I almost went Blu...

Amazon was kind enough to give me the $50 gift certificate since I bought my A35 from them. I figured, might as well pick up a Blu-ray player and be done with it while I could save some cash. I'm still recovering from the sticker shock! The BD30 which is pretty highly recommended was almost $500 still! I punted and picked up 4 new HD-DVDs to add to my collection At some point I probably need to pick up a reserve player for all of these movies. So what is everybody else doing with their Amazon rebate?

Somewhat ironic that you bought HD DVD movies with your 'sorry' rebate...bad for us that aren't getting any rebates...

I blew my Amazon moneys on a Screen protector for my Zune and a 13 month Xbox live card.

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picked up 4 new HD-DVDs to add to my collection

LOL, throwing good money after bad.

I don't get a rebate because I got my HD-A35 player only a month or so ago.

Remember, some of us sods actually paid $3,4,500, if not higher for our HD DVD players...and got nothing for the loss )

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LOL, throwing good money after bad.

No - that would be buying a blu player thats less than 2.0, or a 2.0 player thats also a games console.

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No - that would be buying a blu player thats less than 2.0, or a 2.0 player thats also a games console.

That's either a joke, or you're the most persistent fanboy EVER! Either way, it's still funny!

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LOL, throwing good money after bad.

No - that would be buying a blu player thats less than 2.0, or a 2.0 player thats also a games console.

Funny enough, I actually disagree with both of these statements! I have two Toshiba HD-DVD players, and will be buying more HD-DVDs, if the price is right (as I won't pay as much for an HD-DVD disc that's also available on Blu-ray). But on the Blu-ray player side of things, not everyone needs a 2.0 profile player - until the actual online content gets more interesting, 2.0 still isn't that big a deal to me. Great if I have it just in case something comes along later, but definitely not the most important feature to me right now. And bashing the PS3 just on the basis that it also plays games doesn't make sense, either. It's true that the average multi-use electronic item doesn't perform as well as a standalone, but based on the actual PS3 performance and features, that statement just doesn't make any sense. I'm still waiting for a strong argument about the downside of a PS3 - no IR remote isn't enough, and one website questioning the video quality when other reputable reviewers have never found this problem also isn't enough. Fair enough if there are other features that you need in a Blu-ray player that the PS3 doesn't offer, but your basic statement doesn't have any weight behind it. Everyone has different elements that are important to them, right?

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That's either a joke, or you're the most persistent fanboy EVER! Either way, it's still funny

Man, are u ever right. Every post from Scotsman is like that. Totally HD-DVD denial fanboyism from every angle!

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Man, are u ever right. Every post from Scotsman is like that. Totally HD-DVD denial fanboyism from every angle!

Jono - I've not mentioned HD-DVD for a long time. You in fact were the one acting like a BD Fanboy when someone decided to buy more HD-DVD films with their voucher.

I am enjoying my High-Def on my Tosh - I'm enjoying the price of discs just now.

I won't be going blu anytime soon. I won't buy a games console to watch films and I won't buy a standalone that is less than 2.0 not unless it was at a price similar to what you can pick a tosh up for.

So I went to a Sony Style store today and asked what the cheapest bluray player was not including the PS3 and he told me $499. The model was a BD300 something.

Anyway I ask him if it's upgradeable to profile 2.0 and he tells me yes. I asked him if he was sure and he assured me it was. He proceeded to tell me all the latest bluray players can be updated to profile 2.0. Ok fine. So I asked some other questions and at one point he tells me this thing does not decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD. I was like WTF?? Sarcastically I asked "what does it do Dolby Digital only?" and he said yes! I don't know if this guy is telling me the truth but if it IS true how can Sony sell a player at that price WITHOUT at least having Dolby TrueHD capability? Why in the world is it $499 then?

After that I left thinking the PS3 is not a bad option afterall.

[Post edited by Falcon01 on Apr 19, 2008]

Check the master list of Blu-ray players and what they can do:

http://www.idoblu.co.uk/page2%20Blu-ray%20Players.html

John

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LOL, throwing good money after bad.

Ehh, not really. The movies will be good as long as I have a player to play them on. I was all set to use it on a Blu-ray player until I choked on the $500 cost of entry.

I paided 400 for my a30 and I got a gift card from best buy which i used to buy a vacum cleaner part. well it paid for most of it

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The movies will be good as long as I have a player to play them on. I was all set to use it on a Blu-ray player until I choked on the $500 cost of entry.

Quite true. However, the same thing was said by the Betamax owners, 8-Track owners, CED Laserdisc Owners, et al.

You need to draw a line in the sand on when to stop throwing good money after old, unsupported technology. That date for most should have been Jan 5th, 2008 - 1 Day after the Warner announcement.

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You need to draw a line in the sand on when to stop throwing good money after old, unsupported technology. That date for most should have been Jan 5th, 2008 - 1 Day after the Warner announcement.

Toshiba has said it will maintain spares for HD-DVD players for the next eight years. Thats longer than I've had a standard DVD player.

