Columbia House plans to begin carrying both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs fall 2007
 

I logged into my CH account today and found the "Learn more about Hi-Def DVDs" banner:

What are high-definition DVDs?

High-definition DVDs have the capacity for storing and playing high-definition images. They hold up to five times the data of a standard DVD.

They also have a much higher resolution than regular DVDs. This means they have a much clearer, detailed picture. DVDs have a maximum resolution of 480 lines, while high-definition DVDs can have a resolution of up to 1080 lines. High-Definition DVDs are only available in widescreen, so the image will fill the entire screen of your HDTV.

What is the difference between HD DVD™ and Blu-ray™?

HD DVD and Blu-ray are competing formats. Each of these formats requires a special player. Unfortunately, you cannot use your current DVD player to play HD DVD or Blu-ray discs, nor can you use an HD DVD player to play a Blu-ray disc or vice versa.

Will I have to throw out my DVD collection and start over?

No! Virtually all Blu-ray and HD DVD players are backward compatible and will play your DVD discs. In fact, with the proper setup, your DVDs will look even better! There are still a limited number of films available in Blu-ray and HD DVD, so hold on to the DVDs you currently own.

There are also some new releases available in combo form: HD DVD and DVD. This means you can play the movie on your current DVD player now and play the HD DVD side of the disc when you upgrade to high-definition equipment.

What do I need to get started?

To enjoy your HD DVD and Blu-ray movies, you will need an HD-ready (built-in tuner) or HD-capable TV set in 16:9 aspect (widescreen high-def TV). You will also need HD cables and one of the following:

An HD DVD, Blu-ray player, or combo player.
Video game system that supports high-definition DVDs.
Computer drive that supports high-definition DVDs.
HD-compatible cables.

How do I choose between HD DVD and Blu-ray?

Now that you are ready to go high-def, you should look at what titles are available in the various formats. You should also research the price of the players and the discs. Plus, the major studios are releasing films on different formats. Here's a list that may help you decide:
Sony, Fox, MGM/UA, Lionsgate and Disney are releasing only Blu-ray versions.
Universal is releasing only HD DVD versions at this time.
Warner, Paramount and DreamWorks are releasing both HD DVD and Blu-ray versions.
New Line has not yet released any high-definition discs.

Will Columbia House support both of these new formats?

We plan to begin carrying both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs in the fall of 2007. Please click on the link above if you'd like us to notify you when your favorite movies are available in these formats.

This quote from CH is incorrect:

High-Definition DVDs are only available in widescreen, so the image will fill the entire screen of your HDTV.

Fucking Awesome!!!!

I think this will be the only thing to bring me back to CH

Fucking-A-Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Loving my D2 purchase even more.

It will be interesting to see:

- will a new club be formed or will HD discs just become fulfillment only titles in the standard clubs?
- what deals will be available?
- what about Fox and Disney titles?

this is some freaking excellent news...

Who Cares


At this point, who cares.
- what about Fox and Disney titles?

[/QUOTE]
Again, who cares. Any HDDVD/Bluray deal is OK with me.

I think I'll just stick with regular DVDs, they will probably not be fazed out for a long time yet and they are always going to come out with new stuff.

I just hope that CH has a big launch. CH has been known to have a small launch(6 Criterions, a few Anime titles, etc) and then never add any additional titles after the first batch. This is very exciting news for me since I just took the A2 plunge at Amazon.

Outstanding, I keep an account open at all times, so I hope to be able to just order BDs and/or HDDVDs when they become available.

This is great news. I'm curious about the Fox and Disney titles also.

I won't be all that excited until they are available as enrollments. But at least it's a start.

Enrollments would be ideal, but fulfillments and BOGO would work fine too. I just hope that they don't make them "Premium Selections" like they do with new releases at the BMG Music Club.

I would expect big launch, this would give CH a good shot in the arm right before Christmas. I know I am excited to hear this.

Well I hope it works out the way you want, maybe a big sale of the newer DVDs would bring the regular ones down in price even more. :)

GREAT NEWS. Thank you so much for the update. I actually haven't joined in quite a few months as I've been mostly getting HD/Blu-Ray. However, I think I am gonna sign up for a new account tonight or tomorrow as there are a lot of standard def DVD I still want to pick up

You are correct that SD DVDs aren't going to be phased out any time soon. It is not clear if either of the high def formats will ever supplant them; so far it looks unlikely.

Nevertheless, there are many of us here who already have HD DVD and/or Blu-ray Disc players and are already enjoying our high definition discs.

We have been wondering since the middle of last year when Columbia House would take the high def plunge. So this is potentially good news for us, depending on how CH prices the discs. At the present time HD discs are pretty expensive, especially compared to the $4.80 or so we pay for SD DVDs from CH.

I guess it's finally time to pick up that HD-DVD player

Is this going to lead to people purchasing HD/Blu-Ray only to get regular DVDs sent to them, and CSRs not understanding what the complaint is? :)

Oh, I think that goes without saying.

they probally won`t be fazed out for a long time but they won`t have a long as run as king of media like most people thought. a lot of people wern`t expecting hd-dvds and blu-ray to become this popular this fast. the dvd reign won`t be as long as the vcr reign was.

Hey, I just got an email from CH. 5 HD-DVDs or Blu-rays for $100! :up: :banana:

I don't care if they are no longer king, as long as they keep making the regular ones, there is always going to be something better down the road, I can imagine a time when even HD and Blu-rays have to face this.