Quality difference between HD-dvd and HD movies thru digital cable

I wouldnt get an HD dvd player at this point, theres not enough hd dvd's
out there yet to be worth it. Then there the blue ray dvd's, same deal,
not enough out there yet.

All the new movies come out in standard DVD format and blue ray or HD DVD. It seems that HD DVD is starting to beat out blue ray....

Anyways, yes they are the same thing. At this point the players are too expensive to buy. If you have an xbox 360, id say get the HD DVD drive upgrade and get netflix

SilverBullet00 said:

It seems that HD DVD is starting to beat out blue ray....

Click to expand...

I'm not sure I agree with this statement. HD-DVD appears to be doing well at present because Microsoft if dumping a TON of money into HD-DVD. The word on the street (ref: AVS Forums) is that, that may soon come to an end as Microsoft gets it's online movie distribution system up and running. When that happens, Microsoft is expected to cease that funding.

That majority of movie industry seams to prefer Blu-Ray primarily because of it's larger capacity and the ability to record higher resolutions/quality video on the larger disk. I am not sure however, how efficient HD-DVD video compression is vs. Blue-Ray video compression but video quality is not determined by output (1080p for instance) alone.

[/quote=SilverBullet00]
Anyways, yes they are the same thing. At this point the players are too expensive to buy. If you have an xbox 360, id say get the HD DVD drive upgrade and get netflix [/quote]

See above about being the "same thing". Though each is capable of displaying 1080p, the difference is in the quality of the video before it's cut into a disk. Kind of like the inverse difference between an MP3 and WAV file. Both can be made to put out the same quality sound but the WAV file will be considerably larger. With DVD/Blueray, the video can be encoded with a larger number of colors and more bells and whistles for sound (ref: HD sound 1.3).

As for the expense of players... well I suppose that's relative. A Toshiba A-30 (blueray) can be had for $250 from Amazon and comes with 10 free disks. Even at just $20 a disk, that's $200 so the player cost you $50.

A word of caution about this particular player: There seem to be a good number of folks that are complaining about Toshiba dragging their feet on firmware updates. Just a footnote... their update may even be out by now.

Mustang5L5 said:

HD-DVD is played in 1080P resolution while the best you can get from broadcast cable is 1080i resolution.

The I and P stand for progressive and interlaced. Progressive scan displays a picture far superior than interlaced but cable companies are a long way away from broadcasting in 1080P. They do 720P though.

Blue-ray and HD-DVD are both 1080P.

Click to expand...

This may not be as far off as we think. I recently learned that it takes less bandwidth to broadcast 1080p/24 than it does to broadcast 1080i/60 or even 720p/60 and 720i/60. Stay tuned for more in the coming months.

Note: The number after the "/" is of course, the frames per second. Movies are RECORDED at 24 frames. Interlaced displays that are output to 60 frames are done to reduce the inadequacies of interlacing.

I'm with ya brother. I'm also hopeful. The cable company in this area seems to be pretty pro-active at getting the latest and greatest in place since we're out here in the ding-toolies and they have to compete with Satellite TV.

I'm waiting to take delivery of my new Samsung HLT5687S. It was due in yesterday but now it appears that I won't get it until Wednesday.

I'm chomping at the bit. hehehe

Daggar said:

I'm not sure I agree with this statement. HD-DVD appears to be doing well at present because Microsoft if dumping a TON of money into HD-DVD. The word on the street (ref: AVS Forums) is that, that may soon come to an end as Microsoft gets it's online movie distribution system up and running. When that happens, Microsoft is expected to cease that funding.

That majority of movie industry seams to prefer Blu-Ray primarily because of it's larger capacity and the ability to record higher resolutions/quality video on the larger disk. I am not sure however, how efficient HD-DVD video compression is vs. Blue-Ray video compression but video quality is not determined by output (1080p for instance) alone.

See above about being the "same thing". Though each is capable of displaying 1080p, the difference is in the quality of the video before it's cut into a disk. Kind of like the inverse difference between an MP3 and WAV file. Both can be made to put out the same quality sound but the WAV file will be considerably larger. With DVD/Blueray, the video can be encoded with a larger number of colors and more bells and whistles for sound (ref: HD sound 1.3).

As for the expense of players... well I suppose that's relative. A Toshiba A-30 (blueray) can be had for $250 from Amazon and comes with 10 free disks. Even at just $20 a disk, that's $200 so the player cost you $50.

A word of caution about this particular player: There seem to be a good number of folks that are complaining about Toshiba dragging their feet on firmware updates. Just a footnote... their update may even be out by now.




This may not be as far off as we think. I recently learned that it takes less bandwidth to broadcast 1080p/24 than it does to broadcast 1080i/60 or even 720p/60 and 720i/60. Stay tuned for more in the coming months.

Note: The number after the "/" is of course, the frames per second. Movies are RECORDED at 24 frames. Interlaced displays that are output to 60 frames are done to reduce the inadequacies of interlacing.

Click to expand...

I see what you are saying. Microsoft is dumping a ton of money into HD DVD, and its causing many production companies, ETC to dump blue-ray and go HD DVD. I think Microsoft is building the moment for HD DVD, even if they stop funding in a little while its too late. I just read an article about this, paramount (if i remember correctly) was a big into blue ray technology and just recently switched to HD DVD. I dont know if paramount is right, but it was a big name.

I watched shrek this past weekend on a movie channel in HD (1080i), it was AMAZING! I know 1080P is better, but 1080i is still far better than what most people are use to.


From what I have read, they think blue ray will be more accepted for data storage and archiving and HD DVD will be the standard for video. I have been pulling for blue ray, I'd love to see Microsoft loose.

