Musings on going dual format

[Mickle]

Well i've finally done it. I managed to pick up a Panasonic DMP BD10 from John Lewis in Brent Cross for £280 with a free copy of Fantastic Four () and managed to pick up Casino Royale, Layer Cake and Chicago in a three for two offer in HMV (god knows what the spotty teen in HMV thought of me buying those three maybe he gets a lot of Daniel Craig/musical fans).

I must say i'm chuffed to say the least. I feel like I can happily wait for a good long time before I consider parting with anymore cash. Probably for an Arcam/Denon with all the bells and whistles.

It's a great feeling to know that i'm not bound by one format for HD films anymore and I feel that the BD player over analogues and the HD-DVD over optical is a great solution for the moment. Previously my concern had been that i'll be missing out on the lossless soundtracks on HD-DVD but to be honest the difference between lossless and lossy on next gen DVD formats is nothing to get bent out of shape about (imo). I'm happy as from my setup I get either lossless or at 'worst' 1.5mb dts which sounds excellent.

In short if you're considering going dual format I can highly recommend it.

[Pecker]

I can echo that - I felt the same when my PS3 arrived.

Steve W

[richard plumb]

I'm taking a slightly different tack. While I can appreciate that I'll have access to more movies by going dual format, I'm trying to hold out as long as possible to see if any of the muddy waters get clearer in 2008.

Until then, there are plenty of movies on bluray to occupy my wallet. If there was a serious drought of content, then I would get itchy fingers and perhaps buy a HDDVD player for those titles I don't yet have but would like. But right now, if I bought a 2nd player, I'd end up buying the same number of titles, just spread between two formats not one.

So I spend more on hardware but get the same number of movies. Doesn't make sense to me. yet.

[Mickle]

Originally Posted by richard plumb

I'm taking a slightly different tack. While I can appreciate that I'll have access to more movies by going dual format, I'm trying to hold out as long as possible to see if any of the muddy waters get clearer in 2008.

Until then, there are plenty of movies on bluray to occupy my wallet. If there was a serious drought of content, then I would get itchy fingers and perhaps buy a HDDVD player for those titles I don't yet have but would like. But right now, if I bought a 2nd player, I'd end up buying the same number of titles, just spread between two formats not one.

So I spend more on hardware but get the same number of movies. Doesn't make sense to me. yet.

That makes sense to me. You shouldnt buy the hardware if you don't think you'll buy the films to play on it. Likewise if the format specific titles don't float your boat then there is no reason too either. For me, i'd been meaning to buy the Die-hard box set for quite a while but would rather own them on BD now that it's been released. Apocalypto I enjoyed when I rented it but i'd rather have it on BD than DVD.

In short i've been holding back from buying films due to not having the appropriate player and that's been getting on me nips.

[Pecker]

Originally Posted by richard plumb

I'm taking a slightly different tack. While I can appreciate that I'll have access to more movies by going dual format, I'm trying to hold out as long as possible to see if any of the muddy waters get clearer in 2008.

Until then, there are plenty of movies on bluray to occupy my wallet. If there was a serious drought of content, then I would get itchy fingers and perhaps buy a HDDVD player for those titles I don't yet have but would like. But right now, if I bought a 2nd player, I'd end up buying the same number of titles, just spread between two formats not one.

So I spend more on hardware but get the same number of movies. Doesn't make sense to me. yet.

That's a very sensible point, in as far as it goes.

If I look at what's available only on Blu-ray Disc, and what I'd be missing out on if I didn't have HD DVD, it won't be too many films.

But here's the thing. If I look at what's available only on HD DVD, and what I'd be missing out on if I didn't have Blu-ray Disc, it still won't be too many films.

But if I think of it as having high def or not, the pull of all films is strong.

And ultimately, the cost of getting into a second format if you already have one is pretty minimal. All the more so if you're currently BD-only.

In the great scheme of things we're still talking about people with a £1,000+ display, £400+ amp, £800+ speaker system and £300+ (probably a lot more) Blu-ray player making arguments as to why they can't afford to spend another £150 on a HD DVD player.

Even if there are only half-a-dozen HD DVD-exclusives you fancy, it surely soon becomes a pretty tenuous argument.

Steve W

[Rasczak]

Originally Posted by richard plumb

I'd end up buying the same number of titles, just spread between two formats not one.

Would this not be better though? I don't know your tastes or viewing habits but, by implication, it sounds as though you are effectively buying titles you might otherwise pass on. Surely better to buy 100% of 'must have' titles.

[tausifs]

[quote=Mickle;6106958]Well i've finally done it. I managed to pick up a Panasonic DMP BD10 from John Lewis in Brent Cross for £280 QUOTE]


How so cheap ? Was it a display model ?

[Mickle]

[quote=tausifs;6108493]

Originally Posted by Mickle

Well i've finally done it. I managed to pick up a Panasonic DMP BD10 from John Lewis in Brent Cross for £280 QUOTE]


How so cheap ? Was it a display model ?

Naah it was fully boxed and everything. I read on a forum that some dude had picked it up at his JL in Newcastle for £280 so I nipped down to my local one and they had it in their reduced section. Almost didnt see it at first coz of all the other crap they're flogging off. I've been looking around trying to find the original poster again so I can thank him.

