Support NeoGAF

[Cosmic Bus]

From Gizmodo: LG Intros $999 BH200 Super Blu Combo HD Player

It's like they're trying to push people away with these combo players. Has there been a particular reason mentioned why they routinely cost $200-$300 more than buying separate HD and BR players?

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

It's like they're trying to push people away with these combo players. Has there been a particular reason mentioned why they routinely cost $200-$300 more than buying separate HD and BR players?

Profit. They need to recoup r&d costs per unit as well.

 

[Wulfer]

From Gizmodo: LG Intros $999 BH200 Super Blu Combo HD Player

WoW when this thing gets down to the $400-500 range this war will be offically over. Now that's a product, bang for buck. Well I hate to see the dual future but it looks like nothing will stop that now. Anyway bring it on we'll get more movies faster this way and prices will continue to fall. The losers will be Toshiba to a small extent and Sony to large extent unfortunately but, that's the way the ball bounces sometimes when you gamble big.

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

WoW when this thing gets down to the $400-500 range this war will be offically over. Now that's a product, bang for buck. Well I hate to see the dual future but it looks like nothing will stop that now. Anyway bring it on we'll get more movies faster this way and prices will continue to fall. The losers will be Toshiba to a small extent and Sony to large extent unfortunately but, that's the way the ball bounces sometimes when you gamble big.

$400-500 bucks? Still small fry territory.

Combos will succeed when there's no more than a 25% price parity between combo players and standalones of equal quality. Probably less. They'd also have to be at a mass market price point. Otherwise, your competition for that kind of device is still; a Blu-ray player that also functions among other things; a next gen game player. And while I understand that they don't necessarily appeal to the same market directly... you're going to see a lot of overlap in that market of hardcore enthusiasts that still desire value for money.

 

[ManaByte]

Anyone REALLY want Blades of Glory on Blu-Ray? Only $400!
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120157148522

 

[VanMardigan]

:lol

Spoiler

still haven't gotten my HD DVD copy from Amazon

 

[Stan The Caddy]

Spoiler

still haven't gotten my HD DVD copy from Amazon

me either, wtf

 

[Matrix]

My HD-DVD copy of Blades of Glory came today from amazon.

When did you guys order? I ordered Sep.1st

 

[VanMardigan]

It's probably because of the super saver free shipping. I ordered my xbox w/ hdmi Friday and it got here yesterday from them.

 

[Matrix]

Yea im sure its cause of the super saver shipping,I used free two day.

Not sure if this has been posted...

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news...s/Transformers_Ready_for_Battle_on_HD_DVD/931
"Transformers' Ready for Battle on HD DVD
Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 02:21 PM ET
Tags: Disc Announcements, Paramount (all tags)

Paramount Home Entertainment has announced it will bring one of the year's biggest blockbusters 'Transformers' exclusively to HD DVD this October.

Grossing over $300 million domestically, the special effects extravaganza from director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg transformed into the most successful "original" film of the year (ie: not a sequel or remake), and is easily one of the most highly-anticipated next-gen releases of the holiday season.

Paramount/DreamWorks will debut the film on HD DVD October 16, day-and-date with the standard-def DVD version, and in a two-disc set filled with bonus features and cutting-edge content exclusive to the high-def release.

Extras identical to the HD DVD and DVD include audio commentary with Bay, two 4-part documentaries ("Our World" and "Their World"), the "From Script to Sand" featurette, concept art, and the theatrical trailer.

Exclusive to the HD DVD will be the "Transformers H.U.D. (Heads Up Display)" picture-in-picture mode, giving viewers running text-based behind-the-scenes background information on the production during the feature; the "Transformers Tech Inspector," offering an unprecedented look at the robots through the exquisitely detailed models created by ILM artists; and the web-enabled "Intelligence Mode" with running statistics and tracking of all the robots in the film.

Tech specs include 1080p video (codec still TBA) and Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 Surround audio only -- surprisingly (and disappointing for early adopters) Paramount has not announced any high-resolution audio support for 'Transformers.'

List price for the HD DVD is $39.98. "

 

[captive]

So wheres stanthecaddy? A few weeks ago he was giving me shit for saying paramount almost never puts high resolution audio on their blu-ray/hd dvd discs. And now the next omgwtf in your face blu-ray owners hd dvd movie doesnt have it.

 

[VanMardigan]

Amir mentioned that they had offered Paramount full encoding support, so I'd be shocked if this wasn't a VC-1 release.

I'm disappointed about the price, and I know some here will be disappointed in the audio, but there is no way I'm NOT picking this baby up.

 

[Matrix]

I'm sure amazon.com will be selling it for the same price as Blades of Glory.

