The Format War

[imdaly]

Thanks for the replies. I'll be getting a PS3 either August or September...My TV isnt full HD though (its HD Ready, 720p/1080i) but still...

It doesn't matter if your HDTV is HD Ready or HD Built In. The only time that makes a difference is when you're trying to get an HD feed from cable or satellite...it's then when you need to have either a HD tuner or an HDTV with one built in. But when it comes to watching HD DVD or Blu-ray, if you've got an HDTV you're all set.

The in-movie experience that Warner Bros. does will be fixed and it's why Batman Begins and the Matrix aren't on blu-ray yet. Once it is, expect a lot of Warner Bros titles to be announced for blu-ray (Batman Begins, V for Vendetta, the Matrix Trilogy) and future Warner Bros. high def titles from their back catalogue to come out exactly at the same time as the HD-DVD version (like the Harry Potter movies).

The irony and not-very-well-known fact about HD DVD's IME is that Disney had a big part to play in its creation, though for the time being they are only supporting Blu-ray which does not use it at all.

The PS3 should have no problem using the BR-J features since it has audio video decoders up the ying yang and already exceeds the ram and storage requirements.

PS3 should be fine. The oooonly part I'm not so sure of is whether or not the PS3 will be able to play two streaming videos at the same time. Everything else can most definitely be updated with a firmware update.

True dat. I think we have only seen the beginning. The closer to the holidays we get the dirtier this war will get on both sides. This thread is going to go beserk come October and November.

Oh it's going to be NAAAAASTYYYY! And I cannot wait!

Damn HD DVD is on a pr offensive

Damn right, it is!

 

[imdaly]

Since there have been a few more titles for both formats announced since the last update, let's update our "Coming Soon" list again, shall we?

But first, here's what came out today:
July 3, 2007
- Blood Diamond (WB)
- Flatliners (Sony)
- The Patriot: Extended Cut (Sony)
- Untouchables (Paramount)
- Untouchables (Paramount)
- The Warriors: Ultimate Director's Cut (Paramount)
- The Warriors: Ultimate Director's Cut (Paramount)



And now with what's Coming Soon:


July 10, 2007
- Billy Madison (Universal)
- Dante's Peak (Universal)
- IMAX: Blue Planet (WB)
- IMAX: Blue Planet (WB)
- The War (Universal)
- The Wedding Date (Universal)

July 17, 2007
- Fifth Element (Remastered) (Sony)
- Premonition (Sony)
- Waiting... (Lionsgate)
- Wild Things (Sony)

July 24, 2007
- The Bourne Identity (Universal)
- The Contract (First Look)
- Deep Purple: Live at Montreux 2006 (Rhino)
- The Host (Magnolia)
- The Host (Magnolia)
- In Good Company (Universal)
- The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps (Universal)
- Out for Justice (WB)
- Out for Justice (WB)
- Purple Rain (WB)
- Purple Rain (WB)
- Santana: Hymns for Peace - Live at Montreux 2004 (Rhino)
- Scent of a Woman (Universal)
- Streets of Fire (Universal)
- Weeds: Season Two (Lionsgate)
- Yes: Live at Montreux (Rhino)

July 31, 2007
- 300 (WB)
- 300 (WB) *Exclusive Content*
- Darkman (Universal)
- Hot Fuzz (Universal)
- IMAX: Roving Mars (Disney)
- Sea of Love (Universal)
- Shaun of the Dead (Universal)
- Shooter (Paramount)
- Shooter (Paramount)

August 7, 2007
- Are We Done Yet? (Sony)
- Arlington Road (Sony)
- Disturbia (Paramount)
- Disturbia (Paramount)
- Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (Sony)
- TMNT (WB)
- TMNT (WB)

August 14, 2007
- Bell Witch: The Movie (Big River)
- Bell Witch: The Movie (Big River)
- Doctor Strange (Lionsgate)
- Erin Brockovich (Universal)
- The Lookout (Disney)
- Meet the Fockers (Universal)
- Mercury Rising (Universal)
- Vacancy (Sony)
- What Dreams May Come (Universal)
- Wild Hogs (Disney)

August 15, 2007
- Dragon's Lair (Digital Leisure)

August 21, 2007
- Immortal Beloved (Sony)
- The Lives of Others (Sony)
- National Lampoon's Van Wilder (Lionsgate)
- Perfect Stranger (Sony)

August 28, 2007
- Blades of Glory (Paramount)
- Blades of Glory (Paramount)
- Dawn of the Dead (Universal)
- Heroes: Season One (Universal)
- The Hurricane (Universal)
- Notting Hill (Universal)

September 4, 2007
- Nip/Tuck: Season Four (WB)
- Nip/Tuck: Season Four (WB)
- Remember the Titans: Director's Cut (Disney)

September 11, 2007
- Face/Off (Paramount)
- Face/Off (Paramount)
- The Replacement Killers (Sony)

