HD DVD thread - Toshiba: HD DVD DISCONTINUED, REPAIR/SUPPORT CONTINUES, NO BLU PLANS

[KaneRobot]

Went a little nuts yesterday....ordered Goodfellas, Apollo 13, and Hollywoodland off Amazon with the 10% thing. Also picked up Hulk since I had a coupon to take it to 20 bucks.

Universal's XBox-Livesque "strategy" (wink, wink) of not releasing anything so people keep buying stuff already out seems to be working on me. Oddly enough I don't fall for it on XBLA.

Like I've said a million times though - even if HD-DVD is extinct in 2008, these movies will still work fine. I do feel somewhat bad for those people who plunked down 500 bucks on a standalone player, but I personally don't feel regretful at all considering how cheap I got the add-on for.

Not worried a bit...all I'll have to do then is buy the inevitable - if it "wins" - $200 Blu-Ray add-on and I'll be all set. Hell, by the time MS has to do it, it's likely it would be even less.

[psychobrawler]

Like I've said a million times though - even if HD-DVD is extinct in 2008, these movies will still work fine. I do feel somewhat bad for those people who plunked down 500 bucks on a standalone player, but I personally don't feel regretful at all considering how cheap I got the add-on for.

Not worried a bit...all I'll have to do then is buy the inevitable - if it "wins" - $200 Blu-Ray add-on and I'll be all set. Hell, by the time MS has to do it, it's likely it would be even less.

With the studios that are already on board, I think getting out the Matrix, Harry Potter, and/or Lord of the Rings HD DVDs would go a long ways towards boosting sales right now. There's not much on either side in terms of movie selection to justify the cost yet.

I need to po that Nine Inch Nails concert though....

[thrustbucket]

Went a little nuts yesterday....ordered Goodfellas, Apollo 13, and Hollywoodland off Amazon with the 10% thing. Also picked up Hulk since I had a coupon to take it to 20 bucks.

Universal's XBox-Livesque "strategy" (wink, wink) of not releasing anything so people keep buying stuff already out seems to be working on me. Oddly enough I don't fall for it on XBLA.

Like I've said a million times though - even if HD-DVD is extinct in 2008, these movies will still work fine. I do feel somewhat bad for those people who plunked down 500 bucks on a standalone player, but I personally don't feel regretful at all considering how cheap I got the add-on for.

Not worried a bit...all I'll have to do then is buy the inevitable - if it "wins" - $200 Blu-Ray add-on and I'll be all set. Hell, by the time MS has to do it, it's likely it would be even less.

Since the porn kingdom has all but shunned bluray and embraced HD DVD, I don't think HD DVD will ever truly be "dead".

[Sporadic]

I need to po that Nine Inch Nails concert though....

http://search.insound.com/search/showrelease.jsp?p=INS34021

22.99 with a free lithograph

use SXSW_Insound for 10% off

------

Here's what the litho should look like (at least if it's the same one from the listening party)

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/4608/lithokc4.jpg

[guyver2077]

wow just saw happy gilmore on hd dvd..

im suprised how good it looks..

also man whats up with hd dvd lately... i hadnt looked at thedvdwars.com in a while but i checked yesterday and it looks like hd is getting spanked now...


fuck

[LinkinPrime]

Its because everyone that has an HD-DVD player is waitng for new titles since we already own the titles that we wanted to own. Meanwhile Blu-Ray is playing catch up. HD-DVD needs some titles to be announced soon.

[Ph8te]

Well here are some upcoming Titles that youc an look forward to..I posted this earlier but it gets lost in the mix easily....

Domestic (US)
2/13/2007
The Departed (Warner) <- COMBO

2/20/2007
Babel (Paramount)

2/27/2007
Bullitt (Warner)
The Getaway (Warner)
Nature's Colors (Concert Hot Spot)
Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You In Time (Interscope)

3/27/2007
Happy Feet (Warner) <- COMBO
March of the Penguins (Warner)
Relentless Enemies (National Geographic/Warner)
School for Scoundrels (Weinstein Co.)

4/3/2007
The Good Shepherd (Universal) <- COMBO

4/10/2007
Payback: Straight Up (Paramount)

4/17/2007
The Game (Universal)
The Jerk (Universal)

4/24/2007
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Universal)
The Nutty Professor (Universal)
Planet Earth (BBC Video/Warner

22 May 2007

Alexander: Revisited, The Final Cut

4 September 2007

Heroes-Season 1 (2006/II)

4 December 2007

Singin' in the Rain

These are just the announced as of now get prepared for more from Universal and Warner in the coming weeks...

Just to name a few of the International releases....

Saw
Saw 2
Underworld Evolution
Ran
The Good the bad and the Ugly
Serpico
Terminator 2
Brotherhood of the Wolf
The Prestiege
The Island


here are some links for the international lists and releases enjoy :)

http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29843791

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?t=249791

http://hdworld.iforumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=223&mforum=hdworld

And before anyone asks yes the Import HD-DVDs can play on ANY HD-DVD player, there is NO region coding as of yet for HD-DVD :)

[Sarang01]

When is BSG coming as well as "House MD" and "Monk"?

[psychobrawler]

Well here are some upcoming Titles that youc an look forward to..I posted this earlier but it gets lost in the mix easily....

Domestic (US)
2/13/2007
The Departed (Warner) <- COMBO

2/20/2007
Babel (Paramount)

2/27/2007
Bullitt (Warner)
The Getaway (Warner)
Nature's Colors (Concert Hot Spot)
Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You In Time (Interscope)

3/27/2007
Happy Feet (Warner) <- COMBO
March of the Penguins (Warner)
Relentless Enemies (National Geographic/Warner)
School for Scoundrels (Weinstein Co.)

4/3/2007
The Good Shepherd (Universal) <- COMBO

4/10/2007
Payback: Straight Up (Paramount)

4/17/2007
The Game (Universal)
The Jerk (Universal)

4/24/2007
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Universal)
The Nutty Professor (Universal)
Planet Earth (BBC Video/Warner

22 May 2007

Alexander: Revisited, The Final Cut

4 September 2007

Heroes-Season 1 (2006/II)

4 December 2007

Singin' in the Rain

These are just the announced as of now get prepared for more from Universal and Warner in the coming weeks...

Just to name a few of the International releases....

Saw
Saw 2
Underworld Evolution
Ran
The Good the bad and the Ugly
Serpico
Terminator 2
Brotherhood of the Wolf
The Prestiege
The Island


here are some links for the international lists and releases enjoy :)

http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29843791

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?t=249791

http://hdworld.iforumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=223&mforum=hdworld

And before anyone asks yes the Import HD-DVDs can play on ANY HD-DVD player, there is NO region coding as of yet for HD-DVD :)


I will be all over Ran. Brotherhood of the Wolf may be tempting too.

[KaneRobot]

For a little "dark humor," here's the release lineup for 2/13:

Broken Arrow (Blu-ray)
Chain Reaction (Blu-ray)
Chronos (Blu-ray)
The Departed (Blu-ray)
The Departed (HD DVD)
Entrapment (Blu-ray)
Ladder 49 (Blu-ray)
The Marine (Blu-ray)
Phone Booth (Blu-ray)
Planet of the Apes (Blu-ray)
Reign of Fire (Blu-ray)
The Sentinel (Blu-ray)
The Usual Suspects (Blu-ray)


HD-DVD is lookin' a little lonely in there. ;)


Wish they'd release the first Terminator film overseas since it won't be out here. I have the "Extreme Edition" (aka 1080p version) on DVD, and the third one on HD-DVD. Need to get the first one though.

With the studios that are already on board, I think getting out the Matrix, Harry Potter, and/or Lord of the Rings HD DVDs would go a long ways towards boosting sales right now. There's not much on either side in terms of movie selection to justify the cost yet.

I agree, especially if we get some $200-$300 standalone HD-DVD players by the end of the year as predicted. However, those aren't as big a deal as they COULD be since they'll be out on Blu-Ray as well. On a related note, it's a goddamn shame that one of the main reasons HD-DVD is so slow right now is because of Warner's "play fair" mandate.


wow just saw happy gilmore on hd dvd..

im suprised how good it looks
Yeah, that kind of surprised me as well. It's actually a fairly solid "tier 2" title as far as pic/sound quality.

[ryanbph]

they just need to get better new releases...I bought a couple of hd dvd's when i purchased the system, but I have over 500 dvds, and I don't plan on replacing almost any of them going forward.

[Sarang01]

The sad thing in general is that Paramount is screwing around when they could be releasing a bunch of films as well. I'm hoping the real reason they're taking their time is they want to give us excellent picture and sound as well as extras and they're not trying to wait on the sidelines until this format war is decided.

[RedvsBlue]

For a little "dark humor," here's the release lineup for 2/13:

Broken Arrow (Blu-ray)
Chain Reaction (Blu-ray)
Chronos (Blu-ray)
The Departed (Blu-ray)
The Departed (HD DVD)
Entrapment (Blu-ray)
Ladder 49 (Blu-ray)
The Marine (Blu-ray)
Phone Booth (Blu-ray)
Planet of the Apes (Blu-ray)
Reign of Fire (Blu-ray)
The Sentinel (Blu-ray)
The Usual Suspects (Blu-ray)


HD-DVD is lookin' a little lonely in there. ;)
.

I dunno, there's a LOT of garbage in that list. The only thing that's coming out that day that's blu ray exclusive that I'd even consider getting would be The Usual Suspects. The rest are rentals at best.

[KaneRobot]

I dunno, there's a LOT of garbage in that list. The only thing that's coming out that day that's blu ray exclusive that I'd even consider getting would be The Usual Suspects. The rest are rentals at best.
I agree a lot of it is shit, my problem with it is Blu-Ray is going to be crowding the shelves, while HD-DVD is stagnant.


On a better note (sort of) - if anyone is looking for an AMAZING show-off disc and is willing to put up with a pretty crappy film, pick up Hulk. The movie has a lot wrong with it, but once you get through the first half you'll get some amazing looking action scenes. The scenes in the desert rival (and occasionally seem to surpass) the PQ on King Kong, which in the consensus opinion has yet to be surpassed by any HD-DVD OR Blu-Ray disc.

[Duo_Maxwell]

Personally I think a small problem I have with HD-DVD right now is that nearly all the new releases (i.e. stuff I'd perferably buyrather than rebuy older releases) are combo discs. I've gone on before about how I didn't like the idea of combo discs costing $5-$10 more for something most HD-DVD buyers won't hardly use. If I have an HD-DVD player I bought for $500, I'm not using the regular DVd side. And vice versa, if I have a regular p. scan DVD player, I'm probably not paying 66% more for something I need to purchase an entire other player for (I also dislike flip discs).

To me that's already an argument and I'm sure some disagree, but if you look at a new release list like KaneRobot just threw up the only option available is a single, combo disc release with a Blu-ray counterpart. If I own, say an add-on and a PS3, I'm going for the Blu-ray version of the Departed simply because of cost difference (from what I've seen online pre-order prices are about $5 more for HD-DVD). Things used to be that HD-DVD was cheaper and for some features it still is, but the combo discs are not helping anything IMO and only making HD-DVD titles equal in cost or more expensive than their BD counterparts (if available). Long rant short, I hope it's somehting that dies out sooner rather than later.

[Trakan]

I agree a lot of it is shit, my problem with it is Blu-Ray is going to be crowding the shelves, while HD-DVD is stagnant.


On a better note (sort of) - if anyone is looking for an AMAZING show-off disc and is willing to put up with a pretty crappy film, pick up Hulk. The movie has a lot wrong with it, but once you get through the first half you'll get some amazing looking action scenes. The scenes in the desert rival (and occasionally seem to surpass) the PQ on King Kong, which in the consensus opinion has yet to be surpassed by any HD-DVD OR Blu-Ray disc.
Anyone seen Crank? It's supposed to be one of the hottest fire Blu-Ray discs as far as PQ goes.

Does it surpass/rival the best of HD-DVD? Say Hulk or KK?

[lordopus99]

Anyone seen Crank? It's supposed to be one of the hottest fire Blu-Ray discs as far as PQ goes.


Not sure but I hated the actual movie.

[matowest]

Anyone seen Crank? It's supposed to be one of the hottest fire Blu-Ray discs as far as PQ goes.

Does it surpass/rival the best of HD-DVD? Say Hulk or KK?

I actually just watched the BR disc tonight and it's damn pretty. You can literally see every whisker on Statham's face. The film's style sometimes caused me to wonder if my TV's picture settings were off, but other than that it looks pretty great.

I would put it in the same ballpark as Hulk and Kong, though they are both better looking due to the greater use of CGI.

Now as a film, it's not the best, but I had fun with it.

[Sarang01]

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/B000K7KK1W/ref=dp_change_lang/503-9282195-6119150?ie=UTF8&language=en%5FJP

This will probably not have English subs but if this is phoenetically correct then this is the Korean film "The Lakehouse" is based off.

edit:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102-6057755-1361741?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=The+World%27s+Fastest+Indian&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

Apparently "The World's Fastest Indian" is coming next week to HD DVD and BR.

[Sporadic]

So, does the HD-DVD attachment still come bundled with King Kong?

I am minutes away from pulling the trigger on one.

[thrustbucket]

So, does the HD-DVD attachment still come bundled with King Kong?

I am minutes away from pulling the trigger on one.

I haven't seen or heard of one that doesn't yet. There is a big sticker on the corner of the box that says it's included if it is.

[Sporadic]

I haven't seen or heard of one that doesn't yet. There is a big sticker on the corner of the box that says it's included if it is.

The plan is to buy it from NewEgg.

With the 15 dollar Paypal rebate it should knock it down to $174.99 with free 3 day shipping.

[thrustbucket]

The plan is to buy it from NewEgg.

With the 15 dollar Paypal rebate it should knock it down to $174.99 with free 3 day shipping.

It will be a gamble, but I've yet to hear about anyone buying one that hasn't come with King Kong.

[KaneRobot]

I seriously doubt that you'll get one without the free stuff. You should be fine.


Updated the OP with the new stuff for the week. Only one title, but it's a big one. I'll be picking it up.

