Dirt cheap HD DVDs - movies from $9.98

Things aren't looking too bad in the High Definition front for early HD DVD adopters or other HD enthusiasts. In the wake of Toshiba's announcement to drop HD DVD a number of lucrative deals have surfaced.

Most notably the prices of the HD DVD players have plummeted. You can now get, for example, Toshiba HD-A3 + two movies for as little as $79.99, which is rather ridiculous for a player with an excellent upscaler. For people with an existing DVD collection, HD capable display and no upscaling DVD player, the deal is quite tempting.

Even though the format will most likely fade away by the end of the year, there's still plenty of HD DVD movies available - often at bargain prices. For instance Amazon offers The Bourne Trilogy (The Bourne Identity / The Bourne Supremacy / The Bourne Ultimatum) at an incredible price of $29.99. That's almost $60 off the list price. DeepDiscount.com offers HD DVD movies from $9.98 and HDScape is dumping the HD DVD versions of their high definition demo videos at $6.95/each or $39.95 for the bundle of 8 discs.

Time to replace those old DVD versions with HD DVDs while I still can!

Written by: Jari Ketola @ 5 Mar 2008 3:59

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48 comments

nonoitall

So, HD-DVD is selling like hotcakes, Blu-ray is struggling to catch up technologically, and Blu-ray's prices continue to escalate. And yet, Hollywood has decided for us that Blu-ray wins.

5.3.2008 04:57 #1

21Q

They are selling like hot cakes because collectors of technology, like me, always get stuff like this. As soon as I get some extra cash I'm going to actually purchase one, possibly even the 360 add-on, just because I can, even though I don't own a 360.

Non-related side note: Apple has released update 1.1.4 for the iphone, just installed it. Surprised that there isn't an article yet. It is supposed to fix the numerous bugs in 1.1.3.

5.3.2008 07:17 #2

vinny13

Lol I guess people really wanna make room...

5.3.2008 08:07 #3

7thsinger

Quote: Toshiba HD-A3 + two movies for as little as $79.99, which is rather ridiculous for a player with an excellent upscalerThat's a steal! That in itself is a reason to buy now.

5.3.2008 08:30 #4

Icanbe

Time to log onto Amazon and whip out the credit card.

5.3.2008 08:51 #5

spydah

Um isnt it cheaper due to it being a dying format at this point. Of course it is more attractive to get a dirt HD-DVD player. Hell i might even get one for shiznits and giggles. Its no point in my opinion to get worked up over them dumping their stock. This is the time to go out and experience HD for cheap period especially if you dont own a HD player.

5.3.2008 09:08 #6

camaro17

uh time to not go on to amazon, because this is gonna be a dead format by the and of the year man, not to be mean, but this is a waste(if you already own blu) because these movies will be coming out soon anyway.

Peace

5.3.2008 11:09 #7

goodswipe

Originally posted by camaro17: uh time to not go on to amazon, because this is gonna be a dead format by the and of the year man, not to be mean, but this is a waste(if you already own blu) because these movies will be coming out soon anyway.

PeaceAnd that's just like your opinion man!

I don't think the article was intended for people to go out and buy up all the HD DVD stuff they can if you don't own the format - not a bad idea though! :) You can still watch over 500 HD DVD's, not to mention all the imports you can find - REGION FREE! They are also some of the best up converters out there, so if you don't own an up converter yet, get a Toshiba!

I found the best deals to be at DeepDiscount, don't shop Amazon for the media. Also, there's no guarantee that the studios will re release all those HD DVD exclusives anytime soon. If anyone can clear that up, please link me.

"look honey, it said goodswipe! oh wow, that's amazing."

5.3.2008 11:22 #8

Icanbe

Originally posted by camaro17: uh time to not go on to amazon, because this is gonna be a dead format by the and of the year man, not to be mean, but this is a waste(if you already own blu) because these movies will be coming out soon anyway.

PeaceI do own both, but if I can get the movie on HD for 10.00, I'm not going to pay 25.00 plus to get it on blu.

5.3.2008 11:44 #9

hughjars

Like many I am now filling my boots and getting as many bargains as I can.
Excellent stuff.

