RCA has HD-DVD too: the HDV-5000

Seems like the HD-DVD focus is on the bigger names, but we got a gander at RCA's HD-DVD player here at CES. It's only natural that RCA rides the high-def DVD train since they have HDTV sets like the Scenium line. Watch for the HDV-5000 in April for around $500, which is quite a few pesos less than the Blu-Ray players we've seen. Will price be a major factor in this format war or have the final shots already been fired?

[Homeboy @ Jan 7th 2006 7:40PM]

500 big ones, eh? I think I'll take a PS3 thank you!!

[Shmoe @ Jan 7th 2006 8:26PM]

How about some specs on this thing?

[Jason W @ Jan 7th 2006 9:20PM]

Remind me of how everyone said the Nintendo DS would die before the PSP came out. And then the battle started. I dont think blue ray and HD DVD will have the same battle vhs and betamax did in the 80s since everyone had a tv that could use those devices. I have 2 hdtvs and only the small17 inch one has a dvi connection that can use these things since neither will support componet hd out. Now as for HDDVD vs Blue Ray, since HDDVD will be supported by vista and Blue ray has no copy allowance, I dont think this battle is over before its started. We will see, but 50% less with copy ability makes me want hddvd more.

[William Rezende @ Jan 7th 2006 10:44PM]

I agree with "Jason W"

But want to know how this copy ability will work on vista media center.

Blue Ray is a real good tecnology, but since HD DVD spends only 10% of the same investment to aply Blue Ray on, and there is enough sapace to the movie and extras on the disk, there will be no needing of more gigabites.

About the PS3, have you seen the size in GB of the Xbox 360 games? they do not use a sigle layer on the disk, and the games still uses only one core of one processor... This mens that mabe in 3 or 4 years will need a more than 9 gb of space for games, jut at time for a new console.

Can some one here tell me how this copy movie to vista will work? Once the movie is on the Hard Drive, will it be possible to change subtatlies and other stuff? will it be possible to send the movie to a Portable Media Center?

[Shmoe @ Jan 7th 2006 11:58PM]

This is the nicest looking next-gen player shown so far.

A few reasons HD-DVD will win.

1. Price: Lots cheaper than Blu-ray

2. Backward compatible for both manufacturers and consumers.

3. DVD in the name: Everyday consumers (those that don't read Engadget) won't recognize Blu-ray easily and will be hesitant to buy something they don't know.

4. Support from Microsoft and Intel in the PC platform.

5. Supports copying to a media center pc and streaming over the network.

6. PS3 will be too expensive, Xbox 360 will have HD-DVD drive option. The millions of people who have already bought the 360 will just add this to it. Eventually, MS will probably ship an internal HD-DVD drive with the 360.

7. Porn industry support for HD-DVD.

8 Sony always loses.

[Hachi_Roku @ Jan 8th 2006 4:42AM]

LG has the slimmest HD-DVD player I have seen so far, only bad part is they also make a Blu-ray one and theres no price or launch date. It also does 1080p

[zombieflanders @ Jan 8th 2006 9:52AM]

#6: Wow, you seem to have



1. Price: It's cheaper now, with only 3 or 4 players announced, but most Blu-Ray players had no price given. Dollars to donuts they've got accountants working on equivalent pricing right now.



2. Both formats are backward-compatible, and every player announced for either format states CD/DVD compatibility. And for those niche folks with SACDs, chances are the Blu-Ray players will do that too.



3. DVD in the name: This could work against them. Somebody might say "Hey, I've already got something that says DVD, what this Blu-Ray I've been hearing about?" Not to mention the poor shmuck who gets an HD DVD and tries to play it on his DVD player. Won't he be pissed? Remember, this is America, stupider things happen all the time.



4. Support from Microsoft and Intel in the PC platform: And how many average Americans do you know that play DVDs on their computers? Not that it matters, because not does Intel (and Sigma Designs, and Broadcom) all support playback for both formats, but Nero, WinDVD, PowerDVD, Sonic, and Ulead all support both formats as well.



5. Supports copying to a media center pc and streaming over the network: Ah, managed copy. It's part of the AACS specs which, again, apply to both formats. That "managed" means you have to ask Microsoft and the studios for a copy, which they might just ask you to pay for. Whoops!



6. "PS3 will be too expensive" Costs the same as those Toshibas and RCAs, and just $100 more than a 360.

"Xbox 360 will have HD-DVD drive option. The millions of people who have already bought the 360 will just add this to it." For probably an extra $200+? Right... "Eventually, MS will probably ship an internal HD-DVD drive with the 360." And further dilute an already fractured release line? I doubt it.



7. No porn companies have announced support for either format. And with online porn, it's no longer the 500lb gorilla it was with videotapes.



