No, this is not the standard HD DVD vs. Blu-ray article that you may be used to reading. I am not declaring a "winner" because I think we are at a point now where neither camp is going away. Instead, this article explains which format I believe is the better choice for the consumer (you) this holiday season. Could that change a year from now? Sure, but I want to help you decide what to buy this year.
This article is not written in an attempt to convince anyone who has already made an investment one way or the other, for that is an almost impossible feat. It was written for those that are still "on the fence", as they say. It is for those who are either undecided, or are waiting to see which one will come out ahead (or which will be first to waive the white flag). It's time to hop down off of that fence.
In July 2007, I decided to go with the Blu-Ray technology. I bought a Sony BDP-S300 partly motivated by the 5 free Blu-Ray disk offer. I still haven't recieved my free disks even though their website says "In Process". This is completely unacceptable!
I find the player itself to be extremely basic, and often has trouble playing disks that are brand new - stopping, skipping... I went to the trouble to upgrade to the latest firmware ( a major hassle), and I really can't notice any difference.
The main reason I decided to go with blu-ray in the first place was I became convinced it was the format that would win and I was tired of waiting. Now, after reading this article, I am highly considering getting an HD DVD player and getting all of the titles that I want that are not on Blu-Ray.
I feel like, as an early blu-ray adopter, they have let me down. And I really want my 5 free titles that I was promised so many months ago!
I was leaning toward HD DVD after discussing at length with Dale, and reading Richard's latest article ... but I was holding out for another week or two to see if there was a "deal" announced on either side. After reading your article, I'm no longer waiting.
Thank you for pointing out the advantages HD DVD has over Blu-ray. I would have never thought about the "upgrade" process, or the fact that Blu-ray players come in several "versions".
Let me restate your article in a much more direct way.
Why Choose Either Format?
I'll start by stating some general facts just to make me seem a little more neutral and therefore easier to believe.
Why HD DVD? Standardization - All HD DVD players conform to an EXISTING spec (Uh... except the upcoming 51GB HD DVD players) although going forward all new Blu Ray players will also live up to basically the same spec except for region coding. So this point has an expiration date.
Less Copy Protection - Although HD DVD's lack of adequate copy protection is specifically why some companies chose to go with Blu Ray, I'll use this as a HD DVD plus. Then I'll add in something about load times even though many newer Blu Ray players load much more quickly than HD DVD counterparts.
Features - Although I don't much care about features, it might support my argument so I'll include them and leave out the fact Blu-Ray players will support the same features well before before the vast majority of consumers ever purchase a player.
Internet Updating - See above.
Better Price - I'll tell everyone HD DVD is selling so cheaply primarily because of low production costs rather than tell people Toshiba is heavily subsidizing it's hardware to gain market penetration. Hee hee.
From the That's-Not-Quite-True Department (I won't even give blu-ray a proper title)
Blu-ray has more studio support - TRUE. But we're thiiiis close.
More manufacturers support - TRUE. Uh... But they cost more! Dang... that point was supposed to go under the price heading for HD DVD! Oh well.
Higher Capacity/bitrate - What the... TRUE again? You don't need it! Wait, tell me again why HD DVD worked so hard to develop a triple layer 51GB disc?
Interactivity - TRUE. But I'll throw in that old blu-ray players don't have it
even though the people reading probably haven't bought ANY HD player yet and by the time they do, Blu-Ray players will have it standard.
Target - They sell HD DVD's too! (online that is - no stand-alone HD DVD players in the actual STORES. Unless you want to buy an XBOX add on.)
Blockbuster - TRUE AGAIN! But only in 9 out of 10 stores nationwide...
Paramount got bags of cash - TRUE. And the reason most people dislike the move is not because of the money per se. It's the fact that consumers were loudly voicing the opinion they want blu-ray with purchases and Paramount extended the format war by switching - effectively prolonging a winner.
