Look Before You Leap
by Pravin on February 17th, 2008 in articles.
Regarding advice about your HD future, it’s one thing when someone is speaking from their own experience, and a whole other matter when people are just pulling ideas out of their butts. It’s quite common for the advice from this latter group to completely disregard your actual investment in an HD DVD player and movies. Since it’s not their money, they’ll offer advice such as “Sell it all on eBay.”
You should do what you’re most comfortable with, but I want to present an explanation why selling it all off may not be your best option. I’m not saying it makes absolutely zero sense, but just that you should consider a few things about this course of action.
“Sell it all” and its variations ignore the fact that you’ll have no high-def discs of any sort until you buy a new player and start stocking up on movies again. Some people can get that other player right away, while others need to save up a little bit. If you’re getting a new player immediately, then think about holding off until the summer when the Profile 2.0 units come out, or else you’ll be in the market for yet another player around Christmas. One solution is to get a PS3 and update its firmware when the Profile 2.0 kind becomes available, but not everybody is into buying a game console only for movie watching. You may also want to see if Christmas 2008 ends up bringing lower priced Profile 2.0 Blu machines.
Then there’s the matter of your newly empty library. The format war is not like an episode of Mission Impossible where your media self-destructs on a particular day. Your current discs will continue to work as will your player for many months to come.
Selling off means you don’t get to watch these titles for a while. Maybe a long while, because there are many HD DVD titles that aren’t going to come out on Blu-ray right away. Where are The Matrix and Batman Begins for example? They’ve been announced, but Warner has to work them into the release slate that’s already got other movies slotted in. If and when Universal, Paramount, and DreamWorks titles come out, they’re more likely to first release the most popular titles and latest theatrical releases before playing catch-up with older discs.
There’s also the case that many HD DVDs had at least a few interactivity features that do not exist on the Blu version. I’m sure these movies will be reissued when the Blu player support becomes available, but you’ll have to wait for the studio to get around to reissuing those titles, or put up with the lesser version.
Another reason to keep your discs is that many HD DVD discs were not very different than their Blu versions, and repurchasing a disc that’s pretty similar is probably something you should delay until you absolutely need to.
Using some reasonable prices, here’s an example that supports this approach:
Let’s say you sold your used copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a $25 title, for about $10 on eBay — that’s an immediate loss of $15. Next, you repurchase it on sale some day for around $20, which represents an overall investment of $35 on the young wizard — far more than the $20 or $25 to buy it only once. This might be ok for some titles that you’re attached to, but do it enough times and you may find that it’s better just to keep that HD DVD player and its movies around.
Of course, if a much better version of the movie comes out, then you’ll probably repurchase it any way regardless of format. I’m not talking about those cases in the example above.
In conclusion, I’m not saying you should hang on to everything forever, but just suggesting that you think a little bit instead of following through on a knee-jerk kind of reaction. The bigger your HD DVD investment, the more you need to figure out whether you’re going to be cool with starting anew. It might actually make more sense to transition over slowly instead of ditching everything all at once.
February 17th, 2008 at 5:11 am
Ok, fellow HD DVD owners…
Have you thought about selling? Does anything above change your mind? Or did you already sell off? In looking back, was that a decision that will work out in your case? Many fellow owners need advice about this matter and your input might help them out.
And PS3 owners… zip it. Go back to your own space. We didn’t build and maintain this site for you to come by and talk your smack.
February 17th, 2008 at 6:21 am
I’m gonna keep on buying discs til I cannot anymore.
February 17th, 2008 at 6:31 am
Have no intention of selling player I just bought 3 weeks ago, what I hope to do is find some bargin prices on some HD disk and add to my small collection. My A30 does a great job of upconvertion standard DVD’s so there’s no complaints on owning the machine. I figured that by paying $200.00 for the A 30 HD player and getting seven free disk with in kind of makes getting the player for free.
February 17th, 2008 at 6:33 am
I’m keeping my 80+ HD DVDs and my A2. I’ll buy a cheap backup player. I don’t understand the logic of selling, taking a loss, and re-buying for something that looks the same. I want to understand this logic, but I just don’t. My purchases still look and work excellent. I know, what about in 3-5 years when your player dies. Well, I might be dead by then too. I respect everyones opinions. Hey, its your money, not mine.
February 17th, 2008 at 6:37 am
I decided to go purple. Got a PS3. I love HD-DVD, but just hate the lack of titles. But I am gonna keep my A2. If nothing else, I have a few good high def titles and a good upconvert DVD player for my standard dvds. Anyways I cant part with my Transformers HD-DVD. I watch that thing at least once a week.
