Do you HD-DVD or bluRay?

If you weren't around for it, there were two types of videotapes once. I seem to recall people saying Betamax was the best technology, but obviously VHS won. No matter what you get right now, the world could standardize on something else.

I agree with kylo4, DVDs still look awfully good on a big screen. That's by far your most cost-effective solution. Get an upscaling player if you want, but keep in mind that its not going to have any more resolution than the source anyway. Just avoid the really cheap DVD players; they use cheap components, and the price difference between those and decent ones isn't much.

I've had HD for a few years now (back when you had to buy a separate tuner for $400!), and I've seen a lot of movies on HD that way, I wouldn't say it looks all that much better than DVD.

It looks waaay better than cable TV, though. In fact, on my 50" screen, cable looks just plain bad. You should look into getting HD service through cable, sat, or whatever. All of our local channels broadcast HD, so I just get it with a little antenna.

HD broadcasts usually come with 5.1 stereo, too. When you watch a football game, the announcer is on the center channel, and the stadium sound is all around you. I'm not sure about others, but out PBS station shows concerts a lot (saw the Decemberists and Explosions in the Sky this evening), in Dolby 5.1! So...don't forget to invest in a decent sound system too.

I would either buy both a PS3 and a 360 w/HD-DVD drive (and run folding all the time) or wait until a good dual format player comes out. Keep in mind that a dual-format player will probably cost as much as the total of the PS3 and 360 w/HD-DVD drive.

I'm one of the few people who still uses Betamax, and lemme tell you, old formats die hard, however I only use Betamax for recording, so it's different than for a read only format.

You're best off waiting for a set winner of the format war.

I personally like HD-DVD better as a format, but I have a feeling that BluRay is going to be the victor.

yes...get blueray..

the future is better...more people rent them at blockbuster which prooves it wil win!

and a ps3 sounds good too! 2 in 1

my money is on the Blu-ray format... there are several firms making Blu-ray
players and recorders(Japan-only for now). On the other hand, Toshiba appears
to be the only one selling HD-DVD players.

I don't think there's that much difference between the HD-DVD and Blu-ray formats,
from a technology perspective. Better technology doesn't guarantee success in the
market place. I have a drawerful of DAT tapes and recorders to prove this... :)

I may also be biased, because my local Blockbuster is currently only carrying Blu-ray
rental titles. I have a 40 free rentals card from them.(a promotion on the purchase
of a Panasonic projector)

I'm sorry - I have a standard old DVD player. what is an "upconverting" dvd player?

From Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upconverting)

Upscaling DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) Players are a reasonably cheap way of upscaling standard DVD-Video discs using a video scaler to match the pixel count of the signal to the physical pixel count on a high-definition television or computer monitor, resulting in better detail and color consistency. Standalone DVD players which feature upscaling use either a standard component video or VGA analog cable, or a DVI-D or HDMI digital cable to connect to the high-definition television. Standalone DVD players with component video or VGA output connectors use a digital-to-analog integrated circuit microchip which does the upscaling, while DVD players with DVI-D or HDMI output connectors use a digital-to-digital integrated circuit microchip which does the upscaling. Computer software DVD-Video players like PowerDVD and WinDVD also features upscaling of DVD-Video.

Yes, however the HD-DVD player is a $200 add on for the 360 whereas the PS3 has it already built in.

A lot of people also get conned into thinking that upconverting players actually make the output even better, for example it will make a 480p dvd output 1080p which is misleading. Think of it as how when you rip a cd to iTunes it will never be as good as the CD unless its lossless and that if iTunes said "will make sound better than CD" it would be false.

Yes, but the people who have a 360 already (i.e. A lot of people) and are looking to make the decision have an easy choice. Also, the 360 HD-DVD drive will work on a PC.

They do make the output better, or at least make it appear better on an HDTV. They create more pixels using surrounding pixels to match color and create a better picture. I mean, the picture is no more detailed obviously, but it theoretically would appear just as sharp on an HDTV as it would on an SDTV. I think.

Word is the porn industry is on the HD-DVD band wagon. Which means HD-DVD will prevail over Blu-Ray. And I'm being serious here. It is known fact that it was the porn market that pushed VHS to the masses.

And I agree with bdb on getting a DVD player with upscaling capabilities. I've got a Denon that goes to 1080p and it's great (although my TV is only 720p :p). I'd wait on the whole HD-DVD/Blu-Ray debacle.

Word is the porn industry is on the HD-DVD band wagon. Which means HD-DVD will prevail over Blu-Ray. And I'm being serious here. It is known fact that it was the porn market that pushed VHS to the masses.

And I agree with bdb on getting a DVD player with upscaling capabilities. I've got a Denon that goes to 1080p and it's great (although my TV is only 720p :p). I'd wait on the whole HD-DVD/Blu-Ray debacle.

I have to disagree. In fact I did some reading and came across this in an article about the Betamax/VHS war.

"Another amusing (and false) theory is that Sony refused to allow pornographic material on their system. A quick perusal of the Betamax library reveals that adult entertainment was readily available. For example, Playboy Industries released their videos in a dual format, both Betamax and VHS, for most of the 1970s and 80s (and can be confirmed with a quick search through Ebay's adult section, or other used video markets). Second, the adult industry is too small to have any lasting impact on standards selection. According to Forbes.com, adult video income is approximately $1 billion. "The industry is tiny next to broadcast television ($32.3 billion in 1999), cable television ($45.5 billion), the newspaper business ($27.5 billion), Hollywood ($31 billion), even to professional and educational publishing ($14.8 billion). When one really examines the numbers, the porn industry — while a subject of fascination — is every bit as marginal as it seems at first glance."

Plus, some user on Gizmodo was right. Why would you want to see every single cold sore on someone's face in Hi-Def?

I just picked up a toshiba hd dvd player at walmart on their secret instore special thing for $98 cant beat that. So I got netflix and started renting hd dvd movies.

Since I am a PS3 owner, I am in the Blu-ray camp. Better technology, and cheaper software. :)