falcon20x Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Depends what you are trying to do. Reading your previous post seems to me that you should get the blue ray player, at least you have the option later to buy High def DVDs. I'm in adifferent situation my DVD player is going bad so it needs to be replaced. I'm getting a toshiba HD DVD player ( $149) to replace it. While I have not decided what format to choose, I figured that player would at least give me some options. If I decide to go blue ray, by then the players should be much cheaper and I would have both format plpayers, therefore should never be limited in my movies. Cost is my primary concern here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 I have the Oppo DV981HD. Does a good job of upconverting. Cost $229. Bought a Toshiba HD-A2. Paid $238.88 plus 7 free HD-DVD's. It does a much better job upconverting than the Oppo. If I was to do it again...the Toshiba hands down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 As an owner of both formats I thought I would chime in. First and foremost I love movies. I could care less who wins the format war. I just purchased a new toshiba hd a35 and it is by far the best dvd player I have ever owned. I also own an oppo 971 as it was the first upconverting player I owned. I also own a toshiba hda2 and between it and the oppo I would buy the a2 in a heartbeat. The upscaling capabilities of the a2 and the oppo are both excellent for the pricepoint. The tipping factor is the a2 also plays hd dvds. You can get it online for a little over two hundred with 5 free movies or go with the new a3 and get 7 free movies. As far as a blu ray player the only one I would and did buy was the playstation 3. For those that forget about the bluray bd live and bd video 1.1 spec there are currently NO stand alone players on the market that will be able to be upgraded for these features. The only one that has a chance is the ps3 as all its decoding capabilities are software driven. This may not be important to some as all the current players will still play blu ray movies, but will not be able to take advantage of certain features on the disc. That is the one complaint I have with bluray is the specs where not finalized from the get go. They rushed to market just to be able to compete with hd dvd. On the matter of whuch format to go with if I where to just be buying into a high definition format/player I would go with hd dvd. My reasoning for this is that first hd dvd players are cheaper to purchase and they all do a great job at upconverting standard definition dvds, next all hd dvd players currently on the market will allow access to all the advanced features such as persistent storage, online functionality, and multiple picture streams, and finally you get 5-7 free movies with a player purchase. My final thoughts if you have invested in a tv and surround system capable of taking advantage of what the new formats have to offer then you owe it to yourself to experience what high definition has to offer. A few hundred is not alot to spend to experience the best in picture and in sound. The best up converting dvd player pales in comparison to the picture and sound you get from high definition and anyone who states other wise has a. not seen a high def dvd or b. has not seen and heard it in a proper calibrated and set up system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy4300 Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 My final thoughts if you have invested in a tv and surround system capable of taking advantage of what the new formats have to offer then you owe it to yourself to experience what high definition has to offer. A few hundred is not alot to spend to experience the best in picture and in sound. The best up converting dvd player pales in comparison to the picture and sound you get from high definition and anyone who states other wise has a. not seen a high def dvd or b. has not seen and heard it in a proper calibrated and set up system. It's not the initial cost of the player, it's the cost of the media that you need to buy to support it. Choose the wrong one, your player goes obsolete, and your stuck with all those movies on media that's in the wrong format. And, your also stuck with a DVD player that is also obsolete. Look at the ElCassette, the BetaMax, and the LaserDisc. All old examples to be sure, but, IMO one of these formats will end up the same way. I'm sticking with my Denon DVD-3910 and upconverting to my Phillips 50" Plasma, Denon 1907 and Klipsch RF82. Lou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kde Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Good advice -- thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 lou, You make a good point, but if you chose the wrong format you will still have a player that plays all the movies you own on that format and the dvd player itself will still be a great upconverting dvd player. Neither of these two formats is going anywhere for the forseable future. Also the cost of the media is mute if you enjoy the picture and sound you can buy a new release dvd for about $17 or spend an extra 3-10 dollars and enjoy it in high definition. Nothing lasts forever as is the case with any type of electronic device. The choice is whether to enjoy what is here now or wait who knows how long until there is a winner. I don't know why anyone would spend over 300 on an upconverting player when for less than 250 you have a great upconverting player that also gives you the option to enjoy high definition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest srobak Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I hate getting into Internet arguments, but this one is just so full of faux information it hurts.... If this is the angle you are going to take - then you might want to at least watch the details before dishing it out at someone. $.02 (see below) current street price is no higher than $999. No mail-in rebates. It was on sale for $799 a few weeks ago. Please don't drop