Blu Ray over/under $


Sony announced the release of a blu ray DVD player for this summer along with some disc releases. What's your guess of how much it will cost upon intial release? How much would you pay to get one or would you get one at all?
maineiac
I would expect it to be around $750-1000 initially. They are going to try to recoup the cost of their reserach and development. Although I would like one, I don't plan on buying one initially. Prices will go down considerably and quality will increase after a year or so.
Not sure but disapointed with over a buck apiece still for dual layer and in addition to HP's new internal label printer taking a frightfull 20 minutes they also run another buck apiece.Keep your buggy whip at hanmd because Blue-Ray and DVD HD (has advanbtage of backward compatibility) might kill each other off.Used to think the industry was STUPID for killing formats (bad one or good like CDD and mini disc) it isn't stupidity it's MONEY and GREED.Beta was always better than VHS but unforunately it's cash.Think of what Sony would have made off Beta but they need to find ways of open or super cheap licensing like JVC did (or was it Mitsubishi)?) verus Apple being happy to "Think Differnet" and live with 6% of computer market but I'M am not going to hold my breath on ANYTHING until it's here and relatively affordable.The lelctronics manufacturers would rather see us suffer than tan compromise on losing and getting zero percent of zerro.To answer your question based on 6 years of Hifi retail I'd say 3-5 years before a price will bottom out and become steady but I am probaly wrong in any case.But that's current pessimism.Now if we could knock a buck off gas and do that with our cars in 3 top 5 months but against stupidity will bring on a recession before then because well....Oh well this getting to political an some folsk are so touchy....
Sorry for nohelp
chazzbo
Chazzbo
Check this article in the New York Times,

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/05/technology/05videos.html
Hi, I TOO bought into the Minidisc, BUT I bought
mine for different reasons.
1. I LIKE the editing that you can do with them,
UNLIKE the CD-R/RW formats where you have to erase
the LAST song, and then the next,
UNTIL you get to the 1 that you want to deleat!
2. With Minidisc, IF you want to earse track
6 and 2, ALL you have to do is go into the menu,
and press erase track 6, erase track 2,
and you`re DONE!
NOW, NOBODY so far has talked about being able
to RECORD onto Blue-Ray DVD!
IF you CAN,
1.HOW MUCH MACROVISION DO YOU HAVE TO
BYPASS?
2. CAN YOU RECORD ANY SHOW IN 1080I/P?
3. IF YOU CAN RECORD, DO YOU HAVE TO ERASE THE
LAST TRACK, THEN THE NEXT UNTIL YOU GET TO THE
TITLE/CHAPTER THAT YOU WANT TO GET RID OF?
Sony SHOULD take note of this, and incoorporate
the SAME recoding design, and mechanism that it did
with the MINIDISC!
THEN it WILL win the battle!
IF NOT, then why even bother with another format.
MOST dvd players CAN display 720 progressive anyway!
The big question is the degree of video improvement over standard DVD. My opinion is that most consumers were sold more on the convenience rather than the improved video qualities of DVD over VHS. HD-DVD and Blu-ray offer no improvement in convenience over standard DVD. And with two competing formats, aimed at videophiles rather than the general public [DVD was rapidly targeted to the general public] it seems that once again manufactures are engaging in a format "murder-suicide pact"!
I think these new formats ar being introduced too soon. Most people still haven't experienced true HDTV. Once they do, I think you'll be able to sell them on a new DVD player that's "as good as HDTV." Assuming it doesn't cost more than $200, of course.

So who's gonna get to $200 first? Blu-Ray is starting at $1000, HD-DVD at $500. I know where I'd put my money.
Nope won't even consider it unless it takes off and never looks back.

Sony is pretty good at coming up with formats and leaving them high and dry.
Blu Ray is 1080p vs HD-dvd at 1080i.
Blu Ray has the space on the disc to have even a LOTR extended version on one dics with lossless DTS-HD soundtrack...were HD DVD will not.
B/R 25-50gb actually used on initial movies.
Hd dvd 15 of 30 possible gb is all they say there going to use initially.
B/R will upscale sd dvd to 1080p... and HD DVD will upscale to 1080i like current players do.

As far as audio...the new lossless DTS/DD wil require 6 analog inputs much like sa-cd...until the new receivers/pre/pros come out with this built in...and then you will need a single hdmi cable to transmit the lossless audio.

