johnglass

You purchased the 360 HD-DVD add-on to play standard DVD's? Doesn't the 360 play DVD's without the add-on?

Yavin

Just in case this hasn't bee posted before, here's this bit of news regarding Universal:

So this seems to be a little different than just the vague "we will continue to support HD-DVD" blanket statement, since the article mentions that an actual Universal spokesperson says they will be announcing new HD-DVD titles soon.

Mr. Cinema

That statement sounds almost identical to what Paramount used. "Our current plan is to continue to support HD DVD." Never used "exclusive" or "we have no plans to support Blu-ray" as they used many times last year.

I don't think everyone is expecting them to drop HD DVD, but everyone is expecting them to release on BD. A neutral stance is a win for BD. I doubt Universal wants to go through the PR nightmare that Paramount did when they totally dropped BD. They will ease into Blu-ray and ease out of HD DVD.

pinata242

Yes... very well even.

Admiral7

Won't it be great to have Band of Brothers on Blu-ray exclusively, where HBO can now maximize the 50 GB available instead of simply porting over the limited 30 GB of the HD-DVD version the way it would have been. Hopefully future seasons of The Sopranos will maximize the space available to them as well.

namja

This post moved to here from another thread. We're trying to keep all the studio allegiance related items in this thread. Thanks.

wewantflair

What, precisely, is limited about Band of Brothers? My Japanese HD DVD's are at the upper echelon of releases I own (and I way, way too many).

bunkaroo

I really hope BoB sees a BD release soon. It took a large amount of will power for me to not pull the trigger on the Japanese discs, which I feel better about now.

I'd be happy to get the current HD transfers with lossless audio.

cartman

What a ridiculous statement. The Band of Brothers HD DVD's are one of (fighting for the top spot) my favorite releases on either format. They're beautiful and not incumbered in any way.

Jim

For those with the Band of Brothers HD DVDs, how much an improvement is it over the DVDs? Is it one of the ones where it looks somewhat better in HD or astonishingly better? What lossless audio tracks are on the HD DVD? The DTS on the DVD has always been one of my favorite audio tracks on DVD. Does it have the DVD extras or any additional ones? Still 2 episodes per disc?

Band of Brothers was the impetus for me originally getting a surround system. That led in short order to my first widescreen TV, which led to another, and so on and so on. So I blame it all on Band of Brothers.

bunkaroo

I haven't seen it in person, but Xylon over at AVS did a pretty extensive screenshot comparison, and the difference was not subtle.

Keep in mind the look of the series does not necessarily lend itself to that massive HD "pop", but the fine detail in the HD version looks to be a great improvement over the DVD.

Check out the HD DVD Software forum at AVS. It should be easy to find the thread.

ianholm

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...s_HD_DVDs/1364

Warner Outlines HD DVD Separation Plan; Delays 'Invasion,' 'Jesse James' HD DVDs
Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 03:20 PM ET
Tags: Warner (all tags)

Formalizing the first step in its HD DVD separation plan, Warner has pushed back the previously-announced HD DVD releases of 'The Invasion' and 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.'

As we first reported late last week, Warner stated in their original Blu-ray exclusivity announcement that although they would continue to support HD DVD through May, their HD DVD releases would now follow their Blu-ray release by "a short window."

The studio has now confirmed the first titles to be affected by the transition, announcing a three-week-delay for the HD DVD/DVD combo versions of 'The Invasion' (now February 19, previously January 29), and 'The Assassination of Jesse James' (which will shift from February 26 to March 18).

Street dates for the previously Blu-ray and standard DVD versions of both titles remain as originally scheduled.

The studio has told us to expect a three-week delay for all of its remaining HD DVD/DVD combo titles through the May 2008 cut-off date, but that they will officially announce the new dates over the next several weeks.

At presstime, all Warner HD DVD catalog titles remain unaffected by the transition, and are expected to street as originally announced (including such highly-anticipated titles as 'Bonnie & Clyde' and 'Twister').

Tech specs and special features for both 'Invasion' and 'Jesse James' remain as previously announced, and Warner says future delays will also not see any changes in specs.

As always, you'll find disc details for 'Invasion' and 'The Assassination of Jess James by the Coward Robert Ford' linked from our HD DVD Release Schedule, indexed under their new dates.

Yavin

Seems like there is no reason for delaying the HD-DVD version by a few weeks other than to punish HD-DVD owners. For titles coming closer to mid-year, maybe it could be reasoned that the delay is so that they can focus on getting the Blu-Ray version out there, but for titles like The Invasion, which should have already been ready to go before last week's Warner announcement, I can't think of any other reason.

bunkaroo

I would think the reason is they don't want the HD DVD version to compete for HD sales with the BD version. That's where the money is right now - day and date titles. That's why they're not going to do it with catalog titles.