I now have 3 HD-A30 models and 1 xbox HD DVD drive to watch my movies on. I don't think you can find the HD-A30 or HD-A35 anymore. Stock is gone. I'll have 70 something movies total in my collection plus enjoy the perfect upconversion. Choke on that SONY fanboys. I could truly care less about Blu Ray at the moment (they have a long way to go). I'll keep buying SD DVD. Not saying I wont buy a Blu Ray player when they get it all figured out and cheap.

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Toshiba has said it will maintain spares for HD-DVD players for the next eight years. Thats longer than I've had a standard DVD player

Dude... I'm sure the stock holders will be "thrilled" to have a whole bunch of obsolete players and machinery to manufacture them. --- that was just a soft soaping. I am sure that they will dump their remaining inventory after a way shorter time than 8 years.

Keep an eye on these places:
http://dollargeneral.com/Pages/index.aspx
http://www.biglots.com/
right next to the doileys and paper bags, and giant Butterfingers. LOL

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Quite true. However, the same thing was said by the Betamax owners, 8-Track owners, CED Laserdisc Owners, et al.

Yes, it can be said, however, 8 track and laserdisc didn't have the same quality as the prevailing formats of their days. Only the most fervent fanboys can claim any real difference in quality between Blu-ray and HD-DVD. What's more of a waste, using a $50 rebate to procure 4 more movies or spend that $50 and add $450 for a player that'll be relatively obsolete as well (not quite as much as an HD-DVD but the Blu-ray profile march goes on) in a year or so.

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3 HD-A30 models and 1 xbox HD DVD drive to watch my movies on. I don't think you can find the HD-A30 or HD-A35 anymore. Stock is gone. I'll have 70 something movies total in my collection plus enjoy the perfect upconversion. Choke on that SONY fanboys

LOL

I learned this a long time ago ---- in Math class:

3x0=0 aka Three times nothing is still nothing.

Stop confusing me with your Einstein like formulas. I mean seriously not all of us here are mathletes

When adoption of Blu Ray becomes higher than 1% you might have some kind of leg to stand on Jono. So far that's nothing to be real proud of. We all know that download renting could very well take over the market before Blu Ray is fully realized. Just because you like to buy and I like to buy hardcopies doesn't mean the majority will buy enough to help.

Renting is where the money is at for the future of movie studios. Proof of that is how the music CD(hard copies) have decreased significantly with music downloads. Some of those services being only rental of music because when you quit the monthly fee they no longer work in the player.

Face it, it doesn't matter who won the so called format war. Neither had that much hope of being like SD DVD someday with the speed of change we have in technology now.

[Post edited by wolvinator on Apr 22, 2008]

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Renting is where the money is at for the future of movie studios.

Yep - Even Sony knows that which is why they're getting in on downloads.

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Dude... I'm sure the stock holders will be "thrilled" to have a whole bunch of obsolete players and machinery to manufacture them. --- that was just a soft soaping. I am sure that they will dump their remaining inventory after a way shorter time than 8 years.

How do you know what Toshiba plan.

I will enjoy my player and continue to buy HD-DVDs while I can. Future releases I will buy on SD just like 99% of the DVD buying public.
When my player eventually packs in and I can no longer get it serviced I will then decided which download service to go with which I bet will be the time when you you do the same Jono.

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I will enjoy my player and continue to buy HD-DVDs while I can. Future releases I will buy on SD just like 99% of the DVD buying public. When my player eventually packs in and I can no longer get it serviced I will then decided which download service to go with which I bet will be the time when you you do the same Jono.

I don't agree that HD-DVD players or non-2.0 Blu-ray players are "obsolete", as the HD-DVD players still have lots to offer considering the prices, and not everyone "needs" to be able to access the mostly lame web features. Scotsman, if you actually care about HD, why would you discount getting into Blu-ray at some point if you're actually interested in owning movies (whether by download or by disc)? Blu-ray prices will go down, and the audiovisual quality is (and likely will remain) far better to any one who really cares about the audiovisual quality. What you seem to be saying (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that you care about audiovisual quality because you're still buying HD-DVD discs, but if you can't buy HD-DVD then DVD or downloads are "good enough". Fair enough if you find prices too high right now, but you know prices are going to drop.

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Scotsman, if you actually care about HD, why would you discount getting into Blu-ray at some point if you're actually interested in owning movies (whether by download or by disc)? Blu-ray prices will go down

I do care about HD however I chose a format and that format was effectively discontinued. I won't now move to blu-ray on the assumption that HD-DVD lost so Blu-ray wins.

I am now waiting to see how this all develops. Blu-ray still has a battle on its hands to survive. It has to overtake SD and hope the development of download/steaming is slow enough to give it any sort of life expectancy.

If Blu-ray does establish itself as the main method for movie deliverance then I will go Blu but not until then. In the words of Jono - I won't throw good money after bad.

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If Blu-ray does establish itself as the main method for movie deliverance then I will go Blu but not until then. In the words of Jono - I won't throw good money after bad.

