Author Topic: The War Begins... (Read 107128 times)

Mouldingo · « **Reply #540 on:** Dec 25, 2006 at 11:11 AM »

HD DVD upcoming releases(http://www.highdefdigest.com/)

December 26, 2006
The Breakfast Club (Universal)
The Deer Hunter (Universal)
January 16, 2007
The Mummy Returns (Universal)
Poseidon (Warner)
Scooby-Doo (2002) (Warner)
The Sting (Universal)
January 23, 2007
Black Rain (Paramount)
Brokeback Mountain (Universal)
January 30, 2007
Half Baked (Universal)
February 06, 2007
Failure to Launch (Paramount)
Hollywoodland (Universal)
February 20, 2007
Babel (Paramount)
February 27, 2007
Alexander: The Unrated Final Cut (Warner)
Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You in Time (Interscope)
April 10, 2007
Payback: Straight Up - The Director's Cut (Paramount)

Release Dates Postponed
The following titles were originally given release dates but have since been postponed with no new dates announced. Watch this space for the latest street date updates as soon as they are made official.
Digital Video Essentials - HD DVD Edition (DVD International)
Galaxina (BCI)
Golgo 13 (BCI)
That's the Way of the World (BCI)
Release Dates Pending
The following titles are planned for release in the HD DVD format (as indicated by press release or previous public statements made by the distributor), but release dates have not been announced:
2001: A Space Odyssey (Warner)
Above the Law (Warner)
American Pie (Unrated) (Universal)
American Pie Presents: A Naked Mile (Universal)
Angels in America (HBO)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (New Line)
The Aviator (Universal)
Awake (Weinstein)
Band of Brothers (HBO)
Bikini Destinations (Magnolia)
The Black Dahlia (Universal)
Blade (New Line)
Blade Runner (Warner)
The Blues Brothers (Universal)
Braveheart (Paramount)
Breaking and Entering (Weinstein)
Bubble (Magnolia)
Catwoman (Warner)
Clerks II (Weinstein)
A Clockwork Orange (Warner)
Coach Carter (Paramount)
Conan the Barbarian (Universal)
Contact (Warner)
Dante's Peak (Universal)
Dark City (New Line)
Deadwood: Season One (HBO)
Decameron (Weinstein)
The Dirty Harry Collection (Warner)
Elizabethtown (Warner)
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Magnolia)
Eraser (Warner)
Executive Decision (Warner)
Eyes Wide Shut (Warner)
Final Destination (New Line)
Forrest Gump (Paramount)
Friday (New Line)
Friends: Season One (Warner)
From the Earth to the Moon (HBO)
Ghost (Paramount)
Gothika (Warner)
Grease (Paramount)
The Green Mile (Warner)
Grind House (Weinstein)
Hard to Kill (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Warner)
HDScape: Antarctica Dreaming (DVD International)
HDScape: Exotic Saltwater Aquarium (DVD International)
HDScape: Fireplace - Visions of Tranquility (DVD International)
HDScape: HDWindow - Hawaii (DVD International)
HDScape: HDWindow - The Great Southwest (DVD International)
HDScape: Serenity - Southern Seas (DVD International)
HDScape: Stargaze II (DVD International)
HDScape: Visions of the Sea (DVD International)
Idlewind (Universal)
Killshot (Weinstein)
Last Legion (Weinstein)
The Lemon Drop Kid (Universal)
The Libertine (Weinstein)
Lucky Number Slevin (Weinstein)
The Maltese Falcon (Warner)
The Mask (New Line)
The Matrix Revolutions (Warner)
The Matrix Reloaded (Warner)
The Matrix (Warner)
Maverick (Warner)
Mrs. Henderson Presents (Weinstein)
The Music Man (Warner)
Mystic River (Warner)
Next of Kin (Warner)
North by Northwest (Warner)
Ocean's Eleven (Warner)
Ocean's Twelve (Warner)
Passenger 57 (Warner)
The Player (New Line)
Pulse (Weinstein)
Red Planet (Warner)
The Return (Universal)
Rush Hour (New Line)
Save the Last Dance (Paramount)
School for Scoundrels (Weinstein)
School of Rock (Paramount)
Scoop (Universal)
Se7en (Universal)
The Shining (1980) (Warner)
Shuttle Discovery's Historic Mission (Magnolia)
Sin City 2 (Weinstein)
Soldier (Weinstein)
Son of Paleface (Paramount)
Spawn (New Line)
Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie (Paramount)
Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount)
TransAmerica (Weinstein)
Twister (Weinstein)
U.S. Marshals (Warner)
The Ultimate Star Trek Collection (Paramount)
Vanilla Sky (Paramount)
Vengeance of the Zombies (BCI)
The War Within (Magnolia)
Wild Wild West (Warner)
Young Hannibal (Weinstein)

