Confessions of a fence sitter

[Off The Fence]

Hello. This is my first post. I've been reading this forum for a while now, and thought a different perspective could help in the discussion. A little background first:

I love movies, always have. I was a mid-level early adopter since before I even knew what that was. $700.00 was the price point that I usually used as a point of entry, buying into VHS (1983,) Laserdisc (1988,) and DVD (1998) when good quality players dipped below that dollar amount. I've built three 500+ title libraries in those three formats, upgrading my home theater as I went along. Hell, I've purchased "Planet of the Apes" 8 times over these three formats! Studios love schmucks like me.

Spring 2006, I remodeled my HT, bought a Hi-Def display, and started looking at HDM. And decided to wait.

Last week I finally disconnected my laserdisc player and placed the Toshiba HD-A2 in the rack where it once sat, something that I would have done last year had it not been for this ridiculous format war. At $98.00, I couldn't resist - it was time to get some HD content in my HT. I bought three HD-DVD's (Batman Begins, King Kong, Superman the Movie.) Pretty pathetic considering I bought 20 laserdiscs the day I bought my first deck. I'm being cautious, and I'm sure I'm not alone here either. FUD is in full effect, and I'm tired of taking movies to the landfill.

Loving movies as I do, I really want to go purple, and thought seriously about buying a Blu-Ray player by year's end, but have decided against it for a number of reasons:

1) $499 for the new Panasonic isn't a bad price, but Blu-Ray may tank and that's too much to pay for a glorified upscaling DVD player.

2) I can get a Phillips for $200 (refurb,) but it got lousy reviews and is not final spec, something that I think will matter sooner rather than later.

3) The only "must have" movies that are Blu exclusive at this time are "Spider-Man" 1 and 2. Everything else is neutral or Red. (Pixar movies are fine, but not enough to get me to jump.) If "Star Wars" or "Apes" go Blu, I'm in, throwing caution to the wind.

4) I have ZERO interest in gaming, so the PS3 is a waste for me.

Here's where I'm going with all this - if there was a unified format, or even a clear winner, guys like me would be buying HDM right and left. But there's not, so the attach rates are way lower than they should be. Blu-Ray can't get it's act together from a final spec standpoint, and HD-DVD has only recently regained some momentum. Price is the only reason I chose a side, something that I'm sure got a lot of folks off the fence. BUT WE'RE STILL NOT GOING TO BUY A LOT OF MOVIES - it's just too much of a gamble. DVD still looks pretty good to most eyes, so there's a chance that we have all invested into the next laserdisc, but it takes TWO separate players to build a library.

I've never been this hesitant about tech in my life.

Thanks Toshiba and Sony.

[marine92104]

So how did you enjoy the HD DVD movies? Those are three good ones for Picture & Audio quality.

Also does your receiver have an HDMI input so you can take advantage of the Dolby TrueHD & hear the great sound? That is definitely half the experience.

Congratulations on your purchase. I hate they started with 2 formats also & it puts alot of people into the waiting mode.

Alot of the war is about greed which hurts the consumer. It's like watching 2 little kids spinning tails & trying to one up each other. I think the only people that are enjoying the war is the fanboys that love to argue & brag.

[Ph8]

Moving to "why I went HD DVD" to keep the smackdown out of this.

[double l]

3) The only "must have" movies that are Blu exclusive at this time are "Spider-Man" 1 and 2. Everything else is neutral or Red.

That's just ridiculous, I understand people have different tastes, but get serious.

[Off The Fence]

QUOTE: Also does your receiver have an HDMI input so you can take advantage of the Dolby TrueHD & hear the great sound? That is definitely half the experience.

No, but even with the DD+ it sounded like the BATMOBILE was coming through the wall!!!

Thank you for your service, Marine. My Wife's Grandpa was a platoon Sargent at Iwo Jima. Semper Fi indeed.

[Dark Lord Greg]

i agree 100% wit hwhat you say about movies offered on BluRay, I was really close to buying a PS3 for BluRay and maybe some games (already have the 360 for games and HD DVD) but didnt see many must have titles except for Die Hard, Casino Royale and The Patriot but really if Star Wars is released as a BluRay exclusive I wil be at my local Best Buy walking out with a 40gb PS3 and Star Wars in HD

[Off The Fence]

Originally Posted by double l

That's just ridiculous, I understand people have different tastes, but get serious.

