According to the latest article from Gizmodo, the HD DVD player launch will, most likely, be delayed.

(more after the fold)

I am posting this because at least one wedding site I’ve seen has been advertising a free HD DVD player if you purchase a High Definition Wedding video package with them for some time now. Riddle me this—how has that been possible when the player’s don’t even exist?

Maybe they mean a computer-based software player (the built-in DVD Player for the Mac OS X has been able to play HD DVDs for a while now, but there is no media yet). Most likely, the “HD DVD” and “free HD DVD player” is most likely a regular DVD in progressive scan DVD player.

Don’t believe people can be that dishonest? Well explain how people can record high definition video (to tape) with a Panasonic AG-HVX100? Yes, you can record to a tethered PC, you can record maybe 10 minutes of video to flash cards, you can record to a FireStore hard drive, but these “wedding videographers” aren’t doing that: they’re writing regular DV to a DV tape and then selling it to you as “high definition wedding videography.” (DV tape doesn’t have the bandwidth to record DVCPRO HD.)

This stuff is criminal.

“What’s in her bag (to go)” by tychay
(Nikon D70, Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G, UV) f/4 at 1/1600 second, iso 200, 12mm (19mm)

If you want a real high definition videographer, check out Caitlin Weigel. She films only in high-definition (no hidden markup), has been using high-definition since the first HDV cameras came out, and knows its advantages and limitations back and forwards (so much so, that one “emmy-award winning professional videographer” literally copied her website explanation into his ad copy).

Her only flaw is she’s honest.

In the wedding business, that’s almost a death sentence.

“Silver Keys Videography” by tychay
(Nikon D70, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G VR, UV) f/2.8 at 1/1320 second, iso 200, 200mm (300mm)