I'm new, and considering delving into HD, help?
 

Hi all. I have been a dvd fan for a very very long time, and am hoping to very shortly upgrade to a beautiful new Samsung HDTV (this one to be precise: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...533504?ie=UTF8)
and I am also considering purchsing the new Toshiba HD-DVD player. Obviously, since the technology is new I have my doubts abotu spending thi smuch money, but I am pretty sure I want to do it. I was just hoping for any advice and also links to sites that might break down a lot of the complicated language of DVD tech talk (compression, resolutions, inputs, all that stuff that I know nothing about) into simpler terms. Thanks in advance!

I think that Josh's HD-DVD review is pretty excellent:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=21310

I think he gives a real good idea for what you're looking for and does a good job breaking down some of the technicalities of the format.

Just in case you were wondering about Blue Ray, Josh also has a review for that format as well:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=22593

I think it's fair to say that the board here is heavily skewed towards HD-DVD, and for good reason. The general reviews for HD-DVD have described it mostly as outstanding from the outset, I also think it's more than fair to say right now HD-DVD is the standard for A/V quality.

Personally, I've had my HD-DVD player for a little over a month and couldn't be happier. I've got about 10 titles, and there are some good ways of finding solid deals on the titles that have been released. Amazon is running a 10% off all HD-DVDs for a year with the purchase of three HD-DVDs at once and you can search for the particulars of the google checkout deal.

If you're a member of Continental One Pass, this thread shows how you can get a Toshiba HD-DVD player for about $380 + 100 frequent flyer miles shipped, which I think is still the best deal around.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=470228

Honestly, I recommend HD-DVD to everybody I know that values superior audio and video quality. If you can afford it, my strongest recommendation is to go for it.

This forum is insanely biased. Skewed is a cute word for biased LOL. I'd tell you to wait till the holiday season to dive in. You'll have a better idea of which format has the most titles to choose from and the most players to pick from.

Of course you would.

If BD isn't the leader then, you'll say to wait till spring, then summer, then next Christmas.

I don't think the forum is biased, I think many have just chosen HD. As an impartial commenter, I would tell you to look at the catalog of titles for both HD and BD. If you can justify to yourself the cost of either format, then take the plunge. If not, wait. There will be better, cheaper hardware for both platforms in a few months (not just BD as SOMEONE would have you believe). Just make sure whatever set you get has at least one HDMI port.

*** sigh ***

FYI, most people have Blitz6Speed on their ignore lists.

The "bias" is towards the product that delivers superior PQ, has more disc space, has more extra features, and whose players are half the price. Oh yea, that happens to be HD-DVD.

This place used to be heavily "biased" towards Blu-ray until product was actually released. The same way AVS Forum was (which has now flipped over to the HD-DVD side, I'd say).

You can check out the HD-DVD and Blu-ray sub-forums on AVS for a lot of info.

Ok I'm going to bite on the flame bait here just for this post. The OP didn't even ask about BD, he specifically said he was interested in HD-DVD. I included Josh's BD review because I thought it would give him a little reasoning to feel good about being part of the early HD-DVD process since BD currently isn't anywhere near hitting expectations.

Second, he said he's getting a new $2k TV next week, and you would have him wait 6 months to get the most out of it by waiting for the holidays? I completely agree with QuiGonJim, if it's not ready by then, how long should he wait when HD-DVD is blowing people away right now? If he got the best deals, he could have an HD-DVD player and 5 or 6 titles for an additional $500, which to me is well worth the current investment. OR, he could continue waiting and hoping that by the holidays two things happen. 1. The BD player(s) are fixed and quality products. 2. There is a significant price drop.

I should have mentioned the titles, which should be a huge part of the decision process and has been well covered in the HD-DVD/BD release calendar thread.

I'm 99% sure I'll be picking up a PS3 before the holidays, and I'm hopeful that all the current BD problems are fixed and the PS3 meets expectations as a solid BD player. But I'm certainly not counting on it at this point, mainly because I'm so happy with HD-DVD. To keep advocating waiting when HD-DVD is relatively affordable and available now doesn't make much sense.

