Are you going to start buying Blu-Ray & HD-DVDs before you have a player?

[Jim Morrison]

Not sure if this question should be posed in here or somewhere else - so i apologise in advance if it's in the wrong place or if a thread on this topic already exists.

Anyway, i was just wondering if anyone will buy any of the first wave of Blu-Ray & HD-DVDs when they are launched, even without having a player?

I started collecting standard dvds back in early 1998 a good 6 months prior to getting my first Region 1 player which meant i had a sizeable collection ready to watch...and i'm tempted to do the same with HD & Blu-Ray.

What about you guys?

[Marc]

no way, i'm going to stick with dvd for a while yet, and wait to see if one format kills the other, or if manufacturers start making combo players. the quality of dvd isn't exactly unwatchable either, so i don't see either format being so spectacular that they take over dvd

[Razor]

Im still using Betamax.

[Mr.D]

No you crazy man.

[delacroix_89]

I'll be purchasing a Blu-ray player in the form of a Playstation 3, and as that's not out till November i'll probably buy a couple of blu-rays before then, but that's it.

[Razor]

Won't the prices for an individal movie come down after a while (4-6 months) so if you buy before you have a player surely your wasting money and you cant use what you have just bought. Seems a strange way of doing things.

I personally cant wait for Blue Ray and HD-DVD to hit the streets. I would like to buy a combi player as Marc has suggested for my HTPC. HD in retail form is taking an age to materialise.

[inzaman]

Originally Posted by Razor

I personally cant wait for Blue Ray and HD-DVD to hit the streets.

Same here

I will not be buying any movies until i have a player and as above i would ideally like a combo player.

[Jim Morrison]

Thanks for the responses fellas..just a couple of points i'll clarify about my stance on this.

First of all, if i do purchase any Blu-Ray/HD DVDs before getting the players late in the year (PS3 and a stand alone HD player, all being well) then they will be of my absolute favourite films only (strictly no blind buys or silly impulse purchases)...and that's only if the reviews are extremely favourable and the difference in quality is significant enough to warrant the 'upgrade'!

Secondly, i won't be getting rid of any of my current dvd collection to make way for HD/Blu-Ray titles. They can live together until the future of the formats is much clearer.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by inzaman

Same here

I will not be buying any movies until i have a player and as above i would ideally like a combo player.

I must admit I have slowed my purchases right down on my dvd's. I buy the odd bargain DVD and essential dvd (batman, starwars etc).

[paulst10]

hi, i wont be buying any form of new dvd player untill they have been out at least a year... or until arcam bring one out

i have seen loads of HD film demo's played and, i havent been that impressed with the movie side of HD so far... take alexander and titanic.. neither look any better than the SD versions on my dv79 - 435xde through HDMI

IMO.. an excellent SD dvd player will probably be able to hold its own against the first generation of HD players... and they will be insanely overpriced to start with anyway

oops! just noticed the question was about dvd's not players (could have swore i was in the dvd player forum )

no i wont be buying any HD disks before i get a player, as the SD dvd prices are falling rapidly now... wait until a dvd hits the shops, wait 3 months, then buy it online for 6.99 , i cant see HD DVD's being that cheap, to start with £20 - 25 would probably be about right

[unique]

it would just be crazy to buy the discs before the player for a number of reasons

1) you can't play them
2) they aren't limited edition, so you can buy them anytime
3) if anything, the prices will go down, rather than up
4) if there are any mastering problems you may be stuck with dud discs
5) remember dvd double dipping?
6) you never know what offers or bundles may be available with your player
7) if people don't buy em cuz of high player prices, the disc prices may come down quicker


rather than buy your discs so you have a collection to play when you get the player, save up some money and place your order(s) when you get the machine and buy one or two discs on the day you get the hardware

[Oakleyspatz]

The first HD-DVD player from Toshiba will retail for $499 which is a little over £250. Not bad for a brand new format.
Having owned a D-VHS player and D-Theater movies I can honestly say that on a large screen (in my case a projector) the difference is astounding. I had The Transporter on both 1080i D-theater and on DVD. Comparing the two, the DVD looked like VHS. It was soft, blurry and grainy. Edge enhancement on DVD is terribly evident when compared to HD and I for one actually don't enjoy watching DVD as much now when I have the chance of watching 1080i High Def. It is like asking if you enjoy watching VHS when you have the DVD?

I will be of to New York in August and fully intend to bring back a HD-DVD player and as many movies as I can find.
Back to the question, I would probably not buy any movies until I had a player.

[Cloysterpeteuk]

Originally Posted by Oakleyspatz

The first HD-DVD player from Toshiba will retail for $499 which is a little over £250. Not bad for a brand new format.
Having owned a D-VHS player and D-Theater movies I can honestly say that on a large screen (in my case a projector) the difference is astounding. I had The Transporter on both 1080i D-theater and on DVD. Comparing the two, the DVD looked like VHS. It was soft, blurry and grainy. Edge enhancement on DVD is terribly evident when compared to HD and I for one actually don't enjoy watching DVD as much now when I have the chance of watching 1080i High Def. It is like asking if you enjoy watching VHS when you have the DVD?

I will be of to New York in August and fully intend to bring back a HD-DVD player and as many movies as I can find.
Back to the question, I would probably not buy any movies until I had a player.

I would happily still watch the VHS if I couldn't get hold of the DVD, of course I wouldn't buy any VHS but for me I rate the plot, acting, effects etc as things which improve the viewing experience for me. Infact I would say that i'm more fussed about the SQ rather than the picture quality, I really don't notice any difference between the lowest and highest quality dvd images so it will be interesting to see how much of an improvement I see with HD. I won't buy any high def content until it's available for the same price as DVD, so even if the DVD is only a squid cheaper I would still buy that.

[TheBigApple]

Having spent a considerable amount of money in the past, I'll probably wait for a couple of years until one HD format is agreed upon, and the price of discs is more reasonable.

As many have already pointed out, the leap in quality is not as significant as that between VHS and DVD to become an early adopter.

[Oakleyspatz]

Originally Posted by Cloysterpeteuk

I would happily still watch the VHS if I couldn't get hold of the DVD.

Yes, but that's not what I said. I said, if you had both, which would you watch? Of course the movie itself is the most important aspect, but a superb image and immersive sound can only help enhance that movie experience.

I would also say that HD is as big a jump in quality as a good VHS copy compared to a DVD. But this is only really noticeable on very large screen displays. On a 28 inch LCD, you may not see that great a difference, on a 7 foot wide screen you most certainly will.