52 replies to this topic

[Kingdom Come]

Librasnow, how can you say you were one of the first to buy a dvd player in 1997? I had mine years before, dear!

[DLibrasnow]

Librasnow, how can you say you were one of the first to buy a dvd player in 1997? I had mine years before, dear!

DVD players were introduced in March 1997. They had been in development for many years prior to that, perhaps you owned one of the initial prototypes?

I know for a fact though that they were not available to the general public until March 1997 though because I waited for the first players to arrive, so I could switch to DVD from my laser disc player.

If you need further proof consult the history of DVD at www.thedigitalbits.com.

[DLibrasnow]

Specifically check this link Kingdom Come:

http://www.thedigita...madvdsales.html

So I'm afraid, if it was not a prototype that you owned, then you are clearly lying about owning one "years before."

Sorry to show you up like this Kingdom Come....but you inferred that I was not telling the truth. Please research your facts before calling someone on something as easy to check as this.

[DLibrasnow]

Should you need further proof check out this passage from DVD Review:

"In 2003, six years after introduction, there were over 250 million DVD playback devices worldwide."

Now lets minus six years from 2003, the answer - 1997.

The link is:
http://www.dvdreview...vdfaq.shtml#1.1

[GreggAllinson]

Loomis, I understand your "frustration" but the DVD format has been with us for eight years - it's time for a new format.

It's been with us eight years, but really only popular for four or five. I got my first DVD player at the tail end of 1999, and I was one of the first people I know to own one.

Waaaaaay too soon for something new.

[DLibrasnow]

It was sometime after I bought my player back in 1997 before anyone else had one. Part of the problem was the lack of software because when the format was launched in March 1997 there were literally only a handful of titles available.

[jwheels]

I'm not too thrilled that HD-DVD is coming out. I've got a lot of DVD's and I would really hate to buy them all again, but I suppose since that HD-DVD will be able to play on regular players, then I don't really have a problem with it. Plus, without having a HD TV, it doesn't really benefit me, except the extra disc space.

Edited by jwheels, 21 January 2005 - 04:07 AM.

[DLibrasnow]

I'm not too thrilled that HD-DVD is coming out. I've got a lot of DVD's and I would really hate to buy them all again, but I suppose since that HD-DVD will be able to play on regular players, then I don't really have a problem with it. Plus, without having a HD TV, it doesn't really benefit me, except the extra disc space.

Just to correct you jwheels. HD-DVD software will not play on regular DVD players. However, a HD-DVD player will be able to read/play your existing DVDs.

[Kingdom Come]

Sorry to have rattled your cage! but I can also tell you not only did I own one - it was a second hand model! my brother and his friend also had models - I'm sure they were not prototypes. They all were region 1 as there were hundreds of dvds to choose from, opposed to region 2.

[Loomis]

Loomis, I understand your "frustration" but the DVD format has been with us for eight years - it's time for a new format.

It's been with us eight years, but really only popular for four or five. I got my first DVD player at the tail end of 1999, and I was one of the first people I know to own one.

Waaaaaay too soon for something new.

Quite. I don't think DVD really took off in the UK until 2001 or thereabouts (and laserdisc never took off here at all). Also, I'm pretty sure that DVD didn't become really popular in many other countries (Japan, for instance) until round about 2001/2002. I think the world would be perfectly happy to wait a few more years for a new format.

Instead of this new HD-DVD business, why not just bring out more Superbit discs (which do play on regular players)?

http://www.hifi-writ...it/superbit.htm

[doublenoughtspy]

I need compelling content before I make the switch.

As others have said, VHS lasted a long time and it was a crappy format, inferior to Beta, but the masses really didn't care.

Does little Betsy need 8000 lines of resolution to watch The Lion King for the 27th time? No, 400 lines will do.

You and some friends want to watch a Steven Segal flick - do you need high definition to really get the emotional impact of him breaking arms? No.

I am not a luddite - I appreciate technical progress. I have moved from VHS to laserdisc to DVD - but I don't have a high def TV - so I am not going to buy a whole new TV, another player, and a whole new library just so I can see nostril hairs more clearly.

If the industry consolidates - chooses a format - and offers backward compatibility - I'll be happy to upgrade.

[Bon-san]

I need compelling content before I make the switch.

As others have said, VHS lasted a long time and it was a crappy format, inferior to Beta, but the masses really didn't care.

Does little Betsy need 8000 lines of resolution to watch The Lion King for the 27th time?  No, 400 lines will do.

You and some friends want to watch a Steven Segal flick - do you need high definition to really get the emotional impact of him breaking arms? No.

I am not a luddite - I appreciate technical progress.  I have moved from VHS to laserdisc to DVD - but I don't have a high def TV - so I am not going to buy a whole new TV, another player, and a whole new library just so I can see nostril hairs more clearly.

If the industry consolidates - chooses a format - and offers backward compatibility - I'll be happy to upgrade.

Well said. Agreed in full.

[Kingdom Come]

Grovel to Librasnow, been told on phone by my bro that it was 1998 that I got my dvd player - not 1997. It was his and so was second hand which was bought the previous year being 1997. I assume he bought it then.

