Video and audio quality aside, which of these would you (as a consumer) rate as highest importance when choosing an HD format?

Feel free to list them in order of preference.

Since PQ & AQ are not options, I can't think of anything in there that is near enough to PQ to give a meaningful answer other than none of the above. For me, I like the burnable media option, but not to DVD-R : too small to hold enough video. I'm using BD-RE and BD-R as recordable media. That's a far 3rd compared to PQ & AQ.

It is the movie, that is why we are buying the disc.

DRM isn't a feature for us, it is to give the studios protection so they will release more movies.

None of the above. Content above all.

yep

I am the only one who voted for the extras?? I can see that the forum has gone Blu in the face lately. :rolleyes:

The most glaring example is that a popular title like Planet Earth on HD was missing extra content that was in the SD version. Don't people care to know about how difficult or exciting it was to make these incredible movies? :confused: Admittedly, you wouldn't watch the extras more than once, but for that matter, how many times do you watch a movie itself if you don't care that much about how it was made?

Gotta say content as well.
If I had to pick one from the list above, I'd say "DVD style interactive features". Most people watch the odd featureette but that's about it.

The whole PiP thing for video commentary is nice but it's nothing more than a novelty to me - I'd rather just hear a commentary over the movie.

None of the above. I could care less about director commentary, PIP, alternate whatever. All I ever watch is the movie and then hit eject.

None of the above. I could care less about director commentary, PIP, alternate whatever. All I ever watch is the movie and then hit eject.

Ditto.

I am the only one who voted for the extras?? I can see that the forum has gone Blu in the face lately. :rolleyes:

The most glaring example is that a popular title like Planet Earth on HD was missing extra content that was in the SD version. Don't people care to know about how difficult or exciting it was to make these incredible movies? :confused: Admittedly, you wouldn't watch the extras more than once, but for that matter, how many times do you watch a movie itself if you don't care that much about how it was made?

FWIW in the broadcast on Discovery HD, it wasn't really an extra, the program would run for ~45 minutes or something and the other part would start. I really like them and it did add to my enjoyment of the series.

The results in this poll are in direct response to the first choice and that is there because of the BD+ announcement today.

I think the point most of us want to make is that it is much more important for us to get the PQ/AQ and quality titles, everything else is a minor concern.

None of the above.

PQ & AQ are the only thing that are important to me.

None of the above.

PQ & AQ are the only thing that are important to me.

That we want great PQ and AQ is a given, considering that we are talking about HD media. Both formats have shown that they are more than capable of great AV quality. The choice then comes to what else is important and is being delivered by the formats that is of interest to the customer.

My choices are "everything except DRM".

I really don't care for any of that stuff.

I dont give a **** whether or not blu-ray, hd-dvd, or dvd has the extra features. I never bothered with extras much even from the dvd days. Nowadays, I'm too busy with life to even bother watching anything more than the core movie. I don't really care about the directors intent, how stunts are done, etc for a movie that's supposed to just entertain you. Because of the entertainment factor, if there's bloopers or outtakes, I'll usually watch those.

If I want to know the hows or whys of things, I tune into the national geographics or the history channel.

DRM, burning to dvd, and region lock doesnt matter to me either, as I don't back up my movies at all & don't buy foreign films.

Glad to see no one voted for "robust DRM", as that really isn't a feature for the consumer.

That we want great PQ and AQ is a given, considering that we are talking about HD media. Both formats have shown that they are more than capable of great AV quality. The choice then comes to what else is important and is being delivered by the formats that is of interest to the customer.

My choices are "everything except DRM".

DRM doesn't bother me either. I have no interest in burning copies of my movies. I don't use them as frisbees so I'm not worried about them not working at some given point. ;)

DRM doesn't bother me either. I have no interest in burning copies of my movies. I don't use them as frisbees so I'm not worried about them not working at some given point. ;)

I don't either. But there will be some stinkers like the disc rot, or kids with sharpies etc. that might ruin it for some people. Just because I don't care for the features doesn't mean they should be taken away for those who do need them.

I don't either. But there will be some stinkers like the disc rot, or kids with sharpies etc. that might ruin it for some people. Just because I don't care for the features doesn't mean they should be taken away for those who do need them.

Raaj ....caring about other people is out of vogue now. Understanding Art and giving back" is old world thinking. Today it's about lobbying to extend copyright to ridiculous lengths of time (Disney) and locking content down and commoditizing it.

