All they do is repackage stuff that's been returned by someone else. You never know what you're getting.There, did that work?
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| Author | Post |
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| ObiBong Senior Member  1162 Posts 12/02 |  Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 2:20AMOK, the price on a refurb Toshiba HD-A2 at tigerdirect.com is down to $199.99, which is a magic number I have trouble ignoring. Is there a good reason I wouldn't do this? [Link] |
| Harri Patel Senior Member #SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 2:32AM All they do is repackage stuff that's been returned by someone else. You never know what you're getting. There, did that work? [Link] |
| ObiBong Senior Member 1162 Posts 12/02 | Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 2:53AM My unfamiliarity with the retailer is probably the best target area. At that price point I probably don't care if Blu-Ray wins in the long term, and reviews of the product seem positive enough. Edited by - obibong on 7/17/2007 2:55:10 AM [Link] |
| Harri Patel Senior Member #SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 3:41AM Surely that worked? [Link] |
| ObiBong Senior Member 1162 Posts 12/02 | Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 3:53AM [Link] |
Bill  All-Star Member 5334 Posts 6/00 | Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 8:55PM The ability to rent disc as a local store is very limited for both formats (although most Blockbusters are currently stocking about 50 Blu-ray discs). If you go with either format, you should plan on joining Netflix or Blockbuster Total Access (if you don't already belong). I went with Blockbuster for the ability to return discs at the store and get a free rental in exchange. One of the Blockbusters near me was one of the High Def test stores. So they have a really good selection of Blu-ray discs and a so-so selection of HD DVD's. I've been getting HD DVD's online and getting free Blu-ray rentals at the store when I return the HD DVD's. As far as refurbished equipment is concerned, I agree with ObiBong. They are usually a great deal. You always know that a refurb will work when you get it home because every one of them has been tested. I've had nothing but success with refurbished equipment. [Link] |
| Johnothan Pedak Senior Member Catastrophe 1594 Posts 6/07 | Posted - Jul 18 2007 : 9:41PM [Link] |
| skronker Notable Legendary Icon Scopophiliac 9780 Posts 9/02 | Posted - Jul 19 2007 : 2:18AM [Link] |
| Rotted Brain New Member 4 Posts 7/07 | Posted - Jul 20 2007 : 3:04PM [Link] |
| Bill All-Star Member 5334 Posts 6/00 | Posted - Jul 21 2007 : 10:39AM Future Blu-ray players are required to have significantly more memory than the current players do and will need to be internet enabled (which most, if not all HD DVD players already are). When (if?) these new players come out, it's a good bet that disc manufacturers will take advantages of the features that the new players will allow for. When that happens, the early adopters could be screwed. If the Blu-ray Disc Association decides not to screw the early adopters, then Blu-ray will not be technically better than HD DVD. [Link] |
| EvilMonkey Member 55 Posts 9/06 | Posted - Jul 21 2007 : 2:33PM Sony on the other hand, in their rush to get to market as to not give HD DVD a lead, did not have time to finalize their spec. Thus the players aren't required to support all features, and don't need an internet connection. This is also going to screw over all early adopters who bought players when the 1.1 spec is finalized in November. No players (other than the PS3 probably, although it hasn't been officially confirmed) will be able to take advantage of the spec. They'll still play the movie, but anything coded in BD-J (such as the PIP commentaries and many other special features) won't work. Also, although Blu-Ray currently appears to have momentum, keep the following in mind: 1) It's due to the PS3 surge. Now that sales have leveled off, that surge is over, and I expect HD DVD to close the gap due to lower cost players and attach rates. Take a look at amazon's top sellers in the DVD player section, the HD DVD player is always #1 or close to it, while the Blu-Ray players are way down the list. With attach rates (number of discs bought per player), the PS3 needs to sell about 9 units to equal the disc sales of one HD DVD player. Once prices go down on HD DVD players and reach that magical consumer-friendly $199, they'll fly off shelves. 