As long as they're civil about it:

Hello Greg, we're from Washington and we're here to "help" you with your HT. How do we sign up for the national "do not be chosen" list?

Seriously though, I wonder if HD-DVD and/or BluRay Disc will achieve anything more than the niche status of DVD-A and SACD. With all the lessons that can be learned from the past, I can't believe we're about to be subject to another format war.

I am waiting this one out. When the multiformat DVD players/recorders are "affordable" that's when I will get them. I am refure to replace 300 of my DVD movies just to get HD.

Great point, Sanjay.

Anyone remember DiVX or Nuon? Awesome!!

With the informed and cogent responses in this forum, it makes me wonder who did the market research for these folks. In my line of work, similar idiocies occur - consider that every flavor or coke and pepsi released in the last several years (lemon, lime, vanilla, cherry, vomit, etc) has died a quick and spectacularly expensive death, mostly because they rushed to be first out without fully determining the consumer need for it.

Don't forget that the discs will be $10-15 higher than DVD. Obviously didn't learn the lesson from DVD, where sales were spurred by keeping the prices as low as VHS (lower in some cases). Sadly, you're probably right about the DVD-A/SACD comparison.

I don't know. With the PS3 also being a BluRay player, there's a good chance that BluRay will do pretty good. Like most of you guys, I'm waiting it out.

Besides, I don't even have a HD set yet. I'm hoping that SED will actually debut next year (and live up to its promise) and then over the next year or so after that the prices on it will become affordable. That'll be about the time my girls will be big enough to leave the set alone. Then I can get my display, the winning HD format, and the new Outlaw processor to go with it all!

Yes, the fact that they priced all DVD disks to sell as opposed to VHS tapes sold more toward rental market at $70 to $90, made DVDs wildly popular in short order.

Also helped that unit prices came down pretty rapidly and now anyone can get a decent DVD player for $70 or so or less if they can stomach buying a Coby or other 3rd tier brand.

Either one of the new formats would likely find a decent market (in the absence of a format war) thanks to the growing HDTV market share - all those sets sitting around just eager to get fed HD resolution video. Even without a format war, however, the move from DVD to HD disc seems destined to not be the slam-dunk that DVD eventually became. Not only did DVD offer much better prices than VHS ever did for people wanting to build movie libraries, but there were also so many other clear benefits over its VHS predecessor. Less shelf space, a more durable format (no tape to break or degrade with repeat viewing), no need to rewind, direct access to a specific scene, multiple audio tracks, subtitle tracks that could be turned on and off, and bonus features - and that's without even factoring in the improved audio and video quality that could be enjoyed even with just a decent SD television set. A high-definition format can offer better picture quality (although you'll need an HDTV to see that improvement), better audio quality (although you'll need a pretty darn nice home theater setup and an understanding of just how to set it up properly to hear any benefit), and a few new special features (which may eventually be an improvement over what DVD had, but will likely be effectively identical to what DVD's been offering for a couple years until the studios figure out how to really make use of the new features). That's not nearly as compelling an argument to upgrade. The fact that there's a format war on top of those challenges leaves us with the mess that we're seeing now. Unless I decide to pick up a PS3, I'll stay with my DVD players until somebody offers an all-format player (preferably including DVD-A and SACD). In all likelihood, I'll pick up a PS3 to let me sample one of the formats while I wait for the first generation or two of all-format players to pass (so the prices can come down and the early bugs get hammered out).

Well said Gonk.

Posted by Sluggo:

TrueHD, from what I've read, intends to use the extra 6 channels as "vertical" effects channels, to add height to the sound. I just knew they'd find some way to make us all buy more speakers...

Finally a topic I think I can chime in on... As a physical therapist, I went through three different courses on human anatomy. What I do know about the human ear is that the ears are set on a level, which gives us the ability to hear stereo sound moving left to right on a horizontal plane (in front, in back, etc.). However, becuase of this setting of the ears, it makes it difficult to discern sound that moves on a vertical plane (up and down). That's not to say that we can't hear sounds above and below us, we just can't locate them as effectively. A good example is the owl. Their ears are slightly offset from one another vertically. This allows them to hear sounds above and below just as well as they do to the left and the right. Thus, why they can fly at night through trees and find their prey (good vision helps too).

Long story short: the extra 6 channels placed high for added "vertical" effects is a bit unnecesary. That's why most surround speakers are placed high up on the wall above the listening area. The bi-pole/di-pole effect, coupled with raising the listening stage above the ear, makes it difficult to locate the sound giving the sound stage that "open" effect so highly desired in surround formats. My advice, save the money on vertical effect speakers for 13.1 and use it for more Outlaw gear! HA! =P

I understand that Netflix will offer HD-DVD, and quite possibly BD at no extra charge.

Yep - I've heard that Netflix plans to offer both formats.