HD-DVD will die when Walmart says it's dead.

schrutebuck

LG should get kicked out of the Blu club for making such an ugly player. Blu players are supposed to be sleek and sexy. That's the reason they won the format war. Blu, bringing sexy back.

CruJones

@Kaiser-Machead: lol nice.

ImTheKing

@Rob C: Unless you get rid of your HD DVD player by selling it to some sucker so you can buy something to play Blu-Ray. :P

Kaiser-Machead

@Kaiser-Machead:

therefore you would already own an HD-DVD player, echewing the need for this crap.

Although, there are some exclusive movies that are HD-DVD only that people might want to watch, so they might like something like this so they can watch those, and still keep with the blu-ray train

Rob C

Unless you were one of those sucker early adopters that was pretty certain HD DVD would win, thus have HD DVD titles you'd prefer not to replace.

Kaiser-Machead

yeah it's dying, but there are a lot of people out there that have HD DVDs. it's not like the format dying makes all those movies instantly disappear. This is something cool to get if you bought into HD DVD and now figure you should go blu-ray. better than burning or giving away the movies you already bought.

gibson424

*has, excuse my typo, i swear i speak good english.

rimplestultskin

Its like a threesome with a really hot chick and her fat sister

Juggrnott

if the premium over a regular blu player isn't that steep, and the movie rental places start going half price for HDDVD rentals or the store tries to clear 'em out, then it would be a good buy over a regular blu player.

however, for half the price i can get a PS3 that plays blu-ray movies AND had internet browser, gaming, media center connection, etc.

rimplestultskin

Does it make any sense to get a Blu Ray or HDDVD player if you don't have a schmancy TV? I only have a regular tv. If I bought a hi def dvd player, it wouldn't look any different would it?

phelander

That thing looks like VCR from the mid 90s. I bought a Toshiba HD-DVD player last week for 3 reasons:

1) Got it for $99 with 7 free movies
2) My 5 year old DVD player needed to be replaced with an upconverting player anyway. It's like getting HD-DVD playback for free at that price.
3) Buying a PS3 (eventually) when some game comes out that compels me to.

bxstrb

@Flegion: That's pretty much my thought. There's been enough titles released in HD-DVD that there's still some merit to an HD-DVD player.

typoink

@schrutebuck:

Hence the clearance sale?

jiffy

@Izim1: HAHA yes, fall in line boys and girls fall in line

Seiven

@CruJones: Have you seen Sharp's player? I was thinking of getting it (to match my TV), but its neither "sleek" nor "sexy." Yeah, this is not much of a looker either, but I think it's a little better than Sharp's.

Playing HD DVDs is still a decent feature IMO, considering Universal may limp along for a while (and even then, how long will it take them to reproduce their high def catalogue in Blu?). I wouldn't pay more than $100 extra for it, though.

Flegion

@schrutebuck: ROFL too true, words of wisdom...hell Wal Mart could convince people that they all need fake dog poo and the plastics molding industry would whip into full swing. Unfortunately the "average Joe" who we need to convince that HD is worth it...will be buying at Wal Mart. Has anyone mentioned the MOST sold HDTV in the US (possibly world) last I checked was the Vis-something or other that Wal Mart sells...I always thought "cheap knock off" but cheap sells. who knows maybe HDDVD becoming cheap will pull it into the lead.

Seiven

we're all now obligated to say something negative about Sony even though they have nothing to do with this article. It's a gizmodo law. So let 'er rip guys......*

*(except for the dillusional few who believe that just becuase they have high-speed Internet, it somehow means that EVERYONE has high-speed Internet and therefore can download movies. Those few somehow have gotten it in their head that downloads are the "new format" winner and will cluelessly come on here and preach it completely oblivious to the fact that they are BY FAR the minority...)

Izim1

@Kaiser-Machead: I am one of those suckers, and I don't want two devices vying for HDMI ports when one will do.

