I got the Walmart PS3 10 movie deal to join my HD-a2 player...I am now at peace. :)

Good decision.

Congrats! now go buy Ratatouille:D

What ten movies did you pick up? Welcome to the best format possible. The purple format.

You made a wise decision. Now, expect to pay $10 per movies now and build up your collection :)

There is nothing like being neutral. You get to watch whatever movie you want. You will enjoy it!

If everybody was format nuetral on here, there would be no bickering over "what's the better format" bs...just harmony.

Format nuetral for 3 months now...and loving it!
__________________
Toshiba A2 / HD DVDs: 11
Philips BDP9000/ BDs: 6

Format neutral here as well.

Welcome to the Purple club.... the REAL enthusiasts video club. No bickering or worrying about what studio gets what titles. You get them all in their HD glory.

:D

Welcome to the Purple club.... the REAL enthusiasts video club. No bickering or worrying about what studio gets what titles. You get them all in their HD glory.

:D


+1. I sometimes forget that X titles is exclusive when discussing upcoming releases etc. Why? Cause being neutral means never having to worry about "if" I can buy a specific release....we can just enjoy HD movies for the sake of movies.

Like others have pointed out, it would be nice if everyone had that luxary or desire to be format neutral.

Congrats. Nothing is as good as opening yourself to all HD movies available regardless of the format.

That 10 free at check out and 5 free in the mail is about the best deal going at the moment. I considered picking up an extra player, but decided against it. I all ready own a ps3 and a stand alone Blu Ray player.

Congrats, I think you will be more than impressed.

All very well said comments here! Im 'purple' as well and it is def the best format to be :)

Consider me a new member of the purple club. I picked up the 80gb PS3 at WM this last weekend.

No more format war for me!
BTW, the Pixar films look great! I just wish that Disney would knock it off with the forced ads and trailers. I just want to see the movie. Other than that I love my new PS3.

I just wish that Disney would knock it off with the forced ads and trailers. I just want to see the movie. Other than that I love my new PS3.

You can skip ads and trailers on Disney movies by pressing the R2 button on the PS3 controller.

Toshiba A20 and Panasonic BD30 owner, and proud to be format neutral. I for one am glad that there is competition for the two formats, it works for the gaming industry why not this.

If there was just one format, where would the prices be, would we have a 99.00 HD player, BR players are starting to come down now, to me this competition means better deals for the consumer.

just my 2 cents worth, I like having both formats.:)

Add in another.........thanks to the evil people on this forum (<- joke) :D

It is nice to watch whatever you want.

And the "Rat" is the best transfer I've seen on either format.

Yes, I also picked up the 80GB about 3 weeks ago. Sold a few games at GS so the system was $300 after tradeins. Although if id have known about the deal id have waited.

Went neutral this past Black Friday by picking up the PS3. It's a weight off my shoulders knowing I can watch just about any HD movie now. :)

I'm another purple enthusiast: Xbox 360 Add on, and PS3 both seemed fairly low risk ventures into each format. I figured either I would have, two players if both survive, worst case an extra external DVD drive if Blu wins, or an extra game console/media center if Red wins. I've been more than happy with both formats.

My BD movies do seem a little better in PQ than my HDs, but I am almost positive that is because my PS3 is simply a better player than my 360 AO and not because of anything having to do with the format. I have a 120Hz SXRD and the 1080p24 is awesome on the PS3, unfortunately I can only get 1080i60 out of the 360 AO through Component. One day when things get cheaper I might get something like the Tosh A35 to fully take advantage of both formats.

I'm another purple enthusiast: Xbox 360 Add on, and PS3 both seemed fairly low risk ventures into each format. I figured either I would have, two players if both survive, worst case an extra external DVD drive if Blu wins, or an extra game console/media center if Red wins. I've been more than happy with both formats.

My BD movies do seem a little better in PQ than my HDs, but I am almost positive that is because my PS3 is simply a better player than my 360 AO and not because of anything having to do with the format. I have a 120Hz SXRD and the 1080p24 is awesome on the PS3, unfortunately I can only get 1080i60 out of the 360 AO through Component. One day when things get cheaper I might get something like the Tosh A35 to fully take advantage of both formats.

Sounds like you are in the same situation as me :) My two players are the PS3 and the 360 w/add-on. I also one day want to upgrade from the add-on to an A35, XA2 or similar.

