Blu-ray, in General

[denti alligator]

Those SD caps are misleadingly soft. Anyone with a decent DVD player or, even better, using an HTPC with ffdshow filters, would not see the image looking like this. We need a Beaver-style comparison that gets this looking right. Anyone have the SD DVD of this who can make proper caps?

Will do tonight.

Excellent! Thanks.

[Gigi M.]

Denti, I'm afraid my captures look about the same or even worse. I'll have to admit; those HD captures are absolutely great.

[exte]

SD Vs. HD - The Departed comparison.

Goddamn. Those HD pics look amazing. I'll try to see an in store demo...

[denti alligator]

I think you may be right, after all. The HD caps make the SD caps look blurry only by comparison. It's really pretty incredible. Damn, I want an HD player! and damn, I hope Criterion goes HD soon!*

* and if they do and they decide--as well they should!--to re-issue parts of (eventually all of?) the back catalogue in HD, I really hope they consider offering movie-disc only upgrades for those who already own the SD versions. I also hope they don't try to adopt the butt-ugly HD-DVD packaging.

Is there an end to the format war in sight? What will it take to end it?

[denti alligator]

Simple - The combined deaths of Rupert Murdoch and the head of Sony.

Shit, do I have to become a "Murdoch Murderer" and a "Sony Slayer," too?

No, really. When/how will this end? Would Criterion choosing sides make a difference? Is it possible we will simply have both formats, forever?

[davebert]

I'm waiting for a billionaire to buy up a huge amount of some system or another, and loads of software, thereby rendering the consumer habits of everyone else mute.

[Cinesimilitude]

what needs to happen is:

A. Universal announces blu-ray support, destroying HD-DVD

B. People come to their fucking senses and realize how superior the cheaper, non region coded, less technically problematic, and visually superior format HD-DVD is.

PS. Invunche, don't even.

[The Invunche]

Hehe. I of course agree with A.

About price, is a dual layer 30GB HD DVD really cheaper to produce than a single layer 25GB Blu-ray disc? No is isn't.

About video quality, HD DVD is not superior and certainly not from a technical standpoint. Yes, early Blu-ray releases did use MPEG2 which sucked, but recent investigations shows there's virtually no difference in quality between the two formats (except of course Blu-ray seems to produce better audio).

About technical problems, HD DVD has just been hit with its first major issue as the Children of Men disc wont play on many Xbox 360 machines.

EDIT: about region coding:

DVD Forum kicks off HD DVD region-coding scheme
By Hard Reg
6th October 2006 09:23 GMT

The DVD Forum, the organisation which oversees the DVD and HD DVD formats, looks set to introduce a region-coding system for the next-generation optical disc technology next year.

The moves was signalled in May this year, when the Forum set up a working group to "develop a specification and enforcement plan for RPC [Region Protection Coding] on HD DVD Video, including region map and requirements in consultation with the studios".

That will disappoint many consumers who hoped studios would abandon the largely unpopular region-fixing system introduced with the DVD format. To date, HD DVDs have not been tied to a specific region.

That should change next year, it emerged yesterday at a DVD Forum meeting in Japan.

Rival format Blu-ray Disc also has a region-coding system, though it encompasses fewer regions than the DVD approach. ®

[The Invunche]

Unlike you I never left.

[HerrSchreck]

...and the air did fill with Danish queefs.

[Cinesimilitude]

Tonight, a friend of mine brought over his ps3 and kingdom of heaven on blu-ray. I liked it, a lot. and since i hadn't seen the info invunche posted about region coding (following the format war as closely as I was was making me go crazy) I am now fully prepared to embrace blu-ray as the future of home entertainment.

[Antoine Doinel]

SD Vs. HD - The Departed comparison.

Goddamn. Those HD pics look amazing. I'll try to see an in store demo...

You really should - the instore demo made me a believer.

I just have to convince my wallet now.

[jedgeco]

SD Vs. HD - The Departed comparison.

Goddamn. Those HD pics look amazing. I'll try to see an in store demo...

This is at least as big a jump as early DVDs were from LD.

[Cinesimilitude]

Epson announces 1080p projector with $2,999 USD MSRP.

With my father being able to get me wholesale prices on projectors through his work, I will strongly consider picking one of these up and selling my 43" DLP.

[HerrSchreck]

With my father being able to get me wholesale prices on projectors..

My adoption papers in the mail.

[Cinesimilitude]

With my father being able to get me wholesale prices on projectors..

My adoption papers in the mail.

I always wanted an older brother...

