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What a crazy, exciting year it's been for home theater. As we started 2006, DVD was still the best game in town for pre-recorded home video media. Now we have not one but two separate High Definition video disc formats vying to be its successor, both of which easily leave DVD quality in the dust. HD DVD came out of the gate strong, with a reasonably priced player (the Toshiba HD-A1) and an excellent selection of high-quality movie releases. Then Blu-ray stumbled during its launch; the Samsung BD-P1000 player was both a mediocre performer and vastly overpriced, and the initial slate of movie releases were hit or miss for quality, with far too many misses for a new product's first impression. As the year progressed, Blu-ray has worked hard to catch up. New players from Panasonic, Sony, and Pioneer have upstaged the Samsung model (though are still quite overpriced), and software quality has been steadily improving.
As 2006 comes to a close, both formats stand about neck and neck. Neither has quite caught on with the average consumer yet, but both are poised for exciting developments in 2007 and beyond. We don't yet know who's going to win this format war, if anyone. But rather than dwell on the negatives, let's embrace all the fun new High-Def toys the year has given us. If anything, between the two formats and hundreds of High Definition movie discs, home theater fans are suffering an embarrassment of riches. So without further ado, here are DVDTalk's picks for the Top 10 High Definition Releases of 2006.
What a crazy, exciting year it's been for home theater. As we started 2006, DVD was still the best game in town for pre-recorded home video media. Now we have not one but two separate High Definition video disc formats vying to be its successor, both of which easily leave DVD quality in the dust. HD DVD came out of the gate strong, with a reasonably priced player (the Toshiba HD-A1) and an excellent selection of high-quality movie releases. Then Blu-ray stumbled during its launch; the Samsung BD-P1000 player was both a mediocre performer and vastly overpriced, and the initial slate of movie releases were hit or miss for quality, with far too many misses for a new product's first impression. As the year progressed, Blu-ray has worked hard to catch up. New players from Panasonic, Sony, and Pioneer have upstaged the Samsung model (though are still quite overpriced), and software quality has been steadily improving.
As 2006 comes to a close, both formats stand about neck and neck. Neither has quite caught on with the average consumer yet, but both are poised for exciting developments in 2007 and beyond. We don't yet know who's going to win this format war, if anyone. But rather than dwell on the negatives, let's embrace all the fun new High-Def toys the year has given us. If anything, between the two formats and hundreds of High Definition movie discs, home theater fans are suffering an embarrassment of riches. So without further ado, here are DVDTalk's picks for the Top 10 High Definition Releases of 2006.
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