I'm a waiter as well, but I'll probably only wait until someone starts putting out movies on HD that I actually would want to watch multiple times. Otherwise, I'd could see myself having friends over and telling them "OOOH, look how awesome Aeon Flux looks!" and they'd be like "yeah, that's great, but can we turn off this crappy movie now?'

I need big names - LOTR, Star Wars, Aliens, etc... before they'll see any of my money.

I've had mine for a month and I've had no problems with it of any kind - it's a lot of fun to get excited over prospective released in HD, and if you can afford the $500, go for it. Sure, in a year players will be better and cheaper, but only if the format catches on in a big way.

I want more software!

To the person who stated that many insiders are expecting both formats to last... I find that hard to believe. It only seems like a fair race right now because nobody can predict the future. Blu-Ray isn't looking too too hot right now and HD-DVD seems to be the current favorite. But that doesn't mean anything either, the PS3 isn't out yet. That could help Sony, it could not. We don't know, and neither do the insiders. Eventually one way or another, sales will declare a winner.

i hope the ps3 fails

I still don't see why every time someone brings up BD falling behind to HD-DVD's and being inferior, someone else brings up the PS3. I consider myself a gamer, and have a ton of friends that game (to much) as well. We are all buying a PS3. Not ONE of us is going to buy it to watch movies. Ok, maybe 1 out of 17 of us might watch a movie on it, but why would we buy any BD movies when most of us (remember i'm talking about my little gaming crew here) have at least 300 movies in our catalog library.

PS3 might make it as a gaming machine, but it will fail as a entertainment centerpiece. Sony has this grand vision of taking over households with their machine, hence their comment that the PS3 is a computer, but they won't.

I say buy it now if you want it. They are putting out superior discs, a much better player, and at the rate they are putting out firmware, you are at least certain they want it to succeed. While the BD camp seems to be falling behind more and more.

I also don't think both formats will survive, I just don't there is a market for it. Plus HD-DVD has the huge name advantage. It's the obvious choice for uninformed people to make, but at this stage, even an uninformed person that buys HD-DVD for it's name, would be making the better choice.

Z

You may have a very long wait. There is a good chance both formats will survive, perhaps even thrive.

Meanwhile you won't be able to take advantage of the best resolution available on your big screen HD Display (assuming that you have one already, as most of us here do, including the OP) for watching discs. If PQ and AQ don't matter to you much, or money is tight, then waiting is certainly a viable option. Players and discs will be cheaper in the next year or two, most likely. But I've had my HDTV for some years now and am looking forward to putting it to good HD use. A little over $400 for the player and $18 for the discs is a price I am willing to pay to watch movies (and, perhaps soon, "TV on HD DVD") now, as opposed to several years from now. I suspect, and I am just guessing here, that once you experience movies in HD you may end up less than satisfied with your SD DVDs, at least for certain favorite titles. But you certainly don't have to replace your SD DVDs if you don't want to and many titles won't be released in HD DVD anytime soon anyway.

I'd say the OP's question comes down to money. If $400+ for the player and $18 for the discs seems reasonable, then go for it. If spending that kind of money is a stretch, waiting would be better.

Perhaps, perhaps not. Waiting because of the format war (or for a dual format player, as some suggest) means a very long wait indeed. Maybe a year from now the format war will be over, but I doubt it. I don't see the point in waiting. HD DVD is pretty affordable for what one gets IMHO.

And if HD DVD loses, one still has a good HD DVD/DVD/CD player and the discs to play on it, while the winning format (BD?) will be pretty cheap by then. I just don't see the downside in buying HD DVD now. If anything, this format war is holding down prices of players and discs. No way the Tosh player would have launched at $500 and discs at $18 if not for the competition from BD.

I don't think we'll see Star Wars before 2008, or at least not the OT. Aliens is anyone's guess.

Lord of the Rings/Matrix/Star Trek, however, may make an appearance next year, since it is already being marketed as one of the movies "coming soon"...

And Batman Begins, Harry Potter, and Superman may be coming this year.

The only reason I would wait is because there is so much good HD content on Dishnetwork, etc. right now. If you have an HD-DVR, I could see being very busy watching stuff and never needing a player.

For those who have the player, do you see a significant difference between HD-DVDs and HD programming on HBO, etc.?

Yes. Without a doubt.

I say wait. MORE players will come out = competition = lower prices. You can get a XBOX 360 and the HD-DVD player attachment for $200 more. So, for $600 you have a good game console and a HD-DVD player (quality unknown at this time).

I would still wait though. It sounds like you only could afford so much for a TV, so how can you afford a HD-DVD player too? I would've put the extra cash towards the TV.

Yes. Most HD content that is broadcast is not necessarily at optimal quality. With movie channels, OAR is sometimes sacrificed. (I believe either Cinemax or Showtime show correct OAR). With other material, especially concerts, encoding/broadcast is done at much lower bitrates. It's easy to see the compression at times. This hasn't happened once with discs.

Okay, Continental deal, here I come.

I'm still a little fuzzy on all the different formats as well...my TV only supports 480i, 480p and 1080i. I already have an OPPO DVD player that "upconverts" to 1080i. Would a HD DVD player really make that much of a difference? Was thinking of buying the add on drive for the 360 whenever it comes out, but I'm not that sure.

Considering 80% of my DVD collection is old B&W movies, HD isn't a must have anyway, but I still like to have the new toys.

Is there any news of any other players coming out soon? That damn remote on the Toshiba is pushing me away, I know it's something small but I don't have much money and I sure don't want to put all this down on a HD-DVD player only to spend more cash for a decent universal remote.

The RCA has a different remote and it's the same player. If it's that big a deal, go there.

Cool, thanks. I think I'll still stick with the Toshiba and learn to live with the remote. I think I've done enough research on the whole thing and I'm ready to make a purchase. I'll be selling my psp asap to pay for this.

The remote is an issue for about a week. The major controls are well thought out so it's easy to deal with it in a dark room. But if you don't have a universal remote or a flashlight, that first week is a pain in the ass.

From the great saying of Darth Vader...

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo.....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Davy Mack
If everybody waits, there won't be ANY HD format...



Really? Why?

So consumers should just act like lemmings, buy what they are sold and conviced it is good?"

The reason I think that is if nobody buys into these formats they will die off. Look at SACD and DVDA. They are failures as far as the mainstream goes. If studios see nobody buying their spanking new HD discs they will STOP making them. They will assume that people think that DVD is good enough and that's it. If you were producing HD discs today and nobody bought any, would you keep making them in a year? duh

So then, Dave, what's YOUR excuse for not having one yet?

Touche, Craig!

The gf factor. I just bought a new PJ, a new drum machine, a new tube microphone and new monitor speakers.
Right now she would kick my a$$......

;)

Soon, I promise.

Well at only $363 it's just a drop in the bucket! Go for it.

And miss out on UMD movies????

I will, I promise! I'm just broke right now!

:)