Monday Morning Poll: The HD Format Wars
Filed under: Tech Stuff, Home Entertainment, Monday Morning Poll
Since the holidays are upon us, and since I've finally decided to pick a side in the HD format wars (as I'm sure a lot of you will be doing come later this month) I felt it was appropriate to not only ask you which format you prefer better (blu-ray, HD-DVD), but also ask for some advice. For awhile now, I've remained in the "wait until there's only one format" camp. I cannot stand the fact that some movies come out in blu-ray, while others come out in HD-DVD, and so the penny pincher in me had been against shelling out money for one when there was a chance it could become obsolete in the next year or several. But that all changed earlier this year when I finally received my first ultra-awesome flat-screen HD TV (a 46-inch Sony Bravia, in case you're wondering). Now I'm hooked on HD. It's like friggin' heroin. And if I can't watch something in HD, I throw a fit. It's pretty lame.
That being said, with Christmas upon us, I finally decided to take the plunge and choose a side; if only so that at least I could watch some movies in HD. The route I took? Playstation 3. Yup, this way I get the games and the blu-ray player. Worse comes to worse, at least I'll always have a gaming system. But here's my dilemma: What film do I premiere? When I first bought the TV, I opted to premiere Boogie Nights (because when you upgrade your screen, the first thing you want to check out is nudity). The film I wanted to premiere in HD was The Bourne Ultimatum (until I found out it was only coming in HD-DVD form). So now I'm stuck. I'm throwing a little 'Davis Goes HD Launch Party" and I need a good film (available in blu-ray) to premiere. So this poll asks two questions: Which format do you prefer, and which film should I premiere? Any and all help is appreciated.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-03-2007 @ 11:28AM
Pie said...
Transfo... Oh, wait.
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12-03-2007 @ 11:36AM
Cola said...
You have to debut with Casino Royale
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12-03-2007 @ 11:37AM
cinematical said...
I've found that it's better not to pick a side but rather...pick both sides. There are titles on both sides of the "war" that I want and I'm able to enjoy the best of both sides.
HD DVD tends to be less expensive to get you up and going while I've found Blu-ray discs to be slightly easier on the wallet.
I have friends that picked a side earlier this year and now whenever we go out to a tech store they constantly check the prices on players from the other side. Save yourself the angst, just pick both sides :)
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12-03-2007 @ 11:39AM
treqie said...
From what I remember, bluray has the advantage.
Blu-ray do not use compression, it's cheaper to manufacture, can store more data and has Sony/PS3 for support.. which probably will make blu-ray win this war.
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12-03-2007 @ 11:43AM
mike green said...
I voted blu-ray but it looks a little better, specially on the facial features )I have both and I treid the same movie on both formats), also with a 46 tv you'll need the best possible quality, the problem it's that you'll soon start lookking at your dvds collection with desdain, and think how much it coested you and how much it will cost you to place it with Hd
but at this point I don¡t think that there will be a winner so I'm afraid that you'll need both
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12-03-2007 @ 11:48AM
nishant said...
get a combo player. im not sure of the brand (i think toshiba) that makes them but i hear they cost just a little bit more than a stand-alone format player. they may not give all the extra functionality you get with a specific format player, but they get you to the fun scenes of boogie night and the thrill of bourne that much easier
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12-03-2007 @ 11:50AM
Roadzy said...
should have bought hd dvd :)
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12-03-2007 @ 11:57AM
Michael Spurlock said...
Curse of the Golden Flower is my vote. Not many explosions (unless you count fireworks) but the color saturation and production quality os sure to wow any audience. I have used it to showcase high definition a few times and it always get the "wow"s.
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12-03-2007 @ 12:11PM
Marie said...
I still stand by my whole 'this is not vhs vs betamax' arguement - this is just laser disc. The squabbling and money grabbing attitude of manufacturers and their inability to agree on a dual playing platform is surely killing the market off for both formats and ripping off the customer. However I feel blue ray have made the push with a marketing campaign this christmas and playstation 3 may tip the balance. and would they please not insist on putting them in those silly blue and red boxes just regular dvd boxes with a small mention to the format!
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12-03-2007 @ 12:33PM
Tom said...
Anything from Pixar!
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12-03-2007 @ 12:44PM
Steve said...
Go with Pixar's "Cars"
It is the best looking and best sounding disc from either side of the format war bar none.
PS - you picked the right side - Blu-ray has taken over in sales and has not lost a single week all year, and the ass-kicking looks to continue throughout 2008 as well until Warner goes Blu-ray exclusive and Universal starts releasing in Blu-ray also, then you can watch those Bourne movies and Spielberg will allow Universal to release Jurassic Park...in Blu-ray only.
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12-03-2007 @ 1:16PM
Jonathan said...
Dude... 300 on Blu-Ray is the balls
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12-03-2007 @ 1:38PM
daniel. said...
blu-ray all the way. we may have lost paramount and never had universal. but we've got fox, disney, columbia, and the ps3 (the best next-gen console).
seriously man, the thing to debut is UNCHARTED. pass the controller around and everyone will have a blast.
theres a ton of easy ones. HOWEVER, if youve just got the screen and no surround sound, everyone will be left underwhelmed.
THE DESCENT is killer, and its got a 6.1 PCM mix on it. DIE HARD just came out. SUPERBAD is coming out tomorrow. CASINO ROYALE is perfect. OLDBOY will be hard to find, but god i cant wait to see that in HD. youve got a ton of choices.
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12-03-2007 @ 2:02PM
Joe said...
I would have to say Casino Royale and 300. Both look great on BR. Also even though I did not like Spiderman 3 the movie that much S3 really does look nice on BR.
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12-03-2007 @ 2:14PM
j said...
Since HD-DVD is not region specific, you should have chose HD-DVD and ordered any movie you wanted from a European dealer and watched anything you want since all the studios are dual format overseas. Cheers
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12-03-2007 @ 2:39PM
Vinh said...
PLANET EARTH!!! Seriously, this is the BEST way to show it off. Trust me, I've shown it off several times and everytime I get a WOW!
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12-03-2007 @ 2:39PM
Anguirel said...
Another couple of good ones would be the Pirate movies. The Picture quality is extreamly good on both of them. If not those, 007, 300, or a Pixar movie.
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12-03-2007 @ 3:33PM
Dale Smith said...
underworld
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12-03-2007 @ 4:00PM
agggg said...
Get Die Hard, Pirates of the Caribbean, Casino Royal, Cars, underworld.
But you have to get all Pirates of teh Caribbean, best movies you can find. Best sound and visuals
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12-03-2007 @ 4:02PM
madgamer said...
I went with a combo player on my computer, but I think I like blu-ray better.
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