The Energon Pub

Justicity wrote:Maybe that should be more obvious in the first post or title...

Well... we told you this was coming. No doubt "encouraged" by today's HD-DVD news, Fox and MGM have just officially announced their return to the Blu-ray game with 29 exclusive titles, including MAJOR catalog films, all of which are reportedly coming before the end of 2007. These include Live Free of Die Hard, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Independence Day, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, The Day After Tomorrow and the TV show Prison Break. Here's the press release:

FOX AND MGM UNVEIL BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE RELEASES FOR 2007

29 Titles To Debut Packed With Soon-to-Be-Announced BD Industry ‘Firsts’ - PLUS – Fox’s First TV Title ‘PRISON BREAK’

FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER And LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD and Other Titles To Debut Day-and-Date on BD/DVD

-- Blu-ray Out-Performing HD DVD 2-to-1 At Retail in 2007 --

LOS ANGELES – August 20, 2007 -- Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE) today unveiled an aggressive global Blu-ray Disc release strategy including 29 new release and “must-have” catalog titles that runs through the end of the 2007 calendar year. Among the many highlights of the impressive worldwide slate are six day & date BD/DVD new theatrical releases from Fox including the $241 million box-office family favorite FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER and the $335 million box-office action powerhouse LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, four day & date BD/DVD (U.S. only) new theatrical releases from MGM, 19 ‘must-have on BD’ films from the two studios’ libraries, Fox’s first-ever TV release on BD – PRISON BREAK -- and Fox’s intention to release at least one state-of-the-art title per month featuring numerous BD ‘firsts.’

The only high-definition packaged media universally supported by the film, music, gaming and computer industries, BD is the #1 selling high-definition packaged media. In fact, on a worldwide basis, BD is averaging nearly 70% market-share per week of all high definition titles sold this year and, in the U.S., it is out-performing HD DVD by a margin of 115%.

“Given that Blu-ray has consistently outsold HD DVD all year, and this is the case for any titles released by any studio in both formats, we believe that the time is right for us to accelerate our activities and help convert the nearly 60 million high definition households worldwide into Blu-ray households,” noted Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. “By the end of this calendar year there will be expansive availability of technically vibrant releases featuring never-before-seen, advanced BD-J interactivity as well as a broad offering of playback devices at attractive prices that will prove to any doubting consumers once and for all that Blu-ray is the only way.”

“And as Blu-ray continues to grows stronger, it has become survival of the fittest which is most apparent in the retail landscape where our eager and growing global Blu-ray consumer base has caused a shift that is forcing the allocation of more space to the format that is selling the best. And, in many recent instances of note, top retailers in North America are choosing to promote the Blu-ray format exclusively in their stores,” continued Dunn.

Among the BD industry ‘firsts’ from the Studios’ upcoming global release slate are picture in picture capability, enhanced viewing and surround sound modes with the ability to mix and match picture and sound, direct access to in-movie features through one of the four colored buttons on the BD remote and the most technically vibrant BD-Java interactive multi-player challenge and trivia games to date. The Studios’ slate also takes full advantage of BD-Live functionality this fourth quarter. Internet-connected consumers will enjoy unique, title specific “web-enabled” interactive features and games and “web-exclusive” downloadable content with the ability to connect and interact with other broadband BD users worldwide.

Cementing its leadership position within the industry - previous BD releases NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM and X-MEN THE LAST STAND rank in the Top 20 best-sellers - the vast majority of the Studios’ upcoming global slate will be presented on 50 GB dual-layer discs with advanced BD-J interactivity and feature numerous Blu-ray exclusive high-definition bonus materials that further realizes BD’s incredible potential. Consumers will enjoy the superior video and audio elements of AVC encoding and Lossless HD audio on many of the coming titles as well as enhanced and integrated menus, personal scene selections, search indexing, trivia and other title specific games and high-definition bonus materials.

