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[Alcibiades]

The following is a complete list of released titles as well as those with solid release dates:


Currently Available
16 Blocks (Warner) <- COMBO
Aeon Flux (Paramount)
Apollo 13 (Universal)
Assault on Precinct 13 (Universal)
ATL (Warner) <- COMBO
Best of Get Out! Vol. 1 (HDNet)
Best of Get Out! Vol. 2 (HDNet)
Best of HDNet World Report Vol. 1 (HDNet)
Best of HDNet World Report Vol. 2 (HDNet)
Blazing Saddles (Warner)
Bourne Supremacy (Universal)
Cinderella Man (Universal)
Chronicles of Riddick (Universal)
Constantine (Warner)
Doom (Universal)
Dukes of Hazzard (Warner)
Enter the Dragon (Warner)
Firewall (Warner) <- COMBO
Four Brothers (Paramount)
Friday Night Lights (Universal)
The Fugitive (Warner)
Full Metal Jacket (Warner)
Goodfellas (Warner)
Guitarscape Planet (Concert Hot Spot)
Happy Gilmore (Universal)
Italian Job (Paramount)
Jarhead (Universal)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Warner) <- COMBO
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (Paramount)
Last Samurai (Warner)
Lethal Weapon (Warner)
The Manchurian Canidate (Paramount)
Million Dollar Baby (Warner)
Perfect Storm (Warner)
Phantom of the Opera (Warner)
Pitch Black (Universal)
Ray (Universal)
Rumor Has It (Warner) <- COMBO
Rundown (Universal)
Sahara (Paramount)
Serenity (Universal)
Sky Captain and the World of Tommorow (Paramount)
Sleepy Hollow (Paramount)
Swordfish (Warner)
Syriana (Warner)
Training Day (Warner)
U-571 (Universal)
U2: Rattle and Hum (Paramount)
Unforgiven (Warner)
Van Helsing (Universal)
View From Space With Heavenly Music (Concert Hot Spot)
We Were Soldiers (Paramount)


8/15
Animal House (Universal) <- COMBO
Unleashed (Universal) <- COMBO

8/22
Bone Collector (Universal)
Caddyshack (Warner)
Good Night, and Good Luck (Warner) <- COMBO
The Searchers (Warner)
Spy Game (Universal)

9/12
Galaxina (BCI)
Red Dragon (Universal)
Seabiscuit (Universal)
That’s the Way of the World (BCI)
Traffic (Universal)

9/19
Backdraft (Universal)

9/26
2 Fast 2 Furious (Universal)
Dazed and Confused (Universal) <- COMBO
End of Days (Universal)
The Fast and the Furious (Universal)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Universal)
Lake House (Warner) <- COMBO
Land of the Dead, George A. Romero's (Universal) <- COMBO
The New Orleans Concert (Concert Hot Spot) <- TWIN*
Tokyo Drift, The Fast and the Furious <- COMBO

10/10
Army of Darkness (Universal) <- COMBO
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Universal) <- COMBO
Waist Deep <- COMBO

10/24
Interpreter (Universal)
Slither (Universal) <- COMBO

12/5
Clerks 2 (Weinstein Co.)
Derailed (Weinstein Co.)
Poseidon (Warner)
Scary Movie 4 (Weinstein Co.)
Wolf Creek (Weinstein Co.)

12/12
DOA: Dead or Alive (Weinstein Co.)

12/26
Matador (Weinstein Co.)
Pulse (Weinstein Co.)



Pricing:

Universal - 29.98 Catalog, 34.98 COMBO Catalog, 39.98 COMBO New Release
Warner - 28.99 Catalog, 34.99 New Release, 39.99 COMBO New Release
Paramount - 29.98 List
Concert Hot Spot - 29.98 List
BCI - 24.98 List
Brentwood - 6.98 List
HDNet - 14.95 List (only available on hd.net)


*from what I've read, this disc is gonna have both the HD DVD and DVD versions on one side of the disc (so a single-sided hybrid)... the reasons most studios don't do this is because their replication lines don't support this (unlike Japan, which has had several of these releases)... Concert Hot Spot is an independent distributor though...


Titles which should get announcements VERY SOON:

-Terminator 3 (Warner)
-Dirty Dozen (Warner)
-BUBBLE (Magnolia)
-War Within (Magnolia)
-Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Magnolia)
-One Last Thing (Magnolia)
-World Extreme Cagefighting: Halloween Fury 1 (HDNet)
-World Extreme Cagefighting: Unfinished Business 2 (HDNet)
-Bikini Destinations: Hawaii (HDNet)
-Bikini Destinations: Mexico (HDNet)


Although I'd prefer Disney or Fox, it's nice to see independent releases, since I enjoy documentary stuff and non-mainstream stuff every once in a while...

