Top Ten Tech Train Wrecks of 2007

[ceo]

I got two turntables and a microphone...

 

[hawaiianflash]

Question for all that know about HD stuff. I dad told me that if I get a cheap dvd player that has an HDMI connection, it will show all dvd's in an HD quality format. Is that true?

This is not true. An upconverting DVD player will give a better image but it is nothing compared to true HD DVD or Blu-ray 1080p picture.

 

[Delinquent]

This is not true. An upconverting DVD player will give a better image but it is nothing compared to true HD DVD or Blu-ray 1080p picture.

ah thanks for the clarification. So to get true HD quality on a dvd I must upgrade to a dvd player that plays either blu-ray or hddvd. I then presume that this is only achieved through the HDMI cable right?

Now compared to HDTV, is the blu-ray or HDDVD better than that or is the quality the same?

I am very new to this technology. I never really researched it because the possibility of me owning one was so far out of reach until my parents bought me one for xmas.

 

[hawaiianflash]

ah thanks for the clarification. So to get true HD quality on a dvd I must upgrade to a dvd player that plays either blu-ray or hddvd. I then presume that this is only achieved through the HDMI cable right?

Now compared to HDTV, is the blu-ray or HDDVD better than that or is the quality the same?

I am very new to this technology. I never really researched it because the possibility of me owning one was so far out of reach until my parents bought me one for xmas.

You can also get a playstation3, which has a Blu-ray player built in. X-box 360 has a HD DVD player accessory that you can buy. HD DVD and Blu-ray are both 1080p, which is currently the best picture that you can obtain. HDTV is broadcast in 720p, which is perfectly fine for most HDTV's and you probably wont be able to tell the difference unless your TV is 50"+. If your tv is 720p, then HD DVD and Blu-ray will be 720p.

Even thought the format war is not over, I think Blu-ray will win. I work in Home Video for the only studio that supports both HD DVD and Blu-ray, and can honestly say that Blu-ray is outselling HD DVD by 1.5 to 1 or so. The format war will be settled this year. Rumor is that we will make an announcement about which (sole) format we support after CES.

-flash

 

[Spartacus]

The HD DVD vs. Blu-ray war is not over by any means. You have to compare the same title on each format. Earlier this year, blu-ray was outselling HD DVD by 2-1 and it appeared that it was going to be the clear winner. However, since Toshiba lowered the price on their players, Blu-ray is barely outselling HD DVD on the same title. If Fox decided to also start manufacturing HD DVD, I bet it would be enough to tip the scales in HD DVD's favor.


full disclosure: I work in Home Video at a major studio.


-flash

I got the toshiba's for 200 each. a wall street journal article said toshiba was selling them to merchants below their manufacturing cost
so I got 2 at circuit city
a week or so later I checked the price at walmart and they were 300,and only one was available at my local walmart

even if hd dvd loses I still have a "high end" player for regular DVDs
and as I mentioned the picture is significantly improved for even standard DVDs