Well this evening we learned what "big hitters" are coming to HD-DVD from Universal and I can honestly say I really am not that impressed. From that list I only see three or four I would honestly consider buying. I mean there are some decent movies there, but nothing that I would consider "fromat war winning."

I noticed once again that Universal is cautious as to how they answer the question of if they will support Blu-ray? Instead of saying an afirmative "No," they say they do not plan to support Blu-ray. "Plan" being the key-word. Also there has been much speculation as to why Universal has been so silent for so long and some have claimed it is due to getting the Combo technology down pat and some have said it is that they are readying for BD-J. Who knows, time will tell.

I also felt for Universal/HD-DVD to stay competitive in this format war, they needed to announce a release of at least one of their huge movies, such as Jaws. JP, BTTF or ET and now that we know none of those will be coming in 2007 I am even a little perplexed. How will they compete against Pirates, Spiderman, Die Hard, Xmen, Pixar etc. Don't get me wrong, Scarface is a great movie, but you can only re-release it so many times and expect great sales.

I am also perplexed that Universal has stated that 90% of these releases will be Combo's. It seems tha majority of HD-DVD supporters hate Combo's with some of them claiming they will never buy an HD-DVD Combo disc. Also as we know, Combo's eliminate any price advantage HD-DVD may have had for software.

The other 75 or so titles Universal will release in 2007 will be predominately catalog titles of mediocre success. I personally do not think quantity trumps quality.

So in conclusion I am even more confident in my decision to predominately support Blu-ray as I feel this is the last ditch effort to save HD-DVD on Universals be-half and once the titles are released and there is no ground made up by HD-DVD, we can all plan to purchase the Universal titles we want on Blu-ray as well.

What do the other Blu-ray supporters think of the Universal annoucement?

~Josh

I really don't care, as I own both formats, so I got most of what I wanted out of Universal already. All that is left from them that are must buys include the Jurassic Park Trilogy, The Game, Legend DC, Dawn of the Dead remake, and King Kong Extended Edition. I think that is it from them unless they can find someway to make all of their classic horror movies (Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, Creature, Mummy) look fabulous.

However, the fact remains that Universal pulled a no show at CES, and that has me quite furious and the main reason I have started to lose my faith in HD-DVD.

There are some good titles. Dawn of the Dead remake is a must buy for me.

What completely turned me off of the good news is that most of these discs will be combos. I don't think there's any secret here of my utter disdain for combo discs. I can't stand them! I think by offering combos, it's at the expense of us early adopters who plunked our cash only to get conned into paying more for something we shouldn't have to. No artwork, SD side scratches, can barely read disc name, etc...

I don't know about you guys..I found a lot of movies I want to purchase or rent from the slated Universal releases with more to come...I also find the same on the BD side. I will always be format neutral...I have the choice to rent or buy from either format. I don't feel like either format is going away anytime soon...So why not enjoy all the HD content you can get your hands on. No need to be one sided! :D ;)

Unless you are a combo. There is no reason we should have to deal with double sided discs. I HATE FLIPPERS!!!!!

IMO, there are a lot of good titles on that list and it's not even the entire list for the year. I am very pleased with it. I think it is a very diverse selection that will appeal to a wider demographic than the Blu-ray list which appears to be aimed mostly at the young male gamer demographic.

As far as the 90% combo part, I am fine with that. It would be nice if the combos were a few dollars less, but they are currently the same price as Fox BD releases and those don't give you an SD side and usually no special features. At least you get something for the extra money with the HD-DVD combos. I still don't get why so many complain about the price of combos but almost no one complains about the price of Fox BD's.

I love the Big Lebowski, but I really wonder if I need this in HD when I already have it on DVD. Not really an "eye candy" type movie... Maybe if Tara Reid had been nekkid or something... :o

Excellent news. I'll admit I was a bit let down Universal was somewhat silent at CES. But 100 titles is more than I expected. Looks like Universal is serious about HD DVD. :)

There is really only one title that is a "must have" for me on that Universal list....Dawn of the Dead remake....The only other one I'm mildly interested in is 40 Year Old Virgin...

When I first adopted HD DVD I was so excited about it....now I feel very ho hum about HD DVD and within a month my BD movies will surpass my HD DVD movies. There is already a shift in what format I will be buying neutral studios (WB, Paramont, etc) movies for.

The list from Universal had some pretty good movies on it (Scarface, Bourne Identity, Children of Men).

Are any of them format war winners? No.

Neither are any of the titles announced so far by any of the BD exclusive studios, either.

I am also perplexed that Universal has stated that 90% of these releases will be Combo's. It seems tha majority of HD-DVD supporters hate Combo's with some of them claiming they will never buy an HD-DVD Combo disc. Also as we know, Combo's eliminate any price advantage HD-DVD may have had for software.

Combos are probably the best chance the hd-dvd format has to actually pickup support from blu-ray studios. Imagine if Universal could get enough volume sales over time to eventually release all their movies as combos at the same price as a standard dvd.

They could eventually pass up on sd-dvd release entirely and all their consumers would have hd movies ready and just waiting for them to buy a player. Is this being subsidized by early adopters? Sure, but then all HD and BD movies are being subsidzied by early adopters because J6P is never going to pay 30+ bucks for better PQ than a $15 dvd ;-)

I do hope they can move from flippers to single sided with artwork.

We could hope that they be of the Three-Layer TWIN Format Disc variety. I believe there are already discs out in Japan in this format.

Well this evening we learned what "big hitters" are coming to HD-DVD from Universal and I can honestly say I really am not that impressed. From that list I only see three or four I would honestly consider buying. I mean there are some decent movies there, but nothing that I would consider "fromat war winning."

I noticed once again that Universal is cautious as to how they answer the question of if they will support Blu-ray? Instead of saying an afirmative "No," they say they do not plan to support Blu-ray. "Plan" being the key-word. Also there has been much speculation as to why Universal has been so silent for so long and some have claimed it is due to getting the Combo technology down pat and some have said it is that they are readying for BD-J. Who knows, time will tell.

I also felt for Universal/HD-DVD to stay competitive in this format war, they needed to announce a release of at least one of their huge movies, such as Jaws. JP, BTTF or ET and now that we know none of those will be coming in 2007 I am even a little perplexed. How will they compete against Pirates, Spiderman, Die Hard, Xmen, Pixar etc. Don't get me wrong, Scarface is a great movie, but you can only re-release it so many times and expect great sales.

I am also perplexed that Universal has stated that 90% of these releases will be Combo's. It seems tha majority of HD-DVD supporters hate Combo's with some of them claiming they will never buy an HD-DVD Combo disc. Also as we know, Combo's eliminate any price advantage HD-DVD may have had for software.

The other 75 or so titles Universal will release in 2007 will be predominately catalog titles of mediocre success. I personally do not think quantity trumps quality.

So in conclusion I am even more confident in my decision to predominately support Blu-ray as I feel this is the last ditch effort to save HD-DVD on Universals be-half and once the titles are released and there is no ground made up by HD-DVD, we can all plan to purchase the Universal titles we want on Blu-ray as well.

What do the other Blu-ray supporters think of the Universal annoucement?

~Josh

Good lord, how many of these threads do we have to be subjected to? On top of that, your reading into a Universal statement. The word PLAN means this,etc. etc. LOL

This was probably better posted in the Blue Ray area, as it is yet another sneaky "What is wrong with HDDVD content" post. We get it, you want Blu to win.

As a person that owns both, I am very happy with both camps anoucements.

Plus the day-and-date new releases. It's more titles than any other studio has given claim to for the year.

Eric

Good lord, how many of these threads do we have to be subjected to? On top of that, your reading into a Universal statement. The word PLAN means this,etc. etc. LOL

This was probably better posted in the Blue Ray area, as it is yet another sneaky "What is wrong with HDDVD content" post. We get it, you want Blu to win.

As a person that owns both, I am very happy with both camps anoucements.


Beatboy posted it here foir a reason. He is a "TROLL" always trying to spin a Blu upside to everything. He's asking directed at Blu-ray owners it should be in the Blu forum but as always he wants to "Stir the pot" :rolleyes:

Bob

I am very happy with the announced list of titles from Universal. There are 10-12 must buy's for me. The day and dates seem to be overlooked as well and that is great news. I think Universal did what HD DVD needed it to do.

Well this evening we learned what "big hitters" are coming to HD-DVD from Universal and I can honestly say I really am not that impressed. From that list I only see three or four I would honestly consider buying. I mean there are some decent movies there, but nothing that I would consider "fromat war winning."

I noticed once again that Universal is cautious as to how they answer the question of if they will support Blu-ray? Instead of saying an afirmative "No," they say they do not plan to support Blu-ray. "Plan" being the key-word. Also there has been much speculation as to why Universal has been so silent for so long and some have claimed it is due to getting the Combo technology down pat and some have said it is that they are readying for BD-J. Who knows, time will tell.

I also felt for Universal/HD-DVD to stay competitive in this format war, they needed to announce a release of at least one of their huge movies, such as Jaws. JP, BTTF or ET and now that we know none of those will be coming in 2007 I am even a little perplexed. How will they compete against Pirates, Spiderman, Die Hard, Xmen, Pixar etc. Don't get me wrong, Scarface is a great movie, but you can only re-release it so many times and expect great sales.

I am also perplexed that Universal has stated that 90% of these releases will be Combo's. It seems tha majority of HD-DVD supporters hate Combo's with some of them claiming they will never buy an HD-DVD Combo disc. Also as we know, Combo's eliminate any price advantage HD-DVD may have had for software.

The other 75 or so titles Universal will release in 2007 will be predominately catalog titles of mediocre success. I personally do not think quantity trumps quality.

So in conclusion I am even more confident in my decision to predominately support Blu-ray as I feel this is the last ditch effort to save HD-DVD on Universals be-half and once the titles are released and there is no ground made up by HD-DVD, we can all plan to purchase the Universal titles we want on Blu-ray as well.

What do the other Blu-ray supporters think of the Universal annoucement?

~Josh

These threads of yours are getting rather tedious. More BS.
Frankly, I like that list. I see more titles I want to buy there, than the entire BR exclusive list of what's out and announced. People all have different tastes. The different exclusive studios are clearly going for different crowds, and I have no problem with that. Universal is clearly going for a more mature audience, and I'm fine with that too.
To each his own
J

oh boy, another beatboy77 thread.

Mods, can we have this moved to the Blu-Ray software forum?

I'm just glad to see Battlestar Galactica. That is the #1 title I want to see in HD. There are several others on the list I'm definitely going to buy though.


oh boy, another beatboy77 thread.

Mods, can we have this moved to the Blu-Ray software forum?
Actually, it would be the HD DVD software forum, but he knows his posts wouldn't get very far there.

These threads of yours are getting rather tedious. More BS.
Frankly, I like that list. I see more titles I want to buy there, than the entire BR exclusive list of what's out and announced. People all have different tastes. The different exclusive studios are clearly going for different crowds, and I have no problem with that. Universal is clearly going for a more mature audience, and I'm fine with that too.
To each his own
J

Agreed, but they always provide some comic relief and that is needed I guess...

I will purchase just about every title on that short list, and there are still 80+ titles yet to be announced from Universal alone! So we will probably see day & date releases in 2007 on HD-DVD for Children Of Men (exclusive), Bournce Supremacy (exclusive), Smoking Aces (exclusive), Grindhouse (exclusive), Sin City 2 (exclusive), The Good Shepherd (exclusive), Hot Fuzz (exclusive), Harry Potter & The Order Of the Phoenix, 300, Transformers: The Movie, Shrek The 3rd, Pan's Labyrinth, Evan Almighty (exclusive), Hannibal Rising (exclusive), Happy Feet, The Departed, Babel, We Are Marshall, The Kingdom (exclusive), Ocean's Thirteen, American Gangster (exclusive), The Astronaut Farmer, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Nancy (exclusive), Fanboys (exclusive), The Number 23, Flags Of Our Fathers, and many more!

