Looks like it's safe to buy a Blu-ray now

it looks like best buy is going to do the same thing. or at least that's the rumor i heard around the water cooler.

I'm still giving it a few years before I bother tbh

Yeah, same here, because them shits are still a fortune and now DVDs are really reasonable. Plus, I only have one HDTV. What if I want to watch my Blu-ray somewhere else in the house?

Which aren't?

We have precisely 0 HDTV's in our crib

Also DVD's have been mad reasonable here for years, most I ever spent was £15 and that was for Batman Begins on the day it came out, otherwise like between £3-£10

300 and Troy just JUMP off that list at me, for starters.

So do the Patriot and Evil Dead 2 for me:-\

Evil Dead 2 especially.

dvds upscaled still look damn good.

Fuck you. Evil Dead rules. :foc:

Have'nt seen Troy but it was dirt cheap and I heard good things.

And 300 was mentioned as a must own on Blu Ray. If nothing else to show off the system.

Protip: Any movie where the Director's Cut is shorter than the feature film version will blow.

But liking Evil Dead, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Was the person who called 300 a must own the same guy who said "Troy" was a good idea? If so, get him help.

I bet Blade Runner is tastey in hi def

Well, all they can really do for Blade Runner is make a new transfer to 1080i/p and remix the audio. I'm sure it's nice, but don't expect miracles.

Well, it had to happen sooner or later, but no one saw if coming this soon, Toshiba has thrown in the towel, and will no longer be making HD-DVDs or recorders. So Blue Ray seems to have won the war.

Well. Toshiba made the announcement official today.

However, for those of you who have HD DVD players and are looking to add some movies to your collection, amazon.com is having a big 50% off sale.

Both media and players (standard def and hi def) are dropping in price at a steady rate here, and will continue to do.


Personally I don't watch many movies in DVD format so I can't see the point in switching to Blu-Ray until I'm forced to do so.

Because Blu Ray is awesome.

I just had a thought. What does Microsoft do with the Xbox 360 now in terms of high-def movies? Or are they just now compeletely out of the picture? I mean if Blu-ray is the winner, even in the next console generation, what can MS do? They will -never- have Blu-Ray and it is doubtful people will start switching if they create a competing format in a couple years because Blu-Ray will already have the huge install base.

I'm very interested in seeing where this goes.

Well, they sell an HD-DVD add-on. I don't see why they wouldn't be able to create a Blu Ray add-on.

Prices on DVDs are actually going up here. Stores are now charging more for new movies, and list prices are actually higher as well. Instead of 15-20 dollars, you're looking at 20-25 dollars and a list price of 35, so sometimes people charge more. That's actually comparable to Blu Ray or HD


Microsoft makes money off of every BR movie as well, for the record. Both formats use proprietary technology owned by Microsoft. I'm not sure why they wouldn't have Blu Ray, unless you're laboring under the misinformed assumption that this is a "Microsoft" versus "Sony" war. Sony isn't alone in the Blu Ray consortium, and though they brought in the big guns (Movie support), they don't particularly control the whole thing, nor would they be likely to limit the Blu Ray format.

Now for reality, Microsoft's primary aim is pushing their own digital distribution. Which is terrible because it's overpriced, proprietary, and you don't actually own the shit, not to mention it's not the same quality of true HD media.

Yeah over here Blu ray and regular DVDs are around the same price. Maybe a $5 difference at most.

really? shit is still about $10-15 more here. ridiculous.

Where are you at?

If I get lucky, I can find new DVDs for 20 bucks. And right now, that's about what I'm paying for Blu Ray discs. The catch is, I have to get both through specials/sales/retail deals.

northern illinois. dvds are generally $20 upon release and blu-rays are generally $30-35. they are both cheaper during their week of release, but after that it's just random sales you have to catch to get them cheap. and even then the blu-rays only go as low as $25.

I've started buying from Amazon, because a lot of the BRDs are like 20 bucks.

Plus, I'm on a free trial of Prime, so I get three free months of free second day shipping.

Just got my discs in and I have to say, Superman the Movie looks awesome. Totally looks perfect, not like a 30 year old movie. So does Goodfellas.

http://www.reuters.com/article/enter...18265320080221

All Hollywood studios now lined up behind Blu-Ray

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - All six major Hollywood studios are now in the Blu-ray DVD camp, a day after Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD and Blu-ray became effectively the only next-generation game in town.

Paramount Home Entertainment quietly came onboard via a statement issued Wednesday to The Hollywood Reporter: "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," the statement read. "As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly."

