Format War Marches On! LG to Continue w/ HD-DVD

[Woochifer]

I guess in the sinking ship that is HD-DVD, someone had to have lifeboat! In the fast and furious flurry of announcements that have pounded one nail after another into HD-DVD's coffin, now we get LG announcing that they will march on with their HD-DVD support.

Big difference though with LG is that their HD-DVD support is limited to high priced dual-format players and drives. With Toshiba aiming to push all their remaining HD-DVD players out of retail channels by the end of March, LG will actually have the entire field to itself (unless Korean rival Samsung also announces that they will continue to make dual-format players) in less than two months.

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/ne...-players.phtml

Even though on the surface, this announcement is puzzling, I can see a potentially shrewd business rationale at work. Right now, LG's dual-format players cost more than the combined cost for separate standalone Blu-ray and HD-DVD players. Once Toshiba exits the market, LG won't have any more loss leader competition selling HD-DVD players at a loss. Anyone who wants a HD-DVD player from that point forward will have to pay the real cost, and accept the added expense for the Blu-ray capability. LG probably won't sell too many dual format units, but unlike Toshiba they will actually make money off each unit that they sell.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I guess in the sinking ship that is HD-DVD, someone had to have lifeboat! In the fast and furious flurry of announcements that have pounded one nail after another into HD-DVD's coffin, now we get LG announcing that they will march on with their HD-DVD support.

Big difference though with LG is that their HD-DVD support is limited to high priced dual-format players and drives. With Toshiba aiming to push all their remaining HD-DVD players out of retail channels by the end of March, LG will actually have the entire field to itself (unless Korean rival Samsung also announces that they will continue to make dual-format players) in less than two months.

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/ne...-players.phtml

Even though on the surface, this announcement is puzzling, I can see a potentially shrewd business rationale at work. Right now, LG's dual-format players cost more than the combined cost for separate standalone Blu-ray and HD-DVD players. Once Toshiba exits the market, LG won't have any more loss leader competition selling HD-DVD players at a loss. Anyone who wants a HD-DVD player from that point forward will have to pay the real cost, and accept the added expense for the Blu-ray capability. LG probably won't sell too many dual format units, but unlike Toshiba they will actually make money off each unit that they sell.

From what I understand from Kjack a bluray insider from sigma chip designs, the LG player has been pretty much a diaster. Alot of playback issues, some networking issues, and processing overload when HD DVD uses AVC decoding. Its a good thing there are not alot of HD DVD using AVC.

[bobsticks]

...there are always one or two who will religiously bet on the 200:1 horse.

[Woochifer]

From what I understand from Kjack a bluray insider from sigma chip designs, the LG player has been pretty much a diaster. Alot of playback issues, some networking issues, and processing overload when HD DVD uses AVC decoding. Its a good thing there are not alot of HD DVD using AVC.

LG has always been Blu first, but I think they primarily developed the dual format drive for the OEM computer drive market. Regardless of the problems on LG's dual format players, once Toshiba exits the market, where will HD-DVD owners turn if they need something to play their HD-DVD collection when their current player breaks down?

Substandard playback quality? Incompatibities? High cost? ... Where do I sign?

[GMichael]

I only have 6 HD-DVD's. And one of them is a duplicate of a BR disk in the house. How many times do I have to play these 5 movies before it breaks down? I may not care to ever see them again by that time. After that, it's just a good DVD upscaler.

[bobsticks]

I only have 6 HD-DVD's. And one of them is a duplicate of a BR disk in the house. How many times do I have to play these 5 movies before it breaks down? I may not care to ever see them again by that time. After that, it's just a good DVD upscaler.

Exactly. Most will not have a hard time recognizing the lack of cost effectiveness and start playing pick-and-choose with the obsolete collection.

[GMichael]

Exactly. Most will not have a hard time recognizing the lack of cost effectiveness and start playing pick-and-choose with the obsolete collection.

Some people may have collected a lot more than 6 discs though. I'm just very cheap.

[L.J.]

Some people may have collected a lot more than 6 discs though. I'm just very cheap.

Did you get your 5 free?

[thekid]

Well if price is an indicator of where the smart money is going. I was at my local BB this weekend looking at their post-holiday open box buffet table. They had several Toshiba HD players discounted for $130. Was almost tempted to pick one up but I am focusing on audio at this point.

[pixelthis]

LG has always been Blu first, but I think they primarily developed the dual format drive for the OEM computer drive market. Regardless of the problems on LG's dual format players, once Toshiba exits the market, where will HD-DVD owners turn if they need something to play their HD-DVD collection when their current player breaks down?

