HD DVD about to fight back...

[akbungle]

And now we have all six majors supporting Blu:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...969933f25fc601

[deacongreg]

A Toshiba at $79.95, amazing. Simply unbelievable!!

[rex]

Originally Posted by deacongreg

A Toshiba at $79.95, amazing. Simply unbelievable!!

At the costco here the $79.95 Toshiba is a D3 which I think is the same as the A3 (1080i). It also includes a free HDMI cable, 2 free HD DVD movies in the box, plus 5 more by mail in rebate. I'll be picking one up!

[deacongreg]

Just one thing though. And I say this as a help and guide. Now, if you do not have a dvd player of any kind, then maybe..... Remember that Blu-Ray is the way now. So, at some point, there will be no more HD DVD movies to rent or buy. And yes, you can still use it to upconvert sd dvd`s. But, when the HD DVD libraries and availability becomes non existent, you will have to buy a new Blu-Ray player to buy or rent newer movies.

Do you really want to go through that. Why not just buy one player, and call it a day??

[rex]

Originally Posted by deacongreg

Just one thing though. And I say this as a help and guide. Now, if you do not have a dvd player of any kind, then maybe..... Remember that Blu-Ray is the way now. So, at some point, there will be no more HD DVD movies to rent or buy. And yes, you can still use it to upconvert sd dvd`s. But, when the HD DVD libraries and availability becomes non existent, you will have to buy a new Blu-Ray player to buy or rent newer movies.

Do you really want to go through that. Why not just buy one player, and call it a day??

Your point is well taken. However, one reason some may want to wait a bit longer is that current console Blu-ray players are not upgradeable to 2.0, so those who buy one now, may still have to buy another one later on. I personally already own both, but at this price, why not pickup an extra upconverting player which also happens to play HD DVDs? Not to mention the free movies and cable alone are worth more than the price.

Sony had two 2.0 players on display at CES. Panasonic and Sony plan to release 2.0 players in the spring. (It may be several more years however before newly released movies may actually require 2.0 in order to play. Nevertheless, shortly when 2.0 comes out, the older players should also dramatically drop in price.)

[DaViD Boulet]

Rex,

don't forget that the PS3 will be updated for full 2.0 profile spec as well as internal DTS-HD MA decoding once Panny has had the BD50 out for a few months to earn some sales.

A Toshiba at $79.95, amazing. Simply unbelievable!!

It's called a fire-sale. Basically, since the HD DVD aspect can't be valued in the same way as before the end of the battle, the price needs to be in line with other upconverting hardware. It's a great deal for anyone tempted to get a second player for back-up or who wants to pounce on some cheap HD DVD prices coming up while they wait the many months it will take for those titles from Universal to come out blu.