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Last HD DVDs are a fact
Posted on 25/06/08 13:40 by Tim Stork
Yesterday the Irish movie Disco Pig and the Japanese anime collection Freedom: 6 were released in the United States. The two movies will be the last HD DVDs to enter the U.S. market. Although there are rumours about a possible HD DVD release of Bandai Visual's remaining episodes of Freedom Project we can expect Disco Pig to be the last page in HD DVD's dramatic book.
Probably there are still many HD DVD users after its player prices were slashed to only $100. The format had a rough start in January when Warner decided to step away from the format and slowly other studios and retailers followed. Another writer said in his article that 'sometimes nice guys do indeed finish last'.
What do you think? Was HD DVD a 'nice guy' and will this mean Disco Pig is the collector's item for you?
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Reactions
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By
Haggas (guest),
Wed 25 Jun 2008 14:43
Shame, I bought a HD-DVD addon for my 360 the week before Christmas, totally gutted when this news hit. Still think that HD-DVD was the better product for the consumer. But hey in this day its all about what big businesses want isn\\\\\\\'t it!
Was HD DVD a nice guy? Hell, he was my hero. We fought together in 'Nam. He took a bullet meant for me just outside of Saigon. He will be missed.
Hard to compete with someone ready to take 3 billion in losses, sell their Bluray player below what it really costs, and payoff movie companies. I just hope the Toshiba upscaling chip they have, that was originally for military use, will be able to give Bluray 1080p a run for its money. Now that would be nice. 
By
hdded (guest),
Wed 25 Jun 2008 16:02
HD-DVD was cheap crap. Good riddance.
Toshiba = Junk. 
I've never seen a Toshiba product that wasn't made as cheaply as possible and didn't look awful. If HD-DVD was 25GB, the players looked better (less boxy and cheap) and loaded in less than a minute, it would have won.
It looks like people learned from the VHS/Beta to support the better format, not the cheapest. You get what you pay for.
I've never seen a Toshiba product that wasn't made as cheaply as possible and didn't look awful. If HD-DVD was 25GB, the players looked better (less boxy and cheap) and loaded in less than a minute, it would have won.
It looks like people learned from the VHS/Beta to support the better format, not the cheapest. You get what you pay for.
By
Vic_M (guest),
Wed 25 Jun 2008 16:51
Okay, so what is all this \'HD\' video all about... I went out and got myself an Xbox 360 HD DVD player (£30), and a HD DVD copy of Transformers (£10). This was a simple test for me as to how good it actually looks, although I will say I only witnessed it on a 720p TV - none of my friends have 1080p sets (we all love technology, we are just very aware of the current state of HD).
So, the quality is nice - but is it THAT much better, and does it really make me enjoy the movie THAT much more ? I have to say \'NO\'. I did not think to myself at the end of the movie \'Wow, gotta get some more HD movies\'... I simply thought that it would all happen in time.
Even if I did have all the kit, there is NO WAY that I would re-buy my DVD collection in HD. You\'ve also got to consider that a lot of the HD titles won\'t even be re-mastered, but simply upscaled DVD and sold on as \'HD\'.
You can fit a 1080p movie on a dual-layered DVD - so why bother with a new format ? Well, the truth is they want your money, all over again.
People don\'t care about HD, that much is clear - all you need to do is walk into a store and look at the blu-ray stand... nobody there even looking...
How big was the hdtv that you watch transformers on? Mines a 42 inch, and I can notice quite a difference between an upconverted dvd and a bluray/hd-dvd. If you're tv is smaller you really aren't going to notice this different.. it rather is pointless buying a 27inch or a 32 inch hdtv because its really to small too benefit.
@ Vic_M
"You can fit a 1080p movie on a dual-layered DVD - so why bother with a new format ? Well, the truth is they want your money, all over again."
That is a fact, Jack.
"all you need to do is walk into a store and look at the blu-ray stand... nobody there even looking..."
I agree. I've never actually seen anyone buying a Blu-ray movie. I don't even know anyone who owns a Blu-ray player. Sony is just trying to brainwash you into believing the hype that Blu-ray is overtaking DVD.
@ Zod
"it rather is pointless buying a 27inch or a 32 inch hdtv because its really to small too benefit."
Pointless to you. Not everyone wants or needs a 42/50/60 inch TV in their home. Not eveyone can afford a big television, and 32" may be fine for them. Also, not everyone cares about HD. HD is not necessary to enjoy a movie.
This message was edited at: 25-06-2008 17:41
HD-DVD had a standard feature set in all of its players that Blu-Ray is still struggling to match nearly 2 years later.
From a development standpoint the HDi menu system is easier to code/less buggy then Blu-Ray's java based system.
HD-DVD had the HD-DVD/DVD combo feature that will allow many discs to still be played in regular DVD players.
Toshiba had a good price range of players and had very good pricing in the Holiday timeframe before WB pulled out.