Then there's the Star Trek films and TV series, The Matrix trilogy, The Harry Potter franchise, Kubrick's classics (2001, The Shining, Clockwork Orange), Dirty Harry Collection, Blade Runner, Contact, Grease, Ghost, Forest Gump, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Mystic River, The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, The Libertine, Scarface, Psycho, Conan, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Bruce Almighty, The Bourne Identity, Meet the Fockers, American Pie, Blues Brothers, Black Dahlia, Inside Man, Pride & Prejudice, The Big Lebowski, Liar, Liar, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Brazil, Erin Brockovich, Shaun of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Slap Shot and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Battlestar Galactica -- and, of course, over 200 more titles yet to be announced!

Anyone still complaining about content in 2007 is nuts!

Beatboy posted it here foir a reason. He is a "TROLL" always trying to spin a Blu upside to everything. He's asking directed at Blu-ray owners it should be in the Blu forum but as always he wants to "Stir the pot" :rolleyes:

Bob

Actually I did post it in the Blu-ray Software section, but Moderator Mike C said it would be better placed here, so he moved it here last night. Not my decision, it was his.

~Josh

Heh, I didn't even read beat boy's O/P. My bad. But looking at it now, it's pretty obvious he's just trying to stir things up.

Beatboy, please do us a favor and stick with posting in the blu-ray forums only. Thanks.

Heh, I didn't even read beat boy's O/P. My bad. But looking at it now, it's pretty obvious he's just trying to stir things up.

Beatboy, please do us a favor and stick with posting in the blu-ray forums only. Thanks.

THIS THREAD WAS MOVED HERE BY A MODERATOR. IT WAS ORGINALLY IN THE BLU-RAY SOFTWARE SECTION. PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING AGAIN.

~Josh

Universal is releasing 100 titles in 2007 with about 11 months left. This means about 2 titles per week and there will be lots more from other studios. This is good news for HD DVD so the Blu-Boys need to spin it so it doesn't look this way. What's reaslly funny is that if you're going to support BD only then you miss out on all Universal titles for HD, and there are some pretty good ones and the quality is also excellent!. If you buy any at all then in some sense you're also supporting HD DVD, no way around it, and it will show in Universal's sales figures.

This forum is becoming awfully predictable as evidenced by ths FUD thread.

Cheers,

Grant

While there are some titles that interest me in the new Universal list, I don't see anything that will compete with the likes of Cars, POTC 1 & 2, and Spider-man 1 & 2. Once again, Universal lays an egg.

This forum is becoming awfully predictable as evidenced by ths FUD thread.

This thread is one person's opinion of the Universal news. I'd say it's the HD DVD fanboys who are riled up at this point. I suggest you guys direct your anger at Universal. It's not beatboy's fault there aren't any huge blockbusters in Universal's list.

Well this evening we learned what "big hitters" are coming to HD-DVD from Universal and I can honestly say I really am not that impressed. From that list I only see three or four I would honestly consider buying. I mean there are some decent movies there, but nothing that I would consider "fromat war winning."

Why is it no surprise that you're "not impressed?" On that short list alone, there is Liar, Liar (US box office $181 million), Bruce Almighty ($242 million), Meet the Fockers ($279 million), Erin Brockovich ($125 million - Best Actress Winner), Bourne Identity ($121 million), 40-Year-Old Virgin ($109 million), American Pie ($101 million), Dawn of the Dead ($60 million), and other highly anticipated titles like Sean of the Dead, Scarface, Big Lebowski, Inside Man, and Slapshot! PLUS, they have even stated that Hitchcock classics will appear in 2007, starting with one of THE ALL-TIME CLASSIC films, Psycho!

I noticed once again that Universal is cautious as to how they answer the question of if they will support Blu-ray? Instead of saying an afirmative "No," they say they do not plan to support Blu-ray. "Plan" being the key-word. Also there has been much speculation as to why Universal has been so silent for so long and some have claimed it is due to getting the Combo technology down pat and some have said it is that they are readying for BD-J. Who knows, time will tell.

You are completely full of it! Disney also stated publicly that they would "probably support both formats", so I guess we can anticipate their neutrality first, right? Prepping BD-J, yeah that's a good one... :rolleyes:

The other 75 or so titles Universal will release in 2007 will be predominately catalog titles of mediocre success. I personally do not think quantity trumps quality.

If you hadn't noticed, Blu-Ray's near-entire list of available titles is mediocre! WHAT WAS THAT YOU MENTIONED ABOUT QUALITY AGAIN? I can list 50 BD titles that are below mediocre.

So in conclusion I am even more confident in my decision to predominately support Blu-ray as I feel this is the last ditch effort to save HD-DVD on Universals be-half and once the titles are released and there is no ground made up by HD-DVD, we can all plan to purchase the Universal titles we want on Blu-ray as well.

Just keep telling yourself that... :rolleyes:

This thread is one person's opinion of the Universal news. I'd say it's the HD DVD fanboys who are riled up at this point. I suggest you guys direct your anger at Universal. It's not beatboy's fault there aren't any huge blockbusters in Universal's list.


If you hadn't noticed, there are MANY blockbusters on that list, as well as many classic films. Keep dreaming about the list being mediocre.

I personally want a lot of titles on that list. We also don't what the other 80 or so titles are!

While there are some titles that interest me in the new Universal list, I don't see anything that will compete with the likes of Cars, POTC 1 & 2, and Spider-man 1 & 2. Once again, Universal lays an egg.

I sampled all of my SD DVD versions of these on my 360 add-on, upscaled to 720p (native res) on my PJ. The only one I was somewhat disappointed with PQ-wise was POTC 1, which is a pathetic transfer to begin with anyway. The rest looked pretty darned great IMHO and I have no complaints and am satisfied that in doing this experiement I saved myself well over $600 MINIMUM for a pOs3.

YMMV but I imagine a lot of consumers will do the same and people I know get this same advice from me: Save an incredible load of money and get an upscaling HD DVD player and enjoy HD DVD releases and upscale the "exclusives."

If you hadn't noticed, there are MANY blockbusters on that list, as well as many classic films. Keep dreaming about the list being mediocre.

There are two $200+ million titles according to your post, both are comedies. Since when are comedies are the type of movie every HD fan runs out and buys with glee? Take a look at the box office tallies for the five movies I mentioned and then you'll see my point. Clearly I'm not the one with my head in the clouds.

The problem with studio release lists, and the inevitable dissenting opinions, is that movie tastes are subjective. There are often movies that perform better on disk than they did in the theater. So what was a blockbuster in the theater may not always be so on disk. It is hard to say unequivocally which movies were better choices by a studio until the hard sales figures come in. Furthermore, if any studio should be chastized here, it is Paramount. In proportionality of catalog titles to actual releases, their support of HD optical has been dismal.

It is fascinating to watch how the civility of these forums has devolved. When I read here, I often envision a pack of wild dogs clamoring over the last scrap of rotting flesh as unjustified desperation sinks in. Some of your positions are as predictable as leaves blowing in the wind. It's perplexing to watch protagonists on either side flitter back and forth with each successive studio release calendar. The absence of conviction bewilders me.

While there are some titles that interest me in the new Universal list, I don't see anything that will compete with the likes of Cars, POTC 1 & 2, and Spider-man 1 & 2. Once again, Universal lays an egg.
To each his own. Not everyone want to watch children's movies.

This thread is one person's opinion of the Universal news. I'd say it's the HD DVD fanboys who are riled up at this point. I suggest you guys direct your anger at Universal. It's not beatboy's fault there aren't any huge blockbusters in Universal's list.
I have no anger at Universal, in fact they are my favorite studio, by far. The only anger I have is at people who assume everyone should have the same taste as they do. Its really rather juvinile.
J

I sampled all of my SD DVD versions of these on my 360 add-on, upscaled to 720p (native res) on my PJ. The only one I was somewhat disappointed with PQ-wise was POTC 1, which is a pathetic transfer to begin with anyway. The rest looked pretty darned great IMHO and I have no complaints and am satisfied that in doing this experiement I saved myself well over $600 MINIMUM for a pOs3.

YMMV but I imagine a lot of consumers will do the same and people I know get this same advice from me: Save an incredible load of money and get an upscaling HD DVD player and enjoy HD DVD releases and upscale the "exclusives."

If Upscaling is so great I hope you didnt waste your money on an HD player either. Lol. Anyone who thinks upscaling is even close to HD or BD is either a liar or partially blind.

On that you are correct. Your head is squarely planted in another location. ;)

Good one. These people have been drinking too much of that Sony Blu Kool-Aid.

While there are some titles that interest me in the new Universal list, I don't see anything that will compete with the likes of Cars, POTC 1 & 2, and Spider-man 1 & 2. Once again, Universal lays an egg.

I bet if Universal was a Blu-ray studio you wouldn't be saying that. But then again, hypocrisy in a format "war" always runs rampant with the fringe fanboys.


This thread is one person's opinion of the Universal news. I'd say it's the HD DVD fanboys who are riled up at this point. I suggest you guys direct your anger at Universal. It's not beatboy's fault there aren't any huge blockbusters in Universal's list.

Damn right I'm riled up! I have to figure out where I am coming up with the money to buy half those titles on the list! And that's not even the full list so I have to worry about the day and date 2007 releases too? I just bought a new house, I can't afford my HD DVD habit like this!

BTW, at the same time, Fox and Disney continue not to get a dime of my money since they don't release HD DVD's too. Since I will have a hard enough time buying all the HD DVD's I want, I sure as hell don't have the money for a $500 Blu-ray player.

If Upscaling is so great I hope you didnt waste your money on an HD player either. Lol. Anyone who thinks upscaling is even close to HD or BD is either a liar or partially blind.

Hey listen, before you come on all assault style, I did not say it was "HD." My point is that I am not clamoring for the HD PQ on just about all the titles I see coming to BR - I am happy with the best PQ that upscaling can do FOR THOSE TITLES. The PQ on my HD DVD's I do own is awesome. Is the same PQ worth it to ME to go out and spend at a minimum $600 for a BD player? Never.

It is fascinating to watch how the civility of these forums has devolved. When I read here, I often envision a pack of wild dogs clamoring over the last scrap of rotting flesh as unjustified desperation sinks in. Some of your positions are as predictable as leaves blowing in the wind. It's perplexing to watch protagonists on either side flitter back and forth with each successive studio release calendar. The absence of conviction bewilders me.
I absolutely, undeniably couldn't agree more. I believe it was someone else that pointed out that despite all of us jumping in as early adopters, it seems a lot of us don't have the temperament required for an early adopter. There shouldn't be any "doom and gloom" talk or victory speeches for either side. We're still so far away from this even being resolved that I can't believe the slightest shift in the winds get so many people up in arms.

/rant.

Anyway, there's going to be a lot more that isn't even on this list, so it seems awfully premature to be dismissing anything right now. Even as it stands, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Eternal Sunshine, Bourne Identity, 40 Year-Old Virgin, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels are all no-brainer purchases for me.

As long as we're repeating threads in multiple forums, I guess my response is apropos in this thread as well:

Beatboy's bleating aside, I think the combo decision is a wise business move by Universal from two perspectives:

1. Greater potential for acceptance from J6P if day-and-date titles are released as a combo.

2. Driving down the manufacturing cost for combos.

If *ALL* HD-DVD releases were to become combos, and the price point were to be that of what we currently pay for noncombo HD-DVDs, would this really be a bad thing?

