Quoting Ascended_Saiyan:

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Do you see what I mean?

I am sure they do...though I doubt it is the way you think it is. 

Quoting JP_S:

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Digital something is going to bring Dragon's Liar to Blu-ray!
COOL!

It is suppose to be on both formats.  They are just suppose to be putting more technical abilities on the Blu-ray version because of what BD-J allows them to do with this title.  The HD DVD version was announced back in November, I think.

On a side note, I've seen something about Sin City and Bad Boys 2 making an appearance on Blu-ray pretty soon (no announced date yet).  I think it might be around the June/July time frame.

The following should make for a decent discussion...

The First HD DVD/DVD Twin Disc Hits US in June

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Posted Mar 20th 2007 3:24PM by Richard Lawler
Filed under: HD DVD
Add one more dual format disc type to the pile, as Bandai Visual will bring the HD DVD/DVD Twin disc to the U.S. June 26, with the release of its bestselling OVA Freedom, and will also be one of the first releases to include HDi network capabilities. As opposed to the combo releases so far that have HD DVD on one side, and DVD on the other, the Twin disc allows up to three layers of either HD DVD or DVD content on the same side of the disc, no flipping necessary. Your old-school DVD player might have trouble with the disc, so its been limited to Japan-only releases so far. Bandai's been working with Microsoft and Memory-Tech to tweak the VC-1 codec for Japanese anime, and the company says after this they will start releasing other HD DVD and Blu-ray titles in Japan and overseas. The SRP for Freedom Vol.1 (of 6) is $39.99 and while we don't know much about the series beyond its mix of CGI and 2D animation, it does heavily represent that most holiest of foods, ramen.

Now, this is not to be confused with the 45GB TL HD DVD disc promised some time ago by the HD DVD camp.  This is basically a slightly different version of the JVC 25GB Blu-ray/8.5GB DVD made last year.  They can have either 30GB for HD DVD and 4.7GB for DVD or 15GB for HD DVD and 8.5GB for DVD on the same side.

The new HDi functions should be nice.

What do you guys think of this new product?

HD DVD Dials Up 'The Matrix' Trilogy

"Take that, Blu-ray backers.

The studio that put the first HD DVD titles into stores last April has finally set a date for one of the most anticipated high definition titles first hinted at nearly a year ago today. Warner Home Video has announced 'The Complete Matrix Trilogy' and 'The Ultimate Matrix Collection' HD DVD box sets will be available May 22 for $99.99 and $119.99, respectively. Blu-ray editions are also planned but won't appear until later this year.

'The Complete Matrix Trilogy' will span three discs and include each of the Matrix films along with three featurettes from 'The Matrix: Revisited' DVD. Each film will also include an Interactive Movie Experience (IME) featute exclusive to HD DVD that promises to provide additional insight into making the film through the eyes of cast and crew members.

'The Ultimate Matrix Collection' will mirror its DVD counterpart and include, in addition to the three IME features found in 'The Complete Matrix Trilogy,' 35 hours of bonus material and 'The Anamatrix' short film."

Quoting Calidain:

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Sorry but Blu-Ray is SONY, it is their technology and the other members of the Blu-Ray group are SONY's lapdogs!!!

I'm sorry you feel that way.  BTW, Blu-ray was created by Panasonic.

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With Hi-Def only accounting for 1% of all movies sales, then you can hardly call this a WAR now can you, more like a battle, or heck even a skirmish!!!  So to say Blu-Ray is winning the WAR is hardly factual, how about Blu-Ray is winning the skirmish!!!

Actually, I did cover this a little while ago.  Let's look at this from a nature perspective, shall we?  It makes this easier to understand (I'm not trying to insult you...maybe I have just not explained this properly).  A baby bird has to fight his brother/sister to obtain food because there is only enough food for one to survive.  That means it has to kill off the immediate competitor which will allow it to grow much stronger.  Then, upon reaching the right size and strength, it can fight for dominance in whatever territory it wants to fight for (usually the older more seasoned bird--it could even be the parent's territory at some point).

As for covering the "winning" thing again...the term winning has been used for centuries to describe someone or a team being in the lead of a race, battle, etc.  Therefore, it is quite selfish to try to change this term just because things are not going like you want it to.