The Ps3 B/R demo in Vegas is said to look spectacular...and M/S is supposed to announce add on HD DVD hardware for there 360 today.
Maybe not need to no....but remember were talking 1080p vs 1080i and I already had 1080i with the now dead DVHS format.
I don't believe that 15gb is enough space to have the extended LOTR on two discs with lossless DTS -hd audio...seeings how double bit rate DTS was on some of the DVHS tapes and for a normal length movie it took 28 gb and double bit DTS is not lossless.

People with pj's or screens 50 inches or bigger are going to want 1080p....and only B/R can give it to you.
I thought I better add that Toshiba has not been known for any quality in there dvd players for yeas now.
Also B/R has far more studio, as well as hardware support from better names such as Pioneer Elite.
One thing I am still trying to find out for certain is if there is any type of phone line or internet line required to watch any of the upcoming movies on either format.
If there is, both these formats are already dead imo.
Gotta look at all the past formats, and I must say that QUALITY has ALWAYS taken a back seat too convenience, cost, profit, etc!!!
Again, look at Betamax and look at CD(16bit/44 was a major step down in sonics, minus some backround noise here and there, and we're still using 16/44 standard for music at the local music stores, some 25 years later!!!!)
Heck, laser disc was an improvment over vhs easlily, and it never went beyond videophile niche market.
I think here, people will again go with whatever markets the convenience, or mass distribution, with the most titles and accessability, etc.
Really, we will NOT SEE a mass exodus to hd dvd like we did with original DVD a few years back! I garantee it! Why? Because with DVd you had the convenience, the improvment in audio/video quality, and we can already record on em now.
So just cause we got more dvd extras and some better vid or audio improvments, doesn't mean that much in tems of sales, profitability, marketability, consumer mass acceptance, IMO.
I mean, we had superior(by a mile!) SACD and DVDA audio discs out for years now, that have flopped and basically all but died a quick death mostly. We also had DVHS with superior HD definition video, and that died too.
We already got DVD now, that we can even record on. So what's some improvments in video/audio gunna do so much in terms of exciting the world?...I say not much.
Don't get me wrong, I am as thrilled as the next audiophile/video guy. But I think it will really come down to who can sell their product the most easily, and convince the public that theirs is the way to go, and that it's all going "their" way! Could be wrong. I just don't think product superiority has ever made a difference to the public at large when it came down to it. Heck, we got Bose outselling everyone by a ton! That should say something right there...
Well this time HD DVD is missing more than 50% of the studio backing with no support from Sony, Columbia Tri Star, MGM, Disney, Miramax or Fox.
Add this to the so called war and B/R is a sure winner.
I was at CES this past week and thoroughly attended all the demos and presentations on Blu ray and HD -DVD as well as the players. Thought I'd share the info I came across.

1. Blu Ray is using their extra disk space to introduce certain features. a. Educational- so ina ovie the dec of independence appears- you have the option of clicking a button on the declaration and getting history of the declaration of independence. ( this was in the demo). You can stop Sin City and join in in the killing spree as a game participant. ( an almost exact quote and was on the demo). You can have alive discourse with the director during the film ( also a direct example- the interpreation here is that the internet plays a role.) This for me is all a big waste. Obviously thats an opnion. Players- lots of blu ray players are being introduced by MANY manufacturers- all the players I saw started at 1800 but perhaps there is one at 1000. Blu Ray titles will be released starting in June or so. About 60 titles to be released. Price points for the disks are likely to be higher than current DVDs, but no one is going into specifics.

2. HD-DVD- Will release first with both players and titles in March. Two players will be 499 and 799. Two other manufacturers are releasing players as well. 30 titles to be released in March with 200 by JAnuary 1, 2007 was what I wastold. Cost of HD-DVD disk is one dollar over the current DVD price. The two sided disks with standard def DVD on one side and hd-dvd on the other will be about three dollars higher or so. That is an extrapolation of read betwwen the line info I got. NOT an exact quote.

3. PS3 is freaky. It is so unbeleivably real. Fraky to watch. Fortunately I am not into that stuff. But wow.

4. Problems- 1080P 1920 x 1080 displays are being released this year both in larger LCD sizes and Plasmas as well. These are new. However, current cable and satellite signal resolution is NOT true HD and is pegged by DISH at 1240 x 1080 to save bandwidth. Therefore the true value of a 1080P display goes unrealized for that type of viewing. Only hi def DVDs can truely make use of the displays fully. In fact, sub standard resolution HD signals may actually look worse on a 1080P display relative to a 720P display. There is hope in that some displays, and recently demoed cble type set top boxes will auto detect the resolution being fed to it from the source and auto adjust for best picture. This will likely be a key feature as we see divergence between hi def DVDs and lower def "HD" signals from Comcast and dish etc. Also, there are significant HDMI transmission/handshake issues related to the ability of the DVD player/receiever/ and display to accurately decode color etc. Early adoption of 1080P displays could be problematic. I also attended both DTS-HD demo as well as Dolby-HD demo. It is unclear to me that ANY receivers available at this time can fully decode the hi res audio codec as well. The feeds I saw at CES for the 1080P were mostly hard drive loops and an occasional blu ray feed.