Mouldingo · « **Reply #541 on:** Dec 25, 2006 at 06:44 PM »

Note: there are fewer titles coming out sa HD-DVD. The studios are really hurting it...

john5479 · « **Reply #542 on:** Dec 25, 2006 at 07:51 PM »

sana ilabas pa rin ang matrix series sa hd-dvd, i'm contemplating on getting an hd-dvd drive for my xbox360. looks like i have to get a ps3 hehe

av_phile1 · « **Reply #543 on:** Dec 28, 2006 at 09:18 AM »

I shouldn't be too worried about those promised BD titles getting more and better than those of HD DVD. Most of these BD exclusives will end up as HD DVD in other parts of the globe. It should interest HD DVD owners that many BD exclusives are released as HD DVD in Europe and Japan like the ff to mention some

Brothers Grimm is Disney BD exclusive released as HD DVD in Japan.
Reign of Fire is Disney BD exclusive in the US released as HD DVD in Japan
Terminator 2, Lionsgate in the US (BD exclusive) is released as HD DVD in Europe courtesy of Studio Canal.
Saw 1,2,3, another Lionsgate BD exclusive in US is released as HD DVD in Europe by Studio Canal
Rambo Trilogy, anther Lionsgate BD in the US is released as HD DVD in Europe
Basic Instinct 2, Sony/MGM BD exclusive in the US released as HD DVD in europe also by Studio Canal.
XXX and Equilibirum, BD exclusives in the US released as HD DVD in Japan,
Resident Evil is Sony Columbia Tristar released as HD DVD in Japan

There are presumably more titles. Disney films exclusive to BD in the US but not everywhere else in the world. Distribution deals in different continents apparently account for this. Ain't it GREAT not having region coding for HD DVD .

The only studios that have real format exclusivity are FOX (BD) and Universal (HD DVD) because they handle their title distribution world wide. WARNER and PARAMOUNT also handle their distribution worldwide, but they already release in BOTH formats so they don't figure.

Regarding HD DVD remaining region free, here are some interesting statements made this month by no less than Amir Majidmerh of Microsoft and a steering committee board member of the DVD forum, popularly known as "amirm" at avsforum.com and avforums.com

HD DVD is pretty far from "going region encoded." There are proposals being studied but none is ratified yet and even if they are, they do not apply to existing software and hardware.

One has to remember that DVD Forum is an open organization, allowing people to propose many things, and those proposals are public. But such data does not lead to firm conclusions of something happening.

Underscoring mine. And another:

Anyway, region coding is only being studied. Once there is a proposal, it would need to be approved by the board. And even after that, t will not apply to products already in market and will have to be phased in, some time in the future. A lot of "ifs" involved here.

So I would purchase HD DVD with confidence at this point, especially since none of the discs are region coded. BD on the hand, includes region coding in its format license (so good luck finding hacks to get around it) and its discs are already marked as such.

Amir
Microsoft (DVD Forum SC board member)

So it would seem that early users of HD DVD will have their region-free benefits for long time. Once region-free, it's region-free forever, so they say. If HD DVD becomes region coded, a big "IF", expect region coded discs to still play in your region free players.

pchin · « **Reply #544 on:** Dec 28, 2006 at 04:57 PM »

Any news ba when will our local market starts selling HD players?

av_phile1 · « **Reply #545 on:** Dec 28, 2006 at 05:10 PM »

Still far off. I think there has to be some formal launch announcement yet in the Asian or Southeast Aisan markets for the local shops to start putting High Def players of either formats on sale. The Tosh E1/E2 has yet to be launched in Europe. But I think there are already imported Tosh A1 in a few shops. I saw one at Spectra the other day - apparently the same one I saw last month playing Sahara on their NEC flat screen display. Selling for less than 40T if not mistaken. Same with PS3 in just a few stores.