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Hell let's just call this a marathin and for the moment, Blu-Ray has sprinted into the lead!!!

Okay.  In that case, Blu-ray has sprinted past HD DVD at an inhuman speed and is putting more and more distance between them with every step (just to to be as accurate as possible) for the moment.  Too many of those moments and this will be over.

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I can't help but compare this format battle to the recent SACD vs. DVD-Audio format war.  Both these upgrades to CDs have had a hard time convincing the average consumer (not to be confused with the AUDIOPHILE) to switch to this improvement over the aging but extremely popular CD.  The switch meant that the average consumer would need to buy a completely new piece of hardward to play the new format and it became confusing which format did what.  Now granted SACD and DVD-A really has not been advertised as well as these newer Hi-Def video formats, but the comparison is fairly dead on.

I almost wish this was accurate, but it leaves out the details that turns this into a different animal.

First of all, watching moving pictures w/ sound is a much bigger past time than music listening on component equipment.  Therefore, people pay more attention to things that change their picture watching lifestyle...not to mention the discs were about 2 to 4 times more expensive than their CD counterparts, at the time (they are cheaper now of course).

Secondly, movie studios grab a lot of America's attentions.  The movie/tv market is just bigger than the music market.  That means more people will get involved. Another was to put it would be that people seem to care a lot more about their viewing experience than their listening experience.

Finally, because of the popularity these High-Def units sales have blown way past that of SACD and DVD-A player sales at this stage of the game.  For instances, SACD was introduced in 2000.  In the first half of 2004 (4 years later), SACDs only sold 300,000 copies in 6 months.  Both, Blu-ray and HD DVD have individually past these numbers within their first year.

SACD only sold 300,000 copies in first half of 2004

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DVD like CD is well embedded into the average consumers television routine.  DVD players are extremely cheap and let's face it you can purchase DVDs by the cart load at retailers (like Wal-Mart in the US) for well under $10 per movie.  Now Blu-Ray and HD-DVD want the consumer to forgo their DVD collections and upgrade to the shiny, prettier Hi-Def DVD.

Yes, DVD players are NOW extremely cheap.  These High-Def player prices are on par with what DVD use to cost in the beginning.  LOOK HERE (look at Nov. 17, 1997 for the price of a DVD-R burner...sobering isn't it).  It's a hell of a bargin for a Blu-ray 4x burner isn't it?

As for $10 per movie, that is not the price for newly released movies.  They usually have to be at least a year old to get those prices (I picked up Layer Cake on Blu-ray for $17.99 two days ago, in comparison).  New release DVDs are around $15 to $23 (usually $20 after the first week).  High-Def new releases usually go for about $25 to $34 (only in the $30+ range it you go to Best Buy or something).  This is really no different from DVD's beginning for DVD discs.

DVD Player Sales History Since the Beginning

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Forget about bargin bin movies and buy these better versions (despite the obvious lack of special features on most these beauties).

They are coming.  Personally, after about 40 mins into the extras I get sleepy, but I still like them to be there as well (and they will when the market demands it from the studios).

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Then upgrade your TV to HD-TV (hmmm 720p, 1080i, 1080p...???) and add a pretty new receiver that can decode the new HD-Audio and you're all set.

Well, your TV has to be upgraded anyway due to the government's mandate (unless you buy a converter).  That means there is and will continue to be a mad dash for HDTVs.

There are already 20 million HDTVs out there now.  There should be a whole lot more out there by next year this time.

Depending on when you bought your receiver you don't have to buy a new receiver at all.  All you need is HDMI 1.1 (just make sure the player can decode the advanced audio formats internally).

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Oh wait, I forgot, you need a player for the Hi-Def DVD, so just another measly $499+ purchase at this current time. 

This is definitely a necessary evil.  There's no way around that one for playing High-Def movies.

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In the US, HD-TV has been slowly coming along with the speed of a continental glacier.

That's not true according to the sales reports.  But, then again, that can be a matter of perspective.  You might not thing that a over 100% sales growth in US HDTV sales is fast (PAGE 4).  Of the homes that have HDTVs in them, there were 11% that had more than one HDTV in it.  In 2006, there were 26%.

