HD-DVD officially dead (finally!)

[Joe Redifer]

HD isn't dead.  I think 30% of US consumers have HDTVs now.  It's just beginning!  Not sure what a Bop Bop Peranu is (Keranu's cousin, maybe?) but he is wrong.

[Michael Helgeson]

Just pokin fun with Zombie Bop Bop Peranu. Yea,High Def media itself is just starting to take off well,but rather forced.
Really the market wasn't ready for it. I think part of it was just because we took so long to make composite based signal items phased out,esp VHS. Because they continued to support VHS so strongly half way through DVDs life alot of people out there were pretty late adapters to DVD,and now are going to have slightly disgruntled feelings. People were just getting used to S-video and Component on SDTV,and now they are going to be irked as they are expected as consumers to jump into the next big thing. I expect that even though HDTV will be the standard due to the FCC,ect,the majority of the nation will stick to SDTV sets well into 2012 until their Tvs die natural deaths.

[SignOfZeta]

Bop Bop Peranu says HD is dead,buy more DVDs.

What the hell? Did Validus hijack Michael Helgeson's account or something? Actually, for either one of them this is a pretty dumb-ass post.

[nodtveidt]

I got into DVDs very late myself; didn't even buy anything capable of playing DVDs until I got my PS2. That was just a few years ago. I'm certainly not switching to HD anytime soon.

[Necromancer]

Yea,High Def media itself is just starting to take off well,but rather forced.
Really the market wasn't ready for it. I think part of it was just because we took so long to make composite based signal items phased out,esp VHS. Because they continued to support VHS so strongly half way through DVDs life alot of people out there were pretty late adapters to DVD,and now are going to have slightly disgruntled feelings.

The gubmint mandated digital broadcasts, not high-def. broadcasts; if the market wasn't ready for it, then people would still be buying the same old stuff.  For the average consumer, it doesn't make sense to pay good money for a 250lb 35" CRT, when they can get a sleek and sexy LCD for just a bit more.  Besides, three out of four homes have cable or satellite service, so the changeover doesn't really effect them one bit, yet they're still buying fancy new LCDs (which are high-def simply because it doesn't substantially increase the manufacturing cost).

[Michael Helgeson]

For all the sexy sleek HD LCDs out there,I don't know a single person who owns one except for a few people on gaming forums,not in person. Yea,they are selling alot,but not widely taking over everywhere yet,regardless of all the hype in the media. For that matter,when I do go for  a HD set up,Ill be sticking to something CRT based. I don't like LCD displays. I never have. They currently are not as durable,and I don't see them being anymore so in 2-3 years.

I got into DVDs very late myself; didn't even buy anything capable of playing DVDs until I got my PS2. That was just a few years ago. I'm certainly not switching to HD anytime soon.

Same here. I didn't start buying dvds until around 2004-2005. Im going to keep buying movies on that format for quite a bit longer before I go to anything else.

[Necromancer]

For all the sexy sleek HD LCDs out there,I don't know a single person who owns one except for a few people on gaming forums,not in person. Yea,they are selling alot,but not widely taking over everywhere yet,regardless of all the hype in the media.

If you don't think that LCDs are taking over, then explain why they're the only thing available in the 32"-50" range that isn't complete junk (I'm lumping Plasmas in with LCDs, since the average consumer doesn't care).  People haven't swapped every set in the house for a LCD, but when it comes time to replace a set, the majority of people are buying LCDs unless it's a little 19" set in the kitchen or the kids' room.

For that matter,when I do go for  a HD set up,Ill be sticking to something CRT based. I don't like LCD displays. I never have. They currently are not as durable,and I don't see them being anymore so in 2-3 years.

I don't blame you, but that means that you'll either be buying low-end crap, a used set, or a pricey front projection unit.  Nobody has made a quality HD direct view set in years, which makes me sad that I didn't pick up a Sony KD34XBR960 when local stores closed 'em out for $750.

[nectarsis]

^ What do ya mean..Sony still has the Wega CRT hi-defs??

[Keranu]

I agree with Michael, I would stay away from LCD and Plasma myself I were to buy an HDTV. However there is a new type of TV being made called laser TV, which you can tell is awesome already by the name, which I think would fix all of our TV problems. Unfortunately it hasn't been released yet and it hasn't been really picking up yet.

[Necromancer]

^ What do ya mean..Sony still has the Wega CRT hi-defs??

No, they don't.  The aforementioned XBR960 was the last Superfinepitch tube, and that was a 2005 model.  It was replaced in 2006 by the XBR970, but those sets used the lesser quality tubes found in previous non-XBR models.  Either way, they've been gone for quite a while.

On a side note, I see that Sony has abandoned the rear projection market.  The 37" model would've interested me based on size, but it didn't have the best picture quality and wasn't very reliable.  The larger models look quite nice, but I'd rather go front projection if I'm going to spend that much coin.

I agree with Michael, I would stay away from LCD and Plasma myself I were to buy an HDTV. However there is a new type of TV being made called laser TV, which you can tell is awesome already by the name, which I think would fix all of our TV problems. Unfortunately it hasn't been released yet and it hasn't been really picking up yet.

Meh.  That's just a modified DLP rear projection - I doubt that it'll perform much better than a LED based DLP set.  If you want play the waiting game, wait for SED displays.

[SignOfZeta]

My friend bought in hugh jazz Sony CRT in 2004 or so. Its so stupidly heavy that moving it should require unionized skilled trades people and a UN resolution, and it won't go all the way to 1080p, but the truth is I really like it. Even with warped edges (never seen a Sony without them) is nice because HDDVDs look great on it, and more importantly PC Engine, Famicom, SNES, etc look *really* good on it.

I can't remember the last time I saw something like that in a store though.

[Joe Redifer]

I have the Sony XBR960.  It's OK.  It's pretty small (only 34 inches) and only ouputs 1080i or 480p (it can accept 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i inputs, though).  The geometry is f*cked in the corners.  I don't like that.  Different resolutions have different problems.  So if you try to fix one problem in the service menu, it f*cks up the other resolutions in some way.  I'd much rather have a 1080p projector.  I'm not on the market for one now, but hopefully someday soon.

[nat]

Even with warped edges (never seen a Sony without them) is nice because HDDVDs look great on it, and more importantly PC Engine, Famicom, SNES, etc look *really* good on it.

I have a flat screen 29" JVC SDTV CRT that sounds a lot like that (minus all the HD stuff). Classic game systems look SO GOOD on it, even in composite. It has the best composite picture I've ever seen, almost as crisp as S-Video on the same set. The colors are so vibrant. You never hear anything about JVC sets, good or bad. I can't say enough good things about this one, though.

[SignOfZeta]

The better sets from the 90s had killer comb filters in them because they were trying to make laserdiscs look good. This carries over to stuff like PCE, and SFC as well. Now this sort of thing isn't really a concern since all new sources have at least component. Its sad, really.

[Kitsunexus]

The better sets from the 90s had killer comb filters in them because they were trying to make laserdiscs look good. This carries over to stuff like PCE, and SFC as well. Now this sort of thing isn't really a concern since all new sources have at least component. Its sad, really.

My HDTV has a 3D colorcomb filter in it. 0_0