HD DVD Vs Blue Ray

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Pietre

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I have an Xbox 360 and next week on Friday is the release date for the HD DVD add on box from Microsoft for the princley sum of £129. Is anyone aware of any problems. If I didnt already have the Xbox I would prob wait for the PS3 but that is a lot more money. I see on Play.com that there are already a few dvd's in the HD format.
 
I too have been looking at this option for the 360, I already have an upscaling DVD player but if it means one less box the better. As Microsoft is useing the HD format rather than Blu Ray, and considering Windows Vista is out next spring, again with the HD format - add in their media centres etc, I think Blu Ray may die the Betamax death due to Microsofts influence and power (and most people on this planet use Windows!!). PS3 looks good, price is high, but I am still blown away with my 360, especially in HD on the large screen!!! Shame really as Blue Ray has a larger capacity on its disc's
 
I will wait for PS3 and Blue Ray, if even 50% of current PS2 owners upgrade to PS3 when it ships there will be a huge market penetration in a very short space of time.
 
That was going to be my next question, re: disk capacity. I have in my opinion quite a nice setup which could utilise a good sound package ( my neighbours may disagree ). I am currently running Pioneer AVi 868 Dvd, Pioneer AX5 AV Amp, to 5 x 150w Tannoys and a Yamaha 180w sub, on a 37" Viewsonic connected via hdmi for upscaling on the dvd.
My son has a PS2 so games to play on a PS3 wouldnt be an issue, but the cost of purchase would be.
 
Didnt the PS3 get slated because you cant play old PS2 games on it???? The Japs last week were most upset that Sony whacked out the PS3 in a rush and couldnt get the software right for the old PS2 games. May end up like the 360 where you download the appropriate workarounds for those fav games.

Pietre- how do you find the Yamaha sub, I was only looking at changing to a Yamaha only this week, tending to wonde whether to push the boat out and get a Denon as just bought a new Toshiba 37" Regza
 
I have had the Yamaha for a couple of years now, and it makes everything vibrate when giving it some stick. I have on laminate flooring so i think it performs better than on carpet. As an aside. I tried to get the optical cable to go from HD TV cable (the one with the switch for TV or HDTV) but no one seems to know what it is, I am thinking it is the same as the cable that runs to my sub, any ideas?
 
Think there's a firmware update for the PS3 already, I'm personally quite happy to let Japan and the US find any issues before we get it. PS2 was exactly the same, I got mine on UK launch day and it's run perfectly ever since :)
 
Something like 95% of PS2 games will play on a PAL PS3 when it releases - the ones that don't use specific hardware or controllers / networking that the PS3 doesn't support.

Blu Ray will also support 50Gb discs. It certainly won't die a death - but how much studio support it gets given over HD DVD is debateable. Blu Ray does have the support of most major electronics giants though - Pioneer, Philips, Sharp etc.

Windows has very little to do with it - it will ship on a CD/DVD format for a start - HD-DVD isn't a requirement.
 
I bought my optical cables from www.memoryforless.co.uk; you can also get optical splitters (no more than £5) if you have only one optical input on the decoder, you can do the same with digital coax connections. The xbox 360 has an optical output on the HD component lead at the xbox end.

Hope that makes sense, i.e. my setup is an optical cable from the 360, to a splitter that is shared with my Sky+ box, the DVD recorder is on digital coax, and both are then into the decoder. I split the Sky+ and 360 as you wont have both on the same time so no conflicts.
 
oops see below
 
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My point Stats was that Microsoft being the over zealous dominating self are pimping HD DVD, people get used to what they know, and when you start buring those discs from your home movies etc etc etc.

I think Blue Ray has more to offer, but as you say, up to the big boys and I am sure there may be some litigation coming up soon!!!

This is a great link http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/19/blu-ray-vs-hd-dvd-state-of-the-s-union-s-division/

It compares, says how is supporting which format etc!
 
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How many people really want to watch movies on their PC in HD though? There is still a seperation from having a PC in an 'office' to a home DVD player connected to your TV. The PS3 will outsell the XBox 360 by a huge margin if current Sony trends follow - they have something like 75% of the market share with PS2 - some 10million units sold in PAL alone. Standalone HD-DVD and Blu Ray players will take a while to come to market at a sensible price - so the fact that the PS3 comes with a dedicated BluRay player remote gives you that at home for 'free'.

Very few TVs are capable of displaying true HD anyway - so realistically 720p / 1080i will be the common format and you can store movies on a 4Gb DVD in this format anyway.
 
Totally agree, I think I must be turning into a geek!! My pc is hooked up with my 360 and also my TV, virtually everything is wireless, so I can browse the internet (watch downloaded movies from Sky etc) on the large screen.

When I went to buy my new screen at the weekend, I was amazed at how many tvs now are incorporating home pcs into them.

I am sure the PS3 will whooop the 360 in sales, and I will be probably one of those buying one too. I have no affiliation to either. Watch this space I guess and see what happens.
 
I think likewise, I will end up with both formats in the form of the PS3 as it appears to be the most cost effective way to access the Blue-Ray arena, but as with everything it all comes down to how much it will cost. What is the latest projected price for PS3? I see some big retailers are taking pre orders but no price is listed.
 
It's 599 Euros for the 60 Gb version - so expect it to be around £425.
 

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