[Gargoyle_AA2]

Once DVDs came out I NEVER watched another VHS movie. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. To me, DVD was so much better that it pained me to go back to the way VHS looked.


Flash forward to today. I've had HD for a month. I have seen enough movies in HD that DVDs now look bad to me. I keep thinking about how much better this will look when I see it in HD. When Bugs Life was on ABC a couple weeks ago I did an A/B comparison between the HD and DVD, and it almost made me sick how bad the DVD looked in comparison.


To this point I've invested a lot of money in DVDs. But now I'm questioning is it really worth it to keep investing in a medium the I feel will be obsolete in the next 2 years with the advent of HD-DVD. If my past history is an indication, I won't be likely to go back a look at these old DVDs at that point.


Is anyone else having this issue, or do I just need psychiatric help?

 

[Vlad_Dracule]

I am not having this issue.......... yet.


I say that because I do not have any HD yet. I definately had the same reaction between VHS and DVD as you did and this is why I fear that getting HDTV will ruin my DVD experience. Only time will tell..........


P.S. - If there are any members who are willing to purchase a cheap (display model or whatever) Dish 6000 or RCA DTC-100 and then sell it to me for a slight profit I am all ears!! .

 

[J.H.]

Yes DVD is ruined because of HD.I ve had HD from Cablevision since JULY 03 and I notice that I have been watching and buying less and less DVDs.It so weird because DVD blew away VHS and regular TV so I stopped watching VHS and regular TV.Now HDTV blows away DVd and the cycle starts again.I cannot wait for HD-DVD as it will probably blow away HDTV.I believe that when HD-DVD comes out it will probably be better than HDTV.First you will get to watch what you want when you want and you'll get in OAR not cropped.Attack of the clones blown up shows flaws.Attack of the clones on HD-DVD in OAR will not show flaws.So lets get HD-DVD soon!please! J.H.

 

[eweiss]

Sit farther back from your TV.


Save your DVDs for the guest room/bedroom TV and/or your car!

 

[hoyalawya]

I also feel the same way. I have kind of a plan for this. Once the standard is reached between the manufacturers, I am dumping almost every DVD I own on eBay.

 

[Shaded Dogfood]

Once HD arrives and everything starts coming out with price points similar to DTheater or laserdiscs, we'll see just how big a collection everyone will be able to amass and how happy everybody will be.


Plus, I still wonder just how willing the content providers will be to let loose transfers of their product that approach the resolution of film.


Better enjoy the great depth of availability that DVD's offer while it's out there. A lot of this stuff may not be available in whatever format comes next.


And if they work out movies on demand in high definition through the internet, the need to amass a collection will sort of evaporate...

 

[Cliff Olson]

Quote:

Originally posted by eweiss Sit farther back from your TV. Save your DVDs for the guest room/bedroom TV and/or your car!

Hmmm. Maybe that's why I'm not "blown away" by HDTV. I sit 14' away. On my system, DVDs still look pretty damn good, and actually, almost as good as D* HD. Even my ISF Tech said this when we were testing out some DVDs after he'd calibrated my set... Maybe it's D* compression?? I don't think my DVD gear could be that good

 

[HTCrazy]

I've had HD (with a recordable TIVO like box) for about 5 months. I've completely stopped buying DVD's, but will do the occasional rental when something I really want to see hits the streets. But yes, when HD-DVD comes to pass, looking at old DVD's will be painful.


That said, since I purchased the Samsung DVI DVD player, to my eyes it really does meet DVD and HD half way, and I now can fully enjoy a quality DVD transfer. Before the DVI player though, I just couldn't stand DVD quality anymore (on my 108" FP setup).

 

[dueric]

I'm gonna have to disagree with the topic. Sure, sports on HDTV are, well.....amazing, for lack of a better word. And prime time content that was actually made for HDTV is also stunning. But as far as movie content is concerned, I'd still rather watch a DVD. I was checking out Gladiator on ABC, and sure it was better than SD, much, much better. But much, much better than DVD, I'm not going to go that far. A Bug's life was incredible, still not much better than DVD in my eyes. I won't even touch the upconveted, cropped mess that HBO calls HD. Sure it's better than SD, but cmon, blows away DVD?


Maybe my 34HS510 and XP30 are limiting my awe of movies on HDTV. But until they start making movies in HD resolutions and display them properly, my dvd collection, which is at about 200+, will continue to grow.


Just my 2 cents.

 

[b2bonez]

It will be something like 2 years before all of the HD-DVD wars are over

and anything gets to market. 2 more years of DVD player sales and title

releases. Right now the DVD market is turning into a biggest cash

cow that Hollywood has. Every bit of movie stock has the potential

to generate revenue again.


Somehow I think upsetting the DVD market is going to look like

a very risky move to transition to HD-DVD 2 years from now.


