Maybe Warner got tired of waiting for BD-J and may go HD exclusive for awhile on some of those titles requiring in-movie experience. I'm sure Harry Potter series would also follow soon and be HD exclusive again if BD-J remains to be broken.
Matrix? Come on! At least with Star Wars, there were three good movies, two mediocre movies and one bad one. With the Matrix flicks, it was one decent one, one bad one and one completely senseless one. Besides, they're coming to Blu-ray. Their release dates just haven't been announced. Looks like the those HD DVD have no extras on them, according to your link. What if they have no room for them on the HD DVD edition but put them on the DL Blu-ray disc later? Wouldn't that suck? To paraphrase someone, firstest ain't necessarily bestest. Anyone who's ever bought a DVD only to see the Special Edition, Collector's Edition or Ultimate Edition come out a year or two later knows the feeling.
Matrix? Come on! At least with Star Wars, there were three good movies, two mediocre movies and one bad one. With the Matrix flicks, it was one decent one, one bad one and one completely senseless one. Besides, they're coming to Blu-ray. Their release dates just haven't been announced. Looks like the those HD DVD have no extras on them, according to your link. What if they have no room for them on the HD DVD edition but put them on the DL Blu-ray disc later? Wouldn't that suck? To paraphrase someone, firstest ain't necessarily bestest. Anyone who's ever bought a DVD only to see the Special Edition, Collector's Edition or Ultimate Edition come out a year or two later knows the feeling.
Hate to interrupt, but starwars is a matter of opinion. I think it's 3, and 3. I liked #'s 2, 4, and 5, but the rest were pretty much ass. I mean Jedi was OK, but the last one had the worst ending ever. That homage to frankenstein was just a terrible idea. It blew so hard I wanted to cry. And # 1 was just bad. I've seen worse, but It had a lot to live up to, and it wasn't that great. Probably some of the best visuals ever though.
it has nothing to do with WB's position on this format war. If BD-J stays broken, then Matrix, Harry Potter, and etc...whichever title that require in-movie experience have to be held back. WB was holding back Matrix and Harry Potter from 2006 release schedule for both HD & BD from US market because BD-J wasn't working. Also, there are few HD exclusive WB titles like Batman Begins which can't be released yet in BD because of broken BD-J. It can well be the hardware issue with 1st gen BD players, but it's still holding back blockbuster title releases from WB. Who knows, some early BD players will never get to play such WB titles.
I disagree. The reason that neither DVD-Audio nor SACD were successful is that most people can't tell the difference between MP3s and CDs, let alone CDs and DVD-Audio/SACD. In contrast, most people CAN tell the difference betwen standard definition and high definition video. Therefore, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are NOT dead.
Matrix? Come on! At least with Star Wars, there were three good movies, two mediocre movies and one bad one. With the Matrix flicks, it was one decent one, one bad one and one completely senseless one. Besides, they're coming to Blu-ray. Their release dates just haven't been announced. Looks like the those HD DVD have no extras on them, according to your link. What if they have no room for them on the HD DVD edition but put them on the DL Blu-ray disc later? Wouldn't that suck? To paraphrase someone, firstest ain't necessarily bestest. Anyone who's ever bought a DVD only to see the Special Edition, Collector's Edition or Ultimate Edition come out a year or two later knows the feeling.
umm speak for yourself. the matrix series is a pretty good franchis, people were obsessed with the trilogy. the first movie was a hit and created a following, the second movie was sooo hyped that people jumped on the bandwagon, the Wachowskis never compromised their films, they delivered what they wanted, so shitty for those who couldn't get their heads around the movie or just didnt like the style... i love all three and i'd die for an HD version.
If BD-J stays broken, then Matrix, Harry Potter, and etc...whichever title that require in-movie experience have to be held back.
If BD-J is broken, as you say, why does Wikipedia list several BD-J enhanced movie title, like: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Speed, The Descent and Guardian?
Wikipedia also lists the players that support BD-J. Also, I would assume that a BD-J disc will play the movie on a player that does not support BD-J, but the viewer will not be able to take advantage of the BD-J features. Is this correct? If so, I don't see what the big deal is. A studio can issue BD-J enhanced titles and those with a supporting player can take advantage of them.
Evidently I am missing something critical, or BD-J is a non-issue. Also, does HD-DVD have something like BD-J? Just wondering.
