HD DVD and Blu-ray releases on December 18th, 2007
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted December 17th 2007 9:04AM
posted December 17th 2007 9:04AM
As we finish up the run to Christmas, Blu-ray once again has the biggest title this week in the way of The Simpons Movie, which HighDefDigest gave a PQ rating of five out of five stating, "I was continually surprised at how three-dimensional it all looks" but says that Ratatouille remains the "greatest animated movie yet to hit high-def." This week brings them one step closer to 400, but they won't get there before the end of the year. Warner brings Blade Runner to both camps and their latest blu catchup title, Terminator 3. HD DVD has a few exclusives including Balls of Fury and Stardust, while Disney has Underdog for blu. Fox continues to waiver on it's support for Blu-ray by not bringing the hit musical, Once to Blu-ray day and date with DVD this week. With the run to Christmas over, we'll turn our attention to CES, which is only a few weeks away, and we're sure will turn out to be very interesting.HD DVD 364 vs Blu-ray 396*
Blu-ray
- Blade Runner (Complete Collector's Ed.) (Warner)
- Blade Runner (Ultimate Collector's Ed.) (Warner)
- Shakira: Oral Fixation Tour (Sony BMG)
- The Simpsons Movie (Fox)
- Sunrise Earth: American Sunrises Vol 1 (Discovery Channel)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Warner)
- That's Entertainment: Complete Collection (Warner)
- Underdog (2007) (Walt Disney)
- Balls of Fury (Universal)
- Blade Runner (Complete Collector's Ed.) (Warner)
- Blade Runner (Ultimate Collector's Ed.) (Warner)
- The Moody Blues: Lovely to See You - Live (Image)
- R. Kelly Live - The Light It Up Tour (Image)
- Roy Orbison: A Black & White Night (Image)
- Stardust (Paramount)
- Sunrise Earth: American Sunrises Vol 1 (Discovery Channel)
- That's Entertainment: Complete Collection (Warner)
* Blu-ray total does not reflect 32 Paramount titles that were previously available.
What do you mean by the Once comment?
They aren't putting it out on Blu-Ray, but on HD-DVD? Or just haven't chosen either yet?
Damn I wish that would come out on HD-DVD....it's my favorite movie of 2007.
Fox released Once on DVD this week, but not on Blu-ray even though Fox is supposed to be supporting blu.
Picture quality i would agree on but as for the movie itself, well the simpsons hasnt been good since pre-south park days. Ever since then it seems theyve been trying to rip SP off.
"which HighDefDigest gave a five out of five stating"...
And an overall rating of 3 1/2 stars. Stop trying to spin!
You're right that wasn't clear, I edited it.
Thanks
I smell at change of heart at CES...
i doubt they go that far but i wouldnt be surprised at all if they started supporting the xbox live marketplace (fox). firefly is going up very soon in hd hopefully (it was on the marketplace with no episodes and pulled more than likely a screwup) and they have released some of their most prized content to xbox live (family guy) which has done quite well.
and we are seeing the same "drought" in the flow of movies we saw in the weeks leading up to e3 with the disney announcement (and launching with 30 movies). so i have a feeling something big will be done at the last bill gates ces presentation (to send him out with a bang).
Sunrise Earth? Really?
...I guess if I had a random flat panel hanging in a hallway that happened to also be connected to a Blu-ray/HD-DVD player, then I might just buy that title.
I'm sure the Simpsons title will sell well but I really didn't like the movie very much. It does fit the PS3 demographic very well though.
I'm sure this weeks releases will heavily favor Blu in the neilsens.
Next week blu-ray will not have a significant release while HD DVD will have The Kingdom and Eastern Promises.
It will definitely be an interesting CES. Not only Fox. Why did Disney vote for 51GB HD DVD? Maybe they're interested?
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20071119150942_Disney_Votes_for_51GB_HD_DVD_Media_Approval.html
What do you mean Fox is not supporting Blu-ray? The Simpsons movie is bigger than Once and will definitely be a huge seller. Independence Day was put on hold because it had some issues on 3% of the Blu-ray players out there but will make it Q1 2008. CES 2008 will be interesting indeed. I don't see FOX switching but Warner may end this war by going Blu because if they go red then this war will drag on for a lot longer.
I wonder who won for last week.
"Independence Day was put on hold because it had some issues on 3% of the Blu-ray players out there but will make it Q1 2008"
My guess is that is all players not counting the PS3, right?
I'll be picking up Simpsons, Terminator 3, and Blade Runner on Blu-ray, Stardust on HD DVD.
I thought the Simpsons movie was great. I don't know what everyone else was expecting- It's basically a 90-minute episode of the series.
"Run to Christmas over"?
Not quite yet!
Sunday, December 23, we'll see "Rush Hour 3" coming to Blu-ray and "The Kingdom" and "Eastern Promises" coming to HD DVD. Certainly those movies will count? I know I'll be getting both of those HD DVDs. :)
I wish the BDA guys would stop telling lies to the press. In an interrview with the SJMN, Jack Tretton again dropped the: "seven of the eight major studios backing Blu-ray" lie.