[Sporadic]

Just joined the HD-DVD camp.

Bought a HD-DVD player attachment from NewEgg and preordered Nine Inch Nails: Beside You In Time from Insight.

[anomynous]

Paramount should put The Godfather trilogy on HD DVD.

[Sarang01]

I seriously doubt that you'll get one without the free stuff. You should be fine.


Updated the OP with the new stuff for the week. Only one title, but it's a big one. I'll be picking it up.

You're buying "The World's Fastest Indian" too right?

[LinkinPrime]

Sony still claims that they won, based on winning numbers for January...

"The message that we’re going to put out to the consumer now is, now it is safe to make a choice," explained Bishop. "No more fence-sitting is needed... We have a critical mass of content, we have the biggest mass of consumer electronics companies in the world supporting this format. That has moved Blu-ray into the forefront."
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Sales/Industry_Trends/Sonys_New_Blu-ray_Marketing_Message:_Format_War_is_Over/468

Someone needs to tell Sony that winning a month does not win the war. As the article above states the numbers for The Departed and Babel will prove to be pretty interesting for the war.

EDIT: 2 HD-DVD Exclusives get a date:
Children of Men - 3/27
40 Year old Virgin - 5/22 (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Universal/Disc_Announcements/Universal_Brings_Children_of_Men,_40_Year-Old_Virgin_to_HD_DVD/467)

[Sporadic]

Sony still claims that they won, based on winning numbers for January...

Someone needs to tell Sony that winning a month does not win the war. As the article above states the numbers for The Departed and Babel will prove to be pretty interesting for the war.


http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9146/deweytruman12nq3.jpg

[cleaver]

Holy crap! Serenity HD DVD $7.58 with Google Checkout @ CD Universe!
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7068138&style=movie&BAB=D

[doubledown]

Basically, the reviews for Babel and Departed say that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are IDENTICAL in quality. Thus, whatever sells more would seem to indicate a front-runner, and it appears that Blu-Ray has been doing better lately....unfortunately.

[cleaver]

Basically, the reviews for Babel and Departed say that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are IDENTICAL in quality. Thus, whatever sells more would seem to indicate a front-runner, and it appears that Blu-Ray has been doing better lately....unfortunately.
Then buy Departed from buy.com with GCO for $17.94 and rock the vote! Vote or Die!

[Sarang01]

Holy crap! Serenity HD DVD $7.58 with Google Checkout @ CD Universe!
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7068138&style=movie&BAB=D

You ROCK! I will be buying this for $15 as I don't trust Google with my credit card information.

[cleaver]

You ROCK! I will be buying this for $15 as I don't trust Google with my credit card information.
Seriously? You can always remove your credit card after it ships and close the account, they make it pretty easy to do.

[thrustbucket]

You ROCK! I will be buying this for $15 as I don't trust Google with my credit card information.

What exactly do you think a multi-billion dollar company is going to do with your credit card information?

[RedvsBlue]

What exactly do you think a multi-billion dollar company is going to do with your credit card information?

Max it out on porn subscriptions of course.

[Sarang01]

What exactly do you think a multi-billion dollar company is going to do with your credit card information?

Google STILL won't reveal their connection with our government so forgive me if I should be cautious. Personally I think Google is our Arsenal Gear.

[RedvsBlue]

Wow, The Departed looks awesome on HD-DVD. Super crisp and the colors just pop.

[Bezerker]

Ugh, i wish the 360 HD-DVD player had a way to change the screensize w/o using the zoom function. It sucks watching HD-dvds on a widescreen tv with letterboxes. King Kong was on HBO-HD in Full-screen and it looked so much better than the letterboxed HD-DVD.

Right now im watching V For Vendetta, the bars really do make it seem less HD.

[RedvsBlue]

Ugh, i wish the 360 HD-DVD player had a way to change the screensize w/o using the zoom function. It sucks watching HD-dvds on a widescreen tv with letterboxes. King Kong was on HBO-HD in Full-screen and it looked so much better than the letterboxed HD-DVD.

That's because the HD-DVD disc itself is preserving the original aspect ratio and not scaling it to 16:9 like the ratio of your widescreen TV.

[Ph8te]

Ugh, i wish the 360 HD-DVD player had a way to change the screensize w/o using the zoom function. It sucks watching HD-dvds on a widescreen tv with letterboxes. King Kong was on HBO-HD in Full-screen and it looked so much better than the letterboxed HD-DVD.

Right now im watching V For Vendetta, the bars really do make it seem less HD.

Well I would ahve HOPEd since you jumped into the new format you were skooled MANY years agon on ASpect Ratios. MOSt of the time when you are gettting that "full screen" image from HBO they are butchering the movie by cropping it to "fit" your TV. BUT in the case of King Kong it was shot in Super 35 and that is a WHOLE different ballgame.

V for Vendetta was MEANT to be shown in 2.35:1 aspect ratio, which is wider then your HDTV which is 16:9 or about 1.78:1.....this is whay you will always get "letterbox" on you TV regardless anything over 1.85:1(and the reason you usually dont see bars on this is due to overscan) sicne it is wider then your TV can display....

Youa re not loosing any picture with the "Black Bars" you are actually gaining picture since you see more to both sides.

But regardless of how much we preach the goodness of OAR there will always be people to say "cant we get rid of those darn black bars"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image)
http://www.widescreen.org/aspect_ratios.shtml
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/home/wsfaq.html


here are educational links :)

[Bezerker]

Yea, i know about aspect ratios. Its just that the 360 HD-DVD player can make WS movies FS on normal dvds with no loss of picture on the sides (horizontal stretch?). It'd just be nice if it could do the same with hd-dvds.

[doubledown]

It still baffles me when people want to stretch the picture. THE BLACK BARS ARE OK....if you zoom you should just go buy FULL SCREEN DVD's

[Bezerker]

I dont see how its can be that hard of a concept to grasp that people with a widescreen tv want to use the entire picture of the tv. A horizontal stretch is a lot less drastic than buying a FS dvd.

[cleaver]

I dont see how its can be that hard of a concept to grasp that people with a widescreen tv want to use the entire picture of the tv. A horizontal stretch is a lot less drastic than buying a FS dvd.
To simplify the math, let's say a screen is 16" wide. If it's a full screen it's 12" tall (16 x 3/4), if it's a widescreen it's 9" tall (16 x 9/16), and if you're watching a movie with an aspect ratio of 2.35 the picture is 6.808" tall (16/2.35 = 6.808). So 75% of the screen is blank when you're watching a 16 x 9 movie on a full screen TV (9/12 = .75), and 75.6% of the screen is left blank if you're watching a 2.35 OAR movie on a widescreeen TV (6.808/9 = .756).
So you're actually distorting the picture even more.

[Sporadic]

Whatever you do don't order the HD-DVD Xbox 360 attachment from NewEgg.

They didn't even put it in a box, they just slapped the shipping label on it and sent it as is.

I'm lucky as hell I was home today. The UPS guy was just going to leave it by the door.

[getmyrunon]

Whatever you do don't order the HD-DVD Xbox 360 attachment from NewEgg.

They didn't even put it in a box, they just slapped the shipping label on it and sent it as is.

I'm lucky as hell I was home today. The UPS guy was just going to leave it by the door.

For a second I thought you meant it came without any box - just a drive with a shipping label on it, and I lol'd.

[Sporadic]

For a second I thought you meant it came without any box - just a drive with a shipping label on it, and I lol'd.

I kind of wish that happened.

At least I would have gotten a good laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing before the anger kicked in.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7435/hddvdwn8.jpg

I'm going to contact them tommorrow and see what they have to say about the whole situation.

[Duo_Maxwell]

I kind of wish that happened.

At least I would have gotten a good laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing before the anger kicked in.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7435/hddvdwn8.jpg

I'm going to contact them tommorrow and see what they have to say about the whole situation.

They probably won't have anything to say. Unfortunate though it may be, alot of companies ship larger packages this way, especially consumer electronic retailers. The only way they'll care is if the drive fell inside of some kind of size/weight requirment and they goofed, otherwise there's no policy or rule saying they have to put it in another box so they'll likely not care unless somehting was damaged.

[RedvsBlue]

I kind of wish that happened.

At least I would have gotten a good laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing before the anger kicked in.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7435/hddvdwn8.jpg

I'm going to contact them tommorrow and see what they have to say about the whole situation.

Wow, that's ridiculous. Like you said, its lucky you were there to accept it cause I can guarantee you it wouldn't have lasted long sitting on your doorstep.

[gunm]

^^^ That's nuts. I've bought stuff from newegg before and they've never done that to me with the computer parts (mobos and retail processors).

I'm guessing the larger weight made them decide to ship it "as is". I'm assuming you used their value/free shipping and not some expedited shipping as well.

Still that's lame and I would definitely complain if that happened to me.

[richierich]

I love how beat up your hd-dvd box looks......NOT! =)

[RedvsBlue]

I love how beat up your hd-dvd box looks......NOT! =)

Your joke is NOT funny...

;)

[Sarang01]

If anyone is interested seeing more foreign stuff on HD DVD I suggest you contact Palm Pictures and Tartan. Tartan in Europe has already released "Ghost Of Mae Nak" on HD DVD in Holland with Dutch subs. Unfortunately I've heard of no English one's accompaning them.
Tartan also has the rights to Chan Wook Park's trilogy of films as well as "A Tale Of Two Sisters" and "Natural City" which is suppose to look like a Korean Blade Runner.
For Palm a big title which pops out to me is "The Eye".

[thrustbucket]

If anyone is interested seeing more foreign stuff on HD DVD I suggest you contact Palm Pictures and Tartan. Tartan in Europe has already released "Ghost Of Mae Nak" on HD DVD in Holland with Dutch subs. Unfortunately I've heard of no English one's accompaning them.
Tartan also has the rights to Chan Wook Park's trilogy of films as well as "A Tale Of Two Sisters" and "Natural City" which is suppose to look like a Korean Blade Runner.
For Palm a big title which pops out to me is "The Eye".

I've seen natural city, it's worth seeing for the eye candy but I can't recommend it as a buy.

Tale of two sisters is really good. Incredible cinematography. I have heard that it is also going to be yet another American remake soon for those two lazy to read.

[Bezerker]

Doubt it'd happen, but a Battle Royale 1/2 release would be cool. Oldboy would seem like a no-brainer for Tartan to release.

[doubledown]

That kinda sucks...although, I've had some larger electronics shipped in the retail box...like speaker systems and DVD players. Although, I think some places take PRIDE in shipping stuff. I received a receiver from Onecall.com double boxed.

The HD-DVD box is not really that big though....it's like a large shoebox.

[Sporadic]

^^^ That's nuts. I've bought stuff from newegg before and they've never done that to me with the computer parts (mobos and retail processors).

I'm guessing the larger weight made them decide to ship it "as is". I'm assuming you used their value/free shipping and not some expedited shipping as well.

Still that's lame and I would definitely complain if that happened to me.

It had free 3-day shipping via UPS.

I could understand if it was a computer case or something but the box really isn't that big at all.

It's one and a half 10 dollar bills long and less then a 10 dollar bill tall (sorry but that's the only reference thing I have to measure it with)

I'm just really pissed that I paid almost retail value for it and the box comes all fucked up/covered in shipping stickers and sharpie markings.

[Sporadic]

Just got off the phone with them.

They gave me three choices.

I could either ship it back to them and they would refund me/pay my shipping fees.
I could send it back and they would send another one but they couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't ship it the same exact way.
I could keep it and they would credit me back 25 dollars for the box being completely fucked up.

Since it works, they couldn't replace it and I just don't want to wait a week+ for them to give me back my money, I just took the 25 dollars.

This whole situation just sucks ass and I won't be buying anything but computer parts from NewEgg in the future.

[SteveMcQ]

That's quite surprising they did that. I've ordered Logitech speakers (the huge set with 'woofer) and they managed to box it up even in really thin cardboard. Nice that they gave you options though on what to do with it.

[KaneRobot]

Shit, I'd take the $25 as long as the player/remote/movie are all fine. It sucks that they didn't take care of it, but it's just a box.


Just watched The Departed - highly recommended. Very good picture quality even though the movie doesn't really lend itself to the eye-candy category. Definitely in my top 3 or 4 HD-DVDs so far.

[ryanbph]

anyone see babel, is it worth buying the hd version or is it just a rental?

[KaneRobot]

Jaws has now bounced back to the "maybe it WILL come out" side

Kevin Smith (for some reason) is the source.

Now comes yet another indication that 'Jaws' may be indeed headed to HD DVD. Responding to rumors that Universal is working on 'Jaws 5' as a direct-to-DVD sequel, indie auteur Kevin Smith (and life-long 'Jaws' fan) said this to the online blog Slashfilm:

"Allow me to debunk [the 'Jaws 5' rumors]. I dropped an email to [Universal Studios Chairman] David Linde to ask if this was true, and he said folks are confused: there's an HD 'Jaws' DVD on its way, but no 'Jaws 5,' straight-to-DVD."

Smith also went on to add: "And if you can’t believe Universal’s top brass, who can you believe?"

Of course, whether or not Linde's email came after -- or before -- the HD DVD Promotions Group retraction and the subsequent rumors that Spielberg may not be too keen on having his titles hit the format just yet, we do not know.

[Tha Xecutioner]

FINALLY bought myself a HD-DVD player. I have only seen King Kong so far (on both HD and SD tvs) and I am very impressed. This was a very nice pickup.

[Ph8te]

anyone see babel, is it worth buying the hd version or is it just a rental?
I have heard mixed reaction about it. Some like the movie some dont. I picked it up should be here tomorrow. here is a review of the disc:

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/babel.html

[Ph8te]

Doubt it'd happen, but a Battle Royale 1/2 release would be cool. Oldboy would seem like a no-brainer for Tartan to release.
Oldboy has been released or is about to be released :) the only thing is there are no English subs...

