Blue Ray/HD

[thermal]

Okay..... I'm ready to invest in a quality system. I want to use the potential of my 1080 Sony. What do you recommend? I thought about just getting either a PS3 or Xbox 360 (and external DVD player). What's up?

[blind34_1]

my .02 from what I know, xbox 360 over the ps3, just because of the problems i've heard. I have not seen them in person, just things I've read. A general lukewarm response from the community.

and, if you want a quality system, your centerpeice shouldn't be a gaming console imo. Sounds like you have a high dollar monitor, so maybe focus on the sound system? also, you might consider an HTPC running MythTV (linux), MCE (windows media center ed), or going the paid route for BeyondTV(windows based mc app)? This is the kind of stuff that, once set up proper, makes a TiVo look like a baby's toy. I'm looking forward to building a rig once I have the extra cash.

I would not buy into the whole HD and Blu Ray craze just yet. Remember when DVDs came out? Remember how much the players cost? now you get them practically for free. Also, there is still some turbulance with the AACS protection system, and the industry not knowing what to do now (it was cracked). The victims will possibly be consumers who went out and bought an early player, which could end up blacklisted for future releases (speculation). doom9.net is a good resource to check up on every now and then for this kind of news)

[GT40FIED]

I haven't heard much of anything firsthand on the PS3s...no one I know has the money for one. But Aaron's right...I wouldn't use that as a centerpiece for an entertainment system. However, to the best of my knowledge, the Xbox doesn't have the capability for true HD definition like the PS3 does. It's a trade off...a 16X DVD-ROM (Xbox) vs. a 1X Blu-Ray drive (Sony). I'm willing to bet load times on the PS3 are murder.

Yeah...I'm not totally sold on stand-alone Blu-Ray players just yet. In 6 or 8months they'll be cheaper, a lot more kinks will be worked out, and they'll have better features. Shit...just look at how much a Blu-Ray burner costs for your computer. I'm not even going to consider paying $1000 for a 2X burner on an unproven media. I don't know what the definition of newer HD DVDs are, but for a while Blu-Ray was promised as being the only way to get true HD for movies. I know HD DVDs usually hold something like 17GB of data...and that makes no sense to me since that's Blu-Ray territory.

If I had the money I'd focus on the TV and sound system right now and use my old DVD player until the new systems get ironed out. For a gaming system, I'd probably end up with a PS3 just because I've got the PS2 and would want to play all my old games and any future sequels.

[dabouncerx24]

The Xbox 360 has a stand alone add-on HD-DVD player, they are often on sale for $150-$170 (retails $200...check Xbox site for more details). I'll have to disagree with some of the posters and say that those consoles do just fine as a media "center piece." 1. Adds gaming as another aspect of media entertainment 2. Has n times the computing power than regular HD DVD players 3. Around the same price range or potentially CHEAPER (no mistake here) because pure HD DVD players will set you back for about $350-$600 right now (BluRay even worst, about $800) 4. If you're willing to forgo your Xbox warranty and chip the damn thing, it can turn into a PC (not that it isn't already, but a user friendly one) AND play pirated shit like how we Asians like it, but still retains all those other functions.

It all depends on how smart you want to spend your money. I'm not a Xbox fanboy trying to advertise, but as a poor college student coveting a next gen console for a long time, I've been doing lots of research and the 360 just works out the best financially. And the 360's games are a hell lot better than the PS3 ones as of now.

Or you can just do what the other guys said, wait a some months and for sure those DVD player prices will come crumbling down.

[GT40FIED]

That's a good point, but with the 360 not being immediately HD DVD compatible shit can start getting expensive. The consoles themselves are what...$350-$400 for the base system (forget the one with internal HDD and wireless controllers)? Add (best case scenario) another $150 to that for the HD add on player and you're looking at $500-$550 which puts you squarely into PS3 territory as far as price goes. I haven't actually played either system, but I've seen the graphics capabilities and the Sony wins hands down there. But hey...that doesn't mean shit if the games suck. Another option could be to say screw it, hang on 'til the prices drop on newer DVD players and buy a Wii. Again, haven't played the Wii, but the net geeks seem to like it. I'm just not sure if I want a workout with my video games.

[dabouncerx24]

Steve, good points, but I have to correct some facts for you. The base 360 is $300, the premium is $400, the soon coming out 360 ELITE is ~$500 (bigger hard drive, HDMI compatible...and the thing is black).

I'll have to quote myself here, it all depends on how smart you want to spend your money. Often PREMIUM 360s can be bought for ~330-340. Of course there are the usual Ebay and Craigs...but check out other "Walmart" online stores such as Overstock.com. Overstock.com ALWAYS have an absurd 15-20% off coupon code off entire purchases. They don't charge tax and often shipping starts at $1 flat rate (yes, even for heavy ass gaming consoles). Overstock is part of the Fatwallet.com promotion, so you can get a 6% rebate in addition to the first 15-20%. Dell.com is another place for cheap 360s. As of right now, Dell is giving a free copy of the wildly popular Gears of War game. If you don't like the game, Ebay the shit for $30-40. You can buy the HD DVD add-on just the same.