If I were Universal I would even take this a step farther: Drop the MSRP even lower and no longer release movies on DVD, only as HD-DVD combos.

That could very well guarantee that HD-DVD wins the format war.

If I were in the BR camp, I would be VERY worried about this scenario. It's not beyond the realm of possibilities...

The other thing everyone needs to keep in mind is that beatboy77 is first and foremost a Blu-ray fanboy. He shows it posting in the HD DVD forum, and he's showing it here. If this were Universal's Blu-ray announcement, he and all the other Blu-ray folk would be dancing in the streets.

But it's not. And so bb is going to spin it into a negative because it's HD DVD related and not Blu-ray related. Why else would he have started the thread in the Blu-ray forum, only to have it moved here?

So, when you go through this thread, you just have to keep in mind that there was direct motive in the purpose of this thread. It's just that simple.

There are several titles on the Universal list that I will buy. It is a very good list and I am sure the other discs on the 100 or so that have yet to be announced will be excellent as well. I have to really laugh at beatboy. Take a look at some of the movies released on BD. There are some I am intereted in and many I have no interest in at all. yet he knocks Universal? I have an HD-DVD player and will get a BD one also when I can get a good deal on one. All I want is the best quality HT experience. I get great results with HD and support them and will for BD also when the players are more affordable. I see no reason to knock one side or the other to press some sort of agenda. I do not get paid by wither side to do so and must wonder why some of the fanboys on here insist on doing so. You would think they were paid to do so. More and more of these threads get so tiring.

This is a good start as we all know that this is merely the tip of the iceberg from Universal. There was nothing unexpected here so It's not really a surprise list. It's just good to see Universal saying something serious.

the comment about how firm they are in the camp doesn't really shock me. They are simply happy with their choice and are willing to switch if they see that HD is not working out. I don't get any feeling from them they lack any confidence in the format. If anything with recent advertising they are doing on SD discs, I think Universal is very pleased with their choice and wants it to flourish.

I was fairly pleased with it and see quite a few titles on that list that I'd get w/o hesitation. The Hitchcock titles when they are ready will really help bolster the format.

Combo discs: This could be a big deal if Universal decides to stop making regular dvds and offering only HD combo discs. This would really put the screws to BR.

THIS THREAD WAS MOVED HERE BY A MODERATOR. IT WAS ORGINALLY IN THE BLU-RAY SOFTWARE SECTION. PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING AGAIN.

~Josh

I appologize.

Mod: please think before you start moving threads. No reason to get folks worked up. ;)

Its not that Universal have bad titles. All movie studios have their fair share of duds and hits. The problem is Universal is going against 5 big studios. You can't compete in terms of content. If you mocking the Blu-Ray saying its nothing but a bunch of cartoon titles, then you are delusional. I have no idea why you guys even argue this point ...this is a fact now. Unless more studios go neutral, Blu-Ray has more and thus better content. Accept it and enjoy what titles you have and move on.

The inclusion of PSYCHO and the promise of more Hitchcock is enough to get me fired up about this list.

The inclusion of PSYCHO and the promise of more Hitchcock is enough to get me fired up about this list. Be careful how you mention the word PSYCHO in these threads. Considering the emotions some people feel about this stuff. ;)

...this is a fact now...Blu-Ray has more and thus better content.
Ah, so MORE = BETTER.

LMAO...absurd argument/generality by any standard!

Is the same PQ worth it to ME to go out and spend at a minimum $600 for a BD player?

Why would it be $600 minimum? You would get a more functional Blu-ray player than you currently have for HD DVD (you can get HDMI and lossess audio out of a Playstation 3 for $499).

/carmi

Combo discs: This could be a big deal if Universal decides to stop making regular dvds and offering only HD combo discs. This would really put the screws to BR.

Certainly if Microsoft and Toshiba are willing to pay for these discs to ship at the same price as current standard DVDs, it might help get people to buy a player when player costs go down to under $200. Otherwise, I am not sure it has a big impact (other than cutting revenue for these premium discs).

/carmi

Ah, so MORE = BETTER.

LMAO...absurd argument/generality by any standard!

You conveniently left out my explanation. Since I am so nice, let me queue it up for you again:

"All movie studios have their fair share of duds and hits. The problem is Universal is going against 5 big studios."

Why would it be $600 minimum? You would get a more functional Blu-ray player than you currently have for HD DVD (you can get HDMI and lossess audio out of a Playstation 3 for $499).

/carmi

I have no desire to give sony a single hard earned penny regardless if the ps3 came free in a box of Capn' Crunch cereal. If they sent me one for free it would be ebayed to the first bidder.

You conveniently left out my explanation. Since I am so nice, let me queue it up for you again:

"All movie studios have their fair share of duds and hits. The problem is Universal is going against 5 big studios."

I would suggest taking alook at the titles owned by all these companies before copmparing it like you are. Universal Pictures is not the Jr.High football team going up against the NFL, here in your "5 big studios" comparison.

You conveniently left out my explanation. Since I am so nice, let me queue it up for you again:

"All movie studios have their fair share of duds and hits. The problem is Universal is going against 5 big studios."
Okay...I still do not see how that changes the blanket statement "Blu-Ray has more and thus better content" from your original post on the subject.

I can only take it that you are inferring that each studio has "objectively" the same number of duds and hits thus since Blu-ray has more studios they will not only have more duds...but more hits, SIMPLY by the fact that again MORE = BETTER. Still does not hold water, unless you can explain the quote "Blu-Ray has more and thus better content" in a different way in the context of your post.

Well this evening we learned what "big hitters" are coming to HD-DVD from Universal and I can honestly say I really am not that impressed. From that list I only see three or four I would honestly consider buying. I mean there are some decent movies there, but nothing that I would consider "fromat war winning."

I noticed once again that Universal is cautious as to how they answer the question of if they will support Blu-ray? Instead of saying an afirmative "No," they say they do not plan to support Blu-ray. "Plan" being the key-word. Also there has been much speculation as to why Universal has been so silent for so long and some have claimed it is due to getting the Combo technology down pat and some have said it is that they are readying for BD-J. Who knows, time will tell.

I also felt for Universal/HD-DVD to stay competitive in this format war, they needed to announce a release of at least one of their huge movies, such as Jaws. JP, BTTF or ET and now that we know none of those will be coming in 2007 I am even a little perplexed. How will they compete against Pirates, Spiderman, Die Hard, Xmen, Pixar etc. Don't get me wrong, Scarface is a great movie, but you can only re-release it so many times and expect great sales.

I am also perplexed that Universal has stated that 90% of these releases will be Combo's. It seems tha majority of HD-DVD supporters hate Combo's with some of them claiming they will never buy an HD-DVD Combo disc. Also as we know, Combo's eliminate any price advantage HD-DVD may have had for software.

The other 75 or so titles Universal will release in 2007 will be predominately catalog titles of mediocre success. I personally do not think quantity trumps quality.

So in conclusion I am even more confident in my decision to predominately support Blu-ray as I feel this is the last ditch effort to save HD-DVD on Universals be-half and once the titles are released and there is no ground made up by HD-DVD, we can all plan to purchase the Universal titles we want on Blu-ray as well.

What do the other Blu-ray supporters think of the Universal annoucement?

~Josh

Not sure anyone really cares or even remotely trusts you opinion anyways. You never stop do you, if you ask me all of this self reassurance seems a little weird to me, if you have to keep it up, you really must be afraid of something, there was no need for this thread at all, seriously did the wife run away with a HD DVD sales man? Let it go already.

As long as we're repeating threads in multiple forums, I guess my response is apropos in this thread as well:

Beatboy's bleating aside, I think the combo decision is a wise business move by Universal from two perspectives:

1. Greater potential for acceptance from J6P if day-and-date titles are released as a combo.

2. Driving down the manufacturing cost for combos.

If *ALL* HD-DVD releases were to become combos, and the price point were to be that of what we currently pay for noncombo HD-DVDs, would this really be a bad thing?

If I were Universal I would even take this a step farther: Drop the MSRP even lower and no longer release movies on DVD, only as HD-DVD combos.

That could very well guarantee that HD-DVD wins the format war.

If I were in the BR camp, I would be VERY worried about this scenario. It's not beyond the realm of possibilities...

Exactly. Each combo sold would be an enticement to try HD DVD. And if the players are attractively priced, that is a double whammy.

I have no desire to give sony a single hard earned penny regardless if the ps3 came free in a box of Capn' Crunch cereal. If they sent me one for free it would be ebayed to the first bidder.

Would that make cereal boxes standalone blu-ray players?

My wife and I couldn't get past the first fifteen minutes of Cars.

Our neighbor's four-year-old son loves it.

And Spider-man? Give me a break.

Just not to our liking.

The Big Lebowski is another thing altogether.

I agree that Universal is aiming at a more mature crowd than the blu-ray exclusive studios are.

We are pleased.

I'm happy for the blu-ray fans who are getting the kind of content they like.

You conveniently left out my explanation. Since I am so nice, let me queue it up for you again:

"All movie studios have their fair share of duds and hits. The problem is Universal is going against 5 big studios."
You are going under the assumption that all studios are (more or less) equal. They are not.

My wife and I couldn't get past the first fifteen minutes of Cars.

Our neighbor's four-year-old son loves it.
Tha sums it up nicely. Thank you.

I agree that Universal is aiming at a more mature crowd than the blu-ray exclusive studios are.

We are pleased.
So are we. :)

J

YMMV but I imagine a lot of consumers will do the same and people I know get this same advice from me: Save an incredible load of money and get an upscaling HD DVD player and enjoy HD DVD releases and upscale the "exclusives."If upscaled DVDs are good enough for a person they really should save their money and get a regular upscaling DVD player (like an Oppo) IMO. Discs are less expensive in general. I find some of the justification around here to be pretty incredible. If a person values HD then they should value HD and if they don't, then they don't, but it seems like there is a whole group of people who think there is enough of a difference between DVD and HD when the HD comes in red cases, but not when they come in blue cases. To me this is one of the strangest phenomenons that has happened from this format war.

BTW: I understand saving money, but people shouldn't fool themselves about what kinds of images they will get with each choice.

As far as Universal, it sounds to me like they are willing to pull the heavy weight to try to make HD DVD win. Should create some good pressure on the other side and hopefully we'll get better HD overall because of this competition. It likely means that the war won't be over anytime soon and more people here getting players from both sides though.

--Darin

I don't get the meanness of the OP. Blu-ray had the big announcements, with a number of strong titles. Anyone with a shread of honesty in the HD DVD camp would have to admit that. Ok, done. Now Universal comes out with a decent list, and we have to get a thread in which everyone has to defend the quality of the list?

And in this comparison between the Blu-ray exclusives and Universal, sure there are more new and recent box office hits because there are more studios, but the CATALOG strength of Universal is a big equalizer, IMO. All the great horror classics, Hitchcock, Spielberg, etc. etc. There is a lot of ooomph in there, and it should not be taken lightly.

If upscaled DVDs are good enough for a person they really should save their money and get a regular upscaling DVD player (like an Oppo) IMO. Discs are less expensive in general. I find some of the justification around here to be pretty incredible. If a person values HD then they should value HD and if they don't, then they don't, but it seems like there is a whole group of people who think there is enough of a difference between DVD and HD when the HD comes in red cases, but not when they come in blue cases. To me this is one of the strangest phenomenons that has happened from this format war.

--Darin

"Phenomena" is the plural of "phenomenon."

I happen to like my A1 better than an Oppo (although an excellent inexpensive Chinese design) -- for HD DVDs, DVDs, and even CDs. I guess it is supposed to be a handicap that the Tosh does all of these things very well.