Anyway, my parents have bought a new plasma widescreen t.v. 37inch and seen it at Christmas - wonderful to say the least. Nice design (Panasonic) but before I change my old standard widescreen (32inch) I want to know what the number one makers of plasmas have up their sleeves that make them better than everyone else. (Pioneer)

For any of you considering one, I have to tell you that playing dvds on em do not expect better picture than you normal widescreen telly. These screens are so sensitive that EVERY blemish is shown.

Have any of you seen demos on HD picture quality? I've seen several and boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!............

[DLibrasnow]

Sorry to have rattled your cage! but I can also tell you not only did I own one - it was a second hand model! my brother and his friend also had models - I'm sure they were not prototypes. They all were region 1 as there were hundreds of dvds to choose from, opposed to region 2.

Thats simply cannot be true Kingdom Come. When DVD was launched in 1997 there were only about six dvd's available and the only studio supporting the format was Warner.

[Loomis]

I don't have a high def TV - so I am not going to buy a whole new TV, another player, and a whole new library just so I can see nostril hairs more clearly.

Yeah, is it the case that a really staggeringly awesome TV is needed to get anything out of HD-DVD (along with a new player)? According to that thing on Superbit I linked to in my above post, Superbit's "improvements are generally not noticable on regular TVs". Is it the same story with HD-DVD?

I doubt, then, that HD-DVD will succeed on a big scale. Most people will have neither the inclination nor the money to embrace it, and will be quite content with the current DVD format. For this reason, I don't fancy the chances of there being all that many titles released on HD-DVD - and is it generally worthwhile (from the point of view of image quality, as well as from a commercial perspective) even trying to upgrade older or more obscure/less "popular" films (HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, Satyajit Ray, yer "art house" classics) for this new format?

[Tarl_Cabot]

I notice four Steven Seagal films on the list DLibrasnow posted. While I'm a big fan, and it probably makes good economic sense as the guy still sells well on DVD, it's disheartening that with all the films in Warner Brothers back catalogue they thought 'Above the Law' or 'Executive Decision' would show off the High Definition format to it's best advantage (The effects footage on Decision wasn't particularly great even back in '96).

I do like Above the Law very much but his career turned to crap after that. It cracks me up that he hasn't been in a film in 15 years in which he didn't wear a long coat that covered his expanding posterior, LOL! Still, Above the Law is a classic . If only he died prematurely like Bruce Lee.

[DLibrasnow]

Yeah so much of his stuff is either direct to video now, or disappears almost instantly from the theaters.

Strange because I remember back in 1996 and a trailer came on for 'Executive Decision' that people in the audience only got excited about the picture when Seagal appeared.

[Turn]

Yeah so much of his stuff is either direct to video now, or disappears almost instantly from the theaters.

Strange because I remember back in 1996 and a trailer came on for 'Executive Decision' that people in the audience only got excited about the picture when Seagal appeared.

A funny thing about that I remember. I was new in the office I work in at the time and a woman went to go see this and I remember her talking about how shocked she was that he wasn't the star of it. Of course, they never advertised this as a Seagal film, so she kinda represents the modern audience who don't really have a clue. Funny, cause I find Kurt Russell and Halle Berry pretty watchable.

Maybe Tarantino can give Seagal a juicy role to get his career back on track sometime.

[Bon-san]

Maybe Tarantino can give Seagal a juicy role to get his career back on track sometime.

Er, hope not. I enjoyed "Above The Law" as much as the next guy, but "The Fire Down Below" was an irrefutable case for permanent retirement.

[Roebuck]

Maybe Tarantino can give Seagal a juicy role to get his career back on track sometime.

For me his last really decent piece of work was 'The Patriot' back in '98. It's smarter than you'd expect from a made-for-cable action film. And it was a good move for Seagal, a couple of years off Fifty, to try playing a character who has to do more thinking than fighting (a former bio-weapons expert).

I had high hopes for 'Into the Sun' as it was touted as a remake of 'The Yakuza', but from the reviews I've read little of the original story remain.

[DLibrasnow]

Since "Executive Decision' I have not been very impressed.

And this from someone who liked 'Under Siege 2'

[TheSaint]

God, I REALLY don't want another new format anytime soon!

As for this HD vs Blu-Ray stuff, I hope, as Doublenoughtspy hopes, that whatever friggin' format wins the players have backward compatibility because I sure as hell don't want to have to buy the whole run of The Saint again!

This brings up another problem with all this talk of new formats and what have you...Doublenought, myself, and Dlibra have region-free dvd players. Mine cost me $100 in July of 2004. I'm pretty sure that, whichever format wins, the region free player of that format won't be cheap/affordable anytime soon.

Something else to consider...I'm not planning on getting a dvd recorder until they settle on one format for recording on dvd(there
are a few different formats, or so I've read). How much will an HD or Blu-Ray dvd recorder cost? I get dizzy thinking about this stuff.

[Qwerty]

Since "Executive Decision' I have not been very impressed.

And this from someone who liked 'Under Siege 2'

Executive Decision was a great one for sure. I liked Fire Down Below though. Not to a real great extent, but it seems like that one is often overlooked.