Why did you choose Blu-ray over HD-DVD?

Hello everyone,

I’m a newbie at posting (been around afterdawn for years), so please let me know if I crossed any lines. I read the forum rules many times.

I’m in the market for one of the new High Definition players, either Blu-ray or HD-DVD.

My questions is for all those Blu-ray Owners out there...

Why did you choose Blu-ray over HD-DVD? Was there a deciding factor? If you have both players, please indicate if you prefer one over the other and why. This info will help many of us who can’t wait for the winning format.

Thank you!

 

I choose Blu-Ray because i feel they have better studio support.BDA(Blu-ray Disc Association) Has lot of Backers & Support from major CE.

Apple Computer, Inc.
Dell Inc.
Hewlett Packard Company
Hitachi, Ltd.
LG Electronics Inc.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Pioneer Corporation
Royal Philips Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Sharp Corporation
Sony Corporation
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
TDK Corporation
Thomson Multimedia
Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney Pictures
Warner Bros. Entertainment

The only problem i have with HD-DVD is movie exclusives & Blu-Ray has the better or the two groups but you make the choice both have there good & bad side Blu-Ray high price,HD-DVD short on movie exclusives.

 

Thanks NexGen76! There seems to be quite a bit of studio support for Blu-ray, even though some companies have recently moved to support HD (e.g. Paramount and DreamWorks).

One of my biggest gripes is the thought of one of my favorite movies being released in one format and not the other. So I’m basically SOL if I choose the wrong player. This along with the fact that one format will likely come out on top in the end.

I was looking at getting a PS3, but there were no direct audio cables to hook up to my receiver for the new audio formats (Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD). My receiver doesn’t have HDMI input, but it does have multi-channel direct input, so I’ll need to find a player with this type of connection. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

My choice for Blu-ray was mainly due to which gaming system I prefer, which obviously is the PS3 over the XBox360. Honestly, if Microsoft had included more in their box than the PS3, and hadn't shipped out thousands of defective products that they KNEW were defective (it's happened far too much for them to not have been aware of it) just to try to grab market share, my choice might have been a bit more difficult. However, the PS3 is a standalone multimedia system (no add on needed to play movies like with the XBox360), and now with the recent dropping of the barebones model in favor of one with all of the internal features (specifically WiFi, for me, but the mem card interface is a plus, also) for a VERY respectable $499, to me it's a no-brainer which game system to choose. As for movies, they're both going to look the same, but Blu-ray is going to have more space for extras, so again, in that aspect Blu-ray again wins out. It's really almost even, at least to me, if I didn't still enjoy console gaming.

It's also worth mentioning that currently there's a promotion running that lets you pick 5 movies from a list if you buy any Blu-ray player, which works out to about a $125 savings right there (and yes, the movies you get to choose from are pretty decent).

As for the outputs, I'm not sure what you mean. Of course it has both HDMI and discrete digital audio outputs! It wouldn't really be a high end gaming system if it couldn't output digital audio in some form, would it? So, if your receiver is fairly current, you should be able to use an optical cable to connect to your PS3 and use an HDMI cable for your video, assuming your TV has at least one port in the back for HDMI input (which could be a problem if you watch a lot of high-def cable and it only has one, but I'm sure you'll figure something out, like maybe a 3rd party HDMI switcher box or something, right?). Also, if you get the PS3, it will be the most readily upgraded to future formats like TrueHD sound, if those features aren't available already. Oh, and if you're determined to route the video through your receiver, I believe they do make HDMI to composite cables that would hook directly to your receiver, but of course you then lose the audio that you wouldn't be able to access anyway unless you have a fairly new receiver (the Yamaha RX-V661 would be my choice if I were going to buy one while waiting for the price to come down on the TrueHD models that are going for around $1300 minimum currently).

