Hey everyone,

Just looking for some opinions from the users here. I currently support HD DVD for monetary reasons. I will purchase a BD player in the future. It will not be until 2009 though when I receive a bonus from my work. I have NOTHING against either format at all. I think both have advantages and disadvantages.

My question is this. I would like to get a few movies that I really like. The 2 I am most interested in are Air Force One and Blackhawk Down. If you were me and knew you had 2 years until a BD player, would you wait and get them in BD or buy them on Superbit now. Neither are crucial right now, but from a PQ and AQ point is the wait of 2 years worth it or upconverting the superbits really good enough?

Just putting together the list for Santa this year and didn't know if I should add the Superbits or wait for the BD player. :)

Thanks guys.

Can't speak for Air Force One, but up-converted BHD DVD will come nowhere near the amazing quality of the BHD BD.

If you were me and knew you had 2 years until a BD player, would you wait and get them in BD or buy them on Superbit now. Neither are crucial right now, but from a PQ and AQ point is the wait of 2 years worth it or upconverting the superbits really good enough?

Superbit comes nowhere near the quality you can expect from good HD. Whether you wait or not it really up to you - if you are desperate for something to watch then go for it, otherwise I'd wait and spend the money on HD-DVDs.

Mark

I can speak for Airforce One as I just received it on Blu-ray and the Superbit is no where near it in-terms of Picture Quality and Audio Quality. So my recommendation would be to wait for the Blu-ray versions if you must.

~Josh

Hey thanks alot for the comments. I do believe in the end I will wait anyways. Like I said, these aren't critical to run out and get the Superbit versions. I just want the best these 2 can have and I will wait the long haul and get the BD's of them.

Thanks again.

If anything at least the superbit versions are in DTS... Still they just don't compare to the real thing... Which is the next gen formats...

Even the "worst" blu-ray disc i've seen is much better than the best superbit DVD.

Even the "worst" blu-ray disc i've seen is much better than the best superbit DVD.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. He might as well take the $20 and sock it away in the old bank account towards the purchase of a Blu-ray player. Hell, stop buying DVDs altogether and you will probably have enough to go Blu- in much less than 2 years.

Hell, stop buying DVDs altogether and you will probably have enough to go Blu- in much less than 2 years.

Exactly. Stop buying HD DVD's too. In a year players will be $300, you could save $300 before then. You could probably get that if you sold your HD DVD player and a few films.

Superbits are good compared to regular dvds, but nothing will match the BD versions of those 2 films.

Wait for blu-ray.

Don't stop buying HD DVDs. You like high def then enjoy it. Don't use this damn "war" as a game. Use it to enjoy high def. If you can get the HD DVD imports of those then do that as an alternative to what was suggested.

Even the "worst" blu-ray disc i've seen is much better than the best superbit DVD.

I disagree. While I'm a big fan of BD, the worst BD in my collection, "House of Flying Daggers" is easily surpassed by the upconverted (by my PS3) Superbit versions of "Seven Years in Tibet," "Bram Stoker's Dracula," and several others.

Don't stop buying HD DVDs. You like high def then enjoy it. Don't use this damn "war" as a game. Use it to enjoy high def. If you can get the HD DVD imports of those then do that as an alternative to what was suggested.

Actually at this point it would be smart to stop buying HDDVDs. It doesn't make sense to throw any more money at a sinking ship.

Actually at this point it would be smart to stop buying HDDVDs. It doesn't make sense to throw any more money at a sinking ship.Dumb advice. It's not like all of a sudden his HD-DVD's are going to stop working or anything. Enjoy HD. :)

BD are way better. that said, two years is quite a way off. i'm sure you can pick the superbits for cheap. i'd get them now.


Hey everyone,

Just looking for some opinions from the users here. I currently support HD DVD for monetary reasons. I will purchase a BD player in the future. It will not be until 2009 though when I receive a bonus from my work. I have NOTHING against either format at all. I think both have advantages and disadvantages.

