My Thoughts On HD-DVD
Ronald Epstein
July 6, 2006
SURVIVING A FORMAT WAR
I feel like it's December of 1996 once again. At that time the manufacturers and studios were announcing their plans for a 1st quarter 1997 rollout of a new video format called DVD. At that point, I had a few hundred laserdiscs in my collection and I convinced myself that I wasn't about to buy everything all over again in that higher resolution format. Of course, all that changed in February 1997 when I actually got to see a DVD of BATMAN playing in a video store. The moment I saw how much improvement there was in overall picture quality, I immediately plopped down $1K on a Sony DVD player.
The rest is history!
Interesting how history repeats itself all over again. Now almost 10 years later, a new home video format is introduced. Under normal circumstances, I would have welcomed the new format with open arms. After all, it has been 10 years since anyone has offered better picture definition over what standard DVD has offered. Why not welcome something that can unleash the fullest potential of the high definition televisions we have owned all these years?
The problem is that this time around there isn't one single format. There's two! The reasons for two formats can be summed up in one word: GREED. Back in 1997 it was Warner Brothers that brought DVD to the table. They made royalties off of every DVD software title that was sold. You can imagine with the prospect of earning the same kind of royalties, there would be more than one company this time out vying to dominate a high definition format. This is a war like no other, and in the end, it's the consumer (you and I) that must suffer.
On the one side of the table is the Toshiba-backed HD-DVD format. On the other side of the table is the Sony-backed BLU-RAY format. Two different high definition formats with discs that are totally incompatible with one another, but each backward compatible with standard DVD. Studio support is sharply divided down the middle with a handful supporting one format, and a handful supporting the other. This means, as of today, if you want to enjoy every DVD that is released from all the studios, you need to own BOTH players.
This is the type of format war that should never have happened, and now that it has, will have an enduring negative affect upon the consumer.
CHOOSING HD-DVD OR BLU-RAY
Right now, the biggest decision facing anyone who wishes to take advantage of the new high definition formats, is which one to choose. Honestly, there is no right choice here because at this time none of us has any idea which format will win, which will lose, or if both will be able to coincide with each other peacefully. Many early adopters (those who must own the newest gadgets as soon as they come out) have snatched up BOTH HD-DVD and BLU-RAY players. Doing so, however, comes at a price. Blu-Ray players are retailing at $999 while HD-DVD players are half the price at $499 and up. Most of us can't quite understand why Sony/Samsung are pricing their Blu-Ray players at twice the price of Toshiba/RCA. Speculation is that Toshiba/RCA is taking a huge loss in profit in order to outsell Sony/Samsung, hoping to make money in software sales (remember those royalties I talked about?).
So let me talk about my reasons for jumping into HD-DVD....
The answer should come as no surprise to all of you: PRICE. Most all of us considering either format are looking at the bottom line, and that is the price tag. In my opinion, to go out and buy both players at this point is a risky decision based upon the fact that there is a format war. To buy into both formats will easily set you back $1500. Though I could afford to buy both players if I wanted to, I just couldn't bring myself to buying a $999 Blu-Ray player when the HD-DVD player was half the price. I am of the opinion that until Sony reevaluates their pricing strategy, there are going to be more people like myself jumping into HD-DVD first, and then eventually migrating to Blu-Ray once the price drops in half.
LET'S TALK ABOUT HD-DVD
I'll admit it took a great deal of arm-twisting from HTF members to persuade me to buy a player. However, it was becoming more obvious with each day that those who were purchasing their first HD-DVD player were extremely happy with what they saw. I figured for a mere $500, the cost of a premium DVD player, I would take the chance and immerse myself into at least one of the high definition formats.
I purchased the Toshiba HD-A1 from TV Authority and a few movies through Lasers Edge, that included The Phantom Of The Opera, The Last Samurai, Goodfellas and Swordfish.
The first title in the player was Phantom Of The Opera. My anticipation of watching my very first HD presentation was marred over the fact that it took the player about a minute to boot up, and an additional 20 seconds or more to actually start the title once PLAY was selected. Those of you used to instant playback capabilities of standard DVD decks are going to be a little irked by the amount of wait time that is involved from the moment you power up your player to the time an image appears on the screen. It's my understanding that the wait time is attributed to the fact that the player, which is more computer-like than standard DVD players, needs time to boot up and confirm all its resolution and security checks.
Finally....a picture! Every Warner DVD title begins with FBI warning messages that cannot be bypassed, followed by a very informative and entertaining short promo that gives an overview of all the features the HD-DVD format brings to your home screen.
My initial impressions of HD-DVD are this....
At first glance, I found that the
difference in picture quality between standard DVD and HD-DVD are not as
dramatic as going from VHS to DVD was. Instead, it's as dramatic as going
from LD to DVD.
The problem is, SD titles have come so far these days.
When people say "standard DVD looks good enough," they really mean it.
Over the past few years, standard definition titles have really improved to the
point where they appear to near HD resolution.
What I see here is a noticeable "refinement" where the picture takes on more
depth, sharpness and clarity. In essence, it looks more film like than ever
before. Colors are very, very rich and there seems to be textures that I never
noticed before on DVD. Newer releases such as The Last Samurai
really shine here with an enormous amount of color and detail. Checking
out "Masquerade" on Phantom Of The Opera is a real eye-opener to just how
beautiful high definition video can be. Older
titles such as Goodfellas also show a significant amount of improved
image clarity over the SD counterpart. A terrific catalog title,
Unforgiven, is unbelievably impressive at its opening moments: a
gorgeous red sunset draped in some of the deepest black I have ever seen.
There's a narrative scroll with text as razor sharp as nothing you have seen on
a television screen before.
