60% of the time it works all of the time!

Bus is right though, it does give an impression of the difference between SD and HD, inspite of itself.

Seriously, that smells like pure gasoline.

My "at first," "initially," and "eventually" were true for DVD as well, so they're not situations that are unique to the new formats. Thus, they're not really valid reasons for not buying into HD any more than they stopped most people from buying DVD.

Don't knock it. I've sold a few hundred vhs tapes of stuff not on dvd for several thousands dollars. Routinely got $50 or more per tape. Especially the 2 tape Republic Home Video serials and Columbia House tv sets not on dvd. This was a couple years ago. Alot of the stuff has been bootlegged to dvd-r by now.

I never sell any tapes that still have yet to hit dvd....and there are plenty. However, it's so true that many people out there care nothing for HD or dvd or anything better than VHS. I once had a tape library of over 1000 titles that have been on dvd for some time, but had no problem selling those at sometimes $50, $75 or even $100 a pop. Just last month, I weeded out another 40 tape titles and eneded up making over $450.

I love people who don't give a shit.

Oh, I understand that a few OOP titles can garner a hefty price. I've sold off a few OOP DVDs for sums more than $50. However, I know that the majority of my DVDs, as with the majority of LD and VHS titles, are not going to be selling for very high prices anytime soon. TV sets especially are not going to be as pricey this time around, since they are much more plentiful and affordable on DVD than they ever were on VHS. And bootlegging is going to be even more of an issue due to digital-perfect copying and illegal downloads.

I imagine that if you added in the current or sold value of all the VHS tapes you bought, then subtracted the cost of purchasing in the first place, the total "investment" would be a loss.

Yea, if you added them all up, including the ones you sell off for $2-3 you have a loss. Depends on how much of what you have are mainstream popular titles. I remember getting $150 for the OOP Honeymooners classic 39 on vhs about a year before the dvd release which I picked up for less than $30. I had bought the 12 tape set of the Dark Shadows '91 revival series for about $100 and put it on ebay and somebody gave me $120 for it. This was before the dvd was announced. When Lost in Space dvd rumors began to appear I put my complete 40 tape CH up for auction and got $1180, they cost me $900 and change. It all depends on what you got. Same with dvd.

I realize alot of people are going to wait due to price but cmon, just how cheap does something have to be before you will buy it. You can find a HD-A1 or the RCA equivilent for about 300-350 bucks and then the movies are only a few bucke more than the SD DVD's. I just dont understand the mindset behind it but I guess that is a fualt of mine.

My best friend in life, we were friends since I was 6, was run over by a train when he was 18 and ever since then I have lived my life very differently. I live for the here and now and dont really care about minor things like a couple hundred bucks here or a couple hundred bucks there. If I want something I save up and get it and when it comes to the things that I really enjoy and the things I am very passionate about, money just isnt an issue at all. Cinema & Still Photography are really 2 things that I am absolutly passionate about. I absolutly love them and have ever since I can remember.

For me upgrading to HD was an absolute no brainer. It was relativly cheap, especially considering how much I spent for my first DVD player, and they have great titles released already with alot more on the way. While some may think DVD really is good enough that is just not the case for me anymore. Sure it used to be but things change and technology moves forward. SD just doesnt cut it for me anymore, not when I know that there is a format available right now that absolutly blows it out of the water in every single way.

Again I just live my life very differently. I just dont believe in waiting. We all have a limited time in this life and nobody knows when thier ticket is gonna be called. Dont get me wrong, I dont live my life wrecklessly or anything of that manner. I pay my bills on time and I invest a certain percentage of each check I get so I can retire in comfort. I just dont wait. If I really want something that is affordable, I get it. If there is a place I really want to travel to , I go there. My fiance is the same way and its one of the reasons why we are so great together.

I just cant see sitting out of the HD format because there is a format war going on. Whats the worst thing that would happen if HD-DVD folded? So I spent a couple grand on some movies and the format went under. So what!
I have already gotten so much enjoyment out of the format to this point thjat it has already been worth it and its not like I havent repurchased movies that I already owned before. I have repurchasing movies that I already owned for as long as I can remember. Its a price you pay for the leaps technology makes and its all 100% worth it.

I just dont understand the mindset in waiting. If its something that you really want and something you really enjoy then stop waiting and let the chips fall where they fall. You only live once.

PS..

$100-150 for me.

I have other things I can live for at the moment.

A friend of mine was on the fence even with the $199 XBox 360 HD-DVD Add-on drive. It took a $40 coupon to get him on board.

I'm sure KK HD looks awesome, but those 480p shots are horrific. If King Kong looked like that on my setup in SD I'd have my eyes and calibration checked.

King Kong SD looked much better than that on my display even before I had my upconverter.

Some displays (mine, for example) do an excellent job of unconverting. I was puzzled by all the fuss over upconverting DVD players (and the upconverting prowess of the HD players) because I assumed that all HD displays would upconvert DVDs. Apparently that isn't so.

Your display may be one of the ones that does a good job of upconverting.

My understanding is by using an upconverting player, you take the upconverting out of the displays hands.

For instance, with my 480p player, my set would internally convert it to 1080i, since that's what my display is set for (it's an RPTV).

However, since the Oppo player is already feeding the display a 1080i signal, the display upconversion is no longer needed. Now, I had very good results with my Pioneer player, so my guess is that while my display does petty good upconversion, the Oppo is still better.

I think I got it right-hope that makes sense.

As some of the camera shots were a bit blurry, I'd have to agree with you.

But you're forgetting about the millions of people, like me, who don't own an HDTV. For us, the upgrade to HD would cost a heck of a lot more than $300.

BTW, sorry to hear about your friend.

Amen. To both comments.

What I find humorous is the smug, sanctimonious "how DARE you wait this so-called 'format war' out! You are just cheap! Live for the moment!! By not supporting the format you are dooming High Definition digital video to oblivion!!" attitude. To blame the consumer for not supporting half-baked competitive strategies in order to support the vast cadre of HD DVD and Blu-Ray manufacturers/vendors/retailers attempts to absolve said corporate interests of ignoring the pitfalls of engaging in competing formats at the dawn of mass HD acceptance and penetration.

If HD or Blu-Ray go under, it doesn't effect me in the slightest. Another HD video format will emerge that will learn the lessons generated by this idiotic dual-format rollout. The only people who will be left smarting were the people who chose sides as an early-adopter from the get-go.

It's not about money, necessarily. And if you generate enjoyment out of your investment in a single format, more power to you! But to label people who are gonna sit on the sidelines with a barrel full of popcorn and wait this out as "foolish" is just ridiculous.

Even more humorous are people who have no interest in HD formats actually spending time posting in the HD forum.

This thread started in the DVD Talk forum, so anyone who subscribed to it then may still be reading and posting to it now, even though it hopped forums.

I know I've read and posted in threads that have been moved to forums I never usually visit.

Except that I never, ever said I had "no interest" in HD formats, Mister Man. Just that some of the attitudes surrounding them are, to say the least, mondo beyondo.

I'll be honest and say that I can completely see both sides of it: why someone would wait it out and why someone would join in and buy HD DVD now. Beyond those two options is why *I* find ridiculous at the moment but to each his own.

That should be the motto of the HD forum (and the world) I guess.

I think that this is one of the worst threads at DVDTalk, but I will chime in that I want In The Mood for Love Criterion on HD-DVD now please.


That is all.