that is why you steer them to Blu-Ray that will

Since when? Both have stated 480p is the top resolution they will allow via analog, last I knew.

show me where that is stated?

both formats allow for the possibility of full HD and what ever the player can output over component (i.e. some players are just 1080i like the Toshiba, Samsung.... over HDMI).

What AACS gives to the studio is an option to demand downscaling over none encrypted or not. This feature is called ICT and all players must down scale if the flag is set to on by the studio. So if your player can manage 1080p over component, and you put in Spiderman in the player and Sony set ICT to on then you would get 1080p from the component, if on the opther hand TW sets LOTR to off then that player must downscale it (let's say 540p).

I used TW and Sony, because we know from different sources that Disney, Sony and Fox where all for dropping ICT and not demanding HDCP for full rez, but that TW was dead set against it (Disney, Sony and TW are on the AACS board)

From what I can tell so far, 1080p is the holy grail of video reproduction, which we all want. But the manufacturers see a little upgradeability for the future, so are holding back the capability of the formats so that we can all upgrade in little while instead of giving us the whole lot at once.

A very simplified view, I know, but that's the impression I get at the moment.

it is not the holy grail, I just see it as a step in the right direction, personally I want it to go beyond that in the longterm.

There is no holy grail of video reproduction. The original NTSC signal was set up to make a black and white image with no more than a 20" diagonal. At that time, the holy grail of video reproduction was to add color.

As technology improves (making a bit of an assumption there that being able to be a more and more comfortable couch potato is an improvement), anything called a holy grail today will be "state of the art" tomorrow. And you should all know that "state of the art" DOES NOT mean "leading edge" or "bleeding edge;" it actually means "this is the way we do it every day." In other words, 2x4s for the walls, and 2x10s for the ceilings, is "state of the art" for single-story homes!

Discussions have been ongoing for quite some time. The studios don't really want to say it since that offends us consumer types, but they want to downconvert.


[Link: dvdtalk.com]

Bad news.

My set actually has two HDMI connections. I understand that HD DVD players are starting to crop up, but I also understand that no HD DVD's are currently out there yet? I would like to upgrade my DVD player and would like to get a Harmon Kardon to match my AVR, but I inquired about it with them and they aren't even in the process of developing one until HD DVDs are being produced - or so they told me.

The first HD-DVD player is due in a couple months, along with the first HD-DVDs. The current players that talk about HD are regular DVD players that upconvert to HD resolution. These will never play an HD-DVD.

Spiky: this is from your article


isn't that what I said (in less detail)? the point is that unless the ICT is on a player can pass HD 1080p over analog, and if it is set to on the player must downscale during processing to something like 520M pixels that is roughly 540p. even after that if the player has a better upscaler it can re-upscale to 1080. The difference is that nothing forces a manufacturer not to downscale even if it is off (i.e. it can be easier/cheaper not to look at the flag and then decide what to do)

My guess new audio equipment that will handle the new Dolby and DTS standards in BD and HD-DVD won't be available until next year (at best end of this one) I don't think Dolby or DTS even have chips ready.

They are leaving it up to the studios. Most of them have said they will set it to ON, not off. Only Fox supports not downrezzing.

Losing this battle in hardware is a huge step backwards for the consumer.

well what I have read was that Disney and TW wanted ICT, Sony did not care and Fox thought it useless the rest we don’t know. On the other hand I don't think any one will use it in the short term, just too stupid to do so. But then again I think sticking with analog for new stuff is insane. (new display make sure it is HDMI, skip PC monitors for now, wait until Vista and HDMI/AACS video cards on new PC, use HDMI cables if passing wire, wait for lossless/HDMI receivers.

Yep, I just got my first HD set last summer. Made sure it had HDMI. Didn't want to get caught in this mess.

Hopefully if anyone does use it, there will be enough users out there to raise holy hell like the last 2 times Sony tried new CP schemes.