Thus far, my impression is that HD-DVD doesn't have that dazzle factor where the difference immediately jumps out at you. It has that sort of fine wine feel to it that gets better with every revisit.
I think the moment I saw the real benefit of HD-DVD was after watching Swordfish, then switching to its standard DVD counterpart and seeing how lifeless it looked. I think the change is more noticeable going from HD-DVD to DVD than the other way around.
Audio also greatly benefits from the format's increased amount of bandwidth. With the same coaxial digital connection used for my DVD player, I noticed improvement. These improvements didn't necessarily come in the form of increased dynamic range, but in the fact that I was hearing far better separation across the channels than I ever did before. I'm looking forward to seeing just how much better an HDMI connection and these new HD sound formats boost the overall listening experience.
CHECK OUT THE MENU
Forget everything you know about MAIN MENU screens. They are now a thing of the past. You see, once you pop in the HD-DVD and it goes through the FBI warnings and included promo, the feature film simply begins. To access the MENU, you simply select MENU on your remote and a small toolbar suddenly slides up from the bottom of your screen. I have taken the liberty of providing some screen captures for you to demonstrate the menu system. These captures are rather *crude* due to the fact that the technology is still too new to be able to capture images on a computer.
If you aren't sold on the improvement in picture quality (which I think will be an impossibility), you will be sold on the enhanced menu system which acts in the form of a small toolbar that slides in and out of the bottom of your screen. It is here that you make all your adjustments including audio and video display options, languages and subtitles. Scene Selection is also displayed in a filmstrip-like manner where you can more readily access any portion of the DVD than you ever have before. There's even a BOOKMARK function that allows you to bookmark favorite scenes for future reference. The best part about this menu system is that you never, ever leave the film itself to make these adjustments. All the navigation through the menu system is done while the movie continues playing in the background.
Watching Special Features has also been
taken to an exciting new level thanks to HD-DVD. You can access all the
included features through the main menu, while watching the main feature and
without any interruption whatsoever. The additional amount of storage
capacity that HD-DVD provides allows enhanced features such as on-screen trivia
or film goofs, as illustrated in the picture of Burt Reynolds (above). You
can also now watch a feature film like Batman Begins while enjoying a
video commentary courtesy of a picture-in-picture box that runs alongside the
feature itself. GOTTA TAKE THE BAD WITH THE GOOD This new HD-DVD format is certainly not perfect at this point,
and I don't expect it to be such at such an early stage. Early adopters
are going to suffer some of the little "quirks" in the system that may or may
not be addressed with future generations of players. The biggest gripe
with these players is the amount of time it takes to go from powering it on to
actual playback. I can only give you a total rough estimate of a little
over 1 minute. Perhaps if you go with the idea that we are no longer
playing our movies on DVD drives but rather mini-computers, the idea suddenly
more acceptable that there is boot-up time required. There's also a problem with stopping a film and then resuming
it. You can't! Any time you purposely or accidentally (as I had many
times) stop playback, you must go all the way back to the beginning of the DVD
with all the FBI warnings and so forth before you can navigate back to the area
you were before. I am hoping that this is an issue that can be resolved
with firmware upgrades. Let's also not forget that due to Internet pressure from forums
such as this one, the studios are allowing you to watch a 1080i high definition
through component outputs. This is important to many of us like myself
that do not have HDMI hookup. The bad news is that at any time, the
studios could decide to pull the plug and restrict their software to HDMI input
only. It is the personal opinion of many that this will not happen in the
foreseeable future, and when and if it does, most of us will own televisions
with HDMI inputs. I'm also disappointed with the first wave of HD-DVD releases.
While I realize that everyone has their own individual taste in film, I was
surprised at reading just how many other HTF members also shared the opinion
that the initial wave of releases left much to be desired. There's little
doubt that the studios played it "safe" with these titles while the waters were
being tested. The problem is, you aren't going to lure anyone into this
format until you offer movies worth salivating over. We recently ran a survey asking HTF members to pick the titles
that would most entice them to invest in the new high definition formats.
Fortunately, word on the street is that most studios plan to supplement new theatrical releases on DVD with a HD-DVD and BLU-RAY counterpart. This should mean by late fall of this year, titles of real worth should be increasingly rolling onto store shelves.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I feel as if I have an obligation to the membership to give a full account of my experience with HD-DVD and the reasons why I chose to go with this format. The mere fact that I don't own state-of-the-art display or audio equipment makes me the perfect advocate for the format, since I represent a huge group of individuals whose televisions do not conform to the new digital standard, but yet fortunately at this point, are capable of displaying high definition DVD. Please rest assure that I am receiving absolutely nothing from Toshiba or the studios for this article. I purchased my HD-DVD player out of my own pocket, and selling you on this format results in absolutely no gain for me other than possibly the satisfaction that I converted a naysayer or two into a purchase.
I realize there are still those of you sitting on the fence regarding purchasing either of the two new high definition formats -- and under the circumstances, I don't blame you one bit. I hope that by the time you have reached this portion of my report that perhaps I have changed your mind.
It is my opinion that this format war will not be won quickly, if it will be won at all. I think that based on price, HD-DVD looks like a great way to get the foot in the door right now, in advance of the many big releases coming out this fall. There's also BLU-RAY to consider at a higher price point, and certainly just as worthy (or perhaps more) as HD-DVD. I look forward to supporting BLU-RAY once its price structure is reevaluated.
For a mere $500 you really are investing in a format that provides superior picture quality and navigational options that standard DVD just can't provide. I'm sold!
Equipment: Toshiba 57HX81; Outlaw 950/770; Toshiba HD-A1
It only gets better! Read my latest update to this article as I just upgraded to a new display with HDMI!
Discuss this review with other HTF members here (and
let's see who falls off the fence)