Question about HD DVD's...

[sno543]

I am still fairly new to HD so please forgive me if this is a stupid question.

What is the difference between standard dvd's & a HD dvd? I do have a HD tv and a Sony DVP-NS75H which upconverts standard dvd's to HD. Will this work for HD DVD's?

I noticed Netflix now has HD DVD's and don't know if my equipment will play them. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[navychop]

No, your equipment will not play them.

There are two high definition players: HD-DVD and Blu-ray. They are not compatible. It takes a special player to play either. There is a format war going on now. Probably, but not definitely, only one version will be the winner and still sold a couple of years from now (SWAG). I recommend you hold off buying a high def player, at least for a few months, to minimize the chances of buying something about to be discontinued.

A standard DVD has 480 lines of resolution. The high def ones go up to 720 or 1080 and will only be viewable in all their glory on an HDTV.

 

[GeorgeLV]

Your equipment will not play HD DVD.

If your are still looking to get a high definition disc player, you should be aware that there are two competing formats and educate yourself about the differences.

Blu-ray is a format primarily backed by Sony. Their discs can have 25 or 50GB of capacity. Sony, Disney, Fox, MGM, and Lionsgate exclusively release movies on the Blu-ray format. Warner and Paramount also support Blu-ray.

HD DVD is a format primarily backed by Toshiba. Their discs can have 15 or 30GB of capacity. Universal exclusively releases movies on the HD DVD format. Warner and Paramount also support HD DVD.

Each format has about an equal number of titles available (about 170) mostly because HD DVD launched earlier, but Blu-ray has recently taken the lead. Blu-ray is now outselling HD DVD by an approximately 2 to 1 margin. Blu-ray also has over 3x as many upcoming titles announced with dates.

 

[stck4evr]

Another quick fact for new to this issue:

XBOX 360 released in Nov 2005 has support for an external HD-DVD player (you can buy one for $200).
Playstation 3 that was just released in Nov 2006 has a Blu-ray player built in.