Upcoming BD-J features exclusive to priority catalogue titles from Fox and MGM include an "Alien Scavenger Hunt" (INDEPENDENCE DAY) that challenges players to earn points by identifying the correct number of aliens in select scenes to unlock additional bonus features; a “Global Warming Trivia Track” (THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW) where users must correctly answer questions about global warming to keep the Earth’s temperature from rising and being destroyed; and a historical and geographical pop-up map (MASTER & COMMANDER) that tracks the location of Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey and his enemies.

Listed below are the upcoming Blu-ray Disc releases from Fox and MGM excluding new theatrical day & date BD/DVD releases. EXACT TITLE CONFIGURATIONS TO FOLLOW IN THE COMING WEEKS.

Master and Commander - 10/2 (U.S. release) - October (International)
The Day After Tomorrow - 10/2 (U.S. release) - November (International)
From Hell - 10/9 (U.S. release) - October (International)
The Fly (1986) - 10/9 (U.S. release) - Q1 2008 (International)
Edward Scissorhands - 10/9 (U.S. release) - November (International)
28 Days Later - 10/9 (U.S. release) - North America Only
RoboCop (MGM) - 10/9 (U.S. release) - December (International)
Amityville Horror (1979 - MGM) - 10/2 (U.S. release) - North America Only
Battle of Britain (MGM) - 11/6 (U.S. release) - Q1 2008 (International)
A Bridge Too Far (MGM) - 11/6 (U.S. release) - Q1 2008 (International)
I, Robot - 11/13 (U.S. release) - Q1 2008 (International)
Die Hard - November (U.S. release) - November (International)
Die Hard 2: Die Harder - November (U.S. release) - November (International)
Die Hard with a Vengeance - November (U.S. release) - November (International)
Red Dawn (MGM) - November (U.S. release) - Q1 2008 (International)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith - 12/4 (U.S. release) - December (International)
Independence Day - 12/4 (U.S. release) - December (International)
Cast Away - 12/4 (U.S. release) - North America Only
Ronin (MGM) - 12/4 (U.S. release) - December (International)

Holey moley... is this format war heating up or what!? By the way, be sure to read the editorial we just posted on all this, and what the likely outcome of this format may be if things continue as they are now.

Stay tuned...

Buttz wrote:From Michael Bay's formulaic direction to this HD DVD crap, Transformers the movie turned out to be a revolting example of Hollywood greed.

Skowl wrote:I have a DVD player.

I've had the same DVD player for several years now.

I want to be able to play the Transformers Movie DVD on my DVD player.

Cassettes lasted 20 years, no reason the regular DVDs and DVD players can't do the same. If you want HD, then fine, but I should still be able to play the damn movie on my regular player... I hope they do mean HD instead of blu-ray in terms of only the Hi-def releases. The movie still better come out in the "classic" DVD (I can't believe I'm actually saying classic DVD) format, for all those people who can't afford to keep up with technology that changes every three months and who aren't ready to re-purchase a DVD movie collection they just finished just because the new ones have more pixels or something...

dragons wrote:il ike saving money when buying dvds i dont like spending 30 or more on dvd because it has brighter picture, and sound effects that sounds the same to me compared to normal dvd to me in hddvd format and the specail features on bluray all i heard are only enterd on internet only to get them with some speacil games on thiose versions alone are not enough for me to switch my entire dvd collection to a new version....

just satisfied its still going to be released on reulagr dvd version and not just hdddvd format no way im going to to spend 100 dollars or more on dvds just for more special features which is only excassbliy online or just for a brighter picture on hd format.

like the sound of that bluray fans going to be pissed.........

ShGarland_1383 wrote:Can HD-DVD players be used with normal televisions, or do they require HD-TVs?

Devil Gundam wrote:

dabattousai wrote:And when Blu-Ray wins the medal of being the next format after DVD, what will they do then?

And who's to say Blu-Ray is going to beat HD-DVD? Or regular DVD for that matter? Just because the quality is superior doesn't mean either one will win. See Betamax vs VHS wars. Betamax had better quality but people had to buy new playeys to use it and it didn't have as much tape length as VHS.