40 movies down and another 400 or so to choose from.

My HD DVD player will always be able to play my HD DVDs.

My HD DVD player will always be an excellent upscaling SD DVD player.

Content will never be a problem.

As for those thinking of ditching their HD DVD players & discs?

I'd ask this - what makes you think that all the HD DVD exclusives are coming out on Blu-ray (some HD DVD sales numbers were low enough to put off, not encourage, prospective BD production) and, even if they do decide to produce them, how long are you prepared to go without as you are waiting for that to happen?

If you are going to go BD then I just don't see the sense of dumping everything HD DVD just to go with the expense & delays in the hope that one day BD might cover all the bases you can now cover by hanging on to your existing HD DVD stuff.

5.3.2008 12:00 #10

Icanbe

I like my HD-A2, I would not even consider dumping it.

I too am going to get as many HD-DvDs as I can.

I mean it's not like they will go bad or something.

P.S. How are you Hughjars, Haven't seen you on here lately.

5.3.2008 13:21 #11

skeil909

Picking up an HD-DVD player at the current prices is definitely worth it. One question I have is where are all the cheap Toshiba 5.25" HD burners that were manufactured last year? Toshiba could still make money off those burners and media.

5.3.2008 15:54 #12

Icanbe

Sorry to hear that Hughjars.

Take care of yourself.

5.3.2008 16:17 #13

sk8flawzz

Hollywood video has used HD DVDs (almost new since they're not rented) at a 2 for $20 sale. Some stores let you use a coupon for BOGO and its pretty much 2 for $15. Unfortunately the b1tch at my local one wouldn't even scan the coupon to see if it worked so I got:
American Gangster
V for Vendetta
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
The Invasion
for only $40+tax.
I've heard of some being able to get 3 for $20, so if you've got a local Hollywood Video that carried HD DVD, now is a great time to grab some movies. They sold out of Beowulf like...5 minutes after store opening on that Tuesday though =[ I really wanted it for cheeaaap

5.3.2008 16:24 #14

tin23uk

i know this is a great idea but its gonna be funny as hell if everyone runs out and buys hundreds of hddvds just because there cheap and then in a years time everyones laser in their players start burning out. hundreds of hddvds and no player lol. maybe its about time people go and snatch up hddvd players and keep them in their original packaging, that way they can sell then in a couple years time to all the bargain hunters that went out and bought movies only for their players to break. with no way of walking into a store to pick up a new one you could sell those puppies on ebay for ten times what you payed for them.

look at it this way the discs will long outlive the layers if they are taken care of, so if you have 200 movies on hddvd and your player quits working what are you gonna do, now lets say the laser only has a x amount of hours life expectancy so within a year or two they all start going bad, the peson that went out and bought 20 players at $70 each and kept them in their boxes is gonna be able to sell them for $200 on ebay because the people with 200 hd dvds are not just gonna throw them out when their player breaks. thats a $2600 profit

5.3.2008 17:28 #15

goodswipe

Quote:if everyone runs out and buys hundreds of hddvds just because there cheap and then in a years time everyones laser in their players start burning out. hundreds of hddvds and no player lol.

Hmmm, maybe in some weird science fiction movie this might occur, but highly unlikely my friend. ;0)

"look honey, it said goodswipe! oh wow, that's amazing."

5.3.2008 17:33 #16

tin23uk

Quote:Quote:if everyone runs out and buys hundreds of hddvds just because there cheap and then in a years time everyones laser in their players start burning out. hundreds of hddvds and no player lol.

Hmmm, maybe in some weird science fiction movie this might occur, but highly unlikely my friend. ;0)why wouldnt it happen every laser has a life expectancy.

might be 500 hrs or 100,000 hrs, who knows

5.3.2008 17:37 #17

goodswipe

Quote:then in a years time everyones laser in their players start burning out.I was referring to what you said. It wouldn't happen in a years time!

"look honey, it said goodswipe! oh wow, that's amazing."

5.3.2008 17:49 #18

hughjars

Originally posted by tin23uk: why wouldnt it happen every laser has a life expectancy.

might be 500 hrs or 100,000 hrs, who knows - If you're really worried about it then buy another player.

