Spread the rumor-Samsung does not have actual HD DVD players

[GCT]

I bought a Samsung DVD player which had HD written all over the box only to learn yesterday that it does not play HD DVD discs. The " HD " that they are referring to apparently is some kind of upconversion of regular DVDs to a slightly higher resolution. Samsung only manufactures devices that play regular DVDs as well as Bluray however not HD DVD players. Spread the news. So much for Planet Earth in HD, if anyone is interested in buying the latter PM me.

 

[WarPhalange]

Can't you return it? Clearly false-advertisement.

 

[f95toli]

HD-DVD is a dead format and Samsung stopped making/selling HD-DVD players a while back. You can't buy new HD-DVD players anymore.
If you want to watch HD films you need to buy a Bluray player AND have a TV/projector that supports HD.
Note that "HD" usually refers to high-defintion nowadays, i.e. players that can output a HD signal (like 1080p), for DVD-players that means upconversion.

 

[MeJennifer]

The " HD " that they are referring to apparently is some kind of upconversion of regular DVDs to a slightly higher resolution.

The "higher resolution" is an advertising fad, as these devices do not increase the resolution of the DVD. Rescaling is a double edge sword since every method has its advantages and disadvantages.

 

[edward]

Sony has a similar set out. It will Have HDMI i on the front. They make no claims except higher resolution on the box, but the salesman at Best Buy was really pushing them as being HD.

 

[ZapperZ]

I bought a Samsung DVD player which had HD written all over the box only to learn yesterday that it does not play HD DVD discs. The " HD " that they are referring to apparently is some kind of upconversion of regular DVDs to a slightly higher resolution. Samsung only manufactures devices that play regular DVDs as well as Bluray however not HD DVD players. Spread the news. So much for Planet Earth in HD, if anyone is interested in buying the latter PM me.

Just out of curiosity, were you really intentionally out to buy an HD-DVD player, despite the fact that it is a dead format?

Zz.

 

[edward]

Just out of curiosity, were you really intentionally out to buy an HD-DVD player, despite the fact that it is a dead format?

Zz.

The demise of formats is happening ever quicker. VHS lasted for over 20 years, DVD for about ten. Makes me wonder how long blue ray will be around until it is replaced by a memory card of some kind.

 

[tribdog]

Doesn't the Xbox 360 use HD DVD?

 

[GCT]

Just out of curiosity, were you really intentionally out to buy an HD-DVD player, despite the fact that it is a dead format?

Zz.

It was a gift , as I mentioned it had HD written all over it. That got me excited to buy an HD DVD - Planet Earth. By the way, I recently won a bid for an HD DVD player by a dollar margin at $ 44 , it's a Toshiba 1080 progressive scan, hopefully there aren't any more complications after this. I'm just not interested in upgrading to full scale Bluray at the moment especially when the price is over two hundred dollars.

BTW which TVs are compatible with Bluray? I have a Samsung HDTV 1080.

 

[ZapperZ]

BTW which TVs are compatible with Bluray? I have a Samsung HDTV 1080.

Technically, any HDTV is "compatible" with Blu-Ray. However, to get the best possible picture, you need at least an HDMI capability on your HDTV monitor.

Zz.

 

[GCT]

Confirmed , so I'm going to consider Bluray, meanwhile need to buy an HDMI cable.

 

[MeJennifer]

Confirmed , so I'm going to consider Bluray, meanwhile need to buy an HDMI cable.

I recommend you don't buy one of those hyped up brand name cables, HDMI cables either work or they don't as the signal is digital.

 

[mgb_phys]

I recommend you don't buy one of those hyped up brand name cables, HDMI cables either work or they don't as the signal is digital.

You mean I don't get a better verion of pf with a $500 ethernet cable?
http://apcmag.com/denon_creates_500_ethernetcableforsuckers.htm

 

[russ_watters]

The demise of formats is happening ever quicker. VHS lasted for over 20 years, DVD for about ten. Makes me wonder how long blue ray will be around until it is replaced by a memory card of some kind.

