I'm thinking about getting a HD DVD player for cheap movies.

[Spankey]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

Some points to remember:

(1) If you think someone is a troll, don't challenge them. Report the post and let the moderators deal with it.

(2) Lots of lurkers read the threads. So, respond to such posts in seriousness (and politely) in case someone thinks the original poster makes sense.

Gary

Gary, It's not that I think someone is a troll. There is just a very visible trend where those asking about HD-DVD have a very low post count. There are many HT sites that will willingly suggest they snatch up an HD-DVD player. AVS, HDD, HTF all come to mind. Why come to Blu-ray.com of all places to ask such a question? It's just a trend that has become an annoyance. Not so much the person asking the question.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by Spankey

Gary, It's not that I think someone is a troll. There is just a very visible trend where those asking about HD-DVD have a very low post count. There are many HT sites that will willingly suggest they snatch up an HD-DVD player. AVS, HDD, HTF all come to mind. Why come to Blu-ray.com of all places to ask such a question? It's just a trend that has become an annoyance. Not so much the person asking the question.

I understand completely. But, I ask you this: Which member is more likely to not fully understand:

(1) A long time reader/member of Blu-ray.com?
(2) A newbie?

Suspicious, yes. But, HD DVD is a completely dead format, so it's no threat. So, there is no point not to respond to these posts politely.

Gary

[scragham]

Originally Posted by Attitude2000

Blu-Ray is great and everything, but there are a lot of univers titles I'd like to own and HDi seems cool. My point is, the HD DVD Add-On for Xbox 360 is $50 box and everyone is trying to get rid of their stock. So should I get the drive and scoop up some bargains?

if you have the money to blow, sure.

however, keep in mind that any HD DVDs will only ever play on the HD DVD player(s) you buy... which means that if you expand your movie watching outside that first setup, you're screwed.

but hey, if you're ok with that, and have the money to blow... again, sure.

[Thegide]

Originally Posted by scragham

if you have the money to blow, sure.

however, keep in mind that any HD DVDs will only ever play on the HD DVD player(s) you buy... which means that if you expand your movie watching outside that first setup, you're screwed.

but hey, if you're ok with that, and have the money to blow... again, sure.

+1

What seems to be a good investment because of clearance prices now, may turn out to be a burden later when you want to be able to play those movies elsewhere. You may find yourself double-dipping anyways, in which case, you haven't saved any money at all.

If you've already got Blu-ray hardware (which I hope is the case since you are touting HD DVD on a Blu-ray site), I would suggest spending the extra $10 per disc and keep your collection one color. Those Universal titles ARE coming, be patient, as suggested by a number of our insiders.

[Daredevil666]

If HD-DVD players were only playing HD-DVD I would say keep away.

But not only are they the best SD players out there, they also allow you to buy about 800 HD titles from all over the world, for nearly the same price as a SD title.

I think that by the time you buy your 10th HD-DVD, the player will have come for free. What will be the point in getting the same discs on Blu, they will all have the same encodes, for triple the price. You can always resell the lot in 10 years, when Blu will be on but about to be replaced by 3D anyway.

[kingtuna]

@Spanky,

if you think I'm a "troll," because I have a low post count, then I'm sorry to say, but you are sadly mistaken. It's really amazing how some people on these forums resort to calling someone a "troll" because they look at an argument objectively and from different sides. Yes, I do have a low post count. Why, you ask? That's because I read more than I post, and it is difficult for me to post all the time, since I have a 9-5 job.

Another reason why I might have a low post count is because when I do post, I actually contribute more than just a "+1" or "haha yeah."

I've been reading the forums of blu-ray.com, highdefdigest.com, and other sites since I got my PS3 and first blu-rays in July. In this thread, I just brought up a valid point when it comes to why someone might want to buy a HD DVD player now. You don't have to agree with me, but if you disagree with me, I (along with everyone else) would probably prefer that you do it in an objective way, rather than calling some one a troll. I don't mean to single you out, but I've seen this a lot on these forums and other forums on the internet.