Substandard playback quality? Incompatibities? High cost? ... Where do I sign?

The one good thing about this mess is that there cant be very many big collections
out there.
So what are HD disc owners gonna do when their player breaks down?
T-R-A-S-H-C-A-N.
Why buy a player for half a dozen discs? Dosent make sense.
And theres always EBAY for the delusional.
I finally got a decent set to watch letterbox laser on (65in) and a week later the flippin player broke. Really.
So I DON'T HAVE MUCH SYMPATHY for a myopic HD disc owner with five discs or so,
I HAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED LASERDISCS and every one is probably a better movie than the stuff HD was putting out.
really, why keep HD discs? Get the Blu copy.
EVERYTHING is gonna be BLU sooner or later.
As for the LG dual player , its about as big a disaster as I thought it would be.
Recall that I tried to talk a forum member out of buying one

[diggity]

judging by lg's past record in dvd player/recorder reliability, i hope lg has a decent backup supply of these things. either that or employ half of india to man their customer care hotline. like pix said, i wouldnt buy another player just for 5-10 movies. by that time blu ray movies will have come down in price so i would just buy them in this format

cheers: dazza

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

LG has always been Blu first, but I think they primarily developed the dual format drive for the OEM computer drive market. Regardless of the problems on LG's dual format players, once Toshiba exits the market, where will HD-DVD owners turn if they need something to play their HD-DVD collection when their current player breaks down?

Substandard playback quality? Incompatibities? High cost? ... Where do I sign?

Well, there are over a thousand HD DVD players being offered on Ebay right now. Mostly A2 and A3 of which I wouldn't touch after my debacle with the higher end A-35.

LG has always been blu, but they really ticked off Panasonic and other manufacturing members of the BDA with there dual format player. They still may be feeling the sting. I personally feel this is a dumb idea. The complexity of dual format players is such that reliability is always going to be a problem. If the blu or red side begins to have problems, you have to do without both. Sales for the previous offerings have been pretty much dismal. It's still cheaper to go the seperates route regardless.

[GMichael]

Did you get your 5 free?

Yup. Only bought one more. I may buy a few more once they get below $10.00.

[pixelthis]

Yup. Only bought one more. I may buy a few more once they get below $10.00.

Go to it!
And when your player breaks or you cant find another you can throw out your stack of HD discs, which will be akin to throwing out a stack of 10 dollar bills.
And you say you're "cheap", so tell me, do you also wipe your hiney with 100$ bills?

[GMichael]

Go to it!
And when your player breaks or you cant find another you can throw out your stack of HD discs, which will be akin to throwing out a stack of 10 dollar bills.
And you say you're "cheap", so tell me, do you also wipe your hiney with 100$ bills?

How long do you get to keep those VOD movies? 48 maybe 72 hours. I bet my HD-DVD player out-lasts that. By time it brakes down I should have played all my movies over and over.
Speaking of hiney, did your hours change?

[pixelthis]

How long do you get to keep those VOD movies? 48 maybe 72 hours. I bet my HD-DVD player out-lasts that. By time it brakes down I should have played all my movies over and over.
Speaking of hiney, did your hours change?

Just like to treat the peons to a live performance every once in awhile
Those VOD movies are between free and 4 bucks BTW,
HARDLY what you will pay for even an edsel like a HD disc of anything.
But hey its your money, scatter it to the wind

[Woochifer]

Well, there are over a thousand HD DVD players being offered on Ebay right now. Mostly A2 and A3 of which I wouldn't touch after my debacle with the higher end A-35.

The LA Times article noted over 1,100 HD-DVD auctions on eBay, with one of the A2s going with a winning bid of $61.

I dropped by Best Buy yesterday, and noticed a very large chunk of the shelf space for returned/open box items taken up by HD-DVD players that were tagged anywhere from $100 to $130. I have a feeling that BB will have to drop the prices even further to get anyone to bite on those units, given the HD-DVD fire sale that's about to commence.

LG has always been blu, but they really ticked off Panasonic and other manufacturing members of the BDA with there dual format player. They still may be feeling the sting. I personally feel this is a dumb idea. The complexity of dual format players is such that reliability is always going to be a problem. If the blu or red side begins to have problems, you have to do without both. Sales for the previous offerings have been pretty much dismal. It's still cheaper to go the seperates route regardless.