Hard coatings - TRUE and I'm really scraping the bottom of the barrel here.
Conclusion
I like HD DVD. I don't like Blu Ray. Why? Because I can overlook the many advantages blu ray brings while trumpeting any advantage HD DVD may hold even though those "advantages" will disappear before most consumers make their choice.
Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed response.
Like I said in my article, I'm not trying to convince anyone who has already made an investment one way or the other, which you clearly have, but allow me to respond to a few "points" you bring up:
...all new Blu Ray players will also live up to basically the same spec except for region coding. So this point has an expiration date.
You will find this echoed elsewhere in my response ... my recommendation is for those buying this year, not at some point in the future when the formats are equal.
...many newer Blu Ray players load much more quickly than HD DVD counterparts.
Read the article again, I'm not comparing load times of HD DVD and Blu-ray, only stating that it would load faster without the additional encryption. And who likes additional DRM anyway?
Blu-Ray players will support the same features well before before the vast majority of consumers ever purchase a player.
Again, my recommendation is for those buying this year, not "some day".
Toshiba is heavily subsidizing it's hardware to gain market penetration.
Who cares HOW it's cheaper ... subsidize away if it means I can spoil my kids a bit more this Christmas.
Target - They sell HD DVD's too! (online that is...
HD DVD titles in-store as well.
...I can overlook the many advantages blu ray brings while trumpeting any advantage HD DVD may hold even though those "advantages" will disappear before most consumers make their choice.
Again, my recommendation is for those buying this year, not "some day".
I have just purchased the Toshiba HD-DVD for $199 at Best Buy.
Aside from price, I first and foremost prefer Toshiba products..I have a Toshiba HDTV and the standard Toshiba DVD player. For me, HD DVD wins over Blu-ray because:
1. Less copy protection (and I have no interest in trying to copy a DVD) means less complexity, which in turn, means less potential for DVD 'no play' problems.
2. Standardization. I don't have to worry if a given HD DVD will not play because of some standardization issue.
3. Region Codes. Again, will this DVD play or not play on my DVD.
dg~
I sent for mine after purchasing my PS-3 on Aug 20th and got the 5 disk on Oct 20 something. I was wondering what happened but they did come through. Seems like a long time to wait
Your article is not trying to convience anyone - then why write it?
Your "That's-Not -Quite-True Department" list 8 areas
Area 1: 3 of 6 are all for Blu-ray and Warner is stradling the fence so that makes 4 Blu-ray and 3 HD DVD
Area 2: You had to add a note that side steps this point. Sounds like Sentor Clinton side stepping her blunder.
Area 3: Again you had to add a note and bring in monitary comments.
Area 4: Here you go again with a "yes - but" comment.
Area 5: Give or take - they did go with a bunch of Blu-ray DVD's didn't they?
Area 6: Gosh only 87% of Blockbuster stores went exclusively with Blu-ray. That means HD DVD is behind by 13% if my math figures are still correct.
Area 7: Another "yes - but" answer. Is it true. Did they sell out;so HD DVD would have at least "2" exclusive manufacturers and 1 straddling the fence.
Area 8: Of course this has to be brought in as it seems to be the ONLY area where the HD DVD is ahead of Blu-ray. Cheaper is not always better. (Our gov't uses the cheapest bids and that has proven to be more costly in the long run!)
SO, let's see how we stand with these 8 areas. 7 are in favor of Blu-ray (without any excuses) and 1 is for the cheapest equipment.'
Your article is not trying to convience anyone - then why write it?
As I said in the article, and as I told cohominous above, I'm not trying to convince anyone who has already made an investment one way or the other, which you apparently have. I state quite clearly that it is written for those who are either undecided, or are waiting to see which one will come out ahead.