 

[MCD]

So, I'm pretty pissed about the HDMI Xbox purchase. No hdmi cables, no digital audio cable. I had to run around all evening yesterday after work looking for hdmi cables that weren't $80 and up. I finally found a place that sold 3 feet cables for frickin $34.99. Then, I realized my component cable input is too fat to fit in along with the hdmi cable, so I can't get digital sound to my receiver. The elite comes packed with an output cable that's just for the optical out and fits in (I'm guessing) with an hdmi cable plugged in below.

So now I'm watching movies in 1080p, but with my tv speakers.
I don't even know what the digital audio cable is called, but I'm going to check Ebay for it.

As far as 1080p impressions on my new tv....................meh. I can definitely tell it's slightly sharper on the dashboard (like the buttons along the bottom), but otherwise it's a wash. My tv upconverted everything to 1080p anyway, so when I watched some HD DVD's, I didn't notice a night/day difference. Matter of fact, outside of a few scenes in Batman Begins that were really sharp, I didn't notice much difference at all. Stunning, of course, but not more so than 1080i component upconverted by my tv.

I'll keep messing around with the settings to see if I can improve the performance, but I was pretty satisfied anyway with the 1080i, just wanted to give 1080p a chance to see if it made a big difference or not.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UODATY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

this is what you need, the little audio dongle only comes free with the Elite.

 

[maynerd]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UODATY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

this is what you need, the little audio dongle only comes free with the Elite.

That's some serious rape microsoft. :lol

 

[VanMardigan]

oh hell no. F U MS, I'm not paying $50 for that.

Thanks for looking that up, though. Now I can shop around and see what I find.

 

[AstroLad]

That's some serious rape microsoft. :lol

Dear God. Freaking MS and their accessories. Does it at least come with two rechargeable AA batteries?

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

So wheres stanthecaddy? A few weeks ago he was giving me shit for saying paramount almost never puts high resolution audio on their blu-ray/hd dvd discs. And now the next omgwtf in your face blu-ray owners hd dvd movie doesnt have it.

which one? stanthecaddy or Stan The Caddy?

maybe he was banned for having two accounts.

 

[captive]

which one? stanthecaddy or Stan The Caddy?

maybe he was banned for having two accounts.

haha nice.

 

[ManaByte]

Amir mentioned that they had offered Paramount full encoding support, so I'd be shocked if this wasn't a VC-1 release.

I'm disappointed about the price, and I know some here will be disappointed in the audio, but there is no way I'm NOT picking this baby up.

$39.99 is OK for a two disc set with HD extras. $39.99 is not OK for a nearly barebones release (YOU LISTENING FOX?!).

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

$40 is pushing it regardless. Having the extras in HD doesn't warrant extra money, IMHO.

And don't get me started on Fox.

 

[StoOgE]

$40 is pushing it regardless. Having the extras in HD doesn't warrant extra money, IMHO.

And don't get me started on Fox.

Isnt there a 1 disc version too?

 

[The Main Event]

http://www.gspr.com/integra/dhs88.html

DENVER (9/5/07) -- Integra announced the introduction of the DHS-8.8, the company's first HD DVD player, at the 2007 CEDIA Expo here today. This player has been designed specifically to meet the needs of the custom installer, and to fully exploit the potential of high-definition HD DVD content. It is among the first HD DVD players to enable transfer of high-bit-rate audio content via HDMI version 1.3a.

The DHS-8.8 is designed as an ideal source component for use with Integra's 2007 A/V receiver and preamplifier/processor range, which also include HDMI version 1.3a capabilities. In combination, these components are an ideal platform for high-definition 1080p video images, including Deep Color™ technology for improved color tones and finer color gradation. Additionally, HDMI 1.3a allows streaming of the new lossless surround sound formats, Dolby® TrueHD and DTS®-HD Master Audio, as well as two high-bit-rate "lossy" formats, Dolby® Digital Plus and DTS®-HD High Resolution Audio.

The Integra DHS-8.8 HD-DVD player also features the capability to support playback at different frame rates, including 24 frames per second, which is the native frame rate of the original sources for most HD content. This ensures that the user will be able to experience the playback of films recorded to HD DVD with the smoothest, most stable reproduction possible.

The DHS-8.8 features onboard HQV Reon VX video processing, currently recognized as the leading video processing technology in the home theater industry. This allows the player to provide precise video scaling to 720p, 1080i or 1080p output from both HD-DVD and standard definition DVD sources, delivering video at the native resolution of the video display device and stantially reducing video noise and distortion. For component video output, the player incorporates an Analog Devices 297 MHz/12-bit NSV video DAC that support 4x oversampling for outstanding reproduction with analog-based displays.