Should we beg for Sony to produce a blu-ray player that "specializes" and only plays blu-rays, I suppose, since we already have blu-rays that don't play CDs or don't upconvert very well (or at all, like the George Foreman grill)?

Should we pay more for machines that do even less so that we can take advantage of all the wonderful blu-ray content aimed at testosterone-dominated fourteen-year-olds who rush like lemmings to every blockbuster title?

On the other hand.

Why upconvert some of these movies at all? Why buy them in the first place?

Why not buy classic movies that hold up over time and, for that matter, international movies -- European, Asian, and the like -- made for adults and pressed on region-free HD DVDs?

Again, another thread where the whole point is "my thoughts and habits are X, thus everybody elses should be like mine", and this is mostly from the blu ray side.

Newsflash!!! Not everybody likes the same movies.

"Phenomena" is the plural of "phenomenon."

I happen to like my A1 better than an Oppo (although an excellent inexpensive Chinese design) -- for HD DVDs, DVDs, and even CDs. I guess it is supposed to be a handicap that the Tosh does all of these things very well.

Should we beg for Sony to produce a blu-ray player that "specializes" and only plays blu-rays, I suppose, since we already have blu-rays that don't play CDs or don't upconvert very well (or at all, like the George Foreman grill)?

Should we pay more for machines that do even less so that we can take advantage of all the wonderful blu-ray content aimed at testosterone-dominated fourteen-year-olds who rush like lemmings to every blockbuster title?

On the other hand.

Why upconvert some of these movies at all? Why buy them in the first place?

Why not buy classic movies that hold up over time and, for that matter, international movies -- European, Asian, and the like -- made for adults and pressed on region-free HD DVDs?

Damn I like your posts!
Yes, I also have an A1 and an Oppo. The A1 is significantly better at upscaling, even my wife has commented. I'm actually starting to replace some of my favorite imports with R1 versions (when possible), so I can play them on my A1.
J

Again, another thread where the whole point is "my thoughts and habits are X, thus everybody elses should be like mine", and this is mostly from the blu ray side.

Newsflash!!! Not everybody likes the same movies.
This had become a plague on the whole forum. And it's not limited to movie tastes either: for some strange reason a large number of posters feel it's important to start a new thread every time they personally buy a new piece of equipment or return an old one. It's a quite wonderful level of self-importance that is never less than amusing to behold.

Personal tastes aren't germaine to the wider format battle. Anecdotal evidence isn't worth the time it takes to type out. And just because you've chosen to do something that doesn't hold any meaning for the rest of us unwashed masses. Get with the program people! This is becoming rediculous.

The only gauges worthy of note are box-office, rental, and sell-through figures. These are (generally) unbiased measures of the way the market is trending, and are applicable to some extent to this next-gen situation.

Yes, I also have an A1 and an Oppo. The A1 is significantly better at upscaling, even my wife has commented. I'm actually starting to replace some of my favorite imports with R1 versions (when possible), so I can play them on my A1.
J

The Oppo is a fantastic machine, wholly designed and engineered in China and sold at a fantastic price with outstanding support.

Hold onto your hats, blu boys! Some cheap Chinese HD DVD players may, down the road, knock your socks off. Maybe not the early units, but we'll see.

Look at the HD DVD logo, everyone. Do you notice any resemblance to the DVD logo? Do you know why HD DVD can use the DVD logo, and blu-ray can't?

Tens of thousands of great and irreplaceable movies on DVD, all looking better than ever because of Toshiba. Many of them will NEVER appear in hd on either format, just as many tapes still haven't made it to DVD.

Yes, it is all about content. But there is more to content protection than copy protection (BD+), and there is certainly more to great movies than hd.

What we have with Toshiba is great DVD movie preservation and enhancement. What we have with blu-ray is intentional replacement of classic movies not to the troika's (Sony, Fox, Disney) liking with US dominated (region-coded) game-box lovers' specials.

Meh. The up-scalling performance of the A1 and the Panny was compared at an AVS meet with the prevailing view that there was nothing to choose between them. I believe Rob Tomlin was in attendance, so he'd be the one to ask for further details if you're interested.

This had become a plague on the whole forum. And it's not limited to movie tastes either: for some strange reason a large number of posters feel it's important to start a new thread every time they personally buy a new piece of equipment or return an old one. It's a quite wonderful level of self-importance that is never less than amusing to behold.



ahhhh

we are working on a video for new posters to address this

first cut based on this link:


http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting.php :)

Meh. The up-scalling performance of the A1 and the Panny was compared at an AVS meet with the prevailing view that there was nothing to choose between them. I believe Rob Tomlin was in attendance, so he'd be the one to ask for further details if you're interested.

Thanks.

Which leads us once again to the well-beaten dead horse of price/performance. I wouldn't pay more to get parity any more than I would pay more to get less.

As you say that's a horse where even the flies have long given up any pretense at interest. Though if Sony can get an up-scalling update for the PS3 at some point then we may see some resurection. Hold that thought!

ahhhh

we are working on a video for new posters to address this

first cut based on this link:


http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting.php :)
:D That's great! Chears Mark.

Though what kind of a site is that, with a topic entitled "Does this rag smell like chloroform?"?! ;)

Yoink: site bookmarked

The Oppo is a fantastic machine, wholly designed and engineered in China and sold at a fantastic price with outstanding support.


Oppo Digital is based in Mountain View, CA not China

As you say that's a horse where even the flies have long given up any pretense at interest. Though if Sony can get an up-scalling update for the PS3 at some point then we may see some resurection. Hold that thought!

My understanding is that, in the case of the PS3, it would have to be a software upscaling solution, since the hardware just isn't there. Software upscaling has trouble competing with hardware upscaling, but Sony just may pull it off!

If Sony succeeds in making the PS3 outdo my A1 in the upscaling department, I promise to sit down and watch Cars all the way through AND reread the famous Andy Parsons interview twelve times, fly-swatter in hand.

If Sony fails, I will go out and buy a Universal combo. I will watch both the HD DVD and DVD versions and enjoy each thoroughly.

Oppo Digital is based in Mountain View, CA not China

Their US headquarters, import house, and customer service -- yes? But where did the design originate? I could be wrong about this, but I seem to remember that Oppo was congratulated specifically because of its Chinese, rather than Japanese origin. It was pointed to as an example of what Chinese know-how can achieve on its own in the area of innovation in electronics.

If I'm wrong, I'll admit it halfheartedly and go on.

By the way, I apologize for being a little over the top today. I had a tooth extracted this morning.

But I do like HD DVD. Can you tell?

If Sony succeeds in making the PS3 outdo my A1 in the upscaling department, I promise to sit down and watch Cars all the way through AND reread the famous Andy Parsons interview twelve times, fly-swatter in hand.
LOL* Several of my good friends watched Cars at the cinema. This bothers me. ;)

*why no laughing icon? they're always fun, and typing LOL makes me feel about 12 years old. is this a deliberate ploy by AVS to try and kill the fun? :p

Meh. The up-scalling performance of the A1 and the Panny was compared at an AVS meet with the prevailing view that there was nothing to choose between them. I believe Rob Tomlin was in attendance, so he'd be the one to ask for further details if you're interested.
Not my system, and not my experience.
Do a search, others prefer the A1 to the Oppo as well.
J

Oppo Digital is based in Mountain View, CA not China

I'll have to get back to you on this, but according to one review at http://www.avrev.com/equip/oppo_dvd_player/index.html, "Oppo Digital is the North American offshoot of the consumer electronics giant BBK of China." But I need more information.

If upscaled DVDs are good enough for a person they really should save their money and get a regular upscaling DVD player (like an Oppo) IMO. Discs are less expensive in general. I find some of the justification around here to be pretty incredible. If a person values HD then they should value HD and if they don't, then they don't, but it seems like there is a whole group of people who think there is enough of a difference between DVD and HD when the HD comes in red cases, but not when they come in blue cases. To me this is one of the strangest phenomenons that has happened from this format war.

BTW: I understand saving money, but people shouldn't fool themselves about what kinds of images they will get with each choice.

As far as Universal, it sounds to me like they are willing to pull the heavy weight to try to make HD DVD win. Should create some good pressure on the other side and hopefully we'll get better HD overall because of this competition. It likely means that the war won't be over anytime soon and more people here getting players from both sides though.

--Darin

Darin, this philosophy makes perfect sense to me.
I was in the market for an upscaling DVD player. I almost bought the Oppo for $215 delivered. But for $148 more, I could get an upscaling HD-DVD player and enjoy 2/3 of all the available HD titles out there.

I could have gone the blu-ray route, but I would have to spend nearly double (~$630) for the approximate same number of titles.

Darin, this philosophy makes perfect sense to me.
I was in the market for an upscaling DVD player. I almost bought the Oppo for $215 delivered. But for $148 more, I could get an upscaling HD-DVD player and enjoy 2/3 of all the available HD titles out there.

I could have gone the blu-ray route, but I would have to spend nearly double (~$630) for the approximate same number of titles.
As an English teacher in a former life, I was thrilled to see someone use "number" instead of "amount." ;)

As you say that's a horse where even the flies have long given up any pretense at interest. Though if Sony can get an up-scalling update for the PS3 at some point then we may see some resurection. Hold that thought!

But don't hold your breath! :)

Why would we have any anger to direct at Universal? They're releasing movies we like. Maybe you have some anger issues with Universal that you need to address. Please refrain from projecting your passive-aggressive tendencies.
Seems that you and Batboy, as usual, have failed to notice or make note of the subtle detail that of the 100 releases Universal only listed 21 so therefore the list is not complete.
We'll just have to wait and see what the full list brings although beatboy77 has some insider info that the remaining list is mostly "fluff".
I'm guessing he's under a strict NDA after meeting with the top brass at Universal.

On that you are correct. Your head is squarely planted in another location. ;)
Wow that's good spin. You're like a politician and Dr. Phil all in one. Thanks for the comedy. :D

nyg

What's up with your blog are you still updating it?

To each his own. Not everyone want to watch children's movies.

Cars is the only children's movie I mentioned. I fully understand that not everyone wants to watch this genre of movies. Never said or implied otherwise.

The only anger I have is at people who assume everyone should have the same taste as they do. Its really rather juvinile.

Certainly this isn't directed at me as again, I never said or implied that people should have the same tastes as I do. For the record I see a handful of Universal titles on that list I'd love to have. The fact is though that they failed to announce any real blockbusters like Jaws, Jurassic Park, or Back To The Future. Movies of comparable box office take to the five BD exclusives I previously mentioned in this thread. I'm not saying that the titles they did announce are crap, far from it. Just not big blockbusters. Sadly some folks are misinterpreting my comments.

If Upscaling is so great I hope you didnt waste your money on an HD player either. Lol. Anyone who thinks upscaling is even close to HD or BD is either a liar or partially blind.

Then I guess a good portion of the mass market is either lying or blind, according to your view. I'll give you a real life example : I have a 144' diagonal projected hi-def picture, and so far, out of about 14 friends/family members that have seen HD-DVD/BR and upscaled DVD on my system, not one could tell the difference. I can see it, but they couldn't, to my disappointment. Go try to sell BR/HD-DVD to people that can't honestly see the difference... I would imagine most of the mass market will belong to that group, in spite of audio-video enthusiasts chagrin such as AVS members'...

I would suggest taking alook at the titles owned by all these companies before copmparing it like you are. Universal Pictures is not the Jr.High football team going up against the NFL, here in your "5 big studios" comparison.