I love the plastic Blu-Ray cases. Sleek, thin, cool, translucent, that and blue is my fave color. This image doesn't do them justice, they are a little bit of a darker blue in person, I love them.
This is an image without the bright flash:
The HD-DVD cases arre nice too, pretty similar, same shape and translucence etc. but the red isn't as nice to look at in person:
I disagree. The reason that neither DVD-Audio nor SACD were successful is that most people can't tell the difference between MP3s and CDs, let alone CDs and DVD-Audio/SACD. In contrast, most people CAN tell the difference betwen standard definition and high definition video. Therefore, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are NOT dead.
I'm not saying that HD and B-R are dead; however, conditions are different than for the example you used. There's a strong feeling by some that standard DVD has reached the "good-enough" stage. Also to really benefit from the HD formats you need a TV ideally larger than 40" and at least 1080i with 1080p being even better. While higher income households and teckies may have the required sets, many if not most lower income and even middle income households don't, which is seriously going to slow down adoption. Basically, it's going to be a long, slow slog to see whether HD format/s DVD makes it past a niche product.
The fact that DVD players could work with just about any TV and be happy with the results. Why would anyone go out and spend more money for HD movies and HD players for their normal sets. I don't own a HD set, don't plan on getting one any time soon. DVD is just fine for me. I have a 36" TV that I am completely content with. HD sets are semi-expensive and I don't see the average joe adopting them on a high rate. DVD was successful because it worked with your original set. No high dollar set was required. In these cases most people will have to buy a new tv set AND hd player. I simply don't see HD (blu-ray or HD-DVD) being adopted like DVDs were. Hayseed Timmy in Arkansas that makes $17k a year isn't going to buy this stuff. But he can certainly afford a $30 dvd player and $5 dvd. HD won't be able to get to those prices for years and years. I don't feel this war will be decided in the next few years.
And just so you know I'm not being cheap, I make near 6 digits. I suppose I don't watch enough tv to care about HD.
If BD-J is broken, as you say, why does Wikipedia list several BD-J enhanced movie title, like: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Speed, The Descent and Guardian?
Wikipedia also lists the players that support BD-J. Also, I would assume that a BD-J disc will play the movie on a player that does not support BD-J, but the viewer will not be able to take advantage of the BD-J features. Is this correct? If so, I don't see what the big deal is. A studio can issue BD-J enhanced titles and those with a supporting player can take advantage of them.
Evidently I am missing something critical, or BD-J is a non-issue. Also, does HD-DVD have something like BD-J? Just wondering.
BD-J is just a java engine running interactive movie features from the disc. It can be used in any part of the authoring but WB will use them as in-movie experience where you can have a PIP narration interactivity while the movie is being played. This feature in HD-DVD is done with HDi and have been working very well since August of 2006 with all HD-DVD players with updated firmware. However, the BD side is not that simple. First of all, not all BD standalone players have the hardware support for BD-J. Only PS3 and Sony BD player has the hardware support. Maybe this is why some BD movies are not compatible with certain standalone players, and this will be a big problem if and when WB releases such tiles requiring BD-J. Since, BD-J implementation still have not been finalized, it's status is still incomplete and incompatible.
There's a strong feeling by some that standard DVD has reached the "good-enough" stage. Also to really benefit from the HD formats you need a TV ideally larger than 40" and at least 1080i with 1080p being even better. While higher income households and teckies may have the required sets, many if not most lower income and even middle income households don't, which is seriously going to slow down adoption. Basically, it's going to be a long, slow slog to see whether HD format/s DVD makes it past a niche product.
The smaller LCD TVs are not too costly now. We just bought a 32 inch, which is priced from about $850 to $1150. We have a Dish HD satellite receiver and the shows in HD are great. The prices keep dropping on LCDs and I think many more people will be getting one.
I admit that DVDs look very good on HDTV, but our son will be getting a PS3 soon. Netflix charges the same for DVD or Blu-Ray. Guess what we will be doing next? And I believe we are not an unusual household. I think it will catch on sooner than you think. We are on the low side of middle income, BTW.
umm speak for yourself. the matrix series is a pretty good franchis, people were obsessed with the trilogy. the first movie was a hit and created a following, the second movie was sooo hyped that people jumped on the bandwagon, the Wachowskis never compromised their films, they delivered what they wanted, so shitty for those who couldn't get their heads around the movie or just didnt like the style... i love all three and i'd die for an HD version.
