Will you replace your DVD movies with High Definition versions?

[ChrisFL]

Since theres been a lot of talk regarding not only the next generation video players, HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray but also a lot of talk regarding the video game consoles which will play them as well.

There's a format war, as usual, and the biggest question is...does it even matter. Will the general public want to buy super high-end versions of DVD movies, or are the current ones high quality enough?

Thoughts?

 

[Curious]

No.

..

 

[cardaway]

Two things will keep me from jumping in at any level.

1) The format war. I'm not going to invest in either technology until one wins. Maybe not even then...

2) Based on the reviews I have seen, the quality differnce is minimal. Unless this changes I can't see myself even switching from the current DVD format unless they stop making them.

I don't see either taking off any time soon since the majority of folks are not even taking full advantage of the standard DVD quality. They buy full screen versions of movies filmed in widescreen or hey play widescreen movies on old, small, full screen TV's. There is no problem with that, but it's a very good reason not to upgrade since those folks would see very little if any difference.

 

[jncvh]

I have just purchased a HD-DVD and play it through a HD plasma with a HDMI cable. I can play my regular dvd's and the player up converts the image to a 1080i image which is over twice the quality of regular DVD's picture quality. I do purchase regular DVD's still as HD DVD's are more money and will only purchase the one's that I really want in HD. I can say that there is a noticable difference in the image of HD. I was watching CSI in HD and there was a scene where they were walking through an alley while it was raining. The image was so clear that I could see a clear reflection in the puddles on the ground that made it look like it was real life. The thing you have to remember is that to get a true upconverted or HD signal you need both a HD DVD, HD TV, and the appropriate HD cables to process the signal such as a HDMI or component cable, and not just the cheap cables.

 

[cardaway]

The thing you have to remember is that to get a true upconverted or HD signal you need both a HD DVD, HD TV, and the appropriate HD cables to process the signal such as a HDMI or component cable, and not just the cheap cables.

Exactly. The quality has to be there at every step from disc to screen. So many people leave out of the the pieces of the chain.

What I have read in reviews is that there isn't enough difference between DVD at 1080i and HD-DVD at 1080p to make it worth the upgrade. Maybe that will change when prices go down or if the disc transfer methods at the studios get better. Maybe someday, but right now the prices are high and so is the number of digital artifacts in the discs.

 

[bicker]

Current DVDs are 720p, not 1080i.

 

[cardaway]

Current DVDs are 720p, not 1080i.

We were discussing using upconverting players which upconverts them to 1080i.

 

[ZuZugal]

How did we ever survive our youth....before cable, before VHS, before reruns?

I think the movies I have look pretty darn good on my TV. Sure, they could be lots better, but I think most people really don't know the difference unless they could see side-by-side comparisons.

As for now I'll stick with my (widescreen) DVDs.

 

[Brianne]

I'm waiting. Normally we are the Joneses (sp?) when it comes to electronic equipment but in this case, I'm not seeing enough to make me want to switch everything over just yet. The beta/VHS wars lasted quite awhile so I don't see this being resolved quickly either.

 

[bicker]

We were discussing using upconverting players which upconverts them to 1080i.

Sorry, I missed that.

There are several perspectives on this. Upconverting DVD players are okay with older HDTVs, but some of the newer HDTVs have better upscaling circuitry than upconverting DVD players. In the end, the source resolution (720p vs 1080p) is what will matter most.

 

[cardaway]

There are several perspectives on this. Upconverting DVD players are okay with older HDTVs, but some of the newer HDTVs have better upscaling circuitry than upconverting DVD players. In the end, the source resolution (720p vs 1080p) is what will matter most.

True. It's the cable ready TV thing all over again. First it was HDTV with the HDTV tuner built in and now upscalers are being built in.

When it comes to the source resolution it would seem (based on what I have read) that the DVD makers haven't done much to improve the digital transer of the source image so the higher resolution doesn't mean much.

This will even be more true when people start wanting their favorite classics on HDTV and the result is them just thinking the image stinks even more than the DVD image did because the resolution reveals more flaws. Will Casablanca or Gone With the Wind look better on HD-DVD then the already released DVD? I don't think so.

 

[Micca]

I think HD is going to be a lot like the transition from VHS to DVD. Most mainstream viewers were happy with VHS until they saw DVD and then heard the improved sound quality. Of course the other advantage to DVD is the size and convenience. I understand that both of the new HD formats have improved audio capability too. I was an early adopter of SACD and DVD-Audio, and that hasn't worked out so well. I think I'll wait this format war out for a while. Besides, I'm still saving up for the HDTV

 

[cardaway]

I think HD is going to be a lot like the transition from VHS to DVD.

I agree. I believe the stats show that most people didn't switch until VHS was getting hard to find.

 

[bicker]

I'm not so sure. I seem to recall it being the other way 'round: VHS was available for sale and rental until it was no longer profitable to offer it, because interest in it had wained so much.

 

[wellesleyprincess]

I agree. I believe the stats show that most people didn't switch until VHS was getting hard to find.

I agree, but I wanted to add that in a lot places VHS is still available and/or people still use their VCRs and DVD Players. (In part because DVD recorders & DVR is just now become affordable). I think comparison is almost perfect. Most people won't replace their DVDs with HDDVDs unless their is something added to the HDDVDs (bonus features, commentaries, deleted scenes, etc.). I think the DVD will have a very slow death because their portability. There's no sign of portable HD players or Blu-Ray players in the near future nor will they play on laptop computers.

 

[cardaway]

I'm not so sure. I seem to recall it being the other way 'round: VHS was available for sale and rental until it was no longer profitable to offer it, because interest in it had wained so much.

I agree that was the way it went at the very end. My point was about was about the time in the middle when every movie was still produced in both formats.

As somebody who didn't switch to DVD until really late in the game, I was one of the people that saw rental places and retail stores run out of the VHS copies while DVD's sat on the shelf. Personally I switched when the movies I wanted started coming out in DVD only.

 

[cardaway]

IThere's no sign of portable HD players or Blu-Ray players in the near future nor will they play on laptop computers.

That could quickly change. The HD hardware doesn't seem to be that much larger so it would not take long for portable devices to switch the internal hardware with the new HD stuff.

 

[bicker]

I think the DVD will have a very slow death because their portability.

I think the biggest factor is that the new formats are backwardly-compatible. That'll have two impacts: It'll keep folks from buying old stuff in the new format, but it will also speed the market towards the time when they'll be offering the new stuff only in the new format, more and more often.

 

[cardaway]

I think the biggest factor is that the new formats are backwardly-compatible. That'll have two impacts: It'll keep folks from buying old stuff in the new format, but it will also speed the market towards the time when they'll be offering the new stuff only in the new format, more and more often.

Thankfully with companies like Netflix in place the DVD makers will keep releasing movies in the current DVD format for many years to come.