Is Warner’s Hybrid “Total HD” Disc Dead?

[westcott]

Originally Posted by HiDefBob

The Home Theater Dealer where I buy most of my equipment claim they have compared a $2000 Blu-ray player against the Classé CDT-300 - UNIVERSAL DISC TRANSPORT and the Classé DVD player won hands down. They are all very knowledgeable sales people who have been in the business for years. They sell some of the best and most expensive equipment on the market. So I am not about to quickly dismiss their claims (I have not bothered to make the comparison myself because the CDT-300 is a little out of my price range).

Maybe the movies they compared were among those that were poorly mastered. I cannot say. However, it is not all about resolution. I own a professional Digital Camera ... it does not have the highest resolution of those on the market, but in other areas it out performs the higher resolution cameras. You have to look at color accuracy, shadow detail, etc, etc.

Exactly. If you want to keep selling DVD players for several thousand dollars, what else do you expect them to say. The Benchmark I attached is very thorough and objective and with todays technology, you can get an awesome SD and HD player for $700 or less. Spending a lot of money does not always equate to the best performance, especially in the digital domain. Now Classe is known for its remarkable DAC's and if SACD or DVD Audio is also a prioritiy, then maybe these attributes justify the additional expense but this model does not even have analog conversion.

[JerryDelColliano]

I gotta chime in here.

There is a place in the world for a Classe' player or a Meridian like I use as they are RELAIABLE and sound great. They do a KILLER job with DVD especially upscaling.

With that said - you can't beat the bits on the HD disc formats. Way more storage. Way more resolution. My wife will ONLY watch HD DVD and Blu-ray movies in our theater and she is NO videophile. She also has to unplug the POS players from time to time as they get all glitchy and need restarting (shame on you Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and Toshiba).

If I were a dealer (and I was a LONG time ago at Cello LA) I would sell both something like a Classe' and the HD players and set the up as different sources. You need the audio performance from the Classe transport and you need to know the disc is going to play - another thing the Classe can do. I would view the HD players as "throw away" (God knows I have thrown away enough of them already) that will be upgraded as the big electronics companies learn to make better, more stable players.

But in the end - you need both.

[HiDefBob]

Despite some of my comments I definitely will be buying a Blu-ray player (I still feel it will either win or coexist with HD DVD), but it will not be a cheap one. I will be looking for the one with the best picture and sound quality. Special features don't interest me ... it is all about quality both in performance and durability.

In the mean time my top priority is saving for a 50" 1080p Plasma ... Runco, Fujitsu or Pioneer. They all have new 50" sets coming in the fall. The PRO-FHD1 is my current favorite display, but look to improvements with the new sets. I have read great things about the 65" 1080p Runco, but it just won't fit in my room. The cost is also a factor!

In the meantime, I try to catch as many movies as possible in HDTV on Bell ExpressVu's PPV HD movie channels. Other than that my Naim DVD5 produces a good enough picture on my smaller display to satisfy me ... you really don't get the benefit of Blu-ray/1080p on screens less than 50".

By the way, I have enjoyed reading everyone's comments!

[kennyt]

HiDefBob,

You are considering three very expensive (and nice) plasma sets, so why the fret over buying a Blu-ray or HD DVD player for a few hundred bucks? I agree, none of us want this format war, but I have personally bought two HD DVD players, and just took delivery of my third (or is it forth now?) Blu-ray player.

While I too run a Meridian DVD player, an Esoteric DV-50s, Denon 5910CI amoung others, I still would not want to be without at least one of these formats, and have both in my reference system. Like Jerry, my wife too prefers the high def formats, and due to her occasion griping the movie she wants to watch is in HD DVD (I only have Blu-ray in the bedroom at this time) will likely have both in both systems soon.

Yes, you will see a marked improvement with a 1080p set, but you will also see benefit on your older 720p sets as well. Trust me, I used to have an older Samsung DLP RPTV that was 720p and the difference was significant. When you get to 1080p, it is larger than life REAL and worth the single digit percent of the purchase price of your plasma!

My new Samsung BDP-1200 is the closest of any player I've seen to DVD speed, it starts and loads discs quickly, and responds to commands well. The picture is exceptional and this player cost me under $502 from Buy.com. Considering what we spend on our TV's and monthly cable/sat, this isn't a huge chunk of change and the returns are well worth it!

KT

[LindaE]

Originally Posted by kennyt

HiDefBob,

My new Samsung BDP-1200 is the closest of any player I've seen to DVD speed, it starts and loads discs quickly, and responds to commands well. The picture is exceptional and this player cost me under $502 from Buy.com. Considering what we spend on our TV's and monthly cable/sat, this isn't a huge chunk of change and the returns are well worth it!

KT

By chance do you have both the the Sony BDP-S300 and the Samsung BDP-1200 ? If so, I would be interested in your thoughts on the the two machines. Right now I am I'm leaning towards the Samsung. I recently purchased a Samsung LN-T4665F 46" 1080p HDTV (my first non Sony TV) and I am very happy with it.

LindaE

[kennyt]

LindaE,

Currently I own the Samsung BDP-1000, BDP-1200, and Sony BDP-S1. I have not done a dead on A-B with the two, but the Samsung BDP-1200 is really impressive. Like I said, it actually functions like DVD players we are use to and the video is top notch. I will have to play with it and compare it to my other players in true 1:1 comparisons to give final rec's but so far it seems pretty amazing!

I do not,nor do I anticipate buying, the Sony BDP-S300 any time soon. Hate to say it, but I have limited myself to the higher end players for the new formats. I do not find the cost difference to be that much, and if I am going to try something, I want it to be the best! This goes for audio, video, Scotch......

KT