Toshiba A3 HD DVD player with 7 movies: $169.99

Are you sure you don't mean Black Friday, Nov. 23?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=929811

Are there major differences between the A2 and the A3?

Thanks about the date. It has been corrected.

[Post edited by Henning on Oct 30, 2007]

The A3 is just the third generation version of the A2. The A3 is probably better, and it also has more freebies.

Hmm... decisions, decisions. Do people want to spend $170 (for HD DVD) or $400 (for Blu-ray) for the exact same HD quality? I don't know, $230 is a big difference for me.

Hood I was told they are the same, it is a cosmetic thing as far as the differences. I bought my A2, and got to choose my 2 extra movies in store. And I went on line and downloaded the form for the 5 free, so I got 7 free myself.

i think the "A2" goes to 1080i and the "A3" goes to 1080P

EDIT: nevermind, they are both 1080i

[Post edited by Nytroman on Oct 30, 2007]

Should we all start jumping now??

Very, very tempting...

Ok. This is my first post so bear with me. I don't honestly see why anyone would want HD-DVD. Yes I know it is cheaper, but does cheap make up for the fact that a large amount of movies you would want to see in high-def are Blu-Ray only (Spiderman, Pirates, ALL of Disney etc.)? Does price make up for the utter lack of movies on the format? Yes, I know that Kmart is now only HD-DVD, but Target who sells much more merchandise is going mostly if not all Blu-Ray. And after a trip to my local Wal-Mart I found that they carry almost a two to one ratio of Blu-Ray to HD-DVD. And most of the HD-DVD titles were also on Blu-Ray as well. I just don't see the average consumer shelling out money for a player that they cannot get a lot of movies for. Think about it, this fall The Simpsons Movie, Superbad, Ratatouille, Pirates 3, Spiderman 3 are Blu-Ray only. Those are movies that will SELL. If I am wrong, someone please tell me. But I have thought from the start that Blu-Ray had a better idea and support. Really to me, whoever has Disney wins. I am not a fanboy or anything like that, I am just an average consumer who has done his research and CANNOT see the benefits of HD DVD (the price is cancelled out by the horrible selection). I honestly feel that Warner will choose Blu-Ray, simply because they have more support. Anyway that is just my two cents worth. Seriously, I don't think a cheaper player with free (mostly not even good) movies will sell that well with out a better selection of movies.

ArmyPunk, don't forget that there are a lot of movies that are HD DVD exclusive. Transformers, Shrek 3, Heroes - that's just a handful off the top of my head.

This is the whole factual story. HD DVD came out FIRST. Then, rather than going with that format, Sony decides to try and control the market and release their own Blu-Ray.

Now, BD are the exact same HD quality, just more pricier. It's pricier because their technology costs more to produce the discs and the players. Just go to a store and look at some of the movies that are available in both formats - BD costs more, and it's still the same 1080p high-definition.

Sure, there is a little more selection right now, but that's because Sony elbowed their way onto the market creating this format war. They really want it to succeed, so they are pumping out the titles as fast as they can. The only problem is, in doing this they are releasing inferior products that need to be recalled and done over a second time properly (Robocop for example).

So basically, you need to ask yourself this: do I really want to support a company that a) started this war b) costs more c) has a tendency to prematurely release untested and inferior products?

The only thing keeping HD DVD down right now is sales. But now since you can get an HD DVD player for under $170, they are going to have a significant boost this holiday season. If that's the case, you can expect a lot more titles soon to follow.

Armypunk, HD DVD has Batman Begins, the Matrix Trilogy, Transformers, Shrek the Third, 40 year old virgin, knocked up, Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick, Star Trek: The Original Series -- The Complete First Season, The Jason Bourne Collection (Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, Bourne Ultimatum), The Pianist and a bunch of others that bluray does NOT have. Seriously I could go on but I just don't have the time to do the research. Universal Studios is HD DVD exclusive and they have some fantastic movies. Paramount and Dreamworks also have some great movies and they are HD DVD exclusive. Warner releases movies on both formats but for some reason they have not released a few of them on bluray thus far, only on HD DVD. Even still, the movies Warner HAS released on both formats seem to have more bonus features and interactive features on the HD DVD copies which has caused quite a few complaints by the bluray people.

If you actually get a list of the movies that are only available on HD DVD and the ones that are only available on bluray, then pick the best ones, I'm pretty sure most of them will be the ones HD DVD has on their side. Don't forget also that there are movies that are "bluray exclusive" but you can get them still on HD DVD through import sites such as xploitedcinema.com.

