HD DVD 184 vs Blu-ray 216 : HD DVD and Blu-ray releases on May 8th 2007

HD DVD 184 vs Blu-ray 216.

Blu-ray

* Catch & Release (Sony)
* Dirty Dancing (Lionsgate)
* Donnie Brasco (Sony)
* Revenge (Sony)

HD DVD

* Nada

[Bigmac573]

He's dreamy

[TriggerHappy]

are all the hd dvd movies ?

[eques judicii]

how exactly?

[Lumbo]

it hardly fits industry, but "gaming" ???

[XxZxX]

Can't denied, this is good flamebait.
I would like to welcome, our guests of Honors,
Mr. Everyone disagree with him is a lemming, CyberSentinel
and our N4g very own, Anti Microsoft, Mr Bill Gates himself.

We will have their opening speech soon.

[ITR]

Whats the point of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray remakes of same old movies?

I mean really? They don't look any better then a upscaled ver. and they cost almost twice as much for basically what is the same content on my DVD ver.

I could see this for new movies, but not for old movies.

[kmis87]

There's not that much of a difference. Better transfers from the original source master are possible, but the difference between upscaled DVD and hd content for catalog releases will be considerably less than the difference between upscaled DVD and hd content for newer releases.

[Black Republican]

you dumby why would you categorize this in Ps3, X360??
This has nothing to do with gaming...

Wait hmmmm
I shall buy a PS3 so I can buy dirty dancing on blu-ray and then my skills will improve drastically when I play dance dance revolution universe on my x360
YES i'm going to the store right after work
: )

[ITR]

Save your money and buy it on DVD.
Same Sh!t different format...or better yet buy it used on DVD.

[Lumbo]

or better yet DON'T buy it :S

[calderra]

1) Next-gen DVD =/= gaming.
2) Even if BluRay wins the DVD battle, Microsoft has already promised a future BluRay drive for 360. Microsoft can't lose this battle, even if you do think this is somehow a console issue.
3) If BluRay loses, Sony's screwed generally, and doesn't really have much of a back-up plan. So Sony's the only company that could even theoretically lose, even if you were to accept this was part of the console war.
4) The majority of DVD sales are still on plain ol' standard DVD, and the majority of home televisions are standard definition as well.

"Much ado about nothing" has been taken to the max.

[ITR]

I agree.

HDTV's sales won't pickup until around 2009.
Std DVD will probably rule for the next 5 yrs at least if not longer.

[NextGen24Gamer]

"The recent pres-release-bickering between the HD-DVD and Blu-ray camps isn't terribly new, though most previous spats have gone down in the midst of large trade shows. The most recent squabbling began when HD-DVD celebrated the format's birthday by announcing that 100,000 dedicated players had been sold, preserving the format's hardware lead, not counting the PlayStation 3 (story). Blu-ray fired back, announcing that Blu-ray movie sales had reached the 1,000,000-sold milestone, and added a little salt to the wound with the data that 70-percent of Q1 HD-movie sales were thanks to Blu-ray (story).

Today, HD-DVD's representatives from Webersh & Wick public relations wrote to IGN Gear directly with updated HD-DVD news. According to their figures, HD-DVD movie sales lag only 2,000 units behind Blu-ray with 998,059 units sold. The firm points out that pre-orders of Planet Earth and The Matrix Trilogy will propel HD-DVD over the million-mark quite shortly. Representatives also stated that hardware sales have continued with strength in April, maintaining a 4 to 1 margin over Blu-ray. "

http://gear.ign.com/article...

HD DVD already has a player at the 300 dollar price range...

http://www.hddvd.org/hddvd/

[NikV3]

how much longer has hd dvd been out than blu-ray? so that 2,000 units is still bad, there is a 2 and a half month margin between the formats

[NextGen24Gamer]

HD DVD being behind Blu ray 2000 units total is not bad when we are talking about 1 million vs 998 thousand my friend.

There is how many ps3's on the market? 2 million? 3 million?

There is 100k stand alone HD dvd players on the market....which is more than Blu ray stand alones 4 to 1.

But yet total blu ray and HD dvd sales are neck and neck in total sales.

Sure HD dvd launched a few months before blu ray.

But, Since the ps3 launched there have been a steady flow of Blu ray movies compared to a drought of HD dvd releases. That is until now. Since the end of April HD dvd has started releasing movies again. So while the first 3 months of 2007 belonged to blu ray...I have a strong feeling that April and beyond will be a different story. More so May and beyond. It wasn't until the end of April that HD dvd's got back on track with movie releases.

But with all that said... The HD vs blu ray race is neck and neck. With HD dvd dominating in stand alone sales. And it is and always will be the stand alone sales that drive the market. Video game consoles will not dictate the outcome of the format war. It will help of course...But its the average joe's that adopt the format that will drive movie sales into the multi millions per title...not one million total for all titles.

I have said it once and I will say it again. Which ever player can get down to the 200 and under price will win the format war. HD dvd has the edge by default....Being the common sense successor to Dvd.

But I have invested in both formats. I know one will loose if not both to Terabit hard drives.....But, I can afford it and I don't want to miss out on any HD movies on my 61 inch 1080p DLP Samsung TV.

[ben hates you]

why universal studios isn't releasing some of their better movies exclusive to HD-DVD, men in black I&II, american pie{1st one},back to the future I-III,jurassic park,october sky,obrother where art thou,along came polly,40 year old virgin, plus quiet a few more i would buy like all of these, why not release them?