Not a good analogy. HD DVD died fast because it lost a format war. That makes it analagous to Beta, not VHS.

DVD has been around for something like 15 years.

 

[russ_watters]

I bought a Samsung DVD player which had HD written all over the box only to learn yesterday that it does not play HD DVD discs. The " HD " that they are referring to apparently is some kind of upconversion of regular DVDs to a slightly higher resolution. Samsung only manufactures devices that play regular DVDs as well as Bluray however not HD DVD players. Spread the news. So much for Planet Earth in HD, if anyone is interested in buying the latter PM me.

I suspect you read something you wanted to read, not something that was actually there.

I'd be curious to know what the box actually said, but on their website, the products are categorized as "Hi Def Conversion".

 

[jtbell]

Technically, any HDTV is "compatible" with Blu-Ray. However, to get the best possible picture, you need at least an HDMI capability on your HDTV monitor.

In principle this is true. In practice, though, the difference between HDMI and component video (three red, green and blue RCA-type jacks) is often very very small and can go either way. On the A/V forum that I hang on a lot when I'm not on PF, the question often comes up, "which is better, HDMI or component?" The most common answer is always, "Try both and see for yourself which is better in your system."

I recommend you don't buy one of those hyped up brand name cables, HDMI cables either work or they don't as the signal is digital.

In fact, unless you're in a real hurry, it's a mistake to buy any cables from places like Best Buy or Circuit City. Their markup on cables is astronomical. Try a reputable online dealer like Monoprice, for example. I'm sure there are others, but that's the one that I've bought most of my HDMI cables from.

 

[GCT]

I suspect you read something you wanted to read, not something that was actually there.

I'd be curious to know what the box actually said, but on their website, the products are categorized as "Hi Def Conversion".

What's the distinction between this statement of "Hi Def Conversion " of regular DVDs and an actual capability for HD? Right , the former does not mean **** as Mejennifer has pointed out. How much more clearer can it get? It plays HD or it doesn't, you should'nt even insinuate HD if it doesn't play HD, btw with respect to my experience there is no merit to their " Hi Def Conversion " statement .

People want HD. They shouldn't get anything else because there is another form of HD that they are ignorant of and don't even want. "Oh yeah, there's a new special form of HD that we don't display here at Bestbuy however... you need to buy this DVD player to find out.

 

[ZapperZ]

In principle this is true. In practice, though, the difference between HDMI and component video (three red, green and blue RCA-type jacks) is often very very small and can go either way. On the A/V forum that I hang on a lot when I'm not on PF, the question often comes up, "which is better, HDMI or component?" The most common answer is always, "Try both and see for yourself which is better in your system."

There are two aspects to this:

1. I have tried component video on both high def monitors that I have (one is a rear projection, the other is a plasma), and they are noticeably not as good as the HDMI connection.

2. Especially with the newer components, you only need one HDMI connection to get both the video and audio to your receiver, rather than separate connections for each one of them. It makes for a very easy and convenient hookup of one's entertainment system, especially when one have other components plus 7.1 speakers.

I definitely agree about the mark-up that Best Buy takes up on such items. A bit of comparison shopping online will get you a much better deal, even if you include shipping and handling. I wouldn't know about Circuit City because I stopped buying anything from them ever since they came up with the stupid DIVX discs when DVD was being introduced.

Zz.

 

[edward]

Not a good analogy. HD DVD died fast because it lost a format war. That makes it analagous to Beta, not VHS.

DVD has been around for something like 15 years.

I don't remember widescale public use going that far back.

The first DVD players and discs were available in November 1996 in Japan, March 1997 in the United States

http://www.didyouknow.cd/dvd/dvdhistory.htm

They were very damned expensive.

The original DVD format also had two different versions in the beginning MMCD and SD.

Instead of duking it out in the market Like Sony's Beta and everyone Else's VHS, manufacturers made a decision on a format before the units went into world wide distribution.

