HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray

[JC86]

I'd imagine that Shrek would create a huge boom in HD DVD sales considering how popular the first two were on DVD. Bee movie will definitely not be out till the Spring at the earliest so HD DVD's family oriented movies probably starts and ends with Shrek 3. I'd like to see a head to head break down of Ratatouille and Shrek 3 HD sales though.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Anyone know when/if there will be a cheap Blu-Ray player to put some competition up against the $99 player from Toshiba? I was gonna buy a HD DVD player for a family member as an x-mas gift, but they were talking about Blu-Ray and when I asked what they thought of HD DVD I got the typical "Blu-Ray is better, I don't like HD DVD".

Yes they are uninformed about the true differences, but they have their reasons. Anyway, if there were cheap Blu-Ray players then obviously more ppl would buy Blu-Ray (and I could leech movies from family as a bonus).

it could be awhile. the HD DVD exec in one article was right: BD is more expensive tech inside the players and it will take a little time for the equipment to come down in price further.
however, software sales seem to be the norm for the BD camp, and will probably continue.
I hope the BD camp can bring down player prices somehow this season, but it seems doubtful. It would definitely help me, as I want BD to win so I don't have to buy a player/different player. PS3 FTW.

My father, Uncle, and Aunt are set against HD DVD. So I can't get them a $99 player and then leech the movies they buy (so I don't have to buy as many ). If Blu-Ray players were reasonable they'd probably get one. They all talk about HD, spent money on getting HDTVs and 5.1 setups etc. Still watching normal DVD though. I was hoping that this year would be the push for HD in the home, but it's still a bit pricey. Sure HD DVD is cheap, but no Disney films.

I was thinking of getting a cheap Toshiba as an X-Mas present for my brother. He'd be happy with 300 and the Bourne movies...but it stops there. I was thinking to myself, what would he really enjoy? well, he loves those Pixar movies, and classic Disney stuff. He has a kid. It would be a dead piece of tech for him.

Well with dreamworks you might start seeing more kid-friendly movies. Shrek 3 for example but movies like Bee movie are sure to follow.

eh, doesn't really matter. My Bro is a whore for Disney (brainwashed during a summer internship many years ago )

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Anyone know when/if there will be a cheap Blu-Ray player to put some competition up against the $99 player from Toshiba? I was gonna buy a HD DVD player for a family member as an x-mas gift, but they were talking about Blu-Ray and when I asked what they thought of HD DVD I got the typical "Blu-Ray is better, I don't like HD DVD".

Yes they are uninformed about the true differences, but they have their reasons. Anyway, if there were cheap Blu-Ray players then obviously more ppl would buy Blu-Ray (and I could leech movies from family as a bonus).

it could be awhile. the HD DVD exec in one article was right: BD is more expensive tech inside the players and it will take a little time for the equipment to come down in price further.
however, software sales seem to be the norm for the BD camp, and will probably continue.
I hope the BD camp can bring down player prices somehow this season, but it seems doubtful. It would definitely help me, as I want BD to win so I don't have to buy a player/different player. PS3 FTW.

My father, Uncle, and Aunt are set against HD DVD. So I can't get them a $99 player and then leech the movies they buy (so I don't have to buy as many ). If Blu-Ray players were reasonable they'd probably get one. They all talk about HD, spent money on getting HDTVs and 5.1 setups etc. Still watching normal DVD though. I was hoping that this year would be the push for HD in the home, but it's still a bit pricey. Sure HD DVD is cheap, but no Disney films.

I was thinking of getting a cheap Toshiba as an X-Mas present for my brother. He'd be happy with 300 and the Bourne movies...but it stops there. I was thinking to myself, what would he really enjoy? well, he loves those Pixar movies, and classic Disney stuff. He has a kid. It would be a dead piece of tech for him.

Until Disney switches to HD-DVD.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Anyone know when/if there will be a cheap Blu-Ray player to put some competition up against the $99 player from Toshiba? I was gonna buy a HD DVD player for a family member as an x-mas gift, but they were talking about Blu-Ray and when I asked what they thought of HD DVD I got the typical "Blu-Ray is better, I don't like HD DVD".

Yes they are uninformed about the true differences, but they have their reasons. Anyway, if there were cheap Blu-Ray players then obviously more ppl would buy Blu-Ray (and I could leech movies from family as a bonus).

it could be awhile. the HD DVD exec in one article was right: BD is more expensive tech inside the players and it will take a little time for the equipment to come down in price further.
however, software sales seem to be the norm for the BD camp, and will probably continue.
I hope the BD camp can bring down player prices somehow this season, but it seems doubtful. It would definitely help me, as I want BD to win so I don't have to buy a player/different player. PS3 FTW.

My father, Uncle, and Aunt are set against HD DVD. So I can't get them a $99 player and then leech the movies they buy (so I don't have to buy as many ). If Blu-Ray players were reasonable they'd probably get one. They all talk about HD, spent money on getting HDTVs and 5.1 setups etc. Still watching normal DVD though. I was hoping that this year would be the push for HD in the home, but it's still a bit pricey. Sure HD DVD is cheap, but no Disney films.

