I know I will just sound like a fanboy but man am I glad I went with HD-DVD after reading all of those hang-ups/issues with Blu-Ray titles on that site. To my knowledge the only HD-DVD issue was with Transformers but that was fixed with a firmware update. Anyone have any info on titles on HD-DVD being recalled?

Incidentally we will try it by the blu-ray's format. Best selling discs (includes DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray). Top 100 sales on disc:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers...61C6FH269Z7ZS4


Also, there is the rental factor. While a number of people with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray might be slow to purchase titles they probably don't have any issues with renting them (especially those with netflix since it doesn't cost anything extra). Netflix has repeatedly stated that they rent HD-DVD at a ratio of about 2:1 over blu-ray. Of course if we went with blockbuster I'm sure we would find stats that are very different since only 250 of their stores carry both blu-ray and HD-DVD.

Not bad. HD DVD is finding its place in the world. Of course, when I overhear comments like "Blu-ray? Why would I want that? I want HD!" I have to laugh. (Yes, overheard in a store recently and I'm not the only one who's heard that before) I SINCERELY wish HD DVD would obliterate Blu-ray. I'm just not hopeful that either can wipe out the other.

You and me both. HD-DVD is more consumer friendly. . .PERIOD. That and having Sony behind the driver's seat of the next video format scares the crap out of me as they have consistently shown that they are anything but pro-consumer.

But remember Sony was behind BETA MAX also which ultimately lost the battle to backers of VHS.

This has happened on a lot of Sony inventions right?? DAT, MD and SACD ring any bells?

Yup, and Philips is not even better (DMC, CDi ...).

Yeah, but there is always a first time. If Sony can learn to overcome it's greed and actually produce something that the majority of companies AND consumers can support they can do it. They really need to figure out a way to move away from their PS3 being the carrier of their format as it will only carry it so far. Their standalone hardware sales are embarrassing at best.

So true. Sony really matches "greed".

Boy, this is really a surprise to read that there are people that see Sony for some of the things it really does and regarding its past performance on formats. I personally hope that Samurai is right about HD-DVD getting the upper hand, and that (in general) history might repeat itself with Sony and its chosen format.

Hey, Chef and some of you other guys...if you wouldn't mind, would you check out the article on the front page that I submitted and perhaps comment on its content here? Since you guys have been pretty balanced on your comments, I'd be really interested to see what you have to say about that blogger's reflections on HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray and why he doesn't feel he needs it...

I hope all the manuafacturers do well and produce great products for us. Competition is great and any company or format having a monoply is not good. BR and HD are just fine and no product bashing from me. Format neutral folks and enjoy the great technology ride.

Too expensive to do that ATM IMHO. At around $550 to watch both formats in high def you seriously have to wonder if it is really worth that much extra over a solid $80 standard DVD player with up-conversion and that has been one of my biggest arguments. Hence the reason why I went with the most cost effective high-def format.

Let's hope more consumers all decide on going the more "cost effective" route, especially since it seems the consensus is that between HD-DVD and Blu-ray that there isn't a whole lot of difference in the viewing quality from one to the other. Add to that HD-DVD indeed seems a lot more consumer friendly (i.e., less troublesome copy protection)...hopefully more will see this.

I'm enjoying both formats right now, but, I wouldn't be broken hearted if the cheapest format won in the end. It's not going to prevent me from watching what I already own.

As Jesterrace has said already I am not yet ready to pay very high inflated price for dual format while I can watch SD DVD for $50 or so now. But those of you who have the both format enjoy good viewing while the rest of wait for the format war to settle down and then the winner format goes into mass production that majority can effort buying it. We stay alert and keep watching.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Toshiba be making some great in-roads with the A3 in the next few months. I don't know that you will see the $99 pricetag of the crazy A2 special but I could definitely see it down around the $150 mark with a bunch of free movies. IMHO that kind of deal would be more than worth it. Of course then again I felt that at $178.52 shipped with 10 free movies from amazon.com was more than worth it. Got it for $199.98 shipped but amazon credited back to me the extra purchase price since I purchased it within 30 days (gotta love that 30 day price match guarantee offer). ghetto said that for a few brief minutes they actually had it for $146 shipped with the 10 free deal. Wish I could've pegged it at that price. Incidentally I sold my freebee copy of 300 (didn't want it) on ebay for over $10 this last week. So a total of $168.52 with 9 free movies for me.

Here is a new one. Just saw a PS3 commercial tonight and guess what? It wasn't even mentioned as a game console or any game titles for it, the whole focus of the commercial was to push it as a Blu-Ray player. I'm sorry but anyone who purchases the PS3 solely for the purpose of a blu-ray player is daft. No high def content is worth a $400 expense (at least for a player).

