Are HiDef discs DOA?

[MaximRecoil]

also nice are advertisements (on PAL tv) showing just how sharp and clear those high-def tvs are. or even more evil: how much nicer the colors look when having hdtv o_O
That's like those promotional clips that were showing off the wonderful sound and visual clarity of DVD that showed up in the previews on late 90's VHS movies.

Last time I was in Wal-Mart, they had digital broadcasts playing on their display HDTV's, and they looked like total crap, like a 4 hour movie compressed with DivX to 700 MB or something, macroblocks and smearing everywhere. I don't know what that was all about.

[Zainal]

Well at the point I bought it there really wasn't anything available with digital out. As far as that goes the cable company around here (Charter) has only one HD reciever in the offering; which although it does have a dvi port said port doesn't function at the moment, so the only choice is component. Plus for playing games both xbox and ps2 only offer component as the best possible output.

[Doobie]

I wish some of you people who expect the next-gen DVD players to lose were willing to put real money on it. I think some of you suffer from short-sightedness and loss of perspective (which explains your political leanings, but that's off topic, heheh). So what if VHS is still around. DVD was an unqualified total success within a couple of years after release. So what if people balk at the protection on the next-gen players? In 10 years when everyone has HDTV and next-gen DVD players (which play regular DVDs) cost the same as DVD players, no one is going to buy standard DVD players. You won't even be able to find standard DVD players in 10 years (you can still find VHS players only because DVD players cannot be made backward compatable and affordable DVD recorders are only now starting to appear). So, all that's left when you're at the store: "Will I buy the HD disk or the low-res DVD?" Even on hardware not fully supported, next-gen DVD will look better than DVDs. Only people with ripping in mind would even consider the low-res DVD. That means that in 10 years, it's going to be pretty hard to find regular DVDs (considering that the studios don't want people ripping).

Just because it might take 10 years to become a total success doesn't mean that nex-gen players are going to lose. "Lose" means vanishing, like the old DIVX. The protection will slow up adoption of next-gen DVD. But, only slow up, but mostly because of its higher hardware demands, not because of public boycott.

Further, don't bet on anyone finding a practical way to backup next-gen DVDs. All past copy protections of games, movies, and music were all simple and usually ad hoc. That is really the only reason why they have been defeated.

But, by raising H*ll, the public might get some accommodation. So, raise H*ll.

[Isochroma]

Yes, HD-DVD and BLU-RAY will both be DOA, because no computer system will be able to play them:

The Great HDCP Fiasco (http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_nvidia_hdcp_support/)