HD-Blu-Ray Roundup Please (experts needed)

[Jez]

Right then i wondered if anyone would mind giving me a quick update on the current situation?

1)Will normal dvds, out now, be obsolete?
2)I assume a HD-TV needed to watch HD and Blu Ray dvds along with the right player?
3)Will they stop doing 'normal' dvd's?
4)If so how long till this?
5)I have 300+ dvds and still buy now, should i stop?
6)Will it be same quality difference between vhs and dvd?
7)What are people doing who have got hundreds and hundreds of dvds?

Any other info i need to know ;)

Thanks guys :thumbs:

[camaj]

1) They will still play in your Blu-ray player and DVD's will continue to be released for a long time to come
2) Yes, I mean you can watch on a normal tv, but it'll look just like a DVD does today (with less artifacts)
3) see 1
4) see 1
5) I stopped buying about 18 months ago when I first saw HDTV and heard Blu-ray was coming. You could carry on but you'll probably want to stop and buy the Blu-ray versions instead. Over the comming months most new releases will be released on both DVD and Blu-ray simultaniously (day and date) as well as films that are already out on DVD.
6) Well it's a matter of opinion. I think so, others say it's not THAT big. I presume you haven't seen much, if any HD footage. I suggest you go to www.apple.com/trailers and download some HD trailers (1080p). This should provide a hint of what to expect. You need a fairly decent PC to run them

7) Most people will rebuy some of the DVD's they have in Blu-ray format, how much depends on the person. They will probably buy films they don't have on DVD already on Blu-ray instead.

Other info: Region coding isn't decided yet, but presumably if you buy a US player you'll always be able to playback US discs. The Playstation 3 (due november) will be the cheapest BD player for a long time to come. There's a fairly good chance that the australian PS3 will be region free, but we don't know yet.

All Blu-ray players store video in 1080p and output it in 1080p. It'll look damn good on a 720p or 768p display and probably better on a 1080i display. A display that can accept 1080p inputs should give the best picture quality

Any questions?

[neilalford]

Any questions?

Did you forget about HD-DVD?

for the OP:

HD-DVD is a very similar but competing format, technically the output will be much the same, though Blu-Ray has a higher capacity, the first HD-DVD players are available now (in the US) for about half the expected price of the first wave of Blu-Ray players, these first players have a maximum output res of 720p\1080i but the films themselves and later players will support 1080p the same as Blu-Ray.

At the moment either of these systems could end up as the dominant format, or they could end up co-existing with dual format players etc. But it's worth bearing in mind that annoyingly one format could become obsolete within a few years.

[thescrounger]

1)Will normal dvds, out now, be obsolete?


No.

2)I assume a HD-TV needed to watch HD and Blu Ray dvds along with the right player?

You need an HDTV and either an HD-DVD player or a Bluray player (more expensive). If you want to ensure DVDs continued backwards compatability then it would probably be best to opt for HD-DVD. Which of course is the official DVD consortium. Don't believe the Bluray hype, it's all starting to fall apart now.

3)Will they stop doing 'normal' dvd's?

Not for a long time at least.

5)I have 300+ dvds and still buy now, should i stop?

Depends if you want to wait for HD versions.

6)Will it be same quality difference between vhs and dvd?

The first ever review of an HD-DVD disc indicated that while the difference was significant, it's not really on the same level as the leap from VHS to DVD.

7)What are people doing who have got hundreds and hundreds of dvds?

Well, I have no plans to get rid of mine right now. In many cases like TV series where they only exist as SD masters there's minimal point in buying them again on another format.

I hope my definitive answer has satisfied you.

[Jez]

Thanks guys a very interesting read :thumbs much appreciated.

I cannot afford nothing at the moment so, spose it doesn't really make much difference.

[jayok]

Post 2 is a sales pitch for Blu-ray. My answers are very similar to thescounger

[AndyWilson]

I'm still extremely sceptical that watching film trailers or HD "demos" on a PC monitor will give any idea what to expect from sitting on a sofa with the wife and a beer watching a HiDef DVD. I can't remember the last time I found the plot or characterisations in a trailer particularly absorbing...

[R-T-C]

2) Yes, I mean you can watch on a normal tv, but it'll look just like a DVD does today (with less artifacts)

Actually, it might look worse. When an image is downscaled it can look worse than an image shown at its 'native' resolution. This depends how powerful the processers are in the DVD players.

