I was just watching this week's episode of Heroes on my Tivo last night, thinking about how great it should look on HD DVD, when it is released this August. But suddenly a fear hit me in the pit of my stomach. What if Universal makes this a set of combo discs? I'm really looking forward to the set, but if it's a combo I will not buy it because I will have NO confidence that it will play properly on my Toshiba A1. Of the last 4 Universal combos I have played, 3 have had major issues, one prevented me from watching the second half of the film. These are the only HD DVDs I've had problems with. Surely Universal realizes by now that they have a problem, and they are either working to fix it, or will soon drop combos for day&date like they did for their catalog releases.

Please, with spanish subtitle!!!!!!!!!!!

They won't make HEROES a combo. It would be not logical for them to do so.

Please, with spanish subtitle!!!!!!!!!!!

+1, A lot of people need spanish subtitle :( :( :(

Just release it, and I'll be happy!!!!!!

I was just watching this week's episode of Heroes on my Tivo last night, thinking about how great it should look on HD DVD, when it is released this August. But suddenly a fear hit me in the pit of my stomach. What if Universal makes this a set of combo discs? I'm really looking forward to the set, but if it's a combo I will not buy it because I will have NO confidence that it will play properly on my Toshiba A1. Of the last 4 Universal combos I have played, 3 have had major issues, one prevented me from watching the second half of the film. These are the only HD DVDs I've had problems with. Surely Universal realizes by now that they have a problem, and they are either working to fix it, or will soon drop combos for day&date like they did for their catalog releases.
Why would it be a combo??? :confused:

It's a box set.

Love the show.. I'll get it no matter what they do with it :P

Why would it be a combo??? :confused:

It's a box set.
OK.
So, you are saying its impossible to make combos if there is more than one disc? Or that Universal won't want to make more money on it because its a box set? Or are you saying the boxes have some sort of magical aura that actively prohibits combos from entering them?
Just curious.
J
P.S. I'll probably get it anyway.

There's only one thing that will stop me from getting the HD release - combos.

Unfortunately, I feel there's a good chance they will go combo. They have with every other new to home video release.

It's most likely going to be a combo. What was the last time a NEW Universal release was HD DVD only? I'm hoping it's not a combo though, it'll keep prices down.

If they want to issue Heroes as a combo, they can give me single-sided discs with fries and a coke!

They won't make HEROES a combo. It would be not logical for them to do so.

How is it any less logical than making any other HD DVD release a combo?

It's most likely going to be a combo.

While we won't know one way or the other without an announcement, I disagree. I would say that it's most likely NOT going to be a combo.

Providing an alternate version of a new release film is one thing, providing an alternate version of 23 episodes is another. From a cost and logistics perspective, I don't think this'll happen.

Has Heroes been released on SD DVD? If it hasn't Universal should ONLY release a HD DVD/DVD combo and completely skip the SD only release. It is time for Universal to completely humiliate the BD only studos.

Has Heroes been released on SD DVD? If it hasn't Universal should ONLY release a HD DVD/DVD combo and completely skip the SD only release.

I've been waiting for either Warner or Universal to do just that on something... I'm not sure that Heroes is the best option. But it would be awesome. :)

I've been waiting for either Warner or Universal to do just that on something... I'm not sure that Heroes is the best option. But it would be awesome. :)

They have to start with one movie or box set to see how it fairs. It is never too late to start playing hard ball with the BDA. Personally I wouldn't want to be in the room with any BDA members if Universal decided to do this, it would cause all the BDA members to crap their pants :eek: :eek: :eek:

Why would it be a combo??? :confused:

It's a box set.

Paramount has stated that "Star Trek: The Original Series" HD DVD sets will be combos later this year... so I wouldn't be surprised at all if "Heroes" is the same way from Universal.

~Alan

Actually combo format of this release, if the only format (no sd release) would be a good idea. This will sell a ton of copies and would be a nice boost to player sales if there was only a combo version available and fans already bought it to play on their standard def players and wondered what the hd side looked like.

