[Godvrey]

Hey,


I'm looking to upgrade to a new DVD player and will probably be spending somewhere in the region of £500-600. Most of the current players in this price band are 'upscaling' players and so offer the ability to connect via HDMI to a 720/1080 display - although I accept that this is not defined as 'true' HD.


I've been reading about the advent of Blu Ray and HD-DVD though, which seems to be billed to make an appearence at the end of this year, and now don't know what to do.


On the one hand it seems pointless to shell out £600 on a player that will shortly be unable to play the new formats - but on the other hand surely players offering the new technology at the same quality level as a £600 current player will be much more expensive at first? How long will it take for prices to drop to a reasonable level? Also there is the Blu Ray vs HD-DVD battle which remains uncertain and could mean a wait to see which comes out on top, or until manufacturers produce units that can play both? How long is it likely to be before that happens?


I guess what i'm asking is is it worth the wait, or should I just go ahead and get my player since it will probably be a couple of years before I can get a HD player of the same quality for this kind of cash anyway?


How much better is HD than an upscaled normal DVD anyway????

 

[Raistlin_HT]

Assuming you have a fairly extensive library of DVD titles, I'd get a good DVD player.


The first BluRay and HD-DVD players are going to be expensive, and it would not be surprising if the DVD player in them is an after-thought. It's like trying to find a universal player that excels at CD, SACD, and DVD-A, not to mention DVD performance.


If you have a fixed-pixel display (non-CRT), and are not planning on purchasing an external scalar, an upconverting DVD player might be the way to go.


Do you know if the Pioneed 59ai is in your range? I think they can be found for around $800. From the (albeit limited) research I've done this last week, it seems like one of the better bets for an upconverting player in the 'under $1000' group. Plus, its SACD and DVD-A is pretty good.


If you display doesn't show macro-blocking much, the Denon 2910 or 3910 might be worth a look as well (I'm not sure what the current prices are for them - the 3910 may be out of your range).

 

[rboster]

Ditto Raistlin's comments. As you can imagine this topic has come up quite a bit....there are several very good threads that can be found in the current threads search engine. Also, I would read through some of the threads in the HDTV Players forum where the discussion of future HD resolution players is a 24/7 focus.


Ron

 

[ogbuehi]

I would also get an upconverting player now. Who knows when the dust from the HD-DVD/Blu-ray war will settle. And the first players will like be very expensive for a long time like dvd players were. I'm not buying an HD player until they (the dvd industry) figure out what the heck they are gonna do.

 

[Raistlin_HT]

Yeah, by default I'll own BluRay since I plan to purchase the Playstation 3 at or near launch.


Beyond that though, I have no intention of buying a dedicated HD player until the dust has settled, and the kinks are out.


Think of it this way, DVD players STILL aren't perfect.

 

[thedeskE]

I agree - the HD mess is slowing down release time & everyone is backing off (any one who matters at least) so get your best SD choice and enjoy the movies.


E

 

[davidcrowe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raistlin_HT Yeah, by default I'll own BluRay since I plan to purchase the Playstation 3 at or near launch. Beyond that though, I have no intention of buying a dedicated HD player until the dust has settled, and the kinks are out. Think of it this way, DVD players STILL aren't perfect.

But the PS3 will have a standard dvd at launch.

 

[kevinca1]

The PS3 will be a blu-ray player at launch.

 

[davidcrowe]

Did I say PS3? I thought I read the xbox3 will launch with SD DVD, according to slashdot a while back. my bad.

 

[CT_Wiebe]

Why spend that much on an upscaling DVD player, since it's going to be an interim solution anyway. There are several good upscaling players, in the $200 to $300 range, that will do a very good job. They don't have all the bells & whistles of the $600 to $800 ones, but will do the same job of giving us a good 720p or 1080i picture from current DVDs.


I'm debating the HTPC vs. Oppo DV971H trade-off and a good video card is more than the price of the Oppo. Note: I'm having trouble with my current video card, and I'm getting frustrated with not being able to get it to work right (even though it's supposed to).

 

[sneals2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidcrowe Did I say PS3? I thought I read the xbox3 will launch with SD DVD, according to slashdot a while back. my bad.

Yep - it is expected that the first XBox 360 models (they are apparently going to release different versions, with and without HD etc.) will have DVD-ROM drives, and will come bundled with DVD replay and a suitable IR remote (no purchase of DVD kit required, unlike the XBox)


The XBox 360 is also expected to integrate with Windows Media Center, out of the box, and act as an MCE extender (though a larger remote will be available as a separate purchase for improved remote control), including 16:9 SD and HDTV MCE playback (which current MCE extenders can't offer as the are 4:3 SD only)


It is expected that XBox 360 won't initially ship with an HD drive - though it is rumoured that HD-DVD will be the format if they do (though of course if BR is a success...)

