Let's talk Hi-Def DVD players...

[Dude]

The only... and i mean only, HD-DVD that I'm upset about is transformers. I would love to own that on blu-ray

Interesting Michael Bay comments:

Michael Bay likes Blu-ray better after all

Michael Bay, the director of the blockbuster Transformers, has once again flipped his views on the competing HD formats, commenting to USA Today that he believes Blu-ray is in fact the superior format.

Although Transformers has broken all HD DVD sales records in just over a week, Bay had this to say about Paramount’s decision to go HD DVD exclusive, , “It's short-sighted and it has delayed consumers' moving to HD (home video). As a director, my critical eye is that Blu-ray is where my money is. Consumers are smart, and they are going to wait it out.”

Bay had originally made such comments, including this quote he made immediately after Paramount’s decision. “I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me.” A few days after his rant however, he changed his mind and instead praised the pricing of HD DVD’s hardware and said that he would come back for Transformers 2.

 

[Dude]

Question:

Does the PS3 have component cable capability or is it just HDMI?

 

[sause]

You can get the component cable set for PS3. I have a set if you would like them(I went to HDMI) for some sort of compensation.

 

[drunkatuw]

I stopped by walmart on the way to work this morning and picked up a toshiba A2 HD-DVD player for $98!

I was going to buy a sony upconverting dvd player for $120, but instead I bought this. The deal was too good to pass up!

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

It comes with a component cable, you have to buy HD cables.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

I stopped by walmart on the way to work this morning and picked up a toshiba A2 HD-DVD player for $98!

I was going to buy a sony upconverting dvd player for $120, but instead I bought this. The deal was too good to pass up!

Definitely a good deal, I might get it just to have both formats. But my tv area is cluttered as it is so dunno. They are desperate to get this format into homes, sales have been SO bad up til now.

 

[drunkatuw]

It comes with a component cable, you have to buy HD cables.

I haven't had a chance to open the box yet, but people online are reporting that an HDMI cable is included. But I don't care because I already have an HDMI cable snaked thru my ceiling from my equipment closet to my projector, so I'll be ready to go.

 

[Bobby_M]

How did you get an A2 for $98? Display model?

 

[drunkatuw]

How did you get an A2 for $98? Display model?

http://holiday.ri-walmart.com/?section=secret

Secret sale this morning at 8am.

 

[Bobby_M]

Dammit.. sold out.

 

[sause]

It comes with a component cable, you have to buy HD cables.

No comma it comes with composite cables. Those are the yellow-white-red cables comma one for video and two for audio. Component cables are Red-Blue-Green and are only meant for video. Component cables can send HD signals.

 

[Whiskey]

I'm not touching either format until it is decided which one will be the "standard". I'm not going to be one of those poor folks who bought a Beta Max. Unless of course it becomes standard for players to play both formats, then I'll be all over it.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

No comma it comes with composite cables. Those are the yellow-white-red cables comma one for video and two for audio. Component cables are Red-Blue-Green and are only meant for video. Component cables can send HD signals.

I always get those names mixed up. Yea, it comes with red, yellow and white... you have to buy the one with 5 inputs and mine didn't come with an HDMI, but I bought a launch 60 gig the day it cam eout, so I dunno if they've changed that or not.

 

[drunkatuw]

I'm not touching either format until it is decided which one will be the "standard". I'm not going to be one of those poor folks who bought a Beta Max. Unless of course it becomes standard for players to play both formats, then I'll be all over it.

The toshiba HD-DVD players are some of the best upconverting dvd players on the market. So even if HD-DVD loses the format war, I'll still be able to continue watching the HD-DVDs I own and I'll be able to watch all my regular DVDs for years to come.

A decent standard dvd player costs over $100 nowadays (I'm not talking about the $30 dvd players from walmart that look great when hooked up to a 19" tv), so this is a bargain even if you don't use it for HD-DVDs.

Although if it was selling for $200, then I probably would not have bought it, but I can get 5 free HD-DVDs by mail, and if those average $20 each, then the player is essentially free!

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm not touching either format until it is decided which one will be the "standard". I'm not going to be one of those poor folks who bought a Beta Max. Unless of course it becomes standard for players to play both formats, then I'll be all over it.

AT 98 bucks, you're not exactly committing anything are you? I mean, most good upconverting SD DVD players are in this area. If you have netflix, you take the movies in HD-DVD when it's available and call it day. I'd never amass a collection of owned movies at this point though.

