Blu-ray and HD DVD Discussion Thread

Some of the posts throughout the forums have led me to believe that there is a genuine interest in HDM, so I thought I'd make this thread. You can post anything related to HD DVD or Blu-ray here, whether it be news, title reviews, technology, personal equipment and collections, or just basic questions. Of course, let's try to leave the format war bickering out of this.

I have just started building my HDM list on online, which you can check out at DVD Aficionado. Still working on the HD DVDs. Good tool to track who has what.

Anyway, based on recent events, it seems that it is finally safe to invest in one format...Blu-ray. Warner and New Line are now BD exclusive, and Paramount and Universal's exclusivity may come shortly. I know a lot of people have been on the fence because of the format war, but I hope these events will convince them to jump in. There's a massive amount of quality releases that simply trump the standard DVD in terms of video and audio.

For instance, I received my long-awaited copy of The Rock on BD last night, and was blown away by the transfer. Better than the Criterion Edition, and far superior to the standard DVD release. My receiver doesn't handle MPCM, so I watched a majority of the movie in standard DD, but the dynamics of the lossless track was a huge step up even in stereo.

This thread may also be useful in condensing any HDM-related deals. At the moment, there's a $20 off coupon at BB that you can use if you buy three BDs. Their prices are outrageous, but if you can manage to return two movies, you'll effectively get a huge discount on one title of your choice. That's because the coupon works by taking $20 off on the most expensive title, so you could get what you really want, then buy two other titles at a lower price and return them later. I'm heading out to try this now, and will report back if it works. Coupon is here:

BEST BUY® | Exclusive Member Offer

TRU is also doing a B1G1 for a couple of Disney titles this week. The great thing about this deal is that there are two coupons available that will stack.

$5 off Disney Blu-ray

This is the first coupon, which will work towards any BD. But you can use it twice since you are getting two titles because of the B1G1.

There's also another $10 off coupon for POTC: AWE here.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

The thing is that this coupon will scan for any BD, and if you get more than one Pirates BD, they will stack. I just came home with Meet The Robinsons and Open Season for only $6.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

It looks like HD_DVD has seriously lost now. Universal has just announced that they're no longer remaining HD-DVD exclusive. I'll let the story do the talking...

Originally Posted by Kotaku

Is this the final death blow for HD-DVD? Variety is reporting that Universal Studios will follow Warner Bros., New Line and possibly Paramount toward the cooling blue light of Blu-ray allegiance, as the studio's commitment to supporting HD-DVD exclusively has ended. That doesn't necessarily mean that Universal is abandoning the HD-DVD format as Warner plans to, however, as Variety writes that the company still has plans to support the Toshiba backed hi-def discs.

Though HD-DVD backers may still limp along in their support or fanboyism of a movie format, this "war" couldn't look any more like one camp has won at this point. It's all over but the crying, blanket clutching and Michael Bay gloating, it seems.

So no HD-DVD hasn't lost Universal studious, however Blu-Ray has many studio exclusives such as Disney and Sony studios on top of pratically 100% movie studio access.

What do you guys think? Game over, or can HD-DVD still come back?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Any form of defect by Paramount or Universal will spell the end of HD DVD. It doesn't matter if they continue to support HD DVD...it wouldn't change the fact that Blu-ray has 100% support.

Blu-ray has won due to consumer ignorance and novelty, but I cannot consider the BDA's victory undeserved, since Toshiba did a HORRENDOUS job with marketing and deals. They practically sat on their ass as Blu-ray ads went for HD DVD's throat, and did nothing to combat the nearly weekly B1G1 deals offered for popular Blu-ray titles.

No problems with Blu-ray being the standard at my end, since the PS3 is vastly superior at playback in comparison to any HD DVD player. Ridiculously quick load times, and firmware is easily upgradeable to match HD DVD's features. Only concern is whether or not PS3 will be able to decode DTS-HD MA in the future, but that is practically irrelevant since it could be bitstreamed.

Had the opportunity to watch RE: Extinction and Transporter today...great quality on both, although the transfer was a little too soft in certain sports in RE. However, both had fantastic audio, the first having a TrueHD encode, and a DTS-HD MA for the latter. I recommend getting both just for the sound mixes, but not at their current prices.

I only picked them up because the Best Buy scam I had mentioned earlier does indeed work, so Extinction was only $10.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

At this point in time, it would be pretty foolish for Universal and Paramount to pledge further exclusive support to HD DVD. I could see them going neutral at best. Even if, for some miraculous reason, they didn't, all the media coverage currently going on predicting the doom of the HD DVD format will surely kill whatever hope remained for Toshiba & Co.

