Lets see Paramount,Dreamworks,Universal and Weinstien/Dimension movies RED Case
Sony, Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, Starz Blue Case
Warner Bros hmm... Maybe Blue or Red


I think both formats can co-exist. Why does their have to be an End? Dual player should get cheaper in the future and it won't really matter anyways.

Lets see Paramount,Dreamworks,Universal and Weinstien/Dimension movies RED Case
Sony, Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, Starz Blue Case
Warner Bros hmm... Maybe Blue or Red


I think both formats can co-exist. Why does their have to be an End? Dual player should get cheaper in the future and it won't really matter anyways.

Like I said in a post that was attacked by some way over-sensitive fanboys - if this type of competition gets godfather on HD DVD a couple years sooner than if only one format was slowly progressing along, drops prices on all players, and gives away free movies, I am all about it.

With tosh/sony locked in a constant battle for market share - customer service improves, product quality goes up with prices headed down.

Anyone who says otherwise shouldnt be into HDM at all.

I have invested in both formats. I love them both. I have also been saying for a long time that this war is no where near a conclusion. This news is probably the biggest since the war started. I just about fell over when I first read this. I honestly thought it was a put on.

Wouldn't this thread fit better in the HDTV Software Media Discussion?

I have invested in both formats. I love them both. I have also been saying for a long time that this war is no where near a conclusion. This news is probably the biggest since the war started. I just about fell over when I first read this. I honestly thought it was a put on.

If you really thought the war was far from over, why would you think this was a put on:confused:

I support both formats.

If Sony had won the war by now, all new high def releases would be arriving with an MSRP of $50.

If you really thought the war was far from over, why would you think this was a put on:confused:

It just took me by surprise, that's all.

I have both and am *LOVING* this war. My heart is with HD DVD so this news is just great. I really enjoy the fight - I've said it before - it adds excitement. No need to be too serious about it, but it's fun to be in the trenches as an early adopter, for sure.

Ive got both its the only way to go if you really love movies.

I support both formats.

If Sony had won the war by now, all new high def releases would be arriving with an MSRP of $50.

Agreed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I have both BD and HD DVD and love them both, but I do think HD DVD has just a tiny bit better picture than BD.

Davyo

^ What Paul said.

Bump all the above.

The autobots are on the hd dvd side.

Honestly, I am format neutral but i do wish this did come down to one format. I am the only one out of my friends who has invested in this. It would be nice not to look like a moron who spends so much money when I talk to my friends about this. To them its confusing. Now this just keeps that confusion going longer for the new customers.

I mean really i cant help but think of all the people there are who bought into one format from their local best buy or whatever and ended up returning it when finding out they couldnt purchase some movie. Its easy for me because im neutral but I would very much prefer one format as a consumer.

I personally play both, but I have been more then dissapointed with Blu-Ray quality.

Just last night I played Invincible on Blu-Ray after watching Hot Fuzz again with some friends. Whoa! Invincible IS BAD! Not as a movie but quality wise. Horrible.

And this is not the only titles. POTC 1 sucked big time with grain and a few other movies I have on BLu-Ray are just plain horrible.

If it wasn't for a few movies I still want to get in Blu-Ray I would be mostly all HD DVD and this is the God honest truth.

Add Dinosaurs to the list of bad transfers. This is the worst video quality of anything I own, which includes 54 hd dvds and 21 Bluray. It truly looks SD:eek:

Greetings

Funny you mention Dinosaurs ... when I put that one it ... I had to go pull the DVD version off the shelf because I thought it was mistakenly put into the Blu container. :D

Kinda like House of Flying Daggers ...

Regards

Greetings

I am enjoying the skirmish a lot. Having 3 machines on the blu side and 5 on the HD side ... I just look forward to more titles and bigger titles and released earlier than expected.

The roll out of DVD was not like this, there might have been content, but it wasn't very interesting content for that first year or more. Not as many heavy hitter titles.

Regards

I have both and loved both. The format war, in my opinion, is a good thing for HD media consumers, irrespective of format. It will drive down prices and help the proliferation of HD material into the mainstream market. The next two years are going to be very interesting!

I have both and also am very happy to have both. It makes me smile every time I see a blu-ray fanboy complain about "two formats are bad for the consumers or J6P," like they really give a damn about anyone else.

