Any portable HD format players coming?
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Man, this thread really went all over the place while I was away!!!
So I guess the answer is no, nothing on the immediate horizon as far as a dedicated portable HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc player. The idea of a portable device like a PSP or Zune that plugs in to a standalone player and downloads a DVD-quality SD version is intriging. Ultimately we will probably move away from disc-based media anyway, and hard drive based PMPs and automotive entertainment systems will be the norm. Many DRM issues will have to be worked out first. TiVo to go on an iPod, or Unbox downloads on an iPod, either by itself or played through a vehicular entertainment system sounds like the way to go right now. Since I have Dish Network, maybe I had better look at one of those Archos 605s instead and download movies from WalMart or something. Either way I will be paying for them twice.
So I guess the answer is no, nothing on the immediate horizon as far as a dedicated portable HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc player. The idea of a portable device like a PSP or Zune that plugs in to a standalone player and downloads a DVD-quality SD version is intriging. Ultimately we will probably move away from disc-based media anyway, and hard drive based PMPs and automotive entertainment systems will be the norm. Many DRM issues will have to be worked out first. TiVo to go on an iPod, or Unbox downloads on an iPod, either by itself or played through a vehicular entertainment system sounds like the way to go right now. Since I have Dish Network, maybe I had better look at one of those Archos 605s instead and download movies from WalMart or something. Either way I will be paying for them twice.
Yes, I saw those. What I was looking for was a dedicated portable player, not a laptop. Don't really want my 4 year old to have a $1000 notebook PC on his lap in his car seat while watching "Cars" for the 500th time. What might work is getting one of those notebooks you mentioned and using it to rip the BDs or HD-DVDs to a Divx file that will play on our current cheapie Toshiba player.
Eh, for all the trouble, plain old DVD is just fine for right now, which was kind of my original point.
Eh, for all the trouble, plain old DVD is just fine for right now, which was kind of my original point.
I have found a Alpine reference that shows some of their testing of a mobile system for HD (not sure what def they used for there displays) but they stated that they had hoped that there would be one standard (combined or one winner) but for now are "supporting" both Blu-ray and HD DVD. They have not gone foward with releasing anything yet and probably won't until things become clearer.
shoot, if its going to be in the car, and you dont want to take it with you, you could just get a ps3 and hook that up to the monitor. about 7 years ago I was really in to the whole car custimization thing. I had an alpine head unit that was a 7.5 inch screen hooked up to it was a dvd player and my ps1.
Companies like Coby or Apex aren't going to even think about putting out a low-end DVD player that supports one of the HD formats until there is a clear-cut standard. I have no preference either way, I just wish they would hurry up and decide. Kind of reminds me of AM Stereo... by the time the market decided which format was the winner nobody cared. By the time the marketplace decides this one, the real winner might be BitTorrent.
The fact that the new 51GB standard for HD-DVD will require early adopters to buy a new player does not bode well for that format. But I digress.
The fact that the new 51GB standard for HD-DVD will require early adopters to buy a new player does not bode well for that format. But I digress.
It's not a question of getting the value of HD at that size - of course you wouldn't - it's a question of not having to buy the same movie twice if you want to take it on the road.
Actually you can easily tell the difference between HD and SD on a small screen at the close watching distance of a "portable".
Where's diogen and his "the human eye can only make out so many lines of resolution at such and such a viewing distance" stuff when you need him?
If you're holding the player on your lap and watching it at a distance of about 18 inches, maybe... but even then I'm not so sure. I'm also wondering how you know this since, as far as I know, there are no 7"-8" screens that actually have 720 or 1080 lines of resolution on them... at any rate, the screen in my van is on the ceiling, at least 2-3 feet from the eyes of my closest child, so I doubt they would notice, even if they were older than 5 years old...
Not sure about 7-8" screens, but having had several laptops, the difference between the equivalent of SD (704x480) and HD (1920x1080) if very noticable. Esp. at 2'.
Here you go...
http://www.satelliteguys.us/974649-post12.html
To allow your eye to resolve every pixel on a 7-8" screen, you have to sit (i.e. your eyes should be):
- no further than 1' from a 1080 screen
- 1.5' - from a 720 screen
If you are further away - the pixels are "wasted".
But this is theory.
In practice this graph doesn't work on distances comparable (same order of magnitude) with the distance between your eyes...
Diogen.
I dont know of many portable regular dvd players that have screen sizes as big as most laptops with HD capability. So the difference would be less
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