Looking for a HD DVD player

[Mt_Goat]

So far I have come down to the Toshiba HD-A30 (http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HD-A30-1080p-DVD-Player/dp/B000U6AHYS/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1202318324&sr=1-7) ($151.68) and the Toshiba HD-A35 (http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HD-A35-1080p-DVD-Player/dp/B000U6AHZW/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1202318324&sr=1-8) ($226.00). I am not sure if the A35 is worth the extra $$ but have seen a few reviews that indicate it could be. All help would be appreciated!

[airbornflght]

Are you sure you want to buy HD-DVD (betamax)? I really like HD DVD better, but it's future sadly isn't looking too bright. Quite a few major studios have dumped it in favor of blu-ray.

[primesuspect]

He's right, mt. Are you sure you want to be stuck with this generation's BetaMax player?

[Mt_Goat]

I didn't realize it would become a Dodo bird that fast. My old DVD player is on its last leg and I thought this would be an OK move if I kept it reasonably priced.

Thanks!

BTW:
I still have a Beta Hi-Fi player that works great. ;)

[Keebler]

/me sings a sad song pining over HD DVD :(

[primesuspect]

Time to go blu ray, goat :)

I really recommend the playstation 3 as a great blu-ray player. It is a fantastic upscaling standard DVD player, firmware upgradeable bd player, and also it folds. :p

[Thrax]

HD-DVD is a dead standard, and the only Blu-Ray player guaranteed to support the new blu-ray specification coming this year is the Playstation 3. Any other player people buy will not comply with the new standard, and it'll break the playback of many existing BD discs.

Don't you love the winner? Fail.

[tmh88]

I'm a broke student so I can't get one either way, although I would get blu-ray just because it seems to be winning the war. HD-DVD for 360 though!

[Mt_Goat]

Now I guess I will wait to see how good my new Mitsubishi 65" DLP (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889248014) works. :( My old DVD player is on its last leg and I was thinking an HD DVD player would be an ok replacement.

[Keebler]

I will not write off HD DVD until the last two studios abandon it. :( Nope. Not gonna do it.

[primesuspect]

You can still get a blu ray player...

[Mt_Goat]

I don't have much $$ left after buying gold, diamonds and a big screen tv. So spending $400 or so right now is out of the question. I was willing to spend the $226 of the most expensive player I originally listed at most.

[GnomeWizardd]

Sams has the blu ray players for under 300

[Thrax]

Yes, but they won't be compatible with Blu-Ray profile 2. Any disc designed for that profile in 2008, and there will be many at the end of '08, have a good chance of not playing in any of those sams players.

[primesuspect]

not entirely true. The movie will still play, although any bonus content will very likely not play,

[Thrax]

No, it's very likely that the movie simply will not play. Blu-Ray 1.2 discs, of which there are several blockbusters in 2007, often will not play in BD1.1 players. The same is expected to happen with the 2.0 standard.

[NiGHTS]

What, the, ****. New standards on top of new standards?

[Thrax]

Welcome to Blu-Ray. It's had this problem since day 1; HD-DVD never had it.

[Mt_Goat]

Is there any noticeable difference in playback between the HD-A30 and HD-A35? If not, I may just get the A30 as it isn't that much more than a good quality DVD player.

[Sledgehammer70]

A good DVD player goes for like $35

[NiGHTS]

O RLY?!

[Gate28]

is it worth coughing out the cash for a PS3 for use SOLELY as a media center? I mean, hehe, sure it folds, but it aint got no good games! Should I jest go out and get a normal BR player?

[Thrax]

If you want the only BR player guaranteed to play every disc henceforth: PS3 wins.
If you want a cool windows media center extender which will allow you to play movies on your PC to your tv: PS3 wins.
Good demos: PS3! (Though xbox is better at this)

It's pricey, but if the money is there, I consider it a good investment until such a time that the ****ing retards that run Sony's media division fix their spec for set-tops.

[primesuspect]

There are some good games out for it, but the most fun I've had so far has been from the Playstation Store, not actualy disc-based games.

[UPS Hitman]

:cool: BLU RAY ALL THE WAY!!!! im bias along with working at FOX 59 Indianapolis I also work at SONY. :)

[Madball]

I have a LG dual format player, which plays both Blu-ray and HDDVD and I honestly can't see any difference between the two formats. HDDVD's menus and features a little nicer, but I'm not a special feature guy. I just want to see the movie. Picture quailty on both is great, but so are reagular DVD's upconverted to 1080p. I would be willing to bet the average person couldn't tell the difference.

[muddocktor]

If you don't want to buy a PS3 right now and don't trust a BD player's future compatability with Sony's new standards (how fricken typical of Sony :rolleyes: ), then I would just do like Sledge said and buy a $35 DVD player. Let the prices drop for another year or 2 on the BD players, unless your really want a PS3.

[Mt_Goat]

Thank you all so very much. You have saved me some cash as I see Netflix has just dropped the HD format after more studios have dropped out since this thread started. I will just wait till the new standard arrives, more mfgrs sign on to BD and the inevitable price drops. In the mean time I will just have to find other means of entertainment. ;)

[Sledgehammer70]

but it aint got no good games! Should I jest go out and get a normal BR player?

when was the last time you looked at the available games for the PS3?

[Crazy Joe]

Yep, Wal-Mart just announced that they are phasing out HD-DVD as well, so that's a major nail in the coffin of HD-DVD...

[muddocktor]

I even read a few rumors going around that Toshiba is ready to concede that HD-DVD is going the way of the dodo bird too.

[Leonardo]

BLU RAY ALL THE WAY!!!! im bias along with working at FOX 59 Indianapolis I also work at SONY. (grin)Full disclosure up front! Three cheers!

No really, that's pretty cool.

[Crazy Joe]

I even read a few rumors going around that Toshiba is ready to concede that HD-DVD is going the way of the dodo bird too.

Rumor no more... Official Announcement coming next week...

http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSL1627196120080216

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp is planning to stop production of equipment compatible with the HD DVD format for high-definition video, allowing the competing Blu-Ray camp a free run, public broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday.

Toshiba is expected to suffer losses amounting to tens of billions of yen (hundreds of millions of dollars) to scrap production of HD DVD players and recorders and other steps to exit the business, Japan's NHK said on its website.

No one at Toshiba could be reached for comment.

The format war between the Toshiba-backed HD DVD and Sony Corp's Blu-Ray, often compared to the Betamax-VHS battle in the 1980s, has slowed the development of what is expected to be a multibillion dollar high-definition DVD industry.

Toshiba was dealt a blow on Friday when Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it would abandon the HD DVD format, becoming the latest in a series of top retailers and movie studios to rally behind Blu-ray technology for high definition DVDs.

Toshiba plans to continue selling HD DVD equipment at stores for the time being but will not put resources into developing new devices, NHK said.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne, editing by Mike Peacock)