I can't remember the last time I found the plot or characterisations in a trailer particularly absorbing...

Well, HD doesn't promise to make films more interesting, just to make them look and sound better.

[AndyWilson]

Well, HD doesn't promise to make films more interesting, just to make them look and sound better.

My point is that when you're watching a HiDef demo or trailer on a PC you're probably concentrating to see how great it looks. When you watch a movie in a normal domestic environment, or even a Home Cinema, most of your attention is on the film, not the pixels.

DVD is more than good enough quality not to distract the vast majority of people from the content, so will they notice HD during the film?

[zantarous]

Post 2 is a sales pitch for Blu-ray. My answers are very similar to thescounger

Well to be fair the OP only asked about Blu Ray

[Jez]

Well to be fair the OP only asked about Blu Ray

Did i? I ment both hense why putting Hd-Blue-Ray or should i have missed out the -

[nwgarratt]

Did i? I ment both hense why putting Hd-Blue-Ray or should i have missed out the -

It would make more sense to put HD-DVD/Blu Ray. The title of the thread just looks like you are interested in Blu Ray.

I have 1500 DVD's and will be still watching them for a very long time (some are 8 years old already). I will not replace any DVD with a HD format (except for LOTR and Star Wars).

I don't think it is worth bothering with any HD formats right now unless you have plenty of money. The discs themselves are cheap enough but the hardware isn't. There has also been reported problems with certain HD-DVD's and the audio on the discs (Phantom of the Opera).

The ideal situation for me is too have both formats succeed and pick up a dual format player and HD projector. Then, I will get new films on whatever format they are released in. If one of them fails, then perhaps Sony and the other Blu Ray companies will release films in HD-DVD and vice versa with the HD-DVD companies. I cannot see them admitting failure and then stop releasing HD discs.

[ralph wiggum]

Will HD-DVD/Blu Ray discs play on a PC? Will that depend on what dvd drive you have?

Cheers.

[Grandmaster]

You will need either an HD-DVD drive or a BluRay drive installed in your PC. You will also require a monitor with HDMI connections or at least with HDCP copy protection on the DVI port.

In short, that particular side of things is a mess.

[ralph wiggum]

Thanks for the reply Grandmaster :thumbs: I was thinking of connecting the PC the my Panasonic AE500 projector via it's DVI-D input. Would that work ok if I installed a HD-DVD drive or a BluRay drive?

Cheers.

[Grandmaster]

My point is that when you're watching a HiDef demo or trailer on a PC you're probably concentrating to see how great it looks. When you watch a movie in a normal domestic environment, or even a Home Cinema, most of your attention is on the film, not the pixels.

100% bang on. The big innovations were all done and dusted with DVD - perfectly stable digital image, digital surround sound, and latterly progressive scan. Basically HD adds on extra detail, and you'll need a massive TV or preferably a projector to really notice the difference. And even then you're basically seeing better skin tones, more hair follicles, better defined shrubbery - it'll only make a difference on films where visual spectacle is the name of the game.

DVD remains the only mass market game in town and will be so for at least another 4-5 years.

[Grandmaster]

Thanks for the reply Grandmaster :thumbs: I was thinking of connecting the PC the my Panasonic AE500 projector via it's DVI-D input. Would that work ok if I installed a HD-DVD drive or a BluRay drive?

Cheers.

You're lucky in that the AE500 has HDCP copy protection on its DVI port. This means that a HDMI to DVI cable will sort you out.

The bad news is that it's 99.9% likely that your graphics card does not support HDCP, meaning that not only will you need to install a new optical drive, you're also going to have to buy a new graphics card too.

As I said, it's a complete mess - not to mention a massive con into the bargain.

[ralph wiggum]

You're lucky in that the AE500 has HDCP copy protection on its DVI port. This means that a HDMI to DVI cable will sort you out.

The bad news is that it's 99.9% likely that your graphics card does not support HDCP, meaning that not only will you need to install a new optical drive, you're also going to have to buy a new graphics card too.

As I said, it's a complete mess - not to mention a massive con into the bargain.

Thanks very much for the quick reply :thumbs:

Think i'll wait a couple of years until it all settles down! :nuts:

[Spectre07]

DVD remains the only mass market game in town and will be so for at least another 4-5 years.10, I reckon. I can see DVD celebrating it's 20th anniversary.