The DHS-8.8 features Wolfson and Burr-Brown 192 kHz/24-bit audio DACs for conversion of audio sources for analog output via the 2-channel or 5.1-channel analog outputs. It also includes a bi-directional RS-232 port for integration with home automation and control systems. Finally, the player includes a rear-panel Ethernet port to make use of the web-based connectivity allowed for in the HD-DVD standard, including access to additional content from movie studios. This feature also provides installers and users with the ability to easily download any future firmware updates.

The DHS-8.8 will carry a suggested retail price of $1099, and will be available in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Integra designs and manufactures premium Home Theater receivers, processors, amplifiers, and DVD players that are specifically designed to meet the needs of custom audio/video systems installers. Systems integration and convergence technology protocols include RS-232, IR and on-board Ethernet for network connectivity and TCP/IP control. Integra has access to vast technical resources, and bears a proud heritage of 60 years of audio engineering excellence. For more information about Integra and its many fine products, visit www.integrahometheater.com or call 800 225-1946.

 

[The Main Event]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070905/aqw155.html?.v=11

Promotional Group Rolling Out 4th Quarter Marketing Campaign to Support More than 125 Movie Titles Representing $3 Billion in Box Office Revenue; HD DVD Announces Season-long Partnership with NBC Television Station Group for Sunday Night Football Broadcasts

DENVER, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the CEDIA EXPO 2007, the North American HD DVD Promotional Group showcased undeniable momentum for the high def format, announcing an aggressive fourth quarter marketing campaign to support a strong slate of more than 125 high definition movies, as well as expanded hardware offerings that take the consumer experience to new levels. Fueled by support from major Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros, Universal, and the recently exclusive Paramount and DreamWorks Animation; from leading hardware manufacturers including Toshiba and Onkyo; and from four of the top five PC Notebook manufacturers in the world; HD DVD continues to offer the best overall experience and the most affordable prices of all next generation formats.

In a clear show of marketing muscle leading into the holidays, Toshiba announced a season-long promotional campaign partnering with the NBC Television Station Group and its broadcasts of Sunday Night Football. This campaign includes 30 second HD DVD ads to air in key NBC television markets broadcasting Sunday Night Football, web sponsorships promoting the format, as well as special on-air HD DVD vignettes that will help educate consumers on how they can receive the ultimate high definition experience through their HDTV. The HD DVD vignettes will air in shows such as "Football Night in America" hosted by Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, Keith Olbermann, Tiki Barber and Jerome Bettis. This season-long campaign will communicate the many benefits of HD DVD to more than 72 million households through the holidays and into 2008.

"Today's announcements leave no doubt about the level of commitment driving this format -- HD DVD is the best choice for consumers and it's available today," said Ken Graffeo, co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group. "With a strong line up of hardware and software, as well as key promotional activities through Sunday Night Football, we're making HD DVD an easy choice for the holiday and a must for every home theater."

Universal, Paramount Studios and Warner Bros announced a broad slate of more than 125 titles for 4th quarter, featuring blockbuster new releases and catalog titles that delivered box office returns of more than $3 billion. Toshiba also reaffirmed in its press conference today that it continues to hold a majority lead in dedicated high definition players in the U.S.

HD DVD currently offers more than 300 titles available in the US, with player pricing starting at under $300 for dedicated CE players and $179 for the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive. HD DVD is also the only format with mandatory features on every machine such as a network connection to access web-enabled content and picture-in-picture capabilities to personalize the movie watching experience. To help future proof your home video collections, HD DVD also exclusively offers combo discs (DVD on one side and HD DVD on the other).

About HD DVD

The DVD Forum develops and defines DVD formats. Its more than 200 strong membership brings together leaders in movies and entertainment, computing, consumer electronics and software. In November 2003, the DVD Forum selected a single technology as the next-generation, post-DVD standard for high capacity, high definition optical discs -- HD DVD. HD DVD is fast becoming the primary visual medium for the age of high-definition TV. The North American HD DVD Promotional Group, Inc. is an organization established to promote the HD DVD format and educate consumers in North America. For more information and a complete listing of HD DVD launch titles please visit http://www.TheLookAndSoundOfPerfect.com.

 

[Raistlin]

A lot of bullshit in that Integra PR spiel



Btw - this PR statement is also in the official CEDIA 2007 thread Wulfer started ... as is the HD DVD PR. May want to discuss it in there ... or not. Whatever.