I have the MOST respect for the mods on blu-ray.com. This site has always provided me with a lot of knowledge when it comes to my HT, PS3, and blu-ray viewing.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by kingtuna

@Spanky,

if you think I'm a "troll," because I have a low post count, then I'm sorry to say, but you are sadly mistaken. It's really amazing how some people on these forums resort to calling someone a "troll" because they look at an argument objectively and from different sides. Yes, I do have a low post count. Why, you ask? That's because I read more than I post, and it is difficult for me to post all the time, since I have a 9-5 job.

Another reason why I might have a low post count is because when I do post, I actually contribute more than just a "+1" or "haha yeah."

I've been reading the forums of blu-ray.com, highdefdigest.com, and other sites since I got my PS3 and first blu-rays in July. In this thread, I just brought up a valid point when it comes to why someone might want to buy a HD DVD player now. You don't have to agree with me, but if you disagree with me, I (along with everyone else) would probably prefer that you do it in an objective way, rather than calling some one a troll. I don't mean to single you out, but I've seen this a lot on these forums and other forums on the internet.

I have the MOST respect for the mods on blu-ray.com. This site has always provided me with a lot of knowledge when it comes to my HT, PS3, and blu-ray viewing.

Spankey was indicating a pattern that happened to include people with a low post count but no one was or is saying "anyone with a low post count is trouble."

[kingtuna]

Originally Posted by JTK

Spankey was indicating a pattern that happened to include people with a low post count but no one was or is saying "anyone with a low post count is trouble."

Oh ok, JTK. Thank you for clearing that up. I hope I didn't sound irrate in my last post...

[owa]

Originally Posted by Luis_A51

Why dont you go buy a week old newspaper while you're at it? I bet its cheaper than todays paper.

Lots of sarcasm so skip if you don't want to waste your time.

Oh come on now Luis_A51. You've got to agree that this makes a heck of a lot of sense. We're finally getting forum members that really seem to get it and are more helpful to the community as a whole. Where else can you find such welcome and useful HD DVD news and hot-HD DVD-price info? Certainly not at an HD DVD site or neutral site. That wouldn't make any sense at all...actually, eh, nevermind, it was a silly thought.

I mean, these new guys frequently post in the wrong section or bump old threads just to help keep the mods on their toes and make sure we're all paying attention. Nice. Recently, it was also revealed that the search function is too difficult to use so they even try to help out with that. So thoughtful, creating repeat threads every few hours so if you're not on the site constantly, you don't have to search for popular topics. There's sure to be several recent threads on the same subject, making it trivial to find the oh-so-hot topics like when is Star Wars, LoTR, etc. coming to blu-ray, or why blu-ray has grain when grain doesn't exist anywhere else in the world or what titles you're most disappointed in PQ-wise, AQ-wise, story-wise, all of the above-wise or what titles you're most interested in PQ-wise, AQ-wise, story-wise or your favorite title on blu-ray so far or your top-5 or your top-10 or your top 50 or your top 75.5 or your favorite titles not on blu-ray or your favorite future title that hasn't been thought of yet. The constructive criticism after someone's thread gets merged with one of the other 100 threads on the same subject or when the thread is moved to the proper section is another nice touch but it should be perfectly clear, the new crowd is definitely here to help.

Besides, it's hard to argue with their logic. For example, creating threads on high blu-ray prices (players/movies) or complaining about a few dollars difference between some titles but then spending $100+ for players/titles on a defunct format is better and cheaper. The HD DVD player (HD-A20 for example), while slower and less stable than a decent DVD upscaling player, is on sale and who can resist a bargain especially since money isn't a concern...oh, wait...uh, nevermind. Just need to remember, blu-ray titles are $5 to $10 too high but paying $100+ for HD DVDs (player+media) isn't a problem. Oh, and don't forget this very important point, you're saving whatever blu-ray or upscaling player you have now by off-loading the upscaling duties to the HD DVD player and as an added bonus you get to learn patience in the process (nothing but upside on that one). Anyway, I just learned of the off-loading tip recently and I'm very thankful for that. Gotta make sure the players are still working 30 years from now since you know, very concerned about money.

