Housecleaning:
Merging the DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-Ray thread with the Home Theater thread.
Merging the DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-Ray thread with the Home Theater thread.
Home Theater/HDTV/et al...
Started by arnel98 · 30 Dec 2006 · 1,679 replies
General Discussion
[image]
HDTVs Getting Cheaper
A dragging economy is leaving TV manufacturers with extra sets on their hands.
Jul. 16, 2008 \ by Rachel Cericola
I canft tell you how many people tell me they are waiting to buy an HDTV\gwaiting for the prices to drop,h they always say. Well, it looks like that wait could be worth it after all.
HD Guru says that prices are dropping soon. Despite recent price cuts, Mitsubishi, Sharp, LG, Panasonic and Samsung are all expected to lower prices again, as much as $400, in the upcoming weeks.
Apparently, with everyone scrounging for gas money, the manufacturers are finding themselves stuck with a surplus. Some of the drops include:
* Mitsubishi LT-52149, Old Price: $3,799, New Price: $3,399
* Mitsubishi LT-52246, Old Price: $4,099, New Price: $3,699
* Panasonic TH-46PZ850U, Old Price: $3,099, New Price: $2,799
* Samsung LC52A550, Old Price: $2,399.99, New Price: $1,979.99 (Circuit City)
* Samsung LN46A650, Old Price: $2,499.99, New Price: $2,059.99 (Best Buy)
* Sharp LC-52SE94U, Old Price: $3,799, New Price: $3,499
All of the prices listed are gminimum advertised prices.h HD Guru has a complete list of models to look out for. No other manufacturers were listed, but wefre guessing they will follow suit soon enough. Let the fire sale begin!
HD Guru link: http://hdguru.com/swelling-inventories-force-another-hdtv-price-drop/254/
![[image]](http://www.electronichouse.com/images/uploads/sharp-lc52se94u.jpg){kind=link}
HDTVs Getting Cheaper
A dragging economy is leaving TV manufacturers with extra sets on their hands.
Jul. 16, 2008 \ by Rachel Cericola
I canft tell you how many people tell me they are waiting to buy an HDTV\gwaiting for the prices to drop,h they always say. Well, it looks like that wait could be worth it after all.
HD Guru says that prices are dropping soon. Despite recent price cuts, Mitsubishi, Sharp, LG, Panasonic and Samsung are all expected to lower prices again, as much as $400, in the upcoming weeks.
Apparently, with everyone scrounging for gas money, the manufacturers are finding themselves stuck with a surplus. Some of the drops include:
* Mitsubishi LT-52149, Old Price: $3,799, New Price: $3,399
* Mitsubishi LT-52246, Old Price: $4,099, New Price: $3,699
* Panasonic TH-46PZ850U, Old Price: $3,099, New Price: $2,799
* Samsung LC52A550, Old Price: $2,399.99, New Price: $1,979.99 (Circuit City)
* Samsung LN46A650, Old Price: $2,499.99, New Price: $2,059.99 (Best Buy)
* Sharp LC-52SE94U, Old Price: $3,799, New Price: $3,499
All of the prices listed are gminimum advertised prices.h HD Guru has a complete list of models to look out for. No other manufacturers were listed, but wefre guessing they will follow suit soon enough. Let the fire sale begin!
HD Guru link: http://hdguru.com/swelling-inventories-force-another-hdtv-price-drop/254/
Article here: http://www.cepro.com/article/are_upconverting_players_enough_for_your_clients/D1/
Are Upconverting Players Enough For Your Clients?
Blu-ray offers a native HD signal, BD-Live and is expected to outsell DVDs in 2012.
Jul. 21, 2008 \ by Steve Crowe
First there was the format war. And now this.
OK, so this issue may not be on the same level, but it can still be troublesome figuring out whether upconverting players are good enough for clients or if a Blu-ray player is the way to go.
If the client is an average movie watcher, maybe an upconverter will do.
Here's a look at what upconverters and Blu-ray players offer to help weigh the decision.
Native HD Signal
Blu-ray discs offer a native HD signal, while DVDs, obviously, do not.
Upconverters rely on algorithms to deinterlace and upscale the content. It fills in the missing pixels, and the resulting image comes out stunning. But it's still not hi-def.
The casual user might not notice the difference between an upconverted image and a HD image. A videophile can. Of course, if the TV used in the setup isn't calibrated correctly, then it won't matter. Here are some tools you should invest in for HDTV calibration.