2) There are going to be a lot of pissed off Blu-Ray owners when they buy a $500 player today that's "obsolete" in November. 3) The sales numbers for both formats are pathetic. They account for less than 1% of the market. When Blu Ray outsells HD DVD discs for any given week, it's by a few thousand units. We're talking sales of Pirates of the Carribbean 1 and 2 COMBINED selling around 47,000 copies. It's pathetic. When you hear numbers like Blu-Ray outselling them 60-40%, you're talking a few thousand units, not hundreds of thousands. 4) HD DVD is outselling Blu-Ray in Europe and many other places. 5) HD DVD is region free. I own quite a few Blu-Ray "exclusives" on HD DVD because I import them from Europe, where a different distributer has the rights. 6) HD DVD and Amazon reached an agreement to release 1000 independent films on HD DVD using their "burn to order" process. Most small studios can't afford the license for Blu-Ray or HD DVD, so this will get independent movies in line. 7) Despite Sony's impressive list of studios, HD DVD has Universal. Despite being one studio, Universal is HUGE and in terms of numbers, their library is comparable to all of Blu-Ray's studios combined. Plus studios like Fox and Disney, while supporting Blu-Ray, aren't really releasing anything. 8) Blu-Ray appears to have more current blockbuster or mainstream movies, while HD DVD seems to have more classics. 9) Blu-Ray looks better on paper, but the specs have yet to bear this out. In terms of both picture quality and audio quality, they are even. Keep in mind King Kong is a 3 1/2 movie and fits on one HD DVD and is considered a reference PQ and AQ disc. Also, HD DVD is supposedly making a 50GB disc soon which will take that advantage away from Blu-Ray. Also, while Blu-Ray has a higher bit-rate, they use a different encode. A higher storage capacity and bit-rate doesn't automatically equate to a better product due to the encode used. HD DVD has managed to use the encode VC-1 which uses less space and requires less bitrate, while producing the same quality. 10) HD DVD has porn. Sweet sweet porn. IMO, both formats will be around a long time, and are in very serious danger of simply becoming a niche product. Since HD DVD currently has about 40% market share, I don't see them rolling over anytime soon. Don't want to sound like an HD DVD fanboy as I own both formats, but IMO you can't go wrong with either format. I just can't recommend buying a Blu-Ray player until November, other than the PS3 of course. If you are really worried, wait 4 or 5 months when both formats come out guns blazing for Christmas and see what the war looks like in January. Edited by - evilmonkey on 7/21/2007 2:34:44 PM Edited by - evilmonkey on 7/21/2007 2:38:12 PM [Link] |
| Bill All-Star Member 5334 Posts 6/00 | Posted - Jul 21 2007 : 3:13PM The BDA subsequenly accepted VC-1 as a supported codec. It's up to the disc manufacurer which codec to use. VC-1 is the only supported HD codec for HD DVD. Neither codec produces a better picture. VC-1 does a better job of compression than MPEG-4 does. [Link] |
| ObiBong Senior Member 1162 Posts 12/02 | Posted - Jul 24 2007 : 6:23PM My first discs haven't arrived from Amazon yet. [Link] |
| Bill All-Star Member 5334 Posts 6/00 | Posted - Jul 24 2007 : 8:13PM [Link] |
| ChrisInCali New Member 4 Posts 5/07 | Posted - Jul 29 2007 : 4:23PM [Link] |
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| kenny62 Member 21 Posts 11/02 | Posted - Sep 3 2007 : 9:59PM For those seeking other than popcorn flicks, HD-DVD is a better bet. Players are $200 cheaper (and the technology is more stable), and, being cheaper to replicate, the format is more conducive to catalog titles. And, HD-DVD is the choice for XXX, as Sony and Disney have made replication of adult fare on Blu-Ray difficult. HD-DVD has some significant advantages over Blu-Ray, and the decision of Paramount and Dreamworks to abandon Blu-Ray to concentrate their high-definition media efforts exclusively on HD-DVD has given new impetus to the format. Couple that with $200 MSRP street price Chinese HD-DVD players coming to a store near you this Chrismas season, and the format war isn't over, by a long shot! [Link] |
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