First off, you brought up MPEG-2.

So with 50GB total space on the BD side, HD DVD still has more features on the HD30 version (it has IME, BD doesn't).

EDIT: Didn't see that the HD DVD version also has 2 discs. Interesting. I suppose this gives weight to the idea that 2 disc versions are still going to be around regardless of space...

Composite cables?

Yes, but why did you get all negative about using it? When the results are the same, as they have shown to have been for all Paramount releases, there is no reason to speak of MPEG-2 like it was a bad thing.

And there is no way Blu-ray can be blamed for lack of TrueHD. That is all on the studio. When the HD-A1 came out, it didn't support it (fully?) yet titles were still released with the track.

Edit: to to mention that Legends of Jazz has a TrueHD track on it and has already been released:

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsth...?sequence=1603

Copyrighted Games on BD-Rs. ( I thought this was illegal)

No BD-50's insight

What is the extra cable for? I see USB, composite, ethernet, power, and ?

You missed that this a prototype. And Sony never said they would have BD-50 games yet.

Don't see either one as a big deal or a surprise. You don't say the origin of the picture.

Philips Blu-Ray player at Walmart.com: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5270016

I don't have a link, but the picture's from IGN.

Well, that's my point: they don't have the same result. MPEG-2 takes up considerably more space and bandwidth. Even assuming PQ is equivalent.

But, if you're happy with MPEG-2, BD25 releases, I'm right there behind you. Personally, I hope they continue the trend.

I think the idea is that TrueHD isn't mandatory in the BD spec and isn't supported by the Samsung (isn't that true?). I don't know why they didn't give the HD DVD version a TrueHD track. The BD option would have been LPCM... maybe they didn't have enough space for it on the BD25.

So the argument would be that they supported the lowest common denominator. I don't know that I believe that... after all the HD DVD version still got IME even though the BD version lacked the equivalent.

Wonder why no BD50 on this one?

Prototype or Not.... I thought the pratice was simply illegal.

Lots of prototypes and demos are on recordables nowadays. Nothing new.

Not really. If the developer/publisher is releasing them like that its perfectly legal. We get prerelease games from developers all the time and they mostly come on CD-R and DVD-R's or ocasionally as downloads.

Well, with previous releases it has been.

Id be curious to know the size of it too. Along with running at a higher bitrate, I would bet that the MPEG2 version is also larger while both output a similar picture.

So, yes, they very well may be identical, but I can see why that would be a negative for MPEG2.

I agree....there is no proof of it right now.

I think TrueHD and lossless track inclusion is all coming down to the mighty dollar right now.

Im sure this title is gonna sound great.

The XBox 360 HD DVD player appears to be a hot item. It is ranked #1 on Amazon in its category.

I didn't expect it to sell so well. Everyone of them will be used for HD DVD movies. I wonder how much of a boost that will give to HD DVD sales.

That's the thing though, did it really take up that much more space? Both are two disc releases, though Paramount surely could have (should have) put this on a single BD50 if it weren't for the marketing. Blu-ray comes in the flavor of two BD25s, with the HD DVD version having a HD DVD 15 and 30. Even if they were to have used VC-1 on the Blu-ray version, it would have been on a BD25, so what was there to gain?

It will definately be a boost for hd-dvd sales....the big question is whether the PS3 will be a huge boost for BD sales.

Only time will tell.

After about a month off, some new updates on HDCharts.com.

I'm not going to keep doing the hardware graph. At this point, there's too many models coming on and the data is not very good at being aggregated.

Software, however, is still interesting. I changed the by-format graph a bit: now "niche" titles like Chronos, Guitarscape Planet, and A View from Space... are weighed less. Their occasional very low rankings were throwing off the overall numbers (and weighing down DVD quite a bit). Here's the result:

http://www.fantasticdamage.com/conte.../hdformat6.gif

BD is now selling somewhat similar to HD DVD, even beating it (for the first time since I've tracked) on 10/18. I'm now starting to track a new wave of titles (Lake House, Unforgiven, Searchers, Phantom, Under Siege) but unfortunately I can't track all of the HD/BD releases: some don't show up.

New releases are still very HD DVD heavy, by a far margin. Check out some of the info at The DVD Wars.

I also added some more pie charts, including one of Sight and Sound's Top 10 poll. The first pie chart is by movie (each title gets 1 point), the second is by share (each appearance by a title on a list gets 1 point, so Citizen Kane is more of a heavyweight than Persona).

http://www.fantasticdamage.com/conte...arts/hdbfi.gif

Along all these critical pie charts, there's one key to the puzzle: MGM. They account for an overwhelming majority of the BD-only titles in the AFI list, for example.

I thought the 360 add-on was sold out?

