$1000. Quite cheap for a combo player (if you ask me).
It's the same price as an average Blu-Ray player and it reads HD-DVDs too.
I'm sure it'll cost 1000€ when it gets released in France, though.
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
Even Romero knows HD-DVD Players average £350 and BD Players average £500-600 so £500 is good. Movietyme are bound to sell it too making it easy to import, that should also mean it's customs safe too.
It's wise to get a USA player anyway as that will give you access to North American + the Far East BDs if you happen to want a region locked BD Disc. If you get a Europe BD Player it only opens up Europe + Australia (the rest of the regions are unimportant). MR BD Players sadly are just not coming, the market is way too small so for the feasible future you'll have to get a region locked player.
Bar MR the Samsung looks to have the Lot! Including full HDMI 1.3 support not found on other players.
It's still way to early for HD Players under £200 and even way, way, way to early for a Combo player. Both formats aren't going anywhere and there is just too many titles on both to only get one.
p.s - It's bound to be 1000€ it will be £1000, you guys are lucky 1000€ is much closer to $1000 than £1000 is.
Is it really wise to import an American player? I reckon that Sony will end up implementing a feature where it checks which part of the world you are in, and then will refuse to play your disc if you're in the wrong region.
Fair point however that's a maybe regional coding is a definitive/here/now/in place, even though not all titles are region locked some are, PLUS £1000 are they having a laugh!!!
I'd pay £500 for a Combo but no way I'd ever pay a grand. Region Free BD is not on the horizon too, oh and a Grand!!!
Brad wrote:Tom: Do you read it to mean the player will be FULLY BD-Java compatible? I reckon that's what it means, it better do.
I might be talking rubbish, but I'm pretty sure that BD-J specs aren't even finalized yet.
So the Samsung player probably won't be "future-proof".
Gaster wrote:Sony will end up implementing a feature where it checks which part of the world you are in
And how are they gonna do that ?
Built-in GPS, maybe ? With a self-destruct mechanism ?
"Oh noes ! My owner lives in France !" *BOOM*
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
Bugger! . I just hope it can play the menus/extras unlike the current BD Players which I here have no hope in hell.
That article does make a point of mentioning BD-Java and an Ethernet port so fingers crossed Samsung have thought it of. It would be really stupid not to. I did hear some kind of spec. whereby a BD Player must have XYC hardware inside it.
They could add something like RCE to the Disc which Yes was easily broken but the protection in BD is much better.
It has no Wireless port for starters so would presume everyone has their BD Player next to their Router/Modem/Computer. Then there is the Dial-Up users out there. That's not going to happen.
An RCE type implementation is more likely. It was Sony who pulled that one after all.
tom2681 wrote:I might be talking rubbish, but I'm pretty sure that BD-J specs aren't even finalized yet.
So the Samsung player probably won't be "future-proof".
I would imagine that dvd player could be updated, so if the spec changes for BD, Samsung could potentially have the option to update itself, when you are connected to the internet
You don't need BD-Java to have excellent HD movies from a BluRay disc. BluRay already has fancy overlaid animated menus... BD-Java is an addon for extras and games.
So very few BD players will fail come October. Sure they won't play that BD-Java part which probably makes up less than 1% of the disc (storage wise ) but it will play the movie.
Yes the PS3 (60GB not the 20GB version) has Wireless. Can it automatically connect to the internet? No.
Would they even make a player that would require it to be connected to the internet? No. I'm pretty darn sure they will handle revocation of "hacked-keys" the same way that they do with AACS on HD-DVD (and BluRay). I.e. newer movies includes a list of keys which must be disabled.
However, I really doubt they would EVER do that if there wasn't a way for the customer to change the key, i.e. via a Firmware upgrade or via a software upgrade.
As it is now HD-DVD looks the be the niche of the HD-disc niche. :-/ So just get a Sammy, get most movies on BluRay and just don't give a damn extras on the few discs you just MUST have on HD-DVD
Or get a Toshiba! You should be able to get it for around £200-£300 (?!) Then spring for the coming "cheap" Sony at £400-£500... Still cheaper (and better I dare say) than a Sammy/LG combo at £1000.
To be fair to sony,they are regularly updating the firmware on the ps3,i think my ps3 will be fine come october.Both formats will be around for ages i reckon,just counting my collection earlier now have 18 blu-rays and 34 hd-dvds oh and 2 box sets on hd-dvd (matrix & mission impossible) you guys need to get on the hd bandwagon soon
. I just hope it can play the menus/extras unlike the current BD Players which I here have no hope in hell.