Anyway, my PS3 is going to suffice as a Blu-ray player for now. All my discs work perfectly fine so far, and it actually doesn't look all that bad in an entertainment center. I do hope standalone prices come down sometime soon, so I can get one for the living room. Better load times and 2.0 built-in wouldn't hurt, either.

I'm glad they did a good job with The Rock ... can't wait for it to be released in Europe. Not really surprised that it's a good transfer though - so far, pretty much every single title released by Disney has been phenomenal in the PQ (and AQ) department.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I remember hearing something about certain or almost all early Blu-ray titles using an inferior codec compared to HD DVD. What I'd like to know is if there is a list of those titles, if they've been replaced with superior Blu-ray discs with the better codec, or if there are plans for newer/better versions.

Excellent thread, Megalith. =)))

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by AcerBandit

I remember hearing something about certain or almost all early Blu-ray titles using an inferior codec compared to HD DVD. What I'd like to know is if there is a list of those titles, if they've been replaced with superior Blu-ray discs with the better codec, or if there are plans for newer/better versions.

This thread over at the AVS forums has a huge list of Blu-ray films sorted by picture quality, going from Tier 0 (the very best) to Tier 5 (barely better than upscaled DVD).

It also says which codec was used to encode the film next to each film title.

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That's pretty awesome. I just wish whoever made it would have done it in colors that are actually readable against a white background. Thanks. =)

FELIPE NO

So, if any of you still need the Spiderman trilogy, it is only $43 at Amazon right now.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Looks like someone is up for round 2 Joking aside, all seems to be turning right over to Blu Ray. But I really don't expect to see a big influx of numbers till the end of the year. 2009 will be the year Blu Ray starts.

Additional Spam:

Originally Posted by Serano

At this point in time, it would be pretty foolish for Universal and Paramount to pledge further exclusive support to HD DVD. I could see them going neutral at best. Even if, for some miraculous reason, they didn't, all the media coverage currently going on predicting the doom of the HD DVD format will surely kill whatever hope remained for Toshiba & Co.

Anyway, my PS3 is going to suffice as a Blu-ray player for now. All my discs work perfectly fine so far, and it actually doesn't look all that bad in an entertainment center. I do hope standalone prices come down sometime soon, so I can get one for the living room. Better load times and 2.0 built-in wouldn't hurt, either.

I'm glad they did a good job with The Rock ... can't wait for it to be released in Europe. Not really surprised that it's a good transfer though - so far, pretty much every single title released by Disney has been phenomenal in the PQ (and AQ) department.

Either April or May we'll see our first $349 stand alone player.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Not to sound meanie or anything, but as soon as HD-DVD royally dies... the better for everyone.

Man, I cant wait for LOTR trilogy coming in HD.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Tafer

Not to sound meanie or anything, but as soon as HD-DVD royally dies... the better for everyone.

Man, I cant wait for LOTR trilogy coming in HD.

And where the crap is Star Wars!?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

The bass and dynamics of the lightsabers are going to be so ridiculous in the Star Wars BDs. I can't wait to hear the duels in Episode I. I'm hoping that Lucasfilm will go with DTS-HD MA, but they'll most likely stick with Dolby TrueHD.

Here's hoping that they actually fix the horrendous mixing job of the Episode III DVD.

How ya doing, buddy?

Man, I so want a new set of speakers... but importing that shit is unbelievably expensive. (<- Not us citizen)

I guess I'll have to wait.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Tafer

Man, I so want a new set of speakers... but importing that shit is unbelievably expensive. (<- Not us citizen)

I guess I'll have to wait.

Bose. The only brand you need for the best sound.

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Just visit the web sites of some speaker brands. Most of them deal internationally. I know that Mirage has a dealer in CR, but I have no experience with their omnipolar design.

I'd rather go for a pair of neutral studio monitors myself.

Quote:

Bose. The only brand you need for the best sound.

Let's not talk crazy.

FELIPE NO

Some of thoes movies on that list that Serano linked to seem a bit off. Pirates 2 does not deserve to be on the same level as 3. There's too much noise in the picture.

But discrepencies asside, it's a decent enough list. It at least makes sure that people don't get the shit transfers like 28 Days Later and the Fifth Element

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Hmm... I was thinking more in These babies, or These ones or these others or these guys... sadly I just can't trust the reviews/reviewers for this stuff. (And Obviously, some of those are way out of my budget)

Oh well, I heard only good stuff about those cute Usher Audio S-520. I'll probably get a pair to improve the current setup. (And later, get a proper system)

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by kainlightwind

Bose. The only brand you need for the best sound.

I've heard from various sources that Sennheiser is superior, can this be confirmed or denied by an audiophile?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Dark Nation

I've heard from various sources that Sennheiser is superior, can this be confirmed or denied by an audiophile?

Yes, but Sennheiser are headphone manufacturers.

Personally, I like Klipsch speakers, but I honestly don't have much experience with speakers because that shit is expensive.