 

[Kleegamefan]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070905/aqw155.html?.v=11

Promotional Group Rolling Out 4th Quarter Marketing Campaign to Support More than 125 Movie Titles Representing $3 Billion in Box Office Revenue; HD DVD Announces Season-long Partnership with NBC Television Station Group for Sunday Night Football Broadcasts

First you show a post about an $1100 Integra HD-DVD deck and then the very next post your heading says "HD DVD Continues to Deliver the Most Affordable Hardware":lol :lol :lol


And for $40 we are only getting a Dolby Digital+ soundtrack with Transformers???

FUCK THAT!!!

 

[OokieSpookie]

Bwaaaaaahahahahahaha!!
Christ man, I swear the hd group makes Sony's PR people sound like Abe Lincoln.

 

[The Main Event]

First you show a post about an $1100 Integra HD-DVD deck and then the very next post your heading says "HD DVD Continues to Deliver the Most Affordable Hardware":lol :lol :lol


And for $40 we are only getting a Dolby Digital+ soundtrack with Transformers???

FUCK THAT!!!

Who's going to force you to buy an Integra HD DVD player?

 

[fortified_concept]

Jesus, Main Event, isn't it too much PR for today? Toshiba themselves don't try so hard.

 

[The Main Event]

Jesus, Main Event, isn't it too much PR for today? Toshiba themselves don't try so hard.

I thought they were worth the read.

 

[djkimothy]

Well, here's something from the BDA....

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6473453.html?q=blu-ray+ifa

Berlin — The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) announced several new members and touted a number of milestones at its IFA press conference, here, yesterday.

The news that Acer had joined BDA as a contributing member meant that the top four PC makers, representing more than 50 percent of the market, were supporting the format, said David Walstra, BDA European promotions vice chair.

In addition, the China Huala Group, an A/V manufacturing firm, will join with the China Film Group to establish a Blu-ray authoring facility in China. “This is a significant step forward,” Walstra said. According to the Huala Group, the plant will initially focus on supplying Chinese content on Blu-ray discs. Panasonic will provide “technical support” to the Huala Group.

 

[thaivo]

First you show a post about an $1100 Integra HD-DVD deck and then the very next post your heading says "HD DVD Continues to Deliver the Most Affordable Hardware"

The Integra player not withstanding, are you saying that HD DVD doesn't provide the most affordable hardware? Also, how is it contradictory, when HD DVD players truly are cheaper than BD players? :lol

And for $40 we are only getting a Dolby Digital+ soundtrack with Transformers???

I wish I had a sound system where I could tell the difference. Maybe in a few years. Then I'll be tempted to rewatch all my films with a great audio system. Right now, I've been using a fairly old home theater system, or even my TV's speakers (ack!).

 

[WORLDWIDEWII]

From DVD Active. Sure looks like it says UNRATED to me.

how does old movie like DH series look on BD, i just watch the dvd version of Diehard 1 on my 40" screen and it looks bad, really bad, but i love all three of the movie and if it is really HD upgrade then i will probably get the BD version when it comes out.

 

[thaivo]

how does old movie like DH series look on BD, i just watch the dvd version of Diehard 1 on my 40" screen and it looks bad, really bad, but i love all three of the movie and if it is really HD upgrade then i will probably get the BD version when it comes out.

Some older films look amazing in HD. Die Hard really isn't an "old" film in comparison to some of the classics coming out. As long as they clean-up the print that they have, the film will look better than it ever has. I've heard that Casablanca is quite beautiful to behold. It's one of the films that I'm getting free from Toshiba.

The movie that I can't wait to see in HD is The Wild Bunch. That is going to be heaven.

Jesus, Main Event, isn't it too much PR for today? Toshiba themselves don't try so hard.

Most readers appreciate it when someone posts press releases. It gives us something to talk about.

 

[Petrarca]

First you show a post about an $1100 Integra HD-DVD deck and then the very next post your heading says "HD DVD Continues to Deliver the Most Affordable Hardware":lol :lol :lol


And for $40 we are only getting a Dolby Digital+ soundtrack with Transformers???

FUCK THAT!!!

:lol :lol :lol :lol

 

[theBishop]

Curious: are you guys really this excited about Transformers? Personally, I thought it was lousy, and it has a "Rotten" tomato-rating. This isn't a critique of HD-DVD, I'm just surprised some of you are so hyped for it. Now Bourne Trilogy... that I understand the hype about.

 

[Petrarca]

Most readers appreciate it when someone posts press releases. It gives us something to laugh at

fixed

 

[Petrarca]

Prison Break BD on November 13


http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...ak_Blu-ray_Gets_Specs_and_a_November_Date/932

Early info is in for Fox Home Entertainment's first TV-on-high-def release, 'Prison Break: Season One,' which is now set for Blu-ray release this November.

