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[cerealkillajme]

QUOTE(m00nstone @ Feb 6 2008, 09:34 PM)

There is absolutely no point in buying an HD-DVD player.  I can't think of a single reason.  Anyone?

As sabbath_dude pointed out, price is one reason. There are still plenty of exclusives for HD-DVD that may take a long time before you see them on Blu-Ray. The only big ones Warner had were "Batman Begins" and "The Matrix Series", but Paramount and Universal are still Red and have "The Bourne Trilogy", "Transformers", "Zodiac", "Hot Fuzz", and the list goes on, not to mention "American Gangster" and "Beowulf" are coming out this month and are HD-DVD exclusive. Even if/when the last red studios go blu, it could take another year or two before you see a lot of them remade.

I bought my 2nd HD-DVD player yesterday along with another 23 movies  

[thor99]

QUOTE(m00nstone @ Feb 7 2008, 04:29 AM)

I don't care which format wins.  It really doesn't matter.  However, I will eventually buy the winner.  It just so happens the winning format is Blu-ray.

bluray just has the most studios right now, but HD is starting to really move the standalone players and getting them into consumer hands.. right now bluray dose not even have 1 player in the top100 electronics sold on amazon, and hd has 2.. most bluray owners are ps3 owners.. there is already enough wear and tear on ps3 drives by playing games and alot of people wont want to stress it more by watching movies on it.. I wont even get the 360 addon for this reason why put more stress on my game system to watch movies by having it run and getting hot for when Im not even playing it, Thats why I bought a stand alone player.. If my 360 dies because of game play, then I can still watch movies.. but ps3 owners, well they lost their $400+ game/movie player.. Ill just pick up another player for $100 or another cheap 360 and move my HD over to the new one.. Drives have moving parts and moving parts wear out the more they are used... a new ps3= another $400+ and if they want a stand alone so the drive wont wear out as fast well add another $300 or $400 to that...

[joemm210]

right now blu-ray has the most studio support, and I wouldnt buy blu-ray or HD DVD right now but if I had to I would still go with HD DVD for the following reasons:

1: The cheapest blu-ray player is still 400 dollars and I dont think 400 dollars is worth viewing HD content on a disc.

2: To me If I did buy the 400 dollar blu-ray player or the 150 dollar HD DVD player, both buys should only be considered a 2 year investment because your first or second gen system is going to be outdated and your going to want to upgrade to a newer and half priced model in under 2 years.

Using the above logic, for me I dont buy too many movies per year maybe 2 or 3, and I usually wait for a sale to buy the movie so say I bought 6 HD DVD movies at 20 each 120 dollars, if HD DVD fails I would be out 120 for the obsolete movie collection + system cost of 150 so a total of 270 dollars, if I bought blu-ray right now in 2 years time I would be out only the system cost (considering blu-ray is going to win) but thats still more at 400 dollars. I know its scewed up logic but it still works!

[thor99]

QUOTE(joemm210 @ Feb 7 2008, 05:21 AM)

right now blu-ray has the most studio support, and I wouldnt buy blu-ray or HD DVD right now but if I had to I would still go with HD DVD for the following reasons:

1: The cheapest blu-ray player is still 400 dollars and I dont think 400 dollars is worth viewing HD content on a disc.

2: To me If I did buy the 400 dollar blu-ray player or the 150 dollar HD DVD player, both buys should only be considered a 2 year investment because your first or second gen system is going to be outdated and your going to want to upgrade to a newer and half priced model in under 2 years.

Using the above logic, for me I dont buy too many movies per year maybe 2 or 3, and I usually wait for a sale to buy the movie so say I bought 6 HD DVD movies at 20 each 120 dollars, if HD DVD fails I would be out 120 for the obsolete movie collection + system cost of 150 so a total of 270 dollars, if I bought blu-ray right now in 2 years time I would be out only the system cost (considering blu-ray is going to win) but thats still more at 400 dollars. I know its scewed up logic but it still works!

no.. your logic is fine.. I own HD-DVD and still buy Standard Dvds, and just upscale most movies with the HD player. With the exception of the ones I really,really like.. like 300.. but I got that one free and I would have bought it anyway..

[englishnamja]

I would only consider one now for 3 reasons,

1 if the is free movies included when you buy it...