I think that LG responded to a need in the market. Toshiba never made HD-DVD drives available to OEM computer integrators or retail vendors, which is astonishing to me. This left LG with a huge market opening, because their dual-format drive was the only HD-DVD computer drive available to consumers without buying a Toshiba computer.

For anyone with a large HD-DVD collection who doesn't want to chance it with a second-hand Toshiba unit on eBay, LG's dual format player might be the only HD-DVD option left on the market when Toshiba withdraws its remaining units from retail channels. It would be no different than someone having to buy a combo VCR/DVD player if their VCR breaks down, since the options for standalone VCRs have all but disappeared.

[Rich-n-Texas]

LG has always been Blu first, but I think they primarily developed the dual format drive for the OEM computer drive market. Regardless of the problems on LG's dual format players, once Toshiba exits the market, where will HD-DVD owners turn if they need something to play their HD-DVD collection when their current player breaks down?

Substandard playback quality? Incompatibities? High cost? ... Where do I sign?

I hope LG sinks along with HD DVD. Wonder if their washing machines suck as bad as their BD/HD players do?

[GMichael]

Just like to treat the peons to a live performance every once in awhile
Those VOD movies are between free and 4 bucks BTW,
HARDLY what you will pay for even an edsel like a HD disc of anything.
But hey its your money, scatter it to the wind

That would be why I'm waiting for the sale.
Let's see, under $10 for a disk I can play hundreds of times for several years or $5 for something I can watch for a few days and then it evaporates. Hmm.. Seems to me that you are the one throwing his money into the wind. But hey, it's your money. Maybe you'd like a match to just burn it in your pipe.

BTW I do have VOD. Anything in the free to $4 range isn't worth my time to watch. And I have seen some over $8. I would never waste my hard earned cash of something that will vanish in a few days. And the selection? Please. Let me know when I can get any movie I want for under $3 and then I'll think about it.

[GMichael]

I hope LG sinks along with HD DVD. Wonder if their washing machines suck as bad as their BD/HD players do?

We love our LG washing machine (& drier). It's cool to see it spin a load forwards and back to check the weight & balance till it gets it right. Then it will hit 1200 rpm's to dry out the load before we throw it in the drier. Saves electric on the drying cycle. Top notch products there. Can't vouch for anything else they make.

[Rich-n-Texas]

That would be why I'm waiting for the sale.
Let's see, under $10 for a disk I can play hundreds of times for several years or $5 for something I can watch for a few days and then it evaporates. Hmm.. Seems to me that you are the one throwing his money into the wind. But hey, it's your money. Maybe you'd like a match to just burn it in your pipe.

I haven't seen any VOD movies that are available for more than 24 hours. I paid for one... not in HD, not more than one hour long, and the models weren't even anything to write home about.

BTW I do have VOD. Anything in the free to $4 range isn't worth my time to watch. And I have seen some over $8. I would never waste my hard earned cash of something that will vanish in a few days. And the selection? Please. Let me know when I can get any movie I want for under $3 and then I'll think about it.

I agree. Limited selection of crappy titles.

[Rich-n-Texas]

We love our LG washing machine (& drier). It's cool to see it spin a load forwards and back to check the weight & balance till it gets it right. Then it will hit 1200 rpm's to dry out the load before we throw it in the drier. Saves electric on the drying cycle. Top notch products there. Can't vouch for anything else they make.

Automatic load leveler huh? Lottsa parts moving this way and that. Are the gears made of plastic or vinyl?

[GMichael]

Automatic load leveler huh? Lottsa parts moving this way and that. Are the gears made of plastic or vinyl?

Never took it apart. If it's not broke, I don't fix it.
It did come with a long term warrenty. Some of the major parts have a lifetime warrenty while others are 10 - 20 years. So far, no issues. And it's quiet as he!!. No problem running it while I play pool and listen to music.

[GMichael]

I haven't seen any VOD movies that are available for more than 24 hours. I paid for one... not in HD, not more than one hour long, and the models weren't even anything to write home about.


I agree. Limited selection of crappy titles.

And you complain about the pics I post?

[pixelthis]

When are people going to learn that LG is nothing more than rebadged
GOLDSTAR?
A company with such a rep for putting out cheap disposable crap that they had to change their name to move "upscale"
Take the "LG off of your shiny new flat screen, rerplace it with the logo from that goldstar VCR that had the lifespan of a fruitfly.

See what I AM SAYING?

as for hd "BARGAINS" you bottom feeders are real amatures.
You gotta wait for the carcass to get "aged" a bit for the meat to get tasty.
In a month you will be able to get HD players for 30 bucks, maybe less