The studio backing is about 50/50 movie titles and blu rays features as displayed to me arent important or desitable. Their pricing is higher than HD-DVDs options. The format war is a loser for the industry as a whole as it devalues the 1080 displays greatly.
When will you people just get a TT and avoid the misery while having the best sound?

OK fire away I got my flame suit on.
Rysa....this is incorrect with studio backing for B/R at 90% and less than 50% for HD.
Same goes for hardware...B/R has far more support....hands down.

The Washington Post reporter that pushed play on the Toshiba HD player at CES, only to find it to do nothing(broke)....along with the pictures of the Toshiba player with tape acrossed the back and one single cable coming out.....you actually beleive HD is going to be sold in March.
HD has been telling lies for two years now....with B/R always doing as they say.
This is pure desperation on the part of HD.....and those of us that have been following this, are not falling for HD's desperation.

Cnet voted the Pioneer Elite B/R player as best in show , and picked B/R to win with a lot more staying power.

And again Hd has zero studio support from..
Sony
MGM
Columbia Tri Star
Disney
Miramax
Fox.
Hardware support for HD at show...Toshibas sometimes broken player.

Hardware support for B/R
Mitsubishi
Panasonic
Philips
Pioneer
Samsung
Hitachi
JVC
LG
Sharp
Yamaha
Ben Q
Zenith

Some of these are players,recorders and drives....but HD support was very slim and a desperation move on there part imo.
From a volume of title availability standpoint, on January 1st 2007, HD-DVD will have more titles out than Blu Ray. My info is from both camps in preaon at CES. Not that I care all that much. It isnt a matter of lists my friend, its a matter of title volume, and the 90% to 10% ratio you are suggesting isnt representative of the reality of title/movie availability. If that were true, there wouldnt be any format war at all.
BTW- CNET is not a good source of info. I watached their live broadcasts from CES and the reporters really dont have a handle on consumer electronics. From your involvment at avsforum.com, you should know this. The Toshiba players I saw at CES werent taped up blah blah blah. It really isnt as you are desrcribing it. The release date is March 2006 by press announcement. Previous delays were due to several factors including a coming together on certain standards which you are likely unaware of. In fact, the only difference now between the two camps is the physical media based on these newly agreed upon standards, forced by HPs threat to include support for HD-DVD unless certain consitions of standards were met by Blu ray. The game is not quite out what you make it to be Mr Ears. But hey-March is just around the corner....
Personally do not think Blu Ray vs HD-DVD format war will be lengthy and difficult as some make it out to be: Blu Ray will be the clear winner. Not necessarily due to quality etc but industry movement & dynamics. Blu Ray has all the big consumer elec companies behind it Sony, Masushita, Samsung, LG etc plus DELL, HP etc as well as from the content companies. HD DVD has a weak consortium led by Toshiba who has its own structural problems as a company. The only way HD DVD becomes the big winner is if a) X Box 360 gets HUGE lead over all other next generation game consoles (highly unlikely) and simulataneously Microsoft and Intel stay away and continue to not support Blu Ray. I doubt it.
Some kid just jammed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into my vcr any help would be appreciated
I dont mind a litle friendly banter over the whole Bluray/HD-DVD thingee- so I'll play devils advocate.

1. People will want to buy DVDs of the movies they want to see. If the Blockbuster hits ( if there are any) in 2006 come from HD-DVD aligned studios, people will buy the player that will display it, assuming they are even interested in hi def DVDs at all or even care or understand.

2. The Blu Ray players start at 2x the price of HD-DVD players , and most that I saw were at 1800 bucks. ( yes I saw one player at 1000._) There are MANY more blu ray manufacturers of players, and many more mouths to feed as well. The Blu Ray disks cost per disc, despite a few off the mark quotes, are definetly more expensive to produce and will sell at a higher price point than HD-DVDs, at least intially. Or someone is gonna take a loss. Average American Will not go with the more expensive option. It doesnt work that way on the whole, and online forum members who may be more tech savvy and interested in blu-ray capabilities and features are a pimple on the larger scale of reality.