I'll speak for myself and a lot of other people as well. There will always be people who are obsessed with something, no matter how good or bad it is. Doesn't make the Matrix trilogy great. You are absolutely, positively sounding like a complete fanboy here. "Ooooh, it was all totally awesome!" Only fanboys refuse to see the blemishes in what they like. If all the movies were so awesome, why did the third only do about half of what the second did at the box office? "People jumped on the bandwagon"? Looks like most of them jumped right back off.
And you're obviously too young to remember what a real cultural phenonemon was, as when Star Wars first came out in '77. A lot of people were dressing up (and it wasn't as cheap and simple as putting on a black trenchcoat), everybody knew who Darth Vader was, everyone knew "May the Force be with you." Most people have forgotten "There is no spoon." Most people don't know who Neo is.
I'll speak for myself and a lot of other people as well. There will always be people who are obsessed with something, no matter how good or bad it is. Doesn't make the Matrix trilogy great. You are absolutely, positively sounding like a complete fanboy here. "Ooooh, it was all totally awesome!" Only fanboys refuse to see the blemishes in what they like. If all the movies were so awesome, why did the third only do about half of what the second did at the box office? "People jumped on the bandwagon"? Looks like most of them jumped right back off.
And you're obviously too young to remember what a real cultural phenonemon was, as when Star Wars first came out in '77. A lot of people were dressing up (and it wasn't as cheap and simple as putting on a black trenchcoat), everybody knew who Darth Vader was, everyone knew "May the Force be with you." Most people have forgotten "There is no spoon." Most people don't know who Neo is.
Kolchak, you just contradicted yourself but i dont care. star wars has more cheesy lines, tons of bad acting, etc etc than the matrix. not to mention it has the most die hard fanboys on the planet
the matrix was stiff, i realize that, it was also a lot darker and for god sakes it put philosphy a long with socratic dialogue right up your butt haha. i was dumbfounded that Reloaded created so much hysteria before it was released, so yeah people did jump off the bandwagon.
were reloaded and revolutions better than the first? no, but that were good and i'm yet to see any movie pull off those effects and those themes so nicely. could they have been a bit diferrent? a litle softer on all the heavy pseudo ? sure, and i think the brothers went through a learning experience with those movies, look at what they did with V for Vendetta
its still a great trilogy to a lot of people and umm A LOT of people know who Neo is.
Well... as expected, I've received a flood of e-mails over the last day or so in response to my high-def format war comments of yesterday. And as expected, those who have firmly attached themselves to HD-DVD weren't terribly pleased with my arguments. The interesting thing, however, is that none of these people could logically refute my reasoning, and very few even attempted to do so. In fact, while some of the responses from HD-DVD supporters were polite and thoughtful, most were defensive, overly emotional or even downright hostile. A couple e-mails were so nasty that I can only wonder at the mental stability of their authors. All of this suggests to me that even these people are starting to suspect that the writing is on the wall for HD-DVD.
I was pleasantly surprised, however, at how many readers responded to say that they generally agreed with my assessment of the situation. And it wasn't just Blu-ray supporters who reacted positively. A surprising number of retailers and industry insiders expressed relief that we had finally said what they WANTED to say, but weren't in a position to do so. I was also struck by how many people that agreed with my comments said they hadn't yet adopted either format, instead having decided to remain neutral until a choice was more clear. But many of those folks told us that they were now close to jumping into the high-def arena, and Blu-ray was where they were headed. The responses as a whole were certainly fascinating, and they have done nothing but convince me further that this format war needs to end now, before the early adopter market gets even more fractious and divisive.
