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HD DVD Discussion Thread: Part 3 (2G Players & Batman Begins arrives)

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C

ChrisJames

Member
**** Yeah!!! That's a very nice list and if there are really 100 titles coming out I'm sure there will be a lot of other movies that will make me happy.

Can't wait for Children of Men on HD-DVD.

Also, don't underestimate the power of Scarface. I can see the rapper's on MTV Cribs all ready "I got my Scarface on HD-DVD, bitch!"
 
The Main Event

The Main Event

Member
Is there anyone else besides Universal that are planning THAT much content for this year alone on either the HD-DVD or Blu-Ray camp?

100+ titles is a hell lot, and of course great for current/future HD-DVD owners :)
 
ManaByte

ManaByte

Gold Member
So much for the Blu-Ray viral mar...er...fans saying that Universal was dropping support and jumping ship to Blu-Ray. :lol
 
A

AgentOtaku

Member
Outdoor Miner said:
I really wish they'd release Gladiator already. You know that shit is gonna be reference-quality material.
Click to expand...

yeah

the DTS track from the original DVD was essential reference material for a long time :)
 
ManaByte

ManaByte

Gold Member
Outdoor Miner said:
I really wish they'd release Gladiator already. You know that shit is gonna be reference-quality material.
Click to expand...

It could be in those 100 titles. But then again Gladiator was Dreamworks so the rights may lie with Paramount now.

Universal only handled Gladiator internationally, in the US it's primarily Dreamworks.

Either way it'll be on HD-DVD since Paramount is format neutral.
 
T

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
The DVD of The Game looked so horrible that I waited for the inevitable remaster. I've been waiting for what, nine years? Finally... <sigh> :)
 
H

heavy liquid

Member
Alcibiades said:
according to some guy on AVS, they plan to release about 100 movies this year on HD DVD, these are some of the major ones:


Children of Men
The Good Shepherd
Smokin' Aces
Scarface
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Bruce Almighty
The Bourne Identity
Meet the Fockers
American Pie
Inside Man
Pride & Prejudice
The Big Lebowski
Liar Liar
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
Brazil
Erin Brockovich
Shaun of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Slap Shot
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Battlestar Gallictica (TV)
Click to expand...

Great list. There's a number of movies on there that I would like to purchase/upgrade to HD.

For sure:

Children of Men
The Bourne Identity
The Big Lebowski
Brazil

One thing I've learned from DVD though, is that I won't be buying as much. I have a huge collection even after selling some off, and there's still way too many movies that I haven't looked at in over 5+ years. I'll probably be renting the majority of movies, which is what I'm now doing. I was buying somewhere around 10-20 DVDs a month in my heyday, and now I've bought maybe 5 in the last year.

That said, one purchase I will definitely make, and the one that will have me jump on the HD-DVD bandwagon is:

The studio also confirmed that the first season of Sci-Fi's new Battlestar Galactica will be released on HD-DVD this year
Click to expand...

Hopefully it'll be at a reasonable price. I guess I could see them charging $100 MSRP since the DVD set is $60 MSRP. I hope that they add the extras from the mini-series DVD that were missing on the season set, as well as the extras that are online but absent from season one. It would also be nice if they add the commentary (pod-casts) for the episode or two that's available online but missing (I think he recorded them at a later date, but the set was already in production and couldn't be included).

I hope they don't make people wait between the season sets too long. A combined season 2 set (DVD 2.0 & 2.5) would be great.
 
W

wasting

Banned
original.jpeg

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Universal/Disc_Announcements/Universal_Brings_The_Good_Shepherd_to_HD_DVD/452
After it failed to nab any Oscar nominations last week, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced a speedy March arrival for the Robert De Niro-directed drama 'The Good Shepherd.'

The $60 million-grossing epic, which stars DeNiro, Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie and Alec Baldwin, will hit high-def as an HD DVD/DVD combo platter on March 2.

No specs yet, though being a combo release the set is expected to have the same extras as the standard-def DVD, which is hitting stores day-and-date with the next-gen version.

With today's announcement of 'The Good Shepherd,' Universal seems to be making good on its pledge of "90 percent combo discs in 2007!", which the studio announced by way of press release late last week. Over 100 new HD DVD titles are expected from the studio in the coming year.

We've added a listing for 'The Good Shepherd' to our HD DVD Release Schedule under March 2, and stay tuned for complete specs as soon as they are announced.

