BVHE/Disney announces first Blu-Ray titles

[MadonnasManOne]

From TheDigitalBits.com:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#bvheblu


We've got some breaking high-definition news to report this morning. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, which has previously declared exclusive support for Blu-ray Disc, has finally announced their first titles on the format. They'll arrive in stores on 9/19, and will include Walt Disney Pictures' Dinosaur and Eight Below, and Miramax Films' Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and The Great Raid. A second wave of titles will street on 10/17, including Walt Disney Pictures' Glory Road and Haunted Mansion, Touchstone Pictures' Dark Water and Gone in Sixty Seconds, and Dimension Films' The Brothers Grimm. Most BVHE titles will carry an SRP of $34.99. Like other high-def releases, these discs will feature full 1080p video and menus with seamless animation that can be accessed while the movie is playing. Other features on these discs will be announced soon. In addition, from the studio's press release, Eight Below, Dinosaur, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Glory Road and Haunted Mansion will feature something called Blu-Scape, "exclusive high-definition short films inspired by the movies available only on BVHE Blu-ray Discs. These shorts are presented in 1080p and shot by renowned cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg." Additional extras are in development for future Blu-ray Disc releases. Says BVHE president Bob Chapek, "The Blu-ray Disc represents a major technological breakthrough in our industry, and just as DVD revolutionized home entertainment, the Blu-ray Disc promises to deliver a new and unparalleled consumer experience. The possibilities are endless and we've just begun to bridge the future of this exciting new paradigm. These are incredibly exciting times since we are in an era where the consumer has growing control over the delivery of their entertainment choices including packaged media. We are confident that the Blu-ray Disc will be the high-definition choice for the home entertainment future."

We've updated the High-Def Release List accordingly, and we expect additional BVHE title announcements in the weeks ahead. Here's a look at the artwork for Dinosaur and a menu shot from Eight Below (we'll post additional artwork when it's available)...

[MickeyMousePal]

I'll probably won't buy Blu-Ray Disc DVD's but I will get Sony's Playstation 3 so I can play my DVD's on the Blu-Ray Player.

Who wants to triple dip?

[Disney Duster]

This is good news, but why is Disney releasing titles that don't have much popularity such as Disnasaur and The Haunted Mansion?

Also, I like the menu for Eight Below, but I think the cover for Dinasaur is horrible, just because it has the shiny white around it with the words "Beyond High Definition". I don't mind the Blu-ray logo at the top, but the cover just sucks with that white there.

[2099net]

This is good news, but why is Disney releasing titles that don't have much popularity such as Disnasaur and The Haunted Mansion?

Also, I like the menu for Eight Below, but I think the cover for Dinasaur is horrible, just because it has the white around saying it's "

Because if they release their big guns now, they'll have minimal sales because most of the people don't have blu-ray players, and that's unlikely to change in the near-mid-term future. (PS3 or not, being as Sony's only going to be manufacturing 6m units between now and next April)

[Jules]

I don't know. Will Blu-Ray bring income for now? I'm sure I won't be getting any Blu-Ray DVD player in years...

[GhostHost]

I like The Brothers Grimm, but this still isn't a very exciting slate of releases. Some Pixar and animated classics would be much better on Blu-Ray.

[dhusch]

I bet that the major releases for the fall will be on Blu-Ray, including Little Mermaid, Cars, Fox & the Hound

My christmas wish Little Mermaid BD, Cars BD, and a Blu-Ray disc player.

[Billy Moon]

I don't know if this has been discussed here, but I was wondering...
Does Blue-Ray discs use regional coding like current DVDs?
Is the HD picture format universal or are there different e.g. PAL and NTSC versions?

[thatartguy]

I don't know if this has been discussed here, but I was wondering...
Does Blue-Ray discs use regional coding like current DVDs?
Is the HD picture format universal or are there different e.g. PAL and NTSC versions?

I'm fairly certain that HDTV is universal. I'm not sure on the region encoding.

[castleinthesky]

Disney did make a good choice in picking their first animation title. Dinosaur is the best movie they could find to showcase Blue Ray.

Personally, for myself, I still have to wait and see if it is good enough to upgrade all my DVDs (which I had just upgraded from VHS) to another level.