A good maneuver, my young padawan, but you've still not turned completely from the darkside. You must resist the red laser urge and follow the Blu to be fully at peace. :)

Wolfie

neutral is the best way to go.... long live movies in HD.....

Same here... I've had a XB AO since launch and thought it was great. I just got a HD-A2 for $98 and saw it was better (than the AO) then this PS3 +10 (& 5) came along and I knew it was time to go Purple. I realize that hardware has a lot to do with PQ, and the PS3 is an exceptional BD player. While i didn't care for the story/dialog i have to admit Meet the Robinsons looked amazing on my 60" XRB2 SXRD. I'm looking forward to the new choices from Netflix and will be eager to see some BOGO's return to BR soon!

Welcome to the club. :D

You can skip ads and trailers on Disney movies by pressing the R2 button on the PS3 controller.

Thanks for the tip phansson, I'll try that. I'm such a BR noobie!!! :-)

If everybody was format nuetral on here, there would be no bickering over "what's the better format" bs...just harmony.

Format nuetral for 3 months now...and loving it!
__________________
Toshiba A2 / HD DVDs: 11
Philips BDP9000/ BDs: 6

Maybe, but some of us just hate to have to have two sets of movie colections and two players to playe them on! I like ONE player and one collection. I am in this forum so you know I stand with the top dog.

I'm another purple enthusiast: Xbox 360 Add on, and PS3 both seemed fairly low risk ventures into each format. I figured either I would have, two players if both survive, worst case an extra external DVD drive if Blu wins, or an extra game console/media center if Red wins. I've been more than happy with both formats.

My BD movies do seem a little better in PQ than my HDs, but I am almost positive that is because my PS3 is simply a better player than my 360 AO and not because of anything having to do with the format. I have a 120Hz SXRD and the 1080p24 is awesome on the PS3, unfortunately I can only get 1080i60 out of the 360 AO through Component. One day when things get cheaper I might get something like the Tosh A35 to fully take advantage of both formats.

I'm really interested in that 120hz technology. So it only works on 24p output? I was under the impression that two things happen on SOME 120hz sets. Interpolation (creating frames between frames, lending to smoother appearance on movement) and 5:5 playback instead of 3:2 pull down which causes perceptible judder.

So far I feel like my PS3 has superior audio output than my A3, but it could just be the titles used on HD DVD so far. Haven't figured out if one does better internal decoding or not.

My dual format PC drive arrived today. Plays HD-DVD fine, now I'm off to get some movies in blue to see if that side works as well. I still prefer HD-DVD and would like it to eventually win the war (in a couple of years, probably). But for the time being, I'm fine with a single device that can play them all.

Maybe, but some of us just hate to have to have two sets of movie colections and two players to playe them on! I like ONE player and one collection. I am in this forum so you know I stand with the top dog.

Why segregate your HD DVD and BD's (I only have one set)? The cases are the same size so just put them together because they don't discriminate the way so many people on the forums do. Also buy a dual format player and you will not even need to concern yourself with the color of the cases.;)

I'm really interested in that 120hz technology. So it only works on 24p output?...
Actually 120Hz works equally well with 24Hz or 60Hz.;)

okay, i'm looking at walmart.com and i see the PS3 which includes the mail in 5 blu rays, but i don't see anything about the 10 free blu rays at check out??

I just went format neutral myself this weekend. I thought about the Walmart PS3 deal, but could not find 5 movies I wanted, let alone 10.

So I went with the Best Buy Sharp BD-HP20U and 5 instant free movies (they have a much better selection). Plus I still get the 5 movie rebate, although this selection is not as good as my HD DVD freebie selection was.

Why segregate your HD DVD and BD's (I only have one set)? The cases are the same size so just put them together because they don't discriminate the way so many people on the forums do.

I agree, all my blue & red discs are intermingled. It's all HD, I could really care less which format :D

okay, i'm looking at walmart.com and i see the PS3 which includes the mail in 5 blu rays, but i don't see anything about the 10 free blu rays at check out??

This was a Friday/Saturday in-store only special.

I'm really interested in that 120hz technology. So it only works on 24p output? I was under the impression that two things happen on SOME 120hz sets. Interpolation (creating frames between frames, lending to smoother appearance on movement) and 5:5 playback instead of 3:2 pull down which causes perceptible judder.

