Toshiba HD-EP30 HD DVD Player. £119.99

daggman

Blu monkey

amazing setup that you got there, like marishka said "coolest garage ever".

respect due.

lrhassall

Current average IMDB ratings for movies released on each format in the US:

HD-DVD = 6.9
Blu-Ray = 6.7

HD-DVD Studios:

Paramount = 6.9
Universal = 6.7

Blu-Ray Studios:

Buena Vista = 6.5
Fox = 6.5
Lionsgate = 6.4
Sony Pictures = 6.4

(Warner = 7.2)

http://www.hddvdstats.com/stats.php
http://www.blu-raystats.com/stats.php

Top 5 Highest Grossing Studios of 2007 in the US:

1 Paramount Pictures 15.67%
2 Warner Bros. 14.74%
3 Buena Vista 14.00%
4 Universal 11.40%
5 Sony Pictures 10.73%

http://www.the-numbers.com/market/2007.php

Blu-Ray might have "far more" studios supporting it, but generally they are smaller and make less popular movies. I have to admit losing Warner support in a few months will be a big setback though.

Fiddlesworth

Those stats obviously didn't translate to slightly higher HD DVD movie sales in 2007.

If you've been following the formats closely you'd know that Blu-ray has had a lot more high profile day-and-date (with the DVD) releases. IMDB stats include catalog titles/all movies released by those studios which don't sell nearly as many copies as those day-and-date releases.

lrhassall wrote: »

Current average IMDB ratings for movies released on each format in the US:

HD-DVD = 6.9
Blu-Ray = 6.7

HD-DVD Studios:

Paramount = 6.9
Universal = 6.7

Blu-Ray Studios:

Buena Vista = 6.5
Fox = 6.5
Lionsgate = 6.4
Sony Pictures = 6.4

(Warner = 7.2)

http://www.hddvdstats.com/stats.php
http://www.blu-raystats.com/stats.php

Top 5 Highest Grossing Studios of 2007 in the US:

1 Paramount Pictures 15.67%
2 Warner Bros. 14.74%
3 Buena Vista 14.00%
4 Universal 11.40%
5 Sony Pictures 10.73%

http://www.the-numbers.com/market/2007.php

Blu-Ray might have "far more" studios supporting it, but generally they are smaller and make less popular movies. I have to admit losing Warner support in a few months will be a big setback though.

stephen25uk

my one arrived today from play...have to say the picture quality is stunning,i have read all the posts in this thread and i have to say..i dont care about stats,format wars or what might or might not happen,i have a full 1080p hd dvd player with 7 free hd_dvds which alone are worth 100 quid..total price 119.99....i can now utilise my 1080p lcd to its full potential so i am more than happy

BluMonkey

stephen25uk wrote: »

my one arrived today from play...have to say the picture quality is stunning,i have read all the posts in this thread and i have to say..i dont care about stats,format wars or what might or might not happen,i have a full 1080p hd dvd player with 7 free hd_dvds which alone are worth 100 quid..total price 119.99....i can now utilise my 1080p lcd to its full potential so i am more than happy

well put your happy and thats all that matters :beer:

BTW my new setup is now online http://www.domainmonkey.co.uk/cinema

delluver

better off putting the money towards a PS3!!! v happy with it and my blu ray collection & my 46" Samsung. Whey hey! :T :j :beer: :rotfl:

gromituk

malcyplop wrote: »

Official MoneySavingExpert.com insert:

...

What's good about it?

Aside from playing the new high-res HD-DVDs, this box'll also 'upscale' the DVDs you already own, changing their resolution to fit your screen's. This can make a substantial difference, as many flat-screen TVs (especially LCD models) only look really good in their 'native' resolution, and on other settings shapes can appear blocky or lack sharpness.

...

- MSE Lawrence

Are you sure you haven't fallen for the marketing garbage and are giving us duff information here? After all, if you don't "upscale" in the DVD player, your TV will do the "upscaling" itself. Who is to say that the DVD player can do a better job, considering that it knows nothing about the characteristics of the particular panel in your set so can't be optimised for it? And even if the upscaler inside a DVD player is better than the one inside the television set, do you realise that the signal you feed into the HDMI socket on the TV set, even when at the panel's resolution, does not go straight to the panel but is "upscaled" again because the set will overscan, i.e. magnify the picture and chop off the edges? So you don't even bypass supposedly inferior circuitry in the set by using an external "upscaler".

Shoppaholic12345

stephen25uk wrote: »

my one arrived today from play...have to say the picture quality is stunning,i have read all the posts in this thread and i have to say..i dont care about stats,format wars or what might or might not happen,i have a full 1080p hd dvd player with 7 free hd_dvds which alone are worth 100 quid..total price 119.99....i can now utilise my 1080p lcd to its full potential so i am more than happy

Mine arrived yesterday. It's fantastic. I got it for £114 with a 5% discount code and another £5 via Quidco. Got it region hacked as well.

Filled out the free films form and sent it off too. :j

gromituk

MORPH3US wrote: »

Reason I ask is because I hate Sony for the way they always try and screw everyone with their propriertry (sp?) technologies and try and charge the earth for them screwing other manufacturers and the consumer in the process...

Oh I agree with you there, but console yourself with the fact that the other format is supported by the biggest monopolist of them all - Microsoft.

mertuk

I have a PS3 and a Sony 46" full 1080p TV, I went for the PS3 to play games on and watch Blu-ray movies. It does look like Blu-ray will ultimately be the stronger format in the long run.

I bought the HD-DVD player from play because it's a fantastic deal especially coming with those free movies, I also get the best of both worlds in HD.

HD-DVD will still be around for a long time, for £120 it's a good buy.

Buy one and have fun.