NOW WHAT??? (The Death of HD DVD)
- Thread starter CaptainHawk1
- Start date
CaptainHawk1 said:
I want answers. I didn't mind being caugt up in the format war and I wouldn't have cared if they were both successful but now I've gotten the short end of the stick and I feel like i've been screwed by Paramount. I'll get over the lost money but I want to know what to expect in the future.
-Shawn
Theres really no reason to think you have been screwed by Paramount. Anyone who bought the HD players and DVDS should have know that there was a format war.(Those who keep up on current events anyways) You seem to have known that though.
As I said in another thread it was a crapshoot so there should really be no bitter feelings. The season 1 HD sets of TOS are still fetching a decent price on ebay. I would either start selling off your HD stuff right now while there are potential bidders who are unaware as of yet about the format wars or just keep it. You can get a good percentage of your cash back and then prepare to start buying blu-ray stuff. Of course youcan play the HD sets on regular dvd as well so there probably no reason to sell that, except the fact you cannot benefit from the HD picture.
K
ktanner3
Guest
Quality was one problem, but for me durability was a huge issue. Tapes would break in the players and the ones that didn't degraded over time.And that's another feature that VHS can't compete with on DVD or Blu-ray. Discs don't degrade like tape does.All you have to watch for are excessive scratches and fingerprints.
Since when? Hard drive DVD, record a copy of needed broadcasts to a disk. Record a second copy, and file it away, if you worry you'll need one. I'm fairly sure these types of non commercial off-air recordings could be recorded back to the HD, and re-recorded to a new disk. Can't they?
A friend recently said if ever he does fill up his HD with a full complement of wanted material, he'll just file away the machine and buy a new one, to save dumping the contents to annoying single disks.
What we can (hopefully) look forward to with the eventual Blu-ray release:
- Higher bit rate transfers than the HD-DVD versions for even better picture quality.
- The option of watching the remastered original, unaltered 1960's version, or the "enhanced" cgi version via seamless branching and the additional disc space that Blu-ray allows.
- The inclusion of additional documentary and special features that couldn't be included before due to disc space limitations.
- No dreaded "combo disc" format which will result in better playability and a lower sticker price.
- Higher bit rate transfers than the HD-DVD versions for even better picture quality.
- The option of watching the remastered original, unaltered 1960's version, or the "enhanced" cgi version via seamless branching and the additional disc space that Blu-ray allows.
- The inclusion of additional documentary and special features that couldn't be included before due to disc space limitations.
- No dreaded "combo disc" format which will result in better playability and a lower sticker price.
My teacher told me that we will eventually have all movies on usb memories so you can skip the blueray player if you want to wait some
Well all movies will be available as HD downloads, yes.
The question is really whether the industry can get over its horrific greed and survive, or whether it will die. Film and TV are not at the same risk as the big four record labels (which hopefully will be wiped out) but they need to adapt their business model.
Why not release TV shows as free HQ downloads and sell advertising, internationally? I would happily watch the Sarah Connor Chronicles the day after its stateside showing in the UK with ten minutes of inserted ad breaks if it means that the show is supported and I still get my instant gratification.
There are various problems with this internationally currently, but these will disappear soon enough - so hey, lets see some more offerings like BBC IPlayer.
..if you don't already have HD, now is the time to go buy a player (they make great upconverters) and clean up on all the HD movies,including Trek season one, that are out there in the bargain bins for a fraction of what you would pay for those same movies on blu-ray. I know HOllywood viideo os clearing out all their rentals for 2 for $20. I picked up the 5 disc Blade Runner speciial edition for $10. Online retailers are slashing prices as well, $30 movies for $10-12. I also bought the 5 disc Planet Earth set from Discovery Channel for $33 shipped. And of course Trek remastered can be had for as little as $79 if you shop around. Lots of great deals to be had if you have a player...and you can even get one of those now for under $99.
Then, with the money you save on movies, buy a PS3 and buy future releases on blu-ray.
No kobiyashi maru for me, if you have HD it's win-win all the way.
Then, with the money you save on movies, buy a PS3 and buy future releases on blu-ray.
No kobiyashi maru for me, if you have HD it's win-win all the way.
Allow me to join in on this discussion. I recently got an 32 inch HDTV for $349. It's a Chinese no name brand but the quality on the HD channels absolutely blows away what I can see on my 36 inch SD Sony WEGA that was $1000. I have Time Warner cable (home of free HD) so I just put on the good ol' coaxial cable and poof I got HD channels. HOwever, they were almost unusable. For example ABC was channel 76-15. The remote only let me go to channel 76. Then I had to hit channel up to get to 15. This wasn't ideal to say the least, so I decided to get a digital cable box, so all my HD channels would get assigned numbers. So I call in, tell them I got an HDTV and need a box. Cable guy comes over next week and installs it. I turn it... POOF. HD channels are GONE. WTF? I call in, and they tell me that I ordered an SD digital cable box, and what I needed was an HD tuner. OOOOK, so I order an HD tuner, which is $5 more then the SD box (there goes "Free HD channels") and it works fine. However I am a big fan of getting my money's worth. So. I start thinking... Could teh picture quality be better? I look it up online. What's the best way to connect a cable box to an HDTV? Coaxial? Component? HDMI? Answer: IT DEPENDS. DARN. Have to buy all 3, find out which way is the best, and stick with it. Made me long for the good ol' standard setup. Coaxial from cable into VCR, coaxial from VCR to TV, and THERE IS NO OTHER WAY.
Anyway, that isn't the end of this story, but the point I am making is that while I really love my HDTV, all the options it has adds extra complexity, especially to people without technical skills. I can easily see why adoption rates are so much slower then many expected.
Anyway, that isn't the end of this story, but the point I am making is that while I really love my HDTV, all the options it has adds extra complexity, especially to people without technical skills. I can easily see why adoption rates are so much slower then many expected.
Dusty Ayres
Commodore
Two words for you on that front, Zero Hour-Super VHS!
You can still buy them here (I think) :JVC Super VHS Page
And are they compatible with all VCRs?
Everyone is switching to the blueray these days.*sighs*
Same here, and I guess I will, too. As long as we've got $1.50 still left in our pockets, they want it. Otherwise the cast never would have made those horrible LP's way back when.
Dusty Ayres
Commodore
Not really, although your friend can bring their VCR over, hook it up to your Super VHS, and just dub from one machine to the other.
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