Who bought an Edsel?

[overlander63]

The company I work for gave me a gift card to Best Buy as a Christmas bonus, and I took advantage of it to purchase an HD DVD player and several movies in that format.
I got it because it would play regular DVDs as well as the HD stuff, and I didn't want two players sitting on the credenza, and Blue Ray will not play regular DVDs. I also knew in the back of my mind that Blue Ray would win out in the format wars, as it would require replacing my entire DVD collection in the new format, or keep two players. I watched as several movie companies stopped offering HD DVD stuff, culminating in Warner Brothers (time warner) only offering Blue Ray. Then Friday, WalMart announced it was not going to sell HD DVDs any more. Today Toshiba (comapny that makes the players) announced they were throwing in the towel, and halting production of the HD DVD machines. Sigh...At least I didn't buy an Avion...

[Jim & Susan]

Avions, Edsels...gotta love it! I've read that some of the Blue Ray players will actually play plain-jane DVD's. I hope more manufacturers will go that route. I wouldn't want to have to buy all new movies ala VHS/DVD. I need the money for the Airstream.

Jim

[Road Ruler]

Yup, looks like blue ray will dominate. LOL, my bh's brother had a new Edsel way back when.

[vswingfield]

Hi Terry,

It’s official. Yesterday Toshiba announced that they are discontinuing production and distribution of HD DVD equipment. Announcement at Toshiba | News: TOSHIBA Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Business. They plan to continue customer support, though. I do miss Edsels, though.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, Edsels were just Fords and Mercurys with different sheet metal and interior components. As for the HD DVDs, as we say in the big city, "That's the chance you took when you decided to be the first one on your block to have the newest thing out." [ie; the cost of the first Ipods.] I had a four track tape player in my car before they came out with an eight track player. Then the eight track player got replaced by cassettes; Which later got replaced by CDs. It will never end. One big plus on my four track tape player, was I didn't have to worry about someone stealing it. All I can say is, you bought it, use it, and enjoy it.

[Silverhobby]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Sigh...At least I didn't buy an Avion...

I own both brands. Many of us here on the forums do. Its not so bad be orphaned . I can use AS parts to fix it up.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

All I can say is, you bought it, use it, and enjoy it.

I'm looking forward to picking up some HD DVD's for really great prices in the coming months. And the player upconverts the existing DVD's I already own, so it's not entirely a bad thing.
BTW, I was also the first person in Florida to own a Daewoo, we eventually owned 4 of them...

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, Edsels were just Fords and Mercurys with different sheet metal and interior components. As for the HD DVDs, as we say in the big city, "That's the chance you took when you decided to be the first one on your block to have the newest thing out." [ie; the cost of the first Ipods.] I had a four track tape player in my car before they came out with an eight track player. Then the eight track player got replaced by cassettes; Which later got replaced by CDs. It will never end. One big plus on my four track tape player, was I didn't have to worry about someone stealing it. All I can say is, you bought it, use it, and enjoy it.

A few years ago I opened a box of what I thought was all paperback books. Inside, I found a discrete 8-track quadraphonic tape of Bridge Over Troubled Waters and 2 books on how to work a slide rule. Can you say early ’70s?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by vswingfield

A few years ago I opened a box of what I thought was all paperback books. Inside, I found a discrete 8-track quadraphonic tape of Bridge Over Troubled Waters and 2 books on how to work a slide rule. Can you say early ’70s?

Hi, the only experience I had with the quadraphonic tapes was with the demo tape that came with the new [70's] Lincolns with the optional quadraphonic tape player. It was interesting to listen as it went from speaker to speaker, one at a time, before it played on all eight tracks.

[Journalist]

Considering Sony's history with proprietary formats, I fully expected HDDVD to become the standard. BetaMax and MiniDisk are a couple of examples that come to mind. With BluRay, Sony did the same thing they have always done and refused to license anyone else to make the players for way too long. This time, the gamble paid off for them. People just haven't gone all that crazy for the new high-def movie formats, so it was a waiting game to see who would give up first. Sony's position in the film industry didn't hurt them either. At least I can finally start collecting new movies in the new format as they are released. I've been afraid to up until now for this very reason. I also plan to use this as ammunition to help talk the wife into letting me get that new Playstation 3.

