[El Scorcho]

The Sears Black Friday ad just leaked and it looks like they're dropping the Toshiba HD-DVD player from $299 to $169 for the day. That's an incredible price.

For those who are interested, here's the player up for grabs: http://tinyurl.com/2ya57g

If I had an HDTV, I'd be all over that.

[LUconn]

nobody wants to commit to a format yet. They'll probably both be around until the next generation of players.

[El Scorcho]

nobody wants to commit to a format yet. They'll probably both be around until the next generation of players.

LG has a hybrid player out this Christmas for $799.

Or you can get a Blu-Ray player for $399.

Or you can get an HD-DVD player for $169 from Sears on Black Friday. (Though rumor has it Wal-Mart is going to carry it full-time for $199.99.)

See where I'm going with this? I know the format war isn't over, but HD-DVD is much closer to the sweet spot in price and with Christmas around the corner, things could be shifted in January.

(Actually, not having an HDTV, I just want those of you who do to go ahead and commit so the war can be decided before I jump into the game.)

[blwall1416]

BLU-RAY RULZ!!!

HDTV with the PS3 = a thing of beauty.

[kentuckywildcats]

blueray is already establishing itself as the dominant format in terms of sales. besides, it doesn't matter which ones is cheaper or whatnot, whatever format the pornography industry goes with is what will come out on top...

[Rocketfan]

Ive seen blue ray and HD-DVD in stores and to me there is no difference between those and a high-end upconvert i watched on a 71'' Sony. Here is what i would buy instead of getting into the war at all.

http://oppodigital.com/

[LUconn]

People become "fans" of a brand or type. Who knows why.

[Fumblerooskies]

That is an exceptional price. Ah the days of VHS versus Beta-Max....it was a big deal when VCR's dropped below the $1,000 price tag.

[Rocketfan]

People become "fans" of a brand or type. Who knows why.

I do because of critic and consumer reviews. Just like i think Vizio is pretty solid, so is oppo. i guess thats how i develop favorites per say.

[El Scorcho]

blueray is already establishing itself as the dominant format in terms of sales. besides, it doesn't matter which ones is cheaper or whatnot, whatever format the pornography industry goes with is what will come out on top...

This sounds very familiar.

[LUconn]

true, but if something better comes along, would you be hesitant to buy that instead? It's an emotional attachment to a brand, and that's what companies want. If you go through most of my electronics, you'll find Samsung. At the time, it was considered high quality and it was always cheaper so I always bought it. And then I kinda enjoyed having all my stuff match. It's just dumb is all. Especially BluRay vs HDTV. It's like the same thing. But really it's the Sony guys vs the Microsoft guys. A proxy war.

[kentuckywildcats]

blueray is already establishing itself as the dominant format in terms of sales. besides, it doesn't matter which ones is cheaper or whatnot, whatever format the pornography industry goes with is what will come out on top...

This sounds very familiar.

first sentence, second sentence, or both?

[Rocketfan]

true, but if something better comes along, would you be hesitant to buy that instead? It's an emotional attachment to a brand, and that's what companies want. If you go through most of my electronics, you'll find Samsung. At the time, it was considered high quality and it was always cheaper so I always bought it. And then I kinda enjoyed having all my stuff match. It's just dumb is all. Especially BluRay vs HDTV. It's like the same thing. But really it's the Sony guys vs the Microsoft guys. A proxy war.

Actually i think Blue-Ray traces back to GE....so its GE vs. Microsoft.

[Fumblerooskies]

blueray is already establishing itself as the dominant format in terms of sales. besides, it doesn't matter which ones is cheaper or whatnot, whatever format the pornography industry goes with is what will come out on top...

This sounds very familiar.

Supposedly, that is exactly why VHS won over Beta...

[LUconn]

true, but if something better comes along, would you be hesitant to buy that instead? It's an emotional attachment to a brand, and that's what companies want. If you go through most of my electronics, you'll find Samsung. At the time, it was considered high quality and it was always cheaper so I always bought it. And then I kinda enjoyed having all my stuff match. It's just dumb is all. Especially BluRay vs HDTV. It's like the same thing. But really it's the Sony guys vs the Microsoft guys. A proxy war.

Actually i think Blue-Ray traces back to GE....so its GE vs. Microsoft.

I'm gonna need a link on that. I was pretty sure that Sony was the only one backing it. Not just because of the PS3 but all of Sony's movie division was pushing it.

