Well, I have decided to adopt Blu-Ray as my next generation format.

[The Dark Knight]

I was on the fence about this for awhile, and I told myself I'd wait for bit and see how things shake out with the format war with HD-DVD before I made a decision.

Well, the PS3's latest update of upconverting DVD's, PS1 and PS2 games to 1080p, took me off the fence and put me in the Blu-Ray camp.

I went out and bought a PS3 the day that update was released. That was basically what I was looking for from the PS3 that was keeping me from buying it in the first place.

This machine is mostly going to get Home Theater duty, and so I have no plans to get games untill Madden 2008 comes out.

So far, I am very happy with the unit. I have been transfering a bunch of media from my computer to the PS3's HD. I have a bunch of HD traiilers I've downloaded, that should look great on my big screen.

[MasterShake]

I was on the fence about this for awhile, and I told myself I'd wait for bit and see how things shake out with the format war with HD-DVD before I made a decision.

Well, the PS3's latest update of upconverting DVD's, PS1 and PS2 games to 1080p, took me off the fence and put me in the Blu-Ray camp.

I went out and bought a PS3 the day that update was released. That was basically what I was looking for from the PS3 that was keeping me from buying it in the first place.

This machine is mostly going to get Home Theater duty, and so I have no plans to get games untill Madden 2008 comes out.

So far, I am very happy with the unit. I have been transfering a bunch of media from my computer to the PS3's HD. I have a bunch of HD traiilers I've downloaded, that should look great on my big screen.

The upconverting of DVD's is a pretty nice feature. I actually just went out and got the LG Super Blue Combo player that plays both HD-DVD and BluRay. Though it plays both, it is first and foremost a BluRay DVD player because some of the features on HD-DVD will not work with the player (namely the pop up menu as you watch the movie) but everything is still accessible. Still, it's nice that I can get either a Bluray or HDDVD movie without worrying. I mostly want them for the HD film anyway, not the extra features. PS3 is a nice choice due to it's price if all you are after is BluRay, but I think some good games will eventually come out.

EDIT: Is that true about the DVD's on PS3 being upconverted to 1080p? I was under the impression that you could only get near HD qauility from the BluRay or HDDVD upconversion. I'm hardly and expert though, I just knows what I like!

[SeeingRed]

The upconverting of DVD's is a pretty nice feature. I actually just went out and got the LG Super Blue Combo player that plays both HD-DVD and BluRay. Though it plays both, it is first and foremost a BluRay DVD player because some of the features on HD-DVD will not work with the player (namely the pop up menu as you watch the movie) but everything is still accessible. Still, it's nice that I can get either a Bluray or HDDVD movie without worrying. I mostly want them for the HD film anyway, not the extra features. PS3 is a nice choice due to it's price if all you are after is BluRay, but I think some good games will eventually come out.

I was looking at that same DVD player until I saw the price.

As much as those cost, I'll have to wait until my next tax return to get one. lmao

[MasterShake]

I was looking at that same DVD player until I saw the price.

As much as those cost, I'll have to wait until my next tax return to get one. lmao

Its not so bad when you consider you could either A) buy a Xbox360 with HDDVD player attachment plus a PS3 for about $1200 or B) a seperate BluRay and HD-DVD player for around the same price or C) buy the combo player and save a lot of shelf space and not worry whether or not your favorite movie will be on BluRay or HD-DVD. Plus, I was lucky and found mine as an open item at Best Buy and got $120 gift card on top of everthing. I ended up buying some HDDVD and BluRay movies with it! I got Batman Begins (HDDVD) and Superman II The Richard Donner Cut (HDDVD) and the first two Pirates of the Carribean on BluRay. They all work perfectly, and I'm pretty happy. Honestly though, I think DVD is just fine for the time being but when you buy the nice TV, you want the nice stuff to go with it. I can't help it, I guess.

[tpryce93]

Its not so bad when you consider you could either A) buy a Xbox360 with HDDVD player attachment plus a PS3 for about $1200 or B) a seperate BluRay and HD-DVD player for around the same price or C) buy the combo player and save a lot of shelf space and not worry whether or not your favorite movie will be on BluRay or HD-DVD. Plus, I was lucky and found mine as an open item at Best Buy and got $120 gift card on top of everthing. I ended up buying some HDDVD and BluRay movies with it! I got Batman Begins (HDDVD) and Superman II The Richard Donner Cut (HDDVD) and the first two Pirates of the Carribean on BluRay. They all work perfectly, and I'm pretty happy. Honestly though, I think DVD is just fine for the time being but when you buy the nice TV, you want the nice stuff to go with it. I can't help it, I guess.

I was just wondering what kind of differences you notice between blu-ray and HDDVD? as far as quality and stuff.

[The Dark Knight]

EDIT: Is that true about the DVD's on PS3 being upconverted to 1080p? I was under the impression that you could only get near HD qauility from the BluRay or HDDVD upconversion. I'm hardly and expert though, I just knows what I like!

Yep, the latest update came with those features.

Upconverting isn't the same as true HD.

They just add more scan lines for the same amount of pixels thereby making the image look better.

You are ultimatly limited by whatever resolution they recorded it in.

[The Dark Knight]

I was just wondering what kind of differences you notice between blu-ray and HDDVD? as far as quality and stuff.

There really isn't much. They use the same codecs.


The major differences are...

Blu-Ray has about double the capacity of HD-DVD (50GB vs 25GB)

and as of now, HD-DVD is more affordable.

[LbloodOjunkieG]

Yep, the latest update came with those features.

