Blu-ray, HD DVD at CEDIA: We're Both Winning

It appears that the battle between the two high-definition DVD formats, Blu-ray and HD DVD, is no closer to resolution than it was last year, judging by events at the CEDIA trade show yesterday. The good news is that continued competition between the two camps, along with the arrival of high-def DVD players from more manufacturers (including some Chinese companies), could drive prices lower. At least 10 new players were announced here at the show, with prices as low as $300.

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray backers claim to have the lead at this point. Toshiba said it had the number-one market share (55 percent) among all high-def DVD player companies. That’s not surprising, given that Toshiba has been the only company selling HD DVD players up till now, while Blu-ray sales are split among several different manufacturers. However, Sony declared that Blu-ray was clearly winning the battle, with Blu-ray movies outselling HD DVD titles by a margin of two to one.

Market research by NPD Group, presented by Toshiba at their event, gives a mixed picture. The study showed that potential buyers favored HD DVD three to one over Blu-Ray (33 percent to 16 percent). More telling, in my opinion, was that the majority of survey respondents, 51 percent, were still on the fence about which format they preferred.

That isn’t stopping manufacturers from introducing new models. Toshiba said it will be adding three new HD DVD players to its line this fall: a 1080i model, the HD-A3, available in October for $300; a step-up $400 1080p model, the HD-A30, available this month; and the top-tier $500 HD-A35, a 1080p model due out in October with a few extra features, such as support for Deep Color, high-resolution audio and 5.1-channel audio outputs. All three players have Ethernet ports for connecting to the Internet and come with two free movies: Warner’s 300 and Universal’s The Bourne Identity. Buyers can choose an additional five titles from a list of 15 they’ll receive as a mail-in offer.

Sony announced two new BD players and a Blu-ray home entertainment server. The $700 BDP-S500, available next month, is a step-up companion model to the current $500 BDP-S300, with additional features such as support for the new xvYCC wider color gamut as well as for Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD high-resolution audio. It will upscale DVDs to 1080p via the HDMI output. The $1,300 BDP-S2000ES, the first BD player in Sony’s flagship “ES” series, has many of the same features but with a more rugged construction and a streamlined design. It will be available in November. The $3,500 HES-V1000 server, available now, is designed to store and manage music, video, and photo collections. It contains a 1080p 200-disc Blu-ray/DVD/CD changer, a 500GB hard disk drive, and it can connect to the Internet via its Ethernet port or wirelessly using an optional adapter. It can also burn content to recordable Blu-ray or DVD discs, making it the first Sony device other than a PC drive or notebook that can write to Blu-ray discs.

Among the other high-def DVD product introductions at the show:

• Sharp’s first Blu-ray player, the $550 Aquos BD-HP20
• Pioneer’s newest Elite-brand Blu-ray model, the $1,000 BDP-95FD
• LG Electronics’ second-generation hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD player, the $1,000 BH200 Super Blu Player, which now fully supports interactivity for both formats
• and Integra’s first HD DVD player, the $1,100 DHS-8.8

Other companies, such as Denon (Blu-ray) and Onkyo (HD DVD) have already announced their first high-def players. In addition, Samsung is showing its first home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) system with a built-in Blu-ray player.

--James K. Willcox

Comments

[Doug Hill]

I have the Play Station 3. It plays Blu Ray and haves a 60 gig hd, to save movies, pictures or music on. Connects to the internet wired and wireless. Great picture and no problems, in my opinion best deal out of them all.

[John]

I tried the newer BD1200 ? Samsung Blu Ray player first and it had all kind of issues with lockup and skipping frames etc. I returned it and picked up the newest Sony and that has worked flawlessly. Although when the Samsung was working I think the picture was superior to the Sony. I plan to buy a Toshiba 1080P just to have more than one choice when buying movies.

[Ashok]

I also have the same problem with the A2 toshiba HD-DVD player.Also, when i stop in the middle of a movie and want to start at that point again, it is not possible to do that and I have to start from the beginning and then select the scene option which is also annoying. i hope these problems have been taken care of in the newer models.

[PaulD]

Nice article but omitted the fact that the Chinese are about to introduce inexpensive HD-DVD players.

[JSB]

I purchased a Toshiba A2 in February, 2007. I have a home theatre system including an Optoma HD72 overhead projector to a 108 inch screen. The A2 is interfaced to the system through a Denon AVR2307cr amp. I utilize component video jacking from the A2 to the amp, and, likewise, from the amp to the projector.

I am generally pleased with the A2. The HD quality at 1080i is excellent. The player outputs regular format DVD video at 480p, resulting in a surprisingly good quality picture on the big screen.

Occasionally the A2 will 'lock up'. It's annoying, sometimes requiring a complete shutdown to reset the device. I can easily live with the inconvenience, though, as the A2, in my book, is a definite cut above other players in the price range.