The only technical disadvantage of HD-DVD was the storage capacity compared to Blu-Ray. Supposedly, Toshiba had a 3-layer disc that brought the space to be a gig more then Blu-Ray but after Warner's pull out they didn't bother announcing it.
By
gosony (guest),
Wed 25 Jun 2008 18:22
Everyone I know has stopped buying DVDs in favor of Blu-ray.
SDTV + DVD = Crap.
HDTV + DVD = Pointless.
HDTV + Blu-ray = AWESOME!!!
Prices for Blu-ray are already coming down faster than DVD, meaning Sony has another hit on their hands.
HD-DVD had a standard feature set in all of its players that Blu-Ray is still struggling to match nearly 2 years later.
From a development standpoint the HDi menu system is easier to code/less buggy then Blu-Ray's java based system.
HD-DVD had the HD-DVD/DVD combo feature that will allow many discs to still be played in regular DVD players.
Toshiba had a good price range of players and had very good pricing in the Holiday timeframe before WB pulled out.
The only technical disadvantage of HD-DVD was the storage capacity compared to Blu-Ray. Supposedly, Toshiba had a 3-layer disc that brought the space to be a gig more then Blu-Ray but after Warner's pull out they didn't bother announcing it.
By
micro$soft (guest),
Wed 25 Jun 2008 20:07
DukeNukem wrote" Sony is just trying to brainwash you into believing the hype that Blu-ray is overtaking DVD. "
I've never ever heard so much tosh in all my life...What Planet are you from? Planet Fooldom i assume. 
By
xvisorxx (guest),
Wed 25 Jun 2008 20:10
I purchased a toshiba hd dvd player 1 month before they said that they would stop making them. to tell you the truth the player and the discs have issues I have ran into problems where I have had to return 3 of the 15 hd dvd movies I own directly to paramount. they have very kindly replaced the discs. also the player alot of the times doesnt want to play some dvds but my cheap walmart philips dvd player will with no problems. I think hd dvd was poorly made the video quality is great but the materials used dont seem to be very good. I will stay away from blu ray until it gets cheaper. for now im just stiking with dvds.
@ micro$soft
That's it? That's all you've got? How much longer until you turn six years old? If your mom or dad helped you write that then I'd ask for my college tuition up front. That's if you plan on going to college. Trade school? Oh, well, that's okay too. Have a nice day.
Vic_M you absolutely cannot fit a 1080p movie on a DVD. Maybe a compressed crappy x264 format movie but that's not a true 1080p BR or HD DVD quality movie.
hdded you are ignorant. HD DVD was a finished product superior in quality and technology. BR caught up in quality when they started using the same codecs as HD DVD, and are still trying to catch up in technology.
It was not people that decided, it was the $$ business.
By
goblue (guest),
Wed 25 Jun 2008 22:10
The $100 HD DVD player was for the cheapocrap A3 with no 1080p output.
The 1080p HD DVD players were 200++ when I tried to get one. The A35 was over 250+. I thought it's useless since I wouldn't get any new HD DVD so I passed and get a PS3, my other friends get a Panny blu-ray player for $250.
That was the best decision we made. No whining about "can't watch new hidef movies" from me. 
Btw, if you can't afford hidef, go on with your life, enjoy your dvd and stop bitching. I stopped buying DVD and will only buy blu-ray. All from online and were all less than 25 bucks, some are less than 20 bucks. Yeah DVD is even less but I can't stand upconverted 480p and dolby digital anymore. 1080p and DolbyTrueHD or DTS HD MA much better.
Btw, if you can't afford hidef, go on with your life, enjoy your dvd and stop bitching. I stopped buying DVD and will only buy blu-ray. All from online and were all less than 25 bucks, some are less than 20 bucks. Yeah DVD is even less but I can't stand upconverted 480p and dolby digital anymore. 1080p and DolbyTrueHD or DTS HD MA much better.
By
borny (guest),
Wed 25 Jun 2008 22:19
HD DVD was superior? from what perspective?
They are only cheaper due to firesales and because Toshiba made them with cheap components!
Their superior product was only Toshiba HD-XA2, and you know how much when first out: freaking $999!!!
And the HD DVD movies are superior as well? No frikin way. At most, the video quality are the same with bluray. Sound quality of HDDVD is mostly lossy. Not to many lossless like in bluray. 
And the HD DVD movies are superior as well? No frikin way. At most, the video quality are the same with bluray. Sound quality of HDDVD is mostly lossy. Not to many lossless like in bluray.
Who cares if one is better than the other. It is kind of a moot point to be arguing over it. One thing I will say, I have watched HD on my 24" LCD 1920x1200 PC monitor and I don't see what all the hubbub is. It is not a vast quality improvement from DVD. I would imagine if you mastered a DVD well and then upscaled it with a decent player, the differences in quality would be hard to tell at an average viewing distance. The only difference I see when watching a HD movie vs DVD (non upscaled) on my PC, is that the video on the DVD version is slightly grainy. Other than that, they both look ok.
No, it won't help with 8 tracks, but could be of benefit to your stuttering problem.
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