Does anyone know what the process is for studios to determine which films to re-release on HD first? There are so many old films that make you think, "Why bother?" when there are so many films that everyone seems to want, but are taking forever. Seriously, are there really more people that want Broken Arrow or Chain Reaction over The Godfather or LOTR, or Gladiator... I know I'm mixing studios but you get the point... And then you have films that have ALREADY been captured because they are being released internationally. I know international has different distributors, but why arent the studios here using those already digitized copies to release them? It would take almost no effort! It seems like they would be releasing in the order of most popular/highest rated films down to least. I know there are instances like with Spielberg films that are stopping or slowing things down, but this can't explain it for all of them.. someone enlighten me to this insanity!

Install base. The real heavy hitters are waiting for an install base in the 10's of millions before releasing anything.....

Same thing happened with SD DVD back in the early days. Most of the real heavy hitters took a long time to make it onto DVD. I guess only the decision makers in the studio offices know the answer.

After reading some of the TERRIBLE titles, I think they close their eyes and point to a list.

There is only SO much capacity to produce these discs, and given that we are still in the infancy of HD optical media, I applaud the studios' effort to get some genuine classics and worthy titles out there. We've already got "Goodfellas," "2001," "The Matrix" series, "Blade Runner," "The Terminator" series... the list goes on. (Yes, I know "The Matrix is only on HD DVD right now, but the Blu-ray isn't far behind.) There are still tons of movies that will be must-haves when they come out, but the imminent list is already looking pretty impressive. I can't wait to finally see "Heat" in HD. If the quality titles are coming at a trickle right now, I just take the opportunity to savor each one as I get my hands on it.

I think it will we a while for the heavy hitters. They want to let the technology evolve and the install base to swell. Heck when did star wars make it to DVD? I want to say it was 2004.

Gotta be Ouija board. That's the only explanation that fits the facts. The idea that they are withholding all the heavy hitters from the libraries is demonstrably false. Yet some of the library titles that get released HD were barely moderate hitters in the first place.

No, it's got to be a Ouija board.

if i were a studio exec, i would be releasing content that i think ps3 owners would want, plus day/date releases and toss a bone out there once in a while for the classic movie fans.

http://a3.vox.com/6a00d09e598bb0be2b00cd97269eab4cd5-320pi ??

Seven Years in Tibet, Rio Bravo, The Haunted Mansion, The Rookie, The Rock, Full Metal Jacket, Con Air, Battle of the Bulge, Black Rain, Broken Arrow.

Now if someone's favorite movie is in that list (and personally, I'm kinda fond of a couple of them), that is neither here nor there as to the point. Those are mid-list movies at best, and in no ways particularly attractive to the perceived early adopters of B-r (gamers and tech heads). Nor are they particularly visually sumptious so as to show off the tech better than a great many other movies could.

OUIJA BOARD!

Maybe putting out mid-list movies doesnt require the attention to detail and care that putting out some major ones do. Granted, many of them look and sound great, but do they look and sound as good as they possibly could, probably not. txfilmguy mentioned capacity above, I imagine it would take a lot of capacity/time for titles like LOTR because if they were less than reference material, they might have a revolt on their hands.

http://a3.vox.com/6a00d09e598bb0be2b00cd97269eab4cd5-320pi ??

hahahaha yes this is the answer I was looking for! I realize the release process is slow now because it's still a new technology, but the fact they would even CONSIDER wasting plastic, time, money and energy to re-release some of these titles in mind boggling. COME ON, who is going to pee their pants if they don't have Basic Instinct 2 or Me Myself and Irene on Blu-Ray NOW!!!!! (Don't get me wrong, I love Me Myself and Irene, it's just not exactly the first movie that comes to mind when I think must have in HD...) Now the Godfather, Apocalypse Now or Gladiator re-mastered in HD... that would be amazing...

Maybe putting out mid-list movies doesnt require the attention to detail and care that putting out some major ones do. Granted, many of them look and sound great, but do they look and sound as good as they possibly could, probably not. txfilmguy mentioned capacity above, I imagine it would take a lot of capacity/time for titles like LOTR because if they were less than reference material, they might have a revolt on their hands.

good point... time I'm sure is an issue.

They're just building up the format. Yeah, lots of shoddy releases to show, look how many titles we have! But there are lots of gems.

Blade Runner, 2001, The Shining, etc. Shawshank is coming this fall, Disney is releasing classics like Pinocchio and Sleeping Beauty, Warner is putting out Casablanca, Robin Hood, Wizard of Oz.

Hell, THE title, Lawrence of Arabia, will be out by next year at the latest.

All this stuff is coming. But you have to give them time to build up the userbase so that when they release a Lawrence or Braveheart or LOTR, there are a lot of people ready to buy. They want event releases, headlines.

I'm starkly impressed by the catalog movies we've been handed so far, and the future will only get better.

Just a wild as guess

Co-Release for New Movies.

Best Sellers on SD_DVD. #1 Being Finding Nemo with sales of some 115,000,000 +/-.

"No Brainers" they may wait for bigger installed base and do a few each Christmas. No brainers are Jaws, Star Wars and the like.

The thought of Lawrence of Arabia on B-r does give me goosebumps, yes.

What I will say is that the Blade DVD is what caused me to buy a DVD player. It was a new release at the time. If the Star Wars trilogy had been released on DVD then, I probably wouldn't have made the jump.
Transformers made me jump to HD.
I think new releases with a clear opportunity to shine in HD is what will push up the install base numbers.

Rock, paper, scissor.

Gotta be Ouija board. That's the only explanation that fits the facts. The idea that they are withholding all the heavy hitters from the libraries is demonstrably false. Yet some of the library titles that get released HD were barely moderate hitters in the first place.

No, it's got to be a Ouija board.

Wrong.

Dart board.

i heard they blind fold the mailroom guy when he drops off the mail, spind him twice and send him to pin a tail on a title.

I guess its just random choice... it cant be just heavy hitters. I have yet to see any movies such as Braveheart, The Godfather, Star wars or etc... yet i have seen movies such as dukes of hazzard and the santa clause 3.

Install base. The real heavy hitters are waiting for an install base in the 10's of millions before releasing anything.....

That argument never really made a ton of sense to me. Take any movie, let's say Gladiator. You release it now, you get a small percentage of people buying it. You release it in 3 years, you have more people buying it. No doubt about it.

But, getting money for it now is always better than getting money for it 3 years late. And that's worth something. Not to mention, as new users come on board, they're likely to pick up movies they want. Many people may not buy Gladiator in its release week. But over the course of three years, a lot of people will pick it up. Maybe not quite as many total purchases as if you released it three years from now, but a decent sized total. And given the time value of money of having money earning interest and working to your benefit for up to three years, I'd think you'd even come out ahead.

But that's just my thinking.

I think the studios have some movies randomly selected from their catalog, and once a week they put the random selections on a dartboard, and throw darts at it, and the darts hit the movies that get released. ;)

if i were a studio exec, i would be releasing content that i think ps3 owners would want, plus day/date releases and toss a bone out there once in a while for the classic movie fans.

Good god, what a depressing thought. :(

I'm a PS3 owner but only because it's the fastest and most upgradable BD player. I shudder to think what catering to the "typical" PS3 owner means and wouldn't want to put myself in any such box.