hi im thinking of getting hd but im not sure if i should goto blue ray. what do you think what is the best out these 2 ?

number 1 how do i know if the moive is uncut ? i know on some films that are on dvd on now on blue ray and maybe cut

number 2 why is there no extras out takes etc ?

number 3 will the movies be cut ?

number 4 are the hd and blue ray players region free ? or region locked ?

any help would be great so i know where to spend my cash best

In an attempt to answer these questions without inciting a flame war:

1. You can read our HD DVD/BD reviews to see which movies are and aren't uncut. Also, if you know the runtimes of the uncut versions, you can compare them against the runtimes on the discs.

2. Almost every HD DVD has the extras from the regular DVD ported over. A few, such as Army of Darkness and Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas don't, because the extras are owned by another company. Most Blu-rays don't have all the extras ported over due to space issues.

3. This is going to vary by release. None of them will be censored, but some may include only the theatrical versions.

4. Blu-ray players are region locked. However, Blu-ray regions differ from regular DVD regions and Japan and America are in the same region, so you can import Japanese Blu-ray discs. HD DVDs do not currently have any region coding for the discs or hardware, so all of the current 1st and 2nd gen players can play HD DVDs from anywhere around the world.

As for which is better, to date HD DVD has provided better audio/video on the whole, and far more discs have had all extras ported. HD DVD is currently cheaper. However, BD does have room to grow. If you are going to buy one or the other by the end of this year, I would recommend HD DVD. BD is simply still too embryonic.

What it is!

Whatever you think is best after reading all the information and seeing them both. I feel each has stong points, I own HD-DVD and will probably own BD in the next few months. Suprmallet laid out some of the basic facts - those are a good place to start - depending on your needs they may decide your answer.

Also, check out the BD/HD DVD FAQ thread as it has a lot of good information.

I own both, a HD A1 and Philips. I see that your questions have been answered so I will just get you my viewing experience. Both have fantastic pictures (from what I have rented or bought) but the HD DVD has a better picture and sound. BD has lots more studio support, but is redundant right now because of HD DVD picture quality and BD lack of making quality transfers, although that is getting better. Like I said, I have both and enjoy them, but if I could only afford one right now it would be HD DVD, Who knows in 6 months though.

I was watching a news story regarding the two formats. In the end they said wait a while and see who the winning format is. I'd love to upgrade now, but until they release a dual player or something, I'm waiting.

Which is probably the WORST thing one could do. Without people buying into these formats, there is no war and no way that one will win.

Good point, but I still have DVDs to tie me over. I just don't want to be stuck with disks or hardware that will not be produced anymore.

That ain't gonna happen. The longer this goes on, the more likely that there will just be dual-format players.

The news people are the one who are going to end up destroying these 2 formats. Thier insistance on telling people to stick with regular DVD's until a winner has been announced is redundant and IMO absolutly a farse. Anyone who knoes anything about this format war knows that it is very different from the VHS battle that hapened back in the day. As things are looking right now, this war is going to be going on for a long time, maybe a very long time.

Continually telling people to not buy into them until one is victorious is doing alot of damage to these formats. I myself know like 5 or 6 peope that are doing just that and doing so becuase of what they have heard by the news outlets. I tell them all that they are crazy for listening to these people and that they should pick one and just go with it. If everyone sits on the sidelines and doesnt upgrade then both of these formats will eventually fail or end up being a very small niche market.

Unfortunatly we ive in a society that is basically brainwashed by what other people tell them. Very few are the educated kind that go and look into things for themselves. With that being said there are a lot of people that are going to do just what these news bozo's are telling them to do and that is not to buy into the HD formats at this time. Its really a shame as it could really give a boost to both of these formats. In the end telling people to not buy just ends up hurting these new formats and it could hurt them alot more than people think.

Bottom line is it doesnt matter how good a product is or how much of an improvment it is. If people dont buy it then it will fail period. Speaking for people who absolutly love movies, I dont see how people can just sit back and not invest into these formats if you already own an HDTV. What your doing is supporting the adoption of HDTV's and then ignoring the devices that take advantage of your HDTV's the most. HD-DVD and BLu-Ray are as legitimate of an upgrade as I have ever seen and for me it was a no brainer. I got my first HD-DVD player for half of what I got my first DVD player for. Its worth it for the upconversion alone.

