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Blu-ray or HD-DVD?


Bearcat

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DVD player croaked so I need a new one. Will be stepping up to the higher resolution TV soon, so I thought that I'd get either the Sony Blu-ray or HD-DVD system. Sony seems to be winning the format war, but the HD-DVDs are being whored out by Toshiba so what to buy is the question.

Any suggestions from the cognoscenti here would be appreciated. Saw the Sony in action today and it is impressive....But Blu-ray discs run $35-40 and selection is limited...very limited.

Thanks,

--Doc

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Really at this point I'd just buy a new dvd for about $30. Let the war play out and buy later. No sense in owning a $600 brick a year from now.

I'll second this. Buy a cheap up-converting DVD player now. Oppo makes a good one. Live with it for a while and wait for dual format players to come down in price.

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I've got a PS3 and a Toshiba HD-DVD player and there are advantages to both. There are plenty of great titles out already on Blu-Ray and plenty more scheduled. I like both formats so for me it's kind of hard to choose. They both look fantastic but I would give the edge to Blu-Ray by just a little bit. If you're trying to sneak a game platform past the wife go for the PS3. Think you can get the 40GB one for $399 now maybe a little less if you can find a coupon that works on it. There are some great racing games on the PS3 platform.

Edited by TA8088
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There is no multi-region playback for DVDs or Blu-ray discs on the PS3. At least on the player side.

However, many discs, even some badged as region A will play on region B (European) players/PS3s. Theres a list on the web somewhere.

Personally, i have HD-DVD (xbox360 addon) at the moment which is totally region free. I will be adding an LG BD-ROM/HD-DVD ROM combo drive to my media PC as soon they appear on the shelves over here. I can see the format war lasting for quite a few years yet, so it's best to either have the both, or stick to DVD for the time being.

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By the time the stupid format war is over its likely that high definition downloads will rule anyway. You can already download HD rips of all the HD-Dvd or Blu-Ray movies and HD copies of most tv shows off Bit Torrent. From where I live (outside USA) its still a bit slow but quite achievable. If you're US or Euro based with good internet speed you can have an HD movie down in hours.

Sooner or later Apple itunes or someone will start selling HD downloads legitimately. Sony, Toshiba and the rest have stuffed up massively here and basically wasted the opportunity to get an HD disc format off the ground. I don't see the format war ending anytime soon and in the mean time consumers just aren't buying.

To answer you question.. I'd either buy a regular DVD player or maybe one of those super low priced Toshiba HD-Dvd players. To play HD downloaded content on the TV grab an Apple mac mini or Apple TV if you a Mac user, or a Network media player (various brands) and network this to you computer.

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IMO get a PS3, it's what almost everyone is doing. I'm sticking with DVD's for a while, Both Blu-Ray and HD are way overpriced, and I'm fine with DVD quality...

Remember when DVD players came out and had a HUGE rebate 6 months later? Wait for that to happen, I would hate myself for buying something @ $600 that winds up being $100 in a few months from now...

Edited by guanaco
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up-converting DVD player now. Oppo makes a good one.

I agree. I just bought an Oppo up-converting DVD player for my new Samsung 61" LCD TV and the picture quality is amazing. 'Near' HD quality - and good enough to hold me over for all my current DVDs until HD/BlueRay settles down. And a big bonus - there is a hidden menu that allows you a setting to play all regions. Works perfect from my US and French DVDs.

Usil

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Heard an interesting story the other day at a local HiFi dealer; I'm also in for an 'upgrade' and here is his point of view:

" The war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will most likely be won by HD-DVD.. Why, 3 reasons; from every 10 Blu-Ray chips Sony produce, 7 will find their way into a PS3, the other 3 will be evenly spread among other player manufacturers plus coding Blu-Ray is cumbersome and expensive.

The 'cheaper' alternative is HD-DVD which will be widely adopted by the biggest producers of DVD's... indeed , the porn industry.. same story a few decades ago between VHS and Betamax"

If it's true, I don't know, sure is an interesting theory ;)

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I think that the fact that Blockbuster no longer buys HD-DVD's , and will only carry the Blu-ray discs pretty much trumps any advantages that HD-DVD's had. Just as Beta max lost out to VHS, the public really has already spoken by renting Blu-ray discs at Blockbuster by a 6 to 1 margin I think I read........so it's all over, cept for the fat lady singing....in HD of course...

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