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!

Sony delays Blu-ray set-top again
High-definition player now expected in December
By Susanne Ault 10/24/2006
OCT. 24 | The launch of Sony Corp.’s first standalone Blu-ray Disc player has been further delayed to early December, a company spokesman confirmed.

Originally expected in spring, and then most recently on Oct. 25, Sony’s Blu-ray player needs fine-tuning with its software functioning, according to the company.

As of Tuesday, the Web site of Sony retail hub SonyStyle listed the player as being available around Dec. 4.

Hardware specialist Ultimate Electronics believes its shoppers will be able to get their hands on the player by mid-December.

Sony is readying its player at the same time the company perfects its PlayStation 3 videogame console, which launches on Nov. 17 and includes Blu-ray capability.


But the Sony spokesman insisted that PS3 concerns are not trumping production issues for the standalone Blu-ray player.

“The hardware for [the player] has been completed,” the spokesman said. “We are in essence addressing a software function in the player to help meet our expectations. It’s just operational.”

In contrast to Panasonic’s limited launch this month, Sony plans to bow its player at large and small retailers nationwide.

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).

I agree.

I really want to pick up "Slither", but the very high price tag (even amazon lists at $28) is keeping me from ordering.

So do buy.com.

Someone here just picked it up for (i think) $21.

Also, I don't consider it something that HD DVD is doing wrong as a whole. It was asked at our "meet" who the hell is deciding this and the pricing is completely left up to the studios. If you want to blame anyone, put it on the studios.

No shipping to Canada, or I would!

I have some others. They are gripes more than anything.

Not enough TrueHD soundtracks
Warner Bros release window is too short
Some titles do not include all of the extras from the SD dvd (Superman: The movie is an example)
Need more titles!!

Buy.com/Google is taking care that problem for me.

$21 at Buy.com

Just at a $1.50 filler to your order