Ok ...I went and got the two lists of release dates for both format at http://www.highdefdigest.com/ and broke it down...these are just announced titles:

Blu-Ray Blockbuster Hits ($150+ mil domestic box office movies)
Casino Royale (Sony)
Dances with Wolves (MGM)
Ice Age (Fox)
The Lion King (Buena Vista)
Planet of the Apes (Fox)
Chicago (Buena Vista)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Fox)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Buena Vista)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Buena Vista)
Cars (Buena Vista)
The Da Vinci Code (Sony)
Armageddon (Buena Vista)
Aladdin (Buena Vista)
Finding Nemo (Buena Vista)
Independence Day (Fox)
Jerry Maguire (Sony)
The Lion King (Buena Vista)
Spider-Man (Sony)
National Treasure (Buena Vista)
Beauty and the Beast (Buena Vista)


HD DVD Blockbuster Hits ($150+ mil domestic box office movies)
Bruce Almighty (Universal)
Liar Liar (Universal)
Meet the Fockers (Universal)

Blu-Ray Notable Major Hits
Alien vs. Predator (Fox)
Broken Arrow (Fox)
Dodgeball (Fox)
Chicken Little (Buena Vista)
The Silence of the Lambs (MGM)
Con Air (Buena Vista)
Crimson Tide (Buena Vista)
The Rock (Buena Vista)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Sony)
The Princess Bride (MGM)
RoboCop (MGM)
Bad Boys (Sony)
Basic Instinct (Lionsgate)
Bull Durham (MGM)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Fox)
Edward Scissorhands (Fox)
Father of the Bride (1991) (Buena Vista)
A Few Good Men (Sony)
Dirty Dancing (Lionsgate)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Buena Vista)
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Buena Vista)
I, Robot (Fox)
Star Trek: First Contact (Sony)
Remember the Titans (Buena Vista)
Predator (Fox)
The Siege (Fox)
First Blood (Lionsgate)

HD DVD Notable Major Hits
The 40 Year-Old Virgin (Universal)
American PIe (Universal)
The Aviator (Universal)
The Blues Brothers (Universal)
The Bourne Identity (Universal)
Conan the Barbarian (Universal)
Scarface (1983) (Universal)
Inside Man (Universal)
Erin Brockovich (Universal)

Blu-Ray acclaimed/moderate successful movies
Reservoir Dogs (Lionsgate)
The Usual Suspects (Fox)
Finding Neverland (Buena Vista)
Winged Migration (Sony)
Sense and Sensibility (Sony)
Hannibal (MGM)
Ronin (MGM)
Monster's Ball (Lionsgate)
Platoon (MGM)
Open Range (Buena Vista)
Master & Commander (Fox)
Frank Herbert's Dune (Lionsgate)
Glory (Sony)

HD DVD acclaimed/moderate successful movies
Brokeback Mountain (Universal)
Children of Men (Universal)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Universal)
Pride & Prejudice (Universal)
Brazil (Universal)

Blu-Ray Classics
A Fistful of Dollars (MGM)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (Sony)
A Bridge Too Far (MGM)
The Graduate (MGM)
The Guns of Navarone (Sony)

HD DVD Classics
Psycho (1960) (Universal)

Blu-Ray The Rest
Casanova (Buena Vista)
Courage Under Fire (Fox)
The Guardian (2006) (Buena Vista)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Buena Vista)
The Recruit (Buena Vista)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Sony)
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (Sony)
Cabin Fever (Buena Vista)
Young Guns (Lionsgate)
The Professionals (Sony)
Me, Myself & Irene (Fox)
G.I. Jane (Buena Vista)
Dude, Where's My Car? (MGM)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) (MGM)
Entrapment (Fox)
Desperado (Sony)
The Sentinel (Fox)
Herbie: Fully Loaded (Buena Vista)
Chain Reaction (Fox)
Men of Honor (Fox)
Saw II (Lionsgate)
Saw III (Lionsgate)
Flyboys (Fox)
Hart's War (Fox)
Open Season (Sony)
American Psycho (Lionsgate)
Running With Scissors (Sony)
The Tailor of Panama (Sony)
Ladder 49 (Buena Vista)
Marie Antoinette (Sony)
The Marine (Fox)
Phone Booth (Fox)
Reign of Fire (Buena Vista)
The Prestige (Buena Vista)
Vertical Limit (Sony)
Stranger Than Fiction (Sony)
Commando (Fox)
Hoosiers (MGM)
Layer Cake (Sony)
Big Fish (Sony)
The Fly (1986) (Fox)
King Arthur Director's Cut (Buena Vista)
Tristan & Isolde (Fox)
Turistas (Fox)
From Hell (Fox)
Gattaca (Sony)
Legends of the Fall (Sony)
Battle of Britain (MGM)
Belly (Lionsgate)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (Sony)
Dark City (New Line)
The Dead Zone: The Complete First Season (Lionsgate)
For a Few Dollars More (Sony)
Hostel (Sony)
House of a 1,000 Corpses (Lionsgate)
Man on Fire (Fox)
National Lampoon's Van Wilder (Lionsgate)
Out of Time (MGM)
The Patriot (Sony)
Pi (Lionsgate)
Requiem for a Dream (Lionsgate)
See No Evil (Lionsgate)
Snow Dogs (Buena Vista)
Stargate: Atlantis - Season One (Sony)
To Live and Die in L.A. (MGM)
Ultimate Avengers 2 (Lionsgate)
Waiting (Buena Vista)
Walking Tall (2004) (MGM)
Weeds: The Complete First Season (Lionsgate)


HD DVD The Rest
Hollywoodland (Universal)
Digital Video Essentials - HD DVD Edition (DVD International)
Galaxina (BCI)
Golgo 13 (BCI)
That's the Way of the World (BCI)
Awake (Weinstein)
Battlestar Galactica: The Complete First Season (Universal)
The Big Lebowski
The Black Dahlia (Universal)
Decameron (Weinstein)
The Good Shepard (Universal)
Grind House (Weinstein)
Idlewind (Universal)
Killshot (Weinstein)
Last Legion (Weinstein)
The Lemon Drop Kid (Universal)
The Libertine (Weinstein)
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
Scoop (Universal)
Mrs. Henderson Presents (Weinstein)
The Return (Universal)
Scoop (Universal)
Se7en (Universal)
Shaun of the Dead (Universal)
Sin City 2 (Weinstein)
Smokin' Aces (Universal)
Soldier (Weinstein)
TransAmerica (Weinstein)
Young Hannibal (Weinstein)

Can we rest on which side has more or better content ...OWNED?

You still don't get it.
J

You still don't get it.
J

nice comeback.

From your posted list, I'd buy 7 BDs and 9 HDs. Add in The Jerk and The Game and I'm up to 11 HDs. Your point is?

And from that list, I would buy 27 Blu-Ray titles and only 2 HD DVD titles(Bourne Identity and Scareface). Your point is?

Exactly. Each combo sold would be an enticement to try HD DVD. And if the players are attractively priced, that is a double whammy.

Or in my case a version I convert to my PSP to avoid buying UMD's for when I am out of town.... ;)

Or in my case a version I convert to my PSP to avoid buying UMD's for when I am out of town.... ;)

Sony is planning to include portable versions of movies on Blu-Ray discs.

http://www.pspfanboy.com/2007/01/10/blu-ray-movies-to-include-portable-files/

Ok ...I went and got the two lists of release dates for both format at http://www.highdefdigest.com/ and broke it down for you and your HD DVD fanboys ...these are just announced titles:

Blu-Ray Blockbuster Hits ($150+ mil domestic box office movies)
Casino Royale (Sony)
Dances with Wolves (MGM)
Ice Age (Fox)
The Lion King (Buena Vista)
First Blood (Lionsgate)
Planet of the Apes (Fox)
Chicago (Buena Vista)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Fox)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Buena Vista)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Buena Vista)
Cars (Buena Vista)
The Da Vinci Code (Sony)
Armageddon (Buena Vista)
Aladdin (Buena Vista)
Finding Nemo (Buena Vista)
Independence Day (Fox)
Jerry Maguire (Sony)
The Lion King (Buena Vista)
Spider-Man (Sony)
National Treasure (Buena Vista)
Beauty and the Beast (Buena Vista)


HD DVD Blockbuster Hits ($150+ mil domestic box office movies)
Bruce Almighty (Universal)
Liar Liar (Universal)

Blu-Ray Notable Major Hits
Alien vs. Predator (Fox)
Broken Arrow (Fox)
Dodgeball (Fox)
Chicken Little (Buena Vista)
The Silence of the Lambs (MGM)
Con Air (Buena Vista)
Crimson Tide (Buena Vista)
The Rock (Buena Vista)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Sony)
The Princess Bride (MGM)
RoboCop (MGM)
Bad Boys (Sony)
Basic Instinct (Lionsgate)
Bull Durham (MGM)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Fox)
Edward Scissorhands (Fox)
Father of the Bride (1991) (Buena Vista)
A Few Good Men (Sony)
Dirty Dancing (Lionsgate)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Buena Vista)
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Buena Vista)
I, Robot (Fox)
Star Trek: First Contact (Sony)
Remember the Titans (Buena Vista)
Predator (Fox)
The Siege (Fox)

HD DVD Notable Major Hits
The 40 Year-Old Virgin (Universal)
American PIe (Universal)
The Aviator (Universal)
The Blues Brothers (Universal)
The Bourne Identity (Universal)
Conan the Barbarian (Universal)
Scarface (1983) (Universal)
Inside Man (Universal)
Meet the Fockers (Universal)
Erin Brockovich (Universal)

Blu-Ray acclaimed/moderate successful movies
Reservoir Dogs (Lionsgate)
The Usual Suspects (Fox)
Finding Neverland (Buena Vista)
Winged Migration (Sony)
Sense and Sensibility (Sony)
Hannibal (MGM)
Ronin (MGM)
Monster's Ball (Lionsgate)
Platoon (MGM)
Open Range (Buena Vista)
Master & Commander (Fox)
Frank Herbert's Dune (Lionsgate)
Glory (Sony)

HD DVD acclaimed/moderate successful movies
Brokeback Mountain (Universal)
Children of Men (Universal)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Universal)
Pride & Prejudice (Universal)
Brazil (Universal)

Blu-Ray Classics
A Fistful of Dollars (MGM)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (Sony)
A Bridge Too Far (MGM)
The Graduate (MGM)
The Guns of Navarone (Sony)

HD DVD Classics
Psycho (1960) (Universal)

Blu-Ray The Rest
Casanova (Buena Vista)
Courage Under Fire (Fox)
The Guardian (2006) (Buena Vista)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Buena Vista)
The Recruit (Buena Vista)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Sony)
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (Sony)
Cabin Fever (Buena Vista)
Young Guns (Lionsgate)
The Professionals (Sony)
Me, Myself & Irene (Fox)
G.I. Jane (Buena Vista)
Dude, Where's My Car? (MGM)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) (MGM)
Entrapment (Fox)
Desperado (Sony)
The Sentinel (Fox)
Herbie: Fully Loaded (Buena Vista)
Chain Reaction (Fox)
Men of Honor (Fox)
Saw II (Lionsgate)
Saw III (Lionsgate)
Flyboys (Fox)
Hart's War (Fox)
Open Season (Sony)
American Psycho (Lionsgate)
Running With Scissors (Sony)
The Tailor of Panama (Sony)
Ladder 49 (Buena Vista)
Marie Antoinette (Sony)
The Marine (Fox)
Phone Booth (Fox)
Reign of Fire (Buena Vista)
The Prestige (Buena Vista)
Vertical Limit (Sony)
Stranger Than Fiction (Sony)
Commando (Fox)
Hoosiers (MGM)
Layer Cake (Sony)
Big Fish (Sony)
The Fly (1986) (Fox)
King Arthur Director's Cut (Buena Vista)
Tristan & Isolde (Fox)
Turistas (Fox)
From Hell (Fox)
Gattaca (Sony)
Legends of the Fall (Sony)
Battle of Britain (MGM)
Belly (Lionsgate)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (Sony)
Dark City (New Line)
The Dead Zone: The Complete First Season (Lionsgate)
For a Few Dollars More (Sony)
Hostel (Sony)
House of a 1,000 Corpses (Lionsgate)
Man on Fire (Fox)
National Lampoon's Van Wilder (Lionsgate)
Out of Time (MGM)
The Patriot (Sony)
Pi (Lionsgate)
Requiem for a Dream (Lionsgate)
See No Evil (Lionsgate)
Snow Dogs (Buena Vista)
Stargate: Atlantis - Season One (Sony)
To Live and Die in L.A. (MGM)
Ultimate Avengers 2 (Lionsgate)
Waiting (Buena Vista)
Walking Tall (2004) (MGM)
Weeds: The Complete First Season (Lionsgate)


