"combo" disks
 

I looked in the FAQ thread and didn't see there, a quick glance of thread titles didn't turn up anything so if I missed it I apologize.

What are combo disks (I mean besides the obvious of HD/DVD ;))? Are they flippers or is it just encoded in such a way that the SD player can take the info it needs and the HD player can extract more info? Are there BluRay/DVD combos as well (so far I've only seen HD/DVD) but I just picked up my first high-def (BluRay/PS3) player this weekend and just discovered "combo" DVDs today so I'm a little behind the times on this :o

HD-DVD on one side, DVD on the other. So probably 4 layers in their total on an HD-30/DVD9 combo.

There are no Blu-Ray combos.

I don't want to taint this with my personal opinions, so all I'll say is, I don't feel that it's a bad thing that no Blu-Ray combos exist.

I don't really care for combo discs, they just bring up the cost of the discs. For example, I've seen the combo HD of 300 for $35 and the Blu-ray for $30 at Best Buy, so yeah, you have to pay an extra $5 for a SD side you're never gonna use. I'm personally supporting Blu-ray, and I'm a little dissappointed I haven't been able to start collecting them early, but I'm probably gonna pick up a PS3 next week, so I can hold off for now.

The thing is, some of us will use it. I only have 1 HD player in my house...but I have 2 DVD players, my laptop. my Ipod, friends and family who will want to borrow it who don't have an HD DVD player.

Not that I really like the combos, but they serve a purpose for many people. I have to say it came in handy with the Departed when I went to a friends house recently. I just don't think they should charge extra for it.

I'm certainly glad I wasn't charged an extra $5 for every full/widescreen flipper in my collection.

Gotcha... are they having some of the same problems the DVD-18s did/are? They did look kind of interesting (for example having 1 DVD w/ all the extras instead of multiple DVD sets in some instances) and since I don't have an HD player yet (but plan on getting one later) the combo would be useful to me. W/ the price differential though I think I'll hold off at least until I get an HD player as I absolutely hate flippers. Those w/ WS/FF don't bother me since I can treat the FF like the trash it is ;) but if there's content on there I want to keep that's another thing.

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Unless you have multiple HDtv's and HD/BD players in your home, I think they are a great for new releases. No need to buy a separate SD DVD version of new films that I obviosly don't already have the SD DVD for.

If they could get the price down a bit I don't see any drawbacks to them. But, if they were able to get it on one side, like the South Park sampler that Best Buy had, that would be ideal.

Same here, I am going to watch 300 on my hdtv and let my dad borrow it to watch on his SD tv or laptop when he is on a a plane. The combo saves my dad from having to spend 20 bucks for a DVD.

Uni was having serious issues earlier this year, specifically with Children of Men, Smokin' Aces and the Good Shepherd. Some also reported issues with Miami Vice. Those problems seem to have been rectified via a combination of firmware updates and better pressing since there have not been any issue I know of since Smokin' Aces.

Unfortunately, WB has been having intermittent issues with their combos too. Most notably, the Matrix Ultimate Collection has been problematic for many (including me), whereas the non-combo version was fine.

One person at AVS has reported needing to exchange their copy of 300 due to playability issues.

Bottom line, combos will always be more fault-prone due to their design IMO, and I personally avoid them whenever possible. Sure, extras are nice, and DVD playability is nice, but not at the expense of reliability (and extra dollars).

mine was double-sided..

I stand corrected. Don't know why I thought it was single, perhaps wishful thinking. Either way, single sided would be ideal.

Gah, don't buy HD discs at Best Buy. I bought the 300 HD DVD at Fry's Electronics for $28.99. Most non-combo HD DVDs there are $19.99 (Blu-ray is slightly more expensive, $22.99-24.99).

It's worth it to pay $5 extra bucks to play a movie on my HD Player and rip the SD version to my laptop to watch on a plane.

I'll buy a combo whenever I can. In fact, I just bought the HD-DVD version of 300 because it was a combo and the SD version of Hot Fuzz since we'll be able to watch it anywhere in the house, even if it's not in HD.

Totally worth paying extra for, in my mind.

Why not the combo version of Hot Fuzz, also?

That's odd. Blu-ray discs at the Fry's in Las Vegas seem to have an average price of $19.99 for catalog titles. In fact, I've seen no difference in pricing for HD DVDs or Blu-rays at Fry's.

Same at the IL store.

In fact, I've seen Fry's creep up the prices abit on HD-DVD catalog titles. 40YOV was 22.99 instead of the expected 19.99.

Bah, I didn't realize that one was a combo too.

Well, that's ok. I'm more interested in getting only the most visually interesting movies in HD anyway, so I'm fine with this.

I may be a bit off, I've just glanced at pricing (I don't own a Blu-ray player).

There is no way I'm loaning out a high definition disc so that someone can watch the SD side on their laptop, DVD player or whatever. People don't take good care of borrowed DVDs the way you would take care of your own. I'm sure not letting them mess up the HD side for them to watch the standard side.

I only have one Next Generation player in my house, and two DVD players, but again, how does having the DVD side benefit me? Why would I watch the SD side on a different DVD player in the same house when I can watch the HD version whenever I want?

I think the typical argument for the DVD is side is for travel purposes, loans to people without HD decks and the like.

But I'm with you - I don't lend out DVD's at all except once in a great while, and I certainly am not about to loan out a ~$30 combo.