 

[golem]

http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

9/26 - Tokyo Drift
10/17 - The Breakup
10/24 - Slither COMBO format


darn, I was hoping Tokyo Drift would be a COMBO, but they haven't announced the full specs so there is a slight chance maybe...

you actually want combos?

 

[Alcibiades]

yeah, definitely...

the reason I've been so reluctant on some releases is because they are HD DVD-only...

I'd prefer to have discs I could play anywhere, especially since then I can lend them to friends (yes, the kind that take care of discs)... also, if I take a movie to a friends house to watch it's convenient.... even if I own the DVD already, I could get rid of it in that case and save space....

I wish they would start releasing everything like that, or releasing two versions for those that want the DVD version attached (and I don't mind the $5 premium, though of course I wish they costs the same as other HD DVD's)...

luckily, Tokyo Drift is definitely a hybrid

 

[AlanHemberger]

1.2 (1.3 for some players) and 1.4 Firmware have been released.

2.0 is rumored to be happening soon, and on top of that there are indications in some forums and sites that it may enable Dolby TrueHD 5.1, pretty much the best kind of audio that's gonna be available for a while on HD DVD (until studios do 7.1, but I doubt they will anytime soon).

Cool. between 1.2,1.3 and 1.4 are there any significant changes?

 

[Alcibiades]

not really, 1.2/1.3 was for bug fixes and supposed to help with skipping and freezing, etc...

1.4 was for some very specific HDMI connection problems I think...

I have 1.3 installed (haven't updated), and I've had about 3-4 problems (not major, just paused film and continued)...

I don't know if it had anything to do with it, but back home my player was in a very hot room and got no ventilation, and since I brought it to college where the room is cooler and the player is in open air, I only had a skipping problem once, though that may be cause of dust particles (I'm still very weary of wiping discs so I try to blow off a lint speck if I see it, but try not to actually touch the disc at all)... when I do I feel like I might make it worse... I've wiped a couple of discs and get paranoid about accidentally scratching them (though I get this fear too with CD's and DVD's)

Other than that it's been smooth sailing...

 

[golem]

hmm i have 1.4 and it works mostly good but i have seen a skip every once in a while. hopefully 2.0 irons it out.

 

[AlanHemberger]

not really, 1.2/1.3 was for bug fixes and supposed to help with skipping and freezing, etc...

1.4 was for some very specific HDMI connection problems I think...

I have 1.3 installed (haven't updated), and I've had about 3-4 problems (not major, just paused film and continued)...

I don't know if it had anything to do with it, but back home my player was in a very hot room and got no ventilation, and since I brought it to college where the room is cooler and the player is in open air, I only had a skipping problem once, though that may be cause of dust particles (I'm still very weary of wiping discs so I try to blow off a lint speck if I see it, but try not to actually touch the disc at all)... when I do I feel like I might make it worse... I've wiped a couple of discs and get paranoid about accidentally scratching them (though I get this fear too with CD's and DVD's)

Other than that it's been smooth sailing...

Cool. Thanks for all the info. One last question, when is the slated release date for another HD DVD player? If it's not far off, I might just wait to see which one is better

 

[Alcibiades]

Cool. Thanks for all the info. One last question, when is the slated release date for another HD DVD player? If it's not far off, I might just wait to see which one is better

well, the XBox external is slated for "holiday" 2006, which I guess could mean anywhere from October-December, though probably November is a safe bet since they still have a ways to go in production...

Other than that there is nothing officially slated... there were rumors of an announcement from Toshiba for new player for the holidays though, but that's just a rumor at this point... my guess is if one were to get here, it would be around October or November. I mean, they said their next players would do 1080p, so I'd expect they'd want to have that for this year...

I think there is a good chance we'll see at least one more player model from Toshiba this year, and if I had to guess when it would be announced, it might be in early September at some fair in Germany...

 

[deamentia]

Picked up U2: Rattle & Hum last night. The sound is amazing but to a fault; you can really hear all the missed / bad notes they do during some of their songs. Picture quality is to be expected, very grainy.