So, finally summary, PS3 for the player, definitely (oh, and invest in a Nyko remote for it ($20), so you can send IR signals instead of Bluetooth and make it compatible with universal remotes like the glorious Logitech Harmony line). Hold off on a new receiver unless you're willing to pony up $1300 for a good TrueHD receiver. If you're patient, though, I'm sure the prices will be down to $750 by this time next year.

 

Thanks delateur. I’m not a huge gamer, but I feel the same way. Xbox should have built the HD DVD drive in their system, instead of making it an add on. Soon, you’ll be able to add DVR capabilities to the PS3, making it more of a complete multimedia system. PS3 is definitely a strong contender in my book.

I currently have a Harman Kardon CP15 Home Theater System. The AVR135 receiver offers component switching, but no HDMI. I bought this last year when HDMI switching was still starting to come out. It does have 4 digital inputs, 2 optical and 2 coaxial.

The new audio formats (Dolby HD, Dolby HD DTS, etc.) will be decoded directly on the new players that are coming out. Now, the only way to hear this new audio is to connect the player to the receiver through HDMI (which I don’t have) or through direct analog channels (which I do have). The current digital connections (optical and coaxial) will not support the new formats. Of course, you can still use the digital connections with the current audio formats (Dolby 5.1, DTS, etc.), which will likely stay on all movie titles.

I guess I may end up waiting after all to see how the new players and the PS3 will support the new audio formats. Hopefully, I won’t need to buy a whole new audio system.

 

I can certainly respect a "wait and see" attitude with respect to HD components at this point. All the things you mentioned are great examples of how the technology is still in flux (not to mention the looming HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray that sparked this topic in the first place). Still, because of all the things the PS3 can do and your very respectable receiver (which hopefully you could free up an optical port to hook the PS3 audio to), if you really love movies, it can't hurt to cast your "vote" now for the format you prefer. If nothing else, it will keep that particular format viable a bit longer, as every consumer who is out renting and buying Blu-ray or HD-DVD is letting the industry know there is demand for it. While I don't consider $500 to be trivial, it does seem well worth the cost when you figure in the additional things you can do with it, not to mention you'll be getting first hand exposure as Sony continues to add to and improve on features of this amazing piece of hardware. Even if you hate console games, I imagine you would have a LOT of fun with everything else it's capable of doing.

Either way, I hope you enjoy exploring the high definition environment as much as I have been (I only recently went high def.)!

 

blu-ray hands down...you can scratch a blu- ray with steel wool and it will still play (dont try thats just an example) plus sony and samsung (along with many other companies) made blu-ray. they're like the inventors of hi-def.and ther reason that the blu-ray disc's are so big is because the video needs that much space....to sum it all up the more space the higher def video you can put on it. hope this helps...and i thinks no matter what format you decide you've made the right choice, just as long as its blu-ray

 

Very true but sony will never use the extra space for video. Lots of space for advanced drm and extras which you will probably have to buy a new player to use anyways. The extra space for blueray is needed since they use worse video codecs and have had some very bad speedy transfers. As stated many times in these threads it's more about the codec and transfer quality than space.

You need to do some more research if you think blueray disks are more durable than HD-DVD. Im not even close to being a fanboy buy I hate to see those two arguments used over and over for blueray when one is not true and the other has yet to be seen. Go to the hi-def sites and look at reviews for movies that came out on both formats and see if the extra space has meant better picture.

 

I have a ps3 thats why and I didnt like my 360. It also seems bluray is getting a little more support and I am seeing alot more BR players than hd

 

You are right about that. It will be interesting to see what does win the war for either side. Sony has done a way better job marketing blueray.

 

@club42: Excellent point about extras/codecs, and really that's the key to how well the media will work with any given player. A player that has very flexible and upgradeable firmware will be able to support whatever new and better codecs are bound to turn up down the road. The only reason more space MIGHT make a difference down the road is if a newer codec ends up creating a larger video file (which should of course reflect better quality in all respects - bigger doesn't always mean better). As others have mentioned here at AD, I too am more a supporter of the PS3 over the XB360 than Blu-ray over HD DVD. I have no problem with there being two formats for high definition movies, as long as the consumer doesn't end up suffering for it. This is, however, normally what does happen with two formats, as everyone who produces any products in this arena, be it blank media, pre-recorded media, hardware to play the media, or software developers who tweak the firmware that commands the hardware, now have to do this twice, with different specifications for each. Ultimately, it ends up being an inefficient use of resources that the consumer pays for. I, too, am interested in seeing how things turn out.

