Props to DrewP for breaking the story. He put it in the porno blu-ray thread and because we have since had threads dedicated to new developments in the format war and because this is HUGE news, I thought it would be appropriate to start a new thread. DD, I hope I didn't make your job too difficult. I'll post the responses that people have had so far
I'm pretty sure this has been an option for quite some time. I've been renting blu-ray from netflx since xmas.
they have been offering both for awhile and the report still says that they are still sticking to both online, but looks like Blu-Ray will be the preferred HD rental in stores. as for my PS3 argument, i'm just saying that its crap because truly deep down in me, I am rooting for HD-DVD to win and again from what I see, I really do think HD-DVD is better. as for what I saw, the setup for both were theater style, on Blu-Ray I saw UltraViolet and X3, with HD-DVD, I saw King Kong and the Mummy on display and Ultraviolet/X3 just didn't impress me while King Kong/Mummy did.
mainly based on personal experience, and the fact that I want Blu-Ray to doom so Sony can freaking learn that they can't make a format popular by sticking it to something else in which people can't decide what they can have and had a damn system cost over $500. I'm tired of the argument "but PS3 has Blu-Ray" who gives a damn if they do, its not even a guaranteed format like DVD was back in the days when PS2 came out. Neither is HD-DVD but its just going to be ugly to the loser which is why, like more than half the people on here, are just waiting for the format wars to be over. plus i also hated the fact when both formats came out, Best Buy decided to push more Blu-Ray sales than HD-DVD because they get a bigger cut. Then again, thats just my hatred for Best Buy
i don't care who wins, i just want one format to have all the movies from whatever studio. i prefer the name hd-dvd though. i don't know wtf a blu-ray is supposed to be.
I think Blockbuster Online All Access is a better deal than Red Box. Blockbuster has plans as low as $9.99 a month that allows you to return your dvd mailer in store for a free rental. Plus you get a free video game rental once a month. Add that to selection of the store, and not being forced to time constraints, Blockbuster is a clear winner in my book.
You can't compare the formats unless you are looking at the same source material. I don't know about UV, but X3 was shot on 35mm and I'm pretty sure Peter Jackson shoots digital. Digital cameras record in 60 frames per second (which hdtvs can go up to if available) compared to 24 frames a second with film and digital shooting has the resolution above 1080 (2,000 something). Also, you notice more of a difference between interlace and progressive scanning with highdef digital material. So the source material is fundamentally different. At the end of the day, Blu-ray can hold more high def material and can consolidate the number of discs needed for any given package (2 discs are cheaper than 3)
I haven't really seen those movies on display, but I wouldn't really doubt your conclusions. I believe UV and X3 both used 25GB discs, and UV uses MPEG-2 while X3 uses the AVC codec (probably bit more immature when it was used, compared to now). AFAIK, King Kong and The Mummy are both 30GB discs, using the VC-1 codec. If you don't know what any of this means, I'm basically saying that the Blu-ray movies used up less space and were using less efficient codecs than the HD DVD movies, which certainly couldn't have helped the picture quality in those moves. Since then, some/most of the bigger Blu-ray blockbusters (Casino Royale, POTC, Ghost Rider, Apocalypto, etc.) have been using 50 GB discs and the AVC codec (which Sony and some other companies have been improving on...on par or better than VC-1 at this point I believe). Others have been using VC-1 and 50GB discs also (usually from studios that support both formats). Some early Blu-ray movies are even being re-released to take advantage of the better specs available (like the Fifth Element, as mentioned earlier), so that should tell you how much of a difference this would make. Obviously, there are other factors that make up the visual quality of these movies, which Brando2101 kind of mentioned (although video shot with 35mm holds more information than most/all digital cameras AFAIK in regards to resolution and color...the transfer to these HD discs can vary though). Still, the video quality for the latest Blu-ray movies should be considerably better than what you saw. This was one of the major complaints about Blu-ray early on, and partly why it struggled out of the gate. They technically had the advantage in video quality on paper, but it was actually HD DVD with the advantage for much of 2006. One of the things that HD DVD still has over Blu-ray is the interactivity features, which some owners really seem to like and part of the reason some of them are sticking with HD DVD. Basically another thing the Blu-ray group kind of dropped the ball on. Theoretically, the two were capable of similar things, but the equivalent software on Blu-ray has still not been released to studios AFAIK. This is one of the things keeping Batman and a few other major titles from appearing on Blu-ray (from the non-exclusive studios anyway...although if Universal ever decided to support both to end this war, they'd probably like it if Blu-ray could handle the interactivity features they added in a lot of their movies). As for Blu-ray and the PS3, I'm starting to wonder exactly how much it is costing Sony to include it in the system today compared to 8 months