 

[jtbell]

1. I have tried component video on both high def monitors that I have (one is a rear projection, the other is a plasma), and they are noticeably not as good as the HDMI connection.

In your setup, that's the case. This is a situation where "your mileage may vary." In my case, any difference between my TV's HDMI and component inputs is mainly in the brightness and contrast of the picture, as far as I can tell, and can be mostly eliminated by adjusting the picture controls separately for each input (which my set allows me to do). I've got only a 32-inch LCD, though...

2. Especially with the newer components, you only need one HDMI connection to get both the video and audio to your receiver, rather than separate connections for each one of them.

That is definitely a plus. If I had enough HDMI inputs on my TV, I'd use HDMI for everything. All my video components do have HDMI outputs. Unfortunately my TV has only one HDMI input. I use a 3-way HDMI switch, but that's not enough to accommodate my HD tuner, HD DVRs, and DVD players/recorders. So I have to use component video for the rest, with a component-video switch. Fortunately, the mess of cables isn't too visible http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/TV/images/setup.jpg.

 

[Integral]

I am amazed that there is confusion between HD-DVD format and HD up conversion. I have not put any special effort into understanding this stuff, what is so bad? I have not sprung for a Blue Ray yet and have not plans to to real soon. Not sure what HD buys me when it comes to a run of the mill movie, why do I need to see the actors sweat glands?

I just bought a JVC UPCONVERTING DVD player and have watched movies over HDMI and component on a 46" plasma screen with it, and really cannot tell the difference. HDMI is nice because you get the digital sound over the same cable, I am for anything that reduced the mass of cables running up the wall to the TV.

The biggest difference I have seen was in a Upconverting DVD burner which only had a composite input for the TV, this was a noticeably bad picture, I took it back and got a similar machine with S-video in, it makes a visible difference.

 

[ZapperZ]

I am amazed that there is confusion between HD-DVD format and HD up conversion. I have not put any special effort into understanding this stuff, what is so bad? I have not sprung for a Blue Ray yet and have not plans to to real soon. Not sure what HD buys me when it comes to a run of the mill movie, why do I need to see the actors sweat glands?

While the main "attraction" here is definitely the better picture quality (example: Planet Earth is just plain jaw-dropping in high def), the other major features for me are the extras that have now become quite interesting by themselves. This is especially true for the newer Blu-Ray disks that make use of Profile 2 (or BD-live) capabilities. I'm happy to report that Disney is one of the companies that are aggressively making the full use of Profile 2 features with their newer disks (see, for example, the Nightmare Before Christmas Blu-Ray disks that's released today).

I definitely think that this added capabilities is a plus for this format. Ironically, this was what HD-DVD was going to do in the first place, something the Blu-Ray consortium wasn't too keen about in the beginning.

Zz.

 

[Integral]

While the main "attraction" here is definitely the better picture quality (example: Planet Earth is just plain jaw-dropping in high def), the other major features for me are the extras that have now become quite interesting by themselves. This is especially true for the newer Blu-Ray disks that make use of Profile 2 (or BD-live) capabilities. I'm happy to report that Disney is one of the companies that are aggressively making the full use of Profile 2 features with their newer disks (see, for example, the Nightmare Before Christmas Blu-Ray disks that's released today).

I definitely think that this added capabilities is a plus for this format. Ironically, this was what HD-DVD was going to do in the first place, something the Blu-Ray consortium wasn't too keen about in the beginning.

Zz.

This is an aspect that I am only just beginning to appreciate. I suppose when we finally see it in action it may force a change. Of course with a 2000+ DVD collection I do not relish the thought of changing out again (we are still dispossing of the last of our once similar sized VHS collection).

 

[russ_watters]

What's the distinction between this statement of "Hi Def Conversion " of regular DVDs and an actual capability for HD?

