StarDestroyer.Net BBS

The IMDb wrote:Critics Unimpressed with HD DVD

Consumer electronics writers have begun to weigh in on the new HD DVD players distributed by Toshiba this week, and most are unimpressed. Several cite an intolerably long boot-up period, a confusing menu system, and incompatible sound. But nearly all express disappointment in the picture. On smaller sets, the writers agree, the difference between HD DVD and a conventional DVD is virtually undetectable. "Bottom line is that HD DVD is great, but will you notice?" asks Ben Drawbaugh on HDBeat.com. Writing in the Los Angeles Times David Colker remarked that on larger screens he could detect a subtle difference. He added: "I tested my perceptions by switching between the two formats. I asked a colleague to close his eyes while I chose a version, then had him open them and guess: DVD or HD DVD? He got it right only about 75% of the time. So, yes, it's better. But don't expect the dramatic leap in quality that came with the transition from VHS to DVDs in the 1990s."

All in all, I continue to be very impressed with the video and audio quality of these first three HD-DVD releases. I will say, however, that I'm not absolutely blown away by it. The discs look and sound truly fantastic, no doubt, and the video/audiophiles among you are going to drool when you experience it... but I expected all that. And it's not so much better than existing DVD that you find yourself somehow enjoying the movies that much more. It's not anywhere close to the difference upgrading to standard DVD made over VHS and laserdisc, for example. And I wonder how much your average consumer is going to care.

By way of example, I was watching The Last Samurai on Tuesday night, when my wife Sarah came home from work. Sarah, as some of you know, is the business end of The Bits - she handles all of the contests, promotions and advertising. While she's not as into the technology as the rest of us are here around here, she's pretty savvy when it comes to this stuff. Anyway, she walked into the home theater and sat down to soak in the picture and sound for a bit. Then, after a few minutes of watching, she turned to me and said, "So this is HD-DVD?"

"Yeah."

"It looks good and all, but I don't know... I guess I don't see what the big deal is."

"Well... it looks more like film. More like it should."

"Yeah, but doesn't regular DVD look like film too?"

"Sure, but not as much as this does."

"Well... I don't know. I guess I just don't see what the big deal is. I could live without it."

Then she walked out and went about her business. I thought about what she said for a good long while, as I continued to watch the movie... and I finally had to come to the conclusion that she's absolutely right.

Nothing like a nice reality check from your wife to put things in perspective. Knew I married her for a reason.

Now... before you get all outraged (I can almost hear some of you scoffing: "Yeah, he must not be watching it on good equipment..." and believe me, I've already had several readers ask what kind of equipment I have since I started talking about my experience with HD-DVD), know that my home theater consists of the following: a Panasonic PT-L500U LCD front video projector driven via an HDMI/DVI adapted connection from the Toshiba HD-A1 (or my usual Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi DVD player) and displayed on a 110-inch High-Contrast Cinema Perf Da-Lite projection screen. My audio system begins with a Denon AVR-5800 receiver, and ends with a Monitor Audio Silver Series 7-speaker configuration capped by an SVS PB12-Ultra/2 subwoofer that's bigger than the engine in my frickin' car (and a special thanks out to all the fine folks at Projector Point, Da-Lite, SVS Subs and Better Cables for all their help and assistance over the years - I heartily recommend each of them to all our readers here at The Bits). All of this equipment is properly connected, fully functional and tweaked and calibrated to within an inch of its life. As a rule, I'm not one of those guys who spouts their home theater specs like it's some kind of job resume, but just know that my system is well above average and that I'm getting superb quality out of it. Are there better, more expensive systems out there? Sure... but I guarantee there aren't that many people who could really appreciate the difference.

All of this goes to my point, which is this: HD-DVD looks and sounds fantastic... just as we all expected it would. I have little doubt that Blu-ray Disc will look and sound just as good too - not better than HD-DVD mind you, but every bit as good. But how good does the video and audio quality REALLY have to get for most people to enjoy a film in their living rooms? Standard DVD looks and sounds great just as it is - it was a MASSIVE improvement over VHS and laserdisc. And the better your equipment is (and keep in mind that most people still haven't upgraded to widescreen HDTVs, upconverting DVD players and true multi-channel surround sound), the average experience of DVD is going to keep improving. There's tremendous value to be found in existing DVD, just as it is, and that will continue to be the case for years to come. So how many people are REALLY going to care enough to upgrade to a new high-definition videodisc format? How about TWO high-definition videodisc formats? Not that many, I'll bet.

Maybe, eventually, if and when there's only ONE format so people can feel comfortable spending their money on it... they'll start to upgrade to either HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disc in moderate numbers. But for now, HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc will likely remain the domain of only the most enthusiastic early adopters. And the longer the format war drags on, the greater the chance that even those consumers who MIGHT be interested will just pass on both of them, in favor of HD offerings from their cable or satellite provider, downloading... or just plain old standard DVD (like most audio consumers passed on much higher quality DVD-Audio and SACD, in favor of far lower quality iTunes or MP3 downloads, satellite radio and current CDs). DVD became the success it is not just because it had better quality going for it over VHS and laserdisc, but because it had significantly better value and convenience going for it too. HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc offer the same basic value and convenience as regular DVD, so the only real improvement is the video and audio quality. And better quality isn't always enough to separate people from their cash.

I'm certainly not trying to be a pessimist, just realistic. As cool as they are, I'm afraid I don't see HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disc becoming even half as successful as current DVD... and that's BEST case, if one of them quickly stands out as the clear and obvious choice to consumers (something I fear that isn't going to happen anytime soon). Time will tell.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Most experts seem to have declared Blu-Ray the winner even without the involvement of the PS3.

Vertigo1 wrote:IF HD-DVD drives come out for the PC, they'll be crippled to only be able to burn to maybe a disk 1/3 the size....or something moronic along the lines of that. Look how long it took for dual-layer burners to finally get released.