HD-DVD add-on now available - General Discussion (HARDWARE only)

[quote name='cjclifford']Exactly. I said the very same thing on another forum. Every HD-DVD add-on player means another person actually watching and probably buying HD-DVDs. The same cannot be said of the PS3 and Blu-Ray.

And I think the 42,000 sold in November is actually good. I don't recall seeing any kind of advertising for this and it's an add-on device. December will really say something about it though. I had a hard time find the HD-DVD add-on yesterday. Took my coupon Circuit City but was out of luck. Thankfully, another store gave me $40 off after I mentioned the coupon. They asked if I still had it, I gave it to them, and they actually honored it. Amazing![/QUOTE]

I agree with the first point, but I honestly think we'll see the HD-DVD add-on sales have a slight decline in December. Partially because if it is hard to find now, it'll stay that way through December most likely. Also I think alot of the people who wanted already got it too. I mean for the casual gamers add-ons have never been too succesful and this one doesn't even relatte to games. Obviously if HD-DVD continues to sell well it'll improve, but this one may take awhile before it grows into even 5% of the 360 user base I think.

And honestly, maybe it comes down to location, but at my CC these have been in stock for about 2 weeks or so straight and CC.com has them in stock as well. Plus Target had at least a half dozen on Tuesday when I was there. Again, it's probably location, but where I am they seem at least somewhat readily available (which is good thing really).
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']Sales update

That said, keep this important factor in mind - every single one of those HD-DVD drives means someone wants HD-DVD movies. Just because someone buys a PS3 doesn't mean they want Blu-Ray.[/QUOTE]

The majority of initial buyers were wanting the PS3 because it was a cheap Blu-Ray player. Most Blu-Ray players are $1000... where the PS3 is at $500-600. In fact, if I was to buy a PS3 it would be because of this reason alone. All the games I want to play I can play on my Xbox360. Does this mean I dont play on getting a HD-DVD add-on? No. I would like to get one. I am just playing the other side.

If HD-DVD wants to win the war, they need to grab more exclusives.
 
[quote name='lordopus99']The majority of initial buyers were wanting the PS3 because it was a cheap Blu-Ray player.[/QUOTE]

I don't disagree with your train of thought, but it seems to me like the vast majority of people actually willing to wait outside for two days to get one of the very few PS3's available would be gamers, not Blu-Ray customers.

Once the PS3 is truly "available," I think we'll see more of the people you're talking abuot.
 
I'm curious how many 360 HD-DVD drives were released. I know they were scarce for a while. However, I've seen some at GameRush lately....which is nice.

I have both the HD-DVD and the PS3 now, so I'll have to compare a little more (although, the PS3 is on a smaller TV). We'll see, I've yet to watch a Blu-Ray movie...Talladegha Nights will be soon though (although, I heard the the transfer is not great)
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']I don't disagree with your train of thought, but it seems to me like the vast majority of people actually willing to wait outside for two days to get one of the very few PS3's available would be gamers, not Blu-Ray customers.

Once the PS3 is truly "available," I think we'll see more of the people you're talking abuot.[/quote]I agree with this. I seriously doubt any home theater enthusiast would camp out for days just for a cheap BD player. Those who camped out were either resellers or Sony brand/PS loyalist who are solely interested in the games.

People who care about PS3 as a BD player would be willing to wait until better availability. And I'm sure those people are also certainly capable of affording the new BD models coming out, despite their cost of $1000-$1200.

Just an example, looking at the home theaters of the members of avsforum (again, just an example, certainly not a representation of all the home theater enthusiast comsumers), many have high end equipment. With smart shopping, an extra few hundred dollars for a dedicated standalone BD player certainly wouldn't break their bank.

My point being that this crowd would either wait for PS3 availablility or would have already purchased a standalone player.
 
Whelp, my local CC finally got a new shipment of 360 HD-DVDs in yesterday evening so I popped down there today and grabbed one with the $40 off coupon from the other thread with no problems.
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']1080p is better in most cases, and more expensive.