While you don't have the tape length problem you do have the cost problem, everyone has DVD players already and the HD and Blu-Ray players and discs cost more.

starhorse wrote:

Rodimist wrote:

Nemesis Cyberplex wrote:

Rodimist wrote:Sounds like yet another pathetic ploy to get people to buy an X-Box 360. If it came out on Blu-Ray I would have been willing to buy a PS3. But sorry, it doesn't would this way. HD-DVD only is gay.

Doubtful. the X-box 360's HD DVD player is an add-on...it's not built into the system. People can play an X-box just fine without one, so I don't see how that could make people flock to the 360 when I'm sure there are several HD-DVD players that are under the $600+ it would cost to get a 360+ HD drive.

True, I may be a little bitter cuz I wanted to see it in 1080p. DVD is fine (and cheeper).

*sigh* If you're going to bash a type of technology you might want to actually know what you're talking about instead of using baseless and vague insults such as "HD-DVD only is gay."

Both Blue Ray and HD-DVD can display HD content in up to a 1080p resolution.

Rodimist wrote:

starhorse wrote:

Rodimist wrote:

Nemesis Cyberplex wrote:

Rodimist wrote:Sounds like yet another pathetic ploy to get people to buy an X-Box 360. If it came out on Blu-Ray I would have been willing to buy a PS3. But sorry, it doesn't would this way. HD-DVD only is gay.

Doubtful. the X-box 360's HD DVD player is an add-on...it's not built into the system. People can play an X-box just fine without one, so I don't see how that could make people flock to the 360 when I'm sure there are several HD-DVD players that are under the $600+ it would cost to get a 360+ HD drive.

True, I may be a little bitter cuz I wanted to see it in 1080p. DVD is fine (and cheeper).

*sigh* If you're going to bash a type of technology you might want to actually know what you're talking about instead of using baseless and vague insults such as "HD-DVD only is gay."

Both Blue Ray and HD-DVD can display HD content in up to a 1080p resolution.

Yeah, but only one of the options can can you both a player and a video game console in one. If you were smart I think you would have been able to read Nemesis' comment and figure that out for yourself. I'm sure there is a minute percentage of people willing to buy a $400 player to just watch one movie. So who cares if they make HD-DVD players that are 1080p. The point is BluRay is more powerful and coupled with a state of the art video game system you actually have a good thing going. Now if the selling point of Transformers the movie is the visual effects, why would it come out on the inferior HD technology?

Versa wrote:Reported today at Thedigitalbits.com:

Well... the high-definition format war just got more confusing for consumers, and you can thank the hubris of the folks at Microsoft for it. Their HD-DVD format (because I'm sorry, can anyone really say it still belongs to Toshiba at this point?) badly needed a shot in the arm going into the holiday season, and just got it thanks to suitcases full of cash from the Microsoft camp. You ready for this? Here it is:

Microsoft has paid DreamWorks and Paramount so much money that they've decided to join Universal in the HD-DVD exclusive camp. No kidding.

None of the participants in this deal are willing to openly disclose just how MUCH money was exchanged, but the L.A. Weekly is reporting (based in part on a confidential report from media analysis firm Pali Research) that it was in the neighborhood of $50 million in "promotional considerations" for Paramount and $100 million for DreamWorks. I'm sure they're also getting lots of free or discounted VC-1 compression and HDi authoring services, along with prime placement on Xbox Live too. Is anyone else just disgusted by Microsoft's naked, shameless financial influence in this thing? That Hollywood is a greedy place should be obvious to all by now, if it wasn't already. The HD-DVD format can't win any other way than for Microsoft to PAY studios off to stay exclusive. And then they have the balls to claim the Blu-ray Disc camp is involved in antitrust violations. Wow.

Interesting, eh?

Further more in the article there is an official announcement copy from Paramount as well as some of this:

"Paramount Home Entertainment will issue new releases day and date as well as catalog titles exclusively on HD DVD. Today's announcement does not include films directed by Steven Spielberg as his films are not exclusive to either format."

