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I think it boiled down to having a cooler name for the technology.

geckoinpdx — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:58:37 -0800

Now that the HD format war is apparently over, should I renew my search for a 60GB PS3, get a standalone player or wait a while longer? I knew the minute I handed over my card at the video store a while ago that I was backing the wrong horse. I went with HD-DVD anyway because at the time the number of releases were about equal and I figured, well, every HD-DVD I get is another couple of bucks Sony doesn't get from me.

I really have a problem with Sony.

But. My other half is all about the shiny new toys (and I admit that the few HD DVDs we have look pretty damned cool). I had expected that I would eventually be getting both anyway.

I was holding out for a 60GB PS3 as I need full backwards compatibility...I have too many devices as it is and want to combine where possible. There are rumours that a 120GB model is in the works which fixed what they broke with the compatibility, but I haven't seen anything really solid supporting this.

Should I resume my eBay search for the existing 60GB model (that way Sony doesn't get more money from me; childish, I know but still important in a way), get a standalone player (which one?!) or hold out for a while more?

I'd be in the market in a few weeks time, it's not like I'm rushing down to the video store after work today or anything.

War. What is it good for?

uaudio — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:54:29 -0800

Is it finally OK to buy a Blu-Ray player? Can I? Finally? Is this stupid 'format war' essentially over? I want to enjoy my new television, but I don't want to be the guy stuck with a bunch of DIVX discs.

I know its been asked before, and before, but with Warner going only Blu-Ray, is the question finally answerable?

HD Favourites

booksprite — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 03:37:00 -0800

Without getting into the old Blu-ray vs HD-DVD debate, which films would you recommend watching, which really benefit from the HD format?

Perfect HDTV picture: Buy now or wait?

stewiethegreat — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:26:09 -0800

I haven't owned a tv since 2004. Since then, I've been downloading my shows, at first at compressed HD quality, and then more recently 720p and 1080i/p. I don't want to watch broadcast TV that looks like YouTube, I want a beautiful picture. Should I wait until 2010 to get an HDTV and service? Back in the day, I had digital cable on several TVs in an apartment on the other side of the country from where I live now. When I moved in 2004, I decided to save money and productivity by eliminating broadcast and cable/sat tv from my life. Indeed, I have been far more productive as a result. But, I still download a select few shows in hi-def and watch them on my laptop. Starting this past season, I've taken to downloading all of them in 720/1080 i/p depending on the rips available.

I'm starting to get in the mood to build an entertainment system again, and my field's audio, so I have that covered. My question is about the video side:

What HDTV, tuner, upscaler, DVD, Blu-Ray/HD-DVD player and HD cable/sat video service should I get for the most beautiful visual entertainment experience? (I've heard the DirecTV's video compression sucks, for example.) Will prices on this stuff drop dramatically after the big switch to HDTV in a few years?

I'm willing to invest in good equipment. So far, everything that I've seen at Best Buy looks like a youtube video, albeit with great color saturation, and I'm not going to waste my time and money on this if that's all I'm going to get. I'm also willing to wait a few more years until the broadcast and equipment quality catches up with what I had on my CRT.

So, what do I need? Should I wait? Thanks!

Help me turn an HD DVD box into a Blue Laser Pointer!

SlyBevel — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:56:04 -0800

Help me turn an HD DVD box into a Blue Laser Pointer! I'm a bit of a laser junkie. I've had a green one for years now, and I want a blue one.

I keep reading about the coming (and current) Black Friday price wars on HD DVD boxes.

Here's the question:

Can I reasonably expect to be able to purchase a cheap HD DVD box, harvest the laser diode, and build it into a portable blue laser pointer?

I've seen this and other tutorials on harvesting a laser diode from a DVD or CD Burner and building a laser pointer from there. (But go ahead and link me to more if you know of others/better ones.)

So my question isn't really about the build, but about the laser diode itself.

1. Will it work theoretically?
2. Do I have a reasonable chance of harvesting the laser diode without ruining it? (I can solder/use solder wick, etc...)
3. Will I have to do any optical tuning to get the thing to shoot a beam across the room? (A deal breaker, as I'm not an optics geek.)
4. Standard diode power, or will I have to do some special power modulation junk? (Probably also a deal breaker. Then again, I have a couple of EE friends. So maybe on that one.)
5. HD DVD lasers are blue, right? Right? (Wiki says they are, but I really want to be sure.) Any clue what the rated mW will be on an HD DVD laser will be? I don't want to ruin my remaining eye. :)

HD DRM + PCs. Sort out yet?

krisjohn — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 19:55:37 -0800

I want a computer that can play Blu-ray and HD-DVD at full resolution out an HDMI port. And can play World of Warcraft. Can this be done yet? (Bonus points for an ultra-quiet solution.)

HD DVD and Blu-ray

Kwantsar — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:09:05 -0800

Please, tell me who is winning the format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray. Both data and (well-founded and -referenced) opinion welcome.