See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Click to expand...


awesome! much sooner than I expected! should be the first of the many day and dates to come
 
W

wasting

Banned
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Nutty Professor will arrive on HD DVD format this April 24. The Eternal Sunshine HD DVD is priced at $29.98 SRP while The Nutty Professor HD DVD/DVD Combo disc is priced at $34.98 SRP.
Click to expand...

9x0rlmb15b4g-1eternalsunshine.jpg

mznqrgy2vyso-1nuttyprof.jpg


Eternal Sunshine is so mine
 
S

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
The Spielbergs are legit. They are on the HDDVD promo groups website.

Of course the ones I want are back to the future...

I wonder if its real ET or walkie talkie ET :(
 
Alcibiades

Alcibiades

Member
that list is sh*t... it's the world HD DVD promotions group headed by Toshiba that basically hasn't done anything...

the North American Promotion Group, on the other hand, is influential and has more reliable information (www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com)...

Universal Studios is the head of the NA promotions group for HD DVD, but it's maintained by like 9 major companies. Soon, a 2nd tier will be added with more companies that support the format. Either way, I've seen that list in the past and it has often had inaccuracies. They take press releases from 2 years ago and take that as "coming soon". I think that they mistook the recent Universal conversation with a home theater forum and when Uni was asked "what about Jaws, ET, Jurassic, etc..." the Uni rep said "we're working with directors, blah, blah, and some titles will be a little further down the line, but we have a great lineup for this year" or something like that... in other words, DON'T EXPECT bread and butter from Mr. Steven this year cause they aren't just gonna release something unless it's a major revamp with lots of new features (and that's gonna take years). Plus they probably need his blessing.
 
C

ChrisJames

Member
Jaws and Jurassic Park are going to be amazing, I can't wait.

I'm pumped to see that The Shining is coming out this year. I love that movie.
 
Alcibiades

Alcibiades

Member
Alcibiades said:
that list is sh*t... it's the world HD DVD promotions group headed by Toshiba that basically hasn't done anything...

the North American Promotion Group, on the other hand, is influential and has more reliable information (www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com)...

Universal Studios is the head of the NA promotions group for HD DVD, but it's maintained by like 9 major companies. Soon, a 2nd tier will be added with more companies that support the format. Either way, I've seen that list in the past and it has often had inaccuracies. They take press releases from 2 years ago and take that as "coming soon". I think that they mistook the recent Universal conversation with a home theater forum and when Uni was asked "what about Jaws, ET, Jurassic, etc..." the Uni rep said "we're working with directors, blah, blah, and some titles will be a little further down the line, but we have a great lineup for this year" or something like that... in other words, DON'T EXPECT bread and butter from Mr. Steven this year cause they aren't just gonna release something unless it's a major revamp with lots of new features (and that's gonna take years). Plus they probably need his blessing.
Click to expand...
hmm, if people had listened....
 
W

wasting

Banned
http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has finally scheduled The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Unrated) Special Edition HD DVD for release on May 22. (A new 2-disc SE DVD is also being scheduled for release on the same day).

The main feature will be presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1 video with Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 (English & French) audio options. Bonus materials for this Special Edition HD DVD is TBC.

It will be priced at $29.98 SRP. Should there be any changes to these details later, you'd see them posted up on this blog.
Click to expand...


finally a date announced.
 
C

ChrisJames

Member
A Scanner Darkly should be pretty sweet in HD. Also, since Flags of Our Fathers is coming in HD, does that mean Letters from Iwo Jima will be coming too? I haven't seen Flags, but Letters was very good.
 
P

Petrarca

Banned
Who cares about HD-DVD anymore? :lol :lol ...just gotta give it them

NPD sales show Blu-ray has now officially surpassed all HD DVD sales since inception.

The scales tipped in favor of Blu-ray Disc the week ended Feb. 18....
...
““Game over. We see that the consumer is voting with their dollars with a clear preference for Blu-ray,” Chapek said. “This clear, objective measure shows the writing is on the wall.”
...
“Seeing HD DVD in our rear-view mirror is no surprise to us,” added David Bishop, worldwide home entertainment president, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
...
“As we noted at CES, the format war is in its final phase,” said Steven Feldstein, SVP of marketing communications at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. “It’s never been a question of if Blu-ray will pass HD DVD, but a matter of when.”
Click to expand...
 
Alcibiades

Alcibiades

Member
**LINK NOT SAFE FOR WORK**

http://www.xbiz.com/news_piece.php?id=19779

**LINK NOT SAFE FOR WORK**

TightFit Productions has become the first adult production studio to announce that all its future releases will come on double-sided DVDs, with a standard definition version of the movie on one side and the HD DVD version on the other side.