No, YOUR posts are biased.

Most of us on this forum just want the best quality hd material on disc. Right now, HD-DVD is wonderful. You just cant/wont admit that.

When/if BD looks great and has some quality (pq/aq/special features) titles, Ill possibly buy one.

I am pro-hddvd, but im NOT anti-bluray....those are not the same thing.

Take off your blu-colored glasses for once.

Just a clarification: six months is inaccurate. We are in mid-July now. In less than four months, there'll be more hardware and software for both HD DVD and Blu-ray.

Of course, buying now means you can enjoy existing content right away. There are about forty HD DVD movies available now, and the HD DVD companies say they'll have about 150 out by the holidays. Look at the various title lists available (released/announced/rumored...)to see if they interest you.

For all technical stuff, you should go to avsforum.

(I think that was okay... ;) )

Point well taken, 4 months is still quite a while though, my morning math isn't where it should be right now.

I don't spend a lot of time on these forums so I don't know what Blitz6Speed may have said in the past... but, advising people to wait seems like good advice to me. Everyone seems to be saying "Buy HD-DVD NOW!" (not just in this thread) I don't have a preference one way or the other and don't care which format wins. But one will win. Why jump in now? So that you can possibly watch HD-DVD (or Blu-Ray) go the way of Beta and DIVX?? That's a $500+ investment wasted. For most people $500 is a substantial amount of money.

Telling people to wait until the smoke clears seems like the smart thing. I don't know about you guys but I don't want a $500 or $1000 paperweight a year from now.

Waiting may mean that BOTH formats die.

Waiting helps nothing.

Exactly. I try to help but get flamed by people who are obviously emotionally involved in this and cant see any other way but theirs. Take heed and wait till this holiday season to see where the dust settles. I beleive by then whats going to happen will be clear.

Well, the problem is, your in a forum littered with early adopters/trend setters.....of course we are all going to tell you to buy the current best hd technology.

To us, $400-500 for the player and $15-25 per title is not a huge investment.

So, if your worried about money and current titles dont appeal to you, by all means, wait.

And BTW, Blitz does lean toward Sony every chance he gets. He has blu-glasses on, so its no surprise that he says to wait. Right now, BD is crap.

Ok, how much cheaper does anyone think that HD-DVD player or BD players will be in the short-term? The closest thing to a price drop for me is the BD inclusion in the PS3, but I know most people don't care much about that. I'm still confused as to how it can be a paperweight if it is widely considered one of the best upconverting SD-DVD players on the market, can play every type of CD Media, and will have over 150 titles available by the holidays.

I'm honestly not drinking the kool-aid here, I wasn't an early supporter of either format. But if you've invested thousands of dollars into a home theater, which I have, it makes sense to me to make the most of your investment. If $500 is too steep, that's a perfectly legit reason not to get one. I'm speaking from experience, and no amount of rhetoric or hyperbole about what is or is not coming out can change what I go home and see every night. IT LOOKS AND SOUNDS FANTASTIC, PERIOD. That's all that matters to me, therefore I recommend it as even a value for the cost. I don't care about anything else, I have no brand loyalty to one or the other, and damn near every piece of electronic equipment I have is Sony. If I'm biased it's because I've seen both and there's no comparison.

Tis true.

People think that if, by chance, HD DVD fails that they're just going to "have a paperweight."

As if it suddenly becomes completely useless and won't work any more because of Sony's world domination.

or as if a choo-choo train has run over it. ;)

Regardless, it's a fantastic piece of machinery that I use on almost a daily basis and never have problems with.

Of course if HD DVD loses out, you'll end up with a $500 paperweight that also doubles as a very good upconverting SD DVD player (according to most people). It wouldn't be a complete loss. I ordered a HD DVD player through Continental for $360 and it's sitting downstairs with my doorman right now. I can't wait to get home and plug that sucker in. BTW, I remember paying $700 for a Toshiba DVD when they first came out in 1997. To me, $360 for a new format with better picture and sound seems like a bargain.

Exactly, so if price is not a huge concern (hd-dvd is very affordable)...then only thing that you have to think about is whether there are titles that you like on hd-dvd.