I have both, BluRay and HD DVD.. by and far we chose HD DVD 90% of the time. I keep hearing how BRD has all this extra storage and
all the BD-J "WILL" be able to do, in the future. I have been an HD DVD early adopter for over a year. I have the HD-A1 and it still performs
flawlessly. We also have a PS3 for the BRD it works fine. We recently picked up the A30 and we have compared BRD and HD DVD side by side.
HD DVD wins out every time. But the key to all of this is which is easier for my wife to use. 100% of the time it is the Toshiba's and I believe
that is what Shane's article was about. Which is easier for the consumer to use. For MY family it is the HD DVD players.
What I got out of this article, is that Joe and Mary Average would most likely choose HD DVD over Blu-Ray. For 3 really simple reasons.
1) an HD DVD player is cheaper than a Blu-ray player ($98.00USD to $299.00USD)
2) HD DVD's 1080p is the same as Blu-ray's 1080p which really doesn't matter anyway because most people will likely buy the cheaper 720p television, which also works at 1080i, and feel pretty good about their choice. Now I Know being a Blu-ray fan you'll want to beat a dead horse and say people will go for the 1080p because it's a better television. What I am saying is Joe and Mary Average either wont be able to see enough difference to justify the higher price or wont care because they got a killer deal at Wal-Mart on the 720p 42" flat panel.
3) Name... HD DVD instantly tells a buyer it's most likely a Hi-Def DVD, no brainer. Blu-ray actually doesn't mean jack unless you're an AV geek, but it refers to the blue laser in the device.
As for the stupid "Blu-ray has more disk space" argument... Get a copy of Superman Returns which comes in both formats and tell me that disk space made the Blu-ray disk look and sound better and had tons more interactive features than HD DVD. It didn't, which means Blu-ray isn't actually putting anything on the table that's worth the extra money.
I have both a first generation blu ray player and an hddvd player. I say a prayer every time I load an hddvd and I would never have movie night for an hddvd title with my friends. They are just to unreliable. BTW - I stopped sending in my error reports to Netflix because all they would do was send me another disc that does not work.
Ok you are saying - this is one user experience. So I now own a Bluray and HDDVD 3rd generation player. What do you know - BluRay is near flawless. HDDVD - same problems.
Maybe some of the problem lies in the dual HDDVD format discs (hddvd/dvd). These seem to have the most problems. Therfore if you stay away from them - you are ok.
Now you may say - buy brand new discs and stop renting. Well - I rarely buy discs unless I think I am going to watch them over and over again. Therefore, for me, the hands down winner is BluRay for ease of use. For me -- ease of use is simply defined as: Put disc in and disc works 90% of the time. For BluRay I am about 95% (1 disc failure which was fixed by a firmware update). For HDDVD i am batting about 600 (taking an optomistic view).
Note: If its on BluRay I watch it. HDDVD is always second choice. Once in a while I choose HDDVD over BluRay - and I get bit. Disc freezes up.
One last note - HDDVD (i.e Toshiba) has the ability to update firmware on line, because they have so many firmware updates that you need a way to update easily. I am not sure this is a benefit. I can not remember having to do firmaware updates on my DVD players. Now granted these are more like computers than VCR's but to say that Toshiba enables you to easily download a myriad of firmware updates that never totally fix the problems is truly a weird way of charecterizing a benefit.
One last note - HDDVD (i.e Toshiba) has the ability to update firmware on line, because they have so many firmware updates that you need a way to update easily. I am not sure this is a benefit. I can not remember having to do firmaware updates on my DVD players. Now granted these are more like computers than VCR's but to say that Toshiba enables you to easily download a myriad of firmware updates that never totally fix the problems is truly a weird way of charecterizing a benefit.
So you're stating a fact? Please provide a reference. Either that or rephrase is as "I think ..." or "It would appear ...".
C'mon, the internet port was not added to do updates, it was added for interactivity. So your assumption/claim that it is needed for updates is rediculous.
By the way, just wait until all the updates for profile 1.1, 2.0 start coming our over the next 12 months ... you'll be in upgrade hell.
