Are we on a sinking ship OH MY!Yahoo has reported that Warners is going with Blu-ray and pulling out of HD-DVD. That leaves only a couple of studios making the HD-DVD disc. Is this the beginning of the end for HD-DVD? I went with HD-DVD right before Christmas. The price was right and you were able to get many free disc with the purchase. Now I wish I could box the stuff up and return it. Is there any hope left? OK, Microsoft show them your big guns and save us with your power...What do you think? Are we on a sinking ship OH MY!Yahoo has reported that Warners is going with Blu-ray and pulling out of HD-DVD. That leaves only a couple of studios making the HD-DVD disc. Is this the... » Read More Are we on a sinking ship OH MY!Yahoo has reported that Warners is going with Blu-ray and pulling out of HD-DVD. That leaves only a couple of studios making the HD-DVD disc. Is this the beginning of the end for HD-DVD? I went with HD-DVD right before Christmas. The price was right and you were able to get many free disc with the purchase. Now I wish I could box the stuff up and return it. Is there any hope left? OK, Microsoft show them your big guns and save us with your power...What do you think? « Show Less
1957996
Rose, excellent point. Your the first one I've seen to point that out. That's a pretty big deal. We very well could be here same time next year, still talking about this as those are enough to keep the HD DVD ship sailing. Besides, Paramount is locked in by contract throughout the year. Toshiba is increasing advertising and lowering prices. And most of all, movie studios aren't loyal to formats. They'll go where the money is and if HD DVD shows enough potential, any one of the Blu studios could go Red at anytime.
1957997
Strange, everywhere I've read states that Toshiba players are region free. I think the thing is with some euro discs is that they require you to use HDMI or they get downscaled to 480p. That's the only problem I've read about yet and it's only on some of them. Maybe that was the case and the T.V. was trying to do 1080i/p and wasn't prepared for it so it didn't allow a picture. Are you using component or HDMI?
1957998
As I recall, Betamax' pictures were not THAT superior to VHS. The death knell in that war was the marketing idiotreleased Beta tapes for movies that ran only 70 minutes or so at standard play. VHS tapes offered up to two-plus hours.So if you wanted to tape a movie on Beta, you had to use extended play with its crappy picture and sound.Most films run two hours or less. Do the math. THAT IS THE MAIN THING THAT WIPED OUT BETAMAX.
1957999
Toshiba players don't play PAL. So buying hd-dvd's from Europe would be a waste of money. I own 3 Toshiba players, A2, A30 and A35 from which none playes PAL. I email cust srv from Toshiba and they told me that the players don't have a PAL decoder onboard. Bummer!
1958000
Are you sure your HD DVD players do not play PAL? Because my A35 along with my HD DVD based notebook play those discs just fine.
1958001
Unfortunately, HD-DVD's days are numbered. Toshiba bowed out today.http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/IBD-0001-23137283.htm
1958002
HD DVD players can play HD DVDs from any region. When dealing with 1080p or other HD resolutions, there is no pal or NTSC anymore. The only thing you have to be concerned with is SD DVD which is still region coded. ALL HD DVD MADE WILL PLAY ON ALL HD DVD PLAYERS REGARDLESS OF REGION. HD DVD IS REGION FREE
1337294
that is quite possible... but will not happen soon. BR backers will wait at least a year to see if Blu-ray sticks before thinking about an universal player.So, for now, either you choose one format, buy both or wait.I chose HD-DVD, obviously.
