Killer HD DVD Deal! YMMV

[bubbaridesfast]

CLICK HERE for a pretty decent HDMI all in one solution.

My brother picked it up from One Call for a killer deal and is fairly impressed.

I looked at that Onkyo, it doesn't play DVD+R only DVD-R, who uses DVD-R? It's old technology, that's why DVD+R was created I thought.

[jeffski]

Let me know what the HD-DVD's playable condition was from this service.

Many of my standard DVDs came to me scratched when I used them as a service.
It has been reported that the high def DVDs, BD and HD-DVD, have also been damaged.
Since this can render their smaller disc pits unreadable, more so than standard DVDs, I have my doubts about Netflix or Blockbuster in this regard.

Thank you in advance!

I once was a subscriber to Netflix. After I got not one but TWO dvds that were broken in half in 2 weeks time, that's all I needed  to cancel my service. I've had much better service from Blockbuster online. I realize the Netflix broken dvds was most likely a postal problem, still , it turned me off from them.If a Blockbuster one comes broken,at least I can exchange it at the store right away.

[LoadStar]

I looked at that Onkyo, it doesn't play DVD+R only DVD-R, who uses DVD-R? It's old technology, that's why DVD+R was created I thought.

I still use exclusively DVD-R.

Neither +R nor -R are "old technology." While DVD-R was developed 5 years prior to DVD+R, there are only a few minor advantages to the + standard, mostly intended to improve burning reliability at higher speeds.

-R still has higher compatibility with DVD players, partially because -R and -RW are the only "official" DVD standards endorsed by the DVD Consortium, and partially because of the 5 year lead time for -R. Other than this, for the most part, you wouldn't notice any difference whatsoever between +R and -R, either writing or reading them.

The primary reason for the development of DVD+R was not technological - it was licensing (mostly the same reason for the concurrent development and current format wars between BluRay and HD-DVD.)

[bubbaridesfast]

I still use exclusively DVD-R.

Neither +R nor -R are "old technology." While DVD-R was developed 5 years prior to DVD+R, there are only a few minor advantages to the + standard, mostly intended to improve burning reliability at higher speeds.

-R still has higher compatibility with DVD players, partially because -R and -RW are the only "official" DVD standards endorsed by the DVD Consortium, and partially because of the 5 year lead time for -R. Other than this, for the most part, you wouldn't notice any difference whatsoever between +R and -R, either writing or reading them.

The primary reason for the development of DVD+R was not technological - it was licensing (mostly the same reason for the concurrent development and current format wars between BluRay and HD-DVD.)

While it's true that +R isn't officially endorsed, it is a technically superior format. It was actually created mainly to improve on -R, especially when it comes to error correction.

For more detail folks should read this: http://www.cdfreaks.com/reviews/Why-DVDRW-is-superior-to-DVD-RW

[SRW1000]

Let me know what the HD-DVD's playable condition was from this service.

Many of my standard DVDs came to me scratched when I used them as a service.
It has been reported that the high def DVDs, BD and HD-DVD, have also been damaged.
Since this can render their smaller disc pits unreadable, more so than standard DVDs, I have my doubts about Netflix or Blockbuster in this regard.

Thank you in advance!

Well, we watched Serenity on HD DVD.  There were a few small scratches on the disc, but we didn't have a single problem with playback.  No hiccups, pauses, dropouts, nothing.  

This was our first HD DVD rental, and I was very pleased with the results.  I don't know what we'll find down the road.

Maybe this would make a good thread, so people could see what kind of results they're getting from rental sources.  Since we're all in the same geographic area, we're probably served from the same distribution center, so the quality we see might be more accurate than what we see through some of the national threads.

Scott

P.S.  We didn't care for the movie itself, and I was a little disappointed by the picture quality.  It didn't wow me as much as I had expected, and the non-CGI shots looked soft to me.

[Bebop]

Almost all the HD DVDs I received from Netflix played. The only one that didn't played was a cracked disk.

As for good looking HD DVDs:

Corpse Bride
Sahara
The Searchers (not bad for a 50 years old movie)
King Kong
The latest Mission Impossible
Batman
probably Happy Feet (when it comes out March 27)
if you want to Bugs Bunny in HD, Robin Hood

...and few more I can't remembered

[kevbeck122]

All of the HD-DVDs and BluRay discs I've rented from Blockbuster online worked fine.. other than the disc that cracked in the mail.  I've probably rented about 5-10 of each type.

[gparris]

Toshiba is lowering its MSRPs on its players effective April 1st.
http://www.highdefdigest.com
Sony will try to play catch up with its new player coming out in summer listing for $599, still $200 more than the new price of the HD-A2, but it will output 1080p.
For a matching this feature and price point, the Toshiba HD-A20 at its new price of $499 will be still $100 less.
Prices are dropping for high def players and that is always good news.