Hmm, the A3 is still maintaining it's 8th place in the top 100 and the A30 is maintaining #31. No blu-ray standalones can be found yet. It is also interesting to note that these are outpacing any of the standard def DVD players (even with upconversion). Once again this is from amazon's website.

In all fairness the Blu ray players are more expensive yes but the are full of options that the A3-D3 and below don't have. One they are 1080P/24p and HDMI 1.3 compliant (deep colour), most have coax, optical and analog 5.1 outputs and that costs more$$$. My Samsung BD-P1400 has way more hardware and menu options than my Toshiba A-30 and it doesn't even support HDMI 1.3. To support 1.3 HDMI you have to buy a A-35 which is not that cheap. The Samsung BD-P 1400 was on sale here for $270 over the holidays. Can you program the Toshiba remote to control any other hardware??? I like them both and hope they are here to stay but they do have differences.

To be truthful though, how many people can honestly benefit from 1080p/24? Some people such as myself are stuck with true 1080p sets but they were made just prior to the 1080p/24 or HDMI V1.3 spec so to many folks such as myself 1080p/24 is worthless. Furthermore it really only benefits those with 46"+ screens that fit into the category and only the 1080p models that were first introduced within the last year or so actually fully support 1080p/24 or HDMI V1.3. That and when you consider the large number of 720p/1080i sets that are out there and are still being sold in good numbers even today, it makes you seriously question how useful it is. Also you are incorrect about something else. The Toshiba A30, which is the middle range model between the A3/D3 and the A35 does in fact support HDMI V1.3 or 1080p/24. Amazon.com has it right now for just under $250 shipped with the 10 free HD-DVD offer still in place so it still beats out the best deal on the Sammy you mentioned and comes with 10 free movies to boot:

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HD-A30...9134195&sr=8-2

That and when you combine it with the following facts:

1. The Samsung is stuck with V1.0 spec which means that at the very least you won't be able to access special features when the new blu-ray discs are released towards the beginning of 2008 and I still have a hard time believing the claim that the new V1.1 spec discs won't have some general playback issues on the V1.0 hardware. That and as many reviewers have pointed out, updates are not really much of an option with the Sammy.

2. While HD-DVD fanboys and Blu-Ray fanboys have defintiely done mudslinging on both the Toshiba players and the Sammy, the overall consensus is that the odds are greater of getting a bad unit with the Samsung than any of the Toshiba models, yet it is more expensive (now the cheapest it can be had for is $300).

So IMHO outside of a PC drive the only blu-ray player even worth considering is the PS3 (since it seems to be the only one that can keep up with the times) and that can't be had for less than $350 or so. Even then that kind of investment is only worth it if you can make use of the PS3s other features.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but for the reasons listed above, I believe that both of the cheapest Blu-Ray standalones are a poor investment. They are still too expensive, have too many complaints and just don't have much in the way of options for future updates.

Even if your hardware does fully support 1080p/24 and HDMI 1.3, those features are still worthless. Nothing but marketing hype to get your money.

Not a bad idea at all. I just decided early on that I wanted everything in HD....tv and movies. And indeed, that is what I have now and I very much enjoy it. But, you have to decide for yourself if the cost is worth it. If you're happy with DVD, then you should definitely stick with it.

That's a pretty darn good deal IMO. I've decided that since my PS3 broke the day before Xmas, I'm going to work extra hard on getting myself the LG dual format drive for my HTPC for my b-day in February. That way I'll always have a dual format player from now on even when/if a console decides to kick the bucket. (My 360 died a month after I got the thing with the dreaded "ring of fire". Been working great ever since I got it replaced. I'm hoping the same for the PS3. It irritates me though as I treat my electronics very well). Anyway, you got a lot more free movies on HD DVD than I ever did. I wish those guys would have more deals like the Blu-ray camp does regularly on Amazon. Once in a while you catch an HD DVD special deal on Amazon, but, not very often. If there are any movies I want to buy that hit the 20 and under price, I grab them right away. Anything over 30 for a single movie, forget it. 25 is typically my limit on HD DVD and Blu-ray discs.

Also keep an eye out at www.deepdiscountdvd.com as they often have specials. Ended up getting 2001: A Space Odyssey for $17.22 after they ran one of their frequent 20% off promotions and I ended up getting transformers for just over $21 shipped by the same deal.

Sweet. I keep forgetting to check them. I used to get DVDs there quite a bit a while back. I definitely want to get 2001. Transformers is excellent and a showpiece for HD DVD as far as I'm concerned.

So, I broke down and ordered my b-day present early. I'm indeed getting the LG combo Blu-ray/HD DVD reader/DVD burner. I just did not want to be without my blu-rays while my PS3 is out for repair. Plus with the modifications I've made to audio, I can now get HD audio out from my HTPC, so, it's an overall better experience now than the PS3 as I don't yet have an HDMI capable receiver. It'll be here by next week so I'll hold off on shipping out my PS3 until then.