The plain reality is that both formats are here now, and they're going to stay. And Sony didn't crush HD DVD like their press releases said, and that just burns up the fanboys.

Man that makes me smile. I sit back and enjoy the banter from the blu-ray side and eat it up. They're scrambling and whining and it's awesome.

By the time the exclusivity deal runs out with Paramount, you'll have seen Gladiator, etc..., and dual format players will be 400-500 bucks.

No win for blu-ray, beautiful.

I have both, but I'm still a big HD DVD fan. I have 20 HD DVDs, but only 5 BDs.

I now have both but I'm still a bigger fan of HD-DVD.

i have both but i hate sony..... hd-dvd is better in picture...

i love movies and feel the movie industry hold the key to the war...

I'll be jumping onto the neutral bandwaggon sometime this holiday season when the new 1.1 compliant players debut. Getting my hands on the Die Hard movies is a must!

I don't care who wins but someone has to win the damn format. I don't want to have 3 sets of dvd collection and makes more confusion if I want to watch a movie at a friends place only to found out they only have one format.

me.

i have both, and like the format war. let's keep it going. IMO, it means both sides will climb over each other to better satisfy me. :)

me.

i have both, and like the format war. let's keep it going. IMO, it means both sides will climb over each other to better satisfy me. :)

acutally, having one format does it better. Having ONE player makes companies slash prices faster and having all studios under one roof makes them fight in the same ring.

Greetings

After 1 year of DVD ... $500 players were not down to $250 ... They were $400.

Regards

With the BluRay Die Hards being announced today, my neutrality has been solidified. By the time those flicks come out, I'll get a PS3. Ain't in a rush, though, but at this point, this is the only way to go, it seems.

I support both formats.

If Sony had won the war by now, all new high def releases would be arriving with an MSRP of $50.

And Sony would have BD+ turned on to the max. And all their release would have the PQ of the original Fifth Element.

I really hope that both formats co-exist. IMO it has driven hardware costs down faster, resulted in more titles and higher PQ. Also, somebody has to keep Sony honest, and to a lesser degree, keep Toshiba honest.

May this format war continue for a long time.

Greetings

After 1 year of DVD ... $500 players were not down to $250 ... They were $400.

Regards

That was in the old days, when things moved at a snail's pace.

I have both formats but prefer HD DVD. But I am glad Paramount did this and I hope it makes a big difference in getting the word out on how good HD DVD is.

I have both.

In past months I've been timid about buying ALL the HD DVD's I've wanted, but after yesterday's announcement, I'll be in full swing again.

I'll be stopping at Fry's tonight for this short but good list.

Waterworld
Cinderella Man
Army of Darkness
Casino

Maybe a few more...

I'll also be ordering a Sammy dual format player. I think dual-formats are the answer now and will be the hot ticket of next christmas.

At first I was disappointed because I wanted one format. But this could be good for people like us. I can't complain too much as now I won't have to retire either of my collections.

My fiancee told me I had to sell the HD-A2 to get the Sammy though :(

Me Me Me :d

I also own both and believe if we didn't have this "format war", prices would still be sky high. But in the end, the ultimate format war will be with DVD, not BD against HD DVD. Until then, both can survive and can continue to release titles. The playing field is a little more level now and I see both doing their best to try and gain market share. It's a good thing for all of us that just want great picture and sound on our HDTVs, no matter what player we are using.

I was an avid HD-DVD supporter. Toshiba jerked me around on some A2 repair issues and ticked me off. I finally have a working player that I'm happy with but lost my love for them. I've since invested in a PS3 and LOVE it as a player and a game machine.

At this point, I'm about as mentally neutral as I can be. Since I'm a dual format owner, I find the news about Paramount interesting and kinda shocking but I really don't care. As long as I have access to all movies, I'm happy.

I can say this though. If I was FORCED to choose ONE format. It would still be HD-DVD. The Universal and WB exclusives are wonderful on the red side. In reality, once I bought the PS3 I really couldn't find much that I wanted to own. Some okay ones to rent but not own. I think my collection will stay mostly red for quite some time.

Either way, I am a HAPPY CAMPER!!! Maybe through this Paramount ordeal, the BDA will rethink their specs and make all the features HD-DVD has as mandatory.