No further details were given.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment, in contrast, cast its lot with Blu-ray within hours of Toshiba's announcement Tuesday morning that it was ending the format war by ceasing the development, manufacture and marketing of HD DVD players by the end of March.

Janet Murray, director of Georgia Tech's masters and Ph.D. program in digital media, said a single format supported by all six major studios has a much better chance of success than two rival ones that each take only a chunk of Hollywood.

"It's a big victory for the consumer," she said.

Now that the studios are no longer battling each other over which format is best, Murray said, they can focus on generating awareness among consumers of the many benefits of high-definition media. Murray predicts "a standardization of extras" now that everyone's releasing films on a single format rather than two, each with its own set of capabilities. "This will lead to a much richer experience for viewers," she added.

Murray also foresees "much more content and much more breadth of content" now that Blu-ray is the only way to go. "When people have these higher-end screens at home, they take great pleasure in them, and this will push ahead the delivery (of movies) in high-definition," she said.

Universal had been exclusive with HD DVD since the format's launch in April 2006, while Paramount initially supported both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Paramount and DreamWorks switched to HD DVD-only in August, reportedly after receiving a $150 million payment from the format's supporters for "promotional consideration."

Neither studio has announced specific titles earmarked for early Blu-ray release, though both are expected to start with new theatricals coming the same day as the standard DVD, beginning in late spring or early summer.

The four other majors committed to Blu-ray are Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (along with its distributed MGM Home Entertainment label), Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video (including distributed labels New Line Home Entertainment, BBC Video and HBO Video). Mini-major Lionsgate also has been an exclusive Blu-ray backer since the start.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

So can someone explain to me again how Toshiba managed to fuck this one up so badly?

Marketing

Blu-ray could still lose HD video war: Toshiba

By Matthew Henry

SYDNEY: Toshiba claims that Sony’s victory in the high definition disc format war will be short lived due to the rise of HD digital video downloads over broadband, which the company claims was one of the key reason for abandoning HD DVD.

In a press conference this morning, Toshiba Australia general manager, Mark Whittard, said that while the US film and retail industries’ recent shift to support Blu-ray sealed HD DVD’s fate, other factors played a role in Toshiba’s abandonment of its high definition video disc business.

Whittard claims the penetration of both next generation disc formats is well below expectations while uptake of digital movie download services is accelerating, and could render HD discs redundant.

“We believe technology developments will soon leapfrog high definition discs, whether it be HD DVD or Blu-ray,” he claimed.

“This step is going to be leapfrogged by the next major format – digital content, internet downloads and video on demand.”

Whittard also identified DVD as a formidable competitor to Blu-ray.

According to figures quoted by Toshiba, total sales of HD movie discs reached a paltry $300 million last year compared to sales of over $23 billion for DVD discs.

Whittard claims Blu-ray will find it difficult to replace DVD in the same way DVD comprehensively replaced VHS.

Toshiba sold less than one million HD DVD players worldwide, and while Blu-ray has achieved higher penetration with the PS3, Whittard claims DVD will be “extremely difficult” for Blu-ray to overcome.

“DVD players still sell in their tens of millions worldwide today,” he said.

“DVD upscaling technology means you get near high definition quality, and to most people there is little discernable difference.”

However, while Toshiba is now moving towards a business model which will see it place more emphasis on other HD video delivery platforms, it has not ruled out joining the Blu-ray camp.

“You never say never, but at this stage there are no plans,” he said.

Toshiba's HD DVD players also have the potential for internet connectivity which gives them the potential to accept HD video streaming over ethernet connectivity, which could be utilised by the company in the future.

Haha, Toshiba tries to cop out. They just don't want to admit they completely blew it.

Yes, because what they said was so unreasonable.

Idiotic statement. The difference is like night and day.

It seems logical what they're saying about the changing formats though, Blu Ray will probably not replace DVD in the comprehensive way DVD did VHS, because they'll use the same players if nothing else, not to mention DVD still provides great picture and sound quality, and the fact that a hell of a lot of people don't have HD tv's yet anyway

Blu Ray is good, running on a quality 1080p tv the films look astounding. However they cost way too much (disc and machine) and there will be other ways of getting HD film that cost a lot less.

Toshiba are speaking sense.

Online is definitely the way forward, hell I've watched the whole season 3 of Lost online on the DivX webplayer and its fantastic quality, not HD but still, it can't be far off

Online will never completely replace hardcopies. Even HD on demand is lower quality than HD video discs, and there will always be people who want to own the movies. Yeah, I'm a dinosaur, I still pay for CDs, too.

KK you're not really thinking ahead there at all are you.

Oh and i just found out Stage6 is shutting down in a few days :'(