If people dont invest in these formats they will fail. The main reason why I have purchased so many HD-DVD's off the bat is for that fact alone. I want this format to be successful and the only way that happens is if people buy the stuff. I now have the HD A1, the XBox360 add on preordered and have purchased 83 movies to date with more on preorder. I am doing everything I can to make sure that they in fact do succeed. Hopefully more people jump on board and realize that if everyone does listen to the news people then there wont be any HD formats to choose from later as they will both die.

PS...

Why should I invest my money to help decide a “format war” between corporations that were too greedy to settle on one format in the first place? I can be just as greedy and wait. When lcd & plasma TV's came out I didn't invest early either, and I'm doing just fine now as are both formats. When the price drops and more Indy and International films get the upgrade I’ll invest. Regardless of how good some of these Hollywood films look, a lot are still crap. 1080i or 480p junk is junk. lol

What's the better format between HD and Blu-Ray?

For the technical details, read the FAQ.

Some movies are uncut, some are not. Depends on the movie?

Better format? Both, as of now, are good. HD DVD offers more movies although Blu Ray has more studio support. Some of HD DVD's combo discs cost more but the hardware is generally much less expensive ($200-$700) versus ($500-$1300) (assuming your OK with buying a game system or already have an Xbox 360).

Buying into either format is a good decision although HD DVD is going to cost you a lot less.

Blu-ray definitely stumbled out of the gate but as of now they are doing a much better job. Plus, Fox's titles will soon be hitting shelves, so that should help. They seem to be showing some aggression with the number of titles they have announced. And BD50's will start trickling in, although some of that space will be wasted on certain titles.

No arguing in this thread about whether or not the ability to watch HD DVDs on the Xbox 360 is a $200 investment or a $600 investment. We already have a thread about that.

Adam, my point was not to argue, but only point out that saying you can get a $200.00 HD DVD player is a bit misleading, esspecially when there are 1 or 2 newbies in this thread.

It makes more sense to wait for good combo-players than to see which format "wins".

I myself am waiting for a player that will play all-region and all discs in every format.

It maybe a ways off, but I'm patient.

you can buy a refurb HD-a1 (basically new, but not considered as such) from refurbelectronics on ebay for about $300 and enjoy all your old standard dvd's with a GREAT (the best i've used) upconverting player. the sound and picture enhancement with standard DVD's is worth the cost of the unit alone. Not to mention, almost every HD-DVD i've seen is spectacular. and you can now rent them at netflix and blockbuster.

With no promise of tomorrow, I would rather enjoy HD content now. I see no point in waiting.

I just saw in the DVDTALK portion of this forum that Criterion announced they are not releasing DVD's for HD or Blu Ray until the format war is decided!

Good for them. I guess I'm not alone.

Presumably you mean "not releasing discs". I would sincerely hope that Criterion would not release DVDs and claim they were BDs.

Good for them? Maybe... but certainly not good for consumers or movie fans.

Ok so your all for people not buying into these formats right now and now if I am to understand this comment correctly, your also glad that certain studios are not releasing any HD movies, or at leasnt not until a loser has been named.

Wow talk abut Mr. Anti HD. Its one thing to sit on the sidelines as that is everyones choice but to basically cheer when a major studio like Criterion says they wont be releasing films is, well lame.

Everyone here wishes that the studios could have worked things out and in turn prevented all of this multiple format stuff. Bottom line is it didnt happen period. You can say this and that all day long but in the end this is how things are and if you want HD Discs then you need to get past all of that crap like most of here have. There are 2 formats and that is just the way it is.

Like I said, its one thing to stay on the sidelines and not buy anything, but to come onto a HD forum and basically start cheering when a big company that many people were hoping would start releasing HD content says they wont support HD until one format loses is really really lame. This is a free world and your free to cheer for whatever you want but the fact that someone is cheering that Criterion wont be releasing HD movies is absolutly mind boggling. You must enjoy seeing people not get what they want or something as I just dont get it.

PS..

That Criterion thread is laughable. It all reminds me of the early days and people complaining about "those black bars." And people saying VHS was good enough. Most recenty Star Wars people saying non-anamorphically enhanced is good enough. I gotta just laugh when I read that Criterion thread. Posters are excited with Criterion taking their side! LOL. It's just a business decision. I think it will change by 2008.