Quote:
Originally Posted by sheavy /forum/post/12904095
I'm going back and fourth on whether i should pruchase the samsung 5000 or a ps3, this will be my first hd dvd player purchase. I'm not much of a gamer, but the ps3 seems to work well and fire up fast and has few issues. On the other hand, it would be great to have a unit that would play both formats. somebody push me in the right direction, please, get behind me and give me a big push.
You sound exactly like my good friend Todd, who called me with the same issue two days ago. Given Blu-ray's market penetration and the recent Warner announcement, Todd had pretty much settled on a PS3, but after coming over to watch "3:10 to Yuma" (Blu-ray) on my BD-UP5000, followed by a demonstration of the PIP special feature on "300" (HD DVD) he came away highly impressed.
You see, Todd, like you, is not so much a gamer as he is a movie enthusiast. Having the ability to play either format within seconds, save shelf space, and save connections is appealing to him.
I laid it out to him as I am doing here for you. Accept the fact that Blu-ray is going to win out (Blu-ray pundits are already stating that HD DVD is a dead format). Even if the studios supporting HD DVD were to announce a switch over to Blu-ray, it would take time to do so. The 400-plus current HD DVD titles exclusive to HD DVD would not come out in the days, weeks or months after such an announcement, but would rather happen over the course of a year or more.
If you truly enjoy movies, and are currently "fence sitting" on both formats and cannot wait (guessing) three years for the market to be completely switched to Blu-ray, dual format is the way to go (I'm not saying a single player solution, I am saying "dual format" which does not exclude the possibility of picking up two players).
Todd and I have similar setups at home. We made the purchases of the majority of our HT equipment prior to the HDMI standard becoming available and are relegated (for the time being) to SPDIF for audio and Component for video. Our receivers have multi-channel analog audio input to get around these limitations by using the multi-channel analog output of the BD-UP5000.
Next, it depends on how patient you are when it comes to smooth functionality, and "
vailable" vs. features that are "
yet to be enabled".
For better or worse, the home entertainment industry is moving more and more toward the "computer model" wherein products are being released for sale prior to the advertised features being enabled or prior to having bugs worked out. These issues are remedied by future firmware updates.
Samsung's first firmware update cured a few issues related to playback of particular titles, but there are still titles that are having issues with playback. Furthermore, there is the issue of the bitstreaming audio and multichannel TrueHD, which is said to be corrected with an upcoming firmware update due out in the spring (around May).
It is sad, that selling new product is not so much about
functionality or
bug free operation, as it is in
getting to market before the competition, and figuring out how to make it work later. I like to call it, the "
Microsoft Method", you can blame Bill Gates Jr for that.
With ever evolving Blu-ray BDJ (the Java based interactive programming language used on Blu-ray titles), future firmware updates will be required, in order to correct playback issues with new titles as they come to market.
Patience will be required for new technology of this type. Many have had issues that were
unacceptable to them, and have chosen to return their 5000's until a time that the bugs are worked out. I have chosen to keep mine because I have experienced none of the audio or picture issues reported by others (possible due to my lack of HDMI), and
LOVE not having to worry about which format I purchase.
It is true that I have had some issues with a few Blu-ray titles (3:10 to Yuma, Resident Evil Extinction) that would not play, but after the first firmware update, these are now playing for me without issue.
I realize that I am probably not of much help in that
you must ultimately make the choice of which way to go. I can only provide you with one person's opinion. You've got to do the hard part.
So then. Can you pick up a player for each format? Absolutely, providing that you have got extra space, extra connections, and a wife who can understand that certain titles cannot play in certain players. If, however, you want to simplify, the BD-UP5000 is worth serious consideration. ...there is
NO WAY that having two players will ever be as "
pretty" as the single, sleak, "piano black" unit (another bonus for gaining favorable "Wife Approval").
sheavy, good luck with which ever you choose, and keep in mind that you have 30 days in which to return it, should it not meet your needs or live up to your expectations.
Cheers!
Spence