Recent Comments:
DISH Network unloads HD locals in a handful of new markets {Engadget HD}
Oct 9th 2008 6:36PM Hey Adam, I'm right here in central Indiana living the "other 29%" lifestyle with you!
Tesla CTO talks Bluestar, the affordable electric auto {Engadget}
Sep 25th 2008 5:57PM I mock people who think we can go to the moon before this decade is out. 1969 is only a few years away. Seriously, the Soviets have such a massive lead, there's just no way American science and technology can compete.
Blu-ray's market share has almost doubled since HD DVD's demise {Engadget HD}
Sep 25th 2008 5:41PM Is there any way to see Netflix/Blockbuster rental data for Blu? While I have no data to confirm this, my feeling is that a lot of Blu-Ray watchers are renting due to high media costs. This might explain why unit sales are not advancing in proportion to player sales. The kind of folks who waited for a sub $300 deal on a player are not the kind of people to throw down $39.95 on a single title.
We'll see where we stand in a few weeks when the Matrix trilogy is released. That's a title everybody has been talking about for Blu...BUT anybody who cares already owns on DVD. We'll see what percentage of the market is ready to invest again.
Ask Engadget HD: Which cable / interconnect brand should I rely on? {Engadget HD}
Sep 24th 2008 4:21PM I used AudioQuest, but I was not concerned about price. If you are just starting out, I highly recommend Bluejeans. The absolutely pwned Monster Cable in court and that counts for a lot in my book!
Don't interpret my AudioQuest endorsement as misplaced priorites. You should only think about dropping more-than-Bluejeans money on cables AFTER you've invested substantially in acoustic treatment for your room (1000x more important than cables) and isolation for your equipment (2x more important than cables).
Acoustics; GIK, ATS, Ready Acoustics, or RealTraps
Isolation; Bright Star and Vibrapods
You can get the party started right on acoustic treatment for $200, and have a serious sounding room for less than $500. A set of Bright Star IsoNodes is $19.95 and should be mandatory for every Blu-Ray player sold.
Both acoustic panels and iso nodes fall under the heading of resonance control, which is almost the only thing that matters to system performance! After you've done everything listed above, then talk to me about upgrading the capacitors&resistors in your speakers; that's the next easiest $100 you'll spend.
Most people are around $500 away from getting beyond-their-wettest-dream level performance out of the gear they've already got, but they don't know where to invest that next $500. Sorry to have gotten so far afield from the original question, but I wanted to put the issue in proper perspective.
Good Luck,
Jake
Sony introduces $2,000 BD-Live-capable BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray player {Engadget HD}
Sep 5th 2008 12:39AM That player is red hot and I must own it! The ability to do firmware updates over the internet is an absolute god-send, and faster load times are also a welcome improvement. This looks like one of the first players on the market that would make me completely forget about upgrading.
Enough with the love fest and on with the complaining. I give less than a crap about up-conversion. I just want the highest possible BD performance, and every dime spent on up-conversion could have been spent on improving native BD performance. Conversely, it could have been money deleted from the budget to make the player more affordable.
If studios were half as concerned about stepping up the release of back catalog titles as they were double-dipping on recent titles, DVD up-conversion would be a non-issue. If you are in the market for a $2000 BD player, how reluctant are you to buy your favorite catalog titles again? Not reluctant at all; I think you are probably a buyer, not a shopper!
I haven't posted for a few weeks. Are those two fellows from the HD-DVD marketing group still trolling around? I hope so; I can't wait to hear how Toshiba's soooper up-conversion is about to crush Sony.
Toshiba plans new LCD HDTVs for IFA, will include Resolution+ technology {Engadget HD}
Jul 10th 2008 7:40PM I'm not against the technology for several very important reasons;
1) This might actually be a more fruitful avenue for Tohsiba to pursue than jumping on the Blu-Ray bandwagon...which the can do at any time, and could turn out quite profitable for them.
2) Anything that makes HD more popular is a winner, even from my BD centric veiwpoint. I thought that was what this board was about, but it seems to have devolved shouting match about Blu-Ray's (and Sony's)right to exist and succeed in the marketplace.
3) Until I get the cult classic Damnation Alley on Blu-Ray, I'm going to need to be able to up-convert my CED player somehow =)
Timing will be critical for Toshiba to make this technology profitable. The early adopters with their deep pockets already moved, the market shrinks both numerically, and in the premium they are willing to pay. The bottom half of the market won't pay a dime for any additional feature.
I wish them the best of luck, but I'm surely not interested.
Toshiba plans new LCD HDTVs for IFA, will include Resolution+ technology {Engadget HD}
Jul 10th 2008 5:32PM "This technology is AWESOME for anyone who wants to get highest possible quality from DVDs without buying ANYTHING if all they need is a new HDTV."
Is that a serious statement, or have the infinite-monkeys-at-infinite-typewriters started posting to EngadgetHD forums?
So, let me get this straight? Instead of buying a $75 upconverting DVD player, or a $399 Blu-Ray player with upconversion, all I have to do is buy a +$1000 HDTV? Thank goodness I get to spend a $1000 to watch HDTV-lite instead of real HDTV. The $10/disk I save buying DVDs instead of Blu-Ray will pay for this TV in....ummmmm....5 years, or infinity years if I rent. I am sleeping better already knowing that Toshiba is committed to brining me that kind of extreme value.
Toshiba plans new LCD HDTVs for IFA, will include Resolution+ technology {Engadget HD}
Jul 10th 2008 5:22PM My new consumer electronics buying strategy is to never buy anything from Toshiba solely because the HD-DVD marketing group will not shut up on this forum. I wonder what percentage of Blu-Ray purchases are made soley to spite them; not enough if you ask me. I'm going to go buy Batman Begins on Blu-Ray this very instnace, and take it home to watch on my SONY Blu-Ray player just as a matter of principle.
Best Buy accounts for most Blu-ray purchases, but Amazon and Wal-mart are catching up {Engadget HD}
Jul 10th 2008 1:39PM I pick up quite a few BDs at Fry's. They frequently have good deals in the store that strike a good balance between price and instant gratification. They only downside is that Frys often does not put the disk out on release day, so its not instant-instant gratification. That one reservation aside, the best part about shopping at Frys is that you can shop in relative peace. Having a dozen guys in blue shirts dry-humping my leg while I'm try to shop makes Best Buy such a hassle.
Best Buy accounts for most Blu-ray purchases, but Amazon and Wal-mart are catching up {Engadget HD}
Jul 10th 2008 11:20AM Go play with your HD-DVD player and leave us alone.
