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Image Courtesy Ron-P, AVSForum.com
BestBuy stores are getting limited supplies of Toshiba's HD-DVD player

Toshiba's many times delayed HD-A1, HD-DVD player has finally been shipped to retail locations including BestBuy even though titles are not yet available. Ron-P from Surf City, CA, a member of the AVSForum website, has thrown down his cash for the set top player, about $578.73 including a $40 service plan and tax in his market.

Toshiba's HD-DVD players began shipping in Japan the last of March and the American consumer market has been waiting on the devices since their announcement. With a few delays due to reasons of content availability and some premature launch date announcements, the player is finally here in the US.

Content is expected within the next few weeks, but many are not completely optimistic as HD-DVD titles have been delayed a few times already.

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Why??
By THEREALJMAN73 on 4/17/2006 4:02:09 PM , Rating: 2
Why would anyone buy this?
1) No standard format yet
2) No movies
3) Holds less space than b-ray

I don't see any reason to even concider this device. It's only apeal is name recognition which may be enough to make it a winner but I hope not. HD-DVD sounds a lot better than Blu Ray.




RE: Why??
By QueBert on 4/17/2006 4:11:13 PM , Rating: 2
some people need the latest technology. As far as HD not having support, true. But, this one's $299, where the first Bluray will be over a thousand. I'd go with this if price was an issue,HDDVD will have plenty of support shortly


RE: Why??
By brshoemak on 4/17/2006 4:18:09 PM , Rating: 2
We need early adopters will to shell out big bucks for new (possibly buggy) hardware so we can all bask in the glory of Hi-Def. I would honestly like to see the two standards fight for a while. A war of HD-DVD vs. Blue-Ray would force both sides to make concessions to the other to stay competitive. Lower prices for Blue-Ray, higher capacity for HD-DVD. Even when one of them fails, the winner *should* at that point have the best of both worlds. One can hope at least.


RE: Why??
By Madellga on 4/17/2006 4:48:48 PM , Rating: 2
I know very little about both technologies, but it looks like that HD-DVD allows the user to make "controlled" copies of the content, like for portable players.
Microsoft likes it.

Blue-Ray doesn't allow anything. And it is the format most studios want. And it is the Sony format.

For that alone, I would rather support HD-DVD....

PS: Does anyone knows if these knew formats will have also Regions like DVDs?


Mandatory Managed Copy
By hmurchison on 4/17/2006 4:54:49 PM , Rating: 2
The copying feature is a function of the AACS copy protection. Mandatory Managed Copy allows for the DRM'd copy of a movie to be put on a drive. Both formats should allow this but they're still fleshing things out first. MMC won't be free most likely.

I believe the USA and Japan are now in the same region so you Anime fans now don't have to go through exorbitant means to get your movies.


RE: Why??
By bunnyfubbles on 4/17/2006 5:09:59 PM , Rating: 2
On the contrary, I thought the industry wants HDDVD due to its easy upgrade from DVD. Sony is one thats pushing BluRay mostly because its their baby, and since they're also in the movie industry they have some influence to get some others on their side.


Regions
By Exodus220 on 4/17/2006 6:44:14 PM , Rating: 2
Sony has stated that their BluRay games for the PS3 will not be region coded and will work for any PS3 in any area...they said this is most likely possible because the disc is so big so they have room to place two versions on a disc instead of producing different discs. Perhaps this will increase world sales. HOwever, your reason to not support Sony is silly, I hate hearing people attack Sony even though they have done much for the electronics industry.


RE: Regions
By Zelvek on 4/17/2006 7:55:55 PM , Rating: 2
Who cares if they have done lots for the industry that is their past. Their recent polocies have been sick they treat costomers like shit their warenties are harder to get anything out of than most anyone else, they are too expensive and they keep pushing different formats. sure they have been good for the industry in the past but as of late they seem to be doing more harm than good.


RE: Why??
By hmurchison on 4/17/2006 4:47:47 PM , Rating: 4
Why would anyone buy this.

1. HD-DVD is the DVD Forum "approved" format. Blu Ray was never submitted to the forum for consideration. Thus HD-DVD is likely more "standard" than Blu Ray.

2. Check Amazon.com they have pre-orders for like 15 movies. Netflix will be renting the movies and the units upscale your current dvds to 1080i.

3. 30GB HD-DVDs offer 4+ hours of HD content. Does space really matter when you're buying a precorded disc?

I don't see any reason not to consider the device. It's appeal is price $499 and quality as the movies can look gorgeous. I've seen King Kong playing on a 65" Toshiba WOW.