Early high def adopters in Britain and elsehwere are ordering US units and titles online or when they go to the US. Very few are getting them at their local AV shops.

pchin · « **Reply #546 on:** Dec 28, 2006 at 05:25 PM »

Tnx av_phile1.

My hands are quite itchy to try out these new HD movies

Mouldingo · « **Reply #547 on:** Dec 28, 2006 at 11:58 PM »

Blu-ray, HD DVD fight for high-definition market
Published on December 22, 2006

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyid=55071

By Joseph M. deLeon
News-Post Staff
FREDERICK -- The battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD reminds some of the war between VHS and Beta in the 1980s, but some experts believe there is room in the DVD market for both formats.
Blu-ray and HD DVD use blue lasers to deliver high-definition movies and other video content. They can both hold more data than a traditional DVD, and likely represent the future of home video.

Electronics manufacturers have laid their bets on one format or the other, hoping their choice will win the hearts of consumers.

Blu-ray has the support of Panasonic, Phillips and Samsung, as well as computer giants Apple and Dell. Sony leads the coalition, releasing the PlayStation 3, a video came console that plays Blu-ray discs.

HD DVD players are almost half as cheap as Blu-ray players and have the support of Intel, Toshiba and Microsoft, which makes the popular Xbox 360 video game console.

Matt Swanston, the director of business analysis for Consumer Electronics Association in Arlington, Va., said the success of HDTV sets has had a positive effect on the battle. More HDTV sets means more room for the two sides to reach a truce.

"We have seen many instances of competing formats coexisting, like Mac and PC," Mr. Swanston said. "There was support for Beta long after it was declared not the winner, so it's not something people should pay too much attention to."

Gary Yacoubian, president of Gaithersburg-based electronics retailer Myer Emco Inc. disagrees. He said the outcome of the VHS conflict hints at the success of Blu-ray.

"One will win," he said. "One thing we learned with VHS is the best (quality) will not always win. It's who has the most movies."

The reason VHS won, even though Beta was technologically better, is because more manufacturers and content providers supported VHS.

"Going by that metric, Blu-ray should win," he said. "About 90 percent of the DVDs released last year were Blu-ray supporters."

Both agreed the quality of Blu-ray and HD DVD is about equal, but Mr. Swanston said lower prices for HD DVD players could help keep both formats alive.

Mr. Swanston said consumers need to make sure the content they want is available on the format they choose.

"Make sure the title you want is available on each platform, but you really can't lose -- the movie or game will play as long as you own that player," he said. "It's a great time to do it because there is plenty of content."

Mr. Yacoubian agrees cheaper prices might give HD DVDs a leg up, but consumers will ultimately choose the player that shows the most movies.

This isn't going to be the Christmas that determines which will win -- that will happen next year, he said.

"By the middle of next year, the dust will settle, prices will come down and the rest of consumers who didn't go one way or another will buy Blu-ray," he said. "I'm really unbiased on this one because we sell both, but I have a Blu-ray player in my home."

I doubt the "typical" American consumer, who will ultimately decide which player goes under, bother to buy a European-Japanese HD-DVD title when there is a Blu ray disc of the same title sitting in their local video store...peace

john5479 · « **Reply #548 on:** Dec 30, 2006 at 08:44 PM »

just bought an hd-dvd drive and 3 hd dvd titles (king kong, superman returns, italian job). still waiting for my ps3 and compare (still ordering some blue ray titles though)

Munskie · « **Reply #549 on:** Jan 04, 2007 at 01:34 PM »

LG is at it again........read on guys.......

