Blu-ray, in General

[Ornette]

From DVD Times:

French news site DVDRama has posted details on the latest HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc announcements from Warner Home Video.

I guess many of you've been waiting for some of these:

December 2007:
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Shining
A Clockwork Orange
Eyes Wide Shut
The Wizard of Oz

I imagine those goose bumps that's all over me right now will settle in a week or so...

[Cinesimilitude]

I'd be willing to bet if France is releasing those in December that they should be out in the US before then, as the other titles anounced contain lots of HD-DVD's that have already been released. If there's no announcement by the time these are out, I'll grab them.

[Gigi M.]

Beaver reviews Casablanca HD and it looks great.

[Cinesimilitude]

I have the Casablanca HD-DVD and I agree with the Beave. This is the best transfer of a black and white film I've ever seen, even beating out the La Haine HD-DVD that I just acquired from Optimum. I can't wait to see what criterion has for us in terms of HD, It should be spectacular.

[Darth Lavender]

Actually, I could be wrong here, but isn't the HD Spartacus transfer (which Gary mentions is actually slightly inferior to the SD) the one which Criterion used as the basis for their DVD?

So far, Criterion's main accomplishment were transfers are concerned seems to have been in creating astonishingly sharp SD transfers which come closest in quality to the original HD transfers.

Personally, I'd kind of hope so. There's basically no way in heck that I could justify replacing most of my Criterion DVDs with overpriced HD editions with redundant extras.

After seeing those comparisons of Casablanca, I'm kind of pleased to see that my approach to buying HDs will be much as I expected. I might replace a very small number of movies which I absolutely adore and/or which were only available on DVD in dreadfully outdated editions, but there's no need to worry about my SDs becoming antiquated and I actually suspect there'll be a lot of HDs inferior to certain SD releases (eg. it might be interesting to hear a comparison between the French fully restored SD of 'Dune' and the new (reportedly, mediocre) Universal HD version.

[Cinesimilitude]

on a 42 inch screen, which is what gary is using, criterions SD DVD's, when upscaled, certainly look close to and probably rival some HD-DVD's, but 42inches is not what HD is meant for. HD-DVD on a 100" projector or those new 108" tv's will look SOO much better than even the best criterion SD DVD. I plan on getting a projector eventually, once a decently priced 1080p one is on the market, and SD just won't cut it at 12 x 6 feet.

[barrym71]

So far, Criterion's main accomplishment were transfers are concerned seems to have been in creating astonishingly sharp SD transfers which come closest in quality to the original HD transfers.

Personally, I'd kind of hope so. There's basically no way in heck that I could justify replacing most of my Criterion DVDs with overpriced HD editions with redundant extras.

Are you watching your movies on a large screen? When I was using a 32" screen, I was perfectly happy with my SD DVDs and could barely tell the difference between an upconverted SD DVD and an HD broadcast, but now that I'm using a projector to a 65" screen, many SD DVDs, even Criterion DVDs, are unbearable. Criterion's "Royal Tenenbaums" DVD looks atrocious to me - unwatchable even. Universal's "Fear and Loathing" is a huge improvement over the Criterion DVD to my eyes.

If Criterion could match the same kind of hi-def quality that I'm getting from Warners and Universal, I would happily re-buy their releases, but I am disappointed to see that some of my existing Criterions don't look as good as I would have hoped vs hi def releases.

[denti alligator]

Tenenbaums looks bad even on a small screen. It's just a porrly done transfer. The opening credit sequence is especially lacking in strong colors and sharpness. What went wrong here?

[Darth Lavender]

Currently, I am watching my DVDs on a 32inch, 720p screen, sitting about 1 metre away.

Used to watch my DVDs on a 17inch 1024p computer monitor, sitting about 5 inches away.

That, incidentally, is what I find kind of silly about the concept of a 108inch monitor in every home; convenient if you have a room full of people watching a movie. But, for one person, there's really no difference between watching a 32inch screen 50cm away or watching a 64inch screen 100cm away. It's really just a question of how well a screen can fill one's field of vision before (a) artefacts become glaringly obvious, or (b) the image is just too big to see everything.

Only reason I switched from using my computer monitor (which filled my field of vision just as well as any multi-story IMAX screen) was the necessity of sitting in exactly the same position for the duration of movie.