Okay, I'm all out of sarcasm. The above was just filler/fluff to get to a question: Is there any way to add a block of people to an ignore list at one time (maybe using join-date as the criteria)?

[JTK]

Originally Posted by owa

Oh come on now Luis_A51. You've got to agree that this makes a heck of a lot of sense. We're finally getting forum members that really seem to get it and are more helpful to the community as a whole. Where else can you find such welcome and useful HD DVD news and hot-HD DVD-price info? Certainly not at an HD DVD site or neutral site. That wouldn't make any sense at all...actually, eh, nevermind, it was a silly thought.

I mean, these new guys frequently post in the wrong section or bump old threads just to help keep the mods on their toes and make sure we're all paying attention. Nice. Recently, it was also revealed that the search function is too difficult to use so they even try to help out with that. So thoughtful, creating repeat threads every few hours so if you're not on the site constantly, you don't have to search for popular topics. There's sure to be several recent threads on the same subject, making it trivial to find the oh-so-hot topics like when is Star Wars, LoTR, etc. coming to blu-ray, or why blu-ray has grain when grain doesn't exist anywhere else in the world or what titles you're most disappointed in PQ-wise, AQ-wise, story-wise, all of the above-wise or what titles you're most interested in PQ-wise, AQ-wise, story-wise or your favorite title on blu-ray so far or your top-5 or your top-10 or your top 50 or your top 75.5 or your favorite titles not on blu-ray or your favorite future title that hasn't been thought of yet. The constructive criticism after someone's thread gets merged with one of the other 100 threads on the same subject or when the thread is moved to the proper section is another nice touch but it should be perfectly clear, the new crowd is definitely here to help.

Besides, it's hard to argue with their logic. For example, creating threads on high blu-ray prices (players/movies) or complaining about a few dollars difference between some titles but then spending $100+ for players/titles on a defunct format is better and cheaper. The HD DVD player (HD-A20 for example), while slower and less stable than a decent DVD upscaling player, is on sale and who can resist a bargain especially since money isn't a concern...oh, wait...uh, nevermind. Just need to remember, blu-ray titles are $5 to $10 too high but paying $100+ for HD DVDs (player+media) isn't a problem. Oh, and don't forget this very important point, you're saving whatever blu-ray or upscaling player you have now by off-loading the upscaling duties to the HD DVD player and as an added bonus you get to learn patience in the process (nothing but upside on that one). Anyway, I just learned of the off-loading tip recently and I'm very thankful for that. Gotta make sure the players are still working 30 years from now since you know, very concerned about money.

Okay, I'm all out of sarcasm. The above was just filler/fluff to get to a question: Is there any way to add a block of people to an ignore list at one time (maybe using join-date as the criteria)?

Only one person at a time for buddy and ignore lists.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by dvdvision

But not only are they the best SD players out there, they also allow you to buy about 800 HD titles from all over the world, for nearly the same price as a SD title.

The XA2 is (because of the Reon). But, the other HD DVD players are merely above average. Most Blu players (including the PS/3) are their equal for SD. The Samsung P1200 has the same Reon as the XA2.

Gary

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Attitude2000

Blu-Ray is great and everything, but there are a lot of univers titles I'd like to own and HDi seems cool. My point is, the HD DVD Add-On for Xbox 360 is $50 box and everyone is trying to get rid of their stock. So should I get the drive and scoop up some bargains?

I feel dirty just for looking at this thread.