February 17th, 2008 at 6:37 am
Hello HD-DVD Supporters,
I am a Blu Supporter, but I’m not a Fanboy so I would still like to say a few words. I agree totally with the Author. I personally feel you should keep what you invested in. The Movies are in excellent quality and they certainly won’t stop playing just because the format is no longer being produced. I like to believe that we are all in it for the movies so by all means DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR INVESTMENT!!!!!
It will take quite some time before these films get ported to Blu and they certainly will not be in better quality, so there really is no reason what so ever for you to completely bail.
If we all have just one thing in common it is our Passion for High Definition.
On that note good Luck!!
Scooby1966
February 17th, 2008 at 7:01 am
My wife and I paid $299 for an HD-A2 this past August. Upon hearing the Warner announcement, we acted quickly to unload our purchase. Fortunately for us, we didn’t invest any money in movies, but felt that we would just call the freebies that came with the player “good for now.”
Ultimately, we sold the player and movies on eBay for about $160. OUCH!
Fortunately for us, we had a few other things laying around the house so we made a little extra cash eBaying those items. All told, we were able to save $300 and picked up a PS3 using Sony’s $100-off discount if you apply for their credit card (surprisingly, they actually came through very quickly with the rebate).
I think a lot of your suggestions are wise considering that my wife and I basically lost 50% of our purchase price one month ago. I feel that I may have taken advantage of a lack of consumer awareness about the Warner announcement, so I shudder to think what people can get for selling the same stuff on eBay now. You might be better off to hang onto your collection and either save for a Blu-Ray player or just wait for prices to come down next Christmas.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:28 am
I won’t be selling off my HD DVD collection but rather keeping it to enjoy through the years. They have the same quality , if not better, than Blu Ray discs so I don’t see a reason as to why I should get rid of them. In fact, I plan on picking up some of those HD DVDs that I wanted but never got. Ebay will feed my HD DVD collection at a very low price. I’ve already gotten a PS3 but I don’t see why I can’t enjoy a HD DVD at a lower price than it’s Blu Ray cousin. Call me crazy , but I’ll continue to “support” the HD DVD format until there aren’t any movies that I want on HD DVD. Then it’s off to Blu….or digital downloads. Oh…and the HD DVD player that I bought my father in-law?…that will get plenty of use with the movies that I own and the movies that will be upconverted because, let’s face it, DVD is still the most popular format.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:32 am
I agree that you should not sell as you already have them and are probably not gonna be any better on blu-ray than hd-dvd, toshiba will no boubt make dual players as will a few others.
Remeber just because one format is out doesnt make it obsolete.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:32 am
I absolutely agree with that analysis, and I’m keeping my collection. I’ve been posting my concerns about blu-ray on HiDefDigest since day one – it’s an unfinished format. Wait until it’s finish and the price comes down. I’ve enjoyed my Bourne movies, Batman Begins, Transformers, and many others – I’m happy, and don’t ever regret buying an HD-DVD player. It’s going to be quite awhile before the other camp gets those movies on HiDef, and I’m going to continue buying HD-DVDs.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:40 am
I’ve considered selling a few times, but everytime I think about sinking my money into a format that’s still not finalized I get sick to my stomach. I’ll try to buy up as many important-to-me HD-DVD’s as I can find, and just stick with standard DVD using my players’ upscaling capabilities. All this profile 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 junk is just that … junk. I’m sure I sound like a raving fanboy, but I’m really not. I’m just a fan of not being taken advantage of, and I feel buying a Blu Ray player is like throwing money out the window until it’s a finalized format.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:42 am
I have no plans to sell. Why should I give the benefit of my HD DVD technology for a fraction of what I paid to some vulture who wants to make a killer deal at my expense. HD DVD is not going to make a comeback sadly so the best you can do is use the technology while you can. I don’t see a single compelling reason to run off and buy an expensive beta Blu-Ray player. If I buy Blu-Ray it will be a fully functional cost reduced BD Profile 2.0 player for less than $200. This will only happen if Blu-Ray can displace DVD as the current standard. When the mainstream consumer decides Blu-Ray then I may follow, but I won’t early adopt Blu-Ray. Until then it is Netflix, Xbox Live, and HD On Demand cable for me. I am buying Beowulf on HD DVD the end of this month no matter what.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:51 am
I am keeping my player and library of movies, getting close to 100 titles that I don’t want to re-buy. With over a million HDDVD owners and some great exclusive releases coming out in the next few months, I am still holding out on keeping this a dual format market. I won’t buy a BR player untill: 1. There is no longer any support for HDDVD; or 2. It looks like the market is going to have some longevity in keeping multiple formats (like the game console wars). In either case I will then purchase a dual format player only if it can do what the HD-XA2 can do, except with both formats.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:55 am
I’ll admit upfront that I’m purple, and I’m sure I’ll get flamed for it. But Pravin’s insightful question actually brings up another great question. How many people are looking to pick up HD-DVDs (if the Toshiba rumors are true) from retailers as the prices are lowered to diminish stock? And what about eBay? I, for example, plan to enlarge my HD-DVD collection, not reduce it, if the prices do come down. But I probably wouldn’t take the time to search eBay for deals, since I expect many would be trying to sell their player as well. I don’t really want another component for my system, and I don’t use the HD-DVD for DVD anyway, due to the lack of HDMI support from my older 360. But to sell something, someone must buy… It would be good to hear what potential buyers are thinking…
February 17th, 2008 at 7:58 am
I already sold my Toshiba HD-A3 and bought a PS3. It kind of kicks ass anyway. As for my HD DVD collection, I’ll keep them for now. Maybe a HD DVD emulator will come for the PS3?