Deja Blu: LG Once Again Pledges Dual Format DVD Player

pchin · « **Reply #550 on:** Jan 04, 2007 at 02:15 PM »

How true...Here we go again..& hope no more hic-cups

av_phile1 · « **Reply #551 on:** Jan 04, 2007 at 05:07 PM »

This is also the subject of discussion at other AV forums. Seems it's getting real the closer we get to the CES next week where LG says it will be unveiled. Google searching yield a lot of news sites reporting this. Like this one:

http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/01/04/surprise-lg-to-debut-dual-format-blu-ray-and-hd-dvd-player-at-ces/

But I strongly doubt FIRST GENERATION dual format players will be affordable as yet. Am open to pleasant surprises though.

But it is a milestone in this silly needless war. With CEs producing more dual format players the masses can afford, consumers need not bother which format their favorite films are encoded on. The moderators can lock this thread. The War has ENDED.

bachwitz · « **Reply #552 on:** Jan 04, 2007 at 05:33 PM »

News:Plenty O PS3s But No Takers

Reports have been steadily trickling in since yesterday of stockpiles of Playstation 3s found sitting around in Best Buys untouched, or hardly touched.

Best Buy announced they would be selling a bunch of the consoles starting Sunday and according to several emailers, very few people took them up on their offer. Of course this is all anecdotally, so I'm not sure how widespread it is.

What I can tell you is that the Best Buy near my house had 31 Playstation 3s sitting in a lovely wall o' consoles this morning when I swung by the store. Many, if not all of them, were the 60GB model.

While taking pictures of the stack load of PS3s (and the nearby wall of Xbox 360s, twice the size) someone came buy and plucked one up. He happened to be right next to the person who took these photos when he was paying for his stuff and he heard him saying that the main reason he decided to get it was because it offered up games at 1080p and he wanted to see what it looked like on his plasma. It appeared he was also buying a Blu-ray movie and a copy of Madden for the system.

I can't help but wonder if this seeming lack of interest in the PS3 at Best Buys is because of a general post-holiday buying drought or something more about the system itself. It certainly doesn't look good, especially when coupled with the details I reported last weak about PS3's grey market.

source:
http://www.emuwizards.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1266

Mouldingo · « **Reply #553 on:** Jan 04, 2007 at 05:40 PM »

Warner to Unveil First Blu-ray/HD DVD Hybrid Discs at CES

In a surprise leak of what may turn out to be the biggest high-def news to come out of this year's CES, The New York Times is reporting that Warner Home Video is set to bring the first Blu-ray/HD DVD hybrid discs to market in 2007.

According to the story, the studio is hoping to both calm consumers' fears over the competing next-gen formats as well as spur high-def hardware sales by creating a Blu-ray/HD DVD hybrid, which the studio is dubbing a "Total HD" disc.

In an exclusive pre-CES interview with the Times, Barry M. Meyer, the chairman and chief executive of Warner Brothers, claims the studio created the idea of Total HD as it became apparent that while neither the Blu-ray or HD DVD formats would be going away anytime soon, continued consumer reluctance to invest in rival technologies could stall the widespread adoption of high-definition.

“The next best thing is to recognize that there will be two formats, and to make that not a negative for the consumer," said Meyer. "We [Warner] felt that the most significant constituency for us to satisfy was the consumer first, and the retailer second. The retailer wants to sell hardware and doesn't want to be forced into stocking two formats for everything. This is ideal for them."

Should the Times' scoop turn out to be true, it would certainly add an unexpected -- and potentially tremendous -- new wrinkle to the high-def format war. A one-disc-fits-all scenario would seem to please everyone, from early adopters to hardware manufacturers to retailers (who no would no longer have to stock both Blu-ray and HD DVD versions of the same title), regardless of which format they support.

A formal announcement from Warner officially unveiling Total HD is now expected sometime during or right after CES. We'll certainly keep you posted as this exciting story continues to develop. Stay tuned!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/04/technology/04video.html?ref=technology [New York Times]

pchin · « **Reply #554 on:** Jan 06, 2007 at 08:40 AM »

CES 2007 Predictions. "Remember, these are predictions only, not announcements!"

