Latest on Blu-Ray vs HD DVD ?

CMO, I use the same TV in one of my systems and hooked the Sony Blu-ray to it. Although it will not do 1080p, the 1080i did look significantly better. It was so sharp, you could see how the actors makeup is applied! I also own the 9000es and the HD is superior. On regular DVD formats the 9100es makes as good a picture as the BR and is a step above the 9000es. I use it because the BR player doesn't play CD or SACD. I normally use the BR player on the 46" set.
Too bad the 40" want do 1080p because it certainly has a better picture than any other of the newer sets I have viewed. I have a 46" Sony XBR LCD set and the older 40" XBR is superior even though I like the size and weight of the newer set vs the 300#+ of the older one. It also formats regular video full screen instead of the black left and right areas of the new set in its native size. I don't like the stretch modes because it distorts the picture too much on the newer set.
I still can't understand widescreen when both sets have the upper and lower black areas. You would think a widescreen set would show a widescreen full screen but that is not the case. Unfortunately, I guess we are stuck with what is for the time being.

My projector- a Marantz 1 chip DLP that peforms quite well, on a Stewart gray screen, cannot accomodate 1080p, but the picture from hi-def discs definitely looks better on the big screen. I did buy the LG player, I don't really care about the lack of HD functionality because I essentially plop a disc in, watch a movie, that's it. Given the limits of my current projector, I cannot make meaningful comparisons of the two formats, but my suspicion is that the quality may have more to do with disc mastering than with the technical differences between the two formats.
My biggest gripe as an early adopter is that there are no HMDI 1.3 compatible audio processors available- the lossless compression on these discs is available if you use the analog outputs of the blu/hd players.
In other respects, my video system, while not the latest by any means, has served me well: older Meridian processor; an HD Leeza backbone for video processing and native rate scaling, and a host of ARC tube amps, a big McI, a bunch of Snells and a pair of Velodynes. Some of this equipment has been in HT service since the mid-90's, so I'm pretty happy about the mix between newer technology and shelf life of the various components.

Bigtee and Bill,

I just can't see putting a lot of money in a new video monitor right now as fast as that technology is changing..... So good to know that my Sony might still be up to task if I do decide to go with one of the newer DVD players.

Thanks very much for the info.

Chris

I got one for ya. My new Sammy 1200;a just released model--- won't play Pirates--/dead man's chest---till I get a software upgrade.(I actually called Disney to find this out) Imagine that.---Of course this is the kind of crap that might have happened had the original dvd format been released to early. They had all kinds of arguments before everybody agreed to iron things out;--first.---AND, they wonder why the new formats are taking off slowly. But, I still love 'em.

05-21-07: Hunglo
I believe it's the HD-A2. You can get the D2 (same as the A2+HDMI cable) for $249 and 5 mail-in free movies from Toshiba at Costco, if you have one in your area. I think that's a darn good deal to jump in the HD theater.

That's what I did this week--got the D2 at Costco for $249, but it didn't have any mail-in for 5 free movies. I'll have to ask Costco about that.

Originally, I bought an inexpensive ($119) upconverting Sony DVD player to get better pic quality on my 55" 720p/1080i display until the format wars settle out, but by trading it in and throwing in another $130, I came home with the Toshiba which does everything the Sony did plus will play the HD DVDs I can snag from Netflix.

I don't plan to buy any HD DVDs, so even if Blu-Ray wins in the end, my financial commitment has been small to enable getting some DVD-based HD content in the meantime. And it's an excellent upconverting DVD player and a good-sounding CD player as well.

Sony has a software advantage. It OWNs the movie libraries of Sony Pictures, Columbia/Screen Gems/TriStar, MGM, and United Artists--something like 55% of the movies ever made. You're not likely to see any of those show up on HD DVD anytime soon. There may be other affiliates or partners (Miramax?) that may stick to Blu-Ray only as well.

In the gaming market, Microsoft is in the HD DVD camp for future X-Box releases, if for no other reason than not to endorse the Blu-Ray format of archrival Sony PlayStation. But as big as Microsoft is overall, X-Box does not have the worldwide market share enjoyed by Sony PlayStation.

One thing nice in my current rig--even though it doesn't process HDMI, my Boston Acoustics AVP7 has analog 7.1 inputs (not 5.1), so I could extract the full sound quality out of a more evolved HD DVD and/or Blu-Ray player down the line when the time comes.