Pro blu rayNov 2nd, 2007 - 15:21:17

I would be very surprised if that cheap hd dvd player does full 1080p. I know that toshibas entry level player do only 1080i. Why buy discs that have 1080p, and then buy a player that only supports 1080i. Price will not win the war, picture and sound quality will. discs that hold more memory are better (blu-ray).

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ArtNov 2nd, 2007 - 15:36:07

Sorry man, but price is king. Moreover, the difference in 720p/1080i and 1080p are not significantly apparent until you have a screen 50' and larger (and sit a resonable distance). Google it if you don't believe me. And finally, the 'average' consumer does not have a $2000+, 50', 1080p tv, so a low priced HD DVD player will suit them just fine.

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HD DVD is the way to goNov 2nd, 2007 - 15:42:55

To the poster who produced something as idiotic as 'why use a 1080i player to play 1080p HD DVD disks'.
How you pass the 1080p video from the disk to the TV will make no different on your 1080p tv:
1) HD DVD players reads 1080p and passes 1080i to TV
2) TV accepts 1080i and converts it to 1080p again, for displaying.
No plasma/LCD TV is even capable of displaying 1080i, they will upconvert to 1080p.
HD-A2 is an excellent player, and honestly whatever difference I see from it comparing to XA2 is I believe in the eyes of the beholder - I am not sure I c any difference. From 8 feet away there is no difference at all.

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There's no bad news, just bad reporters......Nov 2nd, 2007 - 15:45:46

Jesus. The $98 deal is a one day sale of obsolete equipment, a dumping of old stock. If you doubt me, just look at how much they're selling for in states with anti-dumping laws. I'll save you the bother, it's $197.

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You sir, are an idiotNov 2nd, 2007 - 15:51:47

'1) HD DVD players reads 1080p and passes 1080i to TV
2) TV accepts 1080i and converts it to 1080p again, for displaying.
No plasma/LCD TV is even capable of displaying 1080i, they will upconvert to 1080p.'

Hahaha. In particular the line 'No plasma/LCD TV is even capable of displaying 1080i, they will upconvert to 1080p' is a classic.

Hint: You need to look at how a 1080i image is generated - clue 1) 'i' is for interlaced - clue 2) What's the framerate of an interlaced image?

Then come back when you've schooled yerself. March 2008 by my guess.

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RonNov 2nd, 2007 - 17:46:02

This is a one day sale. Best buy has been out of stock for a week and I spoke to several Wal-Mart employees that said each Wal-Mart only has 15 to 20 units each, so if you want one you better be there at 8:00am. I'll bet the farm Sony sells far more PS3's today. This is just another article which is trying to give the illusion that there is a war when the reality is the Blu-ray Camp is dug-in and have comment Billions in Blu-ray and will never walk away from that investment, ever. It's like people aren't listening, and don't realise Toshiba have chosen to go it alone. Toshiba and GE are co-developers of HD DVD and GE owns Universal. Paramount went exclusive because they could make 150 million for releasing Transformers and a few others on HD DVD which is a lot of money for not much. Once they fulfil their obligation they will start making Blu-ray disc's again. That time is getting close, maybe 10 months from now when Paramount will begin releasing their titles on Blu-ray. That means nobody came out for HD DVD in the industry except Microsoft which also has a vested interest as they went HD DVD because the Blu-ray camp wouldn’t accept the VC 1 Codec. Intel came out at first foe HD DVD but back tracked once they found out that Toshiba was planning to compete directly with Intel with there new cell processor. As far as Wal-Mart and K-mart are concerned they are clearing out stock of a discontinued A2 which wasn't selling anyway according to Wal-Mart Employees. Both K-Mart and Wal-Mart sell the new 40GB PS3 and will continue to do so as it is by far the best selling HD player on the market. It is also the best value as it has all the features including 1080p/24/60, HDMI ver. 1.3b and it’s a WIFI enabled game player to boot. I think it goes without saying and let me be clear, there is absolutely no way HD DVD is going to make it as it is alone and nobody is going to risk the billions necessary to keep it going when there’re up against the entire industry. Businesses don’t take risks; they will try to pick out the winner in the first place. Panasonic for instance is Matsushita Electric which makes 80% of all the consumer electronics in the world is committed to Blu-ray alone with 160 other manufactures and retailers. Don’t you think 160 to 3 is a losing battle for HD DVD? Blu-ray has been out selling HD DVD 2 to 1 in North America and 4 to 1 in Europe and thanks to the PS3 has a consumer base of approximately 7 million units world wide which is expected to grow to 11 million by March 2008 compared to Toshiba’s 170 thousand standalone players and 180 thousand Xbox players with the HD DVD drive add-on which by the way has been selling at or below the $150.00 dollar mark for the last 6 months and it’s simply not selling. Don’t forget Sony has sold 100 million PS2’s which will eventually change up to a PS3 as it has garnered a lot of brand loyalty over the years. If you were watching the World Series on Monday you would have seen Wal-Mart in a Blu-ray commercial with Target. Do you no what it cost for a commercial during the World Series. Who invests that kind of money when you’re planning on walking away from the product let alone being in the commercial promoting it? Warner Brothers VP said earlier this week that they are currently evaluating going Blu-ray exclusive. One more thing, Blu-ray is also the superior format which is really where all the support came from to begin with.

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Dear RonNov 2nd, 2007 - 18:13:59

In the end the format won't even matter when you can get a hybrid player for $100. It's sad that you typed an essay to convey nothing more than an opinion. tsk tsk

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Price mattersNov 2nd, 2007 - 18:20:21

3000+ Walmarts X 25 HD DVD players = 1 day market share gain of 75,000 units - whatever Blue Ray sold today. Great move Toshiba. HD DVD=VHS of the future.

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KMart hasn't dropped BD - Toshiba just lied......Nov 2nd, 2007 - 19:38:19

So Toshiba says K-Mart dropped Blu Ray did they?

In a statement released late Thursday, Kmart VP Jonathan Magasanik said the following:

There have been numerous statements in the media today, attributed to Toshiba, indicating exclusive support for the HD DVD format in Kmart stores. These statements are false. Kmart intends to support both the HD DVD and Blu-ray platforms, and has no plans to support either platform exclusively.'

I can't link the article due to restrictions on this site, but just Google the above quote, the headline 'Kmart: We're Purple', or go to Highdef Digest and look at article 1137 (and see some quality journalism).

Funny that isn't getting as much press as 'K-mart drops BD' eh?

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Chris MNov 2nd, 2007 - 21:03:41

One of these days I'll understand why people in the BD camp have this emotionaly investment in one technology format over the other.

As if your worth as a person is defined by picking the right side. A $99 HD DVD player with 5 movies is a great deal. Period, end of story. I don't care what format you have wed yourself to. That's a deal too good to pass up.

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