Although most hard core reviews I've read basically say you won't notice much difference between 720p and 1080p unless your screen is very large and you are relatively close to it.[/QUOTE]
I know, I said 720p and 1080i are basically the same
 
[quote name='lordopus99']The majority of initial buyers were wanting the PS3 because it was a cheap Blu-Ray player. Most Blu-Ray players are $1000... where the PS3 is at $500-600. In fact, if I was to buy a PS3 it would be because of this reason alone. All the games I want to play I can play on my Xbox360. Does this mean I dont play on getting a HD-DVD add-on? No. I would like to get one. I am just playing the other side.

If HD-DVD wants to win the war, they need to grab more exclusives.[/QUOTE]

This is a joke right? HD-DVD seems to have "Smallville Season 1" exclusively. There's something I can give a fuck about for a series now where are the rest of the wB series and Showtime one's as well as the newer BBC stuff expecially Hex.
 
[quote name='gsr']there are at least 10 sitting on the shelf at my local worst buy here in Dallas.[/QUOTE]
Nice to see Best Buy finally got off their ass and started carrying them!
 
[quote name='Sarang01']This is a joke right? HD-DVD seems to have "Smallville Season 1" exclusively. There's something I can give a fuck about for a series now where are the rest of the wB series and Showtime one's as well as the newer BBC stuff expecially Hex.[/quote]

Its season 5.. ive been watching all the episodes... great series
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']Sorry to take a dump on the mood, but Smallville isn't exactly a system seller.[/QUOTE]

We really do need to see some of the cooler series being made in HD-DVD. We need season box sets.

I have a feeling that the reason we don't see any of the popular series like Heroes, Lost, or BSG on Video Marketplace is because the studios are afraid of infringing somehow on their lucrative box set sales.
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']We really do need to see some of the cooler series being made in HD-DVD. We need season box sets.

I have a feeling that the reason we don't see any of the popular series like Heroes, Lost, or BSG on Video Marketplace is because the studios are afraid of infringing somehow on their lucrative box set sales.[/QUOTE]

Sopranos Season 6 is on HD-DVD, that's a start.
But you're right we need some tv-series to be available. I want to buy some shows now but I am hesitant because they will eventually be out in HD and I don't feel like re-buying them in the future.
 
CNN: XBOX 360 HD DVD a bargain at $200

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/ptech/12/13/xbox.360.hddvd/index.html

We compared the picture quality of the Xbox 360 HD DVD player to that of our reference video player, the Toshiba HD-A1, which we also connected to the component-video output at 1080i.

We then sent their respective signals to three HDTVs we had on hand: the 1,366x768 Panasonic TH-50PH9UK as well as the 1080p Sony KDS-R60XBR2 and Pioneer PRO-FHD1. In short, the Xbox 360 looked just as sharp as the Toshiba, and the picture was essentially identical in every way -- which is to say, it looked great.

We compared the incredibly sharp "Swordfish" disc, and all of the tiny details came across equally well on both players. We could see every hair on Hugh Jackman's and John Travolta's heads, for example, as they conversed in the coffee shop, and we noticed how their stubble went in and out of focus slightly as they turned their faces.

Details in the fabric of the cop's suit as he surveys the villains looked equally crisp on both players, and we could read the fine writing on the computer screens as well as pick out the weave of the chair in which Halle Berry was sitting.
Click to expand...
 
Yes, I enjoy this HD-DVD more and more. At first I wasn't impressed, but after watching a few DVD's, then some HD-DVD's, it's much better.

Watching Superman REturns now....the sound is great, although the movie is damn boring...not sure if I can make it through to the end....hence, I'm on the laptop right now. Multitasking ;)
 
while i am for hd dvd to win the war, most of the post here have been very pro hd. I don't spend much time on the avs forums, but I was listening to a next gen gaming podcast recently and they were talking about reports saying blue ray was going to win. Where they speaking incorrectly about blue ray, are there analyst predictions that blue ray will win?
 
