Best Buy and others are matching. But Best Buy is already out. But you can likely get this deal elsewhere, until they are gone. I think this is the end of this model.
Posted on 11/01/2007 11:31:00 AM PDT by TrueKnightGalahad
Blu Ray outsells Sony by 2 to 1 right up to the release of Transformers 2 weeks ago.. Seems that Sony is winning, handily.
I did quite a bit of homework on it.. I went the Blu Ray route, but I have to admit, both formats are awesome.
both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray upconvert old DVDs and make them look stunning.. (in answer to someones question) they do a far better job of the up-converting, as I also have a Samsung that I bought for just that purpose. I have since moved it to the bedroom.
Big BIG screens like projectors I can see the advantage but under 60 inches and its an up to date 1080P TV and you have an up converting regular DVD player that has 1080P the differences are hard to really notice except for the additional features the HD can offer, I’m happy with just this combo above on my 57” Toshiba DLP, I may buy the HD player next year but I’m sure as heck not buying some hyped up sale/factory closeout electronic device from a mega retailer that “Sells for Less”.
Plus I still try to severely limit my Made in China addiction, very hard habit to get off of, will take me years of counseling and therapy I expect.
Amen. I never shopped in WalMart until I moved to a rural state in fly-over country. I don't mind it at all, tho I do prefer Target.
For some reason, my grad students love dissing WalMart. I don't even know how the freakin' topic comes up, but time and time again they mention WalMart in the same tone you'd reserve for Hitler. I am trying to keep my politics out of the classroom, but I swear one day I'm going to go off the deep end and start lecturing about the free market, people's right to work, etc.
It's not that I don't understand the whole 'made in China' issue, it's just that if you don't like it, don't shop there. It's not a religion, it's a store; go spend your money somewhere else.
The current count is 351 Blu-Ray, 327 HD-DVD. However, this includes 30 or so Paramount releases that are no longer made, which might make HD-DVD the winner if you offer currently manufactured titles. Neither format wins in a runaway; at best its a wash.
HD DVD and Blu-ray releases on October 23rd, 2007
If you're big into foreign films, I can see why you hate region encoding, however most of us don't care, and it will not affect market share.
It's unfortunate that you couldn't find "Hot Fuzz" in your neighborhood. It's in rental stores in my neighborhood,
Maybe that's the way they do things in New York, but we're just out of the stone age down here in the sticks. I'm lucky enough to be able to spell my name. Your testimony aside, HD-DVD is AWOL in all of the rental chains in my area.
Regardless of your dislike for Sony, Blu-Ray as a format has potential even outside the movie market. Its a low cost storage alternative, and Blu-Ray burners are becoming more available in desktops and laptops. Outside of playing studio releases, HD-DVD currently has little use. Blu-Ray is better positioned to be the heir to CDs and DVDs.
Spoke too soon. It looks like Toshiba is coming out with a slimline HD-DVD burner. At least they're following Sony's lead on that.
yeah, I got my Sharp Aquos 37” last year and love it.
130 posted on 11/01/2007 2:51:17 PM MDT by Phantom Lord
Picture quality on my Toshiba 64" DLP is stunning ! The sound is 3D and surround ; it is also stunning. True Home Theater. The Matrix Reloaded becomes alive. But you must use the HDMI for full up-converting and sound enhancement. The sound was a bonus.
You can get a DVD recorder for $50. For $99 you can get one that records off digital cable or a local HD channel from an antenna.
The "sticks" - in the People's Republic of Austin? LOL - that explains it! Blu is the choice of libs (most of the Blubots I see on the forums are rabidly liberal), while HD DVD is the choice of true red-blooded Americans. :-) How's THAT for a marketing paradigm? :-)
One thing I share with many of the effete intellectual libs :-) is a love for foreign films - so yeah, the absence of region coding is important to me. I want to watch what I want, when I want, without Sony or any other manufacturer making it impossible for me to see certain movies. Region-free DVD players have been widely, though unofficially, available for years; that HD DVD decided not to hobble their media is a feather in its cap.
Glad you like the Panasonic S53 - so I hate to say that as good as you think it is, at its very best day it’s only a so-so performer. Much better regular up-converting players are available, such as the Oppo or other Panasonic, Denon, and Toshiba players...and the S53 is completely outclassed by any of the HD DVD players.
Not for $88
From my Marine to you, Semper Fi.
LOL - yeah, you’d have to pay an additional $10.88 for the HD DVD player at Wal-Mart! :-) No, seriously, I wasn’t trying to knock on the S53, but just alert other readers that while the S53 might be passable, there are better players around the same price or even lower, like the HDMI-equipped Toshiba SD-K860 which retails for $79 and can be found even cheaper. A great site for objective evaluations of DVD players is the DVD Shootout at the Secrets of Home Theater web site - lots of information concisely presented, without getting so uber-geeky (like at the AVS forums) that you pull out your hair.
What about the new 120hz and 150hz sets?
For some reason Blu-Ray has a virtual ban on its use for XXX films. Advantage HD-DVD.
Overall, I found the SD-K860 to be a sub-par DVD player. There were some highlights, but the player needs work in its core video performance. This has become an unsettling trend lately in our tests. While I don’t expect top of the line performance at this price point, the issues found here should just not be a problem regardless of the price. Limitations in video processing are expected, not limitations in core performance. While this is an attractive price point for a HDMI based DVD player, I would have to recommend looking elsewhere.
The S52 didn't fair any better though.
The information on the website seems to be 3 - 7 years old
I use HDMI to send it to the TV and then optical to the receiver.
OTOH, virtually every new media product that's succeeded has been adopted by the XXXy people early in the game, so perhaps its an omen about the mass sell-through of HD DVD. The people like me who jump into a tech first have to hang tough while the 'chicken-and-egg' issue works out - many people won't buy until there's enough media, but the media people hold back a lot of releases until there's a sufficiently sizable installed base of players. Remember how long it took for blockbusters like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Star Wars" to come to DVD? Seems ridiculous now that DVD has practically wiped VHS from the map.
BTW, rumor says - so don't shoot this messenger if the rumor is wrong :-) - that Best Buy is going to match the Wal-Mart pricing. Whoo-Hoo!
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