3. HD-DVD can be stamped on the B side with a standard def DVD. HUGE advantage. That means I can buy an HD-DVD today and be ready for tomorrow. While still be cool with my current equipment. this is a BIG deal.

I think there are definite bucks in XBOX and PS3 ( I am still freaked by that PS# demo-you had to see the thing)- but I do believe that fundamentally its about movie titles and what consumers want to rent and buy. It is NOT a 90/10 split with regards to title availability.

4. Microsoft has been clear that they won't support blu-ray. And When the most ubiqutous operating system in the world ( like it or not) decides something like this, it obviates a whole lot of other players in the game as far as their affected markets.
Rysa...the pictures showing the taped up back are posted at AVS....end of story.
B/R has by far the most studio...as well as hardware support....game over for Hd dvd imo.
Microsoft doesn't want to support Blu-Ray because it is competion for the X-box. The new Play Station will be a Blu-Ray player.
Here is CES coverage of both formats.
Http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/ces2006/gallery01.html

Apparently, Hd dvd never even had a player showing actual HD movies....and as you will see B/R was the dominant force there.
Net Flix chooses B/R.
http://usgizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/netflix-jumps-gun-on-next-gen-dvd-138229.php
Hi Ears. Certainly not end of story! I was at CES and saw all of the demos. What you are saying is NOT the true picture of reality. Only a small piece.

Also,the larger consortium of players might easily create problems and already has! HP forced blu-ray to change their standards by threatening to leave-so Sony had to relent on an issue they said they would never change to keep HP in the game. That is but one example. Besides, all of the hardware manufacturers are now COMPETITORS with each other. The losers could VERY EASILY start making hd-dvd players for instance. The BR camp has too many mouths to feed and not everyone is gonna win. I still think pricepoints and title availability will win the day. The only X factor out there is the whole PS3 and XBOX factor. I saw the PS3 demos- they are freaky good, especially in those 5.1 surround moving chair thingees. Wow.
Rysa...if you visit the XBOX 360forum at AVS...you can see exactly how little they seem to care about the add on....but you may have to look a page or two back in that forum to even find the thread on the announced add on.
My son owns an XBOX 360 and I had to send it in with a code after 6 hours because it was rushed to market just like the HD players are going to be.

Most seem to feel scammed by MS....with the vast majority not even interested in the add on.

The ps3 is a true "Trojan Horse" because it will be included on every player and PS is far bigger than Xbox as far as units sold goes and popularity.

Advantage = SonyB/R. imo

I will most likely be buying the Pioneer Elite Blu Ray player that took best in show.
I agree that Play Station three rocks- I saw it myself. It gives a superior gaming experience than xbox 360 IMO as a truely disinterested third party. PS3 is a better product and obviously is a key Sony/Blu Ray advantage.

Still, I think the HD-DVD/blu-Ray issue is not so easy to determine a winner. With a split on movie titles and cheaper price points on movies and players, HD-DVD cannot be counted out easily. Lets see what happens...
Just back from CES myself, saw no apparent quality difference between hd-bluray. However anybody I talked to promoting hd-dvd was very defensive sounding while the blu-ray folks said "done-deal, no contest". There are significant mass-storage advantages to blu-ray. But MOST IMPORTANT I feel is the publics acceptanceof a neat sounding word like Blu-Ray, much better than trying to say HD-DVD.....This simple name of a format thing is much ignored...Try saying SACD to a record store clerk and their eyes glaze over, DVD-Audio was better but still stupid, could have been called cd-plus or something and gone over much better as an audio format, just my 2cents worth, Mike.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6142137.html

