HD-DVD biased sites

[The Don]

Do you check HD-DVD biased sites to see what is going on, or do you stay Blu only?...

[T-Wrecks]

I chose Blu-ray for legitimate reasons, and this is a top-notch site for enthusiasts. Everyone has filters on. The difference is that this site is more professional than most when it comes to forum inter-activity.

[Whytewash]

I check HD DVD sites...

work gets pretty boring. its nice to have a laugh once in a while

[Marcusarilius]

Originally Posted by Whytewash

I check HD DVD sites...

work gets pretty boring. its nice to have a laugh once in a while

They are a pretty laughable bunch. The denial and self delusional comments stemming from the Fan boys on the otherside of the fence are very entertaining at times. You have to take them with a grain of salt and two dashes of pity.

[Sean4000]

Star TRek is still stuck on HD-DUd for the time being and I'm afraid it is as biased as they come.

I am a regular on Trekmovie.com and my friend Matt wrote this interesting article on how the formats are more simmilar that different. I don't necesarily agree with him 100% on the VC-1 issue.

Quote: Matthew Wright of TrekMovie.com:

"""" Hmm that article is slightly dubious. Also his basic premise is essentially a subjective/esthetic one. VC-1 in fact preserves grain better then H.264 (MPEG4-AVC), so he may be confusing “pleasing” with “grain blurred out”, many people do. He also accounted for the drop in HD DVD scores, which was that Universal was hurrying some catalog titles out and didn’t seem to do a good job with them (which studios on both sides are guilty of, Universial is the worst offender though). Further the number of titles released on each format isn’t totally equal, but getting close [HD DVD 338 titles vs Blu-ray 365 titles]. Now whether this is statisically significant between the two I’m not certain, the differences in numbers are probably close enough to be compared properly, but the overall sample size of both formats is far too small to really get any kind of solid conclusion from. Which really sums up the whole format war, there just isn’t enough of anything, players, movie titles, etc. sold yet to call anyone a victor, we have short term information that can swing wildly from week to week depending on what is released on any given Tuesday.

Further his “BR has superior encodes thanks to disc size” doesn’t quite carry the weight he thinks it does, Warner publishes to both formats and uses the same VC-1 encode on both. Many Warner films have had high ratings. So if Warner has a good transfer on BR it does on HD DVD as well, and vice versa.

Also he is arguing different things all mixed in, one of his arguements is about codec choice, not optical disc format. He likes the compression effect of AVC over VC-1. Both HD DVD and Blu-ray titles may use VC-1, AVC, or MPEG2 if they choose. It is up to the studio/production house to pick a codec they feel is best. Sony and Fox eventually chose AVC, Warner has been behind VC-1 since day one, so has Universal, Paramount experimented with all the codecs at different times, eventually choosing AVC. So perhaps AVC is the way to go, but that isn’t about the format per say. The format with the most AVC titles is Blu-ray, yes. But that is a false logic to conclude that the HD DVD platform is somehow poor. That is the choice of the studios releasing titles, not an inherent technical deficiency in one platform or another.

Of course I would argue that that guy doesn’t really know what he’s talking about. VC-1 actually does much better at the subsample level and can use a finer and a more adpative matrix of video blocks then AVC can (which is how it can preserve grain better). The predominant VC-1 encoder application is being refined on an ongoing basis, this is one reason why when Nine Inch Nails went to produce a concert in high definition, for both Blu-ray and HD DVD, they used VC-1. It turns out Microsoft worked closely with the producers to optimize their VC-1 encoder product to deal with the complexities of a live rock show that had fast light changes, etc. The results are stunning and you won’t find reviews complaning about image quality (as it pertains to the codec). Likewise, Shrek the 3rd is near reference quality, again thanks to the VC-1 encoder being tweaked and refined for the best quality in animation as well as live action film, and video sources (such as concerts). Another example of a more recent title is the BBC Video release of Planet Earth which uses VC-1 (it gets high marks). Sadly the US version of Planet Earth seems to have been done poorly and it was done in AVC. So it isn’t so cut and dry, production houses can definitely screw things up, and different masters can make differences as well.""""

[mov9384ie]

Originally Posted by Marcusarilius

They are a pretty laughable bunch. The denial and self delusional comments stemming from the Fan boys on the otherside of the fence are very entertaining at times. You have to take them with a grain of salt and two dashes of pity.

the problem with these sites is the effect it has on newcomers.

someone who just got interested in hdm, goes online to learn, if they stumble on these "neutral" sites, hd-dvd seems the logically better choice because any single pro-bd comment is swarmed by hd-dvd biased members.

[The Don]

I stick to Blu-ray.com ...I'm ignorant to the other sites..

[Joon]

I check avsforum's hd-dvd side from time to time. It is truly a sad side over there. I mean they hang on ANYTHING that is good news for them. I swear look out if they manage to win just one week this year. They will throw a parade and claim victory.

[Marcusarilius]

Originally Posted by mov9384ie

the problem with these sites is the effect it has on newcomers.

someone who just got interested in hdm, goes online to learn, if they stumble on these "neutral" sites, hd-dvd seems the logically better choice because any single pro-bd comment is swarmed by hd-dvd biased members.