HD DVD The Rest
Hollywoodland (Universal)
Digital Video Essentials - HD DVD Edition (DVD International)
Galaxina (BCI)
Golgo 13 (BCI)
That's the Way of the World (BCI)
Awake (Weinstein)
Battlestar Galactica: The Complete First Season (Universal)
The Big Lebowski
The Black Dahlia (Universal)
Decameron (Weinstein)
The Good Shepard (Universal)
Grind House (Weinstein)
Idlewind (Universal)
Killshot (Weinstein)
Last Legion (Weinstein)
The Lemon Drop Kid (Universal)
The Libertine (Weinstein)
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
Scoop (Universal)
Mrs. Henderson Presents (Weinstein)
The Return (Universal)
Scoop (Universal)
Se7en (Universal)
Shaun of the Dead (Universal)
Sin City 2 (Weinstein)
Smokin' Aces (Universal)
Soldier (Weinstein)
TransAmerica (Weinstein)
Young Hannibal (Weinstein)

Can we rest on which side has more or better content ...OWNED?

A lot of typing to make absolutely no point!

First, let's take your data:

First Blood - domestic gross - $47 million - NOT over $150 million. Also, it's available on HD-DVD through Studio Canal.

Meet the Fockers (Universal) - domestic gross $279 million. Seems you forgot this one.

Your data is incorrect. Even so, box office tallies don't necessarily make a movie great. Do you think the release of the remake of Planet Of the Apes is a major announcement? What about National Treasure or Jerry Maguire? I'd venture to guess these are mediocre catalog titles, at best.

Next, let's look at your "notable major hits".

Alien vs. Predator (Fox) - garbage movie aimed at teen-ager mentality
Broken Arrow (Fox) - basic catalog title. Lives in the $5 bin
Dodgeball (Fox) - dumb comedy for teens
Chicken Little (Buena Vista) - mediocre Disney animation
The Silence of the Lambs (MGM) - great movie
Con Air (Buena Vista) - mindless action film
Crimson Tide (Buena Vista) - excellent movie
The Rock (Buena Vista) - good mindless fun
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Sony) - already released in July, horrid transfer
The Princess Bride (MGM) - charming classic
RoboCop (MGM) - great movie, already released and pulled with horrid transfer
Bad Boys (Sony) - fun, mindless action movie
Basic Instinct (Lionsgate) - available on HD-DVD through Studio Canal
Bull Durham (MGM) - decent comedy with Costner
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Fox) - classic
Edward Scissorhands (Fox) - very good Burton film
Father of the Bride (1991) (Buena Vista) - good Steve Martin comedy
A Few Good Men (Sony) - excellent movie
Dirty Dancing (Lionsgate) - chick flick dreck
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Buena Vista) - available through Weinstein on HD-DVD as "Whole
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Buena Vista) - Bloody Affair". Not announced yet.
I, Robot (Fox) - decent sci-fi actioner
Star Trek: First Contact (Sony) - Why is this here? HD-DVD has ALL the Trek films
Remember the Titans (Buena Vista) - good drama
Predator (Fox) - classic Arnold actioner
The Siege (Fox) - dull terrorist thriller in the $5 bin

And I like your subjective use of the HD-DVD hits. You stick great / highly anticipated films like Big Lebowski, Sean Of the Dead, Grindhouse, The Good Shepherd, Sin City 2, Smokin' Aces into "the rest"!?! And where's Dawn Of the Dead? Se7en is New Line Studios -- NOT Universal. Your data is incorrect, and your subjective nature is obvious.

And Aladdin, Lion King, and Beauty & the Beast were never announced for 2007 from Disney. That will be the day they release every major current animated film in the same year this early in the format. NEVER HAPPEN!

Sony is planning to include portable versions of movies on Blu-Ray discs.

http://www.pspfanboy.com/2007/01/10/blu-ray-movies-to-include-portable-files/

Though Cool unless they will also do this for the rest of the blu-ray studios that don't make combos (since I don't buy sd-dvd's anymore) this won't help much on the rest of the exclusive studios. That and no movies in my or grandmas SUV for the kids. I might be in the minority but I have no problems with combos...

A lot of typing to make absolutely no point!

First, let's take your data:

First Blood - domestic gross - $47 million - NOT over $150 million. Also, it's available on HD-DVD through Studio Canal.

Meet the Fockers (Universal) - domestic gross $279 million. Seems you forgot this one.

Your data is incorrect. Even so, box office tallies don't necessarily make a movie great. Do you think the release of the remake of Planet Of the Apes is a major announcement? What about National Treasure or Jerry Maguire? I'd venture to guess these are mediocre catalog titles, at best.

Next, let's look at your "notable major hits".

Alien vs. Predator (Fox) - garbage movie aimed at teen-ager mentality
Broken Arrow (Fox) - basic catalog title. Lives in the $5 bin
Dodgeball (Fox) - dumb comedy for teens
Chicken Little (Buena Vista) - mediocre Disney animation
The Silence of the Lambs (MGM) - great movie
Con Air (Buena Vista) - mindless action film
Crimson Tide (Buena Vista) - excellent movie
The Rock (Buena Vista) - good mindless fun
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Sony) - already released in July, horrid transfer
The Princess Bride (MGM) - charming classic
RoboCop (MGM) - great movie, already released and pulled with horrid transfer
Bad Boys (Sony) - fun, mindless action movie
Basic Instinct (Lionsgate) - available on HD-DVD through Studio Canal
Bull Durham (MGM) - decent comedy with Costner
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Fox) - classic
Edward Scissorhands (Fox) - very good Burton film
Father of the Bride (1991) (Buena Vista) - good Steve Martin comedy
A Few Good Men (Sony) - excellent movie
Dirty Dancing (Lionsgate) - chick flick dreck
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Buena Vista) - available through Weinstein on HD-DVD as "Whole
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Buena Vista) - Bloody Affair". Not announced yet.
I, Robot (Fox) - decent sci-fi actioner
Star Trek: First Contact (Sony) - Why is this here? HD-DVD has ALL the Trek films
Remember the Titans (Buena Vista) - good drama
Predator (Fox) - classic Arnold actioner
The Siege (Fox) - dull terrorist thriller in the $5 bin

And I like your subjective use of the HD-DVD hits. You stick great / highly anticipated films like Big Lebowski, Sean Of the Dead, Grindhouse, The Good Shepherd, Sin City 2, Smokin' Aces into "the rest"!?! And where's Dawn Of the Dead? Se7en is New Line Studios -- NOT Universal. Your data is incorrect, and your subjective nature is obvious.

And Aladdin, Lion King, and Beauty & the Beast were never announced for 2007 from Disney. That will be the day they release every major current animated film in the same year this early in the format. NEVER HAPPEN!


Thanks for the correction on the data ...it was First Blood II that grossed over $150 mil. I do not count imports so everything you stated from other foreign distributers DOES NOT count. Major hit is what considered to be box office successes. No way does it necessary a comment on the quality of the movie. As for the critically acclaimed titles, yes they were subjective but overall, they were acclaimed. You listed several new titles which in your opinion are acclaimed. Either they are too new or they are a mixed bag. Smoking Aces opens this week? Its currently holds a 27% rating on RottenTomatoes. The Good Shepherd is a mixed bag ...55% rating at Rottentomatoes. Again, this is all subjective. Even with all your criticism, it still does not change my point. As for all the Disney films, I am just going by what they announced.

And from that list, I would buy 27 Blu-Ray titles and only 2 HD DVD titles(Bourne Identity and Scareface). Your point is?


So you'd buy 27 Blu-Ray titles from the list, yet you would NOT buy Psycho, Blues Brothers, Brazil, Dawn Of the Dead, Big Lebowski, Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty, Erin Brockovich, Inside man, Sin City 2, Grindhouse, Good Shepherd, Children Of Men, Smokin' Aces, Conan, American Pie, Brazil, Slapshot, Sean Of the Dead?!? You're either pulling my leg or you have the absolute WORST taste in movies ever!

Thanks for the correction on the data ...it was First Blood II that grossed over $150 mil. I do not count imports so everything you stated from other foreign distributers DOES NOT count. Major hit is what considered to be box office successes. No way does it necessary a comment on the quality of the movie. As for the critically acclaimed titles, yes they were subjective but overall, they were acclaimed. You listed several new titles which in your opinion are acclaimed. Either they are too new or they are a mixed bag. Smoking Aces opens this week? Its currently holds a 27% rating on RottenTomatoes. The Good Shepard is a mixed bag ...55% rating at Rottentomatoes. Again, this is all subjective. Even with all your criticism, it still does not change my point. As for all the Disney films, I am just going by what they announced.

Umm Rottentomatoes.com? Reviewers judge box offices hits about as well as I judge home decor most of the time.... Every once in a while we get it right but most of the time the wife laughs.... ;)

So you'd buy 27 Blu-Ray titles from the list, yet you would NOT buy Psycho, Blues Brothers, Brazil, Dawn Of the Dead, Big Lebowski, Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty, Erin Brockovich, Inside man, Sin City 2, Grindhouse, Good Shepherd, Children Of Men, Smokin' Aces, Conan, American Pie, Brazil, Slapshot, Sean Of the Dead?!? You're either pulling my leg or you have the absolute WORST taste in movies ever!

I am not a fan of horror movies. I like comedies but not enough to own unless its really funny. Bruce Almighty and Liar Lair were good maybe not good enough to own. I hate Julia Roberts movies except for Pretty Woman and Erin Brockovich ...I am on the fence with that. I didn't think much of the Good Shepard ...was a good movie but not that great. Children of Men had great cinematography but too many holes in the plot for me to enjoy. I never actually saw Brazil ...I actually put it in the acclaimed section even though I didn't see it.

Umm Rottentomatoes.com? Reviewers judge box offices hits about as well as I judge home decor most of the time.... Every once in a while we get it right but most of the time the wife laughs.... ;)

They separate regular reviewers and professional movie critics scores. There are gray areas but overall, its really a good indicator of what is good and what is not with some caveats.

Thanks for the correction on the data ...it was First Blood II that grossed over $150 mil. I do not count imports so everything you stated from other foreign distributers DOES NOT count. Major hit is what considered to be box office successes. No way does it necessary a comment on the quality of the movie. As for the critically acclaimed titles, yes they were subjective but overall, they were acclaimed. You listed several new titles which in your opinion are acclaimed. Either they are too new or they are a mixed bag. Smoking Aces opens this week? Its currently holds a 27% rating on RottenTomatoes. The Good Shepard is a mixed bag ...55% rating at Rottentomatoes. Again, this is all subjective. Even with all your criticism, it still does not change my point.