TightFit Productions Vice President of Sales Joanie Lee told XBIZ that the production costs of replicating double-sided discs are the same as standard definition ones, so the company expects a seamless transition onto the new medium. However, the retail price of the new discs will be slightly higher.

The first TightFit Productions’ movie to get the double-sided treatment is the Master-Dominic-directed “Punk Rock Punishment,” which releases in early April.
Click to expand...
 
W

wasting

Banned
mods...? Petrarca, Bad_Boy please. we dont care about numbers in here, we actually care about movies, you should try it in a bluray thread.

can't wait for alpha dog

Disc Features:
Featurettes: "A Cautionary Tale: The Making of 'Alpha Dog,'" "Witness Timeline"
 
The Main Event

The Main Event

Member
wasting said:
mods...? Petrarca, Bad_Boy please. we dont care about numbers in here, we actually care about movies, you should try it in a bluray thread.

can't wait for alpha dog

Disc Features:
Featurettes: "A Cautionary Tale: The Making of 'Alpha Dog,'" "Witness Timeline"
Click to expand...

It'll also have a Dolby True HD track...nice.

As for Petrarca.....god you have too much time in your hand.
 
The Main Event

The Main Event

Member
For those who are into imports...HD DVD lineup for France:

FEBRUARY

22nd

Miami Vice

28th

Lady in Water

MARCH

7th

Alexandre
Two Brothers
Les Choristes (French movie)
Stalingrad
Les Chevaliers du Ciel (French movie)

20th

World Trade Center

26th

Terminator 2
The Deer Hunter
Army of the Dead
Le Pacte des Loups (French movie)
Mulholland Drive
Million Dollar Baby
Ran
Arizona Dream
3 Days of the Condor
La Grande vadrouille (French movie)
The Graduate
Leaving Las Vegas
Serpico
Traffic
We Were soldiers
Superman Returns
Blazing Saddles
Batman Begins

APRIL

3rd

Riddick Chronicles
The Hulk
The Mummy
Return of the Mummy
Backdraft
Werewolf in London

11th

Prête-moi ta main (French movie)

24th

Children of Men

25th

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Corpse Bride
The Island
Poseidon
Superman, The Movie

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

Terminator 2 and Le Pacte des Loups (The Brotherhood of the Wolf) are extremely tempting...
 
The Main Event

The Main Event

Member
Support from retailer, Microsoft could help format against Blu-ray
By Susanne Ault 2/23/2007

FEB. 23 | With Blu-ray Disc title sales overtaking HD DVD movies, BD backers are declaring the high-definition DVD format war over. There are new signs, however, that HD DVD shouldn’t be counted out yet.

Among them: stepped up support for the format from Circuit City, a new Microsoft business-to-business Web site (www.thisishddvd.com) aimed at bringing independent program suppliers into the HD DVD fold and retailers’ belief that Toshiba player prices will soon drop, increasing their penetration.

At the start of the year, Circuit City stores, which traditionally have not carried Toshiba consumer electronics products, began stocking Toshiba’s second-generation set-top HD DVD players. The chain has carried BD players since last spring.

Circuit City officials declined to discuss their merchandising strategy for HD DVD software now that the chain is also carrying players, but it’s believed the titles, which were previously mixed in with standard DVDs, are getting prominence on par with BD releases.
“Circuit City has become a very strong partner,” said Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products Digital A/V group. “We’ve already done over 200 demos at Circuit City, which we started at the end of January. It was always our intention to expand our retail distribution.”

Sally reported that through Feb. 13, sales of Toshiba’s second HD-A2 ($499) and HD-XA2 ($999), which went on sale in late December, have eclipsed the lifetime sales of the company’s first-generation players. She declined to further detail sales results.

BD software looks to be gaining ground, with two BD discs sold for every one HD DVD title sold during January, according to studio sources. But lifetime sales of HD DVD and BD titles are running fairly even—at about 700,000 discs sold for each format through Feb. 10, according to one studio.

“Let’s say the software sales are about even, and you’ve got five times as much hardware on the Blu-ray side as you have on the HD DVD side,” said one executive. “That means your attach rates for HD DVD are higher than your attach rates for Blu-ray,” he said, pointing to 1 million PlayStation 3 and stand-alone BD devices combined in homes, versus about 200,000 HD DVD players that have sold, including stand-alones and Xbox 360 add-on drives.