When I see the term "Hi Def Conersion", I immediately think that it converts the signal to a Hi Def output. I fully recognize that it doesn't do much and that it is largely a marketing gimick, but I don't think it is misleading at all. That said, I think you're still confused:

People want HD. They shouldn't get anything else because there is another form of HD that they are ignorant of and don't even want. "Oh yeah, there's a new special form of HD that we don't display here at Bestbuy however... you need to buy this DVD player to find out.

Right now the only game in town for HD video discs is Blu-Ray. If you didn't already know that, sorry, but you haven't been paying enough attention. If you saw "Hi Def Conversion" and thought "HD DVD", you still shouldn't have wanted to keep it.

Gift or not, when I saw the box, I would have taken it back and gotten a Blu-Ray player.

 

[russ_watters]

I don't remember widescale public use going that far back.http://www.didyouknow.cd/dvd/dvdhistory.htm

That was a guess - I was off, it was a little more than 10 years. [/quote] VHS was released in 1976, was surpassed by DVD in 2003, and stopped being made in 2006, so it existed as a standard for almost 40 years.

In any case, I don't think DVD is going to go away any time soon, but we'll see. It helps an awful lot that the players are backwards compatible, so people don't have to get rid of old dvds and update their systems.

 

[GCT]

When I see the term "Hi Def Conersion", I immediately think that it converts the signal to a Hi Def output. I fully recognize that it doesn't do much and that it is largely a marketing gimick, but I don't think it is misleading at all. That said, I think you're still confused: Right now the only game in town for HD video discs is Blu-Ray. If you didn't already know that, sorry, but you haven't been paying enough attention. If you saw "Hi Def Conversion" and thought "HD DVD", you still shouldn't have wanted to keep it.

Gift or not, when I saw the box, I would have taken it back and gotten a Blu-Ray player.

You're right, ultimately, however most consumers have no idea that the player itself has to be inscripted with this HD-DVD logo for the device to play HD-DVDs; try searching for " HD-DVD player " on Ebay , many of their Samsung players have " HD-DVDs " in their title and to add to this complication some Toshiba players which actually have this capability have something else HD-*&^% e.g. A3, 1080.

Ask a Best Buy representative for an HD-DVD player and he's not going to inform you that they are non-existent except on Ebay, he's going to show you the Samsung.

 

[edward]

That was a guess - I was off, it was a little more than 10 years.

VHS was released in 1976, was surpassed by DVD in 2003, and stopped being made in 2006, so it existed as a standard for almost 40 years.

In any case, I don't think DVD is going to go away any time soon, but we'll see. It helps an awful lot that the players are backwards compatible, so people don't have to get rid of old DVDs and update their systems.[/QUOTE]

VHS when released in 1976 was too expensive for most people it wasn't until the mid eighties when prices started to drop to where the average person could afford a VCR.

I bought my first VCR in 1980, it cost $1199. It cost a lot more than the TV set I hooked it up to.

I think my point was, and admittedly I did fail to make it, that each new format is very expensive until widely mass produced. Just look at what a DVD recorder cost just a few years back.

You are definitley right about the backwwards compatable issue.

 

[mgb_phys]

I'm not sure that blue-ray will replace DVD.
DVD offered a great increase in convenience, lifetime and features over VHS as well as picture quality. People haven't generally replaced one digital format with another for purely quality reasons, in fact since MP3 took off but SACD and DVD-A failed you could say the opposite.

Downloads will stop the studios forcing an upgrade. If studio X insists on making it's summer blockbuster only available on blue-Ray the target audience will download it.

Finally on most 720p digital TVs a decent upconverted DVD isn't much different than a downconverted 1080p Blue-ray to most people.

I expect than in a few years most players will be Blue-Ray (with DVD capability) but I don't think there will be the en-mass rebuying of all our movies on the new format that there was with DVD.

