H/D DVD to require HDMI connection

[moonman]

title: HD-DVD Players Will Officially Output HD on HDMI
written by: Jerry Del Colliano
date: July 29, 2005


Toshiba, one of the leading forces behind the HD-DVD movement, announced on a recent road show just how they plan to get High Definition video from an HD-DVD disc to your starving HDTV set. High res signal will officially flow through the easy to use HDMI cable while the analog outs will be downconverted to traditional, non-HD 480i.

HD recording enthusiasts will not be happy about the lack of 1080i and 720p flowing freely from the back of their new HD disc players however another more important people will be thrilled – Hollywood movie executives. Studios know the importance of selling their films right into your living room considering the boom in home theater paired with stagnant box office numbers in 2005.

Rumors persist that HD-DVD and the competing HD disc format, Blu-ray, could possibly hit store shelves for Christmas. This September’s CEDIA trade show will have to be the coming out party for one or both of the two formats if they are to even hope to make a splash this holiday season. Even if they miss this holiday selling season, the popular momentum for HDTV is so strong that people will want to buy movies on discs that look many times better. The question is – will two competing formats make mainstream consumers move into a wait-and-see mode like they did with DVD-Audio and SACD’s ugly format war?

Sources:
Toshiba.com
Engadget.com

[rickfromthesticks]

Well it's too bad Toshiba is behind this. I guess my Toshiba 40" w/s HDTV that has no dvi input will be worthless, huh. Sorry, my tv stays and hd-dvd can sit on the shelves if all I get is 480 like I do now with dvd's.

Format wars will spell the end of this development. Holograms will be ready before this gets straightened out.

Rick

[ntexasdude]

I'm in the same boat as Rick and thousands of others on this one. MY HDTV doesn't have the HDMI connex. I'm stuck with component cables. :nono2:

[jbach]

I've been waiting to say this after some thought and a lot of checking out the picture on my current DVD - HDTV system. I couldn't care less about how long they take to get out HD DVDs. In terms of PQ revolutions, the first was OTA/VCR analog to DVD - two stunning improvements in resoluton and being widescreen. But many people rejected the second because their sets were not widescreen, so you now sometimes can't rent a widescreen version of a movie - only full. If the PQ difference between OTA/cable and HDTV doesn't move people to HD, the much smaller improvement going to HD DVDs just won't drive much. HD is most stunning in live video shots, less so in movies. No way I would pay $500 or more for the DVD to HD increment, and I'm an early HD adopter. Yes, I know many people here would and that is all good. My point is that until more people get HD sets, the HD DVD thing isn't going go mass market, and prices won't go down and programming will be limited. And I'll be very happy with the best (LOTR quality) DVDs afforded by current technologies on a big screen HD TV until that happnes. My prediction: CNN will be in HD before HD DVDs are widely adopted.

[BobMurdoch]

It's DVD Audio and SACD all over again. The powers that be tried to eliminate a capability that people had gotten used to, and the formats utterly failed to win consumer support.

HD-DVD will now do the same. If Sony's Blu-ray format allows component video inputs then they just might win the war after all. Sony has constantly been forced to watch others win the Golden Ticket while their format dies.... now they may finally ram theirs through.