 

good points but i am still a firm believer in blu-ray.

 

I have both a ps3 and a xbox 360 with the hddvd add on. at the moment i prefer hddvd as the movies released have been of a higher quality than blu-ray and some contain more extras (300 with the PIP blue screen) but sony are starting to get their act together and releasing films using the better codec.If your desperate for a player now its best to look at what your favorite movies are and which ever has the most you go for but if you can wait samsung are releasing a hddvd/blu-ray combi player that supports both formats fully (LG are releasing a combi player but it doesnt support HDDVD fully only movie playback)

 

i am still going to get the hd dvd addon for 360...i dont hate it in fact i like the format i just beleive blu-ray will win

 

With so much support from the major studios out there, it seems like Blu-ray will win the format war. I've been checking out the Panasonic DMP-BD10AK. It has the direct channel connections which will help those who have the older receivers. They have a deal right now that you get 5 free movies in the box. This along with the 5 free movies by mail makes it a pretty good deal.

I would buy a PS3 if I can find one cheaper. Does anyone know where I can pick up a cheap 20 or 60 gig PS3? How I see it, you can always swap out the hard drive for a bigger one.

 

You'd be pretty lucky to find a 20GB out there, since it's been discontinued. However, you don't want that model anyway, since it's missing some of the "standard equipment" that they have in the 60 and 80GB models, such as WiFi, and I think the memory card reader is missing also. However, with the new pricing strategy, the 60GB model is a very good deal at $500.

 

I chose blu-ray simply because of the PS3. I intended buying the hd-dvd add on for the 360, but with the lack of hdmi and only optical output for sound from the premium model I have, theres no way I could make those little sacrifices and there was no way i'm being conned into buying an elite!

Im a little concerned with Paramount dropping blu-ray as i've invested heavily into blu-ray movies since getting my PS3. However I still feel confident blu-ray will come out on top. Right now, im snapping up all the Paramount dvd's before they disappear with trading places and coming to america in the post now!!

 

i if blu-ray starts to sell alot and its almost won the format war then parmount will certainly switch to blu-ray, no one would stay with a dead format(which im hoping will be hd dvd in a couple of years)

 

Yeah, I see your point. You gotta have the standard equipment. I've been checking out the PS3 site and it doesn't look like they'll offer direct channel connections anytime soon. Likely never to keep the clean look on the PS3. My search continues for the ideal player.

Ok, in summary, this is what I've gathered from this thread so far:

Blu-ray owners chose Blu-ray because:

1)Better studio support
2)PS3 / Gaming
3)Disk capacity / scratch resistance.

Feel free to add to this if I missed anything.

Thanks!

 

Well, there were other factors that I considered. The whole XB360 fiasco really irked me. So, it actually pushed me toward the PS3/Blu-ray when before I was probably more enthusiastic about the titles coming out for the XB360. Also, I was pretty disappointed that they would release a next gen player with last gen media, even if one day they might start offering bigger games utilizing the HD-DVD expansion. I also started thinking a bit and realized a lot can be gleaned from being second. Blu-ray does need to catch up to the quality of HD DVD when it comes to movie playback, but that's pretty much already happened with the latest codec. So, now you've got Blu-ray positioned to implement all the things that have worked in HD DVD, in addition to making use of a larger amount of physical disc space, which may or may not remain, depending on if the third layer gets certified for video playback on HD DVD. It's entirely possible that Blu-ray could catapult ahead just by learning from HD DVDs mistakes and devoting that extra time to creating better features utilizing the extra space (comparing dual layer in both formats).