What HD-DVD, Blu-ray disc, or D-Theater tape have you gotten lately? (Part 2)

Either way it's good news for potter people.

I'm not one of them.

 

Yes, that's the one. As the other poster noted, that's the only BD edition at this point. I sometimes saw a little stuttering in the video at the seamless branching points, but not enough to yank me out of the movie. Instead, the hi-rez image really pulled me into the movie. A film as measured and atmospheric as this one really needs a lot of visual detail and nuance to be immersive, in my experience, and the BD makes a huge difference in that respect.

I've looked at two of the supplements so far: "Watch the Skies" (a 1977 promo piece that gives new meaning to the phrase "stentorian") and the 30th anniversary interview with Spielberg, which is quite evocative and even moving on occasion. I envy Spielberg his apparently unshakable self-confidence.

 

Okay, that makes more sense then in terms of the pricing on "Close Encounters." I'm not sure what made me think it was three discs. But two discs make more sense in terms of the list of contents for the set I had seen. Getting this on Blu-Ray was actually a rare case of getting a movie I had wanted to own for awhile, but never got around to buying it on DVD, so I at least haven't had to double (or triple, etc.) dip for this one.

The pricing on "Blade Runner" also makes a bit more sense considering two of the discs are standard DVD's. Still, $27.95 or so on Amazon seems to be a pretty low price, even just for the 3 HD discs. I've never seen "Blade Runner" and had never had a lot of interest/motivation in seeing it, but I've been tempted to make a blind purchase at the price Amazon has the HD sets.

 

Good to see a larger BOGO sale for Blu-Ray titles. I already went with the BOGO on HD-DVD for the Potter films, but I managed to find two titles on the new Blu-Ray sale: "Good Night and Good Luck" and "Galapagos." Those were two titles I had some interest in, but didn't want to pay $20-$25 per title, so $9.98 each worked out pretty well. I'm glad that Amazon qualifies the orders for free shipping prior to the discount being applied, so I was able to get free shipping despite the price coming in at $19.95 after the discount.

I'm also interested to see something ("Good Night...") in HD shot in Black & White.

 

....this is a proposed T-shirt....

 

I can live without Mutiny, but I am going to hold on to my Robin Hood HD DVD. It will be some time before more releases like that show up. The New Line release, "Shoot em Up" is being reported to have used bitrates exceeding 40Mbps and if true, that means there will either not be an HD DVD release or it will require a separate encode. Maybe a hint that Warner is turning Blu?

Chris

 

Finally watched Blade Runner - Final Cut last night on HD-DVD as part of the 5 disc set - a truly cinematic experience. In the unlikely event that any forum members are considering this as a blind buy, just do it.

Tom

 

I was out spending my Christmas gift certificates today.

On HD-DVD.... Eastern Promises, Stardust, Heartbreak Kid

On BD.... Pan's Labyrinth

 

Isn't 40 Mbps the maximum for the video portion of the signal?

 

Supposedly. But it is unclear if the audio is in there as well. The Simpsons BD has the highest bitrates I've seen. It usually stays above 30Mpbs, and hits 42Mpbs sometimes

 

I watched "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on Blu-ray New Year's Eve. Yes, I know, I live a really exciting life, staying home and watching a movie when everybody else was out dancing and having fun. Oh well, the movie was only ok for Blu-ray, but that means it still looked fine and like most all other Warner two format releases. We are about half way through "Black Book" and it is really good.

Chris

 

Yes, the total calculated by the PS3 is combined audio/video.

Chris

 

We should check it by selecting uncompressed lossless PCM audio compared to lossy Dolby Digital audio, and we should be able to conclude it is audio and video combined. Just play the exact sequences.

Chris

 

New Line (like it's parent Warner) actually releases in both HD DVD and BD formats (Pan's Labyrinth is a good example), but since HD DVD is currently region-free they chose BD format for newer North American HDM releases (Hairspray, Shoot 'Em Up, etc.) claiming the films may still be in their theatrical runs in other regions of the globe...

 

I still have not seen Pan. Let me know who the picture quality is.

 

BRD is not a good example either, it BD

 

Have gotten lately (today) the following HD DVDs

• Meet The Fockers
• Dantes Peak
• Toshiba firmware version 2.4 (well, I guess it's not really an HD DVD is it?)

 

I just got in Bourne Ultimatum from an eBay win.

Anyone get Resident Evil Extinction on Blu-ray?
Wish it was available on HD-DVD.

 

It looks beautiful. I have the BR.

 

Thanks. It's on the list.

 

Finally got around to picking up "T-3" on Blu-ray. Although it's 1080i, it looks terrific. Warner evidently is going to repress this and provide replacement discs at some point and are taking names and addresses in the meantime...

 

Today received from amazon.com, Cat People HD DVD

amazon also threw in a schick quattro ... cool ... needed one, since my last free one is starting to get a bit dull, although it hasn't cut me yet.

 

I watched "Balls Of Fury" on a rental HD-DVD from Netflix. Looked good and is pretty funny.