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Studios Promise HD-DVD Movies in 2005
From thedigitalbits.com:
Well this should pretty much solidify plain vanilla DVD as the format of choice for a lot longer by my estimation.
Joe consumer probably won't be daring enough to latch on to a Hi-Def format because they remember Beta.
If the gains aren't immediately noticeable, they may not care.
Or
They will jump on the first one to market (HD-DVD) and BluRay will be dead in the water.
Interesting to see if the Retail Giants (Walmart) will dictate the market (if they refuse to make space for HD titles that will cause a big problem)
Also , if Blockbuster and others will be open to making room.
If there is a big difference in price, I think people will want a lot of value, other than resolution. I remain a bit of a naysayer and believe that resolution alone will not sell the average consumer on the format.
We may have a bit of an LD (videophile, HD consumer) versus VHS (joe average, plain 'ol DVD consumer) on our hands.
If the studios are smart, they will price HD at a very favorable price point so that the new encryption schemes and product protection floods the market as soon as it can.
Will they? Probably not.
From thedigitalbits.com:
Here's the COMPLETE list of titles announced today:
Paramount HD-DVD
New Titles - The Manchurian Candidate, Spongebob Squarepants, Elizabethtown, Coach Carter, The 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 and Hum, Vanilla Sky, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Star Trek: First Contact, We Were Soldiers
Universal HD-DVD
New Titles - The Bourne Supremacy, The Chronicles of Riddick, Van Helsing
Catalog Titles - 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
Warner Bros/HBO/New Line HD-DVD
New & Catalog Titles - Above the Law, Alexander, Angels in America (HBO), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (New Line), Batman Begins, Blade (New Line), Catwoman, Contact, Constantine, Charley and the Chocolate Factory, 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, The Perfect Storm, The Phantom of the Opera (2004), The Player (New Line), The Polar Express, Red Planet, Rush Hour (New Line), Se7en (New Line), Soldier, The Sopranos (HBO), Spawn (New Line), Swordfish, Troy, Under Siege, U.S. Marshals, Wild Wild West
Whew! That's a pretty serious line-up. All the Matrix and Harry Potter films? Batman Begins? Dune from Universal? Wow. This should go a very long way toward convincing consumers just how serious the HD-DVD camp is about supporting their format. One thing we DON'T know however, is whether any of these discs will feature significant bonus material, or if they'll just be movie-only releases with special editions to follow later.
You can bet the list of initial Blu-ray Disc titles will be heavy-duty as well when its announced later this year. FYI, it's now looking as if Blu-ray Disc titles and hardware will launch here in the U.S. in early 2006.
Looks like only a miracle is going to stop this format war now.
Given the scale of this news, and the work we've been doing to chase it all down, we'll be back with Barrie Maxwell's reviews on Monday.
Paramount HD-DVD
New Titles - The Manchurian Candidate, Spongebob Squarepants, Elizabethtown, Coach Carter, The 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 and Hum, Vanilla Sky, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Star Trek: First Contact, We Were Soldiers
Universal HD-DVD
New Titles - The Bourne Supremacy, The Chronicles of Riddick, Van Helsing
Catalog Titles - 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
Warner Bros/HBO/New Line HD-DVD
New & Catalog Titles - Above the Law, Alexander, Angels in America (HBO), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (New Line), Batman Begins, Blade (New Line), Catwoman, Contact, Constantine, Charley and the Chocolate Factory, 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, The Perfect Storm, The Phantom of the Opera (2004), The Player (New Line), The Polar Express, Red Planet, Rush Hour (New Line), Se7en (New Line), Soldier, The Sopranos (HBO), Spawn (New Line), Swordfish, Troy, Under Siege, U.S. Marshals, Wild Wild West
Whew! That's a pretty serious line-up. All the Matrix and Harry Potter films? Batman Begins? Dune from Universal? Wow. This should go a very long way toward convincing consumers just how serious the HD-DVD camp is about supporting their format. One thing we DON'T know however, is whether any of these discs will feature significant bonus material, or if they'll just be movie-only releases with special editions to follow later.
You can bet the list of initial Blu-ray Disc titles will be heavy-duty as well when its announced later this year. FYI, it's now looking as if Blu-ray Disc titles and hardware will launch here in the U.S. in early 2006.
Looks like only a miracle is going to stop this format war now.
Given the scale of this news, and the work we've been doing to chase it all down, we'll be back with Barrie Maxwell's reviews on Monday.
Joe consumer probably won't be daring enough to latch on to a Hi-Def format because they remember Beta.
If the gains aren't immediately noticeable, they may not care.
Or
They will jump on the first one to market (HD-DVD) and BluRay will be dead in the water.
Interesting to see if the Retail Giants (Walmart) will dictate the market (if they refuse to make space for HD titles that will cause a big problem)
Also , if Blockbuster and others will be open to making room.
If there is a big difference in price, I think people will want a lot of value, other than resolution. I remain a bit of a naysayer and believe that resolution alone will not sell the average consumer on the format.
We may have a bit of an LD (videophile, HD consumer) versus VHS (joe average, plain 'ol DVD consumer) on our hands.
If the studios are smart, they will price HD at a very favorable price point so that the new encryption schemes and product protection floods the market as soon as it can.
Will they? Probably not.
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