If you are a Toshiba owner - go to their website and check out any firware update they have done - there is a list of fixes described in each update. You are welcome to define for yourself wheter or not that is a fact.
These firware updates never seem to totally fix my problems with my $1000 first generation Toshiba player:
Remote does not work
Disc freezes
or my third generation $350 player
Disc freezes
This information can be charecterized as anecdotal - my opinion based on my individual experience. You may have different experiences and if so I would gladly trade you either of my two units that do not work very well.
Juxtapose that with my two BluRay players. The much maligned (for picture quality) Samsung. Two updates easily downloaded to my PC and burned on disc and fixed the minor problems. -- And the well received Panasonic which has 1 update which I have not downloaded as the player is flawless out of the box.
(Unlike Toshiba which forced me to string cat 5 to my movie room for updates that never resolved my problems). Note: I say the stringing of Cat 5 issue only as a joke as I needed to get my basement movie theater connected to the outside world any way.
Final note: If you have some "facts to share" or even anecdotal experience as a user of both units ( Blu and HDDVD) I would be anxious to get your perspective. I am just trying to share my real world anecdotal experience with 4 of these boxes.
Hi I still don`t know arrrgggg
But just because it`s cheaper to do HD and a couple things like updates yes maybe Copy rights but that`s supposed to go away in the future. So they say.
Cheaper means CHEAP
I`m in the A/V bus. as a high end installation company.
Again Cheap is Cheap.
So I`d rather have me or my clients who are spending 20,000 and up for systems not to have stupid problems that Cheap DVD players have with them. Even if your budget is not that large you get what you pay for.
Hey we all know that these stores have the products made for them with a cost that they will only pay per unit and it has to be done anyway they can.
But that`s my 2 cents
Scott
Neither Blue Ray or HDDVD seem to give a flying hoot as to meeting our immediate needs with instant gratification; its all about the bottom line and who has the most power/trip. Had they truly cared they both would have collaborated together and made one that uses both standards. They really needed to do a win, win, win solution; the third win stands for you and I the consumer.
Now if I had to say which one or the other provider seems to be more consumer friendly I would at this time say HDDVD. These clowns would have driven the cost down right from the beginning, working together. I assume they are being made over seas, so I don't doubt that the price is inflated five times over.
As far as I am concerned the war is still on and it's still to be determined who will be king of the mountain.
I take HDTV home movies with Sony equipment which I like. However, after editing, putting them back on tape and then having to watch them using the camera as a VCR sucks. So I make SD DVDs. Needless to say, I've been waiting for a way to burn my own Hi Def DVDs. Here's the dilemma.....
I have Sony Vegas Pro 8 and DVD Architect. This new version will, surprise, burn bluray discs. So, problem solved, right? Not exactly. I have a laptop that I built just for editing video. Nothing else. I want to equip it with a bluray burner drive. Sony has them, but they aren't available except if you buy a new Sony Laptop. Cute. Ok, so buy an external burner. Yeah, for $600 bucks. Oh, and then I'll need another player for my tv system. Total bill, over a grand. It ain't so much the money as the principle.....
OK, so how about HD DVDs? Toshiba has both the internal laptop drive and now a cheap unit for the home theater. Great. But is there any software out there to edit my tape and burn the HD DVD's?? I haven't found any. Roxio Media Creator 10 sez it will burn DATA onto HD DVD discs. Whoopee Ding. But a careful read of reviews sez, don't be fooled into thinking you can make HD DVD videos. Does anyone know of software that will do this?
Surely I'm not the only person with this problem.
Jerry
PS: And just to complicate this scenario a bit more, my "theater" is an early Pioneer 50" plasma that I see no reason to give up. Except for one HUGE problem - no HDMI inputs and only one component video input. Any ideas around that problem would be welcomed too......
Try pinnacle software - it works for me on all forms of HD and allows you to burn BluRay and HDDVD. Now - all I need is an external HDDVD drive. Note - burn your discs at night - cause it is slowwwwwwwwww.