HD DVD Camp Announces Additional Studio Support - Sure, maybe not Sony Pictures or Columbia Tri-star ... but the buzz is that the HD DVD camp will be adding a studio or two to their stable. It would be really nice if they would also add a manufacturer or two, but I don't think I'm bold enough to predict that.

Microsoft Announces 2nd Generation Xbox 360 Console - OK, this may be way out there, but they need an update to support HDMI before the studios start enabling ICT and blocking all of us Xbox360 add-on owners from viewing glorious HD. Don't expect an entirely new platform, way too early for that, but perhaps additional output options in both audio and video as well as improved core processors.

HD DVD/Blu-ray Combo Player - Perhaps more than one announcement here, but at least one manufacturer will announce that they are planning one. These announcements seem to crop-up every 6 months or so. As with all previous announcements of this ilk, I would not make any future buying decisions until they are more committed.

HDMI 1.3 Now Supported by {Insert Manufacturer Here} - There will be many manufacturers announcing 1.3 compliant products. In particular, look for a few receiver manufacturers like Denon, Yamaha, etc. to announce 1.3-compliant lines. There will likely be a handful of display devices with this support as well.

Read full article: http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/articles/2007/01/ces_2007_predictions-print.php

Munskie · « **Reply #555 on:** Jan 06, 2007 at 08:51 AM »

Read t avsforum that LG's combo format player already has a model... and a price....

BH100 priced at $1199

pchin · « **Reply #556 on:** Jan 06, 2007 at 09:06 AM »

Wow finally! Is there any specs yet for the model?

alvinthx2 · « **Reply #557 on:** Jan 06, 2007 at 10:14 AM »

Would you pay $1199 for a LG?

pchin · « **Reply #558 on:** Jan 06, 2007 at 10:44 AM »

Definitely not me but for those who have deep pockets & loads of spare cash cow will certainly do

I'm just curious of its specs lang

john5479 · « **Reply #559 on:** Jan 06, 2007 at 05:39 PM »

Quote from: pchin on Jan 06, 2007 at 08:40 AM

CES 2007 Predictions. "Remember, these are predictions only, not announcements!"

Microsoft Announces 2nd Generation Xbox 360 Console - OK, this may be way out there, but they need an update to support HDMI before the studios start enabling ICT and blocking all of us Xbox360 add-on owners from viewing glorious HD. Don't expect an entirely new platform, way too early for that, but perhaps additional output options in both audio and video as well as improved core processors.

this might be true as photos of a new console was leaked. the processor upgrade is confirmed and will result in cooler and more silent units, the hdmi thing is what i want to confirm.

av_phile1 · « **Reply #560 on:** Jan 07, 2007 at 09:01 PM »

Quote from: Mouldingo on Dec 28, 2006 at 11:58 PM

Mr. Yacoubian agrees cheaper prices might give HD DVDs a leg up, but consumers will ultimately choose the player that shows the most movies.

That has always been the argument from BD fanboys from the start. They seem to forget that HD DVD is the UNDERDOG in this war. BD with its formidable array of CE and Studio support is supposed to have dealt with it early enough. But look who's trailing now. ANd look who's got more titles on sale? And it is not the number of studios that matter, it's the number of flms available to both titles. At AVS, they have made an inventory and there are 48,000 titles for BD and 40,000 for HD DVD. That's not very far from each other. Real wars in history have been fought with more lopsided ratios with the lower numbers winnng.

Quote

I doubt the "typical" American consumer, who will ultimately decide which player goes under, bother to buy a European-Japanese HD-DVD title when there is a Blu ray disc of the same title sitting in their local video store...peace

You're always free to doubt, it won't change the fact that some BR exclusives will be available as HD DVD from Pathe and Studio Canal in Europe that Americans can order at Amazon. Nice thing is, HD DVD is region free enough to play those titles.