I wondering how many discs will be used for the series since HD DVD holds 31gigs of info, could they pull this off with just 2 discs.

Has Heroes been released on SD DVD? If it hasn't Universal should ONLY release a HD DVD/DVD combo and completely skip the SD only release. It is time for Universal to completely humiliate the BD only studos.

Well given Universal's combo issues, I have a feeling it would be Universal who would be humiliated.

I know I know, it's just something Blu-Ray fanatics have blown out of proportion, right? ;)

Well given Universal's combo issues, I have a feeling it would be Universal who would be humiliated.

I know I know, it's just something Blu-Ray fanatics have blown out of proportion, right? ;)
I thought the issue was only on the HD side, the SD side played fine?

If they want to market a combo disc make it a two disc pack with both an HD disc and a SD disc instead of one disc that has issues

Can anyone explain why they think the combo disc is a good idea? I mean, it rapes us as the register, makes HD DVD look more expensive than Blu-Ray(and you really have to want it to achieve that) and virtually noone with an HD player is going to lower themselves to watching it on an SD player(I know I wouldn't).

Pisses me off everytime they do this. Lady in the Water? Combo - $30 *minimum* at retail. Same goes for pretty much every other idiotic combo disc. It's almost like they don't want you to buy this stuff.

Quite honestly, I think Toshiba shot themselves in the foot with this dumb, dumb idea. They are, sadly, already having enough issues catching up to Blu-Ray but then stuff like these combo discs and their astronomical pricing just pushes potention HD DVD buyers even further away when they see the Blu-Ray release is actually cheaper.

Smokin' Aces really pissed me off. Went to Wal-Mart, noticed they had a slot(empty, of course) for Smokin' Aces on HD DVD. Price? $20. I am not kidding you. $20 for a combo disc. I almost passed out right there in the store. Frantically I asked an employee if they had any in the back. "No". Of course not, this was too good to be true. Tried a few days later, still none in stock. Went back for one final chance. No Smokin Aces...but, and this is the best part, now it's $30! Asked an employee if they had any in stock. His answer: We should be getting some in soon. Priceless.

As big of an HD DVD fan as I am, these combo discs are making me want to sell my player, my 8 to 10 discs and just pick up a cheap PS3 just for the discounted Blu-Ray player inside it.

Can anyone explain why they think the combo disc is a good idea?

The logic behind it -- which may or may not work out -- is that people may have several standard DVD players in their house... multiple bedrooms, PCs, portable players, minivan units, etc. But maybe only one HD DVD player.

Having a combo makes the disc backward-compatible with all of your equipment.

In my opinion, this is a *fantastic* idea... as long as (a) they work and (b) they are priced the same as other titles. So far, neither one of these are the case. (Although I've not had any issue with the Universal combos.)

I thought the issue was only on the HD side, the SD side played fine?

That is correct.

My point is Heroes stands to be Universal's highest profile release on HD-DVD to date when it comes out. It will likely bring new people into the format. I don't think they want a new HD-DVD owner's first impression of the format to be "Cannot play disc".

And for the record, I would never use my combos in any SD players since I would want them to stay pristine for use in the HD player.

I'd personally prefer them to be combo disks. I'd like to be able to watch a few episodes on my 480p projector in my bedroom, so a dvd side would be great. I haven't had any problems with combo disks, and everybody who has who has also tried simply cleaning/boiling their disk seems to report that that fixed the problem, so I don't see much to worry about here personally.

You don't mind the pricing!?

You don't mind the pricing!?
*GASP* Ohmygodit'sacouplebucksmoreIdidn'tgetintothishobbytosavemone y!

Sorry for the run on sentence, I'm just trying to match the level of exasperation you seem to feel on a subject which to me is so far beyond trifling it's funny. :p

$39.99 list for discs with a side you don't want/need: annoying.

$39.99 list for discs with an HD side that won't function: infuriating.