RE: Why??
By bunnyfubbles on 4/17/2006 5:17:58 PM , Rating: 2
When the recordable discs come out, I'd rather have 25GB per layer with BluRays than 15GB per layer with HDDVDs. Heck, you should be able to fit most HD movies onto a SL BluRay disc.


Recordables
By hmurchison on 4/17/2006 5:37:44 PM , Rating: 2
http://www.hddvdprg.com/hddvd/hddvd_4.html

HD-DVD-R 15GB or 30GB double sided

HD-DVR-RW 20GB or 40GB double side

To me it all boils down to cost. Both hold enough for me to be happy with.


RE: Why??
By Zelvek on 4/17/2006 7:58:10 PM , Rating: 2
who cares if blu ray cost more?


RE: Why??
By Zelvek on 4/17/2006 8:07:32 PM , Rating: 2
that came out wroung I meen who cares if it can fit that on a single lay if it cost you more?


RE: Why??
By Wwhat on 4/19/2006 7:55:45 AM , Rating: 2
They released porn movies already I hear.
quote:
By Charlie Demerjian: Tuesday 18 April 2006, 07:13 WHAT WAS THE FIRST HD DVD title to have a press release hit my inbox? Porn of course, that much is obvious, but the title was a bit of a shock, the nasty 1972 exploitation movie Deep Throat. It will be the first of four titles, said the firm. All will be 'hybrid' releases, with two disks in each release. The first will be a standard def version and the XBox360 WMV/HD version on the flip side. The second disc will have the full HD-DVD copy.



Waiting
By Schadenfroh on 4/17/2006 3:57:46 PM , Rating: 3
I am going to wait untill there is a clear winner in the BluRay and HDDVD war. Hopefully, we will just have one format win.




RE: Waiting
By allometry on 4/17/2006 4:04:59 PM , Rating: 2
I'd like to say the same thing, however you have to realize this may be a long wait -- a very long wait.

There's no telling if either format will win out. With the Playstation 3 due out within the decade, the push behind blu-ray will increase parallel to Microsof's push behind HDDVD with XBOX.

My point to saying all this is, wait until the desktop sets combining both BD and HDDVD become available. From how it looks now, both platforms are here to stay...


X360 is not HDDVD
By Exodus220 on 4/17/2006 6:48:11 PM , Rating: 2
I don't knwo if you ever read this, but Microsoft will not support HD DVD for the purpose of making games, it will only create an add-on peripheral that allows the X360 to play HD DVD movies and nothing else. What is the point of that? Why not just buy the separate stand alone player instead of some accessory for your super expensive toy to play movies? Sony, on the other hand, will have their PS3 able to play HD content out of the box, with full support and no need to buy an upgrade or add-on device later.


RE: X360 is not HDDVD
By Decaydence on 4/17/2006 7:08:29 PM , Rating: 2
The only way the 360 drive will be advantageous in any way will be if they can keep the cost down. Because it will only be a barebone drive they should be able to keep the price well under that of a standalone player. If I already own a 360 and i'm choosing between a $150 add-on HDDVD player and a $400 standalone, I'll pick up the add-on.

As far as it not playing games, there have been quite a few good analyses on this and the conclusion tends to be that DVD-9 is more than enough for the entirety of this (next) generation. There are even some schools of though that say the extra storage could promote sloppiness on the part of developers (though this is of course speculation). I personally have no problem with multiple-disc games either. If it keeps prices down, I would rather have two dvd-9's than one blu ray disc. Remember FF7? Multiple discs never presented me with too much hassle.


RE: X360 is not HDDVD
By Exodus220 on 4/17/2006 7:17:45 PM , Rating: 2
I like the FF games with multiple discs because I could lend one disc to my friend and we woudl play at about the same pace, they would only be somewhat behind me.


RE: Waiting
By DangerIsGo on 4/17/2006 4:08:49 PM , Rating: 1
Can you say DVD+R and DVD-R? There was no clear winner there, what makes you think there will be one here? Both standards will be mainstream, just like +/-. You pick whichever one you like.


RE: Waiting
By bunnyfubbles on 4/17/2006 5:06:37 PM , Rating: 2
The differences between + and - DVDs were fairly negligable, whereas (from what I understand) the differences between BluRay and HDDVD are more different, thus there should be a format that is technically superior and should probably win (that format being BluRay.

Although I don't claim to be an expert on the issue, my understanding of the two formats isn't that great and I've read somethings about HDDVD that make it sound not as obviously inferior as I once thought it would be.


RE: Waiting
By lennylim on 4/17/2006 5:08:16 PM , Rating: 2
Fry's Electronics in SF Bay Area advertised 3 movies available on April 18th "subject to manufacturer's delivery" for $20. Google for the ad in SJ Mercury if you're curious.