Or buy an HD DVD PC drive.

Or buy the XBox 360 HD DVD add-on.

Or buy 2nd hand on ebay.

(they're all cheap enough now)

......and if you absolutely have to buy new and get warranties etc etc then buy the LG dual format player
(LG have said they are still going to support HD DVD playback for the foreseeable future).

Anyone who seriously imagines HD DVD players are going to die-off anytime soon is just frightening themselves.

If you want to worry about laser life-spans then maybe the PS3 is the one you should really worry about.
Using a PS3 for gaming & movie playback might not be such a great idea.

5.3.2008 17:54 #19

goodswipe

Quote:If you want to worry about laser life-spans then maybe the PS3 is the one you should really worry about.
Using a PS3 for gaming & movie playback might not be such a great idea.
Yea, I had been reading about that the other day. Suppose to only be good for about 3 years of normal use. WTF is normal use? So I guess if you are playing video games and watching movies on it all day, don't expect it to last to long, eh?

"look honey, it said goodswipe! oh wow, that's amazing."

5.3.2008 17:59 #20

tin23uk

yeah but in a few years when a playstation laser burns out you can just go by another playstation and prolly cheaper than the first time round. loads of games and blurays and no playstation go buy another. but loads of hddvds and no hddvd player in a couple years when you cant find them in any stores what you gonna do, you would have to turn to the net in search of one (unless LG are still selling their combo players).

the point i was getting to is that people are gonna be buying a lot of movies given that they are going cheap, but soon you will not be able to buy a new player so when/if your player breaks you will have to look to ebay where i will be waiting to sell you one for a couple hundred bucks. basicaly if your player breaks you will have a lot of movies and nothing to watch them on, are you gonna throw away all your movies if your player breaks?

im not trying to say blu ray is any better, sure they have a life expectancy just like any other player. the br's life expectancy may be less than hd's but you will still be able to go and buy another br player if you need to.

5.3.2008 18:08 #21

Icanbe

Well I only use mine 3-4 hours a week, so I'm not overly concerned about it.

Even @ 500hr's it'll be good for a few years yet and by then we'll be on to something else anyway.

5.3.2008 18:22 #22

domie

Originally posted by nonoitall: So, HD-DVD is selling like hotcakes, Blu-ray is struggling to catch up technologically, and Blu-ray's prices continue to escalate. And yet, Hollywood has decided for us that Blu-ray wins.lol that is such an insane ridiculous comment that totally ignores all facts and modern day reality that it even defies an attempt to supply a counter argument - I congratulate you for that - you win. At least we now know what happened to the Iraqi minister of information after the second gulf war.

5.3.2008 18:25 #23

hughjars

Originally posted by tin23uk: but loads of hddvds and no hddvd player in a couple years when you cant find them in any stores what you gonna do - Well as I said lots of us are buying a 2nd HD DVD player (at rock bottom prices) to put away for that eventual day.

Now I don't know about you but I've never had a DVD player last less than 5 years.

So 2x HD DVD players = I reckon that's at least 10yrs covered.

I don't think anyone will be too worried if we can see that kind of perfectly reasonable life-span for our movies & players.

(if you really imagine you'll be making a fortune gouging people looking for an HD DVD player on ebay then I think you're in for a shock; from laptop/notepad drives to XBox add-ons to stand-alones I just don't think there's going to be any shortage for a very long time to come)

Icanbe

Thanks for that.

5.3.2008 19:07 #24

goodswipe

Yea, where ya been hugh?

"look honey, it said goodswipe! oh wow, that's amazing."

5.3.2008 19:12 #25

Icanbe

Quote:Now I don't know about you but I've never had a DVD player last less than 5 years.I have a toshiba dvd player I purchased about 8 years ago, it still works, gets a little cranky now and then, but overall still works pretty good.

5.3.2008 19:36 #26

tin23uk

Quote:Originally posted by tin23uk: but loads of hddvds and no hddvd player in a couple years when you cant find them in any stores what you gonna do - Well as I said lots of us are buying a 2nd HD DVD player (at rock bottom prices) to put away for that eventual day.

