Friday, August 11, 2006

DVD Deathmatch!

"Mission: Impossible III" is the first title to come out on DVD, Blu-Ray DVD and HD-DVD at the same time. Does anyone care? No. The BBC says quite rightly that the competing high-def formats will cancel each other out, keeping early adopters confused and unwilling to commit and besides, people aren't looking for a new DVD format that means more money and doesn't really shine until you buy a flat panel TV anyway. I say, if you're thinking about the next generation of DVD players, you must wait -- definitely upgrade your TV screen and then sit tight for a year.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Forget about HD-DVD and Blu-Ray altogether. Just click over to Amazon and buy a Sony, Samsung or Oppo up-converting DVD player for less than 200 bucks and watch all the DVDs you already own in stunning hi-def. Actually it's about 95% stunning, but not only do you save on the player, you'll never have to buy the more expensive HD-DVD or Blu-Ray discs. Plus, you'll never be sucked into the pernicious digital rights schemes that will keep Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs in solitary confinement until they die.

Michael in New York said...

Those machines Do improve picture quality, since the DVDs offer better images than most TVs and DVDs players currently can handle. But they're still not technically equal to hi-def. It's definitely a smart move if someone needs a new player right now. Then in three years once the dust has settled they can get a next generation player. Don't get me started on digital rights software -- that stuff drives me bonkers. I can't believe there hasn't been a class action lawsuit against those companies selling DVD and VCR and CD players that don't let me make fair use of my own property (like taping a CD for use in the car, etc.)