So what, or who, could end this format war? Simple: Universal. If Universal were to suddenly announce support for Blu-ray Disc in addition to HD-DVD, or if they were to adopt Warner's TotalHD combo disc, that would be the end of it. You would suddenly have every major studio in town releasing Blu-ray titles (except for DreamWorks, and our sources tell us that the studio is simply waiting for one of these formats to start selling serious numbers before getting involved). By the end of the year, cheaper second generation Blu-ray hardware will available, and that's the ballgame. That's not to say that Microsoft and Toshiba would stop pushing HD-DVD anytime soon. And I'm sure some of the HD-DVD supporting studios would continue releasing titles, at least for a while. But why would any average consumer want to buy an HD-DVD player, even a very cheap one, when you can't get Disney movies, you can't get Pixar films, you can't get the Bond films, you can't get the Spider-Man films, etc, etc, etc. Universal has the power to end this format war tomorrow. We certainly hope a lot of people, both inside the industry and film fans as a whole, are making efforts to POLITELY convince them to do so. Here's how:
Universal Studios Home Video
70 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
(818) 777-4400
Studio website - E-mail form on website
While we're on the subject, here's more evidence of Blu-ray's advantage: Blu-ray almost completely dominates the Japanese market now (click here for more on that), and has a clear edge in the Australian market as well (click here). In fact, one of Australia's leading consumer electronics retailers, JB Hi-Fi, has announced that they won't even carry HD-DVD in their stores (click here). Why? Because they, like many others, simply don't see how HD-DVD can overcome the overwhelming studio support behind Blu-ray Disc. JB's marketing director, Scott Browning, put his company's position this way: "We don't want to be selling $1000 clocks." Ouch. Any way you slice it, this whole format war situation is just getting silly.
By the way, for you HD-DVD fans out there who are running around online today claiming that I'm somehow getting paid to endorse Blu-ray (rather than coming to the rather obvious logical conclusion all on my own), I'll bet you this: If, in the next few months, the HD-DVD camp suddenly gets all those Blu-ray exclusive studios to start releasing titles on their format, and if all those electronics manufacturers who have released Blu-ray players start releasing HD-DVD or combo players too, I'll will happily and publicly revise my opinion. I'll even exclude Sony on both counts. But I'm betting it isn't going to happen.
I once again totally agree with Bill's statements. It doesn't take much knowledge to deduce that HD DVD is on its way to becoming a failed format. I hope many write or email into Universal and persuade them to end this format war sooner than later.
I once again totally agree with Bill's statements. It doesn't take much knowledge to deduce that HD DVD is on its way to becoming a failed format. I hope many write or email into Universal and persuade them to end this format war sooner than later.
Well, his personal opinion in the matter is as valuable as your own. His opinion of Universal holding the sword to end the Hi-Def format war can be said to Fox and Disney as well. Any of the three major studios tipping over can tip the scale with ever direction because the market is still a niche.
BTW, did any of you guys noticed a recent slump on software sales on both Hi-Def formats? I can understand the slump on the HD-DVD sides due to lack or new title announcements, but what's going on with the BD side?... Perhaps, PS3 owners stopped buying BD movies or PS3 stopped selling? I think BD cheerleading and PS3 rush is coming to an end. (my personal opinion, of course)
Comments
Don't know about SW series, but Matrix trilogy is about to roll out on HD-DVD.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...67&catid=24112
Maybe Warner got tired of waiting for BD-J and may go HD exclusive for awhile on some of those titles requiring in-movie experience. I'm sure Harry Potter series would also follow soon and be HD exclusive again if BD-J remains to be broken.
I doubt that being that WB is on the BR board.
Matrix? Come on! At least with Star Wars, there were three good movies, two mediocre movies and one bad one. With the Matrix flicks, it was one decent one, one bad one and one completely senseless one. Besides, they're coming to Blu-ray. Their release dates just haven't been announced. Looks like the those HD DVD have no extras on them, according to your link. What if they have no room for them on the HD DVD edition but put them on the DL Blu-ray disc later? Wouldn't that suck? To paraphrase someone, firstest ain't necessarily bestest. Anyone who's ever bought a DVD only to see the Special Edition, Collector's Edition or Ultimate Edition come out a year or two later knows the feeling.
Hate to interrupt, but starwars is a matter of opinion. I think it's 3, and 3. I liked #'s 2, 4, and 5, but the rest were pretty much ass. I mean Jedi was OK, but the last one had the worst ending ever. That homage to frankenstein was just a terrible idea. It blew so hard I wanted to cry. And # 1 was just bad. I've seen worse, but It had a lot to live up to, and it wasn't that great. Probably some of the best visuals ever though.
I doubt that being that WB is on the BR board.
it has nothing to do with WB's position on this format war. If BD-J stays broken, then Matrix, Harry Potter, and etc...whichever title that require in-movie experience have to be held back. WB was holding back Matrix and Harry Potter from 2006 release schedule for both HD & BD from US market because BD-J wasn't working. Also, there are few HD exclusive WB titles like Batman Begins which can't be released yet in BD because of broken BD-J. It can well be the hardware issue with 1st gen BD players, but it's still holding back blockbuster title releases from WB. Who knows, some early BD players will never get to play such WB titles.
