So confused... HD-DVD or Blu-ray??

[2099net]

Well, I got the UK Blood Diamond HD DVD today, and I've given it a quick spin. Emphasis on "quick".

What's noticable about Blood Diamond is that it's the 1st HD DVD which supports on-line integration. However, that integration is, on the whole disappointing.

Firstly, it's very slow at initialising and actually downloading any content, which in Blood Diamond's case is just presented in a similar manner to a website. That said, the Maps while simple are actually informative due to the textual write-ups. Hopefully, having these web based will mean that the information presented to the viewer is updated regularly.

You can also "vote" in online polls, but in the limited time I had available I couldn't actually get this to work.

So, it's rather a slow start to online interactivity. Considering some of the features HD DVD is promising in the future (downloadable commentaries, new trailers, subtitles and even new menu configurations for the new content) this is nothing more than baby steps.

But already it shows some promise - imagine a TV show released on HD DVD which could link out to a constantly expanding episode guide as new episodes are screened.

[I am the Doctor]

Well, I got the UK Blood Diamond HD DVD today, and I've given it a quick spin. Emphasis on "quick".

What's noticable about Blood Diamond is that it's the 1st HD DVD which supports on-line integration. However, that integration is, on the whole disappointing.

Firstly, it's very slow at initialising and actually downloading any content, which in Blood Diamond's case is just presented in a similar manner to a website. That said, the Maps while simple are actually informative due to the textual write-ups. Hopefully, having these web based will mean that the information presented to the viewer is updated regularly.

You can also "vote" in online polls, but in the limited time I had available I couldn't actually get this to work.

So, it's rather a slow start to online interactivity. Considering some of the features HD DVD is promising in the future (downloadable commentaries, new trailers, subtitles and even new menu configurations for the new content) this is nothing more than baby steps.

But already it shows some promise - imagine a TV show released on HD DVD which could link out to a constantly expanding episode guide as new episodes are screened.

Biggest difficulty I see with HD-DVD internet capability is whether your online hookup is anywhere near your television. In my case, they're in separate rooms, and it would be rather difficult to string along an extra cable to the HD-DVD machine to hook it up permanently to the internet. I do hook it up occasionally for the firmware updates, though.

[DarthPrime]

Well, I got the UK Blood Diamond HD DVD today, and I've given it a quick spin. Emphasis on "quick".

What's noticable about Blood Diamond is that it's the 1st HD DVD which supports on-line integration. However, that integration is, on the whole disappointing.

Firstly, it's very slow at initialising and actually downloading any content, which in Blood Diamond's case is just presented in a similar manner to a website. That said, the Maps while simple are actually informative due to the textual write-ups. Hopefully, having these web based will mean that the information presented to the viewer is updated regularly.

You can also "vote" in online polls, but in the limited time I had available I couldn't actually get this to work.

So, it's rather a slow start to online interactivity. Considering some of the features HD DVD is promising in the future (downloadable commentaries, new trailers, subtitles and even new menu configurations for the new content) this is nothing more than baby steps.

But already it shows some promise - imagine a TV show released on HD DVD which could link out to a constantly expanding episode guide as new episodes are screened.

Biggest difficulty I see with HD-DVD internet capability is whether your online hookup is anywhere near your television. In my case, they're in separate rooms, and it would be rather difficult to string along an extra cable to the HD-DVD machine to hook it up permanently to the internet. I do hook it up occasionally for the firmware updates, though.

You can always use a wireless bridge to connect the HD DVD player to your wireless network. Maybe they will eventually have wireless connections built into the HD DVD players if the online content takes off.

[2099net]

Yes. As you can see from my sig image, I use the Xbox HD DVD player, so I have a wireless connection.

Online Interactivity does promise a lot, but at the moment, nobody's missing out. Also, remember BD Live set to be finalised in October, also supports online interaction.

[DarthPrime]

Yes. As you can see from my sig image, I use the Xbox HD DVD player, so I have a wireless connection.

Online Interactivity does promise a lot, but at the moment, nobody's missing out. Also, remember BD Live set to be finalised in October, also supports online interaction.

