Latest on Blu-Ray vs HD DVD ?

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.

Just to flesh out some reality, European studios have largely adopted HD-DVD; similar in Asia; Also, cheap HD-DVD chinese made players are poised to hit Costco and Walmart at the time of the holidays;

Blu-Ray hardware has been problematic and has been trailing on the gaming side badly, posting loss after loss. There is a temporary media advantage among American-based film/movie companies, but with HD-DVD players becoming ubiquitous and at lower prcie points with better technical functioning, it is going to be hard for blu-ray only studios to watch the money go in other directions.

06-02-07: Johnnyb53
I ... got the D2 at Costco for $249, but it didn't have any mail-in for 5 free movies....

Update: I visited the Circuit City website and it looks like I can use the generic Toshiba form available here (http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/169466/rpem/ccd/RebateDetails.do?oid=177362 to get the 5 HD DVDs. I printed out the pdf. I'll select 5 of the 15 available videos, include the UPC and a copy of my receipt, and send away for 5 free HD DVDs. The form mentions the Toshiba HD-D2 (the Costco one) as a qualifying purchase. Basically, if you can prove purchase of a Toshiba HD DVD player between 3/1 and 7/31/07 and send back the form by 8/31/07, you qualify.

Cool.

Decided to get the D2. I have not even hooked it up as I have no HD DVDs yet. But $249 for a player that will play and upscale all my reg DVDs, plus 5 free HD DVDs, I think I can wait out the format wars in comfort. I will post a thumbs up/thumbs down after I have used it with a few HD DVDs.
Again, thanks for all the advice.