jas722

Well I was planning on sitting out the High Def Dvd format war until it got cheaper or one was clearly winning, But I received the 360 add on as a present. So I'm thrust into it without knowing much about the current software.

I currently have:

Apollo 13
Batman Begins
Goodfellas
King Kong
V for Vendetta

I watched King Kong last night and was very impressed with the picture over regular dvd. I'm looking for what I should look to buy on the format next. I have some giftcards from FYE and planning on using them. I was going to buy some at a B&M store but they don't carry any HD media yet, but you can buy it on their website ?

I heard somewhere that you can import titles that aren't currently available in the US, is their a list of these somewhere ?


Thanks

XavierMike

I would recomend buying movies that you like. I think that will enhance your enjoyment of the format more than eye candy. However, The Hulk, Corpse Bride, The Searchers, Grand Prix, amd MI:III are some other titles thought to have great picture quality.

jas722

Thanks for the Tip, is their a list somewhere that has hd dvds available in other countries that the US hasn't released yet ?

Arpeggi

Get Casino and Out of Sight.

GMan2819

Xploited Cinema carries a few import HD DVDs.

I think this forum shows the cover art for all HD DVDs available world-wide.

jas722

thanks for the links, But yikes had no idea imports were that much more expensive.

LivingINClip

I'd love to find a site that reviews the imported HD DVD's. There are a few films like Reign of Fire, I'd purchase but I have no clue how the video is on 'em. Anyone know of some sites?


I just bought my HD player friday, picked up Clerks 2, Batman Begins, King Kong and The Corpse Bride .

Blake

Wikipedia has a good list of HD-DVD releases:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HD_DVD_releases

And yeah, XploitedCinema is awesome!

http://xploitedcinema.com/catalog/hd-dvds-c-35.html

I visit AVS often to get their opinions on imports. Right now there's some debate as to whether Total Recall and Basic Instinct have the 4% PAL speed-up on the soundtracks.

I bought Reign of Fire with Equilibrium, but haven't watched it yet. Equilibrium looked great though.

Supermallet

Why would the imports have PAL? The whole reason we can import these discs without any special equipment is that HD doesn't have NTSC/PAL issues.

LivingINClip

I can vouch for XploitedCinema.com - I have always ordered DVD's from them. Great service also.

kbjorn

didn't like Hulk when I saw it in the theater..but for some reason the absolute clarity and picture detail of the HD DVD leave me stunned...pick it up!!

Blake

They're not PAL, but people think there was some sort of mastering error as they say the sound is higher. However, the movies are the length they are supposed to be and the debate keeps going. I watched Basic Instinct a few nights ago and didn't notice a problem, however, I haven't watched the standard DVD to compare against it.

Supermallet

How does Basic Instinct look?

JACOB

I own batman begins, hulk, kong, superman the movie, superman 2 donner cut, superman returns, and v for vendetta. I would second the vote for hulk.. its more detailed in the HD version. I would also recommend superman returns.

for an older title: I would recommend superman the movie.

Jacob

dkny75

Reign of Fire looks amazing on HD DVD and I've never seen Basic Instinct look better. BTW, I never noticed the sound speed up on Basic Instinct but that's just me.

movieking

Some of these sites are getting blocked because I am at work, but do any of them have a current list of what is available worldwide in HD, and where they can be purchased? I have pretty much hit the wall with North American releases, but want to expand my collection a bit more.

fryinpan1

not sure of the best place to buy them, but here are a few import titles (I can not find a complete list):

Arizona Dream (French Import) Release date: Mar-05-2007
Basic Instinct (French Import)
Brave Story (Japanese Import)
The Brothers Grimm (Japanese Import)
Elephants Dream (German Import)
Equilibrium (Japanese Import)
Finding Neverland (Japanese import)
The Fog (European Import)
The Gift (Japanese Import)
The Graduate (French Import) Release date: Mar-05-2007
La Haine (European Import)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (European import)
Jersey Girl (Japanese import)
King Kong (1976) (European Import)
Leaving Las Vegas (French Import) Release date: Mar-05-2007
The Machinist (Japanese Import)
Oldboy (Japanese Import)
Oliver Twist (Japanese Import)
The Pianist (European Import)
Rambo (French Import)
Rebellion (Japanese Import)
Reign of Fire (Japanese Import)
Running Scared (German import)
Total Recall (European Import)

LivingINClip

Question.

How does King Kong (76), Equilibrium and The Gift look? Those are three import titles I'm also eyeing.

fryinpan1

according to the AVS Tier System:
King Kong (76) - Tier 2 - Very good, Not as many 3D effects, but a sharp image that feels real
Equilibrium - TIER 1 - No visible compression, sharp image with many examples of 3D.
The Gift - Tier 3 - Good, Few 3D effects, some digital noise/artifacting

AOD

Blake,

I've been keeping track of the threads over at AVS and think that people are reading to much into it. There is NO PAL conversions in HD-DVD whatsoever. It is all one standard. If indeed there is some sort of "higher" pitch, it would have to do with either the authoring, the users home theater setup or their original perception of what the movie originally sounded like long ago. Sure the French HD-DVD Rambo III guns sound a little "tinny", but so does my DVD version as well as the theater did when I saw it there.

P.S. I really want the Japanese "Rebellion" HD-DVD. OP, I recommend that be you next HD-DVD.