Has there been any announcements on new Blu-ray players that support BD Live? or any current players that can be upgraded?

I'm sure the PS3 will be upgraded somehow.

[2099net]

No announcements that I know of. But that's probably more for business reasons - they need to sell as much of their non-conforming current stock as possible.

If the PS3 can't be upgraded, then it will be the biggest disaster in the whole history of Sony - not only will it harm all Blu-Ray publicity (to most people Blu-Ray is the PS3) but it will also discredit their whole "power of the cell" and "10 year cycle" tag-lines that they're so keen to push. So yes, I too expect the PS3 to be fully firmware upgradable.

[I am the Doctor]

The Home Media Expo is currently under way this week in Las Vegas. Jennifer Netherby has written an article on the Hi-Def presence, or in this case, lack thereof at the Expo.

The article may be read here:

http://www.videobusiness.com/blog/17300 ... 11984.html

Here's a telling quote from Netherby:

There are no panels for retailers on either format. No presence on the show floor by backers of either format, no big presentations to sell retailers on their respective format.

Not good news, as it really makes one wonder about the viability of both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.

On the Blu-Ray side, we've already had one studio pull out of the hi-def arena (Fox) with no word on when, or if, they'll return. Disney's been awfully quiet lately, but at least they are releasing the occasional movie. Sony's still releasing stuff, but their announced releases up through September are really lackluster (the only one I'd be interested in would be A Few Good Men).

Of the two Neutral studios: Paramount looks to be ramping up: having announced Saturday Night Fever, the Jack Ryan collection and Top gun. Warner's has been highly supportive of hi-def, although it seems they prefer HD-DVD as several Warner films are HD exclusives right now (Matrix, Batman Begins, more and better features on the HD-DVD version of the upcoming 300)

On the HD-DVD side: I'll give Universal some points here. They may only support HD-DVD, but at least they've been releasing movies, and some really good ones at that. Their upcoming releases include stuff like Heroes Season One, Shaun of the Dead, Erin Brockovich, The Last Starfighter, Notting Hill and the Bourne Identity.

I own both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, so unlike many I don't really have an axe to grind regarding the format war, I'd just like to have some movies for my machines. Right now, however, it looks like the Blu-Ray exclusive studios (Fox, Disney and to a lesser extent, Sony) don't seem to be really supporting their chosen format.

And the lack of presence at a major industry show makes me wonder whether that's going to change anytime soon.

[2099net]

Well, Doctor (:D) apart from Fox I think you're being a little unfair. Fox however deserve all the scorn that they get. (Not only for their current downtime, but also for their lame "lets not port any extras from the 2 disc sets" early Blu-Ray releases). I always laugh as how Fox talks up BD50 as a selling point for Blu-Ray, yet they've almost exclusively used BD25s for cheapness (while still charging a premium price) and so that they can hold supplements back for the inevitable double-dip. The release of The Fantastic Four on BD when they knew that they were releasing an all-singing all-dancing Extended 2 Disc Edition on standard DVD is one of the most cynical moments in home entertainment history.

There's going to be a lot of high-profile titles from Sony et al before the end of the year. In the UK and Australia Spider-Man 3 (and a Spider-Man Trilogy set) have been dated for Blu-Ray for example. Likewise, I was surprised Disney would release their Pirates films on Blu-Ray while the userbase was so small (so well done to them for that). Disney has Cars, Meet the Robinsons and (presumably) Ratatouille, At World's End etc. Universal, much as I love 'em, don't have many major titles held back anymore (if you discount the films Spielberg owns, and don't have a snowball's chance in hell of being released with the current hardware penetration levels) but I'm praying for a Classic Monsters collection with all new supplements.

In total the High-Def market is under 1% of all home entertainment sales. You can't expect everything to come out at once. But I would expect Sony to be more agressive on Blu-Ray than others being as it has more of an interest in the format. Surprisingly, despite their trickle of titles recently, I think Disney is the biggest backer of the format. It certainly seems to be more fearless when it comes to released catalog titles.

