gizmodo.com — This is the first high definition disc player that is compatible with both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs. But don't waive the white flag in the format war quite yet. The quality isn't videophile grade, and the HD-DVD compatiblity is missing key elements. Read on for the full review, full gallery, screenshots, and how it stacks up to the Xbox DVD Drive.
Jan 24, 2007 View in Crawl 4
sanchezJan 24, 2007
$1200 doesn't seem like that bad a price, just a blu-ray is around 800 last time I checked. I'm not american nor keeping up however.
fishrjvJan 24, 2007
"c'mon guys lets see more of these sorts of players!"Ok, I'll get right on it.
waveofthefutureJan 24, 2007
So, I don't much care for the either next-gen format yet anyway, but for what it's worth, I believe that this is not a good sign. The fact that there are companies making players that play both formats means that there is now the potential for both formats to hang around instead of having a clear winner decided anytime soon (such as in the case on the DVD-Rs vs. DVD+Rs).
philbertJan 25, 2007
Except that there are plenty of adult films on both formats.
ianbell330Jan 25, 2007
Yikes, not a very good review! What was the startup time (both HD DVD and Blu-Ray players take a while to boot up). what inputs does it have? Does it upconvert? Does it smooth the edges in movies, color saturation, What chipset is it using etc? And at the end he links to a press release as if all the information we want is there...
phoenixf2bJan 25, 2007
@ PhilbertThat is not quite correct. Both Blu Ray and HD DVD utilize a violet blue laser. The difference comes in the actual manufacturing of the discs. HD DVD has a very similar build to standard DVDS, but the blue laser which is finer helps it achieve greater storage. Blu Ray discs are layered completely different, and it's track pits are smaller and closer together which allows it to hold more storage than HD DVD. Bottom line though, is this format war is unfortunately far from over. This machine is a good attempt, but it's not a solution.
vaxguruJan 25, 2007
Couldn't have said it better myself. Have had quite a few problems with multi-format players in the past.
roborayFeb 28, 2007
Considering that LD was the highest quality home video device for, oh, two decades, that WAS a great investment!