I just want to assure you all that MrChaos is not me posting under a second screename.

Why would anyone think you and I are the same person? If so, that is completely ludicrious..

If you read the thread, then you'd see that SM was "canvassing" for a reviewer position (said with humor). His comments weren't ludicrious. The little winky smilie shows that he was kidding around.

Ah.. my apologies... I haven't read this whole thread...

Actually, to be fair, I was asking about it in the BD review thread, but most people here read all the active threads, so I figured most, like Qui Gon, would have known the reference.

Anyway, MrChaos, don't worry, I was just having som fun.

I make it a point to spot-check the DVD side for a comparison with the HD side, but there's no way I will ever have time to watch the whole movie again in SD or to compare the disc's SD side with the regular DVD edition. There simply aren't enough hours in my life to waste with comparisons that I personally don't see the need for. I don't believe that anyone who buys these discs ever uses the SD side. People "on the fence" aren't going to buy the hybrid disc before they upgrade; they're not going to buy anything until they've made up their mind.

Rumor Has It and 16 Blocks are single-layered on both sides. I mentioned in my 16 Blocks review that the DVD side has a lot of blatant compression artifacting. I did not compare it to the regular DVD edition, which I assume is dual-layer and probably better quality.

We're up to an even fifty HD DVD reviews (51, counting the player).

I find it funny that a majority of HD-DVD films are either recommended or highly recommended (with 6-7 rent it and 1-2 skip it) while Blu-Ray (the 'better' format) has a majority of rent it/skip it with a few recommended (2-3 highly recommended).

With 2-3 players (HP's is coming soon), HD-DVD seems to be the way to go right now.

Keep the great reviews coming guys! I enjoy reading them all.

The current breakdown is:

<pre>+--------------------+---------+
| Advice | Reviews |
+--------------------+---------+
| Recommended | 23 |
| Rent It | 16 |
| Highly Recommended | 10 |
| Skip It | 1 |
+--------------------+---------+</pre>

If you're curious, broken out by reviewer...

Me:

<pre>+--------------------+---------+
| Advice | Reviews |
+--------------------+---------+
| Recommended | 13 |
| Rent It | 13 |
| Highly Recommended | 4 |
+--------------------+---------+</pre>

Josh:

<pre>+--------------------+---------+
| Advice | Reviews |
+--------------------+---------+
| Recommended | 10 |
| Highly Recommended | 6 |
| Rent It | 3 |
| Skip It | 1 |
+--------------------+---------+</pre>

The perception that blu-ray was better was based solely on the promised specs. Now that we actually have reality (functioning consumer products), I don't think anyone other than Sony is claming with a straight face that BD is 'better'. And even they are not really doing that any more, instead trying to make excuses as to why their discs look like poop.

Hey Adam,

Your review of The Searchers was spot on. I could not believe how great that transfer looked. I think it just shows how great some of those old film stocks are, especially when they used Technicolor.

Thanks! I appreciate it.

125 HD DVD software reviews (126, if you count the player). Blu-ray is dangerously close to breaking the 100 mark.