Audio Korean 5.1ch, Japanese 5.1ch Subtitles Japanese
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-ye-49-en-70-1f77.html

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TDHY-9005

[Ph8te]

I haven't seen this movie posted on here and its been a while since its been released, but I highly reccomend Lucky Numer Slevin I was just able to watch it (had it for a bit just got to it) and thought the movie was great. The picture was very nice. The only problem if there is one is that it is a voice centralized film and the 360 HD DVD audio bug hit me hard even though I was able to just turn the sound up and be ok.........

[Ph8te]

For those of you that care 40 year old vigin is up for pre prder on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000NHG7CK/panandscathed-20

For those of you looking for someone different in the HD DVD game this place is good to deal with and they ahve a few good pre orders up:

Blood Diamond:

http://www.hddvdworld.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16528&cat=249&page=3

Children of Men:
http://www.hddvdworld.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16765&cat=249&page=4

Happy Feet

http://www.hddvdworld.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16556&cat=249&page=7

Hard TImes
http://www.hddvdworld.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16791&cat=249&page=8

School for Scoundrels:

http://www.hddvdworld.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16570&cat=0&page=1

if you need an "insider" for help with our order post here:

http://forums.highdefdigest.com/showthread.php?t=810

[KaneRobot]

Also, Digital Video Essentials HD-DVD edition finally comes out next week (barring another last minute delay), so if you're a home theater freak it's probably worth picking up to get your set looking as good as you're going to get it outside of a professional calibration. I'm going to pass since I'm inbetween HDTVs right now (using my 24" widescreen PC monitor), but when I eventually get one again down the road I'll probably grab it.

[Requiem]

I kind of wish that happened.

At least I would have gotten a good laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing before the anger kicked in.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7435/hddvdwn8.jpg

I'm going to contact them tommorrow and see what they have to say about the whole situation.


I love NewEgg's prices, but I agree with you on how they ship things.

I needed a tiny CPU fan and they ship that tiny $2 thing in a big box seperately. And here they go not even giving you a box for your HD-DVD drive.

My main problems with NewEgg is they ship multiple things all seperately without telling you they split it up. So for anyone ordering many PC parts, prepared to be annoyed with many tiny boxes spread across 7 days.

[Bezerker]

Oldboy has been released or is about to be released :) the only thing is there are no English subs...

Audio Korean 5.1ch, Japanese 5.1ch Subtitles Japanese
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-ye-49-en-70-1f77.html

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TDHY-9005

Pretty cool that they're bringing it out. But the english subs are a must for me. Play-asia lists some pretty good "R2" titles. Looks like most of the ones i want dont even have english subs (not to mention $47.80 is a bit much).

[ryanbph]

picked up babel yesterday.....maybe the would sell more copies in stores if they had some stock of the new releases...the majority of the displays at best buy and cc are older (imo) shitty titles...last week i went on tuesday night to get the departed at both cc and best buy and neither had them left in stock...i was able to pick it up on saturday...last night at best buy i got the last copy of babel...it was only 6pmish, and they had stacks of the regular dvd, you would think they would get some inventory to sell

[KaneRobot]

I actually saw copies of The Departed on an endcap at Best Buy along with the DVD version and no Blu-Ray copies to be found (but they were in the "regular" Blu-Ray section obviously). I just about had a heart attack because the stores always push Blu-Ray harder. Well, that, and I had been shooting myself up with horse steroids for the past 3 hours.

[Trakan]

Watched The Departed on HD-DVD tonight. Picture quality was amazing. Great movie too.

[thrustbucket]

Just watched babel. Very very good pic quality as well.

[Ruined]

TERMINATOR 2 HD DVD Preorder - $34 shipped!

http://xploitedcinema.com/catalog/terminator-judgment-french-release-preorder-p-11233.html

Word is from those who have seen preview clips is that it is signficantly better than the USA Blu-Ray MPEG2 release of T2. Price is $34 shipped, it is a French HD DVD that plays back perfectly in USA HD DVD players since there is no HD DVD region coding on titles or players at this point; subtitles are optional and it only needs to be set the first time you play it that you want english audio with no subtitles.

Terminator 2 HD DVD is encoded in 1080p24 VC-1 with DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio (Lossless). Can't wait! :D

P.S. - xploitedcinema.com is a very reliable site that many have praised in the past for getting imports from!

[RedvsBlue]

TERMINATOR 2 HD DVD Preorder - $34 shipped!

http://xploitedcinema.com/catalog/terminator-judgment-french-release-preorder-p-11233.html

Word is from those who have seen preview clips is that it is signficantly better than the USA Blu-Ray MPEG2 release of T2. Price is $34 shipped, it is a French HD DVD that plays back perfectly in USA HD DVD players since there is no HD DVD region coding on titles or players at this point; subtitles are optional and it only needs to be set the first time you play it that you want english audio with no subtitles.

Terminator 2 HD DVD is encoded in 1080p24 VC-1 with DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio (Lossless). Can't wait! :D

P.S. - xploitedcinema.com is a very reliable site that many have praised in the past for getting imports from!

Oh shit son!

If I get paid soon I just might make an order of that and Running Scared.

[thrustbucket]

TERMINATOR 2 HD DVD Preorder - $34 shipped!

http://xploitedcinema.com/catalog/terminator-judgment-french-release-preorder-p-11233.html

Word is from those who have seen preview clips is that it is signficantly better than the USA Blu-Ray MPEG2 release of T2. Price is $34 shipped, it is a French HD DVD that plays back perfectly in USA HD DVD players since there is no HD DVD region coding on titles or players at this point; subtitles are optional and it only needs to be set the first time you play it that you want english audio with no subtitles.

Terminator 2 HD DVD is encoded in 1080p24 VC-1 with DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio (Lossless). Can't wait! :D

P.S. - xploitedcinema.com is a very reliable site that many have praised in the past for getting imports from!

I wonder if they kept the original aspect ratio which is actually closer to 4:3 than 16:9. One of the rare movies that is cut off on the top and bottom to fit widescreen in most releases.

[Ruined]

I wonder if they kept the original aspect ratio which is actually closer to 4:3 than 16:9. One of the rare movies that is cut off on the top and bottom to fit widescreen in most releases.

The OAR of Terminator 2 is 2.35:1. While it was shot on Super35 which has an aspect closer to 4:3, the cameras have lines on them that guide the cinematographer and director to where the 2.35:! frame lies. Therefore, although the film itself is closer to 4:3, the director intended the aspect ratio to be 2.35:1 and composed the film accordingly. If it was shown open matte there would be huge spaces above and below the framed actors as well as possible mics & other props as that is not the intended OAR.

[KaneRobot]

I might have to pony up for that T2 import, but I will wait for feedback. Some of those import titles (Total Recall most notably) have had issues with high-pitched sound, I believe due to PAL speed-up.


As long as the sound is fine, I'm in for sure. Hope the first film shows up eventually as well.

[LinkinPrime]

Universal HD-DVD 2007 release list leaked?:

April - The Good Shepherd (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/goodshepherd.html), Smokin' Aces, The Game (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/game.html), The Jerk (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/jerk.html), The Hitcher (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/hitcher2007.html), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/eternalsunshine.html), The Nutty Professor (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/nuttyprofessor1996.html)
May - Alpha Dog (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/alphadog.html), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/40yearoldvirgin.html), Smokey and the Bandit (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/smokeyandthebandit.html), The Hurricane (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/hurricane.html), Skeleton Key (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/skeletonkey.html), The River, Midnight Run, The Frighteners, The Big Lebowski, Dragonheart, Lost in Translation
June - Breach, Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, Sneakers, Born on the 4th of July, Scent of a Women, Daylight, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Meet Joe Black, Mallrats, Being John Malkovich, Mystery Men, American Me, The Watcher, Bulletproof
July - Billy Madison, The War, The Wedding Date, Dante's Peak, Cat in the Hat, Dead Silence, The Bourne Identity, The Nutty Professor 2, In Good Company, Streets of Fire, Hot Fuzz, Sea of Love, Darkman, Shaun of the Dead, Deliver Us from Eva
August - Heroes: Season One
September - The Last Starfighter, Legend, Battlestar Galactica: Season One, For the Love of the Game, Knocked Up, Evening, The Getaway, Patch Adams, Cat People

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Universal/Disc_Announcements/Universal_2007_HD_DVD_Release_Schedule_Leaked/498

The Frighteners & Heroes in HD-DVD :drool:

[ryanbph]

that is a long time for battlestar galatica...espically considering it is already running in HD on the universal channel

[guyver2077]

slim pickings for hd dvd...

it sucks that they totally getting wooped now..

i still cant believe they havent secured more studios

it has kinda halted my hd dvd purchases

[anomynous]

Where's Scarface on that list?

[Sporadic]

Universal HD-DVD 2007 release list leaked?:


http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Universal/Disc_Announcements/Universal_2007_HD_DVD_Release_Schedule_Leaked/498

The Frighteners & Heroes in HD-DVD :drool:

Oh, my wallet is weeping.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Big Lebowski, Lost in Translation, Being John Malkovich, The Bourne Identity, Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead are all must buys for me.

I'm kind of disappointed though that Dawn Of The Dead isn't listed.

[thrustbucket]

Damn it BSG season one? We are in season 3 now, we need all 3 seasons released! :)

[KaneRobot]

slim pickings for hd dvd...

it sucks that they totally getting wooped now..

i still cant believe they havent secured more studios

it has kinda halted my hd dvd purchases
They're not "totally getting wooped." Why has it halted your purchases? HD-DVD could be dead in 2 weeks and the discs would still work fine.


I don't think I can bring myself to buy Mallrats again. I liked it years ago, but after watching it again about a month ago I realized how bad it was. Not like that film is a great HD-DVD showoff film anyway.

[GizmoGC]

slim pickings for hd dvd...

it sucks that they totally getting wooped now..

i still cant believe they havent secured more studios

it has kinda halted my hd dvd purchases

Getting wooped?

1.8 Million PS3s have been sold and BR just barley surpasses HD in sales. How many HD players have been sold? Less then 300,000? Thats pretty damn impressive. With this recent list the Amazon numbers will be very askewed soon,.

[Ph8te]

Damn it BSG season one? We are in season 3 now, we need all 3 seasons released! :)

Give it time they will come.....Remember we are looking at a fledgling format here in BOTH cases. The studios are not going to relase every titile that is just not economically sound. They will start with season 1 and the go form there, I mean look how long the took with the regular DVDs.

Universal has been following a "standard" release schedule witht heir HD DVD releases (sccording to Amir an M$ VP) this means that there will be slow months and heavy months (follow thier DVD release schedule). For TV on HD DVD you will probably see the same model (months in between releases)

[Ph8te]

Getting wooped?

1.8 Million PS3s have been sold and BR just barley surpasses HD in sales. How many HD players have been sold? Less then 300,000? Thats pretty damn impressive. With this recent list the Amazon numbers will be very askewed soon,.

before this thread goes to the crapper lets try to keep this thread on topic...about the releases on Hd DVD. It may be your personal opinion about sli pickings but so be it. Can we try to keep the HDDVD vs BR out of this thread.

[Malik112099]

i currently have

King Kong
V For Vendetta
Batman Begins
Troy
The Last Samurai
Million Dollar Baby


the damn HD-DVD/DVD combo ($30+) disks are killing me

[thrustbucket]

Give it time they will come.....Remember we are looking at a fledgling format here in BOTH cases. The studios are not going to relase every titile that is just not economically sound. They will start with season 1 and the go form there, I mean look how long the took with the regular DVDs.

Universal has been following a "standard" release schedule witht heir HD DVD releases (sccording to Amir an M$ VP) this means that there will be slow months and heavy months (follow thier DVD release schedule). For TV on HD DVD you will probably see the same model (months in between releases)


This is all true and dandy, and I fully understand the time it takes to compress film from masters to get on HD DVD.

However, I would think that since BSG is filmed digitally in HD, and is already being shown on Universal HD, it really should take a lot less time and effort than a movie.

[Ruined]

Brand spankin' new preorders!

3/27/07
Children of Men (Combo) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000N6TX22)
Digital Video Essentials (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000IHYY3Y)
Happy Feet (Combo) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MQ54OO)
March of the Penguins (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000N3SSAI)
National Geographic - Relentless Enemies (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MQCULO)

4/3/07
The Good Shepherd (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MXPE88)

4/10/07
Dog Day Afternoon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000NOKJFE)
Payback - Straight Up (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MTFFUY)
A Scanner Darkly (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000NOKJFO)

4/17/07
The Game (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MTFDCO/)
The Jerk (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MTFDCY/)
School for Scoundrels (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000K2UH74/)


Note that HDDISC10 discount is not working with these yet.

[LinkinPrime]

Wow, are we seriouly not going to have any releases till the end of March!?

[guyver2077]

im definitely pumped for harsh times.. i love that movie.. is it hd dvd exclusive?

[KaneRobot]

Ok, this week begins the drought. If we can get through to April we should be fine. No hand-holding allowed.

[GizmoGC]

March is a dry month for me anyway, with the exception of this Tuesday (Revenge of the Nerds boxset, South Park 9). I have PLENTY of HD/BR movies to watch, so no new releases is fine with me.

Remember, today is the LAST DAY to get 9 free movies with purchase of HD-A2 at Best Buy. 4 free INSTORE and 5 free from the new mail-in rebate.

[zman73]

wow, that Digital Video Essentials has been delayed a few times already... maybe March is the final date

[thrustbucket]

I rented Discovery Atlas: Brazil. And wow, it looked amazing. I guess it's true what they say that HD Video cam films generally look a lot better than HD movies. I highly recommend this series to anyone.

Does anyone know of a cheap place to get the Discovery series?

[KaneRobot]

Revenge of the Nerds boxset

Hell yeah! As godawful as the second one was, and as painful as 3 and 4 must be (never seen them), I'm all over this. Step aside momma, I wanna see some of that muff!

[flatliner718]

thanks for the info on Children of Men, thats bought!

[anomynous]

Universal is pissing me off by not releasing Scarface, I dont have a HD DVD player yet, but I have The Departed on HD DVD, but Im considering going Blu Ray now

[Ruined]

Universal is pissing me off by not releasing Scarface, I dont have a HD DVD player yet, but I have The Departed on HD DVD, but Im considering going Blu Ray now

A massive title like Scarface would for sure be held for holiday season release.