I was told that even if you weren't personally affected by something you made a decision about if it's right or wrong. If you decide something is wrong you oppose it, potentially with vigor. The reason is that you fight for the generations coming after you that will wonder why everything is so rigid.

When the Property Tax was created in the US did people think that retired Americans would be taxed out of their homes?

What's "ok" for me isn't "ok" to me if it causes undue harm to others.

I selected region coding. It's the only thing on the list that I would care slightly for, but with all studios likely supporting Blu-ray next year even that is low on the list.

I selected region coding. It's the only thing on the list that I would care slightly for, but with all studios likely supporting Blu-ray next year even that is low on the list.


Having all studios on board does nothing for region control. Having all the content on one platform sounds nice. That was the original plan.

none of the above.

high quality audio and sound for as many feature movies as possible, thats all that matters

The title is the most important feature.

Over and above image quality etc even, as is evidenced by The Fifth Element sales position.

None of the above. Content. Audio and video are all that matters for a movie disc. Don't care about PiP, don't care about audio commentaries, don't even care about making of featurettes.

Studios care about DRM and so I allow them that care, but personally I don't give a fig. I care about content. Studios care about DRM and that lets them release more content. That still doesn't make me really care about DRM. I will, however, allow that its existence can make a format succeed or fail when the studios care.

So as far as I personally care:

None of the above.

So as far as the studios seem to care:

Disney, Fox, and MGM - DRM, region coding
Warner Brothers - advanced features like PiP
Universal, Lionsgate, Sony, Paramount - None of the above.

All useless. I dont have a huge screen + projector and top end 5.1 setup to watch 2.0 dd 480i extras. TOP QUALITY PQ/AQ ARE ALL THAT MATTER.

Video and audio quality aside, which of these would you (as a consumer) rate as highest importance when choosing an HD format?

Feel free to list them in order of preference.

I chose extra features. This falls hand in hand with extra space on disc. Extra space opens the door to a number of things currently unavailable with DVDs.

None of the above. It is almost suspicious how not a single thing I care about is listed there...

Robust DRM - Don't care. As long as it plays in my player.

DVD-style bonus features - They all have this at the minimum so its irrelevant

Advanced interactive features - Not important. Nice if no compromises are made. Example, Kingdom of Heaven. Great movie with great sound and Awesome picture. Nothing special in the features department. They used MPEG-2 but the PQ might have been compromised if they added all sorts of features to it.

Absence of region restrictions - I don't import so I don't care.

Ability to play back HD content burned to DVD-R - I don't copy movies. I haven't had any problems since the the day I bought my first DVD. Besides, you can always contact the studio if the disc becomes unplayable

Conclusion - None of the Above

None of the above. It is almost suspicious how not a single thing I care about is listed there...

Indeed.

I really would like to know who are those 3 people and why they have voted for "Robust DRM" and their affiliations WRT the movie industry if there's any...

Indeed.

Yeah though as an avid movie importer - American censorship is often similar to Chinese when it comes to movies except it is much more selective, totally inconsistent - I really hate regions.

None of the above. Content above all.
+1 :)

The scratch resistant coating on Blu-Ray discs.

Nothing annoys me more than Region coding. Especially considering we only have a handful of BD disks down under. Thank god we made it illegal to have region coding on Dvd players down here. Hopefully it will happen with the next generation BD players.

32 family members sailing the Carribean, the HDV camcorder memories preserved on 30 cent disks playable in 1080i hi-def on all HD-DVD players.

Why should anyone have to pay $20-25 for disks and $600-999 for burners to distribute 20 minutes of home video? It's not exaggerating to note that HDV or AVCHD on red laser media is hit or miss (and mostly miss) on most every Blu-Ray player outside of the PS3.

Why is that ignored? Well clearly your hi-def productions won't get much play for years if both you and your friends have to adopt expensive burners, media and players.

If all you think you should care about is the next tiring replay of your Pirates of the Carribean copy to showcase your HDTV entertainment system, I predict that short sightedness will turn to regret come December when HDTV camcorders can be had under your tree for less than $500.

It's pointless to argue for the 50gb disk. Microsoft and Toshiba proved it isn't needed, and have had the overall picture quality advantage since the start, except for one movie...ahem...Pirates of the Carribean. It deserves one comment, but I'll make two. It's a silly movie, and even my kids say it was dumb.

