Topic: Universal HD Player

[cheshirecat]

Is there one on the market yet?  I've been contemplating an HD player but I don't want to get involved in the whole format war... I know there was talk of one maybe a year ago, and a quick search of the internet shows that Samsung has a dual format HD player coming out in Autumn, but I was wondering if there are any other options on the market?

[Nick's Picks]

i'd say no.
they no likey ripped DVD-As, and SACD is "non rippable"

[John Kelly]

Yes there are.  LG has one now, but it's only got about a half-implemented HD-DVD spec.  Waiting for the Samsung is probably the way to go for now.

Edit - And if you want to watch Universal HD movies, all you need is a $199 HD-DVD player, as Universal is exclusive to HD-DVD.

[cheshirecat]

Edit - And if you want to watch Universal HD movies, all you need is a $199 HD-DVD player, as Universal is exclusive to HD-DVD.

Yeah yeah yeah... cut me some slack, I'm at work here 

Anyway to further clarify, I'm looking for the video side of my setup, something that will play HD-DVD and Blu-Ray... not really that worried about audio support, I practically never use any discs except to rip them to flac and play them via Squeezebox.

[Nick's Picks]

hmmm...
I read universal HD player as "universal hard drive player"...as in hdd based music server.

[macdaddy]

i wouldnt worry about hd-dvd - by xmas, blu-ray will likely be the clear winner of the format war...

[cheshirecat]

hmmm...
I read universal HD player as "universal hard drive player"...as in hdd based music server.

hahaha, d'oh... yeah i should have been more clear, when you're thinking one thing, you don't always think about other interpretations.

[John Kelly]

i wouldnt worry about hd-dvd - by xmas, blu-ray will likely be the clear winner of the format war...

Don't listen to the fanboys.  Neither format is going anywhere for a while.  Expect Lionsgate to go neutral very soon, especially after HD-DVD blows away Blu-Ray this holiday season with sub-$150 players, while BluRay will be sticking with the $599 PS3 (the 60gbs will be gone by then).

[cheshirecat]

i wouldnt worry about hd-dvd - by xmas, blu-ray will likely be the clear winner of the format war...

Don't listen to the fanboys.  Neither format is going anywhere for a while.  Expect Lionsgate to go neutral very soon, especially after HD-DVD blows away Blu-Ray this holiday season with sub-$150 players, while BluRay will be sticking with the $599 PS3 (the 60gbs will be gone by then).

hahaha, exactly.  Format war?  What format war?

[macdaddy]

fanboy? gimme a break.

here are the facts:
blockbuster (responsible for 40% of film studios' revenue) is going blu-ray only
target (nation's second largest retailer) is pushing blu-ray, and seems to be phasing out hd-dvd
toshiba (hd-dvd patent holder) is making blu-ray/hd-dvd players
universal (the lone exclusive hd-dvd film producer) is likely to go neutral soon
i could go on...

furthermore, all i wrote was:

"i wouldnt worry about hd-dvd - by xmas, blu-ray will likely be the clear winner of the format war..."

while i might be pushing the timetable, i was just trying to offer advice - if you are looking to get into highdef dvd players, you would be wise to go with blu-ray, or at least one of the dual format players...

and if you dont think it is a format war, what exactly do you think it is..? this kind of deal is a zero-sum game for big business.

[John Kelly]

fanboy? gimme a break.

here are the facts:
blockbuster (responsible for 40% of film studios' revenue) is going blu-ray only
target (nation's second largest retailer) is pushing blu-ray, and seems to be phasing out hd-dvd
toshiba (hd-dvd patent holder) is making blu-ray/hd-dvd players
universal (the lone exclusive hd-dvd film producer) is likely to go neutral soon
i could go on...

furthermore, all i wrote was:

"i wouldnt worry about hd-dvd - by xmas, blu-ray will likely be the clear winner of the format war..."

while i might be pushing the timetable, i was just trying to offer advice - if you are looking to get into highdef dvd players, you would be wise to go with blu-ray, or at least one of the dual format players...

and if you dont think it is a format war, what exactly do you think it is..? this kind of deal is a zero-sum game for big business.

Haha.  Nice facts.
1. Blockbuster is not BD exclusive - HD-DVD is still available in the original HD stores (they just didn't expand the program) and it is still available on Blockbuster.com
2. Target is NOT pushing BluRay.  All that happened was Sony bought an endcap.  That's it.
3. Toshiba is NOT making BluRay players.
4. The CEO of Universal just confirmed that they are NOT going neutral anytime soon.

Unless, of course, you could actually prove any of what you just wrote.  In which case I'd eat my hat.

You may not be a fanboy, but you definitely have bought into the BS sony's been spewing in the media.  Right now HD-DVD has 3 players in the top 10 on Amazon.com, BluRay has none.  3 of the top 4 best selling HD movies are HD-DVD, 6 out of the top 10.  There is absolutely no reason to think HD-DVD is going anywhere.

Edit - BTW, I just re-read my posts and they came off a bit hostile.  Don't mean it that way, I can just get a little heated about this stuff.

[macdaddy]

the bs comes from both camps. the blockbuster deal is huge, and those "original HD stores" are but a handful, so their impact (of carrying hd-dvd) is negligible. the target move stings, and if history repeats, is a harbinger of things to come. i will have to dig up the toshiba bit (saw it discussed on the avs boards somewhere), and while the universal public company line is no blu-ray, inside word is different...


here is an article re: the situation, basically confirming what we have both just said...

while the numbers dont show it right now, the sales are going to be shifting soon - they already are. my point is still valid - of the two formats, hd-dvd is the one seemingly on the ropes, and if one is shopping for a high def player, one would be wise to pay attention to the signs, and go with blu-ray. just my opinion, but that's all i was offering in the first place. oh, and john - it's all good, we have been on this board for years now, and i know better than to think you are being hostile. i know you are into this stuff - you almost talked me into buying a hddvd player. but then i went the other way...

+t

oh, and in an effort to sway this thread back to the topic...

here is a good place to look for dual format player information; not definitive, but a ver good place to start.

[Nick's Picks]

my question is...
are either of these HD formats that superior over a well upsampled 1080i/p output ?

[John Kelly]

my question is...
are either of these HD formats that superior over a well upsampled 1080i/p output ?

They are 1080p content. 

If you're referring to broadcast television, then yes, they are superior.  HD on cable/satellite is compressed - think of it as the mp3 of the HD world.

[nickgregory]

my question is...
are either of these HD formats that superior over a well upsampled 1080i/p output ?

They are 1080p content. 

If you're referring to broadcast television, then yes, they are superior.  HD on cable/satellite is compressed - think of it as the mp3 of the HD world.

I get HD over the antenna for my locals...which is not compressed, and to date, nothing touches it...hell the local news broadcast (WRAL, the first to go HD all the time nationally from a local news broadcast angle) has the best picture I have ever seen..

I believe Nick is referring to upsampling players...such as the Oppo units....I recently bought a 981HD which upsamples to 1080p and the picture is freaking fantastic.  Is HD or BluRay better?  Maybe...but I have a library of normal DVDs that i have no intention on replacing and I am comfortable with my upsampling player until one of the formats goes the way of the minidisc