Mustang5L5 said:

I'm an HD addict. I have an HD-DVD player but i'm trying to get an Xbox 360 for Xmas since it will play blue-ray as well. The amount of HD-DVD's and blu-ray DVD's out there is equal. There are more brands of Blu-ray players than HD-DVD, but a lot of studios are jumping the blu-ray bandwagon and going over to HD-DVD. It's still early, but i think HD-DVD will win the war. Players have gotten dirt cheap. You can get a decent one for $200 and wal-mart just had a special selling them for $99

Click to expand...

Your Xbox will NOT play blu ray, just as the PS3 will not play HD DVD's. Also, the majority of the studios are backing BR now, not HD DVD.

SilverBullet00 said:

All the new movies come out in standard DVD format and blue ray or HD DVD. It seems that HD DVD is starting to beat out blue ray....

Click to expand...

Wrong. The opposite is true. At this moment, BR is winning as far as sales is concerned.

Mustang5L5 said:

I hope not. A lot of my friends are picking up 720P TV's thinking 1080P is 2-3 years away.

I keep telling them that 720P might be obsolete in a year or so so why bother?

Click to expand...

720P is dead. If you're not buying a 1080P TV, you're far behind the boat.


Everyone, do your research. Read up on the two formats, and see which is capable of what. See which studios (who make the movies you want) are making their movies on which format. As of this year, the only movie that made HD worth buying was Transformers. Everything else was released on BR.

im just a hick and in all reality, my 720p projector and 720p plasma are fine for viewing the limited HD channels out there and playing my BRD's and HD DVDS. Plus the jump from 720 to 1080p isnt making a huge difference for ME. Nowhere near as much as sd to hd, so lets not get carried away with the 1080p hype please....well unless you are some kind of weird videophile

Mustang5L5 said:

I'm an HD addict. I have an HD-DVD player but i'm trying to get an Xbox 360 for Xmas since it will play blue-ray as well.

Click to expand...

are you sure?

san~man said:

Also, the majority of the studios are backing BR now, not HD DVD.



At this moment, BR is winning as far as sales is concerned.




720P is dead. If you're not buying a 1080P TV, you're far behind the boat.

Click to expand...

Above are FACTS.

Everything (with the exception of the 720p line) could potentially change tomorrow but as of this posting, they are facts.

Here are a couple more:

The XBox does currently NOT offer a Blue-ray player.

The PS3 does currently NOT offer an HD-DVD player.

Each console maker has drives on the drawing board when/if their preference ends up failing.

Each console has the capability of running an external drive if required and/or when they become available.

Neither console currently contains the firmware necessary to run both types of drives. Each would need a firmware update to run the other type.

I would LOVE to have a console with both drives. Instead of picking sides, either of these console makers could sweep their respective console markets just by releasing both drives for their console at roughly the same price that XBox gets for it's HD-DVD drive.

Mustang5L5 said:

No i screwed up. I meant PS3.

Click to expand...

no worries! if i saw someone already caught it i wouldnt have said anything

i just got a little excited. i thought i didnt get "the memo" in regards to 360 + blu-ray that would be pretty awesome!

i'm saving my money for this......


http://www.mempile.com/TeraDisc™+Technology/

Another thing to consider is that with it's superior storage space, BR offers the ability for better soundtracks and more "special features."

I just got Cars and Ratatouille on BR, and let me tell you they're SICK on my Pana 58" plasma. Apocalypto, Casino Royale, and Fifth Element (remastered) are all reference material as well

I have a 360 with the hd drive. It's badass. I enjoy it and do not notice a difference with the guy down the hall from me in our dorm on his ps3. He has it hooked with HDMI. I just have the analog for the 360. I have HDMI on the 360 but not on my tv. They are both clear and very sharp and the colors are brilliant!

It's all a matter of what camp you are in. I am in the Microsoft camp and hate Sony for their $100 worth of parts in a product and sell it for $400. In my dorm there are 5 people with 360's and 2 guys with Wii's. No one has a PS3.(the guy I reffered to had a friend that brought it over) Most everyone is playing GH3 or Call of Duty 4 or Rock band.

Paramount did drop BRD for HD DVD (Microsoft made a deal) Thats why you can't get Transformers on BRD. There is a player out there made by LG called the Super Blu that plays both formats. But at $1000 a pop its stupid to buy now. But at least you will be set no matter what format wins.

Toshiba made HD DVD and Sony made BluRay. Both formats are the same thing just different names. Except the storage. Toshiba makes the same thing as Sony. Just Toshiba makes it alot cheaper for the consumer.

Both formats promise crystal-clear video that should--and damn well better--trump the HD picture that you get from your cable or satellite provider, and even over-the-air transmissions, which often suffer from overly aggressive digital compression, as anyone whose watched NBC's Conan or Leno artifact-laden talk shows can attest.

Mustang5L5 said:

I hope not. A lot of my friends are picking up 720P TV's thinking 1080P is 2-3 years away.

I keep telling them that 720P might be obsolete in a year or so so why bother?

I just got a brand new 50" 1080P plasma and definitely want to see broadcast cable evolve to the 1080P format. Movies are incredible and i enjoy 1080i like HD theater. The other night i watched a special on Preying Mantis's just because the picture was just so damn good.

Click to expand...

The 720's are going away but you can get a killer deal on them, I got my Sony
46 for $1000. last summer. The HD on it is very nice to say the least.
Its been proven that at a distance of over 15 feet you cant tell the difference
between 1080 or 720.

streethorse said:

The 720's are going away but you can get a killer deal on them, I got my Sony
46 for $1000. last summer. The HD on it is very nice to say the least.
Its been proven that at a distance of over 15 feet you cant tell the difference
between 1080 or 720.

Click to expand...

dont say that outloud, you may get lynched