I didn't get into this hobby to save money either, but that doesn't mean I like being bent over a barrel. :)

*GASP* Ohmygodit'sacouplebucksmoreIdidn'tgetintothishobbytosavemone y!

Sorry for the run on sentence, I'm just trying to match the level of exasperation you seem to feel on a subject which to me is so far beyond trifling it's funny. :p

You know what's funnier? This guy handing your bottom to you. :)

$39.99 list for discs with a side you don't want/need: annoying.

$39.99 list for discs with an HD side that won't function: infuriating.

I didn't get into this hobby to save money either, but that doesn't mean I like being bent over a barrel. :)

What, are you guys kidding? You're posting on this forum, so obviously you have access to the internet. Ever heard of Amazon? $25 shipped second day for all my combos. Sure, I'd prefer them to be priced at $18 like the regular disks, but like I said I didn't get into this hobby to save money. Compared to what I expected and was prepared to pay for HD-DVDs when I first bought my player last summer, $18 seems cheap. $25 is well within my expectations.

"Handing me my bottom" indeed. heh

Well speaking for myself, I wasn't trying to handle your bottom. :D

Remember, not everyone got in on the 10% off deal or is signed up for Prime.

Even still, I don't mind paying the equivalent discounted price of a $39.99 list price disc if it's one of Paramount's 2-disc sets, or even a bare bones Fox BD, since I know those will very likely be functional.

I'm just saying there's added value being attached to combos that really isn't there IMO. For one, it's obviously introduced playability issues since none of Uni's single-sided disc seem to have a problem. Also, when WB combos are compared to their BD counterparts, there's a $5 difference. Sure, that's not much to us big spenders, :), but still I shelled out ~$5 for something I don't want nor need with a combo. If I buy five combos, I could have potentially had another movie.

Well given Universal's combo issues, I have a feeling it would be Universal who would be humiliated.

I know I know, it's just something Blu-Ray fanatics have blown out of proportion, right? ;)

Yeah it isn't a big deal

It is a batch of bad discs. Everyone knows HD DVDs works great, the recent batch of bad HD DVD/DVD combos indicate a manufacturing error which wasn't there before, ergo it can be resolved easily.

If combos were only $5 more then it wouldn't be a problem. But $39.99 for Children of Men is ridculous. I wouldn't mind seeing all combos priced @ the Amazon Combo Price of $27.95, which is a $4 premium over the standard $24.99 of some HD DVD only movies @ Best Buy and Target, but an extra $15 is stupid.

Yeah it isn't a big deal

It is a batch of bad discs. Everyone knows HD DVDs works great, the recent batch of bad HD DVD/DVD combos indicate a manufacturing error which wasn't there before, ergo it can be resolved easily.


Anxiously awaiting that resolution.....seriously. They need to say something.

I guess we'll get some idea of how things are going when Alpha Dog and The Hitcher hit next week.

Anxiously awaiting that resolution.....seriously. They need to say something.

I guess we'll get some idea of how things are going when Alpha Dog and The Hitcher hit next week.

So how many bad discs have you had? The problem has also been restricted to combo discs.

So how many bad discs have you had? The problem has also been restricted to combo discs.



Three.

Children Of Men, Good Shepherd, Smokin' Aces.

I got rid of the latter two, but there's no way I'm giving up CoM.

All 3 worked on my A1, but all 3 wouldn't play on my new A20.

I had Hollywoodland and sold it in February, and again that played fine on my A1. I have to wonder how it would have fared on the A20.

So basically, if I hadn't been an early adopter and just bought my first machine this month, I'd be screwed. As it is I have to keep my A1 around just for CoM.

I'm well aware of the history of the situation. Believe it or not, I've always feared combos for exactly this reason-especially given how many bad DVD-18's Uni passed around in the past few years. And unfortunately, my fears were realized.

$39.99 list for discs with a side you don't want/need: annoying.

$39.99 list for discs with an HD side that won't function: infuriating.