I have both but prefer HD DVD. The latest HD DVD news is great, very exciting. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to some of the announced releases on BD. I wish they were on HD DVD but they're not, so whatever.

EDIT: The part I don't like about the format war is the silly rivalry that springs up. It seems like some people are more interested in being right than watching movies. It's analogous to Xbox 360 vs. PS3. Which one's better? Of course the one I own is better. I like playing games so I have both. I'm human so I have a favorite but I don't live and die by that choice. They're just game systems and they're just optical disc formats. In the long run, who cares one way or the other?

Lets see Paramount,Dreamworks,Universal and Weinstien/Dimension movies RED Case
Sony, Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, Starz Blue Case
Warner Bros hmm... Maybe Blue or Red


I think both formats can co-exist. Why does their have to be an End? Dual player should get cheaper in the future and it won't really matter anyways.

Agree with you. I have an A2 and a PS3. I'll be one of the first in line to buy the Samsung Dual format standalone. I personally hate my A2. Not because its on the red side but in my opinion the 199 I paid still seems to much for this thing that seems clunky and just not something I've really enjoyed since I purchased it.

No skin off my nose regarding yesterday's announcement. I'll probably just buy all the paramounts and wait until the dual format player from Samsung is out before watching them... Yes I'm that unhappy with the A2.

It seems clunky because you have a PS3- which is the exception out there in terms of blu-ray players. Funny thing is, I feel the opposite. I feel my A2 is much more responsive and smoother than my blu-ray player. Based on what I have seen no high definition format stand-alone player can match the speed of a PS3 though. I understand why you may feel the way you do after owning a PS3.

I'm a duel format owner and enjoy movies from both sides. I truly believe that competition from HD DVD is the only reason we saw price drops in the Blu-Ray players. With the recent news from Paramount, I hope we see some affordable dual format players from CE manufacturers in the near future.

I have both, I love both, I prefer HD-DVD. Nonetheless, I have VERY mixed feelings about the war.

First of all, competition would still be raging if one format had prevailed early. If it had been BR... Panasonic, Sony, and Samsung would be racing down the MSRP charts and Pioneer would not be far behind.

Second, I don't think it's at all silly to believe that J6P will not buy while the war is raging. Combo players are going to take a long time to get to his $200 price point and their quality, at least initially, will be inferior to stand-alone players. Because of this, competition will be less intense than if one format had replaced DVD for the great bulk of HDTV owners. As long as we are a niche, we won't see the fiercest competition materialize.

In the short term, I'm very satisfied with what's going on. I'm getting great quality movies and good quality players for acceptable (if not reasonable) prices. Long term, however, I think the format war may delay the time when we see new releases dropping to $9.99 within a few months, as we often do with DVDs.

Previously, BR was motivated to win the war and HD-DVD was motivated to survive the 4Q07 storm. What's happened with Paramount has, I think, obliterated any chance for a near-term victory by either side (unless Warner also jumps to HD-DVD only). Consequently, I'm not sure these companies will remain as motivated to fight the war as they have been.

If the war must go on, I'd rather see one side thinking they have a chance of winning if they just drop their players another $150 and their movies another $5. As it stands now, I think both sides feel quite safe in their position.

JMHO.

in the end what is going to happen that both will survive.

You will have market shares that will be fluctuating depending on who released what that week.

I own both but I can't say I love the format war. I love the fact that it has led to prices dropping much faster than they would have without it. But one thing I hate is the sectarian mentality of the self proclaimed format supporters, AKA fanboys. They're the ones that can't participate in a thread without some snide remark or poke at the other format. They turn what could be an interesting and informative thread into childish, ego driven slap fights

As long as the movies keep coming out, I like having both formats. However I do buy more HD-DVDs than BDs. I enjoy the combo discs as well.

I have an XA2 and a 60gb PS3 and I couldn't be happier. I just love HD movies and don't care what format they're on.

He he, I have both formats and enjoy the exclusive fanboys rants more than anything. It's hilarious to see 15 polls a day asking "What film studio will go exclusive next?" or something stupid along those lines. Like anyone outside the film studio's executive office knows that answer.....:rolleyes:

I just don't get the exclusive mentality. For BD owners, it only costs them $200 to go neutral, for HD DVD owners, it's about double that, but you probably already spent several thousand dollars on your nice, pretty HDTV, audio gear and other equipment - but you can't come up with a few hundred more? Maybe for some folks it's a principle thing - why buy two players just because Hollywood can't all be on the same page.