The tests companies use to compare the two usually aren't too scientific, either. Kaleidescape recently released the 1080p Player that the company says "rivals Blu-ray."
The testing, however, consisted of watching the same piece of content side-by-side on the 1080p Player and a Blu-ray player.
Pricing
While discussing this story with colleague Bob Archer, he pointed out the difference in pricing. He says upconverters are available for $60-$70. The cheapest Blu-ray players are much more expensive.
There are some high-end DVD players on the market as well. The 1080p Player from Kaleidescape is $4,295, and Cary Audio has a DVD player that runs $4,000.
But if a client dishes out that kind of money, wouldn't they want to experience their movies with the best image quality?
Again, they might not be able to tell the difference between an upconverted image and a native HD signal, but the fact that their new upconverter isn't producing a native HD image will always be on their mind.
Movie Library
It's no secret the DVD library is much bigger than the Blu-ray library.
There are still fewer than 1,000 Blu-ray titles on the market. That means if the client buys a Blu-ray player, they will have to start a new movie collection. And last time I checked, Blu-ray titles were around $30 a pop -- not exactly cheap with the way today's economy is going.
A recent report from the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA), however, says Blu-ray discs will outsell standard DVDs in 2012 and generate more than $9.5 billion in sales.
The report says nearly 9 million HD discs were sold in 2007, generating more than $260 million in revenue.
DVD releases, according to the report, were down to 12,177 in 2007 from 13,950 in 2005.
Blu-ray Players Are Backwards Compatible
Most Blu-ray players now can play DVDs and CDs. That wasn't always the case in the early days of the technology.
So investing in a Blu-ray player enables clients to still enjoy their old DVDs and CDs.
Remember when DVDs first came out? What happened to all those VHS movies? They're probably still collecting dust on a bookshelf somewhere.
Blu-ray Players Starting To Incorporate 2.0 Profile
Blu-ray players are now starting to come with BD-Live, allowing users to download images, subtitles, and join games linked to certain Blu-ray titles.
Panasonic's DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player has BD-Live, and Sony is shipping its BD-Live-Ready BDP-S350.
Sony's PlayStation 3 received BD-Live earlier this year and is the most future-proof Blu-ray player to date. A drawback of the PS3, however, is it doesn't have IR or RS-232 control. Hopefully the IR4PS3 remote does the trick.
More and more Blu-ray players are starting to feature BD-Live. But what about those who already own Blu-ray players without it?
At 2008 CES, the Blu-ray Disc Association said of the 3.5 million Blu-ray players sold to date, 3 million were PS3s.
That means about 15 percent of Blu-ray owners, at that time, were unable to access the features of BD-Live.
Are Upconverting Players Enough For Your Clients?
Blu-ray offers a native HD signal, BD-Live and is expected to outsell DVDs in 2012.
Jul. 21, 2008 \ by Steve Crowe
First there was the format war. And now this.
OK, so this issue may not be on the same level, but it can still be troublesome figuring out whether upconverting players are good enough for clients or if a Blu-ray player is the way to go.
If the client is an average movie watcher, maybe an upconverter will do.
Here's a look at what upconverters and Blu-ray players offer to help weigh the decision.
Native HD Signal
Blu-ray discs offer a native HD signal, while DVDs, obviously, do not.
Upconverters rely on algorithms to deinterlace and upscale the content. It fills in the missing pixels, and the resulting image comes out stunning. But it's still not hi-def.
The casual user might not notice the difference between an upconverted image and a HD image. A videophile can. Of course, if the TV used in the setup isn't calibrated correctly, then it won't matter. Here are some tools you should invest in for HDTV calibration.
The tests companies use to compare the two usually aren't too scientific, either. Kaleidescape recently released the 1080p Player that the company says "rivals Blu-ray."
The testing, however, consisted of watching the same piece of content side-by-side on the 1080p Player and a Blu-ray player.
Pricing
While discussing this story with colleague Bob Archer, he pointed out the difference in pricing. He says upconverters are available for $60-$70. The cheapest Blu-ray players are much more expensive.
There are some high-end DVD players on the market as well. The 1080p Player from Kaleidescape is $4,295, and Cary Audio has a DVD player that runs $4,000.
But if a client dishes out that kind of money, wouldn't they want to experience their movies with the best image quality?