Can you point me to any information that you have on external USB HDDVD or BluRay burners.
Funny, I have a first Gen Toshiba HD-A1 and I have not experienced any of those problems.
I had a Samsung 1st Gen BluRay Player that I sent back after 3 days. Nothing but problems
and no way to upgrade the firmware. My Toshiba did not cost $1000 either it was less than
$350... But I am still neutral with PS3's for when I want to play BRD. I rent from NetFlix and
have absolutely had more problems with BRD than HD DVD. Oh.. and the PS3 has had to
update firmware way more than the 2 times I have updated my A1. I also now have an A30
and it is much faster than the A1 or the PS3. Maybe one day when they get a stand alone
player than meets the published specs I will buy another.
I have both, BluRay and HD DVD.. by and far we chose HD DVD 90% of the time. I have been an HD DVD early adopter for over a year. I have the HD-A1 and it still performs
flawlessly. We also have a PS3 for the BRD it works fine. We recently picked up the A30 and we have compared BRD and HD DVD side by side.
HD DVD wins out every time. But the key to all of this is which is easier for my wife to use. 100% of the time it is the Toshiba's and I believe
that is what Shane's article was about. Which is easier for the consumer to use. For MY family it is the HD DVD players.
Gene, can you elaborae somewhat on your statement that you have compared BRD and HD DVD "side by side" and the "HD DVD wins out every time"?
You follow that by indicating that the HD DVD stand alone players are easier for your wife to use than the PS3. I would expect this, since the PS3 is a gaming console with the ability to also play HD media. Is that what you mean by HD DVD wins out, or is it some other aspect?
It would also be more informational if you could indicate the setup you are using to display this content and the audio equipment used to listen to it.
I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm just trying to understand the comparisons you are making. Personally I think that some of the "advantages" that Blu-ray holds is somewhat theoretical and may not be apparent in actual use. I also think that studios that produce on both formats are going to release to the lowest common denominator as far as video and audio bitrates go, so again Blu-ray would not show any gains, even though they might be achievable.
It also seems to me that unless you have display equipment that is capable of really large screen size and is also capable of 1080p/24 native display, you likely could not see any appreciable difference between the formats. This is currently a very small percentage of HDTV setups and may not be relevant to the majority of buyers today, but for those of us considering just such a setup, an actual end user comparison would be valuable.
I'm only looking for answers... I'm not trying dispell your observations, I would just like more background information so that I can evaluate your comments more accurately.
Gene, can you elaborae somewhat on your statement that you have compared BRD and HD DVD "side by side" and the "HD DVD wins out every time"?
Aaron, this is based on our movie watching tastes and using Netflix to rent movies on both formats on the same system. The quality of the HD DVD picture and sound through our system(will list below) exceed our expectations. With the hype that BluRay standards pushed(and have yet to meet) we expected more.
You follow that by indicating that the HD DVD stand alone players are easier for your wife to use than the PS3. I would expect this, since the PS3 is a gaming console with the ability to also play HD media. Is that what you mean by HD DVD wins out, or is it some other aspect?
Aaron, to some aspect yes. We did own a Samsung player and the PQ/audio just was never right. Our Toshiba has always been perfect. We have not experienced any problems at all. We have never had a disk not play, unlike the Samsung or PS3 and BRD. My wife wants to put a disk in and have it play.. she doesn't want the have to use the controlleror Bluetooth remote(I have the PS3 remote but she likes the 880 universal) to operate the system. Again, the wife liking and finding it easy to use makes my life more enjoyable... if you get what I mean.
It would also be more informational if you could indicate the setup you are using to display this content and the audio equipment used to listen to it.