February 17th, 2008 at 8:18 am
I’m keeping all of my stuff, because, if I sold it, I would have nothing to watch. I know my future is Blu, so I may pick up a couple of Blu titles here and there (while BOGO’s and stuff are still going on) even though I’m not sure when I’ll get the player. I’m waiting for a reasonably priced, good combo player hits the market. Or, at the very least, a solid Profile 2.0 standalone. I’m not buying a PS3.
February 17th, 2008 at 9:00 am
I do own both format (PS3 and Toshiba A2). I do own more movies in BD but do also have quite a number of HD DVD movies. By hearing all these 1-2-3 knockout punch news to HD DVD lately, I am keeping my options open to keep my HD DVD movies and my player. As Pravin has said, it is an investment to the consumer. Plus, it is not going to die right away. The movies will still be watchable and the player will still be playable as long as it lasts. Since I bought mine from Costco, I can return the player and purchase the higher model A30 or A35 before they all go away. So at least, I will have a higher model HD DVD player just to be safe. Selling it, you will not get your money’s worth. I suggest to keep it and that is what I am doing.
February 17th, 2008 at 9:12 am
I just purchased the AD-30 this month for $170.00 new. I’m a Blu supporter,and I have a PS3. I have a very large DVD collection, The hole reason I bought th AD-30 is I can use it for my dedicated DVD player, and get the HD tiles that are not released on Blu, like Transformers, American Gangster & the Bourne films, but I will have to agree the player does an excellent job with the upscaling, the PS3 does an excellent job of it too but I dont want to use it for my DVD player.. My plan is to rebuy everything on HD, for both formats, even IF someday HDDVD is fazed out Im still hanging on to it.. Wal-Mart did announce that after June that are not going to carry HD DVD, which sucks caues thats where I go to get my HD movies…
February 17th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Let’s get the formalities out of the way first. Last October, I had the choice to buy into both or buy into one and then add the other later if they both survived. I chose Blu-ray purely because when looking at say 30-50 titles I might be interested in, 90% were on Blu-ray (a few were on both).
Had it worked the other way, I would certainly have kept my Blu-ray collection (currently 37 discs). My advice to HD DVD owners is keep your collection, but think carefully about adding new discs. Toshiba have a good reliability record, so hopefully your player should last for a few years yet. I have LaserDisc players that are still going, nearly 20 years old!
There have been lots of arguments for and against the different profiles. When you consider the standard DVDs, the vast majority buy the single disc version as opposed to the double disc version with all the extras. I’m not sure that every adopter of HD DVD uses picture in picture or the internet, most probably out of curiosity once and that’s it.
For those that do, don’t worry about profile 1.1 as I’ve got a profile 1.0 player that plays picture in picture absolutely fine as it is. Maybe it’s not the complete HD DVD experience, I don’t know, but it a nice feature and it does work. Cars and Rush Hour 3 are two discs I have that have this feature and it works well.
From where I see it, the biggest reasons for sale are not being able to accommodate two players or the need for some funds to buy a Blu-ray player and start a collection.
I hope this is of some help. Not all Blu-ray fans (I have become one) are hostile!
February 17th, 2008 at 10:08 am
…Agree with the Author unequivocably.
I purchased the Xbox360 HD-DVD addon just yesterday in lite of the impending news… with the thought that I just purchased a very good upscaling HiDef dvd player, have roughly 15 HD movie titles, and will grow that in the next few months as the industry starts to sell of those titles at a much reduced cost. I picked up 4 discs just moments ago at $12 a pop.
Believing that in the future that Microsoft may release a Blu-Ray disc addon for the 360 makes it better, as like Blu owners now… we can enjoy movies from both libraries for years in HIDef!
February 17th, 2008 at 10:11 am
There is only one thing that could get me to go Blu; I mean purple.
