I have no interest in this film...but I hope that this works out because it would be a great idea for those of us planning on holding out on HD for awhile and later get the benefit of titles already purchased.

'Rumor Has It' Makes DVD History


Rob Reiner's Rumor Has It went virtually unnoticed when it opened theatrically on Christmas Day last year (It earned just $7.5 million over the holiday weekend.) But it is going down in history as the first film to be released on DVD in high definition on one side of the disk and standard definition on the other. Warner Home Video plans to have it in stores on May 9 (along with the regular DVD version). In an interview with Home Media Retailing magazine, WHV exec Steve Nickerson said that the "hybrid" discs will give "consumers the greatest flexibility in viewing options: If they own an HD DVD player, they'll get all the benefits of HD DVD. ... If they're considering a future purchase of an HD DVD player, they can still enjoy the movie [on their existing DVD player] until they upgrade."

That sounds like a GREAT idea! Finally a "flipper" I can get behind.

Now I wonder if the supplements will only be on the standard DVD side... hmmm...

...if not for the $39.99 MSRP, maybe! Yikes.

Was I the only one that thought this thread was rumors about "Flipper" coming out in standard and HD.

I think 2 separate discs would be better.

Rest In Piece disc art.

I think this is an awful idea.

A regular DVD is being released ($28.98 MSRP). The only way to watch the movie in high-definition is the overpriced hybrid.

I hope they don't do this with new titles that I'll actually buy....like Superman Returns and similar titles. I don't want to pay more for a dvd side I'll never use.

Yeah, that's just STUPID pricing. These Hybrid discs should cost exactly the same as the standard HD-DVD's.

Better yet..if they REALLY wanted to sell these things, sell them at the same price as normal DVD's.

Patience. If hi-def succeeds there will be Wal-Mart bargains in the future.

Same here. My first thought was "Wow, is Flipper such a highly wanted title that (a) it would be one of the first HD-DVD releases and (b) people would be interested not just in its release but in rumors of its release?" The end result makes slightly more sense... I guess.

Guess they had to do something to attract interest after Jennifer Aniston called it the worst movie ever.

Make sure you send the studios a list of movies you'll actually buy just in case.

It got me too.

Any sort of flipper is a no go with me!

Pro-B

Flipper usually refers to a DVD that you have to "flip" in the middle of the movie to watch the rest of it. For example, DVD's that have widescreen on one side and fullscreen on the other are not referred to as "flippers". I guess I would call this a dual sided disc or something similar.

Ahh semantics.

For what it's worth, I think this is a worthless idea.

1. People who want the HD version of the movie most likely don't have any need for the SD version
2. People who want the SD version because they don't have/care about HD shouldn't/wouldn't have to pay a premium to get this title.

They need to Release the flipper TV show with jail bait Jessica Alba

The obvious benefit would be so people wouldn't have to double dip in the future.

I don't see myself taking part in this, though. I'm waiting for the cheaper standard dvd's. HD-DVD's will come in time, once they drop in price.

Pretty limited appeal, IMHO. The only target audience I figure is folks who have an HD player in the main room, and SD players in one or more other rooms. The higher MSRP is pretty dumb, though. Honestly, if I had both HD and SD players, I'd only buy the HD version and rip an SD copy for my other one from someone else before I pay extra for this.

-AC

Hybrids are a dumb idea for many reasons.

I hate flippers. No disc are and having to scwint my eyes to read which side is right they are a pain.

There is no regular HD-DVD version. Who with HD-DVD wants to pay that much for a standard definition version you never plan to use.

Death to Hybrid discs.

Death to Flipper.

A 2-disc (1 HD, 1 not) single-sided release would be better, and cost very little extra. Optical disc production is cheap. I hate flippers.

The problem there is that people would give away the SD discs to someone who would then not buy the movie at all. Also, rental outlets would be able to rent them separately and make more money off of "one" copy.