This is a long list: Living Room(where testing occured)Toshiba HD-A1; PS3. Sony Wega III 50" LCD; Pioneer Elite VSX-74TXVi; Klipsch Quintet III and an RW-10d ; Harmony 880 Remote,
Sun room: Sony Bravia 40"LCD, Toshiba HD-A30, PS3, XBox 360, Pioneer VSX-1015TXK receiver, Bose AM-10(from a previous set up)
Not the most elaborate set ups, but chosen for the rooms they inhabit.
I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm just trying to understand the comparisons you are making. Personally I think that some of the "advantages" that Blu-ray holds is somewhat theoretical and may not be apparent in actual use. I also think that studios that produce on both formats are going to release to the lowest common denominator as far as video and audio bitrates go, so again Blu-ray would not show any gains, even though they might be achievable.
It also seems to me that unless you have display equipment that is capable of really large screen size and is also capable of 1080p/24 native display, you likely could not see any appreciable difference between the formats. This is currently a very small percentage of HDTV setups and may not be relevant to the majority of buyers today, but for those of us considering just such a setup, an actual end user comparison would be valuable.
I would agree with you 100% here, and I can only tell you what my eyes and ears see and hear from my systems.. everything is variable.
I'm only looking for answers... I'm not trying dispell your observations, I would just like more background information so that I can evaluate your comments more accurately.
Thanks,
AaronS
No problem. Again I was offering my observances and what my family and I have found for us. If I had $50K-$60K to spend on a theater room my choice might be different. But in my house and the rooms that these are in, we have found what works, sounds and appears best to us.
Best of luck choosing.. it is a fun ride and I am enjoying every minute of it.
Thanks for that tip. However, I went to Amazon.com and read the reviews of Studio 11 Ultimate and it looks like about 4 out of 5 are adamant that it's horrible and you shouldn't buy it - no customer support - no nothing. Crahes, hang ups, etc. But I'm wondering about one thing - many of the complainers said they had Dell computers and I'm wondering if there is any correlation....???
I have both a first generation blu ray player and an hddvd player. I say a prayer every time I load an hddvd and I would never have movie night for an hddvd title with my friends. They are just to unreliable. BTW - I stopped sending in my error reports to Netflix because all they would do was send me another disc that does not work.
That actually follows my own experience having a PS3 and HD-A1. The 5th movie that the HD DVD player froze up on was it for my family (the HD-A1 is a torture test in patience to reboot) and we have been choosing Blu-ray since with no problems. I wrote the HD-A1 off more to being a 1st gen player and hope my new HD-A30 does not have these problems (your comments not giving me much hope). Also note the new firmware upgrades for the Toshiba players state an improvement with this problem...
The only HD DVD discs that I NEVER had a problem with were ones I bought. HD DVD rentals were terrible while Blu-ray rentals never had a problem (99% of rentals from Netflix, the rest from the local BlockBuster). The Blu-ray discs also looked clean with no scratches while the HD DVD ones were always filthy and scratched up. Due to the problems I started cleaning them before watching and while that helped some it none the less happened again and that was it for the HD-A1 and HD DVD unless the movie was not available in Blu-ray.
I've been a Netflix member for about 7 years. I started receiving HD DVDs this summer, and have not had a problem playing a single one (probably 20 in total) on my 360 add-on. I do recall one disc that actually had a crack running through it, but don't recall if it was HD DVD or standard.
PS: And just to complicate this scenario a bit more, my "theater" is an early Pioneer 50" plasma that I see no reason to give up. Except for one HUGE problem - no HDMI inputs and only one component video input. Any ideas around that problem would be welcomed too......
It's not cheap but the box at this link will convert HDMI to Component.
So far, my PS3 wins that contest hands down. I can quickly and easily check to see if an update is available and even when I don't, the system automatically installs it for me. (This is not necessarily good, as I'd prefer to wait a week or two to see what the update accidentally breaks).