inappropriate information. MSRP on the deck right now is 1200 [edit: technically 1199, but I always round. shoot me], and there is currently a 200 mfg rebate. Let's look at the details: MSRP <> street price. The day that MSRP = street price is the day I quit buying entirely. On the same token - 1200 MSRP - 200 mfg rebate = 1000. Difference from "street price": $1 (which is my fault, because I round). Now - you go on to say that you work for BB, and even if you have only been there for a week - you know that their pricing and pricing schedules are completely inconsistent and frequently make no sense at all. This is mind-numbing to think about, especially as the pricing comes from corporate, not individual stores or even from regional managers. When I was looking to buy my Klipsch Sub 12 last year - it would be 340 one day, and 499 the next - and was not on sale either day. Further supporting that - 2 weeks ago they put a $380 4 shelf tv stand on un-advertised sale for TWENTY DOLLARS. It is still a current item, and is now listed up at 280. Needless to say I cleaned out 4 stores near me, several friends got early xmas presents, and I am making a hefty profit on craiglist and ebay. A few days later - the stand I really wanted went on un-advertised sale from 320 to 150, and is now up at 350. Just makes no sense. I have seen bizarre pricing like this from BB for years - so judging anything by their "street price" is completely subjective and does not accurately reflect the average "street price"... 3 out of 4 of which I checked revealed the 1000 (999) after rebate (note: not mail-in) (JR, Tweeter, Crutchfield, BB) So yes, look for a $799 combo player in the next few months, unless you have some concrete evidence to the latter. Furthermore, there are already pictures of the Samsung player, it has been demoed and full specifications announced. They aren't going to pull the plug on this one. I never said "pull the plug" - I just don't know if they are going to get it released by the holidays. If they were smart - yeah, but they really better think about price-point. If it is over 500 it isn't going to sell in droves. There were pictures of it last year too, and it was supposed to be out by the holidays. Here we are nearly a year later and still no deck. *shrug* As for an $800 "regular price" combo deck in the next few months - I'm not going to bet on it (I want to see what the price is at the end of January before I commit to it having been legit) - we will just have to wait and see. That is exactly what I myself do not understand. There are so many people here who have such a negative feeling towards the high def formats on a high-end audio forum. Because they want stability in the formats. They don't want dueling studios and dueling formats and multiple components that essentially "do the same job, only different". Most people have pitched their low to mid-level standalone CD players in favor of a good DVD deck because it happens to do CD as well. $230 shipped for the HD-A2 from Amazon with 5 free HD DVDs priced too high? Surely you jest. See - THAT is a good deal, especially with the kicker of including 5 movies. Only problem with that is the choices are extremely limited. True your average consumer of ~$200 decks is more likely to want and buy all the movies that are offered, however - someone who spends 500 to 1000 on a higher end deck of either format or a dual-format unit is less likely to want many of those movies at all. Yes - the 230 shipped is a good price, and is teetering ever so close to that magic $200 mark that the majority of your consumers will want to pay, but until people can in fact walk into a BB and get one for that $200 - the onrush of purchasers just isn't going to happen. One seems to be falling faster than the other, no? Yes - there you got me - but it is for the exact reason that I stated: In the eyes of the consumer this is not "fresh" technology, like DVD was vs. tape. This is simply "improved" existing technology in their eyes, and doesn't support the huge prices that have been attached to it until very recently. This is also why if BR doesn't start dropping prices, they will fall hugely behind in the format war. Also - I never said falling prices in comparison to each other - I just said that dvd deck prices feel quickly - and they did... hd prices are falling much faster, which is good, but are still not where they need to be in order to attract the sales that will make it a success. Sure it hasn't gone off without a hitch, but that doesn't mean it's some evil process which should be shunned from the world. Try not to be so negative towards it without actually sitting down and taking advantage of a 30 day return period from CC or BB. There is only the slimmest of chances you would go back to DVD if you actually tried it with an open mind. Wanting it or not wanting isn't the problem, nor the question. Myself - I am willing to pay a little bit more than the average consumer. I never said that *I* wouldn't spend more than $200... I plan on ordering a deck - up to $400 - this week. I just said that your average everyday consumer (75% of those who shop at BB and don't even set foot in the Magnolia section) is not going to drop more than 2 Benjis on a deck of either format. The format that is sub-200 first will start flying off the shelves and will win the format war, unless by some stroke of genius the other format waits about 3 weeks, then prices their decks at $50 under the others. That won't happen though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dachuckster Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I didnt think the A2 upconverted. Any recent good price promos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dachuckster Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I have the Oppo DV981HD. Does a good job of upconverting. Cost $229. Bought a Toshiba HD-A2. Paid $238.88 plus 7 free HD-DVD's. It does a much better job upconverting than the Oppo. If I was to do it again...the Toshiba hands down. Sorry, I meant to