Is it even worth getting a high definition dvd player at this point? There are only 320 titles?

Question

I have 720p dlp theater projector (not rear). I ahve been looking at the hd dvd and blu-ray players.

I was trying to figure out how to go about incorporating one into my theater.. whether through htpc or stand alone.

I was reading and then realized that there are only about 320 titles on each standard..

Am I better off just getting a good upconverting dvd until there are more titles available...

I use netflix for dvds and they do offer movies in hd or bd.

maybe about 2 years.. They should cost alot less by then too.

Answer 1

Actually there are a few dual-format DVD players available now. The magazines who have reviewed them say they DO play the movies, but the extra features available on stand-alone players are missing.

If you had a smaller HDTV, a up-converting DVD player might work for you. But these things are like magnifying a newspaper, then trying to 'fill in' the fuzzy parts so it looks somewhat better. They are still based on the old TV standard of 480 lines.

Since you have a front-projector - you are more likely to see artifacts/problems. You should get a true HD player.

The prices are down to about $300 for these players and Christmas is coming so the prices will drop even more.

Go to DVD empire and go to the "HD" , "BluRay" tab at the top. They will show you the counts on each format. Find your favorite titles and pick a format based on the titles you want.

If it was me - I'd look at one of the less-expensive PS3 game systems. The magazines all say this is the best BluRay DVD player available (It should be with all those cell-processors).

If you want HD-DVD - shop the sales and big-box stores.

Answer 2

It's not worth getting either a blu-ray or hd-dvd player at this time.

The format war is still going on, and no player on the market will handle both formats. Yes, for some reason, the companies think consumers will be happy only watching HALF of their movie library in HD. I don't understand the logic there.

Get a good upconverting DVD player, and just wait for this whole format war to go away, which probably won't happen for at least a year or two.