Again, they might not be able to tell the difference between an upconverted image and a native HD signal, but the fact that their new upconverter isn't producing a native HD image will always be on their mind.
Movie Library
It's no secret the DVD library is much bigger than the Blu-ray library.
There are still fewer than 1,000 Blu-ray titles on the market. That means if the client buys a Blu-ray player, they will have to start a new movie collection. And last time I checked, Blu-ray titles were around $30 a pop -- not exactly cheap with the way today's economy is going.
A recent report from the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA), however, says Blu-ray discs will outsell standard DVDs in 2012 and generate more than $9.5 billion in sales.
The report says nearly 9 million HD discs were sold in 2007, generating more than $260 million in revenue.
DVD releases, according to the report, were down to 12,177 in 2007 from 13,950 in 2005.
Blu-ray Players Are Backwards Compatible
Most Blu-ray players now can play DVDs and CDs. That wasn't always the case in the early days of the technology.
So investing in a Blu-ray player enables clients to still enjoy their old DVDs and CDs.
Remember when DVDs first came out? What happened to all those VHS movies? They're probably still collecting dust on a bookshelf somewhere.
Blu-ray Players Starting To Incorporate 2.0 Profile
Blu-ray players are now starting to come with BD-Live, allowing users to download images, subtitles, and join games linked to certain Blu-ray titles.
Panasonic's DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player has BD-Live, and Sony is shipping its BD-Live-Ready BDP-S350.
Sony's PlayStation 3 received BD-Live earlier this year and is the most future-proof Blu-ray player to date. A drawback of the PS3, however, is it doesn't have IR or RS-232 control. Hopefully the IR4PS3 remote does the trick.
More and more Blu-ray players are starting to feature BD-Live. But what about those who already own Blu-ray players without it?
At 2008 CES, the Blu-ray Disc Association said of the 3.5 million Blu-ray players sold to date, 3 million were PS3s.
That means about 15 percent of Blu-ray owners, at that time, were unable to access the features of BD-Live.
Blu-Ray Struggling Except On PS3
Stephen Johnson - Friday, August 01, 2008 8:20 AM
Blu-Ray discs sales are struggling, but the PlayStation 3 is like the white knight of the format: It's the place where the format is blossoming, according to ABI Research.
The reason for slower-than-wanted sales of Blu-Ray is simple: Most people are okay with their old-school DVDs. A survey of 1,000 found that 50% of those asked have no plans to purchase a Blu-ray player, and 23 percent said they are likely to buy a player, but not until 2009.
gWhile you might think gamers purchase fewer movie discs than others, we didnft see any significant evidence of that in our results,h said ABI principle analyst Steve Wilson. gPS3 console shipments will go a long way to help bring down manufacturing costs and drive down Blu-ray player prices.h
Stephen Johnson - Friday, August 01, 2008 8:20 AM
Blu-Ray discs sales are struggling, but the PlayStation 3 is like the white knight of the format: It's the place where the format is blossoming, according to ABI Research.
The reason for slower-than-wanted sales of Blu-Ray is simple: Most people are okay with their old-school DVDs. A survey of 1,000 found that 50% of those asked have no plans to purchase a Blu-ray player, and 23 percent said they are likely to buy a player, but not until 2009.
gWhile you might think gamers purchase fewer movie discs than others, we didnft see any significant evidence of that in our results,h said ABI principle analyst Steve Wilson. gPS3 console shipments will go a long way to help bring down manufacturing costs and drive down Blu-ray player prices.h
bmwracer wrote:Blu-Ray Struggling Except On PS3
Stephen Johnson - Friday, August 01, 2008 8:20 AM
Blu-Ray discs sales are struggling, but the PlayStation 3 is like the white knight of the format: It's the place where the format is blossoming, according to ABI Research.
The reason for slower-than-wanted sales of Blu-Ray is simple: Most people are okay with their old-school DVDs. A survey of 1,000 found that 50% of those asked have no plans to purchase a Blu-ray player, and 23 percent said they are likely to buy a player, but not until 2009.
gWhile you might think gamers purchase fewer movie discs than others, we didnft see any significant evidence of that in our results,h said ABI principle analyst Steve Wilson. gPS3 console shipments will go a long way to help bring down manufacturing costs and drive down Blu-ray player prices.h
Well like tabana said...why buy a standalone Blu-Ray player when the PS3 costs about the same!
