Quick Trader Poll NEW dvd formats..

[savageamusement]

Which new DVD format will you purchase for your future trading needs


Blue Ray

HD-DVD

Dual Layer



A new high-definition DVD format aimed at replacing current DVDs got a huge boost Monday when NBC Universal and three other heavyweight Hollywood studios endorsed electronics giant Toshiba's new HD DVD.

The new discs — due out next fall — promise superior picture and audio quality and greater storage capacity, enabling longer movies to be stored on a single disc.

The commitment to release movies in HD DVD by Paramount, NBC Universal, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema is a blow for Sony's competing Blu-ray DVD format.

Blu-ray has the commitment of many computer and consumer electronics manufacturers, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung, but no studio beyond Sony's Columbia TriStar Group. Sony is in the process of acquiring MGM.

Walt Disney and 20th Century Fox haven't committed to either format.

For now, Toshiba's HD DVD gets "first-mover advantage," says independent analyst Richard Doherty of The Envisioneering Group. "The DVD player isn't worth much without movies to play on them."

Movies are the big ticket for DVD sales. Consumers spent $16.3 billion on pre-recorded DVDs in 2003 and $16.7 billion this year through October, trade magazine DVD Exclusive says.

Because of its higher resolution, the new DVD format is aimed at the early adopter crowd — those with snazzy plasma and high-definition TVs.

But don't throw away that DVD collection. Current DVDs play on both existing and new DVD models. It could take years — and lots of well-heeled consumers — for the new format to take off.

While plenty of new DVD players cost less than $100, Blu-ray models sell in Asia for $2,000 and up. Toshiba says its unit will retail for $995. The HD DVD movies will be priced "at a premium," too, says Jim Cardwell, president of Warner Home Video. "The video is better. The interactivity is better. The audio is better. That should be worth a little more."

Cardwell, along with counterparts at Universal and Paramount, say the deals with HD DVD are non-exclusive. The studios say they remain open to working with Sony.

But, concedes Universal Home Video President Craig Kornblau: "We'd like to see only one format."

Maureen Weber, spokeswoman for the Blu-ray Disc Association, wasn't waving a white flag Monday. "It takes more than just a disc to create a format." She says her team has the advantage because the Blu-ray format is supported by computer and consumer electronics manufacturers.

[digitalmonkey]

I'm more than happy with good old regular dvds.

The fact is that unless I win the lottery thus enabling me to purchase high end equipment then I'm not much interested in the more expensive HD, Blu-Ray, dual-layer with cherry on top bunk.

[loren]

for movies, im very happy with my current set up

i choose to invest the money in the best tv for the money

and a big time sony 5.1 sound system to make the noise

yes the blueray may make a difference

but i cant see spending even $1000 on a dvd player for a few movies

remember it will not make normal dvds any better

only the special made ones


i think almost everyone would get more use and enjoyment, if they spent the extra $1000 to upgrade their monitor, and sound system

[Lamont]

(as evidenced by the fact that i STILL own the old denim shirt with the butterfly collar and the big gold medallion)

i REFUSED to change to CD's until i could no longer buy cassettes

i REFUSED to switch over to dvd from vhs, UNTIL stuff started coming out on DVD Only

and i REFUSE to switch over again

(BUTTTT of course in a few years, I will cave in----- BUT i hope by then the price has come down-- one system has beaten out the other, and the selection is better!)

[marvelousmarcus]

I've just started using Verbatim 8X DL +R discs to back up some of retail sets. The price is started to come down on them now too. I like them, but it does take longer to burn. Instead of the 4.37 gigs you are burning nearly twice that.

I'm curious to see how or if they will work in my +R DVD recorder.

[staypuftman2004]

Dual Layer

[three 14]

no i will never change, i like the dvds like they are now i am just about switched over from vhs and i realy do not want to switch again.