There was recent activity was over in the comments on a couple of posts, and I had not realized that so much time had gone by since a new posting. There are actually many things to talk about, so let’s see if I can get us caught up.
Traderbora is still delighting lots of Amazon customers with low $5 prices and free shipping on plenty of titles. There’s also the usually reliable InetVideo sale that comes around where you can pick up a few hard to find titles, like Bonnie and Clyde.
Astute shoppers from the AVS forum have found HD DVD discs in unexpected places, like Burlington Coat Factory stores. Some had also seen discs at Kroeger’s grocery stores (Ralph’s in California – although not at any that I went to).
There were reports a few weeks ago about a book by Microsoft insiders which provided a small peek into Microsoft’s HD DVD effort, and explained it as a calculated business decision. Well of course it was! Did you think that Panasonic and Sony partnered over Blu-ray for altruistic purposes? Apparently, Microsoft joined the HD DVD team as a way to encourage more cross-licensing of its technologies. Toshiba and Microsoft already had a close relationship dating back to the PocketPC and Zune, so their readiness to collaborate on HD DVD should be no surprise.
But here’s a big surprise: just a month ago, Warner decided that HD DVD aint so bad afterall, at least for China. Well, it’s not exactly the HD DVD format that we’re all familiar with, but the Chinese version, CBHD. Warner has announced that they will put out their big hits, including the Harry Potter series, while also pushing movies on Blu-ray. Unfortunately CBHD is slightly different enough from HD DVD that this news is not very useful for HD DVD fans.
- Traderbora has $5 and free shipping at Amazon
- InetVideo has a sale as usual
- Microsoft insiders write about HD DVD in a book about intellectual property deals
- Warner endorses Chinese HD DVD format
April 5th, 2009 at 9:14 am
My grocery store (Price Chopper) has combo HD DVD/DVDs for $6.99 each. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw them in a grocery store. On the covers it heavily promotes that it is a HD DVD/DVD combo in larger than normal print. Titles like Miami Vice, Slither etc… I will try and get a more comprehensive list on my return trip today. Long live RED!
April 8th, 2009 at 11:58 am
“Long live Red!”
Long live Red??????????????????? IDK
April 9th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
I just moved back to L.A. from Florida and I am in HD DVD heaven. I was shopping at Ralph’s 3 days ago, and while standing in line to checkout I notice Tokyo Drift HD DVD Combo on the shelf for 6.99
I already own this title, but it was nice to see it for sale. I also have paid several visits to my local Fry’s Electronics and have bought over 10 HD DVD tittles in the last week. I saved myself close to $200 by buying HD DVD over buying Blu-Ray.
It gets to me all those Blu-Ray hard cores that don’t understand why HD DVD lost the format war. HD DVD truly is the better technology, newer, better and less expensive. Marketing and promotional competition is what got more companies to go Blu-Ray.
A good example of this is when VHS won over Beta. Beta still is better and newer technology over VHS, it was so much better than VHS that the media kept using Beta over VHS up to this day, at a point BETA went Digital when VHS remained the same analog technology as when it started.
I have a Blu-Ray player, but price does not justify me spending $200 more on Blu-Ray tittles when I can buy the same tittles on HD DVD and save me a bundle.
1997 was when I first heard that Sony was going to start developing an optical disc that could store 25 GB of memory, that’s how old Blu-Ray technology is. HD DVD began development way after that using newer technological advances, Sony didn’t. But that is irrelevant now. I’ll keep buying HD DVD until they are all out, and I will continue to buy Blu-Rays whenever there is a good sale on newer titles.
April 13th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I think the Blue-Ray bus may just sweep by, I am not going to pay the overinflated prices for blue ray. So I’ll take the HD-DVD’s where I can find em, download my HD content where I have to, and thumb my nose at Blue Rays heavy handed tactics from now til forever.
(well maybe I’ll break down and buy a blue ray player eventually, but I just checked the prices again, and guess what? I’m still not buying, cuz they’re still overcharging)
As far as the argument over the ‘better’ technology? Well I actually think the HD DVD was better due to the lower manufacturing costs associated with the format, but from a consumer standpoint we had enough room for full HD video and Audio on both formats , so from a consumer standpoint the tech was virtually identical. (til you figured in the online content for HD-DVD which worked correclty out of the box due to HD-DVD actually having a SPECIFICATION and solid Hardware requirements before it was produced lol! whereas you could have a first gen ‘blue Ray’ player that can’t play certain blue ray content, and is incapable of upgrading to EVER play it. No thanks Sony, it is exaclty this kind of ’shaft the consumer mentality’ which makes me have absolutely no confidence in your brand name whatsoever. (Of course I have a Toshiba HiDef widescreen Tv as well, any surpirse?)
Long Live RED!
Aaahhh the look and sound of perfection.
April 13th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Rick, your statement ROCKS!!!!
April 13th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
I bought 100 lot of HD Movies from a store called movietronix on EBAY. I got them for $300.00 They shipped good……product was perfect… Thats $3.00 a movie… I love it
April 13th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
movietronix has hddvds on sale at amazon for $5.00 including shipping individual… perfect shipper…
April 18th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Hi, guys. Taking Lives HD DVD is back on Ebay for an incredible price: $27.92 and free shipping! Check it out here:http://cgi.ebay.com/0-S-H-US-TAKING-LIVES-HD-DVD-NEW-WORLDWIDE-S-H-AVAIL_W0QQitemZ370189768725QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_DVD_HD_DVD_Blu_ray?hash=item370189768725&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1240|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50