Study Finds Consumers Hesitant to Purchase Blu-ray Players
40% of respondents say Blu-ray's quality is only "somewhat better" than DVD.
Aug. 01, 2008 \ by Steve Crowe
A new study from ABI Research finds only 23 percent of consumers surveyed plan to buy a Blu-ray player by sometime in 2009.
"Blu-ray: Consumer Survey Results" says over 50 percent of the 1,000 respondents don't have any desire to purchase a Blu-ray player, saying they have "other priorities."
ABI Research principal analyst Steve Wilson says much of the lukewarm response is attributed to the perception about the value Blu-ray offers.
"Consumers were happy to embrace standard DVD when that format arrived because the improvement in quality over VHS videotapes was dramatic," he says.
Half of the respondents say Blu-ray's quality is "much better" than DVD, while 40 percent say the quality is only "somewhat better."
The survey, of course, says the price of Blu-ray players and Blu-ray discs and the need for an HDTV are also major barriers delaying wider adoption.
"We expect that player prices will remain above $300 for Tier One models for the remainder of this year," says Wilson.
Despite Harris Interactive also saying Blu-ray lacks interest, there are some bright spots, according to ABI: Sony's PlayStation 3, which many think is the best Blu-ray player on the market, continues to sell.
"PS3 console shipments will go a long way to help bring down manufacturing costs and drive down Blu-ray player prices," Wilson says.
Video download services may help speed up the adoption of the format, as well. LG just announced a Blu-ray player that streams Netflix.
The Entertainment Merchants Association says Blu-ray will outsell DVD in 2012.
40% of respondents say Blu-ray's quality is only "somewhat better" than DVD.
Aug. 01, 2008 \ by Steve Crowe
A new study from ABI Research finds only 23 percent of consumers surveyed plan to buy a Blu-ray player by sometime in 2009.
"Blu-ray: Consumer Survey Results" says over 50 percent of the 1,000 respondents don't have any desire to purchase a Blu-ray player, saying they have "other priorities."
ABI Research principal analyst Steve Wilson says much of the lukewarm response is attributed to the perception about the value Blu-ray offers.
"Consumers were happy to embrace standard DVD when that format arrived because the improvement in quality over VHS videotapes was dramatic," he says.
Half of the respondents say Blu-ray's quality is "much better" than DVD, while 40 percent say the quality is only "somewhat better."
The survey, of course, says the price of Blu-ray players and Blu-ray discs and the need for an HDTV are also major barriers delaying wider adoption.
"We expect that player prices will remain above $300 for Tier One models for the remainder of this year," says Wilson.
Despite Harris Interactive also saying Blu-ray lacks interest, there are some bright spots, according to ABI: Sony's PlayStation 3, which many think is the best Blu-ray player on the market, continues to sell.
"PS3 console shipments will go a long way to help bring down manufacturing costs and drive down Blu-ray player prices," Wilson says.
Video download services may help speed up the adoption of the format, as well. LG just announced a Blu-ray player that streams Netflix.
The Entertainment Merchants Association says Blu-ray will outsell DVD in 2012.
Tu_triky wrote:
Well like tabana said...why buy a standalone Blu-Ray player when the PS3 costs about the same!
My son wants to buy an xBox360, I keep telling him it would be much better to buy a PS3.. but now he wants an iPhone, he's forgotten all about the PS3/xBox :crazy:
Anime Dad wrote:My son wants to buy an xBox360, I keep telling him it would be much better to buy a PS3.. but now he wants an iPhone, he's forgotten all about the PS3/xBox :crazy:
It's the "What's Hot at the Moment" syndrome.
bmwracer wrote:
It's the "What's Hot at the Moment" syndrome.
Tell me about it. The thing is, he can't track one down ATM. He wants a prepaid one, but they haven't released them yet :sweat:
Anime Dad wrote:
My son wants to buy an xBox360, I keep telling him it would be much better to buy a PS3.. but now he wants an iPhone, he's forgotten all about the PS3/xBox :crazy:
Hehe...I guess we were all like that when we were young, at some point or another. ;)
I'm getting a couple of things that are coming on special on Thursday: A programmable remote for our A/V stuff (hopefully get rid of the need for 4 separate remotes!) and a USB turntable and software, so I can convert all our vinyl LP's to digital. $99.00 each :) I'm glad we didn't throw away our LP's now.