My question is this. I would like to get a few movies that I really like. The 2 I am most interested in are Air Force One and Blackhawk Down. If you were me and knew you had 2 years until a BD player, would you wait and get them in BD or buy them on Superbit now. Neither are crucial right now, but from a PQ and AQ point is the wait of 2 years worth it or upconverting the superbits really good enough?

Just putting together the list for Santa this year and didn't know if I should add the Superbits or wait for the BD player. :)

Thanks guys.

Even the "worst" blu-ray disc i've seen is much better than the best superbit DVD.
"T5E" SB best the current version on BD.
That's why Sony discontinued the BD & is re-releasing/re-placing the title.
The BD of RoboCop wasn't to hot either, had to be completely pulled from the shelves.

Dumb advice. It's not like all of a sudden his HD-DVD's are going to stop working or anything. Enjoy HD. :)

I guess when his toshiba player stops working and he can't get a replacement then he can use the discs as coasters.

I guess when his toshiba player stops working and he can't get a replacement then he can use the discs as coasters.

?? Why would that happen since there are loads of HD DVD players sold and tons more available? You seem insecure about Blu Ray and its chance of remaining compretitive in the HD market. I am a Blu Ray and HD DVD owner and while I accept that Blu Ray is an inferior format in many ways, I do hope it survives and Sony doesn't kill it off like many think it might.

"T5E" SB best the current version on BD.
That's why Sony discontinued the BD & is re-releasing/re-placing the title.
Disagree. I have the current BD version and the SuperBit SD version. The BD version is noticeably better than the SB version. I've preordered the new BD version (due middle of this month) from Amazon so it will be interesting to do a comparison.

Even the "worst" blu-ray disc i've seen is much better than the best superbit DVD.


Unfortunately not so for me
I received the Bruce Springsteen Live in Dublin BD and it looks worse than many SDdvds I own including Springsteen at MSG. THAT looks MUCH better.
Live in Dublin is a dreadfully disappointing BD. Sound is great though....

:) d

I guess when his toshiba player stops working and he can't get a replacement then he can use the discs as coasters.
It is so sad to see others misinform people like this :(

So your telling me you cant buy a vhs player? a laser disc player? an sacd player?

all of those are old obsolete formats that either never took of or got replaced. pretty much you can still buy them.

IMO dont buy blu ray till they get their stuff together. Fox isnt releasing a dam thing and they are suppose to be the biggest supporter. It just shows you how much confidence they have in blu ray. Plus the bda has said themselfs you wont see a blu ray player for $300 till around 2008. Why wait when an hd dvd player is cheaper then that right now. And you can also use the discs (combos) on any dvd player. So if you buy a childrens movie they can watch it in the car on a trip.

?? Why would that happen since there are loads of HD DVD players sold and tons more available? You seem insecure about Blu Ray and its chance of remaining compretitive in the HD market. I am a Blu Ray and HD DVD owner and while I accept that Blu Ray is an inferior format in many ways, I do hope it survives and Sony doesn't kill it off like many think it might.

Don't waist your time arguing with him he is so brand blinded, you should see his other posts. I own BluRay and HDDVD as well and have a total of 15 HDDVD's and 7 BluRay and while I haven't watched my copy of POC yet the rest of my BD movies do not look as good as my HDDVD's.

I disagree on the Superbit comment as well I have seen two movies on BD that looked horrible and were slightly better in Superbit despite being upconverted. But this is only on BD worst case, typically BD will be much better.

I guess when his toshiba player stops working and he can't get a replacement then he can use the discs as coasters.
If I can still easily find MD players in good condition, HD DVD should be easy to find for a while after its death.

I just watched Air Force One on Blu-ray on my 1080p screen, it is far superior to the Superbit DVD. I believe any digital captures of Superbit DVD's vs BDs of the same title at 1080p will prove this in every single case, if you think the Superbit DVD is better then you got to get your eyes examined (or a new TV!). Superbit DVD was over hyped. Blu-ray is the real deal, upscaled DVD can not touch it.