[I am the Doctor]

Well, Doctor (:D) apart from Fox I think you're being a little unfair. Fox however deserve all the scorn that they get.

In total the High-Def market is under 1% of all home entertainment sales. You can't expect everything to come out at once. But I would expect Sony to be more agressive on Blu-Ray than others being as it has more of an interest in the format. Surprisingly, despite their trickle of titles recently, I think Disney is the biggest backer of the format. It certainly seems to be more fearless when it comes to released catalog titles.

Indeed, I wouldn't want it to come out all at once, I'd never be able to afford it! It just seems to have been awful quiet lately, with very few announcements regarding upcoming releases, particularly from the Blu studios. Here's hoping the studios do go ahead and officially announce some of those titles (not getting my hopes up for any Fox releases though!)

In the news today-

Today, Warner's just announced Harry Potter and Blade Runner HD/Blu sets:

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6461120.html

The Potter set's a bit pricey at $150 for HD or Blu, but you are getting five films so overall I don't think that's too bad a price. Most likely, you'll be able to find it on sale for about $100 or so. I'll be getting this one for sure.

Not sure yet whether I'll pick up the Blade Runner set, I've only seen the theatrical and don't know whether the other versions are worth having. May rent this one first before buying.

[DarthPrime]

Nice announcement for the Harry Potter sets. They should be around $100.

Fox is sort of in a odd spot right now. They basically just stopped, and the releases they did do were overpriced with no bonus features.

I know Mr. and Mrs. Smith was announced for a Blu-ray release, but got delayed. It was then distributed on HD DVD outside the US.

I read that Star Wars wouldn't be available until there is a winner in the HD market. Doesn't surprise me considering how long Lucas waited to release on DVD.

Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, E.T, JAWS, etc... Universal could be a major powerhouse. However I doubt we will see many of the studios release a lot of their "big" titles with sales the way they are now.

[kbehm29]

Yes! Finally hope of the Harry Potter set on Blu-ray in the near future. I hope they get this out before Christmas, and that I have the money to buy it!

Also - the thought of the Back to the Future trilogy (hopefully Universal will be releasing in Blu-ray by that point) in HD gives me the chills! I can't wait.

[I am the Doctor]

Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, E.T, JAWS, etc... Universal could be a major powerhouse. However I doubt we will see many of the studios release a lot of their "big" titles with sales the way they are now.

I wouldn't expect to see those particular titles for awhile anyway, since those are all Spielberg movies. It's my understanding that Spielberg has some say in the release of his films on home video and Spielberg won't probably allow the release of those films with a format war on.

[DarthPrime]

Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, E.T, JAWS, etc... Universal could be a major powerhouse. However I doubt we will see many of the studios release a lot of their "big" titles with sales the way they are now.

I wouldn't expect to see those particular titles for awhile anyway, since those are all Spielberg movies. It's my understanding that Spielberg has some say in the release of his films on home video and Spielberg won't probably allow the release of those films with a format war on.

Very true. I don't think we will see any of them for awhile, if we do. However they could be major titles to help people decide if they wanted to upgrade to HD or not. Whenever sales for the new formats pick up and we see more players in peoples homes I think more of these titles will become available.

[Princess Stitch]

That's cool, I'll probably pick up the Harry Potter Blu-Ray set.. although I MAY hold out until all 7 movies are released so I can just get the 1 set. Every year they release a new set with the one extra movie in it..

Also, I noticed this release that I'm excited about " Planet Earth/Blue Planet Box Set, Oct. 2, carrying 15 hours of programming on 10 discs for $119.99" Hopefully it'll be in Blu-ray as well!

[deathie mouse]

But you're not excited about's Disney's Roving Mars, released July 31 that includes Walt Disney's Mars And Beyond hosted by him and other goodies?



UD amazon link for it


edit: linki fix, thx escpy

[Escapay]

Here's the correct link:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... /ref=nosim

Escapay

[DarthPrime]

The "cheap" HD DVD players are coming end of the year.

The Venturer SHD7000 will be available by the holiday season. On another board a member emailed Venturer Electronics about the price of the player and the response was less than $150.