Matrix? Come on! At least with Star Wars, there were three good movies, two mediocre movies and one bad one. With the Matrix flicks, it was one decent one, one bad one and one completely senseless one. Besides, they're coming to Blu-ray. Their release dates just haven't been announced. Looks like the those HD DVD have no extras on them, according to your link. What if they have no room for them on the HD DVD edition but put them on the DL Blu-ray disc later? Wouldn't that suck? To paraphrase someone, firstest ain't necessarily bestest. Anyone who's ever bought a DVD only to see the Special Edition, Collector's Edition or Ultimate Edition come out a year or two later knows the feeling.
umm speak for yourself. the matrix series is a pretty good franchis, people were obsessed with the trilogy. the first movie was a hit and created a following, the second movie was sooo hyped that people jumped on the bandwagon, the Wachowskis never compromised their films, they delivered what they wanted, so shitty for those who couldn't get their heads around the movie or just didnt like the style... i love all three and i'd die for an HD version.
If BD-J stays broken, then Matrix, Harry Potter, and etc...whichever title that require in-movie experience have to be held back.
If BD-J is broken, as you say, why does Wikipedia list several BD-J enhanced movie title, like: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Speed, The Descent and Guardian?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BD-J
Wikipedia also lists the players that support BD-J. Also, I would assume that a BD-J disc will play the movie on a player that does not support BD-J, but the viewer will not be able to take advantage of the BD-J features. Is this correct? If so, I don't see what the big deal is. A studio can issue BD-J enhanced titles and those with a supporting player can take advantage of them.
Evidently I am missing something critical, or BD-J is a non-issue. Also, does HD-DVD have something like BD-J? Just wondering.
This is an image without the bright flash:
The HD-DVD cases arre nice too, pretty similar, same shape and translucence etc. but the red isn't as nice to look at in person:
I disagree. The reason that neither DVD-Audio nor SACD were successful is that most people can't tell the difference between MP3s and CDs, let alone CDs and DVD-Audio/SACD. In contrast, most people CAN tell the difference betwen standard definition and high definition video. Therefore, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are NOT dead.
I'm not saying that HD and B-R are dead; however, conditions are different than for the example you used. There's a strong feeling by some that standard DVD has reached the "good-enough" stage. Also to really benefit from the HD formats you need a TV ideally larger than 40" and at least 1080i with 1080p being even better. While higher income households and teckies may have the required sets, many if not most lower income and even middle income households don't, which is seriously going to slow down adoption. Basically, it's going to be a long, slow slog to see whether HD format/s DVD makes it past a niche product.
The fact that DVD players could work with just about any TV and be happy with the results. Why would anyone go out and spend more money for HD movies and HD players for their normal sets. I don't own a HD set, don't plan on getting one any time soon. DVD is just fine for me. I have a 36" TV that I am completely content with. HD sets are semi-expensive and I don't see the average joe adopting them on a high rate. DVD was successful because it worked with your original set. No high dollar set was required. In these cases most people will have to buy a new tv set AND hd player. I simply don't see HD (blu-ray or HD-DVD) being adopted like DVDs were. Hayseed Timmy in Arkansas that makes $17k a year isn't going to buy this stuff. But he can certainly afford a $30 dvd player and $5 dvd. HD won't be able to get to those prices for years and years. I don't feel this war will be decided in the next few years.
And just so you know I'm not being cheap, I make near 6 digits. I suppose I don't watch enough tv to care about HD.
If BD-J is broken, as you say, why does Wikipedia list several BD-J enhanced movie title, like: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Speed, The Descent and Guardian?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BD-J
Wikipedia also lists the players that support BD-J. Also, I would assume that a BD-J disc will play the movie on a player that does not support BD-J, but the viewer will not be able to take advantage of the BD-J features. Is this correct? If so, I don't see what the big deal is. A studio can issue BD-J enhanced titles and those with a supporting player can take advantage of them.
Evidently I am missing something critical, or BD-J is a non-issue. Also, does HD-DVD have something like BD-J? Just wondering.