It looks as if XBOX is saying if HD fails...they will then have add on B/R players.
Some of the Xbox 360 owners had said that MS was probably hedging there bets and/or not having full faith in HD....looks like they were right.
wow the new formats are failing already and SACD is still releasing new software and players.
Thanks Ears...just as I suspected. The key thing is ability & motivations of the two consortiums. HD-DVD camp is led by Toshiba OK, but the two other important mfrs are NEC and Sanyo. NEC is already hedging its bets and purchased a 45% equity stake in a Sony Blu Ray JV. Sanyo is going through a large restructuring excecise due to a lack of profitability. Also note that its not just about DVDs and home entertainment but high capacity storage in recorders and PCs: HP, Dell and Sony are from the IT side of the equations supporting Blu Ray with many others as well all leaning that way. Microsoft is supporting HD DVD for now but only as an optional add on to X Box 360 and the primary reason for supporting it is to battle PS3: but their key issue is market share of X Box itself and narrowing the gap: besides all lose money on the game machines and make money on the games themselves with the long-term objective making these game machines the center of home entertainment systems and digital home at large: thus the standard of Optical Disk Drives is less of a strategic issue for Microsoft and they will end up supporting both as add ons if needed. But for Blu Ray, Sony has developed it and spend R&D etc: there is much more committment: note also Sony is market leader in the ODD market at large: its not just about DVD players. Finally for Intel, again may not a big issue anyway: X Box, Ps3 and the upcoming Nintendo's Revolution all moved from Intel to IBM architecture anyway.

So expect a war during 2006-7 but ultimately the writing is on the wall.
The writing is far from being on the wall for all of the reasons I have enumerated, but time will tell. I only hope that ONE of the two formats makes it as far as DVD titles. The DVD rental market is very important in this. If BlockBuster and Netflix, for example, elect not to purchase Hi Def DVD titles in the volume they would need to satisfy customers, for example, hi def DVDs for the rental market won't make it. This is only one example of some significant scenarios that could easily torpedo the Hi Def DVD. Blu-Ray cost for players and disks right now is a guarnteed loser. But that could change.

I bought a DVD player at Sears for 32 dollars about a month ago for a back up CD player in one of my casual listening systems. But it plays DVDs just fine. 32 dollars vs 1800 or 1000. Last year, new vinyl outsold SACD and DVD-A combined. Let's see what happens.... ( BTW- niether side will do well at the beginning of release dates for sure)
Again, I think people aren't gunna be doing a mass exodus to HD DVD or other here, like the industry hopes! It won't be even 1/3 of what the DVD rush was years ago, I garantee it!
People already have the convenience of the Disc. The quality jump won't make most do nothin by enlarge. And at high prices, they definitely won't do a thing!
BAsically, WHEN HD replaces Standard dvd player/disc pricing, and that's all you can buy is hd dvd players, then people will start buying into the format. None sooner. And they certainly won't care what format is what, as long as they can play all the discs. So, I be you'll see universal players at the very least coming in a couple few years if these people can't sort out their format problems. Cause they won't be selling a ton of anything regardless.
For most, the novelty of DVD is nothing new. They already have that. A quality upgrade never moved the public from one format to another. It has always been more about convenience and content over quality for buyers! That's the truth.
Mr F-Lamb- I am wondering if you have ever seen an HD-DVD/Blu Ray DVD next to a standard DVD on decent displays?

I know you wont believe me, but there isnt a very big difference. I can only assure you that I can see some difference, but not that much. Now on the 65 inch 1080P Panasonic Plasma, may be the difference will be more apparent-

but it is hard to sell folks on something that is more expensive ( understatement) for not much of a perceived difference. When do you think Hd-DVD/Blu Ray players will hit 100 dollars ( or 32 dollars for that matter?) And lets see what a bluray disc costs-or even if BB will rent them at the same price.
With eight major studios now supporting Blu Ray only, along with the usual millions of Ps3 sales in the U.S putting more Blu Ray players in U.S. homes than all other players from either format combined, you can pretty much stick a fork in it.
M/S seems to be the only big backer of HD, and if not for M/S, Toshiba and Sony would most likely have come to an agreement long ago, and there would be none of this happening.
Toshiba has now announced making PC BD drives also...so there smart enough to hedge there bets at least.

The studios love Blu Rays tighter security and know the Ps3 is sure to be a hit as usual, so there not likely to change there stance.

At this point it would take a huge miracle for hd dvd to even last past 07....and 500.00 players that are limited to 1080i and only 2 channel lossless audio are not even close to enough. to compete against a 1080p PS3,as well as not having studio support from
MGM
Columbia Tri Srar
Disney
Pixar
Lions Gate
Miramax
Fox
Sony Pictures
the visual differences will(as with dvd) be contingent on the production procss. the industry will nurture this more slowly that the ill-fated sacd and dvda. there are backward compatibility issues too.
What issues are those...I know the Sony es player plays cd, and will even up scale sd dvd to 1080p.
The Philips Prototype BD recorder/player clearly has an sa-cd logo on it,as well as dvd/cd logos, and the PS3 is stated as sa-cd/cd/dvd/BD compatilble as well as having 1080p.
The Samsung plays cd/dvd and like the Sony es and Philips has 8 analog outs.
Not sure on the Pioneer Elite or Panasonic ect BD players yet.
Based on December 2005 The Perfect Vsion Gary Mearson article, many of the 1080P displays are not capable of truely displaying 1080P signal or receieveing it. HDMI is as yet an unsettled standard and true costs of any upgraded format and players are yet to be seen.