So far I feel like my PS3 has superior audio output than my A3, but it could just be the titles used on HD DVD so far. Haven't figured out if one does better internal decoding or not.
I just watched Ratatouille on a friend's Sony XBR4 (120hz, judder removal and frame interpolation) fed by a PS3 with 1080p24 output, and it does appear to be smoother than my Sharp D62U - although I can only seem to definitively tell a difference when watching the closing credits, or when seeing very slow panning from side to side. IMVHO, the judder removal is more significant to PQ improvement than the frame interpolation. I agree that the RAT is the best looking hi-def movie I've seen.

I just watched Ratatouille on a friend's Sony XBR4 (120hz, judder removal and frame interpolation) fed by a PS3 with 1080p24 output, and it does appear to be smoother than my Sharp D62U - although I can only seem to definitively tell a difference when watching the closing credits, or when seeing very slow panning from side to side. IMVHO, the judder removal is more significant to PQ improvement than the frame interpolation. I agree that the RAT is the best looking hi-def movie I've seen.

Thanks jackc04 and William. I've only briefly watched Transformers at CC on a Samsung. I have no idea what settings it was on or if it was doing the 5:5 pulldown but it did seem to be doing the interpolation for sure. Would love to check out Rat as well as some action movies in my home, but out of budget right now.

I can't wait until the price on these suckers come down some. I also, haven't noticed if any Plasma's have these features yet or are planned but would love to see them if/when they do come.

I've just watched Ratatouille on my dual-format PC drive mentioned earlier. Here's a couple of observations:

- the transfer was pretty good, in line with what I'm accustomed to on HD-DVD;
- the first title that came up said that depending on the player, it may take 2-3 minutes to load up the movie. Fortunately, it took only about 20 seconds;
- there was an endless stream of previews; I'll have to figure out an easier way to get to the movie;
- after selecting play on the main menu, it took another couple of titles until the movie finally began;
- the popup menu felt a lot clunkier than the ones in HD-DVD. My understanding is that this is actually the advanced type, and that most other movies only have plain DVD style menues;
- the game was ok;
- the disk was a lot more expensive than $10;
- 45 GB, ouch.

So, it appears I'll only be getting blu-ray exclusives (unless it's a flipper combo), but it's great to be able to enjoy the entire HD library.

I own BR and HD DVD, but I am not neutral. I still hope that Bluray wins, simply because I like having the extra disc space and bitrate. I think the best media should win. If HD DVD came out with a 50 gb disc with the same bitrate, then I could really care less who wins.

It is nice to know that any movie that comes out in HD, I can get if I want.

neutral as well. There should be a neutral thread sticky one so we can all avoid
all the bickering from both hd fanatics.

Welcome to purple...its the best :)

I'm really interested in that 120hz technology. So it only works on 24p output? I was under the impression that two things happen on SOME 120hz sets. Interpolation (creating frames between frames, lending to smoother appearance on movement) and 5:5 playback instead of 3:2 pull down which causes perceptible judder.

So far I feel like my PS3 has superior audio output than my A3, but it could just be the titles used on HD DVD so far. Haven't figured out if one does better internal decoding or not.

There's a list of displays capable of accurately showing 24p (surprisingly it was in the dual format players thread last I looked). You get a few things with 120 Hz. First you can play 24p natively, which gives you this work flow:
24p content -> disc -> player that outputs 24p -> display
This will result in there being no frame rate processing on your video at all. This is probably the purest way to watch film content.

In the case where you have media that has been converted you get this:
24p content -> 3:2 pulldown -> 30fps content -> disc -> player -> display -> reverse 3:2 pulldown -> 24fps content

If everything is working right this recovers the original content and will display it without the 3:2 pulldown artifacts (or judder). I noticed this while watching my 360 AO at 1080i, I then turned on Cinemotion Auto 2 (Sony A3000) and the judder went away.

Then you can tell your set to do various things with the 24p image. With my set I can either have it just display the frame 5 times (5:5) if I leave all the motion enhancers off (except Cinemotion if I am watching non 24fps film based material), I can turn on interpolation (Imagine a pixel at location A moves to location C between frames with interpolation it will be displayed at location B during the intermediate screens), or I can replace some of the intermediate screens with black screens (I haven't really played with this) which some people thinks makes the motion look more natural.

Hope that answers any questions you have.

