Why do people belive in HD-DVD?

[karlsen]

I have for the last years been reading about this fantastic new thing that is going to take over after DVD in only a few years. First it was called BluRay and now it is HD-DVD.

The fun thing about this is that I can honestly not see any good reason why the avarage Joe should go out and buy this new format, it is not going to give him anything more then better picture and does he realy care about that?

There is one reason why the DVD was so populare and that is because it was so small, and contained that much more then just the movie.

A few years back we had the Laserdisc and it was way superiour to VHS but sadly it was to big and I bet that was the reason.

Now we have the DVDs and I can realy not see why the avarage Joe would go out and buy a new player when he already have a DVD player.

Lets look into what the HD-DVD gives us that the DVD does not:

More storage

Ok, this would be good if we got more extras but I don't think that would be the case. The reason why a 2 disc set is so costly is not because it contains 2 discs but because it contains a lot of stuff.

But more storage leads to the second advantage:

Better picture and sound

To the big movie fans this will be fun, and I bet they would want this, but is the avarage Joe interested in better picture and better sound then what he already have? I don't belive he does.

IF there is coming any new formats it will just get the popularity of the Laserdisc.

I am not that stupid that I belive that the evolutions will stop now, no sir. But I do belive that a new leading format will be atleast 20-30 years ahead in time and nothing that we should be worying about now.

If anybody doesen't agree with me on this (and I bet many dont) please let me know why you think Avarage Joe would go out and buy this new format.

[Maerj]

I agree with most of what you said...Average Joe won't go out aand buy the new format. Upgrading from VHS to DVD is a major jump, its not such a major jump from DVD to HD-DVD. I think that it is way too soon for a new format at this point as many of us have been spending lots of money upgrading our collections and aren't going to look forward to doing it again any time soon.

The only thing I disagree with is a new format in 20-30 years. Technology moves too fast, there will be other formats long before that, whether or not people upgrade to them will be the real question.

[DreamerQ18]

I agree with both comments and I would consider myself an average Joe because for me VHS to DVD really was a big jump and a hard one a lot of money invested and I have to admitt that sometimes I even doubt VHS will go away but I know thats just mme being foolish.However I know I would not buy this new format not unless I felt I had to like DVDs.

[deathie mouse]

Even tho i'm one who dreams of Blue-ray dvd, or even better than Blue-ray dvd, I know that to the average person with an average display, it won't make a diference. So I agree with karlsen about most everything!

One of the main reasons I started buying DVDs in quantities was cus I realized a fewyears ago it'd be at least a decade (if not twice more) before i could buy any movie i wanted in high definition and watch it properly.

the latest "new" but "lesser quality so its more compatible" HD-DVD format proposed leaves me even more cold. You'll have to buy a $$$$$ display, and re-buy most of your collection for something that still won't look good as the movie theater? just a little better than the current DVD's?? no thanks, i'll pass till something that really blows my mind comes over. and it's plenty available.

I already buy PAL dvds for movies that i really like, I get from those the equivalent of excellent 16mm quality. I don't want HD-DVDs with like-20mm quality, I want full 35mm Cinemascope/Panavision quality and/or even better/ 70mmVistaVisionTechnirama quality if im gonna make the jump. The first displays able to do that start selling this summer. DVD's took 6 years to get to the present levels, from launch time to almost everything you want is comming soon level. And everybody wanted it like carazy and didn't really have to dump their old TVs to get to use them.
So mmm... 2010 for HD dvds to get to this level with everybody and their pets throwing out TV sets? Difficult. It be a while.
(Unless Sony Tristar really surprises us and starts selling ultra definition Blue Ray dvds of the Fifth Element along with Sony ultraHDefinition 50" trinitrons like hotcakes. Heh, even people going to the movies today sit in the back rows not even being able to see the more than a 1000 lines of definition of 35 mm film. Why would they want that on their homes if they don't sit close enough to the theater screen to be able to see it in the first place?

I want a real jump in quality that makes it worthwhile. I'm afraid I'm not gonna get it in a looong time.

Sooo, hey, in christmas im getting the next wave of Treasures on DVD in good 16mm quality. What are you doing?