Plus it helps the transition to Blu-Ray. Dual format people IMO are more likely to pick up the BD than wait three weeks. It could also help BD hardware sales, as in, if people see there is only a BD version on release day, maybe they get that BD player they've been thinking about.

I don't think WB is looking to punish anyone intentionally.

cartman

It's a big improvement. It was shot with dull colors, so don't expect that that change, but where the DVD's are muddy (blurry?), the HD's are sharp and clear with the intentional grain present. They've got a DTS HD soundtrack, so no lossless, but they sound spectacular. It's got the "We Stand Alone Together" documentary, but it has forced Japanese subtitles. Still 2 episodes per disc.

I absolutely love BoB and anyone else who does will not be disappointed at all with the Japanese discs.

This first shot (from xylon's captures) shows how much a standard shot has changed from DVD to HD:



The sharpness in the overall picture is so much better in the HD version from the ground to the webs on the helmets to the background.



In this one, look especially at his collar. In the DVD version, it doesn't show any fine detail and in the HD version, you can see each individual stitch line.

I really can't recommend those discs enough. People who bash this release because its on HD DVD are really quite nuts.

Jim

Thanks guys for the BoB info. I'm hoping for an eventual BD release. I expect it will come, just not sure how long I'll have to wait. I'm in the process of reading Xylon's thread.

Yavin

That's a good point. I guess it just feels like they're punishing us

theWitcher

I'm sure that the BDA doesn't mind punishing HD-DVD owners.

It is possible, even probable, that it may be a condition of whatever agreement that WB and BDA may have brokered that new BD releases will be day-and-date with DVD while HD-DVDs will be delayed.

The staggered release may also provide useful data to both WB and BDA to determine the numbers of HD DVD owners that may be SOL wrt to WB HDM after WB's HD DVD releases end (as opposed to purple HD DVD owners who prefer red.) Certainly this info might be used to persuade content providers that are not publishing on BD to reconsider their stance.

Quinty

At least Warner is nice enough to release HD-DVD's for the next couple of months not like Paramount that cut Blu-Ray off right away which I realy thought was a a*hole thing to do.

TheMovieman

I'm not even going to bother buying the day and date releases anyway (not that I would've anyway), but I might get Twister since I won't be going Blu for several months and it's not much more for the HD-DVD version vs. the SD one.

PixyJunket

^ Especially since Face/Off on Blu-Ray had been announced prior.

Drexl

Actually, that may not be such a bad thing. The HD DVD version is plagued with overdone noise reduction, and had it been released on BD it's very possible it would be done the same way. Maybe now they'll do a better job on it, whereas had they released it, they would have considered it done and it may have taken several years to get a great version.

There is an import BD version that does not have the issue, although it's quite expensive (especially compared to the prices of the big sales) at $40 or more.

DVD Polizei

Have studios MAXIMIZED released Blu-ray titles' capacity? Because I'd really like to see some numbers to go with your statement.

Also, BoB has already been released on HD DVD and it looks frickin' awesome. Not all the BoB series can fit on one Blu-ray disc. Right? So, who cares if the HD DVD version needs another few discs. In addition, are you familiar with bitrates per second, and how the "quality" can vary, even on a high bitrate spec.

All this "maximizing space" is a myth, unless some of you can backup your statements versus recycled marketing babble. Show me proof is all I ask.

And I don't want exceptions. I want to see Blu-ray overwhelmingly maximizing their "space" via YOU, the Blu-ray owner, providing links or evidence that most Blu-ray movies have had their space "maximized", so I can at least have something to go by other than YouTube videos that HD DVD is inferior.

lotsofdvds

Variety has learned that Universal, once exclusive to HD DVD, will begin supporting Blu-ray as well. It doesn't seem like much of a format "war" at this point.

Posted by James Brightman on Friday, January 11, 2008
Report: Universal No Longer Backing HD DVD Exclusively

Following the big news that Warner Bros. has thrown its weight behind the Blu-ray format, it appears the "death spiral" for rival HD DVD could be accelerating. The only two studios supporting HD DVD exclusively were Paramount and Universal. Now, however, according to Variety, Universal has already confirmed that it's starting to back away from HD DVD.

Universal let the publication know that although it will continue to release movies on HD DVD, it will also now support Blu-ray. Furthermore, Variety said Paramount has an "escape clause" in its contract that would allow it to support Blu-ray as well.

For the time being Toshiba remains committed to HD DVD and Microsoft will apparently back Toshiba and HD DVD until the very end. That end may not be far off, however. As Variety points out, "... retailers may force the HD DVD camp's hand: They're unlikely to keep devoting premium shelf space to a dying format."

Qui Gon Jim

This news is not on Variety's website that I can find. Do you have a link? Is this a rereporting of old news that was "refuted" by a press release a day or so ago?