I am chartered to cover the HD Format war at iPO, Blu-ray vs. HD DVD.  How many have purchased a Blu-ray or HD DVD player ... and why?

I have an Xbox 360 HD DVD player, got it as a gift from my Dad last christmas. To be honest I was on the fence until I saw that Battlestar Galactica Season 1 was slated for eventual release on HD DVD, that and Heroes pretty much sold me on the format, and frankly if I can get all of BSG on HD DVD and then the format dies the next week I’ll still feel I got my (well my Dad’s for the player) money’s worth. Now I just need a way to play HD DVDs on my mac using this thing (shows up as a DVD-ROM right now basically), maybe Leopard plus some hackers will do the trick in a few months.

Two interesting things related to this in the last week:

1) Finally got a price drop on the XBox player: http://kotaku.com/gaming/fighting-for-life/xbox-360-hd-dvd-sales-jump-1000-285279.php

2) And this…well I’m obviously not as big a Star Trek fan as whoever this is aimed at for $220:
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/07/26/star-trek-the-original-series-hd-dvd-boxed-set-hits-november-20/

Blu-ray has all but won this battle (despite Star Trek!!—I want ).  Thie Wifeâ„¢ and I have been sitting out while the battle was fought, but at this point, we’re merely waiting for the updated Blu-ray players to come out in October, and we’ll be getting a unit then.

Are you sure? I’ve just bought a 42” plasma and plan to wait a little while more to see which one comes out on top.

It’s certainly just my opinion, but what Darla and I have watched happen over the course of the last year is that more and more and more media companies are supporting Blu-ray, with an increasing percentage of them doing so exclusively.  I believe it’s about 3:1 in favor of Blu-ray in announced titles.  With Disney recently coming over, most of the major movie studios are Blu, which should make Microsoft and its HD DVD supporters Blue.

::rimshot::

Re: HD Format War

[quote author=“j.martellaro”]I am chartered to cover the HD Format war at iPO, Blu-ray vs. HD DVD.  How many have purchased a Blu-ray or HD DVD player ... and why?

I’m waiting until a stand alone player is under $100. I really don’t care which format wins this war, currently if I got to pick any player that I wanted for free (to me) I’d pick the LG Electronics BH100 Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Player, it literally plays everything.

I’m going to be waiting until my computer of choice comes with either a Blu-ray or HD DVD drive. I can afford to wait a little longer. I personally could care less which format wins.

Dated for December 4th. Its all I can do not to run back and forth screaming for joy.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/08/14/battlestar-galactica-season-1-coming-to-hd-dvd/

Dated for December 4th. Its all I can do not to run back and forth screaming for joy.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/08/14/battlestar-galactica-season-1-coming-to-hd-dvd/

FWIW, check these sources for DVDs:

DVD Planet

Deep Discount

Neither shows the HD version of BSG yet, but their prices are frequently lower than Amazon, Buy.com, etc. I have no connection with these companies except having bought a lot of DVDs from both of them. DVD Planet has coupons and a “Frequent Buyer” rebate system. Both offer free shipping.[/url]

[quote author=“gslusher”]
FWIW, check these sources for DVDs:

DVD Planet

Deep Discount

Neither shows the HD version of BSG yet, but their prices are frequently lower than Amazon, Buy.com, etc. I have no connection with these companies except having bought a lot of DVDs from both of them. DVD Planet has coupons and a “Frequent Buyer” rebate system. Both offer free shipping.[/url]

Appreciate the tip, any money I can save off the $100 MSRP will be welcome. Since the Mini Series plus Season 1 DVD does technically MSRP for 19.99 plus 49.99, it a 25-30 dollar premium for an HD TV show isn’t too bad.