844473
Dear E. Hamilton, good morning. I confess you this All-in-one was a big disappointment for me, because I expected a quick and efficient machine and it wasn't what I found. It does not read blu-ray and the dvd/ cd burner stopped working since the beginnig. I do not recommend it for you. Best regards, Edney
871059
> Many more vendors were out of stock leaving far fewer sources of supply with much higher prices.Interesting that they all happen to be 'out of stock' just at predictable peak demand...> Will there be increased future supply, possibly, but you take the chance there won't.It's an interesting marketing strategy for sure... I can wait them out. Meanwhile, I'm also _not_ buying any of the 20-or-so BluRay discs on my wishlist...Last year it was widely known that Panasonic had stopped production of the BD-55 and there would be no replacement until April the following (this) year. Can't imagine why Panasonic wouldn't be able to make production this year - it's almost as if they are daring me to buy from Sony (won't happen...) > Many more vendors were out of stock leaving far fewer sources of supply with much higher prices.Interesting that they all happen to be 'out of stock' just at predictable peak demand...> Will there be increased future supply, possibly, but you take the chance there won't.It's an interesting marketing strategy for sure... I can wait them out. Meanwhile, I'm also _not_ buying any of the 20-or-so BluRay discs on my wishlist...Last year it was widely known that Panasonic had stopped production of the BD-55 and there would be no replacement... » Read More > Many more vendors were out of stock leaving far fewer sources of supply with much higher prices.Interesting that they all happen to be 'out of stock' just at predictable peak demand...> Will there be increased future supply, possibly, but you take the chance there won't.It's an interesting marketing strategy for sure... I can wait them out. Meanwhile, I'm also _not_ buying any of the 20-or-so BluRay discs on my wishlist...Last year it was widely known that Panasonic had stopped production of the BD-55 and there would be no replacement until April the following (this) year. Can't imagine why Panasonic wouldn't be able to make production this year - it's almost as if they are daring me to buy from Sony (won't happen...) « Show Less
51534
Interesting. Well I have several encoder programs on my computer so they will likely get a work out. Although truthfully, most of the time I simply burn a dvd of the avi I want to watch on my computer and then watch it through my dvd player. Thank you God for multiple HDMI ports on most HDTVs. If Western Digital would just improve their support of internet movie sites they could probably kill Roku. Instead they go the route of adding a hard drive to their media player. They're missing the direction of media players. They need to go wireless and support internet content sites. They have the file support down to a science now it's time to build on it. Interesting. Well I have several encoder programs on my computer so they will likely get a work out. Although truthfully, most of the time I simply burn a dvd of the avi I want to watch on my computer and then watch it through my dvd player. Thank you God for multiple HDMI ports on most HDTVs. If Western Digital would just improve their support of internet movie sites they could probably kill Roku. Instead they go the route of adding a hard drive to their media player. They're missing the direction of media players. They need to go wireless and support internet content sites. They have the... » Read More Interesting. Well I have several encoder programs on my computer so they will likely get a work out. Although truthfully, most of the time I simply burn a dvd of the avi I want to watch on my computer and then watch it through my dvd player. Thank you God for multiple HDMI ports on most HDTVs. If Western Digital would just improve their support of internet movie sites they could probably kill Roku. Instead they go the route of adding a hard drive to their media player. They're missing the direction of media players. They need to go wireless and support internet content sites. They have the file support down to a science now it's time to build on it. « Show Less
623941
Thanks for the info Kevin, just got back from a huge dvd store here and I noticed a lot of Blu Ray discs marked 'all regions' (1,2,3) on the back of them so Sony may be trying relax restrictions for now to corner the market here. I also just found out that's it's pointless getting a blu-ray and/or hd-dvd player as my 3 year old 43" Pioneer Plasma with external hig def set top box can only output 1024 X 768 pixels max, so I wouldn't visibly see blu-rays or hd-dvd's 1080p potential...think I'm better off just getting a good upscaling dvd player & a good hdmi cable. Except for PS2, dvd players/recorders sold here are region free out of the box anyway. Will look out for Oppo but don't think it's sold here. Thanks for the info Kevin, just got back from a huge dvd store here and I noticed a lot of Blu Ray discs marked 'all regions' (1,2,3) on the back of them so Sony may be trying relax restrictions for now to corner the market here. I also just found out that's it's pointless getting a blu-ray and/or hd-dvd player as my 3 year old 43" Pioneer Plasma with external hig def set top box can only output 1024 X 768 pixels max, so I wouldn't visibly see blu-rays or hd-dvd's 1080p potential...think I'm better off just getting a good upscaling dvd player & a good hdmi cable. Except for PS2, dvd... » Read More Thanks for the info Kevin, just got back from a huge dvd store here and I noticed a lot of Blu Ray discs marked 'all regions' (1,2,3) on the back of them so Sony may be trying relax restrictions for now to corner the market here. I also just found out that's it's pointless getting a blu-ray and/or hd-dvd player as my 3 year old 43" Pioneer Plasma with external hig def set top box can only output 1024 X 768 pixels max, so I wouldn't visibly see blu-rays or hd-dvd's 1080p potential...think I'm better off just getting a good upscaling dvd player & a good hdmi cable. Except for PS2, dvd players/recorders sold here are region free out of the box anyway. Will look out for Oppo but don't think it's sold here. « Show Less
1123487
If HD had won Im sure HD sales would be up as well. They need to also account for the lost sales. Im not currently buying any standard def DVD's. If HD were avail I would probably be buying them. Blu does look like it might survive. It will still be much slower to catch on than HD would have been.