September 18, 2007
- The Condemned (Lionsgate)
- Deliverance (WB)
- Deliverance (WB)
- Elizabeth (Universal)
- Flashdance (Paramount)
- Flashdance (Paramount)
- For Love of the Game (Universal)
- House of 1000 Corpses (Lionsgate)
- Jailhouse Rock (WB)
- Jailhouse Rock (WB)
- The Last Starfighter (Universal)
- Saturday Night Fever (Paramount)
- Saturday Night Fever (Paramount)
- Smallville: The Complete Sixth Season (WB)
- Smallville: The Complete Sixth Season (WB)
- Viva Las Vegas (WB)
- Viva Las Vegas (WB)
- We Are Marshall (WB)
- We Are Marshall (WB)
- Zodiac (Paramount)
- Zodiac (Paramount)

Septermber 25, 2007
- Cat People (Universal)
- The Getaway (1994) (Universal)
- Jack Ryan Collection (Paramount)
- Jack Ryan Collection (Paramount)
- Patch Adams (Universal)

October 2, 2007
- Galapogos (BBC)
- Galapogos (BBC)
- Room With A View (BBC)
- Room With A View (BBC)
- Top Gun (Paramount)
- Top Gun (Paramount)

October 23, 2007
- Meet the Robinsons (Disney)
- Scary Movie (Disney)

November 20, 2007
- Badder Santa: Unrated (Disney)
- The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (Disney)


Broken down by which companies are releasing titles we have the following:

BBC - 2
Big River - 1
Disney - 8
Fox - 0
Lionsgate - 6
Magnolia - 1
Paramount - 8
Sony - 11
WB - 11
Total - 48
Total Blu-ray Exclusives - 25

BBC - 2
Big River - 1
Digital Leisure - 1
First Look - 1
Magnolia - 1
Paramount - 8
Rhino - 3
Universal - 28
WB - 11
Weinstein - 0
Total - 56
Total HD DVD Exclusives - 32

 

[Zenien]

- Patch Adams (Universal)
- The Nutty Professor II

Thank god, I've been waiting for these movies for ever, I mean who doesn't want to see these timeless classics in HD?

Oh god, July 24th will be painful.

Good thing Spiderman 3, Pirates 3, Ratatuille, Die Hard 4 Simpsons, Transformers(?), Fantastic 4, are coming out the HD-DVD I mean thank god for that. Having the - The Nutty Professor II just completes the collection.

Speaking of which (my disgust with Universal trying to stuff the release schedule with movies no one cares about is almost pallebable) this friday we should be getting numbers for the week ending June 26th it will be interesting.

(Spiderman 3, Pirates 3, Ratatuille, Die Hard 4 Simpsons, Transformers(?), Fantastic 4 aren't HD-DVD movies I'm being sacrastic :\)

 

[imdaly]

You think you're jealous??

At least you get "The Condemned" and "Are We Done Yet?" on Blu-ray!

 

[Zenien]

Hey, you know that episode of scene in StrarTrek where Picard is crying? I think that will be either of us if our camps lose.

 

[imdaly]

lol

Hey, it's funny you should mention "Star Trek"...

CBS Forms Blu-ray/HD DVD/DVD TV Unit; Classic 'Star Trek' to Lead Title Brigade
Jan 18, 2007

A first step in bringing their TV titles into the high-def arena, CBS has launched a new home entertainment unit to handle DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD title releases, with the newly-restored original 'Star Trek' series leading the charge.

The company's new division, CBS Home Entertainment, will operate as part of the CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, and will distribute all upcoming next-gen and standard-def disc releases via Paramount Home Entertainment.

With a stable of over 120 current series and a substantial library of more than 2,600 titles, CBS has an extensive and diverse catalog of television programming to exploit. Some of the company's current shows include 'Jericho' and 'Criminal Minds,' both of which are broadcast in HD, plus such long-running reality shows as 'Amazing Race' and 'Survivor.'

The new unit plans an aggressive increase in their TV on DVD output in 2007, with planned growth of an estimated 20 percent. Though no comparable plans have been announced by the new unit for Blu-ray and HD DVD, the possibilities are still exciting for both of the next-gen formats. That's because with only handful of TV releases thus far on Blu-ray and HD DVD, the platforms continue to be starved for television content.

Though CBS Home Entertainment has not yet announced any official release dates for its first Blu-ray or HD DVD television titles, they did confirm that first out of the gate will be the one series most had already been expecting. After being re-tooled in HD for syndicated broadcast late last year -- complete with all-new effects -- 'Star Trek: The Original Series' will finally make its next-gen debut as an HD DVD/DVD combo sometime in the second half of 2007.

"The reason we chose to do that [an HD DVD/DVD combo] is to give us the ability to make high-definition transfers of the show available to people who don’t yet have high-definition players," Ken Ross, Executive VP of CBS Home Entertainment told The Hollywood Reporter.

