With all of the muss and fuss over Blu-ray and HD-DVD, sometimes the simpler solutions get swept under the rug and written off as ‘unviable’. That’s likely what will happen with The DivX 6 software which can ’shrink’ a full length high definition movie small enough to fit on a standard DVD. There’s only one problem with this however, no studios are interested.

I suppose the fact that the required HD DVD player (AVeL Linkplayer2) sells for only $249.00 doesn’t please the hardware manufacturers very much, as the Linkplayer can be ordered on-line right now and the first HD/Blu players are many months away at the earliest, and are likely to sell for at least 1k. And on the studio side they cant be very happy with a hi-def video format that wasn’t put through every possible DRM solution under the planet. Maybe one day consumers will embrace simpler ‘low-tech’ solutions that offer much of the same benefits of their higher priced more elaborate cousins, but I don’t think it will be this year.

Michael.G

I wanted to make a ‘year end / new year’ synopsis of where we stand with high definition DVD. I’ve read tons of “news” and “announcements”, but honestly when I sat down and started making notes, a funny thing happened, nothing really. Let me explain. Ok, what did we learn from the Consumer Electronics Show 2005? Come on get real. I hope none of you actually thought anything ‘new’ or definitive would come out of CES; after all it’s really nothing more than the world’s largest real-time infomercial. While there were around 75 HD-DVD titles announced, Sony and their consortium could have likely rounded up just as many, if not more, titles to ‘tease’ with. I’m honestly surprised they didn’t.

The initial HD-DVD and Blu-ray buzz, of seven to eight months ago, certainly hasn’t died down but have we actually learned anything new that would indicate a winner? I think if you had asked the Coca-Cola marketing genius, in charge of New Coke, if they were really on the right track they would have answered with a resounding YES! On April 23rd, 1985 they unleashed New Coke on the buying public. A few months later those same marketing genius, with tails between their legs, ‘introduced’ Coke Classic.

My point is no amount of marketing hype or announcements will pick the winner between HD-DVD and Blu-ray, the buying public will handle that. It might not be in the time frame the manufacturers and studios hope for, but it will happen. I haven’t made my support for HD-DVD a secret but to be honest I’d be happy with either format, as long as there is a clear cut winner, not a prolonged pissing match that dilutes the medium. I feel that HD-DVD has a chance for quicker, fuller saturation of titles, but to put a twist on the old cliche, time will tell, not the marketers.

Michael.G

With all the articles and announcements about HD-DVD at CES you have to wonder, where is Blu-ray? They have not announced yet which movie titles they will release on their next gen. DVD format (probably because it will be the entire catalogue of MGM and Sony Films) but they are getting the word out on Blu-ray.

The BDA (Blu-ray Disc Association) camp is showing off some potential films such as ‘I, Robot’ and ‘Hero’ on Blu-ray hardware which are manufactured by companies like Pioneer, HP, Mitsubishi, Phillips, and of course Sony. If you would like to hear more of “what Blu-ray can do for you” check out the BDA site for the Blu-ray at CES 2005 Press Conference, Coverage and Press Kit which includes video clips at CES and where some of the BDA members are set up.

R.Hollis

Yet another round of HD-DVD titles announced, this time from Universal home video. “The titles represent a combination of recent hits and notable offerings from the Universal catalog” according to universal. Now where are those Blu-Ray titles?

Forthcoming HD-DVD titles from Universal:

The Bourne Supremacy
The Chronicles of Riddick
Van Helsing
Apollo 13
U-571
12 Monkeys
Dune
The Thing
End Of Days
Backdraft
Waterworld
The Bone Collector
Spy Game
Pitch Black
Conan The Barbarian
Dante’s Peak

Michael.G

I’m starting to see a trend here, all the studios are releasing tentative lists for their first releases on HD-DVD, so with out further adieu, here are Paramount’s first round of HD-DVD titles for Q4 2005.

New/Recent Releases:

The Manchurian Candidate
Spongebob Squarepants
Elizabethtown
Coach Carter
Italian Job
School of Rock
Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow

Catalog Titles:

Forrest Gump
Braveheart
Ghost
Grease
Mission Impossible 2
Black Rain
Save the Last Dance
Sleepy Hollow
U2 Rattle & Hum
Vanilla Sky
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Star Trek: First Contact
We Were Soldiers

Michael.G

Well this is what I’ve been waiting for, the first round of intended HD-DVD titles (from Warner Home Video). No you still cant buy them, but at least we can get a feel for the type of programming the studios have in mind, to promote the new high definition DVD formats. All in all, I think they picked a nice assortment of titles, however someone will always feel ‘their’ favorite title didn’t make it into the first round, patience and time will likely remedy that though.

The following HD-DVD titles are slated for a fourth quarter 2005 release:

Above the Law
Alexander
Angels in America (HBO)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (New Line)
Batman Begins
Blade (New Line)
Catwoman
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Constantine
Contact
Dark City (New Line)
The Dukes of Hazzard
Eraser
Executive Decision
Final Destination (New Line)
Friday (New Line)
From the Earth to the Moon (HBO)
The Fugitive
Gothika
Hard to Kill
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
House of Wax (2005)
The Last Samurai
The Mask (New Line)
The Matrix
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
Maverick
Million Dollar Baby
The Music Man
Mystic River
Next of Kin
North by Northwest
Ocean’s Eleven
Ocean’s Twelve
Passenger 57

Michael.G

Engadget (per usual) gets a nice scoop on some initial HD-DVD details, in particular Toshiba’s first HD-DVD player is scheduled to be launched around October of 2005. Among the other features listed was an Ethernet port, now that’s one I hadn’t heard before. I’m having a hard time brainstorming for ideas on why my DVD player would need to access the internet, additional disc features I guess. Maybe we’ll get some additional details on features and specifications tomorrow from CES.

Michael.G

Recently a reader wrote and asked, “With the near hostile posturing between Sony and Toshiba over Blu-Ray/HD-DVD, is it possible Sony could deny Toshiba/NEC SACD license’s for their HD-DVD players?” It was an excellent question and the short answer is no, but it does bring up some interesting possibilities. While Sony does indeed own a license to market SACD they actually only own one of two, Philips retained their rights to market and brand SACD as well. So it’s highly unlikely any HD-DVD player manufacturer seeking a SACD license couldn’t get it from one if not both current license holders.

Which brings us to the more important point, it’s possible and I stress possible that SACD and DVD-A could be overlooked on HD-DVD and to a lesser degree Blu-Ray, in favor of a newer higher resolution audio format. I’d really hate to see this as it would surely fail. The current high resolution audio formats have hardly set sales records in the years they’ve been available and another hi-res audio format would only splinter the market farther.

Michael.G