Gizmodo
HD DVD is dead. Officially. That may mean a whole bunch for the early-adopter tech geek crowd that's been wading in the kiddie pool of technological bickering and backhandedness for years, but what does it mean for the average consumer with only a cursory interest in high-def DVDs? Here's our cheat sheet Q&A for you to whip out if you ever have to explain the high-def format wars to your parents.
Q: I chose sides early in the HD DVD/Blu-ray shenanigans and unfortunately, made the right decision and supported HD DVD. What do I do now?
A: Try and sell your HD DVD player or Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on as fast as you can. Go list it on craigslist or eBay already. The mainstream hasn't heard about HD DVD's demise just yet, which means you can find some chump to buy your player and movies on the cheap. How soundly you sleep at night is up to you.
Q: Really? You mean my player is useless? Won't there be any more movies released on HD DVD?
A: A few more releases that are already in the pipeline might trickle out in the next couple months, but just watch as all the studios abandon the format and go exclusively Blu-ray. You're better off just selling off all your stuff unless you want to keep it around to win our retro Gizmodo tech contest of 2028.
Q: But what if I already have a gigantic HD DVD library?
A: It depends on how gigantic it is. If it's not too big, you can re-buy your library on Blu-ray. If it's huge, you might want to buy a combo player, like the one from LG, in order to ease your transition. Either way, you're going to be out a bit of money. You might want to just shoot yourself in the face now and be done with it.
Q: I chose sides early in the HD DVD/Blu-ray shenanigans and chose Blu-ray. What do I do now?
A: Besides calling up your grandmother to rub it in her face, there's not much you need to do. Just sit and wait for your favorite movies to come out on Blu-ray.
Q: Right, but how long do I have to wait, exactly, before I can watch Batman Begins on my PlayStation 3?
A: Beats me. Now that Blu-ray is the de-facto format, the studios should be falling over themselves trying to remaster their already released HD DVD movies onto Blu-ray. If we had to guess, it'd be within the year.
Q: OK, now that the war is "officially over," is it time for me to buy a Blu-ray player?
A: Maybe. It's still relatively early in the technology's lifespan, which means prices for Blu-ray players are still quite high when you compare it to the sub-$100 upscaling DVD players you can find at Wal-Mart. Plus, the BD library is incredibly thin when compared to DVD, so you might not be getting much use out of the player in your day-to-day movie watching. But if you really do want to get into the HD game (and have an HDTV to back it up), it's finally safe to buy a player.
Q: So you're saying that I'm going to be paying more for these movies on Blu-ray? When will the prices drop to DVD levels?
A: That's tough to say. For example, Superman Returns is only $14.98 for the DVD version but $23.95 for the Blu-ray version. It's going to take a few years yet for that 23 to drop to 14. If you had to force us to guess, we're going to say about three years. That's 2011.
Q: I don't buy movies, I rent them. When are Netflix and Blockbuster going to get in gear and stock a bunch of Blu-ray movies?
A: As soon as the major studios start releasing Blu-ray movies in bulk. If you recall the VHS to DVD transition, it took quite a while for VHS tapes to phase out, and this transition will be quite similar. Again, if you forced us to guess, we'd have to say 2010.
Q: Screw it, I'm convinced. I'm going to go out and buy a player today. Which player should I buy?
A: Unless you're morally opposed to gaming or having a gaming device in your living room, you should go with the PlayStation 3. It's software-upgradeable, plus it's relatively cheap even when compared to standalone Blu-ray players. You even get a gaming system thrown in.
Q: Speaking of gaming, what if I already purchased an Xbox 360 and want to be able to watch Blu-ray movies? Will I have to buy a PS3?
A: Maybe not. Even though Microsoft backed HD DVD and released an HD DVD add-on, they weren't staking their entire console on the format (hence, the add-on). This means that Microsoft has a big minus in their column when comparing the 360 to the PS3 in terms of high-def DVD playback. It's a hole they're going to want to patch up right away, so don't be surprised if you see a Blu-ray add-on for the 360 some time in the near future.
Q: Can you sum up what I, the average consumer, should do at this point in one sentence?
A: Wait one more year for the Blu-ray format to mature, for more titles to be released, and player prices to drop before jumping in.
Comments
I totally agree with #1. Screw the innocent and ignorant! Be rid of that wretched red disc before it's too late!
Im waiting till Bluray is $89 bucks.
What a sore loser, 'I chose sides early in the HD DVD/Blu-ray shenanigans and unfortunately, made the ""right"" decision and supported HD DVD.' ...