I waited until the PS3 release to buy a Blu-ray player, which meant that I spent less for my HDA1 and PS3 than my first standard def DVD player. I don't understand why people are so against buying both players especially considering how easy it is to surpass money spent on software compared to hardware.

When friends come over to watch movies I'm not even sure that they are aware that there are even two HD formats on my rack. They are more curious as to why I don't have Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Indiana Jones on HD media. I really don't care about which format movies come out on, I just want a bigger HD library!

Who knows, maybe there will be a definitive split. XBox vs. Playstation, HD DVD vs. BluRay. And that's how it'll always be. Like the old days of Nintento vs. Sega.

I was a 'Blu-Ray' only supporter a few months back, then I got the Xbox 360 with HD-DVD drive and a few titles, since sold it and bought a 2nd hand Toshiba A1 and I am quite happy with it (1080p via my DVDO) and I had a PS3 now a Sony S1

I am happy with 'BOTH' formats and I now own more HD-DVD's than Blu-Ray's (I think more on the region factor than anything else)

The studio's should release titles on both formats, after all it's about watching movies for us and double sales is good for the companies.

Just my 2 cents for today

That was in the old days, when things moved at a snail's pace.

I remember them days! The DVD players were made outta iron! And if you wanted to fast forward, you had to shovel more coal into the boiler! Those were the days, I tell ya....

I do! I do! I love this format war. I hope it continues for at least two more years. By then, I will have a BR and HD-DVD player in every room, my car, my RV and hell, one for the in-laws! All for $200.00 bucks. By then we will have $39.00 players at Wal-Greens!
I love it. Now if we can just get the cost of the media down to $3.99 Wal-Mart bargain bin prices, we will be set!

I own both as well and think this announcement will be a positive for everyone. Let's face it, HD DVD still had a third of the market and wasn't letting go before Paramount/Dreamworks chose to go exclusive. Now that they have, the sides are more balanced and I continue to believe that both formats will last for quite a while now. That should give some more folks confidence to support either format (or sit on the sideline if they are risk averse).

So far, HD DVD gets a list of exlcusive titles from Paramount/Dreamworks. BD gets Fox (and Disney) to announce/re-announce titles which might actually result in releases. The Spiderman set on Amazon dropped from $89 to $65 today helping out the consumer. All this in only 24 hours. I expect plenty of hearty competition to follow.

If the studios don't care about unifying under one format I don't think consumers should get too worked up over it. It seems more likely than ever that this will end in a stalemate and support will ultimately be more widespread for both formats down the line. All's good.

I don't support sony but think BR is good with hd dvd a bit better

I don't own a BD player yet and I think I'll wait until they offer some juicy incentives to counteract HD DVD. So far I count about 10 BD exclusives that I like, but I can't bring myself to buy a $500 PS3 for 10 titles. I own about 60 HD DVDs, however.

I plan to go neutral at some point, but I think I'm going to wait now to see what BD will do in quarter four of this year.

I've been very happy with my HD-DVD experiences. My older A1 and newer A2 have been problem free and get plenty of use.

The media server aspect of the PS3 enticed me to try a used/refurb model on the cheap and I have to say it works great. I only have a few blu titles that Ive picked up used as my tastes tend to run towards the older catalog releases and classics where HD shines. Prices for movies on both formats need to drop. I hate having to hunt around to get what I feel should be the norm on pricing.

until the single format emerges, dual is fine and lets me be selective for titles with no worries about red/blue

The family and I love the HD presentation from these discs.

Another dual format owner(LG) that favors hd-dvd. (even though I have no PIP functions or ability to read their menus) Hd-dvd is consumer friendly, while Blu-ray is company friendly and will backstab their own customers if needed IMO.

Another dual format owner(LG) that favors hd-dvd. (even though I have no PIP functions or ability to read their menus) Hd-dvd is consumer friendly, while Blu-ray is company friendly and will backstab their own customers if needed IMO.

There both consumer friendly, and if Toshiba would have agreed to go with one format years ago as Sony agreed with them about DVD we might not be in this mess. But 80% or more of these lately are specuation.. and BS too boot. ;)