I just watched Air Force One on Blu-ray on my 1080p screen, it is far superior to the Superbit DVD. I believe any digital captures of Superbit DVD's vs BDs of the same title at 1080p will prove this in every single case, if you think the Superbit DVD is better then you got to get your eyes examined (or a new TV!). Superbit DVD was over hyped. Blu-ray is the real deal, upscaled DVD can not touch it.

In general I agree with you. However, there are some great looking Superbits that when upscaled by my Ps3 and played back on my 42" plasma...look as good as some of the poorer BD. I just watched the Starship Troopers SB upscaled and it looks terrific on the plasma. Same with TFE and Lawrence.

On my 92" screen I am HD all the way.

SW ep.IV upscaled looks much better than the "Bullitt" BD....

I guess when his toshiba player stops working and he can't get a replacement then he can use the discs as coasters.

nah. he can use AnyDVD to burn them to HD then (well, true, and then use the discs as coasters, haha). any the fact that current discs can be cracked is actually why i am not totally nervous, myself, about getting too many in the format that eventually fails and still going ahead full steam in my purchases.

nah. he can use AnyDVD to burn them to HD then (well, true, and then use the discs as coasters, haha). any the fact that current discs can be cracked is actually why i am not totally nervous, myself, about getting too many in the format that eventually fails and still going ahead full steam in my purchases.

in order to burn them to his hd (hard drive in this case), he'd need a hd-dvd drive for his pc. if he can get that then i dont think he'll have any problems finding a stand-alone to play the original discs.

in order to burn them to his hd (hard drive in this case), he'd need a hd-dvd drive for his pc. if he can get that then i dont think he'll have any problems finding a stand-alone to play the original discs.

i'm so used to driving everything by PC i was automatically imagining he was already using a PC for playback, haha, sorry.

but anyway, for those that are, i imagine one format will die before one's pc drive dies, at which time just copy them over, so when it does eventually break, you are set. anyway, if not, borrow one from someone for a few days or have a friend do it if it comes down it at that point, granted perhaps not easy, depending upon who he knows. and then he'd still need a PC to play it back on. but 0by the time the player breaks, hopefully he will have a powerful enough PC for playback (if he doesn't already). anyway, all certainly a bit of a pain in any case. and a format might hold on long enough to get a sizeable collection and yet also be timed so that it is still rather pricey and slow to copy all to HD. but anyway, coasters is a bit much.

Actually at this point it would be smart to stop buying HDDVDs. It doesn't make sense to throw any more money at a sinking ship.
If HD DVD becomes obsolete most of us only spent between $239-$350 for our players, a very mild investment than say BD fans who invested between $600-$1200 for their players (that might become obsolete when IME is provided in a few months). I would be more worried about my expensive hardware going obsolete.
I wouldn't touch a BD player until all specs are finalized, and the players are complete and in the $300 range.

To answer the Op's question, of course BD is far superior to Superbit, I have had both.

If you don't already have them on DVD. I'd say get them they can be had for $10 bucks each in store. Or cheeper if you snoop around online.

When the time comes to get the BD player I'd sell the DVDs for a few bucks. Then get the BD versions. Its all about the movies in the end AF1 is a great movie..
I've held off on a lot of the current DVDs offered on BD as I plan on geting a s300 in the next month or so...

Disagree. I have the current BD version and the SuperBit SD version. The BD version is noticeably better than the SB version. I've preordered the new BD version (due middle of this month) from Amazon so it will be interesting to do a comparison.
And that's why Sony is replacing it for free.
R I G H T ! ! ! :p

i have both Black Hawk Down on blu-ray and superbit. Like everyone else stated, superbit is no where near the PQ of blu-ray...not even close...you're talking about night and day difference.

Blu-Ray players probably hit $200 by the end of the year..no need to wait 2009.

i have both Black Hawk Down on blu-ray and superbit. Like everyone else stated, superbit is no where near the PQ of blu-ray...not even close...you're talking about night and day difference.

