Agree w/ joe. I don't get why people bash Blu-ray as "Sony forcing their proprietary format at us!" when blu-ray is from: Sony, Samsung, Mitsubishi, Pioneer, LG/Philips, Sharp, Denon, Loews (sp?), & Panasonic (did I forget any?).
Meanwhile HD-DVD is... Toshiba, M$, Integra (so, presumably Onkyo), and some upcoming no-name Chinese players (maybe yes, maybe no?) - but for all extensive purposes, your only hardware option for HD-DVD is Toshiba, because only Toshiba is willing to sell them so cheaply to gain market share (classic example of "loss leader" business strategy). Just look at the new Integra player - a very solid, very high quality player to be sure, and it's, what 1100 bucks? I bet an Onkyo HD-DVD player will be around $600-700, whenever it's released.
And, FWIW, I can't confirm the accuracy of it, but I recall reading that Toshiba was initially part of the BDA as well... until they decided to break off and start this whole format-war debacle. I feel that the two formats have their own merits, and that BD has evolved more slowly than people want towards it's expected "profiles," but I think it's hard to argue that BD isn't inherently better technology than HD-DVD... and, while that may not be NEEDED now, why wouldn't you WANT the better tech, if cost is essentially the same?
I currently have one high-def player, and it is Blu-ray (PS3, if you're curious). Time will tell if I have to purchase a second, but I see no point in spending $$$ on HD-DVD until BD is obviously on it's deathbed - if that even is how things shake out, which I think may be unlikely.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
av enthusiast @ Sep 18th 2007 2:40PM
Agree w/ joe. I don't get why people bash Blu-ray as "Sony forcing their proprietary format at us!" when blu-ray is from: Sony, Samsung, Mitsubishi, Pioneer, LG/Philips, Sharp, Denon, Loews (sp?), & Panasonic (did I forget any?).
Meanwhile HD-DVD is... Toshiba, M$, Integra (so, presumably Onkyo), and some upcoming no-name Chinese players (maybe yes, maybe no?) - but for all extensive purposes, your only hardware option for HD-DVD is Toshiba, because only Toshiba is willing to sell them so cheaply to gain market share (classic example of "loss leader" business strategy). Just look at the new Integra player - a very solid, very high quality player to be sure, and it's, what 1100 bucks? I bet an Onkyo HD-DVD player will be around $600-700, whenever it's released.
And, FWIW, I can't confirm the accuracy of it, but I recall reading that Toshiba was initially part of the BDA as well... until they decided to break off and start this whole format-war debacle. I feel that the two formats have their own merits, and that BD has evolved more slowly than people want towards it's expected "profiles," but I think it's hard to argue that BD isn't inherently better technology than HD-DVD... and, while that may not be NEEDED now, why wouldn't you WANT the better tech, if cost is essentially the same?
I currently have one high-def player, and it is Blu-ray (PS3, if you're curious). Time will tell if I have to purchase a second, but I see no point in spending $$$ on HD-DVD until BD is obviously on it's deathbed - if that even is how things shake out, which I think may be unlikely.