584854
No, I opted for my money back and bought a new blu-ray player at Target instead. The Target price was good and the unit worked right out ofthebox. I have been pleased with most of my electronics purchases on Amazon, especially bevause you can get your money back if an item is returned.
1246698
Aha! Good information to have. I was thinking of switching from Blockbuster Online, but maybe I'll have to do a bit more research before making a final decision.Thanks for the heads up, Todd!
1304990
No - this is a basic DVD player. I was looking for a low-price, fairly quality player just to have on my desktop while I work. Right now, I feel like the Blu-ray versions are higher priced than they are worth and since I've gone through two different portable DVD players (not this model or brand) and I didn't want to waste that amount on something I was unsure of.
2204087
The real funny thing is these supposed 45 gig hd dvd discs won't work even in the new 1,000 dollar hd dvd players. Woops looks like yet another firmware upgrade for hd dvd.......and they haven't even launched yet..ha ha ha ha ha.Do some reasearch and see how many upgrades these crappy hd dvd players have got compared to blu-ray. It speaks volumes in and of itself. Hd dvd has lost all advantages. Studio support....no...storage space....no...price nope
647136
I've played many moves on it but perhaps they've all been regular DVD. I know I've successfully burned many BluRays (for iTunes sharing to Apple TV, which is the primary reason I bought it) but when I just tried to play a BluRay on the computer (VLC Media Player installed Win8 Bootcamp on Mac Mini hardware) I got an error, so maybe there is an issue playing BluRays. I'll mess around with it and see if I can get it to work and let you know.
2157817
WTH!My HD DVD players will start at the point where you stop it.Of course since they don't make HD DVD any more because Sony cornered the market on High Definition DVD's we're stuck with their problematic Bluray disc players.And why can't they make a bluray that can also play a HD DVD?Anyway thanks for the feedback Knocker!
1980744
I am fuming also! Where is the Blue Ray or HD DVD player that won't obsolete my collection high definition audio disks? I want something that includes DVD-Audio, SACD, and HDCD.
1918699
I just got an email today from Amazon.... they ARE now advertising the free blu ray player... it expires Jan. 30th though FYI.
2232953
Free man - I don't think anyone insists that HD DVD is still going strong at this time. Many are just taking advantage of the great prices that are available now. The HD DVD's are far from useless if you have a player and will provide enjoyment for many years to come.Blu ray seems to be the one heading for the niche market because of their pricing stance. Technology is advancing way to fast to invest that kind of money in an incomplete expensive format.
2232956
I have a HD DVD player, I don't hate BD, hell I may even buy one sometime in 2009 when (if) prices come down and the 2.0 players are out. I don't believe downloading will replace discs in the next year or two, but I have gotta say, I am currently on a new cable trial here is Australia, I get 100mbps, and download HD movies in a flash, in the meantime I intend on watching my flicks like this for a while to come!