Meridian and Onkyo announce HD-DVD players

Is the press release out somewhere, or are you there?

When will these players be officially announced by those companies? When will they be available? Features? Why weren't these details ready for this press release? Have they not noticed there is a format war going on?

oh no !! another sleepless day

Great news!

$3000 means it will zero impact on the format war.

Hopefully it will be an absolutely stellar player though for those willing to fork out that kind of dough. And maybe it will have resume even if the disc doesn't support it.

While this is good news in general for HD DVD, high-end customers who buy this expensive equipment really like to buy something that will last a while.

At the present, people in this category that I know are waiting for clarity about the format war. I know one person with a $300K HT who is considering buying a Blu-ray player (he is looking at the Panasonic) but this is just a stop-gap until things clarify. Others are buying new upscaling players. People I know at the boutique stores tell me they have lists for the Pioneer, which is beginning to move.

Nevertheless, the benefit for HD DVD is that it validates their product in that these companies are willing to step forward.

3G is quite a bit of change for an undecided format. Wow. I'm sure it will be built like a tank and have DAC's from hell.

Yeah exactly. Meridian doesn't really matter in the greater context of a format war. So this "good news for HD DVD" isn't really significant, even if it is encouraging for some for HD DVD.

@Bugs

The great news content may be referring to the Onkyo as well, or the fact there are more CE's having confidence in HD-DVD. Meridian being willing to devote R&D into a player this early is comforting for some.

Cheers...
Duy-Khang Hoang

Meridian making a HD DVD means zero impact but it also means credibility.

Bob Meridian wouldn't put his name on a crappy product.

Or maybe it's yet another Toshiba rebadge, now that they've lost RCA...

I really doubt Onkyo would rebadge.

With Meridian onboard only HD-DVD can claim a high-end player, it's a bit like Honda making an engine that is adopted by Ferrari. HD-DVD needed this IMO.

Hmurchison, it is Bob Stuart and Alain Boothroyd, not Bob Meridian.

tsd2005 and BuGsArEtAsTy, your comments do little more than demonstrate your ignorance. "Since when did Meridian make anything that impacts any format". Have you not heard of MLP?

"MLP has been adopted as the definitive coding system to deliver the highest quality sound on DVD Audio, HD-DVD and BluRay." Source 'http://www.meridian-audio.com/p_mlp_in.htm'

I'd suggest that Meridian has had a very real 'impact' on both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. You wouldn't enjoy next gen audio on either format without Meridian.

I'll wait and see how creditible this article is, because I agree that $3K does appear a little on the low side.

Maybe it's $3,000 for a HD-DVD upgrade of the G98DH...

If you actually were following the discussion, you'd realize we were talking about Meridian hardware and the format war.

A $3000 player form Meridian will have no impact on the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray format war, just like they had absolutely no impact on the DVD-A vs. SACD format war, just like they had absolutely no impact on the adoption of DVD as a format.

To claim otherwise is just wishful thinking.

Meridian isn't the "bigest and Badest", but it is highly respected in the high-end audio community. They've been one of the leaders in digital audio since CDs first came out. Will they have an impact on the "war"? Its hard to say. Quality-wise, they are so far above any of the other companies that will be putting out either HD DVD or Blu-Ray players. If they sell, and there is a market for high-end gear, it may encourage other High-end companies to join in.
Time will tell.
J

The big difference will be the Chinese players in 2007, but I still wouldn't under estimate the value of having Meridian onboard.

Except your ignoring the other low cost manufacturers that were mentioned besides Onkyo and Meridian. More low cost CE's will mean low cost HD-DVD players to the market.

Good news.

There are few people shrewder and smarter than Bob Stuart (aka Bob Meridian), so if he is intereted in HDDVD enough to make a palyer .. well, that is encouraging news! Of course, he also made a DVD-A player .....

Do agree that a player at a $3,000 (or more ... a lot more, I suspect) will make no impact on the battle for the mass market.

Simon

Actually, I think the inclusion of the low cost manufacturers is very big news for the format.

I am also very encouraged by MS and Broadcom's joint announcement of an HD DVD SoC solution.



Well, Meridian stands to gain from HD DVD, as TrueHD support is mandatory on HD DVD. So the cynic my argue that they prefer HD DVD because it's in their best interest to do so.

The bottom line is that there will be plenty of HD DVD players to chose from ranging from inexpensive to expensive. The two spurious arguments - no 1080p players and only one manufacturer against HD DVD are now moot! If HD DVD has 51gb discs by the end of 2007 then what?

Cheers,

Grant

Meridian won't affect the format war strictly in terms of sales of players, but it counts a lot because of the credibility it attaches to the format. And it's good for marketing the format and adding a symbol to the HD DVD list. I think this is very cool, and I also think that Blu-ray would LOVE to have a high end presence. Would HD DVD have preferred Denon? Sure, but I'll bet they are quite pleased with what they are getting.