Blu-Ray players probably hit $200 by the end of the year..no need to wait 2009.

Very over the top prediction, 200? dont think so. A little cheaper than they are now perhaps.

If HD DVD becomes obsolete most of us only spent between $239-$350 for our players, a very mild investment than say BD fans who invested between $600-$1200 for their players (that might become obsolete when IME is provided in a few months). I would be more worried about my expensive hardware going obsolete.
I wouldn't touch a BD player until all specs are finalized, and the players are complete and in the $300 range.

To answer the Op's question, of course BD is far superior to Superbit, I have had both.

The player is irrelevant. How much did you spend on the discs? What will you play them on when that player inevitably fails?

If HD DVD becomes obsolete most of us only spent between $239-$350 for our players, a very mild investment than say BD fans who invested between $600-$1200 for their players (that might become obsolete when IME is provided in a few months). I would be more worried about my expensive hardware going obsolete.
I wouldn't touch a BD player until all specs are finalized, and the players are complete and in the $300 range.

To answer the Op's question, of course BD is far superior to Superbit, I have had both.

No blu-ray players are going to become 'obsolete' when BD-J 1.1 is released. You will still be able to use all the features except PIP on some discs. I can't think of anything worse than seeing some ugly directors mug in the corner of the screen while I am watching a movie. HD DVD will become obsolete as you will not have any new releases when blu-ray wins the format war.

I think 1080p/24fps, 50GB discs, 54mbps maximum bitrate, scratch resistant surfaces are far more important than PIP.

I think 1080p/24fps, 50GB discs, 54mbps maximum bitrate, scratch resistant surfaces are far more important than PIP.
"1080p 24Hz" HD DVD will do that in the future.
"50GB" HD DVD will do 51GB discs in the future.
"54 mbps" when has this made the PQ of the BD release superior to the HD DVD release (for the same title) ?
"Scratch resistant surface" was a no brainier, yet HD DVD has failed to do so & BD when it was said it couldn't be done; has pulled it off!

I don't have the Superbit committed to memory but I always thought it looked pretty good for Zorro. I have a feeling that the BD which is on its way to me from Netflix will really impress me when I view it. Time will tell.

I picked up Superbit titles long ago when Best Buy was selling then for $9.99 apiece. Any more opinions on comparisons you have made?

Blackhawk Down really looks *great* in HD. I'd save my bucks for HD content and wait for the format war to blow over unless you really want to watch the movie. You can find the DVD for $10-15 so I guess it comes down to how much disposable income you have and how adverse you are to re-buying titles.

I think Blackhawk Down is a Sony title, however. Even if HD-DVD were to win the war (and I'll keep that commentary out of here), it'd be one of the last things to ever make the jump.

Hey everyone,

Just looking for some opinions from the users here. I currently support HD DVD for monetary reasons. I will purchase a BD player in the future. It will not be until 2009 though when I receive a bonus from my work. I have NOTHING against either format at all. I think both have advantages and disadvantages.

My question is this. I would like to get a few movies that I really like. The 2 I am most interested in are Air Force One and Blackhawk Down. If you were me and knew you had 2 years until a BD player, would you wait and get them in BD or buy them on Superbit now. Neither are crucial right now, but from a PQ and AQ point is the wait of 2 years worth it or upconverting the superbits really good enough?

Just putting together the list for Santa this year and didn't know if I should add the Superbits or wait for the BD player. :)

Thanks guys.

In the world of electronics, 2009 is a WORLD away. Much can, and probably will, change by then. That said, I own both HD-DVD and BluRay. I have a Panny BD30 and a Toshiba XA2. I have a decent number of titles for both. I have a JVC RS1 and a big screen. IMO, both look great! It usually comes down to the title. Some have just been mastered better than others, on both sides. I have a few Superbits and they are better than standard DVD's, but can't touch a well mastered HD or BluRay disc.

