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Blue laser DVD one step closer


damonrpayne

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damonrpayne: My JVC D-VHS plays back at 1080i and it does give more than 5 channels of sound on "D-Theater" movies. It's performance on my Sharp DLP is pretty much breathtaking. I agree with you that 480p looks great! But I can tell you that the HD this D-VHS puts out is far better. So, I am ready any time for a 1080i 7.1 or greater DVD. This D-VHS sure fits the bill for now, plus it records HD (as well as S-VHS & VHS). The only pitfall of D-VHS is the lack of titles for the moment. Hang in their Damon! I am with you!

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No man I agree, I'm all about higher resolution video as well. Its just that the home theater world is all set for 7.1 sound and the DVD format is holding us back.

This makes me wonder, what's the max resolution one can reasonably get out of analog film when it is transferred to DVD? Will we have the ability to buy upgraded versions of popular movies? (not that I'm in a big hurry to buy my DVDs all over again)

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I totally agree with what you just said. The current MPEG-2, DVD format is holding us back. Even my mini-DV movies are more clear than DVDs so long as I show them straight from the camera to the theater system in native AVI format. It's when I burn them to a DVD that they become inferior. We all know that MPEG-2 is a "lossy" format and uncompressed AVI is not. But, then, with AVI both portability and memory space immediately becomes the issue. One hour of uncompressed AVI requires approx 15 Gigs of space!

I shoot a lot of min-DV tape and I was thrilled to see JVC introduce an HDTV version camera a while back. That is, until I read about the camera and learned that is records in MPEG-2! 14.gif So, that makes the master lossy, too. Add that to the fact that MPEG-2 does not edit as well as AVI. Can you imagine the quality one would get after editing that and then running it back onto a DVD? It sort of negates the initial reason for buying the camera. I truly hope one of the camera-makers comes out soon with an AVI-based Hi-Def prosumer camera. Trouble is, I probably won't be able to afford it! There are already lots of broadcast-grade, large-format DV-based Hi-Def cams out there, but I don't happen to have a spare $80-grand for the camera and lens.

I too would love to see the Blu-Laser come out soon just so I could give it a whirl and compare it to D-VHS. I suspect it will be at least as good because I do believe that D-VHS is also actually a form of MPEG-2.

As far as how good the film-to-Hi-Def transfer is: naturally the resolution will be limited by the grade-level of equipment the studio chooses to use. But, I am still you: how high does that resolution need to go before we reach the point of diminished returns? I believe it will all depend on the cost that the consumer market is willing to bear. Also, I would be shocked if you could not buy upgraded, older movies on Blu-DVD. They've already begun recording them in D-VHS (the list grows each month) so it should follow that they'll redo them for Blu-DVD, too.

Hey, well just sit here and enjoy what we've got for now, right? ...and, pass me the popcorn! 10.gif

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I'm just glad they settled on Toshiba/NEC's standard - this means that the players will be backward compatible with standard DVD's.

The early Blu-Ray data discs I've seen were encased in a piece of plastic like a big floppy disc. That was what Sony and their bloc of constituents were pushing for - essentially requiring everyone to replace their entire catalogs right up front...

My bet is that all the new blu-laser players will incorporate some kind of upsampling for standard DVD's.

I'll also bet that the first wave will be built like tanks and cost $800 and up, and those who buy into that ground floor are going to be grinning ear to ear when the disposable ones come along and crap out every 6-8 months, but the people who buy the disposable ones will also think they're getting a steal because they're so cheap...

Kinda like every other playback technology that's come down the pike since then 2.gif

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I was more concerned that the next generation DVDs would be so superior that I would want/need to replace my existing DVD collection. Since many of my DVDs are childrens shows I wouldn't necessarily be in a rush to replace them but the Sci Fi films like Star Wars and LOTR I might want to replace if the new DVDs were significantly superior.

Also, you think being one of the first to buy is better than waiting for prices to some down a bit? I always thought it was best not buy first but rather wait until they get all of the bugs worked out and prices come down.

D-Rex

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Griff: as I understand it the battle is not over. Sony is still going to push blu-ray untill they are utterly defeated. Hollywood won't support two formats though so I imagine that will be the deciding factor.

D: there's always the possiblity of bugs. I like being an early adopter!

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Damon: It seems as if Sony always feels the need to stick their "ugly, proprietary-laden mugs" into everything they touch. I'm not dissing their products, just their philosophy.
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I agree Picky.

The underlying reason for these format wars is not well known but should be. The consumer electronics industry is incredibly low-margin for mass produced products. Many companies seek to augment their low margins on products with licensing revenue. Ergo, if you can win a format war and have your format chosen as the Standard, everyone else who wants to make the product (Blue laser DVD in this case) must pay you a per-unit licensing fee.

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