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Are the Blu-Ray and HD DVD formats really that much better?
It seems like such a scam to me. Perhaps I do not have a distinguished enough eye.
For instance, last night I watched The Umbrellas of Cherbourg in DVD format on an RCA ColorTrack console that was manufactured (by the looks of it) prior to 1985. The busted old TV still works great (I would say perfectly, but for no perceivable reason it sometimes turns itself off then back on again).
However, I was still able to enjoy the film and take away from it that love is difficult and fragile; that people often use love in the same capacity as an umbrella. All this despite my AV shortcomings.
The big question for me is: does Blu-Ray impart on its viewers a greater understanding of the story? By comparison, is DVD so wretched?
I can understand if one has a DVD collection full of action films and recent CGI-dependent blockbusters like Spiderman and Transformers. I guess in that case the emphasis is more on the experience of watching superheros and machines play out the timeless Good v Evil battle. Or zombie movies....wait a minute. OK. I am sold.
When it comes to Zombie movies the catharsis associated with spectatorship is NOT ENOUGH! I need to feel like the Zombies are staring into my soul; that they are eternally starving for, not just blood, but MY blood.
HD/Blu-Ray DVD here I come.
P.S. Did the format have to be named Blu-Ray? Did anyone do their market research? That sounds way too much like Billy Ray...Cyrus. Which is the last person I associate with anything having to do with technology or that antithesis to country music: objectivity.
I agree with you, essentially about the vista solution.
I actually purchased Vista home premium during a weak moment at a computer fair where I saw an upgrade version going cheap. It was only then that I discovered the Media Center facility, not knowing that it had been around for years in some versions of XP. One can still Google forums where the XP media center pioneers were working through immense problems trying to get their systems working.
I wish I could get an independent media centre software on ROM with no operating system and a dedicated mother board. The lengthy boot up all the way to MCE is a real pain. It should operate almost instantly like an STB.
Vista MCE is pretty, and has quite good ergonomics through a programmable remote (Logitech harmony). However, it is limited to only two tuners which I find insufficient when there are several things to record. I gave up watching the free to air services in real time years ago because I find the commercials extremely irritating. There is a work-around for the two tuner problem on the net but I have not been able to get it to work yet.
In summary, I think it is still too early to go down this path unless you are a techo tragic machocist, but if you are, then start with fast motherboard, lots of memory, a super graphics card and a very cool (windy) case.
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Up-Sampler by VnutZ :: NR8 :: on 13 February 2008
Has anybody actually used one of the upsampling DVD players that is supposed to make them look super sharp on an HDTV? Just curious how they perform.
Movie on Demand For Teh Win by Bortnyk :: NR6 :: on 13 February 2008
I like being able to click on a movie and watch it, without having to put any effort into it. I would go so far as to say I would rather watch a mediocre movie on demand than a good movie I had to go someplace to get, like blockbuster or some other DVD rental store. To much driving, and interacting with people, and talking, and sunlight....
RE: Up-Sampler by Anonymous :: NR0 :: on 13 February 2008
I have.
I bought a SAMSUNG HD-TV, and since most of the DVDs we own are just plain DVDs that I have no intention of re-buying in a high-def format, I got the SAMSUNG $99 upscaling DVD player.
It works great! It does struggle with DVDs that are full-frame format instead of WideScreen (I think the source DVDs have fewer pixels, but I don't know for sure)
Media Center HTPC by Occams :: NR6 :: on 14 February 2008
My TV viewing is now mostly done via a home theatre PC running Vista Media Center with two HD tuners and 300 GB HD, PVR functions, and Tivo program guide. I have a Yamaha 5.1 surround sound system connected optically to the PC. The TV is a 42" SAMSUNG HD LCD 1080 p and I am delighted with it.
This will play and record DVDs, but I will swap the DVD +RW writer for a Blue Ray or HD DVD type when the standards war is over and prices become reasonable. The nice thing about home brew is that you can easily replace elements that fail or become obsolete.
When all is working this is truly wonderful, but at present it is very flaky because of Vista driver problems. Why does Vista keep forgetting that it has loaded good drivers before, and ask for them again? The whole system seems to be very sensitive to the heat it generates. Evidenced by frequent freezing of the operating system or Media Center and motor-boating sound. I have stuck in an extra fan which delayed the onset a little, but what I assume to be heat problems are still there.
All my CDs are on the HD with cover art and play lists, and it provides a great juke-box-like system for playing music.
This will be a wonderful way to do it when they get the bugs out.
RE: Media Center HTPC by VnutZ :: NR8 :: on 15 February 2008
Just curious - why Vista Media Center?
I first rigged up my computer as the complete multimedia package (selling off the Bose speakers, Kenwood AV equipment, etc) in 2002. It was a complete deal with 5.1 THX sound and video output using a projector. At the time, it was easily the best of all world's with TV tuning, DVD and digital file playback. But I never decided to cripple myself with a "non-real" operating system. I just used XP ... though the system doubled as my computer as well. I found doing that turned the anti-social stigma of computer use as guests would happily surf away while still part of the conversation in the main room. Furthermore, it became a way to collectively look stuff up on a whim without crowding in some back room around a little screen like most setups were.
That all vanished due to Iraq when I went on a "sell-my-stuff-on-eBay" spree for some reason. But when I came back and started a new job, my setup instead turned to a Mac Mini powering a 37" LCD HD TV (huge at the time). Again, the computer doubled as the main system and allowed for social use when not watching movies or listening to music.
I guess I've never followed why anyone would opt for the the crippled-OS approach to building a media PC.