The only thing I could see is a flipper STD DVD-HD DVD hybrid

with hybrid players coming to market. And then that means

Hollywood will have to get their collective "panties" out of a bunch

about putting HD content out to the masses.


b2b

 

[hibernian1]

I've got the Sammy HD-921 DVD player and a DVI cable and my DVD's look almost as good as my HDTV. Maybe its your DVD player?

 

[EC]

I thought HDTV would spoil me silly but it has not because:


- the HD movie preview ended and I did not resubscribe. So I don't know what I'm mising. The few HD movies I caught were not in DD but instead good ol stereo

- I don't like renting DVDs and similarly will not pay for a PPV HD movie

- at times crushed blacks

- flexibility, I can watch DVDs anytime and pause or stop it


I agree sports on HD and the stuff on PBS is truly amazing. When HD-DVDs come out then I will be spoiled silly but that is a few years away IMO.

 

[DaveFi]

I still watch a decent OAR DVD over the same HD movie cropped. In fact I mostly refuse to watch any cropped movies at all.


The only exceptions I make are for films shot Super35 (opened up, not zoomed) and for stuff I really don't care about either way (something I'd never rent, etc).

 

[bosng]

i also think it may be your dvd player. are you using htpc? or a player with dvi? compared to a standard dvd player the aformentioned options will be signicantly better. not kidding. i will never use the ol standard puppy ever again (unless i'm watching a 12" tv while washing dishes) so hold onto those dvd's or sell them to me! cheap! cmon they're not worth the disk they're printed on right?

 

[tm22721]

We have finally gotten to a point with DVD that the source quality exceeds that of the TV display when you consider that the average TV is only 27" SD.


HD-DVD will not obsolete DVD because the average home TV is not yet good enough to show the difference.


Even on my Marquee 8000 projector films in HD appear little better than the average DVD due to the graininess and low frame rate of film material. The difference with HD camera material is breathtaking but there is not enough content yet.


So hold onto those DVDs they won't be obsolete until the average screen is a 54" HDTV and most content is shot in HD - maybe 15 years from now.

 

[CptnRandy]

Quote:

Originally posted by dueric I'm gonna have to disagree with the topic. Sure, sports on HDTV are, well.....amazing, for lack of a better word. And prime time content that was actually made for HDTV is also stunning. But as far as movie content is concerned, I'd still rather watch a DVD. I was checking out Gladiator on ABC, and sure it was better than SD, much, much better. But much, much better than DVD, I'm not going to go that far. A Bug's life was incredible, still not much better than DVD in my eyes. I won't even touch the upconveted, cropped mess that HBO calls HD. Sure it's better than SD, but cmon, blows away DVD? Maybe my 34HS510 and XP30 are limiting my awe of movies on HDTV. But until they start making movies in HD resolutions and display them properly, my dvd collection, which is at about 200+, will continue to grow. Just my 2 cents.

I agree. The Superbowl was great in HD. When TiVO rolls out an affordable HD unit I'll enjoy watching broadcast TV in HD.


But for movies, it's just not that big a difference. When HD-DVD (or whatever they call it) becomes commercially popular, I'll put in a unit, but I don't think I'll be dumbing the DVDs I've collected.


I'm still holding out for the home hologram units.


Randy

 

[Aliens]

Not a consideration for me and I just love my HD. I can always view a DVD whenever I want, as well as stop and start at will, or simply put, convenience. Most have added features that I really enjoy. The sound will usually be 5.1 and many times I get to choose between DTS and DD.


Regardless the technology, the DVD will be here for many years to come, so I wouldn’t be to quick to unload those DVDs just yet.

 

[Robert George]

I added DirecTv's HD programming along with a terrestrial antenna to my main system last summer. I also have 25 titles on D-Theater D-VHS. After living with HD in its various forms for the past 7 months or so, I have to say I lean more toward the comments made by dueric above.


At first, I was "blown away" by HDTV. That lasted about two months. Then, I started noticing that some of the programming on HBO-HD looked no better than a DVD, and in some cases, worse. HDNet is generally very good for video based programming, but the movies on HDNet Movies is also somewhat inconsistent. Finally, the topper was whan I purchased The Two Towers on HD PPV. That was a total mess with terrible pixelation and a very poor (cropped) transfer. lately, I have been doing as many comparisons between the HD broadcast of a movie and the DVD as I can. The DVD is either equal or even better much more often that I would have guessed.


At this point, I have to say I actually appreciate DVD, well done DVD, more now than I did before. Is HD better than DVD? Yes, in theory. In practice, only sometimes. The technology is certainly superior, but the implementation of the technology is severely flawed in some instances.


At its best, HDTV is breathtaking. D-Theater looks superb in every title I have. Some more superb than others, but the worst D-Theater is easily better looking than the same title on DVD, though a couple are pretty close. Unfortunately, movie content in HDTV is not at its best nearly often enough. DVD, on the other hand, is consistently excellent far more than it is mediocre.