Let's say you can wait for all the deals to come along (they will), $320 for a 360 + $160 for the HD DVD, totals for about $480. Of course there's a trade off, you can pay a little more for the 20GB PS3 and enjoy BluRay.

Sorry Arnel for turning this into a console thread .

[blind34_1]

yeah, I'll correct what I said earlier, an xbox as a center peice can be acceptable, and I've seen it done. Several of my friends chipped their original xbox, and networked it with their computer in another room. Set up a shared folder and could stream movies, play pirated games, etc. It is a viable option if you are gaga over consoles. I am not, and would go the route of building an HTPC.

[thermal]

Good info fellas..... These are exactly what I wanted to hear.

Blind, I see your point about building a badass set-up. But see, I have no clue on half of the jargon you said: HTPC, AAPS, xxx stuff... hehehe.

To me, a TV is just that. Plug in a good quality DVD player and call it quits. I'm also a neat freak when it comes to an entertainment system. I pretty much want just 3 boxes: cable box, a video player, and a sound system.... (and my vidoeoke unit ). I barely play video games, although I do like having a game console just because I always have friends over who enjoys video games.

At this point, I'm really considering a PS3, get rid of my crappy JVC DVD player, and get a decent sound system. I normally just plug in my laptop and external drive to watch pirated movies. We'll see.....

Thanks for all the info guys. I know that you guys have the answers......

[blind34_1]

ah well, HTPC = Home Theater PC, which is really a broad term. Technically, an xbox could be defined as one, but it wasn't where I was going. Basically, you build a regular ol computer, put it in a pretty (usually overpriced) case, throw a few tv tuner cards in there (usually one to pick up HD), and now you have the capability to record and store tv shows. you can schedule it just like a tivo, but what this computer is capable of is really dependant on the software and your effort put into it. a few links for software:

http://www.team-mediaportal.com/
http://www.snapstream.com/

also, if you arent interested in recording anything, you could use this pc to surf the internet to download video via a torrent or whatever, and watch it right there. no burning dvds necessary, no being tied to your computer in the bedroom (if youre like most people!)

basically, the idea is all of your entertainment needs can be met without you even having to leave the couch. we are quickly approaching a convergence between how we perceive tv and computer entertainment. it wasn't so long ago that a computer and a tv were two very seperate worlds for most people. now, it's almost silly to keep them seperate!

As far as the dvd jargon is concerned, AACS was/is the copy protection scheme used for HD (blue ray, too?) DVDs. Old DVDs, the ones we still use now, are "protected" with something called CSS. Long ago, this was cracked due to its inherent weakness. To this day, it remains possible to break the encryption and copy discs almost effortlessy. There have been some attempts by the industry to slow this down by implementing additional forms of copy protection, but the simple fact remains: it must still work with a standard dvd player. and that means, if you can read it, you can copy it.

anyway, my rabbit trail aside, AACS is the industry's attempt at not repeating their mistakes. They failed again, not surprisingly. They "foresaw" their failure and had a plan to mitigate the "damage" caused by someone cracking the protection; blacklist any player that was compromised. Basically, this means that if the industry knows a certain model of Sony Bluray player was used to crack the protection, then it represents a threat to them. All blueray discs produced form that point on would NOT WORK in that model of player. Tough luck for the customers.

Lately though, as I understand it, the protection was broken in a way they did not anticipate. I don't remember the details, but their scheme of blacklisting players will not work. What else do they have up their sleeve?

overall, I think that bluray and hddvd drives won't be blacklisted, and that anyone that buys one now will probably be fine, but why? like we've already mentioned, they are overpriced, like all bleeding edge hardware is. wait awhile, see which format gets more adopted, then buy a decent player when the price drops.

man i get wordy. haha

[ebpda9]

Originally Posted by thermal

xxx stuff... hehehe.

.....

i bet you know a lot obout that stuff

[thermal]

Originally Posted by ebpda9

i bet you know a lot obout that stuff

Fuk ya dude..... least it's not gay porn shit ..... ha ha...

[Racing Rice]

I use my Xbox as my DVD player it works just as fine as my regular DVD player. I've been looking at getting an HD-DVD player for it. I'm a bit ticked that the Xbox just now came out with the Elite which features the larger drive and the HDMI ports. Though, apparently it's not a big issue just yet. From what I was reading today, the Game companies and movie companies have a "secret pact" that they will not force the use they will not use AACS until 2010. So around 2010 AACS protected HD-DVDs may not work in the current Xbox and Sony units that do not have HDMI.