That is quite possible. I'm glad I started my on-line HD video format search on this very site. It didn't take long to see the technical comparisons between the two formats and the quality and knowledge of the people here impressed the Hell out of me. When I walked into the local BB a few days later, I had already made up my mind on Blu-ray as my format selection. I questioned the sales person just the same to see what they would say out of curiosity. He actually recommended I go with Blu-ray. I was then 100% positive I had made the right decision. As everyone will tell you here on this site. "Do your home work!" Don't take our word for it. Blu-ray specs and studio support already speak volumes for an informed and accurate decision.

[thegland]

Originally Posted by Whytewash

I check HD DVD sites...

work gets pretty boring. its nice to have a laugh once in a while

That is exactly what led me here too!

[gvortex7]

Originally Posted by thegland

That is exactly what led me here too!

Why, you get a laugh out of Blu-ray.com is it that you're bored at work?

[FourToedStatue]

I post on HD DVD sites I post on blu ray sites and I post on neutral sites.

[Porfie]

Originally Posted by T-Wrecks

I chose Blu-ray for legitimate reasons, and this is a top-notch site for enthusiasts. Everyone has filters on. The difference is that this site is more professional than most when it comes to forum inter-activity.

I agree with you far more professional than most other sites.

[cking2729]

When I first started reading forums it was at HDD. Over the last few months there seemed to be a pretty fair balance between BD and HD commentary. Ever since the $99 fire sale and other price cuts, however, the HD guys have been absolutely unbearable. I guess since they have been so stretched for 'ammunition' over the course of the year, now that they have something to work with, the sling crap like there is no tomorrow.

So, I've taken a break from that place. The entire mood over there seems to be "victory is imminent because of the price cuts are moving SA HD-DVD units and the 65% BD software share isn't going to last long, and was pitiful in the first place because of all the PS3's out there." It's amazing what a positive few weeks will do for all the fanboys that had previously been somewhat humble about BD's lead .

[jw]

Originally Posted by cking2729

When I first started reading forums it was at HDD. Over the last few months there seemed to be a pretty fair balance between BD and HD commentary. Ever since the $99 fire sale and other price cuts, however, the HD guys have been absolutely unbearable. I guess since they have been so stretched for 'ammunition' over the course of the year, now that they have something to work with, the sling crap like there is no tomorrow.

So, I've taken a break from that place. The entire mood over there seems to be "victory is imminent because of the price cuts are moving SA HD-DVD units and the 65% BD software share isn't going to last long, and was pitiful in the first place because of all the PS3's out there." It's amazing what a positive few weeks will do for all the fanboys that had previously been somewhat humble about BD's lead .

Heres the bottom line......
You can give them away all you want, people will eat them up, but when they realize they bought a 99.00 dvd player, they are going to be pissed. Why cant I get Disney movies for it, Why?, That is all you hear. When a customer asks those questions the associate should know the correct answer, not just it didnt come in, It isnt NEVER coming in....Thats what the customer needs to know, dont keep them hanging, tell them.
You just paid 100 for something thats has a limited movie base and is 1080 i, unless you bought it for grandma who still has a picture tube TV, you are going to know the difference.

[cking2729]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

Heres the bottom line......
You can give them away all you want, people will eat them up, but when they realize they bought a 99.00 dvd player, they are going to be pissed. Why cant I get Disney movies for it, Why?, That is all you hear. When a customer asks those questions the associate should know the correct answer, not just it didnt come in, It isnt NEVER coming in....Thats what the customer needs to know, dont keep them hanging, tell them.
You just paid 100 for something thats has a limited movie base and is 1080 i, unless you bought it for grandma who still has a picture tube TV, you are going to know the difference.

We have kinda gotten off topic, but I totally know what you are saying. This makes even further sense to me because I have seen first hand at my local BB, the Black Friday A3's are stacked in between two piles of $99 upconvert SD DVD players. It's almost like they are counting on people to mistakingly/unknowingly nab them! I know the BB home theatre specialists are trained on Blu-Ray with BDA material, including information about supporting studios and manufacturers. I have no idea whether they are trained on HD-DVD or not, but the product confusion is most definitely there.

[Brent]

I visit digitalbits, highdefdigest, and blu-ray.com. I don't see the value in arguing the merits of technology with others - it doesn't get much more objective than the tech specs of blu-ray vs. hd-dvd.

On the other hand, hd-dvd fanatics cite economic reasons... I say they are all 'Reds'. First, the cost of making the blu-ray discs will fall greatly as production increases - hey, another reason for everyone to support blu-ray NOW! Second, soon (relative to mass adoption of HD by the public at large) the price differential bt. blu-ray players and Toshiba's latest hd-dvd installment will be inconsequential to most buyers. Ironically, the format war will ultimately prove conducive to making blu-ray cheaper more quickly... so everyone can go Blu! But how in the world can we expect the HD-DVD disciples to understand any of this?

[U4K61]

I visit the Digital Bits and Widescreen Review, so any HD-DVD info I run into is from there. I don't buy HD-DVD so I don't bother with any HD-DVD only web page.