Oh, just a side note, Total Recall released by Studio Canal as HD DVD is superior to the BR exclusive version in the states accd to AVS forums. Apparently from a better remastering work. Not that it matters coz I hav no interest in that title anyway.

av_phile1 · « **Reply #561 on:** Jan 07, 2007 at 09:52 PM »

Blu Ray Faking Picture-In-Picture features

One of the promises offered by high def formats is the nteractivity feaures that allow dynamic Picture-in-picture facility not possible with DVD. Blu Ray is supposed to have the BD-Java feature for this purpose, iHD is its counterpart in HD DVD. But weird, this specification, while mandatory on HD DVD machines and has been a feature on the Toshiba A1 since day one, is not, mandatory nor is it available on current standalone BD players, with the exception of the PS3. That is precisely why the MIII BD release does not have the PiP feature that its HD DVD counterpart has. One of it latest titles take the cake.

Blu-Ray has dropped to new lows by faking Picture in Picture in one of it's latest films The Descent, instead of having true PiP like on some HD-DVD titles they have 2 full copies of the film on the BD50, one with the extra video window superimposed.

Got this from an av forum. It's also being discussed down at AVS. It seems another one of those missed promises from BD that seems to disappoint its markets and gives reason for HD DVD fans to rejoice anew. Starting from a lousy MPEG2 codecs on inadequate BD25 discs when it needed BD50 that was not there on launch date. Region locking and lack of lossless audio compression support. Non implementation of BD+. Now this. Makes me wonder what's keeping Sony et al from delivering on the supposed technical advantages of BD.

Munskie · « **Reply #562 on:** Jan 08, 2007 at 07:27 AM »

LG's Multi Blue Player BH100....the first dual format player...priced at $1199

Moks007 · « **Reply #563 on:** Jan 08, 2007 at 07:49 AM »

Nice, for me even the price is ok...a thousand bucks to play both, If I have the money I would get one. For me maybe 600 to 750 down the road would be a good price to buy..However for hddvd unit owners right now this is just a blueray unit....but war might be over..Finally!!!!

pchin · « **Reply #564 on:** Jan 08, 2007 at 08:06 AM »

Optical HD Battle May Be Over: HD DVD Wins

Interesting article which I agree

http://news.digitaltrends.com/talkback158.html

Mouldingo · « **Reply #565 on:** Jan 08, 2007 at 08:06 AM »

Quote from: av_phile1 on Jan 07, 2007 at 09:52 PM

Blu Ray Faking Picture-In-Picture features

From your AVforum source

Quote

Mod Comment - Here is a warning. If you can't discuss this subject maturely, you'll receive a short holiday from the forums. Next off topic post, or troll no matter how minor, wins that prize. You have been warned.
__________________

Too bad the forum in AVS is already locked...

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troll is a person who enters an established community such as an online discussion forum and intentionally tries to cause disruption, often in the form of posting messages that are inflammatory, insulting, or off-topic, with the intent of provoking a reaction from others.

pchin · « **Reply #566 on:** Jan 08, 2007 at 08:11 AM »

More Studio Support for HD DVD

There's a petition form after the article, pls feel free to sign

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/HD_DVD_Studio_Support

Munskie · « **Reply #567 on:** Jan 08, 2007 at 08:22 AM »

There will be a HD DVD Party at the CES today......members at Avsforum are expecting announcements to be made before the day is over....... Ill be glad if Band of Brothers and Matrix trilogy or HP series will be announced....

nels76 · « **Reply #568 on:** Jan 08, 2007 at 09:50 AM »

Quote from: Mouldingo on Jan 08, 2007 at 08:06 AM

From your AVforum source

Too bad the forum in AVS is already locked...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

troll is a person who enters an established community such as an online discussion forum and intentionally tries to cause disruption, often in the form of posting messages that are inflammatory, insulting, or off-topic, with the intent of provoking a reaction from others.

So, does this mean the "Blu Ray PIP Faking" is not true and only posted by a Troll?

aeris30 · « **Reply #569 on:** Jan 08, 2007 at 10:25 AM »

Quote from: Munskie on Jan 08, 2007 at 08:22 AM

There will be a HD DVD Party at the CES today......members at Avsforum are expecting announcements to be made before the day is over....... Ill be glad if Band of Brothers and Matrix trilogy or HP series will be announced....

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire HDDVD is already released in the UK...sayang PAL format