If Toshiba were to introduce a dual format player I would be interested. Toshiba obviously knows everything about making HD DVD. Now that the format war is coming to an end Toshiba could add Blu-Ray 2.0 capability. Current HD DVD owners would not have to throw away there HD DVD movies to make the move to Blu. I don’t hold Toshiba responsible for the way HD DVD ended. Sure they could have done some things better, but they did deliver a great little HD player for not a lot of money.
My HDTV like many others only has 3 HD inputs. One for HD cable, one for Xbox 360, and one for HD DVD. PS3 can’t replace Xbox 360 because the Xbox 360 still has the strongest game line-up. Cable must stay so to add Blu I would need to remove HD DVD. That may happen in the long run, but not anytime soon.
February 17th, 2008 at 10:30 am
I have both formats and currently have 2 hd stand alones and xbox 360 player plus 100 plus hd discs and there is no way I would sell and loose all that money. I am going to buy a back-up hd player or two on the cheap and keep them in the box until I need them. Regardless what anybody says there is abpsoluteley no difference between the two formats and considering how cheap I can/will be able to get hd discs it is just stupid to unload them for next to nothing. I still dont understand why more people did not buy both formats.
February 17th, 2008 at 10:34 am
I had a Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on drive with 9 total movies, I traded all of it in at Gamestop yesterday and recouped much of what I paid since 6 of the movies were freeebies. My losses were minimal, but waiting for the stuff to drop in value even more would have sucked IMO. I say get out while there is some value left, because in another 6 months the value of HD-DVD hardware and software will plummet to almost nothing and your losses will be even greater. There really is no need to hold on to a dead format. Pretty much all of the major retailers are going full Blu already and the studios will all follow shortly. WHen Toshiba officially announces that they are pulling the plug the vaule will drop in half overnight…
February 17th, 2008 at 10:45 am
With over 150 HD DVD movies in my collection I won’t be doing any selling. Heck, I still own all my old laser-discs. As you said, these discs won’t self-destruct. If others want to sell their stuff on eBay, well, that just means cheaper movies for me to buy.
February 17th, 2008 at 10:46 am
There is absolutely no reason to sell off your HD-DVD players or movies. I am purple with a bias toward HD-DVD, I have 76 HD-DVD’s and 74 Blu Ray discs, an HD-A20 and a PS3.
IMO hd-dvd is the better format, and I will continue to buy discs on both formats. As others have stated, Toshiba will most likely release dual format players as to not leave their ealry adopters out in the cold.
Just hold tight, Hd-dvd is a viable medium, and they still work.
February 17th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I love hi-def but I love to get the most out of my money too. With that said, I always liked HD DVD over Blu-ray Disc, but I was not (and still don’t) willing to pay $400 for a player. So I waited.
I was ready to buy an upconverter DVD player ($100 for the one I liked) to take advantage on my 1080p HDTV and my 400+ DVD collection when Toshiba cut the prices down after the Warner announcement. So I got a HD-A30! The way I see it, I got HD DVD for free, since the $100 difference was pretty much covered with the 9 free movies I got (2 in the box + 5 in the mail + 2 from Best Buy promotion), $60 in Best Buy reward “bucks†and a 12% discount coupon.
Since then I have bought 13 HD DVD (BoGo’s all of them) movies and I’m planning on buying more (again, just BoGo’s and discounted discs) until they’re gone. No Blu-ray Disc player for me until a sub-$200 profile 2.0 comes out. I don’t have a problem keeping with plain-old-fashion DVDs until then.
February 17th, 2008 at 11:03 am
I’m trying to unload my A20 as we speak, it’s just not worth it to keep a technology that’s come to a dead end. I, like most consumers want only 1 format of video media in my collection. I always liked HD more than BD, but now that the war is over why hold on to a format thats become another Betamax, MiniDisk, Laserdisk (2 out of 3 being Sony formats ironically). I’ll buy a PS3 because of it’s adaptability and I am looking forward to the next Gran Turismo.
The good news about selling off my HD stuff is that I only actually bought 4 movies and I got the 5 free ones + $100 rebate on player. All in all I invested less than $250. If I can unload it on some poor soul for $100 I’ll be happy. Good luck to those about to do the same.
February 17th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Ever since I’ve heard about this format war I was mainly upset. In the beginning there was purely a hardware stand point.