"Grandpa what's a fanboy?" "Well Johnny this is a person that believes until death that one thing is greater than another and if the object falls to its death a fanboy will continue believing foolishly that it can live forever. "Grandpa were you a fanboy?" "...!" [Grandpa begins to cry]
Does this mean that like "Betamaxed", "Blu-Rayed" is now a verb?
No cause Beta lost. It would be 'HD-DVD'd'
How long will regular DVD's still be the dominant format? VHS lasted for about 15 years, so my guess is about another 6-7 years. The FCC's decision to kill analog TV should speed up HDTV adoption and with it, Blu-Ray.
Your HD DVD player is still a nice upconverting DVD player. My 1st generation DVD player died and needed to be replaced so I picked up the Toshiba A3 for cheap before christmas with the full knowledge that if the format failed (which it has) I still had a good DVD player for the bedroom.
Q: I chose sides early in the HD DVD/Blu-ray shenanigans and chose Blu-ray. What do I do now?
A: Besides calling up your grandmother to rub it in her face, there's not much you need to do. Just sit and wait for your favorite movies to come out on Blu-ray.
And while you're waiting, start saving for a new Blu-Ray player for when the Blu-Ray 2.0 spec arrives and your player will need an internet connection. (PS3 excluded)
@demonwolf: and "superman returns " is $14.95 at its cheapest find. normally (i.e walmart, target, best buy, frys, etc.) it's still $19.99 for the DVD. DVDs are only $15 during its first week out "on sale" and then after it's been out about 5yrs. other than that they go for $19.99. that's only $5 bucks cheaper than the blu-ray. (i was at walmart yesterday and with all this going on i decided to compare :P ). but nice try in trying to make it seem like a bigger leap between the 2.......
Downside of using the PS3 as a player is the fact it's so noisy. If your at all serious about the quality of the playback the noise from that thing will drive you nuts.
@izim1: wrong person quoted...? Go bluray wooot
@Epaminondas: huh? that might be the case with the first gen 60 gig ones, my 40 gig is practically silent.
@EdgesRazor:
You may be right, although it is possible that a firmware disc can be distributed if you don't have networked BR player like PS3.
@izim1: i no, i quoted the right guy.... i was just following up in agreement with you about these guys being "sore loosers". you know, adding to your post......
Toshiba HD-DVD players still do a pretty good job as an upconverting DVD player. It's not a completely useless paperweight. They are still an upgrade over standard DVD player, especially if your TV has HDMI.
My first DVD player was from Walmart for $199, still works fine. When they the Blu Ray players are out for that price OR the 360 drive is $199 or less, then I will get one.
@Epaminondas:
The ps3 is practically silent. If any sound is playing on your movie you probably won't even hear the PS3. It's the Xbox 360 that's loud.
@What dreams may come: I have a 1st gen 60 gig and it is nearly silent.
Q: I chose sides early in the HD DVD/Blu-ray shenanigans and chose Blu-ray. What do I do now?
Don't gloat to hard - unless your Blu-ray player is a PS3, you'll be buying a new unit when the BD Live standard makes your player obsolete.
@sandmanfvr: daewoo has a $199 BD player coming out.......
@jasahl: Exactly, how many people use their PS2 as a DVD player? Close to none.
PS3 is MUCH quieter than the 360...honestly I am glad I traded mine in, I am enjoying a lot of PS2 games and some of the gems the PS3 has to offer right now. I will say I am also glad I got a $99 HDDVD player (with 14 free movies I hell I would buy a Laserdisc player for $99 - if it was in HD)
I will say anyone that is wanting to try a few very good games grab a PS3 and get Uncharted, UT3, and Ratchet & Clank Future...those are all worth a buy.
This is kind of incorrect. Every HD-DVD I have has a regular DVD on the flip side of the disc. Why sell them? They are still good DVD's?
The PS3 is poor movie player. If I told my parents to get one as a movie player they would just laugh at me.
bluetooth remote=lame
login before watching movie=lame
huge, non-stackable component=super lame
And it weighs a ton and get ugly dusty in like a day.
@IZIM1: really? Nice, will have to watch for that...
Huh? My 60GB bought the first week it was released is dead silent after hours of gaming. It's hot, but silent.
Epaminondas is an Idiot!!!
The ten million-to-300 thousand sales ratio of PS3s to Xbox 360's somebody mentioned if true was astounding. How the heck is Xbox 360 staying afloat? Oh yeah, it's backed by Msft so I guess they can stick in there no matter what.
Finding blurays at dvd retail price isnt hard to do now a days if you know where to look.
@fastm3driver: "it weighs a ton"? what do you do? walk around carrying it all over your house or what? you got a belt-clip for it?...
If your PS3 is really loud, you need to turn down the Thermostat or improve its ventilation.