With the Toshiba A2 HD-DVD I need to find my system rev, go to the Toshiba site to see if it's current, then wait 20 minutes or so when a download installs, if it's even needed. I've not tried simply doing an update without checking first so I don't know what would happen if I did. However, without something like the PS3 check that tells me whether the software is up to date I don't feel comfortable trying to install a software release over itself. If nothing else, Toshiba should let me put my name on an email list to be notified when an update is available.
If anyone knows more about email notification from Toshiba or whether it's save to do an A-2 upgrade without going to the Toshiba site first, I'd appreciate knowing about it.
I have had both, B&H. I returned BD because the load time was in Rip Van Winkle years. The "capability" or lack there of, was not clear to me. No DTS-HD, No interactivity on all machines. And BluRay doesn't have the sense to keep their product consistent (Some players won't play all BD movies?). My H20 loads relatively fast for a computer. It plays all the movies that blockbuster sends me and upconverts very well. They only complaint I have is that it doesn't seem to upconvert TV shows as well. Most of all they keep their product consistent. Too many times the electronics community keeps new technology dangling in front of our noses like a carrot, leading us to buy when the technology isn't even supported (HDMI 1.3, True Color,DolbyHD). HDDVD products state what they can do and they do what they state. I am a 45yr. old woman, who does all the research and does all the shopping. Manufacturers Beware: Do not misrepresent your product to a woman during the holiday season. We don't forget.
All in all I agree with that article, however I do believe that more players than just the PS3 and the one Samsung player that was mentioned have the ability to download firmware upgrades via ethernet as opposed to burning a disc. I have a slightly older Samsung model (BD-P1200) and it also utilizes this feature.
However, all in all I must say that I prefer HD-DVD to Blu-Ray.
Let me tell you my little story.
I actually received my Blu-Ray player for free as an award where I work back around the end of June of this year. My wife and I had just gotten an HDTV back in January, and I was curious about the Hi-Def formats, but really didn't want to invest a lot of money into hardware, esspecially if I end up picking the wrong one.
The first two movies we got were Pirates of the Caribbean 1 and 2. The movies, themselves, played fine and looked great for the most part. But there were issues getting the interactive games to work correctly, plus every once in a while there were some playback issues (Mainly the picture would look weird and jittery, but then if I turned the player off for a while and back on again, it would look fine... so I'm not sure what that was all about).
In the mean time, I bought a few other movies that all played fine. Anyway, I don't personally have Hi-Speed internet yet (I know, I'm way behind the times on that one), and I knew there was newer firmware that would resolve some of the issues with the Pirates movies.
So, I downloaded the file onto my computer via my dial-up internet, and burned it to a disc. I followed the instructions to a T. However, the disc basically ended up "bricking" my machine. I followe the instructions, but what should have been a 10-minute update just never seemed to stop after a couple of hours, so I ended up having to turn off the machine, and when doing so in the middle of a firmware upgrade, that can be bad (I wouldn't have done it, but it was frozen and it wasn't responding to any commands from the remote or buttons on the unit).
Luckily it was under manufacturer warranty, but it ended up costing me over $20 to ship it to Samsung (part of that cost was insurance on the machine) because they wouldn't cover the cost to ship it to them. It took probably a good three weeks or so before I got my player back. I requested in the letter that I sent with the machine that I would like to have them update the firmware while they repair it, which they did.
After that fiasco, my opinion of Blu-Ray was reduced some. I had read similar info about the benefits of HD-DVD that are presented in this article, which was making it look more tempting. Though, back during this past summer, things were looking all doom and gloom for HD-DVD. But then the Paramount announcement happened, and players started becoming available in the $200 range, so the temptation was there.
Then I started doing a bunch of overtime at work, and got some extra money, and bought a player from Amazon for $227 (which seemed like a great deal at the time, though a good couple weeks later was the stinking $99 sale, but considering that I paid just over $200 in total for HD hardware, it didn't seem so bad).
So anyway, a buddy of mine that I work with had gotten a PS3 earlier in the year, and had just gotten the same HD-A2 player about a week or two before I did.