[quote name='ryanbph']while i am for hd dvd to win the war, most of the post here have been very pro hd. I don't spend much time on the avs forums, but I was listening to a next gen gaming podcast recently and they were talking about reports saying blue ray was going to win. Where they speaking incorrectly about blue ray, are there analyst predictions that blue ray will win?[/QUOTE]

Right now HD DVD is better positioned to win. Most analysts/experts changed their prediction to HD DVD around Nov06. Some PS3 fans will do their best to convince you that Blu-Ray will, though - even if they never use Blu-Ray, if Blu-Ray loses then PS3 loses a major bullet point in console debates. And essentially, you are paying $200 more than XBOX 360 for nothing.
 
[quote name='Ruined']Right now HD DVD is better positioned to win. Most analysts/experts changed their prediction to HD DVD around Nov06. Some PS3 fans will do their best to convince you that Blu-Ray will, though - even if they never use Blu-Ray, if Blu-Ray loses then PS3 loses a major bullet point in console debates. And essentially, you are paying $200 more than XBOX 360 for nothing.[/QUOTE]

I think it's still up in the air.

Take me for example. I'm going to get a PS3 eventually so I haven't pulled the trigger on a HD-DVD add on because I see no point in owning both. If the PS3 ends up selling better later on then they have a pretty good chance at winning the HD war.
 
[quote name='OGHowie']I think it's still up in the air.

Take me for example. I'm going to get a PS3 eventually so I haven't pulled the trigger on a HD-DVD add on because I see no point in owning both. If the PS3 ends up selling better later on then they have a pretty good chance at winning the HD war.[/QUOTE]

Well sure its still up in the air, but I don't see the PS3 as having a major impact on the war aside that it keeps Blu-Ray on life support. By XMAS07 you will be able to buy an HD DVD standalone for $250-$299.

IMO HD DVD will pull away with it next year, it is positioned to be able to do so right now.
 
I still don't see either format pulling too far ahead until players and media comes down in price. I still refuse to pay $25-$30 for a disc....

I'm sure if the PS3 becomes a little more popular, it will help in the BD sales, but I own a PS3 and don't really plan on buying any movies for it.

I have the HD-DVD also, and have three HD-DVD's, but just because of deals.

So, we'll see who wins. It appears HD-DVD has the leg up thus far, but studios are still split, which is NOT a good thing for the "war" .
 
I'm not sure I'm down with the whole "the discs need to come down in price" thing. You can get them for 20 bucks at several stores, not to mention Amazon. That's only about 3-5 bucks more than almost every new DVD release. The multi-disc releases generally are a bit more, but those are pretty rare at this point.

I also think Blu-Ray will probably find a way to weasel their way in to the top spot at some point...however, I don't think either format will become dominant to the point that one format is totally destroyed. That will take a couple years.

...and by then, standalone players for both formats should be wayyyy down, so I'm not worried about it.
 
Even the few people I know that bought PS3's have sworn to never buy a bluray disk out of principle. That's how sick people are with what Sony is trying to do.
 
Sony Blu-Ray rep attempts to silence compressionist on AVSFORUM!

Note that this compressionist CJPlay has worked on both HD DVD and Blu-Ray titles. He has also been posting on AVSFORUM for MONTHS and has given loads of useful technical info; much of the tech info on the software side that we know has been provided by this very compressionist. Then in the insider thread, he implied criticism of Sony's Talledega Nights BD MPEG2 encode... So what happens? A Sony Rep who registered on AVSFORUM recently tries to silence him!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9256182&&#post9256182

[quote name='paidgeek (Sony Representative)']This pretty bold coming from another studio. Are you so candid about WB titles? If not, I suggest you walk a bit softer when discussing another studios properties, regardless of format.[/quote]

After being called on it, it was edited to this:

[quote name='paidgeek (Sony Representative)']This is pretty bold coming from another studio. Are you so candid about WB titles? If not, maybe you could walk a bit softer when discussing another studios properties, regardless of format.[/quote]

Big Brother Blu-Ray is gonna get you, if its not through BD+ Advance Countermeasure, it'll be by Sony silencing insiders giving you the real info, working with the real product - so that Sony can sell you their own skewed PR instead!
 