Too many people continue to ring the death knell for one format or the other. It's too early to call at this point. And I think both may survive. As others have said, though small compared to SD-DVD, HD and BluRay are both selling and growing at this time.

my recollection is that the Superbit version of Air Force One didn't look very good at all.

Even the "worst" blu-ray disc i've seen is much better than the best superbit DVD.

Would that one possibly be "Dracula"??

If so, then I might disagree. I did a comparison between the two, and they were very close (BR=S1, SuperBit=A20). I was disapointed in that one and it went to the used movie store and I kept the superbit mostly due to the much superior audio. and got more return for the BD than the (now nearly worthless DVD's).

The Japanese BD edition of Air Force One and Starship Troopers easily outperforms their Superbit / Deluxe counterparts.

I'd say get the 3 disc version of BHD since there are lots of extras not found on the BR release. Can't speak for AF1 though... Also there is an extended edition of BHD that you should be able to find for cheap, I don't think the BR version is the extended cut...

I have not double dipped yet but I think I'll end up doing so for some at least. I assume the audio would be an upgrade for some also and I have to check more into that before I buy. Hopefully there will be a BOGO soon for at least some of these!! :)

I'd say get the 3 disc version of BHD since there are lots of extras not found on the BR release. Can't speak for AF1 though... Also there is an extended edition of BHD that you should be able to find for cheap, I don't think the BR version is the extended cut...

Sony will surely double dip BHD next year with AVC and PIP.:D

Sony will surely double dip BHD next year with AVC and PIP.:D
Not really necessary. Because it was on a 50gb disc (the very first retail 50gb, I think), the MPEG-2 transfer had plenty of room to breathe. It looks great as-is. A special edition would be the only reason to double-dip for them.

Hey everyone,

Just looking for some opinions from the users here. I currently support HD DVD for monetary reasons. I will purchase a BD player in the future. It will not be until 2009 though when I receive a bonus from my work. I have NOTHING against either format at all. I think both have advantages and disadvantages.

My question is this. I would like to get a few movies that I really like. The 2 I am most interested in are Air Force One and Blackhawk Down. If you were me and knew you had 2 years until a BD player, would you wait and get them in BD or buy them on Superbit now. Neither are crucial right now, but from a PQ and AQ point is the wait of 2 years worth it or upconverting the superbits really good enough?

Just putting together the list for Santa this year and didn't know if I should add the Superbits or wait for the BD player. :)

Thanks guys.

I guess I really don't see the question.

If you seriously want to watch it, then get the SB,

If you don't mind waiting two years, then get the BD.

Simple!

PS. An alternative would be to rent the SD DVD now and buy the BD whenever!

The funny thing is, I saw this thread, started reading though it and thought...wait a minute, this thread should have been closed down a long time ago with the new forum rules. Then I look at the original post dates and see this thing is from the summer...LOL. Then I see people responding to the OP who posted this last summer...doubleLOL!! Its nice to realize how much better the forum is with out the sort of comments that are on the first page of this thread!!

The funny thing is, I saw this thread, started reading though it and thought...wait a minute, this thread should have been closed down a long time ago with the new forum rules. Then I look at the original post dates and see this thing is from the summer...LOL. Then I see people responding to the OP who posted this last summer...doubleLOL!! Its nice to realize how much better the forum is with out the sort of comments that are on the first page of this thread!!

Yeah, I did the same thing - what really threw me was in the original post, he's talking about putting together his list for Santa (seems timely enough...).

Even the "worst" blu-ray disc i've seen is much better than the best superbit DVD.

Ohhhh.... I dunno about that. There are some pretty shoddy transfers from both camps but the worst HD titles are so disappointing that I would disagree with this comment if just because expectations are so high for HD media.

Dracula is a good example. The BD version invokes nausea where as the Superbit version is at least acceptable. Of course this is NOT the norm and in 99% of cases, the BD version kills the Superbit version. There are always exceptions to rules though.... ;)