Sorting out Overstock.com

HD-DVD ceased to be produced in late 2007. In early 2008, prices were slashed to $100 for the limited HD-DVD player models in production.

For an Apple iMac MB323LL/A 20-inch Desktop PC (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive)iMac - HDV 1080i60 - Apple Final Cut Studio 2 (Mac)Final Cut Pro 6 - DVD Studio Pro 4 using filmmaker as myself, a HD-DVD player is the missing link for a d.i.y. hd pre-screeners.

DVDSP4 allows you to build a HD-DVD project that can be burned to a regular DVD-R. The time limit is about 15 minutes, it may not have any titles, but so what?

Here's the big deal: I captureApple iMac MB323LL/A 20-inch Desktop PC (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) with my iMac HDV in FCP6 using HDV set up. Open DVD SP, set up a HD-DVD project, then create a new project (If you think the open project changes settings, it doesn't. You have to close it and File>New. Otherwise you're assets won't import.) Find your batch capture folder, and import the HDV .movs into DVDSP.

Lay 'em out, and build/format. There is no transcoding or rendering.

What's crazier, is you can do a cuts only edit in FCP6, export a reference movie (not self contained), and that imports into DVD SP and burns to HD-DVD!

The HDV file is not recompressed during this process. It's burned to DVD in HD-DVD format.

This is why I bought a HD-DVD for $56 from Overstock.com

SORTING OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS
Overstock has auctions by Best Buy. The prices are fair. The shipping is right. READ THE DESCRIPTIONS!
The HD-DVDs are a strange lot. Folks were bidding up a player without remote. I bid up a player with all accessories plus Bourne Identity and 300. I won the auction. Here's why.

Overstock auctions are anti-sniping. I posted the steal bid 1 minute before closing. However, Overstock EXTENDS the auction by 10 minutes and emails all bidders of the new bid and extension. So bidders have 10 minutes to outbid you.

Here's the snag- most folks assume they can snipe back. You can't.

I put my top bid at $39.99. Someone attempted to snipe with $35.01 within a minute of auction close.
He didn't outbid me. I won the auction.

A set top player without a remote is next to worthless. However- if I buy a second without remote- so what? One remote rules them all!

I don't want to collect old technology.
However, short of using your camera as a player, HD-DVD via DVDSP is the only way of viewing your footage at it's digital pristine format.