It was around this time that the Fox BD discs with the new BD+ copy protection came out, requiring firmware updates. He had to upgrade his PS3 firmware for the disc to work.
He offered to let me come over and update my firmware at his place via ethernet to avoid the same disc problems I had before. I brought my HD-A2 along as well, since even though I didn't "need" to upgrade the firmware, it would be nice to have the latest version anyway.
So, we updated the Blu-Ray player. At this point I didn't have any discs with BD+, but he had bought one, so we tested it out. The load time was aweful, but it worked. I didn't specifically notice a huge difference in the HD-A2 performance, but it wasn't like I was having any problems with it either.
Fast forward to the past few days. To date, I have about 5 HD-DVDs that I've tried (I just got the Oceans movies last night, but haven't tried them yet), and have not had any playback issues.
However, the other day I received my order for Live Free or Die Hard on Blu-Ray, and let me tell you, that didn't go so well.
I pop the disc into the machine, it goes through the loading screens (this is a Fox disc mind you, so I was expecting the extra BD+ loading), but then I just get a blank black-colored screen, and the words "Slideshow" are scrolling across the display of the player. I was annoyed, but thought maybe I didn't have the latest firmware.
I went over to my aunt's house who just got DSL a few days earlier (I actually helped her hook it up) to check for newer firmware. Nope, I have the latest firmware.
After a lot of guessing, checking, testing, annoyance, swearing, and overall frustration, I did find a way to get the disc to work. If I put in another Blu-Ray disc and played that movie for a few seconds, stopped it, then put in the new Die Hard film, it would load up correctly. Don't ask me why, but it just did.
I looked up some info on the internet later on, and found a thread on AVS forums with people having similar problems (apparently there were some other players effected too, but there were many people with the same model player as me with the exact same problem). Apparently some have contacted Samsung and a new firmware upgrade will be made available to fix this issue down the road. But it's still annoying.
This has more or less sealed the deal for me.... I much prefer HD-DVD.
I admit, the HD-A2 player has it's quirks. The disc tray takes forever to open when trying to open it after first turning on the machine. And chapter skipping on it isn't as 'smooth' as on my Blu-Ray player. But currently I only own a handful of movies on each format, and have already had to upgrade firmware a couple of times to get movies to work right on Blu-Ray (and even that didn't stop this recent Die Hard problem), while not having any playback issues on HD-DVD.
Also, in general, in reading and researching info on the internet, while both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players have had numerous firmware upgrades, in general it seems more like HD-DVD upgrades improve player performance, and often make things look and sound a little nicer than they do already. But even if you don't download them, you'll still be able to watch the movie and still get a really good picture and sound quality.
With Blu-Ray, it seems like more often than not, firmware upgrades are required just to get newer discs to play at all. This is not consumer friendly. This certainly will not appeal to most average-joe consumers.
If I didn't get my player for free, I would be really mad and feel VERY ripped off on my purchase if I had paid money for it.
It seems like most people (not all, but most) who are posting here and saying they've had better experiences with Blu-Ray over HD-DVD are using a PS3 as their Blu-Ray player. And there's nothing really wrong with that. From most all accounts I've heard, when comparing all pros vs. cons, the PS3 is the most reliable, least glitchy, and most future-standard-proof machine for playing Blu-Ray movies on the market. I may even consider getting one down the road if I continue having issues with my current player.
But when a gaming system that happens to play these movies as a secondary function can do so in such a better manner and much more reliably than most other players on the market that play these movies as a primary function, it really doesn't say much for the format as a whole.
We are talking about 2 formats that can do essentially the same thing, but one has a better standard than the other, thus making it more consumer friendly and reliable. It's not really that hard of a choice. This article makes a lot of great points, and I agree with many of them. I started out being very "ra-ra" over Blu-Ray when I first got the machine, but over time, my preference has swayed quite a bit over to the other side.
