HD DVD has arrived and it is AWESOME.

So on Thursday I got my HD DVD player, at about 8:30pm.

UPS came by and tried to deliver, but I was with the wife at an appliance store shopping for a new washer/dryer as our washer bit the dust.

Needless to say, the UPS man only cometh when I am away.

So I scheduled an in person pick up at the local distribution hub. They said come at 8pm. I got there, and waited, and waited some more, and about 30 minutes later this HUGE Amazon.com box is brought out, I sign for it and I am out the door.

Before we get home, however, we decide to have a nice steak at Cattlemen's. Very good.

Anyway, the box as I mentioned was absolutely huge, and in it, there were the small air packages that Amazon uses to protect the inner shipment.

I took out the Toshiba box and unpacked everything and hooked it all up. I already programmed my Harmony 360 with the HD-A1 codes as reports are the default remote control is a total piece of ass, and I concur.

I hooked up to my Mitsubishi Diamond WS-65813 using an HDMI to DVI cable that I got when I was shipped my HD Tivo recorder from DirecTV. My Mitsu does not have an HDMI interface but does have HDCP compliant DVI so all was good.

I had a little trouble configuring the audio but that was my fault as I did not select Analog 5.1 on my receiver. I am using 6 standard composite cables to the 5.1 inputs from the HD DVD player itself in order to get the new Dolby Digital Plus sound format, which from what I can tell, sounds absolutely outstanding. It is like a more broad and enveloping sound stage. Hearing peripheral sounds in the environment in The Last Samauri, close to the beginning of the movie, such as street sounds of traffic and trolley, very discrete, but very clear and concise.

The video, Oh MAN, the video quality just floored me. I believe this is what HDTV has been created for. Not over the air broadcast (while nice) but pre-recorded HD content on optical media. Perfect clarity, no macro blocking, tearing, no artifacting, just a clean high definition image. On Serenity, during beginning of the movie with our gang on that hover transport being chased by the Reavers, I focused a lot on the fast moving background, the trees, rocks, mountainsides were all crystal clear, not a jumbled highspeed smear of low detail that we normally get. If this is what we have to look forward to on FIRST generation equipment and codecs, I can't see what we have in store for us on both HD DVD and Blu-Ray in the future.

HD DVD is here, and I am loving every bit of it.

I couldn't withstand it...

I only lasted a week.

Just 1 week.

7 days.

168 hours.

10,080 min, ah hell, I caved and got the Toshiba HD-A1 player.

After call after call to numerous Best Buys, Ultimate Electronics, Sears and Wal-Marts without finding any instock, I checked Amazon. What is this? In stock? Free shipping? $3.99 to upgrade to overnight with my Amazon Prime membership? HELLZ YEAH!

So the movies and player should be here on Thursday. I couldn't wait, but I lasted a week.

After

17 tons of dirt, some sand, lots of sod and flowers with mulch.

Twister!

This was taken on my Motorola Razr, cam quality is OK for close up stuff, but far away, not so much.

During

This is about halfway through the dirt laying and flowerbox/tree ring rebuilding process.

Before

A quick shot of my yard before we dumped 17 tons of dirt, and laid 3 pallets of Fescue Sod. Notice the roots that have surfaced and are creeping toward the street.

Withstanding the Urge.

I survived.

Barely.

The launch of HD DVD came and went.

I have no player, and still have money in the bank.

It isn't for lack of trying though. I waited, just a bit, to see if I could hold out. Then last night, I said screw it and started calling Best Buys to check stock. The first one to say they had one, I would head out and get a unit. However, all were completely sold out.

Which isn't a bad thing. Now that the instant gratification bug cannot be satiated I can wait a bit longer I think.

I am hoping that at E3 next month we will get additional information on the HD DVD peripheral add on for the Xbox360.

Right now, all we know is that one is coming. That is it. No connectivity information, no pricing, no release/launch date, nothing.

One would hope it will have most of the features of the Toshiba HD-A1 player currently available. I just hope they don't cut corners just to say, "HAY GUYS! We have HD Movie support and Sony hasn't even released their PS3, haw haw haw"

Geez, I wanna spend money, but how long can I last?

HD-DVD/Blu-Ray woes.

So April 18 is fast approaching when Toshiba will be the first to the High Definition optical disc market with their already delayed HD-DVD product.

Sometime later in May/June, Sony's will debut with Blu-Ray, a competing format for HD-DVD.

The format war is a brewing.

I now, for the first time in, well, ever have the means to actually be an early adopter of a new technology. An early adaptor is a brave soul who fronts his or her money for the latest in technology. The good thing is, you are the first on the block to get a taste of the new tech. The bad thing is, you usually spend more by jumping in so early, and also face the possibility of being bitten by first generation bugs and glitches.

Anyway, I have a Mitsubishi Diamond 65 inch HDTV, and have been enjoying over-the-air and satelite broadcasts of High Definition material for about 18 months now. With HD-DVD just days away, I want to go 100%, so to speak.

Current movies on DVD played in 480p or even upconverted to a 1080i image leave a lot to be desired when compared with a true 720p or 1080i picture. Sure 480p is a hell of a lot better than the muddy washed out days of VHS, but technology marches on, and I want the goods. I just don't know if I can hold out. Will I take the plunge in the next week, or can I hold off and last until a combo player comes out that can do both formats?