Print

[ferrari_rulz_02]

QUOTE(mikedavis2838 @ Mar 6 2006, 08:17 PM)

The same thing will happen with the 360, it will have the ability to be priced much cheaper that any stand-alone HD-DVD drive because the 360 will do all the processing.

it coudl also be because of high-volume production. not ultra-high volume, but higher then standalone players.

and besides, all it needs that is majorly different from a normal dvd  drive is the laser. all it does is read the disc and pass that info on to the console. a standalone player has to extract the video and audio info, and processes that so it can be used.

[BasicAir]

QUOTE(Roland @ Mar 6 2006, 10:14 AM)

My kudos to Lifter and pcfreakx...some great information in your posts (in support of Blu-Ray).  Also compliments to BasicAir for another fine post (in support of HD-DVD).

...............

In the end I think Lifter is closest to the truth...all players (probably by 2007) will play both formats...neither side will "win"...they will just split the market and confuse/annoy consumers.

Thanks for the kudos. Keep in mind though it wasn't like my article posting had anything to do with Blu-Ray though and thus wasn't "in support" necessarilly of HD-DVD, but I can see where you drew that conclusion so that's okay.

The other thing I wanted to comment on is, no, Toshiba is coming out with the HD-A1 ($499) and HD-XA1 ($799) HD-DVD standalones within weeks, not by 2007.

[bonkers255]

QUOTE(BasicAir @ Mar 6 2006, 10:55 AM)

The other thing I wanted to comment on is, no, Toshiba is coming out with the HD-A1 ($499) and HD-XA1 ($799) HD-DVD standalones within weeks, not by 2007.

I think that means that most players out in 2007 will support both formats (BR and HD-DVD).  The first units will only support one format (except for maybe an LG model).  But I expect in the end that both formats will be supported by any unit in a few years.

Also, to the poster who mentioned DVD-A and SACD, I have a dedicated player for those formats.  Any audiophile will tell you those formats are amazing.  Also, anyone with a decent surround system can easily enjoy them as well.  I would highly recommend giving them a try.

[ferrari_rulz_02]

QUOTE(bonkers255 @ Mar 7 2006, 05:45 AM)

I think that means that most players out in 2007 will support both formats (BR and HD-DVD).  The first units will only support one format (except for maybe an LG model).  But I expect in the end that both formats will be supported by any unit in a few years.

thats what i believe. i cant see how that dedicated players would stay on teh market for a long time. id say by teh end of the year, we will start to see more 'main stream' players become avialble, ableit very expensive still

[Lifter]

QUOTE(pcfreakx @ Mar 5 2006, 05:59 PM)

  Keep in mind that HDMI version 1.3 that will support 1080p hasn't even been ratified so this is a significantly new thing they are doing.  And every Blu-Ray player on the floor (except for Samsung's first model) supports true 1080p. NONE OF THE HD-DVD PLAYERS SUPPORT 1080P.  And many TV's this year will support true 1080p in.  The Blu-Ray camp have gone after a significantly different level of video performance.  1080/24psf (profressive segmented frames) is the format which hollywood digitally archives their films and that same quality will be delivered on the first Blu-Ray players.

Your post was absolutely fantastic... except for this part I quoted.  You are massively overstating and mistaken about the significance of 1080p on BR discs and players.

You will not see a difference between 1080PsF24 and 1080i60 with 3:2 pulldown removed.  They are 100% identical when viewed on the TV set.  Because the telecine (inside an HD-DVD player) and the inverse telecine (inside the TV set) take place in a digital, uncompressed domain.  It is a lossless process.  Long story short, a native 1080p24 output is pretty much useless for a consumer and will give you no benefit whatsoever over 1080i w/ 3:2 pulldown added.

BluRay is supposed to support 1080p60 if I'm not mistaken.  That is what the significant "1080p advantage" is.  Of course this applies to games only, since there is no film or television content yet shot at 1080p60 (nor should there ever be - the look of 24fps is what defines motion pictures).  Maybe live events, TV shows, educational stuff, IMAX stuff - you might eventually see stuff like that produced on 1080p60 (once the cameras actually become available which right now they are not).  But regular movies are 24fps so a 1080i60 signal is all you need to display that format with perfection.

[ferrari_rulz_02]

QUOTE(Lifter @ Mar 7 2006, 07:11 PM)

once the cameras actually become available which right now they are not

and i doubt that they will be for a while. the data bandwidth required to film at that resolution and frame rate is enormous. and you wont really see any ebnefit of it unless you have a tv that is about 3 meteres wide.