The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
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Toshiba's high definition optical disc, HD-DVD, has suffered its fair share of crippling blows in the past few months. Rumours circulating the web now claim that Toshiba is preparing itself to pull the plug on HD-DVD once and for all. This could be the end for HD-DVD, but what does the future hold for Blu-ray?
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Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
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Originally Posted by Parm
indeed, I don't actually know a personal friend of family member who owns a full 1080p capable set
Awwww....we ALL think of you as family, Parm...
Seriously though, I think you're absolutely right. There just isn't the gain to justify the cost currently. I DO have a 1080P set, but I don't have an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player. I have an upscaling combo job that does VHS and DVD and upscales to 1080P and the results are pretty fabulous. I have a V+ box and have watched stuff in HD on that, and I simply can'y justify the massive price premium for gains in picture quality that are at best marginal. That said, it also does a grand job of upscaling SD channels. Don't get me wrong, if there's an On-Demand movie that I want to see that's available in normal or HD I'll take the latter, for the same reason I watch Torchwood in HD. It IS marginally better and it's there to do. Spend hundreds more on a player and then three times as much for every film for that marginal gain, though? Nope.
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
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the movie wasn't in "high definition" when I watched it at the theatre - heck, it wasn't even digital
Film is a higher resolution than 1080p howevwer, so it would have been in HD. Imagine watching a 720x576 film on a 40' or bigger screen? No thanks.
I do know plenty people with full HD sets though, but most are waiting to move into the HD market. I think that you're probably not wrong with regards to the cost of the players/films that's putting people off.
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
It's purely the cost of the films that puts me off, I'd have no problem spending £130 or so to equip my PC with a BR/HD combi drive but I refuse to pay ~£25 per film when I can get 4 or 5 DVDs for that price.
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
HD is great n'all (i've got a 1080P set) but TBH upscaled DVD really isn't that bad either..
Cost is definitely the factor for me too - DVD is so cheap. HDDVD isn't blu-rays biggest problem, DVD is.
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
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Originally Posted by
Skinleech
Film is a higher resolution than 1080p howevwer, so it would have been in HD. Imagine watching a 720x576 film on a 40' or bigger screen? No thanks.
Indeed. Film is actually up to the equivelant of 4K or 8K resolution. waaaaaay higher than HD.
If you have a look for true high end projectors, they upscale full HD video to their native resolution. I think they are even higher than the Quad-HD sets being shown at CES.
Does anyone else think that Bluray will end up being called HD DVD or HiDef DVD eventually anyway? Obviously it won't be official, but when a friend or family member asks me "what is this blue ray thing then?" the answer will pretty much be "it's HD (or HiDef) version of DVD". You hear this enough, and it will become HD DVD in peoples minds.
Oh and because they are 12cm shiney disks, people will still call the actual disks CDs. I've heard this a lot. DVD isn't working in a player = "take the CD out and give it a wipe"
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
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Originally Posted by
dangel
HD is great n'all (i've got a 1080P set) but TBH upscaled DVD really isn't that bad either..
Cost is definitely the factor for me too - DVD is so cheap. HDDVD isn't blu-rays biggest problem, DVD is.
QFT; and I'd say something else - when it comes right down to it, what we want is good films. It's like games; once you get to a certain level of detail, I'd argue that what gets people excited isn't really DX10 or pixel shading or anti-aliasing; it's a good playable game, one that excites and entices, that's inventive and fun. Same with movies; a crap film in HD is still crap, but even if it's 'only' on DVD a great film will have us coming back to it again and again. I've just bought Day Watch on DVD and have watched and re-watched Night Watch. Do I feel "cheated" somehow that they're on DVD and not HD? No way, because it's wonderfully inventive movie-making that I'd watch whatever format it was in.
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
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Originally Posted by
Funkstar
Oh and because they are 12cm shiney disks, people will still call the actual disks CDs. I've heard this a lot. DVD isn't working in a player = "take the CD out and give it a wipe"
If you consider what CD actually stands for that isn't such a silly thing to say.
I did always think that HD had the advantage of having a name which (normal, non-techie) people could get a handle on more easily.
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
I have a media PC with HD-DVD and Blu-ray
The cost of the films is Stupid! The best deal I got was £20 for Bourn and 300 on HD-DVD but that was on the Hexus for sale forum!!
I love HD-DVD and Blu-ray (although I think Blu-ray is slightly better, less load up times etc on my player)
But I use Media Center to upscale DVDs and they look really good as well!
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
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Originally Posted by
nichomach
Same with movies; a crap film in HD is still crap.
Ah but it's high resolution crap. Which is better.
:)
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
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Originally Posted by
dangel
Ah but it's high resolution crap. Which is better.
:)
So that makes it quality crap though? ;)
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
As per Nicho's statement..........I'd rather watch a good film on a VHS video and a 15" portable, than a crap film in HD.
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
btw, the Blu-Ray disc prices aren't that bad, you just have to shop around a bit, I've not paid over £15 for a single blu-ray film yet.
Those of us who remember DVD at it's inception will also remember £20+ prices for films, along with crappy cases which shattered stupidly easily, "flipper" discs, and all sorts of incompatibilities between various players and certain films.
Give it a couple of years and it'll be nigh on identical to DVD's now for prices, availability etc.
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
Yeah, £15 a title was what I was buying my first DVDs at. I remember they were doing the James Bond releases at £20 each or two for £30 (and releasing two at a time, once a month).
Now a grudge paying more than £10, unless it is a box set.
Re: The end is nigh for HD-DVD, but will Blu-ray prevail?
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Originally Posted by
Stoo
btw, the Blu-Ray disc prices aren't that bad....
Give it a couple of years and it'll be nigh on identical to DVD's now for prices, availability etc.
Then I'll think about it in a couple of years ;). Just because we've made mistakes before doesn't mean we're obliged to repeat them, right?