1) HD DVD was cheaper to manufacture than DVDs (I say was and not is because: http://gizmodo.com/348864/sony-reduces-blu+ray-lasers-size-and-cost)
2) HD DVD has a smaller capacity
Now things could have been different if they simply chose Blu ray. The major changes would have been:
1) A set standard in format
2) Ethernet a mandatory requirement
3) HDi software on Blu ray. HP tried its best to get this done but the other companies simply refused
4) Extra content would have been in HD rather than 480p (I know not all extra content was in 480p but a good portion was)
From the beginning I was upset that just because it cost more to manufacture Blu ray this format war began. If Sony reduced their blu ray laser size and cost sooner rather than later all signs would have pointed towards blu ray. But companies were so worried about the initial cost that they kept their tails between their legs and wasted two years of everybody’s time. Not only that, HD DVD fans are forced to question their investment and, even worse, have to buy ANOTHER high def player in order to see the rest of the market’s movies in HD. Now I am a Blu ray fan, but I am also enraged at the companies that caused this division and screwed over a million HD DVD owners. I was hoping that they would offer HD DVD users a trade in to blu ray, but given that HDi isn’t available on Blu ray, HD DVD users would generally refuse the offer because their movies have much more extra content than blu ray. So in other words, about a million people will either stick to HD DVD until digital download becomes awesome, they’ll buy Blu ray and sell their HD DVD stuff in order to cut losses, or get both.
February 17th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I rooted for HD DVD from day one – seemed the more mature technology, and lack of region coding was a big deal for me (I’m European). Anyways, I have bought an HD-A30 about three weeks ago for about $175, after Toshiba cut their prices in half; both HD-DVD and BR seemed to me way too expensive until then. (And yes, I was fully aware at the time about the Warner decision and that things weren’t going that well for HD DVD).
Now, I still have time to return my player. Will I? Absolutely NOT. In fact, I already picked many movies at very good prices (www.deepdiscount.com, everybody!), and plan on continuing to buy even more, if “fire-sales” start to be commonplace for HD-DVD. My A30 has become my main DVD player as well (upconverting is very good), and I see absolutely no reason why I would not continue to buy HD-DVD discs for as long as they are available – especially at the lower prices we can expect!
Just my .02c…
February 17th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I sold my A3 and my movies and bought a PS3. Even though I use the PS3 for games, its a really solid player. I understand why some would keep their HD-DVD collection, but personally I dont want to keep a lot of different formats, when one of them are going out of production
February 17th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
HAHA now its over it seems even http://forum.hd-dvd.com/ has been taken offline / redirected… SAD and so long
February 17th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
The hd-dvd.com site was owned and operated by the same folks who own blu-ray.com. You can go check the DNS records and see for yourself. They never really knew what to do with hd-dvd.com as a domain, and have since redirected all or most of their HD DVD domains to Amazon.com. (They owned domains like hddvdporn.com, etc.)
February 17th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I’m gonna wait around to see the Panasonic DMP-BD50 come out or buy a PS3, but I have a bit of a grudge with Sony. That’ll be somewhere around…$500USD… No more cheap High Definition content for us anymore…
February 17th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I won’t buy Blu until there’s a $150 player. I will NOT buy a PS3 because XBOX is so much better. Until then I’ll continue to buy HD DVD’s and good ol DVD’s when HD isn’t available. I’ve already pre-ordered my copy of American Ganster on HD-DVD. I my opinion is just a big pissing contest. There was / is no reason not to support both formats.
February 17th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Sad sad news………ill be keeping my collection of AMAZING looking films to play on my HD DVD player on my xbox 360, and since for me there is hardly any MUST HAVE films on blue ray im happy watching transformers and matrix in Hi Def
I agree with most things said, i personally think that hd dvd looks better, i have the advantage of haveing a blueray player on my laptop which i port through my tv and i think it does not look as good
The money sony gave to the film makers to join there side will have to be paid by us the public and demand will go up and i dont wanna pay £25 a film at the moment:(
February 17th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Expect Toshiba to release a dual format player with a 50% rebate for those who trade in their old HD players
February 17th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Just to be fair, “UnShavenMonkey” it’s quite possible that your video quality issues have something to do with the fact you’re viewing on an HDTV via a particular laptop, and are not necessarily representative of Blu-ray quality in general.
I want to thank everyone for largely sticking to the topic. As usual, I’ve filtered out a few comments that were inappropriate or unwarranted.
February 17th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I invested
February 17th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
when it rains it pours I guess.
I’m not loosing too much sleep over this, I only have about 20 HDDVDs, plus the free ones that I still have not recieved in the mail. I’m thinking of getting a PS3, but the 80gb has been discontinued with no mention on when the new model will hit, and there’s the problem of the current Blu discs not having all the features for future profile updates. Not sure I want to get a bunch of discs only to have reissues come out a few months later that have a lot more features. I guess I’ll just wait.
There’s allways CHDVD! I’ll look into that more when it finally hits this summer.
February 17th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I will keep buying HD-DVD’s until there is no more, I will not be going blu ever, I’ll stick to the good ol DVD. Is it for sure that Toshiba is going to concede, or is this just another rumor?