2 eventually we can burn our own HD DVD movies on disks and then play them in the xbox player.

3. if the format fails so many cheap movie releases on HD-DVD.

[HughDaHand]

The price drop is nice,  but its still over priced.  Seeing as for $30 more you can get a stand alone from circut city,  and it wouldnt stress your 360.  Plus you still get 5 free movies that way.  This addon is just not a good investment as WHEN your 360 RRoD ya wont be able to watch your movie.

[HotKnife420]

QUOTE(joemm210 @ Feb 7 2008, 05:21 AM)

right now blu-ray has the most studio support, and I wouldnt buy blu-ray or HD DVD right now but if I had to I would still go with HD DVD for the following reasons:

1: The cheapest blu-ray player is still 400 dollars and I dont think 400 dollars is worth viewing HD content on a disc.

 Don't forget that Best Buy has had at least 1 (3 last time I checked) HDTV that comes with a PS3 or a Blu Ray player. Many people who are upgrading their TV are getting a Blu Ray player with it (not all, just saying they're pushing).

 With all these HD-DVD clearance deals going on, however, they could pull the biggest 'underdog' move ever and get all the studios to jump back/to HD-DVD with a vastly superior installed base. We'll see.

[dmitri]

Too bad Toshiba is screwing late adopters a lot more than the early ones..  The early ones knew what they were getting into.  The late adopters ("oooh!  only $130!") will be nice and pissed in a month or two when they realize most new home video releases don't make it to their format.  So they lose their initial technology investment, and customer loyalty.  The pains of war..

Anyway..  it's a short lived victory.  Disc distribution is dead or dying.

You can download from XBL or iTunes for 1/5th to 1/10th the cost of buying.  I used to think "look at my cool 200 DVD collection" but there's really no point..

[metalcoat]

Still waiting for a "winner" before I move, and cheap burners.  Why are blu-ray players not coming down in price.  Any idiot going into a consumer store is going to say I have a HDTV can I get movies? Sure we have Blu-Ray that costs $400+ or a HDDVD for only $200, I'll take the HDDVD. Price is a huge determinant.

[Flagg3]

QUOTE(thor99 @ Feb 6 2008, 10:03 PM)

and Im sure you dont suport bluray and have concrete evidence to support that claim. Also with all the players that have been selling now, they would have already depleated their stock. toshiba is still making players because retailers keep ordering them, they keep ordering them because they are selling, thats common sense. sounds like you made an opinion that was made as a statement.. "Logically, if they succeed in selling a number of standalone players, that's impossible to ignore. That's going to be a very strong argument in their favor," In other words, studios would almost be forced to pay attention.

Except for the fact that Toshiba and Microsoft can't afford to manufacture and sell them at these prices.  They are taking huge losses on the hardware, and the studios are well aware that they are only selling at these prices because they are being cleared out.  

That said, I would have picked one up from Amazon at that price if I didn't already own one.  For $79 you get 6 HD-DVD movies, plus there are plenty of HD-DVD movies already produced that will start going on clearance soon, so it's still a good bargain to have at this price even knowing that the format will be dead within a year.

[joemm210]

QUOTE(Flagg3 @ Feb 7 2008, 10:21 AM)

Except for the fact that Toshiba and Microsoft can't afford to manufacture and sell them at these prices.  They are taking huge losses on the hardware, and the studios are well aware that they are only selling at these prices because they are being cleared out.  

That said, I would have picked one up from Amazon at that price if I didn't already own one.  For $79 you get 6 HD-DVD movies, plus there are plenty of HD-DVD movies already produced that will start going on clearance soon, so it's still a good bargain to have at this price even knowing that the format will be dead within a year.

We are assuming they are taking a big loss, I have seen no report on what they are taking for a loss or if they are taking any lose at all. It would be nice to see if anyone has a report on what Toshiba is paying for the main parts that make up their players.

[bigpoohead]

QUOTE(cerealkillajme @ Feb 7 2008, 04:35 AM)

As sabbath_dude pointed out, price is one reason. There are still plenty of exclusives for HD-DVD ....

