LilDears

My question is directed at the average DVD Talk member, not the early adopter. I love DVD but I'm not a 'gotta have the latest & greatest' type. I've got 2 HD TVs with upconverting DVD players that I'm quite happy with. Here is what needs to happen for me to take the plunge:

- One format needs to become the standard, or maybe it will become feasible that they can both co-exist (doesn't seem likely).

- Player prices will have to drop below the $200 mark.

- Hi Def DVD is going to have to offer me something I can't get on SD DVD. Somthing besides the improved picture, which is nice but it won't be enough for me to part with my hard-earned $$$. It will have to be additional content or maybe they will begin to release the Hi Def before the SD is available?

What will it take to get you to Hi Def DVD?

Dead

That alone will probably push me over the edge. More/better title selection would be a big push too though.

Quinty

For me it would be the following :

* Price of the players must go much lower then now.

* One format only; Blu Ray or HD-dvd.

* Better titles released with better specs like standard DD and DTS options.

I think that both titles will fail as sd-dvd still has room to be improved.
These formats will die as the mainstream public will not find it worth their money for there is not much difference like there was with vhs-dvd.
That's my view though, it will be interesting to see what will happen in the next year.

LordofWar

Well I got an LCD HDTV yeasterday and I hooked my Sony DAV-DZ100 Hometheater in a box system to it and the picture is superb. I dont think HD can do a whole lot better. I will how ever get the HD dvd player add on attachment for my Xbox 360 when it comes out. For me Blue ray is the next betamax. Sure the picture is great but I have heard the discs damage a whole lot easier and plus it has an outrageous price tag. So im already saying no thanks to Blue Ray.

Ralph Jenkins

I just picked up an HD DVD player on Tuesday. After sampling Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Serenity, Constantine and Pitch Black in HD, it will be hard to go back to watching standard DVDs. Comparing the HD DVDs of Kiss Kiss and Serenity to the standard DVDs was an eye-opener, to say the least. The improved picture quality is enough for me; I care about the movies, not the extras. That said, I do have a few gripes. The format war is stupid and only hurts everybody. I wish there were more A-list titles available and fewer bombs. As for the price, I don't think the Toshiba player is that overpriced. I'm afraid that with lower prices could come lower quality, as companies cut corners to achieve a magic price point. With VHS, for example, the earlier players were actually built a lot better than many of the later, cheaper, units.

Maybe you weren't looking for my reply, since I guess I am an early adopter. I'm usually not one, though. The $450 price for the Toshiba HD DVD player seemed reasonable to me, since it also does a great job of upconverting regular DVDs. Should the HD DVD format not be successful, I'll still be left with a better than average DVD player and at least a few fantastic-looking HD movies.

The Bus

I've come to the realization that my current "players" simply aren't cutting it. I've never actually owned a DVD player and now I want to see my DVDs upconverted. I had been debating getting an HD-DVD player and when I read it upconverted it killed two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, my first (larger) HDTV doesn't do DVI or HDMI, so I'm SOL. I was literally ready to drive out and get one today when I read it upconverted.

Cinemaddiction

What will it take me? About 6-8 weeks, and $360 according to Continental Airlines' OnePass program.

All joking aside, I'm already sold. I'm picking up my 42" Sony LCD HDTV in less than two weeks, and I already made the qualifying points purchase through OnePass, so it's just a matter of time. As far as titles go, HD-DVD has the upper hand as far as my favorite movies go. Of what's available, and coming up, I'm interested in roughly 1/2. The Blu-ray exclusive titles I'll just stick to the versions I have now, and "deal" with the upconverted/upscaled picture.

Now's the time to show your support for whatever format you're interested in, and given my lack of patience, I'm supporting HD-DVD, and immediately so. I don't see a price drop anytime soon. $200 from $500, much less $1,000? The HD market isn't big enough to warrant such a drop in the next year or so. Why? Because a decent HDTV, with the absolutely essential HDMI capabilities, at a decent size, will run you about $700 or more, and Joe Public doesn't have the kind of scratch. Keep in mind, if most of your HDTV/DVD interaction only comes from forums such as these and AVS, there's a few thousand people for every one of us that has the goodies to enjoy the medium.

Sure, there are upconverting DVD players out there for $130, but hardcore cinephiles that want to do their televisions and home theatres justice are going to make the sacrifices to have the absolute best for said set up's. It pains me to know there's something better out there that I know I could have pretty easily, lol. Casual movie watchers and people with too much money that want to impress friends? They'll nab an HD-DVD player, hook it up to their uncalibrated iLo/Westinghouse/Sanyo HDTV's and HTIB's and call it a day, not really thinking twice about it, and be content. It sounds elitist, but most of us know it to be true, lol.

Technology waits for nobody, kids. The future is now.

dave-o

I agree with most of what has been said: Price point of around 200 dollars, better movies, more certainty with regards to the format sticking around awhile...

I will also add one more important one for me: Local video stores start carrying movies. I have transitioned into more of a renter vs collector. Yet I still don't rent enough to justify Netflix, so I go to the local Family Video chain instead.

lizard

I've been hoping to wait out the format war but the initial feedback on HD DVD and BD in this forum has me sorely tempted to take the plunge with HD DVD. Reasons:

• I've had a 1080i HDTV (with DVI) to upscale my DVDs for years, so I am ready to go in that department.
• $500 I can afford, although a bit less would be preferred since the discs are still quite expensive (I am used to paying $6 for new release DVDs).
• My DVD buying has pretty much halted now that the HD formats are here.
• The first gen player (A1) bugs seem to be corrected by the firmware updates and the build quality is reported to be excellent.
• The outstanding PQ and sound reports have me ing with anticipation.
• The faceplant by the BD launch has made HD DVD the only viable format for the time being.