In reality, I say no. The day WILL come when the player dies. Repair? HA! Old new stock on ebay? MAYBE. Used units on ebay will be more like it. You can NEVER expect a firmware upgrade, and thus zero hope of seeing player performance enhancements.

[Downhere]

Originally Posted by tron3

In reality, I say no. The day WILL come when the player dies. Repair? HA! Old new stock on ebay? MAYBE.

The likelihood of that happening is slim. I still have two first gen DVD players that are still working perfectly.

[tarik]

i have to admit...if i didnt have 2 ps3s already and a sharp blu ray then yes i would also buy a hd dvd player but ONLY to be used as a upscaler as they do do that well!

i also have to add that just cos uv been a member of a forum or have a high post count means sh!t as its just a number!
iv been into blu for a year now but only recently found this forum! does that mean u know more that me... no

(btw the above is not amed at anyone, its just a general statement!)

[RUR]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

The XA2 is (because of the Reon).

Perhaps not any more, Gary. So far, XA2/DVD3800BDCI owners are favoring the Realta-armed 3800.

PQ/$$$, I'm sure the XA2 is the better bargain, but it appears to be no longer king of the PQ hill.

[TheRealBob]

Originally Posted by Attitude2000

Blu-Ray is great and everything, but there are a lot of univers titles I'd like to own and HDi seems cool. My point is, the HD DVD Add-On for Xbox 360 is $50 box and everyone is trying to get rid of their stock. So should I get the drive and scoop up some bargains?

HD DVD is dead. It's not coming back, even if there is a giant burst of sales due to fire sale pricing.

So I say if you think you'll have fun, then go for it. I don't see how anyone can have a problem with you doing that since Toshiba has pulled the plug and you're not influencing the result of the format war.

[w_tanoto]

I'd love to get it as well, but for playing DVD not HD DVD. I'd rather wait till the titles are out in BD. I hate double dip

[skrill]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

The XA2 is (because of the Reon). But, the other HD DVD players are merely above average. Most Blu players (including the PS/3) are their equal for SD. The Samsung P1200 has the same Reon as the XA2.

Gary

But the Sammy P1200 is probably the buggiest iteration of Blu Ray player ever (just look the AVS posts on that player). And it is hamstrung in the audio department (neither decodes nor bitstreams hi-def codecs -- XA2 decodes TrueHD and bitstreams both).

I think the XA2 is hands down a superior player overall for SD playback.

[Spankey]

Originally Posted by JTK

Spankey was indicating a pattern that happened to include people with a low post count but no one was or is saying "anyone with a low post count is trouble."

Thank God someone gets it!

[TheRealBob]

Originally Posted by Spankey

There are many HT sites that will willingly suggest they snatch up an HD-DVD player. AVS, HDD, HTF all come to mind. Why come to Blu-ray.com of all places to ask such a question?

I know you meant that rhetorically, but I honestly think I have a good answer.

I think we should encourage anybody thinking about buying an HD DVD player or filling up their libraries with cheap HD DVD discs to go for it, especially if they're buying from retail.

The format is dead as a doornail. There is absolutely zero chance that Toshiba will reverse course and bring it back. Zero, zip, nada, zilch, none.

The retail outlets are clearancing out their stock. They might pick up a few of the new releases for another couple of weeks to be nice, but they're selling everything else and not ordering replacements.

Given that, consider that one of the biggest obstacles for Blu-ray is still customer confusion. A lot of people don't follow this stuff, and in their minds there's a format war on as long as they see two formats for sale.

So, ironically enough, one of the best things for Blu-ray these days is to encourage everyone to buy, buy, buy all this HD DVD stock until those shelves are empty and the Blu-ray sections are expanded into it.

If HD DVD gets inflated numbers for a few weeks, who cares. It doesn't matter a bit in the long run.

(Note that I'm only talking about people buying HD DVD when they know the score. People that are innocently oblivious to the fact that HD DVD has lost the format war should of course not be encouraged to purchase HD DVD.)