 

[russ_watters]

You're right, ultimately, however most consumers have no idea that the player itself has to be inscripted with this HD-DVD logo for the device to play HD-DVDs

I don't know why consumers wouldn't know that. Back in the '80s, before VHS beat Beta, you didn't just go buy any "VCR", you specifically went looking for a "Beta VCR" or a "VHS VCR". If I want an "HD DVD" player, I'll buy an "HD DVD" player. If I want a "Blu Ray" player, I'll buy a "Blu Ray" player. I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who buy such things without knowing the most basic thing about what they are buying: what kind of media it plays.

try searching for " HD-DVD player " on Ebay , many of their Samsung players have " HD-DVDs " in their title and to add to this complication some

Here's the first page of Ebay for "samsung hd dvd player": http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...1313&satitle=samsung+hd+dvd+player&category0=

I don't see any that look at all misleading. The ones that are "HD Conversion" all say "DVD Player with HD Upconversion".

[edit: oh, there is one. Not in the general list, but at the bottom an ad for a reseller doesn't have the word "upconvert" in the title (though it is clear as day in the ad iteslf)]

Ask a Best Buy representative for an HD-DVD player and he's not going to inform you that they are non-existent except on Ebay, he's going to show you the Samsung.

I doubt that. Best Buy reps are pretty dumb, but not that dumb.

This is reeeeeealy simple.

 

[GCT]

I don't know why consumers wouldn't know that. Back in the '80s, before VHS beat Beta, you didn't just go buy any "VCR", you specifically went looking for a "Beta VCR" or a "VHS VCR". If I want an "HD DVD" player, I'll buy an "HD DVD" player. If I want a "Blu Ray" player, I'll buy a "Blu Ray" player. I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who buy such things without knowing the most basic thing about what they are buying: what kind of media it plays. Here's the first page of Ebay for "samsung hd dvd player": http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...1313&satitle=samsung+hd+dvd+player&category0=

I don't see any that look at all misleading. The ones that are "HD Conversion" all say "DVD Player with HD Upconversion".

[edit: oh, there is one. Not in the general list, but at the bottom an ad for a reseller doesn't have the word "upconvert" in the title (though it is clear as day in the ad iteslf)] I doubt that. Best Buy reps are pretty dumb, but not that dumb.

This is reeeeeealy simple.

Not dumb, there are no HD DVD players right? Would a sales rep. directly state this fact?

Again, this DVD player was a gift, however after my Planet Earth HD DVD wouldn't register, I got the impression from the Samsung representative over the phone that selling DVD players is deliberately deceptive when dealing those who are non-tech savvy. I conversed with him for a couple of minutes to clarify on whether my DVD player actually plays HD DVDs, after around 10 minutes he gave me the straightforward answer there are no Samsung HD DVD players.

My question was " is this player going to register HD DVDs " the answer should be

NO

His answer was " it upconverts DVDs into a high definition format "

And I asked " What exactly do you mean ? "

He explained with all of its technical glory.

I asked " so it takes regular DVDs and makes it better right? "

He reiterated the technical details of the device once more ...

I asked him once again whether it registers HD DVDs

He reiterated the technical details of the device once more with extra details

And this is why the conversation took around 10 minutes

At this time he stated that Samsung does not make HD DVDs , which was news to me.

People should be more informed about what's going on out there in the tech world, irregardless, the sales strategies out there are deliberately deceptive and misleading and this is my sole point.

 

[peter0302]

I suspect you read something you wanted to read, not something that was actually there.

These electronics advertisements are horrendously poor at giving consumers accurate information - ESPECIALLY consumers who are not up-to-date on the ever-changing state of this technology.

And people who WORK in electronics stores like Best Buy will tell you ANYTHING you want to hear to make a sale.

But, hey, why not try to make the guy feel as crappy about it as possible?

 

[GCT]

These electronics advertisements are horrendously poor at giving consumers accurate information - ESPECIALLY consumers who are not up-to-date on the ever-changing state of this technology.

And people who WORK in electronics stores like Best Buy will tell you ANYTHING you want to hear to make a sale.

But, hey, why not try to make the guy feel as crappy about it as possible?

My point exactly.