 

[Alcibiades]

apparantly Warner put up the box art then pulled it down (same thing happened with some others a few weeks ago I think)... luckily, themanroom.com hasn't taken down the box art there are rumors that it has been ready since around launch, but Warner didn't want to start out with big guns right away...

either way, it's like Constantine in terms of being a loaded release:

-PiP Commentary
-Dolby TrueHD
-bonus stuff from the DVD special edition

 

[Alcibiades]

http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has indicated that on 24th October, 12 Monkeys, Out of Sight, Spartacus and The Thing will join Slither and The Interpreter to be released on HD DVD.

boxarts:

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/october-hd-dvd-from-universal.html

and unconfirmed:

Some distributor and retail sources have updated me that Paramount may be intending to release Nacho Libre ($39.99 SRP) and Mission: Impossible Ultimate Missions Collection ($99.99 SRP) on HD DVD, this coming Oct 24 (day-and-date with DVD release) and Oct 30 (day-and-date with the DVD release) respectively.

 

[AlanHemberger]

Mission Impossible 1 on HD DVD would be cool 2 and 3 suck ass though. I don't want them.

 

[Alcibiades]

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...nts/Paris_Hilton_to_Be_Murdered_on_HD_DVD/181

Warner Home Video has just announced its next batch of HD DVD releases, led by the blockbusters 'Troy,' 'Space Cowboys,' 'Lethal Weapon 2' and the Paris Hilton horror hit 'House of Wax.'

Each release will also feature the same supplements as their standard DVD counterparts. Note, however, that 'Lethal Weapon' will not feature the Director's Cut version of the film, but will present the additional scenes as a supplement only.

'Troy' will also include Warner's "In-Movie Experience" interactive video commentary feature exclusive to the HD DVD release.

all have Dolby Digital Plus 5.1

 

[broadwayrock]

French company Studio Canal has quite an impressive HD-DVD lineup:

Basic Instinct
The Elephant Man
The Fog (1980 John Carpenter version)
La Haine
King Kong (1976 version with Jeff Bridges)
The Pianist
Rambo: First Blood
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Rambo III:
Total Recall

Other titles in the pipeline:

Ali
Arizona Dream
L'Armée des Ombres - Army in the Shadows
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Le Cercle Rouge - The Red Circle
La Cité des Enfants Perdus - The City of Lost Children
The Deer Hunter
The Graduate
La Grande Vadrouille - Don't Look Now, We've Been Shot at
Million Dollar Baby
Mulholland Dr.
Ran
Serpico
Stargate
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Three Days of the Condor
Traffic
We Were Soldiers

http://whiggles.landofwhimsy.com/2006/08/french-hd-dvd-titles-from-studio-canal.html

 

[Alcibiades]

http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

apparantly, these will be in COMBO format, but very preliminary data:

November 14
The Hulk
King Kong
Waterworld


November 21
Dr Seuss How The Grinch Stole Christmas


November 28
An American Werewolf in London
Dune (Theatrical)
Meet The Parents
The Mummy


Also, it seems The Breakup is gonna be the first 30GB/9GB COMBO out (which kinda sucks since I was hoping Tokyo Drift would be the first):

www.dvdreview.com

Universal will release the HD-DVD version as a combo that contains the high definition version on one side and a DVD version on the other side. So far, it has been possible to only use HD-15 discs for these combo releases but Universal's information indicates that the studio is releasing this disc as a HD-30/DVD-9 combo, which means both, the HD-DVD side and the DVD side will be dual-layered, which is an industry first.

 

[Alcibiades]

saw Serenity last night. It was amazing...

My favorite movie on HD DVD and the first I enjoyed on so many levels. Great story (especially since I had just seen the last FireFly episode the night before, it has taken me a while to finally get through all of them), and amazing picture and audio.

For someone who has seen the Firefly series, this is easily an A-list release. A perfect showcase for HD DVD. I only wish they would release the series on HD DVD, but Fox is Blu-ray exclusive.

I was surprised by a few of the plot decisions, and I guess I wish that the Inara/Mal deal would be fleshed out more, but since this is a movie and not a series they couldn't get everything in and keep a good pace. I really hope there is some sort of sequel. Heck, I just wish they could bring back the series, but I guess the ending doesn't really nudge that that could occur.

This is probably the movie I will watch more than just a few times. The only movies I have seen multiple times on HD DVD are Constantine, Training Day, and ATL (the latter two have arguably the best picture quality along w/ Serenity). I also will re-watch Sleepy Hollow at some point (good, but not great, movie) and The Last Samurai (love the movie, but bad ending). Bourne Supremacy was good, but not exactly the stuff I'd rewatch right away. Sahara was good picture and audio, but the movie kinda stunk. I'll probably watch Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang too at some point since I really enjoyed it.