As for Blu-Ray, it may have had a software surge lately but if you look at the titles the extras pale in comparison to HD DVD - I'd say around 50% or more of the Blu-Ray releases have no more than commentary and/or trailer for $30-$40! Quality is the emphasis with HD DVD!

[propeller_head]

what i have: * bolded movies are my must have recommendations

Bullitt
The Departed
Half Baked
The Sting
Excalibur
Clerks II
The Deer Hunter
The Breakfast Club
The Matador
Casino
Hulk
Dune
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
An American Werewolf in London
King Kong
Casablanca
Under Siege
Spartacus
Reds
V for Vendetta
Out of Sight
12 Monkeys
The Thing
The Break-Up
Waist Deep
Army of Darkness
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Batman Begins
2 Fast 2 Furious
Land of the Dead
The Dirty Dozen
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Fast and the Furious
Dazed and Confused
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Lethal Weapon 2
Troy
Red Dragon
The Bone Collector
The Searchers
Good Night, and Good Luck
Spy Game
Caddyshack
Unleashed
National Lampoon's Animal House
We Were Soldiers
The Manchurian Candidate
Sleepy Hollow
Enter the Dragon
Pitch Black
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Syriana
Lethal Weapon
16 Blocks
The Perfect Storm
The Chronicles of Riddick
Constantine
U-571
The Bourne Supremacy
Blazing Saddles
The Fugitive
Van Helsing
Training Day
Unforgiven
Full Metal Jacket
Jarhead
GoodFellas
Doom
Million Dollar Baby
Apollo 13
The Phantom of the Opera
Serenity

[GizmoGC]

A massive title like Scarface would for sure be held for holiday season release.

...Yes, because Scarface just screams Christmas. POTC and both Spider-Mans could be considered 'massive' but they are coming out in a few months on BR. Universal announced a pretty nice list....and its not complete yet.

[anomynous]

A massive title like Scarface would for sure be held for holiday season release.

As for Blu-Ray, it may have had a software surge lately but if you look at the titles the extras pale in comparison to HD DVD - I'd say around 50% or more of the Blu-Ray releases have no more than commentary and/or trailer for $30-$40! Quality is the emphasis with HD DVD!
I dont really give a shit about bonus features. plus getting Blu Ray would give me an excuse to get a PS3

[thrustbucket]

I dont really give a shit about bonus features. plus getting Blu Ray would give me an excuse to get a PS3

And everyone definitely needs an excuse to get a PS3, lord knows there is no game worth $600.

If the PS3 didn't exist, bluray would have failed before it began. That's the part that sickens me.

[Ruined]

Just announced on HD DVD:

The Big Lebowski
1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1
Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 (English & French)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

Dragonheart
1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1
Dolby Digital-Plus (5.1 English & 2.0 French)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

The Frighteners Director's Cut
1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1
Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 (English)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

Lost In Translation
1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1
Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 (English & French)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

Midnight Run
1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1
Dolby Digital-Plus (5.1 English & 2.0 French)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

The River
1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1
Dolby Digital-Plus (5.1 English & 2.0 French)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

[Bezerker]

Lebowski & Frighteners for me.

[Sporadic]

Just announced on HD DVD:

The Big Lebowski
1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1
Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 (English & French)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

Dragonheart
1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1
Dolby Digital-Plus (5.1 English & 2.0 French)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

The Frighteners Director's Cut
1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1
Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 (English)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

Lost In Translation
1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1
Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 (English & French)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

Midnight Run
1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1
Dolby Digital-Plus (5.1 English & 2.0 French)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

The River
1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1
Dolby Digital-Plus (5.1 English & 2.0 French)
English [SDH] & French subtitles

http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

Looks like that leaked Universal list was correct.

[ryanbph]

Wow, are we seriouly not going to have any releases till the end of March!?

:cry: :cry:

[LinkinPrime]

Taken from the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray deals thread thanks to TheRock88:

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=485790

Some Blu-Ray exclusives are making their way to HD-DVD...overseas that is, but there's no region protection so you can import the movies and play them on your HD-DVD player or drive.

[Duo_Maxwell]

Taken from the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray deals thread thanks to TheRock88:

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=485790

Some Blu-Ray exclusives are making their way to HD-DVD...overseas that is, but there's no region protection so you can import the movies and play them on your HD-DVD player or drive.

Yeah the only problem is importing them typically runs you roughly about $35+ (shipped that is) a title currently. Next gen DVDs or no, I just can't justify paying that much for a single film (perhaps if it was really an all-time personal fave or a title that will never be released even in SD DVD here, then maybe). But for me at least, importing will need to wait til the prices for the titles fall more, I'll live with it upconverting some titles in the mean time.

[LinkinPrime]

I don't know how I missed this:

Announcing their second wave of May HD DVD releases, Universal Studios Home Entertainment says they will release six more catalog releases on May 29.
Due in stores will be a diverse assortment of hits and cult favorites, including 'The Big Lebowski (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/biglebowski.html),' 'Dragonheart (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/dragonheart.html),' 'Midnight Run (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/midnightrun.html),' 'The River (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/river.html),' the director's cut edition of Peter Jackson's 'The Frighteners (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/frighteners.html),' and Sofia Coppola's Oscar-winning 'Lost in Translation (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/lostintranslation.html).'
Full specs include Dolby Digital 1080p/VC-1 transfers, Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 surround tracks (at 1.5mbps) and all of the same extras as their standard DVD counterparts.
Note that although Universal previously pledged that an estimated 90 percent of it its 2007 HD DVD releases would be combo discs, (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Announcements/Universal/Universal_Plans_100_New_HD_DVD_Titles_in_2007,_Sti ll_Says_No_to_Blu-ray/449) all six of these titles are straight-up HD-30 dual-layer, HD DVD-only platters.
Universal has set a suggested $28.95 list price for each title.
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/

I'll be getting The Frighteners for sure.

[KaneRobot]

I thought I posted that, I guess not. Thanks.

For me, the really good news in that blurb is the fact that they are NOT COMBO DISCS. $19.99 on Amazon = yes please.

Also, wait for reviews on HD-DVDs you plan on importing from a PAL region. Sometimes the audio has an unnaturally high pitch due to the speed difference. This isn't ALWAYS the case but for the 40 bucks you'll be spending on an import, it's worth waiting. The HD-DVD software section of AVSforum usually designates which ones are screwy like that.

[flybrione]

That is great news because combo discs suck! I hate them and wish they would stop producing them because they are overpriced.

[Transformah]

I don't know how I missed this:

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/

I'll be getting The Frighteners for sure.

I'm in for Big Lebowski. I tried watching my first print DVD last weekend and I noticed how bad a transfer it was.

[grendel19]

Might upgrade Lost in Translation from that list depending on the reviews. One of my favorites.

[rsigley]

wow movies are coming out on DVD so much faster now

i just saw smoking aces last week in theater (and it came out jan 29th i think) and its already coming out april 17th on HD DVD

less than 3 month turn around

[LinkinPrime]

wow movies are coming out on DVD so much faster now

i just saw smoking aces last week in theater (and it came out jan 29th i think) and its already coming out april 17th on HD DVD

less than 3 month turn around

Yup. This is due to all the movie piracy. Its forcing studios to release stuff a lot sooner in order to maximize profits. I like it this way :D

[guyver2077]

they need to get rid of that combo disk... do they actually think ppl want those... these discs are keeping the prices too high and suck because of no disc art

[KaneRobot]

Yup. This is due to all the movie piracy. Its forcing studios to release stuff a lot sooner in order to maximize profits. I like it this way :D
Me too. Rocky Balboa is going to be out before the end of the month and just came out at the end of December. Thank you pirates! Wait, no.

they need to get rid of that combo disk... do they actually think ppl want those... these discs are keeping the prices too high and suck because of no disc art
Judging by the backlash to it, and the way they've announced stuff previously thought to be in combo format as straight up HD-DVD, they may indeed be getting rid of it.

[doubledown]

HD-DVD is REALLY lacking in releases. Not sure how they plan on competing if they have NO new releases. It's a shame too, Blu-Ray is starting to edge them out. Oh well.....no new releases :(

[KaneRobot]

HD-DVD is REALLY lacking in releases. Not sure how they plan on competing if they have NO new releases. It's a shame too, Blu-Ray is starting to edge them out. Oh well.....no new releases :(
Actually, I think things are looking a bit better after this month. Universal just announced a bunch of stuff, and Warner is due to give a big upcoming release announcement within the next few days as well.

[Sporadic]

they need to get rid of that combo disk... do they actually think ppl want those... these discs are keeping the prices too high and suck because of no disc art

Some people actually do want them. To build up their HD-DVD collection before they get one or to let their friends borrow it.

The prices aren't too bad on older releases and no disc art isn't that big of a deal.

---------

Just received Fast Time At Ridgemont High from Blockbuster.com

Is it normal for older movies to have that much grain? I means it's a definite improvement over the SD version but it nowhere near as impressive as most HD-DVDs I've seen so far.

[propeller_head]

true. if i didnt already have the 360/HD-DVD i wouldnt want to spend $500 on a standalone player right now. i'd buy the dual discs and just watch them on DVD so i dont have to rebuy them when i got a standalone HD-DVD player next year when they're $250

[Sporadic]

The Fountain has been announced for HD-DVD/Blu-Ray, May 5th.

Warner Home Video has officially announced The Fountain which stars Hugh Jackman, and Rachel Weisz. This Darren Aronofsky directed film will be available to own from the 15th May, and should retail at around $27.95. The film itself will be presented in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround tracks. As far as we know, the only extra material will be a six part Inside The Fountain: Death and Rebirth feature exploring the movie's various periods and settings. English, French and Spanish subtitles will also be provided. HD DVD/Combo and Blu-ray releases will also be available seperately for $39.99, and $34.99 respectively.

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/the-fountain.html

[cleaver]

Does anyone know how the South Park HD DVD is ringing up @ Best Buy on its own?

[TheRock88]

Just picked up the HD-DVD player along with the following hd-dvds

The Departed
The Thing
Van Helsing
King Kong (came with it)

Cant wait to try it out right now.:D

[rsigley]

nice on The Fountain, thats one movie I wanted to see and didn't get a chance and I think it will look awesome in HD

can't wait for that

does anyone watch the movies on 1080i/720p? Is it still good?

I'm thinking about buying a smaller HDTV (27 inch or so) for my bedroom and wondering if its worth it

All I would really use it for is HD DVD's anyway, I don't watch TV.

Or should I just stick with the 1080p downstairs

[propeller_head]

nice on The Fountain, thats one movie I wanted to see and didn't get a chance and I think it will look awesome in HD

can't wait for that

does anyone watch the movies on 1080i/720p? Is it still good?

I'm thinking about buying a smaller HDTV (27 inch or so) for my bedroom and wondering if its worth it

All I would really use it for is HD DVD's anyway, I don't watch TV.

Or should I just stick with the 1080p downstairs
they look good in 720p & 1080i too. 1080i on LCDs that have 1920x1080 pixels is exactly the same as 1080p for movies. see here

http://hometheatermag.com/gearworks/1106gear

you may not even be able to see a diff depending on how far you sit
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadgethd.com/media/2006/12/resolution_chart.jpg

[thrustbucket]

they need to get rid of that combo disk... do they actually think ppl want those... these discs are keeping the prices too high and suck because of no disc art

There are rumors that Universal, at least, is going to start pricing their combo disks the same as HD DVD releases.

I don't see disc art as a big deal. Who ever sees them? I want my disks protected. If they aren't in their cases, they are in a player = nobody sees them. It's kind of like wanting flashy underwear. Pointless.

[Sporadic]

does anyone watch the movies on 1080i/720p? Is it still good?

I'm thinking about buying a smaller HDTV (27 inch or so) for my bedroom and wondering if its worth it

All I would really use it for is HD DVD's anyway, I don't watch TV.

Or should I just stick with the 1080p downstairs

I'm watching them on a 19" widescreen monitor at 720p and it's still impressive as hell.

A definite upgrade from upscaled DVDs.

[Trakan]

The NIN: Live Beside You in Time transfer is excellent. I've only watched a couple of songs so far, but it's easily the best looking HD-DVD in my collection of about 8. (Including King Kong.)

[guyver2077]

The NIN: Live Beside You in Time transfer is excellent. I've only watched a couple of songs so far, but it's easily the best looking HD-DVD in my collection of about 8. (Including King Kong.)

i just picked it up.. while i dont think its better than king kong or atl.. it does look good

there just isnt anything lately thats a must own for hd dvd.. the amazon sale was pretty decent so i had to pick up some br\,,

One movie that i know will be a must own for me is tmnt movie whenever it comes out... its made by weinstein bros so hd dvd will have that axclusively for the time being..kinda sad though that im looking forward to a movie thats not even out yet

[Sarang01]

March 27th it's on Guyver. Don't worry.

[guyver2077]

man who owns rights to original tmnt movies.. they need to release those on hd now!!!!

[Sporadic]

So, what on everybody's purchasing wish-list?

Mine is:

Currently out:
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
Land Of The Dead
Training Day
The World's Fastest Indian

Imports:
Terminator 2
Total Recall

Upcoming releases:
A Scanner Darkly
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series
The Big Lebowski
Lost In Translation
Shaun Of The Dead
Hot Fuzz

ETA:
2001: A Space Odyssey
Band of Brothers
A Clockwork Orange
Dawn of the Dead
The Dirty Harry Collection
Forrest Gump
Friday
Grind House
Psycho
The Shining
Sin City 2

I only own King Kong and the Nine Inch Nails HD-DVD so far.

[psychobrawler]

I just bought a 50" Samsung Plasma, and I now see a night and day difference between HD and DVD. On my old CRT tv, the HD DVDs looked great, but now... Damn. They're so much better than DVDs that I really don't want to watch standard DVDs. I only own King Kong and the NIN DVD, but I'm gonna have to pick up a couple more.

I hope to hell they follow through with the LOTR discs.

