Why HD DVD and Blu-ray Need You To Be an Early Adopter Now

[snofun3]

Originally Posted by mcraghead

However, to think that these companies are going to come together to decide on a single format...well, that sh*t ain't gonna happen.

No joke. No need to explain the obvious to me, thanks. Look, the market makes these decisions as it has in all of the incompatible format wars to date. All I've been saying is that I intend to wait it out this time rather than make a committment that could be right or wrong, and have the potential for both obsolete hardware and software.

That's why I think this "why you need to be an early adopter" idea is ludicrous - I've done it many times and have the doorstops to prove it. Just the amount of HD vs. BR arguing here is enough to show that this war is far from over - I'll sit it out thank you. someone will feel some economic pain, and it won't be me.

Who here shed a tear when CC took the pipe on DiVX? I cheered. Same with this.

Let the market decide, and let the competitors sweat it out, and have delayed ROI because of bad decisions, well, not my problem. How many early adopters are upset because they paid big $ and don't have HDMI 1.3? I have the top rated HD set from 3 years ago that doesn't even have multiple DVI inputs, much less HDMI.

I have about $20g in equipment sitting here. No new tech until some of this (including compatibility issues) are straightened out.

[Butch]

I'm about as starved for HD content as one can get. I get 5 OTA local channels that have pretty decent picture quality and 8 channels of DirecTV semi HD channels. Every one of them presume that I'm too stupid to recall which channel I'm tuned into because they share the same annoying habit of displaying their logos during programming. I guess I've learned to live with the logos even though I really dislike the distraction they cause. Some, and TNT is the worst, display banner ads and distracting animations during programming. These I cannot tolerate and don't include them in the number of HD channels I receive because I've removed them from my 'favorites' list.

I've reached a point where I watch very little broadcast or satellite television other than PBS and HDnet. SD is just plain unwatchable from DirecTV on anything larger than a 27" screen. The lack of distraction-free programming and varying degrees of picture quality was the primary motivation for me to invest in a home theater setup with DVD as the primary source.

So here I am $12,000 later looking at an obsolete RPTV, receiver, and DVD player and none of it is over 4 years old! I don't know about the rest of you folks, but I cannot afford to be turning over 12 grand every 4 years because the consumer electronics industry can't seem to find formats and standards that last more than a few months. 2 channel stereo and vinyl records sufficed for over 20 years as did CD's.

I was happy with vinyl for many years. I did not purchase a CD player until 1999 because I never was satisfied with the sound (or lack thereof) of the format. It was strictly an economic decision; my turntable broke and quality that $225.00 could get you in 1974 costs you $5000.00 today. Needless to say, I got pretty excited when I learned of new formats that promised better resolution. I jumped on DVD-A and SACD. Now I have the player, but can't find material to play. Those formats failed, as will one or both of the current Hi-Def DVD formats. I am left holding the bag with the audio formats. I will not allow myself to fall into the same trap with video formats.

Everyone talks about this current format war as the culprit in slowing the advance of the technology. The truth is its not just the media that has been slowing things up. Try deciding which components to buy. Tos Link, coaxial digital, bannana, 5-way, RCA, XLR, S-video, Composite, Component, VGA, RGB, DVI-D, HDMI 1.1, HDMI 1.2, HDMI 1.3, Pro logic, Pro logic II, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital ES, Dolby Digital EX, DTS, TruSurround, etc... Confused yet? Yeah baby! I've been putting off buying a controller because I'm waiting for support for the latest Dolby and DTS audio formats and HDMI 1.3.

So you guys with money to burn, get together! Force an end to this format war by banding together to buy only one or the other. I don't care which one as long as it is only one. Once you figure out which one is the superior, go for it. When the other format stops selling and goes away because you gullible 'early adopters' decided which format wins, the rest of us will jump in.

As I said at the beginning of this diatribe, I'm starving for HD content. I love HD. But I'm just not willing to spend money on a format that may only have a few months to live - once again leaving me, 'holding the bag'.

There is some good that has come from all of this - Thanks to sub par televised HD programming and a stupid format war, I spend far less time watching television and more time doing other things like listening to music or walking the dog.

[deacongreg]

Originally Posted by snofun3

No joke. No need to explain the obvious to me, thanks. Look, the market makes these decisions as it has in all of the incompatible format wars to date. All I've been saying is that I intend to wait it out this time rather than make a committment that could be right or wrong, and have the potential for both obsolete hardware and software.

That's why I think this "why you need to be an early adopter" idea is ludicrous - I've done it many times and have the doorstops to prove it. Just the amount of HD vs. BR arguing here is enough to show that this war is far from over - I'll sit it out thank you. someone will feel some economic pain, and it won't be me.

Who here shed a tear when CC took the pipe on DiVX? I cheered. Same with this.

Let the market decide, and let the competitors sweat it out, and have delayed ROI because of bad decisions, well, not my problem. How many early adopters are upset because they paid big $ and don't have HDMI 1.3? I have the top rated HD set from 3 years ago that doesn't even have multiple DVI inputs, much less HDMI.

I have about $20g in equipment sitting here. No new tech until some of this (including compatibility issues) are straightened out.

I hear you, I hear you, I hear you!! and mcraghead, I hear you too!! You two are not alone in this. Though, we are definitely in the minority.

My view is this, by a nice "universal player", there are many to choose from now, and in different price ranges, as the Oppo 970 has showed us. A universal player will play any disc you throw at it, (outside of HD) upconvert your dvds, some have farajouda processing. Then, just sit back and wait. I still have my Sony Super Beta Hi - Fi machine. With movies, concerts, and sporting events on beta tapes!!
So, I fully understand both of you and where you are coming from.

[danbob730]

It's amazing to me why anyone would want to invest in either of the high definition dvd formats. I bought Beta for its better picture...bad choice! I invested in HDTV early and now I can't connect (no HDMI)...another bad choice! I loved the high resolution sound of DVD Audio and SACD. Now both formats are virtually dead. I'm done! I'm sick and tired of throwing money at audio and video only to make the wrong choice because of some format war. I'm not investing any more until the manufacturers get their act together and agree on something.

[snofun3]

Originally Posted by deacongreg

You two are not alone in this. Though, we are definitely in the minority.

My view is this, by a nice "universal player"

The fact is we ARE NOT in the minority - we are the majority. We're all equipment junkies making these statements, and we're fed up. Can you imagine the confusion at the level of the great unwashed?

Why else would this thread have been started?

And there is no "universal player". One that plays BR, HD, SACD, DVD-A? Please give name and model number.

[kennyt]

In this battle I am not sure who are the minority and who are the majority, but the players are selling, even to folks who rightfullly shouldn't buy them...... (I know people who were sold an HD player for a 480i TV). this will clearly not help, also the stores, etal need to express the importance of a digital video interface to reap the true benefits of the source. (I still have a colleague who is running RG-6 to his 'HD TV'.... nice iinstall to the HT A$$e$ who did his house! (I have counceled him but he doesn't seem to care..)

In a perfect world, we would have a single player that could spin anything ever made, maybe even LP's, but even when such players have existed (prior to this format war) they all have faults. Thus the reason I keep several sources around the house... this has trickled down for me to the HD formats as well... I know I have an audio problem, but this is sort of my AA so I am totally open here.......