Now I don't know about you but I've never had a DVD player last less than 5 years.

So 2x HD DVD players = I reckon that's at least 10yrs covered.

I don't think anyone will be too worried if we can see that kind of perfectly reasonable life-span for our movies & players.

(if you really imagine you'll be making a fortune gouging people looking for an HD DVD player on ebay then I think you're in for a shock; from laptop/notepad drives to XBox add-ons to stand-alones I just don't think there's going to be any shortage for a very long time to come)

Icanbe

Thanks for that.lol im not realy considering running out and buying 20 of them to sell later cos i couldnt afford it but just because dvd players last years doesnt meen hddvd players will.

i think for the people that already have players it is well worth spending cash that you wouldnt normally to stock pile on movies before they become hard to find cos otherwise you are gonna be stuck with a player and nothing to watch but i wouldnt make every effort to buy hundreds just incase the players do break after a couple years.

you have to remember hddvd is relativly new technology and given the race to get hddvd players on the market to beat out blu ray it may be rushed technology. they just havnt been around long enough to find out how long they last.

5.3.2008 19:46 #27

hughjars

Originally posted by tin23uk: im not realy considering running out and buying 20 of them to sell later cos i couldnt afford it but just because dvd players last years doesnt meen hddvd players will. - Glad to hear it, the Karma Police would only get you later! ;)

I think you are forgetting that HD DVD is closely related to SD DVD (and in ways that Blu-ray is not.....one of the reasons why BD is necessarily more expensive to produce than SD DVD or HD DVD is that because of the finer pitch of the pits it uses the drive has to be much more accurate than what has gone before. It has to be produced using much more precise (read expensive) parts made to a tighter/higher spec - but what happens as those parts wear?

Seriously, the jury is still out as to how BD will last over time & who has cut corners to cut costs)

Originally posted by tin23uk: i think for the people that already have players it is well worth spending cash that you wouldnt normally to stock pile on movies before they become hard to find - Agree 100%.
Right now it all = a very high quality product at a seriously great value price.

Originally posted by tin23uk: cos otherwise you are gonna be stuck with a player and nothing to watch - Nope, not true at all.

Not only does everyone have all their existing HD DVD movies to watch on their HD DVD players but the Toshiba players (in other words all of them) have an excellent and fully deserved reputation as excellent upscaling SD DVD players.

That means we have (right now) about 450 western market HD DVDs (800+ globally) to watch and we will always have the 90,000+ SD DVD movies to select from.

Content is never really going to be a problem.

Originally posted by tin23uk: you have to remember hddvd is relativly new technology and given the race to get hddvd players on the market to beat out blu ray it may be rushed technology. - I think you have forgotten how HD DVD was very closely related to SD DVD technology.
The laser was different and the little computer inside was more complex than what had gone before but there was not too much else besides that.

I would put your comments back to a Blu-ray owner.

We know that the BD drive mechanism had to be much more accurate and complex.
What we have yet to find out & see is to how low a price those components were built to and what happens as they wear.

Of course it's true that at least a Blu-ray/PS3 owner can go and get a new one but that's not exactly a credible welcome answer for the mass-market now is it?

5.3.2008 21:23 #28

tin23uk

Quote:Of course it's true that at least a Blu-ray/PS3 owner can go and get a new one but that's not exactly a credible welcome answer for the mass-market now is it?yup im a ps3 owner and i really wouldnt want to spend money on another if possible, thats why watching blurays on it worries me so i dont do it, i bought it as a games consol not a next gen movie player. am i right in thinking that when playing a game the laser is not constantly reading the disc whereas when watching a movie it is. hopefully by not watching movies on i can extend its life a little but i fully expect it to screw up eventually. add to the fact i dont yet have a hdtv and watching sddvd's really doesnt bother me so at the moment i have no need to use my ps3 as a blu ray player.

didnt even think about the fact that the hddvd players are upscalers for sddvd, in that case $80 is a great price, you couldnt buy a top end dvd player for that.