[Trakan]

Stop with the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD bullshit. This thread is about HD-DVD software discussion.

anomynous, stop posting in this thread. It's very clear that you are interested in doing nothing but creating arguments in this thread.

[GizmoGC]

But its ok when Gizmogic comes into threads in the PS3 forum trolling?

"Trolling"? I own a PS3. I own 20 Blu-Ray movies. I have every right to come into the PS3 forum and state my opinion on the subject. You don't even OWN a PS3, nor a Blu-Ray player or an HD-Player. You, actually, would be the troll on both counts.

Look at the current thread about Blu-Ray on the PS3 Forum:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130694

This is in the OP
"Alison Casey, who analyzes consumer trends for London-based Understanding & Solutions, predicts that retailers will pull the plug on HD DVD sometime next year."

I didn't go into that thread going 'Blu-Ray sucks! All the movies suck! Sony blows. Its so gay and lame". I went in their with my opinion, some facts on both BR/HD sides, and am actually have a discussion with several members there. YOUR posts are nothing but a fanboy who doesn't even own either format.

[guyver2077]

this constant bs is gay....

i own both and still prefer hd over br....hope they can make a comeback..if not o well....its not the end of the world

[GizmoGC]

this constant bs is gay....

i own both and still prefer hd over br....hope they can make a comeback..if not o well....its not the end of the world

Even if that does happen my HD player will still work and there will be some AWESOME Clearance sales! 8-)

Sad thing is, there is nothing until March 27th. Its gonna be a SLOW month for me, on all 3 formats!

[guyver2077]

it doesnt mean the format has to die... ms can stilluse it for games next generation

[thrustbucket]

I can't fathom any scenario in which HD DVD just stops getting any releases and is declared dead like UMD. Not in the next 5 years anyway. And by that time, combo players should be cheap.

Even in the worst case scenario, and HD DVD manages to spin into a fiery death, mark my words: You will see HD DVD players become the defacto piracy device in demand. Because of a little known thing called 3X (http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/8718.cfm). It's only a matter of time before Bluray disks are getting ripped en masse and transcoded to smaller manageable file sizes, and guess which player pirates will prefer?

My point is, there is life forever in HD DVD format. One might say, if one were so inclined, that even if HD DVD tanks, they'll still enjoy the shit out of their pirated/transcoded bluray movies :) I actually fantasize that 3X was included in the HD DVD standard as a last "FUCK YOU!" to Sony and their assholish ways if they win.

[thrustbucket]

That Planet Earth show.... is that the one I keep seeing mass advertising for on Discovery and even in the movie theater? That looks really good (I am buying the Discovery Atlas, they are awesome). If it is that one, how in the hell are they releasing it so soon when it hasn't even aired on TV yet?

[Sporadic]

That Planet Earth show.... is that the one I keep seeing mass advertising for on Discovery and even in the movie theater? That looks really good (I am buying the Discovery Atlas, they are awesome). If it is that one, how in the hell are they releasing it so soon when it hasn't even aired on TV yet?

Yes.

It's coming out on DVD already because it was created by the BBC and was aired March-December 2006 over in the UK.

The American verison is going to be played in a different order and was redubbed by Sigourney Weaver.

Thankfully, the DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-Ray will be the uncut original UK episodes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Earth_(TV_series)

[doubledown]

I can't fathom any scenario in which HD DVD just stops getting any releases and is declared dead like UMD. Not in the next 5 years anyway. And by that time, combo players should be cheap.

Even in the worst case scenario, and HD DVD manages to spin into a fiery death, mark my words: You will see HD DVD players become the defacto piracy device in demand. Because of a little known thing called 3X (http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/8718.cfm). It's only a matter of time before Bluray disks are getting ripped en masse and transcoded to smaller manageable file sizes, and guess which player pirates will prefer?

My point is, there is life forever in HD DVD format. One might say, if one were so inclined, that even if HD DVD tanks, they'll still enjoy the shit out of their pirated/transcoded bluray movies :) I actually fantasize that 3X was included in the HD DVD standard as a last "FUCK YOU!" to Sony and their assholish ways if they win.

I don't know why someone would RIP a Blu-Ray movie and reduce the quality. Isn't the whole reason to have Blu-Ray is FOR the quality. If you want to rip a movie, just get the DVD. I know the Blu-Ray rip would still be better...but kinda defeats the purpose.

I still cannot see HD-DVD succeding, unless they get some more studio backing.

[thrustbucket]

I don't know why someone would RIP a Blu-Ray movie and reduce the quality. Isn't the whole reason to have Blu-Ray is FOR the quality. If you want to rip a movie, just get the DVD. I know the Blu-Ray rip would still be better...but kinda defeats the purpose.

I still cannot see HD-DVD succeding, unless they get some more studio backing.

By reduced quality I mean 720p instead of 1080p. Essentially what you have on Xbox Video marketplace quality. Which is fine by me. (Most of us are watching our HD and Bluray movies in 720p/1080i anyway)

As far as studio support, we are really only missing Disney, Sony, and Fox exclusive support IN AMERICA. A lot of movies (except for Disney) are released on HD DVD elsewhere in the world. The US market isn't the only one that counts.

I also think HD DVD's cheaper production costs will support indie film making for some time to come.

Edit: Another thing hurting bluray more and more is their use of region encoding. Which pisses off most of the world. Hd DVD, so far, are all region-less releases.

[Sarang01]

By reduced quality I mean 720p instead of 1080p. Essentially what you have on Xbox Video marketplace quality. Which is fine by me. (Most of us are watching our HD and Bluray movies in 720p/1080i anyway)

As far as studio support, we are really only missing Disney, Sony, and Fox exclusive support IN AMERICA. A lot of movies (except for Disney) are released on HD DVD elsewhere in the world. The US market isn't the only one that counts.

I also think HD DVD's cheaper production costs will support indie film making for some time to come.

Edit: Another thing hurting bluray more and more is their use of region encoding. Which pisses off most of the world. Hd DVD, so far, are all region-less releases.

In Europe I believe this will start to become more of an issue with Blu-Ray since they're in a different region then us. With BR here this is less of an issue since we share regions with most of Asia including Hong Kong. Europe however is region 2 and as much as some BR people try to argue that the issue is mute because Sony's existing catalog releases will be region free and most BR's will be region free I would argue otherwise. Consider Sony says after a year when said movie comes out it will be region free but tell me would you rather buy the movie in 5 months from when it's released in it's home territory or 10-11 months in your own after they release it later there then it hits BR. Consider for Europe this is usually the case unless the movie is released simultaneously worldwide. When I say this is the case I mean for American movies.

[thrustbucket]

In Europe I believe this will start to become more of an issue with Blu-Ray since they're in a different region then us. With BR here this is less of an issue since we share regions with most of Asia including Hong Kong. Europe however is region 2 and as much as some BR people try to argue that the issue is mute because Sony's existing catalog releases will be region free and most BR's will be region free I would argue otherwise. Consider Sony says after a year when said movie comes out it will be region free but tell me would you rather buy the movie in 5 months from when it's released in it's home territory or 10-11 months in your own after they release it later there then it hits BR. Consider for Europe this is usually the case unless the movie is released simultaneously worldwide. When I say this is the case I mean for American movies.

Well right. That's what I meant. Americans could give two shits about region coding on BD for the most part. But the rest of the world, from what I'm reading, is not too happy about BD's region tactics when HD DVD doesn't have any.

I'm merely saying this is a factor often not discussed when people say bluray is doing so well.

[GizmoGC]

Well right. That's what I meant. Americans could give two shits about region coding on BD for the most part. But the rest of the world, from what I'm reading, is not too happy about BD's region tactics when HD DVD doesn't have any.

I'm merely saying this is a factor often not discussed when people say bluray is doing so well.

I can't wait till I get my import copy of 'The Graduate' in a few weeks.

[gunm]

Finally got around to checking the release list on the hidef digest forum and at least there are a couple of new titles in there I didn't see with release dates before. Will be getting Scanner Darkly, but the rest don't interest me enough to buy...even the newer stuff like Dreamgirls and Alpha Dog. Seeing such a sparse crop of titles is certainly discouraging when Blu-Ray movies are shooting out left and right. Oh well, I figure I'll end up getting a PS3 some day, so I'll just take what I can get for now.

[RedvsBlue]

Finally got around to checking the release list on the hidef digest forum and at least there are a couple of new titles in there I didn't see with release dates before. Will be getting Scanner Darkly, but the rest don't interest me enough to buy...even the newer stuff like Dreamgirls and Alpha Dog. Seeing such a sparse crop of titles is certainly discouraging when Blu-Ray movies are shooting out left and right. Oh well, I figure I'll end up getting a PS3 some day, so I'll just take what I can get for now.

Yeah, it seems like every day I check it there's more release dates announced.

[Sporadic]

Yeah, it seems like every day I check it there's more release dates announced.

Really.

I'm just glad that most of the announcements are of actual good movies instead of shovel crap.

[KaneRobot]

A Scanner Darkly = good or shit?

[Sporadic]

A Scanner Darkly = good or shit?

Amazing visually, pretty good story wise but it's kind of drags in the middle.

Worth a rental alone for the picture and the ending.

The upscaled DVD looked like a painting. I can only imagine how awesome the HD-DVD version will look.

[thrustbucket]

What about Children of Men? That's the big movie release everyone should be buying in the next month.

Here is a new plot twist in the HD DVD Bluray war. http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6423230.html

Very interesting. And very good news for HD DVD.

[Transformah]

Amazing visually, pretty good story wise but it's kind of drags in the middle.

Worth a rental alone for the picture and the ending.

The upscaled DVD looked like a painting. I can only imagine how awesome the HD-DVD version will look.

I loved this movie. I'm definitely picking it up when it releases. Great story, great visuals and great acting by the 'probably' stoned cast (Keanu, Woody, Winona and Downey Jr?)

[ryanbph]

What about Children of Men? That's the big movie release everyone should be buying in the next month.

Here is a new plot twist in the HD DVD Bluray war. http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6423230.html

Very interesting. And very good news for HD DVD.

very good read thanks for the link

[thrustbucket]

Some more news, that correlates with what I was saying before about Europe (and the rest of the world) having a much different experience than the US with HD formats.

http://www.hardocp.com/news.html?news=MjQ1MTgsLCxobmV3cywsLDE=

HD-DVD Leads Blu-ray In Europe

In the continuing next-gen DVD format war, it looks as though HD-DVD leads Blu-ray in Europe by a whopping 85% - 15%. The PS3 is set to launch at the end of the month over there which should help the Blu-ray format, depending on how well the console sells.

Toshiba, mainly through its US$499 HD-E1 HD DVD player, accounted for an 85% market share of next-generation blue-laser optical disc drives/players/recorders sold in Europe in January of this year, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

The reports on next-gen DVD formats is getting a bit ridiculous. Last month we heard how, according to Nielsen VideoScan numbers, Blu-ray was beating HD-DVD in the next-gen DVD war. Buried in the report was the fact that, in January, the only HD movies released that month were on Blu-ray. The month before, HD-DVD was the clear “winner.”

[LinkinPrime]

Nice. Hope the PS3 doesn't have too much affect when it comes out.

[ryanbph]

it is awfully expensive to buy in europe, I wonder how the ps3 will do there. IMO it won't really change the format war in europe in the near future

[thrustbucket]

Wait a second. What the hell happened to Blood Diamond? I was SO looking forward to buying that on HD DVD.

I went to go look for preorders and it appears it isn't coming out on the 20th with the DVD and nobody seems to know when it is coming out. Anyone know what's going on?

[Sporadic]

Looks like it's import time

French HD DVD Releases

Warner Home Video (France) has announced Le Prestige (The Prestige) on HD DVD, June 6. The HD DVD will contain Dolby Digital-Plus audio tracks. The bonus materials are expected to be presented in high-definition. English [SDH], French, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Finnish, German [SDH] & Dutch subtitles are provided.

http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

[TheRock88]

I posted this in the dvd forum, but I'd figure I post it here too cause it might be good for us with HD DVD

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/

Warner continued to promote its Total HD Blu-ray/HD DVD combo format at this week's IRMA Forum, indicating that initial limited-capacity discs could be ready for market as early as this June (http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news/html/breaking_article.cfm?article_id=10397).


Unveiled back in January at CES (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Announcements/Warner/Total_Hi_Def/CES/CES:_Warner_Intros_Total_HD_First_Titles_Due_Secon d_Half_2007/430), Warner's Total HD format is the studio's proposed solution to the ongoing next-gen format war, offering a Blu-ray version on one side of the disc, and an HD DVD versionnon the other. The studio has said that the combo discs would be compatible with all Blu-ray and HD DVD players, and would retail for little more than current single-format releases.


At IRMA, representatives from Cinram, one of the manufacturers co-developing Total HD with Warner, outlined capacities and proposed ready-to-market dates for the highly-anticipated combo format.
The reps said that discs with a 15GB HD DVD on one side and a 25GB Blu-ray on the other will be ready to ship by June. They said that that initial release would be followed by a higher-capacity HD DVD 30GB/Blu-ray 25GB in August.


The group offered no timetable for a full-capacity HD DVD 30GB/Blu-ray 50GB version. This could prove to be a short-term liability for Blu-ray and/or Warner, limiting all Total HD-supporting distributors to 25GB Blu-ray releases only.


At press time, Warner has not yet announced titles or street dates for its first Total HD releases, which were previously expected to hit stores in early fall.


No other studios (besides Warner and its subsidiaries) have yet announced plans to support Total HD.


The 37th Annual International Recording Media Association (IRMA) Forum was held yesterday in Los Angeles, California.

[Sporadic]

I posted this in the dvd forum, but I'd figure I post it here too cause it might be good for us with HD DVD

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/

This is bad for us.

Not only is the box art ugly as sin, we will be paying more for something we (at least HD-DVD only users) will never use.

At least with HD-DVD/DVD combos I can still use the other side.

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/363/8fb850a2dc0fc0fd9b1f325ka8.jpg

[propeller_head]

actually warner said they would be making the Total HD discs the same price as regular HD discs.

[Sarang01]

actually warner said they would be making the Total HD discs the same price as regular HD discs.