Edit: Yes a 120 Hz display can display signal coming in at 24, 30, or 60Hz because they are all evenly divided into 120.

Hey all , add me to the purple club! Picked up a 40GB PS3, a wireless router and am now streaming all my media from my second floor office to my HT in the basement! This thing is awesome:D. I have already picked up a few movies and will be looking for more bogos.

BR discs so far,
SM3...free
Live Free or Die Hard...holy moly..killer PQ and AQ
Hairspray...awesome.
Patriot
The Prestige
Fifth Element Remaster...havent seen it yet on blu.
Underworld

Fan noise is very quiet, PQ and AQ is excellent, I give the edge to the PS3over my A2 possibly because of 1080P output even though my Z5 PJ is 720P native, perhaps its just the PQ of the films I have watched on it.

Overall, very impressed indeed and super happy to be enjoying ALL HDM!!

Welcome to purple...its the best :)

Hey AVS it may be time to add a Purple forum to the HDTV section :)

Add me to the list, finally got a ps3 was so neutral now 4 me..
what is funny is that I had about 13 BR movies and never got the player until 20 minutes ago... go figure

I was format neutral even when I only owned a HD DVD player. I simply cannot be so emotionally immature to actually root for either side. :D

Hey AVS it may be time to add a Purple forum to the HDTV section :)

*cough* (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=114)

I've been purple since May or so. I love it.

There are still plenty of movies that need to come out for either format though! :(

Mr Zoid

I still don't understand when you people own both formats but say that you are neutra. Neutral means:

"a position of disengagement."

Therefore, if you have engaged in any or both formats, you are no longer neutral as you have engaged. Picking both sides does not make you neutral, only picking NO side does.

I have owned an HD A2 for a few months now and I love HDM. I jumped on the HD DVD wagon because I got the player for a song. I haven't been able to justify the purchase of another HDM player at the $400 price point until a couple of days ago. My ps2 has exceeded its useful life and is still under warranty so I have a voucher coming from BB in a week or so. With some of the sales of BOGO and B2G1, I've gone ahead and started buying up some Blu Ray movies since I figure now is as good a time as any to buy a ps3 and be able to watch any movie I want regardless of the color of the case. It's also much easier to justify the cost of the machine with the voucher knocking off almost 50% of the price. I can't wait to see POTC 1, 2, and 3 in HD. Ratatouille is on the way here as well. This movie pretty much convinced be that I needed a blu ray player when I saw it running at a local sam's club on a 52" LCD. Just unreal PQ. Ratatouille is also the first movie I ever took my oldest son to and it holds sentimental value for me so I have to own it in HD. See how I just justified my purchase again... ;)

I still don't understand when you people own both formats but say that you are neutra. Neutral means:

"a position of disengagement."

Therefore, if you have engaged in any or both formats, you are no longer neutral as you have engaged. Picking both sides does not make you neutral, only picking NO side does.

My dictionary says Neutral means: "Not favoring either side".;)

I don't know about anyone else, but as the OP I took neutral as in i don't want either format to die. Competition between the 2 will keep prices in check. If there was just 1 format I bet the average player would still be near 600 dollars (or more) and movies would be 40 bucks.

As for the free 10 movies i got

Ratatioulle (or however that thing is spelled)
Die hard 1
Die hard 2
Pirates 1
Pirates 2
License to Wed (wife's pick, I couldn't be all greedy for myself)
Final Fantasy the spirits within
House of flying daggers
Underworld
Bram Stoker's Dracula

Now, since this was walmart i didn't expect an extraordinary selection but i guess i did ok considering. They only had 4 80 gig ps3's for the deal and i was 3rd in line, so i felt kinda lucky as well!

Only watched Ratat so far since wife and i have been busy with other stuff, but i look forward to watching the other things.

Wow.

I should start a thread each morning about what kind of cereal I ate.

No seriously, good for you, I'm neutral too.

Not like you got jumped into the crips when you've been a life long blood:confused:

My dictionary says Neutral means: "Not favoring either side".;)


Well I got mine from the AMerican Heritage Dictionary. They both mean the same thing. When you deal with both sides, you may not choose a side, but you are not nuetral because you are engaging in it. Swizterland IS neutral because they do no favor any sides as they do not do in times or war. Mmmm... This format battle is a war, so NOT choosing sides makes you neutral, but choosing one or both makes you an active participant.