Also, if you get a Sony Credit Card now, you can get a $100 credit when buying PS3.
As I've said before my HD-DVD player cost me $140 and the movies are all under $25 and now with it dead will be even cheaper. The HD quality of the movie is the same between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray sure later I'll have to get a blu-ray player and blu-ray movies but no reason to throw away what I have in fact now is the time to scoop up all the HD-DVD movies as they will be going for cheap very very soon I'm sure and while you blu-ray nuts are paying full price I'll be getting movies for a third of the cost.
What login to watch a blu-ray? Huh? Did I automate this in Novemebr and forget about it? It's fast and quiet - though the dust is a bit of an issue.
Ha. #1 doesnt make sense to me. This is the perfect time to buy an HD DVD player. Soon you'll be able to get a good player for $100 and then you can get some awesome bargain bin deals...$5-$10 movies, $20-$30 for TV series'. Its great really.
@scarbrtj: well after getting a year head-start and a big price advantage the 360 has only managed to sell twice as many as the PS3, to date. most of those sells comming from the US. and by most i mean THE MAJORITY. not to mention that the 360 has no competition for the MS fanboys hearts, where as the PS3 has to compete versus its "still kicking ass" little brother(PS2) and the baby(PSP) for the hearts of the sony fanboys.....
A year from now, I expect to have at least 16Mb download speeds, and on-demand HD catalogs should be much larger. Why buy any DVD hardware (player plus discs) at that point? (Unless, of course, you prefer to be totally unplugged from cable, satellite, or DVR services.)
What kind of tech geeks are you? If you get rid of your HD DVD player now, you will be unable to watch Star Trek Original Series season one in high definition for god knows how long it will take until a Blu Ray version to come out. I swear, sometimes you guys embarrass me.
@Razta: Why wait? You can get 4 BLu-ray discs for that much cash.
Typo on #1.. you meant to say *wrong* decision...
Sore losers...
@izim1: if they were true sony fanboys they would of gotten the ps3 dont you think?
Oh noes! Hd-DVD, I will miss you.
Interesting that Amazon is now selling HD DVD players with 7 movies for $109. Not a bad price for an upconvert DVD player with some free movies:
[www.techconsumer.com]
Any chance I can return the Xbox HDDVD add-on I got for Christmas to Circuit City (without a receipt)?
funk that. I'm buying the $199 sony-blu-ray-ROM-drive thing for the new HTPC I'm building. that's cheap enough for me to dive in.
The thing I am going to miss the most with the end of the format war is watching all the immature fanboys flame back and forth.
@fastm3driver: How many people used their PS2 as their first DVD player? *raises hand*
If you got the HD-DVD add-on for the XBox 360, try attaching it to your PC and looking for a HD-DVD ripper. Back 'em up and play 'em on your AppleTV that you just updated to Take 2.
Getting sick of the HD-DVD fanboyism.. Just exactly what we need - biased media. But then again.. who cares.
@adam12hicks: Too much alliteration. Take it back. My head hurts.
Glad I bought my XBOX 360 HD DVD drive at costco. I've been using it with a PC to watch HD DVD movies. Since I don't generally re-watch a movie, being able to rip it and save it isn't that appealing for me. I just got back from my local costco 10 minutes ago where I returned the drive for a full refund.
@What dreams may come: Nope, it's not the case for the 1st gen 60 GB. he's just wrong.
@fastm3driver: Incorrect. It's an excellent movie player. You can set-up the PS3 to login automatically to it's default primary account. If a DVD or BRD is in the machine, it will also boot the movie automatically. Even my parents can handle that.
And if you can't be taught how to use a controller as a remote, a blu-ray remote can be purchased.
Video quality is excellent, and upscaling of standard DVDs is superb.
@el bryanto: getting sick of ALL fanboyism, I totally agree with you...what we need is reviewers that don't take bribes and free stuff, media reporters that have no bias, and emotion free forum postings.
Maybe robots will come and take over the world now...we have $@#^&*%* it up enough as it is.
Netflix already has bluray movies. I didn't compare their library to what is available but I am pretty sure that they have most of what is available right now and will continue stocking new movies as they appear.
I wouldn't say it's safe to buy a BR player, considering the standard is hardly finalized in most of the available players. A PS3 is probably the safest bet, but with this group, anything could change, and your discs won't be able to play.
@Sora57:
Good point. I'm not a Blu-Ray expert, so I assumed these current Blu-Ray players didn't have network connections.
This is why I'm waiting until I'm forced to upgrade. :)
I agree with this article, wait for about a year. Unless waiting is not in your dictionary. As other people said, PS3 would be the best bet.