Blu-ray wins the war

I suspect most people had figured Blu-ray was going to win.
It is now official. Blu-ray is the VHS of today and tomorrow!

We just purchased our first HD tv this past month ...
But were waiting before deciding which new DVD player to get.

News article from Tokyo: Toshiba quits HD DVD business

"Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer develop, make or market HD DVD players and recorders, handing a victory to rival Blu-ray disc technology in the format battle for next-generation video. The move would make Blu-ray — backed by Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, and five major Hollywood movie studios — the winner in the battle over high-definition DVD formatting that began several years ago."

Contributing factors:

"Nishida said last month's decision by Warner Bros. Entertainment to release movie discs only in the Blu-ray format made the move inevitable. Warner joined Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Co. and News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox in that move."

"Friday's decision by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest U.S. retailer, to sell only Blu-ray DVDs and hardware appeared to deal a final blow to the Toshiba format. Just five days earlier, Netflix Inc. said it will cease carrying rentals in HD DVD. Several major American retailers had already made similar decisions, including Target Corp. and Blockbuster Inc."

HD DVD supporters included Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation, Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp. and Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp.

Final HDTV research

We have pretty much decided on which LCD/HDTV to purchase.
But did a final google search this morning on VHS on LCD tv.
Remember we have a HUGE collection of VHS movies and tv shows.

Will an LCD Television work with my old VCR?
HDTV FAQs and LCD Television FAQs
VHS goes high definition
All the above links are from hometheatre.about.com

Other links:
A Buyer's Guide to LCD TV's
VCR lets you upscale VHS to HD ... and Upscale your VHS to 1080i

How to copy VHS to DVD - not for article itself but link at bottom
Best LCD TV for NON-High-Def programs

1080i, 720p, and 1080p - what?

So what do these numbers mean?
And what does the letter at the end mean?
Those questions spurred on my newest google (re)search.

Answers:
P stands for progressive scan - shows full picture at one time
I stands for interlaced scan - takes two passes to get all picture
The number refers to number of lines in image.
More lines means clearer picture, more realistic.

Links to articles:
High Definition Television Info
HDTV Showdown: 1080i and 720p
Wikipedia: 1080i, 720p, 1080p, HDTV

Upconverting

My mom mentioned getting a coupon to purchase "upconverter" thingie. Her understanding is that she will need that within a year the same way rabbit ears were needed to get some channels not readily available for those that did not upgrade to cable. She said her and dad had no intention of buying new televisions (living room and bedroom) just for HD capability.

That set me off on another research binge to learn more about HD Upconverters. I want to understand what it really does and what will need it. We have one old tv which predates HD that will remain when we purchase new flat panel HD tv. We also have GOBS of VHS and DVD's that predate any HD technology we still need to be able to view on either tv.

As we slowly and calmly decide on our new HD tv and new DVD player we need to consider all the new technology and how it works together. We want to purchase what is necessary so that everything we have still works for MANY years yet to come. Sometimes this seems a daunting task.

Here are some links about Upconverting:
What is HD upconverter?
How HD Upconverters work
Getting the Most out of DVD on a HDTV Display
The Many Benefits of a upconverting DVD Player
Upconvert VHS to 1080i or 720p - Why?

Blu-ray winning

My brother mentioned there was a new development in the Blu-ray versus HD DVD war. Within the last week another major studio or two have decided to only produce Blu-ray videos. So that means 6 for Blu-ray and only 2 for HD. The battle continues for now but certainly looks like Blu-ray will win out just like VHS stomped all over Beta.

Including some links of interest:

Warner Bros picks Blu-Ray over HD-DVD
Blu-ray.com suporting studios
Blu-ray Disc US site

Cabinets and LCD

This morning Randy put together two cabinets for the kitchen.
Living in an apartment storage and counter space is minimal.
The cabinets are about 31 inches tall and two feet wide.
There are three (adjustable) shelves covered with doors.
The extra space will allow us to do a little bulk buying of sale items.

Today we started looking closer at whethere to upgrade to LCD tv.
We want a bigger tv and have the wedding/Christmas money to use.
We really did not know anything about LCDs except their existence.
I googled to find review of a brand and found this great site ...
LCD TV: Buying Guide with great advice including an Introduction.

We also watched MirrorMask. A lot on the weird side.
Reminded me of Neverending Story and other like that.
WOW - this was put out by Jim Henson Productions!
I believe this is the movie that I read a review equating
its innovativeness to that of Fantasia. Not sure I agree.
Randy liked it although agreed it is slow till it gets REALLY WEIRD.