http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-07-2007/0004501052&EDATE=

Microsoft announced that the HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 video game
console continues to sell rapidly at $199, bundled with the Universal
Studios title "King Kong." Microsoft executives stated that the company
will continue to manufacture players for the Xbox 360 to keep up with
expected demand from gamers in 2007. With the knowledge that every Xbox 360
HD DVD player sold is purchased by someone who wants to watch high
definition movies, studios supporting HD DVD see significant value in the
player, as a great way to bring "The Look and Sound of Perfect" to gamers
while helping ensure strong movie attach rates for each and every player
sold.
Of the more than 41 studios and distributors supporting HD DVD
worldwide, Warner Home Video, Paramount Home Entertainment, Universal
Studios Home Entertainment, HBO Home Video, New Line Home Entertainment,
Genius Product, Inc., The Weinstein Company, Studio Canal, and Bandai
Visual, one of the largest animation companies in the world, collectively
announced more than 300 additional HD DVD titles will be released this
year. The list included acclaimed hits such as: "The Departed," "The Good
Shepherd," "Flags of Our Fathers," "Babel," the entire "Harry Potter"
series, "The Matrix" trilogy and "Blade Runner". Hit TV series will also
appear on HD DVD, including "Battlestar Galactica," "The Sopranos", and the
original episodes of "Star Trek," which have been digitally remastered.
Another reason consumers are finding the transition from DVD to HD DVD
easy and compelling is the release of many of the most anticipated day-and-
date releases on "combo discs" -- with an HD DVD version on one side, and a
standard DVD version on the other. This combo feature, unique to HD DVD,
gives consumers the option of building their library of HD DVDs before they
purchase an HD DVD player, and lets consumers buy one movie that will play
on HD DVD players as well as in standard DVD players elsewhere in the home
or in the car. The release of combo discs was another milestone the HD DVD
camp promised from CES 2006.
As the official successor to DVD, HD DVD is successfully building on
the heritage of the most successful consumer electronics format ever. An
important element of the group's strategy was a nationwide, 18-wheeler tour
known as the HD DVD Mobile Experience. Over five months, the Mobile
Experience helped educate more than 25,000 consumers on the benefits of HD
DVD, showcasing stunning 1080p movie experiences in a home theater, with
PCs and laptops, and through the Xbox 360. New scenarios continue to be
added, including a concept demonstration by Alpine of an HD DVD player
system for use in vehicles. The Mobile Experience will be featured inside
the Main Hall at CES (booth #7914).
About HD DVD
HD DVD is the next generation, post-DVD standard for high capacity,
high definition optical discs, approved by the DVD Forum. The DVD Forum
develops and defines DVD formats. Its more than 200 strong membership
brings together leaders in movies and entertainment, computing, consumer
electronics and software. HD DVD is fast becoming the primary visual medium
for the age of high-definition TV. The North American HD DVD Promotional
Group, Inc. is an organization established to promote the HD DVD format and
educate consumers in North America. For more information and a complete
listing of HD DVD launch titles please visit
http://www.TheLookAndSoundOfPerfect.com.

Yes!

Not exactly the second coming (all those titles except for the Weinstein and Universal one's are also BD bound) but that's a lot of movies. At least there were no defections toward the dark side! :rolleyes:

You left out the part about new CE's releasing HD-DVD players. Big names like Onkyo too. I think the guantlet has been thrown for a drawn out battle.

I missed this...damn Gizmodo or Engadget were not covering it. Any other release news? What about Sony?

Oh Sweet, By chance is Bandai HD-DVD exclusive? OMG. HD Anime :D :D .

By chance is yu yu hakusho distributed by Bandai.

Good news I remember all the BD fanboys saying very few HD DVDs would be released this year.

There were no titles listed from New Line though unless I missed it.

