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So are we headed into bluray or hd dvd or both ?
MYX:
I think that eventually there will be players that support both. I mean they have DVD players that will play just about anything now. It may require 2 sets of optics, but some genius will do it. Doesn't mater much because there are all sorts of new technologies that are coming up fast and if these two don't work it out soon, they will both loose and get passed by. There is an article in this months Home Theater mag that was talking about some folks with much better ideas than even the BR or HD folks could offer.
RayB:
In theory, BOTH new formats could survive. Ricoh has come up with technology that can read both discs.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,203718,00.html
The only problem with this is that I can't envision Sony granting a license for a player that supports both formats. They're way too arrogant and self-obsessed to want to share the playfield like that (until it's past obvious they're losing out).
boykster:
--- Quote from: RayB on December 12, 2006, 06:53:16 pm ---In theory, BOTH new formats could survive. Ricoh has come up with technology that can read both discs.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,203718,00.html
The only problem with this is that I can't envision Sony granting a license for a player that supports both formats. They're way too arrogant and self-obsessed to want to share the playfield like that (until it's past obvious they're losing out).
--- End quote ---
Bingo! Dual optic readers are just a technology problem, but solving the licensing problem will be a major PITA. I dunno who's going to "win", but I'm not investing in either until the dust settles and the costs come down -> and I have 3 plasmas, 2 LCD tvs, and a projector.
There IS quite a bit of difference between a well mastered HD-DVD/Bluray title and a good DVD, but I agree with sharidan that it will mostly be videophiles that are the early adopters, just like with Laserdisc and DVD. Oh, and upconverting dvd players and HTPC's do look better than run of the mill dvd players, but there's only so much they can do....the best upconverted DVD can't touch the quality of a native HD-DVD title....
RayB:
true. I saw a BluRay on demo on a proper HD tv and it's definitely a noticeable improvement. But only people with 1080p HDTVs will care.
It's like Chad said. There's not enough of an incentive to upgrade.
koz319:
--- Quote from: boykster on December 12, 2006, 08:33:17 pm ---There IS quite a bit of difference between a well mastered HD-DVD/Bluray title and a good DVD. Oh, and upconverting dvd players and HTPC's do look better than run of the mill dvd players, ....the best upconverted DVD can't touch the quality of a native HD-DVD title....
--- End quote ---
I couldn't agree more - If you think there isn't much difference between hd-dvd/blu-ray and standard dvds, consider this: Most DVDs (NTSC) are encoded at 720*480 = 345,600 pixels per frame. 1080p encoded HD-DVD = 1920*1080 = 2,073,600 pixels per frame. 2,073,600/345,600 = 6
There are 6 TIMES more pixels per frame of 1080p HD than standard DVD. The difference is HUGE, * IF * you have a display that can take advantage of the resolution. If you are sitting 10' from a 32" HDTV, the difference will probably not be very apparent. But 12' from a 110" HD projected image, the difference is jaw-dropping. It's not subtle, and I would say it's *easily* as big or bigger an improvement as the jump from vhs to dvd was.
As far as upscaling DVD players go, an HD-TV (fixed resolution display, LCD or Plasma or DLP) is already upscaling your video to hi-def resolution. Otherwise, the video would only fill a small portion of the screen. So you are wagering that the scaler in the DVD player is better than the scaler in the set, which may or may not be true. Either way, there's still a BIG difference between upscaled DVD and true hi-def.
HD-DVD seems to have a bit of a lead right now, but I kinda hope Blu-Ray takes off. Sony has botched the Blu-Ray launch, it's way too expensive and there have been some low quality transfers. In the end, I'm guessing the potential for more storage on Blu-Ray will probably tip the scales that direction. I dont like Blu-Rays DRM though. (Serioulsy thinking about picking up the HD-DVD add-on for the 360 for Xmas though - cheapest way to go at the moment).
Both formats are useless to anyone without an HDTV.
And yeah, sports in HD is pretty spectacular!
Koz
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