quote this resoponse.I did not think the A2 upconverted. Also, $238 is a great price! Where did you get this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlton Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I have the Oppo DV981HD. Does a good job of upconverting. Cost $229. Bought a Toshiba HD-A2. Paid $238.88 plus 7 free HD-DVD's. It does a much better job upconverting than the Oppo. If I was to do it again...the Toshiba hands down. Sorry, I meant to quote this response.I did not think the A2 upconverted. Also, $238 is a great price! Where did you get this? I got it from Amazon.com. Unfortunately the promotion and price ended October 1. Keep watching prices, should go down for the A2 once the A3 is available. The A2 does a terrific job upconverting to 720p which is my TV's native resolution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest srobak Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 They renewed it... A2 with 5 movies (not the best of choices however), 238 http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HD-A2-HD-DVD-Player/dp/B000IJV4BC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2261296-2152164?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1192069627&sr=8-1 Here is the rebate: http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/00/00/00/71/79/28/71792861._V25941811_.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I figured I would chime in here as well, due to the fact that I support both formats. All these players upscale better then the best upscallers out there. I have owned most of them including a HTPC. What I have seen, a lot of Blockbuster stores carry blu ray only, beside there wasted online stores, can't get movies from them any ways. I know more and more people are going online but there exchange in the store and seeing blu ray will play in there mind. Out of the 32 movies I have in my queue in blockbuster and Netflix 28 of them are blu ray 2 standard dvds and 2 HD dvds. Keep this in mind that I have owned blu ray for twice as long as HD dvd. I have seen some great bash advertising from both camps. I also just sough an articel that blu ray is out selling 4 to 1 in europe. On another note blu ray has a burning now that is working great. I think a lot of people are looking at ways to back up there computer, music, home movies, and pictures that need a lot of space. I also beleive that this will come into play when people by a burner. Copy protection on the blu ray disc is better, which is why the movie companies like it. Also blu ray plays scratched or dirty discs much better. I bought a hd dvd player because I love movies and refuse to watch any that aren't in hd or blu ray. HD dvd player are cheaper and that is for a reason, most don't have analog audio output so unless you have a receiver that has a hdmi input that handles audio you can't get the advanced audio. HD dvd disc also cost more to buy, because of there standard and hd version being on the same disc. I like both formats and both work, some players better then others. If you are going to by a upscaling dvd player your nuts because these players are getting so cheap and work better. Just my thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
germerikan Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 In Germany it was hard to find HD-DVD for about 2 months ago but now the major electronic stores (Media Markt / Saturn) are carrying both formats. The Playstation 3 sold well here and blue ray got a slight advantage, the only other player that I found was a Samsung. Now the HD DVD players are also available, much cheaper and strong in the comming due to the price of the medium (HD DVD 15 to 20 instead of Blue ray 30 to 35). Most of the people I know will still be sitting it out until the PC´s have one or the other player´s in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCHout Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Sound is very important to me (I do have Klipsch speakers, damnit!), so lossless audio is the way to go for me. Due to this, Blu-ray has more lossless sound and the Fox seems to be releasing most of their movies with DTS-HD MA. HD-DVD does not have the bitrate capable of giving the exact same soundtrack from the movie theater with the HD image, so it is Blu-ray for me. It is anybody's format war to win at this point, with vehement supporters on both sides. Conventional wisdom still gives Blu-ray a slight edge, but this holiday season should be telling. If Warner Bros. switches to one side exclusively, that will end the format war in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor.Ham.Slap Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 Actually, any disc carrying the DTS-MA or Dolby TrueHD sound formats are completely lossless. There is no sound quality difference between either format and UPCM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 Yes it is, Ms. HD DVD has Ms. Blue Ray in a head lock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest srobak Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 Wanna preface that with NWS and some lines of scroll next time? While not nude - it is still not appropriate for the workplace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Wanna preface that with NWS and some lines of scroll next time? While not nude - it is still not appropriate for the workplace. neither is farting but that doesn't stop the guys in our office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest srobak Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 thump - so as not to clutter the hd-dvd deck sale topic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Forgive me since I have not read the whole thread but in order to take full advantage of the uncompressed sound of the Blue-Ray and HD-DVD wouldn't you have to upgrade your receiver or AV Pre/Pro as well to support it or will it work equally as well with the current decoders? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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