I'm more excited about Onkyo's player maybe than anything else. We just need another good hardware company jump in and we got that! :)

Oh Sweet, By chance is Bandai HD-DVD exclusive? OMG. HD Anime :D :D .

By chance is yu yu hakusho distributed by Bandai.
MS announced late last year that they have teamed with Bandai to provide support to use their VC-1 expertise. I don't think the issue of exclusivity was ever covered, but judging by the fruits of the collaboration between MS and Studio Canal, we should be getting some high quality stuff from Bandai.

yu yu hakusho is distributed by Funimation btw, so there's not affiliation there I think. Though I'd shudder to think how much a 112 episode series would cost on HD-DVD, or BD for that matter. ;)

Bandai has some great stuff though and I'm very much looking forward to their efforts.

I'm more excited about Onkyo's player maybe than anything else. We just need another good hardware company jump in and we got that! :)

more repected CE brand names are good, but from everything I'm reading, it sounds like my next HD DVD player is going to be an XA2.
It looks like Toshiba has gone quite a ways in rejuvinating or improving their brand name thanks to the value of the 1 gen players, and what looks to be the exceptional quality with their second gen units.

There were no titles listed from New Line though unless I missed it.




Lord of the Rings

Not mentioned in press release but there is now a snippet of it on the lookandsoundofperfect site.

Meridan player as well as great titles coming up
this is great things will definitely boom software sales with more players on the market from tosh and others to come
:)

I am sure Newline and others will make anouncements of their movies for release in the coming weeks.IS GOOD just for them to announce support for the format

lionsgate didn't go format neutral ...... No defections on either side.

I was expecting more fireworks...

wheres the entire list, that way I can clear my DVD shelf :D

and not blow another viewing on anything DVD ;)

-Gary

Oh Sweet, By chance is Bandai HD-DVD exclusive? OMG. HD Anime :D :D .

OMG HD DVD ANIME!!! I didn't think any anime companies was going to jump this early but this is excellent news!

lionsgate didn't go format neutral ...... No defections on either side.

Quoted for truth.

wheres the entire list, that way I can clear my DVD shelf :D

and not blow another viewing on anything DVD ;)

-Gary

Yea I needed to know the list myself if anyone has it.

OMG HD DVD ANIME!!! I didn't think any anime companies was going to jump this early but this is excellent news!

Bebop and WH Robin in HD <faints>

How many of those 300 will be HD exclusive? How many will be from Universal. That's nice, but it doesn't quite reach the orgasmic levels it was hyped up to be.
J

Is there a complete listing of the 300 films available? I didn't spot anything with a quick google search...

Nothing really Earth-shattering here. I think, however, that it is good that there appears to be some coordination among various parties to support the format. I still want a cheap dual-format player though.

Yeah...Consider me a little dissapointed as there was no Studio Neutrality announced.Everything else was great, but more studios is what was really needed. Looks like I'll have to keep renting HD DVD's instead of buying , and unfortunately am looking at having to add aBD player as every time were in a store my wife is starting to say why can't we get that movie on HD,......since I have 4 young children I already know that once I start purchasing discs and building a library, I will need to be able to purchase Disney.

Not really surprised by the few that were listed, but still good news. I just hope they plan on telling us ACTUAL dates soon.

Yeah...Consider me a little dissapointed as there was no Studio Neutrality announced.Everything else was great, but more studios is what was really needed. Looks like I'll have to keep renting HD DVD's instead of buying , and unfortunately am looking at having to add aBD player as every time were in a store my wife is starting to say why can't we get that movie on HD,......since I have 4 young children I already know that once I start purchasing discs and building a library, I will need to be able to purchase Disney.

Believe it or not, I think bandai is big news for anime fans like me and alot of people.

I'm all gung ho about the HP series, that will be great. If they released HP and LOTR trilogy box sets then I would have a hell of a weekend. But the HP will be released on both BD and HD, where are some titles like gladiator, Jurassic Park, etc....