Upconverting isn't the same as true HD.

They just add more scan lines for the same amount of pixels thereby making the image look better.

You are ultimatly limited by whatever resolution they recorded it in.

Correct. The difference between upscaled dvds and true HD is like night and day. Regular dvds will look better, but nothing compares to true HD.

I think you made the right choice TDK. Blu-Ray is the format I chose also. Do you have any plans on upgrading the hard drive?

[MasterShake]

There really isn't much. They use the same codecs.


The major differences are...

Blu-Ray has about double the capacity of HD-DVD (50GB vs 25GB)

and as of now, HD-DVD is more affordable.

I think I read that HD-DVD is going to do some kind of multilayer disc that will match or exceed the storage capacity of BluRay. A really interesting trend I see developing is double sided discs that can be played on either BluRay or HD-DVD (one side for each) which is a lot cheaper than the dual player I just bought! Also, Xbox live has HD movies available for download, and much like downloadable music killed off CD's maybe an I-tunes like movie site will replace all formats and all of our HD media will be stored on hard drives. Then me and you will just have some expensive paperweights. Like you said, the HD qaulity between the two formats is indistinguishable, so who's to say they won't just do away with both formats and make everything a download? I can't even remember the last time since the new NIN cd that I actually bought a cd due to Itunes and other music download services.

[The Dark Knight]

Correct. The difference between upscaled dvds and true HD is like night and day. Regular dvds will look better, but nothing compares to true HD.

I think you made the right choice TDK. Blu-Ray is the format I chose also. Do you have any plans on upgrading the hard drive?

I have no immediate plans to upgrade the hard drive but I can see that coming down the road. It depends on how much content I will download from the net.

[The Dark Knight]

I think I read that HD-DVD is going to do some kind of multilayer disc that will match or exceed the storage capacity of BluRay. A really interesting trend I see developing is double sided discs that can be played on either BluRay or HD-DVD (one side for each) which is a lot cheaper than the dual player I just bought! Also, Xbox live has HD movies available for download, and much like downloadable music killed off CD's maybe an I-tunes like movie site will replace all formats and all of our HD media will be stored on hard drives. Then me and you will just have some expensive paperweights. Like you said, the HD qaulity between the two formats is indistinguishable, so who's to say they won't just do away with both formats and make everything a download? I can't even remember the last time since the new NIN cd that I actually bought a cd due to Itunes and other music download services.

Yeah, I think your right. Downloading is going to be a major player in all this.

I went and got a netflix subscription because I thought it would be more economical then buying a bunch of Blu-Ray's every week.

If there's a Blu-Ray title I really like, I'll buy it, but other than that, I don't see myself going ape**** like I did with DVD's.

[Bronco_Armada]

I can tell the diff. between dvd and Bluray/HD-DVD. but I can't tell the diff between bluray and HD DVD. I read that B.R. disks can hold more space. I have yet to invest in either format. And will buy or the other when I am finished with school. For now 8.50 for a night at the movies, or 5.00 to rent a standard DVD is good enough for me.

[badlandz]

I will seriously consider one once we have a winner or good affordable combo players hit the market. I just can't go with one or the other because there will always be movies that Universal has or that Sony has that I want and can't get on the other format. I know Blu-Ray is looking good because there aren't many studios going exclusively HD-DVD but I have to be wary of Sony. They don't exactly have the best track record with formats when you consider Betamax, Mini Disc and more recently UMD (movies for the PSP). I just hope I don't get impatient and make the wrong choice. I did just get into HDTV this year and it is just amazing and I hope I won't have to wait too long before diving into the next format.

[MasterShake]

I will seriously consider one once we have a winner or good affordable combo players hit the market. I just can't go with one or the other because there will always be movies that Universal has or that Sony has that I want and can't get on the other format. I know Blu-Ray is looking good because there aren't many studios going exclusively HD-DVD but I have to be wary of Sony. They don't exactly have the best track record with formats when you consider Betamax, Mini Disc and more recently UMD (movies for the PSP). I just hope I don't get impatient and make the wrong choice. I did just get into HDTV this year and it is just amazing and I hope I won't have to wait too long before diving into the next format.

That's a nice level headed approach. I need to have a kid or something so I can stop having so much disposable income and wasting my money. If I was in this situation about 25 years ago, I probably would have bought a Betamax!

[tnedator]

I was on the fence about this for awhile, and I told myself I'd wait for bit and see how things shake out with the format war with HD-DVD before I made a decision.

Well, the PS3's latest update of upconverting DVD's, PS1 and PS2 games to 1080p, took me off the fence and put me in the Blu-Ray camp.

I went out and bought a PS3 the day that update was released. That was basically what I was looking for from the PS3 that was keeping me from buying it in the first place.

This machine is mostly going to get Home Theater duty, and so I have no plans to get games untill Madden 2008 comes out.

So far, I am very happy with the unit. I have been transfering a bunch of media from my computer to the PS3's HD. I have a bunch of HD traiilers I've downloaded, that should look great on my big screen.

I'm an HD-DVD guy at the moment. Only because I had an Xbox 360, and to get an HD-DVD drive, that came with an Xbox remote (which I didn't have) and a movie for $200 was too good to pass up.

While the jump from standard def TV to HDTV was much more impressive than standard def to HD-DVD, it is still impressive. The reason the jump isn't as impressive, is because they were already producing the best quality wide screeen mpeg2 movies possible on DVD, so they were pushing the NTSC envelope much more than 4:3 standard def TV.

Either way, the HD DVDs are nice.