OldBoy

Like "Braveheart" or "Backdraft" and whatever else was rumored to get a Special Edition on regular DVD soon. I hope not because that would suck.

PixyJunket

No.

marty888

No.

Brian Shannon

Exactly how soon do you think this is going to be? Films shot in HD? Studios switching distribution from current dvd's to hd-dvd's? How many hd players will exist in the first year compared to the current number of players?

This issue is 5+ years down the road as far as I am concerned and I am going to get all the enjoyment I can out existing discs and players in my current theater.

OldBoy

Well, if you read some of the many posts on this forum right now...the first are set to be released later this year. That being said I was asking if companies would just forgo SE's on regular DVD to concentrate on the new medium.
I am going to get all the enjoyment I can out existing discs and players in my current theater.
so are we all, but that wasn't the point of the argument.

gutwrencher

no way. they will be sucking $ out of us for as long as possible. this cow is gonna get milked dry.

murphy_wmm

To answer the question - no they don't forgo SE's on dvd, because HD-DVD (and its lovely counter part, blu ray) will either die a quick death or never gain mainstream acceptance.

tek2k

of course not

Brian Shannon

Your argument is whether or not studios will stop producing SE versions of dvd's if they can put out hd-dvd's of the same disc.

I do not feel this is even remotely possible based on all the reasons I listed and possibly many more.

It is one thing to be excited about "new" technology it is quite another to actually have hardware and software on the shelf at prices people can afford with content that they care about.

Qui Gon Jim

Open minded. Everyone said the same about DVD to VHS a few years ago.

To think there will be no HD format is just ignorant.

speedyray

I agree that is it will not die, or at least not both of them. I hope one does though. It will however be like Laserdisc (only a minority will have it) until at least I would say 2008 or 2009. Even then I bet DVD will still rule the roost.

I don't think we will see any reduction in DVD releases. Hell they still release VHS. I saw a guy rent three last night. DVD releases will stop when they do not make money. They may become more limited but that is years away. It is still easy to find 4:3 televisions even though the switch is upon us, why because they sell. Same way cassette tapes took forever to phase out. I noticed the other nigh that Hastings is just know finishing the phase out of cassette tapes.

Qui Gon Jim

I agree that it will take a while, but the difference between cassettes and CDs and VHS laserdisc and DVD is that DVDs will play in HD/BR DVD players. Much like PS2 supplanted PS1, so will the next gen format. It will take a while but it will happen. The change wiould come quicker if the idiots had decided on one format.

And anyone that says that there is really no diffence needs to watch some DiscoveryHD Theater or OnHD to see what 1080 mastering can give you. Believe me I love my DVDs, but if I can watch LOTR Star Wars and Indy looking that good, sign me up!

hifisapien

The original question/post does not make any sense to me. What obviously will happen is all
new home video productions will be mastered in HD. That way they can sell it to
the HDTV broadcast networks like HBO-HD etc and release it on BOTH HD-DVD and standard DVD. Creating the DVD master from the HD masters is a VERY simple matter.
Only catch is there may be new features that HD-DVD format has that the DVD format doesnt support so those features may have to be modified or deleted when creating
the DVD.
the hifisapien

OldBoy

yes...and your garbled mess is perfectly clear!

chipmac

I think the original poster has a point. We all know that the studios are in it to make money. So if HD DVD can be sold for more than SD DVD they just might hold off on any reissues until they can do it on HD DVD next year. They also could see this as a way to get people to buy into HD DVD. They can could be sending the message loud and clear that if you want to get an SE of your favorite movie you need to make the upgrade to our new format.

TheKing

Most of the early HD and Blu-Ray releases will be bare bones. You'll pay a premium for the discs, but it'll be for the quality video and audio. These will be the laserdiscs of their time. Studios would be rather stupid if they slacked off on standard DVD for a market that doesn't really exist yet.

This is much different than the switch from VHS. You didn't need to buy a new TV to see the advantage that DVD had over videotape. In this case, you do. People with normal TV's will have no interest or need for this format yet, just like laserdiscs.

