[X10A_Freedom]

Originally Posted by tron3

What new DVD/HDD recorders? The Sony DHG-hdd250 & 500 has no dvd recorder built-in. Even if it did, it would record at standard resolution. Which is exactly why my Panasonic dmr-e100 recorder is great for standard TV, but not hi-def. At best the XP mode is closer to super-bit quality. But still only SDTV resolution.

VHS? You trying to make me laugh? SDTV is 480 lines of resolution. VHS only does 240 lines! Even in SP mode, VHS can not compare to my dvd recorder. VHS sucked when it came out. But few people knew or cared. It recorded and played.

People are more tech savvy today and the industry has a harder time keeping us in the dark.

So VHS is not so great.. but then it works. There are DVD/HDD recorders that give DVD recordings and Hard Disk Drive (about 160-200GB) support. Personally, I think this is the stuff for SDTV.. maybe even HDTV. Right now, HDTV is starting to see some market as the price already came down a little, but it is by far not for the general public yet (maybe in the next few year or so). As with any technology, the faster you get stuff, the more you get rip off, and I dont think you want a 15' HDTV either.

I see you got a DVD recorder, so I guess you are faster than some people, but not everyone is as keen to buy a DVD recorder just yet. However, I do see that DVD recorder becoming the main stream in the next few years, so blu-ray or HD-DVD is still AT LEAST a few years AWAY. We waited about 5 years for DVD to become the (sub-)standard[really not a full standard yet, since there are still CD products], so I THINK that it would be at least 2010 before we see mass productions of blu-ray or HD-DVD. The battle between the two just makes the process longer. Maybe it will be the case that HD-DVD becoming a PC product, and blu-ray for movies... but I highly doubt two standards can co-exist. HD-DVD is highly compatable with current technology, but blu-ray is sort-of out of the blue, and it takes longer to adopt.

Sony introduced the memory strip, but I don't really see products of other brands use them. If you are die-hard sony fan, by all means go for blu-ray, since Sony WILL support it on its own. For me personally, I would like the option to adopt to different brands, and not stick with ONE company or a GROUP of maybe 20 companies(I am not a fan of Disney btw). There is also the fact that Sony often have higher priced products for slight increases in performance. Basically, Sony is like a mercedes.. it MIGHT not have the performance, but it does have the brand.