BD-J is just a java engine running interactive movie features from the disc. It can be used in any part of the authoring but WB will use them as in-movie experience where you can have a PIP narration interactivity while the movie is being played. This feature in HD-DVD is done with HDi and have been working very well since August of 2006 with all HD-DVD players with updated firmware. However, the BD side is not that simple. First of all, not all BD standalone players have the hardware support for BD-J. Only PS3 and Sony BD player has the hardware support. Maybe this is why some BD movies are not compatible with certain standalone players, and this will be a big problem if and when WB releases such tiles requiring BD-J. Since, BD-J implementation still have not been finalized, it's status is still incomplete and incompatible.
There's a strong feeling by some that standard DVD has reached the "good-enough" stage. Also to really benefit from the HD formats you need a TV ideally larger than 40" and at least 1080i with 1080p being even better. While higher income households and teckies may have the required sets, many if not most lower income and even middle income households don't, which is seriously going to slow down adoption. Basically, it's going to be a long, slow slog to see whether HD format/s DVD makes it past a niche product.
The smaller LCD TVs are not too costly now. We just bought a 32 inch, which is priced from about $850 to $1150. We have a Dish HD satellite receiver and the shows in HD are great. The prices keep dropping on LCDs and I think many more people will be getting one.
I admit that DVDs look very good on HDTV, but our son will be getting a PS3 soon. Netflix charges the same for DVD or Blu-Ray. Guess what we will be doing next? And I believe we are not an unusual household. I think it will catch on sooner than you think. We are on the low side of middle income, BTW.
umm speak for yourself. the matrix series is a pretty good franchis, people were obsessed with the trilogy. the first movie was a hit and created a following, the second movie was sooo hyped that people jumped on the bandwagon, the Wachowskis never compromised their films, they delivered what they wanted, so shitty for those who couldn't get their heads around the movie or just didnt like the style... i love all three and i'd die for an HD version.
I'll speak for myself and a lot of other people as well. There will always be people who are obsessed with something, no matter how good or bad it is. Doesn't make the Matrix trilogy great. You are absolutely, positively sounding like a complete fanboy here. "Ooooh, it was all totally awesome!" Only fanboys refuse to see the blemishes in what they like. If all the movies were so awesome, why did the third only do about half of what the second did at the box office? "People jumped on the bandwagon"? Looks like most of them jumped right back off.
And you're obviously too young to remember what a real cultural phenonemon was, as when Star Wars first came out in '77. A lot of people were dressing up (and it wasn't as cheap and simple as putting on a black trenchcoat), everybody knew who Darth Vader was, everyone knew "May the Force be with you." Most people have forgotten "There is no spoon." Most people don't know who Neo is.
I'll speak for myself and a lot of other people as well. There will always be people who are obsessed with something, no matter how good or bad it is. Doesn't make the Matrix trilogy great. You are absolutely, positively sounding like a complete fanboy here. "Ooooh, it was all totally awesome!" Only fanboys refuse to see the blemishes in what they like. If all the movies were so awesome, why did the third only do about half of what the second did at the box office? "People jumped on the bandwagon"? Looks like most of them jumped right back off.
And you're obviously too young to remember what a real cultural phenonemon was, as when Star Wars first came out in '77. A lot of people were dressing up (and it wasn't as cheap and simple as putting on a black trenchcoat), everybody knew who Darth Vader was, everyone knew "May the Force be with you." Most people have forgotten "There is no spoon." Most people don't know who Neo is.
Kolchak, you just contradicted yourself but i dont care. star wars has more cheesy lines, tons of bad acting, etc etc than the matrix. not to mention it has the most die hard fanboys on the planet
the matrix was stiff, i realize that, it was also a lot darker and for god sakes it put philosphy a long with socratic dialogue right up your butt haha. i was dumbfounded that Reloaded created so much hysteria before it was released, so yeah people did jump off the bandwagon.
were reloaded and revolutions better than the first? no, but that were good and i'm yet to see any movie pull off those effects and those themes so nicely. could they have been a bit diferrent? a litle softer on all the heavy pseudo ? sure, and i think the brothers went through a learning experience with those movies, look at what they did with V for Vendetta
its still a great trilogy to a lot of people and umm A LOT of people know who Neo is.
Fucking nerds.
haha, yeah i hate getting into arguments like those cuz it makes me feel like a super geek.
i have an image to uphold 8)
I have an image to uphold 8)
Lol, for a second there I read that as: "I have an image to upload".