For now, I am mulling over whether or not to wait for a second gen player from Toshiba. But if I saw a decent sale price on the A1 (no, I don't have any Continental air miles or things like that to use) I might just take the plunge sooner. And if a few favorite titles became available on HD DVD (no "Kong" isn't one of them; no interest in that) I might just log-on to Amazon and pay full price.

Hats off to Toshiba for a stellar, if delayed, "soft" launch. Six months ago I was a BD supporter.

Alan Smithee

The format war has to end- either have only one format, or a machine that can play both. I also haven't found a HDTV that I'd be completely satisfied with either.

Eric D.

HD DVD already has exclusive features that you can't get anywhere else. The best one is called In Movie Experience and it plays while you are watching the movie. It shows everything from behind the scenes stuff, to interviews, to deleted scenes, ect. that is in direct correlation with the scene that you are currently watching. The movies that have this feature now are The Bourne Supremacy, Constantine, and The Dukes of Hazzard. V for Vendetta will also have this feature when it is released and it is rumored that Superman Returns and Poseidon will carry it as well. Plus some HD DVDs have more special features then the regular SD DVD versions. An example of these are Van Helsing, Syrania, The Chronicles of Riddick and Sahara.

Supermallet

Two things:

1. Why do you think DD or DTS are better than the audio on HD DVDs? All HD DVDs currently released have Dolby Digital Plus, which is better than current DD or DTS. And the HD DVD spec supports DolbyTruHD and DTS-HD, which are lossless audio codecs. So HD DVD already has better audio than any DVD ever will.

2. Digital Theater (HD-VHS) was doomed from the start. While the picture could be very good, VHS was already out the door by the time the format was introduced. Of course it was going to die. HD DVD is endorsed by the DVD Forum as the genuine successor of DVD. That's a huge difference. Also, there is a major picture difference between DVD and HD DVD. Even my best looking DVDs look disappointing now.

Josh Z

Buy your discs off the back of a truck, do you?

FantasticVSDoom

Well for me, its just waiting for the end of the year (birthday and christmas). I will either get the add-on for my 360, or if the specs and reviews for that dont cut it, then I will just get the player. I'm already sold, just waiting for the right time.

The Bus

To be fair, couldn't regular DVDs do this? I mean Mallrats had it...

The Cow

Better titles.

Julie Walker

I would only get into HD dvd if the prices were affordable,the intended look of a film is left intact and not compromised(ie-no excessive Sony like filtering of natural film grain), all films are presented in their original aspect ratio and original audio mix. That means mono films must be presented in mono(5.1 options are 'ok',but the original audio mix is more important!).

Afterall if you want the film presented in the best possible way on home video with uncompressed picture and sound quality. Why deceive film fans of the original audio mix in uncompressed superior quality?

Since the original audio mix must have is not being done at all so far on HD dvd(Full Metal Jacket, Enter The Dragon, Blazing Saddles, The Terminator). I will not be bothering with the format anytime soon.

tonyc3742

* More titles I'm interested in/wider catalog.
* Cheaper, second-or-greater generation players.
* Cheaper disks.
* More of a 'winner' so the industry isn't split [although it does sounds like HD has a great head start].
* Some sort of promise or guarantee that I would be able to see 'HD' on my component-video.
* Getting caught up on my current dvd collection.
* Being able to experience it--I'll admit I haven't been actively hunting it out, but the last time I was in Best Buy or Circuit City, I saw nothing about HD or BD.

I'm honestly more into TV on DVD now, than movies--most of the movies I want, I already have on DVD [except for a few 'Hmm, I'd like to grab that sometime' titles.] And most of the titles that are out now, I have little interest in owning, especially considering the initital investment.

digitalfreaknyc

Sheesh....no offense but some of you guys may want to ask for the kitchen sink as well.

basaro

It's called Columbia House. Us CH'ers know where it's at


I am waiting for the format war to be over, basically. Also it depends on which format wins, and when. Clearly as it stands today, HD-DVD is a better quality format. If BD ends up winning later just because they have 50gb discs, but the performance is still less than HD-DVD, then I wouldn't even be interested. If HD-DVD wins either way, I think that would be fine, but it would be nice if they could figure out how to add another layer or two, I'd like not to have long films split over two discs.

It would also be nice to have some titles I care about too. Nothing really interests me so far.

Supermallet

45GB triple layer HD DVDs have apparently been tested. They are not part of the official HD DVD spec, but amir at AVS said the Toshiba should be able to play them with a firmware upgrade.

kvrdave

I am getting HD tv programming, so that may force my hand. I am also considering selling off a bunch of dvds that I don't seem to be watching, and the extra money may force my hand. I would really prefer a HD-DVD drive to watch through my computer, but if they don't hurry, I may just pick up a regular player around Christmas time anyway.

paulringodaman

many many years...my DVD watching has decreased since I finally got a life!!! Now that I have 95% of the movies/TV shows I want, I can't see myself doing it allllll over again, too. I will not get either one until they are the true standard (as VHS was 10 years ago, and DVD is now).

fataldog187

Batman Begins. That's it. Just an official announcement would do.

speedyray

I could not have made a better post than this to sum up my feelings. I have that 12% coupon for Best Buy in my wallet and an overwelming desire to use it. I have three HD DVD in my amazon cart to go with it. I am a little strapped for cash right now, but I am leaning hard - since it is rated as a very good upconverting player and my current player is pretty much shot (second gen Toshiba from 98 - was $1500 list and sold for $799 at Best Buy). I just have a slight fear about buying first gen products. I may buy it this week and order those disc on the organized purchase day since one comes out that week. I feel I may be HD-DVD veiwing by the end of the month. Oh, I also started on the BD bandwagon, I was never all the way on and anything but a fanboy, but I have shifted my support after viewing each product in person.