Fox first announced that 'Prison Break' was bound for high-def disc last month, when it was mentioned as part of their extensive slate of nearly thirty new titles due on Blu-ray this fall.


This morning, Dave Lambert over at TVShowsonDVD.com got the early jump on the disc's full details to be officially announced shortly, which will see 'Prison Break: Season One' hit Blu-ray on November 13 in a five-disc box set containing all 22 episodes.

Extras will be identical to the previously-released standard-def DVD version of 'Season One,' including audio commentary with cast and crew on select episodes, three making-of featurettes, a Fox TV special, and deleted/alternate scenes.

Tech specs include 1080p video and DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround on all 22 episodes.

List price for the Blu-ray is $99.98.

You'll find disc details for 'Prison Break: Season One' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under November 13. Watch for box art to be revealed in the coming days.

 

[sonycowboy]

Prison Break Blu-Ray PR

'Prison Break' Blu-ray Gets Specs and a November Date
Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 03:06 PM ET
Tags: Disc Announcements, TV on High-Def, Fox (all tags)

Early info is in for Fox Home Entertainment's first TV-on-high-def release, 'Prison Break: Season One,' which is now set for Blu-ray release this November.

Fox first announced that 'Prison Break' was bound for high-def disc last month, when it was mentioned as part of their extensive slate of nearly thirty new titles due on Blu-ray this fall.

This morning, Dave Lambert over at TVShowsonDVD.com got the early jump on the disc's full details to be officially announced shortly, which will see 'Prison Break: Season One' hit Blu-ray on November 13 in a five-disc box set containing all 22 episodes.

Extras will be identical to the previously-released standard-def DVD version of 'Season One,' including audio commentary with cast and crew on select episodes, three making-of featurettes, a Fox TV special, and deleted/alternate scenes.

Tech specs include 1080p video and DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround on all 22 episodes.

List price for the Blu-ray is $99.98.

You'll find disc details for 'Prison Break: Season One' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under November 13. Watch for box art to be revealed in the coming days.

 

[TAJ]

First you show a post about an $1100 Integra HD-DVD deck and then the very next post your heading says "HD DVD Continues to Deliver the Most Affordable Hardware":lol :lol :lol

It's meant for the same market as the Denon Bluray player, which happens to be $2000.

 

[Petrarca]

sonycowboy,

can you help me out here with the thread title?

 

[The Main Event]

Prison Break BD on November 13


http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...ak_Blu-ray_Gets_Specs_and_a_November_Date/932

Prison Break Blu-Ray PR

That's a lot of PR.

 

[thaivo]

fixed

"If you don't succeed,redefine success!"

:lol Your tag fits you well..

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Does this mean that the Cedia show started today? Are wo to expect a flood of press releases over the 48 hours? That's OK by me, btw-- I just think that the people who push the meaningless ones as big news (on both sides of the aisle) look foolish.

 

[rc213]

PR WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARZ!

 

[StoOgE]

Curious: are you guys really this excited about Transformers? Personally, I thought it was lousy, and it has a "Rotten" tomato-rating. This isn't a critique of HD-DVD, I'm just surprised some of you are so hyped for it. Now Bourne Trilogy... that I understand the hype about.

i am. i thought it was a great popcorn flick.

bourne is a much better film, but transformers was 8 year old stooges boyhood dreams realized.

as per reviews... anyone older than 35 probably would hate it. nostalgia was its greatest strength

 

[Wulfer]

Does this mean that the Cedia show started today? Are wo to expect a flood of press releases over the 48 hours? That's OK by me, btw-- I just think that the people who push the meaningless ones as big news (on both sides of the aisle) look foolish.

Yes and I created a thread for it. Some news is already posted from the source links.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=187566

 

[StoOgE]

Does this mean that the Cedia show started today? Are wo to expect a flood of press releases over the 48 hours? That's OK by me, btw-- I just think that the people who push the meaningless ones as big news (on both sides of the aisle) look foolish.

yeppers. we should get a full slate of release lists through the end of 07 soon

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

i am. i thought it was a great popcorn flick.

bourne is a much better film, but transformers was 8 year old stooges boyhood dreams realized.

as per reviews... anyone older than 35 probably would hate it. nostalgia was its greatest strength

That is the source of my indifference-- I'm too old to really care about Transformers from a nostolgia POV. I do like big 'sploshuns, though-- I'll rent it.


Thanks for the link to that thread and the responses, guys.

 

[KZObsessed]

Prison Break BD on November 13

I'll be buying that thank you very much!

Never watched the series but my brother is always telling me how great it is.