8. Two syllables: Play. Station. Show me again where either one has failed to outsell it's rivals?

[randomboy @ Jan 8th 2006 10:26AM]

^^^

For your last question (#8)

The DS is outselling the Play. Station 3:1

[EatingPie @ Jan 8th 2006 11:58AM]

You can agree with Jason W, but BOTH BD and HD-DVD have copy allowances...



BLU-RAY and HD-DVD SUPPORT EXACTLY THE SAME MANAGED COPY.



Oh and Blu-Ray is a recordable format... you will be able to burn your movies (after transcode to MPEG2) and play them on a Blu-Ray player. Now which one sounds more flexible?



-Pie

[David @ Jan 8th 2006 12:56PM]

Pie, HD-DVD and Blu-ray are both recordable formats, but all these CES anouncements are for players, not recorders. Sony, Philips and Panasonic have a Blu-ray recorders but only in in Japan where they currently cost between USD$2500 and $4000.

You've mentioned a few times that these newly announced Blu-ray devices can also record but none of the press releases back up this claim.

You are correct about Mandatory Managed Copy, though. The Blu-ray Disc Assoc. added it to the spec in mid November 2005. HD-DVD supporters can no longer claim bragging rights for this feature.

Blu-ray supporters shouldn't put too much weight behind the ability to output 1080p, either. The BD-ROM spec only allows for 480i/720p/1080i content (http://www.blu-raydisc.com/Section-13470/Section-13627/Index.html). There is no such thing as a 1080p Blu-ray disc. The players are simply de-interlacing the 1080i stream before sending it to a 1080p-capable TV. Most 1080p-capable TVs should be able to de-interlace the 1080i stream just as well as the player can, making this feature moot.

[Dave @ Jan 8th 2006 1:44PM]

The Sanyo is the same as the Toshiba. It's the exact same model, just repackaged for RCA by Sanyo.

[Dave @ Jan 8th 2006 2:02PM]

Oh, and for the guy who posted just before me, the page you linked to shows that 1080p is supported, so not sure what you're getting at. The current standards for 1080 are 60i / 50i / 24p, all of which Blu-Ray supports. At CES, there were numerous displays of completely native and end-to-end 108op

[bd @ Jan 8th 2006 2:06PM]

"^^^



For your last question (#8)



The DS is outselling the Play. Station 3:1"



That's not true. I prefer the Nintendo DS, but get real. The Nintendo DS is outselling the PSP, but not by a big margin. That says a lot about brand name at least, considering the PSP has no games. When the PSP shows some must have games (IF they come out), the battle will be more interesting. The DS will show a lot more games too anyway. Keep in mind that nintendo has owned that market for more than 15 years, and that the DS games and the handheld cost half of the PSP too.

[BDK @ Jan 8th 2006 3:17PM]

Why does it take a machine so damn big to play a tiny little disc?

[bd @ Jan 8th 2006 3:26PM]

"Blu-ray supporters shouldn't put too much weight behind the ability to output 1080p, either. The BD-ROM spec only allows for 480i/720p/1080i content (http://www.blu-raydisc.com/Section-13470/Section-13627/Index.html). There is no such thing as a 1080p Blu-ray disc. The players are simply de-interlacing the 1080i stream before sending it to a 1080p-capable TV. Most 1080p-capable TVs should be able to de-interlace the 1080i stream just as well as the player can, making this feature moot."



Well, then what's this?



http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-18-2005/0004219732&EDATE=



"CULVER CITY, Calif., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures Home

Entertainment (SPHE) president Benjamin S. Feingold today announced that

authoring has been completed on the first Blu-ray Disc (BD) to contain a

full-length, high-definition feature film. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

was compressed and authored in MPEG 2 full high-definition (1920 x 1080) by

Sony Pictures' Digital Authoring Center (DAC) and is now being shipped to BD

hardware companies for player testing."



If we remember well, "Full High Definition" is 1080p. Besides, the site you link to says "1080: 50/60 fps interlaced or 24 fps progressive"; doesn't that mean 1080p? After all, 24 fps is the same number of fps that cinema uses.

[bd @ Jan 8th 2006 4:05PM]

Nevermind, this should clear everything:



http://engadget.com/2006/01/08/blu-ray-specification-completed/



Which links to this:



"Blu-ray Discs offer 1920x1080p HD master quality for high definition audio and video quality. Consumers will benefit from Blu-ray Disc�s improvements over current DVD technology including enhanced menu navigation, increased capacity for bonus features and new interactive capabilities.



Blu-ray Disc can deliver entertainment content in full high-definition (HD), under a secure environment made possible through advanced copyright protection technology. Blu-ray Disc playback products are expected to be backward compatible with the current DVDs, allowing continued enjoyment of existing DVD collections "



Here's your 1080p on BD

[randomboy @ Jan 9th 2006 8:05AM]

#13



hehe, If the PSP had no video, mp3 capabilities if would have been dead by now. Now imagine if the DS had a similar in-built video,mp3 capability. Who would be buying a PSP?