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View Full Version : HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray: The War Updated


Glockstar
05-22-2006, 11:49 AM
The first of the HD-DVD players went on sale April 18, 2006.

There are two players available. Both are made by Toshiba. One costs $499, the other $799.

As of this moment there are just 12 movies available for sale (Serenity; The Last Samurai; The Fifth Element; Goodfellas; Apollo 13; Cinderella Man; Million Dollar Baby; Jarhead; Swordfish; Doom; Assault on Precinct 13; and The Phantom of the Opera), but dozens more are to be made available "in the coming weeks" - including at least 4 that are supposed to come out tomorrow (5/23).

Reports of sales thus far have been mixed. Many places, however, reported excellent first day sales, selling-out with lots of pre-orders still left to fill.

It seems that most of the negativity revolves around a) not having enough units (Toshiba limited their initial shipment, and, apparently, have been slow with their subsequent shipments), and/or b) not having much of a movie selection.

Retailers are listing HD-DVD movies from $19.99 to $29.99.

The cheapest of the two HD-DVD players out now costs half what the cheapest Blu-ray Disc player will cost when it arrives in June.

Blu-Ray movies are also expected to average around $5 more than their HD-DVD counterparts.

The PS3 will NOT be the first Blu-Ray player to hit the North American market.

The first Blu-Ray player is to come from Samsung, and its $999 price tag is expected to make it the cheapest Blu-Ray disc player for at least several months.

trebor
05-22-2006, 12:44 PM
IGN Gear just did an article regarding HDCP, HDMI and how the PS3 "Tard Pack" will be useless as a movie player in 2 - 3 years.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/709/709495p1.html

The gist of the article is that since the $499 PS3 will NOT have an HDMI out, the upcoming HDCP copy protection will mean that all Blu-Ray movies will be down-converted to 520p.

So, really, if you want a PS3 to have as a long-term Blu-ray player, you will need to buy the $599 model.

Rogue Bounty Hunter
05-22-2006, 01:10 PM
IGN Gear just did an article regarding HDCP, HDMI and how the PS3 "Tard Pack" will be useless as a movie player in 2 - 3 years.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/709/709495p1.html

The gist of the article is that since the $499 PS3 will NOT have an HDMI out, the upcoming HDCP copy protection will mean that all Blu-Ray movies will be down-converted to 520p.

So, really, if you want a PS3 to have as a long-term Blu-ray player, you will need to buy the $599 model.

That article is what changed my mind about the $499 PS3 model. I'm not big on using my console to play movies, but paying the extra $100 for Blu-ray movie capabilities (instead of shelling out for a stand alone BR player) could be important down the road.