Blu-ray DVD Players

[David Brent]

I see that the new Blu-ray DVD players are on sale in the UK. I believe they are selling for between 600 - 800 quid.
Has anyone on the forum purchased one yet? Is anyone contemplating buying one shortly? How do you rate them?
Its certainly progress when you read that Blu-ray DVD discs can hold up to 23 times the content of current DVD's. I'm not sure your average punter though has been sold on the new HD vision for discs and recorders.
It will be interesting to see how the Blu-ray competes with the HD-DVD format that has support from Microsoft, Intel, Toshiba, NEC and HP.
A HD-DVD player will be released as an accessory for the Xbox 360 while the upcoming PlayStation 3 will also include a Blu-ray DVD player.

Dave.

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by David Brent I see that the new Blu-ray DVD players are on sale in the UK. I believe they are selling for between 600 - 800 quid. Has anyone on the forum purchased one yet? Is anyone contemplating buying one shortly? How do you rate them? Its certainly progress when you read that Blu-ray DVD discs can hold up to 23 times the content of current DVD's. I'm not sure your average punter though has been sold on the new HD vision for discs and recorders. It will be interesting to see how the Blu-ray competes with the HD-DVD format that has support from Microsoft, Intel, Toshiba, NEC and HP. A HD-DVD player will be released as an accessory for the Xbox 360 while the upcoming PlayStation 3 will also include a Blu-ray DVD player. Dave.

So what will you do with one DVD that can hold 23 films? :)

Steve

[ChristineCB]

I often wonder about the TV-Wrestling mentality of so-called "competitors" - y'know, where they script out all their battles just to have a longer-running "competition" wink, wink, nudge nudge.

Blu-Ray offers more bits and bytes for visuals, but far less audio quality.

HD offers less visual but superior audio.

I keep wondering why Blu-Ray didn't offer vast improvements over both? Or HD didn't up its visual boundaries?

Ah...Version 2.0-! And all consumers have to buy new TVs and players for the next step up.

I see $20 DVD players on supermarket shelves, so the $1000 Blu-Ray or HD players in cabinets that rival the original IBM PC are not going to be on this year's Christmas list.

[Aaryk Noctivagus]

I wouldn't dream of buy either of these high definition formats presently. Way too expensive at present, and there's always the chance you end up with the DVD version of a Betamax!!!

I have the feeling the smart money should be on HD DVD rather than Blu-Ray.

[tvden]

Originally Posted by Aaryk Noctivagus I wouldn't dream of buy either of these high definition formats presently. Way too expensive at present, and there's always the chance you end up with the DVD version of a Betamax!!! I have the feeling the smart money should be on HD DVD rather than Blu-Ray.

yes far to soon to even consider at this stage unless of course you have money to chuck away, guess who bought the wrong version of beta, I wont be making that mistake again, in fact I wont do anything about HD until I am absolutely forced to which for me will be 2011 when they shut analogue down in my area

[Shadwell]

My understanding is that it's VHS against Betamax all over again. From what I've heard Blu-ray can hold a maximum of 50GB while HD-dvd can hold a maximum of 30gGB. There is no difference in picture quality or sound quality between the two it's just that Blue-ray can hold more data and both formats are backward compatible which means they will play your existing DVDs. Of course you'll need a HD ready TV to take advantage of all of this. As to which will win, my money is on HD-DVD largely because it's cheaper and price always wins out in the end. Of course I could be talking bollocks but I just wish these technological bods would get their bloody act together instead of confusing the average punter. Eventually you might end up with a machine that supports both formats, ideally one that would take an existing DVD and then "upscale" it to the new format. I agree though, it is bloody confusing and I won't be buying anything until this is sorted out and the prices come down as I'm quite satisfied with my home cinema system at the moment.

[Aaryk Noctivagus]

Originally Posted by Shadwell Eventually you might end up with a machine that supports both formats...

Its already happened. Actually, as far as I know two are on the market - one is an LG if memory serves me correctly... I can't even start to remember the make of the other.

Whichever holds the more data will support the more glitches at the outset. Less data on the disk = a more reliable play - unless the disk is larger, which it isn't.

My 50" Plasma TV is HD ready - hee hee hee.

[Shadwell]

50 inches of HD goodness.? Jammy bugger....

[Nick Dando]

It's all rather academic as the boffins are already planning the replacement for these two formats, before they've even got going.

Nick

[Aaryk Noctivagus]

Originally Posted by Shadwell 50 inches of HD goodness.? Jammy bugger....

Perhaps the fact I don't yet have any HD feeds hooked up to it will make it easier for you - lol

Besides, I prefer ketchup in burgers rather than jam

Have you ever tried cheese and strawberry jam sandwiches... seriously yummy.

[Dave Edwards]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook So what will you do with one DVD that can hold 23 films? :) Steve

The flipside is, if Blu-Ray was standard, and all other formats ceased to exist, piracy/copying to DVD-R, would be immediately put out of business.

A scenario i don't enjoy thinking about.

[Dave Edwards]

Originally Posted by Shadwell 50 inches of HD goodness.? Jammy bugger....

Shad

I thought i was up on all the pommy expressions.
Explain "Jammy" plz.

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by Dave Edwards Shad I thought i was up on all the pommy expressions. Explain "Jammy" plz.

Flukey,lucky,defying probability with outrageous good fortune
"That was a jammy shot", said the footballer after the shot bounced off the goalpost then the defender before going in.

[Aaryk Noctivagus]

I've heard that if your TV is 'HD Ready' it will still have a judder when playing HD DVD because it runs at 24 fps and the TV will run at the normal PAL 25 fps... does BluRay run at 24 fps also???

If your TV is HD 1080 then you should have no problem... my thanks goes out to 'Which?' because nobody else I've seen has reported this! Seems to be kept quiet.

HD Ready is fine for HD TV broadcasts though.

[Dave Edwards]

Ahh ok, i'm with you.

Ps. My fav Pom words would have to be, "Give over" and "Leave Off".

Originally Posted by Steve Crook Flukey,lucky,defying probability with outrageous good fortune "That was a jammy shot", said the footballer after the shot bounced off the goalpost then the defender before going in.