[Der Müde Tod]

But, for one person, there's really no difference between watching a 32inch screen 50cm away or watching a 64inch screen 100cm away. It's really just a question of how well a screen can fill one's field of vision before (a) artefacts become glaringly obvious, or (b) the image is just too big to see everything.

I disagree. When my eyes are focussed to an object close by, my brain knows this and believes the object is close by, even if that means I am staring at a person only 2 inches tall. In particular, I prefer to watch some movies on a small screen because it creates a chamber music like setting, while others require a big screen to take full effect on me.

[Titus]

I watch my movies on a 57'' rear rear projector at 1080i and, when upscaled via Oppo, a great DVD image is within shouting distance of HD broadcasts -- the image is not as sharp, but it's certainly a far cry from being "unbearable".

Oppo just released a DVD player that upconverts to 1080p -- has anybody gotten a glimpse of this yet?

[colinr0380]

I have just seen this HD-channel 'artist portrait' of Brad Pitt. (According to a comment on The Onion, directed by David Fincher)

Words fail me, so I'll just repeat the description under the film:

Pitt's perfectly sculpted form embodies male pride in this short fantasy. Wearing white designer shorts and socks, he stands patiently in the rain. Crystal teardrops run down his face, glinting in the deep blue light. The rain stops and he takes aim with measured fury, shooting his gun five times before he resigns himself once more to immersion.

.....O...K....

I mean come on! "Crystal teardops"! You can't even see his socks, so who cares if they're 'designer'?

This has to rank among the most hilariously pretentious things I've ever seen! This had to be a joke....right....?

EDIT: Ah, I've just read something that explains the 'socks':

Two versions were shot of each VOOM PORTRAIT: horizontal for TV and a limited edition of verticals for exhibition. In addition to shows in galleries and museums, they will eventually be aired to millions of people around the world in their horizontal version on VOOM channels in the U.S. and internationally. But, as art created in and for the new medium of HD, they are also meant to be seen in new ways.

Each VOOM PORTRAIT is a set piece developed by [Robert] Wilson in collaboration with his subjects, and draws inspiration from movies, art, history and more. For example, Winona Ryder is the character “Winnieâ€

[Cinesimilitude]

That site says they did one with Jeane Moreau... now I'm just as in love with Moreau as the next fella, but HD isn't going to be kind to her, is it?

[porquenegar]

After seeing those comparisons of Casablanca, I'm kind of pleased to see that my approach to buying HDs will be much as I expected. I might replace a very small number of movies which I absolutely adore and/or which were only available on DVD in dreadfully outdated editions, but there's no need to worry about my SDs becoming antiquated and I actually suspect there'll be a lot of HDs inferior to certain SD releases (eg. it might be interesting to hear a comparison between the French fully restored SD of 'Dune' and the new (reportedly, mediocre) Universal HD version.

The HD DVD of Dune is from a new source and is excellent. It is the best transfer out there including the french SD DVD.

[barrym71]

The HD DVD of Dune is from a new source and is excellent. It is the best transfer out there including the french SD DVD.

Absolutely. I've never seen Dune look better.

[Antoine Doinel]

From Digital Bits:

The first official retail tracking data from Nielsen VideoScan seems to show Blu-ray Disc outselling HD-DVD in unit software sales by a more than 2 to 1 margin, and the gap is widening. According to data reported in Home Media Retailing (you'll find it on page one of the digital edition available on their website) for the week ending 1/7/07, Year-to-Date tracking indicated that for every 47.14 HD-DVDs sold there were 100 Blu-ray Disc titles sold. Just a week later, ending 1/14/07, the same YTD tracking indicated just 38.36 HD-DVDs sold for every 100 Blu-ray Discs sold. What's more, tracking by Nielsen VideoScan since the inception of both formats appears to indicate that Blu-ray Disc is quickly erasing the sales lead HD-DVD enjoyed as a result of launching months earlier in 2006. On 1/7, HD-DVD's lead was 100 discs for every 85.05 Blu-ray Discs sold, while just a week later on 1/14, that lead had been reduced to 100 HD-DVDs for every 92.40 Blu-ray Discs sold.