[denti alligator]

Has this been reported yet:

[denti alligator]

I thought I mentioned above, the Studio Canal Mulholland Drive postponed to May 21 (from last month). All the current/next round of Euro releases require re-mastering to overcome a potential AACS hack weakness.

Ah yes, now I remember. What's this last part mean (practically speaking)?

[Cinesimilitude]

the hackers that unlocked the code by watching changes in the way their computer used memory were able to grab a superkey that bypassed AAC protection on any drive with the right software on it. the delay is either making the codes more title specific, or change the way the AACS is unlocked by the drive to make it more secure.

[Matt]

Sony Report Reveals First Look at Absolute Blu-ray and HD DVD Disc Sales Figures

[kevyip1]

SD Vs. HD - The Departed comparison.

Goddamn. Those HD pics look amazing. I'll try to see an in store demo...

My experience is that the superior picture of HD only becomes apparent when it is put side by side with SD. Looking at HD by itself, sometimes I'm just not as wowwed. Sometimes I'm not even aware I'm looking at HD. As the above comparison shows, HD excels over SD mainly because of the TINY details it is able to show -- knit pattern on a shirt, tiny freckles on a face, objects in a distance, etc. -- things that are just not big enough to grab our attention even on a big monitor. Together with motion (e.g. in action films), these small details are even harder to notice.

I doubt any of you has HD-SD side-by-side demo in your living room. Try showing HD to your friends without the aid of SD, and they will likely not be impressed.

The jump from VHS to DVD was able to impress people, but with the jump from DVD to HD and any future higher resolution, we are experiencing the law of diminishing return.

[exte]

...HD excels over SD mainly because of the TINY details it is able to show -- knit pattern on a shirt, tiny freckles on a face, objects in a distance, etc. -- things that are just not big enough to grab our attention even on a big monitor. Together with motion (e.g. in action films), these small details are even harder to notice.

I doubt any of you has HD-SD side-by-side demo in your living room. Try showing HD to your friends without the aid of SD, and they will likely not be impressed.

I think your quote is more apt for describing Superbit dvds. And obviously we want HD for the details. It's the reason we go to see Lawrence of Arabia when it's a 65mm print, and not 16mm or off dvd...

[Gigi M.]

From IMDB:

Some Hi-Def DVD Discs Selling in the Hundreds

While much has been made of the strong high-definition DVD sales of such films as Casino Royale, The Departed, Batman Begins and Superman Returns, sales charts show a steep drop-off below the top level, with some films selling fewer than 200 copies since they were released, according to the website HighDefDigest.com. Citing figures from VideoScan, the website noted that during the week ending March 18, when Casino Royale topped the sales charts with 28,233 units sold, the "top-ten" list included one title that sold just over 3,000 units, while all the rest sold fewer than 2,000, including three that sold fewer than 1,000. The website concluded that the sales figures are "a sobering reminder" that the HD DVD and Blu-ray formats "have a long way to go in their shared quest to supplant standard-def DVD."

Samsung goes format neutral: HD DVD and Blu-ray Combination player announced

Samsung Electronics has officially announced the BD-UP5000 "Duo HD Player" - a next generation video disc player that will fully support both HD DVD and Blu-ray. The surprising move comes despite the company's relationship with the Sony Corporation, although it should also be noted that Samsung has previously announced a laptop computer with HD DVD capability.

Unlike LG's currently released "Super Multi Blue" player, Samsung's deck will have full support for HD DVD's much-touted Interactive Features. LG's player, by comparison, gave the impression of a Blu-ray deck with HD DVD playback included as an afterthought, without full support for HD DVD menus and other "in movie experience" features. Samsung's player will also support the BD-Java standard, for Blu-ray Disc interactive features.

Industry insiders have welcomed the announcement of the dual format player:
"We welcome Samsung's Duo HD player as another solution in the marketplace that will help reduce consumer confusion and buyer hesitancy towards HD media," said Ron Sanders, President of Warner Home Video. "This is an innovative product that can move us closer to mainstream consumer adoption of HD technologies."
Although no release date or price have been specified, Samsung plan to have the player in shops, alongside its new Blu-ray-only device, before the end of the year. More news on this combination player - as well as any others that may arrive - when we get it.

[denti alligator]

Do you think these combo players might "solve" the format war? It would require, ultimately, that Sony also produce a player capable of playing HD-DVD, and that Toshiba manufacture a player also capable of Blu-Ray, but wouldn't this remove the need to chose formats? Just buy the movie--I doesn't matter if it's BR or HD.

[Gigi M.]

Interesting point. But remember that HD only has three studios backing them. So, this is just plain stupid. HD should just throw in the towel.