This will probably be the $99 player on "black friday". I think Venturer is owned by one of the companies that makes TVs for Wal-Mart so these will probably end up at Wal-Mart and Sams Club.

Not sure on the quality of the player, but it doesn't look bad at all. It was originally shown at a electronics show and it was silver and black. Now its all black similar to the Toshiba HD DVD line.

I'm personally waiting on 3rd Gen Toshiba line, but if this player does go for $100 or less this holiday season I'll seriously think about picking it up. I wonder if the DVD upconversion will be any good on a "budget" player like this...

http://www.venturer.com/news-details.aspx?id=15

[DarthPrime]

More rumors are starting to go around about Warner Bros and Wal-Mart. Its been said that Warner Bros and Wal-Mart were given offers to go HD DVD exclusive. It will be interesting to see if this happens. WB as a HD DVD exclusive would help HD DVD a lot, although it wouldn't end the "war". Same with Wal-Mart and HD DVD. I bet this was a offer to sell the $199 or less HD DVD players at Wal-Mart. Although Wal-Mart does sell the PS3, so I guess they can never completely get rid of Blu-ray players in the store, just discs.

http://www.tvpredictions.com/warner091007.htm

[Fflewduur]

WB will not be going HD-DVD exclusive. Digitalbits.com reported yesterday that Toshiba's offer to Warner was made at the same time as their payoff to Paramount, and Warner passed; this rumor is either old news or non-news, depending how you look at it.

[2099net]

Yesterday and today I recieved two packages both on HD DVD - Heroes Season 1 and 300.

Both releases push HD DVD further than ever before, for different reasons:

I've had a so-so relationship with the IME/U-Control Picture in Picture features of HD DVD to date. Picture in Picture is just a tool, and like most tools the end results of what's created can be poor. However, there have been a few discs where the Picture in Picture content stands out, such as Blood Diamond.

But all of these discs pale into insignificance next to the Green Screen/Raw Footage version of 300 on the HD DVD. I've only flicked through this quickly, and there is always the probability that having it on throughout the movie will become tiring, but at the moment each and every scene and shot is a revelation. More so for the lack of "black crush" that has been applied to the final image than the green screen backgrounds. As this is playing, you also get a green screen specific running commentary with the director (which I assume is different from the normal commentary which is on the normal DVD - and on the DVD side of the DVD/HD DVD combo).

The game also looks sophisticated - I didn't bother to read the instructions so didn't know how to play, but it looks above the usual web-based game in presentation and quality. It certainly beats the Chicken Little Space Invaders game.

Heroes Season 1 has a rejigged menu and U-Control interface. I like the new U-Control features (now you can choose which of the icons will be displayed, and some of the pictorial selections look more organic than simply boxes over the moving image) but I'm afraid I prefer the old-style Universal menus.

Where Heroes pushes the format is on it's web-enabled features. It does take some time for disc 2 to initiate - be patient - but when it does you'll only have to create an account and sign-in to open up your HD DVD player to the world!

I did the Heroes Ability Test, and it said my profile was uploaded to the http://www.nbc/heroes website. It may be, but I can't find it, or anybody else's, which is disappointing, but hopefully it will appear soon (if you want to look, I'm NET2099).

I also downloaded the Heroes "volume 2" trailer (I assume that they are using comic book type numbering) which took a long time to download and was obviously blown-up up from a smaller image when played, but the potential is there.

As you can see on this page, it appears content updates (in this case for Heroes) are in the works.
http://www.universalhidef.com/features. ... loadcenter

As most people here will know, I'm format neutral, using my Xbox360 and PS3 for HiDef disc playback. I may have raved about HD DVD recently, but Blu Ray is in a quiet period at the moment as we wait and see what happens with BDJava and profile 1.1.

I've not forgotten the format - indeed I was expecting to get Meet the Robinsons on Blu-Ray next week, but I've just found out the UK release has been delayed until the second week of November (so now its the same as the US release I think) despite the fact the DVD was released here yesterday and BVHE UK announced the Blu-Ray for the UK Day and Date release.