 

[ogbuehi]

Where are you guys getting this information about the XBOX360 supposedly being hd dvd capable after release and PS3 being Blu-ray capable? The first high definition dvd players are supposed to be in the $1000 range so does that mean gamers can expect to pay close to that amount for the first gen game systems? It seems so unlikely that these new game systems will be able to offer this new expensive technology at a cheaper price than a dedicated player. I'll be getting all three systems (nintendo included) but I'll be dissuaded very quickly from buying either if they cost above $600. I think we need to stop spreading what we hope these systems will do and start posting links from from the manufacturers' websites.

 

[chap]

Unless sony changes there plans they say the PS3 will launch with a blue ray player. They already take losses on all there gaming hardware except maybe the PS1 so I dont' see why this would be any different.

 

[Raistlin_HT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ogbuehi Where are you guys getting this information about the XBOX360 supposedly being hd dvd capable after release and PS3 being Blu-ray capable? The first high definition dvd players are supposed to be in the $1000 range so does that mean gamers can expect to pay close to that amount for the first gen game systems? It seems so unlikely that these new game systems will be able to offer this new expensive technology at a cheaper price than a dedicated player. I'll be getting all three systems (nintendo included) but I'll be dissuaded very quickly from buying either if they cost above $600. I think we need to stop spreading what we hope these systems will do and start posting links from from the manufacturers' websites.

PS3 being BluRay-compatible was announced by Sony a long time ago. It will be cheaper than a dedicated BluRay for several reasons; less features, lower quality parts, MASSIVE economies of scale for this specific implementation, etc.


X-Box having HD-DVD compatibility has been officialy classified as a possibility by Microsoft. The fact that Microsoft has licensed the new Dolby Digital formats is bit of a hint as well.

 

[ogbuehi]

Once again my original question is: Where are you getting this info? I have been to both Microsoft and Sony's websites and I didn't see any of this. Having lower quality parts and massive economies of scale can be implemented for a dedicated player as well. In fact it would be even cheaper to make a dedicated player because it doesn't have features like playing games, connecting controller, ethernet connections, memory cards and features that make a console more interactive. A basic player would have to be able to play at a minimum just Blu-ray discs and nothing else. Microsoft licensing a new Dolby Digital format just means now the game makers will have the option to record the tracks and sound effects for the game in Dolby Digital 5.1, 6.1, 7.1. I unfortunately don't have the privelege of being around when "Microsoft" or "Sony" say these things to whomever they are saying them to. Any links or websites to these companies with this info would be very helpful.

 

[chap]

Here is PS3 info
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/636/636848p1.html


I can't find any links on the 360, but Microsoft has said that it will launch with a DVD drive because most games still don't even use Dual Layer yet so HD-DVD would be a waist.

 

[kanefsky]

Optical drives for computers have almost always been cheaper than standalone units. For example, good-quality dual-layer DVD burners have been in the $50 range for some time now. Also the game consoles are sold at a loss because they make money on the games themselves, whereas high-end AV equipment is sold with profit margins that would be unthinkable in the computer business.


--

Steve

 

[Raistlin_HT]

ogbuehi,

Quote:

Once again my original question is: Where are you getting this info? I have been to both Microsoft and Sony's websites and I didn't see any of this.

I'm at work, so I'm not able to grab any direct links (firewall).


However, you can find threads about this all over the various gaming forums. www.ga-forum.com is a good source.


I'm not sure why you'd expect the Sony and Microsoft sites to list detailed info on products this far in advance.


Quote:

Having lower quality parts and massive economies of scale can be implemented for a dedicated player as well. In fact it would be even cheaper to make a dedicated player because it doesn't have features like playing games, connecting controller, ethernet connections, memory cards and features that make a console more interactive. A basic player would have to be able to play at a minimum just Blu-ray discs and nothing else.

Cheaper parts is not going to happen with the dedicated BluRay's at launch. The initial versions of all A/V products are always really expensive. Do you remember how much the first CD's or Plasma's cost?


As far as economies of scale, NOTHING can touch a console in the A/V world. What single platform can can be expected to sell over 100 million units in 5 or so years?

Quote:

Microsoft licensing a new Dolby Digital format just means now the game makers will have the option to record the tracks and sound effects for the game in Dolby Digital 5.1, 6.1, 7.1.

No, the licenses were for the new DD formats that are exlusively over HDMI (MLP lossless based, etc), and part of the BluRay and HD-DVD spec.

Quote:

I unfortunately don't have the privelege of being around when "Microsoft" or "Sony" say these things to whomever they are saying them to. Any links or websites to these companies with this info would be very helpful.

I'm away on business - I'll try to look up some of the info at my hotel.