I didn't get into this hobby to save money either, but that doesn't mean I like being bent over a barrel. :)

Very well said. I may have to add this to my signature.

Paramount has stated that "Star Trek: The Original Series" HD DVD sets will be combos later this year... so I wouldn't be surprised at all if "Heroes" is the same way from Universal.

~Alan
I missed that one, why the hell would Paramount do that with ST? TOS has been out on DVD for years so, anyone buying the HD DVD would most likely already own the SD version. Why force us to buy the SD version again? Combos are just an excuse to justify higher prices to the consumer so the studios can rip us off for a few extra dollars. Combos are the sole reason I have been buying more BDs recently and that will continue until the HD DVD studios stop this madness.

Three.

Children Of Men, Good Shepherd, Smokin' Aces.

I got rid of the latter two, but there's no way I'm giving up CoM.

All 3 worked on my A1, but all 3 wouldn't play on my new A20.

I had Hollywoodland and sold it in February, and again that played fine on my A1. I have to wonder how it would have fared on the A20.

So basically, if I hadn't been an early adopter and just bought my first machine this month, I'd be screwed. As it is I have to keep my A1 around just for CoM.

I'm well aware of the history of the situation. Believe it or not, I've always feared combos for exactly this reason-especially given how many bad DVD-18's Uni passed around in the past few years. And unfortunately, my fears were realized.

Children of Men, Good Shepherd, and Smokin Aces

All 3 of which had reported problems which indicates a manufacturing error of the disc. If it was such a rampant problem then Superman Returns and The Departed would be having the same issues. But since it occured with three movies from the same studio which were released so closely together the only logical conclusion is a striking error.

Funny, the only disc I had a problem with on my A1 FW2.0 was Happy Feet, and it's WB. The replacement disc worked just fine. After cleaning the Netflix-abused Smokin Aces, it played just fine aw well.

How would an HD/DVD combo work for season boxsets? Normal SD ratio is about 4-5 episodes per disc. Isn't it higher for HD-DVDs? The number of HD discs needed wouldn't match the number of SD discs needed and things would just be odd. Unless they put less HD episodes per disc than they could fit, but that'd be a waste of money and wouldn't exactly showcase all the benefits of HD-DVD...

Well given Universal's combo issues, I have a feeling it would be Universal who would be humiliated.

I know I know, it's just something Blu-Ray fanatics have blown out of proportion, right? ;)

I am not a BD fanboy by any stretch, but there is something going on with Universals "CoM", "The Good Shepherd", and "Hollywoodland". I have had problems with all three and now am on my second version of all three with different sets of problems. They will be shipping back to Universal shortly. The only commonality I see is that they are "combos." All my other discs play fine.

It's my opinion that combos are in fact hurting the format more than they are helping it.

The only way combos are logical is if they do NOT produce a SD DVD version. Combo only, and priced the same as a standard HD DVD. Otherwise I fail to see the point....if someone wants the SD version, they're going to save 10 or 15 bucks and just buy it. I know I will get 1 or 2 responses from people saying "combo's have been very useful to me"...well you're in the minority there, bud. J6P doesn't have the foresight to drop an extra $10-$15 on a combo disc because he might get a HD DVD player someday. It doesn't work like that.

Combos are a fatal mistake and are what I dislike most about this format. I think they need to be done away with completely. All it does is create more confusion around the high def formats for no discernible reason. We all know where to get good deals on HD DVDs, but J6P buys his at Best Buy. And when he sees a combo disc for $39.99 or some obscene price, he'll just be all the more turned off high def, slowing adoption even more. Heck here in Canada I've seen combo's priced at $54.99 in some store. It's disgusting.

I just really, really hate combos. The issues combos seem to have on some players (including mine) is a whole different story I won't even dive into. I am not in it for the disc art either, before you think that. I couldn't care less what's on top of the disc. It's in the case or in the player. I don't stare at it.

