http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7716

At this point, if you have to purchase a HD-DVD player or Blue-ray player, you should have no doubt as to what that should be.

Enjoy the technology if you are one of the lucky ones to invest in such media already.

Are you sure about that?

http://news.digitaltrends.com/talkback184.html

Since this article came out, it's been announced that the above leak may not have been entirely true, but the reality is that Wal-Mart will be looking to purchase *millions* of cheap HD-DVD players by the 4th quarter for distribution by Christmas. With the significant price advantage over blu-ray players, I can't imagine that people will be flocking to blu-ray. And Wal-Mart is a little bit more of a heavy in the electronics department than Blockbuster is.

I'd say this could be a nasty decision for Blockbuster. Wait and see.

Quoted from cooke

...With the significant price advantage over blu-ray players, I can't imagine that people will be flocking to blu-ray...

Flashback to 25 years ago... Betamax was the superior product... VHS was the cheapest... remember who won?

And let's not forget a VERY important factor folks... HD-DVD players can play regular DVDs... BluRay can't. No contest. People have been buying DVDs by the ton in the last 2 years, and I doubt they will let them die.

and this is why I am holding off buying any HD format at the moment.  Rather save my money for Pinball  

Some of the deciding factors are but not limited to are:

Large Chains (walmart, target)
Adult Video Companies
Rental Companies
Supporting movie studios/companies (universal/microsoft)

Those sub 200 dollar hd-dvd players will play a major role. Also some HD-DVD's also feature backwards compatbility with standard def dvd.

Sony. Booooo!    

Blockbuster. Booooo!    

Guys, you can always keep on saying 'wait and see' but if you do, you will never enjoy the new technology.

Sparky, I don't disagree with you about that old comparison but it does not necessarily mean that 25 years later, price will still dominate the winning format.  It could very well be that the cheapest won't dominate.  DVDs won't die for many years to come either.

I don't actually believe that HD-DVD will die (even if my topic suggest it) but that it will not lead.  Current Blue-ray sales for 2007 have surpassed those of HD-DVD.  PS3 sales are getting better and Blue-ray will exist just because of the 20-30 million units of PS3 that will sell in the next couple of years.

And I know a heck load of people that shop every single week of their lives at Wal-mart and most are not even looking at electronics department very often at all.  Blockbuster has like 2000 fewer stores than Wal-mart but movie rentals are bigger than movie sales in most cases (most people that we know rent more movies per year than they purchase on DVD, or other newer formats).

there's no need for such an inflammatory title, elio.

i own and enjoy both formats (Toshiba HD-A1 player and Sony PS3). The picture and audio quality is pretty much a wash between the two formats, although HD-DVD has gotten some nods in terms of audio. on the other hand i give a preference for blu-ray because the player and disks have been more reliable (I've had many skipping/stuttering problems with my first-gen HD-DVD player -- sucks and is especially embarrassing when you're demoing brand new HD technology to guests).

when people ask me which format to go for, i never have an answer.

it comes down to - do you like movies? if you like movies, then you need both formats. universal and weinstein are exclusive to HD-DVD, while Fox and Disney are exclusive to Blu-ray. if you want movies in high def, you will need both formats, and I assure you that none of these studios are planning on switching sides anytime soon. generally speaking, blu-ray studios are strong is current, modern blockbusters while hd-dvd studios are much stronger when it comes to old, essential hollywood classics.

the sad truth is that both formats are selling poorly. the ps3 has pretty much been a disaster, and blu-ray attach rates to the lackluster ~2 million systems sold are pathetic. HD-DVD on the other hand is selling as well as can be expected for a format that is crippled by a lack of support from Disney and Fox. This especially hurts since some of the most popular blockbusters are from these 2 studios (POTC, Spider-Man, X-men).

any "hd format war" people talk about is a figment of journalists' and fanboys' imaginations. neither of these formats have breached the mainstream yet, and the "wait and see" approach of studios when it comes to making big HD releases is not helping (where oh where is our HD LOTR?.

these formats will remain irrelevant until almost everyone has an HDTV. 5 more years i say.

Mani, as someone who has had the time, passion and cash to purchase such new technology, I admire and respect your comments/observations above.

I am just having fun starting a thread that I know will have nice comments in it!

indeed. you knew full well this thread would get me fired up!

always appreciate home theater discussion. come by anytime and i'll demo some of my latest stuff.

Whichever format wins, I just hope they continue to make widescreen, cause I can't
live without those two thick black lines on the top and bottom of my movies....

maybe they'll come with a TALL screen too! with thick black lines on the left and right! man, that would be a breakthrough

Craig

Quoted from Teamatomics

Whichever format wins, I just hope they continue to make widescreen, cause I can't
live without those two thick black lines on the top and bottom of my movies....
Craig

A poor mans solution would be to take some black construction paper and tape it along the top and bottom of your screen to create the 'Letter Box' effect