Finally if you read reviews that have been released on BOTH formats you will notice that the picture quality is always the same and in a lot of cases it's actually better than the bluray version. Both versions have HD audio so you're good on both formats in that regard but don't forget the interactive features have been better on HD DVD since the beginning. These are professional critics that review movies for a living, not "fanboys".

You combine all these factors PLUS the HD A2's going for $169.99 and you have a much better format in HD DVD for a much cheaper price. It's only logical.

Don't believe all the hype and deceptive press releases from Sony and the bluray camp. They twist numbers in their favor to make it look like they have sold much more than they really have. For example they will count movies shipped as units sold...they do the same with their PS3's.

Here's a site that his a list of upcoming HD DVD and bluray releases...

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html

They also have a list of previously released titles as well.

[Post edited by Falcon01 on Oct 31, 2007]

Bottom line, would you back Multi Billionare Bill Gates, who pretty much moves and shakes the technology world. Look he is kicking the dog skat out of PS3 or will you go with OVERATED SONY? You be the judge.

hoodaguy...I read your comment, and it doesn't make a lot of sense.. HD DVD came out first, and Sony came out with Blu-Ray second, and they are wrong to do that? Is that what your really saying? Thats like saying, anytime a company comes out with a product, it is the best product, and everyone else should just accept it. Maybe Sony came out with Blu-Ray because they thought it was better. What is wrong with them doing that? They are in business to make money. Are there cell phone "wars" because they are all different? What about MP3 players? Or cars? Should they just be all the same? If people don't like something, they probably won't buy it, but blu-ray seems to be doing pretty well. The main reason I prefer blu-ray, is just for the fact that I can use my ps3 to watch them, and regular dvd's and play ps3 games. I like HD-DVD also, I have no problem with them, I have a Toshiba 1080p HD-DVD player, and I like it just fine, I just happen to prefer Blu-ray.

Must be another coincidence that a brand-new member (November 2007) comes out in favor in Blu-ray just at the end of the Blu-ray Expo and the beginning of the big HD DVD holiday season push.

Don't ya just love this war?

John

The timing of my comment has nothing to do with any expo (?) I only just made a comment now, but I have had a PS3 since the first week they came out. I bought the PS3 mainly for the games, but ended up using it more as a Blu-Ray player. I have 600 dvd titles, and I have about 50-60 blu-ray titles. I just bought an HD-DVD player about 6 weeks ago. I wanted the Matrix and a couple other movies, that only came on HD. The players were in a better price range than before, thats why I decided to buy one. I didn't mind spending $500 on the PS3 (games, movies, etc), but I couldn't see spending that on just a HD dvd player. When the Toshiba 1080p player hit $299, that was a good price, and well worth it. Now I have about 20 HD-DVD movies. If the PS3 played HD instead of Blu, I guess I would prefer HD.
I guess I really don't care which camp wins, if any, as long as I can get the movies I want to see in Hi Def.

I wish we had some deals in Canada Bestbuy Canada thinks $299 HD DVD is a deal.

Has anyone verified that Sears will be selling an A3 at this price and not an A2 like everyone else is in this price range and now even a bit lower. Could be the Sears ad being refered to has a miss print, then again maybe not.

It is A3 model at Sears on Black Friday. A3 model is selling for $199 at BB, CC. I think you can see better price than $169 for A3 model on Black Friday.

six7777, you just answered your own question. If Sony would have just went with HD from the start (rather than coming up with the scheme to make up their own high-definition format) then you would have saved some money.

Instead of having to buy your standalone HD player for HD movies, the PlayStation could just have easily had the HD in it right from the get go.

People are arguing this way and that way which format is "better", but the reality is they are about the same. So if they are pretty much the same, why do we need to have a second format forced upon us by some money grubbing company?

Quote:
Must be another coincidence that a brand-new member (November 2007) comes out in favor in Blu-ray just at the end of the Blu-ray Expo and the beginning of the big HD DVD holiday season push.

Ah, yes indeed...

Just a few random thoughts: I'm sure that the supply of the discontinued A2 will reach its end very quickly. And most likely Amazon will soon lower the price on their remaining units to clear their stock.