I hope so because I'm not paying more than $20 for catalog Warner titles domestically.

[GizmoGC]

actually warner said they would be making the Total HD discs the same price as regular HD discs.

Ive heard they will MSRP for $40 if not more.

[Sporadic]

actually warner said they would be making the Total HD discs the same price as regular HD discs.

Negative.

No price was announced, but WHV president Ron Sanders claims that while he thinks consumers would be willing to "pay a little more" for the security of having a disc that's format war proof, the price "won't be very much more than current HD-DVDs and Blu-ray Discs."

We all know "a little more" means 7-10+ dollars. Which definitely means no more $19-23 HD-DVDs from Warner.

I, for one, am goddamn sick of this.

I already pay a premium to get my movie in high definition. I don't give a fuck if it can play in a Blu-Ray or a DVD player. I don't give a fuck if HD-DVD dies tomorrow. My discs will still play and my player won't self-destruct. Push come to shove, I'll have to get a new player if I want any new releases.

Big deal.

I wish they would stop pressing choices on me to improve their bottom line.

[guyver2077]

Looks like it's import time



http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

nice the prestige... how much does it cost to import/? i may just get it for br.. i really liked the movie

[RedvsBlue]

Why didn't the presige come out on HD-DVD if its being distributed by WB? I've been trying to figure that out since it came out on BR.

[bri637]

Why didn't the presige come out on HD-DVD if its being distributed by WB? I've been trying to figure that out since it came out on BR.

I think Disney/Buena Vista has the distribution rights in the US.

[Sporadic]

nice the prestige... how much does it cost to import/? i may just get it for br.. i really liked the movie

Usually around 27-43 dollars depending on where you get it from and what region it's coming out of.

Japan is the only one that hovers around 40ish dollars.

France is around 30-35

http://xploitedcinema.com/catalog/hd-dvds-c-35.html?osCsid=05cd23f59d7373ddc6797465a49ae8bd

http://forums.highdefdigest.com/showthread.php?t=3010

Why didn't the presige come out on HD-DVD if its being distributed by WB? I've been trying to figure that out since it came out on BR.

Distributed in America by Touchstone Pictures (Blu-Ray exclusive)
Distributed in EU by Warner Bros. (HD-DVD backer)

The same thing happened with Terminator 2.

[RedvsBlue]

I think Disney/Buena Vista has the distribution rights in the US.

Well, if you look at the sDVD box, you can see WB on it...

[Sarang01]

Well, if you look at the sDVD box, you can see WB on it...

Well both WB and Miramax had their hands in "The Aviator". This may be the case for "The Prestige".

[Ruined]

FYI!

UNIVERSAL HD DVD JUNE RELEASE DATES:

6/12
Born on the Fourth of July
Bruce Almighty
Daylight
Liar Liar
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Sneakers

6/26
American Me
Being John Malkovich
Bulletproof
Mallrats
Meet Joe Black
Mystery Men
The Watcher

No word on Warner/Paramount yet :)

[LinkinPrime]

Damn, when are they going to announce the Matrix Trilogy? :bomb:

[guyver2077]

those releases suck ass

[guyver2077]

wow..

uk has potter already?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Goblet-Fire-DVD/dp/B000K0YPNI/ref=sr_1_1/203-4537884-9692705?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1174063748&sr=1-1

[TheRock88]

Damn, when are they going to announce the Matrix Trilogy? :bomb:

Probably end of the year (along with the LOTR trilogy) to promote holiday sales.

[Ruined]

wow..

uk has potter already?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Goblet-Fire-DVD/dp/B000K0YPNI/ref=sr_1_1/203-4537884-9692705?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1174063748&sr=1-1

Yes, Warner is waiting for Blu-Ray to get BD-J working properly so they can release the HD DVD and Blu-Ray simulatneously in the US

[thrustbucket]

Yes, Warner is waiting for Blu-Ray to get BD-J working properly so they can release the HD DVD and Blu-Ray simulatneously in the US

Which is actually holding up blood diamond too. And probably matrix.

REALLY pisses me off that because of bluray, we have to wait longer for our hd dvd.

[anomynous]

Why does Universal have Mallrats?

[RedvsBlue]

Why does Universal have Mallrats?

Because they've always had it...

[anomynous]

Because they've always had it...
I just assumed it was Miramax, because they have all the other View Askiew movies, except for Clerks 2

[RedvsBlue]

Wait, why are you even posting in this thread again?

[anomynous]

Wait, why are you even posting in this thread again?
because I can, and again I do have The Departed on HD DVD

[Sporadic]

Why does Universal have Mallrats?

They co-producted with Gramercy Pictures

[Duo_Maxwell]

Yes, Warner is waiting for Blu-Ray to get BD-J working properly so they can release the HD DVD and Blu-Ray simulatneously in the US

Warner owned studios have released a number of titles simulatneously under boht flags. The Java issues are not really holding them back that much and I'm sure it's got nothing to with saving big titles for their rediculous Total HD plans. Also, hasn't Fox already released some BD-J titles anyways? Larger problems with it seem to exist in the hardware compatibility, but it's not stopping BD-J software releases under other studios so what is the large obstacle holding Warner back?

[Sarang01]

Warner owned studios have released a number of titles simulatneously under boht flags. The Java issues are not really holding them back that much and I'm sure it's got nothing to with saving big titles for their rediculous Total HD plans, but yeah, no I'm sure you're totally correct...

TotalHD really screws HD DVD owners in that the first offerings will be single sided for each. P.S. Warner I'm NOT paying over $20 for these discs or I may not be buying them to begin with given you're trying to wedge over 90 minute movies on 15 gigs.

[Ruined]

TotalHD really screws HD DVD owners in that the first offerings will be single sided for each. P.S. Warner I'm NOT paying over $20 for these discs or I may not be buying them to begin with given you're trying to wedge over 90 minute movies on 15 gigs.

It actually screws Blu-Ray owners more, though. Though initial TotalHD discs will be HD15/BD25, Warner stated they will have HD30/BD25 TotalHD discs up and running by August 2007. BD50, they have no statement if and when that will ever happen on TotalHD - so Blu-Ray owners may end up with 5GB less space than HD DVD in the end with Warner titles.

Also, there are a number of HD15 combos that look stunning on HD DVD. Its just a matter of using the right codecs, which Warner seems to be adept at.

[Duo_Maxwell]

TotalHD really screws HD DVD owners in that the first offerings will be single sided for each. P.S. Warner I'm NOT paying over $20 for these discs or I may not be buying them to begin with given you're trying to wedge over 90 minute movies on 15 gigs.

You're preaching to the choir my friend, I can't see how anyone can be a fan of paying extra for features they'll hardly ever or worse yet never use at all. This is the whole problem I had with the SD/HD combo discs (besides me hating flip discs), if I have shelled out the money for HD-DVD player and the software why would I want to watch the movie in SD then?

It actually screws Blu-Ray owners more, though. Though initial TotalHD discs will be HD15/BD25, Warner stated they will have HD30/BD25 TotalHD discs up and running by August 2007. BD50, they have no statement if and when that will ever happen on TotalHD - so Blu-Ray owners may end up with 5GB less space than HD DVD in the end with Warner titles.

I think you miss the point though, is there any reason he may have to pay $5-10 more (speculative costs of course) for figuratively only using half the disc? Personally I'd just like to see them to continue to release both formats in timely manner together. I'd rather pay $20 for my choice of BD or HD than $25-30 for something needlessly combining them when I only own and/or can only use one. Whether it benefits BD or HD is a fun argument, but IMO it does not benefit the customer no matter which format you own or support (unless prices are the same, but I don't see this happening, least not out of the gate).

[Sarang01]

You're preaching to the choir my friend, I can't see how anyone can be a fan of paying extra for features they'll hardly ever or worse yet never use at all. This is the whole problem I had with the SD/HD combo discs (besides me hating flip discs), if I have shelled out the money for HD-DVD player and the software why would I want to watch the movie in SD then?

Note Universal stopped doing it for catalog titles. To be honest to me it makes little sense there. Makes more sense for new releases since the cost is more minimal there in comparison. Shit for TotalHD it's redundant. At least with the DVD side on combo discs you might be more likely to use it. For example, if you have a portable player, etc. At the same time this should be an option not foisted upon people unless you can make it cost the same as regular HD DVD's.

[propeller_head]

Negative.



We all know "a little more" means 7-10+ dollars. Which definitely means no more $19-23 HD-DVDs from Warner.

I, for one, am goddamn sick of this.

I already pay a premium to get my movie in high definition. I don't give a fuck if it can play in a Blu-Ray or a DVD player. I don't give a fuck if HD-DVD dies tomorrow. My discs will still play and my player won't self-destruct. Push come to shove, I'll have to get a new player if I want any new releases.

Big deal.

I wish they would stop pressing choices on me to improve their bottom line.

i think youre absolutely wrong. absolutely.

you will see. i remember reading it will be the same price. i think it was over at engadget. i would be surprised if it was even $2 more.

[thrustbucket]

Warner isn't doing Total HD for us, they are doing it for Warner. It's far cheaper in the long run for them to just sell one SKU. And their argument for it is, it's format-war safe. Which is true. No matter what happens in the format war, you have a movie you'll always be able to play.

Also, let's just call an apple an apple here. Total HD effectively means ALL movies for both formats will have a maximum of 25 gigs. Warner is not going to make different encodes for each format (they haven't so far). They are going to encode it once, and slap it on both sides. The only way the extra 5 gigs of space might get used for HD DVD is in extras.

[GizmoGC]

because I can, and again I do have The Departed on HD DVD

So sorry. You have 1 HD-DVD Combo, I forgot! Please let him post anything he wants, he has a Combo. Yet he does not want HD-DVD at all...oh wait, he does right after a mod came into this thread.

Feel free to post in this thread but do not back HD-DVD in anyway. Feel free to start a Blu-Ray topic in the PS3 forum (there should be one anyway) if you want to discuss Blu-Ray movies.

[thrustbucket]

I have been participating in the insider thread on AVSforum recently and yesterday I got an interesting answer to one of my questions I thought I'd share here (For those that don't know, Amir is a Microsoft corporate Vice President in charge of the HD DVD stuff:

Here is my initial question:
Amir,

Which do you personally feel will likely happen first, given your own personal analysis?

- The war is dragged on long enough that all studios go neutral. (If so, how long do you feel the war would have to continue for it to happen?)
- One format wins, the other is abandoned.
- Something else you can maybe expound on?

And his answer:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10048723&&#post10048723

Quote:
Amir,

Which do you personally feel will likely happen first, given your own personal analysis?

This is the kind of question which can generate hundreds of posts and debates . I will take a shot at it since you asked but I am sure the mods will keep a sharp eye on folks going crazy on it.

Quote:
- The war is dragged on long enough that all studios go neutral. (If so, how long do you feel the war would have to continue for it to happen?)

This is the most likely scenario of the two you list.

I believe at some point "HD DVD" and "BD" will simply become "features" of DVD players. People won't even think about them in the context of a format war or a conscious decision to enter one. They will be buying some sub $99 DVD player, which happens to play HD DVD. Enough of them get sold and the format will be there for good. Consumer will then be free to buy DVDs or HD DVDs and not lose anything one way or the other. I assume BD folks have the same plan (although probably reluctantly ).

Same thing happened with DVD-A/SACD to some extent although the failing there was that interest in that sort of fidelity improvement was nearly non-existent and it came at a time of great change in music business with interest shifting from quality to "access" and convenience. Without that, they would be standard today and we would be living with them for our music enjoyment.

It is possible that both BD and HD DVD will become standard features of DVD players. The hurdle for such universal players is a bit higher (due to higher optical costs which cannot be reduces easily to such low cost thresholds) but it is not too far away from above reality.

Once we hit this inflection point, the concept of format war kind of loses steam and we will simply be throttled by the demand for HD content than anything else. That future is not too far down the road btw. State of electronic integration is so much more advanced now than any other time in history. We are also lucky that the disc size is the same, making these combination products seem like a nature thing to happen as far as general consumers are concerned.

IPR (patent fee) concerns are somewhat a barrier but in a volume business, new solutions would have be devised to avoid paying double and triple for the same patent when the application is similar in each instant (i.e. playing a VC-1 or MPEG-2 movie). And experiences are exclusive. (i.e. you play either DVD or HD DVD/BD, so why pay for both patents at the same time?)

Even now, the whole notion of “war” is overblown in my opinion. We have a very effective rental system which shields people from its effect which did not exist in previous “wars.” And we have a drive toward cheap hardware which likewise lessons the level of “harm” from picking the “wrong” format. The war is a boon to press and to folks who think one side should be shut down but other than that, it is not nearly as significant. Certainly from our point of view, we don’t worry a bit about BD format hanging around forever. But we digress .

Quote:
- One format wins, the other is abandoned.

Since no one is blinking on either side, this does not seem likely right now. Something unpredictable could happen of course but if we deal with the facts as we know it, this scenario cannot be supported as having high likelihood.

Quote:
- Something else you can maybe expound on?

A few other alternatives come to mind:

* Both formats grow to certain percentage of DVD sales and then get stuck there (say growing from current 0.5% to 20 or 25%). Title pricing will be most likely the reason for this as hardware cost will not be a factor per my hypothesis above. If one assumes price pressure will continue on current DVD titles, then pricing HD media where current DVDs are will be defensible. But higher premiums would keep the market from growing at some point. Then again, CDs did push up the ASP (average selling price) over LPs so maybe I am wrong . But I think consumers saw more value in that transition than here.

* Both grow so slowly as to compete with digital downloads as far as revenues/volume is concerned and given the cache of the former, lose steam. I don't think this is a likely outcome (in the next five years anyway) but it remains a distinct concern. HD video and interactivity is nice. How nice to average person, remains to be seen. We can guard against this outcome by making sure it is not an “either or” choice. Things like managed copy, digital downloads to enhance titles, etc., allow us to bridge the gap between the two means of delivery. But if folks stay too married to strict physical goods and not innovate, times may pass them by.

Now you know why are blazing the trail on interactivity for HD DVD . We feel that a “modern” optical format will have quite a strong staying power. A stale one that forces the old DVD business on you, less so.

