Engadget HD Podcast 057 - 11.07.2007
Up this week on the Engadget HD Podcast is more format war news. It comes in groups, and a big one this week at that. What's different about this week is that we've invited Chris White (aka Xyzzy) a proponent of HD DVD to join in on the conversation in an attempt to add a little more red perspective. Chris does a great job of keeping Ben in check and ensure that the red team's victories this week are not played down. It's not all format war news though -- well almost -- we do cover a few general HD news topics this week as well.Get the podcast
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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh and Steve Kim
Guest: Chis White (aka Xyzzy)
Producer: Trent Wolbe
14:15 - Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player: $100, this Friday, Wal-Mart
15:07 - How to buy a Toshiba HD-A3 for $87
25:27 - Best Buy fills backordered HD-A2s with HD-A3s
28:39 - Poll: Did you buy a HD DVD player this week?
34:51 - No blue-light special at Kmart for Blu-ray
38:15 - Warner Home Video to support Blu-ray exclusively?
38:46 - Warner denies wavering in format war
43:27 - SlySoft claims to have cracked BD+, naysayers fall quiet
48:47 - Specs lie, your eyes and ears don't
52:48 - Akamai launches HD content website
56:08 - Comcast launches TiVo webpage
57:27 - Verizon reveals plan to launch 150 HD channels by the end of '08
1:00:11 - Survey says: LCD and plasma TVs highly reliable
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
haveacoke1886 @ Nov 7th 2007 11:16AM
Don't forget to add Zune under "Get the Podcast" section after November 13th!
John B @ Nov 7th 2007 2:17PM
Cool podcast as usual. A few things of note:
You should add one more option to your upcoming poll regarding the users' stands on format war: "I support both versions equally". I got one of the $99 HD DVD players, but I'll jump on a $99 BluRay player just as quickly. "Sitting on the sidelines" to me sort of implies that you don't care either way and that you're just waiting for it to pan out. Or did I misunderstand what you meant by that?
I should make the "Stop the crusades" segment of my latest podcast, where I tell the extremists on both sides of the HD media issue to shut up, available as a separate download. This format war is a major pain in the ass and the extremism on both sides over a 12cm piece of plastic isn't helping anyone. :/
I also agree about extended warranties. We recently had to have our 55" projection TV repaired. It was the first and so far only repair after seven years. We called a very reputable, locally-owned shop. They came out, were done in about an hour, and it cost less than what the extended warranty would have cost (which wouldn't have been used in the first place).
And it was great having Chris in to add some HD DVD balance to you BluRay fanboys. ;)
Ryan P @ Nov 7th 2007 2:54PM
I think this is the best podcast since the re-start.
Hate to beat a dead horse, but my problem with the $99 player being called "cheap, entry level" is that articles about 720p TV's aren't called cheap or entry level. If someone who isn't an enthusiast reads that they might think that there is actually something wrong with the player instead of the difference being mostly inside your head. Oh, and the PS3 does not come with a real remote FYI it's sold separately so it's not quite a complete player for 399.
And for the next podcast, any Black Friday predictions? Seems like everyone will have a deal on a Big Ass Flat Panel as we've already seen. Also, I'm sure somebody wants to sell a new player to all those folks as well.
chad @ Nov 7th 2007 3:24PM
I think people got upset with Ryan's post on the $98 A2 because he seemed to downplay the deal by hinting that the A2 was a crappy player. Yes, the player outputs a max resolution of 1080i but that isn't really much of a flaw. If you have a high end HDTV then you simply don't need 1080p output on your player. For example, the new Pioneer Kuros supposedly detect 1080i signals with a 3:2 cadence attached, remove the cadence, then triple the frame rate to 72 Hz. That is, they display all film material input to the display at 1080i as 1080p24 with 3:3 pulldown. (Ben, maybe you can provide some insight into how well this feature works.) Although most displays don't have a 72 Hz mode, many can properly convert 1080i to 1080p.
Although this may seem counter-intuitive, a super high end television should match up nicely with a cheaper player like the A2. It's the lower end sets which benefit most from higher end 1080p players. So, Ryan's comment that the A2 is for "the last-gen TV you phased out to your rumpus room" sounds a bit misguided.