JonnyO

This whole format wars should be favored by all those idiots who doesnt have a next gen systems. Without the format wars, do you really think the price of a blu ray system would have dropped to $400. Without the ongoing war, the lowest price you will see in the next 2 years will be no lower than $300 if you are lucky. I don't know why the blu ray supporters are bitching on why HD isn't dead yet. Are you really that upset cuz you can't get movies from universal or paramount yet? The reason blu ray is outselling hd is because they have more movies. Honestly can you really say that the blu ray dvds of 300 or harry potter is actually better. HD has better quality with their titles. Blu ray is the future but they aren't even trying to make better dvds compared to HD. All that storage is just a waste. Yes I have both players so I can make a fair comparison unlike all the fanboys out there.

vertibraker

I'm willing to bet the even if HD does end, we'll still see smaller niche titles appear and most player makers support both formats in their players.

bufftbone

@Juggrnott:
Well put!


I, unfortunately, was an early adopter of HDDVD and will probably eventually get a dual format so I can play the HDDVDs I already own. But let's face it, someone is going to sue and get refunds or Blu-Ray replacements. They will most likely win, which is BS.

SMBowen

@vertibraker: BTW thank the lord for "competition" being the only thing that makes prices drop...otherwise..people would still be paying the $300 and $400 for the xbox 360, that they were paying 2+ years ago when it was released... oh wait....

izim1

@vertibraker: well if it isn't the HDDVD fanboy that has both formats and can "clearly" see that HDDVD has better quality. Haven't seen you for a while. Where you on vacation or have I just not been paying you any attention?
Anyways... Refresh my memory will ya: what competeing format do we thank for the $30 DVD players? Or the cheap as dirt mp3 players? C'mon kid. Knock it off already. EVERYONE knows that once a product looses its luster the prices start to fall. Cd players in the 80s and early 90s were going for $500 (that's like $1000 today). Prices will fall. Your "superior" HDDVDs lost. Get over it. Move on. "300"?"harry potter"? Dude, gizmodo posted that comparison weeks ago. Let it go already

Izim1

@ IZIM1: The prices of the 360 has gone down. The $400 has a 120gb hd instead of a 20 and includes 2 games while the $300 dropped to $280 with a memory card and 5 games because of competition from the ps3 and the wii. The PS3 lowered its price by cutting costs in removing BC and because they were not selling as well as expected. Like I said before, you really need to give up with your lame arguments. I would say put some more thoughts into it, but you might hurt yourself.

vertibraker

@ IZIM1: You are such a fanboy. You are soo scared to admit that there is something good about HD. Are you scared that if someone hears that there is some features that are better, everyone will jump ship and switch sides. I admitted blu ray is the future but hd is the better format right now. You can't accept that because you just have to be right. Dont you know that it is people like you who just jump on the bandwagon of something that is winning instead of wanting things to improve. Can anyone actually say that blu ray is perfect. hd obviously isnt. You are probably someone who thinks that you are making good money at 30k a year instead of trying to do better. Try thinking for yourself for once.

FYI. CD players went down in price because of mass production from many different companies driving prices down. They were never at $500. It took 4 years for the starting price of $300 to drop down below $100. It took many years for the price to drop unlike the blu ray player which dropped from a $1000 starting price to $400 in less than a year. That is due to competition from a competing technology. With blu ray, you have samsung, sony, lg and panasonic. Hardly the same comparison as cd players. Theres no generic brand yet because it is too expensive to make at the moment. IZIM1: you weren't able to put up anything close to a decent argument then and you never will. Maybe you should give up. You aren't even in my league.

vertibraker

heath = death*

havok2022

Giz.... once again, that WOULD have been a great headline except one thing. This player has been out for quite a while. It was on the market WELL before CES, at least a good 3-4 months. 3-4 months ago, the format war was still a dead heat. Hell, ultimateavmag.com's review on this was back in December, and they always get everything late. December.. before CES.... before the heath of HD-DVD. So... ya.

havok2022

@Juggrnott: Dude, that's not right.

w00zzy

It's really amazing the way some folks think that if THEY don't need something, nobody does.

kcmurphy88

If anyone thinks that Blu Ray will magically own the market in the next 6 months, and HD DVD will disappear then you are dreaming. There is a niche for combo players.Smart companies will recognize the need for HD DVD owners to use them. I for one will not repurchase my collection of HD DVD's, instead investing in a player that will support the immediate present and the likely future. In 6 months the same LG player should be around $500, which is what you would pay for a Blu Ray player. I'm willing to use this logic until Blu Ray gets their hardware act together.

webchuk