I was thinking of getting a cheap Toshiba as an X-Mas present for my brother. He'd be happy with 300 and the Bourne movies...but it stops there. I was thinking to myself, what would he really enjoy? well, he loves those Pixar movies, and classic Disney stuff. He has a kid. It would be a dead piece of tech for him.

Until Disney switches to HD-DVD.

LOL you can predict the future? As much as I wish you were right...I doubt this would be true for quite a while.

 

[jpeyton]

$9.99 Blu-Ray movies at Frys.com

 

[Ricochet]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
$9.99 Blu-Ray movies at Frys.com

Holey Moley! At that price, I'll just buy the movies before actually getting the player.

Can someone list the movies to avoid because of bad transfers? Or a good link?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: ricochet

Originally posted by: jpeyton
$9.99 Blu-Ray movies at Frys.com

Holey Moley! At that price, I'll just buy the movies before actually getting the player.

Can someone list the movies to avoid because of bad transfers? Or a good link?

Read reviews about transfers here and here.

House Of Flying Daggers is the only title I've heard to avoid because of a bad transfer.

If you have a B&M Frys, they have also have newer releases B1G1F, like Fantastic 4, Day After Tomorrow, 28 Weeks Later, etc.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: ricochet

Originally posted by: jpeyton
$9.99 Blu-Ray movies at Frys.com

Holey Moley! At that price, I'll just buy the movies before actually getting the player.

Can someone list the movies to avoid because of bad transfers? Or a good link?

Read reviews about transfers here and here.

House Of Flying Daggers is the only title I've heard to avoid because of a bad transfer.

If you have a B&M Frys, they have also have newer releases B1G1F, like Fantastic 4, Day After Tomorrow, 28 Weeks Later, etc.

I prefer this text

AVS forum tier ranking for Blu Ray. I think their tier thread for HD DVD is set up better, but I find the ranking in here to be pretty accurate.

every time Fry's does that 9.99 sale my wallet tries to run away.

EDIT: yeah, you want to pay attention to the lower ones on those tiers. House of Flying Daggers is notorious, as is the first Full Metal Jacket, the first transfer of Fifth Element, etc. then the cropping issue in POtC 1....

EDITx2: from that list, the bad transfers are HoFD, and Dracula. and also Wild Thinks, iirc

of those that I've seen, Curse of the Golden Flower is one of the best, and Tears of the Sun is also great. People split the fence on Black Hawk Down--I don't think it's the great but others seem to like it. I also have Donnie Brasco, and it' snot bad at all.

The Patriot, Underworld, Geisha, and Final Fantasy all seem to get good reviews on PQ

that Fifth Element is the good transfer

 

[zinfamous]

BTW, the Amazon BOGO for Blu Ray is still going on. selection isn't that great, but you can get Apocalypto (perennial High Def fap material), and the PoTC movies.
considering the free shipping, this could be a better deal.

 

[cubby1223]

Any time Layer Cake is for $9.99, pick it up. The Fifth Element on sale at Frys is the remastered version.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: cubby1223
Any time Layer Cake is for $9.99, pick it up. The Fifth Element on sale at Frys is the remastered version.

exactly the two movies I picked up from amazon for bogo. Both ended up running $10 since amazon had them for $20 each.

 

[Ricochet]

Thanks, guys! That sucks that Dracula has a poor transfer. It is the movie I wanted most from that list.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Is the Pixar Short film Collection worth getting? It's not cheap and it's only 55min of shorts that I have seen before. It's either that or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Gotta decide...going to be buying Cars on Blu-Ray tomorrow. I have Ratatouille on standard DVD (gift) and figured I'd get Cars to complete the Pixar collection for the year (maybe the short films too if worth it).

What do you all think? Any other suggestions? HD DVD is ok too if there's something really worth getting. I got both PotC movies from deepdiscount with bogo, and Casino Royale with The Fith Element remastered from amazon bogo. Got a BestBuy gift card and the 10% off coupon to use tomorrow.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Is the Pixar Short film Collection worth getting? It's not cheap and it's only 55min of shorts that I have seen before. It's either that or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Gotta decide...going to be buying Cars on Blu-Ray tomorrow. I have Ratatouille on standard DVD (gift) and figured I'd get Cars to complete the Pixar collection for the year (maybe the short films too if worth it).

What do you all think? Any other suggestions? HD DVD is ok too if there's something really worth getting. I got both PotC movies from deepdiscount with bogo, and Casino Royale with The Fith Element remastered from amazon bogo. Got a BestBuy gift card and the 10% off coupon to use tomorrow.

have you seen all the shorts? I've seen only a few of them.
clickclick

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Is the Pixar Short film Collection worth getting? It's not cheap and it's only 55min of shorts that I have seen before. It's either that or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Gotta decide...going to be buying Cars on Blu-Ray tomorrow. I have Ratatouille on standard DVD (gift) and figured I'd get Cars to complete the Pixar collection for the year (maybe the short films too if worth it).