Retailers remain upbeat about HD DVD, and some say they are anticipating a $100 price cut from Toshiba on its second-generation players. That would bring the manufacturer’s basic model down to as low as $399.

“You’ll see the lower pricing in 30 to 60 days,” said one retail source. “For Toshiba to hit the sell-through numbers that it wants, I expect to see a base level of $299 this fall.”
Toshiba’s Sally did not respond to questions about pricing by deadline.

But most retailers believe that current sales levels of HD DVD and BD are far too small to indicate real strength in either format.

“In the next 12 to 18 months, there will be 100 million high-definition TV sets out in the marketplace,” said David Workman, director of the Progressive Retailers Organization, an electronics buying group. “And if DVD is a popular source for [entertainment], then I’d like to see the [high-def player] numbers catch up. It should be 10% of that installed market,” or 10 million hardware units sold.

“It’s not like the consumer has spoken,” Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas said. “The numbers are still really small, and it’s still early in the game.”

Meanwhile, Microsoft is hoping to garner further industry support for HD DVD with its www.thisishddvd.com. In contrast to the format’s consumer destination, www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com, Microsoft’s site is reaching out to suppliers and DVD authoring facilities in order to ramp up the production of HD DVD titles.
“We want to show the smaller guys—the second- and third-tier studios—how easy it is to make HD DVD movies,” said Kevin Collins, Microsoft’s director of HD DVD evangelism. Currently, the bulk of BD and HD DVD releases are coming from the major studios.
Separately, in good news for both formats, Borders started offering both HD DVD and BD titles in about 30 to 50 of its stores around the beginning of the year, according to studio sources. Borders declined comment.
Click to expand...

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6418854.html?nid=2705
 
W

wasting

Banned
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Weinstein_Co./Disc_Announcements/Weinstein_Co._Scares_Up_Black_Christmas,_Rejiggers_Winter_HD_DVD_Line-Up/490

Bringing a dose of holiday horror to HD DVD, the Weinstein Co. has announced the 2006 remake of 'Black Christmas,' and split its original March slate into two waves now due in April and May.

A gory reimagining of the 1974 cult classic, 'Black Christmas' failed to make much of a box office impression this past December. However, horror fans will have a second chance to check out the bloody results when the Weinstein Co. debuts the title on HD DVD May 8.

The studio will further splinter that original March wave, with both 'Scoundrels' and 'Feast' now receiving a new street date of April 17.

In even more exciting news for audiophiles, 'Scoundrels' and 'Feast' will also boast Dolby TrueHD tracks. Word from Weinstein is that the studio hopes to make the lossless format standard on their HD DVD titles going forward, so we can expect to see a lot more high-resolution audio from the Weinstein Co. in the future.
Click to expand...


lame, gotta wait till april now for scoundrels :(
 
W

wasting

Banned
Outdoor Miner said:
Not a big NIN fan, but damn it sounds like an impressive release. The low $17 price tag has me leaning towards a purchase.
Click to expand...

Same here, really want to check this one out..

It is a terrific demo disc, with first-rate picture and sound, and a nice assortment of bonus features. Without a doubt, this is the best music performance yet released on HD DVD.
Click to expand...
 
O

Outdoor Miner

Member
Kenobi said:
Wow. That is rather tempting indeed. Now I have to do some research and see if my 360 is multiformat, and if it aint..well, that's still good to know that it is going to HD DVD in one form or another. Sweet!
Click to expand...

All HD-DVD players (360 add-on included) are region-free.
 
Alcibiades

Alcibiades

Member
Looks like special features of Children of Men have been revealed, plus 3 titles from Universal in May:

http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

This HD DVD title will also feature U-Control Interactive Experience consisting of Picture in Picture Instant Access and other movie-related interactivity/content presentation.

* Deleted Scenes!
* Possibility of Hope - A chilling documentary features the world's leading futurists and philosophers examining social and economic shifts that find expression in "Children of Men."
* Theo and Julian - In exclusive on-set interviews, actors Clive Owen and Julianne Moore offer up insights and secrets about the complex and compelling characters they have created in "Children of Men."
* Futuristic Designs - Director Alfonso Cuaron created an original and dynamic vision of the future for this film. Follow his vision as it goes from concept to seething cinematic life in this featurette.
* Visual Effects: Creating the Baby - Uncover the incredible visual effects used to create a life-like baby in the film.
* Men Under Attack - This mini-documentary breaks down two of the most terrifying scenes in the film - the cafe explosion and a car under violent attack from all sides - to show how the filmmakers created sequences in which "You don't just watch the scene, you live inside it, ducking each fresh, ferocious assault."
Click to expand...

http://dvd.themanroom.com/dvd-newsview.php?id=490
Universal Studios Home Entertainment continues to dole out new HD DVD announcements at a fast clip with this morning's news that 'The Hurricane,' 'The Skeleton Key' and 'Smokey and the Bandit' will all be released on HD DVD exclusive discs on May 22.
Click to expand...
 
