HD DVD or Blue Ray?

[TurboDave]

For those of you that might be "in the know" in this industry, what are your thoughts on which will end up being the "standard"? Some of you are probably too young to remember the VHS, Beta Max wars!!

Anyway, I'm getting ready to attempt a decision on a HD flat screen, but don't know which way to go on a new DVD player.

Whichever, I would like it to upconvert my present DVD's to something at least a little better than what they are.

The people I talk to say save money and stick with a 720 TV, but all the sales hype is over 1080P, but I don't know of anything/anybody that even can offer any 1080P content.

I'm only going 50", so the difference between 720 and 1080 will probably be undetectable for normal viewing.

I digress, what will end up being the standard? HD DVD or Blue Ray???

 

[KevinB]

They say hd DVD will win b/c the porn industry has chosen that format. You can buy hd/blue ray combo players, but they are pricey.

 

[TurboDave]

You can buy hd/blue ray combo players, but they are pricey.

That's what I'm hoping to avoid.

 

[BlackoutDrunk]

if you have kids you can buy an Xbox 360 which has a HD-dvd add on and a sony playstation 3 which also is a blu-ray player. The kids will love it and so will anyplace you buy games and movies from!

start reading buddy... hd dvd vs blu ray - Google Search :biggrin:

 

[John Wilde]

The PS3 you can get for $399 and you can get stand alone HD DVD Toshiba Drives for ~$300. We have both and cant really tell a difference quality wise.
Blue Ray seems to have more titles, but HD had some exclusives I need to but too. For example Transformers was only on HD so we bought on that format.
If both are available we buy Blue Ray. If the movie is a stupid comedy or something we are not too sure about we get standard DVD.
For example we bought Superbad on DVD and Pirates 3 on Blue Ray last night.
There was not anything we needed on HD-DVD yesterday.

BTW the X-box does not come with HD-DVD but you can use one as an add on.
Unless you have the Elite it will only have component output. To really enjoy the video you should run it through HDMI.

 

[GNguy]

Id go Blue ray, but osme are saying that they are going to drop both in favor of a single high definition format. Personally, id go with a PS3, I have one, its sick, BD movies look great on it, and it comes built in with the PS3. The add on for HD dvd movies on the Xbox is like $180-$200.

 

[John Wilde]

BTW when have a 1080i Cable receiver and you have never really seen a documentary unless you have hd. Don't waste your money on the 720 TV if it is your main entertainment unit. All Blue Ray and HD-DVD Movies that I have are 1080P.

 

[Kevin'sCorral]

BTW when have a 1080i Cable receiver and you have never really seen a documentary unless you have hd. Don't waste your money on the 720 TV if it is your main entertainment unit. All Blue Ray and HD-DVD Movies that I have are 1080P.

I thought HD-DVD's were 1080i.

 

[GNguy]

1080i is just a gimmick, its basically the same as 720P, You cant see a difference between the two. 720p to 1080p is where you see a difference.

 

[TurboDave]

I'm not a lot less confused than I ever was, however, based on some of the reading that someone suggested I do, I've determined the best course of action is to wait and let the battle of standards work its self out a little more.

I don't need, nor do I want a game console just to get this or that standard. I have a PS2 that more than serves it's purpose with the limited time I spend on it. Console gaming while a lot of fun, is not my chosen career field as it seems to be with the kids these days.

My priority right now is to decide on a flat screen, and have it somewhat narrowed down, based on reading, and scores.

LCD top of the heap seems to be Samsung
Plasma top of the heap seems to be Panasonic

I'll be getting 50" because it seems to be about ideal for my house size.
LCD or Plasma, I don't know yet.

I like the newest Samsung 47" LCD 1080, 120hz model (also has the best internal sound system I've heard on any of the sets, since it'll be a while before I get a decent 5.1 system)
but Panasonic makes some pretty nice 50" Plasma 1080 sets.

Decisions, decisions!

 

[John Wilde]

From Possible Error Detected

To answer the question, it's important to understand the difference between 720p vs 1080i. A 720p signal is made up of 720 horizontal lines. Each frame is displayed in its entirety on-screen for 1/30th of a second. This is know as progressive scan (hence the 'p')The quality is like watching 30 photographic images a second on TV. A 1080i signal comprises 1080 horizontal lines but all the lines are not displayed on-screen simultaneously. Instead, they are interlaced (hence the 'i'), ie every other lines is displayed for 1/60th of a second and then the alternate lines are displayed for 1/60th of a second. So, the frame rate is still 30 frames per second, but each frame is split into two fields, which your brain then puts together subconsciously.

Most of the time interlacing works fine, but for fast moving images, such as sports like baseball and hockey it can cause problems which manifest themselves as a 'stepping' effect on-screen. Progressive scan signals don't have this problem and so are better suited to sports.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have two 1080i TVs a 47 (6 years old) and 61 inch (2 years old).
I watch basketball in HD 1081i (which is the HD TV Format) and I have not had any issues yet. For the next TV we will go with a 1080P unit since the new standard is too far out. We have a PS3 as a Blue Ray deck with HDMI into the TV. It looks amazing, I especially like the first chase scene in the last James Bond movie. The HD-DVD is good too, but I think it will pick up when I get it hooked up to the HDMI Switch.

