Blu ray, hd dvd, standard?

Question

Will one player play all of them formats or is it necessary to own one per format? once blu ray wins the battle, are standard dvds going to be obsolete? beta like discs? cuz i have an extense collection i wouldnt want to see in the trash bin.

Im not alone in this im sure.

Answer 1

Here is the straight story. There was a discussion on PBS about this same subject today. I will add I'm a Radio Shack Associate and have 40 years experience in both radio and TV broadcasting. I've operated my own recording studio since 1966. Here is the skinny. Blu-Ray seems to be the winning format right now. Quality-wise there is very little difference. Blu-Ray is higher density so it can hold more information. Example, editor out-takes. The consumer just wants to know if they can get the movie and could care less about the extra c**p Blue-Ray can provide with the extra density of digital information. Beta and VHS? Same controversy. Warner has subscribed to Blu-Ray. That is a blow to HD-DVD but don't count them out. I personally think Blu-Ray will win but it is too soon to buy a system. Hold off until the market decides. There are systems on the market that can play both but they will cost you about $1,200! Crutchfield is selling only Blue-Ray right now and they are a major seller. Even at that the prices are really high $400-600 plus. A standard DVD won't be obsolete in the near future if you have an up-converting player. That will convert a standard DVD to match the digital HDTV format but it won't be High Def. You can only get that with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray and the Catch-22 comes into play. If you don't have a High Definition TV, you're out of the loop! Don't buy anything until the market decides. Will your old DVD collection be obsolete? Absolutely not. If you can play them with your existing system, do it and keep it. The High Def is just that. New stuff with a new format depending on who wins. Current DVDs are analog and not digital like HD.

Answer 2

The market has decided. Paramount is responding by switching to Blu-Ray leaving only Universal for HD DVD. Paramount had a clause allowing this if Warner chose Blu-Ray. Deal done. Don't replace your DVDs with Blu-Ray though, they still look very good on an HD set. Just get your new movies in BD. If you like wait for the 2nd tier manufacturers to produce players at $150 by the end of 2008 I'm sure.

Err... current DVDs are digital, not analog. As a format they might be considered EDTV for Enhanced Definition Television (A DTV format with a resolution of 480P) even if it must be deinterlaced to get there. And even at 480i it would be considered SDTV for Standard Definition Television (you guesed it, another DTV format ). Digital just means that it is recorded as a series of ones and zeroes. Just like CD, Blu-Ray, DTV.