After changing my VHS collection for a DVD collection, I cant see how I will ever get around (or afford) to go from DVD to either HD-DVD or Blue-Ray.

The machines are too expensive.
There are 2 rival formats.
There are few combi machines - which are even more expensive.
The machines only Playback.

Even when/if they bring out HD-DVD or Blue-Ray recorders, the cost of those will be too high for most people, at least for many years.

And even when/if we do get to a point where people can afford them, you still have to buy or your collection again on the new style discs. By which time, another new format will be just a couple of years away again, resulting in another upgrade.

DVD only came out in about 1997, and already its being replaced.

How do they expect us to keep up?

Dave

iat the moment you are better off just getting a decent up scaler rather than buy a machine/format that could fade away.

or if you are in no hurry just wait untill after christmas there will suryl be a 'winner' once the january sales finish??

Then don't.
DVD is going nowhere with hundreds of new releases every month and cheap players. If you want a larger screen which benefits from higher resolution source material then buy a good scaler or buy into HD media, prices are comparable to first gen DVD for both hardware and media and the selection is similar.

It does not matter if you dont have a Blu ray recorder,
you can record on blu ray discs on a pc.

I dont have a hi-def TV or a blu ray player, but I have been testing hi-def video production. and find that the HD DVD has the most compatibilty problems.
Blu ray discs recorded on an external blu ray drive burn smoothly and play back on all blu ray devices and show perfect picture on all Hi def TV sets.
HD DVD plays badly when in certain machines and on certain TV sets does not fill the screen properly or has picture interference.
My experiences I would go with the Blu ray... One day in the future I will go for a Blu ray recorder with my TV...
I am happy with my 3 year old LG DVD recorder...
I see no reason to try and better my picture as todays digital transmission and dvd are clearer than the days growing up with speckly transmission and poor quality VHS tapes 3 for £1 in the market...

its the cost more than anything - even when equipment prices fall, we will still have to replace all those DVD's with HD-DVD's or BlueRay.

The thing is, I have only just managed to replace my VHS tapes with DVD's. And that took long enough and loads of £££.

Never want to go through it again, and dont see how I will ever be able to afford it (HD-DVD and Blue-Ray movies likely to more).

Dave

I remember paying £600 for a VHS recorder in 1981 and being delighted to get 3 hour tapes for only £12. Films on VHS were £40.

isnt this argument just the same as going from LP to CD or VHS to DVD?

Technology is always evolving, if you want to keep up to date you have to pay. If you're happy with what you have, keep your money.

Part of the Blu ray and HD DVD standard is that they must be "backward compatible" if you get a blu ray machine and move forward with the technology you can still play your existing dvd collection.

You may not be able to record to a blank DVD disc but I think that if you are so into the new technology this small detail would't bother you...

And many machines have bulit in "upscaler" to make the DVD as near to HD as you can get as well...

LONG LIVE BETAMAX!

Did you get a wired remote with that JBlink?

Like the hamster says, if you're happy then don't worry about new formats.

Yes thats true, but in most cases things didnt get replaced as quickly as DVD. Its this idea of format changes which happen too quickly - its expenisve to keep doing and a hassle as well. Its as if the entertainment tech is being treated like a PC - constant upgrades.

The pushers of these new DVD systems should remember what happened to SACD and DVD-A. Both were designed to replace normal CD. Both failed, and the "older" format kept going. The only problem with DVD is that if you get a new HD-Ready tv, you will suffer a picture downgrade if you use a regular DVD machine with it.

Dave

No it had a real infra red remote! Very flash! I did have a TV with an ultrasonic remote and a wired remote on a cassette deck.

We had a Hitachi 5000E vcr in the old days - it had a wired remote pause button. It cost £540 as I got 10% discount. No freeze frame - that was the upgraded 5000ER model! It only went wrong a couple of years ago - it was very well built and very heavy - one of the belts had stretched but I thought it was time to get one with a real remote!

This is what jacks me off the most when talking to customers. They all think they have to go HD when the Digital changeover happens in the next few years and its becoming the same with DVD.

HD IS A LUXURY, NOT A NECESSITY. (some will argue it is both but from a consumer point of view this is correct)

Blu-ray and HD-DVD are just enhanced viewing options. You are not being made to scrap your dvd collection and go and buy HD versions because DVD is being phased out.

VHS has had a strong market since the early 80's and DVD didnt come along in affordable form til the late 90's. Its taken 8-10 years for the public to make the transition from VHS to DVD and I still see a VHS recorder in 7 out of 10 households I go to so its not dead yet.

With the market being flooded with 2 HD formats in blu-ray and HD-DVD there is less likelyhood of either becoming the "industry standard" IMO. I feel the public will remain loyal to SD DVD for many years to come, only choosing the HD version as an enhancment.

I bought into an HD format last week, and while the image quality is better, it's not really an essential purchase at this stage of the game IMO. For a start I can still quite happily watch DVDs and have no intention to stop buying them.

