[PDLM]

Having shelled out on a decent HDTV (Sony Bravia 46" X200) I am now trying to work out what to do about HD content for it. It seems to me that I need a hi-def DVD player and that I have a number of options. Essentially blu-ray or HD-DVD or combined (the LG player), and if single standard then should I go for a standalone DVD player or get a PS3 / XBOX respectively on the basis that I get a games console more or less for free that way?

1. Is there much to choose between the standards in terms of how many DVDs are available in each one?

2. The reviews of the LG combined player seem lukewarm at best so I guess that isn't a good option?

3. If it's true that a PS3/XBOX is more or less the same price as a standalone player then which would be the better option from a games perspective, given that I'm not sure I'll get back into it in a big way at my age (although I used to get hooked badly on very early generation computer gaming 25 years ago), and I definitely would not be into violent "shoot 'em up" type games?

4. In summary, if I'm only going to buy one box, the primary purpose is high definition movies and gaming is a nice bonus if it doesn't cost much more, what should I buy?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[lowlight]

First of all, when talking about HD material, it helps not to call them "DVD". There are two formats to choose from: Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD.

Now, I'll try to answer your questions

1) Blu-Ray has more exclusive studios, meaning that although for the most part you'll find the same movies in both formats, Blu-Ray will have more movies that are exclusive. Blu-Ray has Walt Disney Pictures, MGM/20th Century Fox, and of course Sony Pictures. This covers a lot of movies! HD-DVD's only exclusive studio is Universal...

2) Probably not... If you really want to play both formats, buy both an XBOX 360 w/ HD-DVD attachment AND a PS3. All these will still be cheaper than the LG (which is in the HKD $10,000 range), plus you'll have two really good video game systems

3) If you're not planning on really getting into games, then PS3 would be a better choice. It is a better movie player, as the XBOX 360 is very loud while playing movies. Plus the 360 requires an external attachment to be able to play HD-DVD.

As a pure gaming system, the 360 is better however; it has a more powerful graphics processor, and is the first choice for developers to create games on, when making games for both systems. In other words, if a game is available for both PS3 and XBOX 360, the 360 version will be the 'original' version, and the PS3 will be a port of that game. There are plenty of screenshots around the net showing the differences in the same games for both systems, and the differences are dramatic.

Plus as I mentioned, I think Blu-Ray is the better choice to go with for now, as it has more exclusive movies.

4) In summary, if you're only going to buy one system for watching HD movies with games as a nice bonus, the choice is clearly Playstation 3.

[elistan]

^ what he says is true ...

If you really have to have High Definition now then lowlight's suggestion pretty much covers it all.

But if you are willing to hold out for the price of these players to go down ... you can opt to get DVD players with upscaling feature.

Some say upscaling DVD players do a pretty good job of making your old DVD look great on hi-def TVs.

[lowlight]

Yup, I just wrote a review on one this week If you already have a large DVD collection, it's worth buying a DVD player like this.

But to be honest, the difference between HD and DVD is HUGE, especially with a nice TV like yours. By no means should you accept upscaled DVD as being good enough. The only reason not to go with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray is if you're worried about another Betamax situation.

[PDLM]

Having done a little more research on this, can anyone comment on how easy it is to get either an X-Box or a PS3 "adjusted" so that it becomes a multi-region player of DVDs and HD-DVD/Blu-rays? All normal DVD players here being multi-region I had completely forgotten about this problem.

On the movies it seems to me that there's currently not much to choose between the HD-DVD and Blu-ray selections available. On the games clearly the XBox is way ahead - there currently appears to be only one PS3 game with high definition graphics and English.

[climber07]

I had to make a similar type of decision a month and a half back when I bought mine 46" Sharp Aquos HDTV. After long consideration, I've decided to go with the Playstation 3 (for many of the reasons the posters above already mentioned). Note that I also have a regular multi-zone DVD Payer/Sound System (which is not even up-convert), as my wife & I brought in excess of 300 movies on DVD from the US.

The blu-ray performance of PS3 is outstanding, and if you shell out additional $300HKD for DVD remote, the systme is worth it for that reason alone. To be honest, I don't really have much time for games myself and will probably only utilise it for Madden08, NCAA Football08 & Grand Theft Auto (when those are released in HD). My nephew has an X-Box 360 and also complained about how loud the drive was when playing HD-DVD (remember this is after shelling out extra $$$ for attachment).

As far as getting the media in Hong Kong (I had a lot of problems getting anything in Blu-Ray format for a long time). However, once I stumbled into the HMV in central, that was all over (They basically have everything that's currently out in either format). You can also go on Amazon.com and see what movies you like better in which format, and what is scheduled for upcoming releases. Also, as far as gaming system goes, I actualy belive PS3 has a slightly stronger processor (raw power), and is the only system with 1080p output (2 of them in fact, alllowing dual HD screen hookup for multiplayer head-to-head games). Additionally, the use of PS3 as a media center is more useful as it has SD Card slots, USB ports and various other inputs to allow you to store music/data/photos on your system.

As far as movie regions, I haven't checked into how to hack it into a multi-zone DVD player. but as I'm mostly going to use it for Blu-Ray anyway (which is the same zone for US and Asia), its doesn't really bother me.

Good luck with your purchase.

[lowlight]

You should just have a second DVD player (like the one I reviewed) and use your PS3 for Blu-Ray and games. If you have a 46" TV I doubt you are pressed for space

[climber07]

Originally Posted by lowlight

You should just have a second DVD player (like the one I reviewed) and use your PS3 for Blu-Ray and games. If you have a 46" TV I doubt you are pressed for space

I guess that's true about the space As far the the second DVD player, do you really notice the difference with the regular DVD's upconverted??? I was always skeptical on spending the money....

[lowlight]

Originally Posted by climber07

I guess that's true about the space As far the the second DVD player, do you really notice the difference with the regular DVD's upconverted??? I was always skeptical on spending the money....

Did you read the review?

There is a difference, and it's measurable. Besides that, this is a damn good DVD player itself. Definitely better than the PS3, and better than most other DVD players that would be in the $300-500 price range.

[elistan]

Just wondering is the OPPO dvd player available here in Hong Kong ?

Seems interesting ...

Any info would be greatly appreciated