5.3.2008 21:51 #29

tripplite

i knew i didn't waste my money on an HD DVD player!!
...but dang....im really gonna hate getting a blu ray player.....f#ck it...i'll be one of those losers that use HD DVD...forever....i'll get some HD-DVD MEDIA from china direct....like 400 blank discs......then i'll ripp all my blu ray with my blu ray reader.....i'll make them MKV files...reburn them to HD DVD....but the protection will be an issue as no new hd-dvd ripping software will continue to be made....I'LL SCRIPT MY OWN APPS.....ya ...all have to learn 2 new comp languages....find 20 hours a week to develop...ya totally worth it!

just an HD-DVD fanboy gone insane!
-tripplite

5.3.2008 22:25 #30

ripxrush

okay so say a movie cost $30 normal & they are on sale for $10 how is that not cheaper? even if the format is dying there are plenty of people out there who own an hd-dvd player & i bought an extra xbox add on for $49 the other night for backup, besides you can still buy betamax & laser disk players used on e-bay & new if you look hard so the format will always be around a little, oh there are dual format players still out there too!

6.3.2008 01:01 #31

goodswipe

Originally posted by tin23uk:
yup im a ps3 owner and i really wouldnt want to spend money on another if possible, thats why watching blurays on it worries me so i dont do it, i bought it as a games consol not a next gen movie player. am i right in thinking that when playing a game the laser is not constantly reading the disc whereas when watching a movie it is. hopefully by not watching movies on i can extend its life a little but i fully expect it to screw up eventually. add to the fact i dont yet have a hdtv and watching sddvd's really doesnt bother me so at the moment i have no need to use my ps3 as a blu ray player.
Yea, I remember when the PS2 had the same issue. I used it to watch DVD's all the time, basically it worked as a standalone. It finally crapped out after about 3-4 years of use.

Originally posted by tin23uk:
didnt even think about the fact that the hddvd players are upscalers for sddvd, in that case $80 is a great price, you couldnt buy a top end dvd player for that.
Been saying this all along, nobody is left out, they are still excellent SD DVD upscalers - best on the market. You can also get Blu-ray exclusives on import HD DVD - region free!

"look honey, it said goodswipe! oh wow, that's amazing."

6.3.2008 10:53 #32

Gnawnivek

$10 a HD-DVD is great, comparing to $20-$30... of course, get them while you can :)

the question is, are you buying them b/c they are cheap or are you buying them b/c you like them? hey, $10 is still $10 right? i resisted the temptation, $30 for Bourne trilogy is a steal! But you know what? sigh, it's till $30... anyhow, i'm not buying anything at the moment (just want to have some extra cash on hand, economy is not doing too well you know).

perhaps, the $5 sale is around the corner...

6.3.2008 12:23 #33

goodswipe

Originally posted by Gnawnivek:
perhaps, the $5 sale is around the corner...Yea, I've been watching DeepDiscount for some time now. They first started off anywhere from 15-18 dollars. Then they dropped 'em down to around 12-15 dollars. Now they are at 9-15 dollars for most HD DVD titles. I can see them dropping the price even more in the near future.

"look honey, it said goodswipe! oh wow, that's amazing."

6.3.2008 12:29 #34

Gnawnivek

Originally posted by goodswipe: Originally posted by Gnawnivek:
perhaps, the $5 sale is around the corner...Yea, I've been watching DeepDiscount for some time now. They first started off anywhere from 15-18 dollars. Then they dropped 'em down to around 12-15 dollars. Now they are at 9-15 dollars for most HD DVD titles. I can see them dropping the price even more in the near future.if not and if the price stays at $10, their 20% sale is around May/June, so you can still save some bucks :)

So many dvds, not enough times...

6.3.2008 13:30 #35

neo1000

WTF if your HD-DVD player breaks in five years you may get that same movie you just bought for $10 now in blu for $10 so you still save money

6.3.2008 21:54 #36

davidrose

I have to switch, not happy but I gambled won't be investing in titkes that's for sure

6.3.2008 23:26 #37

Gnawnivek

Personally i disagree with people's view on buying a 2nd or 3rd HD-DVD player for backup, i.e. what if my first player is broken? Yes, they're cheap now and you can stock up all you want, but that's not what my argument is about.

