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

[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 .

[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.

[cking2729]

Originally Posted by 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.

That's exactly why I can't take HDD anymore. They are already planning a massive post-victory celebration for the final weeks of the year based on recent Amazon sales trends and low HD-DVD SA prices. All I have seen over there since the HD-DVD bargains started is Q4 and 2008 victory cries. For every BD person that comments, there are at least 5-6 HD fanboy responses, with about 2 of those being intentionally brash and insulting. I guess it is a "smackdown" forum, though.

[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.

[T-Wrecks]

The first thing I did when interested in HD was research the technology. Engine searches for about a week. It allowed me to make a decision based on the merits of tech specs, history of development, support, and family value (i.e. kids).

I honestly stumbled on this site by taking a shot in the dark. When I chose Blu-ray, I thought to myself, "Let's see if there is a blu-ray.com website" and several keystrokes later, voila!

I never had to deal with the AVS nightmares I read about. Certainly this is a "through blu-filtered glasses" site, but what opponents fail to realize is that
most of us here came to the conclusion that Blu-ray was the superior format and THEN we became associated with blu-ray.com and not vica-versa.

I got lucky. The integrity of this site and forums is a testament to those individuals who man this ship on a daily basis.

[w_tanoto]

checking out HD DVD sites for infos what they are up to

[DrinkMore]

Originally Posted by The Don

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

x2

Don't venture anywhere else unless it's a link from within a post here. Even then if it's a forum like AVS, I don't even bother.

Strictly Blu for a reason

[blu2]

Originally Posted by cking2729

That's exactly why I can't take HDD anymore. They are already planning a massive post-victory celebration for the final weeks of the year based on recent Amazon sales trends and low HD-DVD SA prices. All I have seen over there since the HD-DVD bargains started is Q4 and 2008 victory cries. For every BD person that comments, there are at least 5-6 HD fanboy responses, with about 2 of those being intentionally brash and insulting. I guess it is a "smackdown" forum, though.

There really are a lot of pro Blu Ray people at HDD.

I am not sure how anyone can complain about the "smackdown" forum there. The whole intent is to have one place where people bash it out over the format wars. If Blu Ray suppporters don't participate, then it really would be one sided, but I think Blu Ray fans give as good as they get over there.

The site as a whole has Blu Ray and HD DVD exclusive sections for those who don't want to partake in the mud slinging.

So I consider HDD to be a "neutral" and non-biased site, and I visit often.

[atomik kinder]

You know it is actually sites like HDD and AVS that turned me off of HD DVD. I started out last year with no problem collecting two different formats. Didn't really matter to me. Then, I wanted to find out more about what was coming out, so I knew what I was going to be able to purchase, no big deal right? Then came all the nastiness that the HD DVD people were spewing. Totally turned me off of HD DVD permanently. Now my player sits there collecting dust.

[DrinkMore]

Originally Posted by blu2

There really are a lot of pro Blu Ray people at HDD.

I am not sure how anyone can complain about the "smackdown" forum there. The whole intent is to have one place where people bash it out over the format wars. If Blu Ray suppporters don't participate, then it really would be one sided, but I think Blu Ray fans give as good as they get over there.

The site as a whole has Blu Ray and HD DVD exclusive sections for those who don't want to partake in the mud slinging.

So I consider HDD to be a "neutral" and non-biased site, and I visit often.

I have to ask..

Just how much arguing over the same thing day in and day out can you do? I mean, nothing ever changes. It's not like Blu is the stock market and you need to keep a constant eye on it. So what's the point arguing? It has to get boring after a while.

[cking2729]

Originally Posted by blu2

There really are a lot of pro Blu Ray people at HDD.

I am not sure how anyone can complain about the "smackdown" forum there. The whole intent is to have one place where people bash it out over the format wars. If Blu Ray suppporters don't participate, then it really would be one sided, but I think Blu Ray fans give as good as they get over there.

The site as a whole has Blu Ray and HD DVD exclusive sections for those who don't want to partake in the mud slinging.

So I consider HDD to be a "neutral" and non-biased site, and I visit often.

I visit HDD for the Blu-Ray Bargains sections of the forum, the reviews, and the Amazon sales charts. I like Peter Bracke a lot. I find his BD reviews to be some of the best and most accurate in existence, and I rely on them heavily when looking for a new disc for my collection. I happen to be a huge horror movie buff, and the book he wrote on the history of the 'Friday the 13th' series is an absolute masterpiece. I actually have an autographed copy from him! Nerd....I know, I know. The HD fanboys have been especially rabid on their forums as of late. I was just explaining why I haven't been too keen on their smackdown forum. The Amazon charts haven't been too pleasing lately, either.

[DJeffries]

I never posted on an HD-DVD site, but I read them from time to time. It's like living in a different world.