redford

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...onCode=dvdtalk


I clicked on the coming soon picture on the top right corner. First of all, what the heck is this? HD DVD? Errr, i'm a but confused...

# DVD Features:

* Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
* Available Audio Tracks: English (), English (), French ()
* 1080p High Definition 16x9
* Dolby True-HD English 5.1, Dolby Digital-Plus English 5.1, Dolby Digital-Plus Francais (Quebec) 5.1
* Behind the Mask: The Story of the Phantom of the Opera
* Three making-of featurettes: preproduction, the director, production
* Additional scene: No One Would Listen
* Theatrical trailer
* Cast & crew singalong


This means you need a HD dvd player?

Nimbus

Yes

More HD DVDs here http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/16297241/

Nero

The linked Toshiba HD-A1 on Amazon's website has playback in only 720P and 1080I. Why bother until you can get a 1080P player. The Toshiba is $500.

Augustes

I just heard the Toshiba has an audio problem with the HDMI connection, and the component connection is lowering the resolution to non-HD so there are too many problems with this model. Definitely wait for later models.

redford

Well, I reckon most people recently bought expensive tv's that don't do 1080p anyway, so they won't need a dvd player that does.

Nimbus

I have a slightly different question. What do people think about the entry pricing of these titles? At a list price of $29.95, do people see these coming down to a street price in the $10 range in the near future (1-2 years)? If that is the case, I have to seriously consider stopping most DVD purchases in favor of these. I mean, $2.5-5 more for 1080p over 480p would seem like a no-brainer for many titles.
aup

redford

Both formats will utilize something called Image Constraint Token. This "feature" will allow studios to select on a title-by-title basis if the picture will be down-rezzed over the analog (component) connections. At this time, no titles are using this "feature." This means waiting for a later model will not solve this problem.

The Tosh player does only do 1080i, but there are few that can take advantage of this anyway. 1080p is rumored to be available on this player by an upcoming firmware upgrade.

As far as audio, the player will still be able to in terface with your current home theater system. The audio hardware to be able to take advantage of the better audio options on the discs hasn't really hit market yet. If you are planning on buying any type of receiver in the next six months, I would seriously suggest waiting. Again, this is not a drawback of the player, but of the complementary audio hardware.

I completely understand waiting for bugs to be worked out, but the noted bugs are not legit.

Nero

Would you link to this information from Toshiba or an industry source?

Nimbus

I believe the image constraint token is a feature of Macrovision, so it's something that could potentially be used on other protected content such as digital television.

Augustes

So, what's gonna be? i mean are we going to have a forum for HD DVD bargain? Probably still too early, but for initial HD DVD release $20 for Phantom of Opera is a good price. Call it corny, but i like the music from the movie and i don't mind at all to own it on DVD (i still haven't purchase it yet, not seeing HD DVD version of it, i might just jump on that).

DVD version (two discs) is about $14, so $20 for HD DVD (two discs too i believe) is worth it.

Now, the hardware... besides the Toshiba model in the above posts, are there other players? What about those dvd players that "converts" to HD quality, do they works on HD DVDs?