Tom that's a good point. I'm eyeballing the Canon HV20 and thus knowing that I'm heading towards owning multiple HD cameras in the future I get a chuckle when people tell me my HD DVD player is going to be a door stop.

Is the avg consumer so creatively challenged that they have no inclination to whip out Movie Maker or iMove and edit a bit of video?

HD DVD could die next month and I'm still happy that I have my player. It'll deliver even more value when I get my first HD camcorder.

Tom that's a good point. I'm eyeballing the Canon HV20 and thus knowing that I'm heading towards owning multiple HD cameras in the future I get a chuckle when people tell me my HD DVD player is going to be a door stop.

Is the avg consumer so creatively challenged that they have no inclination to whip out Movie Maker or iMove and edit a bit of video?

HD DVD could die next month and I'm still happy that I have my player. It'll deliver even more value when I get my first HD camcorder.

To be fair, people can watch HDV 1080 camcorder video with the PS3, and with the 60gb hard drive...nice. So HD-DVD, far from being a door stop is not exclusive when it comes to HDV utility.

I'm format neutral from a player sense. In other words, the future even if one format dies are players that *play* both disk types. The problem is there are idiots clamoring for HD-DVD to die when the only sin committed is that Toshiba proved they were right when they created a competing format that was cheaper and first to market, no surprise, but also had better picture quality, and is much more friendly (region free), and much more flexible, i.e. even plays CD's, imagine that! Toshiba has already achieved more market penetration and profitable sales due to conventional laser technology than anyone could have hoped for, including the HD-DVD adopters. Perhaps HD-DVD has run its course. But not for any failings of the product delivered.

Blu-Ray supporters misdirect the anger at their own format's failings by blaming HD-DVD when without it, we're all stuck with one unnecessarily expensive, inflexible system that has no chance of unseating std definition without the pricing pressure created from HD-DVD to help it get realistic, even though it means huge losses for Sony. And it has.

But hands down, HD-DVD has Blu-Ray beat for all the features that count. In fact without HD-DVD, the VC1 and h264 codecs would not even have found their way into Blu-Ray. The entire premise for a 50gb disk capacity, was the only way to fit a two hour mpeg2 movie onto it in hi-def. More is owed by Blu-Ray to HD-DVD than they will ever know.

If someone as irrelevant as the Blockbuster can tip the scales, all enthusiasts who ever hoped for mass adoption of a low cost HD distribution format have been dealt a setback that will last for years.

To be fair, people can watch HDV 1080 camcorder video with the PS3, and with the 60gb hard drive...nice. So HD-DVD, far from being a door stop is not exclusive when it comes to HDV utility.

I'm format neutral from a player sense. In other words, the future even if one format dies are players that *play* both disk types. The problem is there are idiots clamoring for HD-DVD to die when the only sin committed is that Toshiba proved they were right when they created a competing format that was cheaper and first to market, no surprise, but also had better picture quality, and is much more friendly (region free), and much more flexible, i.e. even plays CD's, imagine that! Toshiba has already achieved more market penetration and profitable sales due to conventional laser technology than anyone could have hoped for, including the HD-DVD adopters. Perhaps HD-DVD has run its course. But not for any failings of the product delivered.

Blu-Ray supporters misdirect the anger at their own format's failings by blaming HD-DVD when without it, we're all stuck with one unnecessarily expensive, inflexible system that has no chance of unseating std definition without the pricing pressure created from HD-DVD to help it get realistic, even though it means huge losses for Sony. And it has.

But hands down, HD-DVD has Blu-Ray beat for all the features that count. In fact without HD-DVD, the VC1 and h264 codecs would not even have found their way into Blu-Ray. The entire premise for a 50gb disk capacity, was the only way to fit a two hour mpeg2 movie onto it in hi-def. More is owed by Blu-Ray to HD-DVD than they will ever know.

If someone as irrelevant as the Blockbuster can tip the scales, all enthusiasts who ever hoped for mass adoption of a low cost HD distribution format have been dealt a setback that will last for years.
Stop That Now. You are making way to much sense for this Forum. I mean really, saying BD should thank HD-Dvd. Some people around here will want to tie you to a stake and burn you alive.




But you do make a lot of very valid points.