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Originally Posted by Slayer X

But discrepencies asside, it's a decent enough list. It at least makes sure that people don't get the shit transfers like 28 Days Later and the Fifth Element

28 Days Later was actually filmed in a low resolution, so no matter how good a transfer it gets, it will not be in true HD, except in the final scenes after they have escaped and holed up on the farm, which were shot on film.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I knew Kingdom of Heaven was out on HD-DVD, but they brought it over to Blu-Ray too??
That's awesome.

I'm definitely going to get a BD player as soon as I upgrade my TV to an HD. I'm just waiting on the sub-40" wide screen TVs to go down in price now.

How ya doing, buddy?

Well, it's too bad HD DVD is done since that's what I decided to invest in early on, but I'd rather have a Blu-ray-only future than a future with both formats eventually supported in all players and all studios releasing titles in both, since as much as I wanted to, I couldn't see HD DVD taking the full win in the end.

Anyway, selling some of my HD DVDs on eBay and in the market for a used 60 gig PS3 now. Already bought all the Pirates movies since I couldn't pass up some good deals, and anticipate being able to go full-on Blu-ray in the coming months. I'm not going to stop buying HD DVDs until they're completely gone since I'm don't care about having some obsolete discs laying around in the future (finally bought Batman Begins and Transformers), but anything that is on both formats I will buy on Blu-ray now.

I'm honestly amazed at how so many claim that the difference between DVD and HD/BD isn't as big of a deal as VHS to DVD. There is a huge, amazing difference. After accepting that the future is Blu, I find joy in going back to looking for deals on old movies and giving thousands of dollars back to movie companies for rebuying stuff in HD that I've already bought before. At least now there will no longer be the worry of investing in the wrong format and having it all be wasted. Digital downloads can't take over this market. I would never buy a single digitally-delivered movie that I can't feel like I truly own or have on a physical disc, and find it absurd that "experts" claim the mass market would adapt such a method of buying movies. I'm curious what the next format could even be like. 1080p with lossless sound is about as good as you can get, so what else could a new format offer other than increased storage space for more special features, multiple lossless language tracks, or combining multiple movies on one disc.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Tube

I would never buy a single digitally-delivered movie that I can't feel like I truly own or have on a physical disc, and find it absurd that "experts" claim the mass market would adapt such a method of buying movies. I'm curious what the next format could even be like. 1080p with lossless sound is about as good as you can get, so what else could a new format offer other than increased storage space for more special features, multiple lossless language tracks, or combining multiple movies on one disc.

While I agree with you on the desire to own physical media, I truly think that guys like us will be in the minority soon enough.

A lot of people outside of our age bracket prefer renting over buying. Above that, those same people can't tell the difference between 480p and 1080p. Digital distribution is fine, if not better for people like them, and I think people like them are in the majority. Hell, even I would be content with renting a movie digitally if it was a movie I was just interested in checking out, but not owning. One of the problems with Netflix is that it takes a while for the movies to get here, and one of the problems with Blockbuster is that they may not have copies left. Plus, that involves you leaving the store, and most Americans are lazy, obese, and oftentimes, both.

Why leave the house or wait for shipment when you can just click on a movie you want and have it within minutes/hours depending on your connection? I dunno, I just don't see digital distribution as outlandish a concept as some others. While I may not embrace it as heavily as some others might, I definitely do not see it as a failing venture.

FELIPE NO

Digital Distribution is a perfect example of demographics at work. Some of the movie-going population will embrace it for the ease-of-use and simplifying what was (before for them) a more complicated and physically demanding exercise in squiring movies.

Yes, most people here (Including myself) will not digitally download new movies in lieu of getting them on a physical medium...

Another example is this: The Wii was the number one Christmas Item and is selling like hotcakes over here. The 360 is performing very well too, but not with most people who bought the Wii, aka first time gamers. While there is an overlap (Such as myself), both machines are marketing towards different demographics and the results are there already.

So, if a person doesn't know or care about the difference between 480p and 1080i and they just want the movie, then digital downloading will seem like this to them "Hey, I used to have to go to the store to rent a DVD, but now I can simply download it and start watching it!". The process will be slower due to the MPAA's sluggish attitude towards new technology like this, but since places like Netflix have already begun the mainstream dissolution between the old method of going to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video and paying the couple of dollars and driving back, and the new method of just waiting for the movie to start playing, this new disribution method WILL have people who will think its the best thing since sliced bread, and others who would sooner disembowel themselves on a pike before giving up their hard-coded movies. This is of course, if they market it correctly.

tl;dr: The digital download market is there and will be successful to a degree.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Hmm... this may be a good place to make a small question...

Bookshelf vs Floorstanding speakers?

Jam it back in, in the dark.