Again, movie tastes are subjective. There is a link to the top-15 pre-summer movies below, and 5 of these are HD-DVD exclusives (Smokin' Aces, Grindhouse, Hot Fuzz, The Kingdom, Hannibal Rising)

http://www.firstshowing.net/2006/12/30/top-15-films-to-look-out-for-pre-summer-2007-hype-list/

You can't list crap movies like AVP and Dodgeball as hits because they gross a decent total, and then discredit Smokin' Aces and Good Shepherd because of their ratings on rotten tomatoes. It doesn't work that way. And how can you state that imported discs don't count when there is no region coding on HD-DVD?

The trolls have been working overtime since yesterday doing their best to trivialize Universal's announcement, but it isn't working. They have announced an impressive list of films, and they still have 80 more titles to announce for 2007.

Here's some advice for the BD fanboys -- return to your own forum and threads related to your format of choice. We aren't interested in your pathetic opinions of films that we know you would grab in a second had they been on Blu-Ray.

Again, movie tastes are subjective. There is a link to the top-15 pre-summer movies below, and 5 of these are HD-DVD exclusives (Smokin' Aces, Grindhouse, Hot Fuzz, The Kingdom, Hannibal Rising)


Those movies are not even out yet ...how do you know they are good or they will do well at the box office? And here you are complaining about BD fanboys? This is the HDTV Software Media Discussion Forum ...not the HD DVD software forum.

You can't list crap movies like AVP and Dodgeball as hits because they gross a decent total, and then discredit Smokin' Aces and Good Shepherd because of their ratings on rotten tomatoes. It doesn't work that way.


Dodgeball $114 mil
Alien Vs. Predator $80 mil

Good Shepherd $58 mil
Smokin' Aces $0 (I think it just opened today)

Numbers are not subjective.

Thanks for the correction on the data ...it was First Blood II that grossed over $150 mil. I do not count imports so everything you stated from other foreign distributers DOES NOT count. Major hit is what considered to be box office successes. No way does it necessary a comment on the quality of the movie. As for the critically acclaimed titles, yes they were subjective but overall, they were acclaimed. You listed several new titles which in your opinion are acclaimed. Either they are too new or they are a mixed bag. Smoking Aces opens this week? Its currently holds a 27% rating on RottenTomatoes. The Good Shepard is a mixed bag ...55% rating at Rottentomatoes. Again, this is all subjective. Even with all your criticism, it still does not change my point. As for all the Disney films, I am just going by what they announced.

I'm reminded of an article I read about the DVD sales of Office Space. It was released on a rather lackluster DVD by Fox. The movie only grossed $10 million in theaters. But the DVD sales took off, and its sales were so good that they were ahead of so-called "blockbuster/major hit movies" from Fox's catalog. So much so that Fox was embarrassed by what it was outselling.

nice comeback.

Most realize that the amount of money a movie makes is not always (if ever) proportional to artistic quality. Its more related to the date of release, its competition at the time, and (mostly) how well it was advertised.

J

Every single catagory, Blu-Ray has more ...from blockbuster hits to acclaimed movies to classics. Being successful at the box office is not a comment on the quality of the film. If you like the artistic films, there are more of those on the Blu-Ray side ...it depends on your preference.

Lets take a look at the "classics" shall we? Everyone agrees Pyscho is a classic but is it heads and shoulders above The Graduate or A Bridge too Far or The Bridge on the River Kwai or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? Is Pride and Prejudice that much better than Finding Neverland or Sense and Sensibility? How about Children of Men ...is really more acclaimed than Platoon or Master and Commander or Glory? Considering Children of Men only received 2 Oscar nominations just recently, I think not. For every film some may think is quality on the HD DVD side, there are at least 3 titles on the Blu-Ray side that is comparable.

Oh and another thing, being a blockbuster hit does not mean its not artistic. Casino Royale, Chicago, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are a few examples of critically acclaimed films that were big hits. Sometimes a rare film works on every level, it appeals to virtually everyone. Don't begrudge Blu-Ray just because it has more blockbusters. It has more of everything else too.

I know I like to buy every movie that makes over $100 million. That way you know it's good.

What is the point you are trying to make? That BD is better because it has a bigger library of crap films that have made lots of money?

Just answering a question about what is considered as hits. Its not a comment on quality. If you want those, Blu-Ray has a lot of those too. See above.

Another big assumption. We only know about 20 out of 100 titles. We don't have any idea what the other 80 will be.


We don't know, because they've only announced 20 of 100 titles.


This is a huge assumption. You don't know anything about the remainder of Universal's upcoming releases. You don't know exactly how many there are. You don't know if they will be catalogue titles or not, and you do not know how successful they will be.

Oh please ...and you guys are not making assumptions about Blu-Ray. Have they announced ALL of their titles? The things you said about Universal also applies to the Blu-Ray studios.

Higher sales figures are certainly "better" in the context of studios and formats. Everything else is just personal taste which is pointless to discuss. Much like this thread. For a worthwhile thread look at Talkst8's box office figures.

Anyone who thinks their personal taste in movies is a worthy topic for debate on this forum has stepped outside the bounds of sanity. Either that or they run Secrets.

The trolls have been working overtime since yesterday doing their best to trivialize Universal's announcement, but it isn't working. They have announced an impressive list of films, and they still have 80 more titles to announce for 2007..

I couldn't agree more! Personally Universal has most of the titles I want. I'll only rent BD never buy. I've already watched 12 Monkeys three times and I seldom watch any movie more than once. Universal is doing a great job in giving Blu-Ray the finger. Keep it up Universal and I'll keep on buying!

Cheers,

Grant

For a worthwhile thread look at Talkst8's box office figures.
Bwahahahahahahahaaaaa! Worthwhile to someone with an agenda and a huge slant....which fortunately is why it has slipped back several pages:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9508551#post9508551

I questioned in another thread: Does anyone know if the '300 titles' announced for 2007 for HDDVD included the 100 titles recently announced by Universal?

If this is in addition to the original 300, then there will be a lot of titles available this year!

I questioned in another thread: Does anyone know if the '300 titles' announced for 2007 for HDDVD included the 100 titles recently announced by Universal?

If this is in addition to the original 300, then there will be a lot of titles available this year!

To my knowledge, the 100 titles is what Universal will be releasing. The other 200 titles will be from neutral studios and Weinstein.

To my knowledge, the 100 titles is what Universal will be releasing. The other 200 titles will be from neutral studios and Weinstein.

I am still curious to know if the original 300 included the 100 from universal. The universal announcement was three weeks after CES announcements.

I am still curious to know if the original 300 included the 100 from universal. The universal announcement was three weeks after CES announcements.
Yes, the 300+ number includes Universals planned releases. They just took a while to announce some more specifics about what they're planning for this year.

wrong thread.

Again, movie tastes are subjective.

[...]

You can't list crap movies like AVP and Dodgeball as hits because they gross a decent totalAgreed, tastes are subjective, but the box office numbers reflect what the general public thought of a film. Films don't get millions and millions of dollars in grosses by being horrible films (no matter what you think of them). Fact is, Blu-ray Disc has a much wider palette of films to pull from; classics, critically acclaimed, action, comedy, you name it. HD DVD has.... Universal? And even that's likely to change in the months ahead as it becomes clear that BD is winning.

As far as trolls go, it's HD DVD fanbois (such as yourself) spewing their bias in movies onto the facts of what the public decided (box office results) that are causing the problems here. It's nice that you think AvP was "crap", but you know what? The folks who pushed that film over $80 million (gross) probably care less about what you think than I do.

Let's try to keep silly biases out of this; if you start a sentence with "I like" or "I dislike" (or some rewording thereof that contains the same meaning) then maybe you ought to stop right there and think about what you're trying to convince people of.

Agreed, tastes are subjective, but the box office numbers reflect what the general public thought of a film. Films don't get millions and millions of dollars in grosses by being horrible films (no matter what you think of them). Fact is, Blu-ray Disc has a much wider palette of films to pull from; classics, critically acclaimed, action, comedy, you name it. HD DVD has.... Universal? And even that's likely to change in the months ahead as it becomes clear that BD is winning.

Jackass I & II were both big hits financially -- if you try to claim these are good movies that will drive a format then you have already lost all credibility.

How you come to the realization that Blu-Ray has better films in every genre is beyond me. Classics?!? HD-DVD has Spartacus, The Sting, Casablanca, The Deer Hunter, Forbidden Planet, Adventures Of Robin Hood, The Searchers, Grand Prix, The Dirty Dozen, Mutiny On the Bounty, Psycho coming this year and other Hitchcock classics -- where are the great classic films on Blu-Ray?

Comedies? HD-DVD has some of the greatest comedies EVER - Animal House, Blazing Saddles, Caddyshack, The Breakfast Club, Fast Times At Ridgemont High - and they even have announced some of the biggest grossing / critically acclaimed comedies ever in Liar, Liar, Bruce Almighty, Meet the Fockers, Brazil, Big Lebowski and the Blues Brothers. If you want to compare DUMB comedies aimed at pubescent boys, then BD certainly takes the crown. Click, Talledega Nights, RV, Little Man, Benchwarmers, Employee Of the Month -- great cinema there. Combine these with their great action classics like Ultraviolet, AVP, xXx, Basic Instinct 2, Stealth, SWAT, Into the Blue, A Knight's Tale, Silent Hill, Big Hit, Gone In 60 Seconds, Transporter, Crank, All the King's Men, The Covenent, Flyboys! These garbage films represent nearly a third of the current BD exclusives, and if you're going to defend these movies as "good" then you have absolutely no taste in films or you're about 12 years old.

As far as trolls go, it's HD DVD fanbois (such as yourself) spewing their bias in movies onto the facts of what the public decided (box office results) that are causing the problems here. It's nice that you think AvP was "crap", but you know what? The folks who pushed that film over $80 million (gross) probably care less about what you think than I do.

You find me a good review of AVP from a reliable critic and I'll change my tune. I saw this movie on HBO-HD, and it was so stupid it isn't even funny. I loved Predator and the Alien films, but this dreck was a waste of celluloid. Here's some great reviews of the movie for you to chew on:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/alien_vs_predator/

Jackass I & II were both big hits financially -- if you try to claim these are good movies that will drive a format then you have already lost all credibility.

You find me a good review of AVP from a reliable critic and I'll change my tune. I saw this movie on HBO-HD, and it was so stupid it isn't even funny. I loved Predator and the Alien films, but this dreck was a waste of celluloid. Here's some great reviews of the movie for you to chew on:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/alien_vs_predator/

I don't know how many times I have to say it on this thread. A MOVIE BEING A BOX OFFICE HIT IS IN NO WAY A COMMENT ON THE QUALITY OF THE MOVIE. Can't you guys read? I never said AvP was a good movie but it was a bigger hit(Box Office) than either The Good Shepherd or Smokin' Aces. Do you have an argument with that?

How you come to the realization that Blu-Ray has better films in every genre is beyond me. Classics?!? HD-DVD has Spartacus, The Sting, Casablanca, The Deer Hunter, Forbidden Planet, Adventures Of Robin Hood, The Searchers, Grand Prix, The Dirty Dozen, Mutiny On the Bounty, Psycho coming this year and other Hitchcock classics -- where are the great classic films on Blu-Ray?

Comedies? HD-DVD has some of the greatest comedies EVER - Animal House, Blazing Saddles, Caddyshack, The Breakfast Club, Fast Times At Ridgemont High - and they even have announced some of the biggest grossing / critically acclaimed comedies ever in Liar, Liar, Bruce Almighty, Meet the Fockers, Brazil, Big Lebowski and the Blues Brothers. If you want to compare DUMB comedies aimed at pubescent boys, then BD certainly takes the crown. Click, Talledega Nights, RV, Little Man, Benchwarmers, Employee Of the Month -- great cinema there. Combine these with their great action classics like Ultraviolet, AVP, xXx, Basic Instinct 2, Stealth, SWAT, Into the Blue, A Knight's Tale, Silent Hill, Big Hit, Gone In 60 Seconds, Transporter, Crank, All the King's Men, The Covenent, Flyboys! These garbage films represent nearly a third of the current BD exclusives, and if you're going to defend these movies as "good" then you have absolutely no taste in films or you're about 12 years old.