300 movies this year?!?! I will go broke!!! :D

you guys get happy to damn easy. I want to know how many of these are exclusive. It's no point in me keeping my HD-DVD drive if over half the 300 movies are going over to BD. I'll wait until the BD camp makes announcement then i'll see what side im more happier with.

you guys get happy to damn easy. I want to know how many of these are exclusive. It's no point in me keeping my HD-DVD drive if over half the 300 movies are going over to BD. I'll wait until the BD camp makes announcement then i'll see what side im more happier with.

A its all about quality. Compare the Top 10 in BD and the top ten in HD I think you find about 8-9 being quality good movies where there are only 3 good movies and 2 okay movies on BD. Plus you spent 200 on the HD-DVD drive at minimum you would have to spend about 500 for a BD drive. Think about the amount of movies you could be buying HD wise. I got my A1 in May and if I had gone BD I could have only purchased half as many movies as I have without spending more (45 and growing). Still if you add all of the studios catalogs HD actually has about 60%-70% of market while BD owns about 80% so its really not as bad as people make it out to be.

I really don't see how A person needs exclusive titles to support what is turning out to be the better format.

I agree with the others I would like to see the entire list even if they dont have exact dates yet. Exact dates would be great though...

I havent heard any mention of Band of Brothers from HBO in awhile and I'm really anxious for this one.

This news isn't new, we knew this last year, what we havn't got is actual release dates.

Bandai in HD is worthless if they do not include English subtitles on their releases and that is exactly what will happen, people, unless they actually release titles here in the USA themselves.

Bandai in HD is worthless if they do not include English subtitles on their releases and that is exactly what will happen, people, unless they actually release titles here in the USA themselves.

Thats exactly what they do. This Is for America, they are the biggest or maybe second biggest importer and translator of Anime for America. In fact we are likely not going to need subtitles as everything will be in English though they do usually have options for Japanese audio and English subtitles.

Seems like someone hasn't watched anime in a while.

I have not watched anime because it is impossible to rent. You have to buy and pay extreme prices. I don't pay for what I have not yet seen.

I refuse to watch Japanese anime in English. I want the original language track and subtitles.

I have not watched anime because it is impossible to rent. You have to buy and pay extreme prices. I don't pay for what I have not yet seen.

I refuse to watch Japanese anime in English. I want the original language track and subtitles.

That's kind of an extremist view. I'm on board for most things, but for example Bebop in English is superior to the Japanese. With regard to the others I care about, Macross Plus and Witch Hunter Robin, they have JP tracks with English subtitles so I'm set. To my knowledge most of the anime released these days has the JP track and English subtitle options, this isn't the 80s.

So is Bandai releasing IN the USA? We are not talking about Bandai releasing in Japan?

My wife and I rented BEBOP and we hated it. Absolutely hated it. To each their own I guess. :)

Well, that's an open question. It may be just Japan. With how vague the press release is we're just grasping at straws.

As to Bebop, I'm sure you're not alone but it's got a few fans :)

I have not watched anime because it is impossible to rent. You have to buy and pay extreme prices. I don't pay for what I have not yet seen.

I refuse to watch Japanese anime in English. I want the original language track and subtitles.
wtf are you talking about? Both netflix and BBO have huge selections of anime. I wouldn't call netlflix's collection comprehensive, but it's damn close.

Thats exactly what they do. This Is for America, they are the biggest or maybe second biggest importer and translator of Anime for America. In fact we are likely not going to need subtitles as everything will be in English though they do usually have options for Japanese audio and English subtitles.

