My steelbook packages are coming this Friday!!!

Assuming you're not joking, read the last few posts on the previous page.

Nice.

I watch the DVD tonight. It's a solid SD transfer. Yes, the BD trumps it but it is solid nonetheless.

The DVD version is quite good--provided you use at minimum 480p progressive scan with component video. But it's still nothing like the full 1080p experience with a Sony BDP-S370 Blu-ray player.

49% Blu-Ray sales. So close Still a remarkable achievement though.

True.

When I get home on Monday and my family give me Avatar for my birthday, I am going to do a DVD/Blu-Ray comparison. If it is anything like TDK DVD/Blu-ray, DVD is going down a few more notches on my desire to watch scale.

Now all I need is an LED HDTV, Avatar must look incredible on an LED HDTV.

From what I hear, it is really around 40% if you count Walmart and some other stores not that are not counted in the 49% list.

Yeah, 40% with Wal-Mart and Sams Club etc factored in. Looks like we will be getting a lot more of the BD+DVD combos in the next few months.

Imagine if they had added some features and not announced a 4 Disc version in a few months!

Man, those pics look like the difference between VHS and DVD.

Got a chance to watch the BD two days ago and I thought the PQ was the most stunning I've yet seen. Way beyond any of the rest of my Blu-ray Discs.

One thing I noticed, that I hadn't picked up on in the theater, was the use of "focus" in CGI scenes. Certain characters or parts of the scene would be in focus and the foreground and/or background would be out of focus. Since it would be simple to have everything in a CGI scene in focus, it occurred to me that this artificial use of "focus" gives verisimilitude to the CGI scenes. If everything was in focus it would seem artificial or unnatural, to those of us who are used to camera based movies, even if we couldn't quite say what was wrong with the picture.

I suppose this is all old hat to most of you, but it was something I had never noticed or thought about before with regard to CGI.

AQ/PQ are simply awesome! I've declared this my new demo disc.

Some 'Avatar' Fans Struggle With Blu-Ray:
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movi...watch-DVD.html

Watched this last night. Fantastic transfer and sound quality.

It's called depth of field.

^Yes. I've just never noticed it faked before with CGI, although perhaps it is routinely done.

It is used in Dreamworks and Pixar films, but I don't know about live action and CGI mixed films.

Has anyone else noticed that Best Buy is carrying the Avatar Blu-ray in two cases of slightly differing designs? One is what I would deem standard, the other has what looks like a large tab on the side.

--THX

Watched the other night and simply stunning colors and the world of Pandora was just amazing on our Sony KV 52" Z5100

Fox usually uses the "Elite" style case. That's the one where the BD logo is painted on and doesn't have a latch on the side. The other style is the "Vortex" brand with the BD logo embossed. It has the latch and is used mainly by Sony and Disney. With so many copies shipped, I'm sure they ran out of Elite cases and had to use the Vortex brand.

So, my Sylvania player, which doesn't connect to the internet, and thus has never had the firmware updated, played this with no problem. It's never given me a problem playing anything. Crazy how this little low budget BD player plays everything just fine with no firmware updates ever, but bigger, more expensive players have tons of issues.

Can't stand those cases. The tabs never stay completely closed and the ends of the tab often stick out. If you try to use elite cases the cover art often doesn't fit since these vortex cases are thinner.

Yeah, I hate those cases as well. I guess this is hi-def's version of the snapper case?

So the 3D version is coming in November but... it's a Panasonic exclusive.