February 17th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
You know the 2 Wal-Marts here in Lawton, OK never had a very good selection of HD-DVD movies, and the HD-A3 was never in stock even before it went on sale nor the HD-A2. On black friday I was going to buy the HD-A2 when it was $99, but it was nowhere to be found, but if you wanted Blu-Ray, you always had a big assortment of everything. I just don’t think that Wal-Mart has given HD-DVD a fair shake, at least where I live. That is why I turned to the online retailers, mainly Amazon.
February 17th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I feel somewhat of a turncoat, but not a full one. I did purchase the LG BH 200 today. So I am hedging my bets. It supports Blu-Ray and HD DVD. But I have to wait until the shipment comes in later in the week, seems like a lot of people are buying these combo players. I will keep my stand alone HD DVD on my Xbox 360 and play it in my bedroom. I still feel HD DVD is the superior format for interactive capabilites, but I also am a realist too, and the rumors about Toshiba pulling the plug are indeed ominous. My best guess is that Sony decided to pay big bucks to see Blu-Ray win, afterall they didn’t want to lose TWO format wars (e.g. the Betamax).
February 17th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Kevin – The news from Japan has been about halting production, and I think this weekend has probably been spent formulating some public statements that are likely to be made on Monday. I’m sure we’ll hear more formal statements during the week. I bet Blu-ray owners are looking forward to hearing what Universal and Paramount will be doing. HD DVD owners will also want to know how many more new movies to expect from the studios.
February 17th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Sure it is disappointing that no new titles will probably be released in the future for HD-DVD, but the plus is that, like Pravin said, these discs are not going anywhere. They are not going to expire, evaporate, or smell! (I just hope my player holds up) Oh ya, this should only result in cheaper “everything HD-DVD” soon.
The bottom line for me is: I bought an HD-DVD player that costs 1/3 the price of a blu-ray player, have about 20 movies (10 free) I would want to watch more often than not, am happy for what I have, and do not care if I am the only one on earth who owns an HD-DVD player.
A question: I just sent in my rebate form for 5 free hd-dvds recently, and from what I heard, it takes 8 weeks or more to receive them. If Toshiba pulls the plug, does that mean I won’t be able to get them?
February 17th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I don’t know about the player cos the player might break pretty soon. I will hold on the movies. It might turn out to be a good investment. Saving it for later sale might increase the price value cos eventually people trying to sell with run out of the movies while you will still have them. People with hd dvd player might be willing to pay more for the movies….Just a thought.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
About the Wal-mart statement I made earlier, is it about the same across the country, or is it just an isolated case here in OK?
February 17th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I have no intention of selling my HD DVD player. It works perfectly well and I have over 50 HD movies for it. Those movies will continue to work just fine and the player handles all of my SD DVDS, making them look even better. My PS3 will serve for BluRay but while I can still get the same title in HD DVD format I will do so. The prices are better.
February 17th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
well there are still some good movies coming out for HD DVD in the next few months
American Gangster
Beowulf
Bee Movie
Sweeny Todd
I am legend
Twister (final WB release)
Into The Wild
February 17th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
well…. xbox360 Blu-ray addon on the way:
http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/Console/J7L7H2R4
February 17th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Kevin C.,
I also live in Lawton , Oklahoma…small world. The selection at Wally world has always been piss poor. I found more of a selection at Hastings, Used ones at Gameking(where I work), and FYE. Amazon and other online retailers have been good places to find new HD DVDs as well.
February 17th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I’d buy a 360 blu-ray add-on if it was priced right, say $129 or so. Would go well with my 360 HD-DVD add-on and give me the full selection of HD movies! Definitely better than forking over $400 for a PS3.
February 17th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I wouldn’t put a lot of credence into that Smarthouse.com claim. Having a Blu-ray player work the proper way requires the 360 to support Java, and that’s a sticky point between Sun and Microsoft.
But business is business. I never thought Sony would make a phone based on Windows Mobile, but that’s about to change.
February 17th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Hey brothers! Early blu adopter here, bought an A2 for $98 at Wal-Mart, it’s a great little player, upconverts awesome and got Transformers of course. Don’t take the who won this thing personal. It’s just technology. Keep what you have, enjoy it and adapt to the other technology. You buy technology because it’s there and you love it. Doesn’t matter who makes it. That’s just childish non-sense. Go enjoy the technology that is made. We only live once and holding grudges over this thing is stupid. Go buy your blu-ray player and enjoy it along with your HD-DVD’s. Buy a multi HDMI Input receiver and move on and have fun with what the future holds…..
