100% incorrect.

whoah! how did this jump to 6 pages!!

I think that's exactly the point, many of us are fine waiting a few years for the players to become better and cheaper. I'd love to be an early adopter of tech, but don't have the resources at this time. My dvd collection has ballooned because of how cheap the dvds have gotten. If I wait a few years to make the jump I suspect that HD discs will drop in price. Right now, owning a movie is not worth 20$ for me, I didn't buy DVD's when they cost that much and I won't buy HD-dvds when they cost that much.

Sshheeesh.

Seems like these forums are filled with DVD lovers rather than movie-lovers.

Too bad, that.

Not sure I follow you there, my thought is I can get more movies I want now by sticking to the DVD format. I think HD is better, but can't justify the cost right now. I also hit up my local cheap theater more often than the first-run theaters. I wouldn't say that means I love cheap theater's more than movies.

Weren't people making the same arguments about DVD back in 1998? Did ANYONE in their wildest dreams expect so much obscure stuff that companies like Mondo Macabro, Blue Underground, Image, Anchor Bay, etc. are cranking out? Assuming that it catches fire with customers, I see no reason why these same companies won't put these titles out in HD. Most have had the foresight to put together HD transfers.


I can certainly understand the 'wait for the dust to settle' approach, althought that *does* significantly increase the amount of time it takes said dust to settle. What I don't understand is people applauding this move by Criterion. That makes *no* sense to me.

Personally I don't care about the cost, and I am seriously considering buying the HD-XA2 when it comes out.

However, DVD via upconversion is still more than acceptable. This is not a zero sum game.

I might cream my pants over Batman Begins in HD, but that doesn't mean I won't fully enjoy watching something like Glengarry Glen Ross in SD. Like you said digi, I'm a movie-lover, and as such, I will love the movie, whether it's available in HD or not.

Furthermore, if having a few dozen HD titles makes watching SD that unbearable, might I suggest those that feel that way are not as big a fan of the movie as they are the medium....

I would never doubt the merits of HD, and you'll never catch me saying it's only a marginal improvement. I'm sure it's quite awesome on a properly calibrated display.

But I just don't understand why HD supporters have to slag SD to build HD up. Doesn't HD stand on its own merits?

As has been said time and time again, the odds of everything available on DVD coming out in HD are virtually nil. There will be films that you will never own in HD, just as there are films that never made it to DVD from VHS. And the likelihood is greater, as to the average consumer (not your or me), the difference between SD and HD will not be nearly as significant as the jump from VHS to DVD.

I only spent $150 for my first DVD player in '99. You might not think $500 is a big investment, but you are not everyone.

I am a movie lover. And you know what, I can buy four, five, even six movies on DVD for the price of one in an HD format. I'm quite willing to accept lower quality video if it means I can buy more films that I love.

If there are no movies he wants to watch available in HD, why should he buy in to it? So he can watch Aeon Flux?

Hey, cost is a fine reason to wait. If people think x dollars is too much then that's okay I think.

Now, for those who own HDtv sets and are saying DVD is good enough, that's where I start to wonder a bit.

I agree 100%. I agree with the Criterion decision and this thread is looking more like it belongs in the HD forum.

Looking at his DVDAf link, I see about 8 titles that he owns that are already available on HD DVD. And I only looked at titles beginning with A, B, or C.

Tom -- your collection seems to be pretty well-rounded (http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.ht...ANF&id=tomopus) with more than a handful of mainstream titles. That makes me a little confused about your earlier statements that standard DVD is "the only game in town for my kind of movies and will be for quite some time."

I said that several pages back.

I don't even know why it was posted here in the first place.

This information was actually already posted in the HD forum. I guess none of us cared enough to discuss the shit out of it.

They're not "on your side" anymore than the studios that are releasing HD discs aren't on your side. Criterion would still be releasing movies on DVD if they started releasing HD titles, just like the studios releasing HD discs are still releasing the titles on DVD as well. There's really no way that releasing movies in HD actually hurt the DVD consumers at this point.

That's the problem with this thread. Those who think there is something "wrong" with people who watch SD on 16x9 tvs and that because these people don't run out right now and upgrade it's their fault the format(s) fail or that obscure titles never get a HD release. That it's absurd to watch SD 16x9 DVDs on a 16x9 tv because it's a waste of a HD tv vs those that think HD is great and either will get around to it when they want to, or not at all if they want to, and have no problem with those who already have and are enjoying the hell out of it. Eveybody just do whatever turns you on. I'll get around to it eventually, when I want to and continue watching movies I like in the best format I can find, regardless of the quality because I like the movie. I watched HALLOWEEN last week, a 16x9 SD DVD on my 16x9 tv because I felt like watching it and enjoyed it. But some people here probably think it was a big fucking waste of 90 minutes. I guess I should have gone out and got an HD player and picked a movie available in HD to watch instead, even though it wasn't what I really wanted to see, but because it was in HD it would have been a better use of my time. This techno-snob bullshit pisses me off. Those with reservations about the format, or are waiting for some other reason have no problem with those who have already upgraded and love it, so why can't they show those who haven't upgraded the same consideration.