What do you all think? Any other suggestions? HD DVD is ok too if there's something really worth getting. I got both PotC movies from deepdiscount with bogo, and Casino Royale with The Fith Element remastered from amazon bogo. Got a BestBuy gift card and the 10% off coupon to use tomorrow.

have you seen all the shorts? I've seen only a few of them.
clickclick

Yeah I've seen them all except the one never before released. They had them up on the web at one point or another and on various DVD releases.

 

[cubby1223]

Originally posted by: ricochet
Thanks, guys! That sucks that Dracula has a poor transfer. It is the movie I wanted most from that list.

Dracula got a bad rap because the look is different from the most recent dvd release, which stuck in people's minds. For instance, here is an alternate review:
http://www.hometheaterforum.co...howthread.php?t=262992

From what I take, it's not so much a "poor" transfer, more a "different" transfer than the dvd release.

 

[zinfamous]

I have the Dracula BD (from the last 9.99 Fry's sale), and I have to agree with the criticism. It doesn't look horrible by any means, but there is a noticable amount of grain and the blacks do look a bit off. It doesn't help that the movie is almost entirely dark....

The movie is itself kind of crappy anyway...hard to watch again, imo

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Is the Pixar Short film Collection worth getting? It's not cheap and it's only 55min of shorts that I have seen before. It's either that or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Gotta decide...going to be buying Cars on Blu-Ray tomorrow. I have Ratatouille on standard DVD (gift) and figured I'd get Cars to complete the Pixar collection for the year (maybe the short films too if worth it).

What do you all think? Any other suggestions? HD DVD is ok too if there's something really worth getting. I got both PotC movies from deepdiscount with bogo, and Casino Royale with The Fith Element remastered from amazon bogo. Got a BestBuy gift card and the 10% off coupon to use tomorrow.

reviews of the Pixar shorts have been spotty at best. Significant banding has been an un-protested comment that I've seen a few times.

Meanwhile, Ratatouille and Cars are quickly becoming the number 1 & 2 BDs out there in PQ--many say that they are the best HD movies they've seen. I need to pick these up....

 

[galperi1]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Is the Pixar Short film Collection worth getting? It's not cheap and it's only 55min of shorts that I have seen before. It's either that or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Gotta decide...going to be buying Cars on Blu-Ray tomorrow. I have Ratatouille on standard DVD (gift) and figured I'd get Cars to complete the Pixar collection for the year (maybe the short films too if worth it).

What do you all think? Any other suggestions? HD DVD is ok too if there's something really worth getting. I got both PotC movies from deepdiscount with bogo, and Casino Royale with The Fith Element remastered from amazon bogo. Got a BestBuy gift card and the 10% off coupon to use tomorrow.

reviews of the Pixar shorts have been spotty at best. Significant banding has been an un-protested comment that I've seen a few times.

Meanwhile, Ratatouille and Cars are quickly becoming the number 1 & 2 BDs out there in PQ--many say that they are the best HD movies they've seen. I need to pick these up....

I bought Ratatouille this week and watched it for the first time. It looks absolutely incredible on my 1080p Samsung LCD. I'd highly recommend getting it!

 

[cmdrdredd]

anyone know how long the buy 1 get 1 free at amazon lasts on blu-ray?

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
anyone know how long the buy 1 get 1 free at amazon lasts on blu-ray?

If it isn't posted, then I think it's pretty much unknown.

My advice would be to pick up Apocalypto and...uh, whatever else. It's probably the best transfer of those available. (1.85:1, digitally shot, sound is amazing...)

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
anyone know how long the buy 1 get 1 free at amazon lasts on blu-ray?

If it isn't posted, then I think it's pretty much unknown.

My advice would be to pick up Apocalypto and...uh, whatever else. It's probably the best transfer of those available. (1.85:1, digitally shot, sound is amazing...)

saw that movie and did not like it.

I don't buy movies to show off, I buy movies I enjoy watching. The High Definition is a bonus for me.

 

[JC86]

i just dropped $200 at amazon on bd movies, used the BOGO free deal to pickup up Casino Royale and the Patriot, then preordered the Die Hard series and Planet Earth series and RAtatouille.

 

[cubby1223]

I know this is pointless format war fodder, but it's still good for a laugh:
the coaster

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
anyone know how long the buy 1 get 1 free at amazon lasts on blu-ray?

If it isn't posted, then I think it's pretty much unknown.

My advice would be to pick up Apocalypto and...uh, whatever else. It's probably the best transfer of those available. (1.85:1, digitally shot, sound is amazing...)

saw that movie and did not like it.

I don't buy movies to show off, I buy movies I enjoy watching. The High Definition is a bonus for me.

I actually like it, which is why I bought it. I also don't buy them just to show off. when BB was doing the same titles at BOGO, I picked up PoTC 2 to complement my "simpletons" movie titles... wasn't anything else to choose from, and I'd figure that would be good enough for anyone to see, and for a mindless adventure flick.

...but, my god is that a terrible flick. pretty much unwatchable