HD-DVD reviews: They like, not like, LOVE it
by Richard Lawler 
posted Apr 27th 2006 at 10:45AM
That's what Reuters is saying and if the poll Ken pointed out in AVS Forums is any indication, they are correct. Toshiba's HD-XA1 has, despite limited content, poor demos, massive
size and little public awareness, found acceptance with initial buyers and reviewers. I know many of our readers will be shocked to
hear this, but apparently there is a considerable audience waiting for high definition content free from nasty
compression artifacts and limited television broadcast schedules.More interesting to note is that some buyers are expressing hesitance towards Blu-ray, with its players starting at $1000 and going up from there. Did they just interview some HD-DVD fanboys (Odds are high they did, with only 10,000 units in stores.), or is there a possibility even the early adopting home theater community won't spend that much on movies?
Whatever the case may be, we know two things for sure. HD-DVD is currently the absolute best format with <7 titles available on the planet; and Blu-ray, the clock is ticking, better get in the game.
[Updated (working) link]
Filed under: Toshiba
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Razib Ahmed @ Apr 27th 2006 10:54AM
"Blu-ray, the clock is ticking, better get in the game."
I hope that Blu-ray bosses are listening to the useres. Not listening to them will prove to be very costly.
Tucker @ Apr 27th 2006 11:01AM
HOLY SHIT! More than SEVEN titles??? I'd better run to the store right now...
Sorry, there's early adopting and then there's early idiocy. I'll wait for a better library, better prices and stable marketplace before buying.
Tipster @ Apr 27th 2006 11:17AM
Hahaaa ... do like joystiq and make two new blogs:
HD-DVD Fanboy
BluRay Fanboy
Dave @ Apr 27th 2006 11:21AM
Well, at this point, the war is on. So, if you're an early adopter looking for HD content, you pick one format or the other. Obviously, Blu-Ray isn't out yet; but, at the higher price, does it really matter? If you don't know who the winner will be, you're gambling whether you buy one or the other--or even if you buy both. You don't win unless you get lucky--so you simply pick the cheaper format for now and see what the future brings. Makes sense to me.
BG @ Apr 27th 2006 12:44PM
The article link is broken.
Richard Lawler @ Apr 27th 2006 12:50PM
It was there before, really, lol.
The title is still on Reuters site, but the article is gone, I'll check to see if it comes back, or if it's cached at Yahoo or something
Natiahs @ Apr 27th 2006 3:02PM
"If you don't know who the winner will be, you're gambling whether you buy one or the other--or even if you buy both."
This comment shows a lack of understanding as to why early adopters adopt early. We don't care who wins, we want what we want now. Neither HD-DVD nor Blu-Ray are going away for a long time to come so why hold out until a winner is declared? The movies adopters buy today for their shiny new HD-DVD payers will still work perfectly fine if HD-DVD dries up and blows away in three years.
HD-DVD, at $500-$700, is an insanely inexpensive risk. When I was on a waiting list for Sony's first SACD player, the price was $4500 (and that was when the players were stereo only - not multichannel). HD-DVD looks fantastic and it looks fantastic right now.
Natiahs
phez @ Apr 27th 2006 4:06PM
#7,
At ~$500-700, I'd rather risk it over a $1000+ BD Player.
Ben Hobbs @ Apr 28th 2006 8:35AM
You can get the Toshiba deck for just over $400 online and remember it plays your old DVD's as well - So basically anyone who is on the lookout for a fairly decent DVD player has nothing to lose by buying the HD DVD player, in fact the quality watching normal DVD's on the Toshiba unit is at least as good as a $400 normal DVD player.
By the time Blu-Ray comes out, these players will be $300, against the Blu-Ray's $1000 - plus by then it will be tried and tested, no point buying a Blu-Ray player if you've already got a HD DVD and movies, theyre both pretty similar.
One thing that has surprised me is the amount of people who stoicly said they were waiting for the Blu-Ray machine, and then fell at the first hurdle and rushed out to get a HD DVD player - You can spend half your life waiting for the next best thing to come out or you can watch Hi Def now.