Microsoft HD-DVD 360 player and console for $900??

Riku, I still see one major flaw with your argument, since when did HD-DVD become a huge success.

and...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mgm

I\'m not ready to qualify HD-DVD as a huge success.  I called it a success based on it\'s early and warm reception as well as its praise.  HD-DVD has sold more than blu-ray thus far, and had better reviews from publications and consumers. Perhaps  I should have said early success.  Whether its a commercial success remains to be seen.

Yes, Sony is one of many partners with MGM.  I thought I said that.

But that leaves quite a hole in HD-DVD\'s library does it not?

But that leaves quite a hole in HD-DVD\'s library does it not?

I suppose that depends who you talk to.  There are certainly some absences and anyone buying either format will have to take that into mind.

If I was really into it (I\'m not) I would buy a PS3 and the $200 HD-DVD add on for the 360 I already own.
 
Then I can watch all the high def movies I want in either format until the rest of the world makes up their mind.
 
Instead, I\'ll use Netflix for normal DVDs until I can get the one, dominant format as a stand-alone player for about $150 or less.

netflix carries Blu-ray and HD-DVD films already

If I was really into it (I\'m not) I would buy a PS3 and the $200 HD-DVD add on for the 360 I already own.
 
Then I can watch all the high def movies I want in either format until the rest of the world makes up their mind.
 
Instead, I\'ll use Netflix for normal DVDs until I can get the one, dominant format as a stand-alone player for about $150 or less.

There will eventually be hybrid players.  Those will be the true movie buffs...not concerned with taking sides in this stupid format war.

netflix carries Blu-ray and HD-DVD films already

Does netflix carry Blu-Ray players?

[LIC]do they carry HD-DVD players?[/LIC]

[Paul2]

There will eventually be hybrid players.  Those will be the true movie buffs...not concerned with taking sides in this stupid format war.

Hope not, as I prefer one format to win this generation instead of a hybrid player.

LG (the format backer of blu ray) at one time planned to make a hybrid Blu Ray and HD-DVD player combo.  But around last month or so, they decided to scrapped the idea and rather go with releasing a blu ray player in the nearby future instead as they are confident the blu ray players will wins the competition.

This whole Blue Ray and HD-DVD thing kind of pisses me off. I\'m pretty happy with the way my DVDs look on my screen now and they\'re regular ole DVDs. Can anyone here (maybe this was stated already) say they see such a leap in quality over the DVDs we have now?

No they are not such a leap. Unless we stuck our faces on the TV screen to notice the difference.

on an HDTV, the difference is very noticeable.
especially on CRT HDTV\'s like mine.

[Living-In-Clip]

It is noticable to YOU. You most likely have your TV calibrated properly, most people don\'t, when you take in "Joe Sixpack". Those people won\'t notice or care about the added video detail and most likely don\'t have a sound system to support the new audio, thus killing the advantages of that format. For HD-DVD and Blu-Ray to take off, people need HDTV\'s, they need them properly calibrated. Few people go through the trouble to use Avia and other calibration tools.

And when we talk about the leap from VHS to DVD, we forget a few things.

(1) No more rewind. No more fast forward. It\'s chapters. People love that.

(2) Cheaper. Does anyone else remember when T-2 came out on VHS and was almost a $100 bucks? DVD\'s was priced to the point that people could buy them for $20 bucks and feel good about it. This created the collectors mentality that we see a lot of people with.

(3) Extra\'s. Deleted scenes, being the biggest.

These are things that DVD brought. These are things that are now standard, so neither of the new formats can claim them. Espically when a lot of the new HD-DVD\'s and Blu-Ray films are lacking extra\'s that their DVD counterparts already have.

[Paul2]

Its surprising that you know about calibration and Avia.  Not sure if it requires calibration to see the picture different between DVD and Blu Ray or HD-DVD.

If VCD have the function of DVD, I don\'t think the majority of people will support it as VCD picture quality is bad.  the resolution is lower than VHS tape, and the compression is quite bad and very noticeable.

So, I do think picture quality does play a role on the success of DVD beside being more flexible in the menu navigation and convenience...

The extra and deleted scenes, directory commentaries, etc are a little overrated as most movies have to much of them, and the majority consumers wouldn\'t care or bother to watch most of them as they don\'t have the interest or the time to sit through those stuffs.

Picture quality is very important, especially as a selling tool in store (look at the difference between this regular TV and this HDTV).  While there are no groundbreaking improvements on this format (like no rewind, chapters, hidden menues that DVD brought to the table), they HAVE made large strides to fix problems that have poped up with DVD formats.  java-based interactive menus, for example, that don\'t halt movie playback would be one obvious example that BR brings to the table, besides better codecs, colors, and sound.