 

[Whiskey]

AS much as I love my Netflix subscription, I still buy DVD's I like. I'm just going to wait and see before I dump a bunch of money into a format, then find out a year later the other format gets the pick. Not to mention I currently only own region free, NTSC/PAL dvd players.

 

[Bobby_M]

That's kinda how I feel about buying SD DVD software now. I took up the Netflix sub like two years ago and stopped buying immediately.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Okay. I got a PS3 yesterday, and here's my 2 cents. P.S.: I'm a fanboy.

1. The PS3 is VERY well built. Sony does not build crap, in spite of what some may say. I'm not worried about it crapping out on me, but I still blow a quiet fan I had sitting around right into my entertainment center to keep it ventilated. That's free insurance.
2. It looks frickin' awesome on a 720p DLP. I had to adjust a lot of settings, and make sure the image wasn't stretched, etc. The 80G w/motorstorm pack does not come with an HDMI cable.
3. Any HDMI cable will work, I got suckered by walmart into spending $40 on mine. I couldn't wait, so I got one on the spot. If I had waited, I coulda gone the next day and got a cable for $15.
4. I initially wanted to take this back, and just get the 40G model for $399, but I realized there's thousands of PS2 games out there, and most are only $20. The system will upconvert the graphics on most games, so it actually will look better on the PS3 than PS2. It's worth spending the extra $100.
5. The 80G and 60G are the same price. The 80G comes with a game, 5 BluRay discs, and an extra controller. The 60G has none of these extras. You do the math.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

Okay. I got a PS3 yesterday, and here's my 2 cents. P.S.: I'm a fanboy.

1. The PS3 is VERY well built. Sony does not build crap, in spite of what some may say. I'm not worried about it crapping out on me, but I still blow a quiet fan I had sitting around right into my entertainment center to keep it ventilated. That's free insurance.
2. It looks frickin' awesome on a 720p DLP. I had to adjust a lot of settings, and make sure the image wasn't stretched, etc. The 80G w/motorstorm pack does not come with an HDMI cable.
3. Any HDMI cable will work, I got suckered by walmart into spending $40 on mine. I couldn't wait, so I got one on the spot. If I had waited, I coulda gone the next day and got a cable for $15.
4. I initially wanted to take this back, and just get the 40G model for $399, but I realized there's thousands of PS2 games out there, and most are only $20. The system will upconvert the graphics on most games, so it actually will look better on the PS3 than PS2. It's worth spending the extra $100.
5. The 80G and 60G are the same price. The 80G comes with a game, 5 BluRay discs, and an extra controller. The 60G has none of these extras. You do the math.

Dude, if they ahve a 60gig, you might want to swap. The 80 gig won't play ps2 games anymore. Or not many, at least. The 60gig has a special chip in it for playing ps2 games and it's getting discontinued when they run out of stock.

Oh, and get Ratchet & Clank... I picked it up 2 days ago and I'm HOOKED.

 

[ScubaSteve]

6. The system uses bluetooth, so I can use my bluetooth phone earpiece to talk smack to 13 year olds while I am drinking homebrew.
7. The controllers are wireless. Sounds pretty standard, but if you've always had cables, it's pretty sweet.

I could go on and on. Even though it was a huge chunk of money, I feel like it was worth it in the long run, because I have a total multimedia center/computer now.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

6. The system uses bluetooth, so I can use my bluetooth phone earpiece to talk smack to 13 year olds while I am drinking homebrew.
7. The controllers are wireless. Sounds pretty standard, but if you've always had cables, it's pretty sweet.

I could go on and on. Even though it was a huge chunk of money, I feel like it was worth it in the long run, because I have a total multimedia center/computer now.

I paid $299 for my 360, then I paid $40 for a wireless controller, $30 for a wireless controller rechargable battery, $100 for a 20 gig (actually only had 11gigs on it) hard drive and looking at another $200 if I want the high def dvd add on and another $100 if I want wireless internet. AND $50 per year to play online. Nice playing online for free with the ps3.

PS3 was a much better deal.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Dude, if they ahve a 60gig, you might want to swap. The 80 gig won't play ps2 games anymore. Or not many, at least. The 60gig has a special chip in it for playing ps2 games and it's getting discontinued when they run out of stock.

Oh, and get Ratchet & Clank... I picked it up 2 days ago and I'm HOOKED.