Seems like someone hasn't watched anime in a while.
Are you sure about this? The press release simply says "Bandai Visual". "Bandai Visual" is a Japanese company. If that was the only part of the company who plans to support HD-DVD, then most likely these would be Japanese only disks with no english dub or subs. If "Bandai Visual USA, Inc.", its own wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, or "Bandai Entertainment", Bandai's North American distributive unit, are included, then we will indeed get anime with english subs/dubs on HD-DVD, but I'm not sure it's safe to assume at this point, solely from the press release, that that will be the case. Do you have other information you're basing your assertion on?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandai_Visual

Reguarding Bandai; Lets not forget that HD-DVD supports downloading additional subtitles, language tracks, and content over the Internet. Even if the discs are not released with English subtitles it does not mean that they will not be available via download for the US market.

Laters,
Jeff

Reguarding Bandai; Lets not forget that HD-DVD supports downloading additional subtitles, language tracks, and content over the Internet. Even if the discs are not released with English subtitles it does not mean that they will not be available via download for the US market.

Laters,
Jeff
Just because the potential is there doesn't mean a studio will use it. I'd feel much better having the subs there on the disc then hoping that the studio might at some undetermined future time put up a server to provide english subs.

Was the Bandai Visual support announcement made at CES? Now why would a vendor make an announcement intended for Japanese consumers in an electronics show intended for US consumers? :confused:

THANK YOU!! Two days to I get my hd-add on

wtf are you talking about? Both netflix and BBO have huge selections of anime. I wouldn't call netlflix's collection comprehensive, but it's damn close.


Are you sure about this? The press release simply says "Bandai Visual". "Bandai Visual" is a Japanese company. If that was the only part of the company who plans to support HD-DVD, then most likely these would be Japanese only disks with no english dub or subs. If "Bandai Visual USA, Inc.", its own wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, or "Bandai Entertainment", Bandai's North American distributive unit, are included, then we will indeed get anime with english subs/dubs on HD-DVD, but I'm not sure it's safe to assume at this point, solely from the press release, that that will be the case. Do you have other information you're basing your assertion on?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandai_Visual

But thats Like saying you have TimeWarner HD-DVD or BD. True we can avoid holding our breath for New Line but considering their smaller lineup and and while a large list of great movies, a lack of huge hits outside Lotr and pressers saying that they are waiting a bit for those titles we knew that Newline was going to aventually support HD-DVD.

If Bandai US is Owned buy Bandai Visual then I would think the same type of Applies. Either way if Bandai is shipping to the US which is all I really care about then it would be the normal English dub or Japanese soundtrack with English subs.

HD DVD PRESS EVENT
The team
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070108/ces08_02.jpg
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070108/ces08_03.jpg
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070108/ces08_05.jpg
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070108/ces08_07.jpg

Part2
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070108/ces08_08.jpg
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070108/ces08_04.jpg
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070108/ces08_10.jpg
Link Translated (http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.watch.impress.co.jp%2Fav%2Fdocs %2F20070108%2Fces08.htm&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8)

Pretty pictures. Any new(er) info?
J

300 movies this year?!?! I will go broke!!! :D

That's 25 a month. I am sure with 25 monthly releases I'll be able to pick up a few. I look forward to getting rid of more DVDs.

That's 25 a month. I am sure with 25 monthly releases I'll be able to pick up a few. I look forward to getting rid of more DVDs.

But what are those new 300 titles though? Haven't we already seen that list in this forum sometimes earlier that includes LOTR, Potter, Blade Runner etc. ?

I want more big titles ;)

That's 25 a month. I am sure with 25 monthly releases I'll be able to pick up a few. I look forward to getting rid of more DVDs.

Keep in mind that the # of titles counts worldwide releases - titles that are released in multiple regions count several times. Hopefully the current commitments are front-loaded, so that we'll see these 300 titles scheduled early in the year and additional titles will be scheduled based on the success of the first round.

Getting additional players into consumers' hands is definitely key. A sizable installed base to sell into is the most persuasive arguement from the studios' point of view.

But thats Like saying you have TimeWarner HD-DVD or BD. True we can avoid holding our breath for New Line but considering their smaller lineup and and while a large list of great movies, a lack of huge hits outside Lotr and pressers saying that they are waiting a bit for those titles we knew that Newline was going to aventually support HD-DVD.