How would an HD/DVD combo work for season boxsets? Normal SD ratio is about 4-5 episodes per disc. Isn't it higher for HD-DVDs? The number of HD discs needed wouldn't match the number of SD discs needed and things would just be odd. Unless they put less HD episodes per disc than they could fit, but that'd be a waste of money and wouldn't exactly showcase all the benefits of HD-DVD...

It would be the same. Remember each HD DVD version of the show is 1080p. So take an hour show... which is in reality ~43 minutes worth of show. At four episodes that is just 8 minutes shy of 3 hours. 8.5 GB DVD can handle 3 hrs worth of MPEG 2 video with DD 224 kbps or whatever DVD uses, the HD DVD side will handle the 3 hrs worth of VC-1 video with DD+ 1.5 mbps. Or Universal could surprise us and give us a Dolby TrueHD track!

Children of Men, Good Shepherd, and Smokin Aces

All 3 of which had reported problems which indicates a manufacturing error of the disc. If it was such a rampant problem then Superman Returns and The Departed would be having the same issues. But since it occured with three movies from the same studio which were released so closely together the only logical conclusion is a striking error.

I think we're on the same page here. I'm not indicting the format. I hope they already know what's wrong and have corrected it. Like I said, Alpha Dog, The Hitcher and Breach should give us an idea of how things are going.

I believe the issues revolve almost entirely around 2007 Universal combos, not combos in general. However, since I have a way of buying WB discs that aren't combos (BD), Uni combos are the only combos I've had to buy lately.

I don't mind the combo discs...I wish they were priced better, but I think the prices will drop with adoption. Like someone else pointed out, I have one HD-DVD player and like 5 DVD players. I like the idea of it working in my portable while I'm on a trip.

Or are you saying the boxes have some sort of magical aura that actively prohibits combos from entering them?

Heh. :D

It's my opinion that combos are in fact hurting the format more than they are helping it.

The only way combos are logical is if they do NOT produce a SD DVD version. Combo only, and priced the same as a standard HD DVD. Otherwise I fail to see the point....if someone wants the SD version, they're going to save 10 or 15 bucks and just buy it. I know I will get 1 or 2 responses from people saying "combo's have been very useful to me"...well you're in the minority there, bud. J6P doesn't have the foresight to drop an extra $10-$15 on a combo disc because he might get a HD DVD player someday. It doesn't work like that.

Combos are a fatal mistake and are what I dislike most about this format. I think they need to be done away with completely. All it does is create more confusion around the high def formats for no discernible reason. We all know where to get good deals on HD DVDs, but J6P buys his at Best Buy. And when he sees a combo disc for $39.99 or some obscene price, he'll just be all the more turned off high def, slowing adoption even more. Heck here in Canada I've seen combo's priced at $54.99 in some store. It's disgusting.

I just really, really hate combos. The issues combos seem to have on some players (including mine) is a whole different story I won't even dive into. I am not in it for the disc art either, before you think that. I couldn't care less what's on top of the disc. It's in the case or in the player. I don't stare at it.

I agree. It's all about the pricing. Thing is, let's say a combo HD DVD is mercifully *only* priced at $34.99(I'm dreaming, yes, I know, they are always higher). The HD DVD version of the film would probably be at $19.99, right? Well, the SD version of the film is most likely $14.99 most places.

So, HD DVD non-combo disc: $20
SD DVD: $14.99
HD DVD Combo disc: $34.99

What these companies are basically doing is charging us the same price and writing it off as a "convenience" charge. Because they've graced us with the awesome ability to have one less case and disc, this is justification that they charge us the exact same price(if not more) for the combo disc. If they want to do combos, fine, but how about NOT making it mandatory? Make it like the "Special Edition" of the film(hell, they can release 22 different versions Cliffhanger, but they can't do this?) and then those who want it can get it, those who don't enjoy getting jacked, can just go for the regular version. ;)

Very well said. I may have to add this to my signature.

Heheheh, I would scream out "Paws off!" but it's more than 200 characters so noone gets to use it. ;)