The 80g still plays PS2 games, they removed the "Emotion Engine" chip that ensures really good playback. I guess the 80g uses emulation to play the game, so that means not everything will match up on ALL games. PS sends out regular software updates via the web to upgrade and improve compatibility. I'm not looking to play THAT many PS2 games, so the ones that I'll get will be the "legacy" games that have pretty good compatibility. It's a tradeoff, I guess. For the few PS2 games I might buy while I'm waiting for the real good PS3 games (FF XIII, etc.) to come, I still feel like the 5 blu-ray discs is a deal when compared to the 60g.

What's so good about ratchet + clank? Kinda looks like a kid's game . I've already got my hands WAY full with Oblivion (really huge/in depth) but maybe I'll check it out.

BTW, SWMBO told me that after this large purchase, I have to chill out on my "beer stuff" for a while. Good thing I got all the AG stuff together, because now I can brew for about $18-$20 every few weeks and she'll barely notice!

 

[ScubaSteve]

I paid $299 for my 360, then I paid $40 for a wireless controller, $30 for a wireless controller rechargable battery, $100 for a 20 gig (actually only had 11gigs on it) hard drive and looking at another $200 if I want the high def dvd add on and another $100 if I want wireless internet. AND $50 per year to play online. Nice playing online for free with the ps3.

PS3 was a much better deal.

Wow. That's a lot of extras. The PS3 had everything included but the HDMI cable. BTW, do I HAVE to buy a remote to play BluRays?

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

The 80g still plays PS2 games, they removed the "Emotion Engine" chip that ensures really good playback. I guess the 80g uses emulation to play the game, so that means not everything will match up on ALL games. PS sends out regular software updates via the web to upgrade and improve compatibility. I'm not looking to play THAT many PS2 games, so the ones that I'll get will be the "legacy" games that have pretty good compatibility. It's a tradeoff, I guess. For the few PS2 games I might buy while I'm waiting for the real good PS3 games (FF XIII, etc.) to come, I still feel like the 5 blu-ray discs is a deal when compared to the 60g.

What's so good about ratchet + clank? Kinda looks like a kid's game . I've already got my hands WAY full with Oblivion (really huge/in depth) but maybe I'll check it out.

BTW, SWMBO told me that after this large purchase, I have to chill out on my "beer stuff" for a while. Good thing I got all the AG stuff together, because now I can brew for about $18-$20 every few weeks and she'll barely notice!

Oh, you're right, it's the 40gig that won't play any ps2 games. I thought the 80 was part of that as well.

Ratchet & CLank is not a kids game, it is getting the best reviews for a ps3 only game yet. It's just addicting, it's funny, tons of strange weapons (tornado launcher is a personal favorite), the gameplay is ultra smooth and it's GORGEOUS.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

Wow. That's a lot of extras. The PS3 had everything included but the HDMI cable. BTW, do I HAVE to buy a remote to play BluRays?

No, use the controller like a remote, it works fine. That's what I do.

Yea, my 360 doesn't have HDMI output either, only composite. Some of the newer 360's do have HDMI though, but that's it.

 

[ScubaSteve]

It's crazy how much attention this 360 vs. PS3 issue gets. I did some research on gaming forums, and you wouldn't believe the heated debates and personal attacks people post. I'm pretty happy with my purchase, though I'm going to have to "lick my wounds" for a month or so. If I get nothin' but a Barley Crusher and a bag of tube socks for XMAS, I'll be ecstatic.

 

[ScubaSteve]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PS3_backwards_incompatible_PS2_and_Playstation_games

 

[ScubaSteve]

Ha! I'm posting from my PS3 now! AWESOME!

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

Ha! I'm posting from my PS3 now! AWESOME!

I installed linux on my ps3. I had a wireless keyboard and mouse, but I've misplaced them during my move. I want to get back on and start doing my flash video watching from there. I heard the videos run pretty good.

 

[Dude]

I bought an 80 gig PS3 yesterday, but I'm seriously second-guessing myself now. I just don't think it is going to get used enough for the amount of cash I spent. I haven't opened it, of course--it is going to wait for Christmas.

I'm just wavering on if Blu-ray bites the dust anytime soon I'm going to be kicking myself. This thing has no bearing on me playing games on it. I won't. I don't have the time. I bought it solely for the 7 year old to play an occasional game and for us to watch movies on it. Big expense for that.

I think I'm gonna take it back before I even open the box.