The Show Place

Here we go again. VHS vs. Betamax. Only back then, the choice seemed clearer. VHS became the popular format pretty quickly and every studio started putting out VHS tapes. And Beta went into the dustbin of history.

But this time, the studios are taking sides. Major releases are coming out on only one format or the other. But based on what, exactly? I for one am not sure. Belief in the technology? Maybe. Financial deals between studios and technology suppliers? Much more likely.

Pro HD-DVD
I'm leaning toward HD-DVD, but the only reason I can cite is that the remastered Star Trek will be in that format. Is that enough to make such a big decision? Probably not, but to paraphrase someone, my logic is in question when it comes to Star Trek. One good thing I just learned (at the theatrical screening of "The Menagerie" last Tuesday), is that it will be released on HD-DVD "Combo" discs. That means one side is HD-DVD. Flip it over and you have the remastered Star Trek in standard DVD format. So I do have a choice. I could get the set and enjoy it on my existing player, or buy an HD-DVD player which may become obsolete in the format wars. (It's all kind of moot anyway, since my TV is not yet HD, lol.)

Pro Blu-Ray
In Blu-Ray's favor is the fact that my preferred source for home electronics (Sony) is behind it. I'd have to leave the Sony fold to pursue HD-DVD.

Is it worth investing in a (pretty expensive) player that supports both formats? Or is it prudent to sit on my hands and wait until a clear winner emerges?

I have inquired on other forums and the only difference anyone can give is that HD-DVD "seems" to be crisper and provide better color saturation than Blu-Ray.

Just did a quick check myself and like the song says, "If the right one don't get you the left one will." Not only are the systems incompatible but there is some incompatibility within the players themselves. Some of the disks are formatted to be interactive while not all players are. There is expected to be a third format sometime in 2008 that has the ability to merge both current formats but until then the suggestion seems to be to buy one of each. And that'd be at around $500.00 each.

I think I'll wait til my 8 track player stops working.

Good grief.

I think I'll wait until one or the other becomes the fav.

*quickly throws sheet over entertainment center*

...so what's wrong with Betamax?



Actually, during the austral winter at South Pole, before the wide-open days of the WWW (early-mid 90s) we had both a VHS and a Betamax player...and a library full of (old-ish) movies which seemed to be split 50-50 on the formats (I know, I had to inventory the whole thing!). By that time, the trend was already towards VHS, but we had to make do with what we had available. All I know is that we did have problems with the Beta player, and it was being fixed more than being played.

As for HD vs. Blu-ray, I'm afraid I'm in the same boat as everyone here. I would very much like to purchase a high-def LCD TV, and associated disk player....but there are so many different kinds, it's mind boggling. I don't think I care for the "one-format-only" by certain studios, for same reasons as stated by others. The battle is made worse by retailers that have decided to jump on this bandwagon or the other bandwagon. I was in BestBuy yesterday, and barely 5 steps into the store, you were greeted by a half-dozen display stands filled with Blu-ray movies.

I guess I'll have to wait for a while before investing my hard-earned greenbacks in whatever technology "wins". In the meantime, I'll be happy to just watch my regular Beta....err.... DVD movies and TV shows.

LOL, well these folks found a good use for Blu-Ray:

http://trekmovie.com/2007/11/08/build-y ... ay-phaser/

The guy that came up with that idea probably works for blu-ray.

OMG!! That is awesome!! He has one of those "official - you'd better listen carefully" kind of voices. Now all he needs is to add the phaser sound!

Thanks for the link, it's great!