[Rich777]

I'm tempted by the blue side, cause I want a new toy PS3 it will be. I am positive that the "war" is over and ended in stalemate.. so I think its safe to splash on BD and get to enjoy a few new films in the other of the last optical disc formats

[tausifs]

Does the panny 10A do bitstream of hi def sound formats TrueHD , and DTS-MA over HDMI, as well as uncompressed LPCM ?

[Mickle]

Originally Posted by tausifs

Does the panny 10A do bitstream of hi def sound formats TrueHD , and DTS-MA over HDMI, as well as uncompressed LPCM ?

I believe it's HDMI 1.1 so no to bitstream over HDMI. It'll decode every codec except Master Audio (surprise) over analogue. I think it's the same for decoding and sending over HDMI but i'm not 100% on that.

[SuperSquash]

Interesting this, as I have just received an EP35 from Santa this Christmas and already I'm thinking I 'need' Bluray as well. I really dislike the idea of being tied to one format and so it seems only natural to buy into a bit of Blu as well!

The reason I posted was to ask you, Mickle, what you make of the HD experience on a 32" screen? Before deciding to go HD, I was concerned that my small screen (also a 32") wouldn't really show off HD's true quality. After watching 5 HD movies now, I definitely agree that I'm not getting the best out of my new player. That isn't to say that it doesn't look great, it does. But I can see how a much bigger screen would show it's true colours so to speak. Can I tell the difference? Yes, but only just. I watched an SD DVD last night and thought it looked very good and for the majority of the film was trying to justify my new toy - even though I don't need to - the Tosh is an excellent upscaler too for that price.

So now I'm in a position where I'm wanting to offload my 3 month old LCD (which is ludicrous behavior by all accounts) and replace it with a larger one and to add to that, I also think a BD player would be a great idea!

I think I'm losing my marbles!

[Mickle]

Originally Posted by SuperSquash

Interesting this, as I have just received an EP35 from Santa this Christmas and already I'm thinking I 'need' Bluray as well. I really dislike the idea of being tied to one format and so it seems only natural to buy into a bit of Blu as well!

The reason I posted was to ask you, Mickle, what you make of the HD experience on a 32" screen? Before deciding to go HD, I was concerned that my small screen (also a 32") wouldn't really show off HD's true quality. After watching 5 HD movies now, I definitely agree that I'm not getting the best out of my new player. That isn't to say that it doesn't look great, it does. But I can see how a much bigger screen would show it's true colours so to speak. Can I tell the difference? Yes, but only just. I watched an SD DVD last night and thought it looked very good and for the majority of the film was trying to justify my new toy - even though I don't need to - the Tosh is an excellent upscaler too for that price.

So now I'm in a position where I'm wanting to offload my 3 month old LCD (which is ludicrous behavior by all accounts) and replace it with a larger one and to add to that, I also think a BD player would be a great idea!

I think I'm losing my marbles!

I think in Home Cinema it's really easy to suffer from upgrade-itis especially with the new audio codecs (especially DTS-MA and the lack of internal decoding in any player out there at present), Blu-ray, HD DVD and HDMI revisions. Just try and resist is all the advice I can offer i'm afraid. My poor suffering girlfriend looked like the least surprised person in the world when a shiny new box appeared under the TV

I can sympathise with the screen dilemma. I always feel that HD looks great on my screen but it isn't always massively obvious as I generally sit at SD viewing distances rather than HD viewing distances. I don't think it's a coincidence that the titles i've watched that show off HD to the best effect on my display are 1.78:1 (Corpse Bride and Children of Men) and thus fill the whole screen as there is, frankly, more image to notice the improvement on. What has made me question investing in HD image wise is Prison Break Season One which I received on DVD at Christmas. If someone told me it was the HD version of the series I was watching I'd have believed them as it looked that good.

Of course then I always have strived to get the best quality I can afford, or can't usually, and HD is certainly that. Also I like to revisit my film collection when I upgrade any component that has a noticeable effect. I recently got my sub and have re-watched plenty of films to enjoy the .1 it took me so sodding long to finally get. I think that when I get my 50" plasma/Projector set up i'll quite happily rewatch them again and enjoy the better view. And when I finally get a player that can decode DTS-MA i'll quite happily re-watch any titles that use that codec that I buy between now and then.

Excuse me if i'm waffling on but it's new years eve and the Rum has been flowing!

[bradavon78]

HD-DVD for me too has the stronger (just) software support but there is still a large selection of BDs I want to not want to go Format Solo!

[Greg66]

I spent an entertaining if ultimately fruitless 30 minutes this evening trying to acquire a BD-UP5000.

We have some friends in Vancouver. I prevailed upon them to see whether any of their friendsin Washington state would take delivery of a Sammy for me in WA; for them to collect it (they cross the border regularly) and hold it for me to collect it (I am headed to Van for skiing next week).

To my utter amazement, the answer was yes. I would have assumed that this was some p!ss poor Nigerian fraud had the tables been turned, but there you are.

So off I headed to Circuit City's website. Only to discover, in the end, that they will only accept payment from a credit card registered to a US address. So GameOver for me.

But *** is that all about? It is one thing that this player is available from handful of outlets. It is another that none of them wil ship internationally. But then to ask for a US-registered CC? Anooying doesn't really cover it...