[quote name='doctorfaustus']Sopranos Season 6 is on HD-DVD, that's a start.
But you're right we need some tv-series to be available. I want to buy some shows now but I am hesitant because they will eventually be out in HD and I don't feel like re-buying them in the future.[/QUOTE]

Why do you think I haven't TOUCHED buying show boxsets for a while? And WB needs to cut the shit and release both seasons of "Supernatural" on HD-DVD and I'll buy them.
Also how about releasing all the other WB shows that aren't under Disney on HD-DVD as well? Granted that would be small without "Buffy", "Roswell" and others but it would be something.
How about a flood of Anime as well and speaking of tv shows I give a shit about I'd like some Korean Drama's as such and would pay $50 less than what the cost for the limited print English subbed and Region 1 version of "A Jewel In the Palace" costs($250). Also considering that a profit could be made with only 250 of those printed I imagine if they printed 1000 copies of highly popular tv series for International sale I can't imagine they wouldn't make a profit.
 
[quote name='Sarang01']Why do you think I haven't TOUCHED buying show boxsets for a while? And WB needs to cut the shit and release both seasons of "Supernatural" on HD-DVD and I'll buy them.
Also how about releasing all the other WB shows that aren't under Disney on HD-DVD as well? Granted that would be small without "Buffy", "Roswell" and others but it would be something.
How about a flood of Anime as well and speaking of tv shows I give a shit about I'd like some Korean Drama's as such and would pay $50 less than what the cost for the limited print English subbed and Region 1 version of "A Jewel In the Palace" costs($250). Also considering that a profit could be made with only 250 of those printed I imagine if they printed 1000 copies of highly popular tv series for International sale I can't imagine they wouldn't make a profit.[/QUOTE]

there isn't enough market penetration to start going nuts and flooding the market with anime and foreign movies. It's going to take time.

I'm surprised everyone is counting out Bluray. I guess it's just a general hatred of Sony. They have the most important factor on their side - studio support from Fox and Disney, and I think they will eventually win out.
 
[quote name='gsr']I'm surprised everyone is counting out Bluray.[/QUOTE]

I've only seen that from a few people here. I'm definitely not counting them out.

Also, you mentioned Disney - Disney is one of the most likely studios to go dual-format...possibly as soon as CES in a couple weeks.
 
I have a small problem.

I got my Addon for Xmas, hooked it up, and popped in King Kong to get an eyeful...

Crap. It has that digital scrambly-mosaic thing going on, and freezes up during the title "King Kong". At that point I didnt have another HDDVD to compare to, so this morning I went out & bought Superman. Watched the first half of it perfectly, not a single glitch. So I figure it must be the Kong disc. I box up the entire shebang and return it to Walmart when I got off tonight. Hooked it back up only to find the same problem is happening: Superman plays beautifully while Kong has the scrambling, skipping, and freezing. Is this a problem with many discs? A problem exclusive to me? I would really love to watch KK. I haven't even had a chance to see the monkey yet. :(
 
Overall I got the hd-dvd for the holiday and its sweet piece of movie picture quality. My wife enjoys it and I cant wait to start my collection. Since I only have king kong for it where can I get cheap prices on hd-dvds?

Thanks.
 
[quote name='ryosnk']Overall I got the hd-dvd for the holiday and its sweet piece of movie picture quality. My wife enjoys it and I cant wait to start my collection. Since I only have king kong for it where can I get cheap prices on hd-dvds?

Thanks.[/quote]
Keep an eye on this thread: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111864

You missed out on the Google Check Out sales, I got M:I Collection (M:I I-III), V for Vendetta, The Fast & The Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Batman Begins, & Sahara for about $15 shipped for each after using those coupons. Currently Barnes & Noble has some $17 HD-DVD's.

To the guy with the problem with King Kong: Haven't opened mine, planning on selling it on ebay or trading it to ebgames (if possible).
 
[quote name='Ruined']So anyone get an HD DVD addon for XMAS?[/QUOTE]

Yep, mrs. shipwreck surprised me with one. I also got Superman and Superman II: The Donner Edition. So far I've watched King Kong and Superman and I've been very pleased.

Now I just have to decide what to do with this universal remote since I use the Logitech one.
 