 

[Captain N]

I was wondering what would be the best HD DvD player to get? I'm thinking of just waiting for the HD add on for the 360. How will this one compare to the other ones that are out already.

now as for Harry Potter..what is the word on all of the other Harry Potters coming out on HD?

 

[chinch]

I was wondering what would be the best HD DvD player to get? I'm thinking of just waiting for the HD add on for the 360. How will this one compare to the other ones that are out already.

now as for Harry Potter..what is the word on all of the other Harry Potters coming out on HD?

The only HD-DVD players today are made by Toshiba (HD-A1, walmart equivalent, RCA rebadged HD1 and the Toshiba XA1 enthusiast model)

360 HD-DVD addon is said to perform on par with the Tosh and supports TrueHD (dolby) support according to Amir at AVS. I'd expect no HDMI however which is offset by the bargain price.

comparisons should be reserved until the 360 unit ships obviously.

 

[Alcibiades]

I recommend waiting for information on add-on if you already have an XBox 360.

Some important factors:

-how much does it cost?
-what kind of audio connection options will it have? 5.1 & HDMI are the only way to get lossless Dolby TrueHD and DD+ 5.1 and it doesn't look like it'll offer that...
-release date (how long do you want to wait for one?)

By mid-September, some of this should be sorted out. My guess is they want to wait 'till the last minute possible to decide on pricing and date.

That said, if you can find the HD-A1 for $400 or less then it wouldn't be a bad idea to jump in if you are desparate for HD content (movies in particular) and want an solid upconverting player. I got one in mid-June for $500, but I saved myself a ton on tax and shipping, and got 2 free discs (so I practically saved about $100 there). I don't regret it one bit, other than I wish I could afford more titles and that amazon.com had them in stock more often.

 

[Alcibiades]

about the Harry Potter movies, I highly doubt they will be released this year...

The Goblet of Fire is now rumored for a November release date (even though it's been ready for months) since Warner wants to release big titles strategically...

 

[Captain N]

I recommend waiting for information on add-on if you already have an XBox 360.

Some important factors:

-how much does it cost?
-what kind of audio connection options will it have? 5.1 & HDMI are the only way to get lossless Dolby TrueHD and DD+ 5.1 and it doesn't look like it'll offer that...
-release date (how long do you want to wait for one?)

By mid-September, some of this should be sorted out. My guess is they want to wait 'till the last minute possible to decide on pricing and date.

That said, if you can find the HD-A1 for $400 or less then it wouldn't be a bad idea to jump in if you are desparate for HD content (movies in particular) and want an solid upconverting player. I got one in mid-June for $500, but I saved myself a ton on tax and shipping, and got 2 free discs (so I practically saved about $100 there). I don't regret it one bit, other than I wish I could afford more titles and that amazon.com had them in stock more often.

I kind of want to start off by getting an HD DvD player built into my laptop. Would that be something that can be done? do they make computers that have them in there? Can I get one in a mac?

 

[truffleshuffle83]

I kind of want to start off by getting an HD DvD player built into my laptop. Would that be something that can be done? do they make computers that have them in there? Can I get one in a mac?

toshiba has a bad ass qosmio with one built in. itll do 1080p internal but only output 1080i to a tv through hdmi. the machine is a beast though, and itll set you back about 2800

 

[Alcibiades]

I kind of want to start off by getting an HD DvD player built into my laptop. Would that be something that can be done? do they make computers that have them in there? Can I get one in a mac?

I don't think you'll see stand-alone PC drives sold until late fall probably. Although none have been announced with mac-compatibility, somewhere along the line one should appear, since even Apple's software has HD DVD compatibility with regards to authoring.

 

[Alcibiades]

http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

Exerpts of the press release:

HD DVD Widely Available to European Market Beginning this November

In a press conference today at IFA, the HD DVD Promotion Group, a multinational organization comprised of more than 130 leading consumer electronics, entertainment, software, IT, and disc replication companies, announced that next-generation HD DVD players and high-definition content will be widely available to the European market beginning November 2006. HD DVD will provide consumers with pristine video and stunning surround sound allowing them to take advantage of today's high-definition televisions and home theater systems.