If Bandai US is Owned buy Bandai Visual then I would think the same type of Applies. Either way if Bandai is shipping to the US which is all I really care about then it would be the normal English dub or Japanese soundtrack with English subs.
I'm not sure I follow what you are saying. In fact I'm totally lost. :confused:

But for instance Brave Story was released on both BD and HD-DVD in Japan, but didn't include english subs or a dub, even though the Japanese DVD release of the movie contained english subs! So it's all but guaranteed that if Bandai Visual is the only part of the company that plans to release content on HD-DVD, it will be for the Japanese market and won't contain english subs or a dub. And at this point in time, Bandai Visual is the only name that has been announced as supporting HD-DVD. I hope and expect that Bandai's US branches also have plans to release content on HD-DVD in the US, but so far none of said US branches have been included in a press release. I can understand wanting to assume that when "Bandai Visual" shows up on a PR stating HD-DVD support, that that includes all of its subsidiaries, but that is still an assumption. Hopefully we'll have word either way soon, but at this point in time we really don't know for sure.

I havent heard any mention of Band of Brothers from HBO in awhile and I'm really anxious for this one.


Indeed. VERY glad I passed on the DVD version so far.

I'm not sure I follow what you are saying. In fact I'm totally lost. :confused:

But for instance Brave Story was released on both BD and HD-DVD in Japan, but didn't include english subs or a dub, even though the Japanese DVD release of the movie contained english subs! So it's all but guaranteed that if Bandai Visual is the only part of the company that plans to release content on HD-DVD, it will be for the Japanese market and won't contain english subs or a dub. And at this point in time, Bandai Visual is the only name that has been announced as supporting HD-DVD. I hope and expect that Bandai's US branches also have plans to release content on HD-DVD in the US, but so far none of said US branches have been included in a press release. I can understand wanting to assume that when "Bandai Visual" shows up on a PR stating HD-DVD support, that that includes all of its subsidiaries, but that is still an assumption. Hopefully we'll have word either way soon, but at this point in time we really don't know for sure.

I was trying to point out that a Parent company support is all that matters. The person before me was saying that Bandai Visual is different from Bandai US Ltmd or whatever. I was very Poorly stating that if it was a Parent company decision then it likely covers both companies policies.

But what are those new 300 titles though? Haven't we already seen that list in this forum sometimes earlier that includes LOTR, Potter, Blade Runner etc. ?

I want more big titles ;)


Xbox-scene.com has a video interview with
Major Nelson (Microsoft's Xbox Live Director of Programming) who in one video mentions a title to be released on HD DVD that I haven't seen mentioned before... Scarface.

Link to video
http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/FFB6721E-E3FE-4CF0-8D30-E7FBDF3778D0/0/vidHD_DVDHi.asx

That's kind of an extremist view. I'm on board for most things, but for example Bebop in English is superior to the Japanese. With regard to the others I care about, Macross Plus and Witch Hunter Robin, they have JP tracks with English subtitles so I'm set. To my knowledge most of the anime released these days has the JP track and English subtitle options, this isn't the 80s.


Ive never found ANY Anime where the English dub is as good as the original Japanese (with subtitles) and that definitely includes Cowboy Bebop. In Japan voice acting is an art and well respected and it lends far more drama and a cultural dimension. The cheesy American dumbed-down-for-kids dubs, more often than not, bring the material down many notches.

I am sure Newline and others will make anouncements of their movies for release in the coming weeks.IS GOOD just for them to announce support for the format

If New Line is exclusively putting out Total HD discs I will not buy them, even LOTR.

Depends on price and quality. If it is a BR50g/HD30 disc at the same cost of regular discs I may purchase them.

If the size of them are lower which I think they will be since I dont think they will be able to replicate BD50s I will not purchase them and encourage them to release movies on BD25s