Also these 'exclusives' on bluray usually only apply to america. As these 'exclusives' are distributed by different publishers in the rest of the world, who usually are not exclusive to the same format as in america, you can just import the movie you want on HDDVD that is 'exclusive' on blu-ray. The same applies to bluray, a HDDVD 'exclusive' in america is probably on bluray in europe, but the only difference is, you will unlikely be able to play the imported bluray disc on your player (unless you import a player also) due to region coding, unlike hddvd.

[jesterrace777]

@Flagg, According to whom?  High Def sales combined make up less than 2% of the total home entertainment industry.  To declare a winner from HD-DVD or Blu-Ray at this point is just plain dumb.  Furthermore if you take a look at amazon.com's best sellers list right now it is pretty telling.  The 360 HD-DVD add-on is currently outselling both models of PS3 (ranked #1 in that category).  In electronics the Toshiba A3 is currently ranked number 14 and the flagship A35 is ranked in the 60s somewhere.  THERE ARE NO STANDALONE BLU-RAY PLAYERS IN THE TOP 100 and they rarely ever show up there.  The Toshiba A3 is also the best selling high-def player at Best Buy.  Bottom line is that movie studios can flip-flop at the slightest increase in cash flow.  Furthermore if you want to talk about selling things at a loss let's have a look at the PS3 which is being sold at an average loss of $125 a unit.  I can guarantee you that neither the 360 add-on, nor the Toshiba standalones are being sold at more of a loss than that.

[Chancer]

QUOTE(thor99 @ Feb 7 2008, 03:03 AM)

and Im sure you dont suport bluray and have concrete evidence to support that claim. Also with all the players that have been selling now, they would have already depleated their stock. toshiba is still making players because retailers keep ordering them, they keep ordering them because they are selling, thats common sense. sounds like you made an opinion that was made as a statement.. "Logically, if they succeed in selling a number of standalone players, that's impossible to ignore. That's going to be a very strong argument in their favor," In other words, studios would almost be forced to pay attention.

 It doesn't need evidence or a genius to figure out why the price has been dropped. It follows hot on the heels of a decision by a major movie studio to go Blu-Ray only.
Where are your links to production figures or statements from Toshiba on their manufacturing plans for HD-DVD in the future or was your opinion that they are still going to keep making them just something you assumed and turned into a statement? The higher previous costs could easily mean massive over production and stocks which now need to be cleared. You don't really think they produce stock based on week by week orders from suppliers. Toshiba are not making CRT based large screen Tv sets but I can still put through a trade order for one and receive a new one. they are not producing one for my demand it is coming from stock.
Now I am not saying the current prices are not good deals. They are worthwhile just for the films that are out now. Indeed I have one on order (Standalone), but I am realistic enough to know why the prices have suddenly crashed

QUOTE(bigpoohead @ Feb 7 2008, 10:25 AM)

Also these 'exclusives' on bluray usually only apply to america. As these 'exclusives' are distributed by different publishers in the rest of the world, who usually are not exclusive to the same format as in america, you can just import the movie you want on HDDVD that is 'exclusive' on blu-ray. The same applies to bluray, a HDDVD 'exclusive' in america is probably on bluray in europe, but the only difference is, you will unlikely be able to play the imported bluray disc on your player (unless you import a player also) due to region coding, unlike hddvd.

 I don't really follow correctly so may be wrong here but a film on either format released by a Studio supporting only one of the formats is not available on it's opposite format in any country.
It sounds like you are saying a BR exclusive in one country is published in another format (HD-DVD) in a different country . Not true.

QUOTE

THERE ARE NO STANDALONE BLU-RAY PLAYERS IN THE TOP 100

Only because of the ridiculous way standalone is being classified. The PS3 is a standalone player and indeed was bought as such by many people. The correct analogy would be it is not exclusively a Blu Ray player

[bigpoohead]

QUOTE

I don't really follow correctly so may be wrong here but a film on either format released by a Studio supporting only one of the formats is not available on it's opposite format in any country.
It sounds like you are saying a BR exclusive in one country is published in another format (HD-DVD) in a different country . Not true.

Sorry but you are wrong, lets take bruce almight as an example, its a universal studios film, exclusive to HD-DVD in america, not available on bru-ray (Amazon) in america, but its distributed by buena vista in europe, who is a blu-ray exclusive over here, so is on blu-ray or on HDDVD on import from america from Amazon

Edit:  A link to an article about this very thing.