[GizmoGC]

Warner isn't doing Total HD for us, they are doing it for Warner. It's far cheaper in the long run for them to just sell one SKU. And their argument for it is, it's format-war safe. Which is true. No matter what happens in the format war, you have a movie you'll always be able to play.

Also, let's just call an apple an apple here. Total HD effectively means ALL movies for both formats will have a maximum of 25 gigs. Warner is not going to make different encodes for each format (they haven't so far). They are going to encode it once, and slap it on both sides. The only way the extra 5 gigs of space might get used for HD DVD is in extras.

From what Ive heard, later TotalHD discs will include the 50GB BR disc on one side. TotalHD is nice, but if you have both formats you are just paying more money to watch it one of two different players. TotalHD is a blow against BR, not HD. Much like the recently released LG Combo player (with is crippled towards HD anyway). These TotalHD discs can not be considered sales for either format.

[GizmoGC]

OP, any chance you could post the entire 'soon to be released' list in the 1st post?

[GizmoGC]

To Be Released...

3/27/2007
Children of Men (Universal) <- COMBO
Happy Feet (Warner) <- COMBO
March of the Penguins (Warner)
Relentless Enemies (National Geographic/Warner)

4/3/2007
The Good Shepherd (Universal) <- COMBO

4/10/2007
Dog Day Afternoon (Warner)
Payback: Straight Up (Paramount)
A Scanner Darkly (Warner)

4/17/2007
Feast (Weinstein Co.)
Failure To Launch (Paramount)
The Game (Universal)
The Jerk (Universal)
School for Scoundrels (Weinstein Co.)
Smokin' Aces (Universal) <- COMBO

4/24/2007
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Universal)
The Nutty Professor (Universal)
Planet Earth (BBC Video/Warner)

5/1/1007
Alpha Dog (Universal) <- COMBO
Dreamgirls (Dreamworks)
The Hitcher (Universal) <- COMBO

5/15/2007
Black Christmas (Weinstein Co.)
The Fountain (Warner) <- COMBO
Harsh Times (Weinstein Co.)

5/22/07
40-Year Old Virgin (Universal)
Flags of our Fathers (Dreamworks)
The Hurricane (Universal)
Mission: Impossible (Paramount)
Mission: Impossible 2 (Paramount)
The Skeleton Key (Universal)
Smokey and the Bandit (Universal)

5/29/07
The Big Lebowski (Universal)
Dragonheart (Universal)
The Frighteners (Universal)
Lost In Translation (Universal)
Midnight Run (Universal)
The River (Universal)

6/5/07
Coming to America (Paramount)
Trading Places (Paramount)

June 12, 2007

Borned on the Fourth of July
Bruce Almighty
Daylight
Liar Liar
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Sneakers

June 26, 2007

American Me
Being John Malkovich
Bulletproof
Mallrats
Meet Joe Black
Mystery Men
The Watcher

[thrustbucket]

From what Ive heard, later TotalHD discs will include the 50GB BR disc on one side.

Maybe they will. Not even Sony can get dual layer to work on a flip disk though (otherwise they would have combos just like HD DVD). Maybe technology will improve eventually to allow it, but it isn't going to happen any time soon.

[Sarang01]

Here's something I don't understand for the life of me. Why are BR folks so insistent on wanting HD DVD to die. I mean PS3 being around guarantees that even if BR loses the format war and your BR player goes you can just buy a PS3 to play the BR discs you still have. Seriously if HD DVD wins no one really loses.

[Trakan]

anomynous, we went through this once already. All your posts do is cause arguments in this thread. This thread is for people who own the particular format and can comment and have a civilized discussion.

You own an HD-DVD, but you can't watch it. Okay. That doesn't really give any reason for you to post here.

For the last time, stop posting in this thread.

[Sporadic]

Here's something I don't understand for the life of me. Why are BR folks so insistent on wanting HD DVD to die. I mean PS3 being around guarantees that even if BR loses the format war and your BR player goes you can just buy a PS3 to play the BR discs you still have. Seriously if HD DVD wins no one really loses.

Because most of them are the same idiots who think if they spend 400-600 dollars, they have to justify it by buying into "the best"

As long as HD-DVD is around, there's a chance that they bought into the "wrong side"

[GizmoGC]

Here's something I don't understand for the life of me. Why are BR folks so insistent on wanting HD DVD to die. I mean PS3 being around guarantees that even if BR loses the format war and your BR player goes you can just buy a PS3 to play the BR discs you still have. Seriously if HD DVD wins no one really loses.

If it was not for this 'war' we would not have HD and BR players so cheap, so fast, and so many great movies on both formats. If it was just one format we would have a much slower release cycle. No sales, nothing. Competition like this is good, not bad.

[anomynous]

This is my last post in this thread (for now):


Seriously, I just watched the SD side of The Departed on HD DVD upscaled, and it looked a lot better than the normal DVD upscaled. Are all the HD DVD combos like that?

[Duo_Maxwell]

Here's something I don't understand for the life of me. Why are BR folks so insistent on wanting HD DVD to die. I mean PS3 being around guarantees that even if BR loses the format war and your BR player goes you can just buy a PS3 to play the BR discs you still have. Seriously if HD DVD wins no one really loses.

Actually, and this may just be from here at CAG, but the die hard HD-DVD folk seem more insistant that Blu-ray die off, espeically early on. Now that Blu-ray's catching up we don't hear the real early fanboys as much, but for awhile there there wasn't a week that didn't pass where there was some thread about how we should all get behind HD-DVD coming from Ruined. And I won't name anymore names but there's clearly people around here that will only talk up one while trying to put down the other as much as possible, and while I'm sure the ol' flame shield will need to go up here this being the HD-DVD thread and all, alot of that is happening on the HD-DVD side of things still. My guess is that is due to the cheaper nature in all of us as HD-DVD was the cheaper format for much longer and still is. However if anything much of the Blu-ray talk has been placed for someone to get behind the PS3 as a system, not so much BD as a format, unless they're challenged then some people go a bit nuts.

This is why a format war of any kind sorta sucks, though it goes against my CAG blood, I'd almost rather pay slighty higher prices to lose the die-hard, stubborn rabel rousers (sp?) at times... Nah, screw all that noise, higher prices suck. The competition does drive prices down which I do enjoy, still the my overall issue remains somewhat valid.

[KaneRobot]

There's no reason to post the entire upcoming release list in the OP right now. There is a link an upcoming release list right there. I will continue to do the upcoming and current week.




Seriously, I just watched the SD side of The Departed on HD DVD upscaled, and it looked a lot better than the normal DVD upscaled. Are all the HD DVD combos like that?
Never heard of that. I guess if it was mastered differently it's possible. That just doesn't seem too likely since every version came out at the same time.

[MSUHitman]

Wait, the Circuit City ad claims Blood Diamond is coming out on HD-DVD this week. Is that a misprint?

[Duo_Maxwell]

Wait, the Circuit City ad claims Blood Diamond is coming out on HD-DVD this week. Is that a misprint?

Looks like it, IIRC they announced it awhile ago only to later yank it from that release date and with the ads being printed a month or two in advance it ends up a misprint.

[Ruined]

Wait, the Circuit City ad claims Blood Diamond is coming out on HD-DVD this week. Is that a misprint?

It was delayed on HD DVD because Warner wants to release it simultaneously with the Blu-Ray version - but BD-J isnt fully operational yet, therefore both are delayed due to Blu-Ray. :/

[GizmoGC]

It was delayed on HD DVD because Warner wants to release it simultaneously with the Blu-Ray version - but BD-J isnt fully operational yet, therefore both are delayed due to Blu-Ray. :/

Yup. HD-DVD gets shafted thanks to Blu-Ray. Not only that, get ready for this to be a TotalHD version with an MSRP of over $40!

[Duo_Maxwell]

Do you two actaully have some actual confirmation of this (e.g. something official, not some random forum post)? After googling it for about 15 mins, I never saw anykind of official announcment of it's release date besides retailer postings, let alone anything official for this mysterious Blu-ray is ruining it theory.

I ask because I remember the same thing happening for Black Dahlia on HD-DVD, everyone went on a rumored announcment expecting it to hit same day as SD version was released, yet it had mysteriously vanished from retailers just before that day (and for obvious reasons that had nothing to do with Blu-ray).

[Duo_Maxwell]

Also, does anyone have a date for when/if the Digital Video Essentials HD-DVD will be out and whether out not it'll be a combo (this is the one situation I want it to be a combo)? I'm still using the old disc from 2000 or whatever that works well, but with new formats of auido & video content out, a new HD player, a pretty new TV, and a soon to be new receiver at home I'd like to have something more up-to-date.

[GizmoGC]

Do you two actaully have some actual confirmation of this (e.g. something official, not some random forum post)? After googling it for about 15 mins, I never saw anykind of official announcment of it's release date besides retailer postings, let alone anything official for this mysterious Blu-ray is ruining it theory.

I ask because I remember the same thing happening for Black Dahlia on HD-DVD, everyone went on a rumored announcment expecting it to hit same day as SD version was released, yet it had mysteriously vanished from retailers just before that day (and for obvious reasons that had nothing to do with Blu-ray).

Check AVS, its been posted a few times directly from Warner that they will only due HD/BR on the same day from now on (until TotalHD hits obviously). Since the Blu-Java is not up to par yet they won't release them, thereby making the HD counterpart delayed.

As for Black Dahlia, it was never officially announced and Best Buy ran that ad as a misprint.

[Duo_Maxwell]

Check AVS, its been posted a few times directly from Warner that they will only due HD/BR on the same day from now on (until TotalHD hits obviously). Since the Blu-Java is not up to par yet they won't release them, thereby making the HD counterpart delayed.

As for Black Dahlia, it was never officially announced and Best Buy ran that ad as a misprint.

AVS is great for the ins and outs of how things work, but it's still full of rumors like any other forum. When I specified not a forum that's what I meant. Regardless, I stick to my belief that Warner's just stalling for time and holding back bigger titles (note this situation occured after Blood Diamond garnered a couple Oscar nods) to help propel TotalHD when they launch it this summer. That's just a rumor too, but just don't color me suprised if Blood Diamond or titles like are among one the eariler TotalHD titles. Also after the google search I was curious if there was ever an official date annoucnment from Warner regarding Blood Diamond or just retailer listings/ 3rd party release lists for the 20th?

[cdeener]

Well, to let you all know if you have a CompUSA in your area that is closing they are clearancing out all of their DVDs including HD-DVD and they are at 20% at the moment.

[Duo_Maxwell]

Well, to let you all know if you have a CompUSA in your area that is closing they are clearancing out all of their DVDs including HD-DVD and they are at 20% at the moment.

Interesting, my brother goes to college in Columbus and I know they are closing some over there. Not living near one though I have to ask, what are their normal prices usually, like $25-30 range?

[Sarang01]

They didn't have many in my area. Four of em' in total. "The Sting", "Phantom Of the Opera", "The Last Samurai" and "The Mummy Returns".

[Deadpool]

King Kong
Batman Begins
Superman Returns
V for Vendetta
Slither
The Departed
Babel

[grendel19]

Interesting, my brother goes to college in Columbus and I know they are closing some over there. Not living near one though I have to ask, what are their normal prices usually, like $25-30 range?The CompUSA closing by my work didn't have much of a selection. But I did pick up Phantom of the Opera, which retailed at $19.99, and at 20%, got it for $15.99.

[KaneRobot]

Shit, I need to get over to the CompUSAs near me. I've been meaning to see if there's anything left (not HD-DVDs, just stuff I'd want in general). This will probably be the incentive to actually get me over there.

[LinkinPrime]

Universal seems like it might drop their HD-DVD/DVD combo discs. :bouncy:


Surprisingly, given Universal's prior pledge to release the majority of its 2007 next-gen titles (http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Announcements/Universal/Universal_Plans_100_New_HD_DVD_Titles_in_2007,_Sti ll_Says_No_to_Blu-ray/449) as HD DVD/DVD combo discs, its entire June catalog wave are currently pegged as HD DVD only.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Announcements/Universal/Universal_Announces_Mega-Wave_of_HD_DVD_Catalog_for_June/522


The above quote is in reference to their June announced titles.

[KaneRobot]

Universal seems like it might drop their HD-DVD/DVD combo discs. :bouncy:


http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Announcements/Universal/Universal_Announces_Mega-Wave_of_HD_DVD_Catalog_for_June/522


The above quote is in reference to their June announced titles.
Yeah, I know there are still some slated to be coming out over the next several months, but they have really reduced the number of combos (especially considering how they were suggesting they would ALL be combos in January). Looks like they are leaning towards phasing them out, which can only be a good thing.

Also, it looks like they are starting to move towards finally taking advantage of the internet connectivity features - see here (http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/03/16/universals-hdi-extras-on-children-of-men-and-smokin-aces-hd-dvds). I've been waiting for this to start up for a while, and while this is just scratching the surface, there are certainly a million different directions they could go with this concept. It's not going to "win the war" (and i'm so fucking tired of that phrase), but it's definitely a nice perk of the format.

[doubledown]

How will the ONLINE HD-DVD interact with the 360? Will it work the same since most 360 owners have their 360's connected to the Internet.

[KaneRobot]

How will the ONLINE HD-DVD interact with the 360? Will it work the same since most 360 owners have their 360's connected to the Internet.
I'd certainly assume so. They might have to release a firmware update for the player over Live or something, but no big deal.

[GizmoGC]

New HD-DVD Newsletter

If you look at some of the press releases flying around lately, you'd think that HD DVD is ready to pack up our tent and go home. Suffice to say, we're not goin' anywhere.

But what about the Nielsen numbers you might ask? What about the "independent" research reports, the subjective customer surveys and the fact that it's the Chinese Year of Pig? What does it all mean?

It's all in how you look at the data. And while you might not believe our marketing spin over someone else's, here's our take on the numbers:

Right now, overall movie sales to date for each format are roughly equal. Some see that as Blu-ray catching up and "winning." But look a bit farther and you will see that Blu-ray has a 5:1 hardware ratio over HD DVD right now due to sales of the PlayStation 3. That means five times as many players on the market. But if that's the case, why aren't their movie sales outpacing HD DVD by a similar ratio?