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So clearly this marathon format war has barely begun.

Remember, just because something began recently doesn't mean it can't end quickly.

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And honestly I agree that the true format war right now is against DVD, and let's face it, Hi-Def is a house divided trying to dethrone a Heavy Weight Champion!!!

One has to beat up a goon or two before getting a shot at the boss.

AcS proclaimed:

"First of all, watching moving pictures w/ sound is a much bigger past time than music listening on component equipment."

Which crack did you pull this one out of? 

Quoting Battling Butler:

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AcS proclaimed:

"First of all, watching moving pictures w/ sound is a much bigger past time than music listening on component equipment."

Which crack did you pull this one out of? 

Here you go.

Now, add the numbers for the top 10 box office numbers (this is not even counting the rentals that will be coming).

Then, write down the top ten albums and look up how many each of them have sold times the album price.

The greater number will be for the box office movies.

Plus, when most people get home from work/school, they turn on the TV.  Do you even agree with this part?

It seems as though the TV/movies is a destination. Where as music is, more often than not, something to make moving from point A to point B easier to people or to create/soothe a mood of some sort.

This is slightly older news, but they are just starting to be used now.

First HD DVD Burner (Jan.7, 2007)

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Just ahead of tomorrow's official opening of the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Toshiba's Storage Device Division announced the first HD DVD burner for desktop PCs.

This announcement is significant, given that up until now, no manufacturer has offered a half-height desktop drive for installation in PCs. Last fall, Toshiba announced the first HD DVD slimline writer for notebook PCs.

I caught up with Toshiba's Paul Castellaneta, senior director, HD DVD business development, at the Storage Visions conference--also here this week in Las Vegas--and gleaned some more details about the drive, the SD-H903A.

Specs

The basic specs are intriguing: Serial ATA interface; Microsoft Windows Vista compliance; write speeds of 1X for HD DVD-R SL (single-layer) and HD DVD-R DL (double-layer); 8X for DVD±R SL; 4X for DVD±RW; 3X for DVD-RAM; 2.4X for DVD±R DL; 16X for CD-R; and 10X for CD-RW.

Notably, the drive does not support rewritable media. Castellaneta said the rewritable HD DVD formats were not ready in time to be incorporated into this drive. However, he says, "We will support rewritable in subsequent models."

Castellaneta says the company decided to use Serial ATA because OEM customers requested it. The SATA interface remains uncommon on DVD burners. And, as with DVD, the use of a SATA interface does not impact on the drive's performance.

"One of the beautiful things about HD DVD is our ability to keep it low cost, at a high reliability," says Castellaneta. "The goal will continue to be to offer the lowest HD solution in the market."

Since the drive is an OEM component, Castellaneta declined to quote pricing. However, he did posit that "It’s probably half of what a Blu-ray [burner] solution is." Blu-ray Disc burners currently range in price from Sony’s $750 BWU-100A to Plextor’s $1000 PX-B900A.

Castellaneta says he expects we'll see systems integrating an HD DVD burner in either March or April. The drive, he says, will show up in external drives, as well as in desktop PCs, gaming PCs, and media servers.

This HD DVD burner (currently all 2 HD DVD burners) has a 1x burn speed of 36Mbps (4.5MBps) and no rewritable support.

Now, for those that don't know about DVD and HD DVD drive, they have variable speeds.  That means 4.5MBps is the maximum speed you can read and write at (a problem with this new tech [HD DVD] that hinges off older tech [DVD]).  That speed is only attainable if you only have a small amount of information on the outer edge of the disc (where it spins the fastest).  The average speed is probably going to be around .6x (around 2.4MBps).  15GB of data could take around 1 hour 40 mins to burn a 14GB (out of 15GB disc).

A Blu-ray burner, in comparison, stays at a constant speed from beginning to end.  Therefore, a 4x BD burner operates at a constant 144Mbps (18MBps) from beginning to the end of the disc.  That means a 4x Blu-ray burner could burner a 25GB BD in about 26 mins.  A 2x BD burner could still do a 25GB BD in about 52 mins.  And, they can use Re-writable discs.