Personally I don't think that would be the case at all with the Sopranos, but that's just me.

Considering Warner's distribution problems with these titles, that won't be a particularly accurate comparison, no matter how the results turn out. A significant number of people who want to buy these discs haven't been able to find them at retail, either online or brick & mortar.

That is true - I should have mentioned that.

Best Buy continues to be the only B&M store I see all 5 releases at on both formats.

I'm torn right now. Get the HD-A2 for less than a $100 bucks or wait for the A3 which'll be $170 bucks. For anyone who has moved up from the A2 to the A3, has there been a sizable difference between the quality of the units?

I'd take the A2 over the A3, unless you are using HDMI audio. If you are using optical, the A2 downsamples the high def audio to 1.5mbps DTS stream, while the A3 downsamples the high def audio to 640k DD. The A2 may load a bit slower, but if you're using the optical audio I think that's a small trade off.

Cool. Thanks.

Is that much of a noticeable difference? I just got my A3 at CC last week but now with the A2 at $98 I might try to return it and pm the A2 at CC. Or should I just stick with what I've got and be happy? It sounds good to me, but would it sound that much better on the A2?

^^ no idea. I'm still running my A1 with analog outs. Just regurgitating what I've read.

I'm surprised there hasn't been that much discussion about Warner Bros. possibly going Blu-Ray exclusive over here. It has me a bit scared about HD-DVD's future if that does happen (I'm a 360 add-on owner).

Lately it seemed all the good news was going HD-DVD's way with Paramount and the $98 Wal-Mart deal push the HD-DVD format. Even K-Mart has announced they'd only carry HD-DVD.

I don't frequent the AVS boards. Is anyone here as concerned about WB as I am?

Nope. The fourth quarter will keep Warner Bros. in line. All is well.

So you think the 4th quarter HD-DVD sales will convince WB to stick with HD-DVD? Or just that we're safe until the end of the 4th quarter (when WB may go Blu-Ray in '08)?

I believe that sales of high volumes of the players in HD to what will now be a mass (not niche) market will cause software sales of HD-DVDs to dramatically spike and yes, Warners will see that and respond.

Bill Hunt blows a gasket!! I thought this guy was "pro-consumer" Oh $99 HD player aren't pro consumer? Why not drop another $300 for the PS3? Lame Bill lame. If you really were pro-movie, pro-consumer, you would tell people to go get it while they can so they can go dual format and enjoy movies.
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents

The more I read from these fanatics (and I'm sure there are plenty on the HD-DVD front), the more I don't ever want to go Blu-Ray. I'm one of those that is going for the A2 now and will be getting an HDTV later, but I am willing to plunk down $30 for a title I like (the one's I've seen and have pre-ordered so far, though, are around $20).

We all know how full of shit Bill Hunt is, and how he's a shill for BD.

But this time, he ignores even the simplest economic arguments. Whenever you state your point with "Webster's dictionary defines X as..." you know that you are in for a pathetic argument. It's middle school debate class.

He doesn't even mention that a possible reason is the release of the A3 model, or that you don't make your money on players, but software, or how this in actuality is only a 50% decrease in price (hardly a fire sale) or a marketing move to get people excited about the format.

I knew Bill Hunt was an idiot. But now he's confirmed he's just stupid.

Blu-Ray Bill has really lost it. Everyone should be thrilled about a $99 HD player (with 5 free movies). This guy has become a complete laughing stock.

His vague claim that the Walmart sale "might" be illegal in "some" states due to anti-dumping laws is FUD spin at its finest :D. I guess his research skills are only as deep as Wikipedia allows.

This is the first time I have read his column regarding HD/BR since I have read here how biased he is. What a douchebag.

Seriously though, does anyone still visit thedigitalbits anymore? Are they viewed as a respectable site? I know they were popular back during the dvd explosion but I haven't visited their site in years or really heard them mentioned much in recent years (except for people commenting on his BR bias).

So Warner's rumored "big announcement about something high-def" never happened?

Apparently chanster still does! Sorry, had to. ;)

Seriously though, Bill did just take a rather large dive off the deep end there. I was wondering how long until the splash reached this forum.

All I can say as a supporter of both formats is his views really don't represent my views at all.

The only reason I'd be unhappy about Toshiba's diving player costs is if it scared away Onkyo from releasing their player, which I am interested in.

I am enjoying both formats quite a bit these days. Haven't had any technical issues on either side since my Matrix combos which I returned.

Now, please Uni, let's get a B1G1 sale!

There never really was a big announcement to begin with. It was Warner stating that they're waiting until next quarter (or thereabouts) to see what the numbers look like after the holidays before deciding which format to back more strongly or possibly exclusively.

Here's something else funny I noticed in his article:

When he mentions Cars, Ratatouille and the Pixar Shorts, they are hyperlinked to their respective Amazon pages. When Transformers is mentioned, it just gets bold text. Hilarious.

C'mon, would it really hurt to have a link for Transformers too?

Yeah, that means he has a deal with amazon to get commission from sales linked directly from his site, this guy is definitely a BD shill, literally in fact.

But wouldn't he also benefit from people clicking through the Transformers link?

Yeah, but that may piss off his Blu Ray overlords...and he is a contributor to another Blu Ray backed Web site, which I assume he is compensated for..

See here:
http://www.hollywoodinhidef.com/revi...tail.php?id=97