Anime Dad wrote:I'm getting a couple of things that are coming on special on Thursday: A programmable remote for our A/V stuff (hopefully get rid of the need for 4 separate remotes!) and a USB turntable and software, so I can convert all our vinyl LP's to digital. $99.00 each :) I'm glad we didn't throw away our LP's now.
Don't you have a turntable now?
You should be able to connect the output of it to the audio in on your sound card, ne?
bmwracer wrote:
Don't you have a turntable now?
You should be able to connect the output of it to the audio in on your sound card, ne?
I do, but I have not been able to buy a stylus for it for under $120.00, and they can't guarantee it will fit (it's over 20 years old). The USB unit also has RCA plug output so I can connect it to my home theatre system too :)
Anime Dad wrote:I do, but I have not been able to buy a stylus for it for under $120.00, and they can't guarantee it will fit (it's over 20 years old).
The stylus mount is pretty much universal... Unless your turntable is from the 1950's, the cartridge should fit. :)
It's still more expensive than the whole new turntable :)
Anime Dad wrote:It's still more expensive than the whole new turntable :)
I suppose... The last time I bought a cartridge was back in 1985... The same year I bought my first CD player. :sweat:
Panasonic Wants More HD Families
The company is looking for a few good families to share experiences with tech items.
Aug. 05, 2008 \ by Rachel Cericola
Know what itfs like to glive in high definition?h Panasonic wants to talk to you.
The company just announced that itfs looking for more families to participate in its Living in HD program. Panasonic will provide you with a slew of high-tech goodies, in exchange for feedback on functionality, design concepts, and how HD affects your life and use of technology.
Products provided include a 50-inch VIERA plasma Internet-enabled HDTV, an HD camcorder, a LUMIX digital camera, a network camera, a Blu-ray player, the Toughbook mobile computer, a photo printer, a home theater system and Nintendofs Wii console. Sounds like fun!
The neat thing is that Panasonic isnft just taking the mom, dad and kids. If you can sell your coworkers on why you should participate, they may count that as a gfamily.h Wefd love to see how you share the goods, though.
So far, 30 families have participated in the program. Panasonic wants to double that by 2009, and eventually have 100 families in the program. You can check out some of the families and their experiences on the Living in HD website.
gThe Living in HD program has established in-home elife laboratoriesf that study how Panasonicfs High Definition products impact the lifestyle of our participating families,h said Bob Greenberg, VP of brand marketing for Panasonic. gAs we continue to add families to the program, we are able to provide our research team with an expanded data set of product feedback to incorporate into future Panasonic product designs.h
Panasonic is currently accepting applications online ( http://www.panasonic.com/livinginhd/register.htm ). The deadline for submissions is September 23.
The company is looking for a few good families to share experiences with tech items.
Aug. 05, 2008 \ by Rachel Cericola
Know what itfs like to glive in high definition?h Panasonic wants to talk to you.
The company just announced that itfs looking for more families to participate in its Living in HD program. Panasonic will provide you with a slew of high-tech goodies, in exchange for feedback on functionality, design concepts, and how HD affects your life and use of technology.
Products provided include a 50-inch VIERA plasma Internet-enabled HDTV, an HD camcorder, a LUMIX digital camera, a network camera, a Blu-ray player, the Toughbook mobile computer, a photo printer, a home theater system and Nintendofs Wii console. Sounds like fun!
The neat thing is that Panasonic isnft just taking the mom, dad and kids. If you can sell your coworkers on why you should participate, they may count that as a gfamily.h Wefd love to see how you share the goods, though.
So far, 30 families have participated in the program. Panasonic wants to double that by 2009, and eventually have 100 families in the program. You can check out some of the families and their experiences on the Living in HD website.
gThe Living in HD program has established in-home elife laboratoriesf that study how Panasonicfs High Definition products impact the lifestyle of our participating families,h said Bob Greenberg, VP of brand marketing for Panasonic. gAs we continue to add families to the program, we are able to provide our research team with an expanded data set of product feedback to incorporate into future Panasonic product designs.h
Panasonic is currently accepting applications online ( http://www.panasonic.com/livinginhd/register.htm ). The deadline for submissions is September 23.
Finally decided to start shopping for an HDTV... But which brands? :sweat:
bmwracer wrote:Finally decided to start shopping for an HDTV... But which brands? :sweat:
Zenith :beaten:
![[image]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2043/1547241096_9058fed98d.jpg){kind=link}
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