We'll let you speculate on that one. In fact, it's the opposite - every HD DVD owner out there is buying five times as many movies per player. That's huge! We'll take that kind of devoted consumer any day.

Yes, we know - our anecdotes versus theirs. But the real message here is don't believe everything you read – try it out on your own. Kick the tires. Check the prices. See if we're offering what we say we are. And as always, you can go to www.TheLookAndSoundOfPerfect.com for the latest news and updates.

An Article...
Toshiba isn’t too happy about Sony claiming victory in the HD format wars. Deputy General Manager of HD DVD at Toshiba, Olivier Van Wynendaele, has stated the claims made by Blu-Ray backers are “propaganda”. Wynendaele has picked apart each claim and makes a sound argument for each point.

The Blu-Ray Disc Association stated last week that their format was outselling HD 3:1 in the US. Wynendaele argues that PS3 owners are to blame for this and it’s not because they’re purchasing discs. They’re simply redeeming vouchers for free Blu-Ray discs from Sony. He also states that Toshiba has sold 200,000 HD DVD players in the US compared to the 30,000 Blu-Ray players that have been sold. Wynendaele believes PS3 sales shouldn’t be counted in the tally because there is no guarantee that they are purchasing Blu-Ray discs for themselves or that they’re even going to watch Blu-Ray discs at all. In all fairness, neither format can claim victory because HD players don’t have enough market share, less than 1%, and Wynendaele agrees.

What about the price cuts and cheaper Blu-Ray players expected to show up by the end of the year from Sony? Toshiba seems to have an answer for this as well. They’re taking a page from Wal-Mart’s playbook and plan to undercut Sony at all costs. Maybe the war isn’t over yet.

and bit more....

Toshiba has rejected claims made yesterday at a Blu-ray press conference at CeBIT that its own HD DVD format is failing. Olivier Van Wynendaele, Deputy General manager of HD DVD at Toshiba Ltd said the claims were "propaganda" and then proceeded to dispute them point by point in a call to tech.co.uk

Last Thursday Blu-ray Disc Association chairman Frank Simonis said that Blu-ray discs were now out-selling HD DVDs by 3:1 in the US - a claim Van Wynendaele disputes.

Van Wynendaele argues that the reason for the disparity is that new owners of PlayStation 3 games console are simply redeeming free Blu-ray movie vouchers given to them by Sony that they have to exchange at retail stores - this is distorting genuine sales figures, according to Van Wynendaele.

He counter-claimed by declaring that Toshiba had sold 200,00 HD DVD players in the US, compared to just 30,000 true Blu-ray players. Van Wynendaele said that the two million PS3 sales could not be counted because there was no guarantee that people who were buying the consoles were: a) choosing to buy movies with their own money; or b) actually watching Blu-ray movies at all - the vast majority could be using the PS3 to play games on, for example. The truth is, he said, that neither format could claim victory when high def player sales accounted for less than 1% of regular DVD player sales - in the US at least.
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You drop your prices, we'll drop them lower

Van Wynendaele also said that Toshiba's player pricing strategy would still put its HD DVD format at an advantage when compared to Blu-ray. He said Sony's decision to offer a lower-priced player later in the year would be undercut by Toshiba.

He also said the company's own research had confirmed that even at £450, many people still believe HD format players to be too expensive when compared to the bargain basement prices offered by supermarkets on DVD players. Toshiba launched a £449 1080p HD DVD player - the HD-EP10 - last week. Blu-ray players currently sell for around £1,000.

You can read part 2 of tech.co.uk's interview with Van Wynendaele later today...

[GizmoGC]

Starting April 1st the HD-A2 will have a retail of $399.99 (with 5 free mail-away movies). The HD-A20 (1080p) will be $499.99.

[RedvsBlue]

Starting April 1st the HD-A2 will have a retail of $399.99 (with 5 free mail-away movies). The HD-A20 (1080p) will be $499.99.

$400 with 5 free movies?!?

That's a steal.

Although, I think its kind of funny that Toshiba was complaining about free movies artificially boosting Sony's numbers and now they're giving away a ton of movies.

I'm glad to see Toshiba is in for the long haul and is ready to really put the fight to Sony.

[anomynous]

$400 with 5 free movies?!?

That's a steal.

Although, I think its kind of funny that Toshiba was complaining about free movies artificially boosting Sony's numbers and now they're giving away a ton of movies.

I'm glad to see Toshiba is in for the long haul and is ready to really put the fight to Sony.
$400 for a standalone player w/ 5 free movies, I am considering getting that. That's a good deal, plus there are the HD DVD exclusives that I want. (Clerks 2, Mallrats, Scarface, Carlito's Way(eventually), Lucky Number Slevin, and other Weinstein & Universal movies). But there's till the blu ray exclusives that I want. :wall: :wall: The HD DVD player that's going to be $400 has good upscaling, right?

[KaneRobot]

Yeah, I'd strongly consider that player if I did not have one already. Pretty nice deal there.

[cdeener]

Interesting, my brother goes to college in Columbus and I know they are closing some over there. Not living near one though I have to ask, what are their normal prices usually, like $25-30 range?

You are correct.

[GizmoGC]

$400 with 5 free movies?!?

That's a steal.

Although, I think its kind of funny that Toshiba was complaining about free movies artificially boosting Sony's numbers and now they're giving away a ton of movies.

I'm glad to see Toshiba is in for the long haul and is ready to really put the fight to Sony.

Mail-Away movies do NOT affect sales figures like Sony's do. They count each T. Nights and Casino Royale as a sale (same with Fifth Element inside Sony BR players). Toshiba does NOT count the free movies as it skews the sales figures.

[GizmoGC]

$400 for a standalone player w/ 5 free movies, I am considering getting that. That's a good deal, plus there are the HD DVD exclusives that I want. (Clerks 2, Mallrats, Scarface, Carlito's Way(eventually), Lucky Number Slevin, and other Weinstein & Universal movies). But there's till the blu ray exclusives that I want. :wall: :wall: The HD DVD player that's going to be $400 has good upscaling, right?

For $400 its a steal. Valueelectronics.com has the SAME price RIGHT now with an ADDITIONAL 2 FREE movies of your choice, FREE HDMI Cable, FREE Shipping, and NO TAX (depending where you live). I got my A2 last month with 7 free HD-DVDs for $400 shipped...damn good deal!

Its also one of the best upscaling players you can buy (very close if not better then some $300+ Oppo's).

[anomynous]

For $400 its a steal. Valueelectronics.com has the SAME price RIGHT now with an ADDITIONAL 2 FREE movies of your choice, FREE HDMI Cable, FREE Shipping, and NO TAX (depending where you live). I got my A2 last month with 7 free HD-DVDs for $400 shipped...damn good deal!

Its also one of the best upscaling players you can buy (very close if not better then some $300+ Oppo's).
so is the 5 free movies through a mail in rebate?

[Trakan]

Amazon has the HD-A2 for $357.

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HD-A2-HD-DVD-Player/dp/B000IJV4BC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-2736848-0156460?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1174356746&sr=8-1

[GizmoGC]

so is the 5 free movies through a mail in rebate?

Correct. You get 5 out of 15 choices. They are not the best by any means, but if you don't like them you can resell them/trade them.

[GizmoGC]

Say hello to the new Venturer Chinese HD-DVD Player. MSRP and release date is unknown, but expect it to be under $300.

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/3711/02wy3.th.jpg (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=02wy3.jpg)

[Duo_Maxwell]

I'd certainly assume so. They might have to release a firmware update for the player over Live or something, but no big deal.

Egh, let's hope not, from evertyhing we've heard so far getting Live content past MS has been a pain in the ass for any third party involved. However, them seemingly being pretty tight with Toshiba should make it easier I'd think.

[Duo_Maxwell]

Say hello to the new Venturer Chinese HD-DVD Player. MSRP and release date is unknown, but expect it to be under $300.

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/3711/02wy3.th.jpg (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=02wy3.jpg)

Any word yet on how the chinese players will react to US features (online updates and content for example)? If they're fully functional and made readily available here in the states that would help HD-DVD immensly I'd think.



Also, does anyone know exactly what the 15 choices are? Amazon's PDF link is failing me somehow. I already bought an HD-A1 from a friend fairly recently but it has a PRP from Best Buy and if I can get a brand new HD-A2 as the replacement my guess is the rebate would be in the box still.

[GizmoGC]

Any word yet on how the chinese players will react to US features (online updates and content for example)? If they're fully functional and made readily available here in the states that would help HD-DVD immensly I'd think.



Also, does anyone know exactly what the 15 choices are? Amazon's PDF link is failing me somehow. I already bought an HD-A1 from a friend fairly recently but it has a PRP from Best Buy and if I can get a brand new HD-A2 as the replacement my guess is the rebate would be in the box still.

There is no rebate in the box. Its a mailaway one. I have yet to see any stores with slips for the 5 free, but if you find the one for 3 free its the exact same choices.

http://valueelectronics.com/images/pdf/Toshiba_OnlineRebate.pdf

Warning...thats a PDF file.

I would return the A1 and get the A2 when it drops next week...You should get some cash back and a better, faster machine.

[Duo_Maxwell]

There is no rebate in the box. Its a mailaway one. I have yet to see any stores with slips for the 5 free, but if you find the one for 3 free its the exact same choices.

http://valueelectronics.com/images/pdf/Toshiba_OnlineRebate.pdf

Warning...thats a PDF file.

I would return the A1 and get the A2 when it drops next week...You should get some cash back and a better, faster machine.

Thanks that one worked fine, Amazon's hates me for some reason. Choices are little scarce, category B is gonna be a thorn in my side though as I bought Casablanca and I got Constantine as part of the deal and IMO Duks of Hazard sucked noodles. Ah well.

And the hangups of the A1 haven't bothered me, the start times and such take some getting used to but I like it. However I wonder if they'll honor the rebate though as I'm technically not "purchasing" it in the specified dates? Can't hurt to try though I suppose.

[GizmoGC]

Thanks that one worked fine, Amazon's hates me for some reason. Choices are little scarce, category B is gonna be a thorn in my side though as I bought Casablanca and I got Constantine as part of the deal and IMO Duks of Hazard sucked noodles. Ah well.

And the hangups of the A1 haven't bothered me, the start times and such take some getting used to but I like it. However I wonder if they'll honor the rebate though as I'm technically not "purchasing" it in the specified dates? Can't hurt to try though I suppose.

Movie choices are hit and miss...good trade bait I suppose.

PRP should allow you to return it, and rebut the A2...it will still show as a new sale.

[LinkinPrime]

Check out this email from the official HD-DVD newsletter:

If you look at some of the press releases flying around lately, you'd think that HD DVD is ready to pack up our tent and go home. Suffice to say, we're not goin' anywhere. But what about the Nielsen numbers you might ask? What about the "independent" research reports, the subjective customer surveys and the fact that it's the Chinese Year of Pig? What does it all mean?
It's all in how you look at the data. And while you might not believe our marketing spin over someone else's, here's our take on the numbers:
Right now, overall movie sales to date for each format are roughly equal. Some see that as Blu-ray catching up and "winning." But look a bit farther and you will see that Blu-ray has a 5:1 hardware ratio over HD DVD right now due to sales of the PlayStation 3. That means five times as many players on the market. But if that's the case, why aren't their movie sales outpacing HD DVD by a similar ratio?
We'll let you speculate on that one. In fact, it's the opposite - every HD DVD owner out there is buying five times as many movies per player. That's huge! We'll take that kind of devoted consumer any day.
Yes, we know - our anecdotes versus theirs. But the real message here is don't believe everything you read – try it out on your own. Kick the tires. Check the prices. See if we're offering what we say we are. And as always, you can go to www.TheLookAndSoundOfPerfect.com (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:ol%28%27http://hddvd.cmail1.com/.aspx/l/159554/94594216/www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com%27%29;) for the latest news and updates.


I like how they're not cocky like Sony.

[GizmoGC]

I like how they're not cocky like Sony.

Its BDA! We can't say Sony even though they are the biggest backers according to dpatel.

[KaneRobot]

Obviously you'll have to take the thoughts of "the official HD-DVD newsletter" with the source in mind, but even having said that...

They're not really wrong. Yeah, the PS3 is a boost to Blu-Ray, but as most level-headed HD-DVD supporters have said, it's not "already over," and it isn't close to "already over."

I couldn't care less what Blu-Ray is doing. I'll buy a standalone player when they are reasonably priced. I could buy one, but it's just not worth 500-1000 dollars to me to be able to watch movies I can get on DVD in slightly higher resolution. If the 360 add-on was like 400 bucks I wouldn't have bought it. The best thing people "concerned" about HD-DVD could do at this point is just stop whining, continue to buy the movies they want, and tell their friends about it.

[Sporadic]

Today is a good day.

Paramount Home Entertainment has announced four catalog titles that will be released simultaneously on Blu-ray and HD DVD this summer.

'Freedom Writers' starring Scott Glenn and Hilary Swank will be available May 22, 'Hustle & Flow' on June 26, and 'The Untouchables (Special Collector's Edition)' and 'The Warriors (Ultimate Director's Cut)' on July 3. Specifics for each release are not yet available though you can safely assume extras found on the standard DVDs will all be ported over.

http://dvd.themanroom.com/dvd-newsview.php?id=511

Nice to see The Untouchables and The Warriors get the HD treatment.

[rodeojones903]

Mail-Away movies do NOT affect sales figures like Sony's do. They count each T. Nights and Casino Royale as a sale (same with Fifth Element inside Sony BR players). Toshiba does NOT count the free movies as it skews the sales figures.

Is there any links or sources to show that they do not count them as movies sold, or are you just assuming?

Say hello to the new Venturer Chinese HD-DVD Player. MSRP and release date is unknown, but expect it to be under $300.


Who? I am not one to buy a product from some no name manufacturer. I think the key will be getting the name brand players that low (which with the amazon sale the A2 is damn close).