Cloverfield affected by the switch to Blu?
 

http://dvd.ign.com/articles/856/856123p1.html

Is it still being released on HD-DVD since they had announced that before HD was dead, or are they scrapping the HD-DVD version of it?

I hope not :(

Apparently every Paramount HD DVD after March 4th has been cancelled.

So are we about to see an large number of double dip blu-rays in the near future? A bare bones release 1st and then a packed SE 6 or so months later after the HD DVD content has been "programmed" for blu?

Actually I don't see this as a movie that would benefit a great deal by being on hi-def.

Every studio's main concern is getting the title released day and date with the dvd. Pushing the BD release back is leaving money on the table. There are rumors that Paramount is rushing this BD release to come out with the dvd. I would expect to see a barebones BD release April 18.

How so? It was filmed on HD cameras? It'll benefit more than most, not to mention a great sound mix.

I don't think Cloverfield was ever officially announced, was it? Either way I have a hard time seeing this done in time. I mean how can they press enough BD's in time for this and other Paramount releases? Seems other releases have had trouble getting pressed, although those were catalog releases.

If they can't get a Cloverfield blu-ray day & date with DVD. I guess the other cancelled releases are certainly not going to be released on Blu-ray soon.

Yup. And it speaks volumes that it is not worth it for the studio to delay the DVD release to get the BD ready.

As long as it has a high bitrate AVC encode and lossless audio, i could care less if it even had a menu. I will be purchasing it regardless.

Even if they slap a $30-$40 MSRP on it? :hscratch:

40 dollar MSRP = 28 shipped on amazon. Just taking myself and a friend to the theater is 20 bucks and you dont take anything home with you after watching the movie other the gum on the bottom of your shoe.

It would be a shame if Cloverfield got a bare bones release, as this is the kind of movie that screams for extensive extra features.

Paramount new releases are always $40 MSRP regardless of extra features, so why would this be any different (e.g. Babel is still $40 with ZERO extras)?

:up:

I think this is more an issue of switching over to Java and getting everything up to Profile 1.1 standards for BD as opposed to HD DVD...the encode itself shouldn't be the issue. Seeing as Sweeney Todd and There Will Be Blood won't have PiP functionality or anything beyond just the movie and standard video-based special features, they may still come out day and date. If this is true.

Do you know if they were planning PIP for the HD-Dvd release of these two movies? Just curious to know.

Paramount's not my studio, so I don't have any specific info...I'm just going by the announced specs for Sweeney Todd and There Will Be Blood. No PiP was announced for them. I could be wrong, obviously, but it's just a guess.

Thankfully, I was able to get Babel on HD for $10. :up:

$40 MSRP is complete bullshit, especially for something that's barebones. We all know that!

I can justify paying $26-28 for a HD/BD:

1. If we're getting more than just the film

2. Import (not available anywhere else).

Hell... I had no problem paying $28 for 30 Days of Night

Great Film + Kick Ass Extras = :up:

Given the extensive viral marketing campaign, I think the extra features on this would have been more creative and interesting than most of the general EPK style features we see a lot of. Regardless, I don't think Cloverfield is worth owning, but I can definitely see Paramount having a problem if the disc relied heavily on iHD. I talked to their chief engineer when Transformers came out and he said trying to program interactivity with BD-J was a much longer and more complex process, and if all this work was done with iHD, it won't be quick or easy to transfer that to BD-J.

And it's fine if all you want is the movie and nothing else, but keep in mind that many of us love special features and would like to see them all included on the disc, especially if we know they exist.

I've already bitched extensively about bare bones HD releases. It's not an encouraging trend IMO. Most people, myself included will opt for the release that gives them more bang for their buck. As with American Gangster, the extras was what made me opt not to buy the HD-DVD release. The fact that I was getting more content for less money than the HD version was just gravy.

Just like you wont buy movies without extensive extras, i wont buy movies without lossless audio. Different priorities. The main feature is all i care about, in the best possible quality. Everything else is just gravy.

Everyone has different expectations going into HD movies it seems, mine is to get the BEST possible PQ and AQ. Everything else is literally at the bottom of the barrel.

See, I want the best possible PQ/AQ and all the extras I can get.