I am sayin that a current DVD on a decent display with a decent DVD player si really good. A Hi Def DVD may not be better enough in Picture quality for people to feel they need to purchase anything other than what they purchase or rent now.
Blu ray will be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Why? Because with a 1080p, TV will look better then real life. Why would you be happy buying DVDs knowing the limitations of the picture compared to HD if you know the difference. I have a Mitsubiti Dimond 55-909 which has the best movie picture posable and a Denon 2800MkII DVD player with DVDO chip set so my picture is just about the best possable from DVD. Comcast HD blows this away and the Comcast signel is only 15mhz out of a possable 19mhz. Canon has a new TV coming out later this year that will outdate everything else available. Samsung is coming out with a $300 universal player there will play all HD formats and DVDs. The movie companys want a new format that will protect their property better. Sony is coming out with the new Playstation with Blu ray included. HD-DVDs will include DVD on the flip side so only only one disk will work in new and old machines. So tell me this will someone. Just where is the downside to all this?
Rysa4, I don't get your point.
I stated that there's NOT going to be a mass exodus anytime soon to any new DVD format, IMO. The players will indeed have more potential on the right monitor, over standard DVD, this is certain! And yes, I've seen the demo's at the shows. On a small monitor, the difference is more subtle, of course. Still, my point is that DVD already WORKS for the average consumer superbly! Only those setup for large screen dedicated movies (projector setups and large display close-up scenarios) will get a big benefit, in the right circumstances.
I was simply stating that whatever is coming down the pike will be what we get, that's it. I'm sure it will be all nice in the end.
Anything else you were trying to sell me?
As for the better audio capability issue, I really seriously doubt anyone on a grand scale cares so much! I mean, A BIG FAT FRACTION OF A PERCENT of the buying public ever even heard an SACD or DVDA disc, let alone even know they exist! Crappy old 16/44 CD's are now like 25 years old already, and that's all they mostly still sell at the stores!
I hardly think anyone ready for DVD HD is really going "wow, the audio should be great!"...That is, except for us few audiophile minority.
That all said, I think this is a great counter to the long standing thread here about 2 channel being better than multi-channel!!! Here we have the public at large rejecting old super sounding analog records and high rez SACD/DVDA audio discs, and basically only caring about cd and download Ipod music stash!!! However, audio upgrades to overmixed, foley-effect laden synthetic movie soundtracks on DVD, specfically higher rez DD/DTS, are what seems to be most important!
Let's face it, 2 channel may or may not be great on a good recording, but everyone else in the world only cares about their "surroundy sound" system and DVD movie playback soundquality it seems. Otherwise the industries wants things to be that way evidently
warner and universal still rule the software world. ad paramount and dreamworks to the hddvd list too.
Mr. F-Lamb- I tried to sell you but there weren't any buyers.

I have doubts about hi def DVDs making it in the long run. AS far as hi def DTS and Dolby- currently available data stream rates arent fully utilized in almost all soundtracks and after sitting throguh both dolby HD and DTS HD demos at CES- I cant tell any difference at all.

I do like the DTS 2006 demo disk though- quite the cool freebie.
Jaybo....Warner and Paramount are Blu Ray supporters also though...so whats your point exactly?
Universal minus 8 studios = very weak support for hd dvd....no question there.
And Blu Ray also has a huge harware support advantage to boot.

Rysa, my Optoma pj although 720p, accepts a full 1080p digital input now, and by this summer/fall, there will be lots opf 1080p displays that accept 1080p.
But your right, other than the average Joes who geta BD player by default with there PS3, there won't be many average consumers buying either format for at least a few years in any great numbers.
Jaybo...none of these studios are doing hd dvd
MGM
Miramax
Columbia Tri Star
Buena Vista
Pixar
Disney
Lions Gate
Fox
Sony Pictures
With only Universal holding out on Blu Ray, and that highly expected to change soon.
All other studios have dual support which gives Blu Ray over 90% support, and HD dvd less than 40%
Here are some Blu Ray player pics
http://www.blu-ray.com/players/

Here are some Blu Ray player/recorder pics
http://www.blu-ray.com/recorders/