[RDM16CCD]

When technology went from tape ( 8 track or cassette) to CDs, i ended up buying the same music on the CD format, because it sounded better and is easier to use.

And when movies came out on DVDs instead of VHS tapes, I did the same thing.

While I can see the difference between normal DVDs and the high definition technology (whether Blu Ray or HD), it is not so different that I envision upgrading my DVD library. As the cost of the Blu Ray DVDs and players comes down, I will switch over I am sure - but I'll have my existing library for a long time to come.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by RDM16CCD

When technology went from tape ( 8 track or cassette) to CDs, i ended up buying the same music on the CD format, because it sounded better and is easier to use.

And when movies came out on DVDs instead of VHS tapes, I did the same thing.

While I can see the difference between normal DVDs and the high definition technology (whether Blu Ray or HD), it is not so different that I envision upgrading my DVD library. As the cost of the Blu Ray DVDs and players comes down, I will switch over I am sure - but I'll have my existing library for a long time to come.

That is why I went for the HD DVD player. It will play all my regular DVDs without replacing my replacement of my vhs collection, that I started when I bought my Beta machine... It also makes the regular DVD picture sharper.
I have also been told that the Blu Ray machines are not updateable, and if the format is upgraded, you will have to buy a new machine, which won't play the current discs. I haven't been able to find any independent corroboration of this, but it sounds like the way things normally go in the world...

[overlander63]

HD DVD GC
What that says is if you bought the player fromBest Buy before Feb 23, you should be able to get a $50 gift card from them...
So, I got a player for $150, less 3 $50 gift cards, = free, plus 5 free movies worth at least $15 each, plus a $50 gift card for being a sucker...Looks like I made $125 on the deal. Anybody else got an Edsel they want to sell? Maybe I can make a career out of this...

[JimGolden]

Overlander,

I don't know of a Blu-Ray player that will not play reguar DVD's. I just upgraded my home system to a Pioneer 50" Plasma and a Blu-Ray player. One of my stipulations was that it had to be able to play DVD. Well, as they were the same price (as a dedicated Blu-Ray), I got a Sony Playstation 3, which not only plays Blu-Ray, and upconverts regular DVD's to high def, it is also a darn fine video game machine. I only have one game so far, the Lego Star Wars game, but it's actually really fun (wife said I had to get a game the kids could play so no assassins creed or anything like that).

But anyway, I got a remote for it so the PS3 acts just like a normal DVD player. It plays normal DVD's and Blu-Ray disks both just fine.

I've also owned both silver brands. I really like Avion

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, the only experience I had with the quadraphonic tapes was with the demo tape that came with the new [70's] Lincolns with the optional quadraphonic tape player. It was interesting to listen as it went from speaker to speaker, one at a time, before it played on all eight tracks.

Let’s see, I had a Jeff Beck, an Emerson Lake and Palmer (that also did the circular effect), and a copy of Janice Joplin’s Pearl. Some others, but those (in addition to Bridge Over Troubled Water), are the ones that I remember. Discrete Quad was a good sound when done right. Too bad it didn’t survive.

Congrats on the rebate deal, Terry. What an interesting new career you have discovered.

[overlander63]

I think I'll wait a while before getting another HD device, and then it will probably be a PS3. I have oodles of PS1 and PS2 games, and it would be one less piece of equipment to cart around.
Now, if I could just get everyone to send me their HD DVD players, with receipts from before Feb 23, I'll be able to afford to gas up my truck...

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by overlander63

I think I'll wait a while before getting another HD device, and then it will probably be a PS3. I have oodles of PS1 and PS2 games, and it would be one less piece of equipment to cart around.
Now, if I could just get everyone to send me their HD DVD players, with receipts from before Feb 23, I'll be able to afford to gas up my truck...

Hi Terry,

Sounds like a plan to me. I don’t game (I work on computers all day long. When I get off work, if I sit in front of a display, I should be able to get Vanna White, or alternatives), but I have a friend who bought a PS3. Same reason as you.

Best of luck with the suckers, er, contributors!