Well, it's a dead format, meaning there will be very little or no future supports (both software and hardware). It's reasonable to assume that you just want to enjoy HD-DVD right now b/c the cheap hardwares and fire sale on the softwares. Not to mention that the exclusive titles gonna take a while to get ported over to BDs.

Buy 2nd or 3rd HD-DVD player for "just in case" is like buying two or more cars of the same model. I know you love the player/car, but do you really want to drive/use the exact same one after the first one dies? Not to mention you probably tempted by new models by the time your first player/car dies, but knowing hard to get parts/supports for your player/car blows, doesn't it?

I say, just enjoy it for the time being w/o worrying too much and you can slowly replace your current HD-DVD collection with BD down the road (or you don't have to, jump on the VOD wagon or something).

7.3.2008 09:43 #38

rlessmue

O.K. please pick your side.....
Team 1 Team 2
------------------------- -----------------------
HD-DVD Blu-ray
Beta-max VHS
Laser-disc DVD
8-Track Tape Player Cassette Player

... the rest I'll leave up to your imagination of what
other "things" fall under which team.
But haven't you noticed that there is always people on
"Team 2" that never own things that "Team 1" has owned??!!
Cheers!

7.3.2008 13:25 #39

rlessmue

Originally posted by rlessmue: O.K. please pick your side.....
Team 1 Team 2
------------------------- -----------------------
HD-DVD Blu-ray
Beta-max VHS
Laser-disc DVD
8-Track Tape Player Cassette Player

... the rest I'll leave up to your imagination of what
other "things" fall under which team.
But haven't you noticed that there is always people on
"Team 2" that never own things that "Team 1" has owned??!!
Cheers!
Sorry the team format got messed up...
Team 1 (HD-DVD,Beta-max,Laser-disc,8-Track Tape Player..)
Team 2 (Blu-ray,VHS,DVD, Cassette Player...)

7.3.2008 13:29 #40

goodswipe

Originally posted by rlessmue: Originally posted by rlessmue: O.K. please pick your side.....
Team 1 Team 2
------------------------- -----------------------
HD-DVD Blu-ray
Beta-max VHS
Laser-disc DVD
8-Track Tape Player Cassette Player

... the rest I'll leave up to your imagination of what
other "things" fall under which team.
But haven't you noticed that there is always people on
"Team 2" that never own things that "Team 1" has owned??!!
Cheers!

Sorry the team format got messed up...
Team 1 (HD-DVD,Beta-max,Laser-disc,8-Track Tape Player..)
Team 2 (Blu-ray,VHS,DVD, Cassette Player...)
Wow, way to stay on topic man!

rlessmue FTW!!

Quote:WTF if your HD-DVD player breaks in five years you may get that same movie you just bought for $10 now in blu for $10 so you still save moneyHmm, my DVD player from 8 years ago still works fine.

"look honey, it said goodswipe! oh wow, that's amazing."

7.3.2008 14:42 #41

nchantim

Hmmm Didn't 8Tracks pre-date Cassettes? and LaserDisc predated DVD?
HD DVD and Blu-ray released about the same time.

BTW, what makes anyone think that Blu-Ray spec 4.0 (or whatever the Next Great Thing is) will play current Blu-Ray disks? In another few years Sony etc will be wanting you to buy your media all over again anyway.

7.3.2008 16:21 #42

RickWJ324

Quote: Now I don't know about you but I've never had a DVD player last less than 5 years.
I've owned more than 10 dvd players and dvd recorders (each priced from $50 to more than $1000 each) and have only had 2 of them go bad within a 2 year lifespan.... BOTH of which were SONY's. I'll never buy another Sony tv or dvd player.

7.3.2008 16:46 #43

hughjars

It seems some refuse to accept the complete picture here and want to call a result long before anything is even remotely close to being that conclusive.

Blu-ray has not suddenly started selling millions of players and discs and compared to SD DVD it's performance is distinctly underwhelming.

Depending on which stats you believe Blu-ray is either very slightly ahead of DVD or very slightly behind DVD after 3 years in.
Either way it's very close.

