Is the HD-DVD format completely dead? (mistakes fixed)

Will we still be able to buy burners and blank HD-DVDs?

I ask because I got what I think is a great idea today. I can prolong the life of my HD-DVD collection by riping Blu-Rays to my computer and burning them onto HD-DVD. I've got a few friends that might be interested in this too, since they invested heavily into HD and don't intend on switching over to Blu anytime soon.

I know it's pretty much pointless, but I think it would be cool to have copies of movies on HD-DVD that no one else has, even if they aren't real movies. I'm going to buy some red DVD cases (if I can find any that match factory HD-DVD cases), print front and back covers and I'll also print up some labels that will go onto the discs. I'll gladly post pics for you guys but it's going to be a long way off. I'm building an HD projector, which is going to take a while, then I'm going to build some speakers for my sound system (and possibly some speakers for my car) and then I will get around to building my HTPC. The computer I have now could not handle, nor does it have the storage space, to rip and store HD movies... so like I said, it's going to be a while.

EDIT: I'm sorry there were so many mistakes originally. I was very tired while typing it.

[Post edited by Fumbled_Revolution on Mar 31, 2008]

As long as you own those blu-ray movies (the ones you are going to make backup copies of), there shouldn't be any problem...

You could make a killing selling them in poor asian countries on the street as REAL HD DVD's too!

Better get a legal opinion. I don't think it matters whether you own the disc you which to copy - probably a violation of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), and you would have been warned by the forced FBI warning on every disc, so you couldn't claim ignorance.

Studios have now begun including a digital copy of a film in select titles, so as to discourage illegal copy activity.

-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)

I thought of that too, but no HD-DVD burners to be had from anywhere.

Depends on what you mean by "dead".

Apparently there are over 800 HD DVD's available world wide plus a few that are still due to be released in North America in the next month or so. Who knows if any of these studios will release the odd HD DVD in the future for blockbuster movies plus there may be the odd releases in europe also (although nowhere near as many as there used to be due to some of the authoring businesses shutting down HD DVD production).

Future will be VERY limited but I'm sure you will be able to purchase new or used HD DVD's online on places like amazon.com, craigslist.com, ebay etc for quite some time.

As far as ripping bluray movies and then burning them to HD DVD's...I don't know how many HD DVD burners there are available but I don't imagine they are cheap and the blank media (discs) can't be cheap either so I'm not sure it will be very cost effective.

I'm not looking to sell pirated movies. This will be just for myself and a few friends who want to build a nice looking HD DVD question. I'm not looking to break any laws here. I'm sure I'd use them for data storage as well.

And by "is the format dead?", I was asking if Toshiba would continue to sell blank HD DVDs and HD DVD burners.

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And by "is the format dead?", I was asking if Toshiba would continue to sell blank HD DVDs and HD DVD burners

I believe that Toshiba voted to transfer the HD DVD Promotional Group's rights back to the DVD Forum.

They announced that they were discontinuing their production of HD DVD standalone players on 2/19, but were continuing to re-access their stance on the HD DVD laptop drive marketplace.

If Microsoft finds any advantage of the HD DVD-ROM format to their own needs, you might see new PC's come equipped with HD DVD-ROM drives as a requirement to install and run the next generation of their Windows OS.

HD DVD is not completely dead, in as much as VHS tape is completely dead.

You might actually be able to still pick up HD DVD exclusive titles at your local Dollar General store, because it will take years for Universal and Paramount to re-release their entire existing HD DVD catalog back on Blu Ray.

Even Warner Bros. have HD DVD exclusive titles such as the "Matrix Trilogy", that you probably won't see on Blu Ray for quite some time.

Blu Ray has a distinct disadvantage in the marketplace because of their limited number of fabrication plants, but that should be improving over time, so there is no definite time frame as to when they will have the manufacturing capacity that HD DVD had, yet alone SD DVD.

Blu Ray lacks the production capacity to serve the release schedules of all of the major studios, so there will likely be shortages and titles that might have been previously available on HD DVD, but are now placed on an "Indefinite Hold" for re-release on Blu Ray.

Sony owned Columbia Pictures has even putting a good deal of their own Blu Ray release catalog on hold due to limited Blu Ray manufacturing capacity.

There may not be any new HD DVD releases after the next few months, but as long as you own an existing Player and HD DVD discs that you want to watch, the HD DVD format lives on.

It's sort of the same way that you see certain bands still releasing their albums on Vinyl, there is a cult following that will continue to be alive on online trading sites such as Ebay for years to come.

If DVD2 actually gets off the ground, they might even offer players that are backwards/forwards compatible with HD DVD.

I am already buying/renting Blu Ray Discs at a decent pace to feed my P$3, but I have about 50 HD DVD titles that are, for the most part, not currently available on Blu Ray, and won't be for quite some time.

Just take a serious look at what film titles that you want to own on an HD format, check the current market to see what is actually available, then decide from there...

Ok... just to be clear, I am only asking about blank HD DVDs and HD DVD burners.

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I ask because I got what I think is a great idea today. I can prolong the life of my HD-DVD collection by riping Blu-Rays to my computer and burning them onto HD-DVD.

Well that sounds a bit obsessive, first you have to invest in a BD internal cdrom then you have to buy the movies, then buy a HDDVD drive and blank media. All to play a movie that originates from a BD disk. Do you think the picture would be better from the transfer? Your better off just using your HDDVD player just for upconversion.