First HD-DVD Disc Reviews - Mixed Marks

An anonymous reader writes "As the first HD-DVD players and discs hit store shelves nationwide today, the new site High-Def DVD Digest has posted extraordinarily detailed reviews of the HD-DVD disc releases of 'Serenity' and 'The Last Samurai,' with more reviews to come later today. The site gives both discs mixed marks, with the Tom Cruise flick edging out the Whedon-fest for demonstrating more pure high-def eye-candy appeal. Also worth a look-see: a detailed account of their 'review reference system' (ie: their gear)."

Comments

plays in Peoria?, redux

[yagu]

The more I read and hear about this stuff, the less interested I become. If it were just about the difference in quality and that difference were BIG, I'd be thinking about going for some equipment, and some new DVDs. But, toss in all the other BS, this one's going nowhere. I'll wait until there's one format, or both play compatibility everywhere, DRM goes away, and a player costs less than $150.

The differences in quality as described aren't blowing me away, and I love upgrades in technology. The improvements I'm reading sound much like some digital camera reviews where they describe the difference between 8 megapixel and 3 megapixel, which unless you're blowing up to side-of-a-building size, or doing mega-cropping isn't noticeable to the casual consumer.

I posted on this yesterday. I guess I haven't changed my mind, I'll go and look for a demo somewhere where they've got it set up correctly (heh, good luck with that!), but this is going to be a non-starter for a while.

In the meantime, to the industry, please:

• make it easier
• make it compatible
• don't DRM it (translation, show a little faith in the customers' integrity, assholes!)
• make it cheaper
• make it durable
• and set it up for my friends and family, I'm tired of coming in and fixing what you're not getting right in the first place.
• consolidate the technology... I know it's complex, but the learning curve is just too darned steep for this to be a breakout technology (though I would agree this is "disruptive" in a different sense)... For those who care, here is a partial list of the technical terms and acronyms from just one of the review:
  1. TrueHD
  2. HDTV
  3. HD-DVD
  4. 720i/720p/1080i/1080p
  5. Dol by/Dolby Digital 5.1/7.1 Surround
  6. DD+
  7. VHS
  8. HD-A1/(and it's snazzier cousin HD-XA1)
  9. D-VHS HD
  10. HDMI
  11. ICT
  12. Component outs
  For the record, I thought I was up to speed and I had to look up a couple of these. Sigh.

It's Just Beginning

[WebHostingGuy]

Well, I hope you are not tired of reading; because the media hype is just going to get worse.

When both formats are up and running you will not be able to go anywhere and not read about this stuff. There is too much cash involved just to leave the decision up to the consumer. The companies backing the standards simply are not going to trust you to make the choice--they are going to let you know what to think. And the way they are going to do that is by running thousands of ads; ghost writing reviews, etc.

It's just beginning and you haven't heard nothing yet.