I'm sure most of you already know about this, but for those that don't, HERE IT IS!That's cool that we could be seeing the first generation players as early as September and titles coming soon after. I don't know about anyone else, but I have already been limiting my DVD purchases over the last few months and plan to be one of the many early adopters to get into HD-DVD. Anyone else doing the same?

i am gonna pass buying into ANY new technology that is being produced. it seems every few months they have what they claim is the "next, great improvement in audio/video technology". it has all just gotten my totally confused.. i just spent a good chunk of change to get the HT that i got, i dont want to feel pressured to improve or upgrade cause 'the man' tells me i have to.

i am more than interested to see what happens with the new format(not to mention the format wars between the blue disc), but i am just not ready to jump on the bandwagon yet. i will give it some time.. but, if you get it, let us know what you think..

bigjohn

You could make that arguement for all technology - not just audio/video.

If you wait for the "next" thing, you will never buy anything.....

BIBBH,

Let's see now,......I waited 16 years to "upgrade" my system.
My "new" a/v reciever has no "THX", OR 7.1.
Of course, my cassette deck is obsolete,...... now my "new" cd-scad-dvd player......is ALREADY on the way out...(hd-cd, i-pod etc.)
I think I have to side with Big John,.... (on this one).


LT

Hi MiniRock,

As wonderful as the potential of HD-DVD sounds, the realization of it so far, based on the prototype players demo'd at CES, I found underwhelming. I looked at Panasonic and Toshiba HD-DVD players and saw lots of video artifacts and images that did not come close to matching what I get from some HD movie channels.

Whether it's the too-aggressive MPEG encoding or simply early glitches in 1st-generation prototype players, I'm not sure. More about this in the upcoming Axiom AudioFile newsletter later this month. The format war will have to be resolved and I'm sure problems will be worked out, but in my judgment the CES demos were premature.

You have to view such demonstrations in context. I recall the first CES demo of DirectTV, and any fast-moving simultaneous lateral and vertical action, such as you'd get in a basketball game, would totally freeze and pixelate. Those problems were eventually overcome.

Regards,

I think that you could point to anything and then see the next big thing on the horizon...it happens routinely, as no company wants to have nothing on the horizon.

I agree that it is frustrating, but some of the things you mention have been on the fringe for years - ie iPod.

BIBBH,

I'm O.K. with the changes in audio...(I really like my system)......it COULD have been worse, though.
At least I didn't BUY.....a "quadraphonic" system in the 70's, a beta video, a "needle type" video player...or either of the two laser disc players.

LT

I hear you loud and clear.

I did by a Beta VCR - which has superior technology, and was used well beyond the consumer cutoff by professionals - than VHS.

I have a bad habit that tends to help me - I am very diligent in researching - my electrical/electronics/IT engineering background mandates this......By the time I have decided to buy a piece, I have usually used all the resources I have available (including industry contacts and actual designers) to learn. It has saved me in some cases!

I owned two laserdisc players and got tremendous use out of them for several years before DVD arrived. They were 1000% more enjoyable than VHS. Everyone used to make fun of me for having one, until they came to my place to watch a movie. That shut them up rather quickly. From then on they too hated VHS.

I was referring to the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, and the MANY changes in formats........not that someone shouldn't have purchased it, or that the "gear" was poor............(I WOULD have been poor if I had tried to BUY it all, though).

I guess the format changes were the most frustrating parts........anyone get pulled into the DAT fray??

I KNEW I would leave one out............and no, I dodged that one too....(although, a friend of mine recorded our "jams" on DAT.....the sound was good, but when it died...he lost all the STORED info).

Ha!!! Lucky for you!!!!

Yeah, a carefully conceived plot to FORCE upgrades and format changes......

the bad guys BEFORE the Redmond Sheep Herders!!!!

I worked at a post-production studio here in Nashville until early 2001, and DAT was still the preferred media then. Heck, we even had people bring in their projects on Mini Disc (yuck!). Thankfully, we never had any issues. I have no idea what they're using these days - my guess is that everything's stored on hard disk.

DAT has been enormously popular among professionals, although it's losing ground now to non-tape recording. You'd be hard-pressed to walk into a recording studio and NOT find one.

I use this one for backwards-compatibility with stuff brought in to the edit suite and when I need to record longer than an 80-minute CD will allow:



I think it weighs more than my Denon 3805 receiver!

I think the point is to wait for the price to saturate b4 buying, not wait for the next big thing to buy.

You could have bought a dvd burner for $350 when it first came out or u can buy it 2 years later when it's $50-$70.

You could have bought a wireless router w/ pc card for $200 when it first came out or you can wait 1 year later when 802.11b was almost free after rebate.

I will buy HD-DVD when it became mainstream and price has been saturated.

btw, I also owned a lazerdisc machine. I guess it wasn't popular in america but in Hong Kong, every family has a lazerdisc machine. That was the pre-DVD era.

BigJ: You bet man!

Alan: Thanks for the reply. I know that some of the same issues were brought up right before DVD hit the market, but we know how all that turned out. I agree that the HD movie channels are absolutely awesome; however, the sound can be an issue. I'd be more curious though how you would compare what you saw at with HD-DVD at CES to what we now get with DVD? Better, worse, the same?

Spiff: I know what you mean. I never got into VHS; infact, I still have my old school LD player and a few LD's.

I understand the concept, but some people won't or can't wait. As a technology professional, some things I MUST have when released in order to understand the present, and future directions of markets. I need to understand certain things in order to provide a service to my clients, and do justice to any business I am working with.

Understand that this spans all technology.....and as the engineering costs are recouped after the intitial release cycles, some products are justifiably price levelled.

Considering I have wanted a Denon 2900, 2200, 2910... for over 2 years now for an upgrade, I am guessing that the upgrade to HD-DVD will be even more logical. I for one can't wait and will likely be one of the first adopters.

Although I am definitely afraid of the format war. I am really hoping that we will have universal players like we do for SACD and DVD-A. Otherwise, 2 players will be ridiculous. I currently only have a DVD-A capable player and it pisses me off royally.

Also, I am afraid of the fact that my HDTV only has component video in. It is likely that I will not even be able to recieve the HD signal from these players because of DVI and HDMI. So the upgrade may need to include a new TV as well, which is pretty much impossible.

I'd be very surprised if the new crop of players would only play one version of HD-DVD. There'll be some, much like there are some that only play SACD or DVD-A, but I'm betting that this format war won't be quite so bad as Beta/VHS was, because this time we'll be able to buy a player that can handle either.

1920x1080 DVD's played back on a 1920x1080 set via HDMI? I'm so there!