W

wasting

Banned
awesome news of ucontrol for com.


also, another day and date...

sawa6.jpg



'Smokin' Aces' Coming To HD DVD
February 27, 2007

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released HD DVD Combo Format cover art for 'Smokin' Aces' starring Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds, Andy Garcia and Ray Liotta. The disc will be released day-and-date with the standard DVD version most likely in April, though no specific date has been announced.

Early disc details point towards numerous extra features including over 20 minutes of deleted scenes, an alternate ending, outtakes and more. The jury is still out on technical specs so we'll continue to keep our fingers and toes crossed for Dolby TrueHD lossless audio.

'Smokin' Aces' will carry Universal's standard HD DVD Combo Format SRP of $39.98.
Click to expand...

http://dvd.themanroom.com/dvd-newsview.php?id=488
 
The Main Event

The Main Event

Member
Universal Studios Home Entertainment continues to dole out new HD DVD announcements at a fast clip with this morning's news that 'The Hurricane,' 'The Skeleton Key' and 'Smokey and the Bandit' will all be released on HD DVD exclusive discs on May 22.

All three films will be presented in 1080p video and Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus audio. Extra features are assumed to be identical to those found on the standard DVD versions but have yet to be confirmed. We'll pass those and high resolution cover art along as soon as they're available.

'The Hurricane,' 'The Skeleton Key' and 'Smokey and the Bandit' will all carry an SRP of $29.98.
Click to expand...

3717.jpg
3718.jpg
3719.jpg


Good thing that Universal are releasing those movies in a non-combo format (all old movies should be).

As for imports, here's a good site (in addition of Amazon):

http://xploitedcinema.com/catalog/hd-dvds-c-35.html?osCsid=eb47d6151de1fe2232b58d602f9e1cd7
 
The Main Event

The Main Event

Member
http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/28/51gb-hd-dvd-disc-gets-official/

In a strange turn of events, Blu-ray discs are outselling HD DVDs, and now the HD DVD format has taken the lead in capacity -- who would've think it? Toshiba just announced that it has successfully created a triple-layer disc with 17GB per layer, which amounts to 51GB, a full GB more than those dual-layer Blu-ray discs can muster. We heard about the size gains at CES this year, but Toshiba is already in the process of submitting the new extension of the format to regulatory approval, however, the word on the street still amounts to a potential Q4 release, and it's still unclear at this time what kind of manufacturing costs or complications these new discs will incur. We'll say it again: the format war is far from over.
Click to expand...

Awesome news. Now we just need a confirmation that it'll play in our current players.
 
Alcibiades

Alcibiades

Member
Now for that Universal news. Let's start with HD-DVD. Specific dates are still TBA, but here's what the studio is prepping for high-definition over the summer (most of the April and May titles are already confirmed):

April - The Good Shepherd, Smokin' Aces, The Game, The Jerk, The Hitcher, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Nutty Professor

May - Alpha Dog, The 40-Year-Old Virgin: Unrated, Smokey and the Bandit, Hurricane, Skeleton Key, The River, Midnight Run, The Frighteners, The Big Lebowski, Dragonheart, Lost in Translation

June - Breach, Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, Sneakers, Born on the 4th of July, Scent of a Women, Daylight, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Meet Joe Black, Mallrats, Being John Malkovich, Mystery Men, American Me, The Watcher, Bulletproof

July - Billy Madison, The War, The Wedding Date, Dante's Peak, Cat in the Hat, Dead Silence, The Bourne Identity, The Nutty Professor 2, In Good Company, Streets of Fire, Hot Fuzz, Sea of Love, Darkman, Shaun of the Dead, Deliver Us from Eva

August - Heroes: Season One

September - The Last Starfighter, Legend, Battlestar Galactica: Season One, For the Love of the Game, Knocked Up, Evening, The Getaway: Unrated, Patch Adams, Cat People
Click to expand...

too many must haves on that list... only problem is I'm only buying combos at the moment and some of the April and May titles are not... either way, some of those I'll probably buy regardless like Liar, Liar and Bruce Almighty
 
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