With that said.. The next question has to be asked is which HD format will be widely accepted, Blue-Ray or HD-DVD. That is still yet to be seen.

I've played both, and both are great systems. The Xbox has a ton more titles because it's been out longer. You really can't go wrong with either. I've also played the Wii, it was an interesting experience. It would be fun to have, but I don't think I'd want one as an only console.

[GT40FIED]

Some interesting reads:

Authoritative guide to HD DVDs:
http://www.emedialive.com/Articles/R...rticleID=11629

Same guide but for Blu-Ray:
http://www.emedialive.com/Articles/R...rticleID=11392

It'll be interesting to see which comes out ahead in the long run. I have a feeling one of these will become the Minidisk of video formats. One will likely come out ahead while the other retains a very small but loyal following of people who don't want to admit they wasted money on a flash in the pan technology.

[Racing Rice]

Originally Posted by GT40FIED

I have a feeling one of these will become the "Minidisk" of video formats.

Is that a hint towards Sony? I'm really curious to see as well, I think the blue-ray stuff really depends if they can get cost down.

[GT40FIED]

Haha...it probably should be. After everything Son'y done in the past few years, the only logical conclusion I can come to is that they hate you. Yes, you. After they sued everyone and their mother for selling PSPs from Japan in Europe (claiming something about it lessening their carefully planned marketing strategy pf anticipation) to their optical drive problem in early PS2s to their whole Rootkit bullshit, it's obvious that they have it in for you.

I think Minidisks were kind of like the war in Iraq (without all the death). At first some people thought it was a good idea and others were hesitant. Then after a while it looked like it might go farther forward. Then all of a sudden it just hit a wall and no one wanted it anymore. But there will always be a few people who bought into the whole fad that will refuse to admit they were wrong and still talk about how great they are. See also: DAT tapes (although those are still good for studio recordings if you want to use them). Did I just make a successful comparison between politics and electronic mediums? I think I did. Man, I rule so hard.

[Violent Apathy]

Damn Steve, why are you never on AIM anymore?

[GT40FIED]

Mostly because my schedule is so fucked up these days. I'm on from time to time, but it's usually in the middle of the night when no one else I know is on. When I was at the university it was a lot easier because my schedule was a lot more stable. Now I'm just on whenever I feel like it and that's usually not when other people are on...even you west coast time zone homos.

[dabouncerx24]

Originally Posted by GT40FIED

Haha...it probably should be. After everything Son'y done in the past few years, the only logical conclusion I can come to is that they hate you. Yes, you. After they sued everyone and their mother for selling PSPs from Japan in Europe (claiming something about it lessening their carefully planned marketing strategy pf anticipation) to their optical drive problem in early PS2s to their whole Rootkit bullshit, it's obvious that they have it in for you.

I think Minidisks were kind of like the war in Iraq (without all the death). At first some people thought it was a good idea and others were hesitant. Then after a while it looked like it might go farther forward. Then all of a sudden it just hit a wall and no one wanted it anymore. But there will always be a few people who bought into the whole fad that will refuse to admit they were wrong and still talk about how great they are. See also: DAT tapes (although those are still good for studio recordings if you want to use them). Did I just make a successful comparison between politics and electronic mediums? I think I did. Man, I rule so hard.

Hm, but MDs remained popular for a quite a few years in Asia. Not sure about now since I haven't been back there in forever. It never made it big here though, maybe the ppl are too lazy to go through all the annoying song uploading/recording processes.

[GT40FIED]

Actually I think it was a mess of two different things...limited availability and evolving technology. MD disks were never really widely available in stores. I remember back during their highest popularity MD cartridges occupied only about half a rack or so in any given store like Best Buy. The selection was just aweful. Then shortly after they were introduced CD burners started to become available. At that time they were still expensive but hey...so was MD equipment. It's interesting that they would've caught on more in Asia since they would normally have more tech advances than we do. But MDs were small...Asians like things small.

[Racing Rice]

Originally Posted by GT40FIED

Haha...it probably should be. After everything Son'y done in the past few years, the only logical conclusion I can come to is that they hate you. Yes, you.

Sony probably hates me because I abandoned them and bought a Xbox 360.

Originally Posted by GT40FIED

Asians like things small.

That would explain why I can't find an Asian girlfriend.. Damn Steve, you know everything!!! Oh wise one.

[blind34_1]

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/07/1417253

an article about what I was talking about earlier. Granted, this is possibly just the key for a software program, but it could just as easily be decided that a hardware dvd player is longer allowed to play new hd dvds....

[AzCivic]

One good reason to get a stand alone dvd player is for it's ability to upconvert standard resolution dvd's. I hear the Toshiba HD-ax2 is really nice.