[kmis87]

I know in the case of Jurassic Park that Spielberg has blocked its release. He wants to wait until install base is much larger and HD exclusive extra content can be made. I'm pretty sure that Lucas and Fox, and Jackson and New Line are doing the same for Star Wars and LOTR respectively.

[power of Green]

I have always said this was a marathon not the 100 yard dash. Good news. Sony's hype machine is blinding and smuthering indeed.

There might be a new format that will give BD & HD-DVD a run for their money and one day Blu-ray nor HD-DVD will be needed if DDL doesn't take over next generation nor will Blu-ray be needed this gen but more of a choice.

A DVD capable of holding 20GB could go head-to-head against HD DVD and Blu-ray

The home entertainment market is still wrestling with having two HD optical formats, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, but soon it will have to deal with another. UK-based New Medium Enterprises (NME) has developed the Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD), a new optical-based format capable of storing 20GB of data.

Unlike HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, VMD is a red-laser technology that achieves its storage capacity by using a greater number of layers. VMD is precisely the same size and thickness as DVD. However, while DVD technology utilizes two layers of a disc, VMD technology has conceived multi-layering, where up to 5GB can easily be stored on each layer.

New Medium Enterprises said that in January 2007 that it secured worldwide patents surrounding its technology that provides up to eight information layers on each side of a disc. NME patents filed in 2004 cover the principles of NME's “modified 2P process,” which involves producing more than two layers on a single-sided disc, and allow for the replication of multilayer discs with the production yield and subsequent production costs comparable to current DVD production. The patent also covers the general set-up of a VMD production line and method of playing-back multilayer discs.

NME says that its VMD technology drastically diminishes the cross talk between layers—a problem that prevented original DVDs from breaking through the dual-layer barrier. Keeping cross talk at bay is a separating layer that holds a definite distance between neighboring information layers. The intermediate layers are formed with application of so-called “2p technology.” It is a very simple process implemented on the usual DVD bonding machines, according to NME.

VMD technology has been validated by established Netherlands-based replicator VDL ODMS, and NME has entered into a production agreement with the replicator to produce the mass production machinery based on standard DVD equipment augmented by VMD 2P technology.

“Our scientists and engineers have been working to perfect the 2P process for years, while many others abandoned this process as too costly and complex,” said Mahesh Jayanarayan, NME CEO. “With the validation of VMD technology by an established replicator and our strong patent portfolio in multilayer disc technology, we are excited about our position to help provide answers and low cost solutions to the high-definition disc debate.”

Current VMD are quad-layer, yielding 20GB, and New Medium Enterprises has already outlined specifications for 24GB, 30GB, 40GB and 48GB sizes. For cost reasons, NME says that its technology works best with red-laser discs. However, the company believes that its multilayer technology is also applicable to blue-laser discs for 200GB of storage. Toshiba has said it has achieved a triple-layer HD DVD capable of storing 51GB, while Ritek claims it has designed HD DVD and Blu-ray media with 10 layers for up to 250GB of storage.

The extra space afforded by even red-laser VMD has led the format to be another option for high-definition video. Although dual layer HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc media hold 30GB and 50GB, respectively, the 20GB afforded by VMD is still able to hold a feature length, high definition film thanks to advanced video codecs such as VC-1 and MPEG-4 AVC.

NME is touting HD VMD as a true high definition format with 1920 x 1080i/p resolution, up to 40Mbs data transfer rate, video upconversion for SD DVD, AES encryption and all region codes. HD VMD supports the same range of audio and video codecs of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, and will also support a number of open source video codecs in the future, according to the company.

As with any new optical format, new players are required. In a three-year deal with NME, PC Rush will be distributing and marketing in the U.S. channel the HD VMD Media Player Duo and HD VMD Media Player Quattro. The players, designed for VMD, will also upconvert existing standard-definition DVD collections to HD resolutions. The HD VMD Media Player Duo, starting at $199 (MSRP) and the HD VMD Media Player Quattro, starting at just $249 (MSRP), will both be available from PC Rush in Q2 2007.

“The first products will be available in the world’s markets, including the U.S., very shortly,” added Jayanarayan. “With [our] HD media format quietly adopted by content providers and distributors in 12 regions of the world … HD VMD Media Format and products will become a universal media format and standard worldwide.”

NME has signed content and distribution deals in 12 regions worldwide, including Brazil, Central Europe, China, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Japan, the Middle East Russia, Scandinavia and the United States.

http://www.dailytech.com/Qu...

[tethered]

I just bought Silent Hill on Blu-ray tonight.
That makes three Blu-ray movies I own.

Getting more soon.

[kmis87]

Of all the BluRay releases why Silent Hill?

Rocky Balboa, Casino Royale, The Descent, The Departed, The Prestige, The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs, Goodfellas, Full Metal Jacket, hell, even that crappy Talledega Nights disc Sony "gave" me. Take your pick from my collection they're all better.

PS. If you're looking to reassure yourself of your purchases and convince everyone you know to buy into hd then spring for Planet Earth on BluRay (the HDDVD version is also amazing, and also the same number of discs because they used 4 BD 25s instead of 2 BD 50s).

[tethered]

In all fairness kmis87, don't you think that everyone has different tastes in movies. While I like a lot of the movies you point out, I liked SH as much as any of them maybe because I am a fan of the game.

Like I said before, I plan on getting more soon.

BTW, I don't need reassurance. I am happy with my decision.