February 17th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
There will be no Blu in the future for me, sorry. Since the days of the Sega Dreamcast, Sony has been a thorn in a lot of peoples sides. If Toshiba makes an announcement that they are dropping the format, fine, I like many others will just wait and see how the CH-DVD format plays out, and of course there will always be standard def dvd’s, they do look much better on my HD-A30.
February 17th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I bought an HD add on for Xbox simply because you can get HD DVD’s for the price of regular dvd’s about anywhere and the cost were minimal $110 and 6 free. Not too mention who knows how long it will be till all of the production companies switch to Blu ray. I thought it was a good decision.
February 17th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I don’t think the CH-DVD format is going to be relevant outside of China, unless one is interested in viewing Chinese content. The point of that format is that it’s closely related to HD DVD, but Chinese-owned enough to keep that government happy with the patents and licensing issues.
February 17th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I bought a A2 at walmart on a 1 dat special ang got 5 movies for free so Im not really worried about the player. I will just wait til Christmas this year and get a blu ray player cheap.Around the third quarter this year there will be a boatload of HD movies available on xstreamhd.com so that should help bring the prices down.
February 17th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
so after march 11th is that it as far as hd dvd’s go or will they be releasing for another few months?
February 17th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
We’ll have to wait for the studios to come out and say what each one plans on doing. I doubt that they’d continue for several months, but it’s not unthinkable to predict a shorter period of time.
February 17th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Oh well I use my Xbox to watch dvd’s anyway I might as well have a player that upconverts as well as be able to buy HD dvd’s on the cheap.
February 18th, 2008 at 6:46 am
I’ll wait until the ride comes to a complete stop. I see no reason to make any move right now. I like my A2, and as long as there are movies in HD DVD format available, I’ll buy them.
February 18th, 2008 at 6:55 am
I still play Dreamcast games that I paid good money for years after the system was officially “dead.” I’ll do the same with HD DVD. I also believe that Toshiba will not just let this technology die. Anyone know about DVD+RW and DVD-RW? HD DVD may find a second life in the PC market. Bottom line is, I’m keeping my investment. I paid good money for it, and it still works.
February 18th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Sometimes I want to go back and un-delete a comment and let it come through or want to discuss a point in it so that it might be reworded and get a chance to come through.
I can’t do that if the poster tries to be anonymous and hide behind a bogus email address.
If you’re going to come up here and take potshots, then have some balls too and provide some contact info. No, I wouldn’t publicize it, but show some real proof to your convictions.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:24 am
I got a Xbox360 add on for x-mas over a year ago. I have the best exclusives for it. The way I look at it….. Well I can’t play Wii games without a Wii, can’t play PS3 games with out a PS3….. etc. So I don’t feel burned at all. You get the tech. you need to get the “games”/”Movies” you want. I really hope that one day there ISN’T one gaming system that all companies make games for. There would be no more innovative machines like the Wii. In a way I wish there was enough support for Both Blu and HD. Just look at the spiecal features on HD. They did that because of competition.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:43 am
I’ll be keeping all of my HD-DVD titles and buying as many as possible before they go away forever. Additionally, I will be encoding all of my own HD-DVD discs for future use until I run out of blank media.
You can have my HD-DVD discs and players when I am dead.
Blu-Ray is typical consumer trash and inferior in every way to HD-DVD.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:47 am
I purchased the HD-DVD add on for the 360 when it was released, which I believe was around 11/06. I’ve amassed probably 15 or so disks since then. (some really good ones like Transformer, Planet Earth) About two months ago in December I purchased the 80gb PS3, because of the price drop, the games seemed like they were slowly getting better (departed, unreal III) and most importantly because there was some good BLU-RAY movies that were’nt out on HD-DVD that I wanted. Of course I wanted HD-DVD to win the format war when I purchased the add on for 360. No one wants to have to buy two pieces of hardware to play HD movies.
I think about in November of 2007 I had a hunch BLU-RAY would win mainly, because of its integration into the PS3 and no other reason.
So my point is that I have both formats hooked up to my home theater and I don’t plan on my HD-DVD add on or disks going anywhere soon. Maybe in like four years when their equilvalent BLU-RAY disks drop to really low prices ($5-$10) like it finally did after a few years with DVD’s.
I recommend only selling off your HD-DVD player and collection of disks if you only have space for one HD movie player which seems very unlikely for most people.
February 18th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I’m sticking with my HD DVD stuff for sure. Probably buy a blur add on for Xbox 360 if it comes, or a PS3. Sad but true PS3 is the only thing that will survive all these profile updates. But certainly prefer to buy more HD DVD movies if I get the chance. But I prefer to invest in a bigger TV first
February 18th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Maybe that’s a good strategy for the next few months (and you have the money): upgrade the rest of your system if it needed to be. Get the right receiver for hd audio, maybe new speakers, etc.
