Why I went with HD-DVD...

[Shawn]

PRICE!

I was originally holding off because both players were too expensive. However after doing a bit of reading I discovered that the xbox360 HD-DVD drive was USB and could be hooked up to a computer. PowerDVD 7 said my video card was compatible so I decided to give it a shot.

I bought a HD-DVD drive off ebay for $160 shipped and it works great. Compared to the cheapest Blu-ray drive that Newegg has ($509.99AR), $160 is a steal!

Even if Blu-ray somehow wins the format war it won't be for a while and there will still be plenty of HD-DVDs released. I got 4 movies from Amazon for $50 shipped and will probably pick up the Matrix trilogy, 2001: A Space Odyssey, the BBC Planet Earth series, BSG Season 1 as well as a few others once they are released.

Here are some blurry low res pics. Looks much better in person, obviously. PowerDVD wouldn't let me take actual screenshots.
PowerDVD 7.3
The Fugitive Intro
The Fugitive Intro 2


HD-DVD Interactive Menus:
Serenity Main Menu
The Fugitive Scene Selection

Pics of my setup:
Entertainment System
Loveseat + Rear Speakers
Desk
Another Angle
Rig + HD-DVD Drive
Bed

Bonus:
Pic of my current HD-DVDs

 

[d94]

ya..i paid only $100 for my drive, deff a good deal. though i have mind hooked up to my 360

 

[Flammable]

italian job ftw

 

[austin316]

?

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: austin316
?

What?

 

[Matt2]

HD-DVD FTW!!!

I love my xbox 360 HD-DVD player.

I didnt think the difference would be worth $200 from an upconvert DVD player, but man was I wrong. I was blown away by the picture quality.

I hope HD-DVD comes out on top of BluRay. The only thing I regret about not getting a PS3 is that a lot of movies I like are on BluRay only.

 

[spacejamz]

Click for some good deals on WB high def disks...

Hopefully those coupons still work...I got a few blu ray movies last week that ended up being around $15 shipped apiece...

A cheap player won't do you that much good when most of the new blockbuster movies are gonna be on the other format, but congrats to ya anyway!!!

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Are you using an HDCP video card connected via DVI/HDMI or are you using VGA?

How are you handling audio? (TOSLINK?)

 

[chuckywang]

Is that a 37'' Olevia? I got the 237 model myself.

 

[imported_Mike]

Very inexpensive compared to blueray, but I just can't see HD DVD winning the format war.

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
Are you using an HDCP video card connected via DVI/HDMI or are you using VGA?

How are you handling audio? (TOSLINK?)

It's a HDCP video card but I have my HDTV connected via VGA since my cable box is using my HDMI connection. Strangely it works fine. It won't let me play the videos on my Dell monitor though which is hooked up via DVI.

I'm using Toslink for the audio.

 

[mugs]

Wow, I didn't know you could use the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive with anything other than a 360. I'd get one, as I currently use a LCD computer monitor as my main TV, but I haven't bought a DVD movie in a long time.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Same reasoning you used led me to just buy both the XBox 360 w/HD-DVD player, and a PS3. Now I have both formats covered, plus two gaming systems for 1200 bucks.
A stand-alone Blu-Ray player at the time was a grand by itself.

And yeah, there's a huge difference between real HD and "upconvert" DVD. Upconverting DVD's haven't shown me anything worth even considering getting one, prior to my purchase of the gaming consoles.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: d94
ya..i paid only $100 for my drive, deff a good deal. though i have mind hooked up to my 360

How'd you manage that holmes?

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: chuckywang
Is that a 37'' Olevia? I got the 237 model myself.

It's the 32", 323H. I love it. I got it for $573 shipped in Nov. of last year so it was a good deal at the time.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Hey, that's my TV! :beer:

 

[Joony]

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
Are you using an HDCP video card connected via DVI/HDMI or are you using VGA?

How are you handling audio? (TOSLINK?)

It's a HDCP video card but I have my HDTV connected via VGA since my cable box is using my HDMI connection. Strangely it works fine. It won't let me play the videos on my Dell monitor though which is hooked up via DVI.

I'm using Toslink for the audio.

Isn't the protectiion thing for HD-DVD supposed to drop the movie to non HD resolutions when connected to a non HDCP display?

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: Joony

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
Are you using an HDCP video card connected via DVI/HDMI or are you using VGA?

How are you handling audio? (TOSLINK?)

It's a HDCP video card but I have my HDTV connected via VGA since my cable box is using my HDMI connection. Strangely it works fine. It won't let me play the videos on my Dell monitor though which is hooked up via DVI.

I'm using Toslink for the audio.

Isn't the protectiion thing for HD-DVD supposed to drop the movie to non HD resolutions when connected to a non HDCP display?

No idea. For me though it either plays or it doesn't. If I try to play a movie on my Dell monitor connected via DVI it just gives me an error and refuses to play at all. PowerDVD doesn't seem to care over VGA I guess.

 

[judasmachine]

You need a better cam to truly capture the beauty.

 

[imported_bum]

Originally posted by: Mike
Very inexpensive compared to blueray, but I just can't see HD DVD winning the format war.

I really don't want to start another flame war about this, but I think price is precisely the factor that is going to win this "war."

Anyway, nice set up dude. My HD-DVD player is on the way.

 

[fierydemise]

Originally posted by: Joony
Isn't the protectiion thing for HD-DVD supposed to drop the movie to non HD resolutions when connected to a non HDCP display?

It an option however I believe I read somewhere that content providers are going to hold off on implementing until 2009 at the earliest because HDCP is just starting to appear in most devices.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: Joony

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
Are you using an HDCP video card connected via DVI/HDMI or are you using VGA?

How are you handling audio? (TOSLINK?)

It's a HDCP video card but I have my HDTV connected via VGA since my cable box is using my HDMI connection. Strangely it works fine. It won't let me play the videos on my Dell monitor though which is hooked up via DVI.

I'm using Toslink for the audio.

Isn't the protectiion thing for HD-DVD supposed to drop the movie to non HD resolutions when connected to a non HDCP display?

No idea. For me though it either plays or it doesn't. If I try to play a movie on my Dell monitor connected via DVI it just gives me an error and refuses to play at all. PowerDVD doesn't seem to care over VGA I guess.

Basically, the way it's supposed to work is that you're supposed to have an HDCP video card if you want transmission over DVI/HDMI and the Image Constraint Token (ICT) is set. If your digital display is not HDCP compliant, it's supposed to scale it to 540p.

What is actually happening, is that no one is using the ICT because there are way too many non-HDCP displays out there. However, the software players out now don't bother to check for the ICT and just refuse to pass a digital signal if any part of the chain is not HDCP compliant.

There are, however, ways around this; I can use my MacBook Pro (which has a non-HDCP ATI GPU) to output to my TV's HDMI in without problem.

BTW, your rear speakers should be facing the listeners, not the front of the room...

 

[bucwylde23]

Nice desk! Got the same one from Wal-mart.

I really want an HD-DVD drive for my 360, but I'm still saving to buy a few other things first.

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: bum

Originally posted by: Mike
Very inexpensive compared to blueray, but I just can't see HD DVD winning the format war.

I really don't want to start another flame war about this, but I think price is precisely the factor that is going to win this "war."

Anyway, nice set up dude. My HD-DVD player is on the way.

You don't think studio support makes a difference? What good is a cheap HD DVD player if you cant get Disney flicks for the kids? Imagine how pissed someone would be after buying an HD DVD player and then finding out they won't be able to watch any of the Pirate of the Caribean movies or Cars?

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: Flammable
original italian job ftw

Fixed.