Also, don't know if this was posted:

If the total size of the feature was 20gb for hd-dvd and 24gb for bd, then its still a negative. Its still larger even with hd-dvd having IME.

The second disc might have been a nonfactor due to it being large itself or keeping them somewhat uniform (highdefdigest claims both hd-dvd are hd30). Who knows.

Right now, we just dont know. Its an interesting argument. I wish we knew the sizes. If anyone knows them, please post.

I wonder if WB will use the same cases that Universal seems to be using now. I like them better. They seem more sturdy.

My 12 Monkeys, Out of Sight and The Thing were all in them.

Yep, I do like these better. They appear to be almost exact as the BD cases, which now have the additional snap on the case.

Yeah, I hope they become the standard....I tried swapping my Batman Begins with one, but the cover art didnt fit. :(


Funny that Universal is the only one using the similar BD cases....maybe they are cracking!!! :O

It's not only that, it also might be because of the deal they have with the actors and the rest of the crew.

Don't even start. You know the rules about "baiting." ;)

Good to see ya back, DFNYC!

BD player pushed back again...
 

I agree. You may be a fanboy, but you are not one of the annoying fanboys. :)

Hey, it's Mr. fanboi to you, ;)

And in all seriousness, I may be a fan but I'll gladly criticize HD DVD. I'm just waiting for them to do something wrong. :)

You mean you haven't heard about the amoeba like artifacts and the fact all VC-1 encoded movies look like they have jellyfish on the walls? Where have you been man.

Oh....I've been taking care of business. Watchin some HD DVD's with Sony brass.

Sorry to say, I am responsible for the amoeba and jellyfish comments.

I had no idea how strong that stuff was that I gave them.

Yes, both points are correct.

Are people here that forgetful about what happened with DVD?

The reason I'm saying is one specific basis why many releases aren't being 'tricked out' so to speak. It's the money.

Double dipping is here to stay and if studios add in all the features now, you aren't going to see that many re-releases and that is not a good thing for the studios. They want to be able to keep re-releasing so that they can add the high res soundtrack or IME that way they can generate the extra revenue. Granted not every title is going to warrant a double dip but look at Sony, Universal, Fox, and Paramount all of those studios have double dipped like crazy. If you guys think that for one second that's going to stop then you're all crazy.

MI3 will get double dipped at some point, so will the Fifth Element on BD, so will many of the titles that you guys are buying right now. The studios know that they can get away with it. Hell they got me buying em so for people to complain about a feature not being on either format there is only money to thank for that. If they can get people to buy Point Break over again then I see no reason for re-releases to end.

Look at all the early titles that were released on DVD and how bad those initial discs were. I'm sure people were complaining about how bad they were then but look how good DVD turned out. The same could be said for Blu-Ray and I'm not saying HD-DVD is not superior to BD at this point it is. Although the tide looks like it could be turning for both of them and I think HD-DVD needs all the help it can get because they can't afford to screw up, but BD can because of the support it has behind them.

In any event, you're gonna see superbit HD-DVDs and superbit BDs because the market will demand them and none of us can stop that from happening.

Actually, Paramount, like Warner, only double dip when it's necessary - i.e. issuing an anamorphic transfer of a movie that was previously non-anamorphic. The Star Trek movies are a good example. M:I3 may be dipped again at some point, but Paramount's track record with DVD indicates that it will take a while for that to come out. Hell, it took 4 or 5 years for them to reissue the first M:I flick in anamorphic format. Universal isn't as frugal about it as Paramount and Warner, but they're definitely better about it than Fox and Sony. Fox and Sony do it like it's going out of style.

joshd: I think the point is that even if there's no real difference between MPEG-2 and VC1, the format "war" comes down to two things: price and studio exclusivity.

Combo pricing.

There you have it.

I agree with that. Its hard to convince others of that when they comment that studio exclusivity "isn't set in stone" but continue to act as if price is. It is usually then when the MPEG-2 non-issue gets brought up again.

I'll slightly concede that. But at $24, it ain't that much more than a regular disc. Hell, I've gotten combos for under $20.

If you're paying the retail price then that's your problem.

I have to agree. Not only are the combos more expensive than they should be, but it makes the HD-DVD versions of the titles around $5 more than the BD versions. Someone on AVS made a good point about the higher price point killing blind buys for him (and it does for me as well). The studios must love blind buys, because it means people who don't even know if they like the movie are buying it anyway.

I just don't think the "benefit" of a combo outweighs the higher price. If you have a movie like King Kong on HD-DVD, are you actually going to watch the standard DVD side if you don't have access to your HD-DVD player? No, you're going to save your viewings for when you can see it in HD, and instead watch one of your dozens or hundreds of DVDs not available in HD yet (if ever).