Fair enough - I guess I just missed that you were basing your prior comments on the assumption that downloads will be the prevailing HD format down the line. I think that both Blu-ray and downloads will be around in 10 years, but time will tell!

It took standard DVD about 6 or 7 years to exceed VHS sales after its introduction. You don't have long to wait then - perhaps just another 5 years before you go Blu, if Blu-ray catches on as fast as standard DVD did. And by then, players might be cheaper for you too.

[Post edited by Skyhawk on Apr 23, 2008]

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It took standard DVD about 6 or 7 years to exceed VHS sales after its introduction. You don't have long to wait then - perhaps just another 5 years before you go Blu, if Blu-ray catches on as fast as standard DVD did. And by then, players might be cheaper for you too.

The problem with that analogy is that when DVD arrived as a replacement to VHS there were no alternative technologies emerging to deliver movies into the home.

Today ther is. We have VOD from cable, movie downloads etc.

Currently we have Apple, M$ with download services. Amazon with there 'unboxed'.
Blockbuster, Netflix are working on their own set top boxes. sony are looking to enter the market. MGM are creating a HD channel with VOD. We have Toshiba and others improving 'upscaling'

Downloading/streaming technologies are only going to get better - five years is a long time for them to do it in.

So where as DVD had a clear run to become the next format - you can't say the same about Blu-ray.

[Post edited by Scotsman on Apr 23, 2008]

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Downloading/streaming technologies are only going to get better - five years is a long time for them to do it in.

Agreed. In 5 or 6 years these forms of media delivery might take a noticeable bite out of the conventional rental market. But that's a different subject...

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Agreed. In 5 or 6 years these forms of media delivery might take a noticeable bite out of the conventional rental market

You make the assumption that it will only affect the rental market.

Alternative forms of movie rentals will affect the rental market. Why would they affect the purchase market since we already have forms of rental - including even renting the full original disk in glorious 1080p/24 from our local or mail-based rental outlet!

In fact, it's been the purchase market that has historically taken an increasing market share away from the rental market - not the other way around. I don't see a turnaround in this trend in the foreseeable future, especially considering the relatively higher rental prices today than before that market's decline (in proportion to sales).

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Alternative forms of movie rentals will affect the rental market.

Obvious.

However alternative forms of movie delivery will affect more than just rental.

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However alternative forms of movie delivery will affect more than just rental.

You mean an ownership model based on other media/delivery HD video formats? I'm sure it will happen, but I very much doubt we'll see that even start within 6 years, let alone significantly affect conventional media sales.

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You mean an ownership model based on other media/delivery HD video formats? I'm sure it will happen, but I very much doubt we'll see that even start within 6 years, let alone significantly affect conventional media sales.

Skyhawk - thats your belief and you are entitled to it. Did I ever tell you that I believed HD-DVD would triumph over Blu-ray.

Scotsman said -

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"We have VOD from cable, movie downloads etc. Currently we have Apple, M$ with download services. Amazon with there 'unboxed'. Blockbuster, Netflix are working on their own set top boxes. sony are looking to enter the market. MGM are creating a HD channel with VOD. We have Toshiba and others improving 'upscaling'."

...and ALL of the ^above has inferior quality to that of 1080p/24 Blu-ray Hi-Def (and the next generation audio formats).

So, why settle for less? Blu-ray is here and NOW, affordable (to many, but not all yet), and can be enjoyed easily thru RENTALS, and discounted purchase sales (Amazon, Target, etc). Now that home video quality is HD, why do some want to settle for less? So, let's keep those new Blu-ray HD releases coming! The more the merrier.

-JIMI LOVE (the Voodoo Child)

[Post edited by Love Hendrix! on Apr 23, 2008]

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Skyhawk - thats your belief and you are entitled to it.

Well dude, how about telling us HOW an alternative ownership model will be provided within 5 to 6 years? Since it hasn't been attempted yet, no one knows what on earth it will look like. What do you think it will be? Or are you just blowing air?

LH wrote:

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...and ALL of the ^above has inferior quality to that of 1080p/24 Blu-ray Hi-Def (and the next generation audio formats).

At this moment in time. Like any emerging technology it will improve.

There was very little difference (if any) in quality between BD and HD-DVD yet at the time the plug was pulled on HD-DVD it was better in terms of feature set. Quality doesn't always determine success.

As you've said many many times - its all about content. If the studios decide that it's the way forward then that will be the way forward.

How many formats have been consigned to history because the studios changed direction?

[Post edited by Scotsman on Apr 24, 2008]

Skyhawk wrote:

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Well dude, how about telling us HOW an alternative ownership model will be provided within 5 to 6 years?

If I knew that - I wouldn't be detailing it on the internet and I'd be incredibly rich in the near future.

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Since it hasn't been attempted yet, no one knows what on earth it will look like.

Yet you are closed to the possibility of it happening.

The technology foundations are already there - it just needs improved on. The amount of companies getting involved will surely push the capabilities forward and in the technology world 5-6 years is a very long time indeed.