A Blu-ray release for 'Trek' has not yet been scheduled, although after contacting Paramount, word to High-Def Digest is that the studio remains fully and equally supportive of both formats. So we can expect to see 'The Original Series,' and all other future CBS titles, on Blu-ray as well.

Source

 

[Zenien]

Combo Disc? Gross.

For those who have no clue what I'm talking about

In fact I'll so be using that scene in some form when this war comes to a close *Saves file for the inevitable Imdaly meltdown*

 

[imdaly]

Combo Disc? Gross.

Yeah, I really hate not being limited to my one HD DVD player to watch my discs on. I'd much rather have less capabilities on my discs.

 

[Zenien]

I prefer more space for the HD transfer.

That's why I don't like them.

 

[imdaly]

Zenien, Zenien, Zenien.

I dare you to find one HD DVD where the picture/feature quality has suffered because of the disc being a combo.

How about "300"? It's a combo disc and it even has MORE features on it than the Blu-ray version does!

The reason why nothing is "suffering" on the combo discs? Because the DVD side of the combo discs are completely separate layers from the HD DVD side, and do not cut into the alloted space on the disc.

For example: http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/09/1...s-3-tokyo-drift-to-introduce-hd-dvd-30-9-qua/

"Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift" was the first HD DVD/DVD quad combo disc to hit the format, meaning the full 30GB on the HD DVD side and the full 9GB on the DVD side.

Nothing is taken from the HD DVD side to make room for the DVD side, so worry no more, Zenien

 

[Zenien]

Maybe the concept of disc that holds more then 30 gigs of HD content is foreign to you, being an HD-DVD enthusiast and all, but Blu Ray has movies out that are printed on 50 gig, try fitting all that on your combo disc.

 

[XtromaniaK]

Maybe the concept of disc that holds more then 30 gigs of HD content is foreign to you, being an HD-DVD enthusiast and all, but Blu Ray has movies out that are printed on 50 gig, try fitting all that on your combo disc.

Well, most movies don't even need the full 50 gigs anyways. And with the 30+9 it really only holds 11 gigs more anyways. Alot of the things that would take up more than that are miniscule performance enhancers that aren't noticeable to anyone but the armchair critics of the world.

 

[RedIsNotBlue]

Well, most movies don't even need the full 50 gigs anyways. And with the 30+9 it really only holds 11 gigs more anyways. Alot of the things that would take up more than that are miniscule performance enhancers that aren't noticeable to anyone but the armchair critics of the world.

Well Blu-ray is still in an early stage. I think the more time that goes along we will see more and more releases taking advantage of the extra space it has to offer.

 

[Zenien]

You can't use those 9 gigs for the HD content/transfer.

 

[XtromaniaK]

You can't use those 9 gigs for the HD content/transfer.

Not all content has to be formatted for HD, though.

 

[Zenien]

I demand perfection!

 

[KALEL114]

I demand perfection!

A little High Maintenance are we.

JK.

 

[Downhere]

The difference between 720 and 1080p is really miniscule, so it shouldn't bother you all that much. That's one of the reasons I opted for a cheaper 720p HDTV instead of an "out-the-ass" 1080p set.

This is the truth, the difference between 1080p and 720p isn't that much when sitting about 1.5 the screen width. There was even a shootout between a 1080p projector and 720p projector and from the reports, you had to get really close to the screen to see the difference.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Thanks for the replies. I'll be getting a PS3 either August or September...My TV isnt full HD though (its HD Ready, 720p/1080i) but still...

Just wait for the price drop to occur.

 

[Dark_Lord]

Just wait for the price drop to occur.

I'm from Greece. Is there going to be a price cut in Europe too? If so, then yeah...I will wait.

 

[RedIsNotBlue]

Well if you go to bluraysavings.com they have a special right now that if you buy a PS3 you can get 5 free Blu-rays out of the selections they have.

 

[KALEL114]

Interesting thing on failure rates.

http://www.n4g.com/ClickOut.aspx?ObjID=49466

 

[Downhere]

Well if you go to bluraysavings.com they have a special right now that if you buy a PS3 you can get 5 free Blu-rays out of the selections they have.

And if you buy the new Panasonic Blu-Ray player that brings 5 free movies, then with that new deal you end up with 10 free movies. Not bad.

 

[Fading]

Interesting thing on failure rates.

http://www.n4g.com/ClickOut.aspx?ObjID=49466

Ouch...just look in the microsoft section of this site tho, there's a 10+ page thread on ppl's X-box's failing and that's just this site.

The only thing that puzzles me is when the elite came out why they didn't fix the hardware problems, because I'm hearing it has a high failure rate as well.

BTW there are atleast a dozen other sites reporting the 33% failure rate as well, so it might be a legit number.

 

[imdaly]

And if you buy the new Panasonic Blu-Ray player that brings 5 free movies, then with that new deal you end up with 10 free movies. Not bad.

Except that that player will be obsolete come November...