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Bummer, I was hoping for a Bourne Trilogy set...
http://gamersreports.com/news/5877/blockbuster-to-support-blu-ray/![]()
PRESS RELEASE
Washington, D.C. (June 17, 2007) -- Video rental giant Blockbuster will only rent HD in the Blu-ray format in 1,450 stores next month when it expands its high-def service.
That's according to an exclusive report today from the Associated Press.
The retailer has tested both formats in approximately 250 stores for the last several months. But Blockbuster officials say 70 percent of the high-def rentals are Blu-ray.
"The consumers are sending us a message. I can't ignore what I'm seeing," Matthew Smith, Blockbuster's senior vice president of merchandising, tells AP.
Blockbuster is expected to announce the decision to favor Blu-ray over HD DVD on Monday, AP reports. However, the retailer will continue to carry HD DVD titles in the original 250 test locations.
Smith said that Blu-ray titles are outpacing HD DVD rentals because there are movies available in the format. Four of the eight major film studios are backing Blu-ray exclusively with only one (Universal) supporting HD DVD exclusively.
"When you walk into a store and see all this product available in Blu-ray and there is less available on HD DVD, I think the consumer gets that," Smith said, according to the AP.
Blockbuster's decision could be a serious blow to HD DVD in the high-def format war. But one HD DVD backer said Sunday that Blockbuster is acting on limited information.
"I think trying to make a format decision using such a short time period is really not measuring what the consumer is saying," said Ken Graffeo, co-president of the promotional group for HD DVD.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...ht_Upcoming_Warner_High-Def_Release_Plans/706Among the major titles that Video Business says are hit to next-gen by the end of the year are two blockbuster franchises from Warner. The studio is reported to be planning a roll-out of at least some (if not all five) of the 'Harry Potter' series, as well as all three 'Ocean's Eleven' flicks.
Look for the 'Potter' titles to be released on high-def by the end of 2007, timed to the home video bow of next month's theatrical premiere 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.'
Also on tap are 'Ocean's Eleven' and 'Ocean's Twelve,' which should arrive with the late fall video debut of the 'Ocean's Thirteen.' (The latest -- and supposedly -- last in Steven Soderbergh's star-studded Vegas caper series opened at No. 1 at the domestic box office last weekend.)
In addition, Warner Home Video plans to bow some of the first made-for-DVD titles on either high-def format. Due for release in early 2008 are the horror movies 'The Rest Stop' and 'Sublime,' which will come from the studio's Raw Feed label.
Not to be confused with double-sided HD DVD/DVD combo discs, twin-format discs can contain up to three layers of recorded content on a single-sided disc. 'Freedom 1' uses two of those layers -- a 15GB HD DVD layer, and a 4.6GB standard-def DVD layer.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/HDi/Bandai_Visual/Freedom_1_Offers_First_Look_at_HD_DVD_Twin-Format_Disc/702As for video quality, Kenneth says this first-ever anime release to hit high-def disc in the US looks excellent, boasting "vivid colors, perfect black levels, and crisply detailed linework." Considering the program's running time of only 25 minutes, arguably that's no great feat for a 15GB HD DVD, but it is an encouraging sign for both Microsoft and the disc's distributor Bandai, who reportedly worked together to tweak the VC-1 encode specifically for anime.
Toshiba to Roll Out Mainstream Notebook Computers with HD DVD Playback
Tuesday June 19, 8:00 am ET
Company Also Plans to Release First U.S. Notebook with Writable HD DVD Drive in Third Quarter
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Toshiba's Digital Product Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced that the Satellite® P205, Satellite X205 and Qosmio® F45 will be the company's first mainstream mobile solutions to incorporate HD DVD drives, while the Qosmio G45 will be the first U.S. notebook computer with a writeable HD DVD optical drive, and will be available to consumers in time for the back-to-school season.