For those interested (and I know there's a ton of you), this will be coming out in the UK on March 12th.

At least a little good news on the HD DVD front.

It will be released by WB in the UK so I'm assuming you'll get a boatload of extras unlike the Studio Canal releases.

Yep this will be mine. Awesome flick.

I generally don't get into importing, but if it's head and shoulders above the BD release here, I might give it a shot. Any recommendations for good international sites to pick up imports?

I still maintain that as a BD-50, the domestic BR will stand as the better disc. Not that the WB import won't be great as well, but, for dual format owners, it won't be worth the import costs.

I'm not saying it is or isn't going to be true at all, as long as it's mildly close I'll pick it up on BD. But I'd still like some importing recommendations so I can have an idea of how much it costs to import these from reputable sites.

Amazon has the BD for $23. Exploited will probably have the import for $34. Neither of these have shipping costs included.

If I can get this for under $35 shipped, I will probably get it, especially if it contains any bonus material that the BD doesn't. I'm also considering waiting until April or May and just ordering multiple European HD DVDs (including Harry Potter and La Haine) to save on shipping overall.

Bus, by April, all the HP may be out on domestic HD-DVD (or at least announced).

For $23 I will buy the BD on release day. I loved this film. if reviews start coming in that the import is better, I may trade up.

The only thing the WB release will likely have that the BV one won't is the trailer. I suppose the HD-DVD could possibly include a Dolby TrueHD track, but BV includes PCM audio on all their releases, so that's a wash.

I think I'll save 15+ bucks and get the Blu-ray release a month early.

The WB release will most definitely be in VC1.

If that's the case, what a tough trade-off... VC1 vs. lossless PCM 5.1. I'll go with the best price on this one too.

And most people put high PQ over AQ. I guess we'll see what the difference is. It should be interesting to say the least.

Too bad I never saw the movie and couldn't care less about this release.

I'm considering buying both versions just to see the differences.

If you don't mind them being viewed-once discs, maybe we can work something out.

If I give in to temptation and am able to score a relatively inexpensive, non-PS3 Blu-Ray player, something for which I'm currently searching, I'll probably get the Blu-Ray version. Otherwise, I'll import, as this is a must own title.

You and me both, at this point. But the problem is that I want a player that's FULL FEATURED (right namja ) and none are, at the moment.

I'm hoping they start blowing out the samsung's or something.

Considering that the PS3 is an excellent BD player, capable of 1080p and subject to constant updates, and will be able to be used as a media server with the 2.0 update in Spring (rumored), I would say $500 for the 20gb model is a pretty good option.

I don't want to watch movies on a video game system. I just can't wrap my mind around that.

And, honestly, I'd rather not support Sony simply because it was the only reasonable option they've given us. (sorry, namja). I think it sucks and that's my personal opinion.

The PS3 is a "personal entertainment system" You could make the argument that gaming is just part (albeit the biggest and primary) of it's capabilities.

As for "reasonable options", there are Sammy and Panasonic, and Sony players out there. Just because they are more expensive doesn't mean they aren't reasonable options.

I'd seriously think about getting the Sammy, if I could find one at a sub-$500 price. Panny is way out of my price range, and I refuse to support Sony directly.

Trust me, by purchasing into BD in any fashion, you are supporting Sony.

I've never understood this mentality. You power it on like any other standalone player. You pop in the disc. And you use the controller or remote(which is available for an extra 25 bucks) to select play. That's it! After that, you're basically watching a movie on a bonafide, kickass Blu-ray player.

About the only thing you'll miss from a standalone player(aside from analog outs) is the LCD display showing you the chapter and how much time has passed in the movie. And all you have to do for that info is hit "select" on the controller or remote and it'll provide you with not only that info, but also the codec, audio track selected, and video and audio bitrates.

As for not wanting to support Sony, think of it this way. They'll be losing between 200-300 bucks when you buy a PS3. Feel better?


Yes it will be. But Buena Vista has started using VC-1 on select titles, so they could do the same on The Prestige. And even if they don't, the extra 20 GB will help compensate if they go with MPEG2.

I paid about $250 for my A1 about 9 months ago. I'm not paying above $400 for something that I don't really need.

Well I have to throw in with digi here. I want dedicated video components.

I already had an Xbox 360, but instead of buying the add-on drive I got the A1. I don't want a 360 with an add-on drive and a PS3 on my component rack. For lack of a better term, it just looks wrong to me. Plus I don't like using my CRT for gaming, so I have my game systems on a 32" LCD in a different part of my basement.

Also, I am using the 5.1 outs from the A1, so to me that was worth getting the A1 at $400 before the A2 supplanted it with its lack of 5.1 outputs.

I got my Sony player because honestly, even with the firmware updates, I didn't have a ton of confidence in the quality of the Samsung player. And, the PS3 wasn't readily available at the time anyway. Sure, the Sony doesn't do advanced audio, and may never do it on this model, but the discs aren't doing it now either so it seemed like a moot point at the time.

I'm enjoying both machines right now, which is all that counts.