Mitchell @ Nov 7th 2007 3:49PM
Hey Ben,
I am format neutral but did buy an A2@ $99. I could really care less what format it is.
(I even have a Optoma HD80 1080P projecter but cant justify spending $250+ on any player to get 1080p/24 with the status of the HD disc market).
They both give the same quality picture. Could you explain why you think Blu-Ray is "better". Studios aside being they will really follow where the $$$ can be made.
All i see on BD side is 20GB extra storage but is that really needed? With all the encoding tricks its clear you can make a great picture & sound for a movie with 30GB.
But when you compare that to more expensive players, no mandatory online connection capabilities, no mandatory second decoder, possibility of added features that i wont be able to play with a $400 player that i buy today. Where is the benefit of BD?
So, why do you support BD more? Does Blu-Ray exclusive companies really support it only for the BD+ DRM or are there other reasons?
Feel free to discuss this next podcast or on the comments (would prefer comments so i don't have to wait till next week ;)
Thanks,
Mitchell
Ben @ Nov 7th 2007 3:51PM
Mitchell,
I never said I thought Blu-ray was better. I said I think they will win the format war. I think they will win because they have more studio and CE company support.
Mitchell @ Nov 7th 2007 4:05PM
Ahh, ic. Why is that are the companies just on board because Sony are better lobbyist? or do they just like the idea of more DRM?
Thanks for the response.
Mitchell
Marshall @ Nov 7th 2007 4:19PM
But they lack one thing...a market.
$99 dvd players, HD or otherwise, have a market. $399 DVDs players don't. Just ask your mom.
Marshall
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The Real HT Info Podcast
Mitchell @ Nov 7th 2007 4:09PM
wow, should of read that before posting..(Engadget needs an edit button)
Ahh, ic. Why is that are the companies are on the BD side. Are they just on board because Sony does a better job at Lobbying? or do they just like the idea of more DRM?
Thanks for the response.
Mitchell
Ben @ Nov 7th 2007 4:22PM
Mitchell,
I'm pretty sure they are on board because they feel they can make more money selling Blu-ray than HD DVD. My understanding is that Toshiba gets most of the money from HD DVD.
Marshal,
I love my mom, but she's the last one I'd ask about HD anything.
RedlineRonin @ Nov 7th 2007 9:12PM
The HD-A35 does NOT have an HQV processor.
Ryan P @ Nov 8th 2007 12:18AM
I think Apple picked blu-ray because they thought the name sounded cooler. After that they lost interest.
Zodiac @ Nov 8th 2007 5:43PM
Hah, I was rooting for blu-ray because I was hoping for a built in BD drive for the macs, since Apple s on the board. But now with that $99 player, all that went out the window pretty quick.
Though I would still like BD player for the mac...ugh damn format wars! Someone just "win" already!
zoran @ Nov 8th 2007 4:41PM
Great Show
Steve Jr. @ Nov 9th 2007 3:16AM
Hi Ben,
Regarding the TIVO (any version of them) I have no idea what you mean by pressing the skip/tab button while in the TV GUIDE grid. Let me clarify what I wrote, but I think if you re-read it, it was already clear.
Bring up the TV GUIDE... then using the 4 arrow pad hold down the RIGHT arrow and tell me if the grid screen scrolls to the right for you, or do you have to press the RIGHT arrow down every single time to get the grid to scroll right? It also make you do this going left once you've gone right if you wanted to come back towards more current time. Now scroll down and hold the button... it worked didn't it? Now can someone please explain to me this anomaly that didn't exist at one time???
Now, go to LIVE TV and press and hold the channel up or down and tell me if your channels change while you're holding the button? Or did you have to press the up or down channel button each and every time to get the channel to change? Please show me ANY TV that makes you do that??? I've complained when it started to do this on the Series2 about 2 years ago and I complained when the Series3 started to do this crap earlier this year. OUT OF THE BOX when we got the Series3 in February ALL the buttons I just described above worked perfectly, then we got an update and now it's all AFU just like the Series2. I hate it!