 

[John Wilde]

I'm not a lot less confused than I ever was, however, based on some of the reading that someone suggested I do, I've determined the best course of action is to wait and let the battle of standards work its self out a little more.

I don't need, nor do I want a game console just to get this or that standard. I have a PS2 that more than serves it's purpose with the limited time I spend on it. Console gaming while a lot of fun, is not my chosen career field as it seems to be with the kids these days.

My priority right now is to decide on a flat screen, and have it somewhat narrowed down, based on reading, and scores.

LCD top of the heap seems to be Samsung
Plasma top of the heap seems to be Panasonic

I'll be getting 50" because it seems to be about ideal for my house size.
LCD or Plasma, I don't know yet.

I like the newest Samsung 47" LCD 1080, 120hz model (also has the best internal sound system I've heard on any of the sets, since it'll be a while before I get a decent 5.1 system)
but Panasonic makes some pretty nice 50" Plasma 1080 sets.

Decisions, decisions!

Chow has the Professional Series 50inch Plasma that I helped him install
a couple months ago. I don't think you would go wrong with one of those units. They have gone down in price a lot this year too. I was not interested
in Plasma when I bought because the earlier generations had burn in issues.
This is supposed to be better now so maybe it is not an issue.
With the amount of gaming we do I could not afford for the TV to be burned.

 

[DragulaGN]

What games you playing John?

 

[KevinB]

Check out the LG plasmas and lcd's. We have been installing those at work for 3 years now. Have had one go bad out of at least 800 installed. Picture is great. The new LG LCD's have faster refreshing rates, which is a common problem with older LCDs. Also, burn-in problems are pretty much eliminated in the newer models.

If you are looking just to upconvert your current dvd's, there are a lot of upconverting dvd players out there for under $100 now.

 

[John Wilde]

What games you playing John?

This is what I have been playing this year.

X360:
-Bioshock (Finished)
-Halo 3 (Finished)
-Final Fantasy XI (it sucked my life away for a while)

PS3:
-Assasin's Creed (On last Mob)
-Resistance Fall of Man (Finished)

Of course I have more but I have not much time to play this year
with my baby being born.

I am hoping to pick up Mass Effect for X360 and DMC4 and MGS4 for PS3 next.

 

[John Wilde]

Check out the LG plasmas and lcd's. We have been installing those at work for 3 years now. Have had one go bad out of at least 800 installed. Picture is great. The new LG LCD's have faster refreshing rates, which is a common problem with older LCDs. Also, burn-in problems are pretty much eliminated in the newer models.

If you are looking just to upconvert your current dvd's, there are a lot of upconverting dvd players out there for under $100 now.

Thanks for the heads up Kevin.

 

[John Wilde]

Information Pro BlueRay

IGN: A Blu-and-Black Friday

A Blu-and-Black Friday
Blu-ray reveals Black Friday numbers!
by Christopher Monfette

December 4, 2007 - The Blu-ray camp has officially responded to its Black Friday performance, quoting an impressive set of numbers, if the figures are to be believed. According to Neilsen/VideoScan, Blu-ray software sales for the week of Black Friday were 72.6% - compared to just 27.4% for HD DVD. Describing the notably successful HD DVD promotions evident throughout the high-profile shopping day as a "fire sale," Blu-ray continues to claim victory in the sheer number of high-definition titles moved. Stating that as of November 24, there were 2.7 million Blu-ray capable machines in houses in North America (this figure includes Playstation 3 consoles), the announcement contrasts these numbers against the 750,000 players and game drives recently announced by the HD DVD camp last.

The announcement concludes with a number of "facts to consider." Keep in mind when reading the following the exact source of the information, but any way you slice it, Blu-ray is continuing to perform well and shows no signs of diminished performance in the format wars.

* Total sales of Blu-ray movies in the US topped the 4 million mark in November. It took 10 months for Blu-ray Disc sales to top 1 million, just over three months to reach the two million, less than 3 months to reach three million and just over 2 months to reach the four million. Despite a significant head start in the market, HD DVD didn't pass the 2.5 million mark until the middle of November.
* Year-to-date (through Nov. 25), Blu-ray movie titles have outsold HD DVD in the US by a 2-to-1 margin.
* Of the top 20 high-definition titles in the US this year, 18 are available on Blu-ray.
* Blu-ray movie have 73% of the market in Europe – outselling HD DVD by a 3-to-1 margin according to sales data provided by Media Control Gfk International.
* Blu-ray's share of the HD recorder market in Japan is now 95% as of the week ending November 12, 2007, according to Media Control Gfk International.

 

[imjoesnuffy]

I bought a Samsung 46" LCD 1080p. My gawd, what a difference

With a plasma, I have been told that the fluid will need to be changed/flushed every so often, even on the newer models. Anyone else heard that???

 

[savage6]

Don't let them tell you that^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Complete BS.
(sorry, I've been selling these for a couple years now and you wouldn't belive how many times i've heard this)
BTW yes, the lnt4671f is the way to go with samsung lcd. Also for plasma look at samsung as well (FPT5084)

 

[GNBRETT]

I bought a Samsung 46" LCD 1080p. My gawd, what a difference

With a plasma, I have been told that the fluid will need to be changed/flushed every so often, even on the newer models. Anyone else heard that???

Yea that is just garbage! Im not sure who is telling you that or where you read it but that is about as true as one needing to change their car battery every year for it run right. Nonsense!