High Definition DVD Players Have Arrived

When DVD’s first arrived they were seen as exciting new technology that would revolutionize the way we watch movies. The major change was converted from an analogue format to digital and this has seen notable improvements in sound and picture quality. Also scene selections and special features are popular additions. The major setback with DVD players had been the limitations in recording TV to truly replace VHS tapes. This has of course recently changed with the influx of writable DVD Players. Now the next advancement is the new High Definition DVD Players with Sony and Toshiba leading the way.

When there is new technology Sony are rarely far behind with the introduction of the new Blu-ray Player. Not only have they produced a stand alone player, but they are also implementing the player into their latest computers. Also the player is one of the major selling points of the forthcoming Playstation 3. Sony hope that the Blu-ray player will help them stand out from other next generation console offerings from Microsoft and Nintendo. Sony will have to hope that consumers regard the Blu-ray highly because the Playstation 3 will be the highest price of the next generation consoles.

Toshiba are the first company to offer a stand alone player for the US market. Toshiba are best known for the production of laptop computers and by some are still regarded as the market leader. If Toshiba will be implementing an HD DVD player into their latest laptops remains to be seen. The question is are these new DVD Players really worth it. One thing that is for sure is that this new technology has caused a drastic reduction in price of the traditional DVD Players. Toshiba’s HD player retails for $500.

American society is very materialistic and we are always looking for the next best thing. Companies persuade us that we need something based on clever marketing and advertising. We may feel we want a DVD Player, but it doesn’t have to be a High Definition player. I would imagine the difference between the traditional DVD Players and High Definition isn’t as great as the companies would led us to believe. Of course if money is no object then it may be a good addition. I would also suggest that to get the most out of a High Definition player an HD TV is probably required.