It's not a matter of how much better HD is. Until HDTV's come down in price (not to mention these new players), HD will remain a niche market.

philo

I wouldn't be surprised to see the new HD discs featuring extras unavailable on DVD. I hope that quality releases of catalogue titles don't suffer as the emphasis shifts to gettting out a whole slew of new films on HD.

Brian Shannon

Not possible.

It does not matter if titles have been announced.

There are two competing formats and no actual players for sale. To think that studios will canniblize their existing dvd sales for the chance to see new discs at higher prices is absurd.

hifisapien

What dont you understand about what I stated? I thinks its very clear and simple but am willing to explain any parts you dont seem to understand.
the hifisapien

hifisapien

WRONG! The studios would be insane at this point to come out with home video releases in HD-DVD format only because the bootleggers would have a field day supporting the market the studios would be abandoning. Aint gonna happen! DVD will be supported with new releases for a very long time until the market drys up which could be many years from now.
the hifisapien

hifisapien

You obviously didnt own LD and dont own HDTV. You didnt need to buy a new TV to see the advantge of LD over VHS so whats your point with all these laserdisc references?
You obviously dont much about HDTV. Its not just a "niche market" anymore (there are over 10 million sets sold already in the USA).
HDTVs are not expensive anymore and if you venture into any electronics
store today you will be hard pressed to even find one "normal" TV for sale as you put it.
HDTVs are now the "normal" TVs. It is impossible to view the full quality of DVD without a HDTV due to the need for progressive scanning and 16:9 screen modes so your point about buying a new TV for HD-DVDs being a big difference between DVD launch and HD-DVD launch doesnt really hold up.
You already need a HDTV now for proper DVD viewing anyway.

While I am sure the early HD-DVD discs will not be as advanced as later releases ( It takes time for any new media to mature), I seriously doubt that they are going to try to market new discs and players by not giving any bonus features. In fact I would be very surprised if the intial releases dont
have some features not even possible with DVD format but I cant imagine what those might be at this point. I was surprised at the new features when DVD came out so I will probably be surprised again when HD-DVD comes out.

And I take strong exception with your last statement. It IS A MATTER OF HOW MUCH BETTER HD is over the old NTSC format. The quality difference is not subtle. HDTV is so far and away better than the old format it will become
mainstream quickly, not niche. That is evidenced NOW by that lack of non-HDTVs in the stores.
the hifisapien

Doughboy

I agree with that. I think most of the early HD-DVD/Blu-Ray releases will be bare bones while their DVD counterparts will have extras. Think of it as the equivalent to Sony's Superbit scam....errrrr, marketing strategy.

hifisapien

Only time will tell ( We'll see by the end of the year) but I think you two are going to be mistaken regarding this "bare bones" approach to HD-DVD. Products improve with time, not go backwards. The primary market for HD-DVD format is former DVD format owners. They know that. They are not going to take away things you want and have grown accustomed too. There is enuff data storage on the new discs to have top quality image AND special features unlike DVD. Even DVD has gotten around that problem by putting the
special features on a second disc which HD-DVD can do too. I seriously doubt you are going to see many "bare bones" HD-DVDs as you put it. You
also are not taking competition into account. If Paramount for example has special features and Fox Doesnt then Fox is going to be under tremendous market pressure to start adding what Paramount has. This is not a monopoly situation.
the hifisapien

Doughboy

I'm not saying it's gonna be like that with all HD-DVD/Blu-Ray releases. I just think with the initial titles, the studios realize the early adopters are looking for the best video and audio quality, and that's what they'll deliver. Plus, I think they'll try to keep the first wave of releases down to a single disc per title(since manufacturing costs could presumably be higher than standard DVDs), so they'll have to forgo a lot of the extras we're used to seeing.

hifisapien

Well I disagree. I forgot to mention. Why would I buy a "bare bones" HD-DVD containing only the movie when I can tape it off the air with exact same quality? One of the things that has made DVD so popular is it offered better quality than STANDARD definition broadcasts, but DVD is worse than HD broadcasts. In order to make HD-DVD viable they are going to make it better
than HDTV broadcasts like DVD did with SD. The way to do that is via
bonus features not bare bones movie only.
the hifisapien