I also seem to be having a problem with the included King Kong disc. The picture quality looks great, but it skips every now and then (both audio and video). Anybody think this is a problem with the disc, or the player? I noticed the player's disc drive door opens slower than the 360's, and looks like it gets "caught" coming out for short little split seconds. For example, it seems to not come out smoothly. Anybody else's drive do this? Secondly, the $40 off coupon worked just fine for me, with only the front printed out on regular paper.
 
[quote name='DeskLaser']I also seem to be having a problem with the included King Kong disc. The picture quality looks great, but it skips every now and then (both audio and video). Anybody think this is a problem with the disc, or the player? I noticed the player's disc drive door opens slower than the 360's, and looks like it gets "caught" coming out for short little split seconds. For example, it seems to not come out smoothly. Anybody else's drive do this? Secondly, the $40 off coupon worked just fine for me, with only the front printed out on regular paper.[/QUOTE]

Haven't opened king kong but my drive(both the first one which was returned and the second one I got as a replaced) is shoddily made. The seems don't connect at certain points. I also noticed that on my first drive, in which the seams were more apart, the drive door occasionally made a weird sound.
Are your seams flush?
 
The seems like ok, as far as I can tell. I will probably end up going to Circuit City for a replacement tonight anyways, and maybe pick up another HD-DVD to compare to the replacement copy of King Kong.
 
Post-XMAS HD DVD Sales Surge: #8 ranked HD DVD surpasses #1 Blu-Ray in sales

http://www.eproductwars.com/dvd/

Just a day or so after Christmas, HD DVD has experienced a sales surge on Amazon.com with its current #8 highest sales rank title having better sales rank than the #1 highest sales rank Blu-Ray title. Further, HD DVD's #12 sales ranked title has surpassed Blu-Ray's #2 highest sales rank title. HD DVD is experiencing its highest ranked sales since late November with every single of its top10 selling movies breaking into the Amazon Top1000 list, and its top5 within the top500 - pulling away from Blu-Ray who only has 1 title in the Amazon Top1000 list and none in the top500. It is also telling that Batman Begins, an older HD DVD, is the #1 selling title - simply because this means these sales are most likely from new customers who did not have HD DVD when Batman Begins came out.

Looks like a lot of people got HD DVD for XMAS :)
 
[quote name='infamyRISE']I have a small problem.

I got my Addon for Xmas, hooked it up, and popped in King Kong to get an eyeful...

Crap. It has that digital scrambly-mosaic thing going on, and freezes up during the title "King Kong". At that point I didnt have another HDDVD to compare to, so this morning I went out & bought Superman. Watched the first half of it perfectly, not a single glitch. So I figure it must be the Kong disc. I box up the entire shebang and return it to Walmart when I got off tonight. Hooked it back up only to find the same problem is happening: Superman plays beautifully while Kong has the scrambling, skipping, and freezing. Is this a problem with many discs? A problem exclusive to me? I would really love to watch KK. I haven't even had a chance to see the monkey yet. :([/QUOTE]

My Kong didn't have a problem. My MI3 played all the way through no problems. My superman returns had some problems. I'd get the mosaic picture thing everynow and then when I was looking at extras, and it froze 15 minutes into the movie, I started it again and its worked fine since then. I watched alot of my Rocky DVDs and no problems though, Im hoping those problems was just some freak occurance.
 
Is anyone else having a problem with the HD-DVD drive being recognized by the 360? My eject button is red and the camera is also not being recognized (it's plugged into a USB port on the HD-DVD drive). This happens quite frequently but random times when I turn on the system it works fine. Any ideas?
 
To update my previous post, I went out and got a replacement drive and it seems to work fine now. The included King Kong disc does not skip and stutter anymore. I also noticed the box to my first one had a good bit more noticible scuffs on it than my current one, so maybe it got knocked around a little, who knows.
 
So do any of YOU personally (no fanboy news form letters please) have both HD-DVD and Blue Ray, what's your thoughts and opinions?

I have a 1080P Sony KDS60A2000 RPTV, and a PS3 so they link up quite nice with hdmi and full 1080p.