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents
Well... as expected, I've received a flood of e-mails over the last day or so in response to my high-def format war comments of yesterday. And as expected, those who have firmly attached themselves to HD-DVD weren't terribly pleased with my arguments. The interesting thing, however, is that none of these people could logically refute my reasoning, and very few even attempted to do so. In fact, while some of the responses from HD-DVD supporters were polite and thoughtful, most were defensive, overly emotional or even downright hostile. A couple e-mails were so nasty that I can only wonder at the mental stability of their authors. All of this suggests to me that even these people are starting to suspect that the writing is on the wall for HD-DVD.
I was pleasantly surprised, however, at how many readers responded to say that they generally agreed with my assessment of the situation. And it wasn't just Blu-ray supporters who reacted positively. A surprising number of retailers and industry insiders expressed relief that we had finally said what they WANTED to say, but weren't in a position to do so. I was also struck by how many people that agreed with my comments said they hadn't yet adopted either format, instead having decided to remain neutral until a choice was more clear. But many of those folks told us that they were now close to jumping into the high-def arena, and Blu-ray was where they were headed. The responses as a whole were certainly fascinating, and they have done nothing but convince me further that this format war needs to end now, before the early adopter market gets even more fractious and divisive.
So what, or who, could end this format war? Simple: Universal. If Universal were to suddenly announce support for Blu-ray Disc in addition to HD-DVD, or if they were to adopt Warner's TotalHD combo disc, that would be the end of it. You would suddenly have every major studio in town releasing Blu-ray titles (except for DreamWorks, and our sources tell us that the studio is simply waiting for one of these formats to start selling serious numbers before getting involved). By the end of the year, cheaper second generation Blu-ray hardware will available, and that's the ballgame. That's not to say that Microsoft and Toshiba would stop pushing HD-DVD anytime soon. And I'm sure some of the HD-DVD supporting studios would continue releasing titles, at least for a while. But why would any average consumer want to buy an HD-DVD player, even a very cheap one, when you can't get Disney movies, you can't get Pixar films, you can't get the Bond films, you can't get the Spider-Man films, etc, etc, etc. Universal has the power to end this format war tomorrow. We certainly hope a lot of people, both inside the industry and film fans as a whole, are making efforts to POLITELY convince them to do so. Here's how:
Universal Studios Home Video
70 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
(818) 777-4400
Studio website - E-mail form on website
While we're on the subject, here's more evidence of Blu-ray's advantage: Blu-ray almost completely dominates the Japanese market now (click here for more on that), and has a clear edge in the Australian market as well (click here). In fact, one of Australia's leading consumer electronics retailers, JB Hi-Fi, has announced that they won't even carry HD-DVD in their stores (click here). Why? Because they, like many others, simply don't see how HD-DVD can overcome the overwhelming studio support behind Blu-ray Disc. JB's marketing director, Scott Browning, put his company's position this way: "We don't want to be selling $1000 clocks." Ouch. Any way you slice it, this whole format war situation is just getting silly.
By the way, for you HD-DVD fans out there who are running around online today claiming that I'm somehow getting paid to endorse Blu-ray (rather than coming to the rather obvious logical conclusion all on my own), I'll bet you this: If, in the next few months, the HD-DVD camp suddenly gets all those Blu-ray exclusive studios to start releasing titles on their format, and if all those electronics manufacturers who have released Blu-ray players start releasing HD-DVD or combo players too, I'll will happily and publicly revise my opinion. I'll even exclude Sony on both counts. But I'm betting it isn't going to happen.
I once again totally agree with Bill's statements. It doesn't take much knowledge to deduce that HD DVD is on its way to becoming a failed format. I hope many write or email into Universal and persuade them to end this format war sooner than later.
Strong Words from Bill Hunt...
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents
I once again totally agree with Bill's statements. It doesn't take much knowledge to deduce that HD DVD is on its way to becoming a failed format. I hope many write or email into Universal and persuade them to end this format war sooner than later.
Well, his personal opinion in the matter is as valuable as your own. His opinion of Universal holding the sword to end the Hi-Def format war can be said to Fox and Disney as well. Any of the three major studios tipping over can tip the scale with ever direction because the market is still a niche.
BTW, did any of you guys noticed a recent slump on software sales on both Hi-Def formats? I can understand the slump on the HD-DVD sides due to lack or new title announcements, but what's going on with the BD side?... Perhaps, PS3 owners stopped buying BD movies or PS3 stopped selling? I think BD cheerleading and PS3 rush is coming to an end. (my personal opinion, of course)