I bought my 36 inch Toshiba standard TV in 2000; it was practically free after doing all kinds of crazy promotions like freeride, etc. I thought about selling it for cheap this year and getting an HDTV, but I decided against it. I guess my point is on my current TV is that I have very little invested in it, so I wouldn't mind chucking it for a half-way decent reason.

The main reason I decided against it was I wasn't impressed with HD or Blu Ray. DVD's big draw for me was being able to select chapters, use the movies in my computer during travel. HD-DVD and Blu Ray don't improve on that; so its not a big deal for me. If I started to buy HD-DVD or Blu Ray discs they wouldn't play in my laptop too - which is a big deal for me.

As for the other reason to buy HDTV - high def TV programming - well I guess I don't watch enough of it to care. I admit not watching football in high def would suck, but I don't really think its that big of deal.

Prices for plasmas, LCDS, HDTVs is dropping like crazy and I think they will continue to drop. Maybe next year I will buy a new TV. After that, I don't even think I will buy a new generation player because I want to see what format wins.

These threads always get hijacked by the same cast of characters proclaiming their undying love for the next-generation format. Mostly, I believe that their zeal is being on the cutting edge and loudly proclaiming it and not on rational thought.

They'll always be cheaper.

Most of my HD DVDs have only cost around $17.99 shipped from Amazon. Some more. I got the 10% off discount on HD products for a year by buying 3 HD DVDs plus I get 2 day shipping free because I use Amazon Prime.

I would be willing to pay more for HD DVDs because the PQ is so much better, but for only $18 shipped it makes sense to buy the HD version.

Wow. There are probably about 130 titles out and not even one?

This all reminds me so much of these forums and other places in 1998 and 1999. Those of us jumping in early on DVD were a bunch of snobs. It was bullshit then and its bullshit now. We are encouraging people to upgrade because as a movie lover I can tell you its an amazing experience if you have the right equipment. I don't see how someone could love a movie like The Searchers, Unforgiven, Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Blazing Saddles, etc and not want to see it in HD.

If SD is enough for you fine, but what I'm seeing here is people getting defensive because their DVD collections are threatened. Keep your DVDs, but definitely consider HD discs at some point in the near future as player prices drop and the format war gets settled because it is definitely worth it. Also, people complaining that movies are too expensive at $20-$25 is insane. Especially in a thread about Criterion.

BTW, Criterion is not on your side SD lovers. They have been preparing HD transfers for years and will definitely want you rebuying all your Criterions in the near future. They simply want to wait until the format war is a bit decided.

One of your top 10 (Devil's Rejects) is already available:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread....92#post6728592

I currently have over 3,000 SD DVDs and not one is available in HD...That's because I collect only classic old TV shows from the 50s and 60s, and they'll more than likely never be re-released in HD. I'm sure there must be ALOT of others out there who collect similar shows, and they'll have equal incentive to upgrade to HD-DVD as I have. It's a format mainly for people interested in movies and TV shows from the 90s on up.

False.

If the items you're watching were shot on film, they will benefit from HD presentation.

The formats are in their infancy, and we're already seeing things like:

The Searchers
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Casablanca
The Dirty Dozen
Grand Prix
Spartacus
Forbidden Planet


HD is not exclusively for titles from 1990 (or whenever) onward. Although, initial releases have leaned a bit toward recent action flicks, for understandable reasons.

This is total 100% crap. Almost anything on film will look better in HD no matter how old it is. Film can be transfered at resolutions even higher than current 1080p no matter how old. Watch the Adventures of Robin Hood, The Searchers or Grand Prix and tell me its not for old movies.

If all you buy are old obscure TV shows then sure HD may not be for you, but even many old TV shows shot on film will look much better in HD.

Good points. Video and audioPHILE snobs turn me off

Nuts turn me off.



I lie.

By the time the month is out, Forbidden Planet, Casablanca, Mutiny on the Bounty, Grand Prix, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Spartacus, and The Searchers will all be available on HD DVD (with many of those available right now).

Though they're not quite 'classics' in that same sense, Reds, Blazing Saddles, Full Metal Jacket, Caddyshack, Superman, Superman II, An American Werewolf in London, Dune, Enter the Dragon, U2: Rattle and Rum, Lethal Weapon, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and The Thing are other pre-'90s movies on HD DVD.

Overall, that's a healthy percentage of the overall titles available, and bear in mind that we're barely 6 months into the format.