It is the same thing with the studios. Is Most are on one side, they have chosen a side of course. If some are on both sides, then they are still not neutral because they chose to participate. Being neutral means not dealing with either side.

Why segregate your HD DVD and BD's (I only have one set)? The cases are the same size so just put them together because they don't discriminate the way so many people on the forums do. Also buy a dual format player and you will not even need to concern yourself with the color of the cases.;)
+1. I decided to combine mine also, and it doesn't look bad at all. It would be cool if they distributed purple cases. I would buy them.

Interesting that most of the new "neutral" posters here became neutral by recently picking up a PS3...

That's because the PS3 is cheaper or at least very near in price to a standalone blu ray player. Why get a standalone player when you can get a great blu-ray player and a gaming platform, with all the extras that come with a PS3.

Interesting that most of the new "neutral" posters here became neutral by recently picking up a PS3...

I had a xbox 360 HD-DVD add on for my PC for 6 months
Then I purchased the Pioneer 202 Blu-Ray drive, for the same PC

I don't care about the disk a movie comes on, just the picture quality (and audio quality) and the PACKAGING.

Why do we get such bare bones packaging on either format ...... I'm still buying DVDs to get the nice digipacks and booklets.
(for example Blade Runner 5 dvd collectors edition .... in the post to me tonight)

I am neutral, but very upset. I have to buy an extra set of HD cables, find extra space in my equipment cabinet, get an HDMI switcher for video and replace my receiver for more digital audio inputs. Why nobody mentions these extra costs and hassles? I assume everybody knows real estate in a dedicated HT is very expensive.

Swizterland IS neutral because they do no favor any sides as they do not do in times or war.


:D what a poor example of your theory! During WWII they were holding and transfering funds for all, nazis, commies, jews or the allies. Yeah they were neutral as far as the war, but when money was concerned they were engaged big time.

Interesting that most of the new "neutral" posters here became neutral by recently picking up a PS3...
Screw PS3, the Pana BD30 is the one I've been waiting for the last 6 months.

Please tell me you got your Integra by now!

Why do we get such bare bones packaging on either format ......
The early years of DVD were the same way.;)

Screw PS3, the Pana BD30 is the one I've been waiting for the last 6 months.

Please tell me you got your Integra by now!

As soon as my 9.8 gets here:(, I replace my BD10 with the BD30.
Ordered June 30.:mad:

Interesting that most of the new "neutral" posters here became neutral by recently picking up a PS3...

Not me - I bought a 60GB PS3 a few months ago and just picked up a $99 A2 at Walmart a few weeks ago. Still favor the blu side, though.

I want to go purple but my wife will not be happy if I told her I need one more dvd player although it is only $100. I guess I will wait to see who will win, and go from there. If BD wins great, if HD wins, at least I have game console. :)

:D what a poor example of your theory! During WWII they were holding and transfering funds for all, nazis, commies, jews or the allies. Yeah they were neutral as far as the war, but when money was concerned they were engaged big time.

Well even in the HD race, neutral people are checking things out. However, my example was dead on. You even admitted it.

Welcome to the club. I have had both formats (A1, then my XA2 for HD DVD and my PS3 for Blu-ray) since Nov. last year! And I'm VERY happy not having to worry about which movies are on which formats, or missing out on some tasty HD material! I get both.

The PS3 is a phenomenal Blu-ray player as well. Have you updated its firmware to 2.01 yet?

Hi,

I just did the same and got a PS3. I would never have wanted to admit it, but BD movies just seem to work better then HD DVD. For example one of the big reasons I liked the idea of HD DVD was the combo disc idea. Well it was a great idea that is all, I could never get one combo disc to play! I do not want to stir the pot but having both formats I feel like I can truly give an opinion. While BD's don't have all the web enabled stuff, I have never had one that didn't play......... So much for the thinner protective plastic!! Well let the movies begin!!! Throw them both at me, just make sure there are no combo disc's!

Well even in the HD race, neutral people are checking things out. However, my example was dead on. You even admitted it.
Did I, where?

I want to be neutral, but I also want my HD releases of movies from studios who are currently on HD-DVD's side to have better audio tracks, and I know I probably won't get that if blu-ray doesn't flat out win. Ideally, we would just have all studios making movies for both formats and people could just friggin choose. Title exclusivity is the only annoying aspect of this war.