[tarheelblue23]

The problem with Blue Ray is that unless you have an HD TV with HDMI capability its pointless. Currently only 15% of the US population has an HDTV. It will be several years before enough HDTV's are sold to really push the Blue Ray sales. The technology is great but I think it is out just a little too early. A friend of mine works at Best Buy and he says they have yet to sell a Blue Ray unit.

I know this is off topic but the playstation 3 is in the same situation. Its an awesome game system but whats the point of getting it if you cant take advantage of the technology. Once again by the time most of the population has HDTV, Sony will have come out with PS4.

[FantasiaMan]

I think Disney is kinda jumping the gun on Blu-Ray. I don't think we are totally ready to switch to a whole new entertainment format. & after hearing what the costs are going to be for Blu-Ray discs & players, I don't think I'll be getting one any time soon.

Besides, I never really cared for Dinosaur or Haunted Mansion. Even though Dinosaur is pretty sound technical & picture-wise, I think it's somewhat boring. I saw it the theaters & I nearly walked out on it. No offense to anyone who likes this film, but I didn't like it very much. Disney should use more popular titles like Pirates of the Caribbean or some of the Pixar films like Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., or The Incredibles.

[kbehm29]

But, think of how quickly the prices dropped on regular DVD players. I paid $350 for my first DVD player in 1999, now you can get a fully functional one for $30.

Lets say in two years a whole lot more people have HDTV's. I don't want to be regretful that I didn't pick these up, like I am right now about Snow White (I had a DVD player then, just didn't have the income to be a big collector).

And lets not forget that it's not entirely a 'whole new format'. You can still play your normal collection of DVD's on the Blu-Ray player, and it most instances it will enhance what's there as well. I most likely will, at first, be only picking up new titles on Blu-Ray - not replacing my entire collection.

[CurleysMartini]

I might get Dinosaur and Haunted Mansion if not just because I never picked them up on DVD.

[TM2-Megatron]

Dinosaur would really benefit from an HD transfer, though the DVD transfer already looks incredible. Provided the Blu-Ray release has all the bonus features from the 2-disc CE Dinosaur DVD, I may upgrade. Based on current Blu-Ray releases, though, bonus content will be poor to none.

I'll probably won't buy Blu-Ray Disc DVD's but I will get Sony's Playstation 3 so I can play my DVD's on the Blu-Ray Player.

Who wants to triple dip?

The PS3 is going to be a disaster... I wouldn't recommend buying one at launch; and not only because of the sickeningly high price. The initial few PS3 revisions will have first-generation BD-ROM drives which will show their age remarkably quickly as more BD-R and BD-RE (and even newer BD-ROM movies) are released to the market. Remember the crappy quality and compatibility that first-gen DVD players had back in the 90s? Expect more of that.

And then there's just all the other general useless crap Sony is loading the PS3 down with, but that's another story.

[Extremer3]

Think that they'll release television series on Blu-Ray? I cannot fathom what that would cost.

I am not sold yet on Blu Ray or HD with 60 year old animation since how good can you get, makes you wonder how CDs have lasted so long with music.

That being said when the Animated Classics are released on Blu Ray I will still buy each one, simply because they'll go into the vault and I don't want to miss them, if I would decide a year or so after they release Snow White that I really like Blu Ray. Other DVDs will always be readily available.

[Disney Duster]

Think that they'll release television series on Blu-Ray? I cannot fathom what that would cost.

But I heard that Blu-ray will make it possible to fit an entire season of a show onto one disc. It would cost the same as any other single Blue-ray disc, I presume.

I am not sold yet on Blu Ray or HD with 60 year old animation since how good can you get

Well, Cinderella's restoration was supposedly the best one ever done, and so the films that were restored before that could be restored even better. However, I wasn't happy with Cinderella's restoration. Some of the outlines look painted over, and it's almost like every thing but pure color was removed. I want to see a restoration that has everything in it, and that is so sharp you can see the shadows of the celluloid on the painted backgrounds, and the texture of the cels themselves.

[ichabod]

DVDTimes have cover art and menus:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=62198

[anger is pointless]

whats with that huge grey area it takes up way to much room on the cover

[kbehm29]

I LOVE the look of the Blu-Ray disc cases! Even the extra grey part.

I don't even have a widescreen hi-def TV yet (planning a huge Christmas gift for my family), but I'm picking these up for sure. I have faith.