I hope that clarifies what I was ranting about. BTW, thanks for the podcast shout out.
Steve Jr. @ Nov 9th 2007 3:24AM
Hello Ben & Steve,
I almost forgot to ask this again because quite frankly I don't get it... why does or should I care about MSRP? You've mentioned MSRP regarding the HD-A2 in the last few podcasts and I keep forgetting to ask you... WHY SHOULD I CARE?
The street price is all that I care about and what do I care what a manufacturer "suggests" I should pay for anything, it's what I actually have to pay Mr. Visa or Mr. Mastercard that only counts in the end.
Standing by to hear and read the answer to this question. Thanks.
Joshua Nelson @ Nov 9th 2007 10:53AM
Ben - the HT Guys never have called themselves the "HD Guys". If you look at their site www.htguys.com and look at your browswer's display of the page title it is "HDTV and Home Theater Podcast". They discuss HDTV and home theater stuff. Did you think they were calling themselves the "HD Guys"? They are calling themselves the "HT Guys" as in "Home Theater Guys". Please clarify.....
WallyB @ Nov 9th 2007 3:58PM
Funniest moment of the podcast:
Ben: (talking about J6P & PS3 remotes) "They probably don't even know what Infra-Red stands for." (Maybe that should be "what IR stands for?)
Am I the only one that laughed out loud at that one?
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Probably so. Oh well.
Keep up the good work.
Big Sam @ Nov 11th 2007 2:52PM
Has anyone seen the Circuit City commercial with Mike Ditka and John Elway watching football in a Circuit City store? That commercial drives me nuts. Considering that the commercial is about HD, why are they watching stretched SD? You would think CC would be smart enough to show HD content in a commercial about HD. At least the commercial itself is in HD, unlike the DTV commercials about HD which are only in HD about half the time. No one should ever be denied seeing Beyonce in HD :)
dennis.p @ Nov 12th 2007 4:08AM
Hi, i'm a regular reader of the website as well as your highly entertaining and somewhat informative podcast ;).
Allthough i live in Denmark, this format war is very interesting as it properbly will be a forecast of how things play out in Europe. I will however say that to the avarege consumer i EU, there is only blu-ray, i think pr-wise it's more 90/10.
I have a question about some of the reasoning in this podcast, how can your guestspeaker, ever think that if Warner would go Blu-ray exclusive that, that would prolong the format war?? i just don't get it. Wouldn't a blu-ray victory be a sure thing if the studio support is 70/30?? apparently it's enough for hd-dvd to have a somewhat 50/50 for a victory?. Let's face it Warner is not going to swing either way for at least 4-5 months. The real taleteller of this stupid format war, will be if the latest campaign from HD-DVD group will be enough to erode the Blu-ray lead. I really can't understand why they (BD-Group) are not playing this more agressive, it could actually make it more profitable for customers as well a very interesting 4th Q.
Although i lean towards Blu-ray, simply because of the amount of content. I really, as a consumer who hasnt bought either products yet, just want this stupid format war to go away now! Call me oldfashion, but the prospect of these two great formats killing eachother off really "%"#% me of, i don't wanna go straight to online content (forget it microsoft - you've ripped me off enough) i want my movies in gorguos HD and on a physical media.
No matter who wins i just wanna be able to play all movies in one machine. I mean is it really that hard for studioes to see what the customers want? Apprently for paramount cause that dicision was not consumer oriented at all.
Thanks for a great podcast, looking forward to the next one :)
Garrett @ Nov 14th 2007 1:51AM
I 100% agree with you Ben. My roomate and my girlfriend are the same as your wife. They said why are you wasting money on this Tivo thing. The cable box is so much better. After about a week they are used to it and I know they like it better but wont say. I also have to say what you talk about is the perfect level. Do not try to talk to the consumer because as you said that isnt your target audience.
Mitchell @ Nov 14th 2007 2:52PM
Where is the podcast for today?
All this talk about TiVo's new features makes me laugh. I use MythTV for my HD PVR and it works great with all the features of TiVo/Cables DVR times two!
Mitchell