I also have an Xbox 360 and am thinking about getting the hd-dvd add on but thank you Xbox for leaving out HDMI (oh well with the HD-DVR I'm using up the other HDMI connection anyways).

VGA isn't an option for me as the Sony sets input resolution is 768p over VGA (though of course it would be upscaled to native 1080p by the TV).


It will support 1080i through component though so that would be the route I have to go. Since 1080p is the sets native resolution, the 1080i will be converted to 1080p by the TV. Everything I have read states that TV's with decent deinterlacers such as the Sony don't really show any discernable difference between 1080i and 1080p inputs (though of course it's allways nice to stay in native resolution as the Blue Ray can). Of course I know the Xbox HD-DVD can too on other sets, just not mine without the HDMI connection.

Anyhoo, hows a comparison for those of you with both formats - worth the $200 add on if one has blue-ray allready? I do note there are usually around a $5 or so difference (in the HD-DVD favor) price wise and I'm sure some movies will be offered in one format or the other not allways both.

Thanks,
TexTuna
 
[quote name='TexTuna']So do any of YOU personally (no fanboy news form letters please) have both HD-DVD and Blue Ray, what's your thoughts and opinions?

I have a 1080P Sony KDS60A2000 RPTV, and a PS3 so they link up quite nice with hdmi and full 1080p.

I also have an Xbox 360 and am thinking about getting the hd-dvd add on but thank you Xbox for leaving out HDMI (oh well with the HD-DVR I'm using up the other HDMI connection anyways).

VGA isn't an option for me as the Sony sets input resolution is 768p over VGA (though of course it would be upscaled to native 1080p by the TV).


It will support 1080i through component though so that would be the route I have to go. Since 1080p is the sets native resolution, the 1080i will be converted to 1080p by the TV. Everything I have read states that TV's with decent deinterlacers such as the Sony don't really show any discernable difference between 1080i and 1080p inputs (though of course it's allways nice to stay in native resolution as the Blue Ray can). Of course I know the Xbox HD-DVD can too on other sets, just not mine without the HDMI connection.

Anyhoo, hows a comparison for those of you with both formats - worth the $200 add on if one has blue-ray allready? I do note there are usually around a $5 or so difference (in the HD-DVD favor) price wise and I'm sure some movies will be offered in one format or the other not allways both.

Thanks,
TexTuna[/QUOTE]

I got a ps3 and a 360 HD-DVD. My family almost bought your tv too, but we settled for the 1080i 55" sony instead. I would recommend getting the HD-DVD player as well. That way, you can get all the studios in HD format. Universal and Weinstein movies aren't on blu-ray and also a bunch of other titles such as Batman Begins arent on blu-ray yet either. Also, when some of the movies get released on both formats, the HD-DVD version might feature more stuff for now. For example, blu-rays don't yet support video commentary or Dolby TrueHD, its also nice having some of the HD-DVD/DVD combos since you can still play them in any player. Yeah, it is another $200, but you can knock off $40 with that CC coupon, and it comes with King Kong and since you are considering it, you know you can afford it.
 
[quote name='TexTuna']So do any of YOU personally (no fanboy news form letters please) have both HD-DVD and Blue Ray, what's your thoughts and opinions?[/QUOTE]

While I have neither the HD-DVD addon or a PS3, I spent a few weeks with a friend of mine who owns both. He and I spent quite a bit of time comparing movies. Thus far, I have to say that the comparisons are totally unfair. Most of the currently available Blu-ray movies are still in MPEG2 format and looked like a regular DVD (IMO). Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, for example, looked horrible and didn't really show off the Blu-ray capabilities. The HD-DVD movies were much more impressive (again IMO) and made me want to run out and buy one. Serenity was a movie that really stuck out in my mind as a must own.

I really think Blu-ray just isn't ready for prime time yet. Despite my initial impressions I am going to give it more time and another chance to impress me.
 
The ballad of ricky bobby pack-in for the PS3 looks horrible. One reason for this is that it is only a single layer disk (BD25 rather than BD50).

The funny thing was in the insider forums on AVS a Sony employee actually countered the above fact by saying that the pack in movie was in no way meant to be a showpiece for Bluray.
 
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