.

The pursuit of Happiness II

DVD's on my extraordinary 1080P TV is quite impressive, and the sports.... man forget about it it's absolutely majestic. As dorky as this sounds i often find myself missing my TV while at work (or anytime i am away lol). It's like i can't wait to go home and watch the San Antonio Spurs eliminate the Phoenix Suns or just whatever is on the HD channels. When FSN comes on HD, God i would never leave home... And have you seen Hockey on true 1080i HD... I almost canceled a night at the movies lol...

Everything is truly wonderful on HD. TNT is aptly more dramatic, ESPN is just spectacular, CNN and the local news more compelling than ever, NBC's saving the world Heroes is quite astounding, hell even the morning traffic is pretty cool now. Makes me want to wish it is the year 2009 already just so i could watch all of TV in High Definition (although it just might turn me into a complete recluse... just kidding)...

Obviously the natural progression on this Hi-Def odyssey of sorts is the addition of a Blu Ray or an HD DVD player. A PS3 or Xbox 360 would be a bit ostentatious considering i am no Gamer (and i wouldn't get one just for HD dvd duties). I suppose i could get one for the few Racing Games i enjoy but it just doesn't seem sensible to me. I mentioned in my last blog that the addition of either a Blu Ray or an HD DVD player would not come until later on this year because like most of the new technology in Audio and Video, they seem to be inordinately overpriced. Of course anything fairly new and advanced in Technology comes at a premium, so for all intents and purposes, the steep price comes with the territory of HD and Digital Sound patronage. The HD DVD's themselves are no chump change either. They average at least $7.00 more than the Standard DVD. They even got these Combo HD/Standard DVD movies (that go for around $35.00!) so one might prepare and perhaps invest in their looming HD future. Shows you just how shameless keen and shrewd the Industry really is. And what do you do exactly with your DVD collection (amassed over many years, not to mention the money spent...) once that inevitable day comes?

My friend Mark (also an HD nut) has a theory or a solution to this logistical problem. Supply in demand obviously dictates the prices of these new advances in A/V technology. He thinks that if everyone who owns a DVD player (or at least most) would just upgrade to at least an HD-ready TV and purchase an HD player, it would drive the prices down considerably (what a genius!). This rather rudimentary theory if applied (or for the sake of argument, people actually do it) would obviously force people to replace most if not all of their DVD's with the HD version, consequently driving the prices down too to something more to Mark's liking and obviously benefiting us all...

If you haven't figured out yet, i've already picked one up. I couldn't bear the pain anymore you see haha... That's the beauty of being technologically savvy (or maybe the ugly part), one is never really happy unless you got everything... Obviously the biggest problem with owning an HD-DVD player is starting the DVD collection all over again. That was ultimately why i hadn't considered getting one yet even after walking out of Best Buy with a 1080P TV (and the Digital Yamaha Surround Sound the following week). And although HD players are capable of up-converting SD (standard definition) DVD's into 1080P, it is not True HD. Artificial or 1080P up-conversion while visibly superior to Standard Definition, does not do the TV justice. Must get new HD DVD's...

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Friday, May 18, 2007