Wow! Hdtv!

[bicker]

It's a Samsung thing, optimizing the video when you have a Samsung source and Samsung display (as I do).

If you search the web, you'll find legions of whiny videophiles condemning it. Of course, that's pretty meaningless given we can each turn it on and off ourselves, and see for ourselves which way is better.

In my case, specifically, it changed the output resolution of the BD player from 1080i to 1080p - a major improvement. There are other ways to do that, of course, but BD Wise looks great, for both BDs and Netflix streaming.

 

[136368]

High definition rules! However, it isn't perfect.

A panel of testers found that about half of all movie titles in HD were indistinguishable from their DVD counterparts.

HOWEVER, some really stood out from the crowd. My favourite in terms of real progress is the film Avatar. AWESOME!

 

[bicker]

High definition rules! However, it isn't perfect. A panel of testers found that about half of all movie titles in HD were indistinguishable from their DVD counterparts.

I think, though, that's that's more a matter of how many people under-estimate DVDs as a data-storage medium, than any indictment of BDs (or HD-DVD).

 

[136368]

I think, though, that's that's more a matter of how many people under-estimate DVDs as a data-storage medium, than any indictment of BDs (or HD-DVD).

I have no idea. All I know is that some of my Blu Ray movies don't look any different than my DVDs, whereas some are infinitely better.

I wonder if HD-DVD was any better than Blu Ray? I never got the chance to compare them side by side

 

[136368]

It is also worth mentioning that various BluRay players actually upscale the resolution of common DVDs, improving their picture quality. Very cool!

 

[tvguy]

Practically no consumer electronic devices are made, these days, to last 17+ years. Given how consumers are so insanely price-conscious, there is practically no incentive for consumer electronics to be designed with the higher cost-profile commensurate with longer-lasting electronics. Still, most folks are getting 6 or 7 good years of use out of their HDTVs (and counting). It is only a small minority of LCDs and plasmas (at least) that are failing before that.

See, 6 or 7 years is TOTALLY unacceptable to me. The "consumers are so insanely price-conscious" comment cracks me up. Prices are still way too high. And, one of the reasons so many people got into financial trouble in recent years is because they weren't price conscious. They wanted, they bought, without regard with value and what they could afford.

 

[bicker]

See, 6 or 7 years is TOTALLY unacceptable to me. The "consumers are so insanely price-conscious" comment cracks me up. Prices are still way too high.

But they're not. Everything you're seeing is a reflection of how we consumers have driven industry. You can bang your head up against the way to have everything the way you want it, paying only what you personally want to pay for it, but it's irrational to expect industry to kowtow to such a one-sided view.

And, one of the reasons so many people got into financial trouble in recent years is because they weren't price conscious.

No. This is very very wrong. People got into financial trouble in recent years because they spent more money than they had.

The answer isn't for prices to magically drop, but rather for people to stop buying things that they cannot afford.​

American consumers exhibit a number of troubling issues. Many of them blindly and carelessly consume consume consume without regard to the impact of their consumption has on their own finances, on the environment, or on the world around them. There's much too much of a maniacal focus on our own personal gratification.

And its often pretty myopic. If prices magically drop, as you seem to want, guess where that money comes from: Your salary; your retirement investments; your town's tax base; etc. If you think the prices for things are categorically "too high" then first make sure you're okay with someone thinking that about how much you're paid for what you do, and for what you have invested. Make sure that you're ready to have that percentage of your assets magically vanish. I'm sure you can see that that's going to just be a wash: If everyone charged less, everyone would have less, so you'd be just as far from affording everything you want as you are now. It's just a numbers game.

What you do have control over is what you consume versus what you live without.

They wanted, they bought, without regard with value and what they could afford.

Well you got it half-right.