ago. I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't too much, which might support their decision to include the format (as if positive Blu-ray news like this announcement isn't enough...for them anyway). Of course, their decisions with other things that have kept the PS3's price tag at $600 maybe aren't seen as such a great idea at this point. Just a thought. BTW, for those curious, here are some sales totals for various movies on both formats (just the US AFAIK): HD DVD since inception through May 27, 2007 01. Batman Begins - 53,500 02. Superman Returns - 39,300 03. The Departed - 37,800 04. Serenity - 26,200 05. Goodfellas - 26,100 06. Troy - 26,100 07. Mission Impossible III - 25,800 08. Planet Earth - 25,400 09. The Last Samurai - 22,400 10. Apollo 13 - 19,900 11. The Bourne Supreme - 19,300 12. V for Vendetta - 19,100 13. Smokin Aces - 17,200 14. Miami Vice - 16,600 15. The Polar Express - 16,500 16. Training Day - 15,200 17. Children of Men - 14,900 18. The Phantom of the Opera - 14,700 19. Happy Feet - 14,600 20. King Kong - 14,300 xx. Babel - 12,600 xx. The Good Shepherd - 10,800 xx. Lucky Number Slevin - 9,200 xx. The Ultimate Matrix Collection - 7,900 xx. The Mummy Returns - 7,300 Blu-ray Disc since inception through May 27, 2007 01. Casino Royale - 83,600 02. The Departed - 62,700 03. Superman Returns - 44,800 04. The Prestige - 34,700 05. The Fifth Element - 33,800 06. X-Men: The Last Stand - 32,000 07. Underworld: Evolution - 31,400 08. Ice Age: The Meltdown - 28,300 09. Night at the Museum - 28,100 10. Black Hawk Down - 27,900 11. Talladega Nights - 27,700 12. Happy Feet - 25,500 12. Mission Impossible III - 25,500 14. Crank - 24,800 15. Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man - 23,700 16. Deja Vu - 22,700 17. Terminator 2 - 21,600 18. Pirates of the Carribean: Curse - 21,100 19. Saw III - 20,400 20. House of Flying Daggers - 20,000 yy. Planet Earth - 19,300 yy. Rocky Balboa - 18,600 yy. Eragon - 17,800 yy. The Pursuit of Happyness - 17,800 yy. Apocalypto - 17,300 Still not great numbers, although (much?) better than DVD during its early stages AFAIK. Things like this Blockbuster announcement and Walmart (possibly?) stocking sub-$200 HD DVD players could have a large impact on the war.
It used to be that the p*rn industry basically decided which format would win, but with internet p*rn so prevelant, the p*rn industry has lost it's traditional powerbase. So, I have no idea who is going to win. DD
Not a surprise. Blu-ray has been selling better than HD-DVD so far this year thanks to Casino Royale and the first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies. There's also the issue of studio support. Only Universal and The Weinstein Company are exclusive to HD-DVD. Everyone else is either format neutral or Blu-ray only. Although that's less of an advantage than it used to be as long as Fox/MGM is sitting on the sidelines. Another factor is that Blu-ray has more CGI-laden crapfests which is what the masses like these days. I love the classic titles available on HD-DVD, but honestly who's gonna rent The Adventures of Robin Hood or Forbidden Planet in high def? I have all of those titles except for Ultraviolet. X3 is very very grainy at times since it was shot in Super 35, but it's a solid looking Blu-ray title. Obviously King Kong and The Mummy are two of Universal's best HD-DVD efforts, so of course they're gonna look great. But their releases have been a bit spotty as of late. I actually cancelled my preorder for Liar Liar last week after reading some really bad comments about the transfer.
the problem is.. DVD still looks good and has zillions more titles and is way cheaper. the format war is already over: dvd! the future HD content will be won by downloadable content. you people are assuming everyone is buying HDTVs. there are still many cheapskates out there. like people who have a ps3 and no hdtv. thats cheapskate.
I bought the Toshiba A2 HD-DVD player last week. Have you guys heard about the Blu-ray discs rotting? http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/16/blu-ray-disc-coatings-starting-to-rot/ Blu-ray disc coatings starting to rot? A thread over at the AVS Forums has highlighted a potential problem with the coating of Blu-ray discs, described by many as "disc rot" due to the mould-like spots that have made several owner's Blu-ray discs unplayable. The five page thread has reports from dozens of forum members, many of them discovering spots which can't be rubbed off on Blu-ray versions of "The Prestige." It's impossible to judge how widespread the problem is from a single forum thread, although it's not unheard of to see a product recall after a problem is discovered by users on a forum. It's also worth noting that for every user that has reported the spots, there's one or more people with discs that have no problem. If you've encountered the same issue, your best policy is to try and get a refund / replacement disc from the place where you originally bought it from. If enough people are reporting a problem, then retailers will be a much stronger voice than a bunch of consumers sounding off in the echo chamber that is "the internet."
Downloadable movies going mainstream won't be happening anytime soon. Those within the industry seem to think it would take 10-20 years, and I think that's with just DVD-quality (or worse?) movies: http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6452274.html?nid=2705 There are probably just as many people without the necessary broadband connection in the US for this to work as there are people with HDTVs. It is the future for sure, but I think another format is needed before that time comes.