First of all, there are 6 Major Studios:
1. Sony Pictures (Columbia, MGM, UA, SP Classics, Screen Gems, Tristar, Destination)
2. Buena Vista MPG (Walt Disney, Touchstone, Miramax, Holloywood)
3. Fox FE (20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Fox Faith, Fox Atomic)
4. Warner Bros. Ent. (Warner Bros., New Line, HBO, WB Independant, Picturehouse, Castle Rock ent.)
5. Paramount MPG (Paramount, Dreamworks, Paramount Classics, Vantage)
6. NBC Universal (Universal, Focus, Rogue)
Of these 6: 3 Are Blu-Ray exclusive, 2 are HD-DVD exclusive, 1 is Purple
There are also 3 so-called mini-major studios:
1. Lions Gate Ent.
2. The Weinstein Company
3. IMAX
Of these 3: 1 Blu-Ray exclusive, 1 HD-DVD exclusive, 1 Purple)
Myself, I'm purple and wish this format war would end soon as well. However, I have to side with red because of the bully tactics and lies used by the BDA.
Good point Drake. I also was wondering what the heck "Once" was. Never even heard of it. Fox is bringing out its best titles on blu-ray, with DTS-HD MA on all releases, and even ramping up the volume of its releases. HD DVD wishes it had that kind of support no doubt. Soon, blu-ray will have that nice, exclusive support from Warner as well. Until then, though, it's nice to let HD DVD fanboys live it up. But times limited fellas, enjoy it while you can and then remember to come back down to reality. Peace.
You guys are in denial about Fox, Once was listed as the biggest title this week on IMDB.
But I also think Simpsons is a bigger title, but still, Fox should bring it to Blu just like they should've released the latest season of 24 on blu a few weeks ago, when they brought it to DVD.
h4idol,
You seem to know quite a bit about the outcome of this format war. Can you tell me a few things?
1.) Will Warner go Blu?
2.) When will I be able to decode DTS-HD MA on my PS3?
3.)When will HD-DVD roll over and croke?
Thanks,
Realistic Poster-
Ben
Your suggestive statements are the first I've heard of Fox wavering at all in their commitment to blu-ray. The sheer number of titles released, and the increased number of titles scheduled for future release seems to debunk such a hypothesis. MGM, rather, is the blu-ray "exclusive" studio that seems to at best neutral, seeing as how it has released nearly nothing and has scheduled nearly no future releases. Fox, on the other hand, is supporting blu-ray about as much as a studio could be hoped to support either format. But of course, I must assume that you are privy to insider information but hope you're wildly speculating in this case. Then again, I am dual-format, so it doesn't make the biggest deal to me. I just like to see the best technology adopted, and that means blu-ray for the home HD experience.
LOL - Blu-ray has outsold HD DVD every week this year ... (that's 49 in a row) ... this lineup will once again prove that Blu-ray is superior as the sales figures come in and show that the public prefers Blu-ray.
The Simpsons will sell A LOT and end the year of nicely for Blu-ray. I love the fact that HD DVD is getting completely shutout in 2007 - so awesome for Blu-ray!
The future is Blu :)
The most titles released for Blu-ray per studio is in this order.
Warner
Sony
Disney
Fox
With Fox having less than half as many titles as Warner. This is mostly because they didn't release a title for almost 6 months, but also because they continuously leave off titles like they did this week with Once and like they did a few weeks ago with 24.
My point is that there is absolutely no good reason for a studio to have a half way decent DVD release without also releasing the movie on Blu-ray and when I notice it, I'll mention it on my weekly post.
By the way, I predict 80:20 blu-ray over HD DVD this week. You heard it here first.
Wait, you're just getting the Simpsons Movie on Blu-ray now? It's been out in Europe (well, Denmark at least) for about three weeks now.
80:20? I won't put money on it but I highly doubt 80:20. I could see 70:30 but not the other.
high definition cartoons its a game of my pencil line is thinner than yours?
ill just get normal simpsons dvd and upscale the pencil lines on my toshy hd dvd no problem then look on in ahw at the shear scale of blue ray showing me the extra hair on homers balding head (amazing not)
Oh don't be so god damn naive!
Animation does not mean that the detail is so lacking that High Definition couldn't possibly make a difference. You have everything from fine background detail and color quality and less aliasing.
"Fox presents 'The Simpsons Movie' in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video. The most striking aspect of the presentation is certainly the colors. Hues are wonderfully vivid and smooth, with bold uses of primaries and subtle shadings and gradients that far exceed anything seen on the TV series. As you would expect, the source is immaculate, with not a whiff of grain or any other imperfections. Blacks are rock solid, with contrast expertly modulated across the entire grayscale. This image really pops with depth and detail, and it's sharp as a tack. I was continually surprised at how three-dimensional it all looks -- even "dark" scenes have a richness of texture that's faultless. Finally, despite the bold animation style, I noticed no posterization or macroblocking."
Kingdom on HD DVD comes out sunday 12/23 so you can buy before Christmas.
Yes, what the heck is Once? I mean, if h4Idol hasn't heard of it, it must be worthless! It's not like Once was the most critically acclaimed movie of 2007 or anything. Its not like its on pretty much every single critics top 10 list.