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The Departed HD DVD / Blu-ray disc breaks 100k mark in sales
While it wasn't too long ago that Tom Cruise was jumping off couches after finding out that Mission: Impossible III broke all sorts of HD disc sales records, it looks like there's a new champ in town. Warner Home Video has proudly announced that The Departed has sold over 100,000 units during its short stint on the shelves, making it arguably the largest selling high-definition movie to date. It should come as no surprise that the press release is mum when it comes to HD DVD vs. Blu-ray numbers, but it did suggest that supporting both formats seemed like an amicable solution to appease both camps. So, any guesses as to which format strengthened the final figure most?[Via HighDefDigest]
Warner unveils Blu-ray plans for 2007... have we been here before?
Warner has just released its 2007 plans for Blu-ray releases during the BDA press conference here at CES and... they look an awful lot like Warner's 2007 plans for HD DVD. Actually, they are the same. Almost everything is the same, sans HD DVD/DVD combo releases, Warner notes it has put out 33 Blu-ray discs so far, with Superman Returns leading sales for 2006. Still, we're sure that Blu-ray fans are happy to hear they won't be missing out on Martin Scorsese's The Departed, The Matrix, Harry Potter or even a few titles that have already been released on HD DVD like Enter the Dragon. Blu-ray will also be getting Ultimate Collector's Edition discs, but we have a funny feeling that all this parity is somehow related to Warner's recently announced Total HD combo disc.
Warner lines up six high-def titles for November 14th
The proud leader of the high definition DVD market in terms of sheer number of titles released, has queued up a few more. Three each for Blu-ray and HD DVD, with Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), Casablanca, and Forbidden Planet (in 50th Anniversay or Ultimate Collectors Edition packaging) hitting HD DVD. Mutiny on the Bounty benefits from a newly restored 65mm source, and will be presented in its original roadshow version, including a prologue and epilogue that were cut before it hit theaters originally. The Forbidden Planet Ultimate Collectors Edition comes with a tin case, Robby the Robot replica, Forbidden Planet and The Invisible Boy lobby cards portfolio, and a mail-in offer for an original theatrical poster. Blu-ray aficionados will have to make do with three movies already out on HD DVD; Million Dollar Baby, The Last Samurai and ATL should should impress just as much as they did -- or didn't -- in their previous 1080p VC-1 incarnations. With the exception of ATL ($34.99), and Forbidden Planet: UCE ($59.92), all carry $28.99 SRPs. We're not sure which is more surprising, that Warner is trying to appeal to the film collectors market just days before the Xbox 360 HD DVD player hits, or that Leslie Neilsen used to have serious non-comedic roles.All of these titles have been added to our Google Release CalendarsHD DVDBlu-ray
Warner Home Video provides first HD DVD vs Blu-ray comparison
We hate to up the pundit wars, but we aren't the ones that released the same titles on both Blu-ray and HD DVD -- Warner Home Video did. Thanks to them though, the two high-def camps can now size up their formats mano-a-mano via Training Day, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Rumor Has It. HighDefDigest took the 1080i Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player along with the noisy 1080p Samsung BDP-1000 Blu-ray player and hooked 'em up to their HP Pavilion reference HDTV via HDMI. All three titles suffered from similar issues of extra noise on the Blu-ray side, and appeared just a tad darker then their HD DVD counterparts. An issue with cropping also popped up that we highly doubt anyone would notice unless they too have both players side by side, but the reviewers noticed less of a picture on all three Blu-ray titles even though they shared the same advertised aspect ratios as the HD DVDs. This brings up the question however, if this cropping is caused by the Blu-ray format, three bad Blu-ray masters, or the Samsung player? We are willing to bet on the latter most of the three, but we won't be able to find out until Pioneer or Panasonic releases their first Blu-ray players somtime in the next few months. No matter how you spin it, the HD DVD fanboys have something to celebrate as they walked away from this first scuffle without so much as a bloody nose.
The Lake House will be the first movie to debut on DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD on the same day
The romantic drama The Lake House starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock will be a day-and-date release on HD DVD & Blu-ray with the standard DVD version on September 26. The HD DVD version will be a combo DVD/HD DVD disc meaning only 15GB of storage for the high definition film, while the Blu-ray edition will ship on a single-layer 25GB Blu-ray disc. The space difference hasn't been a problem so far on HD DVD so we don't expect it will be here. No word on any extras yet although we can probably expect the same ones as the standard-def DVD release. The HD DVD version will be priced slightly higher in line with other combo releases, but have the ability to play in a regular DVD player. Much like the first combo disc released for HD DVD, Rumor Has It, we're really puzzled by the choice of movie but welcome the trend of films coming out on next-generation formats without any delay.
Warner announces first Blu-ray releases; plans big third, fourth quarter for HD DVD
Well that was quick. Warner has announced their first Blu-ray releases. They officially announced their support last October but had not yet announced any release dates. August 1 is the big day, with four movies coming out on Blu-ray, three already available on HD DVD and one all-new in high definition. Training Day, Rumor Has It and Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, have already shown up on HD DVD, while George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck has not. We'll finally be able to compare the same title on either format and tell what, if any, difference there is.
Bruce Lee and Dukes of Hazzard coming to HD DVD
Warner Home Video isn't showing off their September HD DVD releases just yet, but they have added two movies for release July 11. HDTV owners have been clamoring for bigger and better titles on high definition DVD formats and while these may not be the special-effect loaded killer titles we would like to see, they aren't bad either. Dukes of Hazzard did pretty well at the box office last year starring the guy from Jackass, Stifler and a pop singer as the Dukes family. Now it comes to HD DVD with Warner's In Movie Experience (IME) feature promising a "trouble-making, car-crashing, barroom-brawling in-movie viewing experience". We were hoping for a silent version of Jessica Simpson's music video, but this will have to do.The other movie announced is Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, originally released just after his death and possibly his most popular movie in the U.S. Both movies will feature the same extras as their DVD counterparts and carry an SRP of $28.99. Warner is still expected to release on Blu-ray as well, but we haven't received any information on dates or titles.
Warner to release first hybrid HD-DVD May 9th
Those early adopters who've already picked up a Toshiba HD-A1 but don't want to buy duplicate copies of each movie for use on their current car and portable DVD players have gotten a reprieve from Warner Home Video, who just announced that the first hybrid HD-DVD/standard DVD will be available on May 9th. However, folks looking for a Matrix-like title to put their new toy through its paces will probably be disappointed with Warner's choice: the critically-panned 2005 Kevin Costner/Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy "Rumor Has It." Plus, don't think that the 480p content on the flip side of the disc is just a bonus, as these hybrid offerings are debuting for eleven dollars more than their single-copy counterparts. Still, if these discs enable you to create a backup of the flicks you buy on HD-DVD, even at non-HD resolutions, the extra dough might be worth it in order to get maximum utility from your purchased content.[Via eHomeUpgrade]