[kentuckywildcats]

blueray is already establishing itself as the dominant format in terms of sales. besides, it doesn't matter which ones is cheaper or whatnot, whatever format the pornography industry goes with is what will come out on top...

This sounds very familiar.

Supposedly, that is exactly why VHS won over Beta...

yep, that's why I believe the same thing for this situation as well.

[El Scorcho]

blueray is already establishing itself as the dominant format in terms of sales. besides, it doesn't matter which ones is cheaper or whatnot, whatever format the pornography industry goes with is what will come out on top...

This sounds very familiar.

first sentence, second sentence, or both?

Both. We've been over the VHS vs. Betamax war on here before, but we don't have to re-visit it now since we're talking about technology two generations removed.

Sony and Phillips are responsible for the Blu-Ray format while Toshiba and Hitachi are responsible for HD-DVD. There are many, many companies that have joined one of the two camps, for many reasons.

There's no visual difference to the person watching either format on their 1080p television. None. It's the same resolution, same bitrate and same codecs on both formats. It's just a bunch of geeks fighting it out over the tech specs for the discs themselves. The only reason one camp wants to win over the other is because everyone will have to license their format for years to come. The consumer stands to gain nothing no matter who wins. In the end, we just get high-def content on some discs. Woo.

The only way the consumer wins right now is to buy LG's hybrid player that plays both formats. Then you're safe because no matter which format wins in the end, you'll be able to play it. I started this thread because this is the first time either of the high-def disc players will be for sale under $200. That's significant.

[blwall1416]

I'll be glad when Blu-Ray finally wins out. I was a little ticked that Transformers didn't come out in Blu-Ray.

[El Scorcho]

This sounds very familiar.

Supposedly, that is exactly why VHS won over Beta...

yep, that's why I believe the same thing for this situation as well.

Except that it was an urban legend. There was plenty of porn on Betamax. Playboy did simultaneous releases on both formats, as did many other adult publishers. The adult industry accounts for a few billion a year. The entire movie industry is that amount many times over. Not to mention that home video is not the delivery format of choice for adult content anymore. The Internet is the new champion of that realm.

[blwall1416]

Except that it was an urban legend. There was plenty of porn on Betamax. Playboy did simultaneous releases on both formats, as did many other adult publishers. The adult industry accounts for a few billion a year. The entire movie industry is that amount many times over. Not to mention that home video is not the delivery format of choice for adult content anymore. The Internet is the new champion of that realm.

Scorcho - you might have done a little too much research.

[LUconn]

seriously, I doubt all of the porn addicts are chomping at the big to get porn in HD. In fact, I would think the porn industry would be scared of HD as most of their "talent" are probably hideous hosebeasts if you don't "fix" them up with camera tricks.

[kentuckywildcats]

Except that it was an urban legend. There was plenty of porn on Betamax. Playboy did simultaneous releases on both formats, as did many other adult publishers. The adult industry accounts for a few billion a year. The entire movie industry is that amount many times over. Not to mention that home video is not the delivery format of choice for adult content anymore. The Internet is the new champion of that realm.

Scorcho - you might have done a little too much research.

scorcho sounds addicted lol

[Fumblerooskies]

scorcho sounds addicted lol

I'm sure it is all in the name of technological research.

[PAmedic]

blueray is already establishing itself as the dominant format in terms of sales. besides, it doesn't matter which ones is cheaper or whatnot, whatever format the pornography industry goes with is what will come out on top...

seriously, I doubt all of the porn addicts are chomping at the big to get porn in HD. In fact, I would think the porn industry would be scared of HD as most of their "talent" are probably hideous hosebeasts if you don't "fix" them up with camera tricks.

Agreed- I still watch my porn on VHS.





wait...what?

[El Scorcho]

Except that it was an urban legend. There was plenty of porn on Betamax. Playboy did simultaneous releases on both formats, as did many other adult publishers. The adult industry accounts for a few billion a year. The entire movie industry is that amount many times over. Not to mention that home video is not the delivery format of choice for adult content anymore. The Internet is the new champion of that realm.

Scorcho - you might have done a little too much research.

Nah. It just comes from reading tech/gadget sites religiously. They're very open towards adult content because it's big business on the 'net, so there's always discussion, articles, etc. about the business aspects of it. You wouldn't believe how many jobs there are out there for IT geeks willing to keep adult sites up and running.