[MickeyMousePal]

I agree with all of you I really don't think an average joe is going to by HD-DVD since you have to buy a new television, DVD player and also start your collection over again. I heard that the HD-DVD would cost 10% more then a regular DVD. I really hope that VHS, DVD and HD-DVD are going to be all available at the same time.
I'm not going to jump from DVD to HD-DVD and I predict that it won't be a popular bandwagon either.
I know that HD-DVD will have more room then a regular DVD and HD-DVD will have better picture quality then a regular DVD but the average joe won't care since they don't earn loss of money.
I know people that don't even buy a regular DVD and now a HD-DVD.
I know that HD-DVD is just trying to improve technology but this is to soon why not wait till 2010 or beyond. What next Extra HD-DVD with a new DVD feature that you could buy Wider Screen.
Like I said before I'm going to sick with the regular DVD's.

[Kim Olav Svines]

I'm looking forward to HD-DVD, although I'm not Average Joe. I have a big home cinema, I will of course benefit from the new format. As long as it will be easily available, I don't care if it's 10% more expensive (such a small difference, it's not even noticeable). My DVD player is 2-3 years old already, so I need to get me a new one anyway.

But yes, I do agree with Karlsen about the Average Joe, but it doesn't really concern me as long as it will be available. Although they should have gone with a format that would be backwards-compatible.

[Mermaid Kelly]

I'm not really that excited about HD-DVD, I think if they wait longer it will be more popular.....like what MickeyMousePal said around 2010 or even a little later seems fair.

[Lady]

I think I read somewhere that it takes people 10 years to warm up to a new product. The article was saying it took around 10 years for the DVD player to really supplant the VHS player from when it was first introduced.

Anyways, I don't think DVD (or even VHS) will become obsolete anytime soon because some of my favorite old made-for-tv movies and shows are only available on VHS because they weren't popular enough to warrant a DVD upgrade. I'm sure the same thing will happen with less popular DVD titles and people will hold onto their DVD players even when HD-DVD comes out so they can still view their less popular favorites.

[yoda_four]

I think I read somewhere that it takes people 10 years to warm up to a new product. The article was saying it took around 10 years for the DVD player to really supplant the VHS player from when it was first introduced.

Anyways, I don't think DVD (or even VHS) will become obsolete anytime soon because some of my favorite old made-for-tv movies and shows are only available on VHS because they weren't popular enough to warrant a DVD upgrade. I'm sure the same thing will happen with less popular DVD titles and people will hold onto their DVD players even when HD-DVD comes out so they can still view their less popular favorites.

Actually, the DVD was released in 1997, and outperformed VHS by 2002, so that means only about 5 years; but that was also a considerable difference between DVD and VHS.

As I've previously read, HD-DVD is not meant to replace DVD or even VHS; it's so that those people that want better can get better. Most of the industry knows that it'll take a long time for the "Average Joe" to adopt the format. At least those that are smart will only need a new DVD player to view this hi-def format, as most TVs are HD compatible.

It would really be nice to be getting, like deathie mouse said, UltraDefDVD; but that's a llllllong way into the future. As far as I can see, Blu-Ray does have a few good features, worthy of a Star Wars or Alien Quadrilogy (plus this summer's 5th sequel) rerelease in Hi-Def, which quite a lot of people would buy.

But in the end, all we can do is adopt or not. You can be waiting till 2020 for UltraDVD, or even 2010 till a secure HD format is decided upon. Look at the whole debacle in HDTV right now; just imagine this in HD-DVD.

[MickeyMouseboy]

well considering that i'm a technology freak and i've been buying DVD since 1998. i'll prob. upgrade to HD-DVD as it comes out just like I did DVD.

[Lady]

Actually, the DVD was released in 1997, and outperformed VHS by 2002, so that means only about 5 years; but that was also a considerable difference between DVD and VHS.

Hm. . . maybe it was the internet then that took 10 years to catch on?

it'll be funny when VHS tapes are considered collector's items for their rarity. kinda like obscure music records today. . . and VHS players, like record players, will be considered antiques!