February 18th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I would like to take the time to apologize to Pravin and to all the HD DVD breathen for appearing to bad mouth you folks for selecting HD. What I was trying to state that it was better to put your chips on both sides of the table instead of one that way no you will always win the outcome no matter what. I truly feel bad because no one wants to lose any kind of war, no matter what. The HD DVD brotherhood has TRULY EARNED MY RESPECT FOREVER!!!
February 18th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Thanks for your kind words Silent J, and I’m sure that many of us can appreciate the great gesture on your part to see things from the opposite point of view.
It’s much easier to stay within one’s shell, and many people just take that simpler route.
February 18th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
WOW! All this talk of going Blur. I wish I had money to burn and buy a Blur. I am an early adopter of HD-DVD. I got the HD-DVD add-on as soon as it came out. $200 at the time, but well worth it. Prior to that, I did not invest in HD-DVD mainly because of the cost. I also have a A30, which I recently purchased at a great price.
In any case, I would suggest not selling any of your HD-DVD hardware or movies. Just because of the lack of studio support and the high possibility of Toshiba dropping its support as well, that does not mean your HD-DVD player will all of a sudden stop working. HD-DVD players make great upconverting DVD players. And if you do sell, buying a Blur will not quench your HiDef thirst. I think Blur will remain expensive and out of reach for the general consumer population that currently buy standard DVD’s. I think Blur will come and go, just like all of Sony’s other great endeavors. You will be setting yourself up for disappointment once again.
If HD-DVD does go away, I am going back to standard DVD’s. And why not? It is still a viable option for home entertainment, and the upconverting quality of HD-DVD players is top notch and very close to HiDef. Also, if some other HiDef technology does emerge, I am going to sit and wait. I am done with early adopting. Sometimes leading edge will cut and bleed you and leave you for dead. I think I will play it safe from now on. Who knows, maybe someone else will pick up the HD-DVD pieces and try to revive the technology. Maybe a company with a better marketing strategy than Toshiba. Wishful thinking, I know. For now, I would just ignore all the “come over to the Blu side” comments and suggestions. Don’t waste your money.
February 18th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Kevin C
On Walmart
In my town the Blu-Ray and HD DVD movies were only the end cap on a row of DVD’s with 60% BD and 40% HD DVD. There were no Blu-Ray players except the PS3. The HD DVD players were only seen a few times. They should have had HD DVD hooked up to an HDTV running all the time. It seems Walmart may a killer deal to get the cheap HD DVD players for the holiday, but in the long run they really did not look out for their customer’s interest. Of course it still comes back to Warner no matter what Walmart did.
February 18th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I will buy all I can. I read today on one of the sites Pravin mentioned that the announcement is coming out tomorrow. What worries me is that they also said that all units would be pulled off the shelves. They would stop selling media and players in March. I hope they sell all the movies dirt cheap.
February 18th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Randy,
I think you’re absolutely right. Walmart was in it for the quick profit. They would have done the same if it were Blur instead of HD-DVD. Walmart is just a money-grubbing evil corporation bent on sucking money out of communities.
Matt,
If what you’re saying is true, and if there is a liquidation sale, I will buy as many movies as I can afford.
I’ve been satisfied with my small investment with HD-DVD thus far and will continue to support to the end.
BTW…if it means anything to anybody (probably not), Toshiba made a statement to the Hollywood Reporter today denying all the HD-DVD speculation and also says that it has not officially made decision on the future of HD-DVD. Sounds like the same ‘ol cr@p since last Friday. Here’s link if you’re compelled to read it yourself.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i759fab371cec78730e23360ed09c2ca4
February 18th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Posted at a different site… just thought everyone would want to know the latest scuttlebutt:
Sources close to the situation have alerted Blu-ray.com that Toshiba is expected announce at a press conference to be held at 5pm (local time) in Tokyo, Japan that they have ended their support of the HD DVD format. Toshiba will announce that effective immediately, production of HD DVD hardware, software, and authoring tools will cease, and that sales and support of existing products will end sometime in March.
February 18th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
That’s actually going to be the main story at this site in just a few hours after the press conference happens and it can all be promoted from scuttlebutt to official statement.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I’m an HD DVD advocate and early adopter. I have big bucks invested in HD DVD hardware and software. I would say that I’m the kind of person Sony would like on the Blue Ray bandwagon but I have to say that unless Sony compensates me for my loss, I will never buy another Sony product for as long as I live!! I place the responsibility of my loss squarely on Sony.
At this point, I hope the death of Blue Ray will come quickly and we can move on to other technologies to take it’s place. The movie industry should be ashamed of themselves for
bringing down the better system because of their GREED!!