HD-DVD should go from "The look and sound of perfect" to

HD-DVD "It's Good Enough"

An apt slogan if Toshiba only released 1080i players...heck, I like that Toshiba gave the consumer a very respectable, budget-friendly option...Sony would've done well to follow suit perhaps?

My thoughts exactly.

Also, id like to point out that most people buying these firesale A2s are already hd dvd owners buying them for their bedrooms or family for gifts. I went to 2 walmarts today in southern california, and neither had any A2s and when i asked the employees, they said they never even had any in the first place. Walking into the 2nd walmart i went to, there was a "Secret sale" sign, it had the A2 in the Ad listed like this:

Toshiba HD-A2 DVD Player

They dont mention anything about it being high definition at all. Something is just off on this whole deal, and if you see the threads on AVS about the walmart A2 players, most of them have jan/feb 2007 build dates (meaning unsold stock from an eternity ago) and some have even listed as far back as Oct 2006!

I dunno, ive resisted the clearance sale because i want 1 format. Once there is 1 format, everything possible will eventually be released, and we will see Lossless audio on more then the ~60% of Blu-Ray discs we have now, vs the ~10% for HD DVD. I know people say "WELL I WANT TO HAVE ALL THE HD NOW", well thats fine, i dont want to hook up 2 players that do the identical thing, especially when the facts point to the 2nd one being clearancing of old, built up old stock. That doesnt bode well for that 2nd format, IMHO.

care to point out to me proof that most people buying the players are previous owners? doesn't matter anyways, Warner Brothers is looking at standalone sales and this only helps in their decision to become HD DVD exclusive in Q1 2008.

Thanks for feedback. I have to say responds here are the exact opposite of AVS talk. Researching I was lead to believe there was decent difference from upscaling to 1080p and actual 1080p itself. Cnet and others ripped those players anew one in quality department too basically saying unless you only spent $800 on your TV you should find better player maximize your set. Maybe there was afew revisions of these models. Always confusion with new tech though, another reason for me wait a year on the actual hardware as I cant keep buying new players and TVs every 3-4 years like folks do.

It isn't upscaling. If you are comparing upscaling, there is a major difference. The issue is deinterlacing. There isn't going to be a difference unless you have crappy machines. So far they haven't been crappy on this issue.

It just seems that way if you cruise the message boards all day long, but believe me that is not the case.

Spoken like a 100% Blu-ray fanboy. Congrats.

...Yet all over the net there are tons of new HD DVD owners popping up asking questions about cables, firmware, what movies to buy etc. Guess not everyone is just buying a second player, eh?

You're chosen format just got a huge slap across the face. HD DVD stand alone sales just sky rocketed, and there are tons of new owners buying new releases and catalog titles in huge amount.

Its kinda funny that you assume that all 70k+ of all HD DVD players sold at Wal-Mart were to people that already own it. Yet numerous reports from AVS members conflict this as they were barraged with questions while waiting in line. I keep forgetting that anyone who owns a DVD player is also a member here at DVDTalk.

Wow sounds like the war is picking up. If there even a affordable Blu player? I have been a movie buyer and watcher for years but in recent times have not been able to invest in the next generation of players.

It doesn't matter who bought them; sales are sales, and that's all the companies care about.

Yet another format bashing thread. Great.
Closing.

namja
Moderator, DVD Talk Forums