HDV Blogs

Bob Stuart gives us a practical and lucid tale of woe about formats in general and what these format wars mean to a manufacturer and the risks and costs involved.

Take the time and listen… Highly…

Originally Syndicated via RSS from HDTV Magazine Forum - HD News and Updates (RSS Feed)

We still don’t know the US price or launch date, but we’ve got a bit more specifics on how the Xbox 360 HD DVD player add-on will work when it hits store shelves later this year thanks to a post by Mi…

Originally Syndicated via RSS from HDTV Magazine Forum - HD News and Updates (RSS Feed)

Boothroyd Stuart Meridian co-founder Bob Stuart gives us excellent perspective of the impact of previous Format Wars. He gives us his vision and opinion on the new HD DVD and Blu-ray formats. “A forma…

Originally Syndicated via RSS from HDTV Magazine Forum - HD News and Updates (RSS Feed)

The format war around next generation DVDs may be over before it has begun, thanks to a breakthrough from a British media technology company.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from HD DVD News RSS Feed

The format war around next generation DVDs may be over before it has begun, thanks to a breakthrough from a British media technology company.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from HD DVD News RSS Feed

The Bears might be a good team. There’s more high-definition TV programming than ever. Prices are coming down. There are many reasons to buy an HDTV now. If you’re looking, here are some things you should know:

DLP

How it works: Millions of tiny mirrors reflect light to produce a picture. You can recognize DLP sets in the store: They’re the big, boxy televisions.

The good: You get more screen for the money, and if the bulb burns out, you can replace it yourself for about $300.

The bad: If you’re not sitting directly in front of the screen, the TV image isn’t as sharp. Sitting at extreme angles, you can barely see the image.

Is it for me? If size matters and you can’t afford plasma, you want DLP.

Brands: Mitsubishi, JVC

LCD

How it works: Electrically charged liquid crystals untwist just enough to let the correct shade of light pass through.

The good: LCD is a little cheaper than plasma and almost as good. Many have connections for your computer, so you don’t have to use your laptop screen to watch videos. *

The bad: If you’re not directly in front of the TV when watching a dark scene in a movie, the blacks won’t be as dark.

Is it for me? When you consider price and resolution, LCD makes the most sense in the 45-inch-and-below category.

Brands: Sony, Samsung, Sharp

Plasma

How it works: Bits of gas are ignited to produce light.

The good: Great contrast, producing vivid images. Perfect for viewing sports and movies.

The bad: Plasmas need lots more juice than LCD; not good news as electricity rates rise.

Is it for me? If you can afford a a top-tier 50- and 60-inch plasma TV, you’re in for a luscious viewing experience. Just don’t watch the same channel 10 hours straight or try to use it as a computer monitor.

Brands: Pioneer, Panasonic

Questions I get a lot:

Which is better, LCD or plasma?

If you want a 50-inch TV, plasma is the way to go. In the 42-inch range, LCD gives you more sharpness for the buck.

Some things to note when looking at televisions in a store:

- The lighting is much brighter in a showroom than in your home, and bright lighting favors LCDs. To truly compare, shop in a store with a darkened room full of TVs.

- Get to the store while it’s still baseball season, because a baseball game is a perfect test for a television. When the ball is moving, it should look like a solid object, not a blur. When the camera focuses on the pitcher, the fans behind him should not be overly blurry. Look at the pitch count; the graphics should be sharp and solid, not jaggy.

I’ve looked at a lot of televisions over the past few years, and there was a time I could tell a plasma from LCD just by studying the on-screen action for a minute or two. It’s harder to tell now. Let your eyes and your wallet guide you.

Plasmas die quicker and have burn-in, right?

Yes and yes, but that’s not the whole story.

True, the phosphors in a plasma TV glow less brightly over time. Manufacturers say about 60,000 hours. Let’s not take them at their word, though. Let’s give the plasma 30,000 hours of useful life. If you watch television for three hours a day, that’s still 27 years of viewing. You’ll likely replace your set long before then.

Plasmas do suffer burn-in, when an image sits in one place for a long period, so when you get your TV home, the first thing you should do is lower the contrast to 50 percent. If you pause your DVD for 15 minutes or so, turn off your television. Don’t play video games on your plasma or use it as a computer monitor. Plasma TVs have features that fight burn-in. For instance, Samsung moves the image around imperceptibly. In most cases, you won’t have to worry about image retention.

After picture quality, what’s the most important feature on an HDTV?

Lots of connections. At least two HDMI inputs is good. And at least two component inputs. You’ll want to connect a DVD player, maybe a VCR, a cable box, perhaps two video game systems. Get a TV with lots of inputs. In order of video quality, the best inputs are HDMI, component, S-Video and composite.

What’s HD-DVD? What’s Blu-Ray?

These are high-definition DVD formats battling for consumers’ hearts the way VHS and Betamax did in the early days of VCRs. While there are differences between the formats — HD-DVD is cheaper, but Blu-Ray has more capacity for movie outtakes and other extras — wait to see who the winner is before diving in.

Instead, go with a DVD upconverter. You’ll get great results watching your current DVDs on a $149 OPPO DV-970HD (or the even-better, $199 DV-971HD, above) and your HDTV.

Digitimes, the premier news source in usual bullshit rumors, has a new one today that actually seems a legitimate, kind of. They are reporting that there will be a $100 price cut on the Xbox 360 Premium bundle, bringing the price down to $300 so that they can later bundle the HD DVD player with the Xbox 360 for $400 and still have a solid competitive price on the PS3.

Microsoft, to prepare for the price cut, has negotiated reduced production costs for the Xbox 360 with Taiwan-based manufacturing partners, stated the sources. The manufacturers estimate that the total production cost can be reduced by 15-20% due to diminishing costs for most components along with increasing production scales and decreasing defect rates, the sources pointed out.

NetFlix CEO Reed Hastings says both Toshiba’s HD-DVD and Sony’s Blu-ray will survive the high-def DVD war.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from HD DVD News RSS Feed

NetFlix CEO Reed Hastings says both Toshiba’s HD-DVD and Sony’s Blu-ray will survive the high-def DVD war.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from HD DVD News RSS Feed

Blu-ray and HD-DVD are currently something for people who have money to burn, says Peter Knaak from the German consumer testing organization Stiftung Warentest in Berlin.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from HD DVD News RSS Feed