That leaves the A3 as the entry level model. It would be a major boon to the format if they were to universally lower that price to around $100 starting on Black Friday, even if they have to take a loss on them. Remember that the major objective of this campaign is to get as many units out there as possible. In this case, the end would justify the means. And IF the ever elusive low priced Chinese models were to arrive at the same time, sales of the format would indeed spike off the chart. I think in the coming weeks, the BD camp will ratchet up their propaganda campaign characterizing HD DVD as "inferior, " "DVD on steriods," to further confuse the public.

Edit: Oh yeah, add "sign of desperation," "last gasp" and "impulse buying" to the above! I just saw them on another forum.

One last thing: I would like to see a REAL sale on HD DVD software before Christmas. I went to three WAL*MARTs yesterday (and believe me, that was an ordeal for me) and all I could find was a handfull of old titles for $14.99. I was very disappointed. I was ready to pick up 6 or 8 titles. HD DVD needs to close the price gap between hd and sd to generate volume sales.

[Post edited by StevePro on Nov 3, 2007]

ArmyPunk has a point. If he doesn't find even a single movie worth watching out of the 350+ HD DVD releases, but magically only likes the Blu-ray exclusive titles like Spiderman 3, then obviously buying a Blu-ray player makes sense.

However ArmyPunk fails to envision that other consumers may actually like one or more titles released or soon to be released on HD DVD. Everyone has different tastes in movies, and if he likes Spidy-3 and hates movies like the "Bourne trilogy" or "the Thing", then all the power to him.

My taste in movies is even weirder. I'm looking forward to the following HD DVD movies over the next few weeks:

Pride & Prejudice
Shrek the Third (for our kids - NOT ME!)
Tremors
Blade Runner
Stardust

Quote:
ArmyPunk has a point. If he doesn't find even a single movie worth watching out of the 350+ HD DVD releases, but magically only likes the Blu-ray exclusive titles like Spiderman 3, then obviously buying a Blu-ray player makes sense.

ArmyPunk does not make a good point. His post is simply plain ordinary oh-hum BD bs. (Sorry ArmyPunk, nothing personal). To say that he can find NOTHING he likes on HD DVD with the number of titles available is ridicolous. I am a staunch HD DVD advocate, but believe me, I can find a few dozen titles on BD that I would love to own. Some of them I have bought as HD DVD imports, (and paid through the nose) others I have bought as sds. I think Flyboys is coming out on HD DVD Europe soon, so I'll pick that one up. I have watched it on BD through a PS3 connected to my system (future son-in-laws) and I loved it.

As I have said many times, before you guys appeared on this forum, you are comparing apples to oranges in regard to titles. In general, the HD DVD titles appeal to a more mature audience, SkyHawk's choices, whereas the BD titles to a younger demographic, ArmyPunks choices. I do however, think that is changing and both formats are branching out looking for a broader consumer base, which is good. BD is obviously putting a LOT of their apples in Disney's basket but I think that is going to bomb out big time. They are essentially introducing a NEW and EXPENSIVE product to the mix which appears to primarily focus on interactivity rather then on the movie itself. I seriously doubt if many parents this Christmas are going to spring for big bucks to play games on Cars, Pirates, and Ratat...however you spell it. We'll see.

[Post edited by StevePro on Nov 3, 2007]

Yep, that's true Steve. I highly doubt many parents will opt to buy the more expensive Blu-ray version of a Disney movie when they can easily purchase the more affordable DVD. Most kids don't care about high def and bonus features, that's more suited towards adults.

to be honest when i started my hd collection i noticed most of my real favorites were on HD dvd. blueray had more popular movies, that i would watch when people came over.. but not real favorites. so i mostly rent before i buy, and alot of times I noticed some movies were just overrated.

Not being able to find alot of HD-dvd movies in retail stores is also a Sony elbow thing. seriously HD-dvd sells pretty well online.

and like I always say, studio support doesent make Bluray better. that just points a good strategy by Sony.

[Post edited by kucoloco on Nov 3, 2007]

hooda... I see your what your saying, to a point... basically, every company should of just accepted the HD-DVD format and left it alone. I just don't believe that. Maybe Blu-Ray will prove to be the better format in the future, or vise versa, who knows. I understand they are alot a like. I guess my main point was companies do that all the time. Doesn't it stand to reason that Sony will make more money if they are selling their movies on Blu-Ray vs. them selling their movies on HD-DVD. If thats not true, then I guess your right, they should of just went with HD. I am not claiming to know a great deal about this, but it just seems to me like they were trying to do what they thought would be best for their company, which is to make the most money.

If it's about $, then release every movie on DVD, HD DVD, and BD - rather than choosing sides. This way, everyone would be happy.