How do you like THEM apples? Not exclusive to either format? Spielberg's decided his first film on high-def disc is coming out on Blu-ray Disc only. So what do Paramount and DreamWorks do? They bury that little factoid at the tail end of their press release. Nice. Okay, Spielberg hasn't made any kind of public statements to that effect that he supports only Blu-ray. But why then isn't Universal able to release any of his films on HD-DVD? Why then does this deal with Paramount and DreamWorks NOT include Spielberg titles? Because Spielberg wouldn't allow it is the only thing that makes any sense.

For the full article:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa141.html#dp

Metal wrote:

Rodimist wrote:

starhorse wrote:

Rodimist wrote:

Nemesis Cyberplex wrote:

Rodimist wrote:Sounds like yet another pathetic ploy to get people to buy an X-Box 360. If it came out on Blu-Ray I would have been willing to buy a PS3. But sorry, it doesn't would this way. HD-DVD only is gay.

Doubtful. the X-box 360's HD DVD player is an add-on...it's not built into the system. People can play an X-box just fine without one, so I don't see how that could make people flock to the 360 when I'm sure there are several HD-DVD players that are under the $600+ it would cost to get a 360+ HD drive.

True, I may be a little bitter cuz I wanted to see it in 1080p. DVD is fine (and cheeper).

*sigh* If you're going to bash a type of technology you might want to actually know what you're talking about instead of using baseless and vague insults such as "HD-DVD only is gay."

Both Blue Ray and HD-DVD can display HD content in up to a 1080p resolution.

Yeah, but only one of the options can can you both a player and a video game console in one. If you were smart I think you would have been able to read Nemesis' comment and figure that out for yourself. I'm sure there is a minute percentage of people willing to buy a $400 player to just watch one movie. So who cares if they make HD-DVD players that are 1080p. The point is BluRay is more powerful and coupled with a state of the art video game system you actually have a good thing going. Now if the selling point of Transformers the movie is the visual effects, why would it come out on the inferior HD technology?

HD DVD is hardly inferior. It's actually a completed spec, unlike BD which is unfinished a year after it's launch. If anyone doesn't know what I'm saying, BD has a feature called BD-Java which is utilized for it's next generation special features like picture-in-picture enhancements and interactive games and such, this feature is not completed, and BD was launched in April of 2006. BD is still not up to spec on this functionality, which is why movies like 300 and Blood Diamond were released on HD DVD as full blown extravaganzas, while their BD counterpart was bare bones without any next-gen features, and this is also why the Matrix trilogy was released on HD DVD while not yet seeing a release on BD, because currently BD cannot handle what Warner studios wants to do with it. Currently, BD is the inferior product.

HD DVD also features mandatory ethernet ports, which is a boon for any studio releasing on the format, because downloadable content will be coming to home theater, this is nothing exclusive to video game consoles. And downloadable content = profits.

Also, a stand-alone HD DVD player can be had for $240, the Toshiba HD-A2, a far cry from $400 that you state, and a huge difference from buying a PS3 for $500 (soon to be $600 again).

i_amtrunks wrote:Hooray for me not yet caring about the "next gen" movie players.
I'll get my copy of Transformers on DVD for now and wait to see which side wins before making another purchase.

Kinda sucks for Sony and their Blu-ray player...

Skowl wrote:I have a DVD player.

I've had the same DVD player for several years now.

I want to be able to play the Transformers Movie DVD on my DVD player.

Cassettes lasted 20 years, no reason the regular DVDs and DVD players can't do the same. If you want HD, then fine, but I should still be able to play the damn movie on my regular player... I hope they do mean HD instead of blu-ray in terms of only the Hi-def releases. The movie still better come out in the "classic" DVD (I can't believe I'm actually saying classic DVD) format, for all those people who can't afford to keep up with technology that changes every three months and who aren't ready to re-purchase a DVD movie collection they just finished just because the new ones have more pixels or something...

tech348 wrote:Just like with the beta-max blu-ray is going to loose it's luster. I hate to bring this up but a pretty big industry in filming chose HD-DVD instead of Blue-Ray, as it chose VHS over Beta-Max. The industry I"m talking about is porn. Please don't bash me for bringing this up but they have alot of say in media player business.