Please allow me to play Devil's advocate here...

Yes, granted, you can still play all your HD-DVDs and regular DVDs even if the format disappears tomorrow. BUT! What about down the road? Let's say you have 20 HD-DVDs (I don't know what you have and it's not that important). HD-DVD goes "poof". You can continue to watch your 20 HD-DVDs, and maybe a couple others that you find, until infinity or your player dies. Great. Blu-Ray lives on and thrives. Thousands of movies are released for it. Every week new releases of great new movies come out just like DVDs now. You can still keep watching your 20 movies though...

Do you see my point? Sure, "paperweight" might be overstating it but the point remains the same. You've spent money on something that isn't supported and no one is producing new software for.

All that said, I've bounced around a little bit since my first post and some of the announced titles for HD-DVD have me very intrigued. I'm going to hold out as long as possible but even I want to see everything in the best quality possible as soon as I can. If the Matrix and LOTR and some others start hitting, I might jump on the bandwagon. But by then the format "war" could be decided too.

BTW Freak (can I call you that?? too late...), you seem to be one of the biggest, most vocal, advocates for HD-DVD. Do you own shares in Toshiba or something? ;)

Playing the "*sob* I'm just trying to help! *sob*" martyr card? Please.

Your posts at AVS clearly show a complete and utter blind pro-BR bias. You and kevinca1 share the same secret handshake...

"Obviously emotionally involved"... pot, meet kettle.

To the OP, others have said it well, but regardless of how the "format war" eventually plays out, the Toshiba HD-A1 will still play your HD-DVD discs, and will serve as a top-tier upconverting player for your SD-DVDs. Within a month of purchasing my A1, I sold my Pioneer Elite 79-avi player, as it had become extraneous (SACD and DVD-A notwithstanding).

Some people complain about the A1 as being "big and bulky" whereas I see it as being "built like a brick shithouse". It's solid and well built. That adds value. For a good read on the Toshiba's build quality, try this link: http://www.highdefforum.com/showthre...905#post151905

Well, I think the gamble that HD-DVD is going to go "poof" anytime soon is almost non-existent. Studios are backing it very aggressively (see link in my sig) and will be releasing alot of titles soon.

Eventually, one may win, but that will be after many many releases on both sides. Right now, HD-DVD is just releasing more titles. Its that simple.

The bigger gamble right now, is buying a BD player for $1000+.

This is true....I sold my Oppo for $150 to my brother when I bought my A1....so my A1 really only cost me $290 (that doesnt include the free HD-DVD that I got from Toshiba and Best Buy reward zone points).

my advice would be to see if the current/upcoming movies are movies you would want to invest in(on either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD) and if you want to spend the money for the hardware(currently $500.00 or $1000.00). if you decide to go with either or both, just enjoy it and don't give a crap what someone else says about it.

and by the way, welcome to the forum and might I suggest buying lots and lots of Excedrin if you plan on reading in the HD forum alot because you'll be popping pills like tic-tacs in a few days. :)

:violin: Right. Poor innocent Blitzy just trying to help out. You are perhaps the most biased person on this forum. I'm sure if BD came out and looked much better then HD DVD, this would be a pro BD forum. But it didn't, and we stick by the better looking product. It is a simple as that. I don't know why that is so hard for you to understand. I used to love BD and even gave a whole presentation about it being the better format in one of my college classes. However once HD DVD came out and I saw how great it was, I got a little concerned. Then I saw what BD looked like and it was like night and day. Now I feel like an ass for steering all those people in the wrong direction. HD DVD is the superior format at this point. Why invest twice as much money in something that looks worse and can only promise that "the sun will come out tomorrow."

I do own an HD-A1, and about 20 movies. If, at some point, Blu-ray wins the war, I will no doubt be able to purchase a 2nd or 3rd generation player at a very reasonable price, and start purchasing BD movies for it. Will the presence of my HD-A1 in my home preclude me (or you) from doing this? I certainly hope not.