Umm I was going by the two lists of announced titles by both camps ...NOT the total catagories or the current titles available by both camps. Its nice of you to cherry pick all the fillers titles on BD and compare to decent HD DVD titles ...try again.

Jackass I & II were both big hits financially -- if you try to claim these are good movies that will drive a format then you have already lost all credibility.

[snip remainder of biased opinion]The box office success of a movie seems like it should reasonably reflect the success of the movie on DVD (and likely high-def formats). Just because you or I would not like the film doesn't mean there aren't a similar number of consumers that saw it at the box office that would also want to own it.

Sitting here on a forum and thumping your chest saying "that stuff is CRAP" doesn't change the fact that a good number of people LIKED THAT CRAP and that it WILL SELL.

You find me a good review of AVP from a reliable critic and I'll change my tune.Reviews are WORTHLESS. A movie can get horrid reviews and still get great box office success. Reviews do not reflect what the movie-going public likes or dislikes in any meaningful way (as opposed to box office numbers, which do not have an opinion or an objective or a bias; either the movie does well or it bombs, good or not). Again, your opinion (and even my opinion) on AvP are irrelevant. And for what it's worth, I thought AvP was horrible! But it'll still sell, and that's the important thing to keep in mind.

The point here all along has been that movies that do well in the box office are, by and large, only going to be available on Blu-ray Disc (or, alternately, were released by a BD-exclusive studio). Whether you or I like a particular film or think it's valuable or worth owning is irrelevant if the general public does think it was worth seeing (and then likely owning).

I don't know how many times I have to say it on this thread. A MOVIE BEING A BOX OFFICE HIT IS IN NO WAY A COMMENT ON THE QUALITY OF THE MOVIE. Can't you guys read? I never said AvP was a good movie but it was a bigger hit(Box Office) than either The Good Shepherd or Smokin' Aces. Do you have an argument with that?

Am I missing something...are you comparing box office number of "AvP" and "Smokin's Aces" even though "Aces" just opened ... and saying "AvP" WAS a bigger hit over something that has not even run the circuit and accumulated the results yet ... and asking if anyone has an argument with that?

If all you BD fanboys were to be believed about Universal's library being crappy, why did you spread rumors they were going neutral before CES ? If it's crap, surely you don't want it on BR, right ?

You guys crack me up. If these titles were being announced for BR, you would have 20 threads heralding them as the second coming.

If all you BD fanboys were to be believed about Universal's library being crappy, why did you spread rumors they were going neutral before CES ? If it's crap, surely you don't want it on BR, right ?

You guys crack me up. If these titles were being announced for BR, you would have 20 threads heralding them as the second coming.

Cough Cough"Fox and Disney are going Neutral at CES" Cough Cough

Yes that statement works both ways. As for that poster above I personally would take Jackass 1 and 2 over Spartacus, The Sting, Casablanca, The Deer Hunter, Forbidden Planet, Adventures Of Robin Hood, The Searchers, Grand Prix, The Dirty Dozen, Mutiny On the Bounty, Psycho coming this year and other Hitchcock classics COMBINED. I dont care what some boring old guy sitting in a room thinks about the "quality" of a movie. Jackass and AVP were wonderfully entertaining movies. Some people should learn how to have fun and enjoy movies and life.

Cough Cough"Fox and Disney are going Neutral at CES" Cough Cough

Yes that statement works both ways. As for that poster above I personally would take Jackass 1 and 2 over Spartacus, The Sting, Casablanca, The Deer Hunter, Forbidden Planet, Adventures Of Robin Hood, The Searchers, Grand Prix, The Dirty Dozen, Mutiny On the Bounty, Psycho coming this year and other Hitchcock classics COMBINED. I dont care what some boring old guy sitting in a room thinks about the "quality" of a movie. Jackass and AVP were wonderfully entertaining movies. Some people should learn how to have fun and enjoy movies and life.

Did I just read that wrong or did you just say you think Jackass is a better movie than Casablanca?? :eek:

Did I just read that wrong or did you just say you think Jackass is a better movie than Casablanca?? :eek:

You read it right. Jackass was more entertaining to me. Im not saying its right but Im saying I know many, many other people who agree with me.

And, how many threads and polls have there been stating that a couple of Blu-ray studios would go neutral around CES? Mainly Disney being one of them. Were they started by Blu-ray fanboys, or HD-DVD fanboys? I personally like some of the titles that Universal has announced. I have them on DVD. I'm new to posting on this forum, but I have been reading from this forum for over a year. It amazes me that both sides to this forum are taking this stuff a little too personal. No matter what I believe, or anyone else on forums such as these, the ultimate deciding factor for this format war is sales. If more sales are generated on one side of this war, with more studio support; it makes logical sense that in the end, that will be the side that wins. The same thing happened when DVD first came out. I for one bought a $899 Sony DVD player back in March of 97. Then, months later Circuit City decides to make DIVX. Interestingly enough, most of the studios that supported Divx, now supports Blu-ray. After months of trying to make it fly, the CC sharefolders decided to call it quits. It wasn't until Oct. 98 before Fox, Disney and Paramount supported DVD. Do the math, it was over a year before all studios supported one format. As far as I can see, I see history repeating itself.

Now, its coming up to a year that HD-DVD has been on the market, and there have been some really good movies to come out from that side of the war. And some good ones on the BD side as well. This will drag out for some time, but I don't see it going on for more than two years.

But, my point to responding to this thread is this: I think that Universal's titles are good ones, some great! But, there are some that I will not buy again even if it would come to BD. I have read the statement of Universal's President regarding BD support; however, sales and corporate pressures from either side to capitulate will decide what format we will end up having. I still believe that it's too early to decide though.

Am I missing something...are you comparing box office number of "AvP" and "Smokin's Aces" even though "Aces" just opened ... and saying "AvP" WAS a bigger hit over something that has not even run the circuit and accumulated the results yet ... and asking if anyone has an argument with that?

I know Smokin Aces just opened this Friday but someone questioned me saying it was better and bigger hit than the movies I mentioned. Duh.

I am a HD DVD supporter- some of these posts are entertaining, most are not.

I don't know if either format is going to win but fanbois on both sides should realize that the amount of releases on both sides is very impressive- AND each side should thank the other- competition is encouraging an aggressive release schedule and hopefully quality transfers. Ironic that the competition is making both formats better may also lead to neither format having long term success.

I am a HD DVD supporter- some of these posts are entertaining, most are not.

I don't know if either format is going to win but fanbois on both sides should realize that the amount of releases on both sides is very impressive- AND each side should thank the other- competition is encouraging an aggressive release schedule and hopefully quality transfers. Ironic that the competition is making both formats better may also lead to neither format having long term success.

Amen to that.

I think we're all in agreement about one thing . . . AVP was a horrible movie.

Did I just read that wrong or did you just say you think Jackass is a better movie than Casablanca?? :eek:

Well ...my nine year old son would feel the same way. ;)

You read it right. Jackass was more entertaining to me. Im not saying its right but Im saying I know many, many other people who agree with me.
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I agree with "theforce", to me it's all about entertainment value. I'm 26 years old, I'm sorry that I would rather watch Jackass than Casablanca, but it's the truth, I was more entertained by Jackass. You guys might not agree with it, but it's my choice, not yours.

Some of my favorite movies are ones that are hated by 90% of critics and 100% of all you wannabe movie critics. I could give a sh*t less about "artistic value", I just want to be entertained.

This is the reason I buy movies on both formats, because there are tons of movies on each side with great entertainment value.

You would rather buy Jackass than Casablanca? Interesting. Me personally, I'll see Jackass (as I did Taladega Nights), but it's not something I'd pay $25 or so for repeated viewings. OTOH, I'd pay more for a title like Casablanca. For me, one is a rental the other a purchase. To each his own.....a Justin Timberlake CD is probably likely to sell more than a U2 or Beatles album. So, movies are no different.

I'm 26 years old, I'm sorry that I would rather watch Jackass than Casablanca, but it's the truth, I was more entertained by Jackass

Print this post and put it in a sealed envelope, marked "Do not open until Jan. 28, 2021". On that date, open the envelope, and let us know if you're opinion about the entertainment value of those two movies has changed. I'll bet it will, and maybe a lot sooner than that.

I have seen Casablanca two times and I have not seen Jackass ...will probably not. The thought of owning Jackass on HD is ermm foreign to me ...to put it nicely. Then again, Casablanca is not a must have title for me either. It would nice to own something if I ever got around to having an impulse buy moment with Casablanca in front of me ...if its on Blu-ray. It probably will eventually happen sooner or later.

Usually I would rather have a burger and coke, or nachos and beer rather than a filet mignon with a glass of red wine. It's not just the price, either. Special things require some effort to process and lose their specialness if you overdo them.

I thought Jackass was a riot. Those guys deserve mucho credit for not only coming up with and doing all those stunts, but putting together a fun and well paced movie. I even enjoy tuning in to Wild Boys from time to time, although it's not as great or diverse. So while I might "rather watch" one of those on a random day, I wouldn't dare to say that they are better movies than Spartacus, Casablanca, Deer Hunter, etc. Those movies are the cream of over 50 years of studio work and have incredible power to move the human spirit. But, they require some amount of effort to be invested to enjoy.

And, how many threads and polls have there been stating that a couple of Blu-ray studios would go neutral around CES? Mainly Disney being one of them. Were they started by Blu-ray fanboys, or HD-DVD fanboys? I personally like some of the titles that Universal has announced. I have them on DVD. I'm new to posting on this forum, but I have been reading from this forum for over a year. It amazes me that both sides to this forum are taking this stuff a little too personal. No matter what I believe, or anyone else on forums such as these, the ultimate deciding factor for this format war is sales. If more sales are generated on one side of this war, with more studio support; it makes logical sense that in the end, that will be the side that wins. The same thing happened when DVD first came out. I for one bought a $899 Sony DVD player back in March of 97. Then, months later Circuit City decides to make DIVX. Interestingly enough, most of the studios that supported Divx, now supports Blu-ray. After months of trying to make it fly, the CC sharefolders decided to call it quits. It wasn't until Oct. 98 before Fox, Disney and Paramount supported DVD. Do the math, it was over a year before all studios supported one format. As far as I can see, I see history repeating itself.

Now, its coming up to a year that HD-DVD has been on the market, and there have been some really good movies to come out from that side of the war. And some good ones on the BD side as well. This will drag out for some time, but I don't see it going on for more than two years.

But, my point to responding to this thread is this: I think that Universal's titles are good ones, some great! But, there are some that I will not buy again even if it would come to BD. I have read the statement of Universal's President regarding BD support; however, sales and corporate pressures from either side to capitulate will decide what format we will end up having. I still believe that it's too early to decide though.

I agree for the most part (at least I'm not the only one noticing the ex-Divx supporters are the current BD supporters), but I doubt we'll end up with a winner and one format. I think both formats will survive as a niche product until something else comes along, kind of what happened with laserdisc.

I agree for the most part (at least I'm not the only one noticing the ex-Divx supporters are the current BD supporters), but I doubt we'll end up with a winner and one format. I think both formats will survive as a niche product until something else comes along, kind of what happened with laserdisc.

The Divx/DVD argument is a pointless non comparible thought. Those were 2 different concepts. BD and HD are the same concept just being pushed by different teams. Divx was a bad idea while both BD and HD are great ideas.