Specific unit volume numbers are not available, but one would guess they're still fairly low. No doubt much of the sales surge has to do with the arrival of Sony's PS3 game system in November. We'll have to watch closely over the next few months to see if these trends are affected by specific new software/title releases on both formats from week to week. Still, this data seems to bear out claims made by the BDA at CES, to the effect that their format was outselling HD-DVD as of December 2006 and that the margin could grow to as much as 3 to 1 in early 2007. It'll be interesting to see how continuing sales of the PS3 (and new dedicated players for both formats) impact these numbers as well.

[Cinesimilitude]

Yeah, I saw that too. I think that right now we're in a stage where early adopters of HD-DVD have stopped buying every title just because it's out there, and now we only buy what we really want to. All those new PS3 owners are buying up blu-rays for the same reason, because It's new to them. when the dust settlles, I think it's going to be fairly even. It'll be a shame if THD wins, since It's such a major waste of resources. I must admit there are blu-ray titles I'm interested in, so I may just keep buying the HD-DVD's I need, and then get a combo player from one of the cheap japanese or chinese companies in early 08.

[Darth Lavender]

Was basically just guessing about 'Dune,' and it seems I was wrong.

Is the HD version a completely new transfer? I was under the impression that the French SD was taken from restored film, and the R1 SD (and, presumably, HD) was taken from unrestored film.

[barrym71]

Was basically just guessing about 'Dune,' and it seems I was wrong.

Is the HD version a completely new transfer? I was under the impression that the French SD was taken from restored film, and the R1 SD (and, presumably, HD) was taken from unrestored film.

I believe the HD DVD version is a new transfer - it aired on Universal HD before the HD DVD came out (as did The Deer Hunter and Casino). I don't know if anyone ever verified if it was the same as the French transfer, but it is supposed to be superior to the R1 SD DVD transfer that was released in late 2005.

It's been something of a crap shoot in terms of which transfers are being used for the hi-def releases. Some appear to be hi-def ports of transfers used for recent standard-def releases and some others appear to be new transfers. Dazed and Confused was disappointing, but The Thing was stellar.

[porquenegar]

Was basically just guessing about 'Dune,' and it seems I was wrong.

Is the HD version a completely new transfer? I was under the impression that the French SD was taken from restored film, and the R1 SD (and, presumably, HD) was taken from unrestored film.

DVDTalk

Josh Z knows his Dune.

From Digital Bits:

The first official retail tracking data from Nielsen VideoScan seems to show Blu-ray Disc outselling HD-DVD in unit software sales by a more than 2 to 1 margin, and the gap is widening. According to data reported in Home Media Retailing (you'll find it on page one of the digital edition available on their website) for the week ending 1/7/07, Year-to-Date tracking indicated that for every 47.14 HD-DVDs sold there were 100 Blu-ray Disc titles sold. Just a week later, ending 1/14/07, the same YTD tracking indicated just 38.36 HD-DVDs sold for every 100 Blu-ray Discs sold. What's more, tracking by Nielsen VideoScan since the inception of both formats appears to indicate that Blu-ray Disc is quickly erasing the sales lead HD-DVD enjoyed as a result of launching months earlier in 2006. On 1/7, HD-DVD's lead was 100 discs for every 85.05 Blu-ray Discs sold, while just a week later on 1/14, that lead had been reduced to 100 HD-DVDs for every 92.40 Blu-ray Discs sold.

I'd be interested in seeing numbers for a longer period of time. The first couple of weeks of the year have been pretty bad for HD DVD releases.

[The Invunche]

Maybe Blu-Ray has overcome it's initial problems and is now moving ahead because of the larger studio support (better titles).

[exte]

Pardon me, but has this come up?

Guide to 120Hz HDTVs: Which Sets Have That Magic Number?

[The Invunche]

And Blu-ray is continuing to outsell HD DVD 2 to 1.

[Cinesimilitude]

The Holiday: Paid for by sony, and therefore a BD exclusive in R1, then distributed by Universal on HD-DVD in the UK.

This was the first blu-ray I wanted but couldn't have. I love no region coding.

[Matt]

The Holiday...This was the first blu-ray I wanted but couldn't have.

Pardon my asking, but why? Are you a Nancy Myers completist or something?