I'm the opposite, DVD looks second rate now but I'd got into the mind set of not buying DVD's for the last two years so I wouldn't be double dipping like I did with VHS/Laser/DVD

It's certainly not safe to think about replacing your DVDs with one of the new formats, because neither have a secure future.

Even the computer industry hasn't settled on which format to use for data storage, games and software etc.

The day that High - Def video is streamed over the net as standard will be a wonderful day...

During the first Big Brother it was impossible to watch the net coverage jerky jittery grainy, through a 56k modem...
Now today catching up on the ITV local news and watching film reviews on msn in full screen over a broadband connection is the norm...
Computer screens are High Definition Monitors by default so viewing will be awesome once streaming issues are overcome

I have an HDTV and if I want to watch films in hi-def, then I have Sky HD for that. Besides, I like a lot of the really old films which have taken long enough to be released on DVD. I doubt a lot of them would be released in a hi-def format

First off you don't have to dump your DVD collection for a a high def replacement. One of the main reasons many people are sticking with SD DVDs is because they're perfectly good for viewing even on a large screen. It's mainly SD television where you will notice a massive difference but then that's because most digital TV channels use ridiculously high levels of compression - especially bad on Freeview.

Secondly when making your decision don't be swayed by the partisans arguments of either side. Both Blu-ray and HD DVD have their strengths and weaknesses. The Blu-ray specification is too much of a moving target right now which could (I emphasise the word could) potentially require hardware replacement in the near future. HD DVD being essentially stable has the more advanced special features/extras but the discs don't have as much capacity.

The main issue between the two formats is studio support. Until recently Blu-ray had by far the greatest studio support but that gap has narrowed recently.

Personally I think it really comes down to what your favourite movies are. Most of my favourite movies are on HD DVD so that's why I bought an HD DVD player, whereas someone who likes the more recent blockbusters such as Spider-Man will be more inclined to go for Blu-ray.

Lastly - the price issue. The high price of players is a stumbling block to widespread adoption amongst those who are quite happy with SD DVD, but Toshiba make the HD-E1 which can be got for around £150 (probably as low as £100 soon.) It's not the most advanced HD DVD player on the market but it will more than suffice if you want to dip your toe in the water plus it is one of the best SD DVD upscalers on the market, so if you later decide you want to upgrade to a more advanced high def player then you could still use it for playing your DVDs in the bedroom.

I've got an Xbox 360.

£125 will get me HD-DVD movies on my LCD TV (£25 for an HD-DVD?).

Don't fear the new formats.

I absolutely disagree with David (2) that the disc players are too expensive. If you're into games the PS3 will give you HD gaming and Blu-ray playback for £299.

How about if you're just into films and want to upgrade your current DVD collection; if you have £150 burning a hole in your pocket, don't buy an upscaling DVD player, get the HD-E1. It's not necessary to rush out and replace your DVDs with HD-DVDs, it's a great DVD upscaler as well. Try using www.lovefilm.com to rent HD-DVDs (and SD DVDs). You can even get lovefilm's service cheaper if you sign up through www.tescodvdrental.com. Prices start from £4.47/month. You'll get all the benefits that your HD Ready TV is designed to give you, and without having to buy discs for one particular format. The worst that can happen is you get stuck with a great upscaling DVD player that takes a while to intially boot up.

Even if you're ready to commit to buying the HD discs it needn't be expensive. I'll list some prices quoted from www.movietyme.com for HD-DVD and Blu-ray:-

HD-DVD
Casablanca £13.99
The Departed £17.99
Alexander Revisited £13.99
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind £12.99
Being John Malkovich £12.99

Blu-ray
Terminator 2 £13.99
Sleepy Hollow £13.99
House Of The Flying Daggers £13.99
Total Recall £12.99
Deliverance £13.99

Does this still seem too expensive?

Don't worry about which format is better quality as the transfers are identical for both. In my opinion, both formats are brilliant and affordable now. Just pick the one that suits you better (affiliated production studios, hardware price etc.) and start enjoying High Def movies now.

I'm not blind to the fact that eventually only one format is likely to survive, but by then there will also be affordable dual players, so you will have an excellent upgrade get-out-clause available whether you dipped your toes into the world of Blu-ray or HD-DVD.

one of the main problems is surely that only certain releases go onto both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. So you go one route and can't get HD movies from certain studios?

DVD all the way then.....stop the format war now before both lose

Yep that sums it up

However HD is so much better than DVD that it's worth it but not for everyone and if you are happy with DVD then don't go changing just for the hell of it.
It looks like the format war will not result in a clear winner anytime soon and viable dual format players are appearing and will fall in price.

Now if you have to replace a DVD player then a HD player might be worth considering.

It does when those films can be had on normal DVD for about £4 each. This is another reason why the HD formats are struggling.