Nope regular DVDs don't have it...at least not yet. I also believe that it is an HD DVD exclusive thing, so you won't see it on BD. Plus the feature on Mallrats is absolutely nothing like the IME. All that allows you to do is press the angle button every now and then so you can watch the people as they filmed the commentary. That is the feature that you are talking about right? The IME on the other hand runs the entire length of the film and is not just people talking during the commentary. It shows every aspect from the film's production as I stated before. Your best bet is to just rent one of the discs that has this feature so you can understand what I'm talking about. Bryan Singer talks about it here and how he plans to use it for Superman Returns. So it's not just some fluff thing that is tacked on.

For anyone on the fence about the price of the media, the Bargains thread in this forum has a lot of really good deals. Right now I'm getting my discs at an average of $19 per disc (that average would be far lower if they didn't keep making those stupid combo discs).

Also, IME cannot be done on DVD, as it utilizes the interactive layer of HD DVD, which DVD doesn't have. It's the same reason you can't pop up the menu while watching a DVD and have the movie continue to play, whereas all HD DVDs so far do that.

IME is probably THE best draw as an "extra" to HD DVD. It's a 2 hour video commentary, essentially. After spectacular video and audio, it's really icing on the cake for someone who likes extras but doesn't find them "special" any more.

All it would take is a player that is worth its sticker price.

I suspect my first HD purchases will be during DDD's Nov sale. I was planning to get a 360 anyways, so for $200 more I can easily jump into HDDVD. (and no I don't care if it won't be the "best" player on the market)

BR I will probably hold off on till next spring... a new tv is penciled in for next summer as well. :)

I wouldn't write "next spring" in ink if I were you. Unless there's some game you really want for the PS3.

So, in other words, the HD-A1.

This makes me sad and long for the good old days when we had averages under $5 thanks to insane sales. :(

Eh, $15-$19 is what I generally paid for SE DVDs, so I have no problem paying the same amount for HD DVDs that have far better picture and sound quality, plus all the extras and then some more.

It's been a long time since you could regularly get SD DVDs that cheap, anyway.

Wishfully thinking:

PC/laptop HD-DVD drives

No more format war

Some way to convert HD-DVDs to standard-def DVDs, or cheap enough Hi-def DVD players that you can play the DVDs beyond just on your one single HD-DVD player


I mean, what do I do if I want to watch a hi-def DVD somewhere that's not on my projector/living room? What If I want to watch it on my PC? Or in a hotel room. Woops, can't watch it anywhere but at home. :shrug:

Oh, and enough ambition/money to upgrade my projector to a Hidef DLP projector.

Realistically?

Lord of the Rings on hi-def
Babylon 5 Hi-def (I know, unlikely)

I'm a LOTR whore, and even more of a B5 whore

I guess for me I don't see the point of watching an HD DVD anywhere but in my living room with my HD TV and surround sound. I feel the reason that HD DVD exists is for superior picture and sound that is closing the gap between home theaters and movie theaters, not for accessibility. When on a road trip or in a hotel room, I won't have a HD TV or surround sound system with me, so a SD DVD would serve me just fine. But that's just me. And I think I read somewhere that there will soon be laptops with HD DVD drives, and I'm sure portable players will follow. I get your point though and I'm sure many more people feel the same way. I'm proabaly the odd man out on this issue. Too bad combo discs are overpriced.

Well, I'd be happy with the SD-DVD on the road, but then I'd have to buy the SD-DVD AND the HD-DVD. :(

Suprmallet I know that the HD-DVDs are all released with Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby True HD but what I was pointing out was the option of having both on one disc like Paramount is doint now.
I don't care in what form (although DTS-HD and Dolby True would be nice :D ) as long as they are on there.

:thumbsup:

The 4th quarter should offer some of the more popular titles (Batman Begins, Harry Potter 4, X Men 3, POTC2, The Matrix, Superman Returns, King Kong) and I think that will get many to adopt the new format(s).

Well i'm holding out till spring of 07 because that's when we buy our projector/HDTV. It will be the first HD tv i get, just not sure if i'll get the projector or the TV. I really wish i could get it now, i can get HD DVD movies from work for less than $10. I would start buying them now but i just can't bring myself to buy them now and not be 100% sure that HDDVD is still the best in 9 months.

:lol: Hardly.basaro is correct, as usual.

The majority of my DVD collection came from Columbia House. For the last year or two the average DVD price at CH has been ~$5.86 (or less with certain sale offers).

Whether Columbia House will sell HD DVD or BD remains to be seen but I sure hope so since the current $20 or so per title at regular retailers, such as Amazon, is pretty steep IMHO.

Of course certain reviewers get free discs and even Columbia House wouldn't be as inexpensive that!

This cost of discs is why I don't think dropping $500 on a player is as big a deal as some make it out to be. Surely most of us here have spent considerably more on discs over the years than we have on players. Saving a few bucks on each disc adds up to more than the cost of a player in short order. Yes, a $200 player would be nice, but the real cost of adopting these new formats is in the discs. That's why so many are renting for now (an option that isn't practical for me).

My 2¢.

I will jump on the wagon once I get a HDTV that will actually benefit from the HD DVD. Probably this Christmas or early spring.

Whichever comes first: if HD-DVD gets full or 90% studio support or Blu-Ray comes out with it's improved picture via different codecs/larger discs. They'll probably be second-gen by then, so hopefully improved hardware.

So, all you're saying is you want some form of DD and DTS on one disc? What if it only had DTS, hmm?


And GreenMonkey, you are the perfect market for those godawful combos they've been forcing on us.

I'd have no problem with the combo discs if they didn't charge more for them.

No problem there if it only had DTS but it's mostly the other way round.......
There is enough space to putt them both on so studio's should realy please all people and not give only a Dolby option.

I agree...I think this is all turning out to be about Q4. Thats why we havent seen any huge releases yet (Batman Begins, HP, Kong and so on). Its giving them more time to prepare.

I really think HD-DVD can make a HUGE gain this fall with the euro players coming out, studio canal titles overseas (which we can watch here), coming soon list on hd-dvd promo site (matrix trilogy, batman begins, daydate titles, possible LOTR), xbox 360 add on and so on.

BD has an uphill battle.

If I could get an HD-DVD player for less than $400 Canadian, I would buy one tomorrow.

Here's what it'll take to get me into HDDVD:

1) a PC drive for either, priced < $300, and
2) TheaterTek (or a codec to use a filter graph on) to support it.

I'm really leaning towards HD-DVD because of the quality and quantity of the software.