Anybody here have both an HD-DVD player or Blue-Ray player AND an upconverting DVD player? I need a new DVD player because we just started netflix again and my DVD player is overly sensitive to scratches. I don't really watch that many movies and I even less frequently watch movies that are big on special effects. Just trying to figure out if I'll be happy enough with an upconverting DVD player or if it's worth the extra $200-$300 for an HD-DVD player or a Blue-Ray player.
i'd say get the upconversion for now. Its only around $50 now and when the war is over, then pick HD-DVD
if u buy a hd-dvd or blu-ray, they should also upconvert. the picture quality is superior with the hd formats. u better have a decent hdtv!
I have an HD-DVD player and Blu-ray player and both are really good at upconverting DVDs(at least since the PS3 got the 1.8 firmware update). The Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player is available online now for just over 200 bucks, so if you want an upconverting player, you may as well go with that one. The ability to play HD-DVDs will be a nice little bonus. And BTW, anyone who tells you upconverted DVDs look almost as good as HD-DVD/Blu-ray titles is lying or blind.
I would stay away from HD DVD. It looks like it is on its last legs with more retailers coming out backing Blu Ray over HD DVD. I would say that it will be dead within 18 months.
Very true but the thread starter doesn't have a big AV set up and doesn't watch movies all that much, and up convert DVD player will probably be just fine for him.
maybe who knows as a format i prefer HD DVD (though I HATE their "combo" deal) but Sony is making it hard for them to succeed with the retailer exclusivity, but at the same time outside of frys i generally buy all my hd movies online anyway because those prices are usually cheaper. Though Blu-ray is "winning" the war solely because of PS3 sales, fox and mgm have hardly released any movies on blu-ray and that was one of their major selling points, studio exclusivity. but back to the original question i have a hd player (360 add-on) and a blu-ray player (sammy bdp1200) and they both upconvert to 1080p and of the two i prefer the sammy since it upconverts better. I used to have a sony upconverting 720p/1080i dvd player which was also pretty nice. You can get these for under 100 bucks now and def worth it if you have a HDTV set but do not want to jump into purchasing a hd player. The toshiba one that count-dough-ku said is pretty nice, but i think that ones does up to 720p and not 1080p? (i am not positive count can clarify I know toshiba makes two models similar names but one is cheaper and does 720 the other does 1080) but that model also upconverts very nicely. but from what it sounds you're better off with getting a simple upconverting player no need to spend the extra cash to get an hd player esp if you do not watch movies that often. You'll notice a difference between a upconverting player and a regular dvd player.
The A2 player does 1080i and 720p, but not 1080p. The A20 player is a little bit more and does do 1080p if that's important. As far as the argument that HD-DVD is on its last legs, I wouldn't go that far. Granted, if Universal announced it was going format neutral, the format war would effectively be over tomorrow. But that likely won't be happening anytime soon. Plus, WB just announced they sold 250,000 copies of 300 on HD-DVD/Blu-ray in its first week of release. So unless Blu-ray outsold HD-DVD by a ridiculous margin, both formats will have to coexist for a while.
Maybe I should have added a poll. Oh well. a) upconverted dvds look nearly as good as HD-DVD and Blue-Ray or b) upconverted DVDs don't come close to the quality of HD-DVD or Blue-Ray c) upconverted DVDs look much better than standard DVDs , but not nearly as good as HD-DVDs and Blue-Ray. BTW, I have a 37" LCD HDTV (1080i), Syntax Olevia. Thanks for your input. I probably haven't watched more than 6 or 8 DVDs this year other than on airlplanes. We're re-upping on Netflix mainly for my girlfriend's son. .
I'll go with C. And BTW, the first TV I had hooked up to my Toshiba HD-DVD player and PS3 was a 32" Samsung LCD(768p) and I could easily notice the difference in quality between HD-DVD/Blu-ray and regular DVD. I'd imagine the same will be true for your 37" set.
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As per VideoScan (industry standard for tracking video sales): The #1 selling HD disk was Bourne Identity last week. Blu-ray had 8 of the top 10 selling disks. Blu-ray outsold HD DVD by a 2:1 ratio, to continue the trend seen the rest of the year. 300 sold 250k copies on Blu-ray/HD DVD last week, to set a new HD sales record.
get a PS3..to me its a no brainer..even tho i dont own one (dont have a hdtv) i dont have a ps2 either so im not a sony homer.