But remember that DVD never started off by being built in to a big brand game console that was always bound to sell quickly in the multi-millions.

So it's worth pointing out that although Blu-ray 'won' the tussle between it and HD DVD there is absolutely no guarantee that Blu-ray will win the real war and become 'the next DVD'
(which is impossible anyways as that market no longer exists as it was with HD TV DVRS, downloading and all the other routes to high def video).

It is still likely that Blu-ray will fail to break out of the niche & go on & become 'the next DVD'.

This is particularly so after the initial reports of Toshiba's new 'Super Upconversion' DVD player.
This new DVD player uses regular SD DVD and appears to be a very impressive performer and once again they will be a much less expensive player.

These new DVD players do what forensic video enhancement does, they can scan X number of previous frames and X number of the coming frames in real-time to gather and display more detail than is apparant on a single frame of video on the SD DVD disc.

.....and as forensic science shows us, yes, you really can get more real detail than what is apparant on just a single frame this way.

If people thought upscaled SD DVD was so close to high def as to make the high def premium bad value guess how they are going to judge these new DVD players compared to the premium Blu-ray demands (and for the movie discs too), eh?

All ways around it's very clever stuff.
There'll be no expensive new disc media or player names or big price tickets or a/v receivers etc etc needed to scare people off with.

Being able to keep regular SD DVD movies in production (particularly as Blu-ray disc production is still limited and expensive) and all our SD DVD libraries valid is one hell of a hook......especially as the player will be cheap & do everything today's DVD players can do and yet perform at a level very close (if not quite to the nth degree) at the level high def disc players can manage.
One might say 'only' having DTS/DD would be a let-down but I think this will be utterly irrelevant to the mass-market.

Blu-ray may very well end up another dead-end, albeit a slightly longer lived one and one with a life as a game console game media, but nevertheless, as far as movies go, just as much a failure & a limited life niche product as HD DVD was.

The Blu-ray fanclub might just want to hold off on the gloating for a while yet
(especially with the news that they really are not going to push for lower - SD DVD player competitive - prices any time soon
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/13131.cfm ).

8.3.2008 11:27 #44

jackcasey

Hi. I started in 65 with cassete, reel to reel in 67, reel to reel quad in 68. Did you know, that if you have some 8 tracks, either stereo or quad, that they are playable on a reel to reel recoder at the 3 3/4 inch per sec. You have to transfer the tape from the damaged cassette to a reel, but the tracks are the same, and both have a 3 3/4 speed. Beta was next, I only have 3 machines still working, still transferring old beta b/w movies to dvd (another 20 years of life). then there were the 8 panasonics dvd recorders (they never lasted me more than a year or two. ( DMR30, DMR50, DMR55, 5x ES20 ( I REALLY LIKED THEM ), TWO CENTRIOUS RECORDERS, AN LG450, THIS YEAR I'M GOING WITH 2X LG850, AND 2X SONY RD-X330. FIVE YEARS FROM NOW IT WILL BE LITTLE SILVER CUBES. MAYBE THEY WILL BE CHEAPER. REGARDS JACK

11.3.2008 19:43 #45

FredBun

It just never ceases to amaze me, now that toshiba hd is out, now you can buy one of thier players for $79, you know they are not giving it away, they want to get back at least what it cost them, meaning thats what those damn things really cost to begin with, and yet sony will continue getting thier ridiculious price for thier blue ray, and we the stupid consumer will pay it.

And yet I have seen these blurays and hd's, have seen them on my friends 32" lcd screen, not much of a difference at all, even at a 40", I did see a difference when you get bigger than than, other wise a waste of money.

15.3.2008 05:41 #46

borhan9

Its all good that we have the lower prices but wat is it good for when the HD DVD format is basically obselete now. It would just be a waste of money. The best way to deal with this kinda thing is to by Microsoft's XBox 360 and have a multiple use device.

22.4.2008 00:18 #47

n0bnutter

do sony own blue-ray or are they just sponsoring it?

i can pickup a cheap dvd but blue-ray are still far too expensive for me. hd-dvds are great and very cheap

21.8.2008 03:19 #48

AfterDawn: News