I saw the Toshiba HD-DVD - Axiom Message Boards

It was great, picture was nice and clear. They where running trailers of Dukes of Hazzard,Kong,Corpse Bride,Constantine,and some others I cant remember. They had a side by side with HD vs. SD. It rocked but im waiting for the dust to settle before pulling the trigger. I read that LG will be coming out with a combo HD-DVD/Blu Ray,I might wait for something for that.

In reply to:
a combo HD-DVD/Blu Ray

This is the ONLY way that this silly format war won't end up killing the entire idea of high rez DVD's. I nice combo player that can play EVERYTHING would be sweeeeet.

How much would you pay for a player that could play the following...

CD
DVD-A
SACD
MP3
DVD
HD-DVD
Blu-Ray

All with firewire, DVI, and HDMI inputs and outputs (as well of course with the standard component/s-video/composite in/outs.

I'd pay $1000-1500 (street) for something like that. Assuming the video and audio quality were on par with something like the Denon 2900/3910.

I want a changer.

$300 tops and it will be well after these bozzos sort out the format war.

Sorry if that sounds so negative but it reminds me so of the pointless VHS/Beta wars.

It will have to be significantly better for me to think about switching it with my 3910. I'm sure I'll end up buying the Playstation3 for the kids so I'm rooting for Blueray.

Relax, there won't be a format war.

Forget all of those VHS / Beta comparisons that you've been hearing about. Videotape players were mechanical which made dual format players impossible.

An abundance of HD-DVD / Blu-Ray players are just around the corner. If not made available conventionally, they will be on the grey market.

It'll be more similar to DVD+R vs DVD-R, than VHS vs Beta.

.

I wouldn't bet on it, you are talking about two very different formats of media. The war will eventually be decided by price and who the major studios back.

Personally, I think the war is over before it's even begun. The jump in both audio/visual quality and user experience was phenomenal in going from VHS to DVD. The quality jump from DVD to the next-gen formats is considerably less dramatic, especially for owners of SD sets (or owners of HD sets lacking DVI or HDMI inputs, for that matter, since output resolutions will be capped at 540i over component outputs).

The crippling of analog outputs coupled with the draconian copy protection measures (e.g. adaptive encryption with the ability of the studios to send out kill-bombs to disable players running a title for which the encryption key has been cracked) of both standards isn't exactly going to sit well with Joe consumer.

High-rez content delivered on optical media doesn't make a whole lot of sense for a "next-gen" solution given how cheap and ubiquitous both broadband and HDD storage are becoming.

Just a correction. HD-DVD players (and I assume their BD counterparts) are capable of playing full resolution over component. It will be up to the actual studios to set the ICT flag and decide whether they allow it or not. It's too early to say what studios (besides FOX) will use the flag and how long it will last.

I personally think the players will be a niche product for quite a while, similar to laserdisc. The average user probably won't see or hear enough of a difference to justify the higher cost of media and the need for a new player.

Sony has claimed that their Blu-Ray discs (by their studio, that is) will not force downconvert on the analog. Yet.

I saw enough picture quality to change, as for sound I dont know there setup in the store was crappy. They had some really high end stuff and still sounded weak.This store is always a mess when I go in there.

for anyone interested, found for sale at Futile Shop for $700 Canadian:

Toshiba HD-DVD (HD-A1)

Doesn't look like any SACD or DVD-A compatibility.

Interesting, that's the cheaper of the 2 Toshiba models and was supposed to retail for 499 US. HD DVD's yet to arrive.

That Toshiba will retail for $499 US based upon all the research I have done. March 28 is the official launch date but until a fair number of titles are released I won't jump in. Then again, I only buy about one title per month so if they can release at least one or two that I want, maybe I'll upgrade if the picture really is so much better than ordinary DVD. FWIW, many folks at avsforum who support HD-DVD have not been real impressed with the Toshiba demo. Maybe they are being anal, I don't know. That board has been wise enough to have four forums for HD. Two for HD-DVD and two for Blu-Ray. One for hardware one for software.

I really hope it looks as good as it is hyped.

Greg

In reply to:
$300 tops and it will be well after these bozzos sort out the format war.

Amen to that. I'm waiting for CURRENT universal players to come down in price before I pick up a 29- or 3910. Hell, I'm waiting for high-def TELEVISION to not only mature but reach price/performance/reliability points I think make them worth my while. I'm just wary of the "this tech is great but there is pixellation/image burn/artifacting/light sensitivity problems/off-axis viewing radius limitations/etc. etc. etc and so forth" thing. Don't have those problems with my current set. You want me to spend 2,3,4,5 large for "superior technology" that does? Feh.