All the Blockbuster stores in my city still carry HD DVD. Hmmmm.

Sure, your city may have had some of the initial 250 test stores that will be the only ones keeping HD-DVD, but then the next 1400 only carried Blu-Ray exclusively.

i have to correct you, for the sake of accuracy. what you read is that a study of the web traffic on netflix over the course of a few months indicated that of the people who looked at the blu-ray/hd dvd areas on netflix, twice as many chose hd dvd as their preferred format than chose blu-ray as their preferred format. the study said nothing of the number of actual discs rented. it's a positive statistic for HD DVD to be certain, but just not the statistic that you are claiming.

i don't understand why people make this speculative claim. blockbuster's online rental service that is similar to netflix continues to include HD DVDs, so i don't think its valid to assume that former blockbuster B&M customers automatically flocked to netflix. i think it would make more sense for them to have simply chosen the blockbuster online service, since they are already blockbuster customers.

Thank you. The data is here:

http://blog.compete.com/2007/09/28/n...-bluray-hddvd/

I agree with that, but its also a possibility that the BBV move pushed alot of mad hd-dvd owners to netflix.

yes, it is certainly a possibility. but there are many alternative, yet equally likely possibilities. it just seems passionate blu-ray supporters are quick to dismiss the data with a completely speculative, unsupported explanation to make them feel better. passionate supporters of both sides do this anytime any numbers come out in support of the opposing format and its a bit tiring.

Wal-Marts are now carrying the A3 for $298.

http://www.vwenthusiast.com/wally-world/hd-a3.jpg

A picture a AVSer took at his local Wal-Mart. Several others confirmed seeing the boxes (anywhere from 3-6).

Not bad.

I'm thinking about getting into the HD game (probably closer to Christmas time) and am just doing some prelim research. I've read about the A2 which Amazon has for $220 and now I see the A3 for $300. Is it worth the price difference?

I'm close to zeroing in on an A3 myself, my defense mainly being getting two movies free in the box (300 and Bourne Identity, both of which I actually want in my collection). That Wal-Mart pic might actually result in a sale this week... :)

I have a question about all of this as well: I remember seeing those pictures of the burned covers on Universal's free HD-DVD titles in the last offer and being very put off; are they doing the same thing again this time? I really want The Thing and Darkman, but not with those ugly burn marks.

Some people have burned...some don't. Not a single person has gotten The Thing or Darkman yet from the new offers...so no idea there.

Probably not. I think the differences are more cosmetic than anything. Being a Gen-3 player, the A3 may boot up/load a little faster than the A2. However, if I'm buying in right now, I think I would go ahead with the latest generation of player. Plus, you do get 300 and Bourne Identity thrown in for free. That's a $45-$50 value right there.

Circuitcity.com has finally added the A3, $299.

The A2 price has been lowered to $198 at Wal-Mart stores (or will by Tuesday). My local Wal-Mart had one (The A2W I think?) and someone was buying it due to the new price which apparently changed yesterday. So if you have a Wal-Mart buy you...$198 + 5 Free by mail is an awesome deal.

Let me add, Wal-Mart prices are always YMMV...so if you see an A2, do a price check on it. While the tag may say $298, it may be cheaper.

Add some more...

A few people over at AVS have been able to confirm this, and I saw one today.
Apparently the A2 is ringing up $198 at Wal-Mart stores with more on the way. This is a rollback price, not clearance on the newly branded A2W.

From a Wal-Mart employee on AVS...

For those interested in confirming for themselves...
Wal Mart item number: 564786/570634

Looks like a sub $200 HD DVD player has come to be.

By Halloween, we're going to see pricecuts on HD DVD players, especially at Wallymartz. If you guys want one now, just hold off a few weeks. Then the games will begin. I suspect the holidays are going to be rather rewarding for those who are waiting to buy the hardware, whether it be Blu-ray or HD DVD players.

Well, I caved in and bought the A3 for $298 at Wal-Mart tonight. The purchase has made me dual-format even before getting an HDTV (my next item), and my first impressions? Excellent. I'm typing this as I go along, and bear in mind I am not using an HDTV at the moment. If anyone has any basic questions I'll be willing to answer them. Now to see how this thing works! :D

what is the power on to tray open time? and the disc load time? just wondering how it compares to the other gen 3 units and previous generations.

I heard the A3 is a bit faster...but we won't be seeing DVD-style loading for a while. At least until we get another year into the format. So far the only fast loading is from the PS3 or the 360 AO. All stand alones, including Blu-ray, are still pretty bad.

Good to know, and means Ill just keep my A1 till it croaks... I use my PS3 as my default player strictly on load time alone. And I know its all in my head, but I sware the load time on my A1 gets longer every time I use it.

Having not owned or seen an A1 or 2 in action the tray open and load time was a little startling, but it was tolerable. Booting up an HD-DVD is about a minute (tested with 300). I also tested a DVD (the new RoboCop SE) and the boot-up was about the same as a regular DVD player or the PS3.

Here's a question: I have yet to grab my new HDTV, but I was wondering with regards to the receiver:

1) Will a fiber-optic cable be able to carry LPCM signals, such as on my old receiver?

2) If not, what is the lowest-priced HDMI video/audio receiver that will be able to make the lossless codecs (TrueHD and DTS-HD MA) into PCM? I'm not worried about having bitstream audio or HDMI 1.3 from what I've read, so all I need is for it to be lossless.

No. When outputting audio through the S/PDIF optical port it is downrezzed to DTS @ 1.5Mbps because the connection doesn't have the bandwidth for lossless. That should sound as good as or better than SD DVD audio, but it isn't lossless. You will need an HDMI capable receiver for that.
For a discussion of HDMI receivers you might want to check out the HDMI Receiver Master Thread.

An older, now closed, thread is here.

But on the subject of "bitstream", your A3 will decode the lossless Dolby TrueHD (and, eventually, DTS-HD MA through a firmware update, it is believed) and send it to your receiver as PCM. It isn't necessary to have a receiver that can decode either format. It is necessary to have a receiver that can accept HDMI audio inputs.

Please be aware that a few older receivers can pass an HDMI feed to a display but don't actually strip out the audio for use by the receiver. Any newer HDMI capable receiver should be able to handle the HDMI audio from your A3 fine.

Thanks a lot!

^You're welcome. I've edited my post above with some more information about bitstream vs. PCM (it took me awhile to verify that what I remembered was correct).

lizard, thanks a ton. I think I'm looking at the Sony 910 since it has HDMI audio and three inputs.