As others have said, the HD-A1, aside from being a stunning HD DVD player, is also a far better-than-average upconverting DVD player. And at $500 or less, it is a real bargain. If it lasts me four or five years (about the longest I've ever kept a DVD player before upgrading), it will have been money well spent, whether or not the format survives.

Freak. Digi. Whatever. People seem to make up their own nicknames...which is amusing because people do the same to my "real" name.

*ahem*

I've stated this a ton of times and those who have been in this forum for the long haul know that I was as VERY into BD in the beginning. It'd be funny to go back and read the arguments I'd get into with HD people. It all changed the day I went to see the HD DVD demo. Even *I* couldn't disagree with how good it looked.

I used to be 100% pro BD as well.

The point is, right now, for $500 (less than the price of a 1st generation DVD player), you can get an amazing player that will improve the picture of your SD DVDs, play CDs with excellent clarity, and, oh yeah, play HD DVDs. Notice on Amazon the player is actually listed as an upconverting DVD player? It's routinely in the top 10 of player sales at Amazon. Top 10, where the other players in the top 10 are all $200 or under.

Even when I bought my HD DVD player, I was still concerned that HD DVD might die out. But now, with studios and companies (including WB, Paramount, Universal, Microsoft, Intel, and HP) sinking $150 million to promote HD, I'm not so worried. At worst right now we can expect a not so peaceful co-existance between the two formats. And there will be dual-format players down the line. So investing in HD DVD is not such a bad proposition at this point.

So don't worry about the BD train, because right now it's like two guys on a push-cart trying to outrun a bullet train.

I think that once real product was available, most people interested in the best available picture really swung from BD to HD. I long said that BD had two strikes out the gate- price and no "DVD" in the name. I was one of the few that would admit that HD had anything going for it; even fewer were the true backers of the format.

That has really changed, and to the credit of most aside from a few like Blitz, people have stood by the pledge to get the best picture possible.

Whoever posted that link to the Continental site offering it for 363 bucks and change shipped, damn you! You finally made me cave in and take the plunge.

On a more serious note, thanks for the find. That's a great price, especially since it also upconverts SD-DVDs.

A few questions I have for anyone who already owns the HD-A1. What cables does it come with? Is there an HDMI cable included? If so, is it a good quality cable or some El Cheapo brand? And what's the length of the cable?

Yes, it comes with an HDMI cable....its decent quality....no need to buy another unless its too short...I think its 3 ft, but not sure.

With the HDMI 1.3 spec recently radified, you might want to wait at least until PS3 comes out in November if you're leaning towards BD. This way you can get full DTS-HD and Dolby Tru-HD. Of course you'll have to upgrade your receiver but at least this way you won't have to rebuy the player.

I agree....I would avoid the first crop of BD players, for this reason AND due to the extremely high pricetag.

If your gonna go BD, wait for the reviews of the PS3 or a 2nd gen player.

If money isnt a big deal and hdmi 1.3 isnt either, I bet the pioneer and panasonic players (coming out in the next couple months) will be better than the sammy or sony (just my guess).

If it's 3 feet, then I'll definitely need another one. I don't even know if 6 feet will be long enough.

Now I just need to decide which titles to get first. I've heard great things about Serenity's transfer. And it doesn't hurt that the movie rocked.

To be honest, I havent seen a poor transfer on hd-dvd yet....I heard that the Fugitive is not that great, but I havent watched my copy yet. All my others are great.

Ditto. Made a qualifying purchase ("Million Dollar Baby" HD-DVD) at B&N, and in about 2 months or less, I'll have my player, so I hope.

Yep, thank DigitalFreakNYC, it was his thread to begin with, I just posted the link. I've already purchased about 7 great deals off there and I'm planning on getting one of their 1080p Samsung DLP sets soon.

I wouldn't necessarily expect the PS3 to do this correctly.

You didnt hear? The PS3 is the second coming. It will be beyond high definition. ;)

It's the one gaming system to rule them all!

How long is it supposed to take for Continental/Brainstorm Logistics to ship the HD-A1? The website didn't seem to give any indication.

My HD-A1 took about 2 weeks from when I ordered it to arrive. I know it ships out of NJ so it may also depend on your location