Also, like you, once I have a movie in HD, I really don't want to watch it on DVD anymore. As it is I never watch movies on anything other than my home theater.

I know WB and Uni don't want to have combo and non-combo releases of day and date titles, but really, would it be so bad to just put a single-sided HD30 and a separate DVD in the same box? Why do they have to be glued together, which essentially risks the playability of both sides?

I like Combos because I can use the DVD side to take screencaps for my reviews. :shrug:

If they did that, the SD DVD version would get sold separately on the secondary market and would reduce the demand for the SD DVD edition. By making it a combo disc there is no way to separate the two versions and sell one of them.

Let's say your girlfriend/wife wants to watch Hot Fuzz in one room where your SD DVD player is and you want to watch 300 in HD in your setup. That's how it happens in my house at least.

As long as they can fix the issues with the combo discs, I have no problem paying a few extra bucks for it.

I stand by my signature, no combos for me.

I HATE combos. I bought a high-definition player mainly for its use with high definition discs. If a movie is availabe in HD, why would I want an inferior/lower quality dvd version attached to it? If I'm traveling, I'll just read one of those things they call books. :) I can't watch a movie on an 8" screen. I can't.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9&page=7&pp=30

300 joins The Good Shepherd and Children of Men as the latest combo disk to to cause freezing problems.

Heck, I'll extend that even further. My family is banned from even handling ANY movie on hd-dvd (even combos). For those sd-dvd's that I have sold in order to "upgrade" to hd-dvd, they cannot watch them without me handling the disk, seeing that the inevitable smudge, finger print or minor scratch from my family (i.e. wife or daughter) will render these sensitive disks unplayable or glitchy. HD-DVD combo discs are controlled by me in the same way for the very same reasons. My family doesn't care enough to ensure that the discs are kept flawless for repeat playback.

While I'm only supporting hd-dvd at this time (100 titles as of now), the sensitivity of these discs, for whatever reason (combos as well) is a major letdown. Regardless of the reasons why Blu-Ray is avoiding creating a combo disc, even if it were because of the negative "problems" that have occurred with hd-dvd, they are the wiser format as far as this competitive point is concerned imho.

What a frustrating issue for those (like me) who support the supposedly inferior product (hd-dvd). :grumble:

We don't need combos, people who want the SD can always get that separately, but people who don't want it should have the option not to have it forced on them. I would at least like to see a non-combo version offered as an alternative if there are people who really need to have both versions on one disk.

Strongly agree with this, but it is a capitalistic society we live in. If they can charge more, they will.

I'm looking forward to ripping the SD side off of discs in coming years for my kids and burning a copy. It'll be some years before they are old enough to really be watching movies though.

I guess I could dig out the anti-AACS stuff and rip an HD-DVD and re-encode it to DVD format but that's a pretty annoying and time-consuming process.

Again, I like combos. DVD players are everywhere. Good for car trips, hotels, etc. And once in a while on my computer.

What percentage of HD titles is combos? Where can one find a list of these combo titles?

HD DVD deserves to lose the war because of the damn combos. LAME!

I was REALLY really interested in Fearless for HD before my 360 crapped out on me. I had already bought the standard but I loved it so much I would pay extra to buy the HD version. Problem was my only option was a $39.99 combo disc with another copy of the standard def my only option and FORCED on me, if I wanted to watch the HD DVD. I had already bought the standard def version. Because of that I haven't seen fearless in HD yet. But I agree I think HD should lose just because of all the damn HD combo discs. It's rediculous.

I'm wondering if Universal and Warners has a certain time-table for each of their day & date combo titles to where they quietly re-release them as a standard HD DVD with lower pricing. Much in the same way Universal did with Army of Darkness and Unleashed catalog titles.

If titles like Hollywoodland have been out for over several months, does it make much sense to keep releasing it as a combo disc?

combo discs look like DVD+/-R that you can buy for 10 cents each. There are no pictures on the discs...just plain silvery coated..similiar to DVD+R...and you need to put on your glasses to read the small print to tell you which is a DVD or HD-DVD side. Later down the road, you can probably make copies of your combo discs that look like a cheap copy version...that's how I view combo discs :) Oh...and a lot of people complain about not being able to read it on certain players :)

The studio is forcing consumer to pay extra for something they don't need. If I want regular DVD, then I go out and buy regular DVD for less. If I want HD, then I want HD..not DVD. They're already releasing it separately on DVD, but why are they still making me pay the extra for DVD that I don't care about in HD. I'm sure if they perform a survey, then I guarantee that the majority of the consumer hates combo discs. But, they don't care..they just want your money since they know HD-DVD has no choice but to buy them.

I gotta love that they're still a group who loves the combo disc idea. Thank goodness we have Blu-Ray as an option for consumer who hates combo discs. So, HD-DVD can continue with their combo discs LOL. Fearless HD-DVD is the only one I have in my collection...and it will be my last one as I'm waiting for the Blu-Ray version next year so I can get rid of the HD-DVD version.

Good luck on your purchase.

Combination Standard and HD DVD's
 

I've been noticing these combination Standard / HD DVD's being released in some stores now. Letters From Iwo Jima was one that I noticed. What's your opinion on these? Are they something that will stick?

Warner and Universal continue to use them for day-and-date releases, but they're not being used for catalog titles anymore, and no other movie-releasing studio seems to have any interest in them. Considering the manufacturing problems that have plagued some of these combo releases, I wouldn't mind seeing the whole idea disappear.