HD DVD Players Announced for European markets

Toshiba Corporation unveiled two new HD DVD players for the European market that will be available in just a few weeks. The first player is a mainstream model priced at 599EURO. A higher-end model will be available in December at 899EURO. Both players offer new, state-of-the-art video processing, support for the latest video and surround-sound formats, and extensive support for advanced navigation and interactive features, along with a new, slimline design. The high-end model adds 1080p output to the Toshiba line-up. This announcement follows the company's launch of AV notebook PC Qosmio G30 with HD DVD-ROM drive this June.

HD DVD Titles from Studio Canal, Warner Home Video, Universal Pictures International, Paramount Home Entertainment International, Pathe Distribution and more to debut in Europe for the launch... pledging strong support for HD DVD.

Studio Canal announced 10 titles that will be available in November followed by an additional 15 titles by March including "The Pianist," "Million Dollar Baby" and "La Haine." Executives from Paramount Home Entertainment International, Universal Pictures International and Warner Home Video announced more than 25 titles including "Apollo 13," "Constantine," "Goodfellas," "Jarhead," "M:i:III" and "Lethal Weapon" will be available in Europe to coincide with the release of the Toshiba players. Together, nearly 40 titles will be available throughout Europe by the end of 2006 and more than 55 in the first quarter of 2007. The studios also pledged strong support for HD DVD in 2007 and highlighted plans to offer current theatrical releases as well as choice selections from their vast catalogs of classics over the next several months.

Pathe Distribution announced that "Renaissance," the French animated science fiction film, will be available in HD DVD at launch, and 2 Entertain has committed to release the highly acclaimed BBC/Sir David Attenborough program "Planet Earth."

Ease of Local HD DVD Production/Replication

"One of the most important aspects of making HD DVD a success in Europe is to make sure that the companies creating or distributing content in the region have access to all of the tools and services necessary to manufacture discs locally," said Rodolphe Buet, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Studio Canal. "Working with MPO enabled us to be able to offer so many titles so quickly and the fact that all of the major players in Europe are already up and running with HD DVD will allow the format to continue to grow rapidly."

About HD DVD...

The first HD DVD player was launched in March 2006, and HD DVD hardware, including players, recorders and PCs, along with a growing library of content software, are now available in the North American and Japanese markets. The initial consumer response has been very positive, both for HD DVD's sound and picture quality as well as its enhanced advanced navigation and interactive features, such as pop-up menu and Picture in Picture with motion video.

HD DVD is the next-generation optical disc system that captures the potential of high-definition images and brings data-rich images and sound to home entertainment, computing and other applications. HD DVD is an open industry standard defined by the DVD Forum, a nearly 220 member strong industry forum that brings together companies from the movie and entertainment, computing, consumer electronics and software businesses to arrive at formats that meet present and future industry and consumer needs. In November 2003, the DVD Forum adopted the HD DVD format as the next-generation, post-DVD standard for high-capacity, high-definition optical discs.

HD DVD discs are based on the same physical disc structure as current DVDs, which enables manufacture of highly reliable hardware and discs at a reasonable cost. The format is supported by cutting-edge blue laser technology. It uses newly developed data processing techniques and takes advantage of leading-edge advanced video compression standards such as MPEG-4 AVC and VC-1, as well as MPEG-2.

Also, Pioneer said their 3rd generation drive for release late next year (2007), could add HD DVD support.

I wonder if Toshiba will announce that 1080p, HDMI 1.3 Player for the US soon. That might serve in the education of many a Best Buy employee that HD DVD can in fact do 1080p, even if for many it's not as big a deal as it's been made out to be...

 

[Alcibiades]

http://hddvdformat.blogspot.com/

hmm, if I can find it, looks like I can sell my Hulk DVD...

 

[Alcibiades]

that kinda sucks as I was hoping for a super-package in HD that included everything from the 4-disc Extended Edition set coming out the same day, but I guess they are saving that for another day...

Universal has been good about bringing all the extras from regular DVDs and hopefully they don't start cutting here (though there are no details yet other than it's likely 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus)...

That said, I'm very excited about this, I have some friends that haven't seen it and can't wait to ask them if they want to see this, they'll be amazed...

 

[Community Forum]

Shouldn't it be "The Look and Sound of Perfection?"

 

[Alcibiades]

Shouldn't it be "The Look and Sound of Perfection?"

good grammer vs. easier-sound marketing slogan, maybe the extra syllable made it just a bit too long...

 

[mrklaw]

When will we hear about the Christmas releases? Do you expect a big set of titles, or are those into mid-November likely to be it?

I already have my Kong and MI:III preorders in, but it'd be nice to have some surprises.