ohm the last samurai hd-dvd is in 1080p 16x9

 

You are correct that they come redone in 1080p, however, they were not originally shot in true HD. There had to be some manipulation somewhere.

The best picture I have seen to-date is ESPN's Sunday Night Football and it was only 1080i. Why? Source recording. Add to the fact that tv records/films under diferent lighting preferences(brighter) and live broadcasts such as sporting events will always look better than film.

Detract all you want , we enjoy it- Pio Elite 1130 plasma, DTV 5-LNB sat, and now the HD-DVD. I won't bore you with the sound stuff(Denon, Focal, M&K, and Buttkickers for both rows).

Back to the original question: Anyone else here have an HD-DVD player yet?

 

well, normally i'd be jumping at the chance...


but this time, i'm sitting out on the format war. we've got 2 different formats, with almost no chance of unified compatibility, both with content controls that work against the user and for the big companies...

http://news.com.com/Why+the+world+doesnt+n...ml?tag=nefd.top

until the format war is over and/or until they figure out that the consumer should have fair use rights - i'm sitting on the sidelines.

the last thing i want to do is buy a HD-DVD player, then have to replace my TV to get more than 25% image quality, and then have to sell it all cause Blue-Ray "won"....

sorry to rain on the thread, but starting this format war is the dumbest thing the electronics industry has done in years...

 

What? No plasma in the twins' room?!

How long has it been since the audio format wars started and pretty much killed each other off?

As previously stated, I've had my Elite since November and a 53" Pioneer HD RPTV before that(almost 4yrs). Our bedroom tv is not a plasma, but it is an HD set. It's like an addiction. Once you've watched enough h-def programming, you want it ALL in HD.

I believe that there will be a winner. Originally, I thought, like many others, that Blu-ray would win hands down. Now I'm not so sure. Getting to the market first by 6 weeks and at half the price makes a very big difference. It is also why if the PS3 ever is released , it will nab both gamers and movie watchers. Combatting that real possibility will be XBox's production of an HD-DVD add-on for their system.

I think the title selection will be key. I like the fact that one of the companies(can't remember which one) is planning to release dvd's with both SD and HD versions on the same disc or disc set. Doing this will allow folks to buy for their future hardware upgrades. It's one way to solidify the HD-DVD format.

 

I agree with PJK3, even if I had the money to purchase one of these units, I'd still wait till the dust settles on which to get.

Had they agreed on a single format, the transition to to full HD would be much quicker and cheaper with better products coming out earlier. But alas they have to duel it out and progress is impeded. Like American cell phones, if they agreed from the beginning to go with GSM we'd have some pretty cool phones like they do in Korea (TV phones came out years ago).

 

Skip, i can't help but agree on a number of your points.

title selection is going to be a big player in this battle... i think the lower initial cost and earlier release of the HD-DVD players are also some big nails in the Blu-Ray coffin.

the absurdly high rumored price of the PS3 isn't helping matters at all either... sure $600 for a Blu-Ray player isn't a bad price, but for a console - it's absurdly expensive.


one of my biggest beefs though with the whole thing is all the content protection that they are bundling into these systems... to protect not the consumer, but themselves! where lack of certain inputs will deliberately cripple the new format? ABSURD! fair use has vanished, and we are the losers. all in the name of combating piracy, and piracy that they haven't ever really justified as causing damage to their bottom line (other than their cooked up billion dollar claim losses). they are now treating the public as if we are all criminals...

i'm not a file swapper, CD copier, movie ripper kind of guy... but the simple act of making backups of my kid's DVD movies (so they don't destroy the originals), has become both illegal and unnecessarily complicated.

the medical costs of the twins kept me out of the HD market for quite a while... and now that i am back into the HD market, i'm hesitant to commit...
will i have the right inputs on my TV to ensure playback? are they going to change that again when HDMI is broken? and my perfectly good Pioneer Elite THX/DTS surround setup is less than useful b/c i don't have HDMI switching? so, i need to replace that now? will i have to replace it again?


bah.... like you mentioned on the HD CD's, Skip -- they are shooting themselves in the feet, and i'm going to sit on the sidelines, laugh, and wait for the winner to emerge.

 

Analog inputs(for audio) are still your friend.

That, and I can tell you that HD is not going away. When I purchased my Pio in November, it was the only monitor that came with 2 HDMI inputs. Now, almost all have two. I'm not concerned with the receiver doing my video switching. So what if I have to switch the DTV receiver and monitor seapartely unless I program a macro?

I saw no reason to wait for the holy grail 1080p for the same reason people give for not getting the HD-DVD player. How much sharper can it get? Until we get holographic, I'm pretty satisfied with 1080i.



***Edited 'cause I can't type and think at the same time.

 

*nods*

i recently picked up one of those Logitech 880 (i think that's the model) remotes, and it is a macro king. easy to setup, program it via the PC and usb...

i'm more concerned about having too many HDMI sources, and not enough inputs on the TV w/o some sort of HDMI receiver switching...

i don't think it is too critical today, but as more and more media control technology is imposed upon us, we'll be seeing more and more restriction... i can easily see 2 HDMI inputs (or whatever other DRM inputs they cook up) as not being enough in 5 years.

when i do buy HD and whatever else i need to get there, i'm going to want a period of comfortable stagnancy of more than 5 years before i'm mandated into another battery of upgrades.

 

Unfortunately it doesn't seem as though this format war is going to sort itself out anytime soon. I agree that this whole thing is one the stupidest things the electronic's industry has done in years. I've heard some companies are going to produce movies under both formats.

It seems as though BluRay needs the PS3 to be successful in order to come out on top. Because when you look at the standalone players themselves the BluRay players are rumored to cost twice as much as the HD-DVD ones. If image quality is going to be equal (or the difference is imperceivable by the average consumer) btwn the two formats, then why would anyone pay twice as much for the same quality? If the PS3 takes off and owners start buying the BluRay discs then I can see it being successful and win. Otherwise the HD nuts are going to go with the cheaper alternative.

BTW, check out avsforum.com for many many threads on the new toshiba HD-DVD player. I've seen some incredible screen shots there. It really gets me excited about this new technology, but not enough to jump in just yet.

PJK3, I have a logitech harmony remote as well. It's a great remote, and so easy to program. I love it. With all of the components in my entertainment room it saves me from switching btwn half a dozen remotes. My wife loves it too because it doesn't confuse her... she walks in and presses the "watch TV" button and voila! Everything comes on, inputs are switched correctly, channel button controls the HD cable box, volume button controls the receiver, etc. It's great.

 

usace, I'm FF2Skip on avsforum.com as well.

As for PS3, with initial sales supposed to start Nov 17 here in the US, but not having nearly enough to satisfy intial wants, it'll be February before enough folks will have players to make a dent in the BD movie title sales. This is why I think BD will not champion. Either way, I'll be gettinga PS3 at such a time as I do not have to camp out for three days.

Looks like I might have to pick up an upscale universal remote, too.