Brother Double I, it's true. I dislike the "Pirates" movies intensely, and equate them with Universal's "Mummy" series. I can't buy movie just for the "eye candy" factor. Bond is also not my cup of tea, but "Alien" and "Aliens" would make my wallet open to Blu.

Give me your "musts," I'm interested, and will still probably go Blu after the New Year.

[double l]

Originally Posted by Off The Fence

Brother Double I, it's true. I dislike the "Pirates" movies intensely, and equate them with Universal's "Mummy" series. I can't buy movie just for the "eye candy" factor. Bond is also not my cup of tea, but "Alien" and "Aliens" would make my wallet open to Blu.

Give me your "musts," I'm interested, and will still probably go Blu after the New Year.

Well,POTC,Casino Royale,Halloween,Layer Cake,The Prestige,Big Fish aside. The best movie I have seen overall on either format, PQ,AQ and the movie is Kingdom of Heaven, Director's Cut. Like I said people have different tastes, but that movie is a masterpiece.

[Off The Fence]

Originally Posted by double l

Well,POTC,Casino Royale,Halloween,Layer Cake,The Prestige,Big Fish aside. The best movie I have seen overall on either format, PQ,AQ and the movie is Kingdom of Heaven, Director's Cut. Like I said people have different tastes, but that movie is a masterpiece.

See, I will buy Halloween, Prestige and Kingdom of Heaven, but only when a clear winner emerges. I've looked long and hard at "The Descent" too.

[Off The Fence]

If Spielberg and Lucas take "Raiders" to HDM, I'm there day and date, regardless of format.

[Sarang]

Originally Posted by Off The Fence

See, I will buy Halloween, Prestige and Kingdom of Heaven, but only when a clear winner emerges. I've looked long and hard at "The Descent" too.

You might not want to bother with "Halloween" as it's not faithful to the director's vision. Even when I get a Blu player I won't buy that until a proper job is done.

[redfirebird2008]

Off The Fence, the Pirates movies are no more about eye candy than Spider-Man. And, unlike Spider-Man, there's some brilliant acting in the Pirates series from the likes of Depp, Rush, Nighy, and Hollander. But hey, I certainly see where you're coming from in your criticism of it. Difference for me, however, is that I actually enjoy the Mummy movies. LOL. Sooo...Pirates is a huge reason I would ever buy a Blu-ray player, although right now paying $500 for players that aren't even ready for primetime (1.1 or higher spec) overrides any desire I have to watch the Pirates movies in HD. Now, if Warner releases The Dark Knight on Blu-ray only, then I will get a Blu-ray player no doubt about it.

[TheWrathofBambi]

You might as well jump to blu ray now if you want to. Do not worry about the formar "war" its not going to end in a month or a year or maybe even 5 years both formats could co-exsist forever people have got too quit thinking "omg im gonna buy the player and they wont be made anymore!" its not gonna happen ANY time soon.

[redfirebird2008]

Originally Posted by TheWrathofBambi

You might as well jump to blu ray now if you want to. Do not worry about the formar "war" its not going to end in a month or a year or maybe even 5 years both formats could co-exsist forever people have got too quit thinking "omg im gonna buy the player and they wont be made anymore!" its not gonna happen ANY time soon.

I'll buy a Blu-ray player when one of two things happens:

(1) The prices fall an incredible amount in the next 7 months.

(2) I graduate college and have a job in which I can easily afford a $400 electronics item. Only reason I got the HD DVD player is because my parents agreed to pay for half of it as a birthday gift, and I got 10 free movies which meant the player was FREE at $200.

[Citizen Erased]

Originally Posted by redfirebird2008

Now, if Warner releases The Dark Knight on Blu-ray only, then I will get a Blu-ray player no doubt about it.

You keep posting that, stop it! Warner are going nowhere.

Looking forward to The Dark Knight on HD DVD in 2008. (and if I'm wrong some blu fanatic will have a nice quote for his or her signature)