the similarity between HD-DVD and DVD.

Even if the average person sees a big difference between HD disc and 480p SDVD, do you think they can tell the difference between HD-DVD and BR? I'm not sure anyone can tell that difference. It makes me think price will be even more important.

BR can't say, "wait 3 months and we'll have something better" and then deliver a product that basically looks the same. This and price make me worry about the fate of Blu-Ray...

If HD-DVD price point is tempting to you, then I wonder what it will be like for the "average" consumer who isn't as well educated on the subject...

Personally, I'd prefer Blu-Ray for many reasons, but I'm just trying to play devil's advocate here...

This is what I'm worried about too, but I'm not sure it will matter nearly as much as we all think it might. 3 months is a big deal, but I'm not entirely convinced that the format will take off instantly. The people who are really informed about the subject will have their own opinions on the formats. From what I can tell, MOST of the HT freaks like us prefer BR. A good portion of those will be willing to wait until BR debuts. HD-DVD isn't coming out right before Christmas so there aren't going to be tons of average people out to buy new HT equipment.

It took DVD over a year to ship 1 million units and after two years they started achieving critical mass and really exploding everywhere... and you didn't have to have a fancy Hi-Def TV to take advantage of DVD either.

I'm guessing HD-DVD will have a moderately successful launch. 3 months later Blu-Ray will launch and hopefully be able to quickly catch the entrenched HD-DVD. The PS3 will help tremendously in this respect even if it doesn't have all the features because most of the people buying them won't know anything about the format anyway. I have a hard time believing that HD-DVD will be able to move several million units this year to bring them on par with the PS3.

I think awmurray and Mordred both make good points. I admit, I am a bargin shopper and a Toshiba supporter so the $500 Toshiba unit is tempting. I fell Br is the better choice, but I am still tempted and reserved about my decision.

The one thing that slows me down with HD-DVD is the 3 studios compared to 7 studios for BR (out of the top 8 studios that is). That is just so much content to fight against. The PS3 (the annointed trump card by many) will be an incremental boost in my opinion, maybe 1 out of every 3 will be used to play BR disc - granted that is still alot of players - 1 million easy.

It is an uphill battle for HD-DVD - but I don't think this is the BR slam dunk some are predicting. If HD-DVD starts strong, studios can shift very fast - HD masters should be able to quicjkly be authored for HD-DVD and they say HD-DVD can be produced cheaper and easier. IF HD-DVD got a foothold - it could get bloody so to speak - especially if it drags on into the holidays and J6P gets involved.

Really looking forward to that Elite deck. Can't wait for it to hit the shelf.

Is it me or does the pioneer player look cheap?

What does an expensive BD player look like? It just looks like a Pioneer to me. I own or have owned a lot of Pioneer products over the year and this does not look like a cheap Pioneer model. In fact, the only thing is is missing is the wood accents on either end that designate the very highest models they make. Cheap does not get you button that are backlit, logos on top of the unit, multiple lighted indicators not in the display, or shiney feet. Those are just the little things I notice. The logos telling you features should also help. I doubt all units are going to ship with all the processors. Do you really expect the low end models to support the new DTSHD right away.

IMO the Pioneer is the best looking player for both HD camps. It also looks just like their other stuff which is a plus.


Pioneer BR player

Frankly, that looks like a horrible picture to me. Almost all back-lit, not even fill flash it seems. Can't see enough to say what the player looks like.

Newbie photographer?

Hopefully this looks better:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articl...h10pioneer.jpg

They both look fine to me.

Parts are better in the other pics. It's just hard to shoot black components. I was talking about Pio's marketing pic, btw. Not yours, DthRdrX. Just realized I may have stepped on some toes, sorry.

It does look a little spartan up front. But I imagine it is that shiny black of Pio Elite and probably looks pretty classy in person.

Nope, not at all. I just like the similar look Pioneer has been giving their Elite line.

*Edit: My quick typing isn't so good. I'm at work.

Interesting interview. I have what may be a stupid question (sorry if its been asked somewhere else). Is the PS3 supposed to be fully capable of outputting HD video to your tv (and digital sound to your audio receiver)? That is, will it function like a Blu Ray player in addition to the gaming (like PS2 can play DVD movies). Since BR is starting at $1800, and the PS3's release is timed shortly after, are they going to still have pricing competitive with XBox? I can't imaging them getting away with more than $500 -- and that would be a pretty sweet price to get in on Blu Ray.

Yep, PS3 will be able to play BR movies. Most videophiles will help Pioneer sell their 1800 dollar player.

Yeah, I will be tempted by the Pioneer if I have some spare cash around summer time. Especially if I can find it on sale for around $1000-$1200 - Pioneer Elite MSRP are often times very absurd. You can usually get several hundred off MSRP with proper bargain hunting.

I paid $730 for my Elite Reciever which was MSRP $1499.

This is a rather troubling statement from CNET, but may be more about movies not being properly encoded for HD than anything else.

My HDTV is 46" and I have no plans to upgrade anytime soon. I really have to wonder if Blu-Ray or HD-DVD will be worth it for me at any point.

For many people, it won't matter. Just as for many people, DVD didn't matter until it was the only place to get their movies. The majority won't make the switch until they have to, if they ever have to.

There truly are some people out there that don't notice much of a difference between SD and HD. It's sad, very very sad. There are many many people who don't own HD yet either. There are people that sit far away enough from their sets where it doesn't make much a difference to them even if they do own HD equipment. Lot of things to think about but it's gonna be a few years before pricing is going to even be close to acceptable for many.

Well, I now think I'm leaning towards this player. It should be out around launch (Pioneer is saying June), and I'm really liking the Network Connection so I can hook it up to my network. I've been reading how the Pioneer Elite DVD players are some of the best out there (for upscaling), which is making me smile. If this thing comes with HDMI v1.3 (or a promised upgrade), I won't hesitate.

I was hoping Pioneer would put out a player that plays both HD-DVD and Bluray; ideally also with both DVD-Audio and SACD. Pioneer makes great stuff, but I'm still gonna sit out the format war until either something that plays both comes out, or one of them dies completely.

I think you would be much better off with the Pioneer as well. I just can't see giving Samsung a $1000 for anything.