And the BR HD War continues

[nidan]

Unfortunately such data rates aren't available in Scottsdale.

Also the problem with the download model id they want you to keep paying every time you do it. If I could down load and burn it would be fine but I can't.

On an occasionally basis sure but as a replacement for owning the media, no way. Even if the DVR had enough space which it doesn't, I'm one chrash away from having to repurchase all the content

 

[nidan]

From the bunker.

Not all captions are work safe but is hilarious

 

[Linderbee]

From the bunker.

Not all captions are work safe but is hilarious

I knew I'd seen something similar before...

http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1384174&postcount=1

I wonder how many others there are?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

From the bunker.

Not all captions are work safe but is hilarious

these are hilarious. The xbox live one was funnier though.

 

[UncleChris]

From the bunker.

Not all captions are work safe but is hilarious

Now THAT'S funny... I don't care WHO ya are....

 

[JS22]

Here are a few examples of HD streaming television shows...
My current Fiber Optic connection streams all of my HD content to my media box, by the way...

http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing

I am going to see if I can locate a copy of that report.

Because everyone has fiber optic connections and 1TB drives...

 

[CardFan67]

Because everyone has fiber optic connections and 1TB drives...

I just think digital will be the near future, not today, not tomorrow but also within 3 to 5 years...

Moving parts will be gone for movies, imo, expansion of current media will make DVD's of any kind obsolete. Not necessarily downloadables but even purchased on a higher capacity SD card, or similar.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2007/01/_32gb_sd_cards_in_2008_1.html

Imagine your entire movie collection fitting in a box the size of an old single VHS tape box.

As far as the Fiber optic thing goes, I had no idea it was not available that widely. Cox, AT&T, Verizon.. I thought it was becoming the standard...

 

[nidan]

I wish it were available.

But downloadable content is an interesting topic but it needs a significant change to replace disks.

That change is DRM. Once I download something I want to own it, I want to be able to back it up or burn it to archive media. Until then I am utterly uninterested.

Right now the whole objective is to get you to pay small amounts often.

Amazon just got a clue. They have apparently have the agreement from all four major labels to sell DRM free downloadable music, I think the service starts in a few weeks. Now I am interested, in fact have some stuff I want to get, will never pay for Itunes DRM locked content.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I wish it were available.

But downloadable content is an interesting topic but it needs a significant change to replace disks.

That change is DRM. Once I download something I want to own it, I want to be able to back it up or burn it to archive media. Until then I am utterly uninterested.

Right now the whole objective is to get you to pay small amounts often.

Amazon just got a clue. They have apparently have the agreement from all four major labels to sell DRM free downloadable music, I think the service starts in a few weeks. Now I am interested, in fact have some stuff I want to get, will never pay for Itunes DRM locked content.

I don't think the MPAA will allow that.... ever.

 

[nidan]

Thats what the music labels said until they realized enough people weren't buys.

But you may be right and if so dl movies will always be a niche market

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Thats what the music labels said until they realized enough people weren't buys.

But you may be right and if so dl movies will always be a niche market

True, but I don't think that the "market" to download movies, will ever come close to what music has achieved. Downloading a song takes seconds/minutes. Downloading movies takes minutes/several hours. That is, unless we get a large increase in bandwidth.

 

[nidan]

That as well but if I don't own it in all respects I wont buy a download

 

[Fiasco]

It won't really catch on, except for the uber-techy. (who most likely already have HD/BR) You download a 30GB HDDVD or a 50GBBluray? I'd say that there is a good amount of the public that does not have 50GB of hard drive space free. You'd have to have a terabyte hard drive. It's just not feasible. This doesn't even talk about the hours, upon hours of downloading to get 50GB of data.

No way in hell this happens in the next 3 years at least, closer to 5+.

I have 4 TB on my HTPC

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I have 4 TB on my HTPC

You my friend, are a geek!

 

[nidan]

Dang I feel such a whimp.

Putting in a 2TB samba server in the near future

 

[Fiasco]

You my friend, are a geek!

Media Portal + 4TB = entertainment goodness

 

[Darth Llama]

Ok, I have a couple questions about this whole Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD thing, so I figured this would be as good of a place as any to ask.

1. I was just looking around on line for players and from what I'm seeing, Blu Ray players are $400-$500? That can't be right is it? Who's going to pay that much for a DVD Player? Even on sites like Newegg, they are $400+. How can this format win any type of format war with prices like that? HD Players are $150-$300.

2. Are either of these formats going to be THAT much better then buying a regular DVD Player that will upconvert my current DVD's to 1080p? I have a 1080p LCD TV, but my DVD Player is old. Currently, my DVD's play at 480p and they don't look nearly as good as HD TV Broadcasts (Obviously.) If I compared a Blu Ray movie back to back with a normal DVD upscaled to 1080p, would I notice much difference?

3. If I wanted to go Blu-Ray, what would be the advantage to buying a Blu Ray player vs. a Sony Playstation 3 that plays Blu Ray format? I prefer the XBox 360 myself, but if I'm going to shell out $450 to get a blu ray player anyway, why wouldn't I just buy the PS3 since it can also play games?

4. If hypothetically, Blu-Ray wins this format war, what do you think the odds are that they will stop making normal DVD's anytime soon? I don't see us having Blu Ray as the only option anytime within the next 10 years, but I admit, I lack knowledge in this subject.

Right now, I'm leaning toward just buying a normal DVD Player that will just upconvert my disks to 1080p. If anyone has any info to offer, I would appreciate it. Please try not to laugh at my lack of knowledge in this area.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Ok, I have a couple questions about this whole Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD thing, so I figured this would be as good of a place as any to ask.

1. I was just looking around on line for players and from what I'm seeing, Blu Ray players are $400-$500? That can't be right is it? Who's going to pay that much for a DVD Player? Even on sites like Newegg, they are $400+. How can this format win any type of format war with prices like that? HD Players are $150-$300.

The format was had been very tight coming into this holiday season. So Bluray decided to focus on software sales, and had a TON of B1G1 free sales. This allowed them to manipulate numbers and show that they have sold a lot more titles than HDDVD. Once Warner saw how many Blu discs were moving, they decided to go Blu exclusive.

2. Are either of these formats going to be THAT much better then buying a regular DVD Player that will upconvert my current DVD's to 1080p? I have a 1080p LCD TV, but my DVD Player is old. Currently, my DVD's play at 480p and they don't look nearly as good as HD TV Broadcasts (Obviously.) If I compared a Blu Ray movie back to back with a normal DVD upscaled to 1080p, would I notice much difference?

If you have a 1080p TV, yes. Linder can tell the difference. If you can tell the difference between 480p DVDs and HD broadcasts, you will be able to tell the difference in the HD discs. The HD discs are better quality than the TV broadcasts.

3. If I wanted to go Blu-Ray, what would be the advantage to buying a Blu Ray player vs. a Sony Playstation 3 that plays Blu Ray format? I prefer the XBox 360 myself, but if I'm going to shell out $450 to get a blu ray player anyway, why wouldn't I just buy the PS3 since it can also play games?

As of right now, the PS3 does not support DTS:MA, which is one of the new HD audio formats. There has been speculation that a firmware patch can fix this, but we have been waiting a year for it. Other than that, I see no reason to get a stand alone player, vs. the PS3 that allows you to play the games.

4. If hypothetically, Blu-Ray wins this format war, what do you think the odds are that they will stop making normal DVD's anytime soon? I don't see us having Blu Ray as the only option anytime within the next 10 years, but I admit, I lack knowledge in this subject.

Right now, I'm leaning toward just buying a normal DVD Player that will just upconvert my disks to 1080p. If anyone has any info to offer, I would appreciate it. Please try not to laugh at my lack of knowledge in this area.

Bluray will win the war now, before the end of the year most likely. DVD isn't going anywhere in the next 5 years. If you want to get the most of your 1080p system, get a PS3. If not, spend $100 on a HDDVD player.

Yes, I know that HDDVD will lose the war, but players can be had for $100 with 300 and Bourne Identity in the box, as well as 5 in the mail. Throw in the fact that it is one of, if not the best upconverting DVD player on the market, and you can't lose. Besides, you'd spend $60-$70 on an upconverting DVD player anyway. You'd might as well get the HDDVD player. You will be able to find HDDVD discs cheap pretty soon I'd wager, and are just as good, if not better than Bluray.

 

[jf-08]

Can a Blu-Ray player play regular DVDs?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Can a Blu-Ray player play regular DVDs?

absolutely

 

[Darth Llama]

Yes, I know that HDDVD will lose the war, but players can be had for $100 with 300 and Bourne Identity in the box, as well as 5 in the mail. Throw in the fact that it is one of, if not the best upconverting DVD player on the market, and you can't lose. Besides, you'd spend $60-$70 on an upconverting DVD player anyway. You'd might as well get the HDDVD player. You will be able to find HDDVD discs cheap pretty soon I'd wager, and are just as good, if not better than Bluray.

First, let me thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, that was most helpful. When thinking about it, even though Blu Ray will no doubt win, I think I'll be best served buying a much cheaper HD-DVD Player and keeping that for a few years till I need to go Blu Ray. By that time, Blu Ray players will be much better then they are now and probably cost about $100.

With that in mind, is there a particular HDDVD Player that you recommend? I'm sure they are mostly all the same save a few extra features and movie bundles, just curious if you know of one that's a particularly good value?

Thank you again for the help, you rock dude.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

First, let me thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, that was most helpful. When thinking about it, even though Blu Ray will no doubt win, I think I'll be best served buying a much cheaper HD-DVD Player and keeping that for a few years till I need to go Blu Ray. By that time, Blu Ray players will be much better then they are now and probably cost about $100.

With that in mind, is there a particular HDDVD Player that you recommend? I'm sure they are mostly all the same save a few extra features and movie bundles, just curious if you know of one that's a particularly good value?

Thank you again for the help, you rock dude.

Don't mention it. If you can find an A3 or A30, that would be best. The A3's can be found for around $100, with some searching Check Best Buy's and Circuit Cities. The A30 (which is the 1080p player) has been seen for around $150.

 

[Darth Llama]

Don't mention it. If you can find an A3 or A30, that would be best. The A3's can be found for around $100, with some searching Check Best Buy's and Circuit Cities. The A30 (which is the 1080p player) has been seen for around $150.

Yeah, I found the A30 in several places near me for just under $200 which is well within the realm of what I was looking to pay. I'll probably pick one up this week and put the old DVD Player on my CRT in the bedroom. The A30 looks pretty sweet.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Yeah, I found the A30 in several places near me for just under $200 which is well within the realm of what I was looking to pay. I'll probably pick one up this week and put the old DVD Player on my CRT in the bedroom. The A30 looks pretty sweet.

The MSRP for the A30 is now $199. You can definitely find it cheaper than that.Amazon has it for $153 shipped. Plus, if you use the shop amazon link at the top of the page, you can help out ASFN. Win, win.

 

[Darth Llama]

The